10 Easy Tips to Make You More Fit

  1. Warm Up Properly A nice five to ten minutes warm up that includes basic calisthenics and dynamic stretching will increase the productivity of your workouts.
  2. Take The Time to Help Your Body Recover Your muscles need time to recover.  Allow for muscle fibers to fully repair before hitting the same muscle group again.  You can facilitate this process by foam rolling, eating properly, and getting enough sleep.
  3. Stretch Tight muscles can be caused by our everyday activities like sitting at our desk and driving our cars.  Take 10 to 15 minutes AFTER your workout to improve your flexibility.
  4. Drink Enough Water Your body is mostly made of water and needs it to carry out its basic functions.  Try carrying a bottle around with you and drink the entire thing every time you eat a meal.
  5. Get Enough Sleep Our bodies do most of their recovering while we are asleep.  It’s essential that you get enough rest for this process to occur.  Try to sleep at least 7 hours a night.
  6. Mix It Up Make one workout a week into something that pushes you out of your comfort zone.  Take yoga or pilates, go to a spin class, or lift weights.  You’ll be amazed what weaknesses your routine has allowed you to develop.
  7. Relax Take some time for yourself each day.  Listen to music, read a book, or do any of your favorite hobbies.  Stress is counterproductive for a healthy lifestyle.
  8. Incorporate Resistance Training Resistance training is one of the best ways to ramp up your metabolism and help you shed pounds while building the strength required for movement.  The more lean mass you have the more calories you will burn.
  9. Make a Commitment to Yourself Understand that your goals are attainable, but you have to work for them.  Health and fitness don’t happen overnight.  Elite athletes train for years to acquire the proper tools to play their respective sports.  Don’t quit on yourself!!!
  10. Talk to People Who Know More Than You If you are first starting off with your fitness plan, seek the help of professionals.  It’s a personal trainer’s job to assist you with your goals.  Qualified personal trainers can teach you the basics of exercise and provide you with the knowledge to continue your fitness journey on your own.

Photos: aye_shamus, greg westfall

3 for Thursday – Health and Fitness Reads

Go ahead let it out. This article talks about the ability to show emotion with performance and overall happiness. Who said there is no crying in FOOTBALL.

How we handle adversity, sickness, and disappointment will in large part determine how we recover from it.

Finally, talk to you Doctor about vitamin D and sunshine.

” Vitamin D appears to boost health from head to toe, according to the September issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter. But, so far, there’s no consensus on what level of vitamin D is optimal for good health.

Recent reports on vitamin D suggest that it offers many benefits, especially for older adults. Findings point to improved balance, reduction in the risk of bone fractures, and better thinking skills such as planning, organizing and abstract thinking. Low levels of vitamin D are associated with diabetes, cardiovascular disease, multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune disorders, infections such as tuberculosis, and periodontal disease. Low vitamin D levels also may affect certain cancers, including colon, breast and prostate cancers.”

Mayo Clinic Health Letter

Read this article from WebMD to find out more about sunshine and Vitamin D.

Let me know what you think and have a great weekend.

– Rich

Photo: richelleantipolo

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