Health & Fitness Essentials
11 practical fitness tips…
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OUR 1st ‘HEALTH & FITNESS ESSENTIALS‘ TIP:
Be aware that modern technology contributes towards decreased physical activity, therefore it’s essential that time for regular exercise is scheduled.
EXPLANATION:
Whether it’s the car, the escalator or even the internet, technology minimises the amount of physical work people need to do. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it’s good to be aware of this trend, and to ensure time for workouts are scheduled, because people rarely get their exercise ‘naturally’ – a reason obesity is increasing. The risk of having a stroke can be reduced by 50% for individuals who get 60 minutes of exercise per day, or by 25% for those who get 30 minutes per day. In contrast, a lack of exercise is one of the major factors which contributes to heart disease – along with smoking, high blood pressure and high cholesterol!
The muscles, bones, and internal organs should all be conditioned, therefore Practical Fitness Tips recommends both regular weight/resistance training in a gym, as well as cardiovascular exercise (running, cycling, swimming, etc), and also stretching. The Stretching Handbook is written as an easy-to-use guide to get good health.
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OUR 2nd ‘HEALTH & FITNESS ESSENTIALS‘ TIP:
Design an exercise routine and complementary nutritional plan specifically designed to help achieve your unique fitness goal.
EXPLANATION:
For detailed information, please visit either the Building & Toning Muscle or the Burning Fat page.
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OUR 3rd ‘HEALTH & FITNESS ESSENTIALS‘ TIP:
Always begin any exercise session with a gradual 5-10 minute warm-up consisting of light cardiovascular activity.
EXPLANATION:
A gradual 5-10 minute warm-up increases the heart rate and circulates oxygenated blood around your entire body, preparing the energy systems for the increase in intensity that is about to occur. To prevent any decrease in strength during a workout (and to prevent strains and injuries!), save your stretching period for the end of the workout.
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OUR 4th ‘HEALTH & FITNESS ESSENTIALS‘ TIP:
When you stretch, stretch properly, and stretch your entire body.
EXPLANATION:
The rule of stretching is to do it slowly and gradually, until there’s a slight burn – never pain! Never ‘bounce’ a stretch, as this can lead to an injury, and isn’t properly stretching the muscle anyway. The first 10 seconds of stretching involve the muscle simply ‘adjusting and relaxing’, meaning it’s therefore during the next 10 to 20 seconds after this that the muscle is actually stretching, so don’t rush it – aim for 30 seconds. Some studies suggest that stretching after a workout can increase overall strength gains by nearly 20%!
Furthermore, ensure you stretch the entire body after any kind of exercise session is completed. Even when you’ve only gone for a jog, or perhaps just exercised a single muscle group like the shoulders, at some stage all of the body’s major muscle groups will have been used anyway (even if it wasn’t noticeable), and it’s important that they’re stretched.
Stretching also helps to drain lactic acid from tired muscles, which reduces next-day soreness, and helps you recover faster. Lastly, stretching greatly assists in increasing your body’s range of motion, which not only makes day-to-day tasks easier to perform, but also reduces the risk of a serious injury in the event of a sudden impact (like a car crash).
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OUR 5th ‘HEALTH & FITNESS ESSENTIALS‘ TIP:
Wear comfortable, appropriate, high-quality gear while exercising.
EXPLANATION:
Investing into your exercise gear can go a long way for helping you achieve your fitness goals. For example, you’ll obviously run faster and further if your feet aren’t aching! Get a pair of well-fitting running shoes with a good tread.
The same concept applies if you’re too hot (or cold) while exercising – therefore make sure you dress for the weather when doing your cardio outdoors, and consider reflective clothing or armbands if running or cycling outside after dark. If you’re running/cycling long distances, either carry a water bottle with you or ensure you’ll have access to water somewhere en-route.
Ladies – avoid wearing revealing outfits that might make you self-conscious about performing certain movements while in the gym, as well as jewellery that might catch onto moving parts of exercise equipment.
In summary, both guys and girls – the aim is to get through your workout as comfortably and safely as possible without any distractions, fears, or other concerns.
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OUR 6th ‘HEALTH & FITNESS ESSENTIALS‘ TIP:
When lifting weights, ensure the proper technique is used.
EXPLANATION:
It’s better to lift lighter weights correctly than to lift heavier weights incorrectly. You aren’t fully working your muscles if momentum is used. Muscles are built and toned by being worked through the full range of a motion, which includes both a ‘positive’ (raising) and ‘negative’ (lowering) tension. Aim to take approximately 2 seconds to raise a weight, then 3 or 4 seconds to lower it – as many sources suggest that the negative tension is slightly more important than the positive tension for muscular development.
Furthermore, avoid locking your joints when weight-lifting, and breath steadily – exhaling during the raising/lifting of a weight, and inhaling during the lowering of a weight. If you experience any pain during an exercise, stop immediately.
Finally, if/when doing ‘alternating’ movements (such as alternating bicep curls, alternating shoulder press, etc), make sure that one arm/leg is never still (resting) while the other arm or leg is moving. When one arm/leg is doing the upward (’positive’) part of the movement, the other should simultaneously be doing the downward (’negative’) movement – rather than resting, which defeats the purpose!
Don’t be afraid to ask a gym attendant or personal fitness trainer to assist you – that’s what they’re there for. Get a head-start now by checking out these online demonstrations for various weight-lifting exercises.
OUR 7th ‘HEALTH & FITNESS ESSENTIALS‘ TIP:
When lifting weights, exercise the larger muscle groups before the smaller ones.
EXPLANATION:
The larger the muscle group, the more energy it takes to exercise it. When you workout your legs, for example, you should train your quadriceps and hamstrings before the calves. Similarly, when you exercise your upper body, you should train your chest, back, and/or shoulders before the arms. If done the other way around, you’ll find you tire sooner.
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OUR 8th ‘HEALTH & FITNESS ESSENTIALS‘ TIP:
Keep a record of your progress and habits.
EXPLANATION:
We often don’t actually realise we’re progressing (or not progressing) unless either somebody tells us, or we’re able to review a record which details various criteria over a period of time. Regularly maintaining a sort of ‘fitness journal’ is useful for tracking our:
1) body characteristics (body weight, waist size, arm size, body fat proportion, etc).
2) workouts (length/intensity of a run, amount of weight used in the gym, types of exercises undertaken, etc).
3) nutritional habits (number of meals per day, approximate number of calories consumed, etc).
Record-keeping is beneficial for the purposes of keeping yourself accountable and committed, encouraging you to push yourself slightly harder each workout, and keeping yourself motivated by seeing your accomplishments on paper!
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OUR 9th ‘HEALTH & FITNESS ESSENTIALS‘ TIP:
Ensure you don’t slack off when it comes to nutrition and rest!
EXPLANATION:
Most sources agree that the largest factor in determining one’s physical appearance and overall health is nutrition, followed behind by both exercise and the amount of rest one gets.
There’s no single, perfect nutritional plan that suits everybody. Practical Fitness Tips does not support the idea of strict diets (such as Atkins, Vegetarian, Vegan, etc). Once an individual has a basic understanding of nutrition, Practical Fitness Tips believes you could almost eat any food in moderation and still achieve your results. For more information on nutrition, please visit our Nutrition page.
Regarding rest, we believe that because the body was not created with a built-in alarm clock, the amount of sleep you actually need is the amount you get when you have the opportunity to wake up naturally. For older and less-active individuals, that might be as little as 6 or 7 hours, whilst for younger and more-active individuals, it could be as high as 9 or 10 hours. Most people are somewhere in-between, around 8 hours. Listen to your body, and if it always ‘complains’ when your alarm goes off in the morning, then discipline yourself and get to bed earlier in the future. The amount of sleep you get will have an impact on your emotions and energy levels, which in turn affects what you’ll likely choose to eat and drink, as well as the intensity level you exercise at.
Practical Fitness Tips repeats!! Do not underestimate the importance of sleep! We go into this in detail for a reason! Let’s face it, “I’m too tired today” is our most popular excuse for skipping a workout (or eating poorly)! To ensure a good night’s sleep, consider these tips:
1) minimise/eliminate caffeine intake after lunch-time.
2) don’t exercise too late into the evenings, as this will increase your heart rate and alertness.
3) don’t eat a large meal (particularly dessert) before bed.
4) get organised, and plan ahead for things well in advance – as this will minimise ‘tossing and turning’ as you dread the potential stresses and tasks of the next day(s) ahead. This includes planning a monthly budget of all your incomings and outgoings, using your calendar regularly, and keeping your home clean.
5) speaking of reducing stress, pray! The Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians encouraging them not to “worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand“.
6) be disciplined, and try to go to bed around the same time every night.
7) ensure your bedroom provides a good environment for sleep – which relates to noise, temperature, the comfort of your mattress, and even the thickness of your curtains (to keep out unwanted sunlight).
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OUR 10th ‘HEALTH & FITNESS ESSENTIALS‘ TIP:
Don’t overtrain! Take a break every few months.
EXPLANATION:
It’s usually a lack of exercise, rather than too much, that’s the issue for most people. However, if you’re one of the few who are really dedicated to achieving your fitness results (exercising intensely 4+ days per week), make sure you take a full week’s break from your training routine every few months to permit your muscles time to rest, repair, and grow stronger.
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OUR 11th ‘HEALTH & FITNESS ESSENTIALS‘ TIP:
Don’t compare yourself to models and celebrities!
EXPLANATION:
Although our society tells us it is normal and achievable, it can be harmful to compare yourself to people on the television! Although there are indeed many high-profile, hard-working individuals who are disciplined enough to eat well and exercise intensively (and therefore perhaps rightfully deserve their fame), there are just as many individuals who are ‘fakes’.
Anybody who is featured on television or in a magazine is usually in the Top 1% of the world’s most attractive and genetically-gifted individuals anyway. They are also professionals and have the time, money and expert advice necessary to maintain their physique.
Furthermore, we’re not all born with the same genes unfortunately. Women especially, but guys as well – need to be aware that prior to some photo shoots, many models in popular magazines have been on unhealthy low-calorie diets during the weeks before, have applied expensive fake-tan to themselves, and even ‘chill’ their bodies immediately before the photo-session in order to tighten their skin and therefore appear even leaner. Additionally, some of the body-builders you see have been taking illegal (and dangerous!) steroids. Lastly, even after all of this, a top professional photographer or qualified graphics designer will then often edit the photos, experiment with the lighting and contrast, and sometimes even ‘cut-and-paste’ a different body-part from another model. These tricks used by the media have contributed towards eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia.
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Resources on Health & Fitness Essentials:
1) The Truth About Abs. The #1 rated abs program on the internet!
2) Fat Loss 4 Idiots. Nutritional techniques which allow you to lose weight faster than normal.
3) Muscle Building Coach. Effective exercise and eating strategies to help pack on muscle mass fast.
4) 101 Workouts for Women. Everything you need to get a lean, strong, and fit physique.
5) Men’s Fitness Magazine. Improve strength, endurance, health and style with expert fitness and lifestyle tips.
6) BodyBuilding.com. Helping you reach your fitness goals through information, motivation and supplementation.
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