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Going Healthy, Going Strong, Health, Lifestyle, Tips

The Beginner’s Guide To Fitness: 6 Essential Tips

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As adults, balancing work, personal life, and other responsibilities can be challenging. Many of us are looking for ways to simplify our lives and boost our quality of life. Thankfully, there are so many different activities and hobbies that allow us to focus on ourselves while also exploring new interests. One way to do this is by adding a structured routine of exercise into your daily life. This article will give you some great tips on how to start getting fit and how to do so in a sustainable way.

Set Realistic Goals

If the idea of getting fit has been on your mind for a while now, it may be tempting to set an extremely ambitious goal and start off with a very intense exercise routine. While this can work for some people, it’s important to be realistic and not set yourself up for failure. If you’ve never exercised before, have a chronic medical condition, or are over 50 years old, it may be better to start with something a bit more low-impact, like walking or swimming. Similarly, if you’re battling old or new injuries or have a specific performance goal in mind, working with a trainer from Pursue PT or another similar company operating in your local area is key, as they will help you choose the right activities for your current physical state.  
 
Setting realistic fitness goals can also help you avoid burnout, keep you motivated, and give you something to work toward. These goals can be anything from fitting in one short walk a day to training for a 10K or even a full marathon. As long as you’re reasonable with your expectations, you can achieve anything. Finding a supportive community like those found in a class like this Crossfit Sydney gym can help keep you motivated and hold you accountable when you need it. Having a support system like this in place can help you keep you on track to achieve your desired goals.

Choose Fast Digesting Protein Options

If you’ve never exercised regularly before and are looking to start building muscle and strength, adding protein to your diet is essential. It can also be helpful for people who regularly exercise and rely on exercise to build muscle. When it comes to protein, timing is important, and eating it right before or after your workout can have a significant impact on muscle growth and repair. If you’re looking to optimize your results, you’ll want to choose a fast digesting protein, and you can get more information on fast digesting protein, choosing the right source of protein, and how to include them in your routine effectively in this article from io.

Be Consistent

If you’re looking to get fitter, stronger, and healthier, consistency is key. If you’re hoping to build muscle and strength, consistency is even more important. If you want to build muscle, you need to work out regularly so that your body has enough time to build muscle and you don’t just maintain your current level of strength. If you’re hoping to lose weight, you need to be consistent with both your diet and exercise routine. There is no quick fix when it comes to fitness and no magic formula that will help you achieve your goals in a week or even a month. It might take even longer depending on your current level of fitness, current health conditions, and goals.

Train With A Friend

Working out with friends can help keep you accountable, give you something to look forward to, and make exercise more enjoyable. Not only should you exercise with a friend regularly, but you should also make it a challenge. If you’re hoping to build muscle and improve your strength, you’ll want to make sure you’re lifting enough weight that you feel challenged. If you’re lifting too light and not feeling challenged enough, you’re not going to see any results. You should also be sure to challenge yourself with your cardio routine as well. If you’re hoping to improve your endurance, you should be doing cardio that gets your heart rate up, like running, swimming, or cycling.

Don’t Do Too Much Too Soon

If you’re new to exercise, it’s vital that you don’t do too much too soon. Start off slow and steadily build your way up over time. If you’re looking to build muscle and strength, don’t jump into high intensity lifting too soon either. You may be setting yourself up for injury. Start with a low-intensity routine and work your way up as your fitness progresses. If exercise is new to you, it will take some time for your body to adjust. It’s important not to get too frustrated and remember that progress takes time.

Ensure You Drink Plenty Of Water

One thing that many people neglect when trying to get fit is proper hydration. It’s important to drink plenty of water both when exercising and when you’re not exercising. Hydration can affect many aspects of fitness, including your endurance, strength, and ability to focus. Drinking enough water can also help prevent common minor injuries such as muscle cramps, which can be extremely painful and interrupt your exercise routine. If you’re exercising regularly, you should shoot for around two to three liters of water per day. If you’re exercising more intensely, you may need to increase this amount.

Going Healthy, Going Strong, Health, Tips

Tips for Getting in Shape by Running

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If you want to get in shape and you know you’ve let things get a little too lax in terms of exercise and your body shape, running is the best place to start. Running is an activity that you can do with little more than some clothes and a pair of running shoes. Once you’ve got those, you’re ready to go.

So if you think it’s time to start using running as your primary method of getting in shape, you’ll want to approach it in the right way. And that’s precisely what we’re going to talk about today. You can find out all about getting in shape through running below, so read on and find out more.

Find Someone to Run With

If you’re entirely new to running and you’re a little concerned that you might find it boring or lonely, it can be a good idea to find someone who you can run with. When you have a person by your side who you can interact with and get tips and guidance from, it can make your first experiences of running far more positive than they might otherwise be. So if you know a friend that’s already into running, be sure to talk to them and get involved alongside them.

Start Slow and Don’t Worry About Pace

Starting slowing is one of the best things you can do if you’re new to running or if you’re transitioning back into it after a long time away. You don’t need to worry about the pace you’re setting early on because it’s all about building up your fitness and getting into the swing of things. By starting slowly and making progress from there, you can make it much easier to get to where you want to be. So don’t worry so much about your pace and instead focus on being consistent.

Invest in Some Basic Gear

If you don’t already have a good pair of running shoes, that’s the most important thing for you to invest in early on. These will make your experience far more pleasant because regular sneakers are simply not up to the task of doing a lot of running, either on the streets or in the gym. They don’t offer the support you need, or the bounce and lightweight build that you can get from the best running shoes out there. You can also get some of the best Spring trail running gear at Evergreen Outpost Co. to start your running journey. Further down the line you may even find yourself going on hikes, and will need more gear and a backpack to store this in. Invest in this basic stuff, such as comfortable clothes if you’re serious about running.

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Build Up Your Activity Over Time

Building up your activity over time is a good way to make sure that you don’t burn yourself out as you start getting into running. If you’re entirely new to this and you want to lose a little weight, it’s a good idea to make progress gradually. But that doesn’t mean that progress isn’t important. If you keep things static for too long at a time, your progress will stall and you probably won’t get to where you want to be. So when things get too easy, ratchet them up a notch.

Give Yourself Days Dedicated to Rest

Giving yourself days that are dedicated to resting and recovering is really important. You want to make sure that you’re giving yourself that opportunity to recover and make progress because if you’re not able to do that, you’ll burn out too quickly and risk getting injured. Working out every day of the week is not the best idea. Having days off when you rest and take it easy or maybe do some much lighter exercise, such as yoga, is definitely a good idea.

Don’t Shy Away from Competition Once You’re Ready

It’s important not to shy away from the competition if you really want to make progress. Of course, this is not something that you need to worry about right away. But once you feel like you’re ready to start pushing yourself a little more, it can be very helpful if you compete in distance races. You can find 5k and 10K races in your area pretty easily. And you might even want to try a marathon one day. These races give your something to build up to and work towards.

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Use Protein When Working Out

If you want to get more out of your workouts and you want to burn excess fat a little faster, it’s a good idea to think about how your diet needs to change. Reducing the number of carbs you’re eating is a good idea and is a good place to start. On top of that, you’ll need to think about protein as this is essential for building up your muscles, which you’ll use when running. Find a place that has a protein sale if you’re looking for a discounted protein shake solution.

Use Visualization to Motivate You

If you’re struggling to stay motivated when things get a little tough with your running efforts, it might be a good idea to use visualization as a tool. By visualizing your goals, you can really focus on what you want to achieve. It should give you that extra boost of motivation when you need it most of all. Things get tough sooner or later, and being able to push through those tough moments is vital.

Track Your Progress

Tracking your progress is certainly something that you might want to think about because it’s another way in which you can stay positive and motivated as you work towards your goals. When you can see the progress you’re making and you notice the difference that’s being made as a result of the effort you’re putting in, it’s very satisfying and very motivating too.

As you can see, there are lots of different ways in which you can approach running and make the most of it by running. Running is one of the easiest and long-standing forms of human exercise, so if you’re looking to benefit both mentally and physically, you should make the most of the advice above.

Going Healthy, Going Strong, Health, Tips

The Lowdown on Lower Back Pain

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Many people experience lower back pain throughout their lives. There are many things that can cause this pain. This post delves into the different causes and the best forms of treatment for those experiencing pain.

What causes lower back pain?

Lower back pain is typically the result of the base of the spine being unable to support the weight above, causing a strain. It can also be due to poor posture when sitting or lifting. A few common causes of lower back pain include:

  • Being overweight
  • A sedentary lifestyle
  • Heavy lifting with poor form
  • Natural deterioration with age (although lifestyle can delay this)

What are the best ways to treat lower back pain?

If you experience lower back pain, there may be a few different ways in which you can reduce the pain:

Take anti-inflammatory medicines

Anti-inflammatory medication such as ibuprofen can be effective against mild back pain. More serious pain may require prescription medication. It is also possible to take herbal medication – the likes of turmeric and devil’s claw could be worth trying if you want a break from pills or if you’re looking for a supplementary form of pain relief. 

See a chiropractor

Experience expert chiropractic care at CARESPACE in Kitchener, or a clinic of a similar caliber in your area, and book an appointment with the professionals if you find that you’re always struggling with back discomfort. Spinal manipulation may help to reduce pain if you are experiencing lower back pain as it aims at realigning the spine and relieving pressure on nerves and muscles. However, it’s important to remember that this treatment should always be performed by a qualified chiropractor. 

Get a massage

A massage can help to improve blood flow and reduce muscle tension, all in all helping to combat inflammation and pain. Your best option when dealing with lower back pain is to book a professional massage at a clinic. It is possible to massage your own lower back using a foam roller or tennis ball. You can learn how to do this online. 

Quit smoking

Smokers are nearly three times as likely to experience lower back pain. This is because smoking can increase inflammation and inhibit bone healing, making small strains and injuries more painful and harder to recover from. By quitting smoking, you could find that your pain reduces. 

Lose weight

Carrying extra weight on the upper half of your body puts more strain on your lower back. This isn’t so much of a problem if the extra weight is muscles as the muscle will be able to support this extra weight. However, if the extra weight is fat and you’ve not got much muscle mass, you can expect your spine to take the strain. Losing weight could help to reduce the strain on your spine. It’s worth exercising your core – not just to help lose weight, but to build muscle in and around your lower back. 

Correct your posture

If you’re constantly leaning forward over a desk, your lower back is more likely to get strained. Get into a habit of sitting up straight while at a desk by adjusting your seat properly. The same goes for driving. Posture is also important when lifting heavy things – instead of bending at your waist, try to always bend your knees and keep your back straight to minimize strain.