Tag Archives: fitness

Health And Wellbeing: What You Can Do To Help Yourself

11/19/2021 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

Throughout your life, you should be aiming to find ways to improve and manage your general health and wellbeing. This will give you the best chance of staying healthy and living the life that you want to live. Reading this article will help give you some perspective, and an idea of changes you can make to improve your health.

Look After Your Body

The first thing you should think about is your body. This can contain a lot of different things, from eating the right foods to getting the right amount of sleep. If you don’t already, you should consider engaging in regular exercise, even if it’s just taking more of a walk on your way to work. Doing more physical work, in general, will benefit you, but be careful to not overdo it and strain yourself. Work out and eat well to get to a point of being at a healthy weight.

Protect Your Mental Health

Many people neglect their mental health through inaction. They believe that by leaving it alone they are doing it the best service they can. However, you may be neglecting a problem that could then start growing. That’s why you should work to improve it, which could be done either alone through personal growth and development, or with the help of a therapist. Speak to people around you about issues in your life, as long as they feel comfortable hearing it, because you don’t want to bottle everything up and go through it alone.

Regularly Go To The Doctor

There will be some things that are simply out of your control health-wise. Even if you do everything right it’s unlikely that you will be able to avoid a trip to the doctors at some point in your life. That is why so many people arrange to speak to a doctor annually so that they can go over any ongoing issues or catch any issues early before they get out of hand.

Consider speaking to your doctor about regular visits, as it may depend on availability and the facilities themselves as to if they can incorporate this. You can go to more private centers such as Ezra that offer early cancer detection scans. Detecting cancers early gives you a better chance of getting successful treatment.

The more you visit your doctor, the more they will get to know you. This saves you time further down the road and could help your doctor to understand your health more as you get older, which could catch things more efficiently.

Focus On Good Foods

Whilst you don’t need to completely cut out junk foods and unhealthy foods in general, it is always advisable to cut down on them. If possible, you should focus more on good foods, and promote yourself to a more balanced diet. Your body won’t be able to only survive on fruit for breakfast lunch and dinner, you will need a mix of all things such as protein.

Of course, it can be difficult to know what counts as good food. That’s why you should speak to a nutritionist or even a personal trainer. These are experts with body health and what foods can help support you. They will also be best equipped to help tailor you a diet unique to you and your needs as everyone will be different.

Hydrate Yourself

For similar reasons, you should hydrate yourself regularly. Water is important for the body as it replenishes the liquids inside you over time. You will need a certain amount of liquid to hydrate you throughout the day, depending on your age and build. Consult a medical expert or use an online guide to find the right amount for you.

Water and liquids can help to regulate your body temperature and keep your joints lubricated. It can help your body to prevent infections and keep your organs functioning properly. A normal amount of regular hydration can also help improve the quality of your sleep and even your mood when you wake up.

Keep Good People Around You

You will find that your general wellbeing will be improved by keeping good people around you. This means having people you can relate to that either make you happy to be around promoting positive actions or pushing you to be a better person in general.

People that promote only positive traits within you will be the driving force you need to make yourself better. You don’t even need to be better than you are now, you just need to not be worse.

Improve Your Home

The conditions at your home may be below the required standard you want. In times like this, it may be worth looking into potential improvements. They could even improve your health in some cases. Look at the quality of your walls, and take immediate action if you suspect there are any signs of dampness or moisture in the walls. This could be mold growing that could damage your lungs and affect your breathing.

Going Healthy, Going Strong, Health, Lifestyle, Tips

The Best Prep For Runners

10/25/2021 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

If you have been running for a while and want to take it to the next level, or perhaps you are new to running and looking to get yourself in the zone before you slip your trainers on – this post is for you.

Preparing for a run isn’t simply tying your running shoe laces up and being done. Your body goes through several processes as it is running, and it needs to be in the best condition to do that.

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Photo by Brian Erickson on Unsplash

Here are a few simple things you can do to prepare yourself for running.

Gear

If you have been running in whatever is comfortable up until now, then it is time to change the game up. The running gear you use has a significant impact on your performance.

At a minimum, you should be looking to invest in the following:

Running shoes are designed for the ground you run on. If you want to use Vibram shoes for a natural foot shape, keep in mind you will likely need extra support by Achilles tendon taping.
Sunscreen is essential even on overcast days – opt for sweatproof sunscreen.
A sun hat and sunglasses designed for running
Slimline hydration pack or bottle
Reflective accessories and clothing

Choosing running shoes isn’t an easy task; you must get measured in a professional running store. You might have high arches and need extra support, or perhaps you have a wide foot.

No matter what the issue is, you need to have the perfect fit. Poorly fitting trainers will leave you prone to ankle and knee issues.

Need more tips? Choosing Running Shoes

Starters timetable

If you have been running for a while, this section isn’t for you. Starting your running journey might not begin with how you think. Your body needs to be conditioned to run and run well.

Start by combining jogging and walking between 4 and 6 times a week. Jog for a few minutes and walk for a few minutes as the weeks pass, minus some walking minutes and add them to your jogging speed. After a few more weeks, try jogging the whole way one or more times a week.

Experienced runners

After you have been running for a while, it’s time to go a little harder. Instead of a gentle warmup, start pushing your body hard. This is called priming and is often underappreciated to get into the zone and perform your best immediately.

Your body adapts to the demands of running hard, and the longer your run, the more effortless it becomes, so use your warm-up and the first round on the track and go all out.

Something runners have in common is the drive to do something and achieve it. Once you have been running for a while, it’s time to set yourself some big goals—sign up for some marathons and races. The deadline on your fitness will mean you are more focused than you have ever been before, and that can be a beautiful thing.

Going Healthy, Going Strong, Health, Lifestyle

Weekend Warrior Sports You Can Pick Up Quickly

10/13/2021 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

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Are you a weekend warrior? Do you often strap on your running shoes when the Saturday morning sunlight hits you in the face in bed? Well, who is to say that you have to only go running? It’s a great thing to do, and it takes guts to get up in the morning when everyone is asleep, to go pound the pavement. And yes it will improve your cardio and your VO2 MAX. But there are other fun ways to spend your time and get a good workout. There is an explosion of businesses that want you to come and try out a new sport because after the long wait, they need as many newcomers to walk through their doors as possible. So we thought we would look around for the best sports that you can pick up easily and do well in for this weekend’s warrior session.

A round of golf

It’s not cheap taking care of the fairgreen. It takes a lot of maintenance for golf clubs and grounds to tend to their courses and this is one of the reasons why going golfing has never been so cheap. You can also learn about beginner golf techniques anywhere. YouTube has a lot of good channels that show you how to do the very basics; such as how to dress for the course, how to hold the club, which clubs to select, what are the best beginner golf balls, etc. Take a look at these, some of them give you great range due to their design but much less spin. The dimple design is one such example, which carries through a lot of the speed and power from the strike of the club. But it doesn’t spin much, so if you want to curve around treelines, you’ll need something with more spin which is more for the advanced golfer.

The Wales Golf Festival is allowing for anyone to come onto the grounds and try the sport out. This is something that is taking place all around the world, especially in golf-rich countries such as the UK, America and France. So if you are a parent who wants their kid to have an opportunity to strike a few balls, get in-person coaching and walk around the lovely grounds, you should go to a golf festival like this.

Swimming is back on

After the recent performance of big swimming nations like the UK, Australia and America, you can bet that swimming is going to be back in a big way. In recent times, swimming baths have had to shut down because of the pandemic. However, a recent new way of swimming or rather new style of swimming is making the news. ‘Wild swimming’ as it is being called by Scandinavian river or lake swimmers, is helping to convince people of a new way to lose weight. Studies suggest that swimming in cold waters helps the body to seriously shed the pounds. Not only are all of your muscles being used but because of the cold, more energy is required to keep your body at the best temperature for performance.

So if you have a cold river or lake nearby, and you know you will be safe, you could try this out for the weekend. It’s best to invest in good equipment first, such as a swimming watch, a strap heart rate monitor and an emergency beacon which you can fit onto your wrist or around your ankle. Have someone to watch you as well, along with a simple tug rope which you can grab and be pulled to safety if you feel tired in the cold water. All of the healthy and safety stuff aside, this looks like it could be great for those who have stubborn fat.

Tennis still going strong

Tennis has been going strong throughout the past few months because of it’s very nature. You’re far from your opponent and the referee is too. So you could have carried on playing tennis without much worry and that is what some tournaments have been doing. The recent US Open drew lots of crowds in person and watching from home because it signified that the sport was still very popular among spectators and the sporting stars were not waiting around for anything.

You can play tennis almost anywhere these days. Most public parks have at least one tennis court and if you can’t find any near you, you can always head to your local sport center where there will be at least a few. Tennis is also relatively cheaper compared to other sports. The rackets don’t cost much, nor do the balls. You just need to have a little bit of cash kept aside for lessons which are reasonably priced but you need a lot of sessions before you can whip the ball around with each. It’s all about how you hold the racket, where to strike the ball, learning different shots and trying to fool your opponent. Not to mention, learning how to serve and get an ace takes a lot of hours to get right.

Street hockey

Perhaps this is a national sport because only the US and Canada play this in local neighborhoods. But it’s still super fun. Street hockey is just like it sounds, it’s hockey that you play on the street instead of the ice. There are a few changes. The puck is now a small ball, something like a lacrosse ball will be fine. And instead of ice skates, you use wheel skates. Aside from that, the rules are pretty much the same. You need to have markings on the road however, something you can do with a piece of chalk and a tape measure.

Kids and adults can play, you just have to be aware of who you are going up against. Adults can be a little rough with each other but don’t try a big hit on the kids of course. The game is much like that you see on television, except, you can’t really smash the ball as hard as you want because someone has to go and get it back. So it calls for a little more finesse which is why you should focus on less power and more precision in your shots. Where to play? A lot of local sports clubs host street hockey in local parks where they book out a tennis court, take down the net and use the box markings. You may also be able to find a local street hockey club that plays near you.

Why be a weekend warrior?

Many people would like to stay in shape but they don’t have time to get up early and workout, or go for a run after work. Which is why, being a weekend warrior is their only option. So the question is, can you stay fit by just working out twice a week? Yes! As long as you diet a little, and you break a sweat on the weekends, you should be able to keep the pounds off. But stay motivated to go, which is why joining a sports club might be the best idea.

If you would like to know more about weekend sports and different ideas to stay fit, you should consider joining a fitness forum, local social media fitness group and search for sports near you. The more you be proactive in finding new and exciting sports to do, the fitter you will stay and being a weekend warrior instead of a weekday warrior, can continue to be enough.