Posts Tagged ‘gym motivation’

The Joys of Walking and Losing Weight

October 20th, 2010

There are numerous people wanting to lose excess weight, the problem is losing weight entails time, effort, and most likely, money to get positive results. With a busy schedule which most people have, and with a tight budget as poor economy affects almost everyone, losing weight seems to be an impossibility. But not when you start walking.

It may sound simple (and it really is) but the joys one gets out of regular walking will amaze you.

Walking can help in:

  • Lowering your blood pressure
  • Lowering your bad cholesterol (LDL or low density lipoprotein)
  • Increasing your good cholesterol (HDL or high density lipoprotein)
  • Reducing the risk of or managing Type 2 Diabetes
  • Improving your mood
  • Helping you stay strong and fit

(*_*)

Walking and Weight Loss

Walking is something most of us commonly perform on a daily basis. The problem is, in our busy schedules and high-tech lives we don’t get enough of it. So if you truly want to lose weight then let walking be your fitness motivation. You don’t need to shell out any money nor do you need to learn a new exercise routine. All you have to do is do what you are already doing on a daily basis – but do it a little bit more often.

Here’s how:

  • Walking to school, work, or to shops instead of taking your car.
  • If you really need your car, park in a far corner so you would still have to walk a good number of steps to reach your destination. (Just make sure the place is well lighted and safe of course!)
  • At work, use the stairs instead of the elevator.
  • Get off the bus a few blocks away from your home and walk the rest of the way.
  • When you get a call on your mobile phone, stand up and walk while talking.
  • Lunch break is a good time to get a bit of an exercise, walk for 30 minutes and eat for another 30.

These small steps may sound simple but you will surely get surprising and quick results in no time. Enjoy walking and keep those extra inches off!

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Steps You Should Take to Keep Motivation to Exercise Going

October 14th, 2010

Every dieter’s big nightmare is to exercise. Especially if one has been accustomed to a sedentary lifestyle, suddenly starting an exercise routine is a taunting venture. When this task has been done and started with, another nightmare begins – how does one keep motivated to exercise? Starting the process is one thing, but keeping at it is another. A story even more interesting but probably more difficult to experience.

Here are a few steps you should take to keep your motivation up!

  1. Change your outlook – thinking like an athlete will help you achieve your goals. It may sound hard to do but it isn’t as big of a leap as you would think. Just think of it this way, everybody has a busy life – so stop making your busy life an excuse not to exercise. Make exercise as a way to be an example to others – be it your kids, your friends, or your family. Look at your odd hour workouts as blessings rather than sacrifices. It is all a matter of outlook.
  2. Set a realistic goal – whatever goal it is you have, make sure it is attainable. Be specific and know exactly what you want to gain, like wearing that black dress to a reunion at the end of the month or being fit enough to run a 5K marathon in 3 months time. Write it down, look at it daily, and get inspiration from your goal/s.
  3. Follow a schedule – take out your calendar, create and follow a daily exercise schedule. Look at your free time, either before everybody else wakes up or when everybody has taken a nap or sleep. Don’t compromise. Anything that comes up during your 1hour daily exercise time, should take a back seat.
  4. Change it up, mix things up – variety is an important factor in keeping your motivation to exercise going. Look into exercise routines and activities that you enjoy doing. Whether your exercise includes running, look into a change in scenery once in a while; or a sport you may want to incorporate in your exercise routine; or doing various types of dance classes to liven things up.
  5. Partner up – look into having someone to go on the journey with you. A jogging or a dance partner – someone to nudge your shoulder when you feel like slacking. Look into your friends, family, or even co-workers to help you in your journey.

Take these steps into consideration and make that exercise journey as fun, easy, and rewarding as it can be!

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Why Doing The Exercise You Want is Important

October 1st, 2010

A lot of people fail at diets and exercise. While truthfully, a lot of people triumph at them too. What separates the none losers from the BIGGEST LOSERS?! There are a lot of factors that contribute to your weight loss success — determination, hard work, knowledge, will, support, and motivation to name just a few. Motivation is where most people fail. No amount of determination, hard work, knowledge, will, and support will be enough to reach your weight goal if you do not have the right motivation to eat right and to exercise… especially to exercise.

Exercise is a type of physical activity that is planned, structured, and repetitive, done for the purpose of conditioning parts of the body.   It is done for the following purposes: to improve health, maintain fitness, and as a form of physical rehabilitation. There are three main types of exercise depending on the general effect they bring to the body — flexibility exercises (ex. stretching), aerobic exercises (ex. aerobics), and anaerobic exercises (ex. heavy weight lifting). There are on the other hand a lot of physical exercises you can choose from such as cycling, dancing, rowing, yoga, walking, calisthenics, and various sports.

Among these exercises, choosing the one you like most will bring you most success in losing weight. You don’t have to do more than one, pick the one you enjoy the most and stick to it. If you enjoy running, then run. If you enjoy dancing, then dance. If meditation is your calling, then do yoga. If you’re good at sports, practice it. Doing what you love to do is the secret to lasting exercise motivation. If you want to lose weight effectively and correctly, then stick to what you love to do.

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Motivation To Exercise – 3 Reasons Why Exercising Outdoors Is Still Better

September 2nd, 2010

There are so many exercise programs and gym packages out there that it gets you confused on which one you should choose. When you have chosen the program and gym package that fit you best, will you really use it?  Probably not to its full coverage. Have you ever considered going green and see if this gives you more motivation to exercise? Exercise in the great outdoors instead of using the new age of technology has a lot of benefits that might make you want to consider this O-nature-al way of losing weight. Here are 3 reasons why exercising outdoors is still better.

Clean Air and Vitamin D.

Not only do you get fresh air and much needed Vitamin D, but you get them for free! Going outside, enjoying the environment, getting natural sunshine and getting exposed to the different elements of nature has proven to be beneficial to human beings of all ages. Clean air clears out lungs, helps us think better, and makes us live longer. Vitamin D on the other hand is good for joint and bone health. It wards off diseases like arthritis, osteoporosis, and joint pains. Aside from these, researches show that just by going outdoors, there is a higher likelihood for people to be less irritable and be happier in life.

More Calories are Burned.

Yes you read right, you burn more calories when you do your workout outdoors than when you do it inside an enclosed space. Why? Earth or grass has more variations and walking or running in them requires more effort, giving your legs more of a workout than when using paved floors. Aside from the terrain, environmental factors such as wind and heat/cold, require more muscles to be used while working out therefore helping burn more calories.

It Will Never Lose Its Appeal.

Going to the gym and using its various equipment is good too. Nothing wrong with that. It tends to lose its appeal after a while though. Using the same machines and doing the same routine might lessen your motivation to exercise. Well, the great outdoors will forever be interesting. You can take up as many outdoor sports as you want, do yoga, use park benches and even park exercise equipment, learn Tai Chi, and even gardening is a good outdoor exercise. Running and walking outdoors are always effective and proven beneficial to our health. You’ll have so many free activities you can choose from in the outdoors.

If you feel like your motivation to exercise is dwindling, look no further for help. All you need to do is to step outside of your home, take in the fresh air and absorb the sunshine, walk a few blocks, and enjoy the scenery – these will do you more good than you probably have thought. Go green!

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Fitness Motivation – A Trainer’s Guide to Being Fit

August 27th, 2010

Wouldn’t you want to have a personal trainer to guide you in your exercise activities? Wouldn’t it be totally cool if someone showed up at your doorsteps offering to train you to be healthy for free? Wouldn’t a life/health coach make your diet and weight loss efforts become a lot easier? The answer to all of these questions is YES! Yes, yes, yes. It would be lovely to have a trainer but it is not necessary. Read this article and learn simple ways on how professional trainers help their clients gain better fitness motivation, and in effect remain fit for a lifetime.

HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

The first and most important information trainers tell their clients is to live a healthy lifestyle. Proper diet and regular exercise are really the basic factors that will keep you physically fit. Take time to go to the gym or at least do some exercise at home or in between school or work. Filter your food and take out all the unhealthy stuff you are putting in your body. You don’t need all that fat, salt, and cholesterol!

TIME FOR FUN

Staying fit doesn’t only mean having the proportional weight for your height. Your life shouldn’t just be about healthy food and regular exercise. Take time to enjoy yourself. Once in a while, go out and change your daily routine. Have a jog with your spouse, play bowling with friends, go to the salon with your mom – do stuff you like without compromising eating healthy. This will let you enjoy your life more and will even give you a revitalized fitness motivation.

STRESS AWAY

Find ways to relieve yourself from daily stress. Learn to relax and take control because stress and staying fit are closely linked. When not treated or handled right away, stress can cause various body-mind disorders. These disorders maybe anything from dizzy spells, migraines, sleeplessness, and muscle cramps – to more serious effects such as ulcers and digestive disorders, immune related disorders, and cardiovascular ailments. In relieving yourself from stress, think of two ways you can do it: either you change the situation (avoid or alter the stressor) or change your reaction (adapt to the stressor or accept the stressor). Whichever option you choose, put in mind that you are trying to keep yourself fit. No amount of exercise or eating good food will be enough to keep you fit if you stress yourself out.

People from all walks of life dream of having personal trainers to help them with their struggles in weight loss and fitness motivation. Well, you don’t have to have one to get yourself fit and fabulous! Follow this guide, keep a healthy lifestyle, have some fun, and manage stress in your life, and you’re sure to be fit and fab.

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