When you think about the word ‘health’, what comes to your mind? Does it conjure images of a slim man drinking green smoothies or an overweight woman struggling in her workout session? Well, both these aspects are correct and we will be explaining why. But before that, you need to understand why fitness is so important in a healthy life style. In order to live a productive and healthy life, we need to practice a balanced and wholesome lifestyle.
Achieving this requires maintaining physical and mental balance by incorporating various practices like meditation, yoga, reading books, listening to music and exercising regularly through different activities like swimming and playing sports. There are many ways you can incorporate fitness into your life: from simple actions like taking the stairs instead of the elevator or walking instead of driving whenever possible; to more demanding solutions such as hiring a personal trainer or joining a gym. This will not only make you active but also helps in eliminating and avoiding illness like metabolic syndrome, fatty liver disease, heart problems, and many more.
Since it is not easy for everyone to find time for such activities after work or school hours, here are some general tips on how you can add more physical activity into your routine regardless of your schedule or circumstances.
Make Fitness a Priority
If you want to make fitness a priority you need to make it a priority. It’s as simple as that. Many of us want to make changes in our lives but don’t know where to start. And fitness is one of the most common goals people have. If you want to make fitness a priority, commit to it just like you would any other important goal you have in your life.
Make sure you find the right time to work out so it doesn’t interfere with other obligations in your life. Set goals for yourself in terms of frequency of workouts, length of workouts and types of workouts you want to incorporate in your fitness routine.
Make Your Commute an Opportunity to Be Active
If you do not have time or access to a gym, make the most out of your daily commute. You can use this time to walk, run or cycle to and from work. This will increase your heart rate and help you lose weight, stay fit and healthy. You may feel uncomfortable at first, especially if you are not used to being physically active during your commute, but with time and practice you will experience positive changes in your health and mood.
If you have a long commute, try to break it up by walking or running part of the way and taking public transportation or riding a bike the rest of the way. If your commute is short and you are walking to work, try to increase your walk to get more out of it. If you can, try to fit in some small exercises while walking such as walking fast, lifting your knees up higher than normal, taking bigger steps, etc.
Set small, manageable fitness goals
Setting smaller fitness goals is a great way to stay motivated and make sure you don’t get overwhelmed by the big picture. An easy way to do that is to create a fitness plan with small and achievable goals. For example, if you want to lose weight, you may want to start with committing to do 30 minutes of exercise every other day.
Once you achieve that, you can add more time or challenge yourself with a more intense workout. Another great way to set small fitness goals is to make use of wearable fitness devices that help you track your progress in real time. With these devices, you can set goals like burning a certain amount of calories each week and see how close you are to reaching them with each session.
Commit to a Weekly Exercise Routine
If you are new to fitness or don’t know where to start, an easy way to get started is to commit to a weekly exercise routine. There are many different types of exercises, both aerobic and weight lifting related, you can choose from and many gyms and fitness clubs provide free trial memberships so you can try out different types of exercises to see what fits you the best. Also go for comfortable workout clothes instead of formal dresses as it may hinder to achieve your daily goal.
When you commit to a weekly exercise routine, you will see positive changes in your life in less than a month. Exercising regularly not only helps you maintain a healthy weight, but it also reduces stress, improves your mood and makes you more productive in your day to day tasks.
Start with the exercises you enjoy
You will be more likely to stay committed to your exercise routine if you enjoy what you are doing. So when you are choosing the type of exercises you want to do, choose those that you enjoy the most. For example, if you enjoy swimming you can swim laps for your cardio exercises. Or if you prefer yoga as your stretching exercise, you can do yoga poses in places where it’s easy for you to do so.
If you want to lose weight, start with exercises that involve both your upper and lower body. Exercises like lifting weights, running or cycling are great for burning calories, especially if you increase their intensity from time to time.
Look for ways to increase your physical activity in daily life
Try to look for ways to increase your physical activity in daily life. You can easily incorporate fitness into your life by:
-Standing instead of sitting whenever possible
-Carrying your groceries instead of using a shopping cart
-Walking or hiking outdoors instead of driving
-Taking regular breaks at work -Skipping the elevator and taking the stairs
-Taking frequent breaks from sitting at work or home
-Doing housework or gardening with more effort and intensity
-Going for walks with family members or friends
Exercise wherever and whenever you can
You can exercise wherever and whenever you can. All you need is some free time and a bit of creativity. You can make full use of your break times at work or even at home to do some exercises. You can take advantage of your lunch break to walk in a nearby park or go for a stroll in a nearby neighborhood. You can use your break times at work or home to do some sit-ups or push-ups. You can also do yoga poses or stretches while watching TV or listening to music.
You can make the most of your free time on holidays and weekends by hiking, walking or going for sports or dance classes with friends. You can even use the time spent commuting to work or school to exercise by taking walks, doing yoga poses or listening to audio books or music. You can also use your waiting time at appointments to do some exercise, for example, doing push-ups when you are waiting for a doctor’s appointment.
Bottom line
Not only does fitness reduce your risk of certain diseases but it also improves your quality of life as it gives you more energy and improves your sleep patterns. Fitness is important for everyone, regardless of their age or gender.
Being physically active is the best way to stay healthy and fit as it burns fats and reduces your risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart attacks and strokes. Regular physical activity can help you manage your weight, reduce anxiety, improve