Getting fit is not just about getting healthy. If you set yourself good fitness goals and plan a fitness program that appeals to you, getting fit can be fun and enjoyable, as well as good for you. This article will give you a few handy tips to send you on your way to a fitter, happier lifestyle.
You can replace high-performance sports drinks with plain water unless your fitness program involves strenuous exertions lasting more than an hour. The chief selling point – and cost justification – for engineered sports drinks is electrolyte replacement. The plain fact is, until your workouts break the one-hour mark, you are simply not going to be sweating long enough to lose the trace minerals that sports drinks replace.
While traveling stick to your normal exercise routine. If you usually workout in the morning, noon or evening try to exercise at this same time when not at home. Maintain your normal routine and you will have an easier time adjusting to any time changes and the stress associated with travel.
To develop great looking abdominal muscles make sure that, in addition to isolated ab work, you include heavy free weight compound exercises in your training. Basic old-school lifts like squats and dead-lifts are great exercises to build your abdominal muscles because during these lifts your abs are forced to contract in order to maintain proper posture.
When lifting weights, it is imperative to know your limits. A little difficulty is good, but if you’re physically straining yourself, you should attempt a lower weight. Although you may be tempted to keep lifting more, remember that results will come eventually, and if you injure yourself you will only be hindering your progress.
A good fitness tip to help increase endurance and muscle when you are cycling is to try and keep your pace somewhere between 80 and 110 rpms. This will allow you to ride further without getting tired and it is much easier on your joints. You also have the benefit of riding for longer periods of time.
To get your body fully prepared for a demanding workout, you should change your warm up with age. For example, older muscles are prone to more stiffness and as a result take longer to stretch and warm up. Young, fit muscles can be adequately stretched with a hold of 30 seconds while a longer hold is necessary to break in older, stiffer muscles.
Work out regularly rather than having one intense work-out session. By working out regularly, you will burn more calories and develop your body faster while avoiding the fatigue caused by an intense session. You should also slowly increase the amount of time you spend working out on a regular basis.
Tips like these are just the beginning of your fitness journey. Incorporate the ones that feel appropriate and reasonable, and do not worry about fitness ideas that do not seem to work for you. There is a lot more fitness information out there. More than enough for you to build an enjoyable, easy fitness program for yourself.