Tracking your progress is a key part of succeeding with any health or fitness goal. If you fail to track your progress, it makes it difficult to see the impact of each workout in relation to your fitness goals and makes it difficult to know when you've achieved them. By tracking your progress, you get a clear visual representation of how close each workout is bringing you towards your fitness goals, which are your strong points and weak points and exactly how much progress you're making over time. The links below provide you with further information on how to effectively track your progress. … [Read more...]
Archives for April 2013
Fitness Tip Of The Day – Reward Yourself
One common mistake people make when working towards their fitness goals is that they don't stop and acknowledge all the positive steps they've made. Then when they hit a plateau or their progress slows, they focus on their lack of progress instead of looking at all the victories they've had along the way. By rewarding yourself, you not only acknowledge all the positive steps on your fitness journey but you also provide yourself with an additional motivator to reach that next level. The articles below provide you with lots of fitness themed reward ideas that you can use once you achieve … [Read more...]
Fitness Tip Of The Day – Do Some Burpees
As you can see, burpees are a highly versatile cardio exercise that burn 545 calories per hour in a 68kg (150lb adult), build up all the muscles in your body and can be performed without any equipment. To perform a burpee, bend your knees and put your hands on the floor so that they are parallel to your chest and about a shoulder width apart. Then kick your legs out behind you and hold your core muscles tight. Once your core muscles are tight, slowly bend your arms and lower your body down until your nose touches the floor. Then slowly straighten your arms and raise your body back up. Once … [Read more...]
Fitness Tip Of The Day – Snack On Fruits
When most people get hungry between meals, they reach for cakes, chocolates or crisps which are rich in calories and low in nutritional value. However, if you want to lead a fit and healthy lifestyle, fruits are a much better snacking option. They're low in calories, keep you fuller for longer and are packed full of health boosting vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. These nutrients boost your health in countless ways and are an essential part of your diet. Without these nutrients, you not only miss out on all their positive effects but you also put yourself at risk of … [Read more...]
Fitness Tip Of The Day – Go For Healthy Desserts
Many regular desserts contain close to 1,000 calories per serving and can seriously inhibit your weight loss efforts. However, if you're willing to get creative in the kitchen, you can slash the amount of calories in your desserts while also adding lots of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. For example, if you replace regular flour with almond flour, you cut out lots of processed carbs and add plenty of healthy fats to the dessert. If you partly sweeten the dessert with fruits instead of using only sugar, you reduce the total calories in the dessert and increase its nutritional value. The … [Read more...]
Fitness Tip Of The Day – Stretch Daily
Flexibility is an area of fitness that gets neglected by many people. However, improving your flexibility has numerous health benefits and can help you achieve almost any fitness goal. It protects against injury, improves your workout performance, reduces muscular and joint pain and much more. The further reading section below contains a selection of articles that focus on flexibility and provides you with a range of effective stretches along with a full overview of the heath benefits of stretching. So if you want to become more supple and start making stretching part of your fitness regime, … [Read more...]
Fitness Tip Of The Day – Cut Down On Processed Foods
Processed foods (such as crisps, caked and cookies) are loaded with calories and provide you with little to no nutritional value. However, natural foods (such as fresh fish, meat, fruit and vegetables) are lower in calories and packed full of health boosting vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. Cutting back on processed foods and replacing them with natural, nutrient rich foods is an essential part of achieving any health and fitness goal. Eating poor quality foods has a negative impact on your energy levels, your metabolism, your muscles and more and this makes succeeding with common … [Read more...]
Fitness Tip Of The Day – Start Making Smoothies
Smoothies are a surprisingly simple way to fill up on healthy carbohydrates, fibre,vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. They're an excellent choice for breakfast or when you need a healthy snack but you've not got much time to prepare and since they're liquid, you can carry them with you while you're on the move. So if your diet is currently lacking in fruit or you're constantly grabbing unhealthy snacks because you're in a rush, buy a blender and give smoothies a try. The links below provide you with a number of smoothie recipes to get you started along with some other similar healthy … [Read more...]
Fitness Tip Of The Day – Workout With Your Partner
Working out with your partner can benefit your relationship, your health and your fitness. The best part is there are lots of options to choose from when working out together, so no matter what kind of lifestyle you both lead, you'll be able to find some exercises you can both work with. The links below provide you with a range of partner workout suggestions which can help you both achieve a range of fitness goals. So check them out and use the information to put together a workout plan that suits both of your lifestyles. Further Reading: 1) 30 Minute Partner Balance Workout:- A short, … [Read more...]
Fitness Tip Of The Day – Write Down Your Fitness Goals
Failing to write down your fitness goals keeps them general, makes it difficult for you to track your progress and makes it harder for you to achieve them. The simple act of writing them down gets rid of all these barriers, allows you to set yourself specific targets and gives you a visual representation of your progress. So if you're not doing so already, grab a pen and some paper (or even better - download a fitness tracking smartphone app), jot down exactly what you want to achieve, give yourself a time limit and then review your goals regularly. The articles below provide you with some … [Read more...]