Your Fitness Routine Should Be Something You Are Excited To Do

By Cameron K. Jordan


You don't need to spend countless hours at the gym to get fit. However, in this article you will find some clever tips that will aid you in your efforts to get fit in a number of ways, not just at the gym.

Walking is a great exercise for increasing fitness. To increase the fitness benefit, take each step with your heel before your toe. This gives your calves more of a workout. Involve your arms too. Bend your elbows, then swing your arms each time you take a step.

Record each thing you do on a daily basis. Include the food you eat, the beverages you drink, the exercise in which you engage -- everything. Even record the day's weather. This can help you reflect on anything that affected your day. If you miss a workout, list the reason why that happened.

To reduce injury risk, make sure you walk properly. Make an effort to remain upright with shoulders held back. Try to keep your arms bent at a 90-degree angle. If your right foot is forward, your left arm should be forward and vice versa. Each step should involve allowing your heel to land on the ground first followed by rolling the rest of your foot forward.

Try counting backwards instead of forwards when you work out. For example, pick the number of repetitions you want to do and start there. You can stay motivated by knowing how many are left so that you won't stop in your efforts.

Lift a higher amount of weight for a lower amount of reps. Focus on one muscle group at a time: start with your chest for instance. Begin with a warm-up set using lighter weights. Do 15-20 reps during this warm-up set. Use heavier weights for your next set: do only 8 reps. Add on another five pounds, then complete a third repetition.

If you aim to build more muscle mass, lift heavier weights using fewer reps. Focus on one muscle group at a time: start with your chest for instance. Make sure you do a set of reps using light weights. Doing 15 to 20 reps of your warm-up weight is ideal. The second set should involve weights for which you are only able to do 6-8 reps. Add five more pounds to the weight and repeat the third set.

As a way to strengthen the muscles in your forearms, try an excellent tip from people who play racquet sports. Put a large sheet of newspaper on the table or another flat surface. The next step is to crumple the paper for half a minute with your dominant hand. Once you have finished doing this, do this exercise once with your off-hand, then switch back to your dominant hand and do two more repetitions.

Before you use any of the equipment at a fitness center, be sure to clean it. Just imagine all of the microscopic organisms that previous users could have left there. Going to a fitness center should make you healthy, not sick.

It's a good idea to alternate some sit-ups into your workout along with your crunches. Sit-ups have gotten a bad rap over the years. Be careful not to anchor your feet when doing any kinds of sit-ups, though. This particular variety of sit-ups can seriously strain your lower back.

If you want to get fit quickly, you need to stick to a daily exercise schedule. Daily exercise keeps you focused so you never let a day go to waste in regard to your physical health. It also means that you will get in a workout routine. To avoid overdoing it and damaging your muscles, alternate lighter exercise with more intense exercise throughout the week.

A great fitness tip for adding some size to your quadriceps is to start doing box squats. Box squats are good at giving you explosive power when doing squats. The only additional equipment required for box squats is a box that you put behind your rear while doing squats. The only difference between box and regular squats is you pause while sitting on the box.

Stretch the targeted muscles in between sets. You need to stretch for 20 or 30 seconds. There has been research about people who have stretched between sets increasing their strength by twenty percent. As an added benefit, stretching decreases the risk of injuries.

Look for local places that offer access to their machines. For example, sometimes companies offer workers free access and time in the gym. There are other places as well. Either way, knowing where the closest gyms are is very good advice when one is looking to get into fitness. You are much more likely to keep your commitment to fitness if you are in close proximity to the gym.

Improve your fitness and you can live a longer and healthier life. Never take your good health for granted. By making use of these tips, you will soon see a real improvement in your level of fitness.




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