Learning how to stick to a routine fitness regime, let alone improve it isn’t always easy. Exercise is an important part of staying healthy but sometimes even with all your best intentions, you lose steam along the way.
Whether you have lost motivation to continue even moderate exercise or you need to find ways to increase your activity level, there are realistic solutions available. It’s all about figuring out the plan that works for you. With your personality, available time, and hobbies, here are some practical strategies you may not have considered.
Just Stand Up
You probably already walk a lot and take the stairs at every opportunity but there is a hidden factor in play. When you sit, your body goes into neutral gear. Your blood stops flowing, your muscles and connective tissues start to sleep, and your metabolism gets slower. This is your body’s way of compensating for no energy output. Standing instead of sitting while you watch half an hour of your favourite crime series is enough to start.
Stand everywhere you can. On public transport, don’t opt to sit down. If you have the option to stand while you work, do it. Just for reference, the body will burn 100 and 200 calories every hour that you are standing. When you sit your body will only burn a maximum of 130 calories in the same length of time. This doesn’t mean you have to stand for hours on end. Just a few extra minutes each day is enough to get your blood and muscles pumping as they should.
Con Your Brain
The power of suggestion is an amazing strategy to get your brain to do certain things. Just by suggesting that there may a reward for your actions, your brain is far more likely to agree. If the brain tells the body that something is working, your body will believe it. Everyone knows the placebo effect, and this is a similar strategy. Use small mindful actions to trick your brain into performing. One effective way is to buy some home gym equipment. No one likes to waste money. You can motivate yourself to exercise just by having the treadmill or kettle balls staring at you all day.
Another way is to only dress up in sports clothing. Tell your brain from the very beginning that you are going to work out. Just be sure that you have comfortable clothes so that you are motivated to continue wearing them. For example, the oversized collection from The Gym King has some really awesome styles of cool and airy Gym King tracksuits that can be worn around the house. You can find various colours of any other sporting clothing including shoes, hoodies, and sweatshirts. The Gym King has a range of sporting outfits to suit any person and any fitness regime.
Shop Less Often, But for Longer
Most people buy their groceries weekly because it can help to plan better and healthier meals and fruits and vegetables won’t go off as often. Where this has its benefits, you are missing out on a major workout routine. Try to shop every two weeks instead. You will be doing a lot more extra cardio than if you just popped into the shop for a few items. Take your time to shop around but do it with some intensity. The point is not to dawdle, but to extend your walking time as much as possible.
You will need to buy more items, which means you will be carrying extra bags that act as weights. If performed correctly you can work out your core, legs, arms, back and work on strengthening your muscles. When you get home from the shop, take two or three trips to the car and back instead of trying to carry everything at once. You will get your muscle training and aerobic exercise all in one.
Small Wins Make Big Achievements
Just as people who have never gone to the gym battle to get into a rhythm, avid fitness buffs also hit plateaus that make them want to give up. What makes them stand out from the rest and continue to succeed is dedication. It doesn’t have to be compulsory to always give your workout 100%. Sometimes it is perfectly normal to take it easy and only exercise at half the intensity. In some instances, this is even healthier than performing rigorous strength and aerobic exercises day in and day out.
Embrace and congratulate yourself every time you show up to the gym or perform a two-minute plank. If you let up too much it becomes very easy to fall into the couch potato mode.
Many of these ideas are so simple that they won’t take any time out of your day, nor will they feel like a workout. These strategies are all about shifting your perception to make your fitness regime work for you and your lifestyle.