Studies have shown that regular exercise is a significant factor in living a long and healthy life. According to study performed at Harvard University, people that exercise daily have several benefits opposed to those that do not. Some of these benefits are improves sleep, prevents weight gain and reduces the risk of falling among older adults. Although to some this may seem like common knowledge, sometimes it may be difficult to know where to start and how to continually exercising every day. The following tips will help you as you begin and continue exercising daily.
1. Commit to your exercise plan
Starting any activity or goal is easy, finishing that activity or goal is the difficult part. Before you begin exercising make sure that your exercise goals are realistic. Choose activities that are enjoyable to you and schedule out a week of activities. In this schedule indicate which activities you will perform on which days and stick to it.
The more that you exercise and build muscle the easier exercising will become. However starting and stopping every few months or even weeks doesn’t provide the sustained growth that exercising everyday does. So when you make your exercise goals and plans make sure that it is a plan that you can commit to.
2. Start Slow and Gradually Increase your Level of Activity
When beginning exercising decide where you are at with your physical fitness and begin slowly and increase your activity as your level of fitness increases. Avoid generalized workouts because they are designed to work for as many people as possible. What works for someone else might not work for someone you.
Don’t get stuck in a rut continue to progress and make the exercises challenging. As your body grows in strength and endurance activities that were once challenging will no longer be as challenging. An important part of exercising is challenging your body to achieve more each time. This is how sustained muscle growth is achieved.
3. Save Stretching For Last
Think of your body as a rubber band that has been placed in a freezer. When you take that rubber band out of the freezer and try to stretch it, the rubber band breaks. The same thing applies to our muscles and bodies. They take time to warm up, that is why it is important to stretch throughout your exercising.
Many people believe that they should stretch before they perform an activity. However recent studies have proven this to be incorrect. “It has been a long time since anyone has recommended extensive stretching before exercise, because it has been known for a while now that the best time to stretch is after,” said Richard Cotton, the national director of certification at the American College of Sports Medicine.
If you decide to go on a walk or run wait to stretch your muscles until after you have finished. This time gives your muscles a chance to loosen up a little bit and will make your stretching more beneficial for your overall mobility. Stretching can be a great tool to help with overall mobility but only when done right and at the right time.
4. Don’t Exercise With a Friend…
Having someone that is interested in your exercise goals can help you to be motivated to accomplish those goals. Even if you don’t have a desire to exercise with someone you should explain your exercise goals to family members and friends so they can help you with the process. Having someone to help motivate and encourage is a good way of having exercise success.
Another aspect of exercising with a friend is the social aspect of exercising. Sometimes it’s just good to have someone to talk to when you wake up for that early morning walk, jog or weight training session.
5. Don’t Exercise Painfully
The old saying of ‘no pain, no gain’ should not be considered when exercising. Reasons vary for why people want to exercise but for the most part it is to become healthy. Stop anytime during exercise when you feel pain. The last thing that you want to do is to hurt yourself and not be able to perform daily tasks or to continue exercising daily.
6. Hydrate
One of the best ways to overcome illness or recover from an injury is to hydrate; the same thing applies when exercising. When you exercise you lose water through perspiration that water needs to be replenished.
According to Webmd.com, you should be drinking six or eight 8-ounce glasses of water every day (48-64 ounces) and 8 ounces for every 15 minutes exercised.
To help you stay hydrated check out the Hydra-Paks found at Stander.com
7. Don’t get discouraged
Anytime that people start a new routine in their lives they will be faced with days where they don’t want to continue the routine. This especially applies when beginning a new exercise routine. The important thing to remember is to continue to push through the times of discouragement. Having help from family members and friends to help motivate you is a good way of overcoming this discouragement.