Ten Tips for Improving Fitness
Change always comes bearing gifts. ~Price Pritchett
Well, in this case, only if the items of this list become apart of your lifestyle.
Here are ten tips that help me improve my fitness.
1. Eat smaller meals; six meals, instead of three big meals.
2. Concentrate on carbs
3. Quality activity
4. Reduce sugary foods
5. Stop drinking pop/soda/coke
6. Find a workout buddy
7. Write down what you eat
8. Plan your workout schedule
9. Don’t overtrain
10. Be patient
1. Eat smaller meals; six meals instead of three big meals.
Your body can quickly digest small meals. Avoid over eating! Big meals slow you down and leave you feeling lazy, sleepy, etc
2. Concentrate on carbs
Remember, not all carbs are bad. See my article on ‘3 Reasons Why you should eat carbs‘ for more on this.
3. Quality activity
This may not be possible for some of you. Aim for three to five days of quality exercise every week. Get creative, get outdoors, don’t settle for just going to the gym.
4. Reduce sugary foods
We all know which foods these are. Remember, you can enjoy a snack, just don’t treat yourself everyday. I find that a reward system works best for me. Pick one day out of the week to eat what you want!
5. Stop drinking pop (soda, coke)
Depending on where your from, we all have different names for it. Try replacing coke with water. This will make a huge impact on your waist line. These kinds of soft drink will slow you down, and add on the weight.
6. Find a workout buddy
A workout partner is necessary for many reasons. This topic could be a post in itself. I find that I’m likely to remain consistent with a partner rather than alone. A workout partner could offer motivation and ensure safely.
7. Write down what you eat
Keep a little note pad with you throughout your day. Review a record of the food you consume daily. This will shock many of us. Keeping a food log will help you to become aware of the junk food you forgot you ate earlier. You can always review these records to determine the foods that should be added or removed from your daily intake.
8. Plan your workout schedule
Remember that old saying, “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” I heard this statement often as a child. Take it one week at a time, plan your workout schedule and stick to it. People often schedule events and activities they plan on completing or remaining committed to.
9. Don’t overtrain
It is better to under train instead of over train. Preventing injury is always a must! Never use the same muscle group in consecutive days. Always allow muscles to recover.
10. Be patient
Growth and development never occur over night. Fight the temptation of doing to much. Build discipline , remain consistent and enjoy your workouts.
0 comments
I recently came across this website
http://www.mypyramid.gov
which is quite amazing at making customized food chart for you.
http://unlearnnow.wordpress.com/
cool, thanks for the link.
Great info. Thanks for posting.
hey Hannah
Your up early, well I’m off to the Tulsa county convention! It should be a blast! Maybe I might post about it! Thanks for your comments.
What should the 6 meals as opposed to 3 meals look like?
[...] recently did a post on my ‘Ten Tips for Improving Fitness.‘ I want to know what you might add to this list? Maybe you have or had great results from a [...]
Courtney, thanks for the question. It really depends on the goals of the individual. Well, since these are 6 instead of 3. They would be smaller meals with a balance of protein (meats, tuna, egg whites, yogurt, etc) and complex carbs (beans, bake potato, oatmeal, brown rice, etc). Also, eating six meals in place of 3 will help to speed up your metabolism. Of course don’t forget about your snacks, which could be made up of fruits and veggies. Another tip, instead of eating a big meal in one sitting, for example, when eating out. Split the meal in two. Save the rest for later. Hope this helps,
Miguel
Thanks for the heads up on that. I’ve heard that alot of people in Asian countries tend to have more meals per deal, just smaller portions. I tend to eat all day long, mostly fruits and veggies and never really eat a whole lot at one sitting…even lunch or dinner. I was just wondering what it should look like as opposed to what I do. Thanks!
Courtney, no problem! Please feel free to offer any fresh ideas or feedback whenever you like. Same here, i tend to eat small meals throughout the day. Thanks for your comment!
Hey Miguel,
Congrats on losing all that weight with interval training (I changed my name from jlyoung to Jay, just in case you were wondering how I knew that)! I wanted to give another tip…write down your goals! When people write down their goals and leave little motivational reminders in places they will see daily, this tends to keep them on track.
Hey Jay
Thanks! Your right now about writing down your goals. It provides you with records to review or to monitor progress. I find it encouraging when I look upon my goals to be reminded of the discipline or healthy habits I’ve formed.
Thanks for commenting Jay!
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