If you want a higher quality of life as you age, work on being as fit as possible. Staying in good shape takes commitment, though. With the plethora of contradictory information out there, you might not know what to believe. You can start getting in shape fast if you make use of the suggestions below.
Implement an workout routine that you will have no problem sticking too. If you enjoy your exercise plan, you'll anticipate it with pleasure rather than dread every day.
One tip for keeping with your fitness regimen is to join a fitness club and pay upfront for multiple months. The guilt you will feel by not using the club will hopefully get you to go more often than you normally would. This is only recommendeded if you are having a hard time convincing yourself to go, and should be only used as a last resort.
Counting calories is an excellent way to get fit. If you are aware of what you eat in one day, you will be able to lose weight. When you only use calories at your level of maintenance or lower, and you lose some while you exercise, you will find you are fitter sooner.
Push-ups are great and simple way to add a nice tone to your triceps. Instead of doing normal push-ups, turn your hands at a 45 degree angle. When you do pushups this way, you'll have the triceps targeted and strengthened more effectively.
Muscle Mass
When lifting weights, remember that more repetitions with lighter weights will add more muscle mass than doing fewer reps with heavier weights. Building muscle mass is as much about endurance and stamina as it is about lifting heavy loads. Even big lifters train using this method.
You will want to be sure you aren't spending any longer than an hour to lift weights. On top of that, your muscles start to deteriorate after about an hour of work. For these reasons you want to try to stick to under an hour with strength training.
If you have problems working out often enough, or motivating yourself for exercise, you need to plan out a schedule. You should spread your workouts out over the course of the week, fixing them on specific days, and committing yourself to completing them. If you cannot avoid missing a particular day's workout, reschedule it for another day and approach it with the same level of commitment.
Try to maintain 80 to 100rpm when biking to work. You will be able to ease the strain on your knees while riding faster. To determine your pace, count how often your right leg rises during a ten second interval, and multiply that number by six. If your RPM is too low or high, adjust it.
Running can both be great and damaging to your body over a prolonged amount of time. To reduce any damage, every six weeks you should cut your mileage in half for one week. Running less for this amount of time rejuvenates your body and avoids permanent damage.
Do not follow the popular fitness programs if you think they are not for you. Many exercise forms exist that can give you a great workout with no gym membership required. If you are new to working out, you will want to find an activity that is fun for you, and trying out different activities is important.
Try counting in revers order when doing repetitions. If you know the number of repetitions that you want to complete, count down. You will feel as though the work out was not as long because you break it down. You'll probably find it a lot more motivational to concentrate on how many exercises you have left to do!
As with most things in life, it is best to be knowledgeable about something before you do it. Knowing how to do each exercise and why you're doing it, will help you reach your fitness goals. Apply the advice in this article, and you will be healthier and feel great soon.