Choosing A Fitness Regime

Making positive lifestyle changes is something that most of us aspire to, yet our willpower too often fails us when we need it most. Debate has raged over whether or not regular failure to change our habits is about unrealistic goals or laziness, but new research suggests that it may actually hinge on the amount of willpower we were born with and how we use it. To achieve a fit and healthy body, merely knowing what to eat is not the ultimate goal. The combination of both diet and exercise are inter- related when it comes to having a fit body. If you are doing vigorous physical exercise then you have to eat carbohydrates as the body requires more food and nutrients which a person would normally eat. For example, if you are an athlete and play sports such as basketball, tennis, cycling, etc. you would have to eat more to get that energy to perform well as calories burn faster. Carbohydrates produce blood sugar in the body, known as glucose and are stored in the muscles as glycogen. Glycogen is an energy giver in the body. Therefore, for sports person, glycogen helps a person to get energy, without it a person can feel exhausted and tire out very fast. For quick exercises, carbohydrate is a must and fat is a source of energy for the body during long endurance exercises like cycling or taking part in a marathon. If there are not sufficient fat deposits in the body, then it uses the proteins stored in the muscles and that is harmful as the muscles get weak and damaged. To have a healthy body, minerals and vitamins too are necessary as it provides calcium in the bones and iron to help oxygen run through the body Irrespective of which ever fitness regime you follow, you must know what nutrition is required for that specific fitness program.

Three to six hours before exercising, eat a full meal. The meal should have sufficient carbohydrates to give the body energy to perform the exercises. Drink plenty of water before, after and during the exercise program as sweating causes dehydration and water compensates the body fluid which is lost during the exercise. If you exercise too much or too little, that is bad for the body. Depending on the amount of fitness workout your body can take, follow that type of fitness regime. If you have had a hard day’s work, then you can do short jogs and balance your meals as that makes up for half of your fitness regime. Ensure that your body is well nourished by not skipping meals in between, keep it hydrated at all times with fluids and water. If you follow this rule, then you body will stay in perfect shape even if you exercise vigorously everyday.

Level Of Fitness / Medical History:

How to start off your exercise program is the most important aspect. The structure of the program depends on your level of fitness and how far you can go. Once you are certain how you have to start, then you can achieve your goals and your destination and ascertain whether it is weight loss that you want, or energy for the body or a get a healthy body. Create a realistic time line that you can follow and break your goals down into small steps so that you can tick off your achievements as you go. But before you go ahead, you have to find out what your level of cardio endurance is, if you can undertake strength training, how flexible you are, if you are able to exercise regularly and what sort of equipments you have at hand. Another important factor before you undertake a fitness regime is to consider if you have had any medical history. If you are starting a fitness program, it is important to know what your medical condition is, and accordingly plan an appropriate fitness and exercise program to meet those ends. The first thing to do is have a medical check-up to see if there are any unforeseen problems. If you do have a medical problem, then you will have to refrain yourself from doing certain exercises. After that is seen to, then take up a fitness regime and follow a diet plan and follow it at a steady pace. Follow the basic rules for fitness by doing warm ups before each session, cool down after each session, don’t go overboard with the exercise, do it within your limits, develop an exercise and fitness lifestyle and make diet control a part of your program.