Posts Tagged ‘exercise’

When a walk turns into a run…

Walking

Now the sun has popped his hat on and is ready to come out to play in the beautiful spring weather there are no more excuses for keeping your running shoes tucked away safely in the back of your wardrobe.

Walking could be classed as the easiest form of exercise you could ever want to do – all you need are your shoes and a street and away you go for as long as you want!

You can walk on a flat surface or you can pick a mountain and climb up it – walk on your own, with family, friends, loved ones, pets.  Do it with whoever, whenever, for as long as you want!

Start slow…

However, don’t start out at a pounding rate.  Instead start slow and work your way up to a more vigorous pace.  You might not feel the benefits after the first walk but after you’ve built your walk up to a steady, brisk pace you should start to enjoy watching the pounds slide off your hips.

Don’t forget, no matter what exercise you start to do you should always consult a doctor first – get the nod you need from the doctor to make sure you aren’t going to collapse as soon as you step out onto the street!

Running

So walking is great, but you want to take it to the next level?  Running is the next obvious step up the chain…you’re finding yourself in your training shoes and you’re walking the streets around your area but you aren’t getting anything?  Run!

Again you don’t have to do it on your own – go it alone, go with some mates or again take your dog.  You can run whenever you want.  If you find that you have a free hour then go out for a jog.  You have a whole day off?  Go for a run…

Running has its benefits!

Running is great for fitness for two main reasons – the first is that running uses more energy faster than if you were walking.  They say it takes about the same amount of energy to run a mile or walk a mile, but if you can run a mile in 7 minutes then you’ll be burning off that energy a lot faster than if you were walking.

Secondly walking for some people may not be enough to raise their heartbeat to the needed level for exercise to take effect.  Your heart rate should be in the 60-80 per cent range which is the optimal training zone – if it isn’t then running is definitely the answer!

The thing to keep in mind is that you shouldn’t be doing anything too strenuous – if you feel like you’re going to die running then cut back a little and jog or walk.  You don’t want to kill yourself getting fit…

Running or walking?

What do you prefer to do with your free exercise time?  Are you a runner or a walking freak?  Let us know…

Happiness is only a few steps away…

What does it take to be happy?  That’s a question for the ages…if we all knew that answer to that then there would be no war, hunger, poverty and general upsets around the world…however, I can tell you what will make you happier!

It doesn’t involve spending all your time and money on a fad new Zen body trip…if you follow a few simple steps you will find that you will start to feel happier by doing very little!  But will you do it?  That’s another big question…don’t be negative about it, follow a few of these steps right now to make yourself feel a little happier about the day…

Activity

The more activities you do the more you will be boosting your energy levels.  There is always an opportunity to boost your energy levels so don’t take any excuse you can think of – if you’re working on your computer take 10 seconds out to do some star jumps, if you’re on the phone walk around, don’t just sit there looking glum…

Walk

Walking is one of the most relaxing things you could do but it has also been proven that sunlight actually stimulates brain chemicals that boost your mood.  Go out and get some sun on your face and you will feel better!

Free Yourself

If you’ve been haunted by that note on the fridge reminding you to cancel your magazine subscription then get going and cancel it – don’t let it fester away in your mind as “the task you need to do”.  Get it done and move on – you’ll feel lighter and happier by putting it in the past!

Tidy Up

If you’re sitting in mess then your brain will also feel cluttered.  Clear up your desk, how long will it take…5 minutes?  10?  Just do it and you’ll feel as though you’ve been freed from a prison of paper and clutter.  You’ll be surprised how refreshed you will feel afterwards.

Fake It!

This might sound as though it would make you feel worse but you should actually fake feeling good because after a while you will trick yourself into believing that you do actually feel good.  Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean that you’re stupid and you can easily trick yourself…it has been scientifically proven that a fake smile can actually boost your mood.  Give it a try, it won’t cost you anything…

Educate Yourself

Spend 15 minutes searching the Internet about a topic that you have no clue about – pop to a bookstore and buy a book about something that you have never even heard of.  Teach yourself something new and you’ll find that you will be feeding your mind and making yourself happier in the process.  Don’t go crazy and go straight for the astro-physics – pick something that you think will interest you!

What about you?

How do you make yourself happier?  Do you agree with our methods?  Have you given them a go?  Leave us a comment and let us know what you think…

Spring exercise tips…

It’s pretty tough trying to motivate yourself to get fit when the snow is coming down fast and thick.  But now the excuses have to go straight out the window because Spring is going to give you the chance to get out there and allow you to start on the path to a healthy and fit lifestyle.

Take your time – Don’t go all out on the weekend and destroy your body and then do nothing through the week.  You won’t be doing your body any favours but instead you’ll be doing yourself an injury, quickly.

Instead of storming away the hours in the gym over the weekend and then doing nothing through the week you should be aiming to do around 3 or 4 days a week on alternate days to make sure that your body will cope with the dramatic change from couch potato.

Keep your eye on your exertion – It is important to keep your eyes on the intensity levels of your work out wherever possible.  Start small and build it up over time rather than heading in to a harsh workout that you won’t want to do a day or two down the line.

Don’t rush – It’s definitely a good idea to increase your training over time, but you’ll do damage if you increase your training to rapidly.  Build it up, but do it slowly.

If you build up your training by more than 10 per cent each week then you’ll seriously be increasing your risk of injury so remember to increase your training slowly.

Regain your fitness – After a lazy winter it could take you up to 6 weeks to regain your fitness from Autumn.  Don’t rush it but instead start slow because your body just won’t be up for it.

If you feel that you have to do some “all-out” training then you must allow at least 48 hours between sessions to allow your body to regain its strength.

Training programme – You need to organise a training programme if you want to regain a previous level of fitness and you need to be able to stick to it.  It’s a good way of knowing exactly what your doing and will also be a good motivation tool.

Give yourself a chance – Don’t expect your fitness levels to be at the same level that they were before you decided to take the Winter off.  It’s going to take time to build it back up and you have to have a little faith a will power to make it happen.

Don’t worry about time because there are plenty of months to come of nice weather where you’ll be able to enjoy the outdoors – if you could run for an hour before the Winter then work back up to that standard…if you just rush into it you’ll do yourself an injury.

What about you?

Have you found our advice helpful?  Have you got some advice of your own?  Leave a comment and let us know what you think…