Are you one of millions planning to get fitter, stronger, and live a healthier lifestyle this year? As the weather begins to change, many of us are plotting a course back to physical and mental fitness through exercise and smarter choices. Perhaps you want to lose some weight to ensure you’re in great shape for an upcoming vacation. You may have a target weight in mind or want to improve your fitness, aiming to run a 5k within the next three months. There are many reasons people plan to live healthier, but it’s important to know there are no shortcuts.
If you watch football, tennis, and combat sports on TV or through live streams available on sports betting apps, you’ll see some of the fittest and strongest athletes in the world. How do they get in such spectacular shape and remain fit between fixtures? No magic potion or drug makes training easier. Fitness, strength, and health are the result of hard work, dedication, and discipline, finding the time to train even on busy days, and ignoring the excuses not to hit the gym.
How do you get the wheels in motion to achieve your health and well-being goals this year? Reading this article will be a great start. Our resident fitness writer explains some of the tried and tested methods for losing weight, getting fit, living healthier, and sticking with those good habits.
What you need
Ready to dive headfirst into your new lifestyle? Ready to see the results and experience the confidence that comes from fitness? Before we explain the best exercise regime and tricks that help you recover quickly, let’s take a second to set out what you’ll need to begin. Do you require a gym membership, or can you do exercises at home and in the local park that’ll help build muscle? How much sleep do you need each night? We answer those questions and more.
It may come as a surprise to readers, but joining a public gym isn’t essential. You can work out in your garden or another private space. Slipping on your running shoes and doing the miles outdoors is as good as any treadmill. Purchase some free weights and a yoga mat to ensure you can train when the mood takes you. People train in many different ways.
Joining a gym is a matter of personal preference, but it’s not essential, and you can get the same results by training anywhere with makeshift equipment. If you have the money to spare for a monthly gym membership and the confidence needed to walk into your local gym and start training, that’s ideal. But, if, like millions of others, the idea of entering a busy gym and exercising with dozens of others fills you with dread, it shouldn’t put you off training.
Lift weights
Let’s begin with strength training. If you take nothing else away from this article today, please remember the best exercise regime is the one you will stick to during good times and bad. Dedication and commitment are key to losing weight or building muscle. Much of the time, simply turning up and lifting light weights is enough to boost your mood and get your body moving. Don’t think you have to train like Ivan Drago in Rocky IV to get in shape.
Experts in sports science and fitness advise strength training three times per week. That could be lifting weights at the gym using the machines and free weights or creating an outdoor workout using everyday objects you’ll find lying around the house or in your shed. Lifting Monday, Wednesday, and Friday is a great idea as it gives you one day of weight training followed by a day of rest. You can train more, and as you get stronger, you may wish to push your workout a little harder. But in the early days of your fitness journey, two or three days of strength training will be enough to get you moving in the right direction.
The great thing about lifting weights is you’ll see an improvement in your body shape quite quickly, usually much quicker than you’d get with training cardio alone. When starting, you must resist the urge to lift too heavy as you could cause injury and set yourself back almost before you’ve begun. Use light weights while learning and improving your technique before ramping up the size of your dumbbells.
Get plenty of water
- 3.7 liters per day for men (15 cups)
- 2.7 liters per day for women (11 cups)
Don’t neglect cardio
Strength training can be addictive, especially when you start noticing results, but no healthy exercise routine is complete without cardio. Love it or loathe it, cardio is the keystone to a healthy lifestyle, allowing you to enjoy life to the fullest. Whether you want to take on a marathon, have a charity boxing fight, or get fitter so you can play with the grandchildren for longer in summer, cardio will get you there quicker. The great thing about cardio training is that it comes in many different shapes and sizes. Simply get moving to begin.
The cardio required depends on your goals. If you’re looking to lose a little weight and improve your fitness levels slowly, you can start walking, firstly on the days you’re not strength training and then, when you feel fitter, as often as you like. You could also try jogging or sprints for great results. Not a runner? Why not give combat sports like boxing, kickboxing, and mixed martial arts a try? These sports are fantastic for weight loss and muscle gain, but they also teach self-defense, control, balance, and self-confidence.
In addition to walking, running, and combat sports, other great forms of cardio include cycling, swimming, rowing, and jumping rope. Similar to weight training, you can workout at the gym on the treadmill and rowing machine or get the same benefits from running in the park or taking a kayak out on the lake. Try to include as much fun in your fitness plan as possible, and keep changing the routine to ensure you don’t get bored and risk quitting.
Sleep in important
Remember, it’s not all about hard work and sacrifice. Don’t neglect your rest days, and get at least seven hours of uninterrupted sleep a night.
