Easy Workout Ideas for the Busy Bees Who Can't Hit the Gym Everyday
You know that maintaining an active lifestyle is one of the major top priorities in life. By taking care of ourselves, we stand a chance of being the kind of individual we strive to be at home with our loved ones, on the job, and in the community. However, it doesn’t mean that this is easy.
No doubt, work, in particular, will get in the way of working out. In fact, you will realize soon that there is a huge paradox going on and it becomes more obvious when more exciting and challenging a job becomes.
On one hand, you struggle to find the time to do exercise. On the other, you cannot avoid exercising as it is integral to become successful. Or you can have your very own home garage gym and keep fit without requiring too much time.
How To Become Fit Despite Having A Demanding Schedule
Working Out Efficiently
You need to select a workout which can be done almost anywhere, irrespective of whether you are traveling or coming home late from the office. So, ideally, this will be a kind of exercise which will not need a huge amount of preparation. Plus it can help in accomplishing major physical gains in a matter of short period. Some of the best choices are Tabata training, high-intensity interval training, running, and bodyweight exercises.
Exercise During Commercials
Can’t miss the big popular games and favorite TV shows? Rather than sitting on the couch with your favorite snack food, you can mix up a delicious blend of healthy veggie and fruit juices and do various exercises during commercials.
Try to use the dumbbells, bands or body weight and choose a fast exercise circuit. During the commercials, performvarious exercises and reps as much as you can. You can use dumbbells, bands or even your body weight for the fast exercise circuit.
During every commercial, you can perform various exercises and reps as much as you like. From a 30-min sitcom, you get up to 9-10 minutes of exercising time.
Catering To Your Dislikes and Likes
Many people hate running, and that is fine. It is important that you become realistic and know what you like or dislike. One person’s running is another person’s weight training, yoga or dance. It is important to flex your self-discipline muscles with regard to exercising.
But you need to make it easier by selecting a form of exercise which is apt for your lifestyle, taste, and personality. If you are not sure what you like to do, then don’t be sad. You must not be afraid to experiment with many types of exercises until you get what works the best for you.
Night Exercise
If you are a working mother, then a full day of work, making dinner, and running back of the kids can make you exhausted. However, you need to fight the urge to hunker down. Try to select a workout which helps you to unwind.
You can workout on a treadmill, dumbbells, a body weight circuit or bands. Now if you have a hard time settling down especially from the night time workouts, then you can do something calming like stretching or yoga. Even better, you can use the burst of the energy by spending time with your partner, which is what you need.
Taking Competition As Motivation
To becoming successful in work, collaboration is an essential aspect. However, when you are trying to motivate yourself by exercising on a regular basis (that too with enough intensity which matters a lot), competition has its own merits.
Nowadays it is possible to find competition matching your skill level in any sport or field. So, whether you are a beginner, elite or somewhere in between, there is always something for all of us. Go ahead sign up, set the goal and find out what it can do to you. If the odds are good then it can be the push that you need to keep yourself in the game.
Create A Schedule And Commit To It
One of the major reasons for why people skip a workout is either being busy at work or picking up the kid from school. It involves dealing with the given situation. At times, you can cancel the internal meeting, take some work home with you, so that you can hit the gym.
Basically, it is all about prioritizing. The truth is that you have to get out of the office at the time when it is necessary. Try to make a schedule (even you can write it down if it helps) and stick to it. Remind yourself that working out is a top priority worth keeping.
Tracking The Levels Of Activity
There is an old saying “If you don’t measure it, it doesn’t exist”. Yes! It is a slight exaggeration, but it holds some truth to it, especially when it is related to exercising. Make sure to keep a note on the calendar every time when you work out. You can add the workout session at the end of each week, month and year. This helps you to monitor your progress and find out areas to improve.
It is better if you measure your activity levels as it can help you to remain on track and realize when you are going to slip just before you completely lose the habit.
Selecting Something Over Nothing
Frankly, you don’t need an hour or even thirty minutes to do an effective and complete workout. Doing some exercise is virtually much better than none. Heck, even a ten minutes can create a difference. You can easily catch some few free minutes in your daily life. So, with an efficient program which can frequently be done, speedy and short workouts can do wonders for both the mind as well as the body.
Winding Up
Try to squeeze in the schedule to workout wherever you are and no matter how much time you have with regard to bodyweight exercises. Also, you can use theassistance of apps which prescribes the best exercises to be done at your desk.
Author Bio :
Cathy is a fitness expert atgaragegymplanner.com. She writes regularly on topics revolving around exercise and diet and helps educate readers on the best ways to improve their health and looks naturally.
What: Mother’s Day Walk
When: May 8, 2016 at 11 a.m. (Sign in at 9:30 a.m.)
Where: Streetsville Memorial Park, Mississauga
Why: To fund breast cancer research at Sunnybrook Hospital that impacts local patients
How to register: www.mothersdaywalk.ca or call 1-800-567-8767
Why You Need To Keep Track Of Your Fitness Goals'
April is about the time of the year when we find out whether we have managed to make fitness a habit or not. We're now nearly four months into the year and four months since we resolved to do more exercise.
The challenge now is keeping up all the good work. We're just getting to the stage where training is starting to feel enjoyable. It's no longer a painful pursuit we feel that we have to do to stay healthy. It's something that gives us a sense of freedom and self-esteem.
It's about this time in our training, however, that we start to plateau. We get stuck in a rut, doing the same safe exercises over and over again. We don't challenge ourselves like we did before, and our fitness levels stop going up.
That's why it's so important to start tracking your progress. Using trackers fr om sites like fitnesstracker24.com make the process easier. One of the benefits of tracking is that it quantifies your progress for you. You get to see exactly what it is you're doing from week to week and what you need to do to improve.
Suppose, for example, you have a regular running route that goes for about four miles. A tracker will tell you exactly how far you have run and in what time. Of course, you could do that just using a watch and working out how far the route is on a map. But that means that you end up running the same route every day.
Fitness trackers are a great way of building variety into your routine. There's no need to take the same route every day to compare your performance. With GPS tracking, you can go pretty much wherever you want and still get a comparable score at the end of it. The flexibility of fitness trackers is their greatest strength. If you are somebody who regularly hits the gym, you can use fitness trackers to keep a track of the weights that you are lifting. The goal should be to increase the weight you can lift by about 5 percent every week or so if you're just getting started out. Trackers can record and store what you've lifted without you having to carry around a notepad and pencil around the gym.
But perhaps the biggest appeal of fitness trackers is the fact that they always give you a goal to strive for. Without all the helpful readouts and data, it's hard to know whether we are making progress. In some sports, like weightlifting, conditions change every week. The type of exercise may change, the number of sets might vary and so on. Just look at the sheer number of regimes you can try out at bodybuilding.com.
Trackers change all this and allow you to compare what you're doing today with your past performance. It's a remarkable tool. And it all comes down to the fact that trackers keep you accountable. They let you know when you're not making progress and prompt you to do something about it.
Having a rigid routine for training can be difficult for some of us and impossible for others. If your daily schedule changes regularly, you still want to be able to get fit. This means you’ll need a great activity, sport or exercise regime to do at any point in the day you can spare an hour.
With this in mind, here are a handful of fitness and exercise ideas suited to each different time slot in the day.
Morning… go running
Going for a run very early in the morning sets you up for the day, because cardio gets your heart pumping! The roads and streets will be quieter; if you live near main roads, you’ll find crossing much quicker. After all, which runners like jogging on the spot for five minutes because they can’t cross a busy road? If you’re running in a hot country or area, going early morning also means lower temperatures.
Public swimming baths tend to be at their quietest at this time of day. This is because most people are at the office, and the kids are still at school. The quieter the pool, the more space you will have to swim in and less you’ll be distracted by others. Check in advance if your local pool holds swimming classes for kids or the elderly, for example, so you can avoid these times too. A great idea is to head to the pool one hour before an in-water exercise programme begins. That way you could do an hour of laps, followed by an hour of water aerobics or something even more sporty, like water polo! That way you get two lots of exercise from only one trip. Avoid midday to 1 pm if you want to miss those exercising on their lunch break.
Late Afternoon…take a class
In the time between the lunchtime rush and the early evening rush, things quieten down a bit. That is why now is a great time to take a class. Lower participant numbers will make for more free equipment and space. Plus, the less in the class, they more attention you’ll receive from the instructor. They may even be willing to tailor the class more to you and your fellow participants. Remember that the gym isn’t the only place to take classes. You could watch a video tutorial on your TV, or head to your local church hall or school if they hold classes there. When it comes to picking a type of class, consider what your body needs the most. Check out http://physicalculturestudy.com/2016/02/23/5-things-you-should-be-doing-for-your-body/. This article touches upon the value of exercise for your body, amongst other things.
Evening…. Head to the gym
While gyms can get busy in the evenings, having lots of other people around might act as good motivation for you. It may also be the case that your gym runs the most classes at night, and/or has the most personal trainers around. In the winter, going at this time also means you don’t have to be training in the dark outdoors.
If you are busy juggling family life with a full-time job, you’ll know just how tough fitting fitness into your routine can be. No matter how busy you are, you shouldn’t use this as an excuse not to exercise. After all, running is perfect exercise for any time of the day. So why not start running once the kids are in bed at night? You may be put off slightly by running in the dark, but you can guarantee a peaceful run. There’s be no busy traffic or crowds to get in your way!
Want to know how to run safely at night? Here are our five top tips.
Run a Familiar Route
Stick to a route you are familiar with to cut down your chances of getting lost. Not only will getting lost increase your mileage, but it could also be tricky finding your way back in the dark. Running in an area you know well also means you’ll know where there are street lights. If you jog in a well-lit area, you will be able to see exactly what is happening in your surroundings, helping you to feel safe.
Run with a Buddy
Ladies, listen up! Pair up with your friend or partner and go out pounding the streets together. This is a great way to stay motivated throughout your run, and you will also feel safer in numbers. If you do not know anyone who enjoys running as much as you, see if there are any local running clubs in your area. As well as helping you with your running, you’ll be able to meet new people and make more social connections!
Stay Bright
It is important that you can clearly see traffic and pedestrians in your vicinity, but they also need to see you. So brighten up your clothes! Wear colourful running gear and, if possible, wear high-vis materials. Your local sports shop will sell fluorescent arm bands, which are a great investment. Running headlamps are also readily available. Not sure which one to go with? Check out what personal trainer Andrew Rockwell thinks.
Don’t Run With Music
I know we often go on about how great music is for your workouts. However, when running at night, it’s a good idea to leave your iPod at home. This will help increase your awareness. You’ll sooner notice if anyone suspect is following you or if there is something else occurring near you that you need to be aware of.
Bring a Cellphone and ID
Always take a cellphone and ID with you if you are running after dark. The cellphone will help you contact a friend or relative if you have an accident. If things take a turn for the worse, the emergency services may need to contact someone on your behalf. They will be able to get important information using your ID. Don’t forget to charge your cell fully before you head out!
Running in the night is a fantastic way to squeeze fitness into your packed schedule. It’s important to put your safety first!
Your track record at the gym might be second to none. But how is your gym style? If you look great during your workout, you’ll feel much more confident in yourself. It’ll also give you an extra reason to head out for a workout and show off your new clothes! After all, the gym usually turns into a parade of everyone showing off their ripped muscles and tight abs, so why not turn it into a catwalk too?! Want to know how to look the part in the gym? Here is what you need.
We have all worn protective sleeves at one point to support muscle weaknesses and protect injuries. You can buy them in a range of different styles and colors. Pick one that lets your personality shine right through! Wear a copper knee sleeve as well as one on your arm for maximum impact.
Eyecatching shoes
As well as being super fashionable, your shoes need to be the correct style for your workout. If you are jogging outside, on a sports track, or even just on a treadmill, you need shoes that support your weight. If you test your gait, you’ll know which style of running shoes are best for you. If your feet and legs aren’t exposed to as much impact through your choice of activity, you can opt for a lightweight sports shoe. To find your ideal pair, speak to a physician who can suggest what to go for.
Headbands
If you think headbands were left behind in the 80s, you’re very much mistaken! Lots of gym-goers wear headbands to hold their hair back. Don’t get annoyed by strands of hair falling in front of your face as you’re trying to lift weights or reach your new personal best on the exercise bike. Keep your hair slicked back under a headband. It’ll also save it from getting sweaty!
This one is mainly for all you guys who prefer an outdoor workout. If temperatures dip slightly, you need to keep yourself wrapped up warm. Exercising out in the cold can cause extra strain on your muscles. If you don’t wrap them up warm, you will be increasing your risk of injuring yourself. So always check the weather before you head outside. If it looks a bit chilly, pull on a long sleeve sweatshirt and leggings.
Sports Bra
Ladies, you need effective support for your chest otherwise, you could be giving your fellow gym members an eyeful! In all serious, though, wearing a well-fitted sports bra will correctly support your breasts and reduce aches and pains. You won't do any serious damage if you do not wear a sports bra, but you will be saving yourself from a lot of discomforts! Visit your local sports shop to get one correctly fitted. Bras come in all different styles and colors, so you’ll have no trouble finding one you like. Now you know how to look the part, there’s nothing stopping you smashing all your gym records!
It’s undoubtedly a lot easier to get fit if you work a manual labour job. For example, you might be walking lots, or lifting items, or operating heavy machinery. Having a basic level of fitness makes getting very fit easier. This is because your body is already partly use to exercise.
However, it can be a very different story for people who spend more of their lives sat down or working in an office. We spend a huge proportion of our lives at work. Also, working full-time can be very tiring. This may mean that when you do leave work, you don’t have the energy to exercise. Instead, you just find yourself sitting down in front of the TV! This vicious cycle will get you nowhere.
If you do work in an office, one item that you should be sure to invest in is a pedometer. Although this seems like a very basic fitness product, it is actually fantastic for motivation. Nice and small, you can attach it to your trouser band or belt. At the beginning of the day, set yourself an aim. For example; “I will take 2,000 steps today.” Keep checking up on the pedometer throughout the day to remind yourself of the challenge and keep moving! As time progresses, you can increase the number of steps. If you always have your phone on you, you can even get an app that does the same job. As if you needed another excuse to go and make a fresh cup of coffee in the staff kitchen!
If you want to work on your arms specifically, use a Gyro ball. This small plastic ball sits in the palm of your hand. You can use it while you’re writing with the other hand, or even on the phone to clients or colleagues. Simply shake your hand being the ball inside moving. Some have timers to help you keep track of how long you’ve used it for.
If you want to properly invest in fitness products that will do some of the work for you, consider a muscle stimulator. You attach the pads that come with the device to the specific muscles you wish to improve, like your abs or biceps. These nifty little devices have lots of different settings, and while they can be quite expensive, they can make a huge difference.
There are some other more basic tips you should be sure to follow every day. Firstly, think about getting to work in the mornings. Would it be possible to walk, run or even cycle? This way you’d get daily exercise before it was 9am! If you must drive, park further away from the entrance than you would usually. It might seem like a tiny change, but it can stack up. Similarly, if you use public transport, get off a stop earlier than usual and walk the rest of the way.
Once you arrive at work, you should of course always take the stairs instead of the lift. Also, during the day, take regular breaks to stretch. This will keep your body limber and stop you from seizing up.
Thanks to hectic work schedules, we can’t always make it to the gym to workout. The good news is that hitting the gym isn’t the only way that you can build muscle. If you’ve got the right tools, you can do so just as effectively at home. Invest in these tools and you’ll no longer need to fork out for your gym pass.
Dumbbells may be a little pricey, but the sheer amount of exercises you can do with them makes them more than worth the cost. The best dumbbells to opt for are hexagonal shaped ones that are coated in rubber - these are the easiest and most comfortable to work with. Plus, thanks to the rubber coating, you’ll be less likely to develop blisters. Buy at least three sets of dumbbells, each in a different weight class, so that you can perform a range of exercises with them.
You might have heard that you don’t need dumbbells and kettlebells as you can do most exercises with one of the other. However, there are some exercises that you specifically need kettlebells for. So they’re a worthwhile investment to make. The best kettlebells to get are the ones that have smooth handles and are unpainted, as these are the safest and easiest to work with. For working out what the best muscle-building exercises are to do, have a browse on http://www.bodybuilding.com.
Foam roller
Foam rollers are something that anyone who works out should have; they have so many benefits. From aiding muscle growth to helping to prevent injuries, there are just so many things they can be used for. While a foam roller can’t be used to build muscle alone, what it’s great for is helping with your workout recovery time. Because it can speed up your recovery time, foam rollers help you to build your muscles more quickly, and so, are a useful tool to have. For a range of foam rollers check out https://www.masterofmuscle.com and have a browse.
Pull up bar
Obviously, pull up bars are amazing for building your upper body strength, but that’s not all they’re good for. If you install a pull-up bar in your home, there are various exercises that you can do with them to help build muscle. The best place to put a pull-up bar is in a doorway or archway - somewhere where the walls are strong. There are plenty of examples online of how you can use pull-up bars to build muscle without doing pull-ups, so make sure to have a look.
Medicine ball
One of the best tools for core strengthening exercises, a medicine ball, is a must have if you want to build muscle at home. Whether you’re throwing it or carrying it, a medicine ball has so many uses when it comes to muscle building. For the best medicine ball exercises, visit http://greatist.com/. (It’s best to opt for a soft medicine ball so that it’s easier to use and throw).
So there you have it, all the best tools for building muscle at home.
The future of women’s running has arrived with the new adidas PureBOOST X
adidashas teamed up with female athletes from around the world to deliver PureBOOST X, a running shoe created for women, by women.
Based on years of testing and research with women everywhere, adidas has created a sleek, form-fitting running shoe built to meet the relentless energy of their active lifestyle. While most running shoes are adaptations of male shoes, PureBOOST X ($130) was designed with only the female athlete in mind resulting in a high performance meets high fashion running shoe for women.
The petite, adaptive silhouette of PureBOOST X wraps the foot in style and rests it on a full length bed of thousands of energy infused BOOST™ foam capsules. The BOOST midsole provides energy in every step that will make running the best part of keeping fit.
“The most common feedback we received during our years of working with female athletes was the desire for a running shoe with looks to keep up with the energy of its performance,” said Jennifer Thomas, Senior Director for Global Brands, Running. “PureBOOST X is a product of innovation and style working in perfect harmony to meet the demands of today’s versatile female athlete.”
The adidas PureBOOST X in action
PureBOOST X features a new floating arch that provides a completely fresh look and feel. The adaptive stretch mesh of the floating arch wraps underneath the midfoot to make the foot look smaller while delivering a supportive sensation you can feel through every run.
The stretch mesh upper, floating arch and lock down lacing system provides a personalized fit that hugs the foot from heel to toe. The stretch web outsole is designed to allow for flex at any point enabling the foot to maintain its natural motion.
From lacing up through cooling down or making a statement with style, PureBOOST X feels exhilarating and looks amazing the moment you put it on.
adidas PureBOOST X retails for $130 CAD and will be available on adidas.ca and in stores from February 3.
Bouncing Back After an Injury at the Gym
There’s nothing much fun about suffering an injury at the gym. It’s natural that you’ll want to bounce back as quickly as possible.
Stop When the Pain Starts
As soon as you start to feel an abnormal pain in a particular part of your body, you should stop exercising. The old cliche of working out is is that there’s no gain without pain. But that kind of attitude is not at all helpful when it comes to keeping your body in good shape. In fact, it can cause you a lot of damage. You need to get to know your body over time. Sometimes, you will feel the burn, and it usually won’t be an injury. If you keep at it, you will learn when your body is hurt and when it is just tired. These small differences are very important to recognise.
Put Ice on the Injury and Rest
The next thing to do is to get ice on the area of your body that hurts. Do this as quickly as you possibly can because it might help to limit the size of the problem. It helps by reducing the level of inflammation and swelling that often occurs after an injury in the gym. Never begin your treatment with a heat pack; ice should always be what you start with. Get your hands on some ice packs and then use them as much as you can. This will at least keep your injury under control until you can get advice from a medical expert.
Follow All Medical Advice You Receive
If the initial rest and the ice haven’t fixed your problem for you, you will need to seek some medical attention. This will allow you to get to the bottom of the issue if you’re not sure what’s wrong. Most people who work out a lot know their bodies inside out. So, if you’re not sure what’s going on, it’s a sign that something needs to be done. When you get the advice from a doctor, make sure you listen to it. Don’t be tempted to think that you know better than the doctor because you probably don’t. If they tell you to not do any physical activity for a couple of months, you need to do that, however frustrating it might be.
Prevent the Injury Recurring When You Go Back to Normal
When you are finally coming to the end of your recovery, you will need to think about how you can return. This is one of the most important stages of the process, and it definitely should not be rushed. If you rush, the injury will recur, and you will be left on the sidelines for even longer, and that’s not what you want, is it? Make sure you get the all-clear from your doctor before you hit the gym again. And then make sure that you warm up very carefully and don’t overdo it to begin with. Ease yourself back into your old routine over a period of a couple of months. This is the most sensible approach to take.
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