Keeping a health kick on track is tricky. These tips should help
There is no shortcut to a healthy state, no magic fruit that lets
you hit your five-a-day target and no single exercise that gives you a
shredded physique in minutes. It takes time and effort to get in shape
and stay in shape. But if you follow these tips you’ll be able to reap
the benefits (for they are legion) with a little less struggle.
1. Prep For Success
The
fast track to a better diet is found by using your weekends wisely. Use
the extra time you have on Saturday and Sunday to make large batches of
healthy meals that you can portion up to cover at least a couple of
midweek lunches and dinners, avoiding the dietary perils of takeaways
and meal deals.
2. Mix Up Your Exercise
Variety is –
cliché alert! – the spice of life, and many sports and activities
support each other in ways you won’t realise until you try it. For
example, strength training for your legs and core will make you a better
runner, while those addicted to dumbbells will find Pilates works muscles they’d never even considered.
3. Adjust Targets On Trackers
If you invest in a fitness tracker,
don’t just sit back and assume that following the preset targets will
lead you to glory. Adjust the steps, active minutes and calorie targets
regularly to build on your progress, or make them more realistic if you
never get close and have started to ignore them. If you don’t engage
with your fitness tech, you’ll quickly discard it.
4. Add In Short Bursts Of Activity
It’s
the oldest quick fitness fix in the book: take the stairs not the
escalator, or get off the bus a stop early and walk. Any activity is
good activity, and will only encourage you to do more. And if you really
want to up the ante, try sprinting up the stairs (safely now) each time
you take them – a recent study found that short bursts of high-intensity stair-climbing can make a significant difference to your cardiorespiratory fitness.
5. Keep Tabs On Your Visceral Fat
You can be skinny on the
outside (at least your arms and legs), but fat on the inside. Visceral
fat is the type that builds up around your organs and often results in a
pot belly. It’s linked with heart disease, several cancers and type 2
diabetes. Check your waist-to-height ratio (WtHR) to see if you’re at
risk. Grab a piece of string and use it to measure your height, then
halve it. If it doesn’t fit around your waist, get exercising – visceral
fat is the first type to go when you start working out.
6. Value Your Rest Days
When
you start on a fitness kick, it’s tempting to exercise every day while
motivation is high. This is a bad move, and one that will see your
enthusiasm burn out within weeks, because you’re always knackered and
won’t see the massive improvements you expect for your Herculean
efforts. Why? You’re not giving your muscles the time they need to
recover and grow.
7. Up The Intensity If You’re Short On Time
Official
NHS guidelines still promote the 150 minutes of moderate activity a
week minimum, but now offer an alternative option of 75 minutes of
vigorous activity a week. That’s running or singles tennis, for example,
rather than cycling or walking, which count as moderate. You can also
mix the two, so 60 minutes of vigorous cardio plus 30 of moderate will
see you home. Bear in mind the guidelines also demand strength exercises
on two or more days a week alongside your aerobic activity.
8. Take Your Niggles Seriously
Nothing
derails a health kick as quickly as injury, and many serious knocks
will start out as mild niggles you think it’s OK to push through. Easing
back for a few days is better than being laid up for a few months. If
you have an urgent desire to hit the gym, target a different part of the
body from the one that’s bothering you.
9. Mix Up Your Fruit And Veg
Eating
at least five portions of fruit and veg a day should be at the
cornerstone of your healthy diet plan. What’s not wise is getting in a
rut and eating the same five every day, because different types of fruit
and veg contain different vitamins and minerals. A good way to vary
your five-a-day is to eat different colours, as the hue is a decent
indication of the nutrients they contain.
10. Don’t Undervalue Your Sleep
There
is tendency for people who sleep very little to brag about it, as if
it’s an indication of their commitment to life. However, getting the
full seven to eight hours is vital to a healthy lifestyle, as it
provides the energy for your exercise and even influences dietary
choices – a 2016 study found that in the day following a night of
limited sleep, people ate an extra 385 calories on average. You don't
snooze, you lose.
11. Increase Your Cadence On Your Runs
If
you are consistently picking up injuries when running, one change it’s
definitely worth trying is to up your rate of strides per minute (your
cadence). If you overstrike, thus taking fewer steps, you put extra
pressure on your knee and hip joints. Try and take more steps, which
means your feet will land more beneath your body, reducing the impact on
your joints.
12. Try Sports Three Times Before Abandoning Them
The
first time you try an exercise it’s very hard, but at least quite
novel. The second time the novelty is gone, and it’s still hard, leading
to the temptation to quit. Try it at least once more, as the third time
is often the charm – when a sport or workout starts to become as
enjoyable as it is tough.
13. Count Reps Backwards
This is
a simple mental trick that might make resistance workouts – weights or
bodyweight – a little easier. Counting down the reps means by the time
it’s really hurting you’re at the 3,2,1 stage, which feels closer to the
end than 8,9,10 or whatever target you’re going for. It won’t work for
everyone, but it’s worth a try.
14. Make Full Use Of Your Street Furniture
Exercising
outdoors is a great way to ensure you get your hit of vitamin D (if
it’s sunny) as well as a good workout, and it doesn’t have to be all
cardio. As well as the exercise machines that litter many parks, you can
nearly always finds a bar or ledge for pull-ups, or a bench or wall to
do dips on. Rarer treats can even include chains to use as ersatz TRX
ropes.
15. Record Your Stats
Nothing builds motivation as
efficiently as seeing signs of improvement, so make sure you keep some
kind of record of your activity. It can be as simple as noting your
record five-rep max or fastest 5K time, using either one of the many
excellent fitness apps available or old-fashioned pen and paper.
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