1. Fitness Without the Gym
You will improve your fitness, burn calories and fat, and tone muscle by building cardiovascular endurance. Running, brisk walking and bicycling are effective outdoor activities. Utilize steep hills and scenic trails to keep your heart pumping and your mind occupied.
When the weather is questionable or the sun isn't out, use a jump rope in the garage to get some serious cardio in. Jump ropes are often associated with kids and boxers, but everyone can benefit from the jumping motion. It engages your core, arm and leg muscles and gives your heart, lungs and circulatory system a workout.
You can strength-train using things around the house. HealthStyle.com suggests using chairs to do dips and focus on your triceps. Stick your feet under the sofa when you're doing sit-ups; grab onto the feet of your bed while lying on your back to help with leg lifts; hold a full laundry basket out in front of you while you do squats; or lift full water bottles above your head to tone your shoulder muscles.
2. Make it Fun
One strategy for keeping yourself motivated is finding ways to make fitness fun. BodyBuilding.com recommends being active outside during the summer and making nature part of your workout. Do pull-ups on sturdy tree branches, run outside on trails or swim in lakes.
Find ways to involve your family and friends in your workouts and you'll have more fun. When you turn fitness into a game of tag with your kids, a jog with your dogor a bike ride with a friend you will be having fun and not focusing as much on your tired muscles or lack of energy.
3. Routine and Reward
If you are new to a workout schedule, it may be hard to keep up with it in the first couple of weeks. It's a challenge to get back to the gym or run outside when your muscles are sore from the previous day's workout. When you hold yourself accountable for your own health and fitness, you can create a routine you will stick to.
Recommends finding the right environment, type of exercise and time to work out, which is different for everyone. For you, it may be getting involved in structured workouts like aerobics classes. The group setting and scheduled times of these sorts of classes allow you to stick to a schedule and get motivation from the instructors and other participants. When you have someone working out right next to you, you may find that you're pushing yourself to compete and use more weight or do more steps than the person next to you.
Devote time every day to be active, and schedule long workouts--45 to 90 minutes per session--four or five days a week. You can find time every day to enjoy a quick walk or find a set of stairs to climb, but it takes more than this to get in shape. On your longer days, make a commitment to target one to three muscle groups with strength-training exercises and get some cardiovascular exercises in as well. Keep a daily log of your activities so you can see how far you've come. This will motivate you to stay with your routine to see even more results.
Set goals for weight loss, body-composition percentages or energy levels, and reward yourself each time to achieve one of your goals.
From: ehow.com
