by Ernestine Clagge
Imagine what the world would be like if no one exercised. Never mind, you can already see it when you walk down nearly any city street. Our society is faced with an epidemic of obesity, and people need to become more in tune with their own health and fitness.
We all know that exercise is essential to living a healthy lifestyle. It’s the best way to lose body fat, because exercise boosts the metabolism and encourages the body to burn excess calories. Physical exercise revs up your heart and gets your lungs pumping at their maximum capacity. You’ll have healthier bones when you exercise, and you’ll look good and feel great about yourself. Exercise gives you increased stamina, making it easier for you to keep up with life’s busy pace.
The unfortunate reality is that, although nearly everyone is aware of the many benefits of fitness, many women ignore the facts and choose to do nothing. It’s too easy to press the snooze button, take the elevator or drive to work. In our society of convenience, people are suffering with a lack of health and fitness.
The following tips can be helpful in reaching and maintaining your ideal body weight. The specific issues that women face, like a higher susceptibility to osteoporosis, make health and fitness of particular interest to them. To maintain optimum health and keep your body strong, it is recommended that at least two of these tips be incorporated into all women’s health and fitness routines:
1. You don’t have to be Superwoman. Don’t fret if you feel as though you’re not doing enough. Women often have the innate feeling that they’re letting someone down. Don’t worry if you’re not able to spend ten hours a week at the gym or go for a run every morning. All that really matters is that you can commit to improving your health and fitness, and stick to a program. Professionals advise working out three to five times a week in 20-60 minute sessions, but our busy schedules don’t always allow this. You can easily become frustrated if you can’t meet someone else’s ideal. Working out twice a week at twenty minutes per session will put you on the right track.
2. Focus on your successes. Concentrate on how good you feel about your new health and fitness regime. If weight loss is part of your plan, and you’re struggling to meet your goal, don’t beat yourself up about it. Focus on what you’ve done to this point, and use today as a new starting point. You’ve made a commitment to yourself, and that is your biggest success.
3. Put weights before cardio. Many women begin their health and fitness routines with cardio exercises, and then follow it up with weight lifting. The disadvantage is that you may be missing out on a critical component of the routine, because you’re spending all of your time with cardio. If this is a regular occurrence, the outcome can be disappointing despite countless hours at the gym. Reverse the order and perform weight training first. You’ll likely see a more positive visible outcome.
4. Don’t overdo it. The average women’s health and fitness regime requires a workout of no more than an hour at a time. Spending too much time at the gym or doing the same exercises over extended periods can become tedious and boring. By focusing on the exercises and narrowing your time frame, your workout sessions will be more fun and more efficient.
5. Keep an eye on your heart rate. Women should work out at 75-85% of their maximum heart rate. When your heart rate is too low, it’s a sign that you’re not working to your full potential. Too high a rate, on the other hand, shows that you’re pushing yourself to a potentially dangerous level. Sticking with a happy medium of 50% or so will not help you to realize your fitness goals. Keep a heart rate monitor on hand or do a manual count incrementally during your workout to ensure that you’re reaching, but not exceeding, your ideal target heart rate.
6. Get support. It’s important to be involved in some sort of fitness social support web. If you are currently in a regime with no fitness community, you may find that your workouts are lacking or not that successful. A social support can bring a greater sense of camaraderie, kinship and even healthy competition. If you normally workout alone at home, try visiting a gym for a sample workout, or joining a yoga, Pilates or sailing class. Running clubs and golf courses are other ways to keep in shape and meet new people.
7. Be self-supportive. It’s tough to take on a new health and fitness routine. You need to have commitment and discipline, and you need to be prepared to work hard. Give yourself a pep talk. Don’t pressure yourself too much. You deserve a pat on the back, so go ahead and give yourself one. Others give you great feedback, so why not you?
Women’s health and fitness has become a bigger issue than ever before. Fast food and sedentary lifestyles are robbing women of their good health and stripping them of their self-esteem. It’s up to you to make the change to a healthier lifestyle. Go at your own pace, and you’ll be amazed at how far you can go.
About the Author
Ernestine Clagge loves writing for a variety of Internet sites, on health news and health fitness subjects.
