1.Don’t throw in the towel if you miss a workout, or a week.
There are two critical times when people fall off the exercise wagon: after a really busy period at work and after a holiday. They skip one workout and then another and then another. Soon they’ve gone a week or two without exercise and they think, “why bother? I’ve lost everything I gained.” But this isn’t true at all. In fact, Duke researchers proved this when they put 183 out-of-shape, overweight men and women at risk of developing heart disease through the paces of an eight-month-long exercise plan. Once they got everyone in shape, they wanted to see what would happen if everyone then blew off their workouts. So they asked all the participants to take two weeks off. They learned that all was not lost. Participants’ triglycerides remained low and their HDL cholesterol remained high.
So recommit yourself to exercise as soon as you can. Cut back on intensity and duration as you ease yourself back into the swing of things.
2. Move in the morning.
It’s the best time to fit in a workout, and here’s why. It makes your workout number one on your to-do list. When you exercise later in the day, dozens of obstacles and excuses are likely to come up. When you roll out of bed and get moving first thing, those excuses don’t have a chance to derail your motivation. There’s also some evidence that a morning workout can undo some of the metabolic damage of whatever fatty, high-sugar foods you might have consumed the night before. Try to going to bed earlier so you can get up earlier. Agree to meet someone at the gym to help ensure you get out of bed rather than hit the snooze button.
3. Don’t ignore exercise.
It’s powerful medicine for your heart and arteries. It strengthens your cardiovascular system, allowing the heart to pump more blood with less effort. It keeps your arteries elastic and flexible, which allows them to expand to accommodate blood flow, which reduces blood pressure. It makes your tissues more sensitive to insulin, which means cells throughout your body more easily absorb and burn blood sugar for energy. It helps lower levels of triglycerides, tiny packages of fat that float around in the bloodstream. Exercise also helps tamp down inflammation and prevents blood clotting, which can lead to stroke, heart attack, and other problems. Finally, exercise creates physiological changes in the brain that lead to an increased sense of well-being, confidence, and an improved mood. And it’s not as hard as you might think.
If you are looking to get into exercise get in touch….we can help.
01775 768500
Everybody’s Team
