5 Ways A Workout Buddy Serves Your Fitness Goals

It is a well established fact that fitness is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. We hear this all the time from the exerpts, and those of us who enegage in regular physical activity know how much better we feel and perform in your everyday lives.

However, finding the proper motivation for working out regularly can be extremely hard. If you’re struggling with this particular issue, then you might want to consider finding someone to be by your side during every training session. Even if you have the proper motivation and work out regularly, you may see some benefits from getting a workout buddy as well.

Having someone next to your while working out will most likely make it a friendly competition, which will help you stay focused on each exercise and will make it easier for your to tap into every bit of energy you have. Ideally, the workout body will also motivate you whenever you’re not in the mood for exercising.

However, before you start convincing the first person that comes into your mind to become your workout partner, you will need to examine a few things. The first reason why you’ll have to be picky is because you will need someone who can keep up with you (or who you can keep up with). 

You’ll also have to know that your workout buddy will be reliable and won’t miss a workout just because he or she doesn’t feel like it. However, once you find the right workout partner, you will see how easier it will be to reach your fitness goals.

Here are the five most notable ways a workout buddy will impact your fitness goals.

You’ll Push Yourself To The Limits

A study conducted by the Kansas State University in 2012 found that people who were working out with someone exercised for up to 200% longer and harder than people who worked out by themselves. This is mostly because we are all naturally competitive, so it’s always interesting to see who handles a certain exercise better.

If your workout body is fitter than you, then you will push yourself even harder, as your goal will constantly be to surpass them in physical strength and endurance.

Workouts Will Start Being Really Fun

Hitting the gym or going for a jog are not the only ways you can exercise with your workout buddy, as one-on-one sports are great as well. Playing tennis, squash, or basketball are all great ways to work out without it feeling like a workout.

But, even if you are stuck in a repetitive cycle of running and weightlifting, you will still have someone you can talk to all the time, which will surely make exercising more fun.

You’ll Start Trying Out Different Workout Routines

Don’t expect your workout buddy to have the same interests as you when it comes to workout routines. When you’re both doing your research, you will stumble upon different exercises, and that is definitely a good thing.

Doing one same old workout routine all the time will make you lose motivation, which is why you will always need to spice up your training sessions every once in a while.

You’ll Stop Quitting

We’ve all been there; working out for a month and then taking a year-long break. But knowing that someone you enjoy spending time with will be working out with you will make you look forward to every training session. Because of this, you will be more motivated to stick with exercising.

You’ll Be Able To Afford A Personal Trainer

If you’ve never exercised before and don’t know how to start, then you will need a personal trainer for some time. But, here’s the thing – they’re really expensive. Nevertheless, if you have someone that is also interested in getting fit and is willing to start working out, then you can split the cost and afford a personal trainer.

 

 

 

A Guide For Women: Finding "Me" Time

They say a woman’s work is never done. A hectic work schedule, combined with trying to balance other areas of your life, may lead to you feeling like you are spinning too many plates in the air at once. 

With kids, family, work, chores, and the many responsibilities that we have to fulfill, there never seems to be enough time to let alone think about, never mind fulfill our own needs or desires.

This can lead to women experiencing depression, anxiety, or just a general feeling that you are worn out. Besides how it affects us personally, being worn out also means that your performance and attentiveness to all you have to do will suffer. Irritation becomes common, as we feel overwhelmed and unable to deal with the stressors of the day.

Everyone is different, and each individual has different ideas about how to find time to for ‘me’. This is a guide to how make some ‘me’ time. The solutions below are not the only ones but may give you some ideas of how to find space and time in your life. 

Utilize The Time You Have

If you have errands to run or appointments to keep but find yourself early or waiting around in your car, make use of the time. For example, read a book or practice meditation. These two activities require a certain amount of tranquility and peace, so why not use your window of opportunity to do this. Of course, you could just listen to some music and relax. 

Alternatively, if you were in a more productive mood you could just catch up on paperwork that you have to do. This is your time; you can do with it what you wish. By carrying out this task now, you are freeing up time at a later date. 

Make A Date With Yourself (And Keep It!)

Once a week, take time to do the things you like to do alone. To do this you need to learn to say no to the people in your life, or learn to delegate your duties to someone else (mainly talking childcare here people!). This will enable you to have some time to relax. 

Go and grab a drink somewhere, get some exercise, or even just disappear to another part of the house. Anything you can think of to do that would enable you to free up space in that busy head of yours. 

Treat Yourself   

This can simply be an extension of the previous where you make a date with yourself. Once a month, go treat yourself, this can be anything you wish, such as shopping, a spa day, a movie, or even just spending time with your friends, catching up on their lives. This is totally your choice. Go and see the great outdoors, spend a day cycling. The point is this is ‘me’ time.   

You would think that these tips on finding ‘me’ time would be obvious. However, this time can often be difficult to find. A 2014 UK study looking at working mothers found 51% of them went weeks without relaxing on their own. 

When further questioned, nearly 75% of the 2000 women felt they lived their whole lives for other people. Some women are lucky enough to have partners and family to rely on to take the strain; others are not so fortunate. However, there are still things you can do to make time in your life. 

Learn to Say No

No, means setting boundaries and limiting what you will or are willing to do in a single day or week. This may mean having to say no to some things, but considering how much your wellness matters, it may be well worth it.

The best tip you all need to know is…

Be Organized  

By planning your day and week you can identify opportunities for ‘me’ time. Making lists and looking at your week would help you to see those times where gaps appear in your schedule. Organization can be the key to doing this. 

The more you practice doing this the more you will learn where you can fit things in. It could be as simple as going for a walk for 20 minutes. 

On that walk, take a look at the world around you. We live in beautiful world, whether it is a flower or a smile on a person’s face. It is all there for us, you just need to be able to see it. 

Now go get yourself some ‘me’ time.

 

 

5 Health Habits You Can't Live Without

Many chronic diseases are caused by lifestyle issues. People tend not to exercise as much as they should, they allow themselves to become overweight, and they eat unhealthy foods that lead to things like diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and strokes. 

The problem with lifestyle issues is that they are difficult to turn around. Many people try to change their lifestyle all at once, which is extremely difficult to accomplish. As a result, they often give up all of their healthy habits and resort to the usual negative health habits that they had been doing before they attempted a healthy lifestyle.  

Sometimes it just takes a few days or a few weeks of trying to live healthy before the individual becomes overwhelmed and stops living healthy. They stop exercising and go back to eating processed foods and junk foods. 

This is why it is better to change your health habits one habit at a time so that you don’t become overwhelmed and stop trying to be healthy altogether.  

Most weight loss programs work if they are done carefully and don’t deprive the individual too much. The same is true of exercise programs. If you choose an exercise that you really enjoy or increase your physical activity more gradually, you can usually stick to the program so that you don’t become discouraged and quit exercising altogether. 

The trick to health living is to begin gradually. Don’t try any trendy diet or fitness fad. If you try these things with gusto, you are likely to respond negatively and you won’t stick with the programs.  

There are a few simple things you can do to live a happier and healthier life. Start with just these 5 changes in health habits:

1.     Try eating one healthy meal a day. Even if you eat processed foods most of the time, if you try to eat just one healthy food each day, you will feed your body with good nutrition and healthy proteins. Healthy meals consist of mainly fruits and vegetables, supplemented with whole grain products, and lean meats. 

It doesn’t matter how much you eat because, if the food is healthy for you, it won’t usually contain a lot of calories and won’t cause weight gain as can be seen when you eat junk foods or highly processed foods. Even so, you should try to watch your portion sizes.

2.     Drink a glass of water before each meal. Water is perhaps the best liquid you can drink. When you decide to drink a glass of water before meals, (an 8-ounce glass is enough), you will feel fuller before eating, and you won’t eat as much at the meal that follows a drink of water. 

3.     Be active during lunch. Even if you are given a half-hour to eat, it usually doesn’t take that long to eat your meals. Try eating your meals and then take some time to exercise. You don’t have to work out excessively but you should be able to take a brisk walk. Not only will this energize you but also it will help burn off the calories you just ate and will aid in the digestive process. 

It really doesn’t matter what type of exercise you do as long as you choose something reasonable that will help you feel better after eating your lunch. Exercising during lunch also helps decrease the stress of your job and will make the rest of your day go easier. 

4.     Try a Meal Replacement Bar. This involves eating a healthy protein bar as a snack instead of junk foods. Most meal replacement bars contain a lot of good nutrition and fiber. They are also not as calorie-rich as you would think. They help stave off hunger pangs that are so typical of the midafternoon time. 

Keep a stash of these protein bars in your desk at work or in your purse or brief case so you can grab one whenever you feel hungry. It will keep you from going to the vending machines and eating poor food choices. Try eating a meal replacement bar that is high in fiber and that has at least 10 to 15 grams of protein per bar. 

5.     Exercise regularly. If you have a gym membership, try going there at least 3-4 times per week. Choose an activity you enjoy and make the most of it for at least a half hour per session. This will help energize you, may build muscle mass, and will help you lose weight by burning off excess calories. 

5 Health Benefits Of Spending Time In The Sun

Being out in the sun has great effects on your mind and body. If you live in an area where there is plenty of sun, it shouldn’t be so hard to get out into the sunshine but, if you live in an area of the world that has many overcast days, you should be able to find at least a few days where you can find some sunshine to bask in. 

Here are five health benefits of spending time in the sun:

1.     Spend time in the sun to get your Vitamin D intake. The major source of vitamin D is being out in the sun. The UV rays of the sun will help build up vitamin D in your body so you won’t have to take a vitamin D supplement. Research has shown that most people don’t have enough vitamin D in their system, which is essential for many bodily functions. Rather than relying on vitamin D supplements, take your vitamin D through a walk in the sun with at least some of your body exposed to the UV rays of the sun. Be careful in really sunny areas as you can be burned by the sun. You should always wear appropriate rating of sunscreen to protect your skin, especially if you have fair skin and burn easily, which will allow for some sun exposure but will help you get enough vitamin D. In general, it is best to spend time in the sun on less heated days and not be in scorching heat.

2.     Spending time in the sun helps you be in nature. There is nothing more relaxing than the scent of grasses, trees, and flowers. If you have the opportunity, you should try to spend time in one of the more natural parts of the world, such as a neighborhood park or other wooded area. You can take in the local wildlife, even if it is just birds and squirrels. Communing with nature helps reduce stress and allows you to function better in your daily life. Even a half hour during your lunchtime spent out in the sun can improve your productivity and can help you have less stress at work.

3.     Spending time in the sun reduces stress. You will likely find that you are less stressed and happier when the day is sunny. You can help increase this stress-reducing phenomenon by spending time outside, soaking up some rays. You can sit on a park bench in the sunshine and meditate a bit or take a walk in a sunny area. You can process your stressors better in the sunshine and will have a lesser chance of being stressed afterward. Try getting out in the sun every day for at least a half an hour. You will immediately experience stress reduction and will find being in the sun to be an enjoyable activity.

4.     Sunlight can reduce cancer risk. While you are at an increased risk of skin cancer if you burn your skin in the sun, sunshine can actually help reduce your risk of developing other cancers, especially if you choose to exercise in the sunshine. Being in the sun, particularly if you live in an area that is at a lower latitude, you will have a decreased risk of getting prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, colon cancer, ovarian cancer, breast cancer, and Hodgkin lymphoma. People who live in higher latitudes have a lesser exposure to the sun so they don’t get as much reduction in cancer risk when compared to those who live in lower latitudes, where the sun is the strongest.

5.     Sunshine can help you sleep better. Being out in the sunshine, especially if you do something relaxing or exercise in the sunshine, you will be more relaxed afterward and will have a better time sleeping later in the day. Just a half hour of sunshine per day has been found to help you get to sleep easier and will help you stay asleep longer. It really doesn’t matter what you do in the sunshine as long as you get out there and get some rays. 

4 Key Steps To Developing A More Positive Mindset

Negativity can discourage us, add to our stress, put strain on our relationship, make us less productive, and reduce our overall happiness. Positivity on the other hand has many benefits across our lives in terms of our health, relationships, and careers. 

But, how do you become more positive? Is it really that simple? 

Here are four key steps to help you to develop a more positive mindset:

1.     Keep a thought journal 

If you have a negative internal dialogue constantly keeping you down, you need to take action to banish these thoughts. If you have difficulty identifying this negativity within your own mine, a simple first action can be keeping a thought journal. Write down a random sample of thoughts you say in your own mind about yourself, events, people around you and other things that happen throughout your day. 

Then analyze these thoughts by reading the journal every night and establishing your thought patterns. 

Do certain events trigger your negative thoughts? Take note of these and the next time you are faced with a similar triggering situation, think more carefully about how you are approaching it.

2.     Banish negative self-talk

After keeping track of your thoughts for a week or two, you will soon notice how consuming your negative thoughts potentially are. The next step is to banish these all together. Next time you go to write down a negative thought in your thought journal, try to rephrase it to that it becomes a neutral statement. 

For example, “Bob forgot to take out the trash again so I had to do it and it ruined my evening” could become “Bob forgot to take out the trash. I did it.” This is a small but effective way to train yourself. 

Don’t just do this exercise on paper in your journal; begin to rephrase your negative thoughts into neutral ones in your mind.

3.     See the positive side

It can be incredibly challenging for many people to jump straight from negative thoughts into positive ones, which is why that neutral-thought stage is so crucial. By banishing negative self-talk, you are now in a great position to genuinely see the positives, in different situations. 

Refer back to your thought journal and particularly examine the negative thoughts you have had. Putting aside all of the things you so obviously dislike about that thing, try to think of at least one positive. 

For example, if you dislike your boss because they speak badly to you, think about the way that you are actually developing more resilience and ‘thicker skin’ by being in that situation, which is a positive result from a bad situation. 

It can be hard to find benefits within challenging circumstances, but there is always a way to see something good. 

As the Dalai Lama once famously said, “See the positive side, the potential, and make an effort.” Sometimes a lot of effort might be required, but it’s worth it!

4.     Keep a gratitude journal

A gratitude journal is an incredible way to take stock of all of the wonderful things around you. Every evening write down all of the things in your day, and life more generally, that you are grateful for. 

Perhaps you are grateful to your friends for their support, for the warm bed you are able to sleep in, or for the great weather you had that day. Write it all down. 

If someone gives you a compliment that you appreciated on any particular day or said something very thoughtful, write it down in your gratitude journal too. Then when you find yourself being negative or critical, open up the journal and read over all of the positive things in your life that make you feel grateful. 

This is a sure-fire way to re-ground you, make you gain perspective and make you realize how insignificant that particular trigger may be in the larger scheme of things. Context is important, so keep shifting your mind towards the positive.

Stay grateful.

Final Conclusion

Practicing these four simple thoughts can help you to transform the way that you perceive the world around you. Positive perception has the power to change your life, improving your attitudes and the ways that you respond to stress triggers. 

Be patient and keep working at positivity, as it has so many benefits for your life, so make the most of it!

How Women 50 And Over Can Benefit From Pilates

Pilates is a type of anaerobic exercise that is designed to increase the strength and flexibility of your core muscles.  The beauty of Pilates is that it can be done by just about anyone at any fitness level.  It involves very little in the way of exercise equipment and can be done anywhere.

Pilates isn’t just for the young, athletic person.  Because it doesn’t put undue strain on the heart, it can safely be done by older people, including women over the age of 50 years.  It can improve the health of woman over 50 and doesn’t take a heavy toll on the body.  

Why Pilates is Good for You

There are many reasons why Pilates can be a good exercise for women over the age of 50 years of age.  Some of these benefits include the following:

• Pilates involves an invigorating mind-body workout. Pilates places a heavy emphasis on using proper breathing techniques, aligning your spine correctly, and keeping your pelvic aligned.  It involves concentrating on flowing, smooth movements that help you become more in tune to your mind and body.  When you do Pilates, you learn to control your movements by practicing quality exercises that focus on the core.  There is a focus on breathing to the tune of your movements so that you can use your power to efficiently move your body.  By being a mind-body workout, Pilates teaches you how to breathe better, which can be great for women who are under a great deal of stress. 

• Pilates helps you develop strong core muscles. Much of the focus in Pilates is the strengthening of the core of your body.  The core of your body is the central part of your body—both the abdominal muscles and the back muscles.  Pilates helps you strengthen these muscles so that you can move with ease as you go about your day with complete control over these essential core muscles.  Pilates can help you find integration between your pelvis, trunk, and shoulder muscles so that they function as a strong unit. 

• Pilates helps increase flexibility and allows your muscles to lengthen.  Many anaerobic workouts, such as weight lifting or using weight machines will only lead to muscles that are bulky and short.  These muscles tend to be more likely to be injured and aren’t the kind of muscles you want to have.  Instead of bulky “body-building muscles”, Pilates helps you elongate your muscles, strengthening them at the same time.  Your muscles will become more elastic and you will have increased flexibility of your joints. When you achieve these kinds of muscles, you are less likely to become injured. 

• Pilates can help you prevent muscle injuries and can improve your performance in other sports. Most other anaerobic workouts work the same muscles over and over again, such as the biceps muscles or quadriceps muscles.  Sometimes these muscles are exercised to the exclusion of other muscles.  You can easily over-strengthen certain muscles, while other muscles are under-strengthened.  In Pilates, all the core muscles are strengthened at the same time so that you have a decreased chance of becoming injured while working out or by doing your ordinary activities of daily living. 

• Pilates conditions the entire body. In doing Pilates, you strengthen not only your core muscles but also strengthen the muscles of your extremities.  Pilates doesn’t emphasize one set of muscles to the exclusion of other muscles.  When you do Pilates, you can function better in daily living and will be better at sports with a decreased chance of becoming injured while doing other types of sports. 

• Pilates helps you move with better efficiency.  When you do Pilates, you train many different muscles at the same time.  Pilates involves doing smooth and continuous motions so that you can train your body to move with more safety, decreasing your risk of falls and the fractures that can come with falling. 

As you can see, Pilates is an activity with many benefits for women over 50. If you are interested in doing Pilates as a form of anaerobic exercise, take a Pilates class or purchase a DVD that will teach you how to safely do the exercises.  You can practice Pilates every day with a low risk of suffering from any kind of overuse injury to your muscles.

 

5 Fresh Ideas To Boost The Effectiveness Of Your Workouts

 

You’ve been exercising for a few weeks, and have seen great results, but lately the workouts have lost their pizzazz. You are not losing as much weight as you did when you first started, you have lost your motivation, and really, you are just plain bored.

 

Don’t worry, you are not alone, this can and does happen to many. This can occur as the body becomes too acclimated the same old routines, and the body hits a plateau. 

 

Boredom is common when you keep doing the same workouts day in and day out, and just as your body becomes acclimated to the same workouts, so does your brain.

 

Check out these 5 great ideas for improving the effectiveness of your workout.

 

1. Switch Up Your Exercise Routine

 

Who enjoys spending an hour running on a treadmill or sweating on an elliptical for their entire workout session, 5 times a week? While a good cardio session can indeed burn off calories and gets your heart working to help burn fat and improve your overall health, there’s no reason why your workout should seem like such a chore. 

 

Changing the way that you work out will not only help you to keep interested in your work out regime, it will also keep the body guessing so it does not get used to the same old same and will also allow you to target other areas of your body. 

 

Do sets of bodyweight exercises such as burpees, lunges and crunches to not only burn energy but also work on toning up those muscles. Skip the weight machines, and add some free weights. Instead of the treadmill, join different exercise classes.

 

2. Do Intervals

 

Interval workouts are the most effective methods of burning calories. The next time you are on the treadmill, running, cycling or even using a cross trainer, try using intervals. 

 

These are done by maintaining a constant and steady pace, but every few minutes, up your speed to the fastest that you can manage before returning to the steady pace again after a few more minutes. 

 

The way this works is that your heart is constantly being driven to work hard and then starts to relax again and this constant change of heart pace means that you get a more effective workout.

 

3.  Choose Your Workout Buddy Wisely

 

When you’re working out, it really helps to have someone to help you keep to your goals. Make sure that you choose your workout buddy wisely. If your workout partner can’t keep up with you, you may find it difficult to fit in the pace of workout that you need. 

 

Try to choose a workout buddy who is either at the same or slightly higher level of fitness so that you can keep up, go further and stay motivated. This will ensure that the time you spend working out with a friend is as effective as possible.

 

4. Hire A Personal Trainer

 

While this one may seem like common sense to some, it’s surprising how many people think that they can just launch themselves into a workout routine and hope for the best. 

 

If you know nothing about fitness, or nutrition, you’re not likely to get very far when it comes to working out. By hiring your own personal trainer, you’ll receive tailored assistance with your workout routine and that trainer will help you grow your workout as your fitness level grows.

 

Not only will they be able to tell you what will help you burn off the weight or achieve your target goals, but you will also be able to get some nutritional advice. Your diet is very important when it comes to implementing changes to your body image and this is as specific to each individual as a workout routine.

 

5. Get Moving On Your Break At Work

 

OK, when you’re at work, working out may not be the thing that you have on your mind, but it is important that you keep moving throughout the day. If you have an office job where you find yourself sitting at a desk all day, try incorporating some bursts of exercise into your breaks. 

 

You could go for a brisk walk around the block, or simply take a jump rope to work and do some skipping for 10 minutes. If possible, get a standing desk; these are awesome new products that allow you to quickly convert your workspace to a standing area where you can work on your feet. 

 

The more you can keep moving throughout the day, the more calories you’ll be able to burn.