Are you using the current economic climate as the reason not to exercise? You may be doing it tough, but Australia is becoming soft around the middle as a result of deskbound work, increased reliance on our vehicles for transportation, fast food, and technology that makes things easier. It is a perfect recipe for the expanding girth of our population.
“Don’t use the justification that you have no money as the excuse not to be healthy” says Chris Bakens from Healthy Executives. “The truth is, you do not need lots of cash to get fit. You just need the desire to want to make a difference to your health and fitness and transform your sedentary lifestyle.”
Investing time on your health now will give you a healthy way of life, and put you in a better financial position by preventing costly health problems later.
There are 7 tips below to get started today for little or no money at all.
1. Exercise in the comfort of your own home. Exercise DVD’s or some of the Pay TV channels have regular programs that focus on getting you moving. If you don’t have any of these available to you, then join your local Library and borrow them, and what’s more...it’s FREE.
2. Your local community parks have pathways to walk and run as well as fixed equipment to exercise. Check out your local council website or service desk to find out where. All you will need to get started is to have some comfortable clothing you can move in, supportive footwear and slip, slop, slap.
3. FREE group exercise. Most of the major capital cities have regular group fitness activities that are run by their local councils. It is also worthwhile checking out some of the major privatized parklands in your city for FREE exercise programs (E.g. Southbank parklands).
4. Include your family. Get outside with your kids. Dust off the bikes in the shed, shoot some hoops, kick the footy or play some tag. Nothing exudes happiness more than some quality time with the people who mean the most to you in life. Take a trip to the beach this week-end to go for walks on the beach, beach cricket, body board some surf, or beach soccer.
5. Surf the Internet. Want some FREE advice on how to get started on an exercise program? There are many FREE programs available to you at a press of a button and awaiting you to take action.
6. Weights workout with no fancy equipment. You can work your legs at the gym using the leg press, but unless you are planning on pushing rocks up a hill, you can’t really apply it to every-day life. Use body weight to become mentally and physically stronger. Push ups, dips, chin ups, squats, and lunges will give you are more efficient and balanced body in regard to appearance and function.
7. Group fitness at work. Get a bunch of your work colleagues together for a regular run or walk at the park. Seek the guidance of a qualified Personal Trainer to come to your workplace or Local Park to monitor and guide you with your program and give you the accountability you require.
In summary: The military have a simple philosophy: improvise, adapt and overcome. It refers to every situation of everything you do. If it is too cold to exercise, then put an extra layer on, if it is too hot to exercise then drink more water or participate in some water activities. Whatever your circumstances, it is your goal to improvise, adapt and overcome and get your workouts done.
Showing posts with label Healthy executives. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Healthy executives. Show all posts
Monday, December 7, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
7 Reasons your workout routine sucks!!
1. You don’t keep it fun or interesting. The best exercise to do is the one you enjoy doing. Exercise that you don’t enjoy is a killer. If there is one sure way to be turned off regular exercise, it would be that you are not looking to make the experience enjoyable. Plug in a set of headphones the next time you jump on the treadmill and watch your favourite TV shows, or listen to your favourite music while out walking. Keep it fun so you can count on coming back for more. Can’t find regular activity you like? Be patient if you are having difficulty choosing or sticking to an activity. It may take quite a few tries before you feel like something clicks.
2. You don’t schedule daily exercise in your calendar/diary. ‘Not enough time,’ ‘too busy’ and ‘can’t afford it’ are all just forms of a sickness called Excuse-i-tis. Establish a regular schedule for physical activity. Be active while watching TV. Ride a stationary bike, walk on the treadmill, step up and down on a step/bench, use some dumbbells, or do some stretching during your favourite TV shows...just get up and get moving more often!
3. You only focus on one element of fitness. Work on a variety of exercises to work on the 3 elements of fitness. Include some endurance (anything that sustains your heart rate up for an above average period of time), strength training (lifting weights and providing resistance for your muscles to get stronger), and flexibility training (the ability to move the joints through their entire range of motion to provide length and suppleness).
4. You are lifting more weight than you can handle. You know you are lifting too much weight when your technique is sacrificed in order to lift a heavier load. Gradually increase the resistance of your workout to prevent injury. Talk to any bodybuilder and they will tell you it is not about how much weight you lift. If you have to jerk your body while lifting your weight then you are lifting too much.
5. Not exercising intensely enough - Leaning on the side bars of the stair-master will lower the intensity of the workout as well as put a strain on your wrists and lower back. If your intention is to lose body-fat then you will need to exercise intensely enough to get you huffing and puffing with a light sweat. (E.g. reading a magazine while riding a stationary bike...need I say more)
6. You don’t know how to use the equipment. Seek out the guidance of a trained professional on how to use the equipment effectively. It is worth investing in a Personal Trainer (even for 1 session) to demonstrate correct technique and the intensity at which you should be working to.
7. You focus on quantity rather than quality. You don’t need to work out for a long period of time to get the results you need. Be realistic about what you actually want to achieve for your fitness and seek out professional guidance to give you some pointers in the right direction. There is an old saying in the fitness industry “You can work hard and you can work long...but you can’t do both!”
Chris Gent- Healthy Executives Performance Coach
2. You don’t schedule daily exercise in your calendar/diary. ‘Not enough time,’ ‘too busy’ and ‘can’t afford it’ are all just forms of a sickness called Excuse-i-tis. Establish a regular schedule for physical activity. Be active while watching TV. Ride a stationary bike, walk on the treadmill, step up and down on a step/bench, use some dumbbells, or do some stretching during your favourite TV shows...just get up and get moving more often!
3. You only focus on one element of fitness. Work on a variety of exercises to work on the 3 elements of fitness. Include some endurance (anything that sustains your heart rate up for an above average period of time), strength training (lifting weights and providing resistance for your muscles to get stronger), and flexibility training (the ability to move the joints through their entire range of motion to provide length and suppleness).
4. You are lifting more weight than you can handle. You know you are lifting too much weight when your technique is sacrificed in order to lift a heavier load. Gradually increase the resistance of your workout to prevent injury. Talk to any bodybuilder and they will tell you it is not about how much weight you lift. If you have to jerk your body while lifting your weight then you are lifting too much.
5. Not exercising intensely enough - Leaning on the side bars of the stair-master will lower the intensity of the workout as well as put a strain on your wrists and lower back. If your intention is to lose body-fat then you will need to exercise intensely enough to get you huffing and puffing with a light sweat. (E.g. reading a magazine while riding a stationary bike...need I say more)
6. You don’t know how to use the equipment. Seek out the guidance of a trained professional on how to use the equipment effectively. It is worth investing in a Personal Trainer (even for 1 session) to demonstrate correct technique and the intensity at which you should be working to.
7. You focus on quantity rather than quality. You don’t need to work out for a long period of time to get the results you need. Be realistic about what you actually want to achieve for your fitness and seek out professional guidance to give you some pointers in the right direction. There is an old saying in the fitness industry “You can work hard and you can work long...but you can’t do both!”
Chris Gent- Healthy Executives Performance Coach
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