| Working Smart: 4-Easy Ways to Get Fit, Faster! |  |
c Laura Turner All Rights Reserved
Let's face it, getting and staying in shape can be a costly
investment. And, if you're not careful, its greatest cost is
the one commodity you could use the most of: time (keeping
monetary costs in check is another volume, entirely). Yet,
even many seasoned exercisers often have difficulty changing
their bodies with regular workouts. And worse, many think the
more hours spent training heavily, the better the result. Not
true! Often this break-neck pace leads only to fatigue, burnout,
and injury.
What most people also may not realize, there are several, easy
ways to redistribute your time and create "smarter' workouts.
These common sense, turbo-chargers cost little or no money, will
help change your body in a positive way, and all without giving
up a lot of time.
Here, I've given you four simple strategies that can help you
turbo charge your workout (and your body), too:
1.) Warm Up and Cool Down Sufficiently. In short: take 10.
Strive to take 10 minutes before heavy exercise to get blood
flowing with light aerobic activity (walking, or a series of
slow arm and leg circles) to get the large muscle groups moving
and prevent injury. At the end of your workout, try to opt for
10 minutes of light stretching, aiming at the major muscle groups:
arms, back, chest, and legs. This will help re-absorb lactic acid
(metabolic waste that builds up during exercise and can lead to
soreness).
2.) Drink More Water. Just eight-8oz. glasses of water per day
will carry away waste and toxins from your body. It will also
help keep you cool during exercise and replace the fluids lost
during your workout (you will usually lose 1 liter per 1-hour
workout).
3.) Get Adequate Rest. The body requires a sufficient amount of
sleep for rest and tissue repair (usually around 7-8 hours per
night for the healthy person). Sleep also provides the body time
to lower levels of bacteria in the body. It actually stimulates
the immune system! If you can't get your eight hours, try to take
a quick 10-20 minute power nap sometime during the day.
4.) Go Easy on the Starchy Carbs. Try to "balance" starchy
carbs (cereals, breads, white potatoes, rice) with protein and
veggie alternatives.
My own personal case study: Even though I'd been exercising for
years, I couldn't shake the extra 10 pounds I'd gained in
college. I exercised for about an hour every day rotating my routine
between cardio and resistance training. Did I need to exercise
more? I wondered. Maybe, but I couldn't fit another hour into the
day. So, I took a good look at my diet. What I found was, every day
I was loading up with starchy carbs! Lots of cereal and toast. Lots
of potatoes and white rice. Resolve: Just by balancing my meals
with egg whites, sweet potatoes, green leafy veggies, and lean
meats, I lost what remained.
If you could use a Jump-start in you workout or haven't seen
changes in awhile, these four ideas are well worth your
consideration. Plus, just by changing one small thing, you could
make quite a difference in your shape. It will add a new element of
vigor to your workout! So, reap the big rewards of these small
changes, they will pay dividends on your investment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Laura Turner, Certified Personal Trainer has developed a series
of health fitness and nutrition tips available at ===>
www.1brand-new-body.com In 21 days you can create healthy new you,
let her show you how! Subscribe to her free newsletter
*Fitness Focus* Send a blank email to:===> mailto:hiperformbody
@getresponse.com *Plus get her free report: 7 Steps to a High
Performance Body*
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