Despite what some PT’s and elite athletes will have you believe, there’s no reason to flog and starve yourself to get decent health and fitness gains. Here are my top 5 smarter moves to get you to where you want to be.
1. Periodise
A prescribed, periodised exercise program written by an Exercise Physiologist will ensure you’re working towards your goals efficiently and appropriately. Gradual overload and structured rest are the necessary components that if got wrong can lead to burnout, failure and send people right back to square 1.
2. Activity, not just exercise
Being active in every day life is just as important as Exercise. A simple and cost-effective way is to use a pedometer to measure your daily step count. This will tell you just how active you’ve been away from your exercise session. A minimum of 10 000 steps is recommended. Old fashioned ‘moving around’ is easy to do and can even be enjoyable when you add a ball or frisbee into the mix
3. Food swaps
A 5-10% reduction in portion size while introducing 1 new or improved food each week can make a big difference over time. People are always surprised how easy it is to try something new or change for a better option. Note that a little bit of self education is key for this!
4. Enjoyable exercise
Whilst variety is extremely important, finding the right type of exercise for an individual can be the difference between a healthy lifestyle and being morbidly obese – and there is one for EVERYONE. Having an exercise that you truly enjoy means the motivation to go at it day after day without coming up with excuses is there.
5. Have contingency plans
No one can follow the plan A 100% correctly, 100% of the time. For the unprepared, this means missing out on your jog when its raining or not getting to your spin class when your friend has to stay late at work. Having 1 or 2 back up ideas or sessions is easy and will keep you on track and can also prevent boredom of the usual workout when you have to come up with something creative or less conventional when initial plans fall through.
This has to be something thought of in advance. If you leave it ‘til the moment that your plans fall through, laziness and excuses will usually get the better of you.
The best part is, you don’t have to kill yourself in your next workout to make up for lost time or missed sessions.
Check out the other posts for more great hints on Exercising Your Potential.
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