tips on exercise
If regular exercise is new to you, don�t jump in like a diehard and try to tone up and lose weight all in the first day. Start slowly to build strength and stamina, and increase your duration, speed and intensity as you get stronger. This is especially important if you�ve just recently had your baby. Your body is still healing and has to literally rebuild muscles that were affected during pregnancy.
If you have trouble getting time for real exercise, take it where you can get it. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, park at the farthest end of the parking lot, go up and down every aisle of the grocery store, empty the dishwasher - one item at a time (bend, grab fork, walk to cupboard, put it away, back to dishwasher), tap dance under your desk, or do butt clenches, kegels and abdominal contractions while seated.
To understand how our bodies burn fat, think of the body as an oven. The first 15 minutes of steady exercise get the body warmed up, and then the time you exercise after that actually bakes the fat and calories away. If you exercise for only 15 minutes, you will not actually do much in the way of burning fat, but any exercise in whatever amount is beneficial to your general health and energy level.
When you exercise on an empty stomach (at least two hours since last meal), you burn the fat and calorie reserves stored in your body. When you exercise on a full stomach, you are burning off your stomach contents.
It doesn�t have to take place at a fancy gym for it to be exercise. Using a workout video or home equipment or just going for a walk is just as valid.
Be sure to drink plenty of fluids while exercising! You need to replace the fluids you lose while sweating. (Some diet plans suggest weighing before and after exercising, but you're only seeing water-weight loss --not a real loss.) If your form of exercise (or your gym) does not allow you to drink during, then be sure to drink immediately following.
Some people find themselves much more motivated to exercize if they join a gym --whether it be the environment, traners or just the guilty feeling that they've paid and ought to use it. Others are too self-conscious or dislike having to wait for certain equipment and have much better results exercizing at home. Whatever gets you exercizing is the right choice!
Distraction is a big help! If you hate to exercise, try to read a book or watch tv while riding an exercise bike, or take a friend along to chat with while walking (you should be slightly out of breath while talking on a vigorous walk). An exercise buddy can both keep you motivated to do it and keep you distracted enough to get it done. :0)
Try to keep what you do fun -or at least stimulating enough that you don't give up out of boredom. Find what works best for you - doing something different every day or the same.
Try exercising in the morning. It's amazing how much energy it can give you! For the same reason, many people find working out before bedtime makes it hard for them to unwind and fall asleep. Everybody is different.
If you have trouble getting yourself to exercise, set up a reward system. For example, for every fifteen minutes, you get one Hershey's kiss, or if you do 45 minutes every day all week, you can get a new novel at the end of the week.
If you're stiff from exercizing the day before, go for a walk or exercize again! It may sound nuts, but it'll stretch your muscles out and actually make them feel better. (note -- if you've actually injured yourself, DON'T push it...rest and heal! Whenever in doubt, ask your doctor.)