Health and Fitness Tips for Women
Imagine what the world would be like if no one exercised. Never mind, you can already see it when you walk down nearly any city street. Our society is faced with an epidemic of obesity, and people need to become more in tune with their own health and fitness.
We all know that exercise is essential to living a healthy lifestyle. It’s the best way to lose body fat, because exercise boosts the metabolism and encourages the body to burn excess calories. Physical exercise revs up your heart and gets your lungs pumping at their maximum capacity. You’ll have healthier bones when you exercise, and you’ll look good and feel great about yourself. Exercise gives you increased stamina, making it easier for you to keep up with life’s busy pace.
The unfortunate reality is that, although nearly everyone is aware of the many benefits of fitness, many women ignore the facts and choose to do nothing. It’s too easy to press the snooze button, take the elevator or drive to work. In our society of convenience, people are suffering with a lack of health and fitness.
The following tips can be helpful in reaching and maintaining your ideal body weight. The specific issues that women face, like a higher susceptibility to osteoporosis, make health and fitness of particular interest to them. To maintain optimum health and keep your body strong, it is recommended that at least two of these tips be incorporated into all women’s health and fitness routines:
1. Don’t knock yourself out. Women seem to have this innate notion that they’re letting someone down. It’s OK if you can’t spend ten hours a week at the gym or jog every evening. It’s only important that you make a commitment to improving your health and fitness, and then stick to it. Women’s health and fitness advisors suggest that you exercise for 20 to 60 minutes, three to five times a week. This isn’t always possible, but don’t become frustrated if you’re not able to meet someone else’s ideals. If you can work out two times a week at twenty minutes per session, you’re doing a great job.
2. Focus on your successes. Concentrate on how good you feel about your new health and fitness regime. If weight loss is part of your plan, and you’re struggling to meet your goal, don’t beat yourself up about it. Focus on what you’ve done to this point, and use today as a new starting point. You’ve made a commitment to yourself, and that is your biggest success.
3. Put weights before cardio. Many women begin their health and fitness routines with cardio exercises, and then follow it up with weight lifting. The disadvantage is that you may be missing out on a critical component of the routine, because you’re spending all of your time with cardio. If this is a regular occurrence, the outcome can be disappointing despite countless hours at the gym. Reverse the order and perform weight training first. You’ll likely see a more positive visible outcome.
4. Don’t overexert yourself. Most women’s health and fitness regimes require a workout of no more than an hour at a time. If you spend too much time at the gym, or perform the same exercises over extended periods, you may find that the routine become boring and tedious. Focus on the exercises and narrow your time frame. You’ll find that your workout sessions will be more efficient, and you’ll have more fun.
5. Keep an eye on your heart rate. Women should work out at 75-85% of their maximum heart rate. When your heart rate is too low, it’s a sign that you’re not working to your full potential. Too high a rate, on the other hand, shows that you’re pushing yourself to a potentially dangerous level. Sticking with a happy medium of 50% or so will not help you to realize your fitness goals. Keep a heart rate monitor on hand or do a manual count incrementally during your workout to ensure that you’re reaching, but not exceeding, your ideal target heart rate.
6. Get support. It’s important to be involved in some sort of fitness social support web. If you are currently in a regime with no fitness community, you may find that your workouts are lacking or not that successful. A social support can bring a greater sense of camaraderie, kinship and even healthy competition. If you normally workout alone at home, try visiting a gym for a sample workout, or joining a yoga, Pilates or sailing class. Running clubs and golf courses are other ways to keep in shape and meet new people.
7. Support yourself. Taking on a new health and fitness routine can be tough. It takes commitment, discipline and a lot of hard work. Give yourself the support you need with a pep talk. Don’t pressure yourself too much; give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back. There’s nothing wrong with giving yourself some great feedback for a change.
More than ever before, women’s health and fitness is an important issue. With fast food and our sedentary lifestyles, we are being robbed of our good health, and stripped of our self-esteem. Only you can make the change to a healthier lifestyle. Move at your own pace, and you will be amazed at how far you can go.
Tags: Fitness Tips, Health