Abandon Nest

This series could go on forever, but it won’t. Limiting myself to 21 days, I hoped to stuff as much information into these posts as I could, and a beginner should have a great base to start from at this point. There will of course be more articles about fitness later on, but for now this post should serve as a resource for all those out there yearning to start and stick with a fitness program. The topics I covered were:

• Introduction
• My Experience
• Gym Attire
• Gym Gear
• Finding a Gym
• The Importance of Pictures
• Gym Archetypes
• Living with a Proper Diet
• Upper Body Basics
• Lower Body Basics
• Understanding Your Body Type
• Balancing Cardio and Weight Training
• Should you Supplement
• Compound and Isolation Exercise
• GNC Pro Performance Review
• Muscle Monkey Tasty Protein Shake
• Complete Six Week Workout
• Six Packs Start in the Kitchen
• Beginner’s Meal Plan
• Fitness Resources
• Picking the Right Time to Exercise
• Stretching Guidelines
• Sticking with Your Regiment

I sincerely hope you enjoyed this series and it helped motivate you to get fit. If you were already fit, I hope that I at least provided some useful information. Now get out there and put it to use.

Technorati Tags: Lose Fat, Exercise, Fitness, Workout

So if you’ve been following this series, you’re probably on a pretty good path right now. No doubt you’ve started living with a proper diet, understand your body type, and have started your workout plan. These are all great things, but where do you go from here?

The hardest part of getting fit is sticking with the things you know you should be doing. You probably don’t want to get up everyday at 5:00 and go to the gym, but you need to push yourself to do so. You’re going to be tempted by a greasy burger and unhealthy fries, but you need to resist. Consistency is the key to fitness.

So how do you do this? How do you stick with something so tough and demanding? As we anything else in life, there needs to be rewards for good performance. For example, I tend to reward myself with food that I wouldn’t normally eat. For every two weeks that I get to the gym on schedule, I treat myself to a Dairy Queen chocolate malt. Now, that’s 700 calories that I really don’t need, but looking forward to that malt keeps me going. The thing with rewards is you have to restrict yourself. If you don’t perform as you should, deny yourself the reward.

In the end, it’s all a matter of willpower. Will yourself to do well and you will. Make sure you’re motivated and seeing the results you want. Keep working until you achieve your goal, then maintain it. Fitness is a life-long endeavor, and it will serve you well to get there as early as possible. Good luck on sticking with your regimen!

Technorati Tags: Exercise, Fitness, Workout, Goals, Long-term

If any of you played sports in grade school or high school, you probably spent the first 10-15 minutes stretching your muscles out to make sure you wouldn’t pull anything. You probably did toe touches, hurdler stretches, and many others. The latest research has suggested that stretching before your muscles are warm is worse for you than not stretching at all. How can this be?

Static stretching, like I described above, puts a tremendous strain on your muscles. More often than not you’ll stretch too far without even realizing it. This, in turn, can have a harmful effect on your muscles that will hinder you for some time. So static stretching is bad, what can you do to warm your muscles?

Two of the best things you can do are dynamic stretching and light bodyweight exercise. Dynamic stretching is what you see a lot of track and field athletes doing. They’ll hold onto a fence and kick their legs through the air. They start out small but eventually their kicks reach above their heads and they’re fully stretched. Dynamic stretching is great for a warmup.

The other best practice is light jogging or biking. By performing a slow jog or ride you loosen your muscles and get the blood flowing through them. Your legs, chest, shoulders, arms, and everything else should start to warm up and you’ll be better able to accomodate the heavier loads or stresses you’re about to put on your body.

So you warm up and then go exercise. Now do you head straight to the shower? I hope not. Take 5-7 minutes to statically stretch the muscles you’ve been working. That’s right, that thing that I told you not to do a few paragraphs ago. That’s why this is the stretching paradox. By stretching after exercise you’ll be less likely to develop cramps and soreness.

So now that you know all this, get out there and take action. Treat your body right and your body will respond in kind.

Technorati Tags: Exercise, Fitness, Workout, Stretching