Click Here For Your Free Health and Fitness Magazine Subscription
Top Ten Back-To-Basics Fitness Tips
By Garrett J. Braunreiter, CSCS
Do you ever feel like you can never get ahead of the health and fitness game? You and I both know there is so much information out there -- heck, even the news reports can't make up their minds....
Margarine is better than butter. No, butter is better than margarine. Coffee is bad for you. Wait, coffee can help you. Wine can help prevent heart disease. No, wine can promote breast cancer. WHICH IS IT?!
So the next time you pick up a newspaper, magazine, book, or whatever and you get thrown into health information overload, refer to this back-to-basics list. These tips, if followed consistently, will add years to your life, keep you fit, strong, and energized, plus offer a boost in confidence.
1. Move it or lose it (the no-brainer). 30 minutes of exercise daily. I'm not talking about a walk in the park, although you can do that on the side. I mean at least 30 minutes (up to 60) of pushing your body beyond what it's used to doing. I can just imagine some of you frowning, thinking that you must put yourself through some torturous workouts. Not at all.
Slash your odds for a number of killer diseases and rev up your metabolism with aerobic conditioning and strength training and slow down (or reverse, to an extent) the aging process.
2. Stop putting up with stuff that's holding you back from being healthy, fit, and energized. Why waste your happiness, health, time, and energy when you don't need to in the first place?
Putting up with things is good for no one. Make a list of ten things you're tolerating at home. TAKE ACTION NOW to eliminate these items. Be sure to eliminate the SOURCE of the toleration. Do this same exercise for your workplace. Understand that you're "juiced" by tolerating things. Be willing and committed to being toleration-free. STOP COMPLAINING and get to work on this.
3. Fruits and veggies. Get five to seven servings of fruits and veggies a day. Not only do they reduce your risk of getting some forms of cancer, they are heart healthy, and give you more nutrition-bang for your buck. Plus with the added fiber, you feel fuller even when you're eating less. So fruits and veggies are waistline-friendly.
4. Simplify your life, immediately. Our lives are too jam-packed with projects, goals, ideas, coulds, shoulds, have-to's, commitments, concerns, obligations.
Phew!
Ask yourself:
-
Why is my life so busy? Why have I chosen to do so much?
-
What am I building with my current lifestyle? Is there a future to it? Is that future costing me my present?
-
What am I missing out on about myself because of my current lifestyle?
Start by cutting out 3 projects, tasks, responsibilities, shoulds, coulds, wants, goals, etc. that are not necessary. Eliminate, delegate, or make a system for 12 tasks that are sucking your energy stores dry. When you think of something you "have to do," stop and ask yourself why you have to do it. You probably don't.
5. Take a multi-vitamin. Your insurance policy to get the nutrition your body craves. Anti-oxidants. Calcium. Folic acid. The whole gamut of vitamins and minerals to build stronger bones, maximize your metabolism, boost energy, feed muscles, etc.
6. Create and use 10 Daily Habits. There is a daily routine which will keep you focused, clear, motivated, and moving forward - your 10 Daily Habits. These are the things you do each day which make your life better.
Choose habits that you WANT to do. There is no place for shoulds or coulds in your 10 daily habits. Instead select or design daily habits which you look forward to and give you pleasure.
Choose habits that GIVE YOU ENERGY. Most of the 10 daily habits that actually work for people are the ones that add to the person's well-being or energy flow. It might mean that you do something like have 6 veggies a day, no TV after dinner, 20 minutes of vigorous exercise, make 5 sales.
Modify your 10 daily habits as needed. It takes some fine-tuning to have the 10 habits that work best for you. If you find yourself not doing one or two of your habits, change or replace them with ones which come naturally.
7. Get your Zzzzz's. Depriving yourself of sleep (okay, I'm guilty of this, too) not only makes you grumpy and less productive but may also age you prematurely and promote serious illnesses like diabetes and hypertension. Shoot for a steady 7-8 hours each night.
8. Come from a better place - improve your attitude. Stop trying to change your behavior. Instead, start shifting on the inside.
Saying things like, "I will stop eating sugar," "No eating after 7 PM," "I will only eat foods that nourish me," or "I am going to work out daily, starting Monday," the focus is on what you want/need to change.
Contrast that with, "I am someone who takes care of my body," "I am someone who associates with healthy people," "My day orients around my well-being and exercise," "I have better things to do than eat junk food," "I need my energy to accomplish my goals."
See the difference? The second set of statements focuses on WHO YOU ARE and what you want in your life, not just the change you want to make. This shift is more than just paying lip service to the first set of statements. It calls for action to show your commitment. When you shift who you are, things naturally look different, and the results are obvious.
9. Feed your body well, and feed it often. If you want plenty of energy in addition to boosting your metabolism, 2 or 3 meals a day just won't do it. Spread your meals throughout the day (4-6), balance them with protein, fruits and veggies, and a little bit of good fats such as walnuts or almonds, or oils like olive or safflower, and your body will be a well-oiled, leaner, energized, peak-performing machine.
10. Drink your water! Drink at least eight glasses of water a day - even a slight dehydration can make you feel lethargic. Maximize your liver's fat-metabolizing ability by drinking more water so that it's not working overtime to detoxify your body. Control your weight and appetite. Ladies: you may even lower your risk of colon cancer!
* BONUS FEEL-GOOD TIP *
11. Raise your standards. How many of you would like to feel very, very good about yourself, and others, too? Be irresistibly attractive to high quality people? Have "high-as-a-kite" self-esteem and self-worth?
Find a role model whose qualities and behavior you admire. Don't try to reinvent the wheel; what standards could you raise so you can be more like them, and still fit you?
Stop gossiping, good or bad, about anyone. Remember, no coulds or shoulds. These standards must be YOU; you must be ready for them.
Remember, too, that these standards are a choice. Put people and relationships ahead of results. And always have a reserve of time, money, love, and well-being.