Exercise is something that modern people are often lacking, but it’s as important now as it ever was for maintaining a healthy body and a happy life. That means that the modern fitness experience is often one of striving to undo a lifetime of insufficient exercise.
Here are some tips to help you come to grips with the basics of improving your fitness level.
Your Diet
You are what you eat, as they say, and that conversion of foodstuffs into energy and the building blocks of the body has a few key purposes.
For the purposes of exercise, a proper diet provides the energy and materials expended during the process of getting through your workout and recovering from it afterward.
Protein is important for muscle maintenance, and carbohydrates give you energy, while electrolytes are used up during muscle movement.
Hydration is perhaps of the utmost importance, as your body requires water for basically everything the body is composed of, as well as everything that it does consciously and unconsciously.
The latter two are expanded heavily in sweat during a workout, meaning that having plenty of water and electrolytes before, during, and after is recommended.
Dietary Supplements
Dietary supplements have become a staple of the modern fitness journey for a few key reasons. First and foremost, protein supplements are often used as a means of giving a person’s body extra protein before a workout.
This allows you to compensate for the increased demand for protein during an intense training session without superfluous calories.
Pre-workout supplements are designed to provide your body with a slurry of helpful vitamins and nutrients in order to give you the extra energy you’ll need to get through a workout. Using these supplements gives you more control over your diet than simply eating better food.
Your Workout
Meeting your fitness goals requires finding the workout routine that best addresses your needs. This means that you’ll want to come to terms with your desired changes and use that information to research workouts that will get you the results you want.
For example, building muscle mass requires intensive workouts isolated to select muscle groups in order to damage their muscles. Muscle damage causes hypertrophy, which is the enlargement of muscle during the repair process.
Meanwhile, a runner would prioritize endurance and cardio training, because running competitively requires a lot of stamina and controlled breathing.
The average person will want a more balanced workout routine, and there are plenty of examples of this, such as the seven-minute workout. This workout is also notable for its ability to fit neatly into any schedule.
Sleep
While the primary focus of fitness is exercise, a total lack of activity is also an important part of the process. Sleep is a crucial part of life, as it allows your body to recover from your workouts, but it will also play a major role in your energy level each day.
Doctor’s recommend 6-8 hours of sleep each night, but many people neglect this estimate and are typically sleep deficient. Of course, the amount of time you sleep isn’t the only reason you might not be getting what you need from sleep.
You also need to sleep at about the same time every day. Your body has an internal clock by which it wants to sleep at a consistent time, so those who have a more loosey-goosey schedule will find the quality of their sleep to leave something to be desired.
In much the same way as sleep heals the body after a workout, a workout helps you get better sleep, as well. By living a more active lifestyle, you’ll consistently see better results from a good night’s rest.
***
Living a fitness-minded life in the modern era can be tough because there are always temptations to spend time sitting down doing more with your mind than with your body.
However, taking care of your body is taking care of your mind and vice versa. Using these tips, you can begin your journey to a better fitness level the right way in order to make sure it sticks.
