Archive for February 2014

Today's Fitness February post is just a short little guide to my top 10 essentials that I think are needed for any fitness workout or exercise.

1. Trainers
For me, a good, durable and comfortable pair of trainers is a definite must have for anyone who is looking to get into exercise and beginning any fitness workouts. Investing in quality footwear can help you to prevent injuries, mainly foot and ankle damage, and make your workout a more pleasant, enjoyable and comfortable experience.

2. A Sports Bra
As a women, having a comfortable, supportive and well fitting sports bra is a must for any physical activity as continuous movements can result in soreness, pain and sagging of the breasts. In general, your sports bra should feel slightly tighter than your regular bra, however, you should still be able to breathe deeply and comfortably.

3. Tracksuit Bottoms/Leggings/Shorts
You want something that is going to be comfortable, practical and suitable for your desired exercise or workout. You don't want something that is too tight and restrictive, as this can stop you from performing well, as well as making you feel uncomfortable and isolated. Tracksuit bottoms are my preference! They are super comfortable and warm, and perfect for day to day wear and perfect for any weather type.

4. Yoga Mat
A yoga mat can probably be the most beneficial for those doing floor exercises or stretching. a mat provides padding and support. For many people, pressing their bodies onto the bare ground or floor can be painful and sore, especially on the palms, knees, elbows, and vertebrae of the back.

5. Water Bottle
A water bottle is another must have item. Whilst exercising, you are constantly losing water from your body, through breathing and sweating, so it's important that you keep hydrated and keep up your fluid intake.

6. Baggy Tshirts/Vests
Whilst working out, you don't want clothing that feels tight and uncomfortable - this just makes you feel slightly insecure and makes you lack confidence, especially if you are wanting to lose some weight. Choosing loose fitting tops is perfect for exercise, they aren't too tight, breathable and for me, I think they are perfect attire for a workout.

7. Routine/Schedule
Creating a workout schedule or routine is a great way to begin getting fit and healthy. By sticking to your schedule, this gives you something to stick to, be committed to and doesn't allow you to "cheat". Even if you choose to go running once a week, exercise at home everyday or go to the gym twice a week, sticking to this will boost your confidence and give you that encouragement you need to stick to your routine.

8. Music Playlist
Having an upbeat, motivational music playlist helps to your keep focused and keep your mind on your exercise. Music can also help you to enjoy exercise a lot more and also make it fun!

9. A Notepad
Keeping a fitness diary/log is a great way to record your progress and see how far you've come! Its a great way to record your weight loss, your exercise routine or even how far your running/swimming/cycling each week! You'll be able to see how you're improving and progressing, to get to the place you want to be at the end!

10. Hairbands and Clips
A must have essential! Whilst exercising, the last thing you want is your hair flying in your face, getting in the way, getting sweaty and just annoying. Hairbands and clips are just needed to keep your hair back and out of your face.

What are your fitness essentials? Do you use any of these? Will you take any of these on board and included them in your workouts?

So, welcome to Part 2 of how to "Get Fit and Healthy At Home"!

You're all probably thinking what on earth I am going to be talking about, but in today's post, I am going to be sharing 5 simple tips, that you can incorporate into your everyday life, that can get you on your journey to leading a healthier and fitter lifestyle! I am no way an expert in this field, but what I have learnt in the past, is what I shall be sharing with you!

1. Walk, Jog, Run, Cycle (if you have a bike), Its Free!

A great way to keep fit and healthy, is to do exercises such as walking, jogging, running and cycling, which can all cost nothing and can be done any time and anywhere. This is perfect for those who don't have time to use the gym, have a small living area or have lots of commitments, which means they just don't simply have the time. Even taking the stairs instead of the lift/escalator, getting off the bus a stop early or walking to the shops etc, can all add up to your daily exercise and help you to become that little bit fitter and healthier.

2. Plan Your Food Shop and Weekly Meals

I'm sure we all know how stressful and time consuming weekly shop can be sometimes, but writing a list and making a plan is an easy way to make this chore more enjoyable. Planning a weekly menu can help reduce food waste in your home, as well as keep you on a diet plan/healthy eating schedule, as well as helping you to avoid distractions and purchasing anything that you don't actually need. You may even save yourself a little bit of money by planning your shop!

3. Use Youtube/Blogs For Inspiration

If you aren't feeling motivated or inspired by doing the same workouts each time or using the gym all the day, taking time to browse through Youtube videos or fitness blogs can help you gain some new ideas and new inspiration of things to add into your everyday life. I recently posted about using Youtube as a workout inspiration guide, and shared some exercise videos that can be done in the comfort of your own home.

4. Boost Your Metabolism

There are many different ways to boost your metabolism, which helps to burn calories and help with weight loss. Eating more protein is the simplest way of increasing your metabolic rate. Food such as eggs are a great source of protein and beneficial saturated fats, as well as salmon which is highly enriched with Omega 3. Another idea is to replace your snacks with small handfuls of nuts, which makes your digestive system work harder throughout the day and therefore use more calories. By spicing our food, with spices such as chilli, ginger and tumeric, these are great metabolism boosters, that aid to burning calories and aids weight loss. Also, eating little-and-often is a beneficial in the role of helping to maintain a healthy weight and keeping hunger/snacking at bay.

5. Use Home Furniture For Workout Equipment

Working out at home doesn't have to cost a fortune, and neither does your equipment. If you're on a tight budget, don't have time to hit the gym or just find exercising hard to fit into your schedule, using home furniture/interiors/objects can help you with your workouts. You could use tins and cans as weights, use your stairs as a step up, use chairs or tables for exercising, as well as spacious floor space.

So there we have it, this is second part of my "Get Fit and Healthy At Home" series. Hopefully you have learnt something new or have taken some advice on board, in which you can incorporate into your everyday life!

If you missed part one, you can view that post here.

How do you get fit and healthy at home? What tips and tricks do you have? Is there any of these tips you would like to start including in your day to day life?

Leading a fit and healthy lifestyle is something that can make you feel a lot happier, positive and confident in yourself and your everyday life. There are many ways to achieve this but today I have shortened this down to just 10, which I think are important and things that everybody should try to include in their day to day life.

1. Get A Good Nights Sleep

Getting a good nights sleep is such an important aspect of everyday life. Sleep is vital and having restful sleep helps your body to re-energise and heal itself, ready for the day ahead. On average, us adults need around 7 to 9 hours, to be fully rested and re-energised.
The key to a good sleep is to make sure your bed comfy! Get a good, comfortable mattress and pillows and a warm duvet, and you're good to go!

2. Keep Hydrated With Plenty Of Fluids

Water makes up a large percentage of the human body, and without enough of the stuff, dehydration can set in, as well as a dry mouth, tiredness, and headaches. Not good! Drinking plenty of fluids is essential to replace the water our body is losing by breathing, perspiring and going to the toilet.These fluids help to flush toxins, carry nutrients around the body, and protect sensitive tissue. Everything from milk to fruit juice to coffee to tea, and fizzy drinks can help to contribute to our daily intake, but water is considered the best for avoiding those extra calories!

3. Stay Stress Free

Having stress that we build up can cause some serious issues such as acne and high blood pressure. A way to deal with this is to look at all the stressful things occurring in your life and come up with a good, and positive solution for each one, which may lead you to being and feeling more happy and positive. However, do remember no one can be totally without stress, that is impossible. The trick is controlling stress and dealing with these, sooner the better.

4. Get A Good Breakfast

This is one everybody should be including, with no exceptions! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day as it provides you with the energy and nutrients that lead to increased concentration and keeps your body alert and ready for the day ahead. Having a good breakfast is also important in maintaining a healthy body weight.

5. Avoid Harmful Pollutants

To lead a healthier lifestyle, we should avoid temptation of any pollutants which could be harmful to our bodies, or atleast reduce the amounts- alcohol in moderation, cut down on tobacco. Doing this is good for the body, where there are less toxins circulating our systems.

6. Have Healthy Meals

Having a good, healthy meal is the key to feeling great, having more energy, stabilising your mood, and keeping yourself as healthy as possible. Incorporating plenty of fruits and vegetables are the foundation of a healthy diet, as well as choosing healthy carbohydrates and fibre sources, especially whole grains, for long lasting energy. Combining these with a variety of good sources of fats are needed to keep your heart and brain active, as well as your hair, skin, and nails. Make sure to take time to chew your food and enjoy mealtimes, as they are what keeps your going!

7. Follow A Regular Exercise Routine

Creating a workout schedule or routine is a great way to begin getting fit and healthy
sticking to this will boost your confidence and give you that encouragement you need to stick to your routine. Just make sure you are flexible and realistic!

8. Get Your 5-A-Day

Getting your 5-a-day is something we should all strive for, to maintain a healthy diet. Fruit and vegetables can help keep your body fitter, healthier and happier, as well as they also usually low in fat and calories. The benefits of getting plenty of fruit and veg means a lower risk of serious health problems, such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and obesity.

9. Eat And Cook Healthily

Don't always rely on the takeaway, as these are usually quite bad for you and full of added products that aren't too good for you. But that doesn't mean you should get them, just have them in moderation!Use the internet as a source for recipes, this will allow you to try new ideas, new foods and new cuisines, as well as help to develop your cookery skills!

10. Enjoy Life
Having small changes to your life soon add up to greater enjoyment in life and just a ore positive outlook on life. Starting the day with a smile is a great mood booster, and starts your day in the most positive and happiest way. It means setting some time aside and making it special, maybe doing something new, meeting with some old friends or just treating yourself, this will make you feel better and reduce any stress in your life. Remember life only comes once so enjoy it for the better!

What things do you do to lead a healthy lifestyle? Do you follow any of these? Is there anything you would like to improve about your lifestyle?

Getting motivated is the best way to start/continue with your fitness/diet routine or just leading a better lifestyle, but finding that motivation can definitely be hard sometimes, especially if you don't have the support, knowledge or guidance that you really need.

In today's post, I'm going to be sharing with you my top 5 tips to getting motivated, and tips that I have started using myself, in order to get fit and healthy! As I said, I'm definitely no expert, but I'm hoping what I do, with motivate, inspire and help you with where you want to be/what you want to do!

So let's get started!

1. Exercise with a friend/family member or your partner

We all know that exercising on your own, or improving you diet can be very hard if you don't have the support and help from others around you, but starting your fitness/diet journey with someone else can make it 10 times easier for you! Having someone you know, who are close with and feel comfortable around, is a great way to feel motivated and encouraged. It's also a way to build a closer friendship/relationship, to get to know someone better, or even just to have some fun and let your hair down, whilst getting sit and healthy!

There may be those times where you feel like you just cant do something or you're struggling with something, but having that someone there with you can give you that extra boost and guidance you need, as well as that moral support, that can spur you on to achieve your goals and aspirations!

2. Set goals and keep a fitness diary

Setting yourself goals, and by goals I mean realistic and achievable ones, whether you want to loose 5lbs in 5 weeks, or 1 stone in 2 months, dropping 1 or 2 dress sizes or even entering a running event, just make sure they are realistic and reasonable! Setting goals helps you to keep focused, motivated and determined to get to that place you want to be, whether you choose a few weeks, few months or even a year.

Keeping a fitness diary/log is a great way to record your progress and see how far you've come! Its a great way to record your weight loss, your exercise routine or even how far your running/swimming/cycling each week! You'll be able to see how you're improving and progressing, to get to the place you want to be at the end!

Setting goals and keeping a fitness diary, can also be a way or treating and rewarding yourself. By reaching your goals by certain dates/months, you can treat yourself to something as a way to feel proud and pleased of how far you've come and what you have achieved!

3. Purchase workout clothing/accessories

This might sound like a bit of an obvious one, but ACTUALLY buying your workout clothing and accessories gets you motivated to start using it and begin your fitness/diet routine. There are so many different clothing items out there, whether you want proper fitness gear or even a plain top/vest and trackies/leggings, there's always something for very body shape and budget, you just pick what you feel comfortable and confident in!

Important things that I feel you should really have are...

- A good, supportive pair of trainers

- A comfortable sports bra

- Comfortable clothing/swimwear

- A water bottle

- Yoga/exercise mat

I feel that these are the very basics that you need to begin getting in shape and leading a healthier and fitter lifestyle. You can pick most of these up anywhere, in your local high street, supermarkets or even online. If you're on a tighter budget, there are still places for you, check out the sales in your local shops and online! You'll be sure to find something you'll love!

4. Create a workout schedule

Creating a workout schedule or routine is a great way to begin getting fit and healthy. By sticking to your schedule, this gives you something to stick to, be committed to and doesn't allow you to "cheat". Even if you choose to go running once a week, exercise at home everyday or go to the gym twice a week, sticking to this will boost your confidence and give you that encouragement you need to stick to your routine.

I think that creating one of these is a great idea, you can build up your schedule slowly, making sure you're not doing too much to exhaust yourself, just make sure you are flexible and realistic, and when you feel the time is right, you can slowly and steadily, build up your routine gradually.

5. Feel inspired and be determined

To get motivated, feeling inspired and being determined plays a huge role in this. There are many ways to do this, and here's just a few.

- Having photographs of yourself, or areas of your body that you aren't happy with dotted around in your exercise area, is a great way for you to feel motivated and determined to improve this.

- If you're looking to lose weight, buying something you love in a small dress size, will give you that boost and determination, to be able to fit into it and look great!

- This is probably a controversial one, but having images of celebs/role models that you think have a great body or just look great, will help you get inspiration!

- Printing out motivational quotes and putting them around your house, will help give you that encouragement you need to continue and stick to your routines!

So hopefully, If you're someone who is lacking that little bit of motivation, have no idea where to start or need some more help, this post has helped you that little bit! Getting that motivation you need to be successful and achieving your goals can be hard at first, but once you're there, you can do anything!

How do you get motivated? Do you include any of these tips? What other tips do you have?

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