Being active makes you healthy and strong. It is not just for people who have a weight problem but for everyone who likes to stay fit. There is a lot you can do, such as jog or walk every morning, play basketball or any other sport with friends, but if you want to be muscular and look lean, then you can sign up to a good online fitness program and/or workout in a gym.
People workout for 3 reasons;
The first is that the person is overweight and the only way to lose those extra pounds will be to reduce ones calorie intake and at the same time workout in the gym.
The second is that the person is underweight and the only way to add extra pounds is to have more calories in ones diet and workout.
The third is just for fun and to keep that person in shape.
The best exercise plan should have cardiovascular and weight training exercises. This helps burn calories and increase the muscle to fat ratio that will increase your metabolism to gain or lose weight as appropriate.
Just like taking any medicine, if in doubt you should first consult the doctor before undergoing any form of exercise.
Here are some benefits of exercising;
1. It is the easiest way to maintain and improve your health from a variety of diseases and premature death.
2. Studies have shown that it makes you feel happier and increases your self esteem, thus preventing you from falling into depression or having anxiety issues.
3. An active lifestyle helps people live longer than those who don’t.
Working out, for someone who has not done it before should be done gradually. Endurance will not be built in a day and doing it repeatedly will surely be beneficial to your fitness level.
It is advisable to workout regularly with a reasonable diet. You can consult with a dietitian or a health professional to get a good diet program. It starts by evaluating the lifestyle and the health of the patient before any program is made, if you wish.
Anytime you exercise, you do so in order to try and maintain good health. You also know that you have to eat as well, so your body will have the energy it needs to exercise and maintain for the everyday tasks of life. For making the best of your exercise, what you eat before and after you workout is very important.
No matter if you are going to be doing a cardio workout or a resistance workout, you should always make it a point to eat a balanced mix of protein and carbohydrates. What makes that determining percentage of carbs and protein you consume is whether or not you are doing cardio or resistance exercise and the intensity level that you plan to work at.
The ideal time for you to eat your pre workout meal is an hour before you start. If you plan to work at a low intensity level, you should keep your pre workout meal down to 200 calories or so. If you plan to exercise at a high level of intensity, you will probably need your meal to be between 4,000 and 5,000 calories.
Those of you who are doing a cardio session will need to consume a mix of 2/3 carbs and 1/3 protein. Doing so will give you longer sustained energy from the extra carbs with enough protein to keep your muscle from breaking down while you exercise.
For resistance exercise, you’ll need to eat a mix of 1/3 carbs and 2/3 protein, as this will help you get plenty of energy from the carbs to perform each set you do and the extra protein will help keep muscle breakdown to a minimum while you exercise.
Eating after you exercise is just as important as your pre workout meal. Anytime you exercise, whether its cardio or resistance, you deplete energy in the form of glycogen. The brain and central nervous system rely on glycogen as their main source of fuel, so if you don’t replace it after you exercise, your body will begin to break down muscle tissue into amino acids, and then convert them into usable fuel for the brain and the central nervous system.
Keep in mind that mostly during resistance exercise, you’ll break down muscle tissue by creating micro tears. What this means, is that after a workout, your muscles will instantly go into repair mode. Protein is the key here for muscle repair, as you don’t want muscle breaking down even further to create fuel instead of lost glycogen.
Once you have finished a cardio session, you’ll need to consume mainly carbohydrates, preferably those with high fiber. Rice, oatmeal, whole wheat pasta, and northern fruits are excellent sources. Also, try to consume 30 – 50 grams of three types of carbs after you exercise. After your cardio workout, it is fine to eat within 5 – 10 minutes.
Once you’ve finished a resistance workout, you will need to consume a combination of carbs and protein. Unlike cardio workouts, resistance workouts will break down muscle tissue by creating micro tears.
You’ll need protein as this happens to build up and repair these tears so that the muscle can increase in size and strength. The carbs will not only replace the lost muscle glycogen, but will also help the protein get into muscle cells
so it can synthesize into structural protein, or the muscle itself.
After your resistance exercise, you should wait up to 30 minutes before you eat, so that you won’t take blood away from your muscles too fast. The blood in your muscles will help the repair process by removing the metabolic waste products.
It may seem obvious, but another way to stay healthy is to give up some vices. Many people smoke and drink. Smoking has been proven to cause lung cancer and other diseases as well complications for women giving birth. Excessive drinking has also shown to do the same.
For people who don’t smoke, it is best to stay away from people who do since studies have shown that non-smokers are also at risk of developing cancer due to secondary smoke inhalation.
Do it right, and stay fit and healthy…