…Get Fit Fast: 10 Ways To Spearhead A Quick Body Transformation…


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Whether you want to run faster for longer, increase your strength, or reveal a six-pack, fast progress is vital. Failure to see quick results is the most common reason for prematurely abandoning a fitness scheme. As such, you must go the extra mile to accelerate the transformation.

Here are 10 things that will lead you to the results you deserve.

1| Set Achievable Goals

If you want to lose 5st in two weeks, you’re setting yourself up for a nasty fall. Likewise, if you set out to lose 5st over the course of 18 months, the journey ahead feels like conquering Everest. Set small and accomplishable targets makes the journey ahead feel far less daunting. Moreover, hitting the milestones should help you see the improvements. It will additionally provide a motivational boost.

2| Plan

You can’t expect to see the desired results if you do not follow a dedicated strategy. When seeking exercise and fitness advice, it’s vital that the info is tailored to you. Otherwise, your regime will inevitably descend into madness. Sadly, this won’t only slow your progress, but it’ll actively encourage you to fall back into bad habits and routines. Fail to prepare, and you prepare to fail.

3| Diet


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It’s impossible to outrun a bad diet. Furthermore, this aspect is technically a lot easier to manage as you simply need to make smarter choices. The human body is a highly advanced machine, and it needs to be fueled in the right way. Going forward, you’ll need to find a balanced and suitable diet. In this early phase, though, creating a calorie deficit is particularly important if you wish to lose weight.

4| Drink More Water

While it is a subset of nutrition, increasing your water intake is essential for quick progress. Good hydration levels will actively flush toxins from the body. This will drastically improve your appearances. In addition to enhancing the reflection you see in the mirror, it should have a positive influence when stepping on the scales. Perfect.

5| Appreciate Your Commitments

If you wish to get fit fast, you’ll need to make time in your schedule. This could mean sacrificing some activities. However, you must not ignore the fact that workouts will need to fit around your office life or career. Once exercise becomes an active hindrance to your work, the conflict can only ever produce one winner. Your job. Ensure that getting fit enhances your life, and you’ll stay on track.

6| Be Accountable

Body transformations require consistency, especially in the early phases. Unfortunately, bad habits and destructive thoughts will try to knock you off of your stride. Appreciating the psychological benefits of chimp management can put you in a far stronger position. This allows you to make calculated choices that are focused on your best interests. When each day is positive, results come far sooner.

7| Mix It Up


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All exercise is good exercise, especially as a novice or someone hoping to take it more seriously. But the human body can quickly adapt to increased workloads, particularly when you repeat the same routines. A combination of weight training and cardio is a recipe for success in all fitness plans. Rotating which muscle groups are focused on should prevent injuries too.

8| Make It Competitive

Your mindset is the most powerful tool at your disposal when trying to get fit. Without motivation, you cannot unlock your full potential. Personal trainers are fine. However, adding a competitive nature by working out with friends or using fitness Apps is the best option. Forcing yourself to eat well and exercise during the early weeks will soon develop habits that last.

9| Look For Quick Fixes

Once you see that your hard work brings big results, you will stick to the task. If it’s necessary to trick your mind in the early stages of your new regime, that’s fine. Wearing the right clothes is a great way to enhance your look and make your effort seem worthwhile. Even wearing the right attire during workouts can boost your performance levels. Postural improvements are ideal too.

10| Enjoy It

Finally, as with anything in life, working with a passion will bring better results. You do need to invest some time into the meal plans and exercise schemes that work. Nevertheless, finding enjoyable sports and gym workouts will make you want to complete your session. In turn, you’ll put in the extra effort and potentially push yourself for longer. Quick progress is virtually assured.

Getting fit isn’t a race, but you do need to see enough progress to stay on track. Now that you will, your future looks better than ever.

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…3 Ways To Make A Change When You’re Not Seeing Gains In Your Exercise Routine…


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You don’t need us to tell you that in order to change your life a fitness routine can give you balance, structure, and a clean bill of health! But the one problem we all have with regards to our fitness routine is that we can get into a slump of sorts. Shaking it up is crucial because we need to find ways to either get back on track or adapt to something new. From a biomechanics perspective, the human body is fantastic. It adapts very quickly depending on what we throw at it. But this is why people experience plateaus. And if you’re not getting bigger or stronger you need to think about what you can change, not just physically, but mentally, in order to start again.

Taking Rest

Let’s get this out of the way, most people don’t want to rest! But it’s one of the most crucial components to giving your body the opportunity to recover. It doesn’t have to be about sitting on the couch all week; it can be about making sure that you have “active rest.” If you’ve been going hell for leather in the gym on a strength routine for months on end you might be doing your body more harm than good. You need to take the opportunity to rest while you can. But also having that chance to rest up can give you a renewed sense of perspective. This is the chance to put some additional time into making your gym routine better. Now might be the perfect time to carry out a nutritional cleanse that will allow you to hit the ground running when you do come back. There’s so much you can do with this opportunity. You can use it as a way to prepare new routines. But it can also give you a chance to think about other components of your fitness lifestyle, from the internal to the external. Perhaps you now have time to contact an activewear manufacturer to get more outfits but you can also think about what you’ve been doing up to this point that is really harming your progress. We can get into a very strict routine and this isn’t always a good thing. Because if we have been training our muscles in a certain way and we don’t shake up the routine this is not doing us any favors. Rest isn’t just beneficial for your body but it gives you the chance to really think about what you’ve been doing and incorporate other things that can benefit you.

Focusing On Functional Strength

Many people are addicted to CrossFit training and they go whenever they can because they love the fact that they are pushing themselves to their limits. But doing this too much can have a negative impact on your body, especially your joints. Focusing on functional strength is, in many ways, bringing it back to basics. When you are looking at strength from a biomechanical perspective you only need a handful of movements. And these compound movements can help us to discover more functional uses for our strength. This means we could just focus on the deadlift, the overhead press, the bent-over row, chest press, and the squat. If you haven’t been doing squats with a weights bench or you focus more on cardio, these compound movements can make you realize just how strong you are (or are not)! There’s a lot to be said for these functional movements because they can be all we need. If we spend a lot of time focusing on isolation exercises in our normal workout this can be a futile effort. But this is where training programs like the 5×5 workout come into their own. By focusing on these key compound moves, not only are you exercising every part of your body but you are encouraging your body to do what it was meant to do in a biomechanical sense.

Ditching Cardio

For some, this can be a cardinal sin, but hear us out! When the intensity increases you are doing as much for your body as cardio is. A very good example is when you are doing incredibly intense sessions with weights. If you are pushing yourself you will fatigue quicker and your heart is working harder to pump the blood around. Right now there is a big focus on super slow as a cardio replacement. This protocol pioneered by Ken Hutchings was meant to replace traditional weight training as well as cardio because technically you don’t need cardio. And the modern equivalent of this is the Body By Science method. The idea that you do one set of compound moves, preferably on a Nautilus machine, to complete fatigue is all your body needs! There are plenty of resources on this, which we will include at the bottom, but if you focus on the intensity rather than the reps this can give you a completely different focus. A lot of the super slow workout sources talk about the “time under load” or “time under tension.” When you’re doing exercise incredibly slowly it focuses your efforts on the task itself but it’s so fatiguing that you don’t need to go back to the workout for another 7 to 10 days (or even longer depending on your level of fitness)! If you think that cardio is incredibly boring and you are just looking for the health benefits, this could be an ideal option! There is also the X3 Bar, which is a popular product right now. This operates under a very similar approach to Body By Science but without actually going to the gym. But this is something that you don’t have to follow religiously. In fact, X3 is a protocol that uses resistance bands and encourages you to fatigue the muscle by using constant tension. 

Our bodies cannot tell the difference between a weight, a brick wall, or a very intense exercise. And if you are looking to change your approach to workouts you don’t necessarily have to think about getting the desired number of reps. This could be doing your body more harm. But when you are looking to make new adaptations and want to start again, your fitness routine can give you a clean bill of clarity in a mental sense. It’s crucial that we change our routines on occasion not just for our bodies, but for our brains as well.

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…How To Stay Sane And In Shape, While Practicing Social Distancing of Self Isolation…


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We are currently in the middle of a global epidemic. Covid-19, also known as the Coronavirus, is sweeping through the US, Europe, Australia, Asia and well as many countries beyond, leaving a trail of devastation and loss in its wake. As many countries, including our own, try to limit the damage caused by the virus, social distancing and self-isolation practices have been introduced in an attempt to slow down the spread and to protect the most vulnerable members of society. For most of us, this is the first time we have encountered anything like this before, and it can be scary looking into a future of unknowns. Although we may not be able to provide all the answers, we hope to be able to provide some relief. So here’s how to stay sane and in shape while practising social distancing. 

What is Covid-19?

Covid-19 is the official name for the new Coronavirus that was first encountered in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December of 2019. The virus has spread rapidly, travelling through borders and abroad to affect more than 180,000 people and causing more than 7000 deaths across 162 countries. The virus causes symptoms very similar to the flu, with its main symptoms being a persistent cough and a high feverish temperature. In severe cases, the virus can cause pneumonia, putting the elderly and those with pre-existing lung conditions most at risk. Currently, there is no vaccine for Covid-19 and a patient’s recovery is down to the strength of their own immune system. 

What is Social Distancing and Self Isolation?

With cases of Covid-19 growing quickly and healthcare systems at breaking points, governments have been trying to find ways to slow the spread in order to flatten the epidemic curve, ultimately reducing the pressure on healthcare systems while trying to keep those most at risk, safe. Two of the practices introduced are social distancing and self-isolation. 

Social distancing 

Social distancing is a very general term but essentially means avoiding mass gatherings and putting distance between yourself and other people in order to make it more difficult for Covid-19 to spread. In many instances, social distancing has been encouraged but remained optional, with companies urged to ask their employees to work from home, large social gatherings and events cancelled and people encouraged to spend more time in their homes. In some cases, social distancing has become compulsory, for example in Italy where the virus has already caused mass shut-downs of major cities. 

Self-isolation 

Self-isolation is very different from social distancing and involves completely cutting oneself off from the outside world. Currently, many countries are asking citizens to self-isolate if they begin to feel any symptoms that could be associated with the Covid-19 virus, this reduces the likelihood of them being able to spread it. But it is not just those who may have the virus who are being asked to self-isolate, vulnerable but healthy people are also being asked to stay indoors and not to go out or engage in social contact and this is to help protect them from virus carriers who may not even be showing any symptoms. Self-isolation periods for those with viral symptoms tend to last up to 14 days but for those who are vulnerable and at risk of catching the virus, then the self-isolation period could be going to last for several months. 

The importance of your immune system

As we have already established, there is currently no cure for Covid-19 and a person’s recovery is largely down to the strength of their own immune system. This makes it extremely important for people to remain as healthy as possible by eating a balanced diet, exercising and by sleeping properly. The good news is that a healthy diet can be maintained whilst adhering to social distancing and even self-isolation, and should be treated as a form of preventative medicine. 

Getting in groceries

It’s important not to panic at this time – panic helps no one and leaves those most at risk even more vulnerable. That being said, it is important, especially for those in isolation, to stock up on some food and drinks essentials, and with many people already panic buying this can seem like a difficult task. If you can, try to ensure that you have some long-lasting items such as pasta, rice and tinned foods in your cupboard. If you have a freezer then frozen fruits and vegetables are a great way to ensure you have access to fresh food for longer. Plan your meals, you won’t need to be in isolation forever and you likely need less food than you think you do, so be mindful of leaving some items on the shelves for others who need them. 

Items to stock up on

  • Pasta
  • Rice
  • Oats 
  • Legumes 7 Lentils
  • Long-life milk 
  • Tea/coffee
  • Frozen fruits and veggies 
  • Long-life veg such as sweet potato
  • Tins

Grocery deliveries

We are fortunate enough to live in an age where many grocery stores provide a delivery service. This is a great way to have food delivered to your door, especially for those who are needing to self-isolate or who are at risk if they enter a crowded supermarket. Delivery drivers are very busy at this time, so be mindful that it may take a little longer for your food to be delivered and there may be a few items missing if they are out of stock. 

Staying sane during self-isolation of social distancing 

For many of us, social distancing and isolation are going to have a big impact on our daily lives. Gyms, bars, restaurants and other recreational spaces will be forced to close, and this will leave many people at a loss as to what to do to fill their time. Once again, don’t panic. There’s plenty that you can do safely from the comfort of your own home. 

Socialising

Even the most introverted amongst us need some degree of social interaction to stay sane. Pick up the phone to your loved ones and friends, even if it’s just to talk about some cute womens glasses you’ve found online or in a magazine. Video call relatives who are having to isolate themselves and be mindful of those who may not have close family or friends to talk to. We are very lucky to live at a time when we have the internet, so video-call people, play games online and connect digitally to maintain some degree of socialisation. 

Exercising

Exercising is a great way to boost your mood, fuel your immune system and to stay in shape when you may be doing much less physical activity than usual. Even if you only have a small space to work with, there are exercises that you can do from the comfort of your home, without any equipment at all. Use this time to explore body-weight exercises or new forms of movement such as yoga or pilates that can be conducted with very little space and no equipment. If your usual exercise class is cancelled, then consider creating a Skype group and working out together, from your own homes, linked by the power of the internet. If you have a personal trainer, then this time can be very difficult for them too as they face losing a lot of business and their livelihood, don’t cancel on your PT but work with them to create a workout plan that you can stick to at home and have your workout sessions through a video link. 

Self-care

Self-isolation and social distancing may force us to spend longer at home but this is the perfect time to practice some self-care, relaxing, reading, stretching, putting the house in order and doing those little things that usually get pushed to the back of our priority list during our hectic lives. Try to think of the silver lining during this time and make use of the time you have been given to focus on yourself. 

Conclusion

Covid-19 is going to be around for a little while longer, and it will cause interruptions to our daily lives. Social distancing and self-isolation are important for keeping vulnerable people safe, and although they may seem like a stay-at-home prison sentence, there are still things you can do to ensure that you eat healthily and use the time wisely to focus on your own well-being. So don’t panic, stay safe and remember to help those around you when possible. 

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…Counterbalance Your Office Job With This Healthy Evening Routine…

We all know that office jobs aren’t exactly good for us. In fact, recent studies reveal that this kind of work could prove as bad for our bodies as smoking! This seems especially the case as many of us spend more than 9 hours a day in a hunched, sitting position. Luckily, while there’s little you can do about your job itself, you should still have control of your evenings. And, by taking control of healthier activities during this period, you might find that you can counteract those risks everyone’s warning you about. You may even be able to do it without a gym membership or heavy exercise if that’s not something you fancy. 

The question you should be asking yourself is, what exactly does a healthy office worker’s evening look like? 

5 PM – Set aside some quiet time


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The inevitable noise of office settings can take a significant toll on our mental health, leaving us susceptible to higher levels of stress or anxiety. If you have to use a headset on high volume to hear client calls, you may also be putting your hearing at risk, and opening yourself to a future of tests and hearing products. That’s why it’s first fundamental to set aside some quiet time when you get home. You could meditate at this time if you’re comfortable, but there’s no pressure. Just take a little time as soon as you get home to unwind, and let the silence wash over you. Your poor sore ears, and your struggling mind, are sure to thank you for it. 

6 PM – Head outside

Offices can be pretty stifling places, yet extreme workloads likely mean you don’t have a chance to walk anywhere but the coffee machine. That’s why you should also prioritize spending at least a little time outside each evening. A gentle stroll around the block is fine here if it’s all you have time for, or you may want to go more extreme by jogging a route nearby. Even something like walking to the shops instead of driving would be enough to provide you with a boost of fresh air, and the health benefits that come along with it. 

7 PM – Stretch, don’t sit

Sitting for extended periods is, by far, the most damaging office byproduct. As such, it’s also vital that you spend some time stretching of an evening. This is fantastic for relieving tension, maintaining muscle tone, and generally getting the office out of your system. Even a gentle yoga session that lasts around 15 minutes will be fantastic for building stamina. Or, you could go all out with extreme stretch-based workouts that really iron those kinks. 

Your timings may, of course, vary, and you might want to tackle these activities in a different order, but the point is that you make room for each one. Fitness and office work sadly don’t often go hand in hand. So, doing what you can when you can is fundamental for a healthier life.

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…How Fitness Revolutionizes Your Life…


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Unfortunately, it’s quite often the case that fitness is given a bad reputation amongst those who do not regularly engage with it. We may see those who wake up at 5.30am to go for a morning jog or to work out as those who are profoundly masochistic, those who simply haven’t truly felt the experience of a wonderful morning lie-in. Of course, we’re not here to judge those who wish to make their own life decisions, but we hope they can do so while remaining as informed as possible. To do that, we need to think of how fitness revolutionizes a person’s life outside of them simply feeling healthier or losing weight, because it can be very easy for some inexperienced in this path to dismiss those as simple benefits they’ve heard one thousand times before.

Fitness is much more than just feeling better in your skin. It thoroughly changes your daily attitude, sense of energy, your mood, your willingness to overcome challenges and much more. So in this article, we hope to discuss some of the more tangential effects of following a fitness lifestyle, to make the reason why people get up and go for that morning jog so obvious we may find ourselves performing that habit someday.

With that in mind, please consider the following:

It Puts Things In Perspective

Fitness helps you put things in perspective. This is because you’ll be taking some of your tension and expressing it through physical exercise. If you have a troubling social situation before hitting the gym, you can be sure that a good workout will help you meditate on it, take your mind off it, and then come out feeling refreshed and able to tackle that. Try and give a public presentation at work, once after a morning workout and once after sleeping in. You’ll be astonished just how much sharper you would be that first time. To that end, exercise helps you become a much better version of who you are.

It Emotionally & Mentally Regulates You

Fitness emotionally and mentally regulates you. It can help you refresh every single morning, as well as helping you stay grateful. It can reduce your stress to no uncertain degree, which can help you enjoy increased physical health, as cortisol levels are known to be among the biggest health hazards you could experience if not regulated. Fitness provides you the format to benefit from positive action.

It Teaches You How To Learn Something

Fitness teaches you how to learn something physical, something that you need dedication for. Outside of a job or a hobby, it’s hard to always curate these things with diligent effort in life. Before long you’ll be carefully inspecting and purchasing the best shoes from Dash Sports where you can find more information, or you’ll be reading lifting manuals like Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength, or learn how best to use a foam roller. All of this habitual learning can be very beneficial, and in the long run will help you feel much more confident in your pursuits.

With that in mind, you’re sure to revolutionize your life in the best possible way, using fitness as the fundamental drive.

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…Struggle To Keep To A Workout Routine? Let’s Make It Easier …

A workout routine can be hard to keep up with if you’re someone who lives with a disability or chronic illness, or you simply have little to no time in your regular schedule to make it to the gym 3 times a week. 

And because of these various reasons, there are a lot of ways to make your workout routine a lot easier to stick to! 

If you’re serious about keeping yourself in good shape, and helping your body to stay strong, make sure you keep the tips below in mind. 

Something is Better Than Nothing

Keep this in mind whenever you feel bad about not being able to stick with a workout routine – even if you’re not working out as much as you feel you should be, and if you’re not pushing as hard or going as long as you want to be, something is better than nothing. Turning an activity into a habit requires baby steps, after all, and that means even just getting to the gym in the first place is a great step. 


So, get on the exercise bike and only go for 20 minutes. Lift those weights that you think are  a little light for you, until your arms don’t shake anymore when you push them over your head. Little by little, you’ll be seeing and feeling progress. Because all you need to do is something! 

Bring Someone Else Along

If you have someone willing to act as a workout partner, make sure you rope them into your new routine. But not just for company! You might need an accountability partner; someone who can hold you responsible if you don’t stick to your workout routine, to ensure you’re always doing something week by week. 

Habits can be hard to form on your own, so you might just need another person watching over your shoulder, who will absolutely let you know if you’ve disappointed them! It’s a great way to motivate yourself into staying active and involved. 

Make Your Healthcare Needs Lighter to Manage

You need to try to balance both your workout needs and the recovery needs afterwards. After all, you can’t workout repeatedly and expect your body to adapt, or even be able to do something good with all of that work! You need to let your muscles breathe, rest, and repair from time to time, and that means it’s time to come up with a schedule. 

At the same time, if you have a disability or a chronic illness to factor in on top, you might need to talk to your doctor. Tell them about your plans to get into or keep in shape, and see what they suggest. 

Even for something you might not think could hamper a workout, like a hearing impairment, you may need to learn more about new and lighter hearing aids to wear during a workout. 

A workout routine can be a hard habit to keep to, but it’s doable with the tips above.

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…Find the Confidence to Get Started at the Gym …

Now the New Year Dash has settled, you might be thinking it’s time for you to hit the gym yourself, but going to the gym can be intimidating, especially if you don’t consider yourself the most athletic person around. 

The intimidation can cause you to avoid going to the gym at all. You may always find an excuse, even if just 10 minutes ago, you felt comfortable and motivated enough to pack your gym things away and head out. So here’s how you can build that confidence and hit your fitness goals now the rush has settled. 

Go With a Buddy

Everyone feels more confident about going to the gym or working out with a buddy. There’s something about the solidarity of two people or more exercising together that motivates and pushes each other. Sometimes, people can feel embarrassed working out alone, even if they are surrounded by others doing the same thing. The buddy system provides a buffer that gives you someone to talk to and share advice during your session.

Do the Induction

When joining a gym, a lot of people will convince themselves they don’t need to do the induction. However, while you might think you know how to use the machines (and if you don’t, you’re sure you can figure it out), this isn’t always the case.

An induction will introduce you to everything at the gym, so you feel comfortable using each machine or piece of equipment. No one wants to climb onto a machine and misuse it, so take the half-hour induction. It’s for your benefit. 

Choose Your Workout Times Carefully

A gym that’s too crowded can also knock your confidence and mess with your routine. You feel like everyone’s eyes are on you, even if they aren’t. You worry you’re taking too long on the machines and irritating those waiting around. You’re convinced that your form is being judged, scrutinized, and laughed about back in the locker room. To overcome this, try hitting the gym when there are fewer people there, such as first thing in the morning or late at night.

Find a Gym That Suits You

If you’re not comfortable at your current gym, you can start looking for one that’s more you. Places such as Fitness 20 provide supportive environments, and they’re also affordable, offering more advantages for you. 

You’re often under no obligation to join a gym the same day you check it out, so don’t rush into making a decision. Ask if you can get a week-long pass to get an idea of what the gym is like on different days and at different times, and try out as many gyms as you can in the area, so you get an excellent idea of what environment is right for you. 

Building Muscle, Building Fitness, Building Confidence

Creating healthy habits can often start at the gym. While you might feel scared or intimidated at first, understanding how you can make the who experience more comfortable for you will help keep you motivated. Furthermore, it ensures you enjoy your gym sessions every single time, so you can start seeing the changes and results you want to see. 

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…The Career Aspects You Should Consider To Improve Your Fitness …

Many people work 5 days a week, spending a huge portion of each day at work or travelling to work. While fitness isn’t necessarily the first thing you’ll think about when selecting a job, it could be something to consider if you know you need a change. Job satisfaction, salary, and alignment with your passions is important, but working in an office day in day out can be very bad for health and morale. Take a look at the list below so you know what you need to think about: 

Desk Jobs:

If you work at a desk, you have to work even harder to stay fit. You’ll need to make the effort to park further away, take the stairs rather than the lift, and get up every so often to go for a walk. Humans weren’t designed to sit down all day! 

Overall Happiness:

As well as your physical health, you need to consider the mental aspect. Are you happy at work? If not, it could be time to make a change. 

Shift Work:

We need shift workers. There’s no getting away from it. We need people to work through the night and round the clock to function as a society, whether you’re a nurse or you work in a petrol station. However, it’s important to note that shift work can have an adverse effect on health, and mitigating the risks is essential. Below, you’ll find an infographic talking about nursing styles – this may be something else to consider if you’re interested in the healthcare industry. 


credit to Bradley University
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…Lifestyle Changes to Complement Your Workout Routine 100% …

When you start a new workout routine, it may not be the only thing that you want to change. It can encourage you to start being healthier in other areas of your life, especially if it will help you to get fit. If you’re thinking about healthy lifestyle changes to complement your exercise routine, take a look at these ideas.

Quit Smoking

It’s not impossible to get fit if you’re a smoker, but it certainly won’t make it easier. Quitting smoking can help you to get healthier right away. Within weeks of having your last cigarette, your lungs will have started to recover, and other aspects of your health will improve too.

Start Getting Up Earlier

Not everyone can be an early bird, but getting up earlier can help you enjoy the whole day ahead of you. You can get your exercise in before work, instead of doing it when you’re tired after a long day.

Watch What You Drink

As you start to focus more on working out, you can think more about how you treat your body. One thing to consider is cutting down on caffeine and alcohol, which can both have an effect on your health. Choosing healthier drinks is a smart thing to do.

Change Your Diet

Matching your diet to your workout goals can help you to achieve your aims faster. The right diet can give you the nutrition that you need to lose weight, get stronger, or do anything else that you have set a goal for.


Infographic Design By USC
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…Three Ways to Reduce Your Chances of Injuring Yourself in the Gym …

When it comes to health and fitness, short-to-medium term goals can be beneficial. That said, it’s essential to keep your routine sustainable for long-term health.

If you’re motivated to reach your dream physique in six months, it can be tempting to workout to the point of injury, rather than listen to your body telling you to rest. But one of the best ways to achieve any goal in fitness is to create a workout routine that is sustainable by preventing injury.

Not only can a sprain or muscle tear break your stride, but it can set you back for long periods, and even limit the kinds of exercise you can do in the future.

So how do you avoid getting injured in the gym? These tips will help you create a workout routine that is more sustainable.


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Opt For Low Impact Cardio

If you’re a little overweight, or you’ve already had issues with your knees, it helps to steer clear of cardio exercises that put a lot of strain on your joints. Try the exercise bike or the elliptical trainer for lower-impact options. If you do want to progress to higher-impact exercises, shedding a few pounds can go a long way towards reducing the stress your activities put on your knees. For example, research has demonstrated that losing 10-15 pounds can significantly reduce your risk of injury if you are obese.

Get Expert Help With Weight Loss

Of course, losing weight is easier said than done. (That may be one of the reasons you started working out in the first place.) But if it’s your goal to move onto higher impact exercises like running, then it makes sense to double-down on your weight loss efforts until you’ve reached a healthy BMI, rather than put extra strain on your joints. Losing weight without a strong support system can be really challenging, so don’t be afraid to reach out for professional help. For example, you might try a medical weight loss center or get help from a qualified personal trainer or dietician.


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Sort Out Muscle Imbalances

Though muscle imbalances are extremely common (most of us have some imbalances that we may not be aware of) it’s quite normal only to notice that you have an imbalance once it causes injury. Maybe your right quad is over-compensating for weakness in your right glute, or your back is stronger on one side than the other. Even if this imbalance isn’t impacting your training now, it’s possible that you will experience a serious injury after long-term wear and tear.

So if you want to ensure that your workout routine is sustainable, it’s important to work out if you have imbalances, and take steps to sort them out before they cause you trouble down the line. Paying close attention to your movements while working out can reveal imbalances, but it can also be useful to have a session or two with a personal trainer, who’ll be able to spot more subtle imbalances and guide you in your efforts to correct them.

Whether you’re a casual gym-goer or a serious athlete, a painful injury can be a terrible setback if you’re working towards your goals. These tips will help you introduce healthy habits to make your workouts more sustainable.

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