~~~ Like birds depending on wind currents allowing them to soar and fly, we depend on our motivations to stay intelligent, curious and naturally active in life ~~~
Hello Friends,
I hope you enjoyed my last post “Find That Carrot And Gear Up For Success”.
We were talking about motivation and how to find it within yourself, inside, or outside. Preparing yourself mentally is of utmost importance to be able to stay motivated for long.
BE CLEVER and set achievable and realistic goals that meet your specific criteria.
HAVE A POSITIVE ATTITUDE and make sure that you remain in choice with your goal.
SEEK SUPPORT and team up with people who are willing to share your determination.
GO WITH MUSIC and get some music you love to stay motivated.
EXPRESS YOURSELF and invest in your best gym uniform.
In this post, we will talk about
~ how to start exercising
~ how not let the aspirations fade
~ how to develop an exercise habit
~ how to make it successful and impossible to fail
Suppose, you already know your strongest motivation point and you are self-determined to start as soon as possible. Your intrinsic motivation whether it is health, personal growth, seeking affiliation, or your extrinsic goals, such as social recognition, seeking wealth or influence, are being very promising for long-term exercise adherence. Great! Your incentives will be key to understanding your exercise behavior and will dictate it step by step leading to well-being and personal growth.
Strength and endurance,
stress reduction and flexibility
are among the fitness priorities in midlife. Many exercises can be performed at home, however, joining a gym or a fitness center will provide emotional health benefits as we often find lots of social interaction outside of our homes.
It is recommended …
to start with just 15 to 30 minutes workout and make it as efficient as possible. Visit your local health club, take a tour with a gym professional and join that club if you liked what you saw. As a rule, gym personnel will help you initially with your simple exercise routine. They will show you how to use weight machines properly or you can always read instructions yourself. These are usually printed on every machine so you will not be intimidated by them.
You will find plenty of magazines, videos, and articles online and learn how to use various strength training equipment, free weights, weight machines and exercise tools, and pick up some tips how to avoid mistakes. It is important to use gym equipment correctly to prevent injuries.
“Gym Equipment Guide For Beginners – Names and Pictures”
by Ada Lane
Exercise Equipment
Here is the list of the most common gym equipment:
Abdominal Bench ~ Maybe
Barbells ~ One of my favorites
Bench Press ~ A must use
Cables and Pulleys
Calf Machine
Dipping Bars
Dumb Bells ~ One of my favorites
Foam Roller ~ Fun one
Hack Squat Machine
Hammer Strength Machine
Hyper Extension Bench
Incline Bench Press ~ One of my favorites
Lat Pulldown Machine ~ One of my favorites
Leg Abduction Machine ~ One of my favorites
Leg Curl Machine
Leg Extension Machine
Leg Press Machine ~ One of my super favorites
Pec Deck Machine
Preacher Bench
Pull Up Bar ~ One of my favorites
Smith Machine
Squat Rack
Stability Ball ~ One of my favorites to also use at home
Wall Ball
Kettle Bells ~ One of my favorites to also use at home
Strength and Flexibility
Dynamic stretching, core stability exercises, exercises using resistance bands, machines and weights can help strengthen your muscles by activating the muscles and tissues providing them with healthy stress. This can help decrease stiffness, retain muscle and build new muscle mass.
It also helps you maintain your balance and coordination, improves circulation around the joints and allows the joint to function optimally and move with ease. Use a resistance band when doing bicep curls or calf lifts.
Stretch to remain flexible and to move more freely. Stand or lie on a mat while performing stretching exercises. Stretching helps loosen the tissue that muscles are surrounded in, helps avoid injuries while using weight machines, and unlocks the tension and tightness in your muscles.
Just a short 15-minute stretching and resistance workout session will help reduce or eliminate pain or discomfort in your legs and your back.
Endurance and Stress Reduction
Cardio workout is essential for building endurance and improving overall cardiovascular health. If you prefer you can walk or bike, hike, do dancing, aerobics, and swimming. Cardio helps you lose weight fast. Experts recommend using Elliptical. These machines are known to minimize the impact on the knees and hips with the maximum workout benefits. Other cardio exercises include but are not limited to running (moderate pace) and/or walking on a treadmill, using kettlebells, stationary cycling, and rowing.
For stress reduction try yoga. It relaxes both the mind and the body. It incorporates controlled breathing, meditation with physical poses where you are holding postures or remain seated in meditation pose.
Yoga may help reduce stress and tension, lower blood pressure. It may help you breathe more effectively and suppress negative emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt.
You can practice yoga at home or at a gym.
Some of the beneficial exercises from yoga include forward bends and lunges.
Free online yoga link
General fitness starting points
Anyone with joint issues, heavily overweight or recovering from an injury should try fitness program based on low impact bodyweight, including cardio and stretching. Slowly get your body in sync and later transition into free weights and weight machines. Exercises should be done standing up to minimize pressure on the joints. Your results will be permanent and long-term.
Pick exercises and machines you feel you will enjoy doing and adjust difficulty as you go. For example, if you don’t enjoy running, you can choose to walk briskly. Walk on a treadmill for 15 to 30 minutes. Make sure your inclines and your speed are in sync. I personally choose 3.5 inclines and 3.5 to 3.9 speed on a treadmill when doing a brisk walk. Picking the enjoyable types of exercises will allow you to follow through to form a habit and stick with it for long enough to see results.
Useful Tip:
Once you start exercising, your results will show sooner if you also start changing your eating habits.
In my next post, I will be talking about
~ meal plans which are a balanced flexible diet for every day that will help you lose and maintain your weight
~ calorie count
~ certain food restrictions
~ portion control
~ gaps between meals
~ meal options
Now, for you, my readers!
Please share your motivation points and ask your fitness questions.
I’d love to hear your comments right on this blog!
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P.S. I depend on the word of mouth. I would really appreciate if you share your thoughts and this blog content personally or shared through social media with your relatives and friends. Hope you will keep coming back to my blog. I will keep sharing helpful tips and ideas and appreciate every single one of you!