If you’ve already found your fitness niche and have been hard at work for months-on-end. you may be suffering from “workout burnout.” Review this helpful article at MSNBC for tips on how to avoid the worst of exercise frustration–and get re-motivated to improve your health.
WORKOUT BURNOUT? AVOID THE FOUR STAGES
Still not sure what type of activity you’d really enjoy? Health.com provides a helpful guide for choosing fitness activities that fit you. Take their quiz to find out what time of day is best for your workout, how much to budget for your new activities–and whether you’re a group exercise fan or a loner.
Click here to begin choosing activities that match your personality and interests.
Think you don’t have enough time to fit in a daily workout? Think again. O Magazine’s Selene Yeager discusses how rigorous, 20-25 minute interval workout plans can quickly boost your metabolism and burn a surprising number of calories.
CLICK HERE to read all about it.
Last week, we talked about escaping the “inevitable” holiday weight gain many of us expect each year. But in addition to making smart food choices, weight maintenance means including a healthy sprinkling of exercise in your holiday season.
It’s no surprise that parties, shopping, baking and gift wrapping causes even the most dedicated of exercisers to stray from their routine. How can you maintain workout motivation in the midst of holiday busyness? Read on for some ideas.
During the chaos of the season this year, remember that regular exercise is not only good for your health—it’s good for your mental well-being, too. And best of all, when you keep your eye on weight and wellness goals during the holidays, you’ll begin the New Year by avoiding frustrating weight gain—and feeling good about yourself.
We use the Internet to shop for cars, sell used items, find jobs and book vacations, so why not use it to accelerate weight loss? You’ll find an abundance of calorie counters, portion calculators, diet journals and nutrition databases online—and many are free to use.
You don’t have to be tech-minded to use the weight loss gadgets below, and they could be just what you need to monitor food intake, calculate calories burned and rekindle your dwindling motivation.
CaloriesPerHour.com: Calculate BMI, count calories burned during everyday activities and figure out daily caloric requirements with the tools on this easy-to-use site.
WebMD Food-O-Meter: This comprehensive food calorie counter provides important nutrition facts (fat, calories, carbs, sugars and fiber) for over 37,000 foods and beverages.
Fitday.com: Become a free user and set up a free, online diet journal. Use it to track daily meals/snacks, create exercise schedules and set weight loss goals.
Livestrong.com: An interactive health and fitness community, Livestrong provides trusted content about a variety of diet, weight loss and exercise topics.
Traineo.com: Build a weight loss diary, track your daily activities and log diet information with this simple online program.
If maintaining a positive body image is a constant struggle for you, a daily walk, tennis game or yoga class may do more than get your heart rate up. A recent University of Florida study found that those who exercise regularly have a more positive self-image than those who don’t. Results indicated that improved self-perception occurred in the majority of dedicated exercisers—even those who had not been successful in reaching their weight loss or strength goals.
“This is an important study because it shows that doing virtually any type of exercise, on a regular basis, can help people feel better about their bodies,” said kinesiology professor and fitness expert Kathleen Martin Ginis. “With such a large segment of the population dissatisfied with their physiques, it’s encouraging to know that even short, frequent bouts of lower intensity exercise can improve body image.”
To read about this exciting new research or check out more fitness news, click here.
