Over the years I have developed a thing for staying in shape. It’s become of second nature to me. Sure I worked hard to get into the shape I am now, probably more than most people, but I learned so much along the way. I only wish I knew then what I know now. But, then again, that’s more or less how it is with everything in life.
I have been doing parkour for about 12 years. I spent about 10 of those years kick boxing at the same time, so I spent half that time in gyms and fitness centers. What did I learn after years of fitness drills? That I could have done it all from the comfort of my own home.
The body is really not as complicated as people make it out to be, especially when it comes to losing weight and toning it up. Every part of the body has one of two ways of doing an exercise to achieve one of two goals, simple as that.
Now, If I were to share everything I’ve found out about losing weight and getting fit, it would take up all of Cricket’s blog, which would suck, so I’m going to give you the 10 most important tips to staying fit while losing weight.
First of all, and I can’t stress this enough, you have to be mentally prepared to go through with a certain fitness routine and must be dedicated. If you’re not, you only have yourself to blame when you look in that mirror and see no results.
Put your mind to it. You can achieve most realistic goals within a couple of months. It does not take years or anything.
It’s easy if you put your mind to it.
Water, yes that liquid stuff we drink so much of, drink more. Did you know that drinking about three bottles of water a day can stretch your life span by about 15 years? No? You do now.
This is not the only reason you should drink a lot of water, drinking more will make you feel full, and not as hungry most of the time, which means less consumption of food which as we all know, is the devil. Yes, food is the devil.
Eat small portions, not snacks, actual meals, but small in portions, three meals a day. Make the breakfast a good well-portioned meal. Come lunch, you should not go all out and have something equal to two toast sized sandwiches, a side salad and fresh juice of some sort.
Dinner should always be kept light. Don’t eat meats and so on at night. Try to stick to yogurt, or fruits, something light. Aim to have dinner before 8pm after which it’s only water.
If you get hungry, do what I used to do till I broke the late night hunger thing, eat an apple. Just that, an apple will be enough to get your mind off food long enough to go to bed!
Caffeine, it’s a killer. I know, some of you have kids, heck some of you have husbands, which at times is just as bad and coffee is pretty much the only thing keeping you sane, but honestly think about it. What if that was the key to helping you lose more weight.
Tea, coffee, sodas and so on, just drop it. Oh, and I’m not even going to go into smoking, because you’re all mature enough adults to know what smoking does, right?
Working out should be fun, and it should not take time, 30-45 minutes a day is a good workout. You should walk at least 10minutes a day, more walking never hurt anyone.
When it comes to workouts you should do a full body one every day. At first if you’re not doing so, it will take time for your body to get used to it, but you will eventually adapt to the daily routine.
I suggest:
-Start out with a 15 minute walk/jog to get the blood circulating and the body warmer, a little more flexible for the work out (10 min cardio. , whatever you want it to be, you could run up and down stairs for 10 minutes but your calf’s will be aching after a few days of that, just break a sweat, that’s the first key)
-As soon as you’re done with that 15 minutes of torture as most women call it (smirk), take a sip of water (not cold, mild) and get down to hitting the abs. Do some sit ups, crunches, not many, just enough to get the abs working at the start of the workout. Do two sets of 15, take small pauses between each rep if you must. This should take you no more than 5minutes.
-Get up and jump. Jumping is really good to shake off the pounds. This could be you skipping rope or jumping on the spot as if you were skipping rope. Remember to keep your arms moving too so you work the under arm areas and tone them up. A few minutes of this should do the trick.
-Steps. Get a solid box of some sort that won’t move when you climb onto it, something a foot off the ground, no more, put it against a wall if you must so it does not move, and go up and down it as if it were a step. You could use actual stairs if you have them at home too. Up and down the first step without turning to come down it.
This could easily be done every day, and if you stick to it. Cut the caffeine intake, eat smaller portions and watch the fat intake then you’re on the right track.
It’s really important you ask a professional before you do any kind of sport or fitness program for health risks. If you have back problems then seek help and get the right fitness program for that.
Michael Kane
www.michael-kane.com
Michael Kane is a very well known Michigan Designer, with Inlip Designs. He is also known as a fitness guru, one of his newest projects being the Yoga Training Yoga Blog.