Five Simple Steps Towards Living an Active Lifestyle
In order to pursue an active lifestyle and reap the benefits it offers, the three most common things you will hear about are diet, exercise, and quitting smoking. Quitting smoking and maintaining a healthy diet almost go without saying and are frankly about the easiest part of this triple threat to healthier living. But what about exercise? The older we get, the harder it is to recover from injuries and also the harder it is to put on muscle, achieve tone, and most importantly being good to our joints and bones. Over time, disuse, old injuries, or even medical conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes present even greater challenges to getting in shape. Chances are you aren’t in your 20’s anymore, and you can’t just will yourself to perform athletically like you did when you were younger. These things take time, but where do you begin when you want to start living an active lifestyle?
5 Steps to Take for a More Active Lifestyle
1. Stretch
In order to begin any sort of new physical activity, it is best if you warm your body up to the idea. The first and best method of doing this is to stretch. Do some research on techniques. Take time to give your joints, muscles, and connective tissue a proper warmup. Proper stretching can decrease the chance of aggravating old injuries and also goes a long way towards preventing new ones. You might feel silly at first, contorting your body in all sorts of ways, but in the long run, you will allow yourself extra motility and a lot less pain when your workout is over.
2. Know Your Physical Limits
Overdoing things can stress out your muscles, tendons, and ligaments, and could present the added complications of things like microfractures. Overdoing things could increase your chance of heart attack, stroke, exercise-induced asthma attacks, or even diabetic related problems such as a drop in glucose levels. Blacking out during a run could lead to head trauma, concussions, broken bones, or other injuries. Be kind to yourself and pay close attention to how you feel. s your heart racing? Be sure to monitor your pulse and blood pressure if necessary. Any number of fitness tracking devices on the market can help you keep an eye on this and even record the data over time on your smartphone!
Also be conscious of old injuries. A healing surgery or even plantar fasciitis can cause serious pain which might keep you off your feet longer than you need, not to mention giving you no desire to get out there and keep active. Talk to your doctor about the proper way to baby these injuries and prevent future flare-ups or complications! Above all else, listen to your body. If you feel sudden pain, shortness of breath, dizziness or blackouts, stop the activity immediately and seek professional help.
3. Use Proper Equipment
Your workout is only going to be as good as the equipment you use. Proper shoes can mean the difference between getting the optimum workout for the day or spending weeks of downtime nursing injuries. If you are going to a gym, get advice from a personal trainer and at least long enough to learn the ropes and how to use the equipment properly. They can also offer advice on the best sorts of shoes you need for your activity, or other exercise gear that will make your experience fun and productive. Helmets, pads, and safety equipment are also a must for keeping your calendar clear of injuries.
4. Check Conditions
Whether your favorite activity is riding a mountain bike or in-line skating, running or swimming, or climbing or a simple walk through the park, always make sure that the weather is going to agree with the activity you are planning. A road bike and a light drizzle can make for a deadly combination if you round a corner and your wheels slip out from under you. Hot summer days might cause problems with heat stroke if you are running, and ice-skates are better suited to winter days than in-line skates. If it’s rainy or icy outside, don’t use this as an excuse to not work out. Make it a day for the gym or stay at home and work on some exercises you can do in front of the TV if you have to. It’s all about making good lifestyle decisions!
5. Know Your Comfort Levels
Start off slow. Good, productive exercise means building up a gradual tolerance to the demands of the physical activity. Starting off too hard and fast can lead to injuries or worse, or might just increase recovery time, which also prevents you from making exercise a part of your lifestyle. This binge-style workout isn’t going to help your body out any more than surfing the internet and might lead to health problems in the long term. Start off slow and get a feel for how much activity your body can tolerate. Increase how strenuous the activity is depending on what you feel comfortable handling!
Contact us if you want to learn more about living an active lifestyle!
David Michael Gilbertson is the founder and president of 3 Elements Lifestyle, LLC., a Fitness and Weight Loss company that specializes in YOU! With more than 15 years of experience owning, operating and managing clubs of all sizes, David lectures, delivers seminars and gives workshops on the practical skills required to successfully help you with your health and fitness goals. David also helps you build the teamwork, management, and training necessary to open your own fitness center.
For more information on Licensing and Consulting Services Visit his website at www.3elementslifestyle.com or email at daveg@3elementslifestyle.com or call (805) 499-3030.
