By IMAGE
25th Feb 2016
25th Feb 2016
Change?Your Routine Regularly?
Your body gets used to exercise very quickly and you stop seeing progress, so it’s important to change your routine every four to six weeks. Mixing it up also means you won’t get bored doing the same thing and throw in the towel. Slight changes are all you need; increase the intensity of your workout, maybe lift heavier weights, add ten minutes onto your cardio session, or take a class at the gym that you’ve never tried before.
Reduce?Stress
Believe it or not, stress can be a reason for not losing weight or improving your fitness. When we are stressed, a hormone called cortisol is produced in the body. This hormone tells your body you need energy, thus making you hungry, and of course, most of us reach for the sweet, salty and high fat foods when this happens because these foods release pleasure chemicals in the brain, which reduces stress and tension. This cycle can become addictive, which is the reason why we go for unhealthy foods when we are anxious or stressed. Cortisol also encourages the body to store fat around the tummy area. De-stressing is really important if you want to take your health to the next level. Try to take time for daily meditation – even just five minutes of silence can help a lot. Take regular breaks during your day, maybe try a yoga class, get out into nature regularly – there is nothing more soothing.
Sign Up For An Event
This is a great way to motivate yourself and give you something to work towards. When you sign up for an event, you have a clear path, a goal in sight, and a timeline to achieve it in. It also adds fun to what can become quite monotonous. Nothing is more motivating than a good deed, so make your latest fitness challenge go a little further by raising much needed funds for your favourite charity. We love the Be Brave for Barnardos campaign – Gaelforce anyone?
positivefitnessproject.com
This article was originally published in the February issue of IMAGE Magazine.
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