Today we want to discuss how to truly optimize your fitness in the healthiest way. Fitness. We all know what it is, but how it translates to us can sometimes vary. For instance, what fitness means to an eighteen-year-old man will no doubt differ from what it means for a seventy-year-old Grandmother. The former may run miles every day in preparation for athletic extracurricular activities, the latter may find that going for a long walk with her dog each morning enough to get her heart beating and her mood elevated.
Furthermore ‘optimizing’ fitness can sometimes seem like a mixed bag. After all, none of us can eat absolutely perfectly each day (unless training for an advanced competition such as in bodybuilding, where we demand this of ourselves), nor can we train every single day of our lives. For most people, optimizing our health is not about becoming a superman, but in becoming fit and staying fit. As such, sustainability is an essential perspective worth caring about.
In the following advice, we’ll discuss what it means to optimize your health, how you can do so, but how you can also pursue this effort without overdoing it, becoming too dramatic, or burning out and forgetting the project altogether. Let’s consider:
Proper Rest
It’s very important to get the proper rest you need before working out again. Novices often hit the gym passionately the first few weeks or months, and can overdo it if they’re not getting the restful sleep they need to recover. This might sound trivial, but actually, most of your muscles and fitness is actually built by your diet and sleep, working out is actually there to put stress on your system to ensure it improves. Without that, you’ll no doubt feel uncomfortable and your body won’t be able to repair.
For instance, some weightlifters find that they need even more than the customary eight hours of sleep a night in order to recover, particularly if they’re lifting heavy through the week. Proper rest also means ensuring you don’t overtrain, mixing too much cardio in with your lifting and vice versa. Find a program that works for you, that slowly ascends in pressure while you perfect your form. It will make the most difference going forward, especially with this great read.
Correct Stretching
Correct stretching is important, both to warm up and relax before and after working out, respectively. Dynamic stretching is how you start off a workout, that is stretching with movement, as static stretching can lead you to harm your muscles when expecting them to work out moments after. Static stretching is a great way to wind down, to iron out the kinks of your body, and to feel more comfortable in doing so.
Stretching also helps you become more flexible, stronger and perhaps even better-trained. For instance, isometric stretches have been proven to increase strength by up to 10% when keeping to a careful regimen, and not overdoing things. Stretching not only helps you keep your muscles healthy and supple but prevents injury. For that reason, it is more than worth your time.
Training, Not Exercise
Exercise is great. It’s conducive to the best possible life you can lead. It’s important to manage your health, and its essential for your weekly well-being. Unfortunately, it’s also not as worthwhile as training if you’re hoping to optimize your health.
What does this mean? Well, exercise is running twenty minutes once every other day. That can be a great way to stay trim. However, training is a program that is often measured, starts off slow, and is increased in load over time. It demands of you the ability to learn proper form, to stay disciplined, and to measure your results. It’s how people increase in strength, endurance, and capacity.This is why the best newbie programs focus on starting off slow and helping you get better – such as Couch 2 5k, or novice weightlifting programs like Starting Strength. The more you can train, the better you can exercise, and often, the further you can go. Note – there is absolutely nothing wrong with exercise in the least, of course. For optimal results however, focus on training.
Deload Weeks
Deload weeks are also important, and worth taking when you can. You might have been training for two or three months straight, and feel like you’re not making much progress after the ‘newbie gains’ you’ve faced. That’s fine. A deload week can help you more easily reduce the strain on your body, provided you eat healthily, take some time for yourself, and rest up.
This is how many bodybuilders, athletes, and competitors take some time for themselves, and the approach can work wonders for you, too. You simply need to trust in the process, take some time out, and limit your ego for the time being. In that way, you can come back stronger and more capable.
Supplements
Great Supplements can help you optimize your nutrition. They may help you get your protein quota, your vitamins and minerals, energy granted to you in the form of a pre-workout, or perhaps BCAA’s to help stimulate muscle growth.
Supplements may also simply involve vitamin D when running in winter, or making sure that you get enough fish oil during the week. You should always check with your Doctor when taking something new, and never use it as a substitute for a balanced, healthy and nutritious diet. If you do that, then supplements can help you potentially increase your chances of making headway in your goals – in the best possible light.
Proper Form
You can lift the most weight in the world, or run the farthest, but if you don’t use proper form, the results won’t be a fraction as good as they could have been – and you’re liable to injure yourself. Don’t let this happen to you. Focus on good and proper form. It will help you become a better, more appreciative amateur athlete or trainee. It will help you get better results. And, it will give you the satisfaction for doing something properly. If you really feel motivated you can always consider becoming a Fitness Instructor by doing a course through the American Sports and Fitness Association. This will truly optimize your fitness in a whole new way!
With this advice, we hope you can more easily optimize your fitness in the healthiest possible sense.
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