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25 Summer Fitness Tips Straight From the Experts

1. Use your body weight. You need nothing else besides your own body weight to get great results. The push up, for example, a very simple exercise performed with your own body weight will help you sculpt sexy summer shoulders and a nice firm midsection.

2. Pick up the pace! No matter where you are, you can squeeze in some extra cardio. Walk at a faster pace while breathing deeper to increase your heart rate. Bam! A mini cardio exercise.

3. Use your breath. To get the most out of your breath, breathe from the diaphragm. To do this, think of breathing in a 3D fashion; your ribcage should expand from front to back, top to bottom, and left to right. These deep breaths will help you burn extra calories and give you extra energy during your workouts. The bonus is that you can use this breathing style not only to burn more calories during exercise but also while walking to the corner store, working at your desk, or just sitting in the car on your next road trip!

4. Carry a reusable water bottle. No matter where you go or what you do, bring water with you. Our bodies can misread being hydrated for being hungry, leading to over consumption and weight gain. Also, when traveling on planes or to higher altitudes in general, the amount of oxygen in the air decreases equating to dryer air and reduced body hydration. This can leave you with unhealthy food cravings, headaches and poor body awareness from fatigue. To be more alert and make more right food choices, drink more water! Carry a reusable water bottle wherever you go. You can empty out the water before a security check point and fill it up right after. You’ll save money on bottled water, not to mention help reduce waste!

5. Be food prepared! No matter where we are, we’re often tempted to “grab and go,” especially when traveling. Unfortunately, most ready to go snacks are calorie packed and nutrient deprived. Save yourself the extra calories and pack some yummy granola bars, fruits and/or nuts in your carry-on bag so you’re prepared to fight the urge of the grab and go pastry.

6. No time? No problem! More intensity! Even 20 minutes will get you into the zone of fat blasting and muscle building as long as you maximize your effort. The goal of a short workout should be to workout at your personal intensity max. When you feel like it’s time to stop, try pushing for 10 more reps to maximize the hormonal response from your workout. Do this for at least 20 minutes targeting your upper, middle and lower body with push ups, planks, crunches and burpees, and you’ve got a complete workout!

7. Keep a food log. Recording what you eat is one of the best ways to stay on track. Make it easy for yourself and download an app (my favorite is Lose It!) to keep track of your daily intake no matter where you are. Your goal should be smaller meals, more often.

8. Bring a workout video. No matter where you are, you can pop in a video to stay on track – it’s like bringing a personal trainer wherever you go! My favorite is Exhale’s 30 Day Sculpt. It’s perfectly designed with 30 days of quick and efficient 20 minute fun, fat-blasting workouts!

9. Buddy up! Accountability is everything. Having a partner keeps you accountable and makes diet and fitness goals more fun! Not only have you set yourself up for success with buddy system accountability, but you now have someone to share your excitement with when you hit your goals!

10. Shop the farmers market for fresh produce. If your food can survive nuclear fallout, you shouldn’t be putting it in your body. The less time your food can survive on the supermarket shelf, the better it is for you. Fresh fruits and vegetables don’t last as long as a box of Wheat Thins and that’s a good thing! Vitamins and minerals that are found in darker fruits and vegetables are what you need to keep your body healthy. Pick up fresh produce wherever possible.

11. Find stairs! Climbing stairs is an incredibly effective cardio and lower-body sculpting workout, and you can normally find staircases somewhere in the vicinity of a park or beach.

12. Use water bottles as dumbbells. You get the dual benefits of resistance training and hydration, both critical during the summer. Water bottles can be used for a number of toning exercises such as tricep kickbacks, arm circles and overhead presses, and can also add resistance to lunges and squats.

13. Burpees. The most comprehensive exercise that can be done anywhere, anytime! Three sets of burpees will give you a cardio workout while also targeting upper body, lower body and core strength. It’s the all-in-one exercise!

14. Find a bench. Benches can be found in numerous outdoor areas and serve as a great fitness tool. For a quick full body routine, try the following: Start standing on top of the bench and lunge behind you bending the back knee as low to the ground as possible. Make sure your front knee remains directly above the heel to protect your knee. Alternate reverse lunges completing 8 on each leg, 16 total. Step down from the bench and turn around and sit on the bench with your legs extended straight in front of you, feet on the ground. Pressing your palms into the bench with fingertips forward, lift your rear end off and slightly in front of the bench, and bend your elbows directly behind you for a tricep dip. Shoot for 15 getting the full range of motion. Turn around and finish the set with 15 push ups, hands on the bench, back in a straight line from your neck to bottom of your spine. Start from the beginning with the reverse lunges, followed by tricep dips and pushups. Complete three full sets.

15. Pack some tubing or elastic bands in your suitcase. They’re light, take up very little space in your bag and can provide several options for toning and resistance training.

16. Ocean swim! Take advantage of nature’s biggest pool and get a great workout. When it’s time to cool down from the sun, create a challenge for yourself and see how long you can keep your feet off the ground treading water. Try three rounds and attempt to last a little longer each time.

17. Engage the family. Part of the beauty of summer is family bonding, and finding fun ways to incorporate fitness can also teach kids the value of staying active. I recommend creating a fun obstacle course for the whole family to participate in, either as individual competitors or as teams. Let the kids help you come up with the obstacles, which can be done at the park, the beach or in the backyard. Think of a tough-mudder inspired course…find something you can climb up, something to climb under, something heavy to carry or pull from one spot to another. Add in some long jumps or something to jump over, some cones/stones to zig zag around, or even simple hopscotch. You’ll get a great workout and have stories to tell for years.

18. Walk during airport delays/down time. Depending on the city you’re in, airports have become a modern day shopping mall. If you have a delay or extra time before boarding, take a lap around the airport and browse the shops in your terminal. You can pick up a gift for your loved ones and burn some calories while tugging along your luggage.

19. Pack for fitness. If you pack gym clothes at the top of your suitcase, it can be a great reminder to hold yourself accountable for a workout.

20. Rent a bike. Most major cities around the world have adopted “Rent a Bike” programs. This way you can tour the city and get a great workout.

21. Pack healthy snacks for long flights. It’s best to bring your own healthy snacks on flight rather than purchasing candies, chips and processed foods in flight. Good ideas for snacks include almonds, bananas and energy bars.

22. Hit the sand. Summer traveling involves some fun in the sun and if you’re really lucky, the beach! Challenge yourself with working out in the sand. Exercising in the sand provides an excellent training environment and in certain aspects actually works the body a lot harder than using a hard, flat surface.

23. Drink tons of water. Anywhere, everywhere, any time. Drinking water and staying hydrated can help fight jet-lag, it can amp up your energy and can also prevent heat exposure and heat exhaustion during the summer.

24. Book hotels with fitness amenities. When traveling, it’s easy to get off your A-game and not put any time in at the gym. When booking hotels or other accommodations, be sure that the location has some sort of fitness center or workout space, this way you have no excuse to slack off.

25. Eat the food of the culture. When traveling abroad, you’re most likely to taste different cuisines rather than gorging from places you eat from at home. This way, you can experiment with smaller, multiple meals throughout the day, which is better for digestion and building metabolism.

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How To Stay Fit Forever: 25 Tips To Keep Moving When Life Gets In The Way

1 Work out why, don’t just work out

Our reasons for beginning to exercise are fundamental to whether we will keep it up, says Michelle Segar, the director of the University of Michigan’s Sport, Health and Activity Research and Policy Center. Too often “society promotes exercise and fitness by hooking into short-term motivation, guilt and shame”. There is some evidence, she says, that younger people will go to the gym more if their reasons are appearance-based, but past our early 20s that doesn’t fuel motivation much. Nor do vague or future goals help (“I want to get fit, I want to lose weight”). Segar, the author of No Sweat: How the Simple Science of Motivation Can Bring You a Lifetime of Fitness, says we will be more successful if we focus on immediate positive feelings such as stress reduction, increased energy and making friends. “The only way we are going to prioritise time to exercise is if it is going to deliver some kind of benefit that is truly compelling and valuable to our daily life,” she says.

2 Get off to a slow start

The danger of the typical New Year resolutions approach to fitness, says personal trainer Matt Roberts, is that people “jump in and do everything – change their diet, start exercising, stop drinking and smoking – and within a couple of weeks they have lost motivation or got too tired. If you haven’t been in shape, it’s going to take time.” He likes the trend towards high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and recommends people include some, “but to do that every day will be too intense for most people”. Do it once (or twice, at most) a week, combined with slow jogs, swimming and fast walks – plus two or three rest days, at least for the first month. “That will give someone a chance of having recovery sessions alongside the high-intensity workouts.”

3 You don’t have to love it

It is helpful not to try to make yourself do things you actively dislike, says Segar, who advises thinking about the types of activities – roller-skating? Bike riding? – you liked as a child. But don’t feel you have to really enjoy exercise. “A lot of people who stick with exercise say: ‘I feel better when I do it.’” There are elements that probably will be enjoyable, though, such as the physical response of your body and the feeling of getting stronger, and the pleasure that comes with mastering a sport.

“For many people, the obvious choices aren’t necessarily the ones they would enjoy,” says Sniehotta, who is also the director of the National Institute for Health Research’s policy research unit in behavioural science, “so they need to look outside them. It might be different sports or simple things, like sharing activities with other people.”

4 Be kind to yourself

Individual motivation – or the lack of it – is only part of the bigger picture. Money, parenting demands or even where you live can all be stumbling blocks, says Sniehotta. Tiredness, depression, work stress or ill family members can all have an impact on physical activity. “If there is a lot of support around you, you will find it easier to maintain physical activity,” he points out. “If you live in certain parts of the country, you might be more comfortable doing outdoor physical activity than in others. To conclude that people who don’t get enough physical activity are just lacking motivation is problematic.”

Segar suggests being realistic. “Skip the ideal of going to the gym five days a week. Be really analytical about work and family-related needs when starting, because if you set yourself up with goals that are too big, you will fail and you’ll feel like a failure. At the end of a week, I always ask my clients to reflect on what worked and what didn’t. Maybe fitting in a walk at lunch worked, but you didn’t have the energy after work to do it.”

5 Don’t rely on willpower

“If you need willpower to do something, you don’t really want to do it,” says Segar. Instead, think about exercise “in terms of why we’re doing it and what we want to get from physical activity. How can I benefit today? How do I feel when I move? How do I feel after I move?”

6 Find a purpose

Anything that allows you to exercise while ticking off other goals will help, says Sniehotta. “It provides you with more gratification, and the costs of not doing it are higher.” For instance, walking or cycling to work, or making friends by joining a sports club, or running with a friend. “Or the goal is to spend more time in the countryside, and running helps you do that.”

Try to combine physical activity with something else. “For example, in my workplace I don’t use the lift and I try to reduce email, so when it’s possible I walk over to people,” says Sniehotta. “Over the course of the day, I walk to work, I move a lot in the building and I actually get about 15,000 steps. Try to make physical activity hit as many meaningful targets as you can.”

7 Make it a habit

When you take up running, it can be tiring just getting out of the door – where are your shoes? Your water bottle? What route are you going to take? After a while, points out Sniehottta, “there are no longer costs associated with the activity”. Doing physical activity regularly and planning for it “helps make it a sustainable behaviour”. Missing sessions doesn’t.

8 Plan and prioritise

What if you don’t have time to exercise? For many people, working two jobs or with extensive caring responsibilities, this can undoubtedly be true, but is it genuinely true for you? It might be a question of priorities, says Sniehotta. He recommends planning: “The first is ‘action planning’, where you plan where, when and how you are going to do it and you try to stick with it.” The second type is ‘coping planning’: “anticipating things that can get in the way and putting a plan into place for how to get motivated again”. Segar adds: “Most people don’t give themselves permission to prioritise self-care behaviours like exercise.”

9 Keep it short and sharp

A workout doesn’t have to take an hour, says Roberts. “A well-structured 15-minute workout can be really effective if you really are pressed for time.” As for regular, longer sessions, he says: “You tell yourself you’re going to make time and change your schedule accordingly.”

10 If it doesn’t work, change it

It rains for a week, you don’t go running once and then you feel guilty. “It’s a combination of emotion and lack of confidence that brings us to the point where, if people fail a few times, they think it’s a failure of the entire project,” says Sniehotta. Remember it’s possible to get back on track.

If previous exercise regimes haven’t worked, don’t beat yourself up or try them again – just try something else, he says. “We tend to be in the mindset that if you can’t lose weight, you blame it on yourself. However, if you could change that to: ‘This method doesn’t work for me, let’s try something different,’ there is a chance it will be better for you and it prevents you having to blame yourself, which is not helpful.”

11 Add resistance and balance training as you get older

“We start to lose muscle mass over the age of around 30,” says Hollie Grant, a personal training and pilates instructor, and the owner of PilatesPT. Resistance training (using body weight, such as press-ups, or equipment, such as resistance bands) is important, she says: “It is going to help keep muscle mass or at least slow down the loss. There needs to be some form of aerobic exercise, too, and we would also recommend people start adding balance challenges because our balance is affected as we get older.”

12 Up the ante

“If you do 5k runs and you don’t know if you should push faster or go further, rate your exertion from one to 10,” says Grant. “As you see those numbers go down, that’s when to start pushing yourself a bit faster.” Roberts says that, with regular exercise, you should be seeing progress over a two-week period and pushing yourself if you feel it is getting easier. “You’re looking for a change in your speed or endurance or strength.”

13 Work out from home

If you have caring responsibilities, Roberts says you can do a lot within a small area at home. “In a living room, it is easy to do a routine where you might alternate between doing a leg exercise and an arm exercise,” he says. “It’s called Peripheral Heart Action training. Doing six or eight exercises, this effect of going between the upper and lower body produces a pretty strong metabolism lift and cardiovascular workout.” Try squats, half press-ups, lunges, tricep dips and glute raises. “You’re raising your heart rate, working your muscles and having a good general workout.” These take no more than 15-20 minutes and only require a chair for the tricep dips – although dumbbells can be helpful, too.

14 Get out of breath

We are often told that housework and gardening can contribute to our weekly exercise targets, but is it that simple? “The measure really is you’re getting generally hot, out of breath, and you’re working at a level where, if you have a conversation with somebody while you’re doing it, you’re puffing a bit,” says Roberts. “With gardening, you’d have to be doing the heavier gardening – digging – not just weeding. If you’re walking the dog, you can make it into a genuine exercise session – run with the dog, or find a route that includes some hills.”

15 Be sensible about illness

Joslyn Thompson Rule, a personal trainer, says: “The general rule is if it’s above the neck – a headache or a cold – while being mindful of how you’re feeling, you are generally OK to do some sort of exercise. If it’s below the neck – if you’re having trouble breathing – rest. The key thing is to be sensible. If you were planning on doing a high-intensity workout, you would take the pace down, but sometimes just moving can make you feel better.” After recovering from an illness, she says, trust your instincts. “You don’t want to go straight back into training four times a week. You might want to do the same number of sessions but make them shorter, or do fewer.”

16 Seek advice after injury

Clearly, how quickly you start exercising again depends on the type of injury, and you should seek advice from your doctor. Psychologically, though, says Thompson Rule: “Even when we’re doing everything as we should, there are still dips in the road. It’s not going to be a linear progression of getting better.”

17 Take it slowly after pregnancy

Again, says Thompson Rule, listen to your body – and your doctor’s advice at your six-week postnatal checkup. After a caesarean section, getting back to exercise will be slower, while pregnancy-related back injuries and problems with abdominal muscles all affect how soon you can get back to training, and may require physiotherapy. “Once you’re walking and have a bit more energy, depending on where you were before (some women never trained before pregnancy), starting a regime after a baby is quite something to undertake,” says Thompson Rule. “Be patient. I get more emails from women asking when they’re going to get their stomachs flat again than anything. Relax, take care of yourself and take care of your baby. When you’re feeling a bit more energised, slowly get back into your routine.” She recommends starting with “very basic stuff like walking and carrying your baby [in a sling]”.

18 Tech can help

For goal-oriented people, Grant says, it can be useful to monitor progress closely, but “allow some flexibility in your goals. You might have had a stressful day at work, go out for a run and not do it as quickly and then think: ‘I’m just not going to bother any more.’” However, “It can start to get a bit addictive, and then you don’t listen to your body and you’re more at risk of injury.” 

19 Winter is not an excuse

“Winter is not necessarily a time to hibernate,” says Thompson Rule. Be decisive, put your trainers by the door and try not to think about the cold/drizzle/greyness. “It’s the same with going to the gym – it’s that voice in our head that make us feel like it’s a hassle, but once you’re there, you think: ‘Why was I procrastinating about that for so long?’”

READERS’ TIPS

20 Keep it bite-size

I’ve tried and failed a few times to establish a consistent running routine, but that was because I kept pushing myself too hard. Just because I can run for an hour doesn’t mean I should. Running two or three times a week for 20-30 minutes each time has improved my fitness hugely and made it easier to fit in. 

21 Reward yourself

I keep a large bag of Midget Gems in my car to motivate myself to get to the gym, allowing myself a handful before a workout. Sometimes I toss in some wine gums for the element of surprise.

22 Call in the reinforcements

I tapped into the vast network of fitness podcasts and online communities. On days I lacked drive, I would listen to a fitness podcast, and by the time I got home, I would be absolutely determined to make the right choices. In fact, I would be excited by it. Your brain responds very well to repetition and reinforcement, so once you have made the difficult initial change, it becomes much easier over time. 

23 Use visual motivation

I have kept a “star chart” on my calendar for the past two years, after having three years of being chronically unfit. I put a gold star on days that I exercise, and it’s a good visual motivator for when I am feeling slug-like. I run, use our home cross-trainer and do a ski fitness programme from an app. My improved core strength has helped my running and ability to carry my disabled child when needed.

24 Keep alarms out of reach

If, like me, you need to get up early to exercise or it just doesn’t happen, move your alarm clock away from your bed and next to your kit. Once you have got up to turn it off, you might as well keep going!

25 Follow the four-day rule

I have one simple rule which could apply to any fitness activity – I do not allow more than four days to elapse between sessions. So, if I know I have a busy couple of days coming up, I make sure I run before them so that I have “banked” my four days. With the exception of illness, injury or family emergencies, I have stuck to this rule for 10 years.

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How to crush your fitness goals
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How To Crush Your Fitness Goals: 5 Steps To Get Started

1. Assess your fitness level

You probably have some idea of how fit you are. But assessing and recording baseline fitness scores can give you benchmarks against which to measure your progress. To assess your aerobic and muscular fitness, flexibility, and body composition, consider recording:

  • Your pulse rate before and immediately after walking 1 mile (1.6 kilometers)
  • How long it takes to walk 1 mile, or how long it takes to run 1.5 miles (2.41 kilometers)
  • How many standard or modified pushups you can do at a time
  • How far you can reach forward while seated on the floor with your legs in front of you
  • Your waist circumference, just above your hipbones
  • Your body mass index

2. Design your fitness program

It’s easy to say that you’ll exercise every day. But you’ll need a plan. As you design your fitness program, keep these points in mind:

  • Consider your fitness goals. Are you starting a fitness program to help lose weight? Or do you have another motivation, such as preparing for a marathon? Having clear goals can help you gauge your progress and stay motivated.
  • Create a balanced routine. For most healthy adults, the Department of Health and Human Services recommends getting at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week, or a combination of moderate and vigorous activity. The guidelines suggest that you spread out this exercise during the course of a week. Greater amounts of exercise will provide even greater health benefits.But even small amounts of physical activity are helpful. Being active for short periods of time throughout the day can add up to provide health benefits.Do strength training exercises for all major muscle groups at least two times a week. Aim to do a single set of each exercise, using a weight or resistance level heavy enough to tire your muscles after about 12 to 15 repetitions.
  • Start low and progress slowly. If you’re just beginning to exercise, start cautiously and progress slowly. If you have an injury or a medical condition, consult your doctor or an exercise therapist for help designing a fitness program that gradually improves your range of motion, strength and endurance.
  • Build activity into your daily routine. Finding time to exercise can be a challenge. To make it easier, schedule time to exercise as you would any other appointment. Plan to watch your favorite show while walking on the treadmill, read while riding a stationary bike, or take a break to go on a walk at work.
  • Plan to include different activities. Different activities (cross-training) can keep exercise boredom at bay. Cross-training using low-impact forms of activity, such as biking or water exercise, also reduces your chances of injuring or overusing one specific muscle or joint. Plan to alternate among activities that emphasize different parts of your body, such as walking, swimming and strength training.
  • Try high-interval intensity training. In high-interval intensity training, you perform short bursts of high-intensity activity separated by recovery periods of low-intensity activity.
  • Allow time for recovery. Many people start exercising with frenzied zeal — working out too long or too intensely — and give up when their muscles and joints become sore or injured. Plan time between sessions for your body to rest and recover.
  • Put it on paper. A written plan may encourage you to stay on track.

3. Assemble your equipment

You’ll probably start with athletic shoes. Be sure to pick shoes designed for the activity you have in mind. For example, running shoes are lighter in weight than cross-training shoes, which are more supportive.

If you’re planning to invest in exercise equipment, choose something that’s practical, enjoyable and easy to use. You may want to try out certain types of equipment at a fitness center before investing in your own equipment.

You might consider using fitness apps for smart devices or other activity tracking devices, such as ones that can track your distance, track calories burned or monitor your heart rate.

4. Get started

Now you’re ready for action. As you begin your fitness program, keep these tips in mind:

  • Start slowly and build up gradually. Give yourself plenty of time to warm up and cool down with easy walking or gentle stretching. Then speed up to a pace you can continue for five to 10 minutes without getting overly tired. As your stamina improves, gradually increase the amount of time you exercise. Work your way up to 30 to 60 minutes of exercise most days of the week.
  • Break things up if you have to. You don’t have to do all your exercise at one time, so you can weave in activity throughout your day. Shorter but more-frequent sessions have aerobic benefits, too. Exercising in short sessions a few times a day may fit into your schedule better than a single 30-minute session. Any amount of activity is better than none at all.
  • Be creative. Maybe your workout routine includes various activities, such as walking, bicycling or rowing. But don’t stop there. Take a weekend hike with your family or spend an evening ballroom dancing. Find activities you enjoy to add to your fitness routine.
  • Listen to your body. If you feel pain, shortness of breath, dizziness or nausea, take a break. You may be pushing yourself too hard.
  • Be flexible. If you’re not feeling good, give yourself permission to take a day or two off.

5. Monitor your progress

Retake your personal fitness assessment six weeks after you start your program and then again every few months. You may notice that you need to increase the amount of time you exercise in order to continue improving. Or you may be pleasantly surprised to find that you’re exercising just the right amount to meet your fitness goals.

If you lose motivation, set new goals or try a new activity. Exercising with a friend or taking a class at a fitness center may help, too.

Starting an exercise program is an important decision. But it doesn’t have to be an overwhelming one. By planning carefully and pacing yourself, you can establish a healthy habit that lasts a lifetime.

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10 Health And Fitness Tips I Wish I Knew 10 Years Ago

1. EATING LESS ISN’T MORE

While restrictive dieting is frowned upon in contemporary fitness culture, it definitely still exists. I know this because I’ve been there. I’ve been the ‘restrictive eater’ and have suffered the consequences (uncontrollable bingeing, constant cravings, food obsessiveness). 

At the end of the day, caloric deficits have their place and definitely shouldn’t be dismissed, but there are a time and a place where a deficit should be implemented. There is also a guideline as to how severe this deficit should be. 

Quite often, unknowingly, girls are placing themselves in deficits that are so much more extreme than what they need to be to get the results that they’re searching for. In some cases, these extreme deficits can even be doing more harm than good! 

Be wary of your food intake girls, just like too much food can cause damage, so can too little.

 2. ONE TRAINING METHOD DOESN’T SUIT EVERYONE

It’s okay to ask for advice and it’s okay to learn from what others promote, but don’t get stuck in the mindset that only one training method is suitable to get you the results and physical changes you so desire. 

Different physiques respond differently to different training methods. Be open to trialing different methods until you find what works for you, your physique, and your goals!

3. LIFTING WILL GIVE YOU ALL THE PHYSIQUE CHANGES YOU HOPED CARDIO WOULD … BUT DIDN’T

At the beginning of my health and fitness journey, I spent years doing cardio. I was your typical cardio bunny – cardio was life! Every day I would hit the gym for my hour of cardio. As I was stepping away on the Stairmaster, I would picture my dream physique and increase the resistance to work harder and harder. It’s safe to say at that time I made very little physical changes to my physique. 

Again, I’m not saying cardio doesn’t have a place in helping you reach your goals, but so does weight lifting. It wasn’t until I started hitting the weight room in the gym that I started to see true changes in my physique and shape!

4. TAKING THE TIME TO UNDERSTAND MACROS IS WORTH IT BECAUSE FLEXIBLE DIETING IS LIFE CHANGING

Understanding and tracking macros can be a daunting experience. You don’t want to get it wrong and spend a week over or under eating – I get it! But taking the time to understand how to track macros and implement flexible dieting is going to make such a difference to your everyday eating habits. It allows so much more flexibility and balance whilst still hitting your macros and calories to reach your goals. 

If you’re someone who still hasn’t had the courage to move from a meal guide, I strongly recommend you give tracking macros a go – even if it’s only one day a week. I can promise you it won’t take long to get the hang of it and once you do you’ll have so much more flexibility!

5. JUST BECAUSE SOMEONE ELSE EATS ‘THIS MUCH’ OR ‘THIS LITTLE’ DOESN’T MEAN YOU HAVE TO, OR SHOULD

We’ve all been there – “Sally eats 4000 calories a day and looks incredible so that’s what I should eat” or “Suzi only eats 800 calories a day and looks phenomenal so that’s what I should eat”.

Just because someone eats a certain way, it does not mean you should. Every individual is so, so different and has such a different story to their dieting history. Comparing yourself to someone who isn’t you; and trying to replicate what they do, is going to cause you so much grief. Find what works for you and stick to it. 6. WEIGHING IS WORTH THE EFFORT

‘Guestimating’ food is a difficult concept. Don’t get me wrong – there will be occasions where you may be out and need to ‘guestimate’ portion sizes and that’s okay. But where you can – take the time to weigh your food! 

Weighing your food alleviates any room for error. Whilst we all ‘think’ we’re confident in eyeballing food quantities, most of the time if you were to actually weigh the same amount of food our ‘guestimation’ would be so off! 

Leave as little room for error as possible – weigh your food girls!

7. TAKING PHOTOS IS WORTH IT

Starting a fitness journey can be hard, and taking photos at a time where we aren’t feeling great about ourselves can be even harder. But I promise you girls, you will regret not taking photos. 

Take photos! Track your journey! Allow yourself the opportunity to look back on how far you’ve come. Allow yourself the opportunity to stay accountable. 

You may not feel like taking them now, but you will regret it in the future if you don’t!

8. FOOD WILL ALWAYS BE THERE

This notion was life-changing for me. For so long I lived by the idea that I needed to eat ALL the food on my plate. If I was having a cheat meal I needed to go ALL OUT. If I slipped up in my diet I didn’t just have the one piece of chocolate I’d finish the WHOLE family size block. 

Then one day out of nowhere someone said to me “you know food will always be there, hey”. OH MY GOD – just like that the realisation came to me that yes – food will literally always be there. The obsessive behaviour was so unnecessary. 

As soon as I came to this realisation, my whole relationship with food changed. I still enjoyed treats, I still enjoyed meals where I didn’t follow macros or a meal guide. But I didn’t feel the need to go hell-for-leather with my food consumption. I enjoyed what I was eating until I was full; and then I stopped. I didn’t over eat, I didn’t finish off enough food to feed 12 grown men. I didn’t over obsess. 

This notion really has made such a difference to how I view food and is really something I think everyone should try to tell themselves, especially if you’re someone who finds that they are constantly obsessing and thinking about food!

9. IT’S ABOUT THE JOURNEY NOT THE END DESTINATION

For so long, all I would think about was the end – getting to my ‘perfect physique’. But the truth is, a health and fitness journey doesn’t really have an end point. It’s a journey that always has the ability to keep going. 

For me, I love the lifestyle I live. I am always wanting to improve my eating habits, physique and knowledge around health and fitness. Whilst I love how far I’ve come I also LOVE that I have room to keep improving. 

There is no end point for me, I love the idea of constantly being able to improve my health and fitness lifestyle for the better.

10. YOU SHINE MOST WHEN YOU ARE WHOLEHEARTEDLY YOURSELF – YOU WILL ALWAYS FAIL AT TRYING TO BE SOMEONE ELSE

I feel as though this really does speak for itself. It’s so easy to get caught up in other people’s lives and the way other people look or what other people do. But at the end of the day, you really do shine most when you are wholeheartedly yourself. Embrace who you are and embrace what you have to offer this world. 

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Top 10 Fitness Tips From Pt Elliott Drew

1.     It All Starts With Your Mindset.

Quite simply, be positive! You wont get through Monday in a great mood if you’re constantly telling yourself it’s going to be a bad day. Instead of wishing you had a longer weekend or not wanting to deal with another week, think about all of the great things you could achieve this week. Let’s face it, Mondays aren’t going anywhere any time soon! So we may as well embrace the opportunity to have a new week, a fresh start. Focus on something about the week that excites you!

2.     Plan, Plan, Plan!

Organisation is key. One of the easiest and most effective ways to be motivated for a new week is to know exactly where you’re going, what you’re going to achieve and how you’re going to get there. Put 30 minutes away for yourself on a Sunday afternoon where you can schedule the important things. Decide when you’ll do your exercise, put your workouts in your diary, make sure you’re ready for any appointments and know what’s ahead.

3.     Prep Your Meals.

Hands down, the easiest way to eat well and feel great is to prepare your meals in advance. Fuelling your body throughout the week with good nutritious foods will keep your energy high and have you feeling great. Do your healthy grocery shop over the weekend and dedicate an hour or less to prepare at least your lunches before Monday. Then each day of the week you can just grab & go! If you know you struggle a lot with meal prep, why not look at a fresh meal delivery service!

4.     Clean Space, Clear Mind.

Mess is frustrating, right? An un-tidy or cluttered house can sometimes leave your mind cluttered as well. Try to start Monday with a clean home and work space. You’ll feel refreshed and ready to tackle the week. Plus, no one likes to come home to a list of chores after work each day do they?

You could also try diffusing some essential oils throughout your space for a calming scent and to awaken the mind!

5.     Spend Sunday Well.

Make sure you relax for at least a short time on Sunday. You do need your down time! Sunday is usually a day to reset, recover and restore or simply a day to do the things you love! Read a book, lay on the beach, watch a movie. Whatever it might be, even if you can only spare 30 minutes, spend it in your own relaxing way.

6.     Sleep Early!

Give yourself a bed time for Sunday evening and try not to scroll through Instagram for 20 minutes before you actually sleep! Try to get at least 7-8 hours sleep every night, but especially right before a new week. You want to wake on Monday feeling fresh and energised, not tired because you stayed up all night watching reality TV! Also try having a 5 or 10 minute full body stretch before you sleep to help relieve tension.

7.     Always Make Time On Monday For Physical Activity.

Setting the standard for the week is a great way to make sure the rest of your week goes well. Try not to miss a Monday workout. And when I say ‘workout’, this can be different for everyone! Regardless of how much time you have, fit something in just for your body! It could be anything from a 10 minute power walk before work, a 20 minute HIIT session on your lunch break or an hour of yoga before dinner. Just move your body (especially if you sit at a desk all day!).

8.     Set Your Alarm 15 Minutes Earlier On Monday.

There’s nothing worse than starting the day super rushed!! You feel flustered, pushed, did I leave something at home!? Getting up just 10 or 15 minutes earlier than you need to will help you start the day on the right foot, calm & organised. Try not to hit snooze 3 times! Take your time getting ready for the day.

9.     Try Basic Meditation!

Even if you think meditation isn’t for you! Just 5 or 10 minutes of quiet time can make you feel so great! Meditation can help quiet your mind, reduce stress & anxiety as well as help to sharpen concentration. The easiest and most basic way to meditate is to simply be present. Sit or lay in a quiet comfortable space. Close your eyes and tune into your surroundings. What do you hear? What do you feel? Does your body feel tight or strained? Then, focus on your breath. Take long deep breaths and feel the air moving from your lungs. You will naturally shift your thoughts to random things, what you have on and what you’re worried about, but bring your focus back to your breath. Try this for just a few minutes and see how you go!

10.  And If Monday Doesn’t Go To Plan…

Don’t throw the rest of the week out of the window! Bad days happen, things get in the way and life doesn’t always go to plan. The important thing is that you do your best to stay focused, remain positive and begin fresh again tomorrow.

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10 Tips To Improve Your Mental Fitness

  1. Exercise for 30 minutes every day. Physical exercise delivers oxygen to the brain. This can help to improve your memory, reasoning abilities and reaction times.

  2. Read often and read widely. Keeping an active interest in the world around you will help to exercise your brain and improve your mental fitness.

  3. Boost your levels of vitamin B. Eat plenty of wholegrain cereals, leafy greens and dairy foods. Vitamin B is essential to brain health.

  4. Challenge your intellect and memory. Stretch yourself mentally by learning a new language, doing the cryptic crossword or playing chess. This is important for brain health and good for your social life.

  5. Take time to relax. Excess stress hormones like cortisol can be harmful to the brain. Schedule regular periods of relaxation into your week.

  6. Take up a new hobby. Learning something new gives the ‘grey matter’ a workout and builds neural pathways in the brain.

  7. Actively manage your health.Conditions such as diabetes or heart disease can affect mental performance if not diagnosed and treated. Have regular check-ups with your doctor to prevent future problems.

  8. Engage in stimulating conversations. Talk to friends and family about a wide range of topics. This gives your brain an opportunity to explore, examine and enquire.

  9. Take up a manual activity or craft. Hobbies such as woodwork and sewing or activities like skipping require you to move both sides of the body at the same time, in precise movements. This can help to improve your spatial awareness and increase your reaction time.

  10. Exercise your brain with others. Watch, question and answer game shows and enjoy the competitive spirit. Involve the family in regular games to test their general knowledge.

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The Best Fitness Tips Of All Time
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The 23 Best Fitness Tips Of All Time

You’ve probably heard loads of exercise advice over the years, some of it likely conflicting from various trainers, TV shows and gym buddies. To clear things up, we sought out top fitness experts to get their take. We asked them for game-changing tips and proven difference makers shown to keep your body safe while burning fat and building muscle. Here are their top 20 tips.

  1. The road to a leaner body isn’t a long, slow march. It’s bursts of high-intensity effort paired with slower, recovery efforts. Fifteen to 20 minutes of interval training performed like this can burn as many calories as an hour of traditional, steady-state cardio. And unlike the slow stuff, intervals can keep your body burning long after the workout ends.
  2. Your core is much more than a six-pack of muscles hiding beneath your gut — it’s a system of muscles that wraps around your entire torso, stabilizing your body, protecting your spine from injury and keeping you upright. Fire these muscles before every exercise to keep your back healthy, steady your balance and maintain a rigid body position. You’ll get the added bonus of isometric exercise for your middle, which could reveal the muscles in your core you’d like everyone to see
  3. Machines are built with a specific path the weight has to travel — one that wasn’t designed for you. If you’re too tall, too short or your arms or legs aren’t the same length, that fixed path won’t match your physiology, and you’ll increase the likelihood of injury and develop weaknesses. Trade your machine exercises for dumbbells, barbells and medicine balls to build strength in ways more specific to your body, while also working all the smaller stabilizing muscles that machines miss
  4. This tip is great for chin-ups, but it’s more than that. By sliding your shoulder blades down and back before an exercise — like you’re tucking them into your back pockets — can improve your results and protect from injury. It helps activate your lats for pulling exercises, work your pecs more completely in pushing exercises, keeps your chest up during a squat and can reduce painful impingement on your rotator cuff during biceps curls.
  5. Add more work to each rep and increase the efficiency of your workout by increasing the range of motion — the distance the main motion of the exercise travels to complete the rep. Squat deeper. Drop the weight until it’s an inch or two above your chest. Raise the step for step-ups. Elevate your front or back foot on lunges. Get more from each move and your body will thank you.
  6. The “slow lifting” trend should be confined to the eccentric, or easier portion of any exercise. During the concentric portion, where you push, pull, press or jump, move the weight (or your body) as quickly as possible. Even if the weight doesn’t move that fast, the intention of moving the weight quickly will turn on your fast-twitch muscle fibers, which will make your body more athletic and train it to use more fat as fuel.
  7. Single-joint exercises like biceps curls and triceps extensions will build your muscles, but slowly. Unless you’re a bodybuilder with hours to spend in the gym, get more done in less time. Trade these inefficient moves for exercises that work multiple muscles and joints: Squats will build your legs and back, a bent-over row will build your biceps and your back, and a narrow-grip bench press will train your triceps while it sculpts your chest up during a squat and can reduce painful impingement on your rotator cuff during biceps curls.
  8. Add more work to each rep and increase the efficiency of your workout by increasing the range of motion — the distance the main motion of the exercise travels to complete the rep. Squat deeper. Drop the weight until it’s an inch or two above your chest. Raise the step for step-ups. Elevate your front or back foot on lunges. Get more from each move and your body will thank you.
  9. The “slow lifting” trend should be confined to the eccentric, or easier portion of any exercise. During the concentric portion, where you push, pull, press or jump, move the weight (or your body) as quickly as possible. Even if the weight doesn’t move that fast, the intention of moving the weight quickly will turn on your fast-twitch muscle fibers, which will make your body more athletic and train it to use more fat as fuel.
  10. Single-joint exercises like biceps curls and triceps extensions will build your muscles, but slowly. Unless you’re a bodybuilder with hours to spend in the gym, get more done in less time. Trade these inefficient moves for exercises that work multiple muscles and joints: Squats will build your legs and back, a bent-over row will build your biceps and your back, and a narrow-grip bench press will train your triceps while it sculpts your chest.
  11. If your hands and forearms give out before your back or legs when doing deadlifts, chin ups, inverted rows or bent-over barbell rows, mix your grip. With one palm facing towards you and one facing away, grab the bar and do the exercise. For the next set, switch both hands. Keep alternating and you can rest your grip while working with the hand the opposite way, meaning your back and legs will determine when you’re done with the set.
  12. Since your core stabilizes your body, creating instability means it has to work that much harder. That means you can work your abs without ever doing a crunch. Here’s how: Load one side of your body. Hold a weight on one shoulder during a lunge, press just one dumbbell overhead during a shoulder press, or perform a standing, single-arm cable chest press.
  13. The pushup is one of the world’s greatest exercises, and doing it with proper form is as simple as this cue: Maintain a rigid body line from the top of your head to your heels throughout the push. With this in mind, you won’t sag your hips, hump your back, or bubble up your butt. Keep your elbows tucked in towards your sides as you lower your body, and push back up, strong as steel from head to heels.
  14. Packing more weight on the bar won’t make you “bulky.” It will make you stronger and protect you from osteoporosis by increasing bone density. To get the greatest benefits, lift at least 60 to 70 percent of your one-rep maximum for each exercise. Instead of going for complicated calculations, choose a weight with which you can perform eight to 12 reps, with the last rep being a struggle but not impossible.
  15. When lowering your body into a squat or dead lift variation, exercise instructions often say to “hinge your hips back” to lower your body. To do this right, imagine that you need to open a door with your butt. This helps you activate the muscles in your lower body without rounding your back.
  16. A post-workout mix of carbs, fat and protein will help your body build muscle, reduce soreness and recover faster so you can work out again sooner. If you are rushed for time or normally skip eating after your workout, a tall glass of chocolate milk has the ideal mix of nutrients you’re looking for.
  17. If you perform your strength training before your cardio work, you’ll burn more fat while you pound the pavement. In a Japanese study, men who did the workout in this order burned twice as much fat as those who didn’t lift at all.
  18. More muscle means more results, and uphill running activates nine percent more muscle per stride than trotting at the same pace on level ground. It can also save your knees. Increasing the grade to just three per cent can reduce the shock on your legs by up to 24 percent.
  19. Static stretching done just before activity can reduce your power output and increase your risk of certain injuries. Instead, perform an active warmup that gets your body ready for exercise with exercise, increasing your heart rate, firing up your nervous system and getting your muscles used to moving. For an easy routine, perform a five-minute warmup of basic, body weight moves — lateral slides, pushups, squats and lunges.
  20. Explosive exercises involve flight — your body leaving the ground (as in a jump) or the weight flying out of your hands, as in a bench press throw. These moves also increase strength significantly. In a study, men who included explosive chest exercises benched five percent more than those who performed a similar routine without the ballistic moves.
  21. When it comes to increasing strength, you might hear the phrase “progressive resistance.” This means “do more work as time goes on” — lift heavier weights or do more reps of the same exercise to see results. Keep yourself on the path to success with a workout journal. Research shows that those who record their progress are more compliant and see better results than those who wing it.
  22. Bed rest is not the best prescription for sore muscles — you’ll actually reduce pain with a little activity. Metabolites in your sore areas that cause pain are dispersed and diffused by activity, and blood flow is increased to the muscle tissue, speeding recovery by up to 40 percent. Play a light game of basketball, perform some foam rolling or do a few simple rounds of calisthenics at home the day after a workout.
  23. You can actually gain more strength and muscle by periodically and strategically dialing down your strength training routine. In a study, men who cut their training volume the last week of each month increased strength by 29 percent.

What’s the best fitness advice you’ve ever gotten? Something that keeps you motivated? A tip you learned from a trainer? Advice you read in a magazine or online? Share your fitness wisdom in the comments section below, so the rest of the Livestrong community can benefit from it as well!

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Top Fitness Tips for People Over 40
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Top 5 Fitness Tips for People Over 40

1. Choose something you love

If you see exercise as a chore, you are less likely to experience its benefits because you probably won’t stick with it in the long-term. Find an exercise you love and you don’t have to go in search of your motivation. No one has to drag you out of bed to do something you love. Experiment until you find a type of exercise that makes you happy.

The feel-good emotions can also help you stick with exercise long-term. In his book, Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, Dr. John Ratey, associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard, writes, “When we begin exercising, we almost immediately begin releasing dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin. Those are all neurotransmitters that deal with feelings of reward, alertness, contentment and feelings of wellbeing.”

What to do: What exercise did you love as a child? Use your answer as inspiration to find an exercise you love as an adult. Ride a bike. Go for a hike. Swim laps or try water aerobics. Take up Pilates or the newest class at your gym.

2. Strength train

If making yourself exercise is a tall order, you might be immediately dismissive of strength training. However, “doing some form of strength training is mandatory as we age,” says national fitness trainer and founder of GetHealthyU Chris Freytag. “You can use dumbbells, resistance bands or your bodyweight, but muscle is the best way to rev up your metabolism as you age, and it’s something you have control over,” Chris says. “Muscle tissue can burn three to five times more calories than fat does. So the more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn, even while sitting,” Chris explains.

Strength training also slows bone and muscle loss as you age and keeps your body strong for everyday activities like taking the stairs and gardening. “As people age, there needs to be a stronger emphasis on functional movement and activities that are performed in daily life, such as squatting and pushing doors open,” says Mary Edwards, MS, director of fitness and a professional fitness trainer at Cooper Fitness Center. “Strength training helps increase muscle strength in the limbs and core, which are most important as people age. American College of Sports Medicine recommends strength training, especially for those ages 56 and up as important for maintaining functional movement, balance and power.”

You don’t need to invest much time with strength training to see results.

What to do: “Working with weights or your body weight for as little as 20 minutes for two to three days a week can crank up your resting metabolic rate over time,” Chris says. If you are using your body weight, try pushups, squats, lunges and planks.

3. Mix it up

If you love to jog or love to run, you might just want to stick to your favorite workout day in and day out, but your body needs a mix of cardio (for your cardiovascular health) and weight training (for your body’s strength). Founder and chairman at Cooper Aerobics Center and practicing preventative physician, Dr. Kenneth H. Cooper prescribes the following ratio of aerobic training vs. strength training for maximum health benefits as we age:

  • If you’re 40 years old or younger, devote 80 percent of your workout time to aerobic training and 20 percent to strength training.
  • If you’re 41 to 50 years old, shift to 70 percent aerobic and 30 percent strength work.
  • If you’re 51 to 60, do 60 percent aerobic exercise and 40 percent strength training.
  • After you pass 60, divide your workout time more evenly between the two strategies – while still giving an edge to aerobic exercise, which provides the most health benefits: 55 percent aerobic work and 45 percent strength work.

What to do: Sometimes people are intimidated by the weight rooms or weight machines at gyms. You can strength train using your own body weight by holding planks, doing pushups and situps, wall-sits, lunges and squats. Or buy some hand weights and do some workouts at home. There are lots of online workouts both free and subscription-based.

4. Set a goal and track your progress

Write down the workouts you do on a calendar you see daily. Seeing your efforts in writing (or on your phone) gives you a boost and a sense of accomplishment. As happiness expert Shawn Achor says, “Happiness is the joy you feel striving toward your potential.” Use what you’ve done to fuel your motivation to do more. A goal can be a powerful reminder to exercise consistently.

What to do: Set a goal that holds you accountable. Maybe it’s signing up for a race, a desire to see muscle tone in the mirror, or working out a certain number of times per week. Keep going until you reach that goal.

5. Stretch

“After age 30, we start losing elasticity in our tendons and ligaments, making them tight,” Mary says. “As we age, stretching helps us maintain a good range of motion in the muscles, allowing joints to operate at normal functionality so they’re not limited.”

What to do: Make it a practice to stretch regularly when your body is already warmed up. American College of Sports Medicine recommends stretching muscles surrounding major joints two to three times per week, while holding each stretch for 60 seconds. 

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Tips To Help You Start Your New Fitness Regimen
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5 Tips To Help You Start Your New Fitness Regimen (And Stick To It)

1. Schedule your workouts

Make time each Sunday to make a week plan that will include enough time for your workouts. That way, you will not be able to make the excuse that you do not have the time to spend at least an hour a day exercising. 

2. Do not wait for Monday to come

Aren’t you tired of making the same plan over and over and not fulfilling it? Yes, we are talking about that good old plan to start exercising on Monday. Instead, start exercising right now. It is completely irrelevant if it is Tuesday, or Friday, or any other day! Start exercising whenever you feel the urge!

3. Find a workout plan that will work for you

Do not choose a workout plan just because your best friend has chosen it. Choose whatever you feel comfortable doing, are capable of doing, and most importantly, what you love. If you do not like to run, then don’t! Do a 30-minute cardio routine at home instead. If needed, you can hire a personal trainer, who will hear all of your interests when it comes to exercising, and create a promising exercising plan just for you!

4. Remember why you work out

Do not let yourself forget why you have started working out in the first place. Motivationis everything when it comes to exercising! Create a motivation board near your mirror that will remind you each day why you started as you look in the mirror every day.

5. Leave out the big expectations for later

If you are just starting to exercise now, it is essential to be proud of what you can accomplish right now. Do not get disappointed if you can’t run for an hour; it is normal! You will soon run for an hour and more if you just stick to your plan!

Exercising is fun, beneficial, and probably the best activity that you could have chosen to start your year right! Choose the best diet plan to go with your new exercising routine, and enjoy in the results that are soon to come. And to help you through the process, look back at these fitness tips to help you stay on track with your new exercising routine! Use these tips to keep yourself healthy, or get rid of that unwanted body weight gained during the holidays, and love your soon to be fit body starting today! 

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Rules For Guaranteed Fitness Success
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5 Rules For Guaranteed Fitness Success

1. You MUST enjoy it

If you don’t enjoy your fitness routine you won’t stick to it. Find a style of training that you enjoy and not only will you’ll find it much easier to stick to, but you’ll also find yourself pushing yourself a lot harder.

2. It NEEDS to be challenging

The only way to improve and get fitter is to give your body a reason to change and adapt. The way to do that is by constantly challenging yourself daily with new exercises, harder workouts and consistently out-working yourself from the day before.

3. Find a training buddy

A training partner is a perfect way to challenge yourself and make your training a little more competitive. It’s also a great way to keep yourself and your training partner accountable.

4. It HAS to suit your lifestyle

If you work long days and struggle to find time to work out, make sure you plan ahead. So perhaps you set your alarm early so you can work out first thing and get it out of the way. If you really can only train 3-4 times per week then do what you can and make the most of the sessions you can do. If you don’t have access to a gym, find equipment at home you can use.. even if it’s two tins of canned food as dumbbells!

Your training (just like your eating) should work around your lifestyle (work commitments, social life, family/friends etc), not the opposite.

Flexibility is the key to sustainability 

5. There should be plenty of variety

Progression is KEY when it comes to seeing long-term sustainable results, but if you’re not stimulated by your daily workouts then you’ll get bored… quick!

It’s important to keep plenty of variety in what you doing, just enough to keep you motivated and excited for what’s ahead

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