BODYBUILDING NUTRITION BASICS

Choosing to live an active, conscientious lifestyle can do wonders for your health. Exercise is an indispensable part of a healthy lifestyle and everyone who aspires to live a long healthy life needs to practice it.

Many common, every-day activities are great for maintaining your fitness level. However, if you want to develop a highly toned physique you may find that the gym works best for you.

Reasons to Frequent the Gym:

Three main reasons people choose the gym are:

* They want to lose excess weight and can’t seem to do it without doing an intense stint at the gym-and eating sensibly, of course.

* They are underweight and the only way to put on extra pounds besides taking in more calories is to work out and build more muscle mass.

* They like going to the gym and meeting people there.

An effective workout should cover all the bases. It should include aerobic and strength building exercises, as well as stretches to improve flexibility and prevent injuries. These comprehensive programs burn lots of calories, lower your body fat percentage, and improve metabolism.

What You Can Expect To Gain

1. Ward off many illnesses and slow the aging process.

2. Control the production of stress hormones like cortisol and exchange it for endorphins, which will infuse you with good feelings.

3. Live a longer, healthier life than someone who does not engage in physical activity.

Reaching your fitness goal will not happen over night. You will need to work your way toward total fitness by gradually stepping up your workout routine. A reasonable fitness program will allow you to reach your goals over time and offers extraordinary rewards.

Eating your way to good health

To maximize the rewards of a sensible exercise program, you should also have a diet program and a strong will to stick to it. Exercise and diet work hand in hand to get you in best shape and glowingly healthy at the same time.

A good eating and exercise regimen will get your body functioning at maximum setting without supplements and costly gym equipment. Bear in mind that dieting doesn’t require you to starve yourself. You can eat portions of your favorite foods. Just be sure to burn those extra calories through regular exercise.

Foods rich in nutrients and high in fiber will fill you up, keep your digestive system healthy, and supply you with energy. Some excellent foods to fuel your body are whole grains, nuts, and especially fruits and vegetables. These contain something called phytochemicals, which are necessary nutrients if you want to maintain good health.

Fats and oils get a lot of bad press, but they are actually a necessary part of a healthy diet. The trick is choosing the right kinds of fats and oils. Mono- and poly-unsaturated fats are beneficial to your health, but you should avoid animal fats as they can cause health problems.

Don’t Abuse Your Body

Avoid putting harmful substances like smoke or alcohol into your body. Smoking tobacco is known to cause cancer and complicates heart conditions, pregnancy, and a host of other illnesses. Alcohol also has serious effects on your health and can lead to liver disease, heart disease, and substance abuse.

Forming a good habit takes time and effort, not to mention patience. But the good news is that once you’ve established a good habit, it’s just as hard to break as a bad one.

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To get the most from your workout, health professionals advise working out for half an hour to an hour every day. But what if your work schedule or other factors don’t leave you that much time to devote to exercise?

Keep Your Eyes Open

Exercising is always possible provided you just squeeze it into your schedules in a more resourceful manner. Get off your couch and start moving around, advises fitness guru Ann Grandjean. Every bit of chore inside your house is an opportunity to get fit. The trick is to get yourself moving - clear out the attic, do some gardening, walk to the grocery store. Any activity that expends energy also burns up calories.

Every stolen moment counts

You might think that several short forays into an exercise routine throughout the day won’t add up to much, but you might be surprised. In a recent clinical study, researchers found that participants who exercised in 10-minute increments throughout the day are more likely to exercise on a regular basis. They also managed to lose more weight than their counterparts who exercised for an hour at a time.

What the Professionals Have to Say

In a groundbreaking study made in Virginia, Glenn Gaesser, an exercise physiologist, instructed the male and female participants to accomplish 15 sets of 10-minute exercises in one week. In less than a month, each participant’s fitness level matched that of persons belonging to a much younger age group. Their endurance, strength and agility are comparable to those who are 20 years younger.

Split up your normal hour-long routine into more manageable periods in order to feel more confident and motivated, advises time management consultant Harold Taylor. It’s easy to give up if you never have time to make it to the gym, but a quick workout, however small, will keep your doubts in check and your motivation strong.

Not a replacement

Remember, however, that short exercise blocks are intended to make use of available free time; it should not take the place of your existing fitness program. Here are some practical tips to squeeze exercise in your daily routine even if you “don’t have the time.” Don’t tackle all of them in one day; simply choose the ones that work for you.

* When you pick up the morning paper, take a quick 5-minute walk up the street and back again.

* If you work from home or take a day off because your child is sick, take a ride on the exercise bike or make use of the treadmill.

* Do some jumping Jacks for 5 or 10 minutes. 10 minutes can burn 90 calories.

* When cooking dinner, do some standing push-ups while waiting for the roast to cook. Push in and push out to tone your arms and shoulders.

* Shoot hoops with your kids or play baseball in the backyard.

* Take a hint from exercise instructor Sheila Cluff, who stores dumbbells in her bathroom so she can do a few sets before bedtime. Cluff is a professional fitness expert at The Palms in Palm Springs, CA.

* Join your kid at baseball or football practice and walk laps around the field.

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