2.) Being physically activity is important for you regardless of how big or small you are.

3.) It’s alright to do your physical activity in short intervals throughout the day.

4.) The more exercise, the better. When you exercise longer, harder, or more often, you will, in all likelihood, increase your health gains. But start slowly with short stints of activity and work your way up to longer periods of exercise more often to maximize the health payoff.

5.) Making healthy gains appear to be less dependent on your intensity and more on the total amount of energy you use.

6.) The more inactive you are, the greater your gains.

7.) Check out a resource that will help you stick to ANY health and fitness program. CLICK HERE

Not so fast!…

Before you get started, you need to consider the research that shows the importance of being MENTALLY ready FIRST.

You see, if you expect to get started with a diet and exercise program, it’s not enough to just change the way you eat and exercise. The research shows that if you want to continue for the long term, you should change your mind too.

Dr. Jane Ogden, a health psychologist, says,”The difficulty with weight loss is you have to be committed to changing habits which are extremely ingrained.” She goes on to say that sticking with your diet and exercise program is likely a function of psychological issues rather than all the fats, carbs, and protein you eat, for example. Ogden also notes that an individual’s belief system may predict the chance of a successful diet and exercise program.

And check this out…

“Ogden studied a group of women, one-third of whom had lost weight and maintained it for more than three years. She compared their habits to women who didn’t lose weight and to women who’d lost and gained it back. She found that the women who can keep the weight off change not only the way they eat and exercise, but also the way they think about eating and exercising. By doing so, they’re able to make a commitment to changing their ingrained behaviors. Weight-loss experts have pinpointed several important psychological factors that help women change their mindsets. These factors may mean the difference between success and failure.”

The point is this…

If you’re in terrible shape but want to change, if you have trouble sticking to your fitness or diet program, or if you just want to improve upon what you’re already doing, then you’re going to love this easy, step-by-step program specifically designed to help you get into the best shape of your life! So now is the time for you to change your body, change your mind, and change your life. It’s time to GET FIT NOW!

CLICK HERE to read all about the type of program that Dr. Ogden is referring to. It’s the least you can do for yourself. 
 

Not so long ago, physical exercise was more or less left to those with physically demanding jobs or serving in the military. However, with societal changes, more research and studies, it has brought exercising and living an active lifestyle as well as proper diet and nutrition to the forefront of most everyone’s mind.

By bringing this information to the forefront, it simply means that striving to be healthy and fit should be a part of everyone’s life. Know this…

When you take good care of your body, your body will take good care of you.

The Harsh Reality of American Fitness

In today’s society, most people are on the go and very busy. Sadly, many of those people believe that they’re too busy to even think about exercise and fitness. And, even though there has been much said and written about them, exercise or physical fitness are not high on the list of priorities for many Americans.

As a matter of fact, reports have stated that more than 60 percent of American adults don’t get the recommended levels of physical activity each day that they should. And what’s worse is that about 25 percent of adults basically get no physical activity. Believe it or not, it gets even worse. With age, the level of activity declines. So by the age of 75, about a third of men and half of women aren’t getting any physical activity whatsoever.

I don’t want to seem totally negative, because I’m just stating the facts here. But this lack of exercise combined with unhealthy eating habits has led to an epidemic of obesity in America. The American Obesity Association reports that 127 million American adults (or nearly two-thirds) are overweight or obese. And more than 30 percent of children aged 6 –12 are overweight.

So How Do We Lose All The Weight?

Well, you’ve heard the answer a million times…eat right and exercise.

But let’s take a closer look at reason these things are absolutely critical to your living a high-quality life and maybe even a longer one.

Exercising and eating a healthy diet helps to keep your body physically fit and working at its optimal performance level. And, physical fitness keeps your lungs and heart as well as other internal organs working efficiently and helps to burn off extra calories – the calories that slowly creep on as you get older.

What Exactly Is Physical Fitness?

The actual definition has evolved over the years and can seem a bit complex or abstract even. But quite frankly, it’s useless to try to narrow it down to one, all-encompassing definition. So, we’ll just use a general definition of physical fitness which will be sufficient for the discussion here.

In its most general meaning, physical fitness can be defined as a general state of good health and well-being. Physical fitness can also be described as a condition that helps you look your best, feel your best, and be your best.

Getting physically fit and maintaining it is a result of physical activity, proper diet and nutrition, and of course proper rest. It allows you to easily handle daily tasks and perform to your potential. In addition, being physically fit can help prevent certain diseases, thereby helping you to live a longer and healthier life. Also, since what you do with your body or how you feel about it directly affects your state of mind, we can therefore say that physical fitness influences your mental and emotional health.

How Do I Know If Or When I’m Physically Fit?

In order to be considered physically fit, there are some health-related fitness components and some performance or skill-related fitness components that are used to measure or gauge your fitness level. Therefore, physical fitness is often broken down to the 5 components of physical fitness – cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and body composition.

How Do I Start A Physical Fitness Program?

While some people may agree with the importance of physical fitness, they may not know where or how to start.

Starting a fitness program does not have to be complicated. As a matter of fact, here’s a great suggestion. Start by looking at how you can increase the amount of activity in the things you’re doing already such as weekend gardening, bowling, family outings, social dancing, or whatever. They all provide added exercise, and they’re fun.

In a nutshell, when looking to get started with a fitness program, just focus on adding more “action” to your day. This might include walking to the grocery store instead of driving, parking several blocks from the office so you’ll have to walk the rest of the way or walking up the stairs instead of using the elevator. Just simple things that you’ve been hearing for years but haven’t put into practice.

If you’re a couch potato or just an inactive person, you might want to consider changing your mentality toward activity. For instance, instead of considering an extra little walk or trip to another room as an annoyance, look at it as a way to slowly get back into shape and get healthy – an added fitness boost.

What Do The Experts Say?

Health experts recommend all Americans get at least 30 minutes of moderate physical
activity each day for just about every day of the week. Or, 20 minutes of vigorous activity at least 3 days a week.

I’m no expert, but I strongly suggest that you do something at least 6 days a week. I believe the more of a habit or integral part of your day that you make exercise, the easier it is to stick to it. In addition, if you set up your allotted time for exercise in the morning, research shows that you have a much greater chance of sticking to it.

It’s Vitally Important To Stay Active Throughout Life

For Children

Almost 50 percent of American children aged 12 to 21 don’t get enough vigorous physical activity. And, 14 percent don’t get any exercise.

Even though children are very energetic, many tend to spend much of their time indoors watching television, playing video games, at the mall, on the phone, or on a computer. The adolescent and teen years are the perfect time to get into the exercise habit, because children who are actively involved in a sports or fitness activity are more likely to stay active as adults.

And, the best way for teenagers to stay motivated and focused is to find a friend who enjoys the same type of activity.

For The Middle-Aged

As an adult, exercise is a great way to burn off calories for weight loss or to prevent weight gain. In addition, exercise keeps you in shape, builds strong bones and muscles and can reduce the risk of many different types of chronic health problems, like diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.

A word of caution. Be careful not to do too much at once. I know this may be a hard pill for some to swallow, but you have to remember that you don’t have the body of a teenager any more. When adults get hurt or injured, it takes much longer to heal than when you were younger.

So, for example, if you participate in a weekend sporting activity, you can’t be inactive all week and then push your body to be super active on the weekends. This sudden burst of activity increases your risk of an injury that can sideline you for weeks or even months.

Understand that you can continue vigorous activities, but middle-aged adults need to take exercises or activities at a little slower pace. As a matter of fact, stretching becomes a very important factor in keeping the body flexible and reducing the risk of injury.

For Seniors

As people age, activity is still very important. During the senior years, physical fitness continues to be a supreme factor in staying healthy and fighting diseases as well as numerous other benefits.

Obviously, seniors may need to adapt their exercise program to accommodate physical challenges. And of course you should consult your physician before starting any new kind of exercise. On a physical level, older adults should be focusing on maintaining movement and flexibility.

Moderate physical activities, such as brisk walking, riding an exercise bike, and light weightlifting, keep your body in good shape and helps to slow the signs and effects of the aging process.

——————————————————————————————-

One of the absolute best sources of information that I’ve found for understanding and benefiting from physical fitness exercises is RIGHT HERE.

——————————————————————————————-