With that said, I decided to make the first post all about "The Basics" of working out and getting started. There's a lot to think about when you work out so getting the little things down early helps tremendously on the days when you just want to make any excuse you can not to give that extra effort. I'll try to make it all coherent and you can tell me what doesn't make sense...deal?
Losing weight, maintaining a healthy physique, adding muscle, etc. all require the same things: knowing your body and discipline. That's simple enough to say but actually perfecting those two things take practice, consistency, and a lot of experience.
Knowing your body and how it reacts to "stimuli" (i.e. food, exercise, sickness) is important. This key is often why some people can't overcome a workout plateau while their peers, who are doing EXACTLY the same things, continue to show improvement. So, how can we learn to listen to our bodies? One way is to focus more on form and technique in every type of workout we do, as opposed to focusing on amount of weight or reps. Yoga/Pilates is a perfect example. Have you ever seen an obese yoga master?? Probably not. That's because they focus on slow, intentional movements which help a person "feel" every muscle stretch and pull. I'll reiterate later on.
Injuries are also important to how we workout. It's very important not to overwork yourself if you feel an injury coming on. It's OK to take some time off to let an injury TOTALLY heal. When you do hurt, practice telling yourself in your head exactly where the pain is coming from (as if you were explaining it to a doctor). I've found in most cases I can better protect myself in the future from that same injury as well as really isolate the hurt area better while continuing to get some form of exercise. Also, it's hard to go wrong with ICE. If you have an injury (exceptions: broken bones, loss of vision, etc) put ice on it for 15 min. on and 10 min. off for a while. This does wonders!
Food...up next.
Diet/Nutrition
Growing up as a "chubby" kid, in my own eyes, I learned early on that my chubbiness was not due to the way I ate. My parents were very strict on how we ate and in turn I couldn't use that as an excuse or blaming mechanism later in life. I saw this as a positive thing. It was seen as one less excuse getting in my way to getting in shape. Getting rid of roadblocks makes our path easier right? Well getting the whole food issue out of the way, or at least under control, makes getting in shape easier. Easy enough right? Wrong! Ok, so here's one of the best ways I've found to help in this area...JOURNAL. Here's how it works.
1. Get a composition book or some kind of journaling book
2. Write the date at the top of the page (ex. "Tues. 5/5/09)
3. On the first line write the time of your first meal/food item eaten and out to the side write EXACTLY what you ate. (this is very important. It's all in the details and plays an important role later)
4. In the far right column (same line) write how many calories you calculate it had in it.
Continue this for the whole day.
I also write every exercise I do that day on the line with the date, so i can keep track of what I do.
The point of this is not an unhealthy calorie restriction, but rather getting to know our body and what's going with it. I guarantee you that if you start looking at your caloric intake you'll automatically start eating better OR stop doing the journaling! It's the truth, and i've seen both examples. In my opinion, THIS IS THE ONLY DIET YOU NEED TO START WITH! All fad diets are just that, FADS! They're nearly impossible to maintain for any normal human being over an extended period of time. A journal is something practical that is easy to maintain forever. The eventual goal is to know the dietary value of nearly everything we eat. Now, I know how many calories a Logan's dinner roll has and it's MUCH harder to keep eating them now, but I also know how many calories a McDonald's icecream cone has and would probably rather sacrifice two rolls for one icecream cone and come out ahead! Just an unintended consequence of journaling! *not a usual occurence, just an example of changed thinking*
One other thing. EAT LESS MORE OFTEN. This is a classic tip that's easy to forget with our hectic schedules. Eat a few hundred calories every couple of hours and you'll probably end up feeling better and eating less, ironically. It takes a few days for your body to get used to it, but that will be a common occurence...your body getting used to what your doing to it (for the better though!).
So, count your calories for education NOT necessarily restriction. Eating disorders are banned! It takes 3 weeks/ 21 days to form a habit, so again remain consistent with it and it will get much easier, I promise. There are a few good websites where you can find calorie information, etc. I'll list them at the end of this post. I also recommend really trying to figure out the calories in the stuff you make at home too (add up ingredients, etc.). This takes a little brain power, but it's only helping you become more knowledgeable and "knowledge is power."
That's all for this post, but I've got plenty more before the actual "workout" part get here. Let me know your feedback OR if you have any tips or questions. I can post pictures of my journal if you need a reference. I may even have some guests input/workouts from the readers themselves, who knows.
**Remember, it's not about mastering everything at once but really focusing on a few things and really getting them down. Once it becomes habit then you can add to it. Just ask Dave Ramsey!**
www.calorieking.com (good place to get information about restaurants) Also, just google "how many calories in ..." for other items.
http://www.myoptumhealth.com/portal/ManageMyHealth/Calories+Burned+Calculator (gives you an idea of how many calories you burn doing different activities -- just something interesting)
Here's a little motivation and insight of things to come...muhahaha
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