Effective Fitness Tips To Help You Stay In The Game

With today's helter skelter lifestyle we need effective and efficient fitness tips that can get us in shape relatively quickly so we can keep moving and stay in the game.

While some of us do have physically demanding jobs performing work is definitely not the same as working out. When you workout you are either targeting your cardiovascular (heart and lungs) system or your muscles and tendons using specific exercises.

As we age we tend to get less exercise but we really should get more. When we are younger our muscles are more flexible, need less maintenance and we recover faster from workouts.

When I has younger, with far less responsibilities I was a "gym rat". I could play ball (football, basketball, baseball, soccer all day without tiring much. I could consume tremendous amounts of food and not gain any weight.

On more that one occasion I ate a large pizza pie and drank four sodas and still was hungry 2 hours later! While I am in good shape for my age (although now I need to soak in a hot epsom salts bath after I play ball) if I try to do what I did when I was younger they will be quickly calling EMS for me!

I have been working out for many years and I have found certain exercises are more effective than others for me. Before I give some effective fitness tips I must discuss your body type. This will determine your level of activity.

What's Your Body Type?

Ectomorph (thin, lean build) - Generally you have been blessed with a fast metabolism and you pretty much can get away with eating anything (if you are young that is), but it's difficult for you to gain muscle mass.

You should eat more protein rich foods (to feed your muscles) and slow down your physical activites. Do less cardio and lift more weights. When you lift weights stay in the 6 - 8 rep range. Over time your metabolism (the rate your body burns calories while at rest) will adjust and you be able to able to gain muscle.

Endomorph (more chunky pear-shaped build) - Your metabolism is slower you have to watch what you eat. You can get big pretty easily but you should try to stick with a low fat diet other wise you will not have any definition.

When you workout you should 30 min cardio 5 days a week to stay lean as as possible. keep you rep range at 10 - 12 and use moderately heavy weights. Since you gain size easily you don't have to use heavy weights.

Mesomorph (muscular build) - If you have this body type you have the best of both worlds. You can make good gains in your muscle mass while staying pretty lean. Eat a sensible low fat diet with a reasonable amount of protein.

30 minutes of cardio 3 days a week is good enough to keep lean. You can cycle your routine going from light weight to medium to heavy etc.

What's The Next Step?

Effective Fitness Tips To Keep You Healthy

Fitness Tips #1 - Try To Exercise In The Morning: While this will be difficult for most people to do, morning exercise can yield the most benefits. Your body can burn more calories in the morning because you should be fully energized after a good night's sleep. Plus your bodily functions, in general, are more active in the morning.

If you exercise in the evening you will have less energy because you will be a little (or very - depending on your line of work) tired from working all day.

Tip #2 - Warm Up Before Stretching: This will keep you from injuring your muscles. You can either ride the stationary bike for 15 minutes or walk on the treadmill at a moderate pace. Remember the idea is to warm up cold muscles not to tire yourself out conserve energy for the work out.

Tip #3 - Focus On Your Workout Not On Talking: While the gym can be good for socializing don't forget why you are in there. I have seen many people spend most of their time talking and virtually no time working out.

When you get in the gym keep it simple greet who you need to but don't prolong the conversation unless the person is giving you more insight on working out. Since you probably have a busy schedule get in and get out so that you can get other things accomplished.

Tip #4 - Don't Try To Do Too Many Exercises: A common mistake many people make is going to the gym and trying to exercise their entire body in one session. This is an easy way to get burned out or get injured. Try to work upper body one day and lower body the next.

What i do is chest, triceps and shoulders on Monday's. Back and biceps on Wednesday. Finally I do either squats or deadlifts on Saturday's. I try to do around 4 sets of 6 to 10 reps for each body part. this works well for me because I grow easily. For hard gainers you may have to do more to make a break through.

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