Selena Deleon – THE WORKOUT YOU'VE HEARD it before, 'He who fails to plan, plans to fail'. Plan your routine before you walk into the gym, decide how many rounds you are going to run before you hit the dam, tell yourself that you are going to finish that aerobics class or videotape, all before you even start and stick
with it.
Do the same with your diet. Don't be haphazard about what you eat. If you want to eat healthily, you must be organised and plan for each meal and snack. Don't wait until you are hungry before you have your meal or snack. Travel around with your water or fruit if you are on the road. Keep your metabolism up by eating small meals regularly, limit your fruits to two per day but don't limit your veggies.
Get the most out of your workouts by staying focused. Don't allow people to chat to you at the gym and cause you to lose valuable time. Just five to 10 minutes of warm-up exercising will raise body temperature, get the blood flowing, and lubricate leg joints, decreasing risk of injury.
Train opposing muscle groups during your rest periods, also called 'modified compound sets'. For example, after you complete a set of bench presses to work your chest, immediately go to the lat pulldown machine for your upper and middle back. Don't rest for more than 30 seconds between sets.
FAT-BURNING FURNACE
Interval training treadmills are great for walking, jogging, or running, but doing a little of each can help kick your body's fat-burning ability into high-gear. Start with a five-minute walk, then jog for three minutes, then run at a higher level for two minutes, continue alternating for 15 to 30 minutes. If that's too difficult, start at 30 seconds of jogging, 30 seconds of running, and gradually increase each interval by 15 seconds until you can do two minutes of jogging and two minutes of running.
Be consistent! Remember that not exercising at all is equivalent to smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. Keep a journal of how you feel after exercising, especially after a great workout and on the days that you don't feel like exercising, look back on the good workout days for some inspiration.
All of us can't be thin, but every single one of us can be healthy by focusing on our diet and exercise. You can achieve optimum health and fitness.
Selena DeLeon is a certified professional trainer.
