Fitness encompasses a variety of aspects of both your physical and mental health and there really is no single, correct way to go pursue fitness. In theory, simply being active and breaking a sweat will often suffice. As a professional athlete, I would like to guide you through a handful of things I have found to be incredibly important throughout my fitness journey and hopefully provide you with some helpful information for you to begin or continue a fitness journey of your own.

Table Of Contents:

5 Imperative Aspects Of Fitness

• Why Is Exercising Important? Exercising Allows You To Excel!
• Varieties of Exercise
• Dietary Regimen
• Workout Splits – Schedule Your Workouts
• Warm-ups and Cool-downs

The Best Ways To Maximize Your Potential!

• Getting Started

• Body Weight Workouts For Beginner

5 Imperative Aspects Of Fitness

1. Why Is Your Fitness Important? Exercising Allows You To Excel!

Exercising is crucial to a healthy lifestyle and the benefits seem endless. Success is not always easily quantifiable but the prosperity that comes from a diligent fitness routine can be seen and felt wide variety of ways, both mental and physical. Here are a few:

2. Varieties of Exercise

Fitness variety is important to understand as it is crucial to incorporate different types of exercises to optimize your health and well-being. Depending on what types of results you are striving for, the ratios of different types of training may vary but it is crucial that you incorporate all of them! You should consider the intensity, frequency, duration, and variety with each exercise and these measurements vary by person. Intensity refers to the percentage of maximum heart rate you may reach during the activity. Frequency refers to how often you perform the activity. Duration refers to the amount of time you spend performing the activity. Variety refers to the number of different exercises you perform. Now again, everyone is different and all of these variable will fluctuate from person to person but do your best to find an attainable yet challenging benchmark and increase it over time.

Aerobic

Also referred to as endurance training focuses on increasing your heart rate and emphasizing breathing. Studies show that aerobic activities improve not only your fitness, but the health of your heart, lungs, and circulatory system. Aerobic exercises also fight diseases more common in older adults such as diabetes, colon and breast cancers, heart disease, and more. Some examples of aerobic exercises may be swimming, cycling, running, walking, and rowing.

Strength

Also referred to as resistance training, allows you to work your muscles with a set amount of resistance whether it be with weights like dumbbells, barbells, , kettle bells, or even your own body weight. These exercises will help increase lean muscle mass, help lose weight, burn calories, and increase metabolism. If fitness were all about looking strong, then these exercises were serve as the most efficient approach to get there. It is also important to note that strength training is crucial for injury prevention as stronger muscles are better suited to support the joints and maintain themselves. Some common exercises for strength training could be weightlifting (barbell squats, bench press, deadlift, leg press, dumbbell curls, etc.) and bodyweight exercises (pushups, crunches, bodyweight squats, pull-ups, etc.).

Balance

Balance exercise are often times overlooked. Truth is, you need this type of training to continue to do just about everything whether it be walking, getting out of a chair, or even tying your shoes. Balance training strengthens the little muscles that help you stay steady most often revolving around your legs and core. Yoga provides some of the best examples of useful balance exercises such as the tree pose, warrior pose, and many more you may not have time for. I have linked some of my favorite balance exercises and I hope that you fall in love with yoga like I have!

Stretching / Flexibility

Stretching keeps our muscles strong, flexible, and healthy. To maintain a healthy range of motion, you should stretch roughly 10 minutes daily. With a body full of muscles, stretching may seem like a pretty daunting task, but reality is all the stretching you need can be done before and after your workouts and often times during a workout of its own like yoga. I will go into more detail in the warm-up and cool-down section!

3. Dietary Regimen

In order to get the most out of your workouts and yourself, you must consume the proper foods. As you can imagine, there is no single diet that works best since dietary needs and preferences vary dramatically. With that being said, there are definitely foods that you should prevent yourself from eating. Stay away from the saturated fats, sodium rich, and sugar-filled sweets and lean more on the core food groups. A healthy diet is comprised of a healthy combination of different foods which include:

Although this is a vague guide, it is important that you understand why these foods are imperative to a healthy diet. It is also important to re-emphasize that this is not the only way to create a healthy diet and there are ways around it. For example, I have struggled to digest animal products for the past five years and I have found vegan substitutes to fill the protein void that my meatless, dairy free diet had left me. I have relied more so on plant proteins from peas, beans, and nuts while substituting meats with soy based products like tofu. The point here is that there are “plenty of ways to skin the cat” and it is up to you to find out what works best for you and your body.

To connect our dietary regimen to our fitness journey, it may be obvious to some the first reason why a healthy diet is crucial; It helps you lose weight! When we eliminate the sweets, saturated fats, and sodium-rich products, you are bound to see some results. It is also important to note that a healthy diet will protect you from many chronic noncommunicable diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, depression, arthritis, and cancer. Lastly, and most apparent, by consuming the right foods at the right time, you will be able to maximize the benefits of your fitness. For example, eating a healthy meal full of healthy carbs and sugars, you will have ample energy for your workout. After your workout, protein will help your body recover properly. I recommend you do your research and try things out. The only way to know what works best for you is through trial and error! I have attached below some other dietary guidelines you might find useful.

Extra Dietary Resources:

• Vegan Diet
• The Best Diet For Fitness Training: The Facts You Need To Know

4. Workout Splits – Schedule Your Workouts

Creating a schedule for your workouts and developing a fitness routine is far more important than you may imagine. By developing a routine schedule that “splits” your days into different workouts that focus different parts of your body, you are able to train an area(s) of your body while giving another area(s) enough time to properly recover. Workout splits also allow you to focus more heavily on one or two (sometimes three) muscle groups at a time. By doing so, you can further break down the muscles you are aiming to train, which will catalyze more efficient growth.

Now, you may still be wondering, “What exactly is a workout split?” and that is fair since there are so many different ways to go about it. I will attach some links below of some of my favorite examples of workout splits but first let me emphasize one more thing. When I say “routine”, I am referencing I relatively consistent schedule by which you conduct your workouts. It is so important that you know the difference between a healthy routine, and a routine that is just too much for you or your body. If you are training too heavy, too often, you become far more susceptible to injury and other fatigue related soreness that can become chronic. For example, I am currently on a 4-day workout splits that consists mainly of aerobic exercises that help me maintain strength and endurance throughout a long hockey season. In the off season, I focus more on building strength by catering a 6-day workout splits of strength training and growth. The Mind Pump Show does a great job of breaking down the pros and cons of workout splits and full body workouts and highlight some of their favorite workout splits.

Before you commit to a workout split, I do want to inform you that that is not the only way to obtain results, rather its just a productive way of focusing on a small area(s) and really breaking down the muscles so they can grow back bigger and stronger. Another common way to exercise is by doing daily full body workouts that do just that, work the whole body. This allows you to get moving, burn calories, and likely pursue a less precise, but more widely beneficial workout. Full body workouts are a great place to start your fitness journey. Similar to what I said about workout splits, it is important to vary your workouts from day to day as doing the same exercises day after day can take a toll on your muscles and likely lead to injury. You are your own individual with your own needs, but understanding what a beneficial fitness program is for you can be challenging. I encourage you to watch another video from The Mind Pump Show that talks about creating an effective workout program.

One of the most common catalysts for individuals to begin their fitness journey is the desire to lose weight and rightfully so considering the alarming obesity rates in the United States. I too have struggled with body image and self-confidence and that is why I want to suggest that you look into watching the How to Start Your Fitness & Fat Loss Journey.

5. Warm-ups and Cool-downs

Warming up before you exercise is incredibly important. By warming up before your workout, you inhibit proper blood flow throughout your body. For roughly ten minutes, you should focus on incorporating low-intensity movements, exercises, or stretches which will promote blood flow and allow you to “break a sweat” before you jump into higher intensity movements or exercises. These would be considered dynamic movements. Warming up properly will increase your range of motion, decrease stiffness, and dramatically decrease the risk of injury. Again, there are thousands of different warm-up exercises and there is no perfect way to go about it. Personally, through trial and error, I have found that breaking a sweat and moving fluidly is most beneficial for me. Whether it be a brisk 5 minute job, high knees, jumping jacks, lunges, banded exercises, or karaoke, moving fluidly while stretching the muscles I plan of exercising is imperative for me to have a beneficial workout and fitness routine. Find what it is you and your body need before your workout and make it your routine. If you are struggling to come up with some examples, here are a few ways to warmup before you exercise.

Similarly, similar and often times, the same exercises can be used as a “cool down”. The one main difference I would like to point out is that if there were every a time and place for static stretching (stretches that you hold for time), It would be during the cool down, NOT the warm-up. Static stretches before a workout can be dangerous as it lowers athletic performance and increases risk of injury. In order to optimize your fitness, you need stay physically healthy and injury free which is how these warm-ups and cool-downs serve you best. So again, dynamic stretches before, and static stretches after! If you are looking for some good cooldown exercises, there are plenty out there, but here is one of my favorites from Healthline.

The Best Ways To Maximize Your Potential!

Getting Started

Start putting together the information I have supplied, I promise you it will make things easier and more than likely spark some excitement for the fitness journey that lies ahead! The results are the reward, and I am so excited for you to reach your goals. Now get out of bed, eat something healthy and start your warmup. These fitness guidelines are going to help you feel better, look better, and keep you healthy. The routine becomes a lifestyle and there is no better life to live than a healthy one. Follow the links throughout this article and strengthen your knowledge about fitness and I am confident you be given the tools to successfully create a fitness plan and reach your goals! Start small, get the hang of the exercises, and continue you to push yourself to be better. Best of luck with your fitness journey and don’t forget to subscribe today!

Body Weight Workouts For Beginners

As I mentioned before, there are hundred of different ways to begin your fitness journey. The important thing to understand is what you are looking to achieve and how to get there. Whether it be growing muscle or losing fat, there will be credible resources out there that will help you obtain these goals. I have found fitness influencers videos to be incredibly informative and useful when putting together my own workouts and I suggest you look into doing the same! One of my favorite fitness influences, Steve Cook created a great 15 minute body weight workout to do at home. Whatever your situation may be, I encourage you to stay committed. Even if you are not feeling it that day, or you don’t have time to drive to the gym, take 15 minutes and get moving. Start small, get the hang of the exercises, and continue you to push yourself to be better! Best of luck with your fitness journey and don’t forget to subscribe today!