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Ever wonder what life would be like if no one exercised? Just take a look along a typical city street. Our society is faced with an epidemic of obesity, and it's time for people to become more in tune with their own health and fitness issues. We all know that exercise is essential to living a healthy lifestyle. It's the best way to lose body fat, because exercise boosts the metabolism and encourages the body to burn excess calories. Physical exercise revs up your heart and gets your lungs pumping at their maximum capacity. You'll have healthier bones when you exercise, and you'll look good and feel great about yourself. Exercise gives you increased stamina, making it easier for you to keep up with life's busy pace. The unfortunate reality is that, although nearly everyone is aware of the many benefits of fitness, many women ignore the facts and choose to do nothing. It's too easy to press the snooze button, take the elevator or drive to work. In our society of convenience, people are suffering with a lack of health and fitness. The following tips can be helpful in reaching and maintaining your ideal body weight. The specific issues that women face, like a higher susceptibility to osteoporosis, make health and fitness of particular interest to them. To maintain optimum health and keep your body strong, it is recommended that at least two of these tips be incorporated into all women's health and fitness routines: 1. Don't feel as though you're not doing enough. It seems that women are born with the innate feeling that they're letting someone down. But it doesn't matter if you can't spend ten hours a week at the gym or jog every evening. The important thing is that you make a commitment to improving your health and fitness, and then stick to it. Women's health and fitness advisors suggest that you exercise three to five times a week, for 20-60 minutes. In reality, this isn't always possible. Don't frustrate yourself by aiming for someone else's ideals when you know it's just not possible. If you can work out twice a week at twenty minutes per session, you're doing a great job. 2. Celebrate your success. Focus on the pride and happiness that you feel regarding your new health and fitness regime. If you're struggling to meet a weight loss goal, don't beat yourself up about it. Focus on your successes to this point and celebrate today as your new starting point. Remember, the commitment that you've made to yourself is your greatest success. 3. Work with weights first. Don't make the same mistake as so many women, and begin your routine with cardio followed by weight lifting. You may spend too much time on cardio and miss out on weight training, which is critical component of your successful health and fitness routine. If you do this on a regular basis you can have a disappointing outcome despite countless hours at the gym. When you reverse the order and performing weight training first, you'll be more likely to realize a positive visible outcome. 4. Don't overdo it. The average women's health and fitness regime requires a workout of no more than an hour at a time. Spending too much time at the gym or doing the same exercises over extended periods can become tedious and boring. By focusing on the exercises and narrowing your time frame, your workout sessions will be more fun and more efficient. 5. Monitor your heart rate. It is recommended that women exercise at 75-85% of their maximum heart rate. Too low a rate means you're not exerting yourself to your potential. Too much, however, can be potentially dangerous. Sticking it out at 50 percent is not going to help you realize your fitness goals. Use a heart rate monitor or do a manual count incrementally during your workout to ensure that you're reaching and not exceeding the prescribed target heart rate. 6. Find a fitness friend. Support is so important when trying to stick to an exercise program. If you are currently working out to an individual regime with no fitness community, you may find that your workouts are lacking, or just not that successful. Having social support around you can bring a greater sense of camaraderie, kinship and even healthy competition. If you normally work out at home by yourself, try visiting a gym for a sample workout or join a yoga, Pilates or sailing class. Running clubs, golf courses and group sports such as bowling are all great ways to meet new people and stay in shape. 7. Support yourself. Taking on a new health and fitness routine can be tough. It takes commitment, discipline and a lot of hard work. Give yourself the support you need with a pep talk. Don't pressure yourself too much; give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back. There's nothing wrong with giving yourself some great feedback for a change. More than ever before, women's health and fitness is an important issue. With fast food and our sedentary lifestyles, we are being robbed of our good health, and stripped of our self-esteem. Only you can make the change to a healthier lifestyle. Move at your own pace, and you will be amazed at how far you can go.
Article Source: http://www.associatedigest.com
Columnist Ernestine Clagge contributes articles to several popular web sites, on health education and personal health care themes.
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