5 Ways to Stay Motivated
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Make a goal – It’s much easier to stay motivated and focused when working towards a specific goal. If you’re trying to start a running program, why not choose a 5K race to train for? You can set up a focused plan for each day that will help you achieve your goals. It’s sometimes easier to stick to a program when it’s broken down and taken day by day. Also, it’s feels great to make and achieve goals, so you may find yourself looking for another race after you’ve finished the first. Goals can be set for any activity – running, swimming, or cycling a certain distance, or in a certain time, or gaining the ability to lift a certain amount of weight in the gym.
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Keep a log Not only will it allow you to keep track of your exercise program, but keeping a log is a great way to stay motivated. Sometimes having stay accountable in a written log will make you less likely to skip a workout. No one likes to see a whole week of blank days! Keeping a log is also a great way to keep track of how exercise affects your moods, your appetite, and more.
BMI - Fact or Fiction?
Body Mass Index (BMI) is a measurement of body fat calculated using height and weight. It is used as an indicator of body “fatness”, or the amount of body fat versus lean mass. People are advised to keep their BMI within the normal range for maximum health.
Over recent years, the BMI concept has been criticized for being oversimplified. Because it only takes two factors into consideration – weight and height – it can be highly inaccurate in certain individuals. It allows no variations for different builds or body compositions.
For example, Continue reading…
How Many Calories Am I Burning?
Have you ever wondered how many calories you’ve burned on the elliptical trainer or while mountain biking?
In past articles, we’ve gained a better understanding of our how many calories our body needs and how to figure out how many we’re eating (see Estimating Daily Calorie Needs, How to Count Calories, Calorie Calculator). We’ve also learned to figure out how many calories our body burns at rest just to keep it functioning by calculating our BMR, or Basal Metabolic Rate.
In addition to our BMR, our body burns calories by all of our physical activity and exercise. The more you move, the more calories you burn. It can be difficult to approximate exactly how many calories we burn during exercise. Furthermore, it varies widely from person to person due to body composition, weight, gender, and metabolism. Because of this, the ‘calories burned’ displays on the cardio machines at the gym may be far from accurate. Although it’s impossible to find an exact number, the chart below will give you a general idea of how many calories certain activities burn. The numbers shown are for 60 minutes of exercise, so adjust according to how much you’ve done. Continue reading…