Lessons from Experience: Tips for Living a Healthy Lifestyle

My knowledge of health and fitness stems far less from any education or certification than it does from my own personal experience. I will never consider myself a master in this field because I believe that there is always more to discover. However, I have learned quite a bit through my journey. The road to where I am today was long and hard. I started off not knowing a single thing about healthy eating or exercising, and just began learning on my own, step by step. I experienced many falls and discouragements. There were times when I didn’t believe in myself at all. I even fell into some very unhealthy habits in a desperate attempt to look good. But each time I fell I got back up. And these falls have taught me some of the most beautiful lessons.

 

I truly believe that the lessons and the strength one gains through a healthy lifestyle permeate into even the most intricate facets of life to allow for growth in all senses of the word. For this reason, I want to share with you some of the important lessons I’ve learned on my path to a healthy lifestyle.

Lesson 1: Listen to Your Body

 

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Beginning a healthy lifestyle is really a decision to respect your inner body. It’s about a desire to feel good, to age well, to set an example. We should always take the greatest care in paying attention to what our bodies are telling us. Whether you get injured, or are feeling discomfort in a certain area, take the time you need to recover. Don’t ever force your body into something that doesn’t feel right. Injuries, pulled muscles, pain and other restrictions are inevitable with regular exercise. Be sure you understand your body and treat it with the respect it deserves.

 

Lesson 2: Practice Consistency

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If you are not consistent with diet and exercise, your results will be inconsistent as well. Fitness is a lifestyle, which means it needs to become a habit in order for us to reap it’s amazing benefits. Coherence to a regular routine of balanced eating and exercising is what will get you feeling your best. Practice a healthy lifestyle everyday to form that habit. Of course you will get off track from time to time, maybe a lot at first, but keep bouncing back and with time you will start to notice the changes to both your inner and outer being.

 

Lesson 3: Find Your Why

 

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A healthy lifestyle is not possible without a why. You need a reason, a motivation to push your body and mind to their limits. What is your why? Try to find a deep-seated incentive, rather than a superficial one. Of course, we all want to look good, but there needs to be something more. If it’s all about looks, trust me, it won’t stick. Maybe you want to be in-shape so you can run around with your children. Maybe you are at an unhealthy weight and you want to become healthy enough to live a longer life. Maybe you want to set an example for your children or your family. Maybe you want to feel more energized and full of life. Whatever your reason, make sure it is unique and important to you.

 

Lesson 4: Be Patient

 

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Patience is a virtue. There is a reason why Allah (swt) puts so much emphasis on sabr. Patience is the key to unlocking opportunities and doors; it is the foundation of a deep-rooted faith. In terms of fitness, the most common reason for giving up is that people don’t see results quickly. There is nothing fast about change; it happens slowly, overtime, with a lot of effort, hard work, persistence, and PATIENCE. The body needs time to adapt and grow, and in listening to our bodies as we’ve already discussed, we need to give it the time it needs. Be patient and don’t give up on yourself.

 

Lesson 5: Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

 

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Please, don’t stress out about small things. So you ate a chocolate when you weren’t supposed to. SO WHAT? We all make mistakes and no one can be perfect, no matter how much they might seem so from the outside. A healthy lifestyle is no easy task, and by adding unnecessary stress into the mix it becomes dreadful. Enjoy it, have fun, and don’t sweat the small stuff. Missed a workout? No problem, make it up later in the week or, if you don’t have the time, try to improve yourself the next week. Cheated on your diet? That’s OK it happens, food is delicious! Don’t use it as an excuse to beat yourself up and ruin all of your hard work; simply start fresh with your next meal. Take the edge off and enjoy the ride, no matter how bumpy it may get.

 

Lesson 6: Love Yourself First

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Don’t begin a healthy lifestyle because you hate your body, or you hate something about yourself. Begin a healthy lifestyle because you LOVE yourself so much so that you want to become the best version of yourself that you can be. It’s fine to have ideas of what you want to work on, but counteract those negatives with some positives. Make a list of things you want to change and also a list of things you love about yourself, or things you are good at. You will never treat yourself good if you do not like yourself. Find your beauty and watch yourself blossom.

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A Proper Cool Down

This is going to be my last post for my #workoutwednesday series. I thought it was a good idea to close it out with a cool down routine, which is often the most overlooked aspect of exercise, although it is equally as important as the warm-up.

 

The Importance of a Cool Down

A cool down takes place after a workout with the goal of slowly getting the heart-rate, breathing, and body temperature back to its pre-exercise state. A proper cool down usually lasts for about 5-10 minutes, and should start off with some low-intensity exercises followed by stretches.

The benefits of cooling down include

  • Bringing the body’s physiological state back to normal
  • Reduces the risk for muscle cramps and spasms
  • Helps to offset some muscle soreness
  • Aids in muscle recovery
  • Removes waste build-up (like lactic acid) that occurs during physical activity
  • Prevents dizziness and fainting after exercise

 

How to Cool Down

Step 1: Light Activity

The first part of a quality cool down should start off with about 3-5 minutes of light activity. This can differ depending on the individuals workout.

Here are some examples:

  • After a run you might take a light jog for 2-3 minutes, followed by a 2-3 minute walk.
  • After a spin or bike workout you might pedal on a flat road (light resistance) for 3-4 minutes, followed by 1-2 minutes pedaling with no resistance whatsoever.
  • After a strength training workout it’s a good idea to do 3-5 minutes of dynamic stretching, like we saw in our warm-up routine, or even some yoga poses.
  • After a swimming workout one can swim a few leisurely laps around the pool.
  • Instructor-led fitness classes typically have a warm-up and cool down built into the routine.

Step 2: Stretching

The second and last part of a quality cool down will consist of stretching for another 3-5 minutes. You want to make sure you are focusing on the muscles that were being activated during the workout. In order to incorporate relaxation into my cool-down routine, I like to hold each stretch for 5 deep breaths.

Here are some examples of stretches:

Front Shoulders Stretch 

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Triceps Stretch 

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Standing Side Stretch

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Chest Opener Stretch 

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The Forward Hang 

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Upper Back Stretch 

Upper-back-stretch

Quad Stretch 

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Calf Stretch 

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Forward Fold

Standing Forward Bend Yoga(1)

Glute Stretch 

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Hip-Flexor Stretch  

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Lower Back Stretch 

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Cobra Stretch 

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I truly hope that you all enjoyed this series! The aim of #workoutwednesday was to share some information related to proper exercise, promote a healthy lifestyle, give ideas of some different types of workouts, and most importantly, to inspire you to exercise and take control of your health!

Please keep checking back on this blog for more health and fitness posts, and possibly a new series =).

Enjoy your cool down and don’t forget to incorporate it after every workout. If you are short on time, modify; something is always better than nothing.

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Full Body Bootcamp

Happy #workoutwednesday everyone! Today’s workout is a Full Body Bootcamp! This workout can be done anywhere with just a small pair of dumbells. As with many HIIT workouts, we will be focusing on a mix of cardio and strength. HIIT is a great, fast and efficient way to burn a significant amount of fat. It’s great for days when you just don’t have the time to put in, as these types of workouts can be done at home and in as short as 10 minutes. To do this workout you should perform each exercise down the list one time with minimal to no rest in between. Once you have completed the list you may rest for 60 seconds then repeat for a total of 3 times. Remember, if you are a beginner you can start off with 1-2 times, but don’t be afraid of the challenge!

Because many of the same exercises are being repeated from some previous workouts I have posted I will skip out on the descriptions. I will, however, provide links to YouTube videos for the exercises that are not as well known. Please note that these are not my personal YouTube videos.

Ready. Set. GO!

 

30 jumping jacks

10 push-ups

30 squat jumps

10 tricep dips

30 high knees

10 DB shoulder press

30 switch lunges

10 DB back flies

30 mountain climbers

10 bicep curls

30 burpees

10 lateral raises 

VIDEOS

SQUAT JUMPS – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4s4mEQ5VqU

TRICEP DIPS – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kALZikXxLc

HIGH KNEES – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tx5rgpDAJRI

SWITCH LUNGE – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysXybHNtq2Y

DB BACK FLIES – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1U3yZne1jw

MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmwgirgXLYM

BURPEES – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZQA08SlJnM

Bosu Ball Stability Workout

Today our workout is going to focus on strength, stability and balance. The only piece of equipment you will need is a Bosu Ball, as that is what we will use for each of our exercises today. Although this is a full-body workout, you will really be targeting the core in order to stabilize and balance the ball during this workout. Note that any of these exercises can be modified by performing them without the bosu ball. This workout can be done in home, at the gym, or outside at your favorite spot in nature.

As with many of the other workouts we have done, this is a circuit workout. You will perform each exercise down the list once, back-to-back, with little to no rest in between. Once you finish the entire circuit you will rest between 30-60 seconds, and will repeat the same routine again for a total of 3 times! If you are a beginner, start by doing the circuit only once and work your way up to three sets. Remember that these routines can be done and modified by anyone, regardless of fitness level. As always, I will post descriptions of each exercise below. I will also paste some links to YouTube videos showing each exercise (note that these are not my personal videos). Here we go:

 

30 Second Bosu Mountain Climbers 

10 Bosu Push-ups

8 Bosu Burpees

10 Bosu Balancing Squats 

15 Bosu Bridges 

1 Minute Bosu Plank Hold 

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Bosu Mountain Climbers – Start in a full (straight-arm) plank with the round side of the bosu ball down on the ground and yours hands on tops of the flat side. With the shoulders staying directly over the hands, begin by bringing one knee in towards the chest, then switch legs. Continue doing this at a fast pace for 30 seconds. Use your abs to stabilize the ball.

Bosu Push-ups – Again you will begin with the round side of the ball down and your hands up on the flat part. With shoulders directly above the hands, perform a push-up just as if you were performing one on the ground. Really squeeze and tighten those abs to keep the ball steady. You may drop down to your knees if this is too challenging. Perform 10 repetitions.

Bosu Burpees – These are just like regular burpees (or should I say death!) only you will be holding the bosu ball the whole way through. Start in a standing position holding the flat side of the bosu ball overhead. Lower it to the floor by putting the round side down. Continuing to grip the flat side, jump your legs straight out behind you into a plank position, then back in and come back to a standing position bringing to bosu ball overheard once again. Complete 8 of these.

Bosu Balancing Squats – Begin with the bosu ball on the ground, round side down. Step your feet onto the flat side of the ball (you may need a wall to help you get onto the ball). Once you find your balance, begin squatting by keeping the weight in your heels and dropping down as if you were sitting in a chair. Go down as far as possible. Note that the ball will shake, this is OK and normal. Tighten your core the entire time for balance and stability. Continue on doing this 10 times.

Bosu Bridges – This time we are going to have the flat side of the ball down on the ground (yayy!)…don’t get too excited yet =). Lay down on your back with your feet on top of the bosu ball, legs bent. Use the heels of your feet to lift your hips up off the ground, squeexing the glutes at the top, then slowely and steadily lower back down. Repeat this 15 times.

Bosu Plank Hold – As if we haven’t worked our abs enough during this workout, we are going to end with a 1 minute plank hold. Perform a full plank with the round side of the ball down and your hands on the flat part and hold for 1 minute.

YouTube Videos (in order by exercise)

 

 

 

Confidence: What Every Woman Needs

Have you ever wondered why it is so hard to reach your goals? Why it seems impossible to become the healthier person you’ve always wanted to be? Confidence might be the key to finding that motivation you need to reach your fitness goals, and unfortunately this quality is generally low in women. I recently finished reading a very interesting book called “The Confidence Code” by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman, in which these two journalists sought out highly professional women in order to determine what gives them the confidence that most other women are lacking. They interviewed women with leading roles in sports, politics, the military and arts; women who seem to have it all put together. Sure enough, they found that even these powerful, highly educated and determined women are lower in confidence than their male counterparts. Although this can come as a surprise, we realize that when it comes to success women are under the microscope. There is much more pressure to prove themselves worthy and there is a great deal of doubt surrounding their success.

This got me to thinking about the success of women when it comes to their fitness goals. Countless women struggle everyday with their weight, their bodies, their ability to stick to a consistent routine or a healthy eating regimen. We are often quick to blame this on laziness. “You just need to motivate yourself,” we will say, “just get up and do it!” There is no argument that motivation and determination play a significant, in fact crucial role in developing a healthy lifestyle. But what if there’s more to the story than that? What if confidence, this critical quality that many women lack, is the key to developing our success both in the work field and in our fitness life?

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I truly believe that in order acquire the motivation and determination needed to reach fitness goals one must be able to see a finished product at the end of the road. I think the problem is that most women don’t actually believe they can obtain these goals and therefore aren’t able to imagine themselves the way they want to be. This absence of confidence creates barriers; if they don’t believe that they can achieve the goal they want, how can they constitute the motivation they need to go out and work hard for those goals. We can dream about the person we want to be, but if we don’t actually believe we can become her then we probably never will.

It sounds completely hopeless, I know, but I have some good news. In their journey to find out where confidence comes from, Katy Kay and Claire Shipman found that confidence is fickle. Although it is partly influenced by genetics, it can be built if it is lacking. It can be built by first making the choice to be confident. It can be built by choosing to please yourself instead of pleasing others. It can be built by stepping out of your comfort zone and taking risks. It can be built by accepting failure and learning from it.

If your struggling with getting to the gym or becoming the healthy person that you’ve always wanted to be, I encourage you to perform a self-check. What are the underlying reasons that you are not fighting for your goals? Are you afraid that you can’t accomplish what you want? You can truly do anything you set your mind to. Start working on building up that confidence. Set an image in your mind of the person you want to be and KNOW that you can get there. It’s going to take a lot of work and a lot of positive self-assurance but I promise you can get there. Every woman deserves to be healthy and happy!

Women and Weights Part 4: Putting It All Together

So far we have examined the myths of weight lifting for women, the benefits of weight lifting on the mind and body, and how weight lifting can aid in athletic performance. To close out this series I would like to discuss how to put it all together and actually incorporate strength training into your weekly routine. Here is everything you need to put together the optimal weight training program!

 

Goals

In order to successfully create a weight training routine you need to first assess your goals. What is the main objective you want to achieve? Of course, this can vary greatly depending on the individual. For this reason we can combine goals into two categories: looks and performance. People who fall under the category of looks have some type of goal pertaining to the way their body looks; building muscle, losing fat, getting a six-pack, toning up their arms, etc. People who fall under the category of performance have some type of goal pertaining to the way their body performs; improving running speed, jumping higher, building strength, etc. Your training routine will be based upon your individual goal.

 

Muscle Groups

It’s important to have a general and basic understanding of the major muscle groups in the body when training with weights. This knowledge will help you to understand which exercises work which muscle group, as well as how many times per week each muscle group should be worked…which we will be getting to next. The major muscle groups to consider while resistance training are the shoulders, back, chest, biceps, triceps, abdominals, and legs (including calves). Now let’s take a look at how many times we should work each of these muscles per week.

 

Training Frequency

Training frequency is the amount of times each muscle group is worked each week. There are three types of training frequencies. A once per week training frequency is when each muscle gro

up is worked once per week.This is ideal for people who want to maintain their current fitness level, without any goals of

photo build muscle, strength, or changing their appearance. A twice per week training frequency is when each muscle group is worked twice per week. This is ideal for intermediate and advanced trainees with any type of goal. A three times per week training frequency is when each muscle group is worked three times per week and is ideal for beginners with any type of goal.

Types of Resistance Training

There are three different types of resistance training exercises one may engage in: free weight exercises, body weight exercises, and machine exercises. Free weight and bodyweight exercises both allow you to engage in completely natural movements, as well as works the abdominals, other muscles, and is ideal for gym and home use. Machine exercises on the other hand, are known as isolation exercises, as they target the specific muscle being worked. They are not, however, a functional type of exercise so other muscles aren’t engaged, nor are the movement patterns natural. So, how do you know which type of exercise is right for you?

If your goal is performance related (e.g., building strength, improving speed, etc.) then your routine should consist mostly of free weight and body weight exercise, with machines kept to a very minimum and possibly none. If your goal is looks related (e.g., improve body composition, get ‘toned,’ lose fat, etc.) all three types of exercises work, but again, the best bet is to use free weights and body weights as the majority of the workout, but machines are a completely fine alternative.

 

Now, with all of this information in front of you, you’re ready to go out and train those muscles. I hope, through this series, that I was able to inspire some of you to add strength training into your routine in order to experience the amazing benefits it will bring you, inshallah.

 

 

Women and Weights Part 3: Strength Training for the Runner

Many people consider weight training and cardio as two separate entities; cardio is for burning calories while strength training is for gaining weight, right? Well, not necessarily. If you’ve been following this series of “Women and Weights” you’ve learned that strength training may in fact be an altogether superior method of fat burning (I’d like to point out that when I refer to weights I am using it as a general term to describe any type of resistance training, including free-weights, machines, resistance bands, or bodyweight). This is not to say that running, or any other type of steady-state cardio is ‘bad,’ but it certainly isn’t the only way of reaching your fitness goals. In fact, hitting the weights can actually improve running and other athletic performance significantly. Here’s how:

 

IMPROVED SPEED

Strength training has been shown to help improve speed in both short and long distance runners.  As you build and grow your muscles they become better able to exert more runner-546896_640force in quicker time periods. Strong legs help with that extra push, a strong core aids in balance and stability, and upper body strength helps maintain that speed. This was proven in a study done that tested the correlation between explosive strength training and 5-km running time in endurance athletes. In the experiment, 18 endurance athletes trained for 9 weeks. While both groups kept the same training volume, 10 of these subjects trained with simultaneous explosive strength training and endurance training, while the other 8 subjects participated in endurance training only. 5K time was improved in the well-trained endurance athletes who participated in simultaneous explosive strength training and endurance training due to improved neuromuscular characteristics.

 

IMPROVED CARDIOVASCULAR ENDURANCE

Cardiovascular endurance is the ability of your heart, lungs and blood vessels to efficiently deliver oxygen to your body tissues for use as energy. Believe it or not, resistance training actually increases the body’s ability to use oxygen. In one study that tested the effects of concurrent endurance and strength training on running economy, endurance athletes who incorporated both running and strength training into their routine improved their performance whereas endurance athletes who did not incorporate strength training had no change in performance. These results are congruent with many other previous studies of the same nature.

 

DECREASE BODY FAT WHILE MAINTAINING MUSCLE

Lifting weights isphysiotherapy-595529_640 a great way to burn body fat. Now, cardio certainly does burn a significant amount of calories, however, those calories stop burning off as soon as that hour or so of cardio is finished. With strength training, lean muscle mass is built, which aides in the body not only burning calories during periods of exercise, but also while that person is at rest! Clearly, a body with more lean muscle and less fat is going to be lighter, aiding in speed and also in better body composition.

It is well known that many runners, especially elite runners who engage in intense bouts of physical activity, burn off a lot of muscle due to the extreme forms of cardio. Strength training can help to counter this problem, but won’t result in a significant amount of muscle gain because the continued endurance training will hinder muscle hypertrophy. So for those distance athletes who do not want gains to slow them down, no worries, strength training won’t add on significant size!

 

INJURY PREVENTION

Engaging in resistance training not only helps to strengthen and build the muscles, but it also helps to equalize them. Many times people are weaker on their left (or non-dominant) side which can cause a runners stride to be off key, or they have muscle imbalances somewhere in the body. Lifting weights helps to equalize strength and power within the legs and the rest of the body, which helps prevent future injuries. The benefits of strength training on injury prevention was shown in a study testing hamstring injury occurrence in elite soccer players after preseason strength training with eccentric overload. The study revealed that preseason strength training for the hamstrings would have positive impacts on the player’s performance and injury prevention.

 

Strength training is one of the most beneficial workouts to engage in, especially when combined with other forms of working out such as endurance running, sprinting, and other types of cardio. It helps to improve many aspects of performance including speed, cardiovascular fitness, proportion of lean muscle to body fat, and to decrease likelihood of injury. To all of my runners out there, take even just 3 days per week and add some resistance training to your fitness regiment and see how you can benefit!

 

 

 

 

 

References

Askling, Carl, Jon Karlsson, and Alf Thorstensson. “Hamstring injury occurrence in elite soccer players after preseason strength training with eccentric overload.” Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports 13.4 (2003): 244-250.

 

Millet, G. P., Jaouen, B. E. R. N. A. R. D., Borrani, F. A. B. I. O., & Candau, R. O. B. I. N. (2002). Effects of concurrent endurance and strength training on running economy and VO~ 2 kinetics. Medicine and science in sports and exercise34(8), 1351-1359.

 

Paavolainen, L., Häkkinen, K., Hämäläinen, I., Nummela, A., & Rusko, H. (1999). Explosive-strength training improves 5-km running time by improving running economy and muscle power. Journal of applied physiology86(5), 1527-1533.

Women and Weights Part 2: Benefits of Strength Training

Strength doesn’t come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t.” –Rikki Rogers

Last week we debunked some common myths pertaining to women and strength training, as we learned to get over our fear of weights. We established that lifting does not make women look masculine, it doesn’t necessarily add on size, unused muscle cannot turn into fat, etc. This week we are going to explore the countless benefits of strength training and I will demonstrate why you should begin working with weights.

Pumping iron isn’t just for those meat heads in the gym trying to grow their biceps and squatting double their body weight. Resistance training comes with amazing advantages, helping to burn more fat, tone the physique, and providing a healthy and ageless body.

 

Burn Calories and Body Fat

Lifting weights is one of the best ways to burn off that unwanted body fat. As more lean muscle is built up in the body, the metabolism becomes faster as the body has to use a lot of energy to maintain that muscle. This increase in metabolism helps to burn more calories, not only during exercise, but while at rest as well. Once the body burns off more calories than the person is consuming on a given day, either fat tissue or muscle tissue will become the body’s new source of energy. With strength training, you are ensuring that the body is using up fat rather than muscle.

 

Gain Strength…Without the Bulk

Pumping iron doesn’t cause size in women like it does in men…unless women are trying to put on weight and follow a specific strength training and nutrition regimen for the sole purpose of weight gain. Women have much less testosterone than men which allows for a lean, feminine, and toned look rather than a muscular, bulky look.

 

Improve Bone Health

Women are at a higher risk than men for developing osteoporosis, as we not only start with a lower bone density than men, but we also lose bone mass faster as we age. Strength training has been shown to slow down this process. Bone health is so important for the adult woman, and weight training combined with dietary calcium might just be the best preventative method!

 

Build Confidence

Hitting the weights will not only help you to build confidence in the way your body looks, but also in your abilities in general. The gym is all about stepping out of your comfort zone, setting goals, and accomplishing what you never thought you could do. The gym brings out your true strengths, and this will shine through every aspect of your life.

 

Improve Cardiovascular Performance

Whether you are a runner, a cyclist, a sports enthusiast, or simply someone trying to improve their cardiovascular health, resistance training can significantly improve your performance. You can add weights into your cardio routine, separate the two type of exercises completely, or a mix of both. Strength training has been shown to improve speed, length of time one can perform an exercise, and reduce the risk of injury.

 

Strength training provides so many wonderful benefits and it a great way to add balance and intensity to your fitness regimen. While cardio is great for health and fitness, strength training can be that extra push you need to burn that last bit of fat, improve your body composition, and become an even healthier version of you.