Physical fitness is one of the best goals you can set for yourself, but how do you measure your progress? The link between fitness and the scale is not very strong. However, exercise and a balanced diet can contribute to maintaining a healthy weight. It might be time to evaluate how fit you really are, take a hard look at your diet, and start exercising if you don’t already.
How Do I Know If I’m Fit?
There are many metrics for measuring fitness, but most of them aren’t visual. The best way to tell whether you are fit is to focus on the changes you feel within yourself.
One of the best measures of fitness is endurance. Focusing on how far you can run, how many reps you can do or how long it takes you to get out of breath in a class can help you know whether you are getting stronger and building up your physical fitness.
Along the same lines, look at your body composition. While weight may not play a significant role in fitness, body fat percentage definitely does. Look at how toned your body is and how much muscle mass you have. Tape measures and calipers can be useful tools to see if your body composition is within a healthy range.
How are you feeling? Fit people tend to have more energy and clear minds.
Why Exercise?
Besides making you stronger and reducing fat percentage, exercise is excellent for cardiovascular and mental health. Intense movement requires the heart to work a little harder to pump oxygen to your muscles, so it gets stronger along with your other muscles. A healthier heart can pump blood much more efficiently, which decreases your blood pressure and reduces the risk of heart failure. Exercise can also lower blood pressure and cholesterol, and it increases endorphins to boost your mood and energy levels.
How Do I Start Exercising?
If there’s not a lot of exercise in your lifestyle, now is a great time to start. Joining a gym can be the right starting place since gyms provide a variety of equipment that will work for all levels. If you prefer alternative forms of exercise such as yoga or dance, sign up for a beginning class!
Start small. Spend half an hour on the treadmill or elliptical, or if you would rather spend time outside, take a walk around the block. If you don’t love cardio, try a brief weightlifting workout. Incorporating any manageable amount of physical activity will help you build a long-lasting relationship with exercise. As your endurance increases, you can make your workouts a little longer.
Invite a friend. Working out with friends tends to be more fun as you can talk to each other while you exercise. A friend can also help encourage you and keep you accountable to your new goals!
Keep things interesting. Try out a variety of workout styles until you figure out what you actually enjoy. Working out is meant to be fun; don’t torture yourself with exercises that make you miserable! You might come to look forward to your workouts, and it won’t be hard to make exercise a regular part of your routine.
Eating Right
Sadly, no amount of exercise is going to make you fit on its own. If your body does not have the nutrients that it needs, it won’t have the energy to make your workouts effective. Poor eating habits can also lead to cardiovascular problems, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes. Fitness is a measure of overall health, not just endurance, so eating a varied, balanced diet is essential to staying physically fit.
The ketogenic diet is one of the most popular diet choices available right now. It involves limiting carbohydrate intake to keep your insulin levels stable and replacing carbs with delicious high-fat foods. Healthy fats are tasty and filling, so they always leave you satisfied. To make the diet easier to follow, keto protein powder and a variety of supplements are readily available. As a result, it’s an easy and satisfying diet.
Fitness is about living a healthy lifestyle. If you eat a balanced diet with plenty of vitamins and nutrients and exercise frequently, you are well on the way to feeling your best!
