Overhauling your lifestyle to improve your health can seem daunting and, quite simply, impossible so most of us won’t even consider the challenge.
However, starting with two simple aspects of your routine can snowball into real results that have substantial impact.
Eating more fruits and vegetables and cutting back on television viewing are two lifestyle changes that can effect dramatic changes in the ability to continue on a path to healthy living.
To determine which changes were most effective, the researchers recruited 204 adults aged 21 to 60, who engaged in all four unhealthy diet- and activity-related behaviors. The participants were divided into four treatment groups, each of which was assigned two lifestyle changes: increasing fruit and vegetable intake and increasing physical activity; decreasing fat consumption and reducing leisure time spent sedentary; decreasing fat intake and increasing physical activity; or increasing fruit and vegetable intake and decreasing sedentary leisure.
The participants engaged in their treatment regimens for three weeks and self-reported their progress by logging their data into a personal digital assistant every day and sending it to a coach who communicated with the participants as needed by telephone or email.
Over doing cardio is the number one mistake most people make.
If you’re staying on cardio machines for too long, that may mean you’re not working hard enough. “Decreasing time and increasing resistance can shave off half of your cardio routine,” says Sara Haley, a Global Reebok master trainer and independent fitness consultant.
Also, try mixing up your routine. If you’re a die-hard treadmill jogger, Haley recommends adding high-intensity machines like the rower or the Jacob’s Ladder to your routine; these machines make cardio more efficient by working more muscle groups and burning more calories.
“Employing different planes of motion with lateral trainers like the Ultraslide and the Helix also prevent people from working the same muscles over and over,” says Haley. Diversifying your workout will ensure you give all your muscles some love.
Making sure with your physician that you are fit for exercise insures that your efforts won’t cause injury.
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This blog is for consumers of health care and medical services. Basically, it’s for everyone. For health issues you should always see a doctor or qualified medical professional - we are not dispensing medical advice. You should, however, be an educated consumer, so we offer information to help you start the process to become educated and to ask important questions. There are many excellent resources on the web, along with all sorts of conflicting opinions and advice. The key is to use a wide variety of resources to learn and access information, so you can ask the important questions when you are with your doctor or health professional.
