It can seem daunting sometimes when you think about family fitness. What if you don't have the money for everyone to take classes or lessons together? And personal trainers can be very pricey. Kids' sports can get expensive, too. Even home fitness can seem intimidating - after all, it costs a lot of money to get special exercise equipment, and what if you have a small house?
The good news is, you don't need to be wealthy and have a private gymnasium in the basement to get fit at home. There are simple fitness routines you can do that do not involve fancy equipment or huge floor spaces. Here are some ideas.
Outdoors
Not everyone has access to a roomy yard, either; but if you do, you may not have thought of utilizing it as an exercise space. You also might have a nearby park that's free, or even a public fountain in front of a city building. Anywhere that has an open space can be a place for the family to exercise - a local baseball field, park, or even parking lot can work.
You can throw an inexpensive Frisbee or fly homemade airplanes together. You don't even have to purchase anything; play tag, hide-and-seek, follow the leader, and other fun, active games. Search for plants, bugs, or just play!
Jump Rope
A jump rope need not be expensive - even some dollar stores carry them. A length of any kind of rope will do, even a clothes line. Your family can have jump rope contests, or learn classic jump rope rhymes. Use a long rope and two family members can turn it while one or more jump in the middle. They can learn to run in and out of the moving jump rope.
Play Ball
Another item that most people have around is some kind of ball. You can usually find some kind of ball for a dollar or less, and there are a great many games that can be played with a ball. Everything from making baskets to kicking to throwing can be done with a ball.
You can learn a specific sport, like soccer, or just enjoy kicking the ball up and down a hillside. Younger children might like throwing the ball through a "hoop" made by a parent's arms, or a homemade hoop mounted on a door. You can even mount a wire wastebasket to the wall with screws and throw the ball into that.
Workout Videos
If you have a computer, you can look up fitness videos for free online. You can also get DVDs or VHS tapes from your local library. These may be simple aerobic exercises, target toning, or a particular skill. There are instructional videos on all sorts of activities, from belly dancing to tai chi.
If your space is limited, get creative - if you have a roomy patio or yard, can you turn the screen to face outdoors through a window? If you have a mobile device, you can watch exercise videos online from a park or other area. It just takes some ingenuity and creative thinking, but you can get fit just about anywhere these days!
Friday, April 22, 2011
Friday, April 01, 2011
Why Did I Stop Losing Weight - Change Lifestyle Habits
Nothing is worse than getting off to a fast start with your weight loss and lose weight almost effortlessly only to find that after a short time you just aren't losing as much weight as you were. When that happens you may start wondering: why did I stop losing weight? Despite what you might hear every time you turn on the t.v., in order to lose weight you will need to be willing to change some habits in your life. It's these habits that have made it easy for you to gain the weight in the first place and until you make permanent changes to your lifestyle your weight loss won't stay on track.
It's not uncommon to lose a lot of weight very early in your weight loss and then to reach a plateau when it just seems like you can't lose another pound to save your life. This often happens because the weight you lose in the very beginning is just water weight and after a time that weight loss will start to slack off. The good news is that you may still be losing unwanted fat, but this won't come off as quickly so it may take longer to notice it, the nice thing about this is that losing fat is the only real way to get your body in the shape you want it to be in. Losing water weight is only temporary but losing fat can be permanent.
If you've been trying to rely solely on a supplement for your weight loss up until now, you may need to reevaluate your weight loss strategy. For example, it's imperative that you focus on eating properly and getting enough exercise. Don't make the mistake of thinking that you shouldn't be eating hardly anything if you want to lose weight. If you don't eat enough food to keep your body healthy and functioning properly your body will think it's starving and will actually slow down your metabolism... which is the last thing that you want to happen when you're trying to lose weight.
Also don't get distracted with some extreme dieting method such as a restricted carb or extremely low fat diet plan. You need to provide your body with all the nutrients it needs and that includes some carbs, fats, and proteins.
When it comes to your workout plan don't spend all your time on a treadmill thinking that cardio will get you where you want to be. Ideally you'll want to keep your body 'guessing' when it comes to your workouts. Your body will get used to whatever activity level you maintain over a period of time. To get the maximum benefit form your workouts, make sure that you change your workouts frequently so your body doesn't settle into a set routine.
To keep your weight loss moving along nicely make sure that you concentrate more on what you eat and how much activity you get and don't expect to maintain such a vigorous weight loss during the whole process. Using these methods you can avoid having to ever ask the question: why did I stop losing weight?
It's not uncommon to lose a lot of weight very early in your weight loss and then to reach a plateau when it just seems like you can't lose another pound to save your life. This often happens because the weight you lose in the very beginning is just water weight and after a time that weight loss will start to slack off. The good news is that you may still be losing unwanted fat, but this won't come off as quickly so it may take longer to notice it, the nice thing about this is that losing fat is the only real way to get your body in the shape you want it to be in. Losing water weight is only temporary but losing fat can be permanent.
If you've been trying to rely solely on a supplement for your weight loss up until now, you may need to reevaluate your weight loss strategy. For example, it's imperative that you focus on eating properly and getting enough exercise. Don't make the mistake of thinking that you shouldn't be eating hardly anything if you want to lose weight. If you don't eat enough food to keep your body healthy and functioning properly your body will think it's starving and will actually slow down your metabolism... which is the last thing that you want to happen when you're trying to lose weight.
Also don't get distracted with some extreme dieting method such as a restricted carb or extremely low fat diet plan. You need to provide your body with all the nutrients it needs and that includes some carbs, fats, and proteins.
When it comes to your workout plan don't spend all your time on a treadmill thinking that cardio will get you where you want to be. Ideally you'll want to keep your body 'guessing' when it comes to your workouts. Your body will get used to whatever activity level you maintain over a period of time. To get the maximum benefit form your workouts, make sure that you change your workouts frequently so your body doesn't settle into a set routine.
To keep your weight loss moving along nicely make sure that you concentrate more on what you eat and how much activity you get and don't expect to maintain such a vigorous weight loss during the whole process. Using these methods you can avoid having to ever ask the question: why did I stop losing weight?
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