Fans of sports, athletes, and long-term gym visitors were once ordinary people. A radical lifestyle change always starts with the first step. You can come to the sport at any time, even with zero preparation. But you should not radically change your life and become a hostage to a new occupation.
Just a few simple rules help increase a person’s physical activity without injury and health consequences. This material is suitable for those who categorically do not accept sports that cause boredom, laziness, and despondency.
Why do you need physical activity?
Physical culture and proper nutrition in recent years have become the main principles of life for many. Every person should understand the benefits of a sporty lifestyle. However, there are a huge number of people in the world who do not like to run monotonously around the stadium, sweating, pumping the press, spending extra time perfecting their ideal forms.
Fans of sports often look askance at such people and accuse them of total laziness and unwillingness to take care of their own health. However, you are able to benefit the body in other, less dramatic ways.
To keep the body in good shape, it is enough to do physical activity from 30 to 60 minutes a day. To do this, you do not need to train on your last breath and set records. Daily moderate exercise helps to give the optimal amount of vigor and health.
No need to sit in the gym for months and torture yourself with raw vegetables and hated chicken breast. It is important to overcome laziness and devote at least a minimum amount of time to the body every day: in winter, on a weekend, on a holiday, or on vacation.
How to start doing sports from 0?
Sports can be replaced by simple actions that we are too lazy to do. Additional physical activity helps the body burn up to 800 extra calories per day. For this it is worth:
- refuse the elevator, climbing only the stairs;
- introduce walking instead of public transport;
- carry heavy grocery bags home without using a car or taxi;
- buy a pet.
In addition to daily exercises, you may gradually introduce a small amount of exercise for strength training. Each person chooses something convenient for themselves: yoga, gymnastics, stretching, push-ups, abs, squats. It is enough to devote 5-10 minutes to such a workout, and in a month you’ll lose 3-4 kilograms of excess weight. For lazy people, this is difficult, but doable. It takes a minimum of time, and with the first results, there’ll be an incentive not to quit what you started.
What are the secrets of motivation?
Keep your workouts as short as possible. It is better to do three 5-minute stretches a day than an hour and a half in the gym.
Don’t do exercises that do not bring pleasure. Difficult or “unloved” complexes may cause disgust for sports.
Focus on the things that mentally bring you the joy of expectation: cycling, swimming, hiking, yoga, etc.
One of the conditions in order not to be bored is to continue to stimulate the brain. To do this, during classes, you can listen to music, watch a movie, learn new languages through audio lessons.
Forget about diets and restrictions. A healthy and varied diet is the best way to stay healthy. One has only to control oneself in the frills and systematically not overeat.
Do not chase records and start testing your body for strength.
Homework and a few pleasant activities during the day help bring the body in order. A few weeks of such loads will give the first results. By adhering to certain tips and rules, you can quietly integrate physical activity into your life. This will happen without internal conflict and rejection of what is happening.
How to find your sports discipline?
Choose the type of exercise that you like best. If you start doing exercises that you initially do not like, it will cost you a lot of work to come to the gym. Even the exercises themselves will bring you only suffering and negativity. And this is not at all the goal that we are pursuing. The real goal is to become happier and healthier by taking care of your own body. So, if all your friends are jogging or going to the gym, but you don’t like it at all, you shouldn’t be doing it for company. Instead, go hiking, ice skating, dancing, cycling, aerobics, pilates, yoga. There are many sports and physical activities to get your body moving. Find the one discipline that’s right for you.
Find time to exercise. “I don’t have time to exercise” is no longer a valid reason. It is recommended to dedicate 150 minutes of physical exercise per week. Thus, half an hour of classes for 5 days a week will be enough. Even 15 minutes of physical activity a day brings great benefits to our health.
How to get the desired result?
Reward your efforts. Reward yourself every time you reach your goal. Make a present to yourself, do something nice. This way, your brain will create positive associations with exercising. This increases the likelihood that you’ll not quit training and that you’ll be able to increase your motivation. But avoid the reward of junk and unhealthy food. Best of all, don’t use food as a reward. Choose a different type of reward, such as a foot massage or a relaxing shower, you can help watch your favorite show or take some time for yourself. Once exercise becomes a habit for you, you should forgo rewards. Because training in itself should be a sufficient motivator!