10 Top Fall Fitness Tips
- Set Goals
Set short simple goals, such as exercising for 20 minutes as soon as you wake up on Mondays. This makes achieving them realistic and allows you to progress to longer-term goals.
- Make a Motivation Board
Grab a bulletin board, or go digital using Pinterest, and attach a list of your goals, progress photos, inspirational sayings, updates with your accomplishments and more. Place your motivation somewhere prominent – like your bathroom mirror or your office at work — so you’ll see it regularly.
- Adopt the 3 “C’s”
Commitment, Convenience and Consistency: Adopt these three strategies into your lifestyle to help you stay active and eat right for good.
- Stock Up on Healthy Food
Keep your kitchen well stocked with unprocessed, whole foods that are quick and easy to munch on. Cut-up veggies, lean meats, olive oil, coconut oil and nuts are all great options.
- Moderation Is Key
It’s OK to indulge once in a while with your diet, just be sure to keep your goals in mind each day. If you do veer off course, don’t beat yourself up over it. Simply make better choices at your next meal or try the 80:20 rule (eating right 80 percent of the time and being more lenient for the other 20).
- Snack Right
Rather than letting unhealthy snacks sabotage your diet, keep healthy snacks like apples, almonds, whey protein powder, hummus and carrots handy. Focus on what you should be eating, instead of what you shouldn’t.
- Try Fruit for Dessert
If you’re in the mood for something sweet, a piece of whole fruit provides vitamins, minerals and antioxidants without an overload of sugar. A piece of dark chocolate is another healthy treat option.
- Get Proper Sleep
Lack of sleep is strongly linked to weight gain, low energy and fatigue. Without adequate sleep, you’ll have a harder time sticking to your diet and your exercise plan.
- Take Time for Recovery
Overdoing exercise is counterproductive and can actually damage your muscle tissue and cause injuries. Give yourself adequate recovery time between workouts and be sure to alternate muscle groups or body parts in your exercise sessions.
- It’s All Up to You
You have to make the decision to get fit. When you commit to it, you’re making a contract with yourself. Be the change you want to see in your life!
Maximize Your Workout In a Time Crunch
When you are deciding what workout you should do with the fifteen minutes you have between classes, here are four tips to keep in mind that will help you maximize your workout.
Tip# 1: Choose exercises that move as many body parts as possible. Choose things like walking lunges, burpees, push-up variations, jumping jacks, and other exercises that used multiple joints. If you want your body to transform quickly, you should focus on full body exercises that incorporate multi-joint movements.
Tip #2: Choose exercises that move body parts quickly. The act of moving explosively will ensure you burn more calories during the workout and for the hours following the workout. Include moves such as medicine ball slams and throws (you can use your largest text book instead of a medicine ball if you like), do lunge jumps, sprints or if you ride your bike to school (which I highly recommend), fast explosive cycling intervals away from each stop sign.
Tip #3: Choose exercises that you don’t usually do. If you choose exercises your body is unfamiliar with, you’ll burn more calories in less time, because your body won’t be as efficient at those exercises. So if you usually do push-ups, try doing a pull-up, or if you usually choose squats, try lunges instead. Don’t be afraid to mix it up–it will make your body stronger, more mobile, and it will sharpen your mental skills too!
Tip #4: Make it fun for you and your friends. Play Frisbee, soccer, or throw a football around. Ride your bikes around campus. Shoot hoops or hit a tennis ball around. When we have fun while we exercise, we get a similar endorphin boost that people get from long endurance exercise, except that boost is nearly instant, constant, and is often more intense. When we turn workouts into playtime, it stimulates both our brains and our emotions.
Healthy Living Tip:
Don’t drink sugar calories. Sugary drinks are among the most fattening items you can put into your body.
This is because your brain doesn’t measure calories from liquid sugar the same way it does for solid food.
Therefore, when you drink soda, you end up eating more total calories.
Sugary drinks are strongly associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and many other health problems
Keep in mind that certain fruit juices may be almost as bad as soda in this regard, as they sometimes contain just as much sugar. Their small amounts of antioxidants do not negate the sugar’s harmful effects
Healthy Transformations
Ingredients
1/3 c. rice wine (or mirin)
1/3 c. low-sodium soy sauce
1/3 c. toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp. brown sugar
2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
8 cloves peeled garlic
1-inch piece fresh ginger, sliced into thin coins
4 c. frozen cooked white rice
Steamed broccoli, sliced scallion and sliced red chile, for serving
Directions
- In small bowl, whisk together rice wine, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, and brown sugar.
- In 6-quart slow cooker bowl, layer chicken, soy mixture, garlic, and ginger. Cover bowl with lid and cook until chicken is tender, 5 to 6 hours on Low.
- Transfer chicken to cutting board; shred and return to slow cooker bowl. Toss to coat in sauce. Serve chicken over rice with broccoli. Serve topped with scallions and chile.
