There are countless fitness goals out there, but one of the hardest to achieve — and most sought after — is to gain muscle without gaining fat. What makes this so hard you say? Well, to gain sufficient muscle and size, you need to consume more calories.
It’s that time of year again… People all over the place are hashing together resolutions that they hope to carry through the year, finally taking charge over the parts of their lives they want to improve. Intentions are great, but everybody knows that starting and sticking with new habits is inherently difficult.
I’m going to start by asking you a simple question: when was the last time you took a few days off work that didn’t involve being sick or meeting another obligation? Did you take the time to relax, reconnect with yourself and re-align your goals?
Mental health benefits of exercise: From less stress to a boost in self-esteem, exercise is as great for your brain as it is for your body. Most of us know the many physical benefits of exercise: weight control, lower blood pressure and increased energy, just to name a few. But what about the psychological benefits of exercise?
Breathing is a bit of a no-brainer, literally. You inhale and exhale all day long without giving it a second thought. But here’s the weird thing about breathing: unlike other automatic functions, like your heart beating, you can also choose to control it and breathe faster or slower than normal.
We’ve all been there, every single one of us. We start a new diet or exercise program and it doesn’t work out – we start to place blame when things don’t go how we thought they would. “It’s hard to get the type of protein I need”, or “my gym doesn’t have all of the equipment I need”. If pressed, we’d probably admit that it isn’t down to the availability of equipment, nutrition or support that has led us to failure but more likely, that extra bit of effort or attention to detail.
As with any other year, many of us will kick off 2021 by making a host of New Year’s resolutions and some of these may be to exercise more; become stronger, fitter, healthier...
That tin of Quality Street on the coffee table. The smell of freshly baked minced pies out of the oven. The bottles of Baileys and Prosecco lining the fridge door… The temptation is real. So is the opportunity to have the best of both worlds.
There is often a lot of debate and sometimes confusion over what method is the best for weight loss – and that’s totally normal, especially if you’re new to the world of health and fitness. But I’d like to challenge this viewpoint: why do we have to choose just one?
Starting a fitness journey – however big or small – is something that we all need to think about at some point in our lives. You might wake up one day and decide it’s time for you to get fit, you might have been struggling with it for a while and want to make a positive change. Perhaps you’ve seen friends and family do the same and it’s spurred you on to make a start?