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Fitness Journal – Lifestyle Behaviors – Part 6

We are in the final blog for my series on creating a fitness journal. If you include every component—exercises, what you eat, the amount of sleep you get and your mood—you will learn more about yourself. But to top it off, we are going to look at how lifestyle behaviors play a role. Lifestyle behaviors are something I read and write about frequently. In my other work as a web content writer, I write health blogs for a Social Security disability law firm. So I have quite a bit of experience in the way health is impacted by this. We … Continue reading →

Fitness Journal – Your Mood – Part 5

Continuing on with my series on creating a fitness journal, we are now going to look at the importance of tracking your mood and improving it. If you are keeping a fitness journal, you should have a section where you note how you are feeling. Your mood can change the course of your day. But there are ways to improve it. However before we get to that, let’s think about why we would want to keep track of it. Understanding your overall health includes how you feel on a daily basis. Are there certain days of the week where your … Continue reading →

Fitness Journal – Sleep – Part 4

So far we have talked about creating a fitness journal which keeps track of your eating and exercise. Some may leave it at that. You may look as those two areas as being the only important ones when it comes to fitness. But fitness extends beyond that. Overall good fitness can only be had when we take a good look at every area, including our sleep. Sleep is vital. I really don’t get impressed when people tell me how little sleep they get because they are so busy or they have this and that to do. I value my sleep. … Continue reading →

Fitness Journal – Exercise – Part 3

We are now on part three of my fitness journal series. We have discussed including a meal plan and in this blog we are going to look at the exercise portion of your journal. There are a couple of different ways you can utilize this section. If you would like to know how much physical activity you are actually engaging in, this would be a great opportunity to keep track. This should include not only “formal” exercises but the amount of steps that you are taking per day. You can figure this out by wearing a pedometer. By getting a … Continue reading →

Fitness Journal – Your Meals – Part 2

Hopefully you have picked up what you need to begin your fitness journal, as we are now going to start putting it together. We are going to start it off with meals. What you eat makes a huge difference in your ability to lose weight and your general health. The funny thing about this is that we can feel pretty sure that we are healthy eaters until we start to write down what we are actually eating. Your fitness journal should include a section where you write down everything you have eaten for the day. This includes the amount of … Continue reading →

Creating a Fitness Journal – Part 1

Sometimes we need to see things in black and white. This way we can’t deny the truth, whether it is the amount of exercise we are getting or the types of foods that we are eating. If you really want to be successful in developing and maintaining a fit lifestyle, I strongly suggest putting together a fitness journal. You can make this as simple or as fancy as you like. You can use a spiral notebook, your computer, a binder, whatever works best for you. Before you put together a fitness journal however, we need to think about the key … Continue reading →

Staying Ahead of Your New Year’s Fitness Resolutions

If you are firmly resolving to get in shape in 2009, then why not get a head start on your promise by burning fat over the holidays? It’s not as difficult as it might sound. By following the tips below you can get fit (and be two steps ahead of your New Year’s resolution) and still party like its 1999: Create a Home Gym. It doesn’t have to be expensive or elaborate; rather get creative with what you have. For example, crunches, push-ups, jumping jacks and many other exercises can be done without any gym equipment. Use this “home gym” … Continue reading →

Keeping a Workout Journal

When I first started a workout routine that included weightlifting and running (nearly 20 years ago) I kept a journal to keep track of what exercises I was supposed to do on a particular day. After a while my routine became second nature and I stopped journaling. Recently, though, I’ve been hearing more and more trainers recommend that athletes continue keeping a workout diary regardless of whether or not they have memorized a set routine. The reason: Keeping a journal helps you recognize improvements. For example, if you started a training program that includes running you would track the number … Continue reading →

Keeping Track of Your Progress

In my last blog I wrote about ways to stay motivated when it comes to fitness. I mentioned one of them being to keep track of your progress. Every step forward, no matter how small, is important. When you can really see the accomplishments, it encourages you to keep it up. Because nothing is more discouraging than to feel like you aren’t making any kind of progress. There are a variety of ways that you can keep track of your progress. One is through a pedometer. This is a great way to learn how many steps you take a day, … Continue reading →

It’s Never Too Late to Get Moving

A new report claims that people who put off regular exercise until they hit the age of 50 can still benefit from physical activity. That’s the good news. The bad news is that it appears to take 10 years for the effects to kick in. The Swedish study found that exercise made no difference in premature death rates for at least a decade for those who waited until later in life to start exercising. Researchers made their conclusions after following more than 2,200 men for 20 years. All of the participants followed exercise advice from professional trainers and physical therapists, … Continue reading →