Health and fitness are all about consistent hard work—there are no effective shortcuts that will replace regular exercise and a clean diet. To improve your fitness and health, there are habits you have to rely on every day in order to lose or gain weight, build muscle or boost stamina. What are these magic habits you should follow every day?
Health and Fitness: Create a short menu of healthy recipes
Both health and fitness are made in the kitchen. When you’ve just had an awful day, you might opt for a burger for dinner or reach for a piece of cake, but don’t let this become a habit. Instead of having to rely on fast food and takeout, create a collection of easy and fast nutritious recipes you can whip up quickly when you get home. There are various different salad recipes, and not the boring ones either, that only take you 10 minutes to make. Or you can always have some quick grilled chicken or salmon. Making a fruit salad is a great snack choice that will take you a little over the time necessary to put chips in a bowl.
Challenge yourself every day
People who are competitive can greatly benefit from regularly introducing certain challenges into their health and fitness routine. For instance, you can sign up for a race and start training towards that or you can challenge yourself to lose or gain X pounds. Maybe you want to boost your physical activity throughout the day, so you can try to fit in as many steps into your workday by coming up with new ways to walk like taking stairs, parking away from the building, going on a walking lunch, etc.
Take vitamins
Here’s a great habit to develop—taking your daily vitamins. While most nutrients we need for healthy functioning come from food, we often don’t get to eat enough of the real things. In that case, you can rely on supplements with vitamins, minerals, omega-3 fatty acids or whatever your body lacks. Do a vitamin level test to see whether you’re lacking an essential vitamin or mineral, grab good supplements and achieve balance. These are not only good for your health but can also improve your skin and hair.
Mix up your exercises
There’s a cliché saying that “variety is the spice of life”, but it’s not only a saying—it’s really the ultimate truth. No matter how much you work out, if you always hit the gym for the same exercises, your progress will be left behind. Instead, spice up your workouts (and your life) with some outdoor cardio. If you’re new to outdoor workouts, make sure to download the easy-to-use Humango sports training app that will be your coach during this new period. With an app on your side, you’ll train more efficiently and have great progress outside of the gym as well.
Do mobility work
Mobility work is crucial for health and fitness, so don’t hesitate to do some yoga, Pilates or simple stretching every day. Staying flexible and mobile is the key to long-term wellbeing, especially when combined with meditation. Yoga and meditation combo can help you improve your performance, avoid injuries, fix many pain issues and improve your posture.
Stay hydrated
Always have a water bottle at your side and make sure to sip throughout the day—this is one of the best wellness habits you can develop. Water is the best energy drink in the world because it helps with focus, clarity, energy levels, weight management and overall health. Until drinking at least 10 glasses of water a day becomes a habit, you can rely on apps to remind you to drink.
Track your progress
Make it a habit to track your progress when it comes to workouts and weight. The fitness and diet changes you apply will definitely yield results, and seeing those results can be a great boost for your motivation. Start a fitness journal where you can write down your max reps, best times and body measurements and make sure to update them every week. This way, you’ll also see whether you need to tweak your workouts and diet.
Prioritize sleep
Getting the recommended 8 hours of sleep might not be possible for many, but 6 or 7 hours is a great number to aim for. Make it a habit to ditch electronics at least an hour before bed, take a relaxing shower and read a book. Creating a healthy bedtime routine is the key to wellness.
Lastly, if you are a smoker, we don’t need to tell you the dangerous of smoking. Stop immediately. Quitting smoking can be challenging but a lot of people have had success by changing to smoke-free alternatives like ZYN nicopods or nicotine gum.
As you can see, all of these habits are easy to include in your everyday life, so do your best to stick to them for a while, and after some time, they will come as easy as breathing for you.
