Tag Archive for: fitness

Weight loss is the most popular reason people exercise. But losing weight is far from the only exercise benefit. Working out can support the health of all aspects of your body.

Here’s a full-body overview of other exercise benefits. From your brain to lungs and joints, learn why you should exercise for more than weight loss.

Brain

Your body’s command center needs exercise just as much as your waistline does. Moving your body for a few minutes every day is a great way to keep your brain in shape.

The brain relies on building new connections between neurons so you can store important information throughout your life. This action of building new bridges between brain cells is called neuroplasticity, and it increases through exercise.

Scientists believe neuroplasticity and exercise are linked because of the increase in blood flow to the brain during physical activity. With plenty of blood and oxygen circulating in your brain, regions like the hippocampus can wire new neural pathways. This can help your memory adapt and continue to improve through your lifetime.

Aging is hard on your brain. So, exercise is one thing you can do to make the transition into later life more manageable. Regular exercise has been shown to support healthy recall skills and can slow the progression of age-related memory decline.

In one study, researchers noted that even light exercise and a minimum of 7,500 daily steps were associated with an increase in total brain volume. Higher brain volume can indicate enhanced neuroplasticity in the brain. That’s how exercise can help keep your mind and learning abilities sharp as you age.

If you want to exercise to boost your brain power, cardiovascular exercises are best. The bursts of movement during cardio elevate your heart rate and send blood pumping to all areas of your body—your brain included. Cardio doesn’t need to be intense to get the job done. Your brain will benefit from a regular evening walk, bike ride, or swim in the pool. Anything that pumps your blood is great for your brain.

Mood and Hormones

People that exercise can count on a better mood as their reward—not just weight loss. The link between mood and exercise is a strong one. And it can be a great motivator to work out more.

It all starts with aerobics. Faster paced, cardiovascular movements can reduce the amount of stress hormones circulating in your blood. These hormones (like adrenaline and cortisol) often  contribute to feelings of stress, anxiety, and worry. Too much of any stress hormone can even interfere with your sleep habits. This leaves you tired and unprepared to tackle your daily tasks.

Regular aerobic exercise does more than just decrease the presence of these stress hormones. Cardio and other blood-pumping workouts can even add in feel-good hormones to your bloodstream.

Endorphins are hormones produced by your brain in response to exercise. They act like natural painkillers and stress-relievers. Some people even call the rush of endorphins you experience after exercise a “runner’s high.”

Runner or not, you will like the way you feel when endorphins enter circulation. These mood-lifting biochemicals bring on a sense of euphoria and can even help combat anxiety and depression. In addition, they help you relax and calm down.

Let exercise be your go-to way to pick yourself up after a hard day. A light jog, game of tennis, or trip to the park with your family, is all you need to feel the effects of endorphins. At the same time, you’ll be reducing stress hormones and putting yourself at ease.

Heart

One of the first organs in your body to see the benefits of regular exercise is your heart. Your cardiovascular system becomes more efficient as you grow fitter. Treat your heart to some endurance training and exercise for the health of your ticker.

As your fitness level improves, you might notice your resting heart rate slow a bit. That’s because exercise makes your heart stronger and more efficient at pumping blood. A slower heart rate is a sign that your heart doesn’t need to work as hard to circulate your blood. Each heartbeat packs a little more force and pumps blood with less energy expended.

Exercise benefits your heart in other ways, too. Regular physical activity is linked to reducing fatty plaque build-up in arteries. This thickening and hardening of vessel walls can make it harder for your heart to push blood to the places it needs to be. Keeping arteries clear of hardened fat is another perk of working out.

Cardio exercises are the kind of workouts your heart needs. You’ll know you’re doing cardio when you can feel your heartbeat start to quicken. Jumping-jacks, plyometrics, running, and other fast-moving exercises are great options for cardio. Take the opportunity to work-out for your heart the next time you exercise.

Lungs

Tough workouts can leave you feeling breathless. But exercising on a regular basis can help combat this feeling of breathlessness. Aerobic movements can increase the volume of air your lungs can take in with each breath. This measurement is called lung capacity. As lung capacity increases, so does the amount of oxygen available to the muscles powering your workout.

Try breathing exercises to boost your lung capacity. You can incorporate them into your daily exercise or practice them while resting. Deep, diaphragmatic breathing and pursed-lips breathing are two methods you can use to expand your lung capacity.

Just Breathe

To do diaphragmatic breathing, place you hand on your abdomen just beneath your rib cage. Breathe deeply and focus on expanding your abdomen and stomach as you inhale. To exhale, purse your lips together like you would to suck through a straw or give someone a kiss. Push the breath out of your pursed lips slowly.

Bones and Joints

A common myth surrounding joint health is that regular exercise can lead to damaged joints. Consistent, moderate exercise can actually increase bone mass and strength, while protecting joints from swelling, pain, and erosion.

Stronger joints start with stronger bones. When muscles are activated during physical activity, they push and pull on the bones they attach to. Tension from working muscles encourages bone cells to multiply and thicken. As a result, your bone density improves.

This relationship between bone strength and exercise is important. It means that the more consistently you exercise, the stronger your bones become. And the strong bones you develop through regular movement will fare better as you age.

Another reason you should exercise for more than weight loss is to relieve stress on your joints. Swelling and stiffness can happen when your joints aren’t cared for properly. Discomfort in the joints might make exercise seem like a chore.

Don’t give in to the temptation to skip a workout. Movement and regular use of your joints can help them feel great. Daily exercise is a great way to reduce aching and promote strength in your joints.

Bodyweight exercises like push-ups, lunges, squats, and burpees are excellent bone-strengthening activities. Try to hit each muscle groups when you exercise to ensure every bone and joint benefits from your workout.

Immune System

Entire body systems, like your immune system, thrive when you exercise regularly. That’s because exercise has perks that can help keep you healthy.

Exercise promotes the turnover and exchange of leukocytes (white blood cells.) Leukocytes are part of your innate immune response and fight against pathogens that invade your body. When you exercise, the leukocytes that protect you from getting sick are regenerated.

Your immune system needs regular physical activity to defend you from sickness later in life, too. It turns out that along with the rest of your body, your immune system ages, too. Exercise stimulates immune activity that helps keep healthy and free from infection. A habit of everyday exercise can help you maintain immunity in the face of possible age-related decline.

To exercise for your immune system, find an activity that promotes circulation. Aerobic exercises and full-body movements trigger the white-blood-cell turnover that maintains your immunity. Dancing, jogging, tennis, and volleyball are great ways to move your whole body and support your immune defenses.

Working Out for Your Whole Body

Moving your muscles on a regular basis does wonders for your overall wellness. Remember, you can exercise for more than weight loss. So, try to find another factor that motivates you to exercise.

Incorporate a variety of exercises that target different health and exercise benefits. Add cardio and aerobic movements to bolster your heart, brain, and mood. Stretching and deep breathing practices work for your joint and lung health. Find a fitness groove that works for your whole body, and start working out for more than the bathroom scale.

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COVID-19 has people are stuck in their houses, video conferencing from their kitchen tables, creating home workouts, and staying distant to stay safe. Joe De Sena, the founder and CEO of Spartan, has another suggestion.

“Socially distance from your kitchen.”

If you’ve read about or participated in a Spartan Race, it’s no surprise De Sena wants people outside and moving. It’s a key part of his Spartan doctrine. To dig deeper into De Sena’s health and fitness philosophy—with a focus on Spartan preparation at home–Ask the Scientists’ Austin Winegar conducted a wide-ranging interview.

Inside Joe De Sena’s Spartan Mindset

Austin Winegar: What parts of the body would you focus on for Spartan preparation? And why do you think those are the most important areas?

Joe De Sena: The number one thing we’re motivated by is the avoidance of discomfort. There are a few of us that are outliers or maniacs that wake up early and get after it. So, my answer to that question has to be very digestible, very possible for folks to engage in. I would say, at a minimum, it’s 30 burpees, 30 of the best pullups you could muster up, and it’s a one-mile walk or run. Obviously, I can go much deeper than that, but I’ll scare people if I do. So, I’ve tried to tone down my message to something really scalable. Walk, crawl, whatever—one mile. Park a little further away from the grocery store when you shopping. Anybody could do 30 burpees in two minutes—even stretch it out to three minutes. And if you can’t do a pull-up, jump up 30 times. If you just did that, it’d change your whole life.

 

AW: Digestible things that are realistic is your number one recommendation?

JD: It’s gotta be realistic. It’s gotta be something people will actually do. I could give you a giant list that looks like one of those scrolls a king would drop, of things I’d want people to do every day. But nobody’s doing it. I’ve been putting on races for 20 years. And for 10 of those years I used to have to lie to people and tell them they were coming to a barbecue, because they don’t want to do it. ‘Joe, why are we getting up at 5 a.m. for a barbecue?’ ‘Well, we gotta carry the barbecue up the mountain.’ Little did they know they were the ones that were going to be getting barbecued. True story. I’m not kidding.

I would also do hot yoga as often as I could. I would sit in a sauna post-workout. I would take cold showers. I would take stairs instead of elevators. I would carry a kettlebell. I do thousands of crunches. It depends on how far you want me to go with the answer to that question. Yes, I have opinions on physical fitness and diet, but you gotta give people bite-sized pieces.

 

AW: I’m inclined to agree with your approach. Rather than it being one movement or exercise, it’s probably more important to push whatever your current capabilities are and step it up more every day.

JD: I’d rather see you do it every day—seven days a week—than get after it once, buy a gym membership, go in for two weeks, then disappear for two months. Consistency is everything. Consistency in general, in everything, in life. Stick-to-it-ness. Write it down, be disciplined about it. Forget about motivation. Motivation is fleeting. You might have it, or you might not. Just create a narrative that you constantly talk about in the public. ‘I do 30 burpees every day. I walk one mile, no matter what—rain, snow, shine. I do my 30 pullups even though I’m not good at one pullup. Every single day.’ You say it over and over and before you know it, if you don’t do it, you’ll be a fraud. You gotta do it.

AW: What about diet? Do you follow the same strictness?

JD: I would say if you had the Joe Spartan food pyramid, the very top would be animal protein. The middle would be nuts, oils, and avocados. And the bottom would be veggies.

I would say you must, with all three meals, have a small bowl of salad. And that doesn’t mean covered in ranch dressing, but raw veggies with every meal. If you’re eating eggs—it sounds crazy—but I’ve actually acquired a taste for salad and eggs and sprouts. I don’t need any dressing.

 

AW: What about Spartan-specific preparation? How much preparation should people do in the weeks leading up to an event?

JD: Do you want to win it?

 

AW: Let’s say you want to be competitive—upper half—but don’t need to be the first-place person.

JD: We have multiple distance events—three miles, eight miles, 13 miles, 26 miles. Why don’t we keep this to three miles. If your staple training diet was what we said—30-30-1—if you did three days a week of hot yoga on top. ‘Why would we do hot yoga, Joe?’ Because the only thing that’s going to stop you from doing well is injury. So, to avoid injury we have to keep you mobile and flexible. I’m a big believer in that. I would get one five-mile run in a week, and I would spend some time on a rope. Out at a Spartan race, a lot of people struggle with the rope. The pullups will get you through the other hanging things. You’re going to need some grip strength, so I would spend a lot of time on a rope every week.

Let’s say you gotta do 10 rope climbs a week. One five mile run. And three classes of hot yoga. On top of that basic 30-30-1. You’d crush it. You’d do great. And fitness starts in the kitchen, so you want to be eating healthy. You don’t want to be doubling up on chocolate cake while you’re doing this.

 

AW: How do people set up ropes in smaller spaces?

JD: You could literally hang it off of a pullup bar. It’s not going to be ideal, but if you had no other choice, you’d start sitting down. In the beginning, you aren’t going to be able to get off your butt with your legs straight out like a gymnast and climb up. But you could leave your heels on the ground and work your way up to a standing position and work your way back down to a sitting position. You do it enough times to where your grip strength is able to get you standing up and sitting down.

AW: What’s people’s usual weakness?

JD: Grip strength, in general, is going to break you in a Spartan Race because there’s so many things to hold onto if you’re not used to it. Also, on the rope, it’s technique. You could deal with the lack of technique if you can get your hands strong enough. You’ll get sucked up in the vortex of the people and the music and you’ll get up that rope and ring the bell.

 

AW: What are the bodyweight exercises you’d have people do?

JD: We do them all. Reverse lunges. Leonidas burpees—which is a double perfect pushup at the bottom. Inverted pushups. I love all kinds of yoga poses. I’ve basically taken a bunch of yoga poses and turned them into callisthenic exercises. So, I’m working on mobility and flexibility at the same time I’m getting a workout.

 

AW: Why is a healthy approach to life important for people, in general, and not just those looking forward to Spartan Races?

JD: I’m glad you asked that question, because it’s the biggest thing we didn’t talk about. You guys have watched boxing matches throughout your life. The interesting thing about most of those boxers is they fall out of shape. As soon as they get a date on the calendar, they start getting in shape for the fight. And most people are like that. If they don’t have something on the calendar, they don’t get after it.

When I think about why I started Spartan, I recognized 30 years ago if I didn’t have a date on the calendar, I wasn’t training hard enough. I’d go through the motions, but as soon as there’s a date on the calendar—a fight that’s on the calendar, whatever that fight means in your life—you get after it. You work out a little harder. You put down that cookie. You go to bed a little earlier. You get serious. That’s why it’s so important—it doesn’t have to be a Spartan Race, though I wish it were—but it could be anything hard, anything challenging that forces people to change their habits for the better.

Life and health all come down to blood flow and circulation and what you’re putting in your mouth. So, I think of a body like a swimming pool. A swimming pool is 20,000 gallons of water, and the human body is seven gallons of water—depending on your size. A swimming pool has a pump and filter. You have a pump and filter. And a 20,000-gallon pool, if I started throwing French fries and coffee drinks and ketchup and all kinds of things in that pool, and then I turned the pump off and the filters got dirty, it turns black pretty quick. So, we’re expecting this little swimming pool, our body, with this little pump and a few filters to keep clean with all the stuff we keep stuffing into our mouths. Then we aren’t running the pump because we’re sitting on the couch and we’re not cleaning the filters. So, that’s why it’s important for everybody.

Start Your Spartan Journey to Better Health

Now that you’re pumped and ready to turn up the heat on your fitness journey, start with Joe’s 30-30-1 advice. Then try to build out with more home workouts you can try to supplement the Spartan advice you just received.

For more information on Spartan Races and preparation, head over to their site.

Individual sports take mental toughness. They demand you set personal goals, manage stress, build self-confidence, and develop focus. Team sports build comradery and group empathy, but it takes a strong mindset to compete—at any level—alone on the court. These hurdles, once conquered, make the benefits of individual sports plentiful.

Consider swimming for example. You determine your goals in the water. Do you focus on your stroke or how many laps you want to swim? The water shuts out the world, leaving you with only your stroke and your thoughts. Left without distractions (earbuds or a monitor to watch), this is a good time to focus on yourself and explore why you’re swimming in the first place.

The challenge is to find the mental toughness to keep swimming—digging deep for inner motivation. It’s important to identify why you’re competing and how to improve your performance. Personal goals can range from setting a world record to improving upon last week’s swim.

Let’s take a deep dive into individual sports, how they develop mental toughness, and the ways error management benefits your performance.

Benefits of Individual Sports

Humans are inherently social. Like most mammals, social tendencies develop through interaction with others. Sports help develop social hierarchies and positive self-esteem in a group context. Playing with others is a way to channel aggression into constructive activities.

Individual sports address different aspects of personal development. Athletes who participate in traditional and non-traditional solo sports—like tennis, swimming, rock climbing, cycling, or bowling—don’t rely on teammates for motivation or performance assessments. They set and pursue their own goals. Bearing the responsibility for achievement, solo athletes must push themselves to establish a healthy, competitive mindset. This can be as simple as setting small, obtainable goals. Or in the grander scheme, it can mean doggedly pursuing more ambitious ones.

Most sports help develop fine and gross motor skills, agility, endurance, and hand-eye coordination. But many more unique benefits of individual sports are revealed to dedicated participants. That’s because solo sports also require an additional layer of mental development, along with physical fitness. Your success and failures are yours alone. As you embrace and overcome personal setbacks, strengthening your coping skills and resilience, you develop self-esteem and confidence.

Long hikes, easy swims, or bike rides are all individual sports great for relaxation and reducing stress. They can clear your mind, offer perspective, and allow time for self-reflection. Any form of exercise supports cardiovascular and pulmonary health, can help reduce stress, and build confidence for future exercise.

Mental Toughness and the Tools for Solo Sport Success

With non-competitive sports—like trail running, rock climbing, or weightlifting—individuals set goals and determine how to achieve them. Take a trail runner participating in a 50-mile race. The primary goal is to reach the finish line. But to accomplish it, the runner must meet a series of benchmarks ranging from strategy (pacing, hydration, stretching) to sessions (breaking the run into segments). Each runner must identify personal strengths and pitfalls and create a running plan to best meet his/her needs.

To prepare for the 50-mile race, the runner has to train physically and mentally. Taxing events like ultramarathons require a strong, healthy mindset during the training and competition phase. Mental toughness is how you respond to discomfort or manage an obstacle or challenge. The key to developing mental toughness is to strengthen your willingness and channel optimism.

Willingness is your commitment to endure physical challenges and power through discomfort. Multiple factors determine willingness, but the best indicator is having a specific goal you want to accomplish. If the trail runner can envision crossing the finish line at the end of the 50-mile race, they can develop the mental fortitude to push through discomfort.

Optimism is the power to visualize and believe in your ability to reach your goal. It bridges the gap between where you are and where you want to be. Optimism shapes your short- and long-term goals. It’s motivation to train each day, coupled with the unyielding belief you’ll finish the race.

Mental toughness is developed through a willingness to do the hard work, combined with the optimism to believe you can achieve your goals. Just like your hands develop callouses from hours of work, mental toughness strengthens your competitive advantage while training and competing.

Solo, but Not Alone

Even when you compete for yourself, you still benefit from the support of coaches and teammates. Coaches share their expertise to help you to train and develop to your furthest potential. They guide your workouts and provide encouragement. And teammates give you a competitive edge. They help you set goals, breed healthy competition, and challenge you to work harder.

To Err is to Grow

Identifying errors while participating in solo sports is key to improvement. And the benefits go beyond just your performance while engaging in the activity. Golf is a good example for tracking errors during play.

Golf can be a frustrating game. Even if you’ve never played before, golf presents a serious of pitfalls that can put you in a foul mood. From errant tee shots to missed putts, it’s easy to play but extraordinarily difficult to master. Join a foursome for a full 18 holes and you’re not just competing against the other players—you’re challenging yourself.

Imagine it’s a beautiful morning and you’re teeing up on the first hole. You grab your golf club of choice. After a couple of practice swings, you adjust your glove and prepare for your first drive. You smoothly raise your club behind you, engaging a series of muscles (external abdominal obliques, gluteus maximus, pectoralis major, latissimus dorsi, and forearms), and swing.

If everything goes right, you’ll connect with the ball and send it flying towards the hole. The average golfer (76 percent of all amateurs) will swing a club 100 times through 18 holes. That’s 100 opportunities to analyze your performance in real time, make adjustments, and experience good and horrible shots.

Essentially, golf is a game of error monitoring—the process of assessing performance, making adjustments, and recognizing pitfalls. Researchers have studied focused attention (FA) and open monitoring (OM) meditation in conjunction with error monitoring. FA is your mind absorbing contextualized information in the moment. OM is your mind in a state of calm where it processes collected information. Evidence points toward a higher level of error monitoring when golfers can balance their FA and OM.

Golfers who can identify errors in their game are more likely to predict conditional stressors and self-regulate stress. By absorbing the moment, a golfer may have a better outcome (i.e. a more successful shot) than those who are indifferent to the situation. Specifically, when a golfer focuses on the shot ahead instead of the whole round of golf, they perform better and achieve a stronger level of overall satisfaction—even if the outcome is diminished performance.

Error monitoring is not only identified in golf. Numerous solo sports have real-time error monitoring. Mountain bikers make split-second decisions while navigating rocks, tree roots, and other obstacles. Kayakers experience the same immediate error monitoring maneuvering through rapids. Successful solo athletes have developed this common skillset to optimize their performance.

And the benefits are not limited to sports—developing error monitoring transcends to work and home life. Tracking your performance in real time can assist with decision making, organizational skills, and self-calming techniques.

Finding the Balance

Participating in solo sports is an opportunity to focus on yourself and your performance. Regular training can improve cardiovascular health, motor skills, and general health. In addition, the benefits of individual sports extend to improving your mental acuity for additional success.

From fly fishing to everyday life, balance shapes success. As you build up and come to rely on your own motivation, mental toughness, and error management, you’ll carry the personal skills to accomplish your goals. Individual sports can help your mental strength outside of the activity with improved mental focus which can assist in other aspects of your life.

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Exercise and brain health are closely connected. That’s because your brain, like the muscles in your arms and legs, is strongest when you exercise regularly. And while there’s no machine in the gym to work your brain, it still reaps the benefits of physical activity.

Raising your heart rate perks your brain up, too. And moving your body is good for your weight and great for your memory. The brain benefits come from the increases in blood flow and oxygen that comes from regular exercise.

With lots of available blood and nutrients, your brain is fueled for optimal performance. Daily movement also allows new brain cells to develop while reinforcing neural pathways. Your memory improves through exercise, and physical activity helps maintain your cognitive health as you age.

Ready to up the intensity of your daily exercise to maximize your brain power? Start by checking out all the ways physical activity supports your brain health.

Science of Exercise and the Brain

Current research establishes the link between regular exercise and better brain function. As little as 30-to-45 minutes of movement each day is enough to trigger a cascade of memory-preserving benefits. Explore the five ways working out can support your cognitive skills.

1. Exercise Increases the Size of the Hippocampus

The area of your brain responsible for learning and verbal memory is called the hippocampus. When you exercise, your hippocampus increases in volume. It literally grows. Neurons in the hippocampus become denser, and connectivity in the region is reinforced through your physical activity.

The hippocampus is the first region of your brain to dull with age. Exercising regularly helps keep it sharp and protects it from the normal, age-related decline.

Exercise also ramps up activity in this memory and learning center. Just 10 minutes of mild-to-moderate exertion is enough to strengthen the connection between neurons and the memory-focused section of the brain.

This improved connectivity in the hippocampus can lead to better performance on memory and cognitive skills tests. Short spurts of exercise—which may fit better in your busy life anyway—can even boost recall. This could include remembering where you parked your car, or what appointments you have during the day. Think about your hippocampus and all the good you are doing it the next time you hit the gym.

2. Working Out Reduces Stress Hormones that Inhibit Brain Activity

Many people seek solace from stress in a walk or jog. If you’re stressed, your brain is, too. And exercise is a powerful tool for relaxing your mind.

Physical activity reduces the stress hormones (cortisol and norepinephrine specifically) that build up in your brain when you’re worried and anxious. Too many stress hormones can make you feel sluggish and contribute to brain fog. This can even slow your cognitive skills and dampen brain power.

Bust through the haze of stress by planning regular exercise. The endorphins released in your brain after exercise clear away stress hormones and boost your mood. Exercise and endorphins also stimulate growth in the hippocampus—as you learned above.

Your brain and body need exercise to relax. Think clearly and improve your mood by prioritizing regular exercise.

3. Sleep Improves With Exercise

Another way exercise improves your mind is by helping you sleep well at night. Challenging your body every day makes it easier to fall asleep. And it leads to the kind of sleep that helps you feel rested and recharged come morning.

Restful sleep also improves mental clarity and executive function. You need good sleep to focus, make decisions, and process your emotions. It provides much-needed time off for your brain to rest and prepare for the day ahead—even though your brain still does work during sleep. Your brain is at full capacity after a good night’s sleep. Cognitive skills are sharpened and memory is reinforced. Start working out for the sake of your sleep and the strength of your brain.

4. Aerobic Exercise Triggers the Release of Growth Factors

Your memory relies on the neural pathways and connections deep inside your brain. Proteins called growth factors are necessary for your mind to create new connections and reinforce old ones. Lucky for you, regular exercise is an easy way to increase the amount of growth factors available in your brain.

Moving your body triggers the release of a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). This protein helps your brain generate new cells and preserves aging ones. BDNF is also responsible for developing new blood vessels in and around the brain. This allows more nutrient and blood circulation in the area.

If you want to help your brain grow and receive the blood and nutrition it needs, start moving. BDNF levels increase whenever your exercise, even for a few minutes. That means giving your brain support only takes a few minutes of activity.

5. Regular Movement Slows Aging of the Brain

Growing older doesn’t mean your brain has to slow down. There are lifestyle measures you can take now to preserve your memory and keep your mind sharp. A lifelong habit of regular exercise can help you keep a healthy brain later in life.

A study of the tie between memory and exercise illustrates this well. Research shows older adults who exercised consistently in their youth outperformed their peers on memory and cognitive skills tests. Their scores matched most closely with other test takers up to 10 years younger.

Since you are only as old as you feel, keep your body and mind feeling young by prioritizing regular exercise throughout your life.

Pick Either Aerobic and Anaerobic Exercise for a Healthy Brain

Your brain isn’t too picky about the exercise it needs to thrive. All you need to do is ramp up blood circulation to start seeing improvements. Like you learned above, the brain benefits of exercise come from increased blood flow to the region.

High-energy activities like tennis, cycling, swimming, and soccer elevate your heart rate above its resting norm. These movements are considered aerobic exercise and are great at quickly moving blood through your body. Aerobic exercise and brain health go hand in hand. Fast-paced movements increase blood flow in your head and neck, supplying your brain with plenty of oxygen and nutrients.

But it doesn’t have to be all aerobic exercise all the time. Anaerobic exercises produce similar brain-boosting results. Resistance movements and strength training are also great ways to work out for your brain.

You don’t even have to go all out for your brain to see benefits. Activities like yoga, tai chi, and other low-impact sports hone your concentration skills and focus while lowering stress levels.

Variety of movement is great for your body and brain. Developing multi-faceted workouts that include strength training, balance, low-impact, and aerobic movements should be your goal.

See this relationship in action yourself. Protect the health of your brain and body with regular physical activity. Exercise daily and notice how your brain responds.

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Your shape is all your own. A unique mixture of your in-born genetic blueprint and lifestyle choices manifest what’s reflected in the mirror. While nobody shares your body’s specific shape, there are categories of body types most fall into.

You’ll have a chance to figure out your type below—if you don’t know it already. But there’s an important fact to cover first that’s essential no matter the shape of your body.

An endomorph, ectomorph, or mesomorph can lead a healthy, happy life. Having any morphic body type doesn’t shackle you to specific health outcomes forever. Your life and health are yours to shape.

That doesn’t mean helpful information can’t be gleaned from a discussion of body type (also more formally called somatotype). Knowing what signifies a body type and which lifestyle tips work better for different body shapes may be enlightening.

General recommendations of frequent physical activity, a balanced diet of whole foods, good sleep, and other health habits work across the board. But knowledge about your specific somatotype can help guide you in the development of goals and healthy lifestyle approaches to achieve them.

After all, the shape you’re in now is just the starting point. Your body type is as much a reflection of your recent choices—diet, exercise, sleep, and more—as anything. From that starting point, and with the additional information below, you can make changes so your goals are what’s eventually reflected in the mirror.

Your Guide to the Endomorph Body Type

You might recognize an endomorph by their stockier or rounder shape. This body type has a tendency to accumulate fat around the midsection and hips. Some of that can be attributed to a slower metabolism. Sedentary lifestyles and calorie overages exacerbate fat build up.

Fighting the natural inclination for gaining and holding onto fat guides the health choices endomorphs should consider making. Diet and exercises focused on fat loss and maintaining proper calorie balance are key.

Diet suggestions for endomorphs include:

  • Watching refined and simple carbohydrate intake (especially sugar). The propensity to store fat leads to these easily overeaten items to help pack on unwanted pounds.
  • Turning to lean proteins to fill up and fuel muscle growth.
  • Choose the right fats. Don’t shy away from beneficial omega fatty acids—like those found in cold-water fish—and plant-based fats just because fat storage is a common concern for this body type.
  • Keeping a watchful eye on calories in vs. calories out. It’s the key to weight management for any body type, but it’s even more important for endomorphs.
  • Fill up on colorful, fiber-rich plants. These fruits and vegetables are lower calorie and have the fiber to keep you feeling fuller for longer.

Exercising as an endomorph should focus on burning fat while maintaining muscle mass, stabilizing joints, and promoting cardiovascular health. That means using a mix of cardio exercises (walking, running, biking, etc.) and strength training. This helps burn extra calories while working to maintain or grow muscle. Using a combination of cardio and strength exercises has also been shown to burn more fat after your workout ends than sticking to one type of exercise.

Gaining weight around the midsection can be troublesome for long-term health. So, endomorphs need vigilance to fend off this trend. Healthy lifestyle choices can help fight off the weight-related health issues that can crop up.

Your Guide to the Ectomorph Body Type

Slender. Narrow. Petite. All these descriptors fit a typical ectomorph. A fast metabolism plays a big role in keeping this body type thin, with long, lean frames.

An ectomorph can have trouble gaining weight and building muscle, though. To some, that may sound like a good problem to have. And one that means you can eat whatever you want and not exercise. But that’s not actually true. Ectomorphs still need to focus on a healthy diet and physical activity to support their best possible life.

The dietary specifics for the ectomorph body type include:

  • Packing the menu with nutrient-rich foods, and not simply feeding on less nutritious foods to fuel a fast metabolism.
  • Shooting for a high-protein approach. This macronutrient is essential for everyone, but is especially helpful for ectomorphs to maintain or bolster muscle mass.
  • Aiming for an energy imbalance of more calories eaten than burned if weight gain is the goal. Use these extra calories on beneficial fats, lean proteins, and nutrient-rich options.
  • Pick smart carbs. Since carbohydrates can take up more of the macronutrient balance for ectomorphs, your options open up. More choices could lead to less-than-ideal selections, though. Stick to smart sources of carbs—like whole grains.

The exercises an ectomorph chooses should fit specific goals—like any body type. But that frequently means heavy weight training for those looking to bulk up. These weight-bearing exercises are also good for the bones and joints.

A tip for ectomorphs is to take more rest between sets. This leads to fewer calories burned during exercise. And that’s a good thing because ectomorphs’ fast metabolisms can quickly rack up a calorie deficit that hampers efforts to gain mass.

With a natural tendency to be thin, it can be easy to fall for the misconception of “skinny always equals healthy.” Just because you could get away with a laissezfaire approach to eating and activity doesn’t mean it’s good for your healthspan.

That’s where a balanced, varied diet and regular exercise comes in. One feeds a fiery metabolism while providing nutrients needed to help maintain overall health. The other assists in supporting cardiovascular, bone, joint, and muscular health.

Your Guide to the Mesomorph Body Type

A little bit of Latin and Greek helps crack the code of the mesomorph. You can roughly translate mesomorph to the middle shape. So, it answers the question: what’s in the middle of endo- and ectomorph?

And that’s a good place to start.

If endomorphs are stockier and ectomorphs are thinner, mesomorphs stand athletically in the middle. Broader shouldered and muscular, this body type takes more of a v-shape.

Much of this springs from the mesomorph’s place in the metabolic sweet spot. Weight goes on and comes off fairly easily. So, muscles are easier to grow, but fat isn’t as hard to burn. If this sounds perfect, that’s because many cultures have held up the mesomorphic body type as the aesthetic ideal. And the average gym is full of different body types trying their hardest to achieve a mesomorph somatotype.

That doesn’t mean people with this body type can ignore their diet. A mesomorph should target a diet that:

  • Focuses on proper calorie balance. They can turn the calories dial to add weight or lose it.
  • Promotes nutrition through a focus on fruits and vegetables. Fitness goals need to be supported by quality nutrition. It’s no different for mesomorphs, and nutritious plant foods are vital.
  • Splits the essential macronutrients basically in thirds. An efficient, but not overachieving metabolism means this body type can aim for a fairly equal split between fat, carbs, and protein.

When it comes to a workout routine, the mesomorph has definite advantages. Pick a fitness goal, and this body type makes it a bit easier to hit it. Building muscle means aiming for light cardio and more strength training. Dropping weight may look like more running or biking. The raw materials for gaining speed, power, or enhancing athleticism are on the surface for mesomorphs. It’s just a matter of matching a fitness goal to the right exercises.

Any activity that helps hit the recommended 150 minutes a week works great. Even though mesomorphs rule the gym and the pop culture spotlight, they aren’t immune from the hazards of a sedentary lifestyle or poor diet.

That’s because the way you look in the mirror is a literal reflection of your health. But it isn’t everything. A visually striking exterior still might paper over long-term health issues if proper care isn’t taken with diet, sleep, activity, and stress management.

Your Body Type is a Freeze Frame of Your Health Right Now

There’s no skirting the truth of what you see in the mirror. Where you stand with your shape today is an impression of your health—a snapshot of where you are right now.

That’s a more modern view of body type, though. The original concept of somatotypes—proposed by W.H. Sheldon in the 1940s—was more rigid. It locked people into their type, even attributing personality traits to people’s shapes.

This philosophy has been thoroughly debunked. Today, fitness and health professionals have kept the beneficial information these classifications provide. But they focus on body type as a starting point, not a trap.

Throwing away the whole theory would ignore the immutable aspect of body shape—genetics. The perfect diet and right exercises aren’t likely to make you taller, reshape the structure of your bones to widen your shoulders, or change how where you store fat.

But—as you’ve read above—lifestyle factors like diet and exercise can help each body type achieve health goals and live their best lives. It’s also possible to reshape your body.

If you’re born an ectomorph, you can build muscle to climb closer towards a mesomorphic type. Endomorphs, if they want, can sculpt a stockier starting point into the mesomorph’s characteristic v-shape. It goes both ways, too. Poor diet and inactivity can round out any body type with extra fat accumulation.

Shape Your Life, Shape Your Health

You can be an endomorph who is healthy and happy. You can be an ectomorph who is healthy and happy. You can be a mesomorph who is healthy and happy.

It’s worth repeating one more time: wherever you fall on the somatotype spectrum—and most people will be some combination of types—you can be healthy, happy, and live a fulfilling life.

Don’t be defined by your body type because that isn’t the totality of who you are. Don’t let it box you in because you can make changes if that’s what you want or need to do. And remember, people of all shapes and sizes are beautiful and valuable. It’s most important to be healthy and happy—and that’s not one-size only.

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The human body is an amazing vessel. But it’s not intended to sit still—like in a modern sedentary lifestyle. Your body was meant to move. It’s made up of 360 joints and nearly 700 skeletal muscles. This allows for a range of motions in every direction.

That means running, stretching, jumping, sliding, pushing, pulling, and so much more. Through such actions, your body allows you to more fully experience the world. From the most elementary and overlooked feat—that your body can deliver you from one place to another—to the magnificent: Drinking in beautiful sights beyond your house. Dancing to your favorite song. Experiencing the competition and triumph of sports.

However, humans are—for the most part—doing the opposite. Instead of moving, today, you’re probably remaining largely motionless, settled into a sedentary lifestyle. What exactly is that? Being “sedentary” means engaging in a waking behavior that involves sitting or lying.

So, where people might have once moved, they now sit. Walking has been replaced with driving. Interactive play has given way to streaming TV binges. Talking in person is now rarer because of email and text messages.

“Couch potato” was an accurate description for choosing to relax in front of a screen. But the age of the iPhone now calls for a new definition. After all, if you’re sitting and looking at a screen for hours on end out of obligation—like for work—does “couch potato” really fit?

What happens when being sedentary is no longer a decision to relax? What does it mean for your health when, instead, it’s an obligatory lifestyle? Let’s find out.

Effects of a Sedentary Lifestyle

Whether by choice or duty, a sedentary lifestyle can greatly impact your health. It’s related to health issues both physical and mental in nature. Take a look at the risks involved with sinking into a sedentary lifestyle.

Physical Health

Inactivity requires fewer calories than an active lifestyle. So, the balance of the “calories in vs. calories out” equation shifts. Long, habitual periods of inactivity make it easier to gain weight. And while a few pounds here or there may be relatively harmless, continually being sedentary and gaining weight can lead to more serious issues. That includes impacts on your mobility, flexibility, and heart health.

Risk for cardiovascular problems also increases with more time spent motionless. One study collected self-reported data from a group of men about their time spent riding in a car and watching TV. Researchers compared the amounts of time for each activity separately and combined. Then they analyzed it against data for this group over 20 years later. Researchers found that long hours spent in a sedentary position were associated with declining cardiovascular health.

The ties between sedentary behavior and cardiovascular health extends to your blood pressure. One group of researchers analyzed the results of several studies looking at sedentary lifestyle and blood pressure. Participants self-reported the amount of time they spent sedentary. With each hour increase in a sedentary position, blood pressure increased proportionally. That’s bad news for those trying to maintain healthy, normal blood pressure.

Mental Health

It’s widely understood that exercise and physical activity have a positive effect on mental health. Moving contributes to a state of well-being. Research shows that extended screen time can have a negative impact on mental health for a variety of reasons (lack of interpersonal connection, loss of sleep, etc.). Plus, screen time usually implies sedentary behavior. Taken together, you can start to see the connection between a sedentary lifestyle and poor mental health outcomes.

One group of researchers analyzed several studies looking at adolescent screen time and depressive symptoms, with a special consideration for sedentary behavior. They found that in two out of three studies, prolonged screen time was associated with depressive symptoms, anxiety, stress, loneliness, and more.

Bouts of Exercise Do Not Negate Sedentary Behavior

Exercise is not the opposite of sedentary behavior—activity is. Activity requires moving your body, regardless of the end result.

Health guidelines suggest 150 minutes of exercise every week. That does not include time spent moving to combat the dominant sedentary lifestyle. Only five percent of American adults participate in the recommended 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week. Globally, 60-85 percent of people also lead sedentary lifestyles. Consider how many people are sedentary and how few of them are combating it with general activity. It becomes obvious how far-reaching this issue can be. So, what can be done?

The truth is that you can’t exercise the sedentary behavior away. Sitting for eight hours before hitting the gym for 30 minutes will not cancel out all that inaction. That’s because the harm of a sedentary lifestyle doesn’t come from the lack of sweating and sore muscles. Rather, the danger of being sedentary is much simpler. It’s about ignoring the body’s natural purpose: movement.

Exercising is great for the body. You should do it, as recommended. But you should also remember to move your body so you aren’t occupying the same position for hours at a time. If you need more proof, consider a recent study.

Participants who exceeded the 150 minutes of exercise per week recommendation were no better off than those who reported never exercising. So, there is something to moving throughout the day even if they’re micro-movements. Instead of saving the effort for one session of exercise, consider incorporating these micro-movements throughout your day.

Managing A Sedentary Lifestyle with Micro-Movements 

Many companies have sprung up creating stand-up desks to offer an easy solution to the sedentary office life. And while standing might seem preferable to sitting, it’s still not the magic bullet. Standing might keep you from resting on your backside, but it’s still a rather motionless act. The benefit is in moving from one position to the next. So, consider this mantra: The best posture is the next posture.

A sedentary lifestyle can be broken up by adding in small or subtle actions throughout the day. This could be something as simple as taking a break from sitting to stand and stretch every 15 minutes. That’s a good staring place. Here are a few more ideas:

  • If you have a short commute, consider walking or biking. You can also add in these options to a longer commute. Bike to the train or walk to the bus. If driving is a must, park further away from your destination once you arrive. The extra steps will add up.
  • Take walking meetings. You’ll get your blood pumping, joints moving, and allow you to think more creatively.
  • If you must be at a desk for hours at a time, set a recurring alarm every hour. This will serve as your reminder to stand up for 5-10 minutes. And once you’re up, you might as well move and stretch a bit.
  • Sending interoffice mail or email? Try delivering the message yourself to add in more steps.
  • Skip the elevator and take the stairs. While it may only add one or two minutes of activity, consider how many times this might happen per day and over the course of a week. Remember that combating sedentary behavior happens repeatedly in small bouts throughout a day, not just in one big push.
  • Reframe housework as activity. You might not have considered housework, like gardening, folding laundry, or cleaning, as moving your body. But it keeps you moving and out of a sedentary position. Reframing chores in this way might help them seem more enjoyable—a necessary component of a healthy lifestyle.
  • Find natural breaks in work or play and turn them into an opportunity to move. Perhaps you’re enjoying a movie on TV when a commercial break pops up, or you get put on a long hold while making a call. Find a movement or two to do while you wait for the commercial or hold to end. This could be simple things like shoulder rolls, arm circles, or pacing. You could even challenge yourself and do something with a little more intensity, like calf raises, jumping jacks, or lunges.
  • Make your environment work for you. You don’t need a gym to move your body. If you find a few extra minutes throughout your day, repurpose your environment and its contents to your advantage. Got a heavy water bottle? Imagine it as a dumbbell. Have a sturdy chair? Use it as a box to step on, or a bench for incline push-ups.

Live Your Movement Mantra

The sedentary lifestyle is the default for so many people around the world. You might even get caught in it, too. While it can seem like a beast to tackle, there are so many simple strategies you can employ.

Start by always remembering that the best posture is the next posture. Give your body what it craves—frequent movement throughout each day. It doesn’t have to be big, wild, or intense. You just have to change: from sitting to standing, standing to stretching, stretching to walking, and eventually sedentary to active.

About the Author

Jenna Templeton is a health educator and freelance science writer living in Salt Lake City, Utah. After receiving a bachelor of science degree in chemistry from Virginia Tech, Jenna spent five years as a research scientist in the nutritional industry. This work fueled her interest in personal wellness, leading her to pursue a graduate degree in Health Promotion & Education from the University of Utah. Outside of work, Jenna enjoys live music, gardening, all things food, and playing in the Wasatch mountains.

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The importance of exercise to your overall health can’t be emphasized enough. Regular exercise can help boost heart health and manage weight, while increasing endurance, strength, and flexibility. It’s not just the countless physical benefits, either. Regular exercise can contribute to a healthy state of mind. That means increased social interaction, better sleep patterns, and the release of stress-fighting hormones like serotonin and endorphins.

Basically, exercise is absolutely essential for well-being. But a busy schedule doesn’t always leave a whole lot of time for exercise.

Going to the gym may be a difficult, if not impossible, proposition. Some people just don’t like gyms, either. If you can’t handle the culture you find or don’t appreciate people watching you exercise, a gym membership might go unused.

That doesn’t mean you have to give up exercise entirely, though. There are many ways to stay in shape right in the comfort of your home. Let’s take a look at some of the most affordable and effective ways to exercise without even taking a step outside your front door.

Bodyweight Exercises are Efficient and Free

The gym might have more machines, free weights, and treadmills than you know what to do with. But remember that you can get a great workout without investing a dime towards equipment. Instead, use the bodyweight you already have as resistance for your workout. All you need is a bit of space in your living room, office, bedroom, or even hotel room.

In addition to saving money, bodyweight training can help save time. It requires no special equipment or gear, which means it can be done anywhere and is accessible for almost anyone. Whether on a trip, or busy at work, you don’t have to make it to the gym to stay in shape.

Quick sets of exercises that focus on the full body—like lunges, burpees, squats, crunches, and planks—can be very effective for building muscle. In fact, when done regularly, bodyweight training has shown to be more effective than cardio for weight loss.

Ready to use your built-in workout equipment? A quick search on Google or YouTube will yield more than enough exercises to keep you busy and build a bodyweight workout routine to take anywhere.

Free Weights, Much Better than Machines

Most gyms have a large amount of space dedicated to big resistance machines. That doesn’t necessarily translate well to a house or apartment. The good news is a set of free weights, like barbells, can be tucked into the corner of a room or closet. To make it even better news: free weights offer an all-around better workout than those huge machines.

Most resistance machines require you to sit down and lift weight with a limited range of motion. Free weights, on the other hand, don’t move on a fixed path. This means you have to keep the weights from wobbling around. Your body not only has large muscles like biceps and quadriceps, but lots of smaller stabilizer muscles and a core. Free-weight exercises hit all of these muscles with one simple workout like bicep curls. Because so many muscles work all at once, free weights burn more calories per rep than machines. Muscles working together also means your balance and flexibility improve, too.

Free weights are also readily available, and can often be picked up secondhand for really cheap. Some of the more space-efficient dumbbells can adjust their weight settings from five to 50 pounds. That puts a whole gym in your closet.

For those who might have a bit more space available, it’s tough to beat an old-fashioned adjustable weight bench and barbell. While they can be underappreciated, squats and bench presses are tried and true exercises that work many different muscles in your body. Just the ability to sit, or have the back braced can add stability while focusing on several upper-body muscle groups.

Despite all of the modern machines and technological advances of late, the adjustable weight bench usually is the most-used piece of equipment at most gyms. And it could be at your house, too.

Resistance Bands are a Light, Portable Solution

Resistance bands are long, thin pieces of rubber that have handles attached at either or both ends. They pretty much do what their name suggests—provide resistance to a variety of exercises and movements.

Resistance bands are a great addition to any classic, well-known exercise, and work especially well with bodyweight workouts. They can even add support, not just resistance, to help you work towards more difficult exercises. If you struggle to do a pull up, try using a resistance band to get a little extra boost. Soon enough you’ll be able to perform one unassisted.

Many people struggle with lifting weights, because gravity is providing the primary resistance. This isn’t the case with resistance bands. Their resistance simply comes from the elasticity of the rubber itself. That helps keep your joints safe, while improving range of motion. This is the reason these bands are so widely used by people undergoing rehabilitation after an injury. It also makes them popular for older folks that might not have the strength and balance required for traditional weights.

Some other advantages of bands: they take up little space, are affordable, and especially lightweight. Throw them in a bag on your next out-of-town trip to have easy, quick access to a great workout.

Kettlebells Provide Great Variety

You may have seen kettlebells at the gym. But they also make a great addition to any home gym. While technically a free weight, kettlebells warrant their own discussion due to their incredible versatility.

A kettlebell is a piece of cast iron or other heavy metal that resembles a tea kettle missing a spout. This unique shape is what makes them so effective. A standard dumbbell has its center of mass in the handle, but a kettlebell carries it away from the handle. The kettlebell’s handle is also unique in that it curves into the bulk of the cast iron, which allows the hand to grasp at different angles to open up a wide variety of exercises.

These exercises require more balance and stability to perform than traditional free weights. That provides a total-body workout that annihilates calories. Many exercises cause the heart rate to spike, which means you can achieve a cardiovascular and strength training workout. Some of the most common exercises include kettlebell swings, rows, squats, twists, and presses.

You can find kettlebells at most large retailers or online. They will also fit conspicuously anywhere in your home.

Practice Yoga to Build Flexibility and Mental Health

There is a reason people have been practicing yoga for 5,000–10,000 years. It’s powerful. There are many different schools of yoga that each focus on different aspects of mental, physical, and spiritual practices.

But when most westerners think of yoga, though, they’re referring to Hatha yoga. This type of yoga focuses on performing different poses, or asanas, that have various health benefits.

Regular yoga practice has been shown to:

  • increase flexibility
  • build muscle
  • correct posture
  • improve joint health
  • support mental health
  • balance emotional health
  • provide many other positive health outcomes

One of the major advantages of yoga is that you can do it almost anywhere. A yoga mat is all that’s really needed, and that’s only to make some of the poses more comfortable when the floor or ground contacts your body. A class or two at your local yoga studio can help familiarize you with different poses and important breathing techniques, but there are ample free lessons available online.

Stationary Bikes can be Great for Joint Health

Nearly everyone has seen an old exercise bike gathering dust in a basement for the last few decades. Maybe you even have one stashed away somewhere. If you’re serious about getting in shape or losing weight, maybe it’s time to drag that old behemoth out of storage.

A stationary bike is one of the best ways for fitness newbies to start a regular exercise routine. It burns calories quickly, but doesn’t require the same sort of commitment a treadmill or weight-training regimen might. These bikes are also a good choice for elderly folks or those with back, joint, or knee issues. That’s because there is minimal impact. Stationary bikes are also weatherproof. So, if it’s raining, snowing, or just too hot outside, you can still workout.

Stationary bikes have come a long way in the years since your grandmother bought that creaky, old beast, too. Today’s bikes are capable of tracking workouts, providing interval training, and can even have high-definition monitors to watch your favorite TV show or follow along with a personal trainer. The ability to watch the news, a movie, or other entertainment while putting in your miles is one of the major advantages of an exercise bike. If you can be distracted, you may find working out to be less of a chore.

There are some downsides, though. These bikes tend to take up a lot of space, and can be pretty costly. Plan to spend at least a few hundred dollars to ensure you get a quality product that will last. It also helps to speak with a trainer or professional to find one that will fit your size, body type, and needs.

Treadmills: Tried and True

Ahh, the dreaded treadmill. Long the bane of fitness enthusiasts the world over, these machines often take the brunt of exercise frustrations. Maybe because treadmills are an easy target. Or maybe it’s because running can be pretty hard.

The benefits of regular running are clear, though. Not many exercises come close to the mental and physical health it can provide. And if you’re serious about running, a treadmill can be a great choice for your home gym.

While running is an awesome exercise, it’s not for everyone. It can be particularly difficult for those with knee and joint issues. That’s because the impact of jogging on hard concrete or the uneven terrain of trails can be problematic. Today’s treadmills can alleviate that issue. These machines are designed with softer surfaces, and often have shock absorbers that can help reduce the impact involved with running.

There are other safety issues to consider, as well. Because many people don’t pay enough attention to pedestrians when driving, running outside at night can be dangerous. Women can be particularly at-risk due to the harassment and unwanted attention they can receive. A treadmill can at least help mitigate some of that.

Like a stationary bike or other larger equipment, cost and space can be factors. But if you choose to purchase one, speak with a professional to run over all your options. Perhaps try a few different models out to see which will fit your budget and lifestyle.

Make a Plan, and Stick with It

The type of equipment you ultimately purchase for your home isn’t nearly as important as developing an exercise routine and making it a habit. Whether you wake up early every day or burn some calories just before bed, consistency matters.

Try setting goals and daily alarms to remind yourself. Plan your workouts a week or a month in advance. And track your progress. Working out with a friend can also help you stay accountable.

Whatever the case, having some equipment set up at home can help you on the road to better fitness. Keep at it, and before long you will start to see results.

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Taking the time and effort to exercise is an important first step. But, that’s only half the battle. Whether you want to lose weight, build muscle, or compete in your first triathlon, your diet is critical for success. The food you eat serves as the fuel for your workout and building blocks for your muscles. It would be a waste to follow the perfect fitness routine and ignore nutrition. The saying is true­—“You are what you eat”—especially with your pre- and post-workout meal.

Before you exercise, it’s all about fueling your fitness. But if you’ve looked into what to eat after working out or read about post-workout meals, it’s a different conversation. You might run across concepts like nutrient timing and carbohydrate-to-protein ratios. This article will highlight the research on when you should eat your post-workout meal, and the nutrients that you should focus on.

Nutrition for the Rest of the Day

When Should You Eat Your Post-Workout Meal?

Eating after exercise can be pretty intuitive. That comes mostly for one reason, you’re likely to be hungry. This is because your body just used a bunch of calories and wants to refuel itself. Exercise also breaks down muscle, and you need to eat protein to rebuild it.

The hunger you may feel after exercise isn’t the only guiding force for your post-work meal. Science also shows you should eat after exercise.

Some of the first researchers on the subject gave athletes chocolate milk post-workout (more about the nutrients in this “ideal” drink later). Chocolate milk improved energy and muscle recovery compared to those who had nothing after exercise. The timing of the milk was key to these benefits.

The window you have to eat after a workout for maximum benefit is referred to as “nutrient timing.” Most of the early research had test subjects eating their post-workout meal immediately after exercise, 15 minutes after, or 30 minutes after. This is why you might have heard people say you should eat within 30 minutes of your workout. However, most of these early studies didn’t do a comparison to more delayed time periods.

Recent studies have expanded on the early studies. Researchers tested eating one hour and up to two hours after exercise. They also examined the difference between fasted exercisers compared to those who had a pre-workout meal. The results turn out to be more involved than “eat within 30 minutes of your workout.”

What the Research Says

The results show a post-workout meal is more important in certain situations. It’s most important if you start your workout fasting or with only a small pre-workout meal. Like if you exercise in the morning, before breakfast.

A post-workout meal is also more critical if you’re on a calorie-deficit diet (losing weight). This means those trying to lose weight, should ration some calories for immediately before and after a workout.

The benefits are less pronounced if you started with a large pre-workout meal or your diet has a calorie surplus (gaining weight). But you still see some benefits from eating a post-workout meal, and should plan one.

The newer studies remove the urgency on the timing of your post-workout meal, though. So, you don’t need to rush straight from the gym to the kitchen. You can eat immediately, or wait up to two hours after exercise and still receive the benefits of a post-workout meal.

The Nutrients to Eat After Working Out

As you already know, your body needs food for energy and to use as building blocks. Physical activity increases those needs. But those needs don’t increase equally for all nutrients. Some play a much larger role in recovery and muscle growth than others.

Protein

Protein is the building block for the muscles in your body. Muscle is broken down when you exercise, and your body needs dietary protein to rebuild itself. Exercise also triggers extra muscle growth. That’s why weightlifting makes you stronger. This creates an even greater need to eat more protein and makes it one your top priorities after exercise.

Your protein needs depend on your size and the amount of protein you eat throughout the rest of the day. Aim for 20–40 grams (0.25-0.40 g/kg body mass) of protein after exercise. If you’re a smaller person, aim for 20 grams. A larger person would need closer to 40 grams of protein after exercise.

In addition to protein after your workout, you should try to eat that same amount of protein (20-40 grams) four to five more times throughout the day.

Focus on high-quality protein sources that contain all the essential amino acids. Some of the best sources of complete protein are milk, eggs, soy protein, and meat. Protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS) is a tool for measuring protein quality. It will help you know which protein-rich foods to focus on.

Carbohydrates

Just as protein is needed to repair broken-down muscle, carbohydrates are required to replenish expended energy. Glycogen—stored glucose—is your primary source of energy for the first hour of exercise. The longer and harder you work out, the more your glycogen storage deplete. You will have to eat more carbohydrates to replenish it.

The research conducted 15+ years ago suggested consuming carbohydrates in 3:1 to 6:1 ratio compared to protein. While this is still valid, more recent research suggests you should take into account the exercise done and your overall daily diet.

Eating carbs can start before and during your workout. Eating them before exercise will help fuel your workout and maximize its potential. If you plan a long, difficult workout, also add some carbs along the way.

For post-workout carbs, you need to look at how many calories you plan to eat for the day. Refueling with carbs is important after a workout. But eating too many carbs right after a workout could quickly use up your day’s calories. This is especially true if you’re trying to lose weight. Prioritize protein first, then add carbohydrates as your calorie budget allows.

If you aren’t trying to lose weight and just finished a really hard workout, a few hundred grams of carbs might be appropriate. But you should eat fewer carbs (less than 50g) if your workout wasn’t particularly hard and you’re trying to lose weight.

Fat

Fat doesn’t play as direct of a role in exercise recovery as protein or carbohydrates. Too much fat can, in fact, slow down the absorption of the protein and carbs your body needs. That doesn’t mean you should avoid it, though.

Feel free to eat a mixture of high-protein and high-carbohydrate foods that also contain fat. Just don’t overdo it or worry about targeting a set amount of fat.

Chocolate Milk?

As mentioned above, some of the earliest research on recovery nutrition used chocolate milk. This research showed positive results in muscle and energy recovery. This lead many to turn to chocolate milk for their recovery meal.

Chocolate milk became so frequently used and referenced that many began to call it the “ideal” post-workout drink. It was also stated to have the “ideal ratio” of carbohydrates to protein. When you look into this ideal ratio, though, sometimes it is stated as 3:1 (carbs to protein), other times 4:1, and even as high as 6:1.

Why all the confusion? Well, different mixes of chocolate milk have different ratios of carbs to protein. The various researchers, nutritionists, and trainers also each had slightly different formulas they were using. And finally, as we have learned from additional research, there is no “ideal ratio.” Your post-workout needs are individual, and depend on your body, exercise, and diet.

Ask Yourself How Much You Sweat

Water is an important part of keeping your body running well. When you exercise, you lose some water through sweat. And it’s important to replenish it.

Make sure to drink plenty of water during your workout. The body can lose one to three liters of fluid per hour through sweat. Your post-workout goal is to replace any fluid lost that you didn’t drink during your workout.

And you lose more than water when you sweat. It also contains a large amount of sodium, which needs to be replenished.

The Salt in Your Sweat

Sweat rate: 1-3 L/hour

X

Sodium in sweat: 0.5-2 g/L

=

Sodium lost: 0.5-6 g sodium/hour

You can lose 0.5-6 grams of sodium per hour through sweat. You should replace that post-workout through the food eaten to get your protein and carbs. If your workout is longer, you should start replacing the essential mineral during exercise. This is why most sports drinks have sodium added.

Eat for Your Individual Needs

When deciding on your post-workout meal, it’s important to decide how much you will eat. And the amount is individual to you. That’s why the science moved away from simply telling you to drink a glass of chocolate milk. There is nothing wrong with chocolate milk post-workout, and it can be a part of your plan. But you might need something more or even something less.

Your protein needs are mostly determined by your body size. Your carb needs are decided by how many calories you eat each day, and what you ate before and during your workout. Water should be consumed throughout your workout, and continued through your post-workout meal.

All of these factors are different for you than others at the gym. So, consider these elements and listen to your body. That way you can maximize the hard work you’ve just done.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28919842

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30702982

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16676705

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9252488

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20048505

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10198297

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18834505

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein_Digestibility_Corrected_Amino_Acid_Score

https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/dont-believe-the-dairy-industry-chocolate-milk-isnt-an-ideal-post-workout-recovery-drink

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/eat-after-workout

https://www.verywellfit.com/the-best-foods-to-eat-after-a-workout-3121369

https://www.precisionhydration.com/blogs/hydration_advice/how-to-estimate-sweat-salt-loss


Fitting into an old pair of jeans again. Competing in that bucket-list race. Chasing around children and grandchildren. Or perhaps simply not panting after taking the stairs. Whatever your goal, there are many motivations to get your body moving.

And there’s also many different ways to put your body in motion. But how should you move and what is enough? There’s intensity, frequency, and type of movement (strength training vs cardio) to consider. That’s a lot. So, no wonder it can feel hard to find the “right” way for you.

And then there are the excuses. Before you dive deeper into how to move, let’s breakdown some barriers by taking a closer look at common concerns.

  • I don’t have time to exercise. Often the scheduling of exercise is what keeps people from being active. Even if your days are filled with family, errands, and meetings, it’s possible to find the time to move. Start by redefining what a workout looks like for you. This means discarding the idea that exercise must be done in a gym. Now that you’ve broadened your options for place, get creative. Use the 5-10 minutes between engagements to lunge (or any other movement) in your office. Or turn your conference calls into walking meetings and take the call on the go. Lastly, while a dedicated workout session will provide strength gains and potential weight loss, working microbursts of exercise throughout your day as a replacement comes with benefits. When you’re especially busy, these sporadic, focused efforts throughout the day are much better than remaining sedentary and can even be better than one longer session.
  • I don’t like running, so I can’t do cardio. Running is only one way to get cardio (short for cardiovascular) exercise. Consider other activities that still get your heart pumping but don’t require expensive shoes or the dreaded treadmill. If it gets you moving with your breath and heart rate quickening, it’s a good cardio option. Think brisk walking, dancing, swimming, or yoga. Read on for more ideas to come.
  • I’m new to exercise and weights feel very intimidating to me. How else can I build strength? While weights are a great way to build muscle and overall body strength, there are other routes to the same destination. Your bodyweight can be enough (think: power yoga) and if you want a little extra, consider resistance training with bands. This can be a great way to get strong without a lot of equipment.
  • I enjoy exercise, but I’m not really sure how much I should be getting. The American Heart Association and Centers for Disease Control have come up with guidelines for adults. Make sure that on a weekly basis you’re clocking in either 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio (about five days of 30 minutes exercise sessions) or 75 minutes of vigorous cardio (spread over two-three days)—along with two days of strength training.

The aforementioned guidelines are the minimum for weight and general health maintenance. If your goals require weight loss or muscle gain, you’re likely looking for more specifics. So, let’s break down strength training vs cardio exercise separately to really understand how they each work. Then you can explore the benefits of a strength-and-cardio-combo routine.

Strength Training

An activity counts as strength training if it involves significant effort to work your body’s major muscle groups (legs, core, shoulders, arms). While cardio exercises are recommended for certain durations, strength training doesn’t come with a similar prescription. Rather, you should continue to work your muscles—using resistance, machines, or hand weights—until the activity becomes difficult to continue. This muscle discomfort is actually indicative of minute muscle tears. To build up your muscles, you must first break them down.

Young people often focus on getting big, defined muscles for physical attractiveness. But as you age, strength becomes less about appearance and more a function of safety and independence. Sarcopenia is muscle loss associated with advancing age. With every decade past 30 years of age, adults will lose, on average, four percent of their muscle mass.

Maintaining muscle mass through the years will help you avoid injury, sustain mobility, and enjoy freedom of movement without assistance. Indeed, risk for bone fractures and other injuries increases significantly once sarcopenia sets in.

Participating in strength activities is important not only for building muscle, but also for increasing bone strength. And as you continue to age, both are extremely important. Weakened bones are more susceptible to breaking. Often these breaks are seen in the hip, spine, or wrist. The good news is that exercise—and, specifically, strength-based exercise—can shore up your bones.

It might seem counterintuitive, though. Hauling weights around seems like a way to break a bone. Not the case! In fact, bearing weights (whether your body’s own weight or added resistance) slows bone loss and even builds bone. The stress put on bones while strength training essentially kickstarts the cells responsible for bone-building.

You have several reasons to start strength training. But where do you start? In theory, lifting weights sounds simple, but there are so many options. This can make it difficult to pick and stick to a routine. Peruse the following chart to gather ideas on how to build muscle throughout your body.

How Example Set Muscles Worked Extra Tip
Squat Place the bar across your shoulders. Keeping your chest high and feet hip-width apart, push your butt backwards and sit back as if reaching for a chair. Sit deeply with weight on your heels. Don’t let your knees pass your toes. Engage glutes as you stand up tall. 3 sets of 10 squats

Increase number of reps and/or sets as you gain strength.

Add weight slowly as you gain strength.

 Gluteus maximus and medius, hamstrings, quadriceps Play with the width of your stance to focus on different muscle groups.

Turning your toes out wide will help recruit inner thigh muscles when squatting.
Deadlift Place a barbell (additional weight optional) in front of your feet. Keeping your chest high and feet hip-width apart, begin bending your knees as you reach for the barbell. Arms should be outside of your legs for a wide grip. Keep your lower back flat and your shoulders pulled back as you grip the bar. As you rise, keep weight in your heels. Engage glute muscles as you stand up tall. 3 sets of 10

Increase number of reps and/or sets as you gain strength.

Add weight slowly as you gain strength.

 Erector spinae (low back), gluteus maximus, quadriceps, hamstrings You can substitute a barbell for two hand weights or a kettlebell, depending on your preference.
Stationary forward lunge Step one foot far enough forward that, as you lower, both knees come to right angles. Your front foot should be fully planted on the floor; your back foot should be on its toes. Your front knee should not surpass your toes as it bends. As you rise, return the moving leg next to the standing leg and repeat alternating legs each time. 2 sets of 10 lunges per side

Increase number lunges per side as you gain strength and stability.

Add weight slowly as you gain strength.

 Gluteal muscles, hamstrings, quadriceps This movement works the same muscles as a squat, but requires more range of motion and therefore allows for further muscle development. Shake things up by trying out backward lunges (stepping back instead of forward), or walking lunges (alternate which leg steps forward each time moving you forward across the surface).
Standing shoulder press Hold a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder level, with elbows bent (imagine each weight is a food tray and you are a server). Knuckles face the ceiling; palms face one another. With feet hip-width apart and slightly bent knees, push weights above your head until your arms are fully extended. Bring weights back down to shoulder level, keeping a comfortable space between your sidebody and elbows. Keep shoulders relaxed (maintain space between your shoulder and ear). 3 sets of 10

Increase number of reps and/or sets as you gain strength.

Add weight slowly as you gain strength.

 Deltoids (shoulders), trapezius (upper back), scapula (shoulder blade), triceps, biceps Do this while standing to recruit muscles from your legs and core. Seated shoulder press will focus solely on the upper body muscle groups.

 

Open your arms to the side, turning your wrists so that palms face forward (knuckles still to ceiling). The ends of dumbbells can touch over head as you press fully. This wide press will fire slightly different muscles.
Skull- crushers Lay down on a mat or bench with two dumbbells in hand. Bend your knees. Lift weights into the air so your arms are fully extended above your chest. Weights should be touching (palms face one another, knuckles to ceiling). Keeping your elbows stationary, lower the weights toward your forehead. Return weights to starting position and repeat. 3 sets of 8

Increase number of reps and/or sets as you gain strength.

Increase weight slowly as you gain strength.

 Triceps

(with challenge: core and hip flexors)

 If more comfortable, you can do the same movement with one weight in both hands. Hold the ends of one dumbbell in either hand.

If you’re up for a challenge, add on a core component by lifting your feet off the mat and bringing knees to a 90-degree angle. As you lower weights toward your head, extend your legs out. Return them to bent position as your arms rise again.

Cardio Training

While you may be familiar with the term “cardio training”—or even more simply put “cardio”—you might not have considered where it comes from. Cardio is short for “cardiovascular” because exercises of this type are aimed at strengthening your heart. They are also known as aerobic, because they require oxygen and increase the efficiency of oxygen distribution throughout the body by the heart.

With this knowledge in mind, it’s easier to see the connection between this type of exercise and heart health. With as little as 15 minutes per day, you can support a healthy heart. Plus, cardio or aerobic exercise plays a role in weight maintenance and weight loss. But before you dive into that, let’s get an idea for the different cardio exercise in which you can engage.

Aerobic exercises are any type of activity that get the body’s major muscle groups moving in a rhythmic way for a prolonged period of time. This type of movement gets your heart pumping, elevating your heart rate, and causing you to breathe harder than normal. The range of activities that meet these requirements are wide, so you’re likely to find one you enjoy. Pick from a range of solo activities or sports, group games, or recreational activities to get your heart pumping.

Solo Group Games Outdoor Recreation
Swimming Water polo Hiking or trail running
Dance class Tennis (doubles) Mountain or road biking
Heavy yardwork Soccer or flag football Skiing or snowboarding

Recall the heart-health guidelines for exercise from above. At a minimum, adults have two options. First, engage in 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise throughout the week. The second option is 75 minutes per week of vigorous aerobic exercise. No matter your choice, you should also include two days of strength-based training. This can simply involve your bodyweight or weights. Not sure what constitutes moderate or vigorous aerobic exercise? Check out the table below to spark some ideas.

Moderate Activities (150 min/week minimum) Vigorous Activities (75 min/week minimum)
Yard work or other involved house chores Tennis
Brisk walking (>/= 2.5 mph) Swimming laps
Water aerobics Running or hiking
Biking on flat ground (<10 mph) Biking (>10 mph)
Power yoga High-intensity interval training (HIIT)

From CDC’s Physical Activity Guidelines

Strength Training vs. Cardio, or Better together?

Over the years there have been many exercise crazes and popular routines. And some have pitted strength training vs cardio. Is this well-founded? Well no, not if you’re strictly interested in general health and weight maintenance. Both types of exercise are necessary to strengthen bones, fend off muscle loss, and keep your metabolic processes in balance. But if you’re focused on losing a lot of weight or building a lot of muscle, your routine might require some tweaks.

A few years ago, Duke University conducted a study comparing groups of people assigned to one of three groups. Group 1 utilized resistance (or strength-based) training. Group 2 was given an aerobic (or cardio) routine. Group 3 did a routine that consisted of both resistance and aerobic training.

Participants in the cardio-based exercise group lost more weight than those focused on strength-training. In fact, the strength group gained weight, though all of it was attributed to muscle gain, not fat. And those in group 3 experienced the healthiest changes in body composition. Combo exercisers both lost the most fat and gained muscle mass. Researchers noted that while these composition changes are the most favorable, it did come at a cost: time investment. Group 3 participants spent the most time in the gym.

There are some great takeaways from this study that can help you decide what’s best for your goals. Do you want to maintain your weight? Are you concerned with adding muscle? Are you pressed for time? These are all appropriate questions to consider as you build your personalized workout routine.

Building a Strong Workout for a Stronger You

  • Remember that health guidelines for exercise are only minimums (150 minutes/week or 75 minutes/week for moderate and vigorous exercise, respectively). These are great guidelines to follow if you’re simply maintaining your body weight.
  • Cardio burns the most calories, minute by minute. This means if you were to spend 15 minutes lifting weights versus 15 minutes running, the latter would expend more energy.
  • If your goal is to lose weight, combining both strength and cardio is your best bet. To really fine-tune your routine, start with strength training and finish off with cardio. Doing so will elevate your heart rate so your heart continues to work at that elevated level during your cardio session.
  • Consider your age as you build your own workout. As you pass 30 years of age and enter into each new decade, the need for muscle-building becomes more pressing.
  • Exercise is not the only answer. Weight maintenance and weight loss is hard to do if diet isn’t considered. Build your workout routine along with a balanced diet for success.

The only thing left is to get moving. Get started by recalling your motivation. Whether it’s to maintain, lose, build, or generally enjoy life, all are valid and achievable. Start by naming your motivation and goal to make them real. Find activities you enjoy and recruit friends or family to keep you company and hold you accountable. And before you know it, you just might be in those old jeans, crossing the finish line of your bucket-list race, or conquering those stairs with a smile.

About the Author

Jenna Templeton is a health educator and freelance science writer living in Salt Lake City, Utah. After receiving a bachelor of science degree in chemistry from Virginia Tech, Jenna spent five years as a research scientist in the nutritional industry. This work fueled her interest in personal wellness, leading her to pursue a graduate degree in Health Promotion & Education from the University of Utah. Outside of work, Jenna enjoys live music, gardening, all things food, and playing in the Wasatch mountains.

“American Heart Association Recommendations for Physical Activity in Adults and Kids.” American Heart Association.

“Cardio vs. weights: Which is better for weight loss?” CNN Health.

“Exercising with osteoporosis: Stay active the safe way.” Mayo Clinic.

“How much exercise is optimal for heart health?” Harvard Heart Letter.

“Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition.” Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.

“Preserve your muscle mass.” Harvard Men’s Health Watch.

“Strength training builds more than muscles.” Healthbeat.

You change into your workout clothes, get your equipment ready, and start your workout. And within a few minutes you’re already feeling tired, worn out, and not ready for what you have planned. It feels like you’re wasting your time. You want to do better, but today you just don’t have the motivation—and fuel—to push through.

Everybody has had a bad workout before. It happens. But when it comes time to exercise, you want to minimize the obstacles that keep you from performing your very best. They can be caused by stress, mental or physical fatigue, poor nutrition, or a number of different things. Some of these factors can be outside of your power, but nutrition is one you can control.

All of your food choices during the day play an important role in making sure you have the nutrients you need. But your pre-workout foods can have the biggest influence on how you perform while exercising. See which nutrients and foods to choose before exercise.

Where to Look For Energy

Providing energy should be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about pre-workout foods. Exercising while fasting can play a role in weight loss, but is not going to lead to your best performance. What you read below is all about performing your best, and eating before your workout is essential to that.

To decide what your energy needs will be, you first need to know what type of workout you are going to have. A low-intensity, 20-minute workout has very different needs than a higher-intensity workout lasting over an hour.

Your goal should be to consume enough calories to match your planned workout. (If you will be exercising more than an hour, you will also need to refuel during your workout.) Your 20-minute, moderate-intensity workout will need 100 to 200 calories. A longer session will require up to 500 calories or more.

For Energy, Carbs Are King

Have you ever wondered why professional athletes always have a big cooler or bottles full of sugary drinks? Or why there are so many energy blocks, gels, and drinks for sale that contain nothing but sugar? That’s because when it comes to energy, carbohydrates—or carbs—are king.

Your body can also use fat and protein for fuel. But carbohydrates are your body’s preferred energy source. The reason for this preference is that simple carbs are the quickest and easiest to digest.

During exercise, your body will first burn the sugar (simple carbohydrates) in your blood, most commonly glucose. Then your body move on to long-term carb storage (glycogen). Only after those are gone will it make a serious attempt at using fat and protein for energy.

When you’re eating before or during exercise, the goal is to keep your sugar storage full. This prevents your body from having to use as much fat and protein for energy. Have you ever hit a wall about an hour into an endurance workout, where all of your energy seems to disappear? That’s your body running out of carbs.

You might be thinking, “but I want to burn some fat.” You can certainly do that through exercise, but it will limit your performance. A good balance would consist of a pre-workout meal to fuel your upcoming exercise. Then choose a diet for the rest of your day that will help you lose fat.

Unlike the healthy foods you should eat the rest of the day, pre-workout foods are not going to be as balanced and varied. You should limit the amount of fat, protein, and fiber that you eat pre-workout. This means you won’t be eating a lot of vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds, meat, or dairy. High-glycemic carbs found in fruit, grains, and even some sweets will give your body access to easy energy, and help it focus on exercise, rather than digestion. (See below for some food ideas.)

Micronutrients and Water Are Important, Too

Your performance isn’t just about energy. Each of the essential micronutrients play a role in your health and in your workouts.

B vitamins are used for supporting energy metabolism. Calcium and magnesium help you keep strong bones. And vitamin C supports healthy tendons and muscles.

A deficiency in any essential vitamin or mineral may hold you back. So, a multi-vitamin/mineral product to complement your healthy diet is the easiest way to cover all the bases. This can be taken in the morning or evening, and doesn’t have to be taken right before a workout.

Electrolytes

Electrolytes are also essential nutrients. They are needed in higher amounts than other micronutrients, and require some special considerations during exercise. Sodium and potassium are electrolytes that help your muscles contract. A shortage of either may lead cramping and hindered performance.

Try to get a little bit of sodium and potassium in your pre-workout meal. Extra can then be added during exercise.

Your need to supplement extra electrolytes depends on how much you sweat during your exercise. Salt (sodium chloride) is the primary electrolyte lost in sweat. Sweat typically has 0.5-2.3 g of salt per liter. That means really intense exercise could result in losing several grams of salt per hour.

Judge your workout intensity and your personal sweatiness to determine how much salt you need to eat before and during your workout. One of the easiest ways to add salt and other electrolytes is through a sports drink.

Hydration

Water is necessary for digestion of the food you eat during your pre-workout meal. Sufficient water is also needed for a healthy blood supply, which moves oxygen, sugar, and other nutrients through your body. It is essential for muscle contraction.

Dehydration limits the amount your body can sweat. And sweat is important to keep you cool and performing your best. Failure to stay hydrated can also lead to impaired concentration. This is key for technical sports like basketball, tennis, skiing, and more.

Proper hydration begins several hours before your workout. Make sure to drink plenty of water leading up to and during your workout. You can sweat 1-3 liters (about 1-3 quarts) per hour. Drink regularly during exercise to replace as much as you can.

One test to find out if you are doing a good job with hydration, is to weigh yourself immediately before and after your workouts. Your goal is to finish at about the same weight that you started. If you finish higher, then you may be starting out dehydrated or drinking too much during your workout. If you finish lower in weight, try to drink a little bit more while you exercise.

Don’t go overboard on water though. Too much can lead to stomach aches. You can replace any remaining water you need after you’re done with your workout.

Will Caffeine Help?

Other nutrients also offer fitness benefits, but can be harder to get from food. Caffeine is one of those. This stimulant reduces fatigue and drowsiness, and can improve your performance.

If you’ve ever looked at the label of energy drinks or pre-workout products, you know that nearly all of them contain caffeine. But caffeine may not be right for you. Depending one of your genes (CYP1A2 gene), it may offer no benefit, or actually be detrimental to your performance.

A genetic test is one way to know if caffeine will help or hurt you. But you might also be able to find this out through personal trial and error. Does caffeine help you concentrate and focus on the task at hand? Or does it just make you jittery and distracted? Listen to your body and mind, and don’t force something that isn’t working.

You will find some caffeine in chocolate, but the only natural sources with a higher dosage are tea and coffee. For the highest doses, look to energy drinks, pre-workout mixes, and supplements.

Pre-Workout Foods To Try

There are lots of great foods that you can use in your pre-workout meal. Here are a few ideas that incorporate the information above into helpful suggestions. You should try to eat pre-workout foods about 45 to 60 minutes before you exercise. Regardless of which foods you pick, you should experiment with a variety of options to find out which ones work best for you.

Oatmeal

Instant oatmeal is a good source of carbohydrates. A single serving has about 150 calories. If you need more calories, look for an already flavored oatmeal, or consider adding fruit. Oatmeal does have some fiber, so don’t overdo it or it can upset your stomach.

Bread

You can eat bread plain, toasted, or as part of a sandwich. Jams and jellies are a great way to add extra calories and simple sugar to your bread. White bread has less fiber and will be easier to digest than whole-wheat bread. Skip the peanut butter or regular butter because the fat will slow down your digestion.

Did you know that endurance athletes will eat jam and salt sandwiches during their races? It’s a convenient way for them to replenish calories and electrolytes lost during exercise.

Fruit

Dehydrated or fresh fruit are great ways to give you energy for a workout and add some micronutrients to your diet. Be careful about your choices, though. Some fruits are high in sugar alcohols, which can lead to bloating, gas, and act as a laxative. Which is the last thing you want while exercising.

Bananas, strawberries, blueberries, pineapple, and citrus fruits are all lower in sugar alcohols and are safer choices. Watermelon, peaches, pears, blackberries, apples, cherries, and plums are higher in sugar alcohols, and too much could ruin your workout.

Coffee

If caffeine helps you through your workouts, coffee is a great natural source. Add some sugar to your coffee, or eat another pre-workout food on the side to get the calories you will also need.

Candy

Pre-workout is your chance to splurge. If you have a bunch of candy at home that is too good to resist, use it to your advantage. Rather than eating it before bed or another sedentary time, try using the candy to fuel your next fitness challenge.

Sweets that are higher in sugar and lower in fat are your best choices. Gummies and hard candies are options that are easy to eat before and during your workout.

Try even more pre-workout recipes and see what works for you.

What to Eat Post-Workout

You have the knowledge to test and figure out your best pre-workout foods. But fueling your fitness doesn’t stop there. It requires healthy eating throughout the day. Beginning right after you’re done exercising.

Post-workout, you want replenish any water you lost through sweat and haven’t yet refilled. Like water, your energy also needs to be replenished. Older research prescribed an exact ratio of carbs to protein (3:1) within 30 after exercise. Newer research has shown that any balanced meal within a couple hours of exercise will help replenish your energy storage and rebuild your muscle.

Unlike pre-workout, there is no need to stick with high-carbohydrate foods. The rest of your day should include a good amount of protein, healthy fats, fiber, and mix of vegetables and fruits.

https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/the-six-pillars-of-successful-fitness-nutrition.html

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