Top 10 Fitness Tips and Tricks

Trouble waking up? Suffer from constant headaches, or a lack of motivation? Do you find yourself being angry for no reason…and on top of that: tired?

Feeling out of shape is something we all experience, and while it could be a temporary situation, sometimes this state can last for weeks; or even months. If this happens, some lifestyle changes may be required. While there is no “one size fits all” approach, it is nevertheless possible through daily changes, to either eliminate all the symptoms you may be suffering from, or event better get rid of your fatigue, lack of energy and motivation.

How do we define “being out of shape” ? Well, there is no official definition, but we can pinpoint the following states:

Temporary depression
Fatigue and tiredness
Headaches or nausea
Lack of motivation
Chronic stress

How can we relieve the aforementioned symptoms and get back in shape?

Find the answer to this question in this article, thanks to 10 easy tips and tricks to get back in shape.

Beware, if the mentioned symptoms persist, consider talking to your health professional. Indeed, our 10 tips shouldn’t replace your professional health advice.

1: Hydrate Yourself Throughout the Day

Body hydration plays a crucial role in regards to good health. Not only is water an important source of minerals for your body, it also helps for good cellular health, thus permitting an optimal transport of nutrient, or efficient enzymatic reactions that happen in your body during the day.

Maintaining good hydration will prevent the following symptoms:

Aches
Immune system weakness
Cardiac activity weakness

2: Consume Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Everybody talks bout Omega-3 (so do we). Omega-3 are polyunsaturated fatty acids. the following fatty acids belong to the omega-3 family:

Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA)
Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)
Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)

Omega-3 fatty acids play a crucial role in your body. Cardiovascular activity is closely intertwined with the dietary consumption of omega-3 fatty acids. Moreover, numerous studies have shown the benefits of polyunsaturated fatty acids on one’s health. Because it is not possible for us to endogenously synthesize these fatty acids, we need them in our diet.

Fatty acids are namely directly related to cellular health. Membrane cells are comprised of a semi-permeable bilayer, and dietary fatty acids determine the layer’s fluidity. It is when ones’s diet contains more saturated fatty acids than unsaturated fatty acids that the layer gets thicker, thus diminishing intra-cellular and extra-cellular exchanges.

Make up a third of your fat intake from poly-unsaturated fatty acids to ensure good cellular health.

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3: Consume Multivitamins

We often forget about multivitamins, yet…many of us suffer from a real vitamin deficiency. Such deficiencies are related to, or can be explained by:

Soil quality
Cooking methods
Your exercise regimen
The place you are, and the surrounding pollutants

These 5 factors are sufficient enough to be responsible for a vitamin deficiency. Such deficiencies may include the following vitamins or minerals:

Vitamin D (lack of sun exposure can be responsible for this deficiency)
Vitamin B12 (if you are following a diet that does not include animal sources)
Calcium (for example, if you are pregnant)
Iron (if you are following a high-intensity routine)

Both vitamins and minerals play a specific role in the body, for example some are precursors of several enzymatic reactions; some others, such as vitamin B12 participate in neurotransmitter synthesis. Calcium will regulate muscle contraction. So forth and so on.

As you see, vitamins and minerals are all involved in specific functions in our bodies (up to several hundred!) Nevertheless, if your cooking is not adequate, or your sun exposure minimal, it’s easy to become deficient.

Consume one multivitamin tablet daily to ensure proper intake of vitamins and minerals.

4: Consume High-Fiber Foods

Fibers are not digested in the intestines, thus they do not contain calories (soluble fibers are partially digested). But still, they remain important, for a few reasons. Fibers regulate bowel movements during digestive phases, but they’ll also reduce your cholesterol levels (thanks to entherohepatic recycling of bile acid). Within the colon, fibers produce short-chain fatty acids, such as acetate, propanoic acid; as well as butanoic acid; or ethanol.

Fibers improve digestion, but also prevent bloating and digestive pains that can occur. Daily recommendations range from 25 grams to 50 grams (35 grams for women, 48 to 50 grams for men).

5: Exercise Daily

When it comes to exercise, I could go on for hours. Remember that exercises improve mood (thanks to endorphins being released, as well as epinephrine and norepinephrine). Endorphins are similar to opioids, thus provoking the same positive effects, such as wellness.

You can for example walk for 10 minutes every day; or perform any other daily activity which will be sufficient to trigger the aforementioned effects. On top of this, exercise 3 to 4 times on a weekly basis to fully experience positive effects associated with exercise.

6: Have More Sex

Excitation and orgasms are also implied in endorphin production. Having a meaningful sexual life will give you unmatched wellness and happiness, thanks to the numerous hormones implied during intercourse.

These hormones lead to the same effects as the ones you feel while taking tranquilizers. Thanks to this relaxed state, you will avoid nervousness, stress or anxiety, which are all responsible for our modern functional diseases, such as:

Migraines
Skin rashes
Digestive discomforts

Endorphins act similarly to morphine, helping you increase your pain tolerance threshold. For example, you will build a better tolerance against migraines. The more sex you have, the better…so don’t deprive yourself!

7: Improve your Sleep Quality

“I should go to bed earlier” is something you have probably said before. We often tend to forget about our sleep quality, and we “sacrifice” it because of work or family obligations. Nevertheless, it is when we are asleep that our blood pressure decreases, nutrient transportation through blood increases, and that our tissues heal.

In our brain, growth hormone is produced, and cortisol production decreases. Consider your sleep as the time during which your body’s battery recharges. Thanks to a good night’s sleep, you will feel energized and well all day long. There is no need for you to properly eat or exercise, if your sleep isn’t adequate.

Here’s our advice: Turn off any electronic devices 30 minutes before going to bed. Decrease light, and freshen up your bedroom. Ideally, you should wake up without any alarm, in order to adjust your sleep cycles, and prevent you from being awakened during a deep sleep cycle. Also, studies have proven that taking in light during the night can disrupt the depth of sleep and make you fell less rested.

8: Breath Some Fresh Air

Don’t hesitate to spend some time in the great outdoors. Try to exercise as much as you can outside. Think running, hiking, etc…. While there is not any study proving this, we all know that breathing fresh air improves our mood and wellness. For example, it’ll be easier for you to jog in a park rather than at the gym. If you prefer bicycling, it’ll be more fun to practice outside.

9: Take Cold Showers

Cold showers, or “Scottish Showers” yield many benefits, some of which we don’t fully know. Cold showers increase testosterone production, epinephrine, and norepinephrine production.

Moreover, cold showers can help you to improve your breathing, thus decreasing your stress. Cold showers will also help you fight depression, thanks to an increased production of testosterone. They also improve blood circulation, which also means improved nutrient transportation.

Here’s our advice:

Switch from your hot (boiling) morning showers to cold showers, there won’t be anything better to kickstart your day.

10: Improve your Work Environment

Taking care of your work environment will help you fight against:

Stress
Back pains
Digestive troubles
Bad mood

And improve:

Your concentration
Your motivation
Your sleep

We all spend a fair amount of time beyond our screens, and it’s easy to build bad habits; habits that will more thank likely contribute to bad overall health.

Consider your workplace as your kitchen, or your bedroom, and make sure to spend some time uncluttering. Start by getting a comfortable office chair, that you could sit on for hours.

Get rid of everything that could contribute to bad posture, and finally, make a habit of keeping everything clean and organized.

If you are working from home, make sure to split your work environment from the other places in your home, in order to avoid working late.

Try not to eat in front of your computer, and don’t take your laptop to bed.

11 (Bonus): Manage your Conflicts

Pending conflicts manifest themselves through high stress, insomnias, and decreased appetite.

Work towards improving your communication skills, and say what needs to be said. Avoid keeping things for yourself and get things off your chest. Stress leads to an increased production of cortisol, which is a catabolic hormone.

Do you have some tips you’d like to share? If so, feel free to leave a comment.