How to make your fitness lifestyle a bit easier!

Hi everyone!

I only really started to venture out into the fitness world a couple of years ago, and although I have met a lot of people with great advice along the way, I'm one of those stubborn people who likes to figure things out for myself. I am no where near an expert, but I have picked up some tips along the way, which might help some of you, who want to get started but don't know where to begin.

Recently, I have begun to take more of an interest in jogging. I want to improve my cardio, and it is a great way to do so, it's cheap and you don't have to invest much into it.

So here are some tips and life hacks for running and or jogging.

Tips For Getting Started:

• No idea where to begin? Start off with a good pair of shoes. Having the right shoes is very important. It makes it a lot easier, and a lot better for your joints. Pick shoes with good support, and thicker soles for cushioning.

• How should you run, and for how long? This one is easy. Just run. Of course there are different strides and paces, but those are so individual-speciffic there's no way I can cover all the bases in one point. All you really need to remember is, everyone is different and will have different ways of doing it. Some like one continuous pace, some like bursts of sprinting-jogging-walking. It's all about what you prefer. As long as you can feel your heart rate increasing, you are doing it right. Be mindful of your body and listen to what it's telling you. If long strides hurt your knees, try shortening them. Go for as long as you can. Don't push yourself too far too soon.

• How to listen to your body? I go by this general rule. A dull, aching, pain in the muscles is just the usual pain of exercise. There's always going to be a little bit of it. A sharp, shooting, pain is usually when something is wrong. The more you exercise the more you will learn how your body speaks to you. It's one of the best perks of exercise. You become a lot more in tune with yourself.

• Worried about looking silly at first? A lot of people share this feeling. Myself included; but there's an easy way around it. If you're worried about looking silly to other joggers, cyclists, ect, don't be! Everyone began somewhere,and so did they. Also, they're too busy focusing on their own goals and where they're going, to look around at the other people. If you're worried about passersby, don't be. There's two ways they could be thinking. "Wow, they're getting fit! I should start putting in some more time at the gym..."
  In that way you're inspiring people. Yes. You're being a hero. If they are thinking negatively, well then they're just people with low self esteem, and the only way they can make themselves feel better is by putting others down; and who really cares what people like that think?

• When and where is best? Jogging is great because you can easily fit it into your schedule. You can go whenever you have time. The best time I'd say, is in the early morning or evening. It's still cool, and the sun isn't harsh enough to burn you easily. It's also very pretty to watch the sun rise and set, and it's a good distraction from you know. The pain.
  Another good way to distract yourself is by picking a route that has a lot to look at. Depending on what you like and when you go, pick a route you'd enjoy.

Some pictures from an early sunrise jog yesterday

Life Hacks:

Here are some small ways you can make jogging/running just a little easier.

• Pre-plan your route. This way you can set time goals and you'll know where you are going so it's easier to focus on doing your best.
  

• Make a playlist. This is an easy way to monitor your speed, and motivate yourself. For example, "I want to be past that tree before the end of this song."
  Pick your favourite upbeat songs and it'll help you push yourself. It really works.

• If you struggle with a place to put your phone or ipod, here's an easy DIY. This thing is seriously awesome and I use it every day.

1. Take an old sock, I used a black one but you can use any sock and make it look really cute.
2. Cut it to the size of your phone/ipod.
3. Turn it inside out, fold it over so that there's a flap for it to sit in, then turn it right side round again and you have a cute arm band. It keeps it super secure and safe. You can see it in the above pictures as well, I always have it on!

• If your ear phones fall out a lot, use bobby pins to secure the wire into your hair just by your ear. This will minimise the amount of movement in the wire, and make it stay in your ear for longer.

• Spray bobby pins with hair spray before putting them in your hair, this will give them more grip and help them keep the hair out of your face better.

Tips For the Day After:

I know that the pain the next day puts a lot of people off, so here are some tips to relieve that pain.

• Get someone to give you massages; if you don't have anyone to do so, or you do but they're just lazy, you can do it yourself. Here's some ways:

1. Use a tennis ball, a yoga block, or a rolled up towel to rub your feet against as shown in the pictures. You can rub your thighs and calves against it too.
2. You can try this yoga pose,"legs up the wall" to help loosen the muscles and relieve the pressure on the legs.

• One of my instructors believes firmly in active recovery, and it really can help. Because by exercising the next day you get the blood flowing, helping the muscles heal faster, and loosening the tension, making them feel better.

• The last thing, which as also one of the best things you can do, is sleep. Sleeping gives your body a chance to rest, heal and recover. It rejuvenates the muscles and refreshes you. Helping you feel such better.
  Here is a lesson from an expert on the matter.

Well there you have it, some tips and advice on getting yourself into the active world. Let me know what you think, and if you have any questions feel free to ask.

All the pictures are my own, and follow me for more @yogidream.scapes.

Lots of love guys!

Namaste