Obesity Clinic

by: Kathy Burns-Millyard
Exercising and staying fit doesn’t have to mean hard work. Simply being active will help you get or stay in good shape. So with that said, here are some enjoyable activities that can help with your fitness goals too.

Bicycling

When you ask many adults when the last time they rode a bike is, they cannot answer. Although bicycling is a favorite pastime, many adults do not take advantage of this great option for exercise. Not only does bike riding exercise the body and build a stronger cardiovascular system, it allows you to get out and enjoy nature, fresh air, and see new sites.

Jogging or Walking

Both jogging and walking are GREAT ways to get fit. Not only do they tone the muscles, relieve stress, create a healthier heart, and improve lung capability, they make you look wonderful, which in turns helps you get excited about doing other exercise for fitness activities.

Swimming

Swimming is an excellent way to get into and stay in shape. If you do not own a pool, many high schools have aquatic centers, or there is always the YWCA or YMCA, or your local gym. Many offer water aerobic classes that will help you tighten your body, lose weight, and get a good overall workout.

Tennis Anyone?

Tennis is not only a fun sport, but also a great way to exercise. You do not have to be a Venice Williams to play; in fact, you do not even have to be good. Just running after the ball alone will help get you into shape. This is a great way to strengthen your cardiovascular system and lose weight. You can find tennis courts in just about every city and if you would like to play but have no idea how, lessons are reasonable.

Tip: Raquetball is sort of a “one person tennis”. If you don’t have someone to play tennis with, or you aren’t feeling sociable, try raquetball instead.

Dancing

Dancing is so much fun and whether you enjoy a slow, Ballroom dance or a nightclub packed with people all moving to heart-pumping techno, as long as you are moving, it really does not matter what type of dance or music. The whole idea is to move your body. Dancing has long been recommended as an avenue to fitness.

Tip: Belly Dancing is an excellent workout for your stomach, waist and hips ladies!

VCR

If you have a VCR or DVD, rather than just using it for your favorite comedy or action-packed movie, try sticking in some good workout tapes. Even taking 15 minutes every day to work out will get you started. Try that for two weeks and you will be surprised at the results. Once you see that 15 minutes a day makes a difference, you will be encouraged to increase the time spent.

And one of my personal favorites… Yardwork!

Whether you’re pulling weeds, planting flowers, mowing the grass or chopping wood: All of these activities can help you get into better shape. Don’t cheat yourself though. Using a riding mower to cut the grass won’t help you use the muscles or get your blood pumping
So go out and get active, have fun, and work on getting or staying fit too!

About the author:
© 2004 Kathy Burns-Millyard and The Health and Fitness Information Network - A large and growing health portal featuring quality health and fitness articles, tips, news, advice and resources. Visit http://www.health-and-fitness-information.comnow and get subscribed to our RSS feed so you’ll have the newest articles as they’re published!

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Many people that do not have hope today they just want to give up and let the world pass by. Well we can’t do this, we have to live our lives for this is what we was put on this earth to do. Lying around and not doing anything about it isn’t going to help the problems of today by no means go away. So why don’t you get off those bottoms and start doing something about it. Today most of the people are overweight because of chemicals in our foods, but mostly because most people do not engage in activities to help them control weight gain.

What can I do to change the way I feel about exercising?
Most of us do not like to exercise because we are lazy. Yes, I said that word lazy, it’s true. We work and when we get home, all we want to do is lie around the house and do nothing but watch television or play games. This is bad for your health. You have to get up and get active. We have many ways to get started walking to fitness. Walking is the best thing for you and your health.

Here are some tips that might help you to get started. When you get off work instead of stopping off to the store to get milk or the paper go home, put on some comfortable cloths, and walk to the store. Once you finish, you will feel better. You will be able to notice how much better you feel when your energy starts to soar. When going to work drive like always but park at the end of the parking lot and walk near the door. What a way to start the day off. This will get you started in the right direction to want to walk.

Starting walking fitness:
Once you start to walk you, will feel better about yourself, and want to keep on walking. We aren’t saying that it’s going to be a walk in the park but you can do it. The feeling that you get from exercise is going to be worth it all in the end. You will have so much energy you won’t know what to do with it. Therefore, those days of sleeping on the couch after work are done with, you won’t even think about it. You will want to do things like housework, working in the yard, maybe go, see a friend, and don’t forget about your walk.

How far do I walk?
Once you start a walking fitness program it will encourage you to set goals. You will soon learn how far to take your goals. Set up a program to walk 20-30 minutes each day. Walk slowly and move into a faster pace. This will be a great way to help you lose weight, as well as getting into shape. You will also notice how much better you are feeling and this will give you the hope that you need, as well as the want to, to finish what you have started.

Setting goals:
Setting goals are easy for some of us. Some of us however find it difficult to set goals. To set goals that work for you; begin with what works best for you and go with it. For example, if you can only walk 10 minutes each day. Walk the ten minutes until you feel that you can walk further. If you find it difficult to write goals, learn “Mind-Set” and work through your goals this way. Mind-Set is putting into your mind what you intend to do and taking action to do it.