The Journey on How You Can Stay Active & Healthy
By Elijah Tasini
For the many of us who want to have a healthy lifestyle, we know it takes a lot to stay both in shape and healthy. Wanting a healthy lifestyle isn’t easy, as there are many steps that we have to go through to prepare ourselves and to understand what’s best for us. Since we all have different genetics, it is different for all of us when it comes to our weight, body size, and how healthy we actually are.
The overall differences of our bodies can make things difficult for us all; our active levels are completely different! If you’re someone who is at a good body weight and works out daily, it’s easier for you to maintain that weight (and if you want to gain or lose weight, that wouldn’t be a problem). For smaller individuals who are underweight, fluctuating in weight becomes difficult due to their fast metabolic rate. So, when they workout, it’s harder to lift heavier weights. As for bigger individuals who are struggling with their weight, working out becomes tougher due to the struggle of weight loss — They have to put in much more time to burn more calories to get the results they’re seeking.
As college students, we’re always busy with school and our extra curriculums, which may lead to the limitation of free time for working out. At Southern Virginia University, however, students have the opportunity to go to the gym for free, so why not make time to go? We are given two options to go during the day: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. With a busy schedule, a quick thirty minute to an hour workout is all you need to keep you active and energized throughout the day.
In my article, I’ll be going over different topics on how we can better ourselves in a healthy and active lifestyle. I’ll be showing you the importance of working out daily and the benefit it can give you. With this, you will also know what you have to do personally and know what works best for you when it comes to working out.
To get into the gym and stay on track with your health, you’ll need to create a routine and build on that. Without a goal and a purpose to workout, you’re not giving the most effort you could be giving to perform at your highest capability. Here are ways for you to keep a routine going and to overcome whatever is holding you back from not being active.
“One of the most important things when you kick start your journey is to know your ‘why,’” said Lynne Johnson, a lead health and wellness coach at the Dan Abraham Healthy Living Center at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
Below are a few ways to set yourself up for success when setting your schedule!
- Set some goals
- Schedule it
- Remove obstacles
- Make it easy on yourself
- Hold yourself accountable
- Make it personal
- Chart your progress
- Reward yourself for your efforts
Understanding your motivation is the key to it all. Setting a healthy lifestyle is going to be tough. Your primary purpose for starting a fitness routine will help you stay on track when unexpected barriers cause you to think about quitting. Figure out which of the many reasons to exercise is most important to you, then keep it in the back of your mind as you go through your fitness journey and remind yourself why you started.
Here are three things you should keep in mind before you start a workout: a warm-up, stretching, and cool-down. These three things play a big part in your routine because it helps prepare your body for a safe and successful workout.
Warm-up
Warming up before training prevents injuries. Proper warming of your muscles revitalizes the cardiovascular system by increasing body temperature and blood flow to the muscles. Warming up also prepares your muscles for overload during training. If the muscles are sufficiently warmed up, this will increase the range of motion and reduce the risk of injury during exercise. Examples of a good warm-up are aerobic exercises such as cycling, walking, or jogging (you should do for at least five to ten minutes).
Stretching
Stretching your muscles can be done before or after a workout. The main purpose before training is to improve the extent of movement for the joints and to reduce the risk of injury during exercise. You can try stretching your entire body or just focus on a specific group of muscles that you plan to train. After training, however, stretching fulfills a completely different function and its purpose is to prevent muscle pain. Stretching can also be very relaxing, both physically and mentally.
Cool-down
After training, your heart rate is increased and your muscles are tense. The purpose of cooling down is to return the heartbeat to normal and prevent muscle pain. An example of cooling after training is fast walking with gradual deceleration. Cooling down is very important for endurance athletes, such as marathon runners, because it helps them regulate the flow of blood in the body after a long period of physical activity.
Find what works best for you! If you’re clumsy or incompetent at doing certain things, you’re unlikely to stick with whatever you’re trying to be good at. You don’t have to do activities like lifting weights or running just because you think that’s best for you. What you should do is pick activities that fit your lifestyle, abilities, and taste.
The Three Body Types
The idea of body types generalizes the shape and composition of the human body, dividing these characteristics into three common categories, or the three somatotypes. The three body types are Ectomorph, Mesomorph and Endomorph. After reading further on, you should get a good idea of what these body types look like and where they are prone to build more muscle and store more fat.
ECTOMORPH
The Ectomorph somatotype is naturally very thin, with narrow hips and shoulders, very low body fat and thinner arms and legs. The Ectomorph might say things like, “No matter how much I eat, I cannot seem to gain weight.” Contrary to popular belief, not everyone is looking to lose weight; fitness training is also about being healthy. So here are some great tips for fitness training for the Ectomorphs. *Workouts can only be beneficial if an individual is eating the correct amount of calories needed for their body*
ECTOMORPH WORKOUT:
Strength training for the Ectomorph:
- Train with heavy weights and lots of rest in between sets (2–3 minutes) as well as in between exercises (5 minutes).
- Only train 1–2 body parts per training day to avoid too much caloric expenditure.
- Aim for 5–10 reps and 6–8 sets of each exercise.
- Take plenty of rest in between workouts and never train a muscle group that is sore. And if you’re feeling really sore, try out foam rolling for recovery.
Cardio training for the Ectomorph:
- Very minimal cardio.
- Moderate and low-intensity bike rides and brisk walks (think of them more as relaxing cardio activities to reduce stress).
- lower-intensity, total-body workouts like Pilates, dance, and yoga.
MESOMORPH
The Mesomorph body types are able to put on muscle easily, often having strong legs, broad shoulders, and a narrower waist. Generally, they also have very low body fat and are considered to not be overweight or underweight.
MESOMORPH WORKOUT:
Strength training for the Mesomorph:
- The more varied the training, the better the results.
- Light, moderate, and heavy weight training as well as bodyweight training.
- Basic exercises (squats, lunges, deadlifts, rows, chest press, shoulder press, etc.) with heavy weights, followed by isolation exercises with moderate/light weights.
- Aim for 8–12 reps for most exercises. When it comes to leg training, you can incorporate really heavy weights with around 6 reps and really light or no weights at around 25–30 reps for 3–5 sets.
- Adding in other strength training activities that you think are fun can add variety to your fitness routine, like this Lower Body Lean With Band resistance band workout.
Cardio training for the Mesomorph:
- 3 days per week of cardio for 15–30 minutes.
ENDOMORPH
The Endomorph body type is more round and pear-shaped and tends to store more body fat throughout the entire body, especially in the legs and arms. Typically, it’s much harder for the Endomorph to put on muscle and much easier to gain weight via fat cells. However, as mentioned before, health and fitness is possible for all body types despite your genetics. Reaching your goals might take more discipline and time, but becoming healthy is worth the effort of making better choices.
ENDOMORPH WORKOUT:
Strength training for the Endomorph:
- Total-body workouts with compound movements to burn the most calories.
- Avoid heavy weight lifting with low reps.
- Aim for 8–12 reps and 3–5 sets for upper body and 12–20 reps for lower body.
- After reaching initial weight loss goals, it is okay to start to isolate muscles you want to shape a bit more.
Cardio training for the Endomorph:
- Incorporate cardio a minimum of 3x per week for 20–30 minutes in your target heart rate zone.
- Make your cardio training easy on the knees and low impact (swimming, biking, hiking, walking, elliptical).
In today’s broad horizon of bodybuilding, there are many different ideas as to which method of working out is the best. I have narrowed them down to 4 main methods. These methods include the normal heavy weight/low rep work-out, the light weight/high-rep work-out, the powerlifting/football style approach, and the extremely strict form with much contraction. Whichever you choose, allow it to change in intervals of about 6 weeks.
These four methods will help you with what you need to work on when it comes to building your strength or building endurance. Building strength and endurance are completely two different things, and the good thing about that is you’re still lifting. One is easier than the other so find what works best for you and go that route to start with. Here is the difference between the two:
Muscular endurance
Endurance is the ability of the neuromuscular system to produce as large a pulse sum as possible over a defined period (maximum 2 minutes at maximum load) against higher loads (more than 30% of the maximum force) and thereby to keep the reduction of the produced pulses as low as possible during the course of the load. To put simply, strength endurance training means training with a high number of repetitions at low weights. Strength endurance training therefore does not train with maximum strength, but only with an intensity of about 50 percent of maximum performance. For strength training, it is recommended that the exercises consist of approximately three sets of 20 to 100 repetitions each. A pause of about two minutes must be taken between the individual exercises. Strength endurance training increases existing muscles. However, no new muscle fibers are produced.
Muscular strength
Strength training, or resistance training, is the primary form of exercise for muscle building. It involves using weights, machines, or your own body weight to stress your muscles, pushing them past their limits.
The mechanical tension you place on your muscles when strength training triggers something called metabolic stress, which gives your muscles the energy they need to adapt to the strain of the weight so you can keep lifting. Pushing past the point where your muscles tire out damages the muscle fibers. This muscle damage triggers the healing process that causes the muscles to grow.
As your strength improves and your muscles grow, increase weight load and the number of sets to continue to build. Professional athlete, gymnastic coach, personal trainer, and creator of PHIIT Strength Kari Pearce says, “You must continue to lift heavier weights to build muscle.” When your weights are no longer challenging, it’s time to increase your weight load.
Lastly, you have to know what you are putting into your body. Be sure you are eating the right things before the gym and after. What you are eating on a regular basis and throughout the week can impact how you perform in the gym or any activities you do. It’s really important that you get enough nutrients to maintain your health and optimize your performance.
Proper nutrition is imperative to maximize athletic performance. Without enough carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, athletes may feel sluggish and fatigued during a workout. While we frequently think about the health benefits of nutrition and physical activity separately, there is evidence that integrating both nutrition and physical activity produces greater benefits than focusing on one or the other.
Additionally, research shows that exercise informs food choices, and individuals who exercise may make more nutritious choices. Nutrition may also support muscle recovery by reducing inflammation. One study showed that individuals who were more physically active and had higher antioxidant intake had lower levels of systemic inflammation.
11 Nutrients for building muscle
- Water
- Protein
- Calcium
- Magnesium
- Glutamine
- Vitamin D
- Potassium
- Carbohydrate
- B12
- Iron
- Beta-Alanine
Don’t beat yourself up about your body, your current fitness level, or your supposed lack of willpower. It’s better to start with easy exercise goals you know you can achieve. As you meet them, you’ll build self-confidence and momentum. Then you can move on to more challenging goals. Instead, look at your past mistakes and unhealthy choices as opportunities to learn and grow.
The key thing to remember about exercising is that something is always better than nothing. Try not to be discouraged by what you can’t accomplish or how far you have to go to reach your fitness goals. Instead of being worried over results, focus on consistency. Making exercise a habit takes a lot of energy,you need the right mindset and a smart approach.
You are much more likely to stick with an exercise or activity that’s fun and rewarding for yourself. Triggers are one of the secrets to success when it comes to forming an exercise habit. In fact, research shows that the most consistent exercisers rely on them. Triggers are simply reminders — a time of day, place, or cue — that kick off an automatic reaction.
Here at Southern Virginia University, we as individuals hold ourselves accountable to take the time to workout. It can benefit us in many ways for our wellbeing (not only physically but also mentally). There is a process to everything and being healthy is one of the things we all should strive to be and do. Find a way to live an active lifestyle that works for you to stay healthy and keep up with your health because it’ll have a big impact in your life, and help you in all kinds of ways.
