If your New Year’s Resolution includes creating a bucket list of things you want to do before you die, it won’t do much good if you’re not healthy enough to follow through on them. So before you make good on your plans to run with the bulls or swim with the dolphins, why not make a separate fitness bucket list? Read on for six goals to conquer and tips on the why and how.
Do 25 Pushups
Mastering the ability to perform 25 pushups is a very reasonable, realistic, and reachable goal for most people. Benefits include upper-body strength in the chest, shoulder girdle, and arms. Pushups can be varied in many ways to train different muscle groups using the Stamina Doorway Trainer Plus from Buydig.com. Start with modified pushups, resting on your knees as opposed to on the toes. Gradually increase the number of reps as you build strength until you can hoist yourself up on your toes in traditional pushup form.
Run a 10K
A classic goal for those who want to get into running, the distance is long enough to feel a true sense of accomplishment but does not require the same commitment and preparation time as a marathon. Start gradually, increasing mileage by no more than 10 percent from the previous week on your Sunny Health and Fitness Force High Capacity Manual Treadmill.
Master 3 Yoga Poses
Yoga requires minimal equipment, provides stretching without stressing the joints, and can improve stress levels and posture. Individuals new to yoga should begin slowly, ideally with an experienced instructor so poses and postures can be corrected and not lead to injuries. Three good poses to master include: Mountain Pose, Warrior I and Bridge Pose.
Add Sprinting to Your Routine
Adding sprint training to your running routine has a number of benefits. The initial benefit comes simply from the variation in the workout, which prevents boredom. Plus, it’s one of the best ways to tone the glutes. When practiced as intervals, sprinting can also speed up calorie burning. Keep track of all those burnt calories with your Garmin Activity Tracker.
Master 3 Plyometric Moves
Adding a hop, skip, and a jump to your workouts boosts fat-burning and uses muscles you don’t tap into while doing endurance work. Plyometrics, also known as jump training, form the basis for extreme workout programs like P90X. In addition to fat-burning, plyometric moves teach you how to rapidly decelerate the body and reaccelerate in the opposite direction. This ability comes in handy whether you’re chasing a ball to the sideline in tennis then immediately returning to center court, or simply jumping off the commuter bus and immediately jumping over a puddle onto the curb. Try incorporating Squat Hops, Slalom Hops and Speed-Skaters using the Sunny Health and Fitness Weighted Foam Pro-PLYO Box prior to your workout and after a thorough warm-up. Repeat each for 10 seconds, or five jumps.
Do 5 Pull-Ups
There’s a reason why the military uses pull-ups in basic training: they’re tough! We tend to do more pushing than pulling moves in our everyday activities, which can lead to weak upper-back muscles and contribute to neck aches and pains. It can also lead to shoulder weakness, which in turn leads to pain and dysfunction. Pull-ups can help correct that imbalance. Use the Stamina X Fortress Power Tower Workout Station from Buydig.com to help you add these to your upper-body workout once or twice a week for a defined back and strong upper body.
Each of these challenges targets a different aspect of fitness, from endurance to flexibility and strength. Once you’ve mastered one, strive to go to the next level by adding intensity, time, or reps. For example, once you finish a 10K, try training for a half-marathon.
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