In the spirit of the new year, you might have finally motivated yourself to change life habits to create a healthier, happier you. But perhaps you aren’t quite sure what to do or how you can go about becoming more active. Perhaps the idea of going for a run or lifting weights in a gym sounds less than enticing.
The good news is there’s a huge range of potential options for people to become more active and lose weight. Here we present ten of our best suggestions.
1) Walking
Though perhaps not the most exciting of activities, walking has the advantage of being one of the easiest physical activities you can do more of to help yourself get fit. With a bit of thought, you can fit more walking into your day to increase the activity you get involved in. Instead of travelling to the shops by car, walk there. Or get off the bus a stop early and walk the rest of the way. Even taking the stairs instead of the elevator can make a huge difference over time to your fitness levels. The UK National Health service recommends that people should strive, on average to walk 10,000 steps per day.
2) Joining a Gym
Though an obvious suggestion, joining a gym is an excellent way for you to have access to a huge range of exercise options. Gyms vary in price and services they offer but in general you gain the valuable benefit of having an indoor area that is air condition for exercise that you can use whenever the weather outdoors makes outdoor activity impractical. Never have an excuse for neglecting your personal fitness again!.
3) Martial Arts
Martial arts offer a complete body work out combining strength training and aerobics. Not only that, but you can combine your physical activity with the learning of self defence techniques that will help you build confidence and may help protect you if you are ever unfortunate enough to be threatened with physical violence. There are a wide range of martial arts traditions that you might choose to study with some of the better known being Karate, Judo and Taekwondo.
4) Take up a sport
From football to basketball, hockey, lacrosse or tennis there is a huge range of potential sports you might be able to take up if you have the chance. However these come with the downside in that you generally need to have other people to play with. Consider joining a local club dedicated to a sport you have interest in to help you develop your skills and maybe meet new friends. They’ll have access to the facilities and turf you need in order to play.
5) Yoga
An ancient form of exercise that has its roots in Hindu spiritual traditions, Yoga has been proven scientifically to offer many benefits for practitioners. Though not exactly known for its high impact calorie burning activity, Yoga has nevertheless been demonstrated to offer benefits in weight loss and general improvement of personal health. This makes it another potential option for those trying to migrate from a sedentary lifestyle to something more active.