Fitness

Fitness is as much mental as it is physical

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Physical Vs Mental Fitness

There is but one way to live life to its fullest- being fit. Understanding the benefits of all-round fitness and knowing how active you should make it easier to improve the overall quality of your life. To help you live better, here’s how you can benefit from mental and physical exercise regardless of your age, sex or physical ability.

When talking about fitness, both mental and physical fitness come into play. More often than not, physical fitness gets plenty of attention, and for a good reason. A healthy body can counter conditions such as heart disease and diabetes, and help you maintain confidence as you age.

However, mental fitness is just as important as physical fitness, and should not be neglected in your self-betterment plans.

Mental fitness means having a brain and emotional health in tip-top shape. It may not necessarily mean training to ace an IQ test, but a series of exercise that helps slow down, decompress and boost a flagging memory.

Aerobics (cardio)

Aerobics involves maintaining an increased heart rate for an extended period of time. Types of cardio exercises include running, swimming, biking, rowing, dancing, and jumping rope.

Strength

Also called Resistance Training. It’s a physical activity with the purpose of increasing muscle strength and mass. Examples include weightlifting, dumbbell and bodyweight exercises.

Balance

This is where you activate your abdominal muscles for stability and control of your body. Balance exercises can include yoga, tai chi and stability ball exercises.

Flexibility

Bragging about how much you can bench is no fun if you have trouble tying your shoes. Flexibility saves you from tight hips, hamstrings, hip flexors and makes you as strong as you can be.

Why you need to be fit and importance of physical fitness

Weight control leads you towards fitness

Along with diet, exercise plays an essential role in managing your weight and preventing obesity. To maintain your weight, the calories you are taking must equal the energy you burn. To lose weight, you must utilize more calories than you eat and drink.

Manage your sugar and insulin levels

Exercise can reduce your blood sugar level and help your insulin work effectively. This can lower your risk for metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. And if you already have one of those diseases, exercise can help you to maintain it.

Feel Happier through fitness

Exercise has been shown to improve your mood and reduce feelings of depression, anxiety, and stress. It produces variations in the parts of the brain that control stress and anxiety. It can also boost brain sensitivity for the hormones serotonin and norepinephrine, which relieve feelings of depression.

Better Mental Health and fitness

Regular exercise can have an extremely positive influence on depression, anxiety, ADHD, and more. It also relieves stress, increases memory, helps you sleep better, and boosts your overall mood. You don’t have to be a fitness fanatic to reap the benefits – browse through our site and discover how to reap these benefits.

How to Achieve Mental Fitness

Be positive with yourself and improve your fitness

Affirmation, or positively talking to yourself, involves strengthening neural pathways to bring your self-confidence, well-being, and satisfaction to a higher level. To start, make a list of your good qualities. Remind yourself that you don’t have to be perfect. Set goals for what you want to make better and start small to avoid becoming confused.

Stop Multitasking

Many think that multitasking enables you to get more things done at once, but it creates more problems than it solves. Focusing on one task at a time will improve your concentration and help you to be more productive.
Try Something Different

New practices can also set you on the way to mental fitness.  You can fit new approaches into your daily life by trying new foods, new ways to accomplish routine tasks, traveling to new places or trying a new route to the grocery store.

Read More

Reading is great for your brain. Your brain processes every word you read, including this one. Beyond the mechanics, reading helps you visualize the subject matter on the pages before you, and imagine what voices sound like in the written dialogue.

This can also be a great relaxation technique

Top Fitness Tips for Mental and Physical Exercise.

General physical fitness and targeted exercises to improve stability can prevent falls. But so can staying mentally ready to maintain brain health.  A sharp mind helps you to think — and stay — on your feet. Join us and learn to strike a balance.

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150 Exercises You Can Do

As a bonus, we are giving a free fitness exercise ebook to start your healthy lifestyle

 

Download your copy

Ball Crunch

The Ball Crunch is 40% better than the standard crunches! Because you are doing the crunch on an unstable surface, Stability Ball, it activates more abdominal muscles by up to 40%. Not only the major abdominal muscles are activated, rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis, and obliques, there is arrange of smaller stabilizing muscles being engaged.

One of the key benefits of doing the Ball Crunch on a Balanced Ball, as it avoids the spinal grinding on a hard surface that allows more movement in the lower back, allows that to strengthen that helps improve posture.

Time
3-8 Minutes

Muscle Group
Abs, hips, glutes, rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis,  Obliques

Difficulty
Moderate to Difficult

Fitness Type
Strength

Safety Icon

Safety Tips

As much as possible, avoid any neck strains by touching your head very lightly. Also, do not sit too low on the ball and begin each rep with your abs stretched. If you have any back issues, consult your doctor before performing this exercise.

If you are using weights or medicine ball, be extremely careful not to injury yourself. Start with a small weight and increase slowly over several weeks.

Skipping

Equipment Required

A Balance Ball required for this exercise.

Number of Reps and/or Length of Time

Beginners

3-5 minutes
10-20 reps
Hold for 2-4 Seconds
2-3 Sets

sIntermediate

3-5 minutes
Use light weights or medicine ball
15-30 reps
Hold for 2-4 Seconds
3-4 Sets

Advanced

4-8 minutes
Use light weights or medicine ball
20-40 reps
Hold for 2-4 Seconds
3-5 Sets

Instructions

Step 1  Watch the instructional video, then read the following for clarification.

Step 2  Lie back on a Balance Ball with the ball should be under your hips and lower back.  As you get stronger, you can move further up the ball.

If required, place a towel around the base of the Balance Ball, so it doesn’t roll around.

Step 3  Bend your knees at a 90-degree angle. Place your feet firmly on the floor about shoulder-width apart.

Step 4  Put your hands lightly behind your head, just to support it, with your elbows out to the side. Remember to breathe.

Step 5  With your eyes looking upwards towards the ceiling or sky, start exhaling and crunch your abs toward your knees at the same time, raising your chest upward

Step 6  At the top of the crunch, hold for 2-4 seconds. Ensure you breathe at the top.

Do not use your hands to pull your head up.

Step 7  While exhaling, release your abs from contraction and lie back to the ball.

Step 8  Repeat Steps 4 to 6 to your level.

Step 9  Rest for 60 seconds and do the number of sets to your level.

Make it happen and shock everyone

Fitness Tip

Choose a fitness regime that fits into your lifestyle. Though do try to make it at least 4 vigorous sessions of a minimum of 30 minutes each.

Other Exercises you may like

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