Mark Wilson

Welcome to Fitness Fridays! A good time to set up your weekly routine is over the weekend, so let’s get started with some weekly tips and workout routines.

A little background on myself, I used to be a husky teen with little athleticism and no care for healthy eats. I was introduced to fitness in grade 10 and progressively got more and more into it over the years. Around 2-3 years ago I started cleaning up my diet as well. About 2 years ago I started getting really –and I mean really– into fitness and nutrition. I’ve actually began developping an outline for running my own training & nutrition company, because it’s my goal to help improve the lives of everyone I meet, but more to come on that later.

So here I am, starting to blog to get the word out about how I’m here to take over the world help others improve their lifestyles by promoting healthy eating and exercise.

Before we get started, by reading this blog I’m assuming everyone here is interested in health. I’m also assuming everyone wants to work on taking better care of their body (this is where you begin nodding). So here’s the thing, you’ve picked a great place to get started! Experts say that 70% of your health/fitness comes from what you eat in your diet. Therefore, we should be putting 70% of our time and energy into improving what we put into our bodies right? (again, please nod) The other 30% comes from what you do physically, whether it be running, lifting weights, playing sports, or some form of exercise.

Down to business!
This week we are going to start with some of the basics like ‘Why Exercise?’ and ‘How will I benefit?’, then each week we will move into various other areas of fitness!

Why should you exercise and what benefits will you see?

Mood– Physical exercise helps boost your mood. A short exercise session or brisk walk will help calm you down if you’re feeling stressed. It will also help you look and feel better, building confidence and self-esteem!

Health – Regular exercise fights off various diseases. It will help keep your blood pressure in check, raise your HDL (good) cholesterol, and reduce heart artery plaque buildup from increased blood flow. In addition, it can help fight off type-2 diabetes, osteoporosis, and some forms of cancer! The internal benefits against diseases alone is a reason to exercise. It will boost your lifestyle and longevity!

Weight loss – This one’s a no brainer… Physical activity helps you lose weight. The more you exercise, the more calories you burn. Calories fuel your body, and burning off the excess sheds those unwanted pounds. Building muscle also assists in burning calories around the clock. The more muscle you have, the bigger your ‘internal fire’. Just think, build a few pounds of muscle and you’ll burn more calories even when you’re doing NOTHING. Studies show that you burn around 200-300 more calories per day for every 5lbs of muscle you increase.

Energy – Exercise helps increase your energy levels. Your heart and lungs work harder, giving them more strength to pump oxygen, which helps you breathe easier. By improving your cardiovascular system, you increase oxygen in your tissue, giving your body more energy!

Sleep – Physical activity helps you sleep. If you’re having difficulty getting to sleep or staying asleep, exercise might help you rest better. It tires your body and aids in muscle relaxation, which both help sleep. Better sleep means more energy, concentration, and increased mood! Note: don’t exercise too close to bedtime or you might actually have trouble getting to sleep, make sure you have (at least) a couple hours before hitting the sack.

I could go on allllll day about the benefits of exercise because the list is truly endless. But I should leave something for next week’s topic.

Should you have any questions or want me to answer something specific next week, feel free to send me your questions at mark.james.wilson@hotmail.com, send me a message on twitter, or comment below.

Weekly Challenge!

Each week, we’re going to have some homework… (awwww maaaaan). It’s going to be hard FUN homework… well… sort of. I am going to pick an exercise for you to try every day for the upcoming week to start your new fitness regime! If you’re already exercising daily, add this to your routine and challenge yourself on how many you can do!
This week we’re all going to master the pushup together and perform them nightly.

 
*Pictures courtesy of bodybuilding.com

1. Lay on the floor and put your hands at armpit height, around shoulder width apart
2. Press yourself off the floor, keeping your body stiff like a plank from feet to shoulders (think of having a broomstick attached from your ankle to head and every part of your back and legs should be touching it)
3. Lower yourself (in a controlled motion) until your chest is about an inch from the floor, then press back up with your arms.
4. Repeat until you cannot perform any more with perfect form.
*If you’re having difficulty, try doing pushups from your knees instead. If this is too easy, you can elevate your legs on a chair or bench to increase the difficulty.

See the below link for more information on the pushup.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/pushups

Next week we’re going to talk about ‘How to stay motivated’ and ‘Keeping yourself accountable’.

Be sure to check out my daily health and fitness advice on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/AdvEdgeTraining

What’s your reason to start exercising?

Signing off,

Marky Mark