Tweeking Your Health Routine

You work out and eat right, so your health may be on track. Now it's time to turn it up a notch by adding or enforcing habits in our lives that will benefit our overall health more. Here are 14 of the best habits to improve your health.


Another way to get healthy is to know how to achieve any of your goals.

A Word On Supplements

When it comes to workouts, supplements may be a must for some people. You can actually get your supplements from foods, but most prefer to use supplements made for workouts. Needless to say, it would be best to educate yourself on your requirements for workouts when it comes to supplements.


As far as workout supplements, I would advise against anything containing DMAA which is usually found in popular pre-workout supplement.. Many manufacturers, while insisting DMAA is safe, are starting to remove it.




A good supplement basic can be found here. Education is priceless, so more information can be found here.




The main nutrient supplement for workouts is protein. It feeds, builds and helps muscles recover. If one chooses not to take artificial supplements, then nutrition is your best bet. Try Greek yogurt as a pre-workout supplement and eggs as a post-workout food. Salads, lean meats, pastas are great workout supplement foods that contain protein, vitamins and amino acids.


Workout supplements are an individual choice. One must find what the ultimate goal is and how to achieve it. If you plan an indurance workout 2 or 3 hours from now, a great meal is regular potatoes and sweet potato combo. The regular potatoes give you quick energy and the sweet potatoes give you a sustained energy.

Health Journal 7

In this edition, exercise takes the front row. With winter in full swing, it is easy to become sedentary and lazy. It's the season for excuses. I am already noticing a drop in gym attendance as it is easy to do your routine uninterrupted. While I'm talking about it, maybe we should catch up on our health club etiquette.


Here are fitness mistakes you should avoid.


I'm leaning toward doing more kettlebell workouts. It is easier to handle and grip than traditional weights, plus kettlebells give a great core workout. More can be found here.


If you use a treadmill, here are ways to improve your workout.


Pilates is an easy way to strengthen and tone your body.


Make sure you know your fitness myths. Even I was surprised because I found a couple of myths I actually believed to be true.


If you need help establishing a fitness program, start here.

The Weasel Words Of Health

Besides the food labels, some manufacturers have taken advantage of making things sound healthy, when they are far from it. I explained how some foods can actually claim 0 Trans Fat per serving as long as the Trans Fat is under a gram per serving. Granola bars are promoted as healthy options, yet they have a high Sugar content.


You should probably become familiar with labels that entice and confuse you at the supermarket, and what they mean. Real health comes from raw foods we start from scratch and control the ingredients. Once again when it comes to health, moderation to everything is the key!

Sodium Watchers Beware

One of my health issues is high blood pressure. In my case it is both hereditary and due to lifestyle issues that have dealt me this unfortunate battle. If I have an issue because I once chose to smoke, I must assume responsibility for my acquired health issues due to that fact. On the other hand, the pharmaceutical industry isn't helping if it doesn't raise obvious red-flags to health issues overlooked by the consumer. Then again, we do have the "Let the buyer beware" clause in everything that runs our lives today. So the child's rants of "Not It!" and "I called it!" are legal and binding laws?


Perhaps I need to point out something I wasn't aware of, and although it is my responsibility to watch it, there is a high sodium content in over the counter medication, or OTCs, that we may buy and think nothing of it. High sodium content in medicine is especially true in the effervescent variety that is used from headaches to flus and beyond.


The real problem comes if you can't swallow pills and need effervescent medicine because you have high blood pressure.  You might need to consult with your physician to help in this matter. It is yet another factor we must consider if we are monitoring our sodium intake and wonder why we aren't successful;

Beating Stress With Exercise

Exercise can benefit our overall health in more ways than we can even imagine. I may have said this elsewhere, but exercise can reduce stress. By exercising and putting our bodies in motion, we can reduce stress from our everyday lives.


We can argue about not getting motivated to exercise, even if just for a mere 20 minutes a day, but exercise can help reduce stress and other less severe mental disorders.


1272712cf1888047f411e5fd04e4e95b70af71e5f891fc60f4

Body Benefits From Foods

There really are various benefits that foods deliver to the body. Specific foods can really help your body with various issues. Eating healthy is a resolution not too hard to keep. Foods benefit the body in so many ways.


The benefits of eating the right foods will help fight disease and cancer and even boost one's immunity.

Changing Your Routine

Getting too relaxed with your exercise routine can not only get boring, but can also put your health goals on hold. It's easy to reach a plateau when your exercise becomes routine. Some believe to maintain the maximum benefit you should change your routine daily or every couple of weeks. Still there are others that believe and make valid points that you really should not change your routine.


I think that it depends where you are and where you are going. If you need to lose weight because you are overweight, and are at a stand still, then by all means change your routine. If you want to build more muscle and are under 50, then by all means change your routine.


At some point it is more about maintaining what you got rather than taking it up a notch. You run the risk of overtraining and tearing up your muscles, if you keep uping the ante, you can do more harm than good.

I went to the gym today and wasn't surprised that it was pretty packed. I see every year what I call the 90-Day-Cycle, meaning that by April, the gym won't be so crowded. People are trying to fulfill their New Year's Resolution of getting fit for 2014. Most join gyms, others buy equipment, and others use what they have around the house, or other means to exercise.

As far as joining a gym, make sure you get your money's worth and don't sign for a plan you pay for and hardly ever go. I know people who never attend the gym, but signed a contract that still commits them to payment. The funny thing is that they don't bother cancelling it after it expires. Yes, these people do exist!

Do your research and test the waters before you commit when it comes to a gym and a contract. This topic is for another blog of mine on finances. Here we talk HEALTH. Sticking with an exercise program requires doing your homework before you begin.

OVERTRAINING

Although overtraining is often associated with athletes that push their training too far, it is also what makes people quit when they start exercising. Starting low and slow is better than taking on more than you can chew on your first day. If you workout and wake up with aches and pains, you may have over done it. Don't act like an invincible Superman before you've done one exercise.

When it comes to exercising, you need to define your goals and have a plan how to get there. 

You should also know why I say what I say!

The One-A-Day Small Steps To Health

Want to be healthier and fitter for 2014? Here are small easy steps you can do each day in the month of January to jump-start your goal.

A healthy lifestyle needs organization, and getting rid of clutter and getting organized can help you get healthier.