You can never see too many sunsets on the Blue Ridge Parkway. After the first snow in Virginia this winter, photographer Brandon Dewey drove out to capture the sights. “The sky normally lights up once the sun dips behind the mountain ridges, but this night, there wasn’t that much color. About 20 minutes after sunset, I was just about to pack up my gear when the sky finally caught on fire for less than two minutes.” Photo courtesy of Brandon Dewey.
Fitness is a tough fish to catch, but more so when you don’t love what you do. It doesn’t make sense to routinely do something you absolutely despise, does it? So why bother? Especially if you can find an alternative.
In a fitness regimen, there is no such thing as one size fits all. Just because someone looks good exercising in a particular way doesn’t mean that their routine will be applicable to you.
If you want to start getting fit, the best approach is to find the right type and the right mix of exercises that suit your fitness level, your lifestyle, and the time you have. The routine should be something that you will likely stick to for a long time.
I’m going to give you a peek into my mindset, about how you can tailor your fitness regime to your liking.
The key to finding the right fitness regimen that will suit you best is to know yourself. Determine where you want to work, which will also depend on where you live and the facilities available. There are several workout or physical activities that you can do around the house, in your yard or at a park near you. If you want something more conventional, locate a gym or a fitness center near your place of work or residence for convenience and easier commute.
The next step, would be to find out with whom you want to workout. You can go solo or with company. There are people who find it more comfortable to do things alone, although there are some benefits when you are with a group as they can give you support. You can ask a friend to join you or find a community or club for your particular sport.
An introvert usually gravitates to activities that require focus, precision and high concentrations such as tennis, weight training, archery, walking, cycling or swimming. On the flip side, an extrovert loves fast-paced activities and team sports such as circuit training, group fitness classes and ball games.
See Also: 20 Excellent Reasons To Join A Yoga School
What kind of a person are you, overall? I know, it’s a doozy but let’s try to mull over this one. Here are a few questions you could ask yourself to narrow down your options:
• Are you competitive in nature?
• Do you tend to get emotional & reactive?
• Do you find yourself aching to find relaxation in day-to-day activities?
• Are you looking for ‘fun’ or ‘work’?
A competitive individual for example, would most certainly enjoy competing against the clock in a high intensity interval training (HIIT) settings. A person who tends to be emotional and reactive, could find relaxation by taking part in martial arts – what Freud would call sublimation in psychological terms.
If you’re someone who’s looking for a more free-spirited workout regime, dance classes could be a great fit for you.
When answering these questions, keep in mind all along that research has revealed that when you engage in activities that go well with personality, you’ll be able to stick to them longer. Also, when you think of ‘workout’ as ‘fun’ – you eat less afterwards, as you view it as an activity that’s rewarding by itself, and needs no compensation.
See Also: 8 Fitness Hacks That Will Make Your Life Better
After we’ve gotten through all of the above, you should consider two other factors that are important as well.
One being your overall health – meaning if you have any previous injuries that might turn out to be debilitating in your fitness endeavors, or alternatively, conditions that might show up with high bouts of exercise.
The second would be the amount of time you can allocate towards fitness. If you’re pressed for time, you can check out some time-efficient workouts. You might want to try time-saving routines such as high intensity interval training (HIIT) or possibly circuit training. HIIT has become very popular among people who want to be fit but do not have much time for longer workout methods.
Another option is to sign up for online classes that are available 24/7 so you can work out any time of the day. They provide a mix of routines that are not boring and are synced to great music to keep you motivated and inspired.
Finding the right exercise routine that is suitable for you entails a bit of initial research. I really hope I’ve managed to put things into order for you, and gave you some food for thought.
Best of luck!
The post Finding your Fitness Passion appeared first on Dumb Little Man.
San Diego – California – USA (by annajewelsphotography)
Instagram: annajewels
Technology surely has done a lot more good than harm — the communication, socialization, research, etc, couldn’t have been any better. However, we can’t afford to disregard the side effects that accompany these benefits.
A research by OECD, reported by BBC, showed that despite the $17.5 billion invested annually on Education, students’ grades are degrading progressively. Most shocking, perhaps, is the findings by Jampp that showed that excessive use of tech gadgets is rapidly destroying the human brain and attention span. However, these are only a few from the list of side effects we often fail to take note of.
Cutting off technology entirely and living the ancient way is never a point intended. However, taking note of the below side effects will make us more aware on how much we use technology.
There are lots and lots of things technology has got the human mind occupied with — the social platforms, the software and apps, and so on.
As a result of these distractions, a research by Microsoft showed that the human focus is rapidly dropping — from 12 secs in the year 2000, it’s presently 8 seconds which is even shorter than a goldfish’s 9 seconds.
Though technology has made things a lot easier, our time seems to be limited with every upgrade in technology. As a result, we see multitasking as the only way out and this, in turn, retards our focus.
While utilizing tech gadgets, strive to be environment-conscious. While in a physical conversation, ignore all tech gadgets and focus. Focus only on the task at hand and ignore every other thing.
Reading a book? Ignore mobile notifications and focus.
See Also: Technology in the Classroom — Should Technology Take Over The Education System?
Take a second to imagine what the sharp light rays emitted by your mobile in the dark does to your eye. Or better still, imagine how much excessive use of Siri, Cortana, etc, is weakening your memory capacity.
Before, you could easily memorize long mobile numbers, addresses, appointments, etc. Presently, however, mobile apps have taken away the need for your brain to work so hard thereby leaving your brain dormant.
A series of scientific research has clearly shown how tech gadgets are massively depriving humanity of sleep, destroying the human vision, and retarding the brain functionality.
Set a sleep schedule and act strictly on it. Disconnect from all tech gadgets at least an hour before going to bed. And when you wake, quit making your cell phone priority. Instead, exercise, meditate, and rest before kicking off the day.
Also, don’t abandon all the brain works, notifications and data to your cell phone. Strive to keep some in your brain to keep the brain active. Also play brain games like puzzle, sudoku, chess, etc.
See Also: Are You Sleep Deprived? 8 Health Risks Of Poor Sleep
Presently, as a result of technology, some people have become “couch potatoes.” This is simply because working, shopping, communication, socialization, and whatnot, can all be done over the internet.
However, have you ever imagined what staying at a particular spot for a long time with little or no form of activeness really does to the body?
A physiological study at Tel Aviv University, published in the American Journal of physiology stated leading such a sedentary lifestyle causes accumulation of more fat cells and also increases the chances of obesity.
What’s more shocking, perhaps, is that according to research, the dangers caused by excessive inactivity are irreversible by exercise or whatsoever. Also, men who spent 4 or more hours a day being inactive had a 50% higher chance of dying from any cause.
Exercise, exercise, and exercise! Do yoga, running or cycling. Do anything that raises the pace of your blood flow. Don’t sit back, stare at the television and order things around all day. Get off your ass and go get things done.
Technology only exists to ease stress — not to make you into a couch potato!
Every tech improvement seems to be concerned chiefly with speed — from the 2G, 3G to the 4G and still progressing; we all love speed.
As a result of this, humans tend to apply speed to every other aspect of living. The latest internet and business statistics show that 40% of people will abandon a site that fails to load under 3secs.
Speed is necessary to accomplish many tasks. However is speed necessary to perfect those tasks?
Lots of accidents occur on a daily basis, lots of tasks are accomplished poorly, and lots of individuals give up on tasks after calculating the time it’d take to accomplish. Where’s the patience?
Speed is very important. However excessive haste makes waste.
Instead of scrolling through articles to only get the scope, multitasking to seem productive, or jumping from task to task, try slowing it all down instead. No matter how boring the movie, article or show is, see it to the very end and take note of every bit of it. This will play a role or two in boosting your patience.
With the above points in place, it’s pretty clear that every advantage is often accompanied by a disadvantage. The goal, however, is to enjoy more of the advantages and suffer less harm.
Hence, pay attention to your rate of usage of the tech gadgets in your everyday life and strive as much as possible to keep the side effects they cause to a minimum.
The post 4 Ways Technology is Gradually Ruining Humanity and How to Tackle it appeared first on Dumb Little Man.
Sig Nordal 