5 tips to improve your fitness level

When you’re new to exercise, fitness gains come quickly. But once you put on your running shoes or start exercising regularly, you need to work even harder to challenge your stronger, more efficient body. You can achieve this by varying the intensity, duration, and frequency of your exercises. The trick is to avoid overdoing it to the point of injury or exhaustion.

Make a smart and safe transition with these 5 tips

1 Assess your current fitness level

Start by assessing your current situation, as well as your strengths and weaknesses.

Ask yourself:

What you’re actually doing (Exercise Mode), including cardio and strength training.
intensity of your efforts (intensity)
How often do you do it (frequency)
exercise duration (duration)
Set new goals

2 Then see where you want to be

What specific, realistic goals can you set for yourself to improve your fitness? You could probably run or swim for 45 minutes instead of 30 minutes. Or you can add flexibility exercises to your routine. You might want to train for an event like a 10K race or a Mini Triathlon.

3 do more

The best way to improve your physical condition is to increase the intensity of your exercises. Intensity refers to the effort you put in. The more fit you are, the more exercise you need to feel and get results. By pushing yourself outside your comfort zone, you’ll get the most effective exercise, which is important, especially if you don’t have much time that day to train. If you train at a lower intensity, you will need to do longer or more frequent sessions to get the same effects on your fitness. To progress, first increase your activity pace (number of days per week). As you get fitter, increase the duration of each exercise and finally the intensity.

4 Increase the intensity of the exercise

Move faster. Walk faster or start running if you have walked or ran before. The faster you move your body, the more work you will do in a given time.

Add a vertical challenge. Run or walk uphill, or ramp up the incline on the treadmill. Add a step stool for exercise.

Increase resistance. Increase pedal resistance on the bike. For strength training, gradually lift more weight.

skips training. Participate in a variety of activities, some of which require more or more activity.

Try interval training. It involves scattering short bursts of high-intensity activity (such as a 10-second sprint) with periods of low to moderate intensity activity, such as walking.

5 But don’t overdo it

If you exercise for several hours a day every day, you risk over-injury or overwork and fatigue and won’t make many additional fitness gains. To avoid overtraining, gradually increase the total time, distance, or intensity of your workouts. Alternate between hard and easy workouts from day to day, and schedule rest and recovery periods.

Once you’ve reached a new level of fitness, take a moment to congratulate yourself on how far you’ve come!