New Year, New Ambitions

The New Year is always a fantastic opportunity to take on new goals and realise new ambitions! This is a time when you can evaluate all that has happened in the year that has just gone by, and set fresh challenges for yourself.

 

When it comes to your health and fitness, the New Year is the perfect chance to mark your progress and decide on the kinds of changes that you want to make in the near future. These changes will likely be totally unique to you, although there are a few common goals that tend to be worked towards, such as getting stronger, eating better, and losing weight.

 

Today we are going to look at some of these common New Year’s goals so that we can share our advice and guidance on the best ways to realise and reach these goals! If you have any alternative objectives that you have set for yourself this year, then it would be great to hear all about them. You can reach out to us any time on Twitter to let us know what you are working towards, and also ask any relevant questions!  

 

Getting Stronger

 

Building muscle is a common goal for many health and fitness enthusiasts. It is also something that more and more people are realising the benefits of! Gaining muscle is about much more than just looking bigger and more defined. It can help to protect your bone density as you age, improve your metabolism, boost the health of your heart, enhance your confidence, and also improve the quality of your sleep. 

 

 

When many people think of strength training they imagine typical gym environments with heavy weights and gruelling workout schedules. However, the truth is that absolutely anyone can enjoy the benefits of strength training and it doens’t have to take place in the gym at all. 

 

Lifting light weights at home, or using a resistance band, or even just utilising your own bodyweight, are all great ways to get stronger and develop your muscle tone. Doing a simple 30 minute workout two to three times a week can do wonders for your body and mind!

 

When you are striving to become stronger it can be helpful to know how the muscles work and how they grow! Check out our previous blog post on this topic for more information. 

 

Eating Better

 

The food that you choose to put into your body can make all the difference in how you look, how you feel, and how well you are able to stay energised throughout each day. 

 

Healthy eating can be a complicated topic, with so much advice as to what the best diet to follow is. However, one thing that can be universally agreed upon is that too many calories and too much saturated fat will quickly lead to poor health. If these things are consumed in excess whilst fruits, vegetables, and other whole foods aren’t included in the diet regularly, then it is even less likely that you are going to feel healthy and happy!

 

 

So, how can you work to improve your diet and eat better in 2019? 

 

One of the first things you can try is to begin keeping a food diary. This is a simple way to see exactly what you are eating. You can either choose to do this as a list in a notepad, or you can try using an app or online service. When you opt to go the digital route with your food diary then you will also be able to automatically see the amounts of calories, vitamins, minerals, and other important nutritional information. This can be an incredible way to be seriously aware of what you are consuming, and this can then prompt you to make healthier choices!

 

Losing Weight

 

The focus on losing weight as a fitness goal is a popular aim for many people. The numbers on the scale can often be seen as an indicator of good health and can quickly become the focus of any exercise regime. 

 

It is important to remember that your health is about much more than what you weigh, and it can be helpful to try to not give too much prominence to what the scales say. The way that you feel and the way that you look are much more positive indications of optimum health. 

 

 

Having said that, there are of course still benefits to losing weight if you are carrying excess pounds! Eating to support weight loss is an important component of overall health. Including ample amounts of certain foods in your diet can not only help you to lose weight, but also boost your health in other ways too. Click here to read more about this concept!

 

Getting Healthy in 2019

 

If you are ready to put your healthy ambitions into motion this year then the decision to get started lies solely with you! You might find it helpful to make a list of all of the benchmarks that you want to reach this year and then put a solid strategy in place to get to these points. 

 

With any new exercise regime there is the chance of experiencing an injury. You should always introduce new physical activity slowly and give your body time to get used to this new undertaking.

 

If you do injure yourself in a serious way then getting a speedy diagnosis can help you on the road to recovery. At Onto Orthopedics we offer a comprehensive range of sports injury care that is designed to get you up and running again as soon as possible!