Why work out?

We all have a dream of becoming this super active, fit version of ourselves. However getting fit is not a simple thing to do; it requires time, sweat and willpower. But it's not impossible. Many people have managed to stay active and healthy, and these are often the people we look up to. But why? Why do we value fit people? The answer is actually simple. It is because being fit is extremely beneficial for you -both physically and mentally- in many ways. Working out regularly and maintaining a good health will make you happier, improve your mental functions, and it will actually give you a longer and better life.

First of all, working out often will make you a happier person. Researchers have concluded that your happiness is affected by several factors like genetics, and other environmental factors. However, they have found that a huge predictor of personal happiness is physical health. This is because of what exercise does to your brain. Firstly, fit people tend to be a lot less stressed than people who get little or no physical activity. Being less stressed decreases nervousness and risk of depression. Furthermore, physical exercise makes your brain release endorphins, which are hormones that produce a feeling of euphoria. These endorphins then trigger the release of other hormones that enhance your mood and create a feeling of well being. 

Secondly, being physically fit will improve some of your mental capabilities. For example, it has been proven that physical activity can actually improve your memory. Dr. Scott McGinnis has discovered that the parts of the brain that control thinking and memory have greater volume in people who exercise than people who don't. In addition, being physically fit is likely to raise your confidence, which will reduce anxiety and chances of depression. This will lead to you being happier, which will make your brain work better. 

Lastly, working out regularly will mean a longer and better life. It's already been proven that being fit will improve your quality of life. However, it will actually make it longer as well! Research shows that being fit reduces the risk of getting heart disease and strokes. Another study found that exercise would increase your life expectancy by the same amount of years as quitting smoke would. Moreover, being fit will also make your immune system stronger, which means that you will get less sick. Actually, scientists have found that people who exercise regularly are half as likely to get colds as people who don't.

So, in conclusion, you should work out regularly and maintain a good health because it will make you happier, improve your mental functions, and give you a longer and better life. Firstly, physical exercise is proven to actually make you a happier person. It also decreases the likelihood of you getting a mental illness. Secondly, exercise will actually give you better memory. It has been concluded that physical activity increases the size of the parts of your brain that control thinking and memory. Finally, being fit will drastically increase your life expectancy, and it will also make your life better by increasing the physical quality of it. So shut down your computer, get changed, and go work out. Just do it! 

How to make working out a habit you'll stick to!

If it were easy to get active and work out regularly, everyone would do it. However, that is not the case. Many people get home from long days at work without the ability to summon the energy to exercise. Other people have problems with managing their time, so they simply feel as though they have too few hours in a day, and it's most often physical exercise that gets cut. Whatever your problem is with making it your habit to work out, this post will help you.

Get into the right mindset:
The most important thing when exercising is your mindset. It's a negative mindset that keeps people from obtaining their new and improved habits. But there are ways to keep thinking positively about working out.

• Don't be too hard on yourself:
• If you set too high expectations for yourself, you might not be able to reach them. That's when it all begins to fall apart.
• Don't think of it as "all or nothing":
• If you think to yourself that doing 2 hours of exercise a day is the only way to improve, you are wrong. Literally any physical activity is better than none, and it's important to remember this. Otherwise you'll end up being too hard on yourself. 
• Make it work your own way:
• A lot of people might tell you how you should get fit, or tell you that you're doing something wrong. However, this is about you, and you must therefore listen to your own mind and body. (But that doesn't mean you can't take advice;)). 

Find motivation: 

The reason as to why many people fail to stick to their new exercise plan is lack of motivation. With the right amount of motivation, you can reach almost any goal you set yourself. Here are some tips to keep yourself motivated:

• Set goals that you know you can accomplish: 
• If you set the bar too high at once, you'll feel demotivated once you fail to reach your goal. This will put your mind in a negative mindset, and you will be more likely to quit. 
• Try to make exercise fun:
• If you're having a good time whilst working out, mistakes feel more like challenges to be overcome and not something that will make you want to give up. Give yourself rewards for accomplishing goals, and stay positive!

Keep track of your success:

An easy way of motivating yourself and making your brain think of exercise as something positive is to keep track of your success, and then rewarding yourself for your victories. 

• Use technology to stick to your plan:
• A good way to keep your habits is to download a calendar app where you can put a mark on the calendar for each day that you work out and stick to your plan. 
• Test yourself:
• This is a way of actually seeing your improvement. For example, if your goal was to reach a higher level of fitness, you could do a 3k run. Then do it again later, after having done interval training. 
• Reward:
• The most important thing when testing your progress is to reward yourself for improvement. However you see fit to do so is up to you, just remember to do it. 

I hope this "how to" has been helpful and that is has given you ways of sticking to your plan. Remember not to be too stick with yourself! As long as you are trying you are doing great! 

Fitness Quiz: test your fitness knowledge!

Lag din egen spørreundersøkelse for tilbakemelding fra bruker

Fitness quiz!

This is a survey I created to help you test how much you know about fitness! I hope it can help you learn more about fitness in general, and than you for taking the time to fill it out<3
Lag din egen spørreundersøkelse for tilbakemelding fra bruker

Usain Bolt: the fastest man alive

Usain Bolt is known to be the man who still holds both world records for 100 meter and 200 meter sprints (records set in 2008). He is also the first man in history to have set three new records at a single Olympics event. In addition to this, he is the first man to win back-to-back  gold medals in double sprints.

The fastest man alive was born in Jamaica on August 21, 1986. His talent for running was noticed early on by his coaches at school, and he began to focus on sprinting with coaching from Pablo McNeil, former Olympic athlete. Even by the age of 14 Bolt was shockingly fast, and in 2001 he placed second at his first high school championship. A year later he participated in the 2002 World Junior Championship in Kingston, Jamaica. He managed to win his first 200-meter sprint and he became the youngest world-junior gold medalist ever. Soon after, he was given the fitting nickname: "Lightning Bolt".

Despite having a hamstring injury, Bolt was chosen for the 2004 Olympic Jamaican team. However, he was affected by multiple injuries, until 2007, which proved to be his breakthrough-year, as he set the new national record for 200 meters (previously held for 30 years by Donald Quarrie), and won two silver medals at the World Championship in Japan.

Merely a year later, in 2008, Bolt set the new world record for 100 meters at the summer Olympics, in Beijing. This record was not only set without a favourable wind, but he slowed down at the end to celebrate before finishing, and his laces were untied. The new world record he set was 9.69 seconds, which he then again beat four years later at the London 2012 Olympics, running it in 9.63 seconds. He then again set a new -and currently final- record in 2013, running 100 meters in 9.58 seconds.

Bolts incredible talent and speed has made him a famous man, and has given him both fame and fortune.

10 tips to maximise your workout!

As I was looking for inspiration for my next post, I realised that a lot of people are discouraged to work out when they don't feel the effect of their hard work. For some, two hours at the gym just makes them feel tired, without giving them the rush of happiness you usually get after a workout. So I did some research, and came up with 10 tips for a better and more efficient workout.

Before the workout

1. Get a proper warmup

It's crucial that you actually warm up your body before you work out. It helps your body get ready, makes you able to preform better, and it drastically decreases the risk of a workout. Your warmup depends on the type of exercise you're doing, but for running you could for example jog 10 minutes at a 10km/h pace, or walk quickly up a long and steep hill.

2. Drink water

And I don't mean right before. It takes a while for your body to absorb the water, so drink some 1-2 hours before your workout. If you're already dehydrated before you start you'll feel fatigued and your mental function will decrease. To be able to preform and push yourself you need to make sure you're hydrated.

3. Set a reasonable goal

Now I don't mean that you shouldn't challenge yourself, because challenging yourself will make you push yourself and thus get better. However, setting a goal that is too demanding will cause failure. This will make you feel demotivated and unaccomplished.

4. Eat before a workout

Eating carbs or proteins before you train is beneficial, because it fuels your body so that you can work better. However, don't eat too much food, because you'll get a stitch.


During the workout

1. Stay away from mirrors 

A study of 58 individuals shows that those who exercised in front of mirrors felt more tired after 30 minutes than those who didn't.

2. Have a good playlist

Research proves that those who do cardio whilst listening to some up-beat cardio were able to work 5-15% harder than those who don't. You can either make your own playlist or find one online.

3. Get fuelled by your emotions

Thinking of someone or something that frustrates you or makes you angry is a great way of pushing yourself harder. In addition, it's a great way of burning off your anger and aggression.

4. Don't make excuses 

Whenever you feel tired and demotivated, replace the negative thoughts with positive ones. If you catch yourself thinking "I can't do this.", force yourself to think "Uhm, heck yes I can!"

4. Don't watch the TV

If you're a gym member, you probably know that they have multiple TVs around the place. Many people like to watch them because it distracts them from their tiredness. However, a study shows a 5% decrease in effort when you watch TV whilst working out.

5. Work out with a friend

First of all, if you feel like skipping a day at the gym, bring a friend instead! It'll feel like more fun if you make it a social thing. Secondly, you can encourage each other to work harder by having contests and stuff. In addition, you can try out new equipment because you'll feel less awkward when you have a friend you can laugh with if something goes wrong.


After the workout

1. Stretch!!

Stretching after a workout helps reset your body's muscles to their normal postures. You'll also be less sore and stiff later on. Furthermore, it improves your flexibility. And lastly, it provides a mental break, calms the mind and recharges you.


I hope these tips were of some help, and that they contribute to you getting a better workout!

High Intensity Intervals by Marius Bakken

Ok guys! So my first post will be a review on a type of high intensity workout recommended by Marius Bakken, the current holder of the Nordic records for 3 and 5k.  I first heard of his style of training when a friend recommended it for me, and after having tried it a couple of times i was hooked. The reason this workout is so good is because it is fast, effective, and works regardless of what level of fitness you are on. 

You start the workout by setting your treadmill to a comfortable pace for your warmup. Jog at this pace for about 5-10 minutes. Once you're warm you increase the pace to a faster run - I recommend starting at somewhere between 11 and 13 km/h the first time, and seeing how that goes. Then you run at that pace for 40 seconds. When you've run 40 seconds you get a 20 second break, in which you have time to drink some water and recover slightly. Before your next repetition you increase the speed with 0.2 km/h, and then you repeat the process. You should do about 15 repetitions, and then you're done. If you don't feel tired already after 5, you can increase the pace or increase the angle of the slope. The point of these intervals is to run until you can't anymore. If you do this workout, say, once a week, you should increase your starting pace every so often. This way your fitness-level will increase rapidly. 

I started doing this type of intervals a while ago, and I can already notice that I've gotten fitter. I can now run faster and further than i used to be able to. I used to start them at 11. 6 km/h, with barely being able to finish. Now I'm currently starting them at 13+ (I'm still exhausted when I'm done though). What's also great about this workout is that the short breaks give your muscles enough time to work down the lactic acid, but it's not enough time to bring your pulse down, so your heart rate remains high throughout the workout. 

I highly recommend that you try this workout, because it is incredibly efficient. But if you try it once and don't like it I suggest that you still try a couple of more times, because it gets better with time. I despised them at first, but now I love them. High intensity intervals in general are good for increasing your fitness-level, but this type is -so far- my favourite. The only downside to these intervals is that they only work if you have access to a treadmill, and not everyone does. However, if you do, i really recommend that you try them, because they really do give you results, and they come quickly!

Intro!

Hey everyone!
My name is Lotte and i am a girl living in Oslo, Norway. This is a blog where I'll be posting about fitness-related things. For example, good workout tips, reviews on workout routines, healthy snack recipes and tips on how to maximise your workout. I will also give you some tips on how to maximise your energy, so that you can get the most out of your day. Also, not entirely fitness related though, I might include a post about how to dress to highlight your body type. But most important (in my opinion) I'll write about how to stay motivated whilst you're working out, because if you have no motivation, pushing yourself becomes much harder. I hope you find this blog helpful, and feel free to ask questions should you have any<3