How well do you know yourself?

Are you living your life or the life someone else expects you to live?

Self-awareness requires soul searching. So here are five great tips for getting to know yourself better so you can start living an epic life in 2022.  

Tip #1: Be Still

When did you last sit alone in a comfortable chair without any distractions? No phone, tablet, TV, or computer. Nothing. Just you and silence. Quiet, meaningful, uncomfortable self-reflection.

Being alone with our thoughts and feelings is difficult; the mind is untamed and the heart wild. 

Unplugging from the external world to plug into the soul is uncomfortable but necessary, perhaps even disturbing, and a bit messy. 

Still, it’s an essential step in the process of getting to know thyself. 

So be brave. Take time to be still and listen and observe yourself. Think of it as a form of mindfulness meditation where you focus entirely on the present moment.

Tip #2: Ask Friendly Questions

Talk to yourself as you would a friend. Give negative self-talk a vacation day. You can resume beating yourself up tomorrow if you’d like. But today, give yourself a little grace. Be kind. Show empathy. The best way to do that is by asking self-discovery questions to be acquainted with who you are at your core. 

Write your answers on post-it notes and put them on the wall next to your bed or bathroom mirror. Or write them in a journal. Experts say journals are one of the most effective tools of self-awareness.

These are important questions to ask. Take all the time you need to answer. Don’t be surprised if it takes several days; it’s worth it.

• What are my core values?
• Who’s my biggest role model? Why – what do I admire about them?
• What makes me feel safe? Or Who?
• What are my short-term and long-term goals?

Tip #3: Identify Your Strengths

You were born with a set of gifts, talents, and strengths. Nestled somewhere within is your superpower. Combined, they are a glimpse into your calling; you are here for a purpose. 

Realizing what you’re good at is essential to the journey of discovering who and what you are. It’s empowering!

Focusing on your strengths boosts self-confidence and increases your drive to achieve more. It points your energy and attention in a certain direction where you find yourself saying yes to what gives you meaning and no to that which takes your further away from who you are and your calling.

And let’s also remember that it’s just as important to discover what you’re not good at. Eagles are good at soaring high but would lose every time in a foot race with a Cheetah, or even a slow, three-legged dog, for that matter.

Lean into your strengths. Prioritize your time, energy, and effort around what you’re good at. 

Don’t worry if it isn’t clear all at once. It’s okay if the picture of “you” is a little fuzzy. Give yourself permission to try different things. Through trial and error, you’ll identify what you’re good at and what you should steer clear of.

Interestingly enough, your strengths will almost always align with your core values. Together, they will help you navigate your life path at home and work.

Tip #4: Discover Your Passion

Now that you have an idea of what you’re good at let’s find out what excites you. What makes your soul feel alive? What do you enjoy? What do you love? What would you do for free? It can be one thing or twenty.

Passion fuels your purpose and strengths. It gives your life meaning and challenges you to achieve new goals.

Passion is positive energy; it ignites your soul and life’s work. It drives you to grow and unlock your best life, to have, do and become more. Without passion, you’re not really alive. There are far too many people on this planet “fueled” by complacency. Don’t ever let yourself be one of them. And if you are one of them, let this be the day you came to life.  

Tip #5: Determine Your Sense of Style

This might not make sense but let’s talk about fashion for a second. Your style is an expression of your individuality. It gives people a glimpse of who you are; it’s an insight into your likes and interests. Figuring out your style boosts self-confidence.  

Sort your wardrobe. Keep what you feel is a true reflection of who you are. Donate anything that doesn’t make you feel attractive and confident.

For inspiration, check out fashion styles online and in magazines. Pinterest is great too. Find a style you feel is a reflection of your true self. Have fun!

This form of self-care does wonders for your self-esteem. And you’ll feel good and look amazing! 

In Conclusion

Know thyself to live an epic life in 2022. Use these five tips to start excavating your true self that might be buried under other people’s wants, needs, and expectations. 

You don’t need anyone’s approval to live YOUR life! Spend time in self-reflection to become acquainted with who you are so you can finally start feeling comfortable in your own skin. 

Prioritize your time, energy, and effort around your strengths and passions.  

When you know who you are and what you want from life, the only thing that can hold you back is you and your imagination. 

So, be bold and dream big in 2022 to unlock YOUR best life!

The post 5 Tips To Know Yourself In 2022 & Live An Epic Life appeared first on Lifestyle.

You won’t unlock your best life until you make your life a priority.

What Matters Most

Being an “influencer”, wearing designer clothes and traveling to exotic locations are wonderful experiences but they won’t make you happy or healthy because happiness isn’t something to be found somewhere out there or in another person.

Something else besides chasing relationships, status and possessions that keeps people from unlocking their best life is obsessing over what they’ve lost or don’t have.

Do you want to unlock your best life? Then here’s what you should do:

1.     Decide What Matters Most to You

Find a quiet place for thoughtful reflection; observe the different areas of your life… your health, relationships, finances, career, spirituality, passions and hobbies, etc.

Are there areas of your life demanding more of your time and attention than you should be giving? Sometimes life happens and you don’t have a choice. But have you been neglecting important areas of your life because you’ve been tending to stuff that’s “urgent?”

Are there any areas you’d like to give less time to? Anything you want to make more of a priority? Look, you’ll never be happy ordering your life around other people’s priorities.

It’s your life. Live it.

To have a life that you actually enjoy living requires making these a priority (maybe you can think of others to add to this list).

• Full health in mind, body, and soul
• Relationships
• Finances
• Growth and learning
• Shelter and basic needs
• Purpose, passion, drive
• Faith

At the end of the day, gaining material possessions or achieving success has little to do with what matters most, they might add to your happiness or pleasure in some way, but happiness has deeper roots; we unlock our best self by focusing on what really matters most to us.

2.     What YOU Like / Dislike Matters

Does your life matter to you? Are your likes and dislikes important? They should be because you matter. What you care about and want to do are important – just as important as what anyone else wants. Remind yourself that you’re a person of value and worth. Love yourself. Once you love yourself you can love others in a way that isn’t needy or forces them to make up for your emotional deficiencies.

Being at peace with yourself and actually liking who you are keeps you from seeking external validation, affirmation and approval. You should never have to prove to anyone that you measure up and are worth loving. Why? Because inherently you already measure up and are worth loving whether anyone recognizes it or not or says something to the contrary.

Give yourself some love – be kind, caring and forgiving to yourself.  When you look in the mirror remind yourself of the good qualities of the person looking back at you. Affirm yourself. Be a great friend to yourself. Focus on the good rather than the imperfections!

3.     Savor the Here and Now

Spending too much time in the past or future triggers worry, regret and anxiety. What matters most is right now because it’s the only moment you have the power to change!

Embrace the world that’s happening around you right now. Time is a precious gift to be appreciated. Every minute matters because time = life.

How much have you been savoring life? What are some blessings for which you could be grateful right now if you so chose?

4.     Pursue Passions

What are some passionate interests you’ve been putting off? It could be anything from training for a Spartan race to diving the Great Barrier or volunteering in your community.

Pursuing your passions and creating memories make life worth living. Want to rid your life of stress, busyness and overwhelm? Then bring things back into balance by pursuing your passions! Enjoy. Your. Life!

Embrace new experiences. Have fun. Laugh. Cry. Serve. Pray. Live! What matters most is living a fulfilling life. Pursuing passionate interests makes life worth living.

5.     Make Positive Choices & Habits

Time for a little math: Good choices + good habits = a good life.

Making better choices that enhance a healthy mind, body, and soul, creates a good life.

Create routines and rituals that take care of your life and support your overall well-being. Stay true to your beliefs, standards and values. Be committed to your dreams and what matters most to YOU; tune-out what the media says should matter most.

Be confident in who you are choosing to become because the kind of person you want to become is important.

Your thoughts and how you treat yourself matter because thoughts create choices, choices create habits, habits create character, character creates destiny. So be optimistic and focus on the positive.

Final Words

This post isn’t a substitute for books on how to identify what matters most; it’s just a gentle nudge. To unlock your best life, decide today to start giving more focus and energy to what matters most to you because you are important.

Remind yourself that other people won’t always agree with you on what should matter most for your life; it’s simply not as important to them – it isn’t a priority. Or their interaction with you might be driven by what they think is best for them, not you.

Either way, it’s your life and you only get one. Show yourself some love by being true to yourself and living life on your terms. Focus on what matters most.

Photo by Bart LaRue on Unsplash

The post Show Yourself Some Love appeared first on Lifestyle.

According to surveys, most people give up on their resolutions by the second or third week of January and resign themselves to the “realities” of life.

The fiery passion that ignited the New Year fades into a weak flicker that dies in days.

Leading the list of resolutions are health and fitness goals, for most people. Ads are everywhere for discounted gym memberships, waived fees, and new diets that promise you will lose those holiday inches in just days.

But you know how it goes because you’ve seen it all before. The gym is full in January and empty weeks later.

But you can make your fitness goals come true – you can be an exception to the statistics this year. Here’s how.

Be Simple

Making things overly complicated kills motivation and progress. Don’t over think your diet, workout clothes, or even your workout routine.

Have as few moving parts as possible.

Which is better, a complicated workout routine you struggle with and quit weeks later, or one that’s simple and easy to stick with?

Same with your diet; don’t make it complicated. Eat healthy most of the time but enjoy your favorite foods some of the time. It’s about balance and enjoying the journey.

When it comes to fitness goals, the secret to success is consistency, not perfection. So choose a workout and diet you can stick with.

Be Realistic

Transforming your body isn’t an overnight process despite what the infomercials promise. Those professional fitness models took more than a few months to sculpt their flawless bodies into perfection.

So don’t believe the hype that “All it takes is fifteen minutes a day, three times a week!” Hey, fifteen minutes a day three times a week is better than nothing, but it’s probably not enough to get the results you see in those ads.

Transforming your body takes time. So create a process that you can enjoy by setting realistic goals you will stick with.

Start small. You might aim for two to three workout a week, and avoid your favorite junk foods five days a week, allowing yourself a few treats on the weekend.

Own Your Why

Transforming your health and body is about consistency. And the reality is, some days you’ll feel like doing it, some you won’t, but you have to do it anyway.

The fiery motivation you had at the first of the year will die down, which is why you need more than inspiration to keep you going. You need a strong reason to keep you moving forward when you’d rather be sitting on the couch after a long day at work.

Some strong reasons include having more energy, being stronger, maintaining functional independence, looking and feeling good, losing weight to lower the risk of chronic disease, and boosting longevity to have many more quality years of life with your loved ones.

Own your “why” because it keeps you going when you feel like quitting.

You absolutely can achieve your fitness goals in 2021 – or at least get closer than last year. If you don’ want to be back at square January 1 next year, remember to create a fitness plan that’s simple and easy to stick with, set realistic goals, and own your why to stay intrinsically motivated on the days you feel like quitting.

Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay

The post How To Stick With Your Health & Fitness Resolutions In 2021 appeared first on Lifestyle.

Take fitness, for example. The gym is packed at the beginning of January, but not so much by the end. Sound familiar?

Why do people give up on their resolutions so soon? Usually it’s because their goals are either too vague, aren’t sustainable, or they have unrealistic expectations.

Here are three ways to achieve your fitness goals in 2021.

Go Small 

Baby steps. Everybody says it. And you’ve heard it a million times before. Boring!

Listen, I get it. You’ve bought the perfect pair of shoes, several gym outfits, and headphones to go with your shiny new gym membership. You’ve even planned a week’s worth of meals. Good!

For some people, taking massive action is just what the doctor ordered. For others, after a few days, it feels like a wrecking ball is smashing their life into a million pieces.

Making a fitness resolution is a commitment to changing your lifestyle. You won’t stick with any change you can’t live with. Small changes keep you on course.

You don’t have to be in the gym six or seven days a week or eat bland meals and eliminate junk food altogether to see massive changes.

Keep it simple; make it enjoyable. Workout 2-3 times a week, and save your ice cream and brownies for the weekends. Don’t be miserable!

Go Long

Are you looking to transform your body overnight? Want six-pack abs by next Friday? Well, there’s probably an infomercial for that, especially this time of year. Do yourself a favor and don’t buy into the hype.

Unrealistic expectations leave you feeling discouraged and burned out.

The truth is, transforming your body takes time. Sure , you can start losing weight this week, but it takes a couple of months to transform your body, maybe longer depending on the shape you’re in.

Fitness is a long game; it’s a process that takes time and effort. But that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be enjoyable. The people you see in infomercials or on magazine covers spent a lot of time getting their bodies to look like that.

So what if it takes two, three, or four months to start seeing the results you want? What’s better, that it takes a little bit longer to see results, or never?

Do your best to have a realistic understanding of what you’ll have to do to achieve your health and fitness goals. This approach, going long, makes sticking with your resolutions easier.

Enjoy

Consistency is a secret to success. And enjoyment is a secret to consistency.

If you enjoy your fitness journey, you’ll stick with it. But if your diet and exercise routine are unpleasant, you won’t stick with them.

Don’t choose activities and foods that make you miserable!

Have fun and enjoy life! Someone said it’s about progress not perfection.

Embrace the process of transforming your lifestyle; stay the course with small changes; keep the long game in mind because this sort of thing doesn’t happen overnight – but it DOES happen. Before long, if you stick with it, you’ll have the body and health you’ve been dreaming of year after year.

Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash

The post Achieve Your Fitness Goals in 2021 appeared first on Lifestyle.

Maybe we do it because it makes us feel more in control…or because we want everything to be perfect. Whatever the reason, here are four ways people make life way harder than it has to be.

Do you have unrealistic goals in life?

Who sets our goals? Well, we do!

We control our expectations and goals.

Setting unrealistic or unachievable goals makes life harder.

Sometimes we set unrealistic goals when trying to escape a painful situation, or when we get really excited about something!

Life gets a little bit easier when we take time to count our blessings and live each day from a place of gratitude.

Gratitude breeds contentment, and it helps us to enjoy the journey, too.

Being grateful and content, while intentionally working to improve your life through small, daily actions, creates a much different quality of life than being worried and stressed out all of the time, trying to escape a situation.

Living with a sense of peace makes life easier. Living with sense of panic makes it harder.

Counting your blessings and taking consistent action towards reaching your goals makes life easier. Period.

Do you compare yourself with others?

Social media can be a blessing or a curse. It quickly becomes toxic when we compare ourselves to others.

Keep in mind that people on social media rarely glorify their failures.

Usually, when someone posts something on Facebook or Instagram, it’s their best moments.

Why would we ever compare ourselves to that? It makes no sense, plus it makes life so much more difficult.

Someone may look glamorous in a photo they posted, but what does their life look like off camera?

Strive to become YOUR best; live your life, not someone else’s. There will always be someone richer, smarter, and better looking (remember beauty is in the eyes of the beholder).

The ONLY person you should compare yourself to is your former self.

Look at how far you’ve come, how much you’ve improved, and who you are now.

Are you scared to take risks?

Comfort zones. We all have them…and we like staying in them. We tend to be risk-averse; it’s our nature.

But, do you ever feel stuck, trapped, or in a self-made prison?

Maybe taking a few well-calculated risks is just what the doctor ordered.

We need to will ourselves to step beyond our comfort zones because that’s where we learn and grow, and where life becomes less monotonous and more exciting.

What kind of risks are we talking about?

Are we talking about throwing caution to the wind and finding a mountain to climb and jump off? Maybe. But probably not, especially if it’s your first mountain and first-ever base jump.

There are other risks, though. Scarier ones. Sometimes to make our lives better we have to risk being rejected by people, or risk losing money by making calculated investments. Or, it could be starting over in a new place where no one knows you, but you do it anyway because you need a fresh start.

Are you taking risks or playing it safe?

Set one or two simple short-term goals to improve some part of your life. Once you overcome that challenge, set higher goals; take more risks.

We make life harder when we insist on living within the safety of our comfort zones.

Do you attribute hostile intentions?

When someone does something that hurts you, do you believe it’s because they intended to?

Most people don’t intend to harm you intentionally.

We make life more difficult when we assign bad intentions to people’s actions towards us.

Do you think that your partner is ignoring you? Think of it this way: Maybe they’re just tired or preoccupied with something at work. Remind yourself that your partner would never do anything intentionally to hurt you.

The person who cut you off in traffic could be out of work and is rushing to a job interview – he or she didn’t do it to make you mad.

Life gets really hard when we take things personally all the time. The world isn’t out to get us. Sometimes things happen out of coincidence.

Attributinng hostile intent will only make you feel angry, hurt, or sad.

Now let’s summarize what we discussed: Learn to worry less about others’ intentions towards you; they’re dealing with their own stuff and aren’t being malicious.

Learn to take intelligent risks, take chances, and set realistic goals. Life won’t get better until we change our habits. Want a fulflling life? Step out of your comfort zone.

And, lastly, please don’t ever compare yourself to anyone else; it’ll make you feel miserable. Be grateful for your blessings, and have a vision for a better life.

Image by Elias Sch. from Pixabay

The post 4 Ways You’re Making Life Harder Than It Has To Be appeared first on Lifestyle.

Tracking your weight can be frustrating, especially if you have more than a few pounds to lose because weight can fluctuate by more than a few pounds a day.

To complicate matters, when you’re thirsty, your body panics and retains water, causing you to weigh even more. When you’re adequately hydrated, your body drops the water weight, causing you to weigh less.

Although these little fluctuations are utterly pointless in the long term, they can mess with your motivation. 

Fat Loss Not Weight Loss

Muscle takes up less space than fat, which is why two people can weigh the same but look totally different.

By replacing fat with muscle you can lose inches around the belly, arms, thighs, and hips without losing a single pound on the scale. This is known as body recomposition, where you end up with a completely different ratio of fat to muscle, which is excellent news if you’re trying to lose weight.

The more muscle mass you have, the faster your metabolism runs, meaning you’ll burn more calories and lose fat faster.

But please don’t obsess over the number on the scale when building muscle. It’s so easy to freak out when you see a couple of extra pounds on the scale despite looking noticeably leaner in the mirror. 

Body Recomposition

Body recomposition is simply the process of replacing body fat with muscle, which is achieved by combining aerobic and anaerobic exercise.

Spending hours on the treadmill may help you lose body fat but does very little for muscle growth. You need to combine running (or another aerobic activity) with weight training for body recomposition to take place.

Start with lighter weights so you can learn proper form and technique. It helps to have a trainer at this stage. Once you’ve gotten the hang of it, challenge yourself by lifting heavier weights.

Nutrition plays a huge role in adding lean muscle mass. You need between 0.5 and 0.8 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight for muscle growth. Stick to lean sources of protein, such as chicken breast, beans, lentils, and Greek yogurt.

Lastly, although some people have success staying on track by weighing themselves daily, others find that twice a month works great. Get a scale that measures body fat percentage and muscle mass.

 Don’t be afraid to seek professional advice if you’re not getting the results you’re expecting. Everyone’s body responds differently to exercise and nutrition. So, have fun figuring out what works for you until you’ve successfully designed a healthy lifestyle that you can stick with and enjoy.

The post Put Away the Scale for Now appeared first on Lifestyle.

Few people push their bodies past their physical limits like Olympic athletes, who’ve proven over and over that when it comes to endurance, strength, and speed, our bodies are capable of far more than we ever thought possible.

What if we could learn from these athletes and incorporate their best practices into our workouts?

Understanding Your Physical Limits

Our physical limits are both physical and mental. For instance, if your muscles aren’t conditioned to lift twice your body weight, they will tear if you try.

However, this doesn’t mean that it’s impossible. You need to train your body to withstand the pain that comes with pushing your body incrementally towards achieving that goal while simultaneously recalibrating your brain’s self-imposed limitations.

Your physical limits are just as much mental as they are physical. Your brain tends to say “enough” before you reach your actual limit because its primary goal is to protect and keep you safe. Your brain works to keep you within a safe comfort zone.

As such, pushing past your physical limit is as much about believing what’s possible as it is about physical performance. This is why runners use less energy and can run longer and farther when they imagine feeling relaxed.

What You Can Learn from Elite Athletes

Have a goal
Olympic athletes spend four years training for their next medal. However, to stay motivated on a day-to-day basis, they break down their Olympic goal into smaller goals.

Adopting a similar technique helps you to stay on track too. For instance, if you’re training for a marathon, start by running three miles a day up to 5 times a week and build towards 20 miles.

Compound movements and cross training
Compound movements are exercises that use multiple muscles and joints at the same time. They help build strength much faster than isolated exercises.

Cross training, on the other hand, refers to varying your workout routines to engage different muscle groups. The goal is to pair workouts that support each other while also exercising muscles that are neglected during your typical workouts.

For example, if you’re a runner, start incorporating cycling or swimming into your workout sessions. Cycling will strengthen your heart and leg muscles, which will come in handy when you’re running. On the other hand, swimming provides a total body workout while giving your joints a rest.

The right attitude
While you probably can’t devote multiple hours a day to training like an Olympian, you can adopt an Olympian’s attitude during your workout. This means approaching your workout with single-minded focus and discipline.

For the duration of your workout, the only thing that matters is striving to improve your personal best. Put all other thoughts relating to your job, family, and other commitments out of your mind.

Be present, focused, and intentional. Concentrate on your goal. You’ll be surprised how this laser-focused approach accelerates your gains and improves performance.

The post How To Push Past Your Physical Limits appeared first on Lifestyle.

Having a morning ritual is one of the easiest ways to improve your mornings, especially if you’re not a morning person. In fact, health experts overwhelmingly recommend having a structured start to your morning because it sets the tone for a calmer, more productive day.

Why You Need a Morning Routine

Less Stress

Having a morning ritual drastically reduces the number of decisions you must make in the morning when feeling groggy. And, it cuts down on cognitive fatigue, helping you to start the day feeling fresh.

If it’s the weekend or you’re on vacation, or you happen to have a little extra time, you can get by with less structure. But it helps to have a mindless ritual to rely on most mornings.

More Time

And here’s the thing, as you get used to your morning routine you’ll get through it faster and faster, saving even more time. Before you know it, you’ll find shortcuts that make your routine even more efficient and less time consuming.

A morning ritual could be the difference between getting to work on time in an calm state of mind, eager to start the day, or arriving to work late, stressed out and defeated.

What to Include in Your Morning Routine

Your morning routine will obviously involve showering and getting dressed. However, here are a few other important priorities you might consider adding to your morning routine to ensure that you have the energy and mental fortitude to live life to the fullest as you take on a new day.

Morning Workout

Getting your workout done first thing in the morning is one of the best things you can do for your health. It stimulates your body and mind and sets the rest of the day in motion because you hit the ground running.

If you don’t live close to a gym, consider going for a morning walk or run. As soon as the cold morning air hits your face, any grogginess will disappear. However, if you can’t get to the gym in the morning or go for a run, do some simple stretches or follow along to an exercise video at home.

Music

Want to feel energized as soon as you wake up? Add music to your morning routine. It makes getting ready for work a lot more fun and lot less boring, plus, it boosts your mood, leaving you feeling ready to take on the world!

Quiet Time

One of the most important things successful people include in their morning routine is time for self-reflection.

During these quiet moments, they might read something inspiring of a spiritual nature, pray, and journal.

It becomes kind of like the control room of their life, where they count their blessings and do whatever it takes to stay on course to make sure that they are living their life and not simply reacting to other people’s agendas.

Quiet time is an opportunity to start the day feeling whole.

A Healthy but Simple Breakfast

Eating a healthy breakfast not only boosts your energy but decreases cravings throughout the day. As long as you stick to simple things such as fruit, yogurt, whole-wheat toast or oatmeal, you’ll be sure to get all of the healthy benefits of a nutritious meal but with minimal effort.

In addition to exercise, music, quiet time and a healthy breakfast, you might consider avoiding the Internet and email in the mornings because all they do is distract you from what you have decided really matters.

Creating a morning routine that includes some of the activities that you’ve decided are most important to you because they make you happy and boost the quality of your life, is one of the easiest ways to seize the day and start living life on your terms.

The post Autopilot Mornings for Smooth Sailing Days appeared first on Lifestyle.

Weightlifting increases muscle mass, so it’s great for your health and transforming your body. In the long run, it torches more calories than pure cardio because it keeps one’s metabolism elevated over a longer period of time than does aerobic activity long after the workout is done. Plus, the more muscle you add, the more calories you burn because muscle uses more energy than fat does.

Additionally, weightlifting improves posture and strength, making everyday activities easier.

Lastly, weightlifting is a great way to challenge yourself to create a strong work ethic because it takes grit to stick with it.

What to Expect

It goes without saying that weightlifting isn’t a walk in the park; it takes time and dedication to master correct form but the time and effort are worth it.

Most lifters rely on 4 main exercises known as the Big Four: the squat, bench press, overhead press, and dead lift. These lifts are incorporated into nearly all routines because they use multiple muscles at once.

For example, the bench press relies on the chest muscles, shoulders and triceps. It’s the perfect lift for less experienced weight lifters who lack the knowledge and experience to perform isolation routines that are designed to target individual muscles.

Getting Started

There are plenty of great resources online about the Big Four and how to do them. However, if you’re a complete beginner, your best bet is to join a gym and get a personal trainer.

While the weight lifting culture at some gyms is not exactly welcoming to beginners, the benefits of lifting correctly offset the discomfort of being a newcomer. In fact, most people are more than willing to offer help if you ask but otherwise they won’t bother you.

At the end of the day, learning to lift weights is just like learning anything else. It is challenging in the beginning but if you stick with it, it will be incredibly rewarding in more ways than you can imagine, especially with regards to weight loss, body composition and the great numbers you’ll get at your annual physical.

Women can Lift Weights Too

Many women consider weight lifting to be a man’s sport. They fear that lifting weights will make them look bulky and massive. However, this is a terrible and unfortunate misconception; weightlifting actually makes the bodies of women look shapely and toned. Weightlifters who look massive and bulky usually become that way by using steroids and other performance enhancing drugs. If you don’t take drugs, you won’t become huge and bulky.

In closing, the thing to keep in mind is that building muscle turns your body into a fat burning machine. It does this by increasing lean body mass, which in turn increases the amount of calories you burn daily. Combined with a modest calorie deficit, this means you will burn fat as fuel, resulting in a more toned and shapely body (and a healthier one, too because appearance isn’t everything).

A healthy diet, plus weight lifting is more effective for weight loss than a healthy diet alone. It’s because weight lifting burns fat while cardio burns both fat and muscle.

If you want to start lifting weights, talk to a personal trainer or coach. Remember, it’s easy to injure yourself when first starting; using correct form is more important than how many pounds you lift. So do yourself a favor, to prevent injury and make steady progress, seek advice from someone who knows what they’re doing as you begin your journey to total body transformation.

The post Less Treadmill & More Weights! appeared first on Lifestyle.

You probably already know that a messy, disorganized home can make it very difficult to relax and unwind. What may surprise you, though, is that a clean and organized home can be just as stressful if you make the wrong design choices. However, most design mistakes are easy to fix.

First Things First

Your design choices won’t matter if your home is cluttered, so the first thing you need to do is get rid of the clutter. This is easier said than done because a messy home has a way of draining your energy and making you feel defeated before you even start.

The easiest way to begin organizing your home is to stop putting things down and start putting them away instead! Everything in your home should have its “proper place.” It probably won’t take more than a couple extra minutes to put things away, and within no time at all you’ll see a HUGE a difference.

Secondly, make a routine for your chores. It can be as simple as doing laundry on Tuesdays and Fridays, and deep cleaning on Sunday afternoons. Once you get into the habit of doing this you no longer have to think about it.

Knick Knacks

Filling every inch of your home with knick knacks can make your home feel cluttered even if everything is in its proper place. Think about it, a few extra pillows on the couch can feel cozy but…if you overdo it you’ll constantly have to arrange them or pick them up off the floor.

A better way is to only display items that make you happy or you really love; learn to love empty space.

Prints

Okay, now that we have that out of the way let’s talk about design for a few seconds. Having too many prints/pictures in your home can make it difficult to create a pleasing thematic design. However, you can successfully mix multiple prints if you follow the 60-30-10 rule. The dominant print should take up 60% of the home décor, the secondary print, 30% and the accent print only 10%.

Smells

Life stinks! Toddlers, pets and messy teenagers can leave your home smelling more like a frat house full of sweaty athletes rather than the soothing oasis you’d hoped for. Although you might get used to the smell(s), this doesn’t mean they’re not stressing you out on some level.

Fresh flowers, scented candles and essential oils are all easy ways to get rid of bad smells, even those that you no longer notice. It’s a lot easier to unwind in a room that smells like fresh lavender than one that smells like dirty socks.

Lighting

A badly lit home is stressful. Natural light has a way of making you feel happier and boosting your energy. So if your home has windows, use them! However, if your home is not as well-lit as you would like, invest in a couple of nice lamps.

Colors

You might be drawn to bright colors like yellow and red but that doesn’t mean they’re the best colors for your home. It’s much easier to unwind in a blue or white room than a red or yellow one. There’s also scientific evidence that calming colors can reduce your blood pressure and make you feel sleepy.

We all want a relaxing home where we can unwind after a long day. With the above tips, you can change a stressful home into one that brightens your mood and replenishes your energy.

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