It has not been difficult to get your step count in these last two weeks in January.
When you started the New Year and the New Decade of 2020 you set a goal for yourself to make sure that you were getting as close to 10,000 steps a day as possible. The fact that every other day brought one or two new inches of snow at the end of the first month of the year, however, enabled you to get plenty of exercise. Not exactly the kind of workout that you wanted, but every two or three times every day you were out in the driveway or on the sidewalks shoveling away the newest layer of that fluffy white stuff. Fortunately, this was a very dry snow, so clearing the driveway and the sidewalks was literally just a process of walking back and forth, back and forth. All of that scooping though meant that you were well on the way to your 10,000 step goal by nearly 8:00 am every day. And in addition to getting the exercise that you needed, you also felt like you were being very productive.
New Year Fitness Goals Are a Part of Many People’s Resolutions
Making time for your nutrition is important.
Making time for your fitness is important.
Making time for your mental health is important.
If you want to make sure that you are as strong and self sufficient as possible, it is important that you do what you need today to care for your physical, emotional, and mental needs.
In a time when so many Americans are struggling with their weight and are facing a number of serious chronic health problems, it is important to know that there are some basic approaches that you can take to make sure that you are doing your best. From drinking enough water to taking enough steps, there are simple ways that you can make a difference in your future. When you add in a fitness class or two a week you are moving yourself one step closer to meeting the goals that can help you live a longer and more productive life. Committing to basic strength training programs or signing up for your first ever silver sneakers classes are also ways to make sure that you are getting the results that you need.
Consider some of these facts and figures about the fitness habits that can help you become your best self, as well as the many stumbling blocks that. keep Americans for eating right and getting the right amount of exercise:
- Unfortunately, as many as 80% of people do not keep their New Year’s resolution
- One way to get yourself back on track, however, is to find a workout regimen that will make the best use of your time. For example, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts generally last about 30 minutes, but can provide serious amounts of benefits.
- One of the reasons that so many Americans face so many of the health problems that they do is that only 35% to 44% of adults 75 years or older are physically active. Even more alarming may be the fact that 28% to 34% of adults between the ages of 65 and 74 are physically active.
- Doctors and health officials continue to be alarmed because nearly 28.0% of Americans, or 80.2 million people, aged six and older are classified as being physically inactive.
- As further evidence, some of the latest research indicates that 80% of adults do not meet the guidelines for aerobic and activities that strengthen muscles.
- If you want to get yourself on the right track to fitness, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that people between the ages of 18 and 64 engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity every week.
Whether you live in a part of the country where snow shoveling can keep you active or you live in a warmer climate when you are more likely to have the majority of days when you can walk outside, it is always important to get the activity that you need, and continue to eat as healthy as possible every day.