I have always struggled to drink the quota of 6, 8 or 10 glasses a day (which depends on your source). I have my own target, clear urine by midday, which is equally difficult to achieve. As far as I know this target is not scientifically based, but my own empirical evidence has shown that it’s a good measure of progress part way through the day.

I made a significant personal discovery a couple of weeks ago. I started adding a small amount of Apple juice to each glass of water, about 1 part juice to 4 parts water. My initial motivation was weight loss but I quickly began enjoying the taste and sweetness, and I found it very refreshing and hydrating. No surprises there. It is now the only thing I drink apart from coffee, and for the first time ever I’m meeting my midday target.

Chemicals in food can cause major problems, which I wrote about in a recent post. However, chemicals in the environment can be just as bad. Your skin is your largest organ and it can absorb enormous amounts of chemicals, not just from makeup. Chemicals also enter your body through your nose. Aromatherapy is an example where your mood can be altered through your sense of smell.

Can the chemicals in your environment make your mood worse or even make you sick? Absolutely.

Gas cookers increase the carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide levels in the house. Moulds give off toxic fumes. You should make sure that your house is well ventilated and clean.

Think about the personal care products that you use. Makeup is a big culprit. Look at the ingredients – I can’t pronounce most of them. Liquid soap normally contains a chemical called sodium laureth sulfate which is a detergent and known skin irritant. It is also found in shampoos and toothpaste. But the list of chemicals is long and so are their potential effects for people who are sensitive. They are in deodorants, moisturizers, sunscreens.

If you’re concerned about the chemicals in your life then it would be a good idea to research the products you are using and potential substitutes, either online or somewhere like your local health food shop. There are many alternative products that are safe, work well, and don’t use harsh chemicals. For example cleaning with a mixture of vinegar and bicarbonate soda is an excellent substitute for detergents on many surfaces in the home.

Sensitivity to chemicals can cause real problems for some people, including changes to their moods. But once you adjust the products that you use in the house it is fairly easy to keep going. An allergy specialist can also do tests that hone in on each class of chemicals. That is what we ended up doing for Maddie.

Most people head for a search engine to look for information, which is the first obstacle in finding what you need. Search engines are generally good at giving relevant results, but there is always rubbish in there as well. Search engines aren’t perfect.

Google is the most popular engine by far, because its results are normally good and it’s fast. In ranking websites Google places emphasis on links between same or similar industry websites. A blog about depression that has been linked to by large, reputable mental illness organzations will outrank a similar blog that is popular with large gambling sites. This makes sense for ranking sites by credibility.

I’ll write about Google here because it has such a large share of the market, but the same issues apply to other search engines.

When you type the search term “depression” into Google, you receive a lot of results for reliable sources. The first 10, 20 or 50 appear mostly good. But what about the other 120 million results? Click a few pages forward and the odd website looks a bit dubious, and it goes slowly downhill from there.

But the biggest roadblocks to finding reliable information are at the tops and sides of Google pages. In these positions there are 10 or so results under the subtle gray titles “Sponsored Links”. These are paid advertisements. If you look at the sponsored listings you can see that they are generally sales based. On the front page of my search one of the results is “Depression Free in 3 Minutes”. (LOL). For such a high rank this site will be paying at least $2 a click. It wouldn’t be advertising if it wasn’t making more than $2 per visitor for whatever it is selling.

Call me a fool but it took me years to realize that “Sponsored Links” can be anything, with no implication about reputation or credibility. There will be many others, especially new users, who like me lack this same knowledge. They click and find themselves on a site looking for the promised information, while the seller is taking them by the arm and guiding them towards the transaction tunnel.

Ads like these are now everywhere. They are on newspaper sites, blogs, portals, health sites, anywhere that the site owner wants to make a bit of extra money delivering Google ads to his or her visitors. Web designers blend them into their websites, so the distinction between content and advertising is blurred, even with the subtle “Sponsored Links” displayed somewhere close by. Blah!

Thanks to Dawn at the Experience Project for providing the idea and much of the information for this post.

I’ve just read a very helpful article at Psych Central that is in the same vein. Helping Someone with a Mental Health Concern is written by psychiatrist John M. Grohol. Of particular interest to me are his insights on effective listening and empathizing with a mentally ill person. It is invaluable advice for someone in a caring role.

To read the article click here.

There are literally dozens of articles with similar headings to the one above. When I see them I immediately wonder if the writer has ever been depressed. Mental illness is anything but simple. Depression describes a broad spectrum of mood disorders, and there are many and varied treatments that provide different levels of success. Any “tip sheet” is by its nature superficial.

At the same time, such articles can be helpful. They aren’t normally written by medical or health professionals, so they provide input from outside traditional medicine. They give many ideas for lifestyle changes; ideas that won’t necessarily overcome depression by themselves, but nonetheless may be helpful to differing degrees for different people.

I’ve put links to a sample of articles below; some good and others pretty poor. I’ve summarized the tips from each so you can easily look further into what interests you.

You might also like to read my previous post What Works for Depression which is based on 2 research studies.

Please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section below.

Top 5 Tips to Beat Depression
This is the only article in the 20 or so that I’ve read that suggests researching your illness and keeping a mood diary. Both of these are very underrated strategies that can get a person well on the road to recovery. The writer is also only one of two to discuss triggers. If you only read one of these articles then this should be the one.
Research depression, talk with someone, try different things to get well, mood diary, improved diet.

Ten Tips For Managing Your Depression
Of all the articles that I’ve read this is my favorite. It is well written and has a range of good, helpful strategies.
Sleep, exercise, less refined sugar, reach out to someone else, nutritious food, Omega 3, sunlight, yoga, meditation / prayer, professional help.

10 All Natural Ways to Stop Feeling Depressed
“The Blues” would be a better term than “Depressed” but there are still some helpful lifestyle ideas.
Emotional cycle, being with positive people, reflecting on past successes, gratitude, change of scenery, break in routine, animals and nature, get up and at it, find perspective, take action to help yourself.

10 Chemical-Free Strategies to Trick Yourself Out of the Blues
This writer doesn’t seem to understand depression. A couple of good points, but most strategies are ordinary at best and even bizarre.
Wear blue, take time out mentally, verbalise your anger to a friend, force your smiles, remove clutter, music, experiment with food, a concentration exercize, DIY aromatherapy, get in touch with your primal self through cooking.

Feeling Down? 7 Ways to Pick Yourself Back Up!
Another one that is more about “the blues” than depression, but the writer acknowledges the limitations of his advice. Some good ideas.
Make a list, take action, exercise, clean and straighten yourself up, get out of the house, lively music, talk about it with someone close.

Top 8 Tips for Living with Depression
This writer has a good range ideas, all of which can have an impact on depression.
Support group, manage stress, sleep, diet, control negative thoughts, stop procrastinating, learn to forgive

Top 10 Tips to Overcome Depression
Some interesting ideas, but the tips are a bit light for someone with true depression.
Talk, exercise, cry, sunlight, music, activity, write, balanced diet, affection, professional help.

5 Tips for Staving Off a Depression
Sound tips on how the writer deals with her own depression, before relying on medicine.
Work outdoors, eliminate the triggers, play music, exercise, maintain a positive attitude.

Five Tips for Reducing Depression
This one takes a different angle with the first two tips focusing on the media. There are some good ideas, but the article as a whole is weak in relation to depression.
Don’t read newspapers, turn off the television, be positive towards others, exercise, breathing and relaxation techniques.

Five Self-Care Strategies For Depression
Sound advice which includes exercise and adequate sleep – two of the most important.
Keep active, eat well, adequate sleep, minimize stress, maintain positive relationships.

Top 10 Tips for Beating Depression
This would be the worst article. The writer doesn’t seem to understand depression, viewing it more as a character flaw than a disease.
Develop interests, stay positive, fix your personal problems, create a positive social life, stop bad behavior, be realistic, make changes, become active, fix your diet, control your thinking.

In my last post I wrote about the diary I kept for 2 years; it was the key to working out what caused James’ mood swings. We made some breakthroughs just by reading it back from time to time, but most progress came from charting the data in an Excel spreadsheet. This gave us a clear, visual way to see the relationships between triggers and symptoms. We discovered a couple of major depression triggers this way, and also found that small things that were minor irritations would snowball with other events added in.

The trick for us was to discover which triggers were the most important ones, where the threshold was before they would have an impact, and what we could do to reduce their effects.

Here’s an example. We used to have a busy social life. Through my diary, I began to notice that 2 days after a meal out, James would spiral downwards very quickly and experience a period of depression for 5 or 6 days. It was a very strange, but consistent pattern. We eventually discovered that certain food additives were a trigger; things like preservatives, artificial colors and artificial flavors. Adjusting our lifestyles and upending our diets was difficult, but by doing so we pretty much eliminated one of his major triggers.

Another example is our “feral hour”, around dinner time when the kids are tired, hungry and cranky. Very loud noise is another trigger, since it causes James to become very irritable. If it becomes all too much he will disappear until the kids are calm again. He can now recognize when his irritability is rising, and so takes preventative action. The key is that we have agreed that he can do this when needed, so I don’t feel resentful for lack of help. Leaving me to handle “feral hour” alone is better than suffering another bout of depression.

This knowledge continues to be very helpful to us. We know the little things that can snowball, and we take action when, or before, these little things happen. It’s a preemptive strike, so to speak. Whenever a trigger or potential trigger comes along we have a specific plan to remove its effects. As a result James’ depressive and manic episodes have become more intermittent.

Click here for the fourth post in this series, Keeping Your Mind Together.

The basic idea is to identify things that work well for you in your fight with depression. Things like taking your prescribed medicines, therapy sessions, exercise, meditation, massage or relaxation. There are many possibilities.

In my Points Plan I’ve also included things that are reliable triggers for my depressive episodes. These are having a bad argument with someone (major trigger), not getting adequate sleep for days on end, or any kind of very stressful situation.

As you can see from the table I’ve allocated points to items according to their impact on my health. The only exception is medicine, which I’ve downgraded even though it’s crucial for me. It’s too easy to pick up those points each day.

The maximum amount of points in my table is 140 each day or 980 for the week. This is before deducting points for the triggers. I’ve set my aim for the week at 50% of total available points. If I can reach this then I’ll increase it next week. It might be worth adding in a reward for some motivatation.

I honestly think if I can consistently reach such a target, then I am well on the way to more stable health. And by relying on a range of positive strategies, I won’t be pinning my hopes on any single one.

So I’m off to do some exercise – something I haven’t done for months now – but it’s at the very top of my list.

If you want this simple template I’ve saved it for download as a Microsoft Excel file.

If you don’t already know, an internet meme is a piece of digital content that spreads quickly, widely and organically from person to person.

So, here are the five best ways that I know of to “raise my vibes”.

5. Music

My taste in music is very eclectic, so I have something for just about every occasion or frame of mind. There are a dozen or so songs that, played with volume, really raise my vibes.

4. Exercise

I’m always amazed at how much better I feel after exercise than I did before starting. It must be the endorphins. And the virtuous feelings. There is nothing that I find harder than overcoming the mental barrier that stops me from exercising. It’s a barrier that shouldn’t be there given that exercise is so beneficial, in the near-term and long-term. My lazy instinct must be stronger.

3. Go to a Bookshop

Ah, yes. I could spend a whole day in a bookshop, given a large range of books and a cafe that serves good coffee. I just love looking at books, dreaming, not even buying necessarily. I also spend an awful lot of time on Amazon and Audible during the day. As I part own a family business I have to monitor my own internet activity, which hasn’t caused any problems yet.

2. Drink water

Water, water and more water. I almost never drink enough, but when I do I feel fantastic. That makes a lot of sense since I’m normally dehydrated, and water makes up 75% of the body and 85% of the brain. Eating watermelon makes me feel great as well!

1. Have a long, important conversation with someone

No matter how good or bad my mood is to start with I feel greatly energized if I can help someone else through conversation. I’ve experienced this more and more, as people who I know have asked me questions about mental health, and have found my answers to be helpful.

That’s my 5. If I could just include them all in my day, everyday, I would be jumping out of my skin with energy.

Here are the 3 that just missed out on the top 5.

Sleep
Believe it or not lack of sleep energizes me (for the first week or so).

Reading books
Not just looking.

Spending time with family
Taking my kids out just about anywhere. Going for coffee with my wife.

I now have 6 blogs (not 5) that I’m going to tag.

I love the recent blog on Beyond Blue titled “My Depression Toolbox“. I’m convinced that the best way to maintain good mental health is to monitor depression triggers and have strategies at the ready to mitigate them when they appear. This post gives a great example of a “stay well plan” that does exactly that.

On the Dr Shock blog there is an interesting article about Activity Scheduling. This is another positive approach that aims to re-energize the depressed person by building pleasurable activities into their daily routine. (Thanks for the referral at the bottom of the post!)

I’m fascinated by the The Pursuit of Happiness, a personal, moving blog by a depressed man trying to work out what exactly is wrong with him and what kind of treatment he should seek. I recommend starting with the first post.

At Space and Time Melissa writes short posts about anything and everything, and sometimes even nothing. (Sorry Melissa). Her writing is personal, humorous and self-deprecating.

Rachel keeps me laughing, entertained and engaged with life at Frizzy Logic. I especially like her post from a week ago on an amazing infinite energy generating machine, that could be housed in a gallery, but never fulfilled its potential.

Finally, Anna at Widows Quest has written a brief post “How to Stop Feeling Tired“. She summarizes a great point from another article on how doing things for other people will energize you in a number of ways. I couldn’t agree more. This may be the reason that I have helping others in conversation as my Number 1 energizer.

This is in response to a major deficiency in the Australian diet.

Innovation Director at McCain Foods, David Boyle, said “I think the food industry as a whole has got to get more serious about putting nutrients in our foods”. And it is getting serious. These “functional” foods, with nutrients added, are hitting supermarket shelves everywhere. Manufacturers like McCain are clearly concerned about our diets.

A quick refresher on Omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3s are polyunsaturated fatty acids found mainly in fish, some plants, nuts and seeds. Those found in marine life consist mainly of EPA and DHA, the two principal Omega-3 fatty acids. They are highly biologically active fatty acids. Those found in plants (flaxseed, walnuts and canola oil) are usually in the form of alpha-linolenic acid. The body can convert this into EPA and DHA, but only inefficiently at the level of 10%-15%.

Why are DHA and EPA important?

How many reasons do you want?

Dietary DHA can reduce the level of blood triglycerides, which may reduce the risk of heart disease. Low levels of DHA causes a reduction of serotonin, which may in turn be associated with depression and other diseases. An increasing body of evidence suggests that supplementing the diet with DHA can provide therapeutic benefits for people with depression.

EPA is needed by the body to produce prostaglandins, which control blood clotting and other arterial functions. EPA also provides a natural lowering of blood cholesterol and triglycerides.

There is a comprehensive list of the effectiveness of Omega 3s on a range of health conditions at the US National Institute of Health’s MedlinePlus.

Depression and bipolar disorder still rate a “C” – “unclear scientific evidence for this use”. There is strong evidence linking depression with a reduced intake of Omega-3 fatty acids, but less evidence for the benefits of increasing Omega-3 to relieve depression more generally. In fact earlier in the year the British Medical Journal’s Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB) dropped a bomb-shell, stating that there is no convincing basis for using Omega-3 as a means of alleviating the condition.

UK firm Dairy Crest pulled a new ad campaign for its Omega-3 ‘clever milk’ shortly thereafter.

So I happened upon a packet of McCain’s SuperCrunchy Omega 3 Classic Chips in my local supermarket today. The vital statistics on my nutritional panel were:

Per 100g
Omega 3 – 348 mg
DHA – 26 mg
EPA – 7 mg

So the combined amount of DHA and EPA is less than 10% of total Omega 3. And guess what? Cooked in canola oil.

I would love to know how much Omega 3 there was before the new marketing campaign. Not much less than there is now, is my guess.

McCain Foods innovation director, David Boyle, said the launch was a big step forward in McCain’s quest to provide consumers with a healthier French fry without sacrificing taste or quality. Mmmm. That’s right. No fish oil here.

Here are the Omega 3 levels in some other everyday foods (per 100g), taken from the Australian government’s Food Standards database. Sorry to those who haven’t caught up to metric yet!

Cake, Carrot, Iced, Commercial 56 mg
Cream, Thickened, 35% Fat 90 mg
Lamb, Leg Roast, Roasted, Lean 114 mg
Pancake, Home Prepared 120 mg
Sauce, Hollandaise 122 mg
Tip Top Omega 3 Bread 163mg
Beef, Mince, Hamburger, Dry Fried 277 mg
Beef, Chuck Steak, Casseroled, Lean 357 mg

…then the fish…

Bream, Baked In Foil, Oil Or Fat Not Added In Cooking 1089 mg
Fresh Gemfish, Flesh, Steamed 1753 mg
Salmon, Atlantic, Grilled Without Fat Or Oil 1822 mg
Salmon, Red, Canned In Water, No Added Salt, Drained 2225 mg
Sardine, Canned In Oil 2502 mg

Sardines on toast is looking good.

In the U.S. macronutrients, as fats, are not assigned recommended daily allowances. Instead they have Acceptable Intake, which is 1.6 grams/day for men and 1.1 grams/day for women.

There aren’t many academics or clinicians around who will advise a “therapeutic” dosage of Omega 3 for depression. If such a thing exists it will be vastly different between people, probably a lot higher than the normal Acceptable Intake, and only beneficial for some. A Finnish review of Omega 3 studies shows how variable the results have been so far, and this list is far from complete.

Further reading:
Omega 3 Overview
Omega-3 for Depression and Bipolar Disorder (a bit out of date but still good)

Just to note, I’m not a certified trainer. I’m just sharing stuff that’s worked for me. Also, some of this stuff is contradictory. That’s because you’re not supposed to implement all of them – just pick the ones you think will work for you, and give them a try. Good luck!

Top 42 Exercise Hacks

1. Start slow.The biggest mistake that people make when starting an exercise plan is starting too fast or too hard. Trust me, I’ve done it many times. I’ve learned to take it easy, start as small as possible, and worry about endurance or intensity later. The key in the beginning is to make it enjoyable and accomplishable. That’s probably not a word, but it should be. And it is now. Zen Habits are ones that are accomplishable.
2. Increase but gradually.After getting used to a certain level of exercise, you’ll want to increase it. Don’t just run two miles or walk 20 minutes three times a week for a year. Your body adjusts to the stress you’re giving it, so you need to increase the level once you’ve adjusted. But do it gradually, and only every two weeks or so.
3. Crank it up.Once you’ve gotten used to exercise, you’ll want to do some higher intensity ones for better fitness and fat-burning. For example, instead of running slowly and steadily, for a long time, try doing shorter bursts of fast running, with periods of rest in between. You can do this for any exercise. Higher intensity increases the calorie burn, and improves performance. But you can’t do it as long, and you shouldn’t do it every workout. Mix it in with endurance workouts.
4. Schedule workouts. Make appointments with yourself to workout, at a specific time and place, just as you would with any other appointment. And make it the most important appointment on your calendar – more important than a doctor’s visit or even the manicurist.
5. Make it a habit. If you can do exercise at the same time, every single day for a month, you are more likely to make it a habit. Consistency makes habits more ingrained. Once it’s a habit (and start easy in the beginning!), then you can step up the intensity a bit.
6. Forget about weight loss. Yeah, many of us would like to lose some weight. But if you’re motivated solely by weight loss, exercise will be a tough proposition. The reason is that you might not lose weight right away. Oh, it’ll come, if you can keep it up over time, but in the beginning you might be disappointed (especially if you haven’t changed your eating habits). Just get into the habit of exercise, and worry about the weight later. First things first.
7. Forget the gym. The gym can be horribly convenient, but it can also be intimidating for beginners, and confusing if you don’t know how to use the equipment. Sure, you can get a trainer to teach you, but if the cost or the confusion stops you from exercising – well, skip the gym and do it at home or at the park or somewhere less intimidating. You can do pushups and crunches and dumb bell exercises at home very easily, workout to a DVD, or go walking or jogging in your neighborhood. Cheap and simple is my motto.
8. Reward yourself. Self-explanatory, but rewards are best if they are frequent in the beginning. Be self-indulgent! Even sweets are good rewards – remember, get into the habit of exercise, and you can worry about weight loss later.
9. Do a 30-day Challenge. Challenge yourself, and see if you can rise to the occasion. Do it with a group or your significant other. Put in rewards. Tell everyone you’re doing it. Motivate the hell out of yourself.
10. Join an online group. One of the best motivators is having to report successes and failures to a group of people. Check out some online groups (there are groups for every type of exercise), introduce yourself, see which ones you’re comfortable with. Once you’ve gotten established (after a couple of days) see if you can post your results every day – you won’t go wrong once you start doing that.
11. Post your results on your blog. There’s nothing more motivating than positive public pressure (short of a gun to your head). Step it up by making a promise to your blog readers that you will commit to this goal for a month, and post your results every day. Even if your mom is your only blog reader, it’ll really help.
12. Do a journal. If you don’t post your results on your blog, write it in a journal, either online or on paper. However you set it up, make it a habit to post to your journal or log right away, as soon as you’re done with your log. It will motivate you to see your progress over time, and it’s a good way to see what you’re doing right and what you’re doing wrong.
13. Make it fun! Exercise doesn’t have to be a chore. I love doing a morning run, with the sun coming up, the world so quiet, my mind left to its own devices. Enjoy yourself and you will actually look forward to your workouts.
14. Fuel up. If your workout is more than 30 minutes, you really should have some energy in you. You shouldn’t work out on an empty stomach – but you also shouldn’t eat right before you work out. Eat a banana or some peanut butter toast or a ClifBar an hour or two before your workout, and you’re good to go.
15. Hydrate. Also an hour or two before you workout. Water is best. Use a sports drink during your workout (and after) only if you’re going to go an hour or more. If you’re going to do a tough workout, stay hydrated throughout the day. In fact, go ahead and do this whether you work out or not.
16. Get a workout buddy. Find someone at your level, and commit to working out a certain number of times a week together, at a certain time. This will make you more likely to keep that workout appointment, and workouts can be a lot of fun if you spend them chatting with your buddy. Just be sure to actually work out, and not just chat, Chatty McChatterson!
17. Get good clothes. Actually, you don’t need anything fancy to get started. But once you do start working out, it’s nice to get yourself some nice workout clothes, with breathable and comfortable fabrics, ones that look good on you. It’s motivating, and pleasurable. Make it so.
18. Put a cover model on your fridge. Not literally, of course, as that may be illegal, but find a good magazine photo of a model with the body you want, and post it up somewhere visible. You may never look like that model (heck, that model probably never really looks like that), but it’s motivating. Don’t pick a model that’s too good looking, or you may question your sexuality.
19. Change it up. Sure, walking or running every day can be a lot of fun. But getting some swimming or biking or strength workouts or aerobics or kickboxing into the mix can be a lot of fun, and can also help you get into better shape. They work out different muscles, and step up the metabolism. Variety is the spice of life and all that.
20. Do it early in the morning. My favorite time to work out is between 5:30 and 6:00 a.m. Plus, I know that if I work out at this time, nothing will get in the way of the workout later in the day. It’s a beautiful time of day, not too hot, and there’s nothing like showering and going to work knowing that I’ve put in a great exercise (and it allows me to feel superior and look down my nose at those lazy bums I work with).
21. Squeeze it in during lunch. OK, you’re not a morning person. You’re busy. You don’t have time to work out. Well, suck it up, buster, and sacrifice your lunch hour to the gods of fitness. Bring your workout clothes, do a quickie nooner, and be back at work ready to tackle the afternoon.
22. First thing after work. None of those options work for you? Not a problem, my friend. Make it a daily appointment to work out as soon as you get off work. This will also motivate you to finish your work on time so you can get out on time for your workout. It’s great to stop somewhere to do your workout before you even get home, because once you get home you’ll probably want to relax on the couch, fall asleep at the kitchen table, or rush to the computer to read the latest Zen Habits post.
23. A little and often. You don’t need to work out long, and you certainly don’t need to be a weekend warrior. Just 20-30 minutes every day. Who doesn’t have 20 minutes on their schedule. You? Well, scratch Walker Texas Ranger rerun off the schedule and make room for this instead.
24. Just lace up. Yeah, you’re dreading the upcoming workout. But don’t even think about it. Just lace up and head out the door. That’s all. After that, let nature take its course. Just relax and do what comes naturally. Which is exercise.
25. Join a race. Signing up for a 5K or a triathlon are my favorite motivators. It really gets me to do my workouts because if I don’t, I will look like a dork by collapsing 5 minutes after the starting gun goes off. But don’t worry about how you look – just go and have fun at these races – everyone else is worrying about themselves too much to notice you.
26. Get good gear. As a reward, get yourself some nice little gadgets – a sports mp3 player, a Polar heart rate monitor, a pedometer, a scale, a bike computer, whatever. Something cool that will make you look forward to your workouts.
27. Forget about the gear. Having said that, you don’t need any of that to actually work out. Just put on some cheap clothes and get out the door. Don’t let your lack of gear stop you, and for criminy’s sake, don’t go and buy all the gear before you actually start working out.
28. The 10 percent rule. Don’t increase your workout time or distance by more than 10 percent a week. This is a very conservative rule, and it can be broken by the best of the best, who know what they’re doing, but for the rest of us, stick with this to prevent burnout or injury.
29. Rest. It’s important. This is a commonly overlooked factor. If you don’t give your body some rest, you will burn out and get injured. Rest is just as important as the workouts in improving performance and fitness. As long as you’re doing the workouts too and not just the rest!
30. Hard, then easy. If you do a hard workout today, rest or go easy tomorrow. Don’t do two hard workouts in a row. The hard-easy approach can also work within a workout itself – run hard, then run slow, then run hard – you get the idea. This allows you to burn more fat than if you just run medium the whole time.
31. Listen to your body. This is extremely important – if you feel like you’re overdoing it, you probably are. Rest and allow your body to recover. And though you can run through some slight soreness or aches, you should stop as soon as you feel sharp pain or pain in the joints. You’ll just make it worse.
32. Strength is good. If you’re a walker or runner or cyclist or swimmer or something like that, you should also fit some strength training into your schedule. Nothing too intense, but just some core-strengthening exercises that will help your main sport as well as make you healthier and yes, more attractive.
33. Set goals. What are you trying to get out of your exercise? It’s good to know if you’re trying to build muscle or burn fat – because these are two competing goals. There are other goals, of course, but you should be clear what they are. Also, set goals for each week – what do you want to accomplish this week? Write it down, post it up, and see if you can meet them!
34. Take photos of yourself. Before and after photos. The best way to see your progress over time. But do it once a month, not every hour, you narcissist!
35. Workout first, diet later. If you’re just starting a workout plan, it’s best not to start a diet at the same time. Well, I don’t like diets in the first place, but still – one thing at a time. I’d prefer the workout first, and then worry about the diet after about a month of working out. You didn’t get fat overnight and you’re not getting skinny overnight either!
36. Star chart. Yeah, you know what these are. But they’re very motivating. Do a workout, put up a star. Fun!
37. Get a coach. You certainly don’t need one, but there’s nothing more motivating than a coach. Almost like a workout buddy, in that you are very likely to make the appointment, but less chatty and more knowledgeable. And if you’re going to learn swimming, a coach is a must. Yes, you can get a coach – there are master’s swimming classes at your local pool. Just sign up – they’re usually not that expensive.
38. Join the club. In my area, there is a great running club and a great cycling federation and triathlon federation. All of them sponsor races and Sunday rides and things like that where you can workout with a group and talk to more knowledgeable people. Well worth the small membership fee!
39. No pain – that’s good. Forget the old rule of “no pain, no gain”. You don’t need pain to get in shape. Just take it easy, progress gradually, and enjoy yourself.
40. Warm up. If you’re going to do any kind of exercise, don’t do it with your muscles cold. Gradually get your heart pumping and blood flowing. You’re less likely to injure yourself, and your workout will be more enjoyable.
41. On stretching. Sure, flexibility is important. But stretching out cold is a good way to get injured. If you’re going to stretch out before a workout, be sure to do so only after your warmup. Also, do not bounce. That’s another good way to tear your muscles. Do slow stretches and hold them without bouncing. Best of all: stretch after a workout, when your muscles are nice and loose.
42. Go for the long haul. Most of all, don’t think that you will become fit and healthy and sexy in one month. Think of exercise as a life-long habit, and your goals will come to you eventually. You’ll get there, my friend!