4 Tips To Boost Fitness Outside Of The Gym

When people look to get in shape the first port of call is often a gym or a personal trainer. While it is a great place to start, it is not enough to guarantee good results in a short period of time. If your energies don’t extend beyond the boundaries of the gym walls, you will not achieve what you want to achieve in a manageable manner. As important as it is to have a focused routine of exercise, there are many other things you can do outside of the gym to help you achieve your goals.

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The first is the kitchen! Eating a healthy diet of natural foods is a great place outside of the gym or your sessions to start. At the end of the day, a great physique is 70% diet, 30% everything else. There are some other things you should be doing which will help you burn more calories, remain injury-free and increase adherence to a healthy lifestyle. Let’s take a look:

1. Walk A LOT!

Aside from increasing your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) and, therefore, increasing your calorie deficit which is important for weight loss, walking long distances has many other benefits. Being outdoors in nature provides a multitude of physical and mental health benefits so try to walk in a forest, park, countryside or hills. Being exposed to the elements, either hot or cold, is great for our immune system and vitamin D levels, so get out in any weather. Try to walk on an empty stomach before you have breakfast if you can. Finally, practice mindfulness, use a walking meditation app or listen to a podcast to get the most out of your morning, nature, fasted walk.

2. Stretch More

I don’t mean spend more time stretching before or after your sessions - though it won’t hurt to do so! Whenever the opportunity arises, stretch a problem area you may have. Common problem areas include:

• Neck

• Piriformis

• Calves

• Hamstring

• Pectorals

Incidentally, these muscles/areas become tight due to the “dysfunctional triad” of sitting for too long, being inactive and staring at your phone.

Think about stretching your calves when going up the escalators, stretching your piriformis or hamstring whilst watching the TV, cross leg stretch whilst seated, taking multiple steps at a time when going upstairs to increase mobility. Anything you can think of that provides a stretch will help you perform better.