Trying to workout while depressed is not an easy thing to do. You don’t feel like doing anything except sitting around eating Bon Bons, and watching Maury give out the results of those paternity tests. I know how it is. I’ve tried working out while depressed. Something you have to consider, before you drop another tasty Bon Bon in your mouth, is the fact that exercising has a great number of benefits. One of the most important, in your depressed state, is that the endorphins produce naturally put you in a better mood, after you workout. If you workout while depressed, it will eventually ease your depressed state.
First, other than the obvious improvement in appearance, there are several reasons to begin a regular exercise regimen. Yes, you can create a body to rival Daniel Craig or Angeline Jolie, but there are reasons that go beyond what can be seen with the naked eye, such as:
Longevity-Regular exercise reduces the risk of dying prematurely.
New brain cell development- Researchers found that the areas of the brain that are stimulated through exercise are responsible for memory and learning. For instance, older adults who engage in regular physical activity have better performances in tests implying decision-making process, memory and problem solving.
Erectile Dysfunction- Studies revealed that men who exercise regularly are less likely to have erectile dysfunction and impotence than are men who don’t exercise.
Combat depression naturally- Studies have shown that exercise promotes mental health and reduces symptoms of depression. The antidepressant effect of regular physical exercise is comparable to the potent antidepressants like Zoloft. It may take at least 30 minutes of exercise a day for at least three to five days a week to significantly improve symptoms of depression.
Combat heart disease- Regular exercising makes your heart, like any other muscle, stronger. A stronger heart can pump more blood with less effort.
Lower cholesterol- blood cholesterol levels by decreasing LDL (bad) cholesterol, triglycerides and total cholesterol and increasing HDL (good) cholesterol.
Prevent or control diabetes- Studies show that moderate physical activity combined with weight loss and balanced diet can confer a 50-60% reduction in risk of developing diabetes.
Lower blood pressure- Aerobic exercise appears to have a slightly greater effect on blood pressure in hypertensive individuals than in individuals without hypertension..
Weight control- Regular exercise helps to reach and maintain a healthy weight. If you take in more calories than needed in a day, exercise offsets a caloric overload and controls body weight. It speeds the rate of energy use, resulting in increased metabolism. When metabolism increases through exercise, you will maintain the faster rate for longer periods of a day.
Get strong- Studies repeatedly show that strength training increases muscle strength and mass and decreases fat tissue.
Sleep like a baby-If you suffer from poor sleep, daily exercise can make the difference. The natural dip in body temperature five to six hours after exercise may help to fall asleep.
Now, if a great body and all of these other benefits are not motivation enough for you, we can add on that it is something healthy you can do that may assist you in winning back the love of your life. Nothing negative can ever come of positive changes. Imagine, if you will, it’s been a few months since you last had any contact with your ex. You’ve spent that time eating right, pumping iron, doing some aerobic exercises, getting good quality sleep, and you “run” into her one day.
Not only have those healthy habits made you more appealing physically, than she has ever seen you, but you are also exuding more confidence than you’ve ever had. In her eyes, you’re a brand new person! Believe me, she will think, “Wow, he looks amazing”. She might not run up to you and ram her tongue down your throat right away, but trust me, you will be in her thoughts all the time after that encounter.
You may be wondering how often you should exercise. The standard answer to this is that you should perform some form of exercise 5 times per week. You should do some kind of aerobic exercise for 20-30 minutes three times a week and perform strength training twice per week. Imagine how great you will feel after doing this! Your confidence is going to soar. Naturally, if you are not one that already exercises on a regular basis, you may want to take it easy in the beginning, and work your way up to more strenuous workouts as you go. Be careful not to overdo it and hurt yourself.
If you have a hard time structuring a workout on your own, I suggest you ladies take a look at the program, “Fitness Model Workout” by Jennifer Nicole Lee. Her groundbreaking program has been featured on Oprah Winfrey’s “The Big Idea” as well as on E entertainment network. For you men, I recommend The No Nonsense Muscle Building Program. It’s definitely worth a look.
*A little tip…every time you catch yourself daydreaming about your ex, drop to the floor and knock out 25 push-ups or sit-ups.
Check with your doctor before you begin to exercise. Once you have your doctor’s OK, start slowly. You might walk five minutes in the morning and five minutes in the evening. The next day, add a few minutes to each walking session. Pick up the pace a bit, too. Soon, you could be walking briskly for 30 minutes a day – and reaping all of the benefits of regular aerobic exercise.
Other options might include cross-country skiing, aerobic dancing, swimming, stair climbing, bicycling, jogging, elliptical training, or rowing. If you have a condition that limits your ability to exercise, ask your doctor about alternatives. If you have arthritis, for example, aquatic exercises may give you the benefits of aerobic exercise without stressing your joints.
**You may also want to check out thetruthaboutabs.com to see how easily you can get that six pack you’ve been dreaming about!
Strength Training: If you want to lose weight or change your body, one of the most important things you can do is to lift weights. Just two full-body workouts per week, with three days of aerobic exercise in between, can give you the body and health you’ve always dreamed of!
Below you will find a list of exercises to use on each muscle group of the body, not to mention, instructions on how to complete the exercises. Before I get into that, I do want to recommend that you schedule your strength training on Monday and Friday, and complete your aerobics on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. This gives your muscles ample time to rest, which is as important to muscle development as the weightlifting and diet, and you should not be too sore to complete the sets. (For those totally new to lifting, each time you lift a weight, that is called a “rep”. When you complete a certain amount of reps, you have completed a “set”. I reccomend doing 4 sets of 8-10 reps for each muscle group. Just remember to start light and work your way up).
Muscle Groups:
Chest: The chest muscles (pectoralis major) are located across the top part of our rib cage and are used in pushing motions. Push-ups are a great way to build chest muscles and can be done just about anywhere with no equipment. Weight-lifters perform bench press exercises to build these muscles, as well.
Back: The muscles of the back (lattisimus dorsi or “lats”) are used in movements where we perform pulling motions such as opening a door. Pull-ups are a very good back exercise and can be done with a simple pull-up bar. Most gyms have lat pull-down machines and other equipment that target the back muscles.
Abdominals: The abdominal muscles (“abs”) are located below the chest in the lower part of the mid-section. They are comprised of the transverse ab, rectus femoris, external oblique, and psoas major muscles. These muscles are critical core muscles of our body. They allow us to twist our “trunks” and they also support good posture and balance the movement of our back muscles. Doing regular sets of crunches can increase agility and even help reduce back pain.
Upper Leg: The hamstrings are located on the back of the upper leg and include three seperate muscle groups. Hamstrings pull the lower leg up when you bend your knees and are one of the primary muscles used in running. Squats are an excellent exercise for the “hammies”.
The Quadriceps are located on the front of the upper leg and include four seperate muscles. Leg lifts are good quad exercises. Strong quads can also take some strain off the knee and reduce or minimize some types of knee pain.
Lower Leg: The calf muscles are two seperate muscle groups. They are used when we stand on our “tippy toes” or the push-off motion often utilized in sprinting. Calf-raises, both with and without weights, are a great way to strengthen your calf muscles.
Arms:
The shoulder muscles (deltoids or “delts”) move the upper arm and can be strengthened with pull-ups and seated bench press exercises.
The tricep muscles (tricep brachii) are located on the back of the upper arm. Body dips are a good tricep exercise and can be done between to chairs or on gym body-dip bars. The motion of pushing the body’s weight up targets the tricep muscle.
The bicep muscles are located on the front part of the upper arm and are probably one of society’s more overemphasized muscle groups. Curling and chin-ups are effective in building the biceps.
Strengthening and toning the body’s major muscle groups will not only make us more fit, but it will allow us to perform life’s daily activities easier. With some basic exercise you can build and maintain a healthy and attractive physique without being a bodybuilder or gym fanatic!
Exercise is pointless if you are not following a good, healthy eating plan!
Your diet can be a bit more tricky than just an exercise plan. Diets vary based on your overall goals. Do you want to lose weight and tone up? Do you want to gain a lot of muscle mass? Although the specifics for your diet will be different from the next person, there are some things that are common, regardless of your ultimate goal. One thing is that you need to eat 5 to 7 times a day. Not huge Thanksgiving day meals, but 5 to 7 small meals throughout the day, this way your body becomes accustomed to being fed the fuel it needs to survive, and will not store as much fat in your body.
You also need to make sure that your body is getting plenty of protein. Everyone knows that a good weight-loss program combines diet and exercise, but studies have shown that exercise is much more effective when it’s coupled with a protein rich diet. There’s an interactive effect when a protein rich diet is combined with exercise. The two work together to correct body composition. Dieters lose more weight, and they lose fat, not muscle. A higher carbohydrate, lower protein diet reduces the effectiveness of exercise.
The protein rich diet works so well because it contains a high level of the amino acid Leucine, working together with insulin, helps stimulate protein synthesis in muscle. The high protein, low carb diet works so well because the extra protein reduces muscle loss while the low carb component gives you low levels of insulin, allowing your body to burn fat instead of muscle.
To ensure you are getting an adequate amount of protein, add dairy, meat, and eggs to your diet. If you use a high quality protein approach to your diet, you can actually improve the overall quality of your diet while losing weight. It doesn’t have to be, nor should it be, all carrots and celery sticks!
You have surely wasted hours upon hours attempting to create meal guidelines for yourself and followed diet after diet, only to find the plans need to be tweaked so you continue to progress toward your goals. And then, you hit another plateau—again, more diets and again more plateaus. Or sitting around wondering what the best diet plan really is.
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