5 Ways To Get in Shape Fast

There are plenty of reasons why you might need or want to get in shape. You may have been feeling a lack of energy and motivation from staying at home and want to kick up your motivation. You might want to get in shape to boost your immune system and avoid getting sick. You might even need surgery but have to lose weight before you can do so, or you simply wish to reach your fitness or weight-loss goals faster. Plateauing is a typical stage of training — it’s when you stop seeing the results you were achieving previously and usually means it’s time to do something new to get back on track. Here are five ways you can maintain peak performance.

1. Fat Burners

Most people have a part of their body that carries fat more than any other. The back, belly, underarms and inner thighs are notoriously difficult areas from which to shift fat. Fat burners are a type of performance supplement designed to help you burn sticky fat faster. They work by reducing your appetite, raising your core body temperature and increasing your metabolism. When combined with a regular exercise regimen and a healthy diet, they can help you shift weight faster.

2. Diet

As the saying goes, you can’t out-exercise a poor diet. When you change your eating habits to complement your fitness targets, you get in shape faster and train better. Your first step is to evaluate how many calories you eat per day. The simple math is that to lose weight, you must burn more calories than you consume. But what makes up those calories is equally, if not more, important. When you reduce your calorie intake, every calorie counts because you still need to take on board enough energy to fuel your workouts. Eat smart and replace unhealthy snacks with food that works harder for you, and make sure you eat the right mix of proteins, carbohydrates and healthy fats.

3. Cardiovascular Exercise

Cardiovascular exercise, or cardio, is any activity that raises your heart rate into a “heart-rate zone.” Heart-rate zones yield different benefits, ranging from fat burning to increasing your aerobic and anaerobic performance, so it’s important you train within the zone that produces the results you desire. While you’ll burn more calories the harder you train, if you wish to burn fat, you may need to look at lower intensity training sessions. On the other hand, high-intensity training allows your body to continue burning calories long after your workout finishes. Running, cycling, rowing and dancing are all excellent ways to add more cardio into your fitness regimen.

4. Weight Training

The most efficient way to shape-up quickly is to create a fitness program that combines cardiovascular exercise with weight training. The more lean muscle you have, the faster your resting metabolic rate. Your resting metabolic rate is how many calories you burn when you’re not doing any activity, such as lying down, sleeping or sitting still. The more calories you burn during these times, the faster your body turns to its fat stores for its energy supply. It doesn’t matter where you build muscle; what matters is increasing overall muscle mass.

5. Water

Drinking more water is an easy way to get in shape quicker. For one thing, it’s a natural appetite suppressant. Many people eat because they believe they’re hungry, whereas what they’re actually feeling is thirst. Drinking water at mealtimes can help you feel fuller faster, so you’re less likely to overeat. Water can also help you burn as much as 3% more calories in a 90-minute training period. Cold water is more efficient than room-temperature water as your body expends energy warming the water for better digestion. Women should aim to drink around 2.5-3 liters of water a day, and men 3.5-4 liters.

Healthy weight and happiness are intrinsically linked. Take action now to get into shape, and you’ll see the benefits not only in your physical health but in your mental wellbeing too. What are you waiting for?