How to start ?

So once you are mentally prepared to start your journey to a healthy lifestyle, and think you can take on the task ahead, a good place to start is at a gym facility. There are plenty of gyms in your area, if you live in a big city do your research and find the one that is near by and suits your budget. In Windsor where I live, you can find good quality gyms that might help you achieve your fitness goals. For instance Goodlife has two gyms; one is located in Devonshire Mall and the other in Tecumseh Mall. Also, Goodlife even has two women’s only gyms. Lifestyle which is a bit more expensive has three locations; on Dougall, Central, and Tecumseh. All are good gyms but it really depends on your taste and budget. There’s even a YMCA gym located in the downtown region open to the public at a very affordable monthly fee. It might take long but remember you’re choosing the place you are committing a good hour or two on daily basis to achieve your goals, so choose wisely..

Now that you’ve done your research, and found the gym that suits you, try to find a gym partner! I can’t stress enough how important a gym partner is especially one who has the same goals, or knows a thing or two about working out. I was lucky enough to have a brother who worked out, and who was a personal trainer. He helped me start off and kept me motivated during the whole process. A gym partner will help you go that extra set, and will make sure you don’t skip a workout, especially when it's leg day!! They can spot you while heavy lifting and make the whole experience more desirable and fun. Almost every day I see people working out with siblings or friends. So find a partner in crime and get to work!

Last but not least, prepare your meals and have a good workout schedule. I’ll get into more details later on in my other blogs but knowing what to eat and having a set schedule of what you are going to workout makes a huge difference! For example, prepare your meals accordingly to your goals and what muscle groups you will tackle on that specific day. Now like I said, I’ll get into more details about nutrition and different types of workouts later on but it should give you a good idea of how to start. Remember you're only doing this for your own benefit. “Take Care of Your Body. It’s the only place you have to live in” so stay tuned to get more of Maroun’s Health and Fit advice!

Quote source: http://www.mind2body.net/blog/inspirational-fitness-quotes-joseph-pilates-celebrities

Personal Story, Dedication and the Will to Change Bad Habits

Me grade 6,7,8 

Would you believe me if I were to say that I was once a chubby, video game addict and sore loser who did nothing but stay up till three in the morning playing Halo? Well I was that person coming in to high school! I was lazy and young and didn't really care or have the motivation to exercise or play sports. I didn't really care about working out. I thought that playing video games, like Call of Duty and Halo 3, while eating a good amount of cereal was the best thing for me. It was easy, fun and I even made friends who lived in Toronto all the way down to Florida. Until one day, my brother told me straight forward that I was out of shape (fat). 

It didn't really get to me until I actually started to think about it. I was spending so many hours doing nothing productive whilst ruining my health at the same time. I was missing out so much regarding sports and hanging out with real friends that I actually got mad. I decided from that day forward, I would change the way I lived my life. I started off by going on runs and bike rides, and then got my brother to train me in our backyard. The workouts were hard but it was because I wanted to change my body so much that I kept on going.  

Almost 5 years in, I now go to the gym with him almost every day and keep myself motivated to stay on track. So my first advice to all the people who want to change their body and be healthier is to set a goal for yourself. Remember the reasons why you want to get healthier every day to stay motivated. Start off by doing small things like going for a run or biking for half an hour to an hour, do small exercises outside or inside your home. Avoid sitting down for long periods of time. Be proactive. Start those good habits and afterwards they will become your new and improved lifestyle!

Quote of the day: “Believe you can and you are half way there” 

Source of Quote: http://www.motivationblog.org/

Fitness And Why You Should Start

When someone mentions fitness what comes to mind?

·         Someone who eats healthy?

·         A bodybuilder?

·         A dancer?

·         Or someone who walks for 30 minutes a day?

My Fitness Lifestyle 

What if I told you that according to the American College of Sport Medicine “ACSM” you’re fitness level could be determined by how well you perform on the toe touch test. So can you touch your toes? If you can’t, you have nothing to worry about.
That’s just one of the many ways a person’s fitness level can be evaluated. Some even say that physical fitness is a state of mind that leads to better health and more productivity. So, what is fitness?

To keep things simple, there are primary components and secondary components to fitness (Foundation of professional personal training 2008). The primary ones consist of your cardio (so how long you can last being chased by a raging pitbull), muscular capacity (can you keep the mouth of a lion shut while subduing a rhino on your lunch break… caution: do not actually attempt), flexibility (can you place your legs behind your head), body composition (pretty straight forward, you probably don’t have the body of a bodybuilder or a supermodel). The secondary ones are mostly balance, coordination, agility, speed, power, etc.

Now why am I here boring you with all this information? Let me get straight to the point, the benefits of a healthy and fit lifestyle are tremendous! You LOOK better, you FEEL better and you PERFORM better. Going on the path of eating healthy and doing physical activities such as working out can benefit you now and in the long run. Fit is the new skinny and I hope by starting this blog, I will motivate you to become the best you can be physically, mentally and spiritually. So stay tuned for some of the best fitness and health advice Maroun can offer.