AFTER a summer of eating junk food and relaxing, it's time to get back into shape for the upcoming sports season.
During the long, warm summer months, people find it a lot harder to exercise, eat well, sleep right and stay motivated. It's also harder to stick to good habits. If this sounds like you, now's the time to get back into shape.
The hardest part of getting back to your routine is motivation. After such a long time without exercising, it's hard to get back into the swing of things. One way to inspire yourself to get back in shape is to set goals for yourself. After two weeks of exercise, your goal could be to run for 20 minutes without stopping.
Another good idea is to have a reward system. You might take one day off a week, treat yourself to something sweet or buy something special for yourself.
As for the actual exercising, don't go straight back to your routine. Add a little more of what you would normally do every couple of days. It will probably take the same amount of time that you took off during the summer to get back in shape. Summer is two months long, so it may take you two months to get back to your routine and be where you were before the summer.
If you try to jump right back into your sport, there is a good chance you will feel sore or get injured.
Sleep is an important factor as well. After late nights of movie watching, try and get into bed earlier and get the same amount of sleep each night.
Another thing to think about is junk food. Try not to eat a lot of high-fat foods, sugary foods or candy. Also try to cut out those salty chips and sodas. Vegetables and fruits are the best choices and make sure you balance your meals with all the food groups.
As the fall rolls around, get out there and get back in shape because, as they say, the cold weather is better for exercise and exercise is better for you.
Nuala Turner wrote this article while participating in Capilano University's Serious Fun summer camp, Teen Journalism.
