Staying fit has always been one of the major concerns of a human being. Most of the time fitness is confused with workouts or exercises, but fitness means to keep your body healthy and not susceptible to diseases.

To keep fit, we need to stay active and that is where exercise comes in. When you have a regime you follow for the workout, there are certain dos and don’ts that you should keep in mind to reap the seeds of your hard work effectively.

Here, in this article, I have listed some of the fitness dos and don’ts to get you started.

DOs

1. To stay fit, you should choose the activity or exercises that you enjoy. You are going to do it regularly, so it should be something that you are interested in. Otherwise, you will lose the interest and motivation to continue with the routine.

2. Before starting with any exercise, it is highly recommended to start with a few minutes of warm-up. Warming up muscles lowers the risk of injury during the workout and helps in stretching the muscles for better performance.

3. When you start with your exercise, don’t do a rigorous workout right from the beginning. Start with slow exercises and then gradually increase the speed/frequency. Start moderately and then slowly increase after a few minutes.

4. It is advisable to choose the exercise routines that benefit all the parts of the body, not just specific ones. This will help you in keeping fit overall. You can have a mixture of both cardio exercises and resistance training to build your fitness.

5. To get an efficient workout, you should hydrate your body before, during, and after the workout. Lack of hydration can cause dizziness, headache, or other health problems. Having water or electrolyte (depending on the intensity of the workout) is a must during exercise.

6. After exercise, it is imperative to cool down and relax for a while. You need to give some time to relax your muscles and lower your heart rate. Cool-down time helps you to reduce post-workout soreness and to recover fast from the exertion.

7. Another thing you can add to your routine is sports massage. If you are one of those people who want to build your body with rigorous workout routines, you can avail a sports massage post-workout. The soreness and tiny tears in the muscles which cause strains will be taken care of, not to it will be very relaxing after heavy exercise.

8. Studies have shown that you get better results if you have an exercise buddy. The buddy and you will be accountable to each other. You can encourage and motivate each other to stay honest with the planned routine and achieve your goal.

9. It is important to maintain personal hygiene before and after the workout session. You should wipe the excess sweat during the workout with a clean towel and post-workout must take a shower to clean yourself up. Maintaining personal hygiene helps to avoid health complications.

10. To get the best result out of your hard work, it is best to keep a check on your diet. Have a healthy diet with all the necessary nutrients required for growth and fitness. You should have a meal plan with organic items if possible. You shouldn’t stuff yourself, rather consume small quantities and increase the frequency of consumption.

DON’Ts

1. You should not set unrealistic expectations. While it is good to have a goal that you want to achieve, you shouldn’t expect results too soon. There is no shortcut to weight loss or muscle gain. You will have to work hard for a considerable amount of time to reap the outcome.

2. Same as everything, even exercising in excess can be harmful. To gain maximum benefit from the routine, your body needs time to relax as well. Know your body’s limit and don’t keep at it for longer hours. Don’t overtrain once, rather keep improving steadily.

3. Concentration is one of the important aspects of any activity. You can never reach your goal if you don’t keep the focus to reach there. Wandering focus can lead to a decrease in the intensity of the workout or even getting injury. So, don’t compromise on concentration on proper form and control.

4. Do not obsess over gaining muscles or losing weight. Your focus should be to stay healthy and get fit. With the workout routines, you’ll eventually get to your goal of muscle gain or weight loss, but till then you shouldn’t lose patience.

5. To keep your workout session interesting, try adding new activities. This will help you in case you get bored with the continuation of the same routine over and over. You can also spread the activities over the week so that you don’t do the same set of exercises every day.

6. Skipping a meal with the intention of fewer calories intake for the day is the biggest mistake. When you exercise regularly, you need to refuel your body with the right food and nutrients. Fresh foods are the best to stay fit and healthy.

7. You shouldn’t skimp on sleep. Sleep deprivation causes many health hazards which hinder all your hard work and progress to stay fit. One should get 7-8 hours of sleep per night. It is advisable to maintain a sleep routine as well to keep your biological clock right.

8. Another important thing to keep in mind is that don’t wear gym clothes as per the ongoing trend, but rather choose the workout clothes that are comfortable to you. Extremely tight garments can restrict your movement, whereas extremely loose garments can be irritating. You should find proper clothes fitting your regime.

9. If you are going to the gym for your workout, don’t get extremely competitive with someone. Don’t race anyone beyond your capability and risk injury on your part. Healthy competition could do you good, but you need to keep in mind your limit before indulging in it.

10. The constant pressure of doing well might lead you to smoke or drink. You must not indulge in substance abuse. Otherwise, all your hard work and dedication to achieve your goal would be in vain. These will lead to different kinds of serious health issues. It is better to quit any kind of substance abuse you are into. It will take time, so don’t lose hope.