Summer in the Northern Hemisphere officially began on June 20th. In places like Arizona, summers are often extremely hot and dry, with temperatures soaring from 90 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
That surge in temperature often makes it difficult to stay motivated enough to take better care of your health. You almost seem to need an iron will to want to stay fit during the long, hot days of summer.
Fortunately, there are simple steps you can take to prioritize health and wellness during the summer months.
1. Join a Gym
Many people living in warmer climes like Arizona believe that working out in a gym is better than working out in a park or at home. Perhaps it’s because gyms in Arizona have perfected the art of interior climate control. Regardless of how hot and dry the weather is outside, the environment in the fitness studio is usually ideal for enjoying a workout.
Joining a gym gives you a chance to make new friends, and some people you’ll meet will share your fitness goals and become workout buddies.
Your new friends will support you, encouraging you to do that one extra set when you’re struggling to move the weights. They will also spot you if you’re doing a bench press with impressive poundage.
Workouts become much more fun when you have people waiting for you to show up. It also makes a huge difference to the quality of your workout to be surrounded by people motivating you throughout your routine.
And, of course, it’s always nice to share a good meal at a nearby restaurant after a productive workout with good company.
2. Make Delicious Weight Loss Smoothies
If you’re working out to lose weight, then you need to include a healthy weight-loss diet to complement your exercise program.
While you can lose weight on a healthy diet alone and you can lose weight with regular exercise, you will make the most progress when you combine healthy eating with plenty of exercise.
Drinking weight-loss smoothies makes it much easier to follow a weight-loss diet because they are quick and easy to make and packed with nutrients. They also taste delicious.
Many people consider smoothies an excellent breakfast, and they also love to have smoothies after they get back from the gym and feel they need a protein boost to recover from a strenuous workout.
Since it’s easy to blend up a smoothie at any time of the day, low-calorie smoothies also help reduce food cravings. Whipping up a smoothie may even stop you from indulging in unhealthy snacks.
3. Practice Sleep Hygiene
The popular phrase “sleep hygiene,” is a little misleading because this healthy practice has nothing to do with showering before going to bed.
“Sleep hygiene” is probably a euphemism because this practice is all about “sleep discipline” or cultivating “healthy sleep habits.”
By regulating your sleep schedule, you will enjoy a better quality of sleep every night.
A good night’s sleep is essential for your body to fully recover from your fitness routine. When you sleep at night, your body gets to work on important housekeeping tasks to help your body recover from the exertions of the day.
Sleep also restores the health of your brain. It flushes out waste toxins produced by your brain caused by all the heavy thinking you did in your waking hours.
Some important habits to ensure good sleep hygiene include:
- Setting a sleep schedule. Go to bed at the same time every night and wake up at around the same time every morning.
- Creating the optimum conditions for deep sleep. Make sure your bed is comfortable. Ensure that your bedroom room is dark and quiet enough to fall asleep quickly. Keep room temperature just right — cool but not cold.
What counts is not how long you sleep, but how much rest you get every night. On average, most people need 7 to 8 hours a night of sleep.
Joining a gym, including smoothies in your weight-loss diet, and practicing sleep hygiene will optimize your health and well-being during the long, hot months of summer.
Article Submitted By Community Writer
