10 Steps to Better Fitness in 30 Days

Feel out of shape? You can make the change for better fitness with 10 simple steps in 30 days. Journal your thoughts at the end of each day for at least five minutes.

First Week:

In the first phase, keep things simple. Add 10-15 minutes of walking, jogging, or running on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Skip Wednesday to let your body rest. Let your current fitness level determine the activity.

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Second, alter your eating habits for the better. To do this, write down everything you eat for a week and then use healthy replacements for snacks and dinner. For example, rather than ordering pizza on Saturday night, eat a turkey sandwich with low calorie bread with cottage cheese and carrots. Keep your earlier meals the same.

Next, find a sporting activity you enjoy and start playing or practicing once a week. Basketball, volleyball, swimming, and tennis are good examples. The key is to find something that utilizes athletic ability.

Second Week:

The second week marks another layer to better fitness.

The fourth step is developing body strength. Add 20 pushups and 20 sit-ups to your off days (Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday). You can break these down into sets of 10s or 5s if you can’t complete them all at once. If you need a lower starting point, begin with modified push-ups and crunches.

Fifth, improve your liquids. If you don’t already consume water more than half the time, replace your drinks (soda, juices, beer, etc.) with water for half of your liquids. You can do this more easily by “snacking” on water when you’re thirsty between meals.

Also in phase two is stretching. Begin every morning by stretching for five minutes. This will make you be more limber and flexible.

The final alteration in phase two is only to ensure you’re getting at least 6 hours and 30 minutes a sleep at night. You will need rest for recovery and energy.

In the final phase, you’ll add three more improvements over the last two weeks to complete the 10 steps.

Step eight is adding five more minutes of cardio to each session of 10-15 minutes.

For step nine, evaluate your eating habits once again. Identify four ways you can eat healthier and implement them.

Finally, double your pushups and sit-ups to 40.

After you have completed the month, revisit your journal. From just four weeks of simple changes for the better, you will be able to read in your own words how you improved your fitness in 30 days.