There are several ways to increase the benefits of your exercise routine. One is to add constructive passive activities to certain exercises. These work best with repetitive aerobic exercises like power walking, jogging, working out on simulation machines, and swimming. Water eliminates one of them, however.
I do not recommend doing the first three (3) while you are doing resistance exercises like those you’d do using free weights or machines. These particular exercises require your full concentration to avoid injury and get maximum results.
Here are four (4) ways you can increase the benefits you gain from your exercise routine.
1. Hook up a personal development IV
Listen to self-improvement audiobooks and programs while you’re working out. Doing both of these activities together fits. They go hand in hand.
Since all the systems in your body are active and stimulated, your ability to comprehend and absorb the material is greater than if you were sitting or lying in a stationary position.
I’ve listened to dozens of personal development programs during my power walks and certain audiobooks more times than I can count. Repeatedly listening to them gets the information into every cell of my body, which is very inspiring. If I were listening to the morning news each day instead, I’d be depressed and exhausted by the end of my exercise routine.
2. Review your affirmations and goals
I just discovered this one. I used to go through my affirmations and goals before or after I meditated each morning. One day, it struck me that I should do this while I’m doing my daily walk or swim.
The repetitive rhythm of these exercises makes it ideal for reviewing your affirmations and goals. If you have affirmations and goals for your body’s fitness and appearance, you might find, as I did, that your exercise speed and power increase significantly as you review them. It’s really pretty cool.
Here are a few examples of body affirmations I go through.
- Every cell in my body is healthy and strong.
- Every artery and vein in my body is clear and strong.
- Every organ in my body is healthy and operating perfectly.
- My body is lean, and my muscles are well-defined.
- My abdominal area is fat-free, and the muscles are well-defined.
I also go through my other affirmations and goals during my exercise routine.
3. Conduct turbo-charged brainstorming
Because aerobic exercise provides your brain with a high concentration of oxygen and nutrients, it’s ideal for brainstorming. It’s like adding a turbo-charger to your brain.
I first discovered this secret when I switch my morning aerobic exercise from power walking to swimming laps during the hot summer months. Here’s what I did.
First, I would select which issue(s) I wanted to brainstorm. Next, I’d allow my mind to relax by letting my thoughts drift while I continued to exercise. Then, before long, so many great ideas were popping up at such a fast rate that I wanted to write them down. I, of course, could not because I was in the pool! When I power walk, I take a few slips of paper and a pencil with me for this purpose.
To compensate for not being able to write these ideas down while I was in the pool, I devised a memory system. I do this by attaching single words or phrases of the idea to a numbered list. I sometimes add images to the ideas when it’s possible to do so. It works pretty well, but I would still prefer to write these ideas down. They’re too valuable to risk losing. Maybe I’ll look into getting one of those underwater writing boards that I’ve seen scuba divers use on television. 🙂
4. Super-hydrate and flush your body
It is common practice to have a bottle of water handy during exercise. I mean having a medium to large bottle of water (or two small bottles) available to thoroughly hydrate your body and flush your system.
If you are not drinking water during exercise, I strongly recommend that you take up this practice. If you are drinking something else, I suggest that you consider switching to what your body truly wants most–– pure, clean water.
Although I don’t know a lot about sports drinks, I would not recommend them for this purpose. Every brand that I’ve tasted is sweet, which is not good, regardless of how it is sweetened. It’s best to use high-quality water from bottled water products or your home purification system. Buying expensive bottled water products is not necessary. The generic brands are just as good in most cases.
I drink cold, refrigerated water in Spring and Summer and warm, room-temperature water in Fall and Winter. On especially cold Winter days, I sometimes heat the water in a microwave, add a few drops of lemon juice, and pour it into a stainless steel or glass bottle.
Warning: Putting hot water into a plastic bottle or heating it in one can cause the release of potentially harmful chemicals.
Since roughly 70 percent of the human body is water, giving it a plentiful supply during strenuous activity is a healthy practice that pays dividends. Not only will you be superhydrating your body, but you’ll also flush all the systems in your body that rely heavily on water for purification processes.
If you consider that your body’s fluids flow at maximum rates during exercise, providing a stream of what it uses most, water, makes a lot of sense.
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The whole point of exercise is to increase the quality of your life. If you add these things to your exercise routine, you can further enhance that quality, and it won’t require any additional time.