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Let’s not mince words: exercising can be tough. Whether you’re just getting out of bed for a walk in the cold, or you’re an extreme athlete with miles on the clock, the temptation to take a day off when things get tiring is often hard to resist.
But what if your workout regimen didn’t put you through the wringer? As part of TechRadar’s Get Fit for ’23 movement, we’re sharing advice on how to maintain sustainable wellness goals that won’t be reversed at the first sign of trouble — and we’ve enlisted a handful of experts to help us do so.
While promoting the new Disney Plus show Limitless with Chris Hemsworth, guest star Ross Edgley – an extreme adventurer, ultra-marathon swimmer and chart-topping author – revealed his top three tips for improving and maintaining your physical health and fitness goals throughout life. whole year .
The first advice is simple. “Strength training, in any form,” says Edgley. Whether you’re doing a YouTube workout with small dumbbells or are interested in Olympic lifting, “it doesn’t matter,” says Edgley. “Do some strength training.”
“If we look at all modalities – atrophy, sarcopenia, everything – strength training [will help your body]however you do it,” he adds. Atrophy refers to the degeneration of cells in your muscles, while sarcopenia refers to the loss of skeletal muscle mass as you age. According to Edgley, strength training will help reduce the effects of aging on your body, causing you literally stay younger and fitter for longer.
If you don’t feel like lifting heavy weights, resistance bands can help. They’re cheaper, lighter, and safer than weights, and you can mimic almost any kind of movement you’d do in the gym. For example, by sitting on the floor with one end of the band around your feet, you can pull the band towards you in a rowing motion, which works your back and biceps. You can see Edgley and Hemsworth practicing the real thing below.
Edgley’s second piece of advice is a little more unconventional. “Think outside the gym,” he says. “Get hot and cold [in the shower] – 30 seconds on or off. You don’t have to swim in an arctic fjord if you’re just wearing a swimsuit [to feel the benefits of the cold]. I talk about this on the show – we atrophy these old, age-old mechanisms that exist in our bodies. Our ancestors would not have called a cold shower a cold shower: it would simply have been a shower.
“People are in the gym saying, ‘I’m training my legs. I’m training my arms.’ But no one comes into the gym and says, “I’m training the vasoconstriction of my capillaries. I’m training my immune system.” And those things can be very valuable.
We atrophy these old, age-old mechanisms that exist in our bodies.
Ross Edgeley
“And then three more,” continues Edgley, “don’t underestimate the power of aerobic training in Zone 2. Really slow, low-tempo exercise. It is currently trendy to do a lot of interval training, because you are ready in 15 minutes and you burn fat in five minutes – no one wants to hear: ‘fit in 45 minutes!’ It’s not a catchy title. But that’s really what’s going to make the difference – just do 45 minutes, three times a week with a heart rate of about 120 beats per minute.”
Taking it easy is so important, especially when you’re just starting out. Doing light exercise, whether it’s running around the block or 30 minutes at low intensity on a treadmill or stationary bike under the desk, is easy and enjoyable. Research says (opens in new tab) people who enjoy exercise, whether they’re grinding hard at the gym or just doing some leisurely cycling, are less likely to spend time on the couch and more likely to return to exercise. You have Edgley’s permission to take it easy this year!
So there you have it, folks. The three biggest fitness tips to keep in mind in 2023, according to Edgley – who, by the way, was the first man in history to swim the entire circumference of Britain (2,860 km) in just 157 days – are: do enough strength training, take cold showers and regularly complete exercises at a slow pace.
Sounds simple enough, right? For more of Edgley’s expert fitness insights, check out his advice on how to get the most out of your heart rate monitor, as well as our report on Chris Hemsworth’s utterly ridiculous workout regimen for Extraction 2. Or stay tuned to TechRadar for more health and wellness advice throughout January.