9 Signs You’re Getting Fitter
Women as we are, we tend to be hard on ourselves when it comes to fitness. We don’t get younger as the years go by, which explains why we struggle to achieve the fitness levels we want. Inflammation in our bodies increases with age, and this affects our hormones and inability to burn fat.
If you’re dreaming to become a professional cheerleader, the demand you have on yourself to attain maximum fitness increases. You need to follow through on your exercise plans and stick to a certain diet. Tracking your progress is important because it allows you to assess whether you’ve made improvements. When you know you’re getting fitter, you can feel more accomplished and ready to ace the upcoming professional cheerleading auditions.
But how can you tell that you are making progress in fitness? Continue reading and you’ll find the 9 telltale signs.
1. Your sugar cravings get less intense or go away.
Sticking to a healthy and nutritious diet decreases those poor cravings over time. So, if you’re a sweet tooth, you’ll notice that you no longer randomly yearn for ice cream, cakes, and other high-sugar treats. This goes to show that you can train your body to crave for the right stuff.
2. Your mental alertness increases.
While you rely on the number on the scale to track your weight loss progress, so often you may not realize that exercise has positive effects on your brain. Based on a study conducted at the University of British Columbia, aerobic exercises, when done regularly, can improve your memory and learning capabilities.
3. You don’t always get the common cold.
If you often acquire the common cold, a surefire way to prevent it is regular exercise. Exercise increases your defenses, helping you cut down your risk for infections. This is supported by research that reveals that your white blood cells (cells that fight foreign invaders in your body) multiply.
4. You see improvements in your strength.
Are you lifting weights or doing body-weight workouts to build muscle? You’ll be delighted to know that you will start seeing progress in strength. Remember that you need to build up your strength by adding more weights, resistance, and repetitions – this is called progressive overload.
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5. You can keep up with your kids during play.
If you’re a full-time mom, how you spend your weekends at the park with your kids shows how fit you are. Can you run with them without losing breath? Are you able to lift them up to reach the monkey bars? What about riding the bike with them? As you get fitter, your cardiovascular endurance improves as well.
6. You eat less because your appetite changes.
Perhaps you’ve heard rumors that exercise makes you crave for more food. The truth is, exercise has an opposite effect in that it curbs hunger. Exercise tends to lower levels of ghrelin – a hormone that increases your appetite. Levels of peptide YY, a hormone that decreases appetite, also increases.
7. You can balance better.
Working out on a treadmill or elliptical machine boosts your endurance but doesn’t do a lot to improve your balance as much as yoga and body-weight exercises. One of the fitness tests for adults is the balance test. Balance becomes even more important as you age. You should be able to stand on one foot. If you stand on both feet, close your eyes. Hold this position for 1 minute without moving your feet.
8. You’ve never felt more well-rested.
Spending at least 150 minutes of exercise per week, whether you’re in preparation for the auditions or getting ready for game days, has a profound effect on your sleep quality. According to a study by the National Sleep Foundation, exercise helps you sleep more soundly by 65%. Participants also say that they feel less sleepy during the day than those who do not exercise.
9. Hard things become easier.
The journey to fitness isn’t a smooth sailing one especially if you’re just getting started. As your body gets used to your routine, activities which were difficult to do become easier. In fact, you’ll look forward to them and find ways to make them more enjoyable. As a bonus, the people around you will notice your progress. This makes you feel proud.
Final Thoughts
As with any goal you dream to achieve, fitness doesn’t happen in an instant. Seeing a physical difference in your body happens eventually if you put in the daily work and adopt a positive mental attitude. The 9 signs above are proof that your perseverance to attain the fitness level of a professional cheerleader is starting to pay off.
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