by Ian Worthington


What are the most important factors in your life? Being healthy and of excellent fitness should be a major goal for all of us - at the end of the day the way we feel reflects the quality of our life we will lead - and what’s more important than your life?? Feeling good, in essence, entails maximising your PHYSICAL and MENTAL state. This article will solely focus on the physical perspective (maybe I’ll post an article about the mental factors if I receive a positive response to this one !). To make this exercise as pain free as possible I’ve broken down being healthy into 3 easy-to-use tips, which anyone can follow. My aim in doing this has been to eliminate factors which people tend to use as an excuse for not ‘following through’ with the suggested action. These factors can include financial, time and commitment restraints. The beauty of these tips is they are extremely easy to implement and most people already know that they are correct. Therefore, why do the majority of people ignore such common sense or even do the complete opposite? The answer is simple, they have been conditioned, by themselves or society, to act and perform in a certain way. This article is not intended to change your daily routine, which may be poor or excellent, but to simply input additional easy and quick activities to that routine to improve your physical health. Here goes (please note, these are tips which have worked for me, and whilst they follow ideas extracted from extensive reading, they are not all specifically backed by proven data - that’s the beauty of having an opinion folks!):-

Tip 1

Drink between 2-4 litres of water daily. Replace all carbonated, cordial, tea, coffee etc with water (don’t like water? Drink it long enough you will!). I personally add a large slice of lemon to all water I consume - 1) because I adore the taste 2) lemon is alkaline, which is widely accepted to be healthier than acidic produce. Also, you should never feel a severe sense of thirst if you are intaking enough water, as this is a sign of the onset of dehydration. Therefore, drink or sip water at regular short intervals throughout your day, increasing the intake where water is disposed from the body via sweating or increased physical activity has occurred. A water source not available to you all the time? Easy - always prepare a large bottle of water at the start of your day and keep it close to you throughout the day.

Tip 2

Don’t just have your ‘five a day’ fruit / vegetables - ensure it outweighs the rest of your daily intake. Therefore, if you really need that juicy 12oz steak, make sure you offset it with a large salad, or a portion of vegetables which dwarf the steak in size! I’m not going to be the guy to tell you not to have certain foods, we all have our pleasures, but if you learn how to offset the pleasure (or better still, make the healthy options the pleasure - but that’s delving into the mental perspective I promised not to!) with fruit / vegetables you will be on the right track.

Tip 3

BENCHMARK. Do you know someone who is supremely healthy, either by appearance or the vitality they exhibit? If you do, this is someone you want to interrogate (in a nice way!). Find out how they exercise, what they eat and how they operate. They have proven their method, now apply it yourself. If you don’t personally know anyone who meets your specification of desired health, widen your search. Perhaps a celebrity or sportsperson has what you want. Research them, the web holds a lot of info as I guess you know, so I’m sure a person of your means can collect the ‘benchmark’ data you require.

Final Thought:

Actively acknowledge when you are feeling healthy. Many people do not notice the results they are achieving or believe it’s pure coincidence - coincidence and health rarely co-exist! Thank you for time, I hope this article will be of some benefit to you and that you live a healthy and successful life.

by Abhishek Agarwal


Yes, as shocking as it sounds, the biggest and most powerful economy in the world that has so far seemed to thrive mainly on junk food and inhabit burger joints and the likes of these restaurants that serve far from nutritionally balanced meals, is now actually considering taking to fitness evaluations and training to shape up!

With the growing number of obese Americans and their associated health problems being highlighted by the media, medical fraternity and research data collectors alike, there is a sudden and timely realization about changing and controlling alterations in lifestyles to keep disease at bay, including improper diets and lack of physical exercise.

Taking part in regular physical activities that help burn calories and also balance out the fat consumed through energetic exercise is known to be the best way of maintaining long-term health goals and therefore, many smart Americans are taking to this way of life.

Many US citizens have been advised by their doctors to opt for a professional assessment of their health profile and work towards an ideal balance between intake and output of calories so as to achieve health goals; thus, the weight conscious American is a growing breed of people that wants to do away with many lifestyle diseases, such as cardiac problems and diabetes.

This is the main reason why there is a definite increase in the number of 24-hour fitness centers opening up all around the United States even in places where local health spas already exist! The demand is so much that owners are adding in amenities like swimming pools, beach-front locations and even testimonials from celebrities who are also used as a ‘bait’ to lure culture-crazy fitness freaks to come sign up at a particular center!

The other reason why a 24-hour fitness sports center is rising in popularity is also because this allows for many people at one time to go through a series of exercises and repetitions at one spot with access to professional trainers, machines, quality health food outlets for replenishing energy as well as medical assistance at hand, should it be needed.

Thus, these are not only convenient for the busy executives and jet-setters, but also for regular guys who have so many responsibilities to attend to and those working late/odd hours (who find it difficult to find an exercise center when they get off from work).

For others who are gripped by the fitness fever as endorsed by toned-bodies of celebrities and film-stars around them as shown on TV and the internet, the 24-hour fitness centers spell more time at hand for them to get accustomed to something their favorite film star may be addicted to, and thus, it has a greater appeal.

Besides the benefits of a beautiful body, the advantages of a fit mind in a fit body are also too great to be ignored by those joining up with a 24-hour fitness sports center as there is no dearth of activity-variety as offered to members: from tennis to weight training, from swimming to cycling, from spa treatments to nutritional diet planning, every need is taken care of, in a professional manner. So, from combining goodness of fitness to doubling up as a socializing joint, 24-hour fitness centers are doing it all – so, why shouldn’t they thrive?