2 . The smell of sweat, the noise of crashing weights and the muscular people in tank tops make the gym’s strength class or weight room seem forbidding, whether you’re a seasoned lifter or a complete beginner.

    1     Most benefits of strength training go beyond appearances. It subjects our bones to more pressure than our daily routines and increases muscle mass and bone density. Now that you know resistance training is important, here’s how to get started.

Set a goal that is attainable and improves your daily life.     2     That might mean pressing weight overhead to ensure you can put your luggage in the airplane’s overhead bin or doing weighted squats (深蹲) for hiking preparation.

The ideal way is to work one-on-one with an experienced certified trainer.     3     Look for one who not only guides you through workouts but also understands your unique journey and helps you reach your full potential.

Private training with friends or joining in small group classes is also a cost-effective way to get individual attention. While you might tend to position yourself in the back corner of the room, I suggest heading to the front where a coach can monitor your form and offer feedback.

    4     If you favor strength-training apps, opt for one with video demonstrations. If none of these are appealing, start at home with basic-level bodyweight exercises like squats.     5     Grab a gallon water jug, hug it to your chest and dive into a squat. This not only adds resistance but challenges your core muscles to sustain stability.

5 . Whether someone makes you angry, you’re upset with yourself, or you’re just having a bad day, one of the best ways to direct your angry energy is through exercise. That angry energy can build inside of you.     1     If you’re looking to direct your anger through exercise, there are exercises suitable for it.

Running is a very effective technique to calm anxieties. The focus it takes to run and the endorphins your body releases will take your mind off whatever is frustrating you. Be sure to adequately warm up and stretch before you run!     2     You can enhance the benefits by running in an area that is free of distractions like around a lake or through a peaceful part of the city.

A challenging yoga practice is a great way to control your anger to help you get through it. You may be so frustrated that getting started in a yoga practice may seem impossible.     3     You can focus on directing your angry energy into each of the movements. It may also help you to have the support of the group to help you get involved.

    4     Conditioning classes are a great opportunity to focus your angry energy into hitting a heavy punching bag while also burning a lot of calories. These classes are often challenging, so you can use your anger to help you get through the difficulty of the workout. Focus on your breathing, your technique, and harnessing your anger to deliver strong punches.

Cycling is a serious cardiovascular (心血管的) workout and you can use your anger to help you push through the difficulty of it. When you go for a ride outdoors, the extra focus it takes to navigate the outside world can provide a helpful distraction from your frustration.     5    

6 . Yoga for Weight Loss

Yoga is a form of exercise that uses your large muscle groups and raises your heart rate, and it is beneficial for weight loss. Practising yoga can help you burn calories long after you hit the mat, even if you don’t do more intense(剧烈的) forms of yoga. That’s because yoga’s other benefits can help with weight loss too.     1    

Yoga helps manage stress, and studies show that high levels of cortisol, a stress hormone(荷尔蒙), can lead to an increase in fat and reduce your muscle mass. Yoga has an effect on the body’s stress response and reduces the production of hormones linked to weight gain, such as cortisol.

One of the key tools used in yoga is the concept of mindfulness.     3     In a 2016 study, people taking part in yoga practice realised that they were able to notice not only how much food they ate, but also what type of foods they ate and the effect of eating those foods.

Doing yoga long term can help people lose weight.     4     “Yoga may help to improve long-term weight loss results through improvements in mindfulness and a more positive attitude.” Jessica Unick says.

    5     The best yoga is the practice that fits you—the one you’ll put your heart into. There are now many styles of yoga that meet you no matter what your size, age, physical challenge or background. Everybody and every body can benefit from a yoga practice.

7 . Have you ever gotten a sudden burst of motivation (动力) to work out that only lasts a week? Or created a whole workout plan only to lose that motivation a few days later? There was a time when I hated working out. But now, working out is one of my favorite things to do. It wasn’t easy, but I found a couple of ways to make myself stick to it.     1    

Stop telling yourself that you don’t have time to work out.     2     You could take 10 minutes out of your day to take a walk around campus. Even if it’s only a small amount, any exercise is enough to get you started.

    3     When I was building my workout schedule, I experimented with many different activities. I found that the ones I loved the most were Pilates and yoga. After I started doing them more, I started looking forward to my workouts.

Find ways to make exercising more fun.     4     You can watch your favorite show while working out. And you can also try switching up the setting where you work out by taking a walk in the park — anything to get yourself excited to work out.

It’s okay to take a break. When you first start working out, it can be difficult. I was getting all sorts of aches and pains when I first started. Please remember to take a break.     5     Once you’re feeling better, you can get back to it.

Sticking to a workout plan can be difficult, but if you follow some of these tips, you may find that you’re able to work out more consistently.

8 . Rene Campbell has devoted most of her life to shaping her figure into one completely against what society thinks a woman should look like.

“I was always very insecure about my body image, as everyone seemed to know for sure that women needed to look a certain way,” she says when reflecting on her motivation to transform herself.     1     For quite some time, she struggled with eating disorders because she was trying to keep her weight really low and appear skinny, like the women on magazine covers.     2     It was then that she became attracted by the way these seemingly confident women held themselves.

However, building her dream body—gaining over 85 pounds, going from a size 8 to 14—has had its challenges, too. “    3     When I tell them that I am a female bodybuilder, the first reaction is, ‘Muscles for women are just not attractive,’” Campbell says. Though she loves the way she now looks, she is sometimes treated with cruelty.

    4    Even though there is a huge market encouraging women to build muscles and tighten their figures, the ideal still stands for smaller waists, and thin legs, the so-called perfect figure. For women to build up strong muscles, it takes a strong heart.

“I gradually learn to ignore others’ voices and become committed to the training. It is a very big shift for me, and it has won me plenty of awards.     5     My bodybuilding journey makes me realize that I need to do things for myself.” Campbell says.