Exercise & Fitness Information
3 Steps To Starting a Successful Fall Exercise Program
Ah, the crisp cool breeze, the invigorating feel of the outdoors as the leaves start to turn colors, the sound of kids laughing on their way to school.
Finding Time to Exercise
Exercising During Commercials
Interval Training
Are you in an exercise rut? Do you want to kick your fitness level up a notch and increase your endurance? Would you like to add more intensity to you workout? Interval training is a good way to achieve all of these goals in a safe and systematic manner.Interval training is simply a matter of alternating high intensity exercise and low intensity exercise. It allows one to get the benefits of the high intensity work while giving the body some rest time. It allows one to extend a workout time period and build endurance gradually.Running on a flat surface burns calories and gives your heart and lungs a great cardiovascular workout. Running up hill challenges your muscles, heart, and lungs, burning more calories and providing additional toning. But taking a 30 minute run up hill or on a steeply inclined treadmill would quickly exhaust most of us, or likely force us to stop early. However, running up hill then back down, or up hill then on flat ground would allow for high intensity work counter balanced by intervals of slower periods of active recovery. Interval training burns more calories and pumps more blood than continuous lower intensity exercise because it includes intervals of energy and oxygen-hungry work.Because interval training burns a lot of calories and provides good muscle work, it may help you save time. A pound of feathers weighs the same as a pound of bricks. Likewise, running one mile burns the same number of calories as walking one mile. But walking one mile takes a lot more time. If your goal is calorie burning and toning, and you are short on time, then interval training does more, faster. Just remember that improving cardiovascular health requires aerobic exercise of 30 ? 60 minutes, so don?t make all of your workouts quickies, save those for when you?re in a rush. Interval training can also be helpful if your goal is to move yourself up to the next level of endurance and fitness. Maybe you have been trying to start a running program, but can?t seem to maintain such a demanding exercise. Interval training is, in fact, one of the most effective ways to train the body. Marathoners commonly use this method to train for an up-coming race. A good program is to run for 4 minutes then walk at a good clip for 1 minute, or do a 3/2 interval. Your body will work hard then rest (while remaining active), work hard then rest. Your heart, lungs and muscles will make the transition to running, running farther, or running faster in a safe and productive manner. There are a lot of ways to add intervals to your workout. If you are already a runner add hills or speed segments. If aerobics classes are your genre, add explosive moves like jumps or sprints. Include segments of speed walking in your normal walking routine or take the incline of your treadmill up a little higher at timed intervals.Interval training is productive and can add excitement to your ho-hum exercise routine. Doing interval work in place of your normal routine, once a month, once a week, or once a day, is a good and effective plan. E-mail me if you need suggestions on how to intensify, endure and enjoy. You?ll be glad you did.
Top 10 Tips For Finding Time For Exercise
If you're like most people, finding time for
Top 10 Reasons To Exercise In The Morning
If I had to pick a single factor that I thought
The Abs... More Important Than You Think
What comes to your mind when I say the word ?abs?? Do you think of the infomercials advertising ?6 second abs? or the latest Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue? Most people focus on training their abs to look thinner or sexier. But, do you realize the importance of your abs in everyday activities? Most yoga instructors do. And that?s why one of the focuses of yoga is to build your core abdominal strength.
Overcoming Resistance to Exercise
Are You Destined to Sit on the Couch?
7 Ways To Guarantee You Stick To Your Workout Program
1. Begin Looking at Exercise Differently. Think of exercise as a way of life. Do not look as exercise as a chore or task that hurts you. Exercise is probably the most inexpensive and fun thing you can do for your life. Find something in exercise that you enjoy doing such as meeting new people, getting out of work, or your means of stress relief. It will be like brushing your teeth or eating breakfast. The sooner you view exercise as a activity of health and way of life, the sooner your results will show up.
4 Exercises That Will Help You Change Your Body Faster Than Any Other Exercises You May Have Tried
1. Lunges with a barbell. Properly executed, this exercise is the king (or queen) of total body reshaping exercises.
The Power Workout:
Scenario: I really want to get in shape, but I work all day and attend multimedia classes until 8:30. How do I find the time to exercise, and what are a few good exercises for beginners like me? Solution: Finding time to exercise is certainly a challenge. Even the most motivated among us suffer setbacks during our business's busy season or when a new project is on the horizon. The key to fitting fitness into your busy day is to recognize that finding time isn't the issue--it's making time.
Fitness the Goddess Way: Movement vs. Exercise
I was excited to hear the esteemed speakers at the Fall 2004 Omega Institute Conference. The ?biggies? of the women?s movement such as Gloria Steinem, today?s best-selling authors and who?s who of empowering women doing inspiring work were. Lucky me!
The New Lover Approach to Starting an Exercise Program
Approach a New Exercise Program Like a New Lover
Mom, How F.I.T.T. Is Your Workout?
Moms don?t have the time or desire to mess around with complicated workouts that don?t get results. If you want real Mommy Muscle you need a plan that?s based on principles not infomercials and advertising.
Arthritis Exercise ? One Way to Relieve Pain & Stiffness in Your Joints (part 1)
Exercise can be very beneficial for arthritis sufferers, often relieving stiffness in joints, strengthening muscles thereby reducing stress on joints, keeping bone and cartilage tissue strong and healthy, and increasing flexibility. A recommended 30-minute minimum of daily activity is the norm. Before starting any exercise program, it is vital that one speak to their doctor to ensure there are no unseen risks, however you will find that most doctors recommend exercise for their arthritis patients either on their own initiative or when asked.
Arthritis Exercise ? One Way to Relieve Pain & Stiffness in Your Joints (part 2)
Even when you cannot make it out to walk or to an aquatics or yoga class, there are exercises you can do daily to improve flexibility, strength and conditioning when you suffer from arthritis. You can flex your legs while sitting in a chair facing forward, simply by moving your leg outward while keeping your foot on the floor and holding it there for a few seconds, then retracting it until your foot is behind you, then alternating to the other leg. Interlocking your fingers and slowly flexing your wrists to the left and the right for a few minutes a day can help tremendously to increase flexibility and reduce pain in the wrist area.
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RELATED ARTICLES
How To Get Started With Exercise: The Magic Pill Of Your Weight Loss Program
In a previous article, I mentioned the weight loss mantra of "Eat Less... Move More" and I wrote about how to choose the diet plan that could help you eat less. In this article I will discuss the "move more" part of the equation.
The Truth about Spot Reduction
At any point, we can pick up the latest fitness magazine or see a television ad for the newest "abdominal reducer" exercise. These gimmicks are feeding on society's obsession with a "six pack" and everyone is searching for the answer to lose those love handles.
Workouts That Travel
A vacation can do wonders for reducing stress levels, but it can derail a healthy fitness regimen. Even some of the most die-hard exercisers find it difficult to stick with a workout program when away from home. Sure, many have good intentions. They may even pack their workout attire. Unfortunately, their gear never makes it out of the suitcase until they're back home.
Toning Your Abs - Common Exercising Myths
1. The 'Chew Then Crunch' Myth
Thick Today Is Fat Tomorrow
As we twentysomethings get further along in our twenties, we may start to notice ourselves gaining weight. It sucks, because at one time you could eat whatever you wanted and now it's like someone shut off your metabolism. But did you know that by not exercising to lose those extra pounds you are actually setting yourself up for heart disease, colon cancer, diabetes, and osteoporosis? I just learned that these are all lifestyle diseases and can be eliminated even prevented by exercising and maintaining a healthy diet. Who knew?
Wise Up and Invest in Your Workout Success - Six Top Fitness Faux Pas
Already dedicated exercisers make small but costly mistakes regularly
in their workouts, and one tiny change can have a huge impact on their
results. Time is valuable, and for each precious moment invested you
want to ensure the best possible return. If your body is not yet as lean or
toned as you would like, it is likely that you are committing some key
training mistakes. These errors can sabotage the efforts of even veteran
exercisers. By learning about the most common fitness faux pas and
their fixes, you will mistake-proof your exercise and see tremendous
payoffs. Six of the biggest fitness faux pas are?
Exercise ? More is NOT Better!
Years ago when I was a professional bodybuilder, I fell into the mindset that the more I exercised, the less fat I ate, the better I would look and feel. At the time this seemed like the logical thing to do. And maybe in my mind that was correct. However, from my body's standpoint, this was NOT the thing to do, nor was it healthy.
After WLS: Walking for Wellness
Step for step, mile for mile, walking is the best cardiovascular activity you can include as part of your weight loss surgery success story. Walking is easy, accessible, inexpensive, individual and effective. It is the gold-star sport for real people with real lives. Formerly stigmatized as cheap transportation and a senior citizens' sport it is now a credible and fashionable form of exercise. And it's been around for a long time ? anthropoids stood upright and put one foot in front of the other thousands of years ago and we haven't looked back since.
6 Things A Norwegian Fable Teaches Us About Healthy Perseverance Part 2
4. Ideas, goals and dreams have a shelf life.
The man in the fable took years traveling the
different roads, forgetting that his fiancée was
waiting for him to arrive to get married. After
years passed, she stopped waiting and ended up
marrying another. Author, John L. Mason said,
"Ideas have a shelf life; that's why we must act
before the expiration date." Getting started on
any new project is exciting because it's new.
Persevering through the months ahead require
holding on to the why of doing it and involving
all of your senses to envision the victory now.
Imagine how you will feel one year from now when
you return for your annual physical and the
receptionist does a double take when you sign
in at the desk. Hear the accolades from your
primary physician as he reviews your chart and
compliments you on the progress you've made.
Do you carry your head a little higher? Do you
stand a little taller? Of course you do!
"To everything there is a time and season under
the sun." Seize your time today. Know what you
want and stay focused on it.
Recognize Your Motivation to Exercise
The positive effects of exercise have been documented and reported through every media outlet available. You can probably walk up to anyone on the street and ask them the positive benefits of exercise and they can most likely list them. If everyone knows why we need to exercise, why aren't we? The answers are most likely more complex than we think.
Great Exercises To Tone & Tighten Your Butt
A question I am frequently asked by females is, "What is the best exercise I can do for my butt?" In my opinion, there is nothing better you can do for your butt than lunges. They target your glutes, hamstrings and quads, and can easily be modified for beginners to advanced exercisers.
Try Different Forms of Exercise for Success
If you have always used free weights, then switch it up and try training with machines like "Hammer Strength" or "Nautilus". These are excellent weight resistance machines and they will really work your muscles from different angles and different intensities. You should always strive to find new and exciting ways to workout your body. Try doing all body-weight movements, which are a really great way to build quality strength. The military uses mainly body-weight movements during their training. These include pushups, situps and pullups. The three main body-weight movements will really give you a great overall body workout!
Some Great Ideas on Staying Fit
Physical exercise is something that you need to do on a regular basis. If you're looking for examples of great fitness exercises to try out, you'll find them on our site.
Bodybuilding Sins That Cause Back Pain and Missed Workouts: Part 4
Welcome to article number 4 in our series "Bodybuilding Sins That Cause Back Pain and Missed Workouts". In this article we are going to talk about how bodybuilders tend to create massive muscle imbalances and what you can do to not be one of them.
If you missed the first article, you can read it by clicking on the link below.
Here's a breakdown of the articles to look for:
1. Article:1 - Choosing The WRONG Exercises
2. Article:2 - Training Variations for Pain Relief and Maximum Results
3. Article:3 - Targeted Stretching
4. Article:4 - Targeted Exercises
5. Article:5 - Rest, Recovery, and Injury Prevention
Article:4 - Targeted Exercises
What is a Targeted Exercise and Why You Need To Be Doing Them?
While performing three different exercises for each area of the chest may sound "targeted" and it may work great for targeting the chest itself? this is NOT what we mean by targeted?
What we are talking about is choosing exercises with more than just size increases in mind? remember, there is far more to muscle than just how it looks? You can be really big, but also weak, slow and inflexible.
To drive this point home some more, remember the "Turtle Back Syndrome" we covered in article #1? So many body builders are plagued with this gruesome condition and they don't even know it! Are you?
The Turtle Back condition is a direct result of too much focus on building up the pecs and lats and not enough focus on the upper back. Also, the lack of focus on flexibility in the chest and shoulders makes it even worse?
Not only does this look stupid, but it sets you up for back, neck and shoulder problems like rotator cuff tears and the like? and I know you don't want any of those!
So by targeted, we mean exercises that will not just develop muscle strength and size, but more importantly work towards correcting muscle imbalances which will mean less pain and missed workouts, better performance and function, and most of all better and balanced total body development!
So How Do You Find Out Which Ones You NEED To be Doing?
As we discussed in the previous article on "Targeted Stretching", it's very important to know before hand what stretches you actually NEED to be doing? the same applies to exercises?
and the ONLY way to find out what specific areas you need to target is to perform physical evaluations so you can pin point the weak muscles that need strengthening and the tight muscles that need stretching.
We have developed a series of simple assessments you can do yourself to identify the muscles imbalances you have?
and while they are intended for people suffering from back pain or sciatica, as a bodybuilder you stand to benefit greatly because you train so hard, you are far more likely to experience injuries like bulging and herniated discs, rotator cuff tears, knee pain, etc?
Plus, even if you don't have any pain or injuries now, it would be very wise to learn how to assess yourself so you can target your training now before you create an injury, which not only will slow down your training and progress, but it can also become a life-long struggle with pain and a serious loss of your strength, size and fitness.
So be sure to check out our website to learn more about how you can quickly and easily identify and eliminate any muscle imbalances you have.
Success Versus Failure in the Exercise Department
Success is what you are prepared to make of yourself every single day. That one cold morning when you want to roll over but instead get up and go to workout, is a defining moment. Success boosts self-confidence and is self perpetuating. We all know it, thrive on it and love it.
Exercise Tips: Move Your Body - Boost Your Productivity
Do you find yourself setting a New Year's Resolution (every year) to get fit/go to the gym/lose weight/drink more water? If you could answer yes to any of those. I totally understand. I did that too for many years. But I also discovered two weeks into January I had blown my resolution and then would feel guilty for "not achieving my goals". What I discovered was it was more about making movement part of my everyday routine (notice I used the word movement not exercise)! Making little changes in your life can help you make exercise part of your life, rather than something you "have to do"!
Exercise and Diet ? For Your Waistline
Caring for your body is the most important thing you can do in your life. You only get one body, and it needs attention. Too often in society, we let things get out of control and then we try to find the easy way out. In weight loss, this means crash diets and diet pills. These are not the best for our bodies, as they suck out the energy and don't provide enough nutrition.
Get Fit From Home!
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Things Around The House
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Got A Cold - Should You Work Out?
A recent study sponsored by the American College of Sports Medicine indicates that exercising moderately while you have a common cold doesn't affect the severity or duration of the symptoms.
When Exercising Right Looks Wrong III (Back)
Hopefully, if you read my last article I got you thinking. Thinking about different ways to train, not necessarily using machines, but using your entire body with each exercise. We talked about the changes exercise science has brought about and the risks of continuing to train the way we currently do. Our bodies, as I alluded to, were not designed to be cramped into a one size fits all machine and forced to move in a specific pattern. That pattern unfortunately is single jointed, and those of us in the know understand that even putting food in your mouth requires 3 major and around 24 smaller joints. We need to train the same way that our body was designed to operate.
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