Archive for Fitness

Exercise and Fitness for Women Part 2

September 12, 2008 / / No comments

Regular exercise helps to prevent back pain by increasing muscle strength in your abdominal or ‘core’ area. A solid core means a strong back, and this kind of lean strength helps with all your daily tasks that involve lifting and climbing.

In addition, it helps ward off the kind of frailty that one sees in the elderly.

And the best news is, in a lot of cases, you don’t even have to break a sweat to get the benefits.

Great exercise options for women include:

— yoga
— pilates
— walking
— swimming
— water aerobics

For those who don’t mind breaking a sweat, there is:
— jazzercise
— jogging or running
— volleyball
— rollerblading
— dancing of all kinds

Exercise doesn’t have to be complicated or even planned. For instance, you can:

– do housework quickly and to music
– take the stairs instead of the elevator, both up, and down, to use different muscle groups
– do yardwork, such as raking leaves, mowing the lawn

Even the busiest business person has time to exercise, though, so now you have no excuse.   Get off one stop before or after your usual stop on the way to work or on the way home, and walk the rest of the way.  Then make it 2 stops and so on.  Walk to the corner store instead of taking the car, and save gas at the same time.

The biggest enemy of exercise is supposedly not having time, but if you are spontaneous and creative in your exercise choices, you should be able to work these and other fitness activities you enjoy into your daily life.

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Category: Fitness, Women's Health Issues /

Exercise and Fitness for Women Part 1

September 10, 2008 / / No comments

Everyone and their granny seems to have a gym membershp these days, but the question is, do they really use it? Or is it just yet another failed New Year’s Resolution along with ‘being more neat’.

More than 60 percent of women don’t get the recommended amount of physical activity daily, currently set at 30 minutes a day. One in four women aren’t physically active at all

Exercise produces many health benefits, such as reducing the risk of developing diabetes. Eight million people have adult-onset, non-insulin-dependent diabetes in the US at the moment, and that number is rising.  In fact, diabetes is up in the US by almost 100% in the past decade.

Exercise lowers blood pressure, reduces levels of “bad” cholesterol while raising levels of good” cholesterol, and slows your resting heart rate, enabling it to work more efficiently.

Physically active women experience less intense and fewer symptoms of menopause.  In addition, weight-bearing exercise, like walking or lifting light weights, and resistance training using bands, helps increase bone density and prevent osteoporosis.

Exercise can also improve your quality of sleep and elevate your energy level and mood.  Exercise releases endorphins to improve your feeling of well-being, and can even help treat depression naturally without the need for antidepressants, which can carry many unwanted side effects.

Aerobic exercise delivers oxygen and nutrients to your tissues to strengthen your heart and lungs and improve your circulation.

Category: Fitness, Women's Health Issues /

Move Your Body, Boost Your Metabolism

May 29, 2008 / / No comments

Yes, it’s true. If you want to boost your metabolism, the very best thing you can do is to start moving your body. Some exercise is good for building muscle, while other exercise is good for just plain sweating and giving you a good cardio workout.
While aerobic exercises like running, jogging, playing tennis or riding a bike will help you tone your body and maintain your weight, they don’t do a whole lot to increase your muscle mass-which is what you need to do in order to really boost your metabolism.
Weight training and strength training help build muscle, and this is a good thing. Think of your body in terms of an army. Too much fat means too many soldiers are weak and wounded, not able to carry on the fight.
Body: “Sir! Our numbers have been depleted! We’re not efficiently fighting the incoming calories, I mean missiles!”
Metabolism: “Recruit new soldiers, FRESH soldiers! Put them on the front lines and let them take on the calories! I mean missiles!
Body: “Sir, yes Sir! Commence lifting weights NOW!”

As you increase your muscle mass, and decrease your fat stores, your metabolism speeds up. It burns more of what you eat.
Your body will require more calories to maintain itself, so if you increase your soldiers, I mean muscle mass, through weight training and strength training, and consume a lower calorie amount, you will lose weight. Just don’t lower your calories so drastically that it sends your army into survival and hoarding calories and fat mode again.
Boosting your metabolism through exercise is just one way to light up those calorie-burning fires within you.

Category: Fitness, Metabolism, Physical Activity /

Helpful Fitness Tips

April 23, 2008 / / No comments

Here are some quick helpful fitness tips:

  • Keep a fitness diary to stay on track with your health and fitness goals. Start small, like “I will walk 1000 steps today,” and record your successes and how you felt. Gradually boost your steps to 10000 every day.

  • 4 short 10-minute work-out sessions can be even more effective than a 40-minute burst. The thing is to keep moving.

  • Cable TV has a lot of great workout shows. Find the one that’s right for you and stick to it. You can also record several on tape and play them to break up the monotony.

  • Netflix has a full library of workout DVDS. Again, you can view them all and keep note of the ones you like the best, then invest in them.

  • Try different styles of workout, from yoga to belly dancing to tai chi to kick boxing. Avoid boredom above all.

  • Avoid anything that makes you feel strained, and avoid high impact exercises, especially if you are overweight or have joint trouble.

  • Start gradually and work your way up. Don’t try to lift 50 pounds the first time you go to the gym. Start with a weight you can do 20 reps with, and gradually increase both the weight and the repetitions. When you get to a level where you feel bored, increase the weight.

  • Avoid toning the same part of your body over and over again. Schedule your daily workouts so that you get to work on all parts of your body at least twice a week, but never two days in a row.

  • Don’t punish yourself if you want to have a day off, or take an exercise break. Get back into your routine as soon as possible.

  • Stretch and warm up before starting any exercise.

  • Practice proper form in any sport or exercise for maximum exercise impact, and to avoid injury.

  • If you do join a gym, try out a number of different classes to keep your interest up and meet new people as fitness buddies.

  • Try to find a better body buddy. Exercise is more fun if you do it with other people. Do aerobics with a friend or play a sport with your family. Even doubles tennis counts as exercise!

  • A change in environment keeps boredom at bay. Don’t just stand on your treadmill or stairclimber, get out to the park, walk up a hill, take the stairs instead of the elevator.

  • Taking a nap for 15 to 20 minutes in the afternoon can sharpen your memory, improve alertness, and help reduce fatigue. If you can’t take a nap, set aside some time for lighter activities, such as checking email or answering phone calls.

  • Build muscle to boost metabolism. Experts estimate that an additional pound of lean muscle mass can increase resting metabolism by 30-50 calories a day. So turn that chunkiness in the middle to a six pack and you’ll be firing on all cylinders like well-oiled, well fuelled machine.



Above all, enjoy, and be optimistic.
Little changes can add up to big results!
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Category: Fitness /
 
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