Exercise Is Great For A Healthy Heart
Lack of exercise may be the single worst risk factor for developing heart disease. Even if you are very careful with your diet, you are still at risk of developing a heart attack if you don't exercise. Most people don't get nearly the amount of exercise that they should.
Fitness is a key ingredient to a happy life. When we are fit, we will have more energy and feel better to do the things we enjoy. Exercising regularly, even just a little, will improve your health and improve your quality of life. You don't have to be an athlete to be considered fit. You can achieve a good level of fitness by simply walking each day. Athletes achieve an extremely high level of fitness.
Improving fitness is great for a healthy body. It is good for the joints, bones, heart and lungs. Regular exercise reduces your risk of a heart attack, developing high blood pressure or diabetes. It can even help prevent certain types of cancer. If you already have one of these diseases, exercise may help to control it and minimize the symptoms associated with it. Exercise can help you feel much better.
Regular exercise helps you to sleep better, reduces stress and is good for mental health. It helps to keep your mind more focused and on task. It helps you to have increased energy and do more of the things you love such as dancing, playing with your children or gardening. It also helps children and teens to be more focused in school.
When you are fit you will burn more calories, even at rest. Regular exercise is important for weight management. A sedentary lifestyle may be the greatest risk factor for developing heart disease. Aerobic exercise is especially important for a healthy heart. Aerobic exercise makes the heart beat faster and helps it to become stronger. It increases your body's ability to use oxygen. Aerobic exercises are exercises which make your heart beat faster for a while. Such exercises may include brisk walking, running, cycling and swimming. These exercises help the heart to work harder for a while to make it stronger. When the heart is stronger, it can more easily pump blood and nutrients to the body.
To achieve maximum benefits for a healthy heart, you should perform aerobic exercise for 30 minutes each day. When you are first starting out, you may want to exercise every other day to help your body get used to it. The American Heart Association recommends performing exercise on most days of the week. Even a little exercise will help you to be more healthy. Making it fun can help you to stick with it. Some ways to make it fun might include exercising with music, exercising with a friend and using plenty of variety.
Rabu, 11 April 2012
Exercise Is Great For A Healthy Heart
Best Aerobic Exercise for Beginners
Aerobic Exercise - Best Aerobic Exercise for Beginners
Safely Perform Aerobic Workouts
Aerobic exercising is a fabulous way to get your heart rate climbing. Aerobics can help to keep your heart healthy, as well as to build your endurance, promoting effective body weight loss. However, unsafe exercising can result in injuries. Make sure that your workout is a rewarding experience by following the safety tips included in this article.
The first and most important safety tip concerns your dress while exercising. Since aerobic exercising involves moving around rapidly, having good shoes are very important. Excess wear and tear on shoes or loose laces can promote loss of traction and falls. Other clothing items which are especially heavy or very tight may result in excessive overheating. Clothing must allow the exerciser to release heat and to move freely during workouts. Loose clothing can also interfere with successful workouts.
Working out at home is another area of concern. The exercise area must be large enough to avoid injuries from bumping into any items, especially sharp items, walls and corners. Wet floors can ruin your day causing slipping and falling. Make sure to keep small children and pets at a safe distance from the exercise area.
All exercise equipment must have proper maintenance to avoid the dangers of malfunctions during operation. Cleanliness is another important part of a safe home environment. Nasty viruses and bacteria are possible due to sweating and breathing in a dirty area. Disinfect equipment as often as is necessary.
Another safety tip is to exercise at your own rate. Of course, you must exercise at the greatest intensity to get the most benefit from the exercises. However, overworking yourself can lead to cramping or to pulling your muscles, or other overworking stress and strain injuries.
A trainer or your own doctor can explain the basics of safe exercising. Your workout should begin with a warming period and end with a cooling period. Using the proper exercises for your particular body, gender, and age are important. The workout should get you to feel great, without creating any injury to your body.
Keeping yourself safe is the best tip of all. When you have an injury, you are out of action, possibly for an extended period of time, and all training advantages are lost to you. Health and safety go hand in hand, so take all the possible safety precautions whether you choose to workout at home or at the gym.
Zumba Toning Sticks - Put Some Fun in Your Exercise Regimen
Zumba Toning Sticks - Put Some Fun in Your Exercise Regimen
A lot of people fail to lose weight because they find their usual exercise programs extremely boring. Going to the gym every day, running on the same treadmill and lifting the same weights in exactly the same positions is bound to get on your nerves after a few days. So how do you lose weight then? The answer lies in Zumba - a refreshingly unique dancing course created by dancer and choreographer Alberto "Beto" Perez. Zumba is a strenuous and highly active fitness program which has its origins in Latin dance. It has caught the attention of various fitness chains because it pumps new life into an otherwise monotonous weight loss program. To further the impact which this unique aerobic program has on its participants, Zumba toning sticks have also been designed.
Losing weight and fat through Zumba alone is a lengthy process. Even though the tunes of Salsa, Merengue and Mambo melodies can get you to start dancing within minutes, losing body fat and strengthening the muscles takes time. To speed it up, the original innovators started teaching their students to use Zumba toning Sticks - light weight sticks to use while the regular dance routines to increase calorie burn. These Zumba toning sticks are like the regular XCO tubes which many dancers use in place of samba balls.
Doing Zumba with these sticks puts pressure on various other body parts in turn shapes up your overall frame much more rapidly. These tools have dumbbells fitted on them help in spreading the effects of the dance to various parts of the body while you are doing the routine. This eventually helps in burning a much larger number of calories than what you would burn with simple aerobic or weight lifting exercises. Many people have also experienced more fun while doing Zumba which keeps them highly motivated to lose weight.
After you have practiced your regular Zumba routines with these Zumba toning sticks for about three weeks, you will notice how well your balance and posture has improved. A certain muscle tightening in the abdominal, back and leg areas can be easily. This in turn motivates dancers to dance even more consistently. After 6-8 weeks, even highly unfit people can start doing lunges and squats with ease. However, ensure that you close each aerobic session with lateral stretching as this will properly cool your muscles and will prevent cramps and muscle deformities.
So the next time you begin feeling that you are getting nowhere with your fitness program, buy Zumba toning sticks and start learning Zumba!
P90X Vs Insanity
P90X Vs Insanity - Which Do You Choose?
Completing the first 30 days of Insanity pushed me with my cardio but the 2nd phase of the Insanity program was a beast. I completed it without missing a workout and feeling good about my results. I didn't see a great reduction in my weight, like I did when I completed P90X, but I can tell that my body fat percentage decreased and I do look leaner. Numbers aside that's the bottom line about doing this anyway right? Looking better and feeling better after a program like this is achievement enough for me! There is another reason for that too but I'll discuss that further down. I don't disregard the numbers by the way, I'll provide those in a minute.
What I Liked About Insanity
I was coming off an injury to my distal bicep, so the idea of a program that uses no weights and equipment, really appealed to me. Well, I used a heart rate monitor, but I'm not sure if you can call that equipment. I also liked the fact that the Insanity program was only 60 days, as opposed to the 90 days of P90X. Once you do Insanity, it's easy to see why it doesn't continue on for another 30 days. It's just not needed. Some may be concerned about losing any gains from P90X, but I would have to say that I don't think that's the case. You still do a bit of upper body and shoulder work just not to the extent of P90X. Push-up and floor exercises that work the chest and shoulders are added to the cardio mix and I was getting a good burn from those. The last point which was a nice change was that the first month of exercises in Insanity were only about 40 minutes including warm-up and cool down. That gets extended in the second month, but a least you build up to it!
What I Struggled With
If you had thought Plyometrics was tough in P90X, just wait till you get to do Max Interval Plyo! That doesn't happen until the second month in Insanity but I find it funny that a word that I hardly used prior to P90X has become a 4 letter word in my mind..."PLYO!"
What Could Be Better?
Shaun T was a nice change from Tony Horton, but for such an Insane workout I thought that there should have been a light warm up and stretch before getting right into it. The warm up was more like a pre-cardio workout to the cardio workout. The stretching is done post warm up which is fine, but its a pretty intense warm up. Also,
the Cardio Abs routines really didn't do anything for me. I thought the P90X Ab Ripper routines were much more intense. Even though I was burnt out after an Insanity workout, when having to do Cardio Abs right after, I still walked away thinking, "Okay, was that it?"
So what were my results?
I started Insanity at the 79.2kg (around the 175 pound mark) and ended up at 78.5kg (173 pounds). One thing I noticed that with the Insanity program is that due to the calorie burn in each workout, I felt that my appetite shot up quite a bit. I found myself eating more during this program than I ever did with P90X. Not eating bad stuff, but just needing more food intake to feel satisfied.
Closing Thoughts
Shaun T and the Insanity program provided me with a great way to continue on with working out since I hurt my distal bicep. I really didn't want to stop since I was feeling really good completing P90X. This program really pushes cardio and I found myself burning calories like crazy. I read somewhere in the forums that the Insanity workouts burn anywhere from 300 to 1000 calories per workout. The product home page says up 1,000 per workout but of course that depends on each person and how intense they worked out that day.
I would recommend Insanity to someone who:
-Needs a change from P90X
-Wants to lose weight very quickly
-Would like shorter workouts without weights or equipment
-Doesn't mind cardio...(maybe "loves cardio" would be a better way to say it)
Overall, I'm glad I did it. It gave me ideas about incorporating some of the routines into P90x in some way when I do another round of it. For example, as fun as it is, I wasn't too keen on Kenpo as an intense workout. The P90X Plyometrics was good, but after Insanity, I think any of those Cardio routines are a bit more intense.
Workout Intensity: How Hard Should I Be Working Out?
Workout Intensity: How Hard Should I Be Working Out?
A good effective way to avoid hitting a plateau during your fitness goals is to make sure you're always working out in your target heart rate for your age. When your body speed increases, naturally so will your heart rate to match the intensity that you're asking your body to reach. To high too fast if you're an individual that hasn't worked out consistently, isn't the smartest thing you should do to your body. You should start off with a lower exercise heart rate, until you can consistently stay in your range for 30 minutes consistently. You will find your target heart rate by following this simple formula: 226-your age if you're a woman, and 220-your age if you're a man. The number you receive will be represented as your maximum heart rate. A person won't need to reach their maximum heart rate intensity in order to achieve the results that they want, but the higher the beats per minute you can achieve, the more calories you'll burn off. If you divide heart rate target zones by percentage of the person's maximum heart rate, it breaks out into five zones. Each zone has different benefits, and in my opinion all the zones will help an individual become healthier!
The first fitness zone is called the Healthy Heart Zone. In this fitness zone, a person will still be able to carry on a conversation with the person next to them on a nearby treadmill or elliptical machine. This zone is very comfortable no matter the age of the person exercising. You will more than likely be walking if you find yourself in this zone, and if you're a senior citizen age person, I'd advise you start in this zone until you can achieve your target heart rate zone for at least 30 minutes consecutively. Your workout in this zone won't give you the most cardiovascular benefits, but it will help decrease body fat, blood pressure, and cholesterol. The Healthy Heart Zone is 50-60% of your maximum beats per minute.
The 2nd fitness zone is called the Fitness Zone. In this fitness zone, you will burn more calories per minute than in the healthy heart zone because the exercise level is a little more intense. Since you will be going faster and covering more distance, you'll burn off more calories. The calories burned off will depend on the distance you cover and your weight more than any other factors. A person will get the same benefits as the Healthy Heart Zone, but obviously with the higher intensity, you'll burn off more calories. This zone is 60-70% of your maximum heart rate.
The 3rd fitness zone is called the Aerobic fitness zone. This is the zone where people will experience benefits like endurance, stamina, building new blood vessels, and increasing your heart and lung capacity. With the increase in your workout intensity, you will burn more calories in the same amount of time, because you're covering more distance in the same time. Calories burned depend most on distance and your weight. You will not be able to achieve this intensity by walking, you may have to switch to jogging to get into this heart rate zone. This fitness zone is 70-80% of a person's maximum heart rate.
The 4th fitness zone is called the Anaerobic training zone. This intense exercise will improve the amount of oxygen you can consume, which is also referred to as your VO2 maximum/volume. This heart rate level is when your body begins to produce lactic acid. You burn more calories with the lower heart rate training zones, because you're covering more distance per minute. You will not be able to achieve this heart rate by walking, you'll need to switch to jogging or running. This zone is 80-90% of your maximum heart rate, and very well could be the last zone you'll need to reach fantastic fitness results.
The 5th and last training zone is called the maximum threshold or red-line training zone. In this zone, You can't go anymore intense, and most people can't stay in this zone for more than a few minutes. This zone should only be used for short bursts, where you work intensely for a minute and then drop back down to a lower intensity for several minutes, and then repeat again. You should consult with your doctor to make sure you can work out at such a high heart rate safely. I've heard of long distance runners, or Olympic sprinters training in this zone, but not average people. You'll burn lots of calories per minute in this zone, but it's just not as practical or safe for most average individuals who want to achieve fitness results.
If you're an individual who hasn't been working out in months, and know that you're not where you need to be concerning cardiovascular fitness, it's never wrong to start out at a very conservative heart rate. If you can easily stay in a zone for 30-45 minutes consecutively, then it might be the time to search for a higher training zone.
Now that you know your target heart rate, check your pulse regularly as you exercise. An easy way to do this is to count your pulse for 6 seconds using your watch or a clock, and then multiply this number by 10 to get your beats per minute. You can feel your pulse in several ways, such as by placing your fingers firmly over the inside of your wrist or on your neck just below the angle of your jaw. You can also place your palm over your heart and count the number of beats that you feel. Most workout facilities have treadmills, and elliptical machines that have heart rate monitors built-in with the machinery. If it's in your budget, you can never go wrong with buying a heart rate monitor that you can wear at all times during exercise.
In conclusion, nobody ever wants to experience a fitness plateau. To avoid plateaus, simply change up your workout routine, by either increasing your intensity, or adding weight resistance to your cardio workouts. Always make sure that you have someway to monitor your target heart rate zone, because your heart rate controls ultimately how many and what type of calories your body is burning off.
My name is Pierce Calloway, and I'm currently a personal trainer at the YMCA in Albany, OR. My online store can be found out at http://www.thebosuball.com, where I sell fitness products that anyone can use! My goal in life and fitness is to share the love of Jesus Christ to as many people as possible. God has created our bodies to do amazing things, and to reach people for him in many different ways in life. We need to instill the discipline and overall effort to make sure we're committing ourselves to the daily routines that will make us the most successful! Whether it's ministry or fitness, there are daily requirements of our bodies. When you decide to workout, please make sure it's at the correct intensity to make a difference. I tell people all the time that "something is better than nothing", but maybe I need to stop saying that to people. You really are selling yotrself short when you are somehow receiving huge amounts of energy after your personal workouts. If we're burning calories and energy during a workout, then why should that equal bursts of energy for several hours??? Our bodies are telling ourselves, that we had a lot more to give! Please make sure you're working out at your prescribed heart rate for at least 30 mins. per workout, and if you need assistance with finding your target heart rate, please consult a trainer or doctor for help.
Four Pillars of Getting Abs
Four Pillars of Getting Abs
I have recently come to understand that planning is guessing, no need to follow many plans that never work and feel guilty afterwards. I am a type of person who wants results quickly, since we always blame ourselves when things do not go the way we planned or the way we want them to, my solution is just to go with what is working for that moment and to discard what is not working.
These days there is too much information overload when it comes to getting 6 pack abs, do not allow yourself to be confused by the training jargon and many different exercises. Do what works for you and stick to it, if you feel that you have to change then change. Do not be afraid to make decisions, take a step forward and face your fears.
It is also vital to be smart, you must have confidence in yourself. Discipline is the middle name of training for abs, without it you are as good as dead. Have a weekly routine schedule to follow - that is not planning, it is simply being smart. When you exercise make it a point that you do not cheat otherwise you are setting out for a disaster that will take a long time to be fixed.
In order to get 6 pack abs you must follow the four pillars rule. The four pillars are discipline, dedication, strength and a positive attitude. You need to stop looking at people, you have a goal and if you use these four pillars as your guide you will get the perfect abs guaranteed. It is obvious that you cannot get your abs in a week or two of starting training, let us be realistic here - there is no quick fix when it comes to getting abs.
You must also learn to listen to your body, going to training frequently is highly advisable but when the body says it is tired you must listen to it and give it a break to recoup so that your muscles can get ready to push those hidden abs out. Fatigue and burnout are usually taken for granted and if you do not go back to training after you have taken a break all the hard work will be meaningless.
Since you have made a decision to get perfect abs, stick to it. Overcoming laziness and procrastination is quite easy when you know how, once you are at the gym and you feel that you do not want to be there, start by taking a light jog or a brisk walk then get on to working out for your abs, you will feel the difference and the need to procrastinate will disappear automatically.
Interval Training on the Treadmill
Interval Training on the Treadmill
Are you on a mission to lose weight? If this is so and you are serious about it your workouts probably involve some sort of treadmill exercises. The treadmill can be a great machine to aid in your weight loss goals. Treadmill training is popular because of the fact that it is relatively easy to buy and install a treadmill at your home. Let's say you get this brand new treadmill and are ready to begin your workout routines. You do a conventional treadmill workout for a couple weeks and are becoming bored with it. It now may be the time to start doing some interval training on treadmill type exercises.
Just by alternating the settings on your treadmill can give your muscles the variance and workout they need. In order for workouts to reach maximum effectiveness you must expose your muscles to different intensity levels within the same workout. Interval training on the treadmill accomplishes this goal. Try starting at your slow to moderate pace in your warm up and then increase the speed of the treadmill as you advance in the stages of the workout. By doing this you are performing a very basic interval type workout.
The key to any interval training on a treadmill is to vary not only the actual speed of the treadmill, but the incline and decline functions as well. Essentially your goal is to incorporate periods of both high intensity and low intensity within the same workout routine. With that said, there is no real standard interval treadmill training. Your workouts should be geared towards whatever you feel comfortable doing. We all work out with different goals in mind and those play the biggest role in determining how your specific interval training should be mapped out.
You will see that as you progress you will actually see yourself looking forward to your next treadmill routine with great anticipation. Why is this? This is because interval training on a treadmill is always changing and it is a natural human condition to be drawn to anything that is diverse and constantly changing rather than to be drawn to something that is very static and outright boring. After you see the results these workouts have as far as calories burned you will find yourself looking to get back on that treadmill as well.
Since any workout regimen is going to include a heavy dose of cardio type exercises you might as well make those parts of your workout as successful as possible. One of the great ways you can accomplish this is by interval training on treadmill type exercises. This type of training can be done at any time that you normally do your cardio workout, if you workout for 20 minutes, you could begin at a low intensity for 3 to 5 minutes then increase to at higher intensity for 3 to 5 minutes following this cycle for the entire workout. The time shown can be easily modified depending on your fitness level by decreasing or increasing the time for either low or high intensity.
What is good about this type of interval training, it can be used by the beginner or athlete who wants to increase their cardiovascular endurance or burn calories. As with all cardio exercises stay within your capabilities and do not exhaust yourself, stay within your target heart rate range to get the best benefit from interval training on the treadmill.