How to Burn Extra Calories this Winter
During the Winter months, too many of us dread the snow and wish we had warmer weather. We also tend to use Winter as an excuse to stay in doors! Be sure to dress warm, then you should go outside and have fun while you are burning those extra calories! Build a Snowman – When was the last time you built a snowman when it snowed? It’s not just for the kids, and when you are working on building your very own Frosty, you will burn about 240 calories an hour. Ice Skating – This is one of my favorite things to do in the Winter time! You don’t have to be doing triple axel jumps to get a good exercise with Ice Skating. All you need to do is just try to balance yourself and keep moving forward...
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Never forget this Important Habit!
Working out on a regular basis is more than a way to lose or maintain weight. It’s a way of life. Regular Exercise Working out on a regular basis helps with many things. I will briefly discuss some of the many health benefits of working out on a regular basis: •Drops Insulin levels -High Insulin levels are dangerous since it is the root cause of Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol, etc. Cardiovascular Exercise is a natural way to lower your Insulin levels. •Treats Type 2 Diabetes – A couple of the possible side-effects of Diabetes is Heart Disease and Kidney Disease. Both are very serious conditions, and exercising on a regular basis (including a healthy diet) can greatly reduce the chances of having Diabetes. •Lowers Blood Pressure – If you have High Blood Pressure, you are at risk for...
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This is a must with every workout!
Whether you are swimming, running, or riding a bike…you should make sure that you do a proper warm up and cool down with your exercise routine. Unfortunately, a lot of people try to skip this essential workout “must”, without ever realizing that they are missing a very important piece to the puzzle. I’ll give you some reasons why a proper warm up and cool down are important. Warm up Warm ups should be easy and short. Having a proper warm up helps provide blood flow to your heart and muscles. With the increased blood flow, the lactic acid in the muscles is minimized, which increases the overall performance of the workout. Synovial fluid is released into the joints which allows increased elasticity in the muscles and increased flexibility for the tendons and ligaments. A good warm up also helps activate the nervous system...
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Stretching Before & After Exercise
You probably already know about the importance of exercising on a regular basis. Many don’t know that with every time you exercise, proper stretching should be accompanied with your workout. Importance of Stretching If you aren’t properly stretching with your workout, you are definitely putting yourself at risk for a serious injury during your workout. It’s always a bad situation when you can’t workout because of a workout related injury that was very preventable – if only you stretched after your workout! Not only do you prevent injury by stretching, you also become increasingly more flexible, stronger, bring valuable oxygen to your muscles, and provide better blood circulation. Stretching after your workout helps prevent muscle cramps, soreness, and allow for your muscles to loosen up. Before your Workout Do you need to stretch before your workout? This topic is very debated,...
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Gym Etiquette guidelines to follow
Whether you are new to the gym or a seasoned gym rat, here are some common gym etiquette guidelines that you should be sure to follow: •No muddy shoes on gym floor – you are sharing this gym with a lot of people, and nobody wants a dirty gym. In most cases, the gym will provide a rug for you to wipe off your shoes. •Must wear gym shoes while exercising – typically, you will not be allowed to exercise wearing sandals, slippers or flip flops. This is obviously for safety reasons, and should be followed. •No gym bags on gym floor – It’s never fun tripping over someone else’s gym bag just after you had an intense workout. Most gyms will have a policy in place to keep gym bags off of the floor, which is for everyone’s...
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Walk, Jog, or Run?
Is walking better for you, or is jogging? What about running? Walk Walking is a lot easier on your body than jogging or running, and if you have been out of the gym for awhile, walking is an excellent place to start. Walking is also a great cardiovascular exercise, and should not be looked at as an inferior workout to either jogging or running. Try to keep a steady brisk walk, and this is a great way for you to burn calories and lose weight. Focus on walking correctly, get good comfortable shoes, breathe correctly, and work your way up to speed walking. If you have ever had a knee injury, you might want to stick to walking until you have fully recovered from your injury. Never feel like you have to go faster than what your body is ready...
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Importance of Breathing Properly During Exercise
Benefits Breathing helps bring oxygen to the muscles, helps you relax, slows heart rate, and increases endurance Application during Exercise Be sure to develop a steady pattern of breathing while you exercise. Breathe in through your nose, and excel through your mouth. If you breathe in through your mouth, that’s when you can start gasping for air, and your mouth just starts to burn. If this is the case, you aren’t doing it correctly. Inhale during the recovery part of your exercise, and exhale during the exertion part of the exercise’s movement. It’s important to breathe properly. Breathing properly helps you keep your form, prevents injury and unnecessary fatigue. If you want to go the extra mile, or beat your personal best, breathing properly among other things is a sure way to increase your productivity while exercising. Application for Everyday It...
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Cycling
Cycling is a fun way to get your body moving. I remember when I was younger I could ride my bike for hours since I was just having fun, feeling the wind in my face, and viewing the scenery. Back then, I didn’t realize that riding my bike (cycling) was actually good for me and that I was exercising. Health benefits Cycling is good for you for several reasons. First of all, it is a great cardiovascular workout (helps fight against heart disease). Cycling tones your muscles, such as your butt, your thigh muscles, and your calf muscles. More toned muscle comes with helping your body burn those calories, which if you want to lose weight, is a good thing. If you need to make sure you are careful with your knees, cycling is a great way to go....
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Elliptical Machine
I first started using the Elliptical Machine after I was recovering from hurting my knees while running (soft and uneven ground- don’t recommend it). As you might have guessed, the Elliptical Machine is low impact, and easy on your knees. I thought of this machine as a temporary step while my knees were recovering, and found that I loved this machine and the workout I was getting. Purpose If you are looking for a great cardio workout, this is the machine for you. Within 3 minutes of using this machine, you can get up to your cardiovascular heart rate level and stay there for the duration of your workout. This machine will get your heart rate pumping, so it’s best if you slowly work your way up to either a more intense level and/or a longer workout. when I...
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Crunches…not for everyone?
Do crunches really make you have a flat stomach? Well, it depends. Let’s be Honest… If you have a lot of excess fat in your stomach area, I would say no, and I don’t recommend doing crunches- at least not just yet. What happens when you do crunches is that your stomach muscles get bigger. Think back to those guys at the gym who do weight training. Are they getting bigger or smaller in the area that they are working out and lifting muscles for? Same works with your stomach, so with those stomach muscles getting bigger, your stomach tends to stick out more. The good news is… So how do you get the excess fat away so you can see your sexy abs that you know are there somewhere? Cardiovascular exercise. Do cardio on a regular basis, such...
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