Cold Weather Fitness Tips

 - November 30, 2008

As we approach winter, the mercury falls and daylight shrinks. What’s a jogger or a cyclist to do? There are a few possibilities of how to maintain your aerobic workout as the flakes start falling.

  1. Take up an indoor sport, like basketball, racquetball, or swimming
  2. Get an indoor fitness machine like a treadmill, stationary bike, or elliptical machine.
  3. Jump rope! Surprisingly, this simple activity is more effective than running!
  4. If you lift free weights, cut the rest time between exercises, to get an aerobic workout in addition to building muscle.
  5. Get outfitted for exercising outdoors – warm sweats for your arms, legs, and torso, a hat that covers your ears, and, if you have respiratory problems in cold weather, a baclava to cover your face and warm the air you breathe.
  6. If you will be exercising outside at night, be sure to include reflective and flourescent clothing for safety.
In Exercise Methods

Avoid Ballistic Stretching

 - November 20, 2008

Many of us remember trying to touch our toes by bouncing down, a little further each time. This type of sudden movement can allow you to stretch a little further, but from a fitness perspective it’s not beneficial. In fact, the danger is a matter for concern.

When one engages in ballistic stretching, they are putting an undue strain on whatever muscles and tendons they are stretching. Rather than building flexibility, this can actually cause muscles to tear or tendons to weaken.

Far better to stretch gradually and evenly, building up the muscle’s natural flexibility, and ensuring that no injury will occur.

In Exercise Methods

Doing Crunches and Sit-ups

 - November 10, 2008

For your stomach, abs and back muscles, sit-ups and crunches are great.
You can also exercise your back by lifting a suitcase or other object off the floor while keeping your legs straight (avoid this exercise if you have a history of back problems).

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Stregthening the Calve Muscles

 - November 1, 2008

You can also work your calves by standing on the edge of a step or curb with your toes
and letting your heels go down as low as they can reach, then rising up as high as you can on your toes.
If you have trouble with balance, rest one hand on a wall, but take care to use only your feet to exert upward force. This exercise is great for developing and strengthening your calve muscles.

In Exercise Methods

Exercise methods get a boost from youtube.

 - October 23, 2008

today you can find hunderds and thousands of new ways to exercise via the net

In Exercise Methods

Exercising Your Legs

 - October 5, 2008

For your legs, try squats and lunges.
For a squat, stand squarely with your feet shoulder-width apart and your arms loose at your sides.
In a controlled motion, bend your knees until you are almost sitting on the floor.
Don’t go so low that you lose your balance. Then gradually stand straight.
Inhale when you go down, and exhale on the way up.
You can increase the intensity of the exercise by slowing the motion,or by holding a heavy object such a briefcase in your hands,or by wearing a loaded backpack.
Repeat the motion ten times, take a break, and do it again.
A lunge is a similar exercise, but instead of keeping your feet square, stand with one in front of the other, as though taking a step.
As you come down, shift your weight forward, and shift it back as you come back up.
Alternate which leg is forward to work both equally.

In Exercise Methods

On The Go Muscle Exercises

 - September 5, 2008

It’s great to lift weights at a health club or use a weight machine in your home gym, but how can you stick with your fitness program when you’re on the road? There are several ways to work your muscle groups without any equipment at all. While they may not be ideal, and it is useful to have free weights or machines available, these exercises will keep you on your fitness program wherever you travel.

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In Exercise Methods

Building Upper Body Strength

 - August 24, 2008

Your upper body can be exercised with push-ups.
Vary the hand position to work different parts of your arms.
You can also perform pushups standing, with one hand in each side of a door frame, to work other muscles.

To work your chest muscles, sit on the edge of a bed, and place your feet on a chair in front of you.

Lift yourself off the bed with your hands, and lower your behind as low as you can (off the edge of the bed.
Raise and repeat. For another approach, stand between two firm chairs or tables, place your hands on them, and lift your feet off the floor.

Lift yourself up and down using only your hands.None of these exercises is quite the same as using iron or a machine, but they can do in a pinch.

Many people also find they are a nice counterpoint to machine exercise because they emphasize balance and dexterity, additional fitness skills. Plus they building upper body strength and help you scuplt your muscles.

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Tips For Strength Building

 - July 15, 2008

Strength building exercises build the mass of muscles.
As a secondary effect, they also strengthen the bones, ligaments, and tendons that participate in load bearing.

Strength building exercises generally consist of repetitive movements that place a large amount of strain on the muscle or group of muscles being exercised.

Typically, a beginner should attempt each exercise with the maximum amount of weight under which he or she can perform ten repetitions of the motion. This is known as the individual’s ‘ten weight’. The exercise should be performed 10 times, which is known as a ‘set’.

After a short break, a second and then a third set should be performed.

It is important not to use excessive weight which makes it difficult to perform the motion of the exercise correctly and can lead to soreness, especially in beginners.

The body needs to recover and rebuild itself after strength building exercise.
For this reason, at least one day of rest should be allowed between exercise sessions.
Alternatively, one can exercise certain muscles (say, the upper body) one day, and other ones (the legs) the next.

On the rest days, it is important to eat nutritious and abundant meals, drink plenty of water, and to avoid going more than 2 hours without food and drink.
This helps ensure that the body will build the muscles. Stretching on the rest day also helps restore the muscles’ flexibility.

It is also beneficial to get a good night’s sleep.
Maintaining a program of strength building over time, an exerciser gradually adds weight.
The muscle tissue accumulates, and the body becomes capable of handling progressively larger loads.
Aside from the obvious benefit of increased strength, there are other health and appearance benefits as well.

Building and maintaining muscle requires a great deal of energy, and can result in the burning of fat.
Muscle is much denser than fat, and it clings more firmly to the skeletal frame,
so even if weight does not change, a person’s appearance will become more slender and trim with weight training.

Excessive fat is a passive health risk, associated with heart disease, diabetes, and more,
so converting as much fat as possible to muscle can prevent a wide range of ailments.

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