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The Importance of Maintaining Regular Exercise Is physical activity that is planned, structured, and repetitive for the purpose of conditioning any part of the body. Exercise is utilized to improve health, maintain fitness and is important as a means of physical rehabilitation. Purpose Exercise is useful in preventing or treating coronary heart disease, osteoporosis, weakness, diabetes, obesity, and depression. Range of motion is one aspect of exercise important for increasing or maintaining joint function. Strengthening exercises provide appropriate resistance to the muscles to increase endurance and strength. Cardiac rehabilitation exercises are developed and individualized to improve the cardiovascular system for prevention and rehabilitation of cardiac disorders and diseases. A well-balanced exercise program can improve general health, build endurance, and delay many of the effects of aging. The benefits of exercise not only improve physical health, but also enhance emotional well-being. Choose an Article Improving your Health Fitness through Cardiovascular Exercise so you get RESULTS. Improving your Health Fitness through Cardiovascular Exercise so you get RESULTSIntroduction to PROGRESSION techniquesBy STEFAN, BAppSci, IBLS-AIS, CFT Perhaps the most common type of exercise is aerobic exercise, also called cardiovascular exercise, which utilizes oxygen and helps burns fat. This type of exercise has consistently shown in numerous studies to improve cardiovascular and respiratory health. This means that as a result, this type of exercise conditions the lungs to be able to use more oxygen while increasing your heart's efficiency by decreasing heart rate. By conditioning your body through aerobic exercise, it allows you to remain at rest with less effort. Yes it's true folks, some people work hard just to remain at rest. Imagine what would happen if they had to run to catch the bus? This would be a great stress for the untrained body and it's unfortunate, knowing the human potential. Apart from allowing you to remain at rest with less effort by lowering your resting heart rate and increasing it's pumping power, you will of course be able to run faster and longer than you ever did. So maybe running faster and longer isn't something you strive for, that's fair enough. However you should know that by exercising at higher levels what you're also doing is making previously "hard" exercise seem easy.
Perhaps an even bigger motivator is that this kind of exercise has been shown to dramatically reduce your risk of heart disease; this country's number one killer. It does this by lowering cholesterol levels and decreasing blood pressure and lowering your heart rate. One of the first signs of this phenomenon was observed scientifically in the 1950's in the UK. It was evident that bus ticket conductors had significantly lower incidence of heart disease compared to their sedentary coworkers, the bus drivers. What was the difference? The ticket inspectors had to walk up and down the bus' stairs to collect tickets while the bus drivers; well... they sat on their butt. After conditioning this aerobic pathway through cardiovascular or aerobic exercise you will be able to more effectively burn fat. The harder you exercise aerobically; your body switches to burning more glycogen as its main fuel, from fat. Glycogen is stored carbohydrate and is limited in supply. As a result you become fatigued relatively early and are unlikely to continue. However after regular aerobic exercise, your ability to burn fat even at higher workloads increases compared to when you were not training. Basically, the point at which your body switches from burning fat to glycogen will be raised. So through this type of exercise, you will be able to exercise harder with less effort and your main source of fuel will be stored bodyfat. That has to be great news, right? In order to condition this cardiovascular pathway and reap its many benefits, we must increase our heart rate and keep it elevated for at least 25 minutes, 3 or more times per week. This is the recommendation given by the American College of Sport Medicine, a premier authority on the subject. A brisk walk or jog should be enough to gain the many health benefits. But as with every exercise program that is geared for results, improvements and personal bests we must practice PROGRESSION. So if you want to improve your aerobic fitness you must NOT perform the same workout that you did today 5 months from now. The workout you perform in 5 months time has to be more intense or of longer duration compared to the one you do today. Always keep in mind that you body needs to be subjected to stresses that it has never witnessed before and be forced into adaptation. Too often I see people go to their gym with no goal in mind, no real purpose and inevitably this means no real results. With aerobic exercise, much like resistance training you must do one of two things to improve and create personal bests. Over time, either perform the same workout intensity for longer and longer duration, OR keep the workout duration time the same and increase workout intensity. I'll give you an example. If you're training at an intensity of 5 km/hr today for a period of 20 min, in time you should be able to perform the same intensity for a period of 40 min. Over time meaning maybe a period of six months or more depending on your age, goals etc. So this progression method allows you to keep the workload the same and progressively add extra time under the same intensity, effectively making your workout time longer. This is perhaps the easiest and safest progression method that I recommend for beginners to intermediates. After mastering the above method, you can now try doing the workout in the same time frame every time you workout but at higher intensities in time. So, if you're doing 30 min at 10 km/hr today, in time you should get up to 15 km/hr in the same 30 minutes. So now you're doing more and more work in the same time period. When using these two methods to foster improvement in your aerobic/cardio program you should keep in mind, especially you're a beginner that you should 1) Always give yourself a bit of a head start into any program. This means that if you normally push yourself to just complete 20 min on exercise like stepper or bike and are really tired at the end, it is unlikely that you can progress positively. Try cutting back the time or the intensity of the exercise before trying on a progression program and work up to your previous best. This will give you added recovery and added confidence for your next workouts so that you're able to break through and improve. 2) In general it is better to progress by the above two methods by increasing the intensity or the time completed very gradually over time. Always keep in mind that health fitness is and should be a long-term goal. There's always time to break your personal best. Better you hold back and enjoy the exercise routine and progress slowly as compared to constantly pushing it to your limits. Constantly pushing your limits does not even occur in elite athletes at the Australian Institute of Sport. Not only will you be better recovered but you'll also learn to associate fun and freedom with exercise. This should be your primary concern. (See Upcoming ARTICLE) 3) Always keep an exercise diary. This will ensure that you're on track and getting results by giving you feedback. But will also give you the satisfaction ok knowing that 6 months ago you could only run 2 kilometers while now you can easily run 5. Writing it down tells your mind that you're serious... and you are. Aren't you? (See Related Article) Although a little exercise is always better than none, scientific studies done on large amount of people almost always find a correlation between exercise intensity and total kilojoules expended and positive health factors. By increasing your health fitness systematically, you not only teach your body to better itself but what you're also doing is burning more and more calories each time. This is seen in scientific studies, which show that when you exercise using a progression method, (such as the ones above) meaning that you're slowly but constantly improving your fitness, you'll also progressively reap more of the benefits that exercise has to offer. It's consistently seen that as one systematically improves their health fitness, NOT merely going through the motions at the gym, they'll experience low and stable bodyfat levels, an enhanced cardiovascular profile, more energy and vitality. What's this mean to you? It simply means Results. By using both methods you will be able to design your own program that even Lance Armstrong will be proud of. You'll be able to prevent disease while burning bodyfat but best of all is the fact you're constantly excelling yourself. Stefan Angheli 3 Ways to Refresh Your Treadmill Workout
Don't Get Stuck in a Treadmill Rut Is there anything more boring than the treadmill? After endless hours staring at the same wall, anyone would start to wonder if that’s all there is to exercise. But it doesn’t have to be that way. By shaking it up and loading your workout with variety, you can rediscover the fun of a good treadmill workout. The first thing to remember is that any workout is and can be what you make it. The opportunity to go all out or to barely break a sweat is completely up to you. With that being said, even though the treadmill might be an uneventful and boring thought to most, you have the ability to make it fun and challenging. The following are several tips on how to create your own workout.
These are just a few tips that can help transform the monotony of working out on a treadmill into a very rewarding experience all around. Now get out there and keep on walking! Common Fitness Blunders - Part 1Even Experienced Exercisers Can Be Guilty of These There are numerous fitness blunders that everyone—beginners and experienced exercisers— fall into occasionally. Some may even become a regular part of your fitness routine. But, to get the best results from all your hard work, it’s important that you don’t find yourself creating a fitness routine filled with mistakes. This can set you up for injury, lack of results, boredom, plateaus, and just an overall lack of success. Analyze your fitness routine on a regular basis and ask yourself if you fall into any of these common blunders. Blunder #1: Skipping a Warm Up, Cool Down, and StretchingThis may be one of the most common habits of exercisers! You finally committed yourself to a fitness routine, and you don’t want to waste any time. Often individuals jump right into exercise full bore. After all, warming up and stretching seems meaningless and a waste of time. Not True! Warming up and stretching should be the foundation of your exercise. They should be viewed as a transition into exercise, allowing your body and mind to prepare for running, jumping, endurance, etc. Here is what you gain from a proper warm-up/stretch and cool-down/stretch:
You’ve probably exercised without warming up and stretching properly, and maybe nothing horrible happened. It may seemunnecessary, but consistently skipping will limit your gains and put you at risk for injury. You could even be injured without even knowing it since you may not feel any pain right away. Fix it Tip: We are a culture of instant gratification seekers! Expecting fast results from a new diet and fitness plan is very common. Unfortunately it is one of the worst mindsets a beginner can create. You know about all the great benefits of exercise, like increased energy, weight loss, and better health. You exercise for a week straight, wake up the following Monday completely wiped out, a couple pounds heavier (because the exercise made you so hungry), and you have a cold. What gives? Exercise definitely provides many great benefits, but the results are often seen weeks or even months after you begin. When you are consistent:
Don’t throw up your hands if you don’t see what you are looking for. Analyze what you are doing and try to make adjustments. It’s worth it.
There are too many to count. Fitness myths are created for many reasons, but are mainly the result of people unknowingly spreading inaccurate information. Sometimes they are blatant sales approaches to try to get you to buy the latest book, training sessions, or exercise contraption. There is no miracle solution. The great thing about exercise, just like life, is that there are many different ways to success. Figure out a way that works for you, but don’t fall into the trap and believe these myths.
One of the biggest blunders of an exercise program is the lack of consistency. It’s very similar to climbing a mountain. There may be all sorts of reasons why you want to climb your "mountain"— to lose weight, to gain energy, to improve health, or to fit into your favorite jeans. You exercise for 2 weeks, then you have to work overtime, so you take a whole week off. You get back to the gym for another week, and you’re feeling great. A couple days later, you have to go to your son’s basketball game, and a few days later, your parents are in town for the weekend. Your exercise quickly falls low on the priority list. Does this sound familiar? You might get over the foothills of your mountain with this approach, but there’s no chance you’ll ever see that beautiful view you have in your mind. Does that mean you have to exercise every day to be consistent? NO! It means that you need a plan that incorporates fitness into your weekly schedule. This way you continue to climb upwards. The key is not letting yourself tumble back down to the bottom, so even holding steady or just taking one step forward is enough. Maybe your forward progress starts with 2 days of exercise for 20 minutes until you reach the foothills. Yes, it might take you longer to get over the foothills this way, as opposed to working out 6 days a week for an hour, but it’s a process that allows you to adapt and adjust your current lifestyle to incorporate change for the long haul. When you're ready to tackle that first small mountain, bump it up to 3 days of exercise for 25 minutes. You can actually enjoy the process because it doesn't take everything out of you to get this far, and you find yourself excited to add to your program. This excitement is the motivation that will eventually lead you as far as you want to go. A good view to shoot for is 5 days a week for at least 30 minutes. At some point something will come up in life that knocks you back down a little bit. It’s only natural that your excitement level can plummet when this happens. But if you expect it and are prepared, you can limit the impact it has on your climb. All the successful climbers understand it’s part of the process. They LEARN from whatever knocks them back so it doesn’t hurt them again at another point along the journey. Learning how to overcome a tumble, slowly building on your plan, and using excitement as motivation are keys to making exercise a part of your lifestyle. This lifestyle will help you climb that mountain and enjoy the view from the top. From there, it’s all about maintenance. Blunder #5: You’ve done the same cardio and strength training workout for the past 6 months.When you first start a new activity, your body responds more readily, and you begin to see results. Maybe you lose a little weight, begin to see muscle definition, or notice you are getting stronger. But over time, your workouts aren’t as challenging. After a month or two, you stop losing weight and can’t figure out why you’re stuck. After about 6 weeks, your body starts getting used to the activity you have been doing. It’s no longer challenged when that activity becomes a normal part of the routine. If you want to start seeing results again (or just continue the progress you’ve made), you have to change something about your routine. If it’s cardio, add a variety of activities to your workout. Try a new class or machine, or get a new appraisal from your personal trainer. If you love what you’re doing now, you don’t have to give it up. You can stick to your favorite activities—just try to increase your intensity and duration. If you walk, add some speed work, increase your distance, add hills to your route—anything that makes it different will keep your body guessing. For strength training, be sure to change your exercises every 4-6 weeks for the same reasons. You can change your workout by:
Everyone is different. So even though you start an exercise program, it might take a few weeks for the number on the scale to budge. The important thing is not to get discouraged. Even if you don’t lose weight right away, there are many other important changes you’ll notice in the first week or two. Regular exercise helps you sleep better, increases your energy, reduces stress, and helps you feel better overall. Don’t overlook these benefits! If you do lose weight quickly in the first week or two, don’t get discouraged if it slows down a little after that. You should expect to lose an average of 1-2 kilos every couple of weeks if you stick to a program of regular exercise and eating right. Blunder #7: You think you are working hard, but you can talk to the person on the treadmill next to you without discomfort.Intensity is one of the hardest things for many exercisers to understand. You don’t want to work so hard that you become exhausted early in your workout, but you also don’t want to take it so easy that you don’t break a sweat. There are a few simple ways to determine your intensity and help you decide if you need to step it up a bit:
Working at a high intensity will help you burn the most calories in the shortest amount of time, making your workout as efficient as possible. Blunder #8: Since you exercise, you figure you can eat whatever you want.The key to weight loss is a healthy diet and regular exercise program. It is very difficult to lose weight through exercise alone. Those extra calories add up quickly and might take longer than you think to burn off by working out. For example, you decide to treat yourself to a medium popcorn (with butter, of course) at the movies. You did a 45-minute workout on the treadmill this morning, so you deserve it, right? Well, you might want to think before you eat. You probably burned about 400 calories on the treadmill, but that tub of popcorn contains almost 1200 calories!! So you would have to do an extra 90-minute workout just to burn off your movie treat. When you think about it that way, a better option might be to skip the popcorn and bring a granola bar or other healthy snack. Step Out of Your Workout RutWhich Culprit is to Blame for your Fading Energy? It sneaks in slowly. You might not notice it at first, but pretty soon, its presence is undeniable. It’s all around, and it’s affecting your actions. Your workouts are going nowhere. Sooner or later, this happens to everyone. When you’re stuck in a rut and no longer seeing progress, it’s important to figure out how to get out of the slump and back on track. When your progress begins to slow, re-evaluate your plan, and then start back at it. Read on to learn which culprit is to blame for your fading energy, and what you can do to give it a boost. Culprit #1: BoredomIf you’re doing the same exact thing every time you work out, your body will become conditioned to the exercise. Pretty soon, the challenge is gone, and you’ve stopped improving and seeing visible results. But how does this happen—even when you’re being consistent? Say you’re doing bicep curls several times a week with the same weight and the same number of reps. It used to be hard, but after awhile, you can do it with ease. Instead of basking in the effortlessness of the workout, bump it up! Increase the frequency and intensity of the activity, and you’ll start to see more progress. Shock your body into making changes. Another way to avoid boredom is to spice up your fitness routine. A good exercise program doesn’t have to include an hour at the gym each day. For a new challenge, try hiking, riding a bike, playing tennis, or doing yoga. Even an hour playing outside with your kids will burn calories. Keep things interesting to keep the boredom at bay. You also might try hooking up with a "fitness buddy" to keep things entertaining. A pal can keep you motivated and challenge you to push your body. Culprit #2: OvertrainingWhile some people need to increase their gym time, there comes a point when you might be working your body too hard. If you’re going to the gym on a regular basis, you’re creating a healthy, lifelong habit. But if you are going to the gym for hours each day, you might be tearing your body down too much. Muscles need recovery time to build back up. Overtraining affects the body as well at the mind. You’re probably pretty drained if your life is starting to revolve around the gym every day. The cure? Take a couple of steps back. This might mean cutting back on your workouts, or taking a week off to replenish your body and mind. After you’ve rested and recovered, come back to your workouts slowly, paying close attention to how your body responds. Culprit #3: DietIn all probability, you’ve heard about the calorie equation. To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you eat. But, if you’re drained during your workouts, take a good look at both sides of this equation.
Water is another key to a successful workout. Drink water throughout the day on a consistent basis, but also make sure to drink extra water during your workout since you lose hydration through sweat. Water helps keep your joints moving fluidly and your muscles primed for exercising. Culprit #4: SleepIntense cardio and strength training causes your muscle fibers to tear. To a certain extent, this is a good thing, because it gives them a chance to build back up, stronger and better than ever. But if you aren’t giving your body enough rest at night, then your body is going to have a difficult time recovering from workouts. Your progress might halt—or go backwards! If you’re slipping into a workout rut, examine your sleeping patterns. You should be getting seven or eight hours of sleep each night to give your body a chance to refuel and recover from the previous day’s work. If a good night’s sleep isn’t part of your daily routine, re-examine your healthy lifestyle plan. Culprit #5: StressIf stress is a part of your daily life, eventually you’ll become emotionally and physically drained—if you’re not there already. Signs of overstress include tight muscles, headaches, and trouble sleeping—all of which can affect your workouts. While exercise helps relieve some stress, if your life is in overdrive, it can’t get rid of all your tension. As stress builds up, take time to get organized, breathe deeply and ask for help. Your workout routine will actually improve! Think You're Too Heavy to Exercise?Getting Off To a Good StartBy Dean Anderson, Fitness Behavior Expert Priority #1: Safety Problem: One of the biggest mistakes people commit is making assumptions about what they can’t do without checking with someone who knows how to determine that. You may have physical problems, ranging from medical conditions that impose unavoidable limitations on what you can do, to the typical after-effects of years of obesity and a sedentary lifestyle, such as chronic inflexibility, weakness, and muscle pain. These problems may rule out one kind of exercise or another. But it would be unusual if there is truly nothing you can do. The first step here is to sort out what really can’t be done (or changed) from what can. That begins with a visit to the doctor, to get a medically approved exercise prescription, telling you what you can and can’t do.Solution: Don’t be one of those people. Tell your doctor you want to start exercising and ask for advice on what to do and what to avoid. Many doctors aren’t trained in exercise science, so if the advice you get is too vague or general to be helpful to you, go see a certified personal trainer (or ask for help on the SparkPeople Message Boards) to get a fitness plan that you can take back to your doctor for approval or modification. Between these two sources, you should get ideas to start safely. Priority #2: Find Something That Fits YouProblem: You just can’t seem to find a good place to start. You’ve checked out the exercises in the Resource Center, but you don’t see many that suit you—if you get down on the floor, you may not be able to get up again by yourself (been there, done that), and your body just doesn’t bend or let you get into the positions illustrated. You’ve been to the gym, but you don’t even fit into half the machines there, and you felt like you were going to throw up after two minutes on the elliptical machine. To make things worse, all those young hard bodies in their little spandex clothes make you feel like you’re from another planet—and who the heck thought it was a good idea to put those stupid mirrors everywhere?! You’ve tried walking around the neighborhood, but you had to quit after a couple of minutes because your feet were sore or you got cramps in your legs...
Solution: Almost every exercise can be modified so you can do it (or something like it) in a way that meets your needs and present capacities. For example:
The main idea is to start where you are right now, and adapt exercises to your needs and capacities, instead of trying (and often failing) to use exercises that aren’t right for you at this stage. With a little research and by asking questions, you’ll find that plenty of very effective alternatives to traditional exercises are already available. Above all, don’t make it easy to talk yourself out of starting an exercise program by getting confused about the difference between a challenge and an insurmountable obstacle. Those undefeatable obstacles are really pretty few and far between and not so hard to work around—if you want it to be that way. Yes, it’s true that when you set your sights on your long-term goal of losing a lot of weight, all the little things you can do along the way seem pretty insignificant. If I had a dollar for every time I talked myself into staying on the couch, by thinking of the 100 calories I'd burn with a couple of trips around the block as trivial, I could afford to retire. And I’d need all that money, because I wouldn’t be able to get off the couch at all by now, much less work. So, let’s get real here for a minute. The reality is that the only thing that will get you where you want to be is the same little thing you don’t want to do because it seems so insignificant. That’s life—we want drama and spectacle, we get 10 minutes on the treadmill. All you can ever do is what is right in front of you, right now, in this moment. Everything else is history or fantasy. If it’s meaning you want, try doing whatever is in front of you as well as you possibly can. Believe me, I know this is much easier to say than to put into practice. I know it’s much easier to believe after the fact than before you’ve seen it work wonders in your own life. But there is no alternative way of thinking or acting that actually works (as far as I know), and I looked pretty hard. But, if the necessity of starting something you don’t really want to do is the bad news, there is a lot more good news here:
Hopefully now you’re willing to give this a try and see what happens. Next we'll discuss the subsequent problem you’ll probably face after you get over the first hump of beating the inertia and the initial discomfort. You don’t want to let this one catch you unprepared. This problem involves coming to terms with one of the true mysteries of human nature: forgetting important lessons we learn each day, forcing us to relearn them again—sometimes the hard way. You’d think that once you’ve figured out that exercise is important, that it does good things for you, and that it isn’t so bad once you get going, you’d have a pretty easy time getting yourself off the couch for the next exercise session, right? Wrong. It will get easier. And somewhere along the way it may even become second nature. But for a while, as far as your daily motivation is concerned, it may seem like you have to reinvent the wheel every day. I don’t know why this happens, but you would be wise to expect that you’ll routinely forget how good you feel after the exercise, and you’ll likely need some way to remind and persuade yourself to keep going. Here’s what I’d suggest; it worked for me. Keep a “Before-During-After” Exercise Journal This is a very simple and basic journal, in which you keep track of three things for each of your exercise sessions:
Once every week (or as often as you find helpful), spend some time looking over your recent journal entries. Check your physical progress, look for patterns in your physical, emotional, and psychological responses to the exercise, and try to draw some conclusions for yourself, based on your recorded experience. This journal can do several very important things for you. It can help you make sure you’re exercising safely and at an effective level of intensity. If you’re always sore, rarely feel invigorated and refreshed; or if you aren’t improving regularly, or any experiencing any mental or emotional benefits, you’re probably either working too hard or not hard enough, and need to adjust things accordingly. You can use your journal to track and compare your adjustments to see what actually works for you. And most importantly, you’re creating something you can turn to over and over again when you aren’t feeling motivated to exercise. All the expert advice and theory in the world can’t convince you of the benefits of exercising the way your own testimony can. So, next time you don’t feel like exercising, just pull out your journal and let yourself be persuaded by your favorite expert—yourself. Here are some very basic suggestions for process-focused goals you can add to your program:
Women and Weight TrainingWhen it comes to women and weight training, there are a lot of misconceptions. The fact is that weight training can be very beneficial for all women, particularly those of us with weight loss and fat loss goals. The most common misconceptions surrounding women and weight training are:
Let's explore each of these briefly in turn. Women who lift weights get big bulky musclesMost women do not have the high levels of testosterone and HGH (human growth hormone) required to increase lean muscle mass dramatically. By strength training we can all replace muscle lost through aging and (depending on our genetics) perhaps add on a further couple of kilograms of lean muscle mass if we are LUCKY. I say lucky because even though many of us are trying to lose weight, more muscle means a faster metabolism, faster fat burning and a major slowdown of the ageing process. Ok, so if weights don't lead to bulky muscles, why do women body builders look so big? The answer to that is easy, their use of anabolic steroids results in enhanced muscle growth because of the testosterone being injected - this is why some female body builders look HUGE! Our beautiful, lean, hard muscle will turn to floppy, flabby fat if we stop lifting weightsMuscle will not turn into fat; it is as impossible as turning wood into steel! However, if we stop strength training and we still eating the same amount of food we were eating while we were training, we will naturally put on fat. This is because when we stop strength training we begin to 'lose' muscle (use it or lose it!) and our metabolic rate declines causing a natural decrease in our daily energy needs. Any excess calories, regardless of their source, is then stored as fat. Women should lift weights at high repetitions and low weight for 'toning''Muscle tone' comes from having adequate amounts of muscle that can be seen under low levels of body-fat. Obviously to do this we need to lift weights so that we have enough muscle visible, however, lifting weights at high repetitions and low weight actually uses our aerobic system and trains our muscles for endurance instead of strength and hypertrophy (muscle gain). So to make our muscles tight and 'toned' we need to 'build muscle' and this can only happen if our muscles are placed under sufficient overload (lifting relatively heavier weights). Overloading our muscles is best achieved by regularly and progressively increasing the amount of weight we lift. As our body adapts (gets stronger) to lifting a certain weight that weight becomes easier for us to lift and we will need to lift more weight to create an overload. By using lighter weights and doing the exercise more times we force our body to 'endure' more weight but there will no longer be an overload. Facts about women and weight trainingNow that we've discussed and corrected some common misconceptions about women and weight training, let's discuss some interested facts about the same subject, which are:
After the age of 20, if we do not strength train we lose between 2.2 and 3.2 kilograms of muscle every decade. Fortunately, research shows that a standard strength training program can increase muscle mass by about 1.4kgs over an eight week training period. This is the typical training response for men and women who do 25 minutes of strength training one day each week. Although endurance exercise can improve our cardiovascular fitness, it doesn't stop muscle loss. Strength Training increases our Metabolism and Reduces Body Fat!Research studies have shown that if we increase our lean muscle mass by 1.4kg we also increase our resting metabolism by 7% and our daily calorie requirements by 15%. At rest, one kilogram of muscle requires 77 calories per day for tis sue maintenance, and during exercise this figure increases dramatically. If we replace lost muscle through a sensible strength training program we will use more calories all day long and therefore reduce the likelihood of fat accumulation. Want proof? In a 1994 study, strength training produced 1.8kg of fat loss after three months of training, even though the subjects were eating 15% more calories each day. That is, a basic strength program resulted in 1.4kg more muscle, 1.8kg less fat, and 370 more calories per day food intake! We are all capable of amazing strength - don't be told otherwise!Women have the same 'functional' anatomy and physiology in terms of their muscles response to exercise that men do; meaning.. Both men and women require progressive overload to stimulate physiological adaptations in muscle strength, endurance and power. Our body was built to perform; therefore our strength training program should be based on our relative strength and not on our gender. There are no special exercises that women should do instead of men and vice versa. We all have the same muscle structure and they need to get stronger. The only difference is men have a higher capacity for muscle hypertrophy (bigger muscles) due to differing hormonal levels. ConclusionSo should YOU Strength Train? If you want to lose weight, burn more fat, look and feel stronger, have stronger bones and be able to eat more without putting on extra weight from fat, ABSOLUTELY! Strength training replaces lost muscle tis sue and means YOU will have a faster metabolism, faster fat burning and less chance of getting fat!!! Strength training does not make women 'bigger' and 'bulkier'. Muscle is smooth, lean, hard and small; Fat is lumpy, flabby, soft and big - the choice is YOURS; which would you prefer? Exercisewww.mamashealth.com/senior/fitness.aspBenefits of Exercise? People of all ages and physical conditions benefit from exercise and physical activity. Scientific studies show that staying physically active and exercising regularly can help prevent or delay many diseases and disabilities. Scientists find that even moderate exercise and physical activity can improve the health of people who are frail or who have diseases that accompany aging. Before Starting and Exercise Program
Safety tips
Why should we exercise?www.abc.net.au/health/library/stories/2007/05/10/1919866.htm#aWe're famous for being a sporting country, but how many of us Aussies live up to our energetic reputation? The bad news is that around 75 per cent of us aren't on the go enough to meet the minimum daily recommendation for exercise ... so here are some good reasons to get off the couch and start moving! Why do you need to exercise? Do we really need to exercise? Sometimes even the thought of it seems hard. The truth of the matter is that you'll be a healthier person for it and not just in terms of cardiovascular fitness. Exercise prevents disease. As an active person, you're less likely to develop cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and osteoporosis, have a stroke or get certain types of cancers, such as colon and breast cancer. Physical inactivity is ranked just behind cigarette smoking as a cause of ill health. Short-term benefits of regular exercise Exercise regularly and you will:
How much exercise do you need? Just how much exercise do you need to see these benefits? You certainly don't have to join a triathlon club – even moderate exercise such as regular walking or climbing the stairs can be protective no matter how late in life you start. One thing experts agree on is that your exercise, at the very least, has to be moderately intense and has to be regular. The National Physical Activity Guidelines for Australians recommends at a minimum 30 minutes of moderate physical activity – like walking – on most days of the week. How do you know if you're being moderately active? A good test is to see if you can talk easily while you're exercising. If you can, you are exercising at a light to moderate level. Once your breathing makes it too hard to talk, you know you've increased the intensity of your workout! One thing to remember is that the longer and more intensely you exercise, the greater the benefit. Researchers have found a positive correlation between the length and intensity of physical activity and the reduction in risk of coronary events such as heart attack. What types of exercise are there? There are three main types of exercise, each one has a different effect on your body:
Choosing the best exercise for you Getting fit There are several parts to your all over fitness: your cardiorespiratory endurance, your muscular strength and endurance, and your flexibility. Chris Tzar, exercise physiologist from the Lifestyle Clinic at the University of New South Wales, says ideally your exercise regime for getting fit should work on all three types. "You certainly need strength, cardiovascular endurance and suppleness, but the greater emphasis should be on cardiovascular fitness." Cardiovascular "In terms of health, cardiovascular fitness is one of the greatest predictors of mortality, and has the greatest impact on your ability to do day to day activities. It is recommended you do cardiovascular exercise from between three and five times a week, for either 20 minutes at high intensity or 45 minutes at a lower intensity." You can test your progress by monitoring your heart rate during exercise. If you do the same exercise every week as a test, your heart rate should be progressively lower week to week as your fitness levels increase. Strength training Strength training should pop up in your schedule around two to three times a week. Tzar says the length of your session is less important than making sure you address all the major muscle groups, preferably during exercises that use them simultaneously. "Strength exercises that use several parts of your body, rather than just isolating one part are better. You're better off mimicking activities that you find in daily living so they help you cope better." "For older people, strength training is particularly important for bone density, maintaining muscle mass and preventing falls. It's also important in adolescence when your bones are developing their peak density because if you fill the tank up then, your bones will take longer to become osteoporotic in older age." Flexibility Tzar says flexibility is important for muscle balance, good posture and joint movement, and helps prevent orthopaedic issues later in life. "If the muscles around your hip are too tight, for example, this can produce problems in the joint, and can cause the cartilage to wear away." The ideal combination Tzar suggests a combination of walking or jogging, cycling or swimming to increase your cardiovascular fitness, and strength training with either weights or doing callisthenic exercises at home or in the park. Callisthenics, like push-ups or chin-ups, use your body weight against gravity and don't require equipment so you can do them anywhere. For flexibility, Tzar says it's important to do stretches that work on the muscle groups that have common problems with flexibility: the shoulder and chest area, the hips and knees, the back, as well as the gluteals, hamstrings and hip flexors. 5 Ways to Love Your BodyLet Cupid Take Aim at You While many of us have an easy time showering other people with love, we find that Cupid has yet to hit us with the "body love" arrow. Don’t wait for Cupid! Begin today to start appreciating, accepting and yes, even loving your body. Stop picking yourself apart Let’s face it: No matter how close-to-perfection body you have (and just what is the perfect body anyway?), chances are, there is something you would change about it if you could. Even celebrities and models who have been stamped with the media’s "perfect body" rating have parts they dislike – their feet, their hands, their ears – and they don’t necessarily have high self-esteem either! Rather than pick your body apart, look at your body as a whole (and read the next point…) Consider the marvelous functions of your body There are millions of microscopic functions that go on in our bodies every day, and you don’t even have to think about them. They just happen! Unfortunately, it often takes a crisis or a tragedy, such as a brush with death, a go-around with a disease, or a debilitating accident for some women to realize that their bodies weren’t so bad to begin with and that their body hang-ups were a big waste of time. Don’t let that be the case with you! How much time are you spending each day worrying about your weight, your body shape, the size of your rear? What could you be doing during that time? Maybe you’re supposed to be the first female president, but you’ll never know because you’re too busy obsessing about your abs! Get real Did you know that most of the images you see on television, movies and magazines aren’t even real? A model for a magazine cover goes through hours of professional hair and make-up, has professional stylists, top photographers who know her "best side," professional lighting, and that’s all before the chosen photo goes to a company where they remove stray hairs, wrinkles, blemishes and "extra" curves. Sometimes Model A’s head is stuck onto Model B’s body. What you see is totally made up! And it’s not just fashion magazines that are creating a fantasy. Most of today’s "fitness" magazines are following suit. On top of airbrushing and computer generating their models, fitness magazines now need to audition their models to be sure they’re strong enough to just do basic exercises! Muscles are even airbrushed in! It’s time to get real! Find real role models who emanate the qualities you desire. Educate yourself about what really goes on "behind the scenes." And realize that no one naturally "glows" the way those models in the magazines do! Change your inner dialogue It’s been said that we teach others how to treat us. If we believe that, the message that comes across to others is that we are not worth being liked, loved, or treated with respect. Most of it comes from what we’re not even saying. Choose to believe that you are worth taking care of and that you have the right to be respected and treated with dignity – and act like it! Take care of your body Diets, pills, quick-fixes, binging, not exercising, over-exercising, all these things disrespect one of the greatest gifts you have been given – your body! You only get one per lifetime, so give it the respect it deserves. You will not only feel better, but you just might become someone else’s role model! Exercise Safety Tips for BeginnersReady, Set, Exercise! Congratulations! You’ve made the decision to incorporate regular exercise into your healthy lifestyle, and take advantage of the its numerous benefits. Smart move. But like many good things, exercise can also be risky—especially if it’s been a while since you've worked up a sweat, or if you have any health conditions (including obesity) that could increase your risk of injury. So, it’s important to know how to keep yourself safe, and avoid potential problems before they happen. The following information should help you do exactly that. Before You Start: Safety Precautions If you are planning to increase your physical activity or start an exercise program, you start with a sedentary activity—answering a few short questions, that is. The PAR-Q (Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire) is the gold standard in fitness safety, used by doctors, trainers and health clubs the world over. Usually comprised of 5-7 questions, it can help rule out any underlying health concerns that could worsen with exercise. Answer yes or no to the following questions.
If you answer YES to any of the questions on this list, you must check in with your doctor and get cleared for exercise before you start. Likewise, if you have any chronic medical conditions (such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or arthritis) or risk factors (such as smoking or being more than 20 pounds overweight), and have not discussed exercising with your doctor, you should do so before beginning. Exercise is often an important part of the treatment for such conditions, but you may have some limitations or special needs that your doctor can tell you about. And always remember the golden rule of exercise safety: start slowly, and build up the intensity and duration of your exercise gradually. Trying to make up for lost time, or go from couch potato to exercise maven overnight, is a prescription for problems. Getting Started: The Right Gear Many injuries and setbacks occur because people don’t take the time to get themselves well-equipped for their exercise. Make sure you:
When to Stop: Warning Signs A certain amount of discomfort during exercise is normal and inevitable—after all, you are challenging your body to do more than it is accustomed to. And you can expect to have some sore muscles after a vigorous workout; often the soreness doesn’t show up until a day or two later, especially with strength training. But pain and other symptoms that occur during exercise can be warning signs that something is wrong. You should stop exercising right away if you:
If you start to experience these problems during high intensity aerobic exercise, it is best to immediately slow down. Allow your heart rate to drop gradually before stopping completely, since an abrupt stop can cause problems with blood circulation and fainting. However, in cases of severe and sudden pain, stop immediately, seek help, and follow up with your doctor. Gyms & Trainers: What to Look For If you do some of your exercise in the gym, whether on your own, in group classes, or with a personal trainer, there are some simple precautions you can take to keep yourself safe:
Know Your Limits & Your Needs A big part of exercise safety is prevention. Just as your car will run better when you service it regularly, your body will protect itself from injury when you give it the food, water, rest, and attention it needs to operate at its best. Kick Your Metabolism Into High Gear!The Do's and Don'ts of Efficient Fat-Burning If you’re reading this, chances are pretty good that you don’t have a metabolism that lets you eat as much as you want without ever gaining an ounce. Maybe (like me) you’re even at the other extreme, where it seems like all you have to do is smell the foods you love to start packing on the pounds. Does this mean you’re doomed to a lifetime of munching on carrot sticks with fat-free dressing, while watching your hollow-legged friends enjoy their pasta Alfredo and chocolate cheesecake? Not at all. There are lots of things you can do to turn your body into an efficient fat-burning machine, and they don't include depriving yourself of foods you love, resorting to unhealthy gimmicks, or taking expensive “fat-melting” supplements that fail to deliver what they promise. All you have to do is avoid a few common mistakes, and include some simple ways to boost your daily calorie burn. Metabolism DON'TS
Metabolism DO'S
And Most Importantly... Make exercise and healthy eating FUN! Experiment frequently with new exercises and recipes, or anything that keeps you interested and adds some spice to your program. Well, don’t stop there. The more variety you can put in your diet and your exercise routine, the more stimulating it will be. That makes it easy to put your best efforts forward, and get a major metabolic return on your investment. Using Exercise to Relieve DepressionWalk Away from the Blues
Anti-depressant medications that affect levels of the brain chemicals serotonin and norepinephrine appear to reduce the negative feelings and thoughts associated with depression, as well as many of the physical symptoms, such as changes in appetite and sleep, fatigue, muscle tension, and soreness. But people react differently to medications, seeing changes in some areas but not others. Some don’t respond to these medications at all. Exercise can enhance the benefits of antidepressant medications, and even produce similar results. Research shows that exercise:
In addition to these physiological benefits, exercise can promote the following psychological and emotional changes:
But if you’re already depressed, exercising may be the last thing you want to do. You may feel fatigued and pessimistic, thinking that exercise won't be able to help you. These thoughts are normal for people with depression, part of the "mental battle" you'll face when considering a fitness program. Here's how to overcome them. Choose Sides You can overcome the mental and physical inertia that often keeps you from doing what you can to help yourself. The first thing you have to do is to decide whose side you want to be on–your own side, or your depression’s side. This sounds like a simple and obvious decision, but when it comes down to putting on those sneakers and actually doing something, it may require a real leap of faith—especially if you’ve tried to start exercising in the past and failed. Depression causes you to dwell on how badly you feel, how hopeless everything seems, and what an undeserving and pathetic person you are for not being able to do what you need to do. These feelings and thoughts may seem more “real” and “honest” to you than anything positive you can say to yourself. When you’re struggling against an opponent as powerful as depression, you need to know your enemy and its weaknesses. Use this information to choose effective strategies and fight back. Because the most troubling symptoms of depression are emotional and cognitive, people often forget that how they think and feel is directly related to what’s going on chemically in their brain and body. Find a way to distract yourself from those thoughts just long enough to get your exercise session started. To do this, remind yourself that those negative thoughts are your depression talking, not the part of you that wants to be healthy cares about what happens. When those negative thoughts creep in, stop, take a deep breath, and make the decision to be on your own side this time, even if you don’t think it will help. Move Into Action Now you know why exercise is so important in managing depression, and what it can do for you. But how do you get started, when simple things like taking a shower, getting dressed in the morning, or doing the dishes seem like more than you can handle? The answer is: Just do it! Remember, you’ve already decided that you’re going to be on your own side. This is where you make that decision mean something. The issue here isn’t whether or not you can muster up the willpower to make yourself exercise—it’s about giving yourself a fair chance to see if it can actually help you. To make this easier, here are some suggestions to help you get the most out of your fitness program:
If you're like most people who struggle with depression, believing (and doing) most of the things listed here is going to feel a little unnatural and uncomfortable at first—especially if you’ve dealt with chronic depression for a long time. But if you can manage to make the leap of faith it takes to believe things can change for the better, the results will prove that your efforts are well worth the work. Getting Ready to runFor those serious about losing unhealthy weight, regular exercise should become a daily habit. But not all exercise is equal when it comes to helping us rid our bodies of kilograms of unwanted fat. Among the best exercises for weight loss and improved fitness is running. If you are currently walking and want to take the next step, or if you don't exercise regularly at all, this article will show you how to make running part of your weight loss routine. The Pros and Cons of running As usual, we believe that it's important to discuss the good and not-so-good aspects of anything we're discussing on weightloss.com.au before going into the finer details. Recognising up front that something like taking up running or jogging is not going to be all "champagne and roses" might just help you stick at it if the going gets a little tough because you'll have realistic expectations before committing yourself. The ProsRunning has many great aspects which we believe far outweigh any negatives. Here are just a few of the more significant positives of running:
The Cons Here are some potential negatives of running:
The great news is that every one of these negatives can be overcome with the right approach and a little planning. Before getting started OK. You've decided you'd like to try running to help you lose weight and improve your fitness. Here are a couple of things to do before you 'hit the road':
Building up a base level of fitness Building up a base level of fitness will make running a lot easier for you and will help eliminate some of those negative aspects of running listed above. The best way to build this base is via daily walks of between 20 and 30 minutes. Once you can comfortably walk for 30 minutes or more, start to include short bursts (30 - 60 seconds) of jogging into your walks. Here's a twenty week example program (starting from scratch and walking/jogging three to five times per week) that leads to 30 minutes of continuous running:
Remember you can tailor this program to suit your individual needs (for example skip the initial few weeks or progress faster if you already have a base level of fitness, or stick with the same week's workload for longer if you need to). Adopt the correct running style Developing a good running style will allow you to run safely and effectively for longer. While all of us have a running style and all are unique (running styles are as unique as fingerprints), we should all try to use proper form when running and basically this means:
Running Tips Here are some general tips that will help insure you get the most out of running:
Conclusion For those of us serious about losing unhealthy weight, regular exercise should become a daily habit. But not all exercise is equal when it comes to helping us rid our bodies of kilograms of unwanted fat. Among the best exercises to help us shed weight fast and improve the strength of our heart and lungs is running. If you are currently walking your way to weight loss and want to take the next step, or if you don't currently exercise regularly at all, this article has shown you how to make running part of your weight loss exercise routine. Like any activity, running isn't for everybody. But if you do decide to give it a go, make sure you take your time, progress slowly and avoid overuse injuries by giving your body a chance to get used to the rigors of running. Exercising During PregnancyAlthough you may not feel like running a marathon, most women benefit greatly from exercising throughout their pregnancies. But during that time, you'll need to discuss your exercise plans with your doctor or other health care provider early on and make a few adjustments to your normal exercise routine. The level of exercise recommended will depend, in part, on your level of pre-pregnancy fitness. Benefits of Exercising During Pregnancy
What's a Safe Exercise Plan During Pregnancy?
Exercises to Try If you were a runner before you were pregnant, in many cases, you can continue running during your pregnancy, although you may have to modify your routine. Your energy level may also vary greatly from day to day. And as your baby grows and pushes up on your lungs, you'll notice a decreased ability to breathe in more air (and the oxygen it contains) when you exercise. If your body says, "Stop!" — stop!
And if you can't talk while you're exercising, you're doing it too strenuously. When the weather is hot, try to avoid exercising outside during the hottest part of the day (from about 10 AM to 3 PM) or exercise in an air-conditioned place. Also remember that swimming makes it more difficult for you to notice your body heating up because the water makes you feel cooler. Exercises to Avoid
Typical limitations include contact sports, downhill skiing, scuba diving, and horseback riding because of the risk of injury they pose. Although some doctors say step aerobics workouts are acceptable if you can lower the height of your step as your pregnancy progresses, others caution that a changing center of gravity makes falls much more likely. If you do choose to do aerobics, just make sure to avoid becoming extremely winded or exercising to the point of exhaustion.
Kegel Exercises Kegels are easy, and you can do them any time you have a few seconds — sitting in your car, at your desk, or standing in line at the store. No one will even know you're doing them!
Getting Started
The Ten Laws of Better Health1.) Better health is a result of life affirming habits that are repeated on a daily basis. The key to a healthy life is having healthy habits rather than unhealthy ones. |
You can’t focus on exercise if you’re not also mindful of what you eat. If you’re still overeating, then working out alone isn’t going to change your body. At the same time, eating a lot of the wrong foods (junk, empty calories, sugar) won’t give your body enough energy to complete an intense workout.
The idea that regular exercise can improve symptoms of depression and anxiety is not new. Hippocrates was the first Western physician to prescribe this treatment 2,500 years ago, and doctors have been recommending it to their patients ever since. All the evidence accumulated by modern science says it works. If you suffer from major depression, exercise probably won’t be the only treatment you’ll need, but it will help along with your treatment plan. Whereas medication and counseling can take weeks to work, you can start feeling the positive effects of exercise right away.
