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12 Ways to Reduce Stress at Work and at Home
Stress bombards us every day from all directions. Maybe it's sitting in the midst of highway gridlock when you are already late for an important appointment. Or how about the bill you forgot to pay? It could be a phone call from the school complaining ...
Squeezing the Juice Out Of Every Day
As each day presents you with a chance to squeeze the last drop out of the juiciness of the day because it will never return - will you take it or leave it? The choice is always yours to make. May this moment mark the beginning of each day of your life ...
The Simple Basics Of A Workout Routine
What kind of workout routine you select is dependent on several factors, age, sex, goals and overall physical fitness. There is no such thing as one routine fits all. Without getting too technical for purposes of our overview here, let's take a very ...
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With all the nutrition and fitness hype around these days, how do you know what is correct and what isn't? The intentions of this article are to help you identify factual and effective information regarding current fitness trends.
Total health is threefold - aerobic exercise and resistance training are addressed in this article. The third part, healthy eating, will be examined in a future article.
Diet and supplements alone will not get you the physique you want. You must make exercise a part of your weekly routine. Exercise will help to boost your metabolism, change your body composition and decrease your carbohydrate sensitivity.
AEROBIC EXERCISE
The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) defines aerobic exercise as "any activity that uses large muscle groups, can be maintained continuously, and is rhythmic in nature." This can be any continuous rhythmic activity that keeps the heart rate elevated in the target zone for the length of the workout. Aerobic activity must be done for a minimum of 30 minutes a day at least 3 times a week. Your goal for aerobic exercise is 4 - 5 times a week for 45 minutes to one hour. This is the same type of exercise that, when done over time, will help to improve the condition of the heart and lungs.
Examples: Walking, jogging, cycling, stairs, cardio machines, swimming, and circuit training.
RESISTANCE TRAINING
Resistance training is a term used to cover all types of weight training. This type of training is beneficial in many ways. Primarily, muscle is more metabolically active than fat, so you burn more calories while at rest. Other benefits include a decreased risk for osteoporosis and an increase in bone mass. Resistance training should be done twice weekly incorporating 1 - 3 sets of exercises for each of the major body parts.
"No pain no gain." Let's clear the air on this age old misconception. Bodybuilders and athletes coined this phrase because they felt that if their workouts did not leave them in pain, they did not work hard enough to gain any benefits. It is true that during resistance training you may feel a slight burn or uncomfortable feeling in the muscle; this is a natural reaction when placing a muscle under stress. However at no time should you feel sharp pain or pain in the joints. On occasion there will be a mild soreness after the workout and even soreness 1 - 2 days after the workout. This is a normal reaction, as you workout you have a temporary build up of lactic acid, that is eventually cleared out by the recovering muscles.
A proper warm up and cool down is as important as the actual workout. Mentally these two will prepare the body for the workout and allow the body to return to normal activity in a comfortable manor. A warm up will allow the bodies' metabolic processes a chance to catch up with the increased work load in a more proficient manner helping avoid premature fatigue. It will cause a gradual increase in muscle temperature which will help reduce the chance of injury. A cool down will aid in the removal of lactic acid which in turn will help with muscle soreness. Also it will help the body return blood to the heart and eliminate venous pooling, which leads the feeling of dizziness. Lastly a cool down helps lower the levels of adrenaline in the bloodstream. Any adrenaline that lingers in the bloodstream after the workout can place unnecessary stress on the heart.
Flexibility is the movement or lack of movement we have in our joints. We do stretching exercises to improve these movements. The exercises done to improve our flexibility should always be done at the end of a workout. They can be incorporated right into the cool down. The reason for this is our muscles are much like rubber bands, they have elastic properties and when they are stretched they go back to their original form. If you stretch while the muscles are cold just like the rubber band they do no go back to the original form and you run the risk of having an injury. For improved flexibility stretching exercises should be done everyday.
The information provided here is in no way intended to be a substitute for counseling provided by your healthcare provider. Completely Fit disclaims any liabilities or loses in conjunction with exercises, instructions or advice contained herein. Consult your healthcare provider before beginning exercise or a fitness program.
About the author:
Karen Skidmore, author, NATA certified Athletic Trainer and NCSF certified Personal Trainer owns and operates the Completely Fit Personal Training Company. Visit www.completely-fit.com for more information.
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 Richmond offers aerobics program for seniors - Northwest Herald
RICHMOND – A pilot senior exercise program for Richmond Township residents launches next week. For $5 a month, seniors will be able to participate in a twice-weekly aerobics class throughout 2009. The program is part of an initiative to reach out ...
Clarksville Parks offers Saturday programs - Louisville Courier-Journal
"Optimist Tri-Star Basketball Competition," 3-5 p.m. Saturday at Clarksville Middle School, 101 Ettels Lane. The program is for boys and girls ages 8 through 13. Registration will begin at 2:30. Participants will compete in free-throw shooting ...
Mon Valley News Briefs - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Community College of Allegheny County will offer two morning fitness classes to people age 55 and older beginning Jan. 21. The 55-plus aerobic and personal conditioning classes will both meet Monday and Wednesday mornings at CCAC South Campus in West ...
YMCA offers fitness preview - Commercial News
DANVILLE — Just in time to help people turn their New Year’s resolutions into action, the Danville Family YMCA will offer a free preview Saturday of its fitness classes. Called “The Fitness Blast,” this three-hour event will demonstrate the ...
Aerobics classes offered in East Fishkill - Poughkeepsie Journal
HOPEWELL JUNCTION - The East Fishkill Recreation Department will offer two co-ed aerobics classes at the community center. On Mondays at 6 p.m., from Jan. 5 to March 9, cardio and kick-box aerobics classes will be held. The noncontact workout uses ...
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