To lose weight, it is true that you will need to have some exercises. Of course it is important to have a diet at the same time. Yet, the importance of exercising has to be stressed. When it comes to your actual exercising routine, one of the options will be interval training. This can be a good way for you to burn fat. Yet, you may know how you should start. In this article, we will discuss some tips and ideas for you to have an efficient interval training. (more…)
Archive for the ‘Exercises’ Category
Beginner Tips For Weight Loss Interval Training
Monday, December 12th, 2011
Avoid These Mistakes When Doing Workouts For Weight Loss
Thursday, August 18th, 2011There is no doubt that you can lose weight if you boost your metabolism. However, you need to work a bit on it in order to do so. You need to choose foods which can promote your metabolic rate. On the other hand, it is also important to have workouts so that you can really boost your metabolism and lose fat. (more…)
Concept of Health
Saturday, November 15th, 2008There are misconceptions among people in regarding to the meaning of health they thought that if they do not having any disease then they are fit. But it is not true; health does not mean only the absence of disease. Health is defined as the complete state of physical, mental and social well being.
Wellness and physical fitness is not the same thing but physical fitness is one part of wellness. Wellness involves all emotional and mental fitness. Health is dependent of many things including diet, physique, etc.
Instead of this physical factor health is affected by following:
- Genetic disorders these are the defects, which a person acquires from his parents.
- Infection which person gets from surrounding.
- balance diet, mental state, exercise with proper rest and relaxation, proper conditioning and standard of living are some other factors which effect health and physical fitness.
Importance of good health
Healthy people are more efficient at work. This increases production and brings economic prosperity. Good health also increases life of people. It reduces child and maternal mortality.
Physical fitness improves the appearance of the person and hence improves his personality in the society. It reduces the chances of occurrence of very deadly diseases including heart and lungs diseases. It also reduces the chances of occurrence of various physical disorders like sprain, and body pain etc. healthy and fit persons are more active. So physical fitness is very important for leading a happy and balance life. If a person is fit than he will give his best performance in the task and fully enjoys his task too.
There are some methods of achieving good health and physical fitness are:
- Games and sports are the well known methods of achieving good health and physical fitness. It increases it increases strength, power, flexibility and reduces excessive fat from the body and make it fit and healthy.
- Proper balance diet is much important to maintain good health. Diet must consist of all the basic biomolecules needed by the body to perform various metabolic activities.
- Consumption of drugs and alcohol is injurious to health. Therefore consumption should be avoided.
- Happy and silent mind is also the major key of getting good health. One should lead his life with fun and enjoyment.
What is disease?
According to scientists “any functional or physical change from the normal state that causes discomfort, or disability that impairs the health of a living individual is called disease or malfunctioning of certain body part with specific symptoms is known as disease.”
How disease spread?
- The various microorganisms like bacteria and fungi can cause disease.
- They can be caused by the deficiency of nutrients and hormones e.g berry berry or night blindness.
- The malfunctioning of some organs like heart etc can cause some diseases.
- Disease like allergy can be caused when our body becomes hypersensitive to some foreign substances.
- As stated earlier some diseases can be spread due to genetic disorder.
Various agents of disease are
- Biological agent like viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa and insects.
- Nutrient agents like mineral, vitamin, carbohydrate, proteins, fat, vitamins, and water.
- Chemical agents like gases hormones enzymes etc.
- Physical agents like heat, cold, humidity, pressure, radiation, electricity, sound etc.
- Mechanical agents like sprain, injury, fracture etc.
Fastest way to lose weight – There is only one way
Monday, June 2nd, 2008If you are asking yourself how fast can you lose weight, the answer is really fast!
I’ve seen people losing vast amounts of weight in a month, and that only means one thing. It means that you can do it too. Stop postponing it, start now, it doesn’t take much to become that good looking person. All it takes is some dedication and hard work, if you got that, you should be on your way to your goal.
Another thing you should know before you start is that many people quit even before they get to a good start. Don’t be that person, know what lies before you and just keep on going, if you do that the rest is as easy as a walk in the park. So if you are looking for the fastest way to lose weight, you might as well start with a diet, a good diet will help you lose weight really fast. So try to find one that is proved to be working and has possibly been positively rated by other users of the community. Once you got that you should put it at work.
Start with your diet and follow it, be strict to yourself when it comes to nutrition habits. not doing so might result in you not achieving results you were expecting and hoping for.
Once you got a diet and are following it daily, you are ready to start with your exercise. You should look into cardiovascular exercises such as running and cycling. Those are best when it comes to losing weight and they are also good when it comes down to your health. but remember that only diet and cardio exercises are not enough.
You should also focus on your workouts at the gym. Try to find one that is close to you and suits you best. Once at the gym you should focus on compound exercises and work them in many sets with a lot of repetitions. Exercises for your abs could prove to be useful also, such as bicycle crunch and long arm crunch. All exercises with the exercise ball will also do good.
So remember, know what you are getting yourself into, don’t quit and stay persistent, find a good diet and stick to it. Focus on running and cycling but don’t forget on your gym workout. Follow all these tips and results will come shortly.
Water Exercises
Wednesday, April 30th, 2008If you consider yourself water friendly and got bored from swimming down the lanes or want to incorporate some variety in your daily workout routines, why not try some water exercises? Water exercise is safer for the pregnant mothers and persons suffering from nagging arthritis or low back pain. While exercising in the water much of your weight is carried by the buoyancy, you are lees like to injure yourself. Let us discuss some of the popular water exercises.
Water marching – to start with, balance yourself in the water and stand straight with normal breathing, do continuous strides just like marching in a same place. Extend your arms and legs as far as you can. The buoyancy will slow down the marching. Widen your legs and arms to the fullest possible amount, pointing your toes and pulling your arms briskly. Continue doing this for at least three minutes or as long as you are comfortable. The aim should be balanced rhythmic marching movement.
Toning arms – balance yourself inside the water and stand with your legs apart. The arms should be extended right in front of you. Hold a soft ball with the extended arms. While breathing rhythmically, push the ball down the water and let yourself swing with the ball in a figure of eight pattern inside water. Try to feel the resistance over the upper part of your body along with the arms. Make an even rhythm ascertaining not to injure your shoulder or back side. Repeat the procedure for 10 times.
Side stretch – stand sideways inside the swimming pool wall holding the edge by your arms fully extended. Keep your feet flat on the floor of the pool. Inhale deeply while doing the posterior shoulder stretch. Then exhale slowly while leaning your hips away from the pool side. Repeat the water exercise 10 times on each of your side.
Jumping jacks – this exercise is correctly performed by an experienced swimmer. Begin with your feet rested flat on the bottom of the swimming pool. Place your arms relaxed by your sides. Bend forward from the hips and jump from the floor as high as you can like a spring action. While trying to jump, kick your legs out to respective sides keeping your toes down and swinging the arms out to the side and above your head. Your body should take a shape of a star. Try to land on the water with knees bend and the feet apart. Repeat the procedure for 10 – 15 times.
Waist trimmer – you should stand beside the wall of the pool. Rest your back against the poolside. Place your arms along the edge to get some support. Bend the knees to your chest. Then extend the legs forward. While inhaling deeply, swing the legs to your left side and then back to the normal position. While exhaling slowly, progress your legs to front and withdraw to the chest. Do again for 10 – 15 times. While doing this, continue pressing your back to the sidewall of the pool.
Total body stretch – stand inside the water facing the sidewall of the pool. Hold the edge for balance. Bend your body from the knees and press your feet against the poolside while inhaling deeply. Now exhale slowly and move your hips back. Make sure not to injure your knees or sprain your back side. Repeat the whole procedure for 10 – 15 times.
How to start an exercise program
Sunday, April 20th, 2008Are you considering for an exercise program and not convinced how to start, then let me guide you. Starting an exercise plan is one of the best things that you can do to keep you healthy and fit. First thing you need to consult your doctor as to certify you are capable of doing some workouts. Only after that you can start. Please follow the five basic steps before you begin.
Step 1: Evaluate your level of fitness
All of us have some knowledge about our physical condition and how much work we can do. For assessing your ability, you can record –
- Time taken to walk a mile
- Heart rate before and after walking a mile at your normal pace
- Waist circumference (the technique is to measure at the level of your belly button)
- Your body mass index (BMI) – you can easily check it from your doctor or there are various websites which provide the service free of cost.
- The maximum length you can reach when you stretch your leg while sitting on your bum.
Step 2: Plan the exercise program
Planning always helps – a little amount of planning for your exercise program will bring the most effective outcome.
- Measure your target – how much amount of weight you want to lose in how many days, or you simply want to prepare yourself as a healthy person.
- Involve those techniques you like most – you do not have to go for the complex exercise schedule. Just walking or jogging for half an hour can accomplish the requirement.
- Design a reasonable development plan – you can not lose 10 kilos of weight in just 5 days. You need to be more logical while designing the workout plan.
- Bring activities into your daily routine – you can be more active when you add some activities into your daily routine. As for example park the car as far as possible and take a brisk walk to reach your office, do not use the elevator if you are going to one or two level.
- Diversity – monotonous exercise program will not motivate you anyway. Try something different everyday.
- Record your progress – every action can be evaluated if it is properly recorded. You can measure your development if you put all the advances on paper.
Step 3: The equipments you need
Gather all the gears you might need. If you are going for a jogging or running, a good pair of running shoe will do. If you are planning for swimming, you will require the costumes and the water goggles. You can use your old socks by filling it with sand if you are targeting the weight training program.
Step 4: Let us begin
Now you can start your fitness program.
- The need of warm up and cool down – never forget the necessity of these two. Allow yourself adequate time to warm up your body. Then do the main course of the exercise schedule. When you finish, again give enough time to cool down yourself.
- Break it up – you do not require going for an hour long exercise schedule. Instead, breaking it into two halves of half an hour will be more productive.
- Be imaginative – include some more fun in your exercise program. Go to the nearest hill with your family and enjoy some ball playing there.
- Do not overdo anything – if you feel any discomfort at any level of exercise, stop at once and take some rest. You may consider consulting you doctor.
Step 5: Check your progress
After six months, analyze your fitness level according to the points what you have noted at the beginning of your exercise. Then plan the fitness program again.
Pregnancy Exercise
Wednesday, April 16th, 2008Doing some exercise can ease the amount of pain a woman has to suffer during normal labor. Pregnancy exercise stretches the pelvic floor of the would-be mother and the muscles can adopt enough tension during the process of delivery. If you were leading a sedentary lifestyle before getting pregnant, it is useful to evaluate your pregnancy exercise plan by the concerned gynecologist before you start. You must not do vigorous exercise during pregnancy as the fetus needs added calorie to develop normally inside the womb, but if you do not belong to the high risk group, you can jolly well follow an exercise program.
If you were doing some kind of exercise regimen before you got pregnant, you can continue to do so with some precaution. Controlled exercise does not increase the risk of miscarriage. If you are starting the program with a view to improve your health during the time of pregnancy, you must start very slowly and always be careful not to over apply yourself. You must listen to your body’s demands. You will get natural signal when you should stop or reduce the intensity of your exercise schedule.
You must not exercise to the level of collapse or started breathlessness. This is a sigh when you and your baby have reached the level of reduced oxygen level. Avoid rocky territory when jogging or running. The joints become more lax during pregnancy due to hormonal action. You may not control your balance if the terrain is not so flat. Always warm up before you start and cool down yourself after the exercise program is finished.
The most comfortable pregnancy exercises are aerobic exercises that do not require weight lifting. Using a static cycle and swimming are two best options that can be continued throughout pregnancy. Gentle walking and basic step routine aerobic exercises are recommended during the last three months as the growing fetus restricts mother to go for any complex exercise. Always consult your doctor before doing any changes in the ongoing exercise program. A specialist can guide you what is the best for you and your baby.
Do not engage in the contact sports like tennis, badminton or football. Even gentle push to your abdomen can become fatal for both the mother and the child. After the first trimester (three months), do not engage any kind of exercise that should be done lying on your back. The weight of the fetus may block the abdominal aorta (the main blood vessel that carries purified blood from the heart to the abdominal structures as well as the growing baby). Avoid standing for a long time.
Stay away from exercising in extremely hot weather; you will be fatigued in no time. The best time for exercise is early in the morning or late in the evening. It prevents you to get exhausted within short span. If you are doing exercise indoors, you must ensure the room has proper ventilation or you can think of putting an air conditioner to keep yourself cool. Your diet must contain at least three liters of fluids everyday. You must avoid taking alcohol.
The importance of adequate diet is indispensable. You must take a well balanced diet. Usually, during pregnancy one has to take more than 300 Kcal of extra diet. This is essential for the proper development of the fetus. Always eat healthy diet that is full of fresh green leafy vegetables and complex carbohydrates.
The hidden fact of shifting calorie diet
Thursday, April 10th, 2008Nowadays, most of us definitely have informed the craze of shifting calorie diet approach to reduce weight. But simply few of us really know the physiological processes in our body that is responsible for its immense accomplishment. To get an idea how the shifting calorie diet approach works, we must have an idea of how the conventional dieting technique works and its failure to reduce obesity of the person on dieting.
Traditional dieting works on the principle of starvation. The basic sense is ‘if you eat less, you shall lose weight’. At a glance it makes sense, but there is much more principles involved behind weight loss and gain.
When you reduce your total calorie intake by lowering the amount of food you take, your body engages in a number of metabolic and hormonal changes that is closely linked with starvation. Physiologically, our body tries to pile up as much calorie as it can involving a easy and swift process, which in turn results into deposition of more fat. Concurrently, the muscle mass is broken down to keep the normal energy level. Glucose is one of the substances that give us required energy during any kind of physical activity. Muscle and the liver store much of the calories that our body keeps for use in case of emergency situations. This is done by converting the glucose into glycogen that involves some complex enzymatic reactions. When situation demands, glycogen is broken down to glucose by the process of ‘Glycogenolysis’ and thus required energy is available to our body.
The net effect is swift loss of water to wash out the detrimental byproducts out from the system. This appears as the loss of weight. But this weight loss is not everlasting. When you start to take food in normal quantity, the water loss is regained while accumulating more amount of fat besides loss of general muscle mass.
The shifting calorie diet management works in a different way from the conventional dieting involving starvation. The basic principle is to change the amount and types of food intake besides preserving the optimal nutritional equilibrium to stay away from the evil effect of muscle loss.
Here the recommendation is to split the meal into 4 or more small parts and changing the types of food taken as well. The excess amount of fat is burnt while maintaining the intake of a healthy amount of food daily. One is allowed to take as much amount of food he wants but with a caution to stop eating just before his hunger is completely satisfied. This is the main approach to the shifting calorie dieting.
You can maintain the overall healthy lifestyle as with all other dieting techniques by adopting shifting calorie dieting. The requirement of exercise is moderate like simple walking for half an hour daily. There is no point to go beyond the recommended time frame especially when you are starting.
Conventional dieting which involves starvation is a thing of the past as it’s definitely not good for our body. It may leave more harmful aftereffect than good. By adopting shifting calorie diet approach, you can easily reduce the extra mass of fat while maintaining the total muscle bulk. You are free to take the foods you normally enjoy in the quantity you like.
Breathing Exercises
Sunday, April 6th, 2008Breathing exercise is an effective tool to attain a relaxed and clear state of mind as we can control and adjust the pace and depth of it. There is 20% reduction in blood level of oxygen by the aging process and our normal breathing practice. Poor quality of breathing habit decreases our energy and negatively affects mental attentiveness. If we do not follow the proper way of breathing, the aging process badly affects our respiratory process.
The rib cage and the chest muscles become stiff causing inhalation to become more problematic. Reduced elasticity and weak chest muscles leave impure air in the lung tissues and prevents fresh oxygen to reach the blood stream. Rapid and shallow breathing is often attributed to bad posture and stiff or weak muscles. It leads to some respiratory diseases, poor oxygen supply to tissues, lethargy and heart diseases.
There are some easy ways to get maximum benefit from the breathing exercises. Let us know in detail.
Complete breathing exercises -
Sit up straight in a firm and flat surface. Exhale slowly and deeply. Inhale slowly and deeply gently relaxing the belly muscles. Try to feel your belly is feeling with air. Continue inhaling even after your belly is filled up with air. After filling the belly, fill up to the middle of the chest. Try feeling your rib cage expanding. Hold your breath for 3 seconds, and then start exhaling slowly. As the air is going out, relax your rib cage and chest wall. Slowly but forcefully pull your belly as to exhale as completely as possible. Close your eyes while doing so and try to concentrate on your breathing. You should relax your mind completely, do not think about anything else except your breathing – choose a calm and cool place. Repeat the whole procedure continuously for 5 minutes. You should try doing this procedure twice daily.
Belly breath exercise -
Lie down over a flat and firm bed on your back. You can keep some small pillows to ease you up. Put your palms just below the rib cage. Your middle fingers would touch each other barely. Take a slow deep breathe. When the diaphragm is pushed down, the stomach will expand a little and your fingertips will be separated a bit. This movement points to the full use of lungs – culminating in a really deep breath rather than the ‘puffed chest’ breath practiced by many people as the maximum lung capacity. Continue doing this breathing exercise for 5 minutes in a row.
Humming breathing exercise -
Follow the procedure as in the case of complete breathing exercise like mentioned above. When you are exhaling, utter the word ‘HUM’ or ‘AUM’. The sound should come from the deep of your soul. Keep sounding the word as long as possible. Pull up your stomach muscles, and then squeeze out some more humming. Then relax. Again do the same procedure for five times.
Chinese breathing exercise -
Chinese Tai Chi Chuan gave us an excellent short and deep breath exercise. Three short inhales are allowed through the nose. Between these, exhaling is not permitted. During the first inhale, the arms are to be lifted from the sides straight out in the front side at the height of the shoulder. During the second one, the arms are opened out straight to the sides keeping it in the same level. During the third, the arms are raised over the head. Then exhalation is to be done through the mouth. The arms are moved in a semicircle back down to the sides. Generally, 10-12 inhalations are sufficient or you can do it until you feel any kind of headache.
Aerobic exercises
Monday, March 24th, 2008Doing half an hour of aerobic exercises like walking, jogging, running, bicycling or swimming can lead to a healthy and longer life. Actually, aerobic exercise may be the tool for a life full of endurance and vitality. Have a look at the benefits of aerobic exercises and choose your pick.
How the body reacts to the aerobic exercises –
While doing aerobic exercise, you continue to move big muscles of your all four limbs. The breathing becomes faster and deep. It increases blood flow to the muscles and to your lungs. The capillaries (tiny blood vessels) are widened to deliver more amount of oxygen to the muscles and carry the waste products which are generated during the exaggerated metabolic state. Some feel good hormones like ‘Endorphin’ – which are natural painkillers, are secreted to promote a heightened sense of well being.
Effect of aerobic exercises to your health –
Aerobic exercise is good to everybody no matter whether you are older or obese. After a certain period, aerobic exercise will make you stronger and more athletic. Daily aerobic exercise can leave the following effects to your body –
- Reduces the risk of developing serious diseases, obesity, type II Diabetes, high blood pressure, cerebral stroke – to name a few. Weight bearing exercises like walking or jogging reduces the risk of development of osteoporosis.
- To prevent further complications – aerobic exercise can prevent further attack if you had suffered once.
- Never get flabby – when combined with planned diet, aerobic exercise will not allow putting on extra weight.
- Aerobic exercise boosts the immune system. You become less vulnerable to minor illness.
- Aerobic exercise augments the concentration of high density lipoprotein (HDL). HDL helps to reduce the amount of bad cholesterol like LDL and VLDL. The end result is less chance of thrombus formation inside the arteries.
- Makes your heart more strong. Stronger heart does not need to beat faster to reach essential nutrients throughout our body. It pumps blood more effectively – improvement of blood flow all over the body.
- Regular aerobic exercise helps to flush out the stress hormones from our body. Mind becomes calmer and there is decrease in the anxiety and depression.
- After doing aerobic exercise for couple of days, you may feel tired. But it will help you in the long run. The endurance and vitality is increased. You will be less fatigued.
- Aerobic exercise makes the muscles stronger. It will help you to maintain the agility as we get older. Aerobic exercise also clears the mind. Experts say that half an hour of aerobic exercise three days a week regularly can lessen the cognitive decline in aged persons.
Do not be hasty. Consult your doctor before you start exercising. If he clears you, start your exercise program in a slower pace. Begin with 10 minutes of brisk walking in the morning and 10 minutes in the evening. The next day, add another five minutes to each of the session. Gradually you will be able to walk half an hour in both the sessions.
The other good examples of aerobic exercises are jogging, aerobic dancing, swimming, skiing, cross country running, bicycling, climbing and rowing. If you have any condition that opposes nay of the above mentioned exercise, consult your doctor or sports trainer for alternatives.
Daily half an hour aerobic exercise can make you smile.
Diet and exercise
Saturday, March 22nd, 2008If you are thinking to lose 5 kilos of weight within 7 days with only your exercise program, you must be living in a fool’s world. No exercise program can reduce fat unless you are on proper diet. Optimum diet and exercise is the core for a healthy lifestyle. Exercise program will lead to gradual wasting of muscles unless you replenish the calorie with suitable diet.
Combining these two is very easy. First let us discuss about how to plan your exercise program.
The first thing is consulting your doctor. Women over 50 and men over 40 are the high risk persons. They tend to develop various chronic physical ailments such as diabetes, high blood pressure or obesity. If all the things are all right, you can begin your exercise program. Start exercising slowly and build up activities step by step over a period, say a couple of months. This is important to keep away from easy fatigue and injury. You must include half an hour of moderate intensity cardio exercises (aerobics) each day. You need not to do this at a stretch, rather dividing into two halves will increase your endurance. You can opt for weight training advance step routine exercises twice a week. This is to develop your muscle strength. Add some activities in your daily routine, like park the car as far as possible from your office parking – then take a brisk walk. Do not use email or fax a copy while sending it to some of your office colleague. Rather go to him personally and deliver it with a smile. It will definitely increase your PR. Do not use car while going to the nearby departmental store, rather using a bicycle will burn some calorie. You can take the stairs rather than using elevator.
Make your leisure time full of activities you like. You can clean your yard, go for a walking to the nearest hill or take part in some outdoor games with your friends. Riding a static bicycle while watching your favorite TV show is definitely better than being a couch potato. Choose the activities you like, you need not to go to a multi gym to keep yourself fit. Your Success to achieving the goal leads to enhanced motivation to remain physically active. Make sure that whatever exercises you are doing, are compatible to your physical condition and age.
Now come to the second part. Proper diet is a must because all the exercise we do, burn our stored calorie. Unless you replenish a good part of it, you will be exhausted. What you should do is –
Increase the vegetable intake and better to take steamed vegetables. Avoid using oil and fat as far as possible. Reduce the intake of meat and supplement it with fresh vegetables. Add some grated carrot, cabbage or zucchini to meatloaf. You can take adequately washed celery and trimmed carrot sticks for snacks. Increase the intake of whole grains. Substitute the whole wheat flour for white bleached flour while preparing any baked item.
Germination increases the nutritional value. You can make delicious breakfast by mixing some germinated peas, Bengal grams and baked potato with dash of rock salt and pepper. Take bran based cereals – bran retains the original nutritional vale of the food grain. Avoid red meat. Reduce the amount of salt intake. Substitute herbs or lemon juice while making noodles or pasta. Reducing pure carbohydrate is controversial, because the most of the calorie should come from carbohydrate with a balance from fat and protein. But you must not take heavy pastries and cakes which contains huge amount of fat along with carbohydrate. Take small but frequent meals.
Balanced diet and regular exercise are the two basic factors for a healthy life.