Lifetime Fitness: On Your Way to a Healthier You

Many people end up abandoning perfectly good fitness programs and weight-loss regimens before they even lace up their sneakers.

Why? Because in a world filled with fast food, instant messaging, and a five-second disease-tracking device, anything without a quick payoff goes against the grain of the typical American instant gratification ethic. While it would be nice to actually drop inches in just a few days like what most miracle ads proclaim, managing weight and losing weight through physical fitness is a slow and steady process that takes time and commitment.

Setting weight management goals for yourself can be a good motivator. Gradual weight loss, for those people who wish to shed off some extra pounds, is usually the safest.

That is why health and fitness experts had come up with the idea of lifetime fitness in order to teach people set realistic goals. These lifetime fitness programs generates dietary regimens that cut your normal calorie consumption for your weight by 500 to 1,000 per day, so will burning the same amount with exercise. In turn, this will definitely encourage healthier weight loss.

Lifetime fitness teaches you how to maintain a physically fit body at the same time enjoy and live a happy, contented life. It gives you the chance to strike a balance between the two (exercise and diet), and make exercise, be it team sports, cycling, or walking, something you will truly enjoy.

That is why lifetime fitness embodies the concept that making a long-term healthy lifestyle change is essential to keeping the pounds off once they are gone.

To know more of the advantages and benefits that lifetime fitness can bring, here are some facts that you need to know:

1. Lifetime fitness programs offers you the most comprehensive and wide-ranging fitness and health encounter with quality services, in which the customers will feel gratified.

These fitness programs provide you the right method in maintaining health, build up and encourage your competence, and take care of your family's physical fitness as well.

2. Because the goal of lifetime fitness is to provide you with long-term achievements as far as physical fitness is concerned, these programs utilizes numerous fitness equipments that will tone and manage your health and the different parts of your body.

There are fitness equipments that will give your cardiovascular system a lift. You can also opt for some sports facilities that will provide you with an alternative way of being physically fit.

3. Lifetime fitness programs and centers also provides nutritional products such as food supplements that will aid in the formation of good blood cells and tissues thereby making your body at its pink of health.

Lifetime fitness centers and programs also provide you with up-to-date fitness magazines that do not only give substantial information about fitness and health but inspirational stories as well. These articles will give you an insight on how to make you life balance and how to live a life that is healthy and fit.

Indeed, staying fit and healthy can be a long and winding road and there are instances wherein you may find your enthusiasm fading occasionally. Nevertheless, with the comprehensive programs provided by lifetime fitness plans, you can start heading back to the right track of a healthier you.

Fight Against Insomnia

By : Kevin Pederson

Lack of sleep may not seem to be a harmful disorder for many, but due to this the body clock and many of its functions go for a toss. There are different types of insomnia that need to be identified and treated accordingly.

Insomnia & ways to avoid it
The lack of adequate and restful sleep can be termed as insomnia. It is not defined by the number of hours a person sleeps but by the lack of it. The inability to fall asleep makes the person prone to other diseases.

Signs and Symptoms
Finding it difficult to fall asleep at night? Well, this could be one of signs. The other sign is you fall asleep but won't be able to sleep at a long stretch; you will keep getting up in intervals. Due to this your morning will be lethargic and fatigued.

Problems faced
As the sleep is incomplete, the day suffers due to this. You are tired and drained out without much to look forward. The level of concentration is very less and you might suffer from other sleep disorder problems like sleep apnea, narcolepsy and restless legs syndrome.

Types of Insomnia
A person is affected by primary or secondary insomnia. Primary insomnia means that the person having sleep problems are not directly related to any other health problems. Secondary insomnia means that the persons sleep is affected by the health problems faced by him. These can be any problems like stomach ache, depression, heartburn, arthritis, asthma and many other diseases.

Insomnia can be classified into three categories short term (acute insomnia), chronic (constant insomnia) and intermittent (on and off). When the short term insomnia occurs on daily basis it would be termed as intermittent. It will be termed chronic when such an occurrence happens every night and lasts for a long time.

Some factors which cause insomnia are
1. Old age
2. Prevalent in female gender
3. Stress
4. Depression
5. Odd working hours
6. Long naps in the afternoon
7. Change in environment/surroundings
8. External noise
9. Jet lag
10. Excessive consumption of caffeine/cigarettes
11. Alcohol and many more.

Some Methods to avoid Insomnia
You may not need any treatment if you have acute or intermittent insomnia. These can be cured with some good sleeping habits. The chronic insomnia can be prevented with some medications recommended by your doctor as well as some relaxation exercises, sleep restriction therapy and reconditioning. The numbers of hours may vary from person to person; some may find it okay to sleep for 6 to 7 hours.

Relaxation Therapy
These are some unique methods to remove or reduce anxiety and other tensions in the body. It helps the person to relax as to gain a undisturbed sleep. This requires practice, but the end result is worthwhile.

Sleep Restriction Therapy
By the name itself it means that you are restricting on you sleep time. It starts with a short duration of sleeping time during the night. As days go by the duration will be increased until the normal sleep time is reached.

Reconditioning
Mind plays an important part as it has to remember the association of bed with your sleeping time. You should not use it for any other activities like reading and etc. The other condition is one should go to bed when one is feeling sleepy. During this process one should avoid naps and go to bed at the same time each day. This would create the link with your bed and sleeping time.

Some good habits to practice

1. Sleeping at the same time each night as well as waking up the same time each day.
2. Avoid stimulants like caffeine, nicotine and alcohol before going to bed
3. Regular exercise helps in keeping away insomnia
4. Have a light snack instead of a heavy meal before bedtime
5. Relax yourself by reading a book or listening to music before going to bed
6. Take a warm bath
7. Sleep on a firm bed
8. Drink warm milk or herb tea
9. Sleep on your back
10. Get a massage

Oxygen Therapy And Headaches

For cluster-type of headaches, oxygen therapy can be effective. The benefits of oxygen therapy is not known by many doctors, and the same goes for insurance companies, who are hesitant to pay for this type of treatment. (In some cases, a letter from your doctor can sometimes help to persuade them.)

Effectiveness of Oxygen Therapy

Fifty percent of cluster headache sufferers are helped by oxygen therapy. Even though this looks like a good result, the other 50% are not helped at all. If you tend to suffer from cluster headaches and you are interested to try out oxygen therapy, it is best that you request your doctor to arrange a trial run for you.

History of Oxygen Therapy

As early as 1939, oxygen has been studied as a possible treatment for headaches. Eighty percent of migraine headaches were either helped or stopped by the oxygen treatment, as discovered by Dr. Alvarez at the Mayo Clinic. To get a 100% amount of oxygen, the patients wore masks during treatment. Not only was oxygen therapy found to work on treating cluster headaches; it was also found to be effective in relieving other types of headaches. Oxygen therapy was found to be most effective when administered at the first sign of a migraine. However, it is unfortunate that the study did not provide more details as compared to recent and thoroughly conducted studies.

100% Oxygen

Perhaps the first important study of oxygen therapy's effectiveness in treating cluster headaches was carried out by Dr Kudrow (father of Lisa Kudrow, the actress who played Phoebe in Friends). Kudrow, who also suffers from migraines, treated 52 out-patients with 100% oxygen. He came up with extremely encouraging results:

· In at least seven out of ten attacks, 75% of the patients experienced a "complete or almost complete cessation of head pain within 15 minutes."

· Those under 50 years of age responded to the oxygen treatment well as compared to those over 50.

· 62% of the test patients that responded to the treatment felt better after seven minutes of inhaling the oxygen.

Better than Air

In a study done by Dr Fogan, he showed that it was the oxygen itself that was helping, rather than the mask or tank. People who inhaled pure oxygen showed definite improvement than inhaling air.

How Oxygen Therapy Works

Even though oxygen therapy works, exactly why it works remains unclear. It is known that both migraines and cluster headaches involve an increase in the flow of blood to the brain. Oxygen can cause a drop in blood flow, so there would be fewer enlarged blood vessels and less pressure on nerves in the brain, resulting in relief.

Side Effects of Oxygen Therapy

Smokers seem to comprise a majority of people who have cluster headaches, which could be potentially dangerous, as lighting an open flame next to an open oxygen tank will result in an explosion.

According to Dr Kudrow's study, 25% of his patients experienced rebound headaches after oxygen therapy. Other than that, oxygen therapy has no other known side effects.

Ergotamine

Ergotamine, which is commonly used for headaches, has many drawbacks and side effects, among them are feeling and being sick, a sense of unreality and leg cramps. Ergotamine cannot be used on people with high blood pressure, have peripheral vascular disease and infections. Unlike Ergotamine, oxygen does not cause these side effects, so anyone can use it.

What Causes Migraine Headaches?

A migraine is a severe headache that is recurring. You may experience migraines monthly or once or twice a year. Migraines can be accompanied by extreme sensitivity to lights and sounds, nausea and vomiting. A severe migraine will be disabling to most people. Migraines have long been a sort of medical mystery. Researchers are not sure of the exact cause of migraines, but over the years have constructed a few theories. This article is going to look at the possible causes of migraine headaches.

A lot of researchers think that migraines are caused by an imbalance in the complex systems of nerves in the brain and neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are chemicals in the brain responsible for pain perception and emotions.

Serotonin is one of the neurotransmitters that researchers have studied. It has been proven that when you have a headache, your levels of serotonin drops. This in turn will cause the trigeminal nerve in your brain to release neuro peptides. These chemicals will cause the blood vessels on the outside covering of your brain to swell and the resulting pressure will produce a headache. This is the assumed mechanism of how a headache develops, but what causes this to happen.

Your headaches may be the result of certain triggers. The triggers that can produce a migraine are:

- Certain foods can trigger a migraine in a lot of people. Common food triggers are alcohol, chocolate, caffeine, aged cheeses, monosodium glutamate and other canned or processed foods.

- Sometimes skipping a meal can bring on a migraine also.

- Intense physical activity, including sex, can trigger a migraine. Too much sleep or too little sleep can also be a trigger.

- Stress is a big factor in triggering migraines. If you have worked hard all week and are starting to relax on the weekend, it may be ruined by a weekend migraine headache.

- Any type of change in your environment such as, the weather, temperature, barometric pressure and even a change in the time zone, can trigger a migraine.

- Some people are overly sensitive to all types of sensory stimulus such as, bright lights and certain smells. Certain perfumes or flowers have been known to trigger migraine pain.

- Women who are going through hormonal changes will be more at risk for developing a migraine. Researchers aren't sure why the fluctuations of hormones will trigger a migraine, but the incidences of migraines seem to increase right before or during a woman's period.

- Certain medications have been know to trigger migraine headaches.

If you are having frequent migraine headaches, try to pinpoint the trigger for them. Try keeping a journal of everything that you eat or do that's out of the ordinary each day. When you have a migraine read back through your journal and try to identify a possible trigger. If you haven't started treatment for migraines, see your doctor. He can prescribe medicine that will decrease the migraines or make them less intense. Don't suffer in pain anymore, find the cause of your migraine headaches.

Headaches After Exertion

If you get a terrible headache whenever you exercise or rush around, it could be due to a number of reasons, which are mostly harmless. These are what's commonly known as ‘benign’ causes, which means that they are just unpleasant, and not dangerous. However, in rare instances, headaches that follow exertion might have serious underlying reasons. Thus, if it is a major cause of worry for you, see your doctor.

Effort Migraines

An effort migraine is a type of headache that commonly occurs in people who exercise a lot and engage in sports. Those who experience this type of headache often had a migraine in the past, so they may recognize familiar warning signs, like flashing lights before the headache begins. An effort migraine typically lasts between four and six hours.

An effort migraine is believed to be caused by the rise in body temperature after intense exercise or activity. A high body temperature may dilate the blood vessels in the brain and make them press on the nerves, bringing about the headache.

To relieve effort migraine, the usual medications for migraine can be effective, particularly the preventative ones. It also helps trying not to get too hot to lower your chances of getting a headache as well as taking a dose of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) medications like ibuprofen before exercising.

Exertional Headaches

Exertional headaches are a type of headache that affects one in every 100 people, and is believed to be caused by the increase in blood pressure and subsequent increased pressure in the brain's blood vessels after exercising. An exertional headache is often manifested by the onset of a sudden, intense throbbing pain at the back of the head. An exertional headache can last for six hours, during which time the headache becomes a background ache. Exertional headaches can be easily controlled by over-the-counter painkillers.

Benign Coital Headaches

Benign coital headache is a type of exertional headache that manifests regularly during or after intercourse. Because of the nature of this headache, people who experience this type of headache are embarrassed to see their doctor for treatment.

Some individuals will experience a severe and intense headache during sex. This type of headache is unusual and needs to be treated as an emergency case. Thus, if you tend to experience benign coital headaches, see your doctor as soon as possible.

Cervicogenic Headache

Cervicogenic headache is a type of headache that is linked to exercise. This headache arises from disorders in the cervical spine, with symptoms that usually include blurred vision. The problem can be traced to the muscles, joints or nerves. To prevent further headaches from occurring, neck problems need to be treated.

Signs that You Should Consult Your Doctor

Getting a headache while exercising could indicate a more troublesome condition, but it is rather rare if this happens. To know if it is time to see a doctor, you should have the following symptoms:

- A headache that starts suddenly from nowhere
- A headache that gets worse in the next few days
- Any type of recent head injury
- A type of headache that you never experienced before
- A headache with symptoms that you are not familiar with
- Constant pain on one side of the head
- Waking up either at night or in the morning with pain
- A stiff neck
- Numbness or tingling in any part of your body

The Effects Of Sleep Deprivation

If you look at recent history, people are starting to sleep less and less. Less than 100 years ago, people slept 9 hours a night on average; now they're getting less than 7 hours. We have so many modern conveniences that are supposed to save us time, but really they just give us more to do. Before you accept not sleeping enough as an inevitable way of life, consider the harmful effects sleep deprivation could be having on your body.

Physical Effects

Most people are aware of the obvious short terms effects of sleep deprivation including exhaustion, fatigue, and a general lack of energy, but they're less aware of some of the more serious physical consequences from not sleeping. Sleep not only recharges and repairs our brains, it also repairs our bodies. Here are some other problems that can arise from not sleeping enough:

* Inability to properly process glucose. This can lead to high blood sugar levels and other symptoms of type II diabetes. This also causes glucose to be stored as fat, which can lead to weight gain

* Increased symptoms of aging

* Core body temperature is lowered, which can impair proper functioning.

* Less consistent heart beat.

Mental Effects

All day long, no matter what you're doing, your brain is working. It's spending time inputting processing, and outputting information. Even if you don't think you get much done during the day, your brain does a lot of work. That's why it's important that it has time to rest and recharge. Here are just a few of the detrimental effects of sleep deprivation.

* Less control over speech; exhibited through slurring, stuttering, speaking in monotone, and choosing repetitive words and clichés. Scientists assume this occurs because the speech center of the brain actually shuts down and another, less capable part, must take over.

* While short term memory may be improved, there is a decreased ability to access older memories and convert long term to short term memory. It is almost impossible to learn a new skill.

* Decreased creativity, especially when it comes to problem solving. Sleep deprived people tend to be slower and less accurate when solving problems.

* Hallucinations and even temporary insanity can occur from a lack of REM sleep.

* Decreased judgment abilities and reaction time. Sleep deprivation is comparable to alcohol intoxication when it comes to driving ability.

Emotional Effects

While we tend to focus on the physical and mental symptoms of sleep deprivation, there are also significant emotional symptoms as well. Emotional difficulties can take a severe toll on our personal relationships and safety. Some emotional problems associated with sleep deprivation are:

* Increased emotional stress and anxiety.

* A more pessimistic attitude.

* Extreme sadness and even depression.

* Extreme anger. Sleep deprivation has actually been indicated to be one of the major causes of road rage.

It's important to remember that not everyone needs the same amount of sleep. You should try to get enough sleep to make yourself feel rested; this may mean getting more than 8 hours. If you're getting a lot of sleep and not feeling rested, you may have a sleep disorder, such as sleep apnea, and should see a doctor. While it may be difficult to fit a good night's sleep into your schedule, it will not only make you feel better, it will also make you more efficient in the time you spend awake.

Sleep Maximization

Do you wake up feeling tired and run down, before you even start your day? Do you have trouble sleeping soundly? Would you like to sleep less and use the extra time doing other things?

If any of these describe you, you're in luck. I've recently learned about some specific things you can do to make your sleep much more energizing for the time invested.

And in that spirit, I'm going to get right to the heart of the matter and spell out some of the most important steps you can take to increase the amount of energy you can get from your sleep.

One of the most important things to know is that the best sleep is the deepest sleep. The deeper you sleep, the more your mind and body recuperates and the more energy you get.

There are a couple of factors that determine how deeply you sleep.


Get Plenty of Exercise

As most of us know, one of those factors is how hard you've worked during the day. If you've put in a full day's labor and really worked your muscles good, you will generally fall asleep easily and reach a deep level of sleep. This is because the body has a definite need to recuperate and gets right to it.

Most people today don't do nearly enough physical work to activate this natural phenomenon. Our only alternative is to take time to follow an exercise program. Of course, there are many other benefits to this besides just getting better sleep.

The general recommendations here are:

Get at least 15-20 minutes of exercise every day if possible.

Make sure to exercise hard enough to increase your heart rate by 25% of your resting rate.

Exercise early in the day, and if possible, right after waking up in the morning.

Combine both strength training and cardiovascular training.


Get Out Into The Sun

One of the surprising facts that I learned is that the more sunlight you get during the day helps to promote deeper, more restful sleep. And the flip side of this is that the darker it is where you're trying to sleep, the better too. The body's natural rhythm is based on several cycles. There's the daily cycle of bright days and dark nights as well as monthly cycles and so on.

When you're exposed to sunlight, there is a chemical in the brain that is inhibited. Melatonin is a chemical produced by the brain, and makes you drowsy and ready to sleep. The main thing to remember with this is that the more light you take in through your eyes, the less of this chemical you have in your system. And so, to have the most energy during the day, get out into the sunlight.

When we spend most of our time indoors, we get very little light. Any photographer will tell you that the ambient light levels indoors are pitifully small compared to full sunlight. And when we don't get enough full sunlight, our bodies don't really know if it is day or night, and our sleep cycles are disturbed.


Drink Plenty of Water

Here's something else that we've all been told is good for us. Drinking lots of water (not colas, coffees, teas, or alcohol) will improve your blood-flow, making it easier for your body to repair itself from the daily wear and tear of life. All of your physical systems work better when you're blood is flowing right.


Eat Light

Again, something we should be doing for other reasons. If you go to bed with food still in your digestive system, your blood is engaged in distributing the nutrients of the food to the rest of your body and has a hard time doing double duty to help in the daily repair work. Also, when your body is healthier, all systems and processes work better, including the daily recuperation of sleep.


Lower Your Stress Levels

I'm sure you're surprised by this one, heh? When you go to bed with worries and problems on your mind, you have a hard time relaxing enough to get to sleep. There are many different things you can do to help here, but one of the best may be a short period of meditation before bedtime. Resolve to put off the problems of the day (or of your life) until tomorrow. By getting a quality night's sleep, you'll have more energy and more brainpower to find a solution.


Set a Regular Sleep Schedule

Although our modern cultures play havoc with our schedules, requiring us to get up and out of the house at different times each day, if we are to get the most we can from our sleep, it's important to always start our days at about the same time. The main reason for this is simply because our bodies work by regular cycles, and if those cycles are disturbed, our systems don't work as efficiently. The time we get up in the morning is more important to this cycle than the time we go to sleep at night, but both will affect the quality of sleep that we get.

One thing that most of us do which kills the regularity of our sleep cycle is sleeping later on the weekends than we do during the work week. Of course, that was to try to increase our energy levels, and now that we know how to get the most energy from our sleep, this will no longer be necessary.


How To Sleep Shorter Nights

Before you can start decreasing the amount of time you spend sleeping each night, it's important to increase the quality of sleep by implementing the above suggestions. Once you start getting better sleep, you can then adjust the amount of sleep you get each night.

Another piece of information that you'll need to know is that during the time we spend sleeping, we go through a number of sleep cycles. We drift from light sleep to deep sleep and back again over and over. Most of us experience about 6 to 10 of these sleep cycles, which last about 20 to 40 minutes in length.

Ideally, you want to wake up at the end of one of these cycles, when you are in a light sleep, not a deep sleep. This makes it easier to wake up, and helps you to feel more energetic to start your day. The simplest way to find out what works best for you is simply to experiment with different bedtimes, and seeing how much energy you have after waking up the next day.

Walk 10,000 Steps To Improve Health and Fitness

It’s a fact, America is becoming obese at an alarming rate and the rest of the world is following close behind. We are eating more (and more of the wrong stuff) and exercising less or getting no exercise at all. Our health is in steep decline and doctor and hospital visits are at all time highs. Just a brisk 30-minute walk a day can begin to turn that around.

You name it, we have it, and it’s getting worse. Heart and cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, stroke, out of control blood sugar levels, diabetes, obesity, and more. The U.S. Surgeon General recommends getting at least 20-30 minutes of moderate activity each day and many of us are falling far short of even that.

Studies show the average person takes about 3000 to 5000 steps a day, and some even much less. Let’s face it, we just do not get the exercise our ancestors did a hundred or so years ago and we tend to eat more refined foods. For some of us, most of steps we take are from the easy chair in front of the TV to the fridge so we can fill up on snacks. For others, like me, we sit at a computer all day as part of our jobs.

Many fitness experts recommend we walk 10,000 steps a day to maintain our weight and overall good health. 10,000 steps are approximately 5 miles, give or take depending on the length of your stride. You will need to purchase and wear a pedometer to count how many steps you take each day. Follow the directions that usually come with the pedometer. Do this for a week or two and you will get a good average step count. Your goal is to reach 10,000 or more steps each day. There is nothing magical about 10,000, but it will put you in the right ballpark.

As a general rule, a person will burn about 100 calories walking a mile, depending on age, size, and fitness level. The heavier you are, the more calories you will burn.

Become creative on ways to increase your steps. At work, go for walks at lunchtime. Go for walks with your spouse or children. Walk the dog. Walk to the store instead of driving, or park at the far end of the parking lot. Use the stairs instead of the elevator. For me, I take brisk 2-mile walks around the neighborhood twice a day everyday (aerobic walking). Just do whatever works best for you, but do it! You will need good walking shoes and socks to prevent injury when walking for exercise (like aerobic walking).

Go to your favorite search engine and type in “10,000 steps” to learn more about this life saving, life changing program. The information is abundant.

Walk 10,000 Steps To Improve Health and Fitness

It’s a fact, America is becoming obese at an alarming rate and the rest of the world is following close behind. We are eating more (and more of the wrong stuff) and exercising less or getting no exercise at all. Our health is in steep decline and doctor and hospital visits are at all time highs. Just a brisk 30-minute walk a day can begin to turn that around.

You name it, we have it, and it’s getting worse. Heart and cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, stroke, out of control blood sugar levels, diabetes, obesity, and more. The U.S. Surgeon General recommends getting at least 20-30 minutes of moderate activity each day and many of us are falling far short of even that.

Studies show the average person takes about 3000 to 5000 steps a day, and some even much less. Let’s face it, we just do not get the exercise our ancestors did a hundred or so years ago and we tend to eat more refined foods. For some of us, most of steps we take are from the easy chair in front of the TV to the fridge so we can fill up on snacks. For others, like me, we sit at a computer all day as part of our jobs.

Many fitness experts recommend we walk 10,000 steps a day to maintain our weight and overall good health. 10,000 steps are approximately 5 miles, give or take depending on the length of your stride. You will need to purchase and wear a pedometer to count how many steps you take each day. Follow the directions that usually come with the pedometer. Do this for a week or two and you will get a good average step count. Your goal is to reach 10,000 or more steps each day. There is nothing magical about 10,000, but it will put you in the right ballpark.

As a general rule, a person will burn about 100 calories walking a mile, depending on age, size, and fitness level. The heavier you are, the more calories you will burn.

Become creative on ways to increase your steps. At work, go for walks at lunchtime. Go for walks with your spouse or children. Walk the dog. Walk to the store instead of driving, or park at the far end of the parking lot. Use the stairs instead of the elevator. For me, I take brisk 2-mile walks around the neighborhood twice a day everyday (aerobic walking). Just do whatever works best for you, but do it! You will need good walking shoes and socks to prevent injury when walking for exercise (like aerobic walking).

Go to your favorite search engine and type in “10,000 steps” to learn more about this life saving, life changing program. The information is abundant.

5 Reasons You Must Keep An Exercise Diary

Exercise has multiple benefits from increased muscle strength, decreased weight, and improved health. But who stays on a program for more than a week?

Research shows that if you can maintain an activity for 30 days you’ll be more likely to stick with it. And, if you can maintain an activity for 60 days it will be harder to stop the habit than to continue.

This is one reason an exercise diary can be critical to your success. You may think that an exercise diary only includes the workout that was done but there is so much more that can be recorded.

Recording exercise helps you to notice trends in your performance. If you rate your performance through both objective and subjective criteria you’ll notice differences between your actual performance and how you felt that you performed.

Diaries can be retrospective (historical) and prospective (future). In other words you can use the diary to record a plan for your workout and then record the actual routine. Using this strategy people new to an exercise routine have a greater chance of continuing the program.

The diary acts somewhat like an accountability partner. The routine is written down and if you neglect to start or complete it you must also record your results. Using the diary to maintain your focus increases your chances of success.

Exercise diaries also help to highlight weaknesses in both your program and your abilities. Keeping track of your performance in different activities will indicate your abilities. And that same information will show you how quickly or slowly you are progressing.

Motivation is a problem for many people who are exercising or new to an exercise routine. Doing the same thing day after day can be monotonous. Recording your objective data and watching the changes can often times increase your desire to continue. You can also change your routines and be assured that you have a record of what really worked and what doesn’t.

Exercise diaries should include objective data such as heart rate before, during and after; the amount of time you spent exercising, any resistance (weights) you may be using, time of day you are exercising and measurements of your arms, thighs, waist and hips over time.

Subjective data should include how you feel before, during and after exercise. You can use a numeric rating system to be able to compare your ‘feelings’ over time. Now you can evaluate when your top times to exercise are based on your rating system.

Exercise diaries give you the edge to improve your program, increase your motivation, determine your best workouts and times, track your progress and begin a life changing habit. Start one today!

Exercise Your Back Pain Away!

According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, 80 percent of Americans will experience back pain at some time in their life.

The traditional treatment for low back pain is increasing core strength to increase flexibility on tight muscles, provide better stabilization of the spine and exercises to correct the muscle imbalances. The muscles surrounding the spine provide stability and support of the spinal column. All the muscles between the hips and shoulders are included. These muscles are referred to as the core muscles. Back pain can be caused by muscle imbalances of any of these muscles. If the back of the thighs are weaker than the front of the thighs, there will be uneven pull on the front of the spinal column. This muscle imbalance can be caused from long periods of standing or sitting, improper strength training or running, this lordotic curve or sway back of the vertebral column can be painful.

There are more effective ways to integrate core strength training exercises into every exercise you perform, than by doing traditional crunches. One way is to use effective breathing. The following "Pilates" style breathing technique can be added to any strength training exercise. While performing a leg press, inhale during the bending part and exhale during the press. This deep breathing technique needs to be incorporated with the resistance or force of the exercise. You will utilize the diaphragm muscles which help to provide spinal support and lengthen the spine, by breathing from your diaphragm instead of shallow upper chest breathing.

The tummy tuck and bridge lift and can help reduce back pain and strengthen the core muscles. The tummy tuck is simply a pelvic tilt drawing the abdominals away from the floor. Simply lie face down and squeeze the glutes to lengthen the spine. Reach the tailbone down towards the heels instead of pressing into the thighs. Perform 10-12 repetitions of each exercise alternating them until you have completed 2-3 sets. For the bridge, simply place the feet on a bench or on the floor and scoop the pelvis upward; the rib cage should stay low to reduce the spine muscles irritation. This will relieve stress on the back and focus the muscle contraction into the hamstrings and glutes.

The lumbar side stretch, hip flexor stretch, and calf stretches can help to alleviate pull on the spine.

For the hip flexor stretch, bring one foot forward in a bent knee, 90 degree angle (knee to hip and knee to ankle) while the other leg is on the floor behind with foot pointing toward the ceiling. This stretch helps to open the muscles in the back on the sides of the spine near the hips. Squeeze the glutes to deepen the stretch with each exhaled breath. You should feel a stretch on the back leg, in the front of the thigh and the hamstrings on the front leg.

For the lumbar side stretch bring the legs wide with knees bent while sitting or standing. Bring one hand down towards the foot inside the thighs and the other behind the head.

The last stretch opens up the Achilles tendon; the most distant pull on the spine of the body. Place an object under your foot and lean your body weight forward. Keep a fluid breath while holding all stretches for 10-30 seconds. You should feel a stretch behind the knee and shin.

By exercising core muscles you will be able to continue working out without sacrificing your back. Check with your doctor before starting ANY exercise program!

Liana Mirkin is the IT Director for Spina Systems International, Inc., a company which specializes in distributing the Accu-SPINA machine, which treats chronic back pain in 86%-94% of patients without surgery.

Best Gym Machines

When you step into the gym for the first time, it can be overwhelming to see the variety of machines for you to choose from. How do you tell which machine is the best one to meet your needs? The smartest thing to do is to ask an employee or arrange for a one-time session with one of the gym’s personal trainers so that you can walk around and get a feel for the gym and understand the purpose of each machine. Using exercise machines as part of your regular workout schedule can be a fantastic way to mix things up and challenge your muscles so they don’t get accustomed to the same thing. You can also use machines like rowers and treadmills to get in your aerobic exercise and cut down on stress on the joints.

Despite the excess of workout machines at the gym, there are a few machines that stand out from the crowd. These machines allow you to burn more calories and fat while strengthening and shaping your muscles, and go above and beyond the performance of many others. If you’re unfamiliar with these machines, ask a trainer to demonstrate for you at the gym. Most of these aren’t complex so you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out how to use them. Use one or more of these machines in your workout program two to three times per week and be amazed at the change in your body.

Treadmill
Perhaps the king of all gym machines, the treadmill is so much more than just a walking machine. Most of the latest models come with features like incline adjustment, arm tools and more to help maximize your workout time. A digital panel at the front will tell you important information like completed distance, calories burned and other facts. Many treadmills offer preplanned computerized workouts for you to choose from. The best of these is a workout that challenges you by changing the incline, speed and stride at different intervals throughout the workout. Using one of these treadmills can increase your calorie burn up to twice what a normal walking workout would burn. Vary the routine by adding your own arm movements when possible. Raise arms overhead up and down to the pace of your walk or reach forward with alternating arms. This can boost your heart rate higher and increase your total calorie burn.

Lateral Pulldown
One of the best weight machines in the gym today, the lateral pulldown machine works your arms, core and back in one simple movement. Stand at the front of the machine with your feet about shoulder width apart and a handle in each hand. Slowly bring your arms backward as the weights pull on the bands. Do not let your arms go back further than your shoulders or else you risk injury. Slowly pull the bands forward and down as you feel the effort in your back muscles and core. Repeat for 3 sets of 20 repetitions. Be sure that the weight is manageable and ask for help if not. Lat pulldowns can seriously shape up your back and core with just three workouts throughout the week. Your calorie burn is modest but as you replace more fat with muscle, your daily metabolic rate will rise since muscle requires more fuel than fat.

Rowing Machine
Don’t overlook this humble piece of equipment that looks a little bit like training apparatus for beginning skiers. The rowing machine can powerfully develop your back, arms, legs, and core with just four workouts during the week. As you position yourself in the seat, make sure you sit erect and keep your abdominal muscles tight. Grasp the handles and pull back at the same time you push off with your legs. Maintain good posture during your workout to burn more calories. Keep rowing for twenty to thirty minutes (depending on your fitness level) and make sure to stretch your entire body after the workout. Use the rower three to four times a week and you’ll begin to see major changes within your body in just a few weeks.

Top 5 Fitness Myths

You’ve heard the stories: weight training makes women look like Arnold Schwarzenegger, exercising on an empty stomach burns more calories, and more. While some fitness myths make sense on the surface, deeper examination proves these stories are simply made up and have little or no basis in reality. Let’s tackle five of the most common myths and check out the real story behind them.

1. No pain, no gain – Perhaps the most common myth out there is this one that says if you don’t feel pain when you exercise, you’re not doing it right. The truth is absolutely opposite: exercise done right should never be painful and professional trainers recommend that you stop your workout at the first sign of pain. The logic behind “no pain, no gain” says that you can’t expect good results without sacrificing something – twisted at best, downright sadistic at worst. Exercise should be something you enjoy or else you very quickly become disillusioned and drop it entirely. While an intense workout may create slight discomfort, it should never get to the point where you are in actual pain.

2. Training with weights bulks women up – Few women want to look like professional bodybuilders, so this myth scares thousands of female exercisers away from weights every day despite scientific evidence to the contrary. The physiological differences between male and female bodies decree that men have a higher percentage of muscle throughout the body; thus men tend to increase bulk with weight lifting. On the other hand, female bodies have a higher percentage of fat to assist with childbearing and have less muscle to build and bulk up. Weight training for women is aimed at producing stronger muscles that can take more stress and bounce back better than ever.

3. Exercising on an empty stomach burns more calories – This one seems like it should make sense since exercise burns calories and an empty stomach has no calories to burn. It seems like you would be ahead of the game! Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. Your body needs energy to run, so when you exercise on an empty stomach the body has to find fuel somewhere else. The body tries to provide energy while looking for it at the same time and can get overwhelmed, resulting in the risk of dizziness or even fainting in extreme situations. The smartest choice is to have a small snack about ten to fifteen minutes before working out. Carbohydrates are the best source of energy, so have a small slice of toast or a banana.

4. Crunches are the best way of firming up the stomach – Too many videos and articles send the message that hundreds of crunches are the best way to correct a jelly belly but fail to take into account that most saggy abs are because of excess fat, not weak muscles. Simply doing crunches alone strengthens the abdominal muscles but doesn’t address the layer of fat over the muscles. You may see your stomach appear to grow larger since the muscles are gaining strength underneath the fat layer. The best strategy for getting firm abs is simple: burn fat and strengthen abdominal muscles at the same time. By using a two-pronged approach, fat that covers muscles is burned and the muscles are firmed at the same time, accomplishing your goal and giving you strong, sleek abdominal muscles.

5. Protein will help build muscles – Protein can do great things for your health but it won’t help you increase your muscle strength. Too much protein in your diet can lead to unintended health risks such as kidney strain or dehydration. Extra protein also packs extra calories into your diet that can result in extra pounds – definitely not what you want. The best source of fuel for weight lifting is carbohydrates – easily digestible by the body, carbs provide fast, consistent energy for the body and allow you to continue lifting weights longer. That alone is what builds strength, not the specific kind of food you eat. Provide your body with the right kind of energy to use and you’ll be able to build muscle better.

There are many more myths about health and fitness, but the best defense against false information is education. When you are confident that you know the right plan for your body, spotting myths become easy.

Six Weight Loss Tricks

The most basic approach to weight loss is to burn more calories than you take in, but sometimes no matter what you do it just doesn’t seem to be working. When you need an ace up your sleeve for a critical moment, try one of these tricks to jump-start your weight loss.

Add weights to your routine.

Adding weight-lifting to your routine is one of the fastest ways to see results. Your body will respond almost immediately, shaping and toning muscle, and remember, the more muscle you have, the more fats you burn! To determine the weight you should start with, grab a 5-lb. dumbbell and do as many bicep curls as possible. If you can do more than ten reps comfortably, use a higher weight. On the other hand, if you can’t do more than eight repetitions without strain, try using a 3-lb. weight instead. For those of you already training with weights, go up to the next highest weight to see results. If you don’t have weights at your home, it is highly recommended that you invest in a set that ranges from three to ten pounds. These usually cost less than $30 and are well worth the investment.

Increase the intensity.

During your cardio workout routine, assess the intensity level to determine how hard you’re working. If you can carry on a conversation with ease while exercising, it’s time to boost the intensity. You can do that by taking deeper strides as you move and placing a greater demand on the muscles of the thighs and buttocks, which in turns burns more calories. The best way to gauge the intensity of a workout is to pretend to carry on a conversation. You should be able to speak in short sentences with a breath after each one. Never exercise to the point where you cannot talk.

Shake up your routine.

Despite being called a routine, your exercise program should keep you interested. Add different activities for variety and you not only maintain your concentration but also constantly challenge your body to meet new obstacles and developing more than just a few muscles. More muscles equal a greater calorie burn – what’s not to love? Try new activities that keep your mind engaged and experience an extra boost for your brain!

Give your diet a makeover.

The daily diet is most frequently the worst problem area when you’re trying to lose weight. Between home and work and the responsibilities that come with each, it can be almost impossible to find healthy choices at the last minute. Spare yourself the daily scrounging and stock up on healthy foods that can be ready at a moment’s notice. Make a point to stash some of your good-for-you snacks at work so that when the mid-afternoon cravings hit, you have something satisfying and diet-friendly.

Challenge yourself.

Set personal goals for yourself and don’t forget to reward your accomplishment! If your goal is to be more active at work, buy a pedometer and challenge yourself to take 6,000 steps during your workday. Be creative about it: walk to a colleague’s desk rather than email, take the stairs instead of the elevator, and go to the bathroom three floors down instead of the one on your floor. Challenging yourself can be very fulfilling on a personal level when you achieve your goals, and can encourage you on to greater achievement.

Keep a food journal.

One of the most common characteristics of successful dieters is keeping a daily journal of food intake. There’s no real mystery about this: when you must write down everything that goes in your mouth, it forces you to realize exactly how many calories you consume. Keeping a journal is also beneficial because you can pick up patterns in your eating – for instance, if you become ravenous at a certain time everyday or if your meals and snacks are too far apart. It can also be helpful to note your frame of mind when you eat or mention the circumstances. Binging as soon as you get home from work could indicate a stressful job or it could mean it’s just been too long since lunch. A basic food journal requires you to enter the food you ate, number of calories, amount of fat, and how much you consumed. This can be expanded as much as necessary to meet individual needs. Just make sure you review it every few days to spot any habits that need to be brought under control.

Top 5 Cardio Activities

When you want to find the best cardio activity for you, consider your personal preferences as well as your body. If you hate getting hot and sweaty during a workout, then running is probably not for you. If you like trying new workouts that keep you engaged and entertained, consider an instructor-led belly dancing class. People who prefer to exercise alone should probably just avoid the gym during busy hours. If you have bad joints, avoid high impact classes like step aerobics and kick boxing. Everyone is different, not just in personality but in body as well, and that can mean great things in terms of workouts. There is a huge variety of exercises that burn serious calories and you’re sure to find one that appeals to you. To burn fat and reshape your body, you can’t beat cardiovascular exercise. Getting your heart pumping and boosting your metabolism is what cardio does best, and it’s the only surefire way to lose weight and get rid of fat. Some cardiovascular activities burn more calories than others and speed up fat loss while reshaping the body, and that makes them good choices for people who are serious about losing weight and improving aerobic capacity. Looking at the top 5 cardiovascular activities, there is great variety while all maintaining the same purpose of burning major fat and calories.

Swimming and Water Aerobics

Swimming should be the king of all workouts for its user-friendly status and low stress on the body. If you fit in three 45-minute swimming workouts every week, you will see major changes in your body in just two to three weeks. Your body becomes buoyant in the water, meaning that it is supported by the water and does not have to depend on the muscles nearly as much. If you just stand still in the pool, your muscles will have very little to do, but when you start swimming at a brisk pace your muscles become involved with pushing your body through the water – not an easy task. That’s why swimming burns so many calories; the muscles work almost twice as hard as in land workouts and torch up to three times as many calories. Challenge yourself by swimming one lap breaststroke, one lap backstroke, and still another lap butterfly. Freestyle is good but you burn far more calories when you mix it up and challenge the body to respond.

Water aerobics offer the same support as swimming but instead of propelling your body from one end of the pool to another you stand in place in the water and use the water’s resistance to build muscle and burn calories. Water aerobics frequently use accessories for strengthening workouts but if you don’t have any, don’t worry! Just go to your pool and perform the same toning exercises that you would do in the gym. Squats, lunges, leg lifts – when done under water, these movements become more challenging and require muscles to work harder, resulting in a higher calorie. The best part is that the support of the water cuts the stress on joints and can help people with arthritis and other joint disorders to get exercise back in their lives.

Power Walking (at home)

A power walking life up to its name and requires you to put out a lot more power than a stroll around the block. In power walking, you swing your arms back and forth as you walk briskly – this helps to burn calories as well as propel you through your walk faster. Increasing the speed will boost your calorie burn even higher. An excellent variation for a power walking routine is to add arm movements a few days per week. As you walk briskly, raise your arms overhead and bring back down to the pace of your walk. This can seriously raise your heart rate and increase your fat burn.

Power Walking (at the gym)

Power walking at the gym is as easy as hopping on the nearest programmable treadmill and setting off. If you are not sure how to program the treadmill, ask a trainer or knowledgeable friend to show you how. You should choose a walking route that includes inclines and changes to surprise and challenge your muscles. Most treadmills that offer these walking programs talk you through the route so that you are alarmed with the incline increases. Use the same variation from the home power walking and add arm movements to increase heart rate and calorie burn.

Belly Dancing

Belly dancing won’t burn quite as many calories as swimming or power walking, but for sheer fun and novelty this workout can’t be beat. Belly dancing has become wildly popular across the nation in the past few years and nearly all gyms offer at least one class for interested parties. You will work your hips, thighs and waistline in a typical class as well as increase your aerobic capacity. And who knows, your belly dancing skill might come in handy some day!

Ashtanga Yoga

The most physical form of yoga is Ashtanga yoga, which uses the same traditional yoga poses but incorporates powerful aerobic conditioning at the same time. You will move quickly and powerfully in a fast-paced routine that is led by a certified instructor who is experienced in moves that boost your heart rate and burn the calories. Ashtanga yoga is still relatively new in some places and it may be difficult to find a class at first, but more and more gyms are offering classes. You can find Ashtanga videos at stores nationwide, so you may want to consider having your own private session at home.

Cardiovascular Exercise Versus Weight Training

All exercisers, whether beginners or old hands, will ask themselves at some point if they should switch to an all-cardio or all-weight training program. Trainers are asked this question every day in gyms across America and more curious folks write in to fitness columns to pose the query. Does it really matter if you do all-cardio or all-weights? The short answer to this question is yes, it does matter.

Cardiovascular exercise primarily focuses on developing and strengthening the cardiovascular system through aerobic training. This means strengthening your heart, lungs, and blood vessels so that they all work more efficiently, both together and individually. By training the body to meet higher and higher levels of aerobic endurance, you increase the efficacy of your system. This is a fantastic move to make your present life easier and more pleasant, but it’s also a smart move to prepare for later life. Research proves over and over again that adults who maintain a high level of fitness throughout early and middle life end up living fuller, more productive lives as seniors. That’s in addition to living longer than people who don’t exercise. The benefits of cardiovascular exercise are almost too numerous to list: lower blood pressure, lower ‘bad’ cholesterol and higher ‘good’, decreased incidence of heart attack and stroke, decreased risk of osteoporosis, overall decreased risk of most cancers, increased life span and more. Cardiovascular or aerobic exercise is the smartest choice around – or is it?

Weight training aims to strengthen the muscles by lifting weights. By increasing the overall strength of the muscles in the body, the support of the body is increased and allows for greater ease of living. Since the muscles connect to each other and all essentially hold up the skeleton, without them there would be no way to move to exercise. People who lift weights are shown to have many of the same characteristics as those who engage in cardiovascular exercise. Weight-lifters also experience a decreased risk of bone fractures since the weights help build bone through the resistance. Lifting weights is surely the best approach to fitness – right?

In reality, the number one way to achieve ultimate fitness in your life is to combine the two approaches of aerobic exercise and strength training to boost your health to the optimum level. The two methods, though targeting different systems, form a beautiful relationship that works together to develop and build all aspects of the body to create the strongest, healthiest body possible. Cardiovascular exercise strengthens the lungs and allows the body to build up stamina. Weight training uses that stamina to build muscles for longer periods of time. The muscles then act in their roles as support team for the skeleton and organs, and can work more efficiently. The increased efficiency of the body means that it can develop greater aerobic capacity through exercise – and you see how the cycle begins again. Cardio and strength training feed off each other to develop your best body ever.

The next question should be obvious: what’s the best combination aerobic and strength training workout? The answer to this is swimming. Swimming is the ultimate aerobic conditioner as well as muscle builder. Thanks to the buoyancy you experience underwater, your muscles can concentrate more on working than on supporting your body. Doing all those laps, though, requires a great deal of aerobic stamina. Thus all of your body’s systems get a thorough workout when you swim. One recommended program is to swim a certain number of laps in the pool but on each lap, swim a different style. On your first lap, swim freestyle to get into the groove and warm your muscles. On your second lap, swim breast stroke. Do backstroke on the third. Rotate the strokes so that your muscles are continually surprised and challenged. Do this as your swimming workout four to five times a week and you will be amazed at the change in your body both in shape and in endurance.

The smart exerciser knows that there’s no choosing between cardiovascular exercise and weight training. The best programs always incorporate a variety of the two to provide maximum development and strength. Start adding your own combination workouts to your schedule and be delighted as your body starts to truly reinvent itself.

10-Minute Exercises With Big Results

Many busy professionals feel that working out isn’t worth the time unless they can exercise for forty minutes or longer and it’s true that many healthcare workers and government agencies used to recommend that all adults get thirty consecutive minutes of aerobic exercise per day. But this is the twenty-first century and the fact of the matter is that you don’t have to do all your exercise at once to reap the health benefits. Research has shown that short, intense exercise segments throughout the day are just as effective as longer workouts at burning calories, increasing cardio endurance and lowering blood pressure and cholesterol. Even as little as five minutes can go a long way towards balancing hormones in the body and making you a happier person – is that great or what? You no longer have to worry about finding a large block of free time to work out; just take a coffee break and in five minutes you can feel totally rejuvenated.

One of the greatest things about shorter workouts is that they have tremendous potential to reshape your body with a minimum time commitment. Incorporating strength training exercises into your daily schedule is a powerful tool for both heart health and muscle strength. Spend five minutes doing lower body exercises and after several weeks you can tell a difference. Spend ten minutes on a power workout and results will show up in three weeks or less. Use the following ten-minute express workouts on a regular basis for a month and you will see remarkable changes in your body’s strength. You can do these workouts in your office with the door closed or, if your office is a cubicle, in the restroom or some other private area. Do whatever is necessary for you to fit in your exercise time at work.

Express Workout 1: Hips and Thighs

Hips and thighs can be a frustrating area to shape up especially for women. Thanks to the physiological design of female bodies, fat tends to be stored in the thighs and hips and can be very resistant to toning efforts. Perform this routine three to four times weekly in conjunction with aerobic exercise and your body will begin to reshape in six to ten weeks.

Squats: Squats are performed by standing with feet about shoulder-width apart and arms by sides. Keep strong posture and slowly lower buttocks as though about to sit down in a chair. Lower several inches and then slowly raise.

Pliès: Adopted from ballet, pliès are performed by standing with feet just wider than shoulder-width and toes pointed outward. With a hand on a chair or wall for balance, slowly drop body straight down for several inches and then come back up. To increase intensity, on the final pliè, stay in a lowered position and slowly pulse your body up and down about an inch. This fatigues the muscle faster.

Lunges: Lunges are performed by standing with feet about shoulder-width apart and hands on hips. Stand tall and take a large step forward with one foot, and remain in that position. Turn your back foot up until balanced on the toes and then slowly lower your body until your front knee forms a right angle. Slowly raise your body back up. Repeat on each side.

Leg Stretches: Stand with feet about shoulder-width apart and one hand holding a chair or wall for balance. Raise one foot behind you and reach back with your hand, grab the foot and gently pull it towards your buttocks. This stretches the quadriceps muscle on the front of the leg. Repeat with each leg.

For stretching the calf muscle, place one foot slightly in front of you and point your toes up, balancing on the heel. Keep your weight on the foot that is not being stretched. Repeat on both sides.

All times are approximate.

0:01 – 1:00 – Begin by walking briskly in place to warm up the muscles. Warming the muscles makes them pliable and will allow you to work longer.

1:01 – 3:00 – Perform as many squats as possible in two minutes.

3:01 – 4:00 – Rest for one minute.

4:01 – 6:00 – Perform as many pliès as possible in two minutes.

6:01 – 7:00 – Rest for one minute.

7:01 – 9:00 – Perform as many lunges (both legs) as possible in two minutes.

9:01 – 10:00 – Recovery and stretching.

Express Workout 2 – Arms and Shoulders

Building strength in your upper body is a vital part of any workout plan and fortunately it can be a fairly easy area to strengthen. Powerful arms are important for both men and women to assist with everyday life – it’s surprising how many typical daily tasks require using the shoulders, back and arms. By building those muscles, you will take some of the daily stress of your body. This 10-minute express workout develops the biceps, triceps, upper back muscles and shoulders.

Bicep Curls: Curls are done by standing with your feet about shoulder-width apart and weights in both hands. Tuck your elbows firmly against your sides with palms facing forward. Slowly raise the weight almost to your shoulder for a count of 5 and then lower it, again for a count of 5.

Overhead Press: The overhead press is performed by standing with feet about shoulder-width apart and a straight back, holding a weight in each hand. Bring the hands up to the shoulders and then slowly lift up for a count of 5. Raise the weights until the arm is almost fully extended; then release and lower downward.

Triceps Raise: Stand tall with feet slightly more than shoulder-width. With weights in hands, lift straight overhead until almost fully extended. Turn palms inward to face each other. Slowly begin to lower the weight down toward your back until the elbow forms a right angle; then raise the weight.

Forward Press: Standing with feet a few inches past shoulder-width. With weights in hands, bring up to shoulders. Slowly press the weights forward; then pull back. Be sure to keep arms level with shoulders and move forward and back slowly.

Stretches: Stretch the arms by raising your arms overhead, dropping one hand behind your head and using the other hand to gently press the elbow back to stretch the triceps muscle. Repeat with the other arm. Next, raise both arms overhead, lace fingers together and press arms outward. Lastly, bring one arm across the front of your body and use the other hand to press the arm against the body to stretch the biceps muscle.

0:01 – 0:30 – Warm up

0:31 – 2:30 – Perform as many slow, quality biceps curls as possible within two minutes.

2:31 – 3:00 – Rest for thirty seconds.

3:01 – 5:00 – Begin overhead raises and complete as many quality raises as possible within two minutes.

5:01 – 5:30 – Rest for thirty seconds.

5:31 – 7:30 – Complete as many accurate triceps presses as possible within two minutes.

7:31 – 8:00 – Rest for thirty seconds.

8:01 – 10:00 – Complete as many properly done forward presses as possible within two minutes.

Extra time: Stretch if you have time available.

Express Workout 3 – Abdominal Muscles

Having strong core muscles is crucial to protecting the spine and maintaining good posture. When your body is supported by strong central muscles it’s easier to perform everyday tasks as well as exercise. Abdominal workouts won’t flatten the stomach – that requires aerobic exercise – but they will strengthen and tone the muscles.

Basic Curls: Perform the basic curl by lying on your back with knees bents. Place your fingertips at your ears and use your stomach muscles to pull yourself about five or six inches. Slowly lower back down. Avoid using momentum to perform the exercises.

Cross-Curls: Begin in basic curl position. Contract stomach muscles and lift to the right as you bring your right elbow to your left knee. Switch and bring left elbow to right knee.

Bicycle: Begin in basic curl position but prop your upper body up on your elbows. Straighten your legs and then raise both legs several inches off the floor. Pull your right leg in to your body; then extend it as you pull in your left leg. Continue doing so; thus “bicycling.”

Rope Climb: Begin in basic curl position. Raise your legs straight up into the air while keeping your upper body flat on the floor. Using your abdominals to lift your upper back off the floor, use your hands and arms to pretend you are climbing a rope. Grasp the “rope” with your right hand as you bring your right side off the floor; then switch and use your left hand.

Stretches: Lie on your stomach with hands at about shoulder-height. Slowly use your hands to lift your upper body off the floor and stretch your abdominals.

0:01 – 2:00 – Perform as many well-done basic curls as possible within two minutes.

2:01 – 2:30 – Rest for thirty seconds.

2:31 – 4:30 – Complete as many accurate cross-curls as possible within two minutes.

4:31 – 5:00 – Rest for thirty seconds.

5:01 – 7:00 – “Bicycle” for two minutes.

7:01 – 7:30 – Rest for thirty seconds.

7:31 – 9:30 – “Climb” the “rope” for two minutes.

9:31 – 10:00 – Stretch the abdominal muscles.

What Is The Most Effective Cardio Exercise?

Everyone has wondered at some point in time which cardio exercise is better. To put it in simple terms, both low and high intensity exercises will help you to burn off body fat. The question here is which is the most effective to burn off more body fat.

When scientists first discovered that during intensive exercises, your body burns glycogen, which is a form of stored carbohydrates that are stored in your liver and muscles for energy. During low intensity exercises, your body will burn a lot of fat.

If your wondering whether or not it works, the answer is no because there are so many obese people still around. Even though they are working out with low intensity routines, it still makes you wonder how it can be.

The scientists were right when they said the human body burns more body fat during low intensity exercises like walking or swimming. During a high intensity exercise such as running, the body will burn a lot more calories. Even if some of the calories burnt are from glycogen, there are still many fat calories burned as well.

To put the icing on the cake, when your store of glycogen gets low, the carbohydrates from your food you eat will later get converted into glycogen to fill up the store and won't be converted to body fat when they are left unused for energy.

High intensity cardio exercise will juice up your metabolism even after you have completed your workout. What this means, is that your body will continue to burn body fat hours after you have left the gym. This effect is nearly non existent in low intensity cardio or aerobic workout.

Accumulatively, your body will burn up more and more calories during and after you have finished a high intensity cardio exercise that it will with low intensity.

You can inject high intensity exercises into your cardio workout by introducing some interval training. You can walk for 5 minutes or so, then break into some jogging for another 5 minutes or so. Then, walk briskly again until you have caught your breath and then sprint for a minute before you walk again. From this point, simply alternate your running and walking for the next 15 minutes until you are finished.

One of the best things about cardio is the more you do it, the more energy you'll have. Cardio will help you to burn calories, although its more useful for keeping your energy levels high.

If you've never tried cardio before, you should give it a shot. If you like to exercise, you'll find cardio the best way to boost your energy and keep in top shape. If you are just starting out, you'll want to go slow and keep your cardio exercise in track - as it is very easy to over exert yourself.