What To Do Before You Begin An Exercise Program

Getting in shape is a goal that everyone should have. Having an exercise program is something that can help you to live a long and healthy life. Exercising also helps you to have a better quality of life, have a healthier body, fight off diseases, and have more energy and much, much more. However, before you start into an exercise program - there are some things that you need to consider.

The first thing that you need to do is to look at your overall health. Are you an active person - or do you sit around on the couch a lot? No judging - just asking. Has your doctor ever told you that you have a heart condition? Do you get chest pains whenever you exert yourself physically? Do you have any other conditions that your doctor is monitoring?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, the first thing that you need to do is to check with your doctor. This does not mean that you cannot start an exercise program; it simply means that you should let your doctor know what you are planning and any precautions that he may want you to take.

After you have been cleared by your doctor, then you want to make sure that you have the correct gear for whatever you plan on doing. If you are going to be starting a walking or running program - the most important thing that you need to do is to get fitted for the proper shoes for your foot type. They need to be comfortable and supportive. If you are biking, make sure that you have the necessary equipment, such as a helmet, shoes, etc.

With whatever form of exercise that you are doing, it's important to wear comfortable clothing. Your clothing should be loose-fitting and breathable. Cotton should be avoided. Nothing is more miserable than wearing cotton shirts, sweating in it and then being chilled the rest of your work out. Cotton will also get heavier when it is wet and you have the extra work of carrying it around. There is wonderful workout clothing that is made of what is called "moisture wicking" material. This fabric takes the moisture away from your body as you sweat and will keep you comfortable.

Another thing that you need to remember with whatever you do for exercise - start out slowly. So many people start an exercise program and try to do too much too soon. It's natural to be excited and want to just keep at it. But, like the tortoise and the hare - starting out slowly and keeping at it will help you to win the fitness race!

Beginning an exercise program is something that will help you to live a long and productive life. Following these tips will help you to get started correctly.

[Continue reading...]

Exercises to Get a Perfect Flat Stomach Fast

Burn the Calories with Circuit Training

Improve your chances of burning the fat around your stomach with some circuit training. This is best completed three days a week and can incorporate a mixture of exercises to tone your stomach, along with other areas of your body. Make sure you throw in some short bursts of cardio training too so that you increase the amount of calories you burn.

Crunches and Sit Ups for Stronger Stomach Muscles

Do sets of crunches and sit ups to help strengthen your stomach muscles. Incorporate the different types of sit ups, including twists, normal and side sit ups to work on the different muscle groups - crunches help to work on the upper stomach muscles. You can place your legs under a couch or have someone hold them but you'll get more of a workout by trying to keep your legs on the floor.

Leg Raises Tone the Stomach Too

Many people focus so much on sit ups that they forget about the other workouts that help the stomach muscles. Leg raises are a great way of strengthening the stomach muscles, especially if you raise both legs at a time; however, focus on one at a time at first to avoid injury. Lay flat on your back and raise the legs up and hold for a few seconds before lowering. Keep your movements slow and controlled to make the most of it.

Push Ups to Train the Core

Your core stability will affect your stomach muscles. Push ups will make your arms stronger but they also help you control your core too. They make you remain balanced while you try to keep the buttock level and parallel to the floor. If you struggle with push ups, start by doing them on your knees so you build your core first.

The Plank for the Core Stability

Another great exercise for core stability is the plank. Start off by lying on the floor on your stomach and push yourself up onto your elbows. Only your elbows and toes should be on the floor. The rest of your body should be level. Hold this position for 15 seconds and then relax and repeat 20 times. As your core becomes stronger, hold the position for longer.

Play Superman

No don't try to fly around. Lay on your stomach and lift your right arm and left leg so they are completely off the ground - it looks as if you're trying to be superman! This will control your core stability.

Work on the Lower Back Too

While working on your stomach muscles, help your whole core by working on the lower back muscles. This helps to keep your posture perfect. Lay on your stomach with your hands behind your head and raise your chest off the floor and lower back down.

[Continue reading...]

How to Get Better Results From Your Exercise Program

In order to achieve maximum benefit from an exercise program, it's important to get movement technique and control right. Good results won't be obtained by waving weights about vaguely, squatting and lunging in a wobbly, half-hearted way, doing Pilates without the spine in correct alignment or jogging along the street leaning forward, knees knocking together. An exercise program will be far more effective (and with less injury risk) if everything is performed with strong, controlled movements.

Weight training for the upper body, for example, should start with choosing the biggest weight that can be handled in a comfortable, controlled way. The participant should then concentrate on holding the rest of the body steady and in correct alignment, while taking the muscle being worked through its full range of movement. In this way, the muscle will be trained effectively, the postural muscles will have to work to hold everything else still and whole-body coordination will improve. Once a good movement pattern has been mastered, increasing weights will increase the benefits. Weights machines are often recommended because they make it easy to follow the correct movement patterns. This is fine for beginners, but moving on to free weights will develop a better sense of movement awareness and control, as well as train all the stabilising muscles.

Lunges and squats, with or without weights, are excellent toning exercises for the leg muscles but are more often than not done with bad form. Lunges are often done with the back leaning forwards or backwards, the ankles twisted, the feet too close together or too far apart, wobbling or not taking the muscles through full range. Similarly squats may be done with the lower back arched, not deep enough or too deep (effective, but can aggravate knee ligaments), heels lifting off the floor, legs too wide, etc. Poor control and technique limits the amount of effective work done, often causes already strong muscles to do all the work and increases the risk of injury.

High impact exercise like running can cause injury to knees and ankles if done with bad form and while running may help with weight loss and cardiovascular fitness, for body toning it is much better to do a fast walk with correct body alignment. By concentrating on holding the pelvis in neutral alignment while walking, toning of the backs of the legs and the muscles which pull the abdomen in flat is achieved.

The Pilates method is an exercise method which was devised to focus on alignment and control. Trying to do Pilates exercises without fully understanding what you are trying to achieve and how is more likely to bring injury than benefits. The whole point with Pilates is that the pelvis should be held in its correct alignment, but so often in group exercise participants are so keen to progress to more advanced exercises that they just end up doing the exercises wrong and compromising safety and effectiveness.

Many people are disappointed with the results they get from their fitness efforts and give up. There are lots of reasons why exercise programs may not deliver the expected results, but making improvements to exercise technique can often significantly improve training outcomes.

[Continue reading...]

The Benefits of Exercise For Hormonal Health, Immune System and Joint Related Issues

We all know that exercise is important; there are many benefits of exercise like - cardiovascular health and overall stress management. But exercise is more than maintaining cardiovascular health. Studies on exercise have indicated that engaging in moderate exercise, meaning a brisk walk, 3x a week for 20 minute intervals, is beneficial for supporting hormonal balance, immune system function, cognitive ability and breathing disorders in addition to the many benefits seen for cardiovascular health. In fact, if one looked at the studies surrounding exercise, it becomes apparent that exercise may be the best preventative strategy for living a long and healthy life. Let's take a look at what a moderate exercise program can do for the human body.

Hormonal Health
Moderate 30 minute exercise programs have been shown to improve hot flashes and night sweats as well as elevate mood, decrease irritability, decrease headaches and improve sleeping patterns in menopausal women for a 24 hour time period following the exercise bout. Exercise programs have also been shown to improve stress levels and increase coping ability and these benefits seem to extend to tai chi and yoga based exercise programs and not only cardiovascular or strength based programs. Exercise also shows benefit in maintaining bone density and decreasing fracture rate for this group of women and promotes healthy cholesterol profiles, body composition and blood pressure management for those going through the menopausal process.

Immune System Function
Exercise is highly beneficial for immune system health and moderate exercise has been shown to stimulate immune cell production, elevate temperature to assist in the removal of bacterial agents, increase excretion of carcinogens and encourage early detection of viral infections. Exercise also modulates the stress response and controls inflammation in immune based episodes and appears to decrease both the duration as well as the severity of influenza (Flu) infections. Exercise also appears to decrease the prevalence of infections for those participating in moderate exercise and increases antibody response in response to vaccinations.

Memory and Cognitive Function
While there is a lack of research in this area, studies do indicate that moderate exercise programs reduce the risk of dementia for some individuals and that individuals with the lowest levels of exercise participation may be twice as likely to develop dementia conditions compared to those with higher levels of exercise participation. Research also indicates that exercise, in conjunction with a healthy diet, moderate alcohol intake and smoking cessation, may provide the greatest protection against the development of dementia.

COPD and Breathing Disorders
Research indicates that individuals with asthma can exercise safely providing that they are properly medicated, avoid triggers for allergic attacks and follow proper exercise protocols. For individuals with exercise-induced asthma, providing that proper prophylactic treatment protocols (ie. preventative asthma medications) are followed, these people should be able to engage in exercise programs safely. The benefits of exercise in COPD patients include increased physical capacity, decreased anxiety, greater independence in daily activities, and reduced fatigue. In studies on COPD and exercise it was found that exercise is an important component in pulmonary rehabilitation and that light to moderate physical activity is beneficial for improving the quality of life. Research also showed that COPD patients who engage in a progressive exercise program increased functional capacity from 0-80% after only 6 weeks of training.

And of course, the benefits of exercise for Cardiovascular Disease
Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death for women despite the emphasis put on the prevention of osteoporosis and breast cancer. Cardiovascular disease is the broad name given to disorders that affect the heart and circulatory system as a whole and includes angina, heart attack, high blood pressure, arterial blockages, congestive heart failure, stroke and peripheral vascular disease. Studies indicate that women are twice as likely to die within a year of a heart attack and twice as likely to die from coronary intervention methods such as grafts and angioplasty. The research indicates that exercise programs are safe and effective for increasing strength and endurance in individuals with cardiovascular disease and while cardiovascular disease is still thought of a condition that affects mostly men, more women die each year of coronary heart disease than from any other condition. For those individuals with cardiovascular disease, exercise programs encourage cardiac muscle tone and increase the hearts ability to utilize oxygen which decreases fatigue when doing normal activity. Other benefits of exercise for this group of individuals include the following:

• decreases body weight and fat percentage
• decreases blood lipid levels like triglycerides and LDL cholesterol levels while increasing HDL cholesterol levels
• Improves insulin resistance
• Improves blood clotting ability
• Improves blood pressure control

[Continue reading...]

5 Fitness Myths and Their Origin

In the fitness and health world, there are hundreds of misconceptions, wrongful facts and myths. In this article you will discover the truth about five fitness myths and their origin.

#1 when women lift weights they become bulky

This myth is entirely false. Relax girls, lifting weights won't turn you into a giant muscular monster, no one will become huge only from lifting weights. The reason women will not gain as much muscle as men is because of their genetics. Women have a lot less testosterone in their bodies and therefore won't be able to grow muscles as men do. Testosterone is the muscle-building hormone and men are filled with it. When women lift weights they will become tighter, stronger and look more fit, but only if they don't believe in the next myth...

#2 hard workouts make up for a poor diet

Here is why this myth is false: When men and women work out, they train their muscles, tone their bodies and increase endurance and strength. But if you work out 3 times a week for approximately 1 hour, you spend 3 hours a week exercising. The rest of that week you should focus on your diet and what you put in your body. One week has 168 hours, you work out 3 of those hours, then you have to eat healthy and get enough rest between your workouts to get the best results.

#3 quitting exercise will make your muscles turn into fat.

This myth is an old one; I have no idea where it comes from or how it was ever thought of. But the real reason muscular men gain a lot of fat after they stop working out is because they often do not change their calorie intake. They keep eating the same amount of food, stops working out and then they gain a ton of fat, because they don't adjust their diet to their lifestyle.

#4 spot fat reduction

Ahh... they queen of all fitness myths. "I just want some fat off my midsection, thighs, hips, butt, etc." This is the worst myth of them all, and probably one of the most common too! The fact is that it is physically impossible to lose fat in one particular area by training it. You will get a more toned muscle, but it will not help you remove fat from the selected area only by applying an exercise. When you lose weight you lose it all over your body, from your toes to your face. You need a full body workout or a two-day split to get a nicer butt or more noticeable biceps.

#5 as you age you gain fat

This myth is also not true, the reason many older people get a belly or gains weight is from lack of exercise and poor diet choices. As you age your body will take longer to recover from working out, but this is not unnatural. Anyone who wants to become more athletic, healthy and fit can so, regardless of age and gender.

Where does these myths come from?

Workout myths comes from a variety of places, they come from supplement companies, bodybuilding magazines and podcasts. But why is there such a big difference in what all the so-called "reliable" sources tell you?

The supplement companies will dump you with untrue information and poor workouts, promising it will work as long as you consume their supplement. They do not care about your health or your results. They want you to buy into their supplements, having you believe their brand is the magic pill to get ripped.

The bodybuilding magazines loves spreading the new "routine", this is usually a 3-4 day split program. The only way a program like that will work is if you are on heavy steroids. When you use the programs it will give you the illusion of results. You might have some initial results after the first two weeks, but after that they just don't work anymore. Many people are hooked on this kind of information. That is why they sell so many magazines! People love to try the new super routine to whip them into shape in an instant.

In this day and age most people own a computer and many have microphones, so it is not hard to start a podcast about fitness, or any other topic for that matter. But not everyone is really qualified to give out advice, and even if they are they might accidentally spread wrongful information and it will be carried on for god knows how long. I am not meaning to bash podcasts, but you should double-check your facts

Before you cite them as facts.

What have you learned today?

You have learned the truth about a variety of different fitness myths and how they might have occurred. Next time you read an interesting fact in a magazine or hear it on the radio or anywhere else, I urge you to double check it before citing it. I wrote this article to inform you and help you make informed decisions before you buy some silly product from a television infomercial or something similar!

[Continue reading...]