Sunday, 8 May 2011

Is Pregnancy Without Pounds Worth Reading?

Pregnancy without Pounds is an eBook that explains how it is possible to maintain your present weight while being pregnant. A lot more women now currently realize that being pregnant does not give them an excuse for not being active. They realize that by performing specific exercises and eating well, their health as well as their unborn baby's can be improved. Even though this course fails, like the name says, to show you how to stay away from putting on the pounds during your pregnancy, it

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Toning & Building Muscle : How to Get Ripped Muscles in 4 Weeks

To help get ripped muscles in four weeks, eat chicken, turkey and fish to get a solid source of protein. Get ripped muscles in four weeks with tips from a fitness specialist in this free video on toning and building muscle. Expert: Bob Mathews Contact: power1k.com Bio: Bob Mathews is the owner of Perfect Body System and has been in Phoenix, Arizona for the last 15 years. He's trained with Barry Goldwater and other devoted clients over the years. Filmmaker: Dustin Daniels
Video Rating: 4 /

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Tuesday, 7 December 2010

Exercise of the Week - Bear Crawls

Whole body exercises are all the rage these days, maybe because we've realized over the past few years that working the whole body at once makes more sense. Whole body exercises are also a great way to burn more calories, build endurance and take the body through multiple planes of motion without needing anything more than you're own body.

Bear crawls are a good example of this and an exercise that causes many of my clients to say: "Really? You want me to crawl on the floor for exercise?" If you have to ask...

With this move, you're involving three different exercises in one - A squat, a plank and a pushup. You can easily modify this move to make it easier or harder. If you want to make it easier, skip the pushup or do it on your knees. If you want to make it harder, you can add a jump at the end.

I like this move as a warm up, as part of a complete workout or as a way to make your cat stare at you as though you've lost your mind.

Do it right: Squat down to the floor and walk your hands out until you're in a plank position. Do a pushup on the knees or toes and then walk the hands back to a squat and stand up. Add a jump at the end for more intensity.


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Saturday, 18 July 2009

Importance of Warming Up Before Exercise

Since a lot of people are involved in physical exercises, it is imperative that the importance of warming up before any strenuous activity should be discussed. Many have repeatedly ignored going through the warm up stage before working out, not knowing the consequences in doing so.

Why warm up? Several changes takes place in the body once physical activity is initiated. A person's respiratory rate, blood flow, and oxygen and nutrient levels delivered to the cells increases. The rate of increase should be regulated in a steady pace to prepare the body for the physical stress that exercise will demand. If one foregoes this priming procedure, the body will function less efficiently and the workout will produce less quality results. Warming up preps up the nervous system, heightens mental awareness and alertness, and loosens up joints and muscles to make them less prone to injuries. Warm ups jump starts the fluid located in the joints, minimizing the risk for wear and tear of the muscles. It gives the heart a suitable period to adjust and pump up blood and nutrients into muscles.

This is vital for older people, since they have tissues that are less supple; they have joints with less fluid, and weaker hearts. Sudden exercise can produce heart attacks to older people.

How does a person warm up properly? Initially, it can be done in any procedure that enables the heart to beat faster. One can simply walk and jog, or if a cardiovascular equipment is available, such as rowing machine or a bicycle, it can be utilized. Start at a gentle pace, and then slowly increase the pace until heart beat rate increases and the body temperature rises. It important to note that the pace should be in accordance to one's current fitness level, where the activity will leave the person energized and not exhausted.

After working up a light sweat (suggested time is 3-5 minutes, longer if the person is working out in a cold environment) one should do dynamic stretching. Stretching helps in developing overall flexibility, particularly in the spine, shoulder, and hip areas. The kind of stretching depends on the type of activity a person plans to engage to. For instance, if one is about to play sports, the recommended kind of stretching would be the ones that mimics the movements that will be done in the court or field. If one is about to do martial arts, light sparring can be done in the quarter of the normal speed, or just simply do the movements in slow motion. Be certain that the major muscles groups are stretched for 8 seconds minimum. It is necessary to remember to keep feet moving or do leg exercises whenever the upper body is stretched to keep prevent blood from pooling in the legs. Remember, one should only do stretching if the muscles are already warmed up. Do not bounce while stretching. It leads to a contraction that can result in muscle tear or pull.

For weight-lifters, this is what should be done after the initial warm up. Load the bar with about 50-60% of the heaviest weight to be done for the session and perform the number of repetitions that will be done for the heavy sets. For the second set, the weight will be increased to 80%, then eventually to 90%, decreasing to 2-3 repetitions. Afterwards, rest for about 30 seconds, then repeat the steps. After this warm up, one can now proceed to the heavy lifting for the day. The advantage of doing the procedure is that the heavy sets will feel less daunting and can now be performed with considerably less stress.

After warming up and proceeding to the main workout, it is equally important to cool down. When a person suddenly stops exercising or lifting weights, blood gathers in the muscle and oxygen is blocked. When this happens, a person runs the risk of having a heart attack. So cooling down should have the same importance as warming up.

Exercise is good for the health. Everyone is encouraged to pump it up, just remember to remember all the necessary precautions not only to maximize the workout, but also to stay safe and healthy.