 |
||
|
|
 |
|||||
Try Different Forms of Exercise for Success
If you have always used free weights, then switch it up and try training with machines like "Hammer Strength" or "Nautilus". These are excellent weight resistance machines and they will really work your muscles from different angles and different intensities. You should always strive to find new and exciting ways to workout your body. Try doing all body-weight movements, which are a really great way to build quality strength. The military uses mainly body-weight movements during their training. These include pushups, situps and pullups. The three main body-weight movements will really give you a great overall body workout! You can also choose from many different forms of training such as using workout bands. If you're just starting out, these are an excellent way to learn the basic movements and get the true "feel" to each exercise. Exercise bands allow you to get a full body workout with the convenience of only needing a very limited amount of space. You can review some exercises using workout bands below: http://www.shapefit.com/quick-workouts-elastic-bands.html These portable exercises are great for anyone who wants to workout at home or anyone who travels frequently. Using an exercise band, you can get a great workout in your hotel room, living room or anywhere else. Kris Bierek is a fitness specialist for the health and fitness site http://www.ShapeFit.com where you can find FREE fitness tools like fitness newsletters, dieting tips, weight loss help, exercise questions and a free fitness analysis to help you get into the best shape of your life!
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
People Walking: How Some People Enjoy Their Exercise Walking People walking regularly for exercise often walk for more than just that. They are those who have found their sweet spot in walking. Exercise: Why YOU Should Do It Hundreds of Thousands of Americans spend millions of dollars each year on diet pills, "magical" exercise devices, and misrepresented health and fitness products, when in all actuality a good set of dumbbells and a brisk walk may be all you need to get in better shape than you've ever been in. Get Moving...The Benefits Will Last a Lifetime! The benefits of physical activity are numerous and very well documented. Aside from substantially reducing the risk of dying of a heart attack, regular physical activity decreases the risk for stroke, diabetes, high blood pressure and certain forms of cancer. Regular physical activity helps to build and maintain healthy bones, muscles, and joints and reduces the risk of arthritis and osteoporosis. Regular physical activity helps reduce the symptoms of arthritis and degenerative joint disease and reduces the falls among older adults. Regular exercise has even been shown to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression. As overwhelming as these benefits are, the sad fact is that less than half American adults do not get enough physical activity to provide health benefits. Less than 25% of adults are not active at all in their leisure time. The good news is, it's never too late to reap the benefits of an active lifestyle. Arthritis Exercise ? One Way to Relieve Pain & Stiffness in Your Joints (part 2) Even when you cannot make it out to walk or to an aquatics or yoga class, there are exercises you can do daily to improve flexibility, strength and conditioning when you suffer from arthritis. You can flex your legs while sitting in a chair facing forward, simply by moving your leg outward while keeping your foot on the floor and holding it there for a few seconds, then retracting it until your foot is behind you, then alternating to the other leg. Interlocking your fingers and slowly flexing your wrists to the left and the right for a few minutes a day can help tremendously to increase flexibility and reduce pain in the wrist area. Planning An Exercise Program When designing an aerobic or strength training exercise program, fitness professionals, such as personal trainers and gym instructors, invariably use the F.I.T.T. principle as their starting point. The good news is that with a little bit of knowledge anyone can use this principle in designing an exercise program that will help them to become progressively fitter and stronger, and help them lose or control their weight. Home Gyms with Free Weights Having your own home gym with free weights is not only convenient but gives you the freedom to work out anytime you want. You save time and money, have no costly gym fees, no driving time, and no child care is needed. Bodybuilding Training Tips ? To be a Champion! Twenty two years ago I fell into the world of bodybuilding by accident. I had absolutely no discipline, determination or confidence in myself. After many championships, television shows, movie star clients and successful businesses here are a few training tips that I have learned along the way. The Bad Workout: Some Advice for Female Bodybuilders Bad workouts. We have all had them at some time or other. When you need to train so intensely to break the muscle down it is hardly surprising that the odd bad session occurs. After all, we are only human and we cannot be 100% consistent all the time. (I would question that when it comes to Ronnie Coleman but I am sure even he has had his bad days). Defeating Back Pain Forever Back pain, one of the most common physical, and debilitating ailments today, affects 70% - 80% of us at one time or another in our lives. However, as a result of the obesity epidemic, that number continues to climb. So if you are suffering or have suffered from back pain, you are not alone! Calf Cramps - How To Get More Gain For Less Pain! I cannot imagine that there is anyone past the age of about 10, that has never had calf cramps. Let's face it, they are horrible. From having no pain and full movement to excruciating agony in a matter of seconds. I think that you can relate to that. If you are into sports though, calf cramps are far more common, and can stop you in your tracks. So what are calf cramps exactly? Anyone competing in sports know that they usually occur after strenuous exercise. But what about those poor folk who wake up with cramps for no discernable reason. So, how do they occur? Sport In our modern day society we have moved away from walking anywhere and think nothing of jumping into the car for a quick trip to the corner shop. We live life at such a fast pace that we feel we dont have time to walk anywhere and as a result we are probably the most unfit that we have ever been. Bodybuilding Sins That Cause Back Pain and Missed Workouts: Part 4 Welcome to article number 4 in our series "Bodybuilding Sins That Cause Back Pain and Missed Workouts". In this article we are going to talk about how bodybuilders tend to create massive muscle imbalances and what you can do to not be one of them. If you missed the first article, you can read it by clicking on the link below. Here's a breakdown of the articles to look for: 1. Article:1 - Choosing The WRONG Exercises 2. Article:2 - Training Variations for Pain Relief and Maximum Results 3. Article:3 - Targeted Stretching 4. Article:4 - Targeted Exercises 5. Article:5 - Rest, Recovery, and Injury Prevention Article:4 - Targeted Exercises What is a Targeted Exercise and Why You Need To Be Doing Them? While performing three different exercises for each area of the chest may sound "targeted" and it may work great for targeting the chest itself? this is NOT what we mean by targeted? What we are talking about is choosing exercises with more than just size increases in mind? remember, there is far more to muscle than just how it looks? You can be really big, but also weak, slow and inflexible. To drive this point home some more, remember the "Turtle Back Syndrome" we covered in article #1? So many body builders are plagued with this gruesome condition and they don't even know it! Are you? The Turtle Back condition is a direct result of too much focus on building up the pecs and lats and not enough focus on the upper back. Also, the lack of focus on flexibility in the chest and shoulders makes it even worse? Not only does this look stupid, but it sets you up for back, neck and shoulder problems like rotator cuff tears and the like? and I know you don't want any of those! So by targeted, we mean exercises that will not just develop muscle strength and size, but more importantly work towards correcting muscle imbalances which will mean less pain and missed workouts, better performance and function, and most of all better and balanced total body development! So How Do You Find Out Which Ones You NEED To be Doing? As we discussed in the previous article on "Targeted Stretching", it's very important to know before hand what stretches you actually NEED to be doing? the same applies to exercises? and the ONLY way to find out what specific areas you need to target is to perform physical evaluations so you can pin point the weak muscles that need strengthening and the tight muscles that need stretching. We have developed a series of simple assessments you can do yourself to identify the muscles imbalances you have? and while they are intended for people suffering from back pain or sciatica, as a bodybuilder you stand to benefit greatly because you train so hard, you are far more likely to experience injuries like bulging and herniated discs, rotator cuff tears, knee pain, etc? Plus, even if you don't have any pain or injuries now, it would be very wise to learn how to assess yourself so you can target your training now before you create an injury, which not only will slow down your training and progress, but it can also become a life-long struggle with pain and a serious loss of your strength, size and fitness. So be sure to check out our website to learn more about how you can quickly and easily identify and eliminate any muscle imbalances you have. An Ab Exercise For Everyone! I don't have much of a problem with belly pouch or bulge, since I've been doing one ab exercise or another for most of my life to make my abs flat. Interval Training Are you in an exercise rut? Do you want to kick your fitness level up a notch and increase your endurance? Would you like to add more intensity to you workout? Interval training is a good way to achieve all of these goals in a safe and systematic manner.Interval training is simply a matter of alternating high intensity exercise and low intensity exercise. It allows one to get the benefits of the high intensity work while giving the body some rest time. It allows one to extend a workout time period and build endurance gradually.Running on a flat surface burns calories and gives your heart and lungs a great cardiovascular workout. Running up hill challenges your muscles, heart, and lungs, burning more calories and providing additional toning. But taking a 30 minute run up hill or on a steeply inclined treadmill would quickly exhaust most of us, or likely force us to stop early. However, running up hill then back down, or up hill then on flat ground would allow for high intensity work counter balanced by intervals of slower periods of active recovery. Interval training burns more calories and pumps more blood than continuous lower intensity exercise because it includes intervals of energy and oxygen-hungry work.Because interval training burns a lot of calories and provides good muscle work, it may help you save time. A pound of feathers weighs the same as a pound of bricks. Likewise, running one mile burns the same number of calories as walking one mile. But walking one mile takes a lot more time. If your goal is calorie burning and toning, and you are short on time, then interval training does more, faster. Just remember that improving cardiovascular health requires aerobic exercise of 30 ? 60 minutes, so don't make all of your workouts quickies, save those for when you're in a rush. Interval training can also be helpful if your goal is to move yourself up to the next level of endurance and fitness. Maybe you have been trying to start a running program, but can't seem to maintain such a demanding exercise. Interval training is, in fact, one of the most effective ways to train the body. Marathoners commonly use this method to train for an up-coming race. A good program is to run for 4 minutes then walk at a good clip for 1 minute, or do a 3/2 interval. Your body will work hard then rest (while remaining active), work hard then rest. Your heart, lungs and muscles will make the transition to running, running farther, or running faster in a safe and productive manner. There are a lot of ways to add intervals to your workout. If you are already a runner add hills or speed segments. If aerobics classes are your genre, add explosive moves like jumps or sprints. Include segments of speed walking in your normal walking routine or take the incline of your treadmill up a little higher at timed intervals.Interval training is productive and can add excitement to your ho-hum exercise routine. Doing interval work in place of your normal routine, once a month, once a week, or once a day, is a good and effective plan. E-mail me if you need suggestions on how to intensify, endure and enjoy. You'll be glad you did. Top 10 Tips For Finding Time For Exercise If you're like most people, finding time for Lance Armstrong and Exercise - From Denial to Desire! Press Conference 1996 ? Lance Armstrong On Wednesday October 2, I was diagnosed with testicular cancer. I have been made aware that it has spread to other parts of my body... I... I am... here to say, I will work with the doctors to overcome... and I will work hard to race once again. Warning! Lack Of Exercise Could Be Harmful To Your Health You know it's bad when the Surgeon General issues a warning that lack of exercise is hazardous to your health. And that was back in '96. Since then, the stats haven't improved much, either: 25% of the American population is still sedentary and 60% do not exercise regularly (Reference: http://www.cdc.gov). 5 Little Known Benefits of Warming Up & Cooling Down After Exercising While working out in the gym, I have noticed that many exercisers tend to skip two very important parts of their workout. It is crucial that exercisers starts with a warm-up and ends with a cool-down. As a fitness educator, I educate my clients of why they should include warm-ups and cool-downs in their workouts. Integrating Core Stabilization into Your Workouts Stabilization is a hot topic in the fitness industry over the past few years. But what is stabilization? Stabilization can be defined as the body's muscular systems ability to support (stabilize) the body during movement. Dangerous Shoulder Exercises Have you ever suffered from shoulder discomfort after working out? I am referring to aching or sharp pain experienced in the front of the shoulder or lateral upper arm that is felt with overhead activities, reaching behind the back or even laying on the shoulder. These symptoms are often indicative of rotator cuff inflammation. This is a common problem for many people who perform resistance training on a regular basis. It is also a problem that can easily be prevented by modifying the following "dangerous shoulder exercises."
|
|
|
|
|
