Archive for the 'Exercise' Category

The Whole Story re the Russian Kettlebell

Auto Date Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

Make no mistake, kettlebells aren’t a fresh idea. The popular opinion is that they’re approximately three centuries old. However, are you surprised to hear that it is now one of the most popular workouts on the planet? So let’s examine how that happened. The Russian kettlebell has just experienced an amazing increase in popularity. They’re simple and easy, don’t require a lot of special apparatus, and there’s no barrier to starting out. We can’t advise going straight to the trickier moves. You should practise the first exercises prior to mustering the challenging routines. Most importantly, with kettlebells as with all weight work, you must take care that you acquire the best weight for your workout. That said, with these kinds of exercises, you need smaller weights than you’d think. Gauged by gender, the 18lb variety is commonly right for women just beginning, and males beginning should expect to get the most out of a 35lb size. The reason for this lies in the mechanics by which this regime will benefit you. With a Russian kettlebell it comes from motion rather than from how much weight is lifted. An educational aid - along the lines of a brochure or video - is a wise acquisition at the beginning, making sure that you have the routines the way they’re meant to be.

In the beginning, before attempting any of the other Russian kettlebell routines you need to understand a double-handed swing. As the origin point of a great many exercises, this ought to be studied in the early going - and it looks easier than it is. At all times your motions must be easy, not jerky. A helpful health word of advice is worth restating before you begin - your back and your shoulders won’t take repeated uses to lift the weights. Instead, employ your hips.

If you’re sure you’ve mastered the double-handed swing, you’re ready to look further on; you’ll have learned enough to attempt advanced exercises. Keep your exercises interesting by adjusting techniques, perhaps backed by different kinds of music. While you get comfortable carrying out these movements, look at adding an additional pair of kettlebells into the routine, perhaps even using a selection of weights. Following these tips, you can keep your muscles performing as effectively as possible and not risk levelling out. It’s important to remember that if you begin using kettlebells to develop your muscle mass or for body building, you will probably be disappointed. Instead, look to them for weightloss and, also, to develop and maintain all round fitness and health over time.

Lastly, bring a session working with the kettlebells into a well rounded fitness scheme. Of course, the degree to which you employ them will vary according to personal taste. Hoping to sustain your weight? A mere two sessions should be fine. Alternatively, you can step up the intensity, have 5-6 sessions every week, and shed that excess.

An Amazing Technique That Can Make Your Gains Skyrocket While Others Have Reached A Sticking Point!

Auto Date Monday, January 18th, 2010

If you clearly understand and apply the principles involved in natural bodybuilding, you will experience very rapid muscle gains. However, over a long term, eventually a ’sticking point’ or plateau in your training may be reached. It is at this point in training that further muscle gains can sometimes appear almost impossible. Sticking points are almost always a direct result of overtraining. More often than not, this plateau can be overcome with a brief layoff.

The reasons for such a “plateau” in muscle gains can vary. Applying some of these simple strategies below should quickly produce further muscle gains. Most guys mistakenly assume, when reaching a plateau, that their maximum muscular potential has been reached. That is simply not the case. Your true potential is incredibly high. Very few guys come close to even “scratching” their limits.

Now. Taking a brief layoff, is the first recommendation when experiencing a sticking point in your training. After returning to regular training, if you are still unable to increase your muscle size, two further strategies can be applied to produce bigger and better gains.

Increasing the current resistance on the exercise you are stuck on can stimulate extra muscle growth. This increase should not exceed more than twenty percent. For example, if you are using 100 pounds in a barbell curl for ten repetitions, the weight should be increased to 120 pounds. Adjusting the weight like this, will more than likely reduce your performance ability to three or four repetitions. However, if you perform all sets with maximum intensity of effort, the number of repetitions you are able to perform will quickly increase to ten or more.

Sometimes, an increase of poundage is not safe, due to the current level of weight already being used. In such cases, adding extra weight can pose a threat to your safety. So instead. Replace the exercise with an alternative. The change of exercise need not be drastic. For example. If you have reached a plateau in the bench press, you could replace it with the incline dumbbell press. Or, parallel dips. The alternative exercise should be included in the routine for three to four weeks. After this period, the regular bench press can used once again. You should notice significant gains very quickly after doing so.

If you are still unable to increase your muscle gains after applying these strategies and taking a brief layoff, overtraining is usually the cause. Instead of having another layoff, the number of sets you perform and the frequency of your workouts should be reduced. Overtraining results from the amount of exercise performed. Level of intensity is never the cause.

To compensate for overtraining, the amount of exercise performed should be reduced by approximately thirty percent. If you are currently exercising three times a week, your frequency should be reduced to two times a week. If you are currently training with ten total sets in a workout, that number should be reduced to a total of seven. Look. I have never seen or heard of anyone who after applying these strategies failed to make further muscle gains. Any exceptions are usually due to poor nutritional habits or not training with enough intensity of effort. Period.

Trent Brook is the Author of “Huge Gains Fast - How to Get More Rock-Hard Muscle Mass In A Month Than You Now Get All Year. His “Huge Gains Fast” muscle building program is an easy-to-follow system so simple and understandable it’s fully explained to you in just 4 easy steps! The Revised Edition is now available online at his website, http://www.hugegainsfast.com

Using Nutrition to Boost Your Cardio

Auto Date Thursday, December 31st, 2009

So, you’re doing cardio religiously and you’re not getting any
results…What’s the deal?! Good news. You’re probably just making
some minor mistakes that need to be corrected. If you want to make
changes to your body, it’s probably pretty important for you to
understand how your body works. After all, I doubt you’re running on the
treadmill because your cable got shut off and the cardio-theater at your
gym is the only place you can watch “The OC.” I’m almost certain you
want to burn fat. So, let’s learn how that works.

We’re going to talk about using nutrition to maximize the benefits of your workout. What you
eat and when you eat it can make a world of difference. But first, we
need to talk about how your body works.

Even though you want to get
rid of the excess fat that’s stretching out your pants, your body is not in
such a hurry to do so. You almost have to trick your body into burning
that fat as energy. You need to have fat to survive, and to your body,
those love handles are money in the bank. Because of this, when you
don’t eat anything for an extended period of time (as little as 4 waking
hours), your body will go into what’s called “starvation mode.” In
starvation mode, your body will actually store more fat and break down
muscle tissue to use as fuel. This slows your metabolism and increases
your body fat. It’s basically a self defense mechanism. With no fuel
coming in, your body fears it may have to survive for some time without
food. Your body doesn’t know that you’re just stuck in traffic or that you
had to skip lunch because your boss was making you do his work. It just
thinks…Holy Mackerel, I’m gonna starve. So instead of using it’s
valuable fat stores, your body gets stingy and actually cannibalizes it’s
own muscle tissue to use as fuel.

So to keep your body from freaking
out and going into starvation mode, try to eat small meals throughout the
day. 5 to 6 small meals a day is ideal. When I say meals, that doesn’t
mean that you need to sit down and have 3 courses. A handful of
almonds or even a protein shake can count as one of those meals.

On the other end of the spectrum, if you eat a turkey sandwich right
before you hop on the treadmill, your body won’t burn fat then either.
When you eat carbohydrates, your body stores them in the form of
glycogen in your liver. As you expend energy, your body uses these
glycogen stores until they are gone. When performing any type of
aerobic activity, like walking, running, etc., your body can use glycogen
stores or fat stores for fuel. The problem is that your body will never use
the fat stores until the glycogen stores are gone.

So you’re saying that
if I don’t eat, my body will get scared and hold on to all my body fat, but if
I do eat, my body will just use that as fuel instead of burning fat? Yes….
And if this were the end of the article, you would probably be pretty mad.
Fortunately, there are ways to make this work.

Option 1: Right when you wake up, before you eat or drink anything
(except water), do 55 minutes of moderate impact cardio. Walking or an
elliptical machine is ideal. If you’re breathing too hard to carry on a
conversation normally, slow down. If you get light headed or weak from
this option, eat something with no carbs before you workout. For
example: egg whites, chicken breast, or a protein shake with no carbs.
Protein consumption will not affect your glycogen stores so your body
will still be willing to burn fat. With this option, it’s okay to eat breakfast
when you’re done.

Option 2: If you only have 20 minutes in the
morning, do intervals before you eat. Warm up for 5 minutes and then
run for one minute and walk for two. Each time you run, make it a little
more intense until you are running at full blast for one minute. After 20
minutes of these intervals, cool down walking for 5 minutes and then
don’t eat for an hour after you’re done. Your body will burn fat for that
entire hour.

Option 3: If you can only do your cardio in the middle or at
the end of the day, use either of the above formulas but try to workout
about 2-2 1/2 hours after you eat.

Option 4: Do your cardio right after
you do your weight training. I know you’ve heard to do it before…this is
wrong. Warming up for 5 minutes before you weight train is fine, but
always do your fat burning cardio sessions after your weights. For more
on this option read “Weights Before Cardio”: www.shapeyou.com/nutrition_cardio.html

Option 5: If your cardio
sessions are more intense like an advanced step class or a spin class,
you’re better off having something in your stomach. Try eating about 2
hours before the class and then don’t eat for an hour after the class.
Most often, during an intense cardio workout, your body is not willing to
burn fat as fuel. It doesn’t know that you’re going to stop in an hour. It
thinks this behavior could continue for some time so it can get stingy
with it’s energy stores. But it will burn plenty of fat in the hour after you’re
done.

Be specific when following these formulas. They work. Am I
saying that if you eat before your cardio that you’re wasting your time?
No, anytime you do cardio it’s great for your heart, you’re burning
calories and you can increase your metabolism. But why not get the
maximum benefits if you’re going to do the work anyway.

You may reprint or publish this article freely as long as you include a
visible, active link to ShapeYou.com along with the author’s bio.

Tony Hale is a certified personal trainer with 12 years of experience
servicing clients in the entertainment industry throughout the Hollywood
area. He is also the editor in chief for http://www.shapeyou.com
To Train with Tony online, visit http://www.shapeyou.com/trainers.html

Lose Weight for Good without Gastric Banding

Auto Date Monday, December 21st, 2009

Being obese triggers many severe medical concerns. And while it may be in your interest to achieve your target weight, it isn’t as simple as it first appears. Step one is finding out how to do it.

Make sure to review our awesome site for how to lose weight fast tips.

No-one enjoys watching their calories for long periods of time, even though it took months or occasionally years to gain the all that excess weight in the beginning. Dieting for months and months without seeing the results is bad for motivation levels. And even worse, some solutions can lead to other serious medical problems. So it’s essential to consider every option open to you before committing to one. Gastric bypass surgery encourages drastic body fat reduction, but patients who select a surgical procedure of this type run an elevated risk of stones in the kidneys or gall-bladder, and vitamin B12 deficiency. Fluid imbalance, nausea, and frequent vomiting due to narrowing of the intestine are some the side effects noted on a regular basis, particularly if you overindulge. Cold intolerance, food allergies, and altered toilet habits are also commonly experienced. For most people the dangers decidedly outweigh the gains. Fat-burners offer a smart solution if you want to learn how to lose the extra pounds without surgery. These increase your metabolism by increasing your body temperature, which mirrors the effects of physical exercise to unburden yourself of the surplus weight. Assorted compoundsincluding caffeine and ephedrine are utilized by fat-burners. These ingredients are nowadays sold in a liquid form. The advantage is that they work almost instantly because liquids are digested much faster. Regardless of whether you opt for gastric bypass surgery or hope to restrict what you eat, you have to take care that you the nutrients needed by your body. If you cut down on calories in turn means cutting the variety of nutrients you can get from your food intake. So, a good supplement and drinking sufficient water are a necessity. If you wish to further accelerate your metabolism, you should take some fat burning exercise three or more times a week. Without a doubt it would be a dream come true if we were able to say a magic word and be slimmer. It is essential that you do not compromise your well-being when losing all that excess weight. In summary, it is recommended that you eat properly, workout regularly and start using a good multi-vitamin to increase your prospects of getting to your target weight…

MMA Sparring Gear, IP SMSC, Reverse Craigslist Software

Auto Date Friday, September 11th, 2009

Mixed martial arts wear, mma gear online, mma sparring gear, mma gear, mma gears and mma work out clothes are just a couple of of the specialties of House Of Pain. http://www.houseofpain.com features top of the line and the best mixed martial arts equiptment, mma clothing, as well as all of the gear and apparel that you would expect in the gym, on the street, or in the ring. Our website not only features the finnest in gear, workout apparel, and clothing, you can go to our fighting and lifting news segments, our in the gym section, events, links, and other information as well as news for the mixed martial arts and weightlifting. HouseOfPain sport articles of gyms accross the US, a mma news blog, weightlifting and strongman news blog, workout information, tips on training, a body fat calculator, powerlifting federations, videos, kg conversion chart, not to mention a page on what types of equiptment are allowable by federation.

Mavenir also offers Converged Messaging Solutions.The world of messaging in the midst of a transition from the previously popular SMS messaging to new rich, IP-based Instant Messaging and multi-device MMS. All mobile providers have a compelling requirement to seamlessly integrate the messaging core between multiple service domains and many devices in order to keep up with these constantly changing needs. Mavenir Systems accomplishes this with a strategy by limiting investments in legacy systems and provide newer revenue generating services and offerings. Mavenir’s IP SMSC is a very highly scalable IP SMSC that reduces the costs to provide legacy SMS at a rate of five times lower than the competition Instant Messaging and Instant Presence does provide a a very tightly integrated Instant Messaging and IMS Presence server that reduces cost of start up,and accelerates enhanced deployment of services.
Reverse Craigstlist software can produce incredible results. You can have ability to quite literally develop possibly up to hundreds of thousands of leads in just a matter of minutes by mining information from advertisements on craigslist. This very simple to use reverse craigslist software can provide an opportunity to take you operations to the limit. You can choose which industry you are aiming at and which specific geographical areas, simply push a button, wait, and watch the leads come in. Then you are able to make direct contact to these leads or manage them, export, save, and more. There are many companies now developing versions of reverse craigslist software as well as data mining software today. Visit this site for one of the most reasonably priced and easy to use reverse craigslist software on the market today. If you need leads, find qualified leads, and very tergeted leads, you will want to check out the best reverse craigs list software that you can buy today.


Costa Mesa Personal Trainers Can Make You Feel Marvelous

Auto Date Saturday, July 11th, 2009

Don’t believe that having a Costa Mesa personal trainer is a luxury reserved only for the rich and famous. There are plenty of trainers prepared to work within your budget. You may be asking yourself “Do I really need a Costa Mesa personal trainer? Why?”

1) One of the key reasons people benefit from a Costa Mesa personal trainer is that they lose motivation to stay with a consistent physical exercise program. Certified Costa Mesa personal trainers can provide structure and accountability, and help you develop a lifestyle that encourages wellness.

2) Number one reason why people employ Costa Mesa personal trainers is to lose weight and get into shape because it works. If you made a commitment to lose the fat and build muscle, a trainer can keep you on course and help you ahieve that goal.

3) If you have any chronic health conditions, injuries or training goals a trainer will work with you and your wellness care provider to plan a safe, efficient individualized plan that considers these needs and enable you to achieve your wellness goals.

4) If you play a particular sport, a performance enhancement specialist will help you improve your skill by showing you new training techniques specific to your sport. A Costa Mesa personal trainer will incorporate skills training into your plan so you improve not only your strength and endurance, but your agility and mental focus as well.

5) If you are an absolute beginner, a Costa Mesa personal trainer is the ultimate physical fitness coach. A good trainer will present you to a very easy effective routine and build efficiently so before you know it, you have the confidence and knowledge to decide what is right for you.

6) Ok, you are already in superb shape, but you’ve been there for years. If you are stuck in the same routine and want to break out of a pleateu, a Costa Mesa personal trainer is the perfect solution. A Costa Mesa personal trainer will jump start, not only your motivation, but your routine as well.

7) a Costa Mesa personal trainer watches your form, monitors your vitals and can provide objective feedback about your limitations and strengths. Most of us tend to neglect some of the subtle signals our body provides. We either drive through pain or give up too soon. Because a Costa Mesa personal trainer can watch what you are doing while you are doing it, they can help push you or slow you down as needed.

8) Many Costa Mesa personal trainers make house calls. If you don’t have the type or interest in going to a gym, but have a hard time knowing what to do on your own at home, a Costa Mesa personal trainer can bring physical fitness into your living room.

If you want to get the body of your dreams contact Costa Mesa personal trainers.

Hill Training: Why All Runners Should Do It

Auto Date Monday, June 8th, 2009

I used to hate running hills. They just mess up your pace statistics, and can be a real source of agony when showing up unexpected in a race. But through experience I soon learned that proper hill training can make the hills much easier to deal with on race day. Hill training has many other benefits too. Even if you live in a completely flat area, I give some alternatives too.

WHY SHOULD I DO HILL WORKOUTS?

* It is a very good cardiovascular workout. Just check your pulse right after running up a hill.

* Hill training is a very effective form of strength training for runners, because it gives the runners a strength workout while they are actually in the motion of running.

* Hill training strengthens the quadriceps, hamstrings and calves, which enables you to run better on any surface.

* The increase strength & flexibility in the calve muscles is very beneficial to speed training. In fact, hill training should form part of your base period training that precedes any speed training program.

HOW SHOULD I DO A HILL WORKOUT?

* How steep should the hill be?
Moderate, not more than 15% incline.

* How hard should I run my repetitions?
Run it at approximately your 10km race pace, maybe slightly faster as you start getting stronger.

* How many repetitions should I do?
If you are starting out, start with 4 repetitions. Add one more every week, and work your way up to 8. You can even push it up to between 10-12 if you really get into it.

*What distance should each repetition be?
Approximately 100m should be enough.

* Should I walk or jog the downhill?
Easy jogging is best, because there are specific muscles and tendons that work when you run downhill, and they need to be exercised too. Take a few seconds to rest at the bottom before you start your next uphill, should you feel that you need it.

* Should I lean forward on uphill running for more efficient running?
No, line your body up perpendicularly to an imaginary horizontal. It’s the most effective running form, and keeps your chest and stomach straight for the faster breathing that comes with hill running.

ALTERNATIVE TRAINING METHODS IF THERE ARE NO HILLS AROUND

If you live or train in a very flat area and can’t get to a hill, try one of these:

* Treadmills - not my personal favorite, but sometimes they just have to do. The advantage here is that treadmills have built in hill simulating programs, but unfortunately it can’t simulate downhill running.

* Stadium steps - a great workout, just be careful not to fall as your legs get more tired later on in your workout

* Running up a flight of stairs - maybe you live in an apartment building or work in a big office building (this can lead to some confused looks from your colleagues)

* Beach running - running on beach sand will work out the same muscles as hill running, but always run with your running shoes, not barefoot. Pick a stretch where the sand is not hard, but also not completely loose.

* Aqua jogging - Like treading water in a swimming pool, but simulating running motion. Usually recommended for injured runners (because there is no impact), this can be done with or without the use of a flotation device.

CONCLUSION

If you hate hills in a race, the only way to beat them is to prepare for them. In addition to that, hill training is an excellent form of strength training, and provides important preparation for speed training, which decreases your chances of injury.

Waldo Pienaar is a former competitive runner, who competed in middle distance track racing at high school, and converted to road racing and cross-country while studying at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. A combination of injuries and his career as an accountant has limited his running to a social level, but he still enjoys researching information on health and training.
http://cbmall.eoltt.com

Why Women’s Walking Shoes are the Best Shoes You can Ever Own

Auto Date Monday, June 8th, 2009

Women’s walking shoes have to be one of the best pairs of shoes to own.

This has nothing to do with the colour, how they look or even how they fit; this has to do with you, your health and more importantly your life span.

An 8 year study of 13,000 people showed that those who walked for 30 minutes every day had a lower risk of premature death than those who rarely exercised.

The fad of two legged walking began around 4 million years BC. Womens walking shoes were probably not as readily available then as they are now!

1860-1903 saw The Pedestrian Age when walking became the leading sport across Europe and the United States.

In 1877 Mary Marshall walked 50 miles in 12 hours and in 1908 the first women’s 6 day race, covering 372 miles was won by Bertha Von Berg.

You and I will probably be more familiar with craze of the nineties when a staggering 65 million people made walking the most popular form of exercise.

Walking regularly means you will be less likely to lose your mobility [American Journal of Public Health]

It gets even better.

Across the many forms of exercise today, physicians recommend walking over any other physical fitness activity.

If you don’t already have any kind of walking program, here’s a few amazing facts to convince you why taking up walking is the best decision you could make today:-

  • Maintains a healthy bodyweight
  • Burns fat and speeds up the metabolism
  • Increases levels of self esteem and self confidence
  • Maintains lean muscle
  • Reduces blood cholesterol
  • Boosts bone strength and prevents osteoporosis
  • Controls high blood pressure
  • Reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and certain types of cancer
  • Reduces the symptoms of depression and anxiety
  • Reduces stress
  • Reduces pain and joint swelling caused by arthritis
  • Achieves cardiovascular fitness
  • Presents an overall feeling of wellbeing and good health

Of course your health is the most important part of your life but walking is completely free, no gym membership required!

One of the most important ‘bits of kit’ you will need, other than yourself of course is walking shoes. Aim to look for the following:-

  • Great fit!
  • low heel
  • flexible sole
  • breathable, lightweight fabric

If you walk regularly you should aim to have a new pair of womens walking shoes every 3-6 months, depending on the distance you usually walk.

By implementing a regular walking program of just 30 minutes a day you are essentially reducing the possibilities of all the points listed above.

You don’t even have to do one 30 minute walk; you could walk for 10 minutes at lunch time and maybe 20 minutes after dinner.

Try not to walk yourself into a frenzy.

Swing your arms as you walk and at a pace that will increase your heart rate slightly.

If you are losing weight you should aim to lose no more than about 1-2 lbs a week.

If you walk a mile, depending on you as an individual, your speed and the terrain you are walking on you can look to burn around 100 calories every mile.

For more information and how to start a walking program visit the Womens Shoes Guru
http://www.womens-shoes-guru.com/womens-walking-shoes.html

The Women’s Shoes Guru website provides a comprehensive guide to choosing womens shoes online.
Visitors are given information on the benefits of womens shoes, the history of shoes and a clear understanding of shoe designs.
For more information visit the Womens Shoes Guru
http://www.womens-shoes-guru.com

Walking for Your Health

Auto Date Monday, June 8th, 2009

Walking is the easiest way of exercise because it is accessible at anyplace, anywhere and anytime. Several studies show that walking can:

* reduce high cholesterol and improve blood lipid profile

* reduce body fat

* enhance mental well being

* increase bone density, hence helping to prevent osteoporosis

* reduce the risk of cancer of the colon

* reduce the risk of non insulin dependant diabetes

* help to control body weight

* help osteoarthritis

* help flexibility and co-ordination hence reducing the risk of falls

Although walking can reduce body fat for weight loss purpose, it is actually not an effective option of exercise, because it doesn’t burn lots of calories and only bring small increase in metabolism. In fact, you will have to walk for hours everyday if you want to burn fat! High intensity cardiovascular or aerobic exercise 2-3 times a week will be much more effective in burning off the excess body fat or losing weight.

Walking is more effective if maintaining or controlling your body weight. Walking at a faster pace can help improving cardiovascular function and fitness level, while walking at a slower pace can help building up endurance because of longer exercise time. In this case, speed and distance does matter. The faster and the further a person walks, the more calories he will use.

So, what to do now? Depends on your goals, if you want to lose weight and love walking, you can combine them together in your exercise schedule, 2-3 times a week for high intensity cardio or aerobic exercise and 2-3 times a week walking with your family, and make sure be free one or two days. If you want to reduce risk of diseases or maintaining body weight / health, walking 2-3 times a week will help.

For more information about beauty, health and fitness, please visit http://beauty-health-fitness.blogspot.com and for beauty, health and fitness selected stuff, please visit http://beauty-health-fitness-estore.blogspot.com

Playing Your Cardio Right

Auto Date Tuesday, May 26th, 2009

To many, that half-hour a day is the most enjoyable, most therapeutic part of your agenda. To others, it’s as dreadful as taking out the trash and doing the dishes. Yet, like your household chores, you know it’s something you simply must do.

Cardiovascular activity, referred to simply as “cardio,” should be as much a part of your body-sculpting endeavors as pulling and pushing those metal plates. As often as you’re pumping the iron, you should also be pumping your heart.

Unfortunately, Americans today are more glued to the screen, whether it be the television, Nintendo, or yes, even the Internet. It has been concluded that the majority of Americans have insufficient cardiovascular activity in their daily schedules, thus leading to a cartload of various health problems.

The 30 minutes per day that you should reserve for cardio work should always entail exercises that are enjoyable, manageable, and of course, safe.

So if you’re ready to get sweaty, here are a few wise choices:

RUNNING (Outdoors): Believe it or not, this exercise reminds me a lot of Howard Stern. Like the infamous DJ, you either love it or hate it. Beyond question, however, is the simple fact that running is a fantastic way to whip you into shape and provide full cardiovascular fitness. Running is a full-body exercise in which only you channel the motion, resistance, and weight distribution. There are no wheels or cycles doing any of the work for you.

Sometimes, running can actually be too rigorous an exercise and for bodybuilders it’s been known to foil some of that hard-earned muscle mass. Also, running can take a considerable toll on your joints, particularly your knees and ankles as well as your abused feet.

TREADMILL: This may seem like the equivalent to a run through the park or the neighborhood, and in a lot of ways, it is. Running is the same vigorous exercise whether done outdoors or in. Yet, the treadmill, because of its smooth rubbery conveyor belt is a lot more merciful on your joints. It doesn’t wear and tear your body the way running on the tarred street will. There is no pounding-like effect.

However, the treadmill does not offer the natural variations such as hills and curves which provides for a more rigorous workout on the streets. Also, the fresh air that can fill and expand your lungs is not a benefit from an indoor facility.

STAIRMASTER & STEPPERS: Some people refer to these devices simply as “sweat machines.” close by. Stairmasters, whether they’re the rotating kind or the step versions, are both excellent methods of losing weight and shedding body fat.

Yet, many fitness experts have concluded that stairs work may be insufficient in your quest to get in shape. For one, the exercise relies solely on lower body movement and tends to abandon the upper torso. Too often, people rest their arms on the bars at their sides, taking some of the resistance (your body weight) out of your legs.

STATIONARY BIKES: When you ride the stationary bike, it feels like you aren’t going anywhere. That’s because you’re not. But whether or not you’re making strides with your cardiovascular health is another matter. While these bikes are beneficial in raising the heart level, they also provide far less strain on the knees and back than other methods of cardio and are excellent for toning up the quadriceps.

The workout you’ll get from a stationary bike, however, is of the low-impact variety and like the scenery in front of you, it may feel like you’re not going anywhere, especially if you’ve set high fitness goals for yourself.

SWIMMING: Go on and make a splash. This is an excellent cardiovascular activity in that it is a total body exercise and hits the various muscles in the body. The water provides an excellent form of resistance that will get your heart pumping in no time. The benefits for the heart and lungs are endless.

As for the down side? There’s only one.

Not every fitness club has a swimming pool.

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