DON'T RUN AWAY FROM STRENGTH TRAINING

Don't Run Away From Strength Training
If you have more muscle, then you will burn more calories throughout the day! Gain that muscle!!

What is Strength Training?
Strength training also called weight lifting or resistance training, is exercise where you are using resistance to condition your musculoskeletal system (muscles and bones), this improves your muscles ability to work effectively without tiring as quickly as usual. A bonus, you get an improvement in your muscle tone, strength as well as appearance.

If you consistently strength train you will increase in bone, tendon (attach bone to muscle), and ligament strength (ligaments attach bone to bone). If these improve your appearance will improve as well as your physical capabilities and metabolism. If you combine your strength training program with a solid cardiovascular training program you'll have an amazing exercise program. It may just be the key to helping you accomplish your goals.

Our physical appearance as well as our physical performance can be enhanced with the gain of more muscle or even hindered by muscle loss. Once we pass the age of 25 we begin to lose muscle mass about three to five percent per decade. If you do strength training it will help in preventing this loss. this will allow you to continue doing all the things we are so used to doing, such as walking upstairs, carrying groceries, getting in and out of the car or bathtub.

I bet you'd be surprised at the amount of strength that such common things requie. Many people actually believe that it is normal to stop being active as we age and instead rely on canes to move around. There is no reason why we all can not be active in our "golden years." (Alive, No. 282, p123, April 06)

Get Into Swimming! Work All Of Your Muscles

Get Into Swimming!! Work All of Your Muscles

All of your major muscle groups are working hard when you are swimming. Especially if you mix up a variety of strokes such as the backstroke, breaststroke, and the front crawl or freestyle. Propulsion activates abdominal muscles, triceps and biceps, deltoids, lats, other back muscles, glutes, hamstrings and even the quadriceps. We don't have gills so we have to coordinate our muscles while we are breathing during our swim. When you perform these strokes you get the results of better coordination and balance. This helps reduce injuries in sports that you perform on land.

Water: A magical healing effect.
As we know our bodies are made of 60% of water. When we were developing as a fetus we were in a watery environment. When our bodies are in water we weigh about1/10th of our usual land weight. Waters bouyancy effect does not have the same brassy effect land based training has on each of our joints. Swimming allows you to concentrate on muscular strength as well as flexibility. Because of all of this, swimming becomes and amazing way to come back from an injury that you received playing a sport, recovery from a surgery or just keeping up your fitness while you wait to get back into your own sport.

Swimming boosts your stamina, suppleness, and strength. It has every single cardiovascular benefits of running paired up with the strength building effects of strength training. This arises from the resistance the water offers you as you are propelling yourself forward in the water. The use of a variety of strokes helps promote balance as well as your coordination. Not only does swimming cause you to use all of your muscles groups it also is a highly demanding aerobic exercise to help your heart and lungs to be healthy. It also helps your joints to stay flexible especially those of the shoulders, hips, neck and groin. In conclusion, you can increase your intensity of your physical activity by clearly, swimming faster or changing your strokes. This increases your caloric output, which is a vital component with weight management.(Alive, No. 281, p 94, March 06)

Other Articles
Pilates for Everyone

Did you know that Pilates principles can improve performance in any sport? Pilates is gaining a lot of fans! I bet you're picturing a whole group of women in tight pants lying on the floor stretching...think again, it's men too! These principles.... continue reading article...

Don't Run Away From Strength Training
If you have more muscle, then yu will burn more calories throughout out the day! Gain that muscle!

What is Strength Training?
Stength training also caleld weight liting or resistance training, is exercise where you are using resistance to condition your musculoskeletal system (muscles and bones), this improves your muscles' ability to work effectively without tiring as quickly as normal. A bonus, you get an improvement in your muscle tone, strength as well as appearnce...continue reading...

Burn Calories--Even At Rest

BURN CALORIES--EVEN AT REST

When we are sleeping our bodies still require a large amount of energy. Our muscles are calorie-burning engines!! Hence, the more muscle mass that you have, the more calories your body will be chewing up throughout your day.

If you consistently do a strength training program, you can increase your body's resting metabolism as well as your calories required to function. An increase in muscle tissue is equal to the increase in metabolism, and the decrease in muscle tissue is a decrease in your metabolic rate. Now it's not surprising to hear that aging, inactive people continue to gain weight even though they may not be eating anything different then before.

Having A Hard Time Getting Into A Workout? Have Fun This Year

HAVING A HARD TIME GETTING INTO A WORKOUT? HAVE FUN THIS YEAR!
by G. Cornwall

FUN is huge when it comes to working
out for the first time. Gaining discipline is very
hard at the beginning but you'll get it if you find
that fitness is fun! Here's a few things to try!

• In-line skating! I've already started even though it's still cold weather outside! If the ground is bare it's time to in-line!

• Swimming is a very great workout to trim you down and create lean muscle. You can do it indoors or out doors. Grab your goggles it lap time!

• Yoga has taken the fitness world by storm! Join a gym and start yoga! Hummmmm!!

• If you're already at a gym get a schedule and find other classes to take, hip hop, Pilates, belly dancing! Find something great that you'll enjoy. One, two step!

• Another idea is to find a fitness partner, if you don't have a friend that can hold their own, go to the gym and meet one! Find a yoga partner! If you find someone already at the gym it will encourage you to go, they'll notice you're not there when you skip out, (and you will skip out) and you'll notice when they're not there. It's a great idea! I have multiple partners to yell at me when I miss a day! And BAM I'm there the next day or the next hour!

• Take your dog for a walk and keep your heart rate up. If you don't have a dog, bring your girl or guy! Or just a friend. Causes great conversation, watch the time fly by.

• If you're really up for a time to yourself, and clearing your mind take a walk by yourself. In your nose, out your mouth, it's time to be a sexy rose. (laugh out loud)

• Joining something in your community is a good idea, or find a few friends to meet up every Friday for a volleyball game. Make sure you're number is low, three on three, a way better workout, but not too hard. However you might have a few spurts of running or diving for the ball! Dive away those calories. Or bump them away...Have fun! Watch your waist shrink!

• Tennis!! Soccer!! Football!! Have fun this year!! Slim down this year! Enjoy summer even more this year!

• Jump rope in the park. Don't worry you'll see me out there doing it too!! Don't be ashamed boys and girls!

• Go for a bike ride with your friends, your kids, or yourself. Imagine the legs you'll have after going up those hills!!!

In conclusion, outdoor fitness can make those extra pounds vanish. Everyone gains pounds in December and January (good o' Christmas, after that we inhale chocolate for all the other holidays following) We add more and more weight each year. It's easy to gain a whole 10 pounds. Lets stop this weight gain!! Summer's here, it's a good time!! One hour a day! That's all I ask! That's all you need! One hour of exercise! Know your limits, don't push yourself too much but still remember, the harder you work!! The better you'll look!

Getting The Body You Want: Fitness For Everyone

Getting The Body You Want: Fitness for Everyone

Everyone's body is different we come in different shapes and sizes. Our challenge this month is to find exercises that work for you. If you are currently in a workout and aren't getting the results you wanted, it may be your diet or you may be doing a few exercises wrong. Perhaps you're doing too few reps or too many reps. Find what is lacking in your workout. Find your weakness! A lot of guys forget that diet is huge when it comes to looking good. Others think that if they over load themselves with creatine that will help out too. D..I...E...T don't find other ways the best way is to diet, train hard and effciently.

Women are afraid to lift weights you need to lift weights to get that great body you want! You won't get bulky, and men don't be afraid to use that pink or purple stability ball! It is not girly! Next issue we'll discuss why! But this is all about trying out new exercises to keep your interest and improve your body into what you want!


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Build A Better Body With Incline Treadmill Exercise

The majority of men store all of their fat in their stomachs. Having to do continuous situps can cause you to fell as if you are getting a flatter stomach however there is a possiblity you may look worse if you are not in control of the body fat. Your muscles do get large, but the fat that is covering them continues to settle there without changing. Instead of your stomach looking thinner, it sticks out and looks a lot bigger then it should.. coninuing reading article...

Burn Calories Fast Even When You're At Rest

When we are sleeping our bodies still require a large amount of energy. Our muscles are calorie-bruning engines!! Hence, the more muscle mass that you haev, the more calories your body will be chewwing up throughout your day...continue reading article...

Pilates For Everyone

PILATES FOR EVERYONE

Did you know that Pilates principles can improve performance in any sport? Pilates is gaining a lot of fans! I bet you're picturing a whole group of women in tight pants lying on the floor stretching...think again, it's men too! These principles of Pilates efficiently teach us how to focus on each of our controlled movements with proper technique while initiating all the movements from our “powerhouse” which is our body's deep core muscles. There is a lot of emphasis put on the correct alignment of the body while using the correct muscles to perform the exercises correctly. Pilates stretches, strengthens, and balances the body with each exercise. Doing this while focusing on smooth breathing allows for improved mind-body connection.

These principles can improve performance in absolutely any sport. Bikers, WEIGHT LIFTERS, runners, golfers, and racket sports players find that when they are trained to initiate power at their core and then work it out to their own extremities the results are very amazing.

More....

Build A Better Body With Incline Treadmill Exercise

Build A Better Body With Incline Treadmill Exercise
The majority of men store all of their fat in their stomachs. Having to do continuous sit ups can cause you to fell as if you are getting a flatter stomach however there is a possibility you may look worse if you are not in control of the body fat. Your muscles do get large, but the fat that is covering them continues to settle there without changing. Instead of your stomach looking thinner, it sticks out and looks a lot bigger then it should.

Walking even running on the incline treadmill will give you what you need: you will burn more calories, which means you will have an increase in fat loss and defined abs. Also, you have the benefit of having stronger legs, calf and even thigh muscles. Using the inclined treadmill you get the same exercise benefits as doing aerobics combined with weight training.

The treadmill is absolutely the best machine for cardio, cutting fat and building a strong as well as healthy body. For example, a 210lb man walking 4 1/2 mi/h will burn approx. 10 cal/min. If you run 5 m/h you will increase the calorie burn up to 12.5; running 10m/h will increase it to about 24 cal/min.

An elevated walk/run will overload your muscles, it's a lot like doing step ups or squats when you are in the weight room. What the incline does is it forces your own legs to lift your own bodyweight, and that's against gravity. This builds as well as strengthens the muscles. If you are walking or running up hill this will tone your muscles, not just the front but the back also. Your quadriceps, which are the muscles on your thigh (in the front), these muscles make your knee straighten when you run and when you walk. Your hamstrings and gluteal (butt) muscles are straighten (as in extend) the hip; they also provide most of the power for movement. And in addition it burns fat to build those beautiful ripped abs. (Fitness Rx for Men, Volume 4 #2, p.156, Mar 2006)


Other Articles
Pilates for Everyone

Did you know that Pilates principles can improve performance in any sport? Pilates is gaining a lot of fans! I bet you're picturing a whole group of women in tight pants lying on the floor stretching...think again, it's men too! These principles.... continuing reading article...

Getting The Body You Want: Fitness For Everyone

Everyone's body is different we come in different shapes and sizes. Our challenge this month is to find exercises that work for you. If you are currently in a workout and aren't getting the results you wanted, it may be your diet ...continue reading article...

Knockout Knee Pain

Knockout Knee Pain
by: Stephanie McIntyre & Kamau Austin

You may first feel it when attempting to bend down to pick a dropped item or possibly you experience it as morning stiffness that you feel when you first get up out of bed. But whenever it hits you knee pain will undoubtedly get your attention.

The good news about knee pain is that it responds well to self care measures.

There are a number of factors that can put you at risk for knee pain. Some of them are:

Overweight: If you weigh more than you should, you put more stress and pressure on your knee joints. Over time this excess pressure can cause pain.

Overuse: An inflammatory response can occur when a repetitive activity, causes a muscle to get fatigued. This inflammatory response can damage surrounding tissue. This can be further compounded when you don't give the knee enough time to fully recover thereby making it prone to re-injury.

Lack of muscle strength: Experts site lack of strength and flexibility as the leading cause of knee injury and pain. Weak or tight muscles offer less support for the knee joint.

Mechanical problems: Having misaligned knees, one leg that is shorter than the other or other structural abnormalities can contribute to knee pain.

Previous injury: If you have previously injured your knee chances go up that you will injure it again. Possibly because the knee was not given enough time to properly heal or because the knee doesn't return to the condition it was in prior to the injury.

Age: Some knee related conditions affect young people more often than old, for example Osgood-Schlatter disease or patellar tendonitis. Other conditions such as gout and osteoarthritis tend to occur in older people.

An injury to the knee can affect any of the ligaments, tendons Or bursa (fluid filled sacs of the knee)or a combination of these areas of the knee.

Some of the most common causes of knee pain are:

- Bursitis - An inflammation that comes from pressure on the knee. The pressure may be from repeated overuse, kneeling for long periods of time or other injury.

- Tendonitis - Pain that occurs in the front of the knee. It usually gets worse when going up and down stairs. This is a common injury of skiers, runners and cyclists.

- Torn ligaments or cartilage - This injury can cause severe pain and lack of stability of the knee joint.

- Strain or Sprain - A minor injury to the ligaments cause by sudden or unnatural twisting.

- Hip disorders - May cause you to feel pain in the knee area.

- Osteoarthritis - a condition affecting the joints characterized by pain and stiffness

- Gout - A metabolic disorder caused by an accumulation of uric acid in the joints.

As mentioned above knee pain responds well to self care. Some of the things that you can do if you experience knee pain are:

- Apply ice 15 minutes at a time, initially and then about 4 times a day thereafter until the pain subsides.

- Rest and avoid the activities that contributed to the initial injury

- Elevate your knee to bring down the swelling

- Over the counter medications can provide pain relieve from pain.

- Sleep with a pillow underneath the affected knee

- Gentle compression, such as with an Ace bandage may reduce swelling and provide support

It is not always possible to prevent knee pain but there are some things that you can do to lessen the likelihood that knee problems will occur.

- Keep off excess weight. Maintaining a healthy weight will keep your knees from having to support more than they were designed to support.

- Stay flexible. Weak muscles make you more prone to injuries of the knees. So do stretching exercises, daily to maintain flexibility

- Exercise wisely. Don't exercise when you have pain or you're tired. If you have chronic injuries consider switching to sports or exercise that put less stress on your joints. For instance swimming instead of basketball.

- Get good fitting shoes. When shoes fit poorly we may compensate in the knees and hips, causing them to be misaligned and making them prone to injury.

- Proper supplements: There are supplements that can help the body keep the ligaments and joints lubricated, and actually help rebuild cartilage.

Like Phosoplex™ is a supplement that is recommended for osteoarthritis and joint pain. It is a powerful, all natural and safe solution for joint lubrication, pain relief and the rebuilding of healthy cartilage.

If you follow the above suggestions you will go a long way to knockout knee pain before it begins.

About The Author

Stephanie McIntyre and Kamau Austin are health and fitness enthusiasts and advocates. They write on a regular basis on timeless health and fitness tips at the Fit After Forty Blog. See more useful health and fitness news and tips at… http://www.healthandfitnessvitality.com/blogs/fitnessblog.htm

kamau@searchengineplan.com