Be Motivated To Make Your Exercise Effective

Nothing beats waking up in the morning with the thought of going to the gym to lift weights or jog on the treadmill. After a hard days work, the gym is one place you don’t even want to think about. Sometimes,

even the thought of exercising at home with your own equipment can be less than desirable. 

Sometimes, just trying to get and stay motivated to exercise on a regular basis can be a challenge. No matter how you look at it, exercise can be downright

boring and even tedious at times.

So, you may be wondering just how you can get the motivation you need to exercise on a regular basis. If you’ve been wondering what you can do to make exercise more fun, you’ll find some ideas below that just may help to make exercise more fun and a little bit easier.

                                          

First things first, you should exercise with a friend. You can challenge each other, help each other out, keep each other motivated and on track, make each other laugh or just make a game out of your exercise programs.

You can also try something different. If you go to the gym each and every day and use the same piece of equipment or use the same piece of equipment at home, you should try mixing things up. Reverse your routine or just change the order of your exercises.

Go to a city park that has playground equipment and use the slide, climb on the monkey bars, do pull-ups, hang from your knees, just let your imagination guide you. You don’t always need to follow a strict routine, just get out there and have fun working your muscles.

An outdoor circuit in the park is also something you can try. There are some parks that have circuit courses set up with a planned course where all you have to do is walk or jog to each station and then follow the instructions. If there isn’t a planned course, then you should do a combination of jogging and walking, picking a distance of a couple hundred feet. Jog 100 feet then drop and do a couple of pushups, walk the next 100 feet and then drop to do sit ups.

You can also ride a bike around your neighborhood or hike on a hiking trail. A walk in the park or around your neighborhood is also a great way to get some exercise. Doing yoga in the park or on a beach is also a nice and relaxing way to exercise both your body and your mind.

Playing a competitive sport is also something you can try. A lot of cities have team activities

such as softball, volleyball, tennis, soccer, and so on. These types of activities will not only provide you with good exercise but they will also help you to meet new people as well.

When you exercise, try to picture your muscles getting bigger. Research has shown that if you focus all of your thoughts on the muscles that you are working, they will respond better. Try to watch them work with each repetition as your muscles contract and relax.

As you can tell, there are plenty of ways you can make exercise more fun and interesting. You don’t need to follow the same routine day after day, as you can do many other things to get in some exercise.

The important thing is that you should always try to incorporate exercise in any various form into your everyday life and make these habits the kind of habits that will last a lifetime.

The Best Times to Exercise

The problem of setting the training at a certain moment in the day is more serious than it appears to be. The choice of the period when we train depends on more factors. 

It’s clear from the start that we cannot consider the period of three hours after every main meal because this interval must be allotted to digestion only. A considerable physical effort is totally unadvisable in this period (blood must not be directed to the muscles since gastric digestion has priority).

More exactly, people should train when their stomach is empty, but the level of glycemia must be constant. Considering a normal awake – asleep rhythm, there are two favorable moments when we can set fitness programs and training in general: one in the morning, between 10-12, and the other one in the afternoon, between 16-19.

Current practice in most of the sports confirms these periods as best for training. 
Another argument for choosing one of these intervals for training is the body temperature, which now gets to its maximum. The second period (16-19) is even better than the first one from this point of view because the temperature is higher and this enhances sports performance. 

It is not advisable to train very early in the morning, right after waking up and before breakfast. However, there are authors who support the idea of having the training in this period. The reserves of glycogen are limited after the lack of food during sleeping and this is a reason for using the adipose tissue earlier in training than in other cases. 

                                  


Unfortunately, at the same time, the stress hormones (cortisone) are secreted abundantly, so besides the adipose tissue, there is the risk of losing precious muscular tissue. 
Another argument against this is the fact that body temperature is very low in the hours of the morning, so no motion parameters (force, resistance, speed, mobility, skill) can be fully activated. Thus, a prolonged and tiring warming up would be necessary, hindering the actual training.

Everybody agrees that training before bedtime is not advisable at all, because they delay sleep a few hours, given the growth of cortical activity and of body temperature.
This schedule can be adapted to any biorhythm and time zone and once automatism installed, the effectiveness of training will definitely increase.

Controlling High Blood Pressure Is The Easiest Thing To Do

Controlling blood pressure is the easiest thing to do, provided you know the fundamentals. It has to do much with your eating and drinking habits.

Look into the mirror. Do not see only your face. Look at your entire figure. There lies your future. How long do you think your body can go on accepting all that you stuff in, without applying any thought, just because your taste-buds like it? Do you know that overweight people have a higher chance of suffering from a stroke? Do you check your weight at regular intervals?

When you saw the weighing machine marking a fat gain of 16 pounds within a period of two months, why did you simply ignore it? It should have shocked you into action. The least you can do is find out what your weight is now and what your weight should be!

You need to be careful about what you eat as it is directly and proportionately related to your blood pressure. I agree that ‘one has to be true to the salt,’ but this does not hold true for you. You have to cut down on your intake of salt drastically before your doctor tells you - no more salt! Avoid salty, and fried food. Adopt a diet that is low in saturated fat.

                                

Two local remedies well known, to control high blood pressure are buttermilk and lemon. Take buttermilk regularly. It is good for both - low as well as high blood pressure. Lemon peel is also equally effective for high blood pressure. A shredded lemon peel may be added to soups and stews or sprinkled over your salads.

And tell me, have you stopped drinking or are you still contemplating the decision? If you have already made that decision, then let me congratulate you. But, if you think that you can not do it all at once, reduce the intake of alcohol. Just take a drink a day. If you are already under the watchful care of your family doctor, please follow their instructions sincerely. Let there be no holidays for the medicine and please keep sufficient stock in advance. If your doctor has called you this Sunday for a check-up, then make sure that you reach there this Sunday itself and not, the next Monday.

Also, the doctor must have given you certain indications about the schedule of exercise that is necessary for you, such as, morning walk, light stretching exercises or light aerobics. Follow the schedule strictly. Your doctor treats hundreds of patients like you every day. He has more practical wisdom about high blood pressure than you. Go as per his advice and understand his treatments.

Regular check-up of blood pressure is a must. You need to have such an arrangement at your home. Charts of your regular checkups will help your doctor tremendously in treating you. Let all the members of your family, your wife, and your children go for the check-up, along with you, even if they do not have this ailment.

If you are taking basic precautions like controlling your diet and doing proper exercises - keep aside all imaginary worries and live a normal, relaxed life!

Getting Around The Weight Loss Plateau

The typical human form is capable of achieving a number of incredible feats that seem to suspend or defy the way science tells us things work. Athletes, through sheer willpower, can end up lifting something that their bodies should not be able to without suffering anything worse than muscle spasms. People can adapt to extreme physical trauma caused by a car accident and defy predictions that they'll never walk again. While, in general, these amazing feats are useful in a number of situations, there are physical reactions that some people look upon with quite a bit of disfavor. Among these “disfavored reactions” is something known as a “weight loss plateau.”

Essentially, the “plateau” is a term used to describe a situation where the body has become incapable of losing any further weight, usually due to developing a tolerance for the weight loss pills and methods being used. Essentially, the plateau is hit when the body develops a tolerance for the regimen's limitations and practices, thus allowing the metabolic rate of the body to adjust to whatever weight loss pills or techniques were being used. Most diet books decidedly ignore the existence of the plateau, primarily because it can be seen as negating the purpose of the diet and is, therefore, bad for marketing. There are, however, ways to counteract the human body building a tolerance for training regimens and weight loss pills.

                                        
The human metabolism, when presented with a pattern, will eventually adapt to that pattern. It is this natural adaptability of the human body that can cause the weight loss plateau, particularly if the person's diet and eating habits have been altered for weight loss. As such, changing the pattern will, once a sufficient amount of time has passed, allow your diet plan or weight loss pills to become effective again. This trick essentially involves confusing the human metabolism, and is often taken as a rather drastic way to get the body back in “diet mode.” There are, of course, several ways to effectively alter that pattern without causing the body permanent harm.

Adding strength and weight training and modifying one's exercise program can also help someone get past the plateau, in most cases. The body will still burn through nutrients during physical activity, though the digestive system's metabolic rate can adapt such that more weight is retained rather than burned during exercise. Increasing the difficulty of the exercises, or changing the movements to target less-developed muscle areas, can effectively force the body to re-adapt. While the body is busy adapting to the changes, it can also start losing weight again. This method is best used with alterations to the person's diet, however, to maximize the effectiveness.

Another trick used to circumvent the problem of the plateau is to make changes to the time frame between meals. The internal clock that the human body's digestive system operates on can be altered to suit one's purposes, provided one executes the proper alterations to one's diet and eating habits. A simple action like altering the schedule of the meals, such as adding more meals but reducing the bulk of each, can have an appreciable effect on altering the metabolic rate. The key concept of this method is to fool the body into burning the food faster, thus getting one's weight loss program and diet back on track.

When considering the options, it is helpful to keep in mind that what works for one person may not work for another person. Some slower metabolisms may require a combination of diet program and exercise regimen modifications, while others can get by with merely shortening the break between meals. The critical point is to find a method that works and is effective for a specific metabolism, which can be a time-consuming process.

The Essentials of Keeping Fit

A fitness and exercise program has greater chances of success if you are consistent and regular in following it. You not only need to be regular in exercising but in also giving your body the time to recover from the strain that exercising will put on your muscles. Besides this, it is also essential that you eat food that is nutritious, while you get adequate sleep and rest.

Once you start a regime of exercise, your boy and the muscles in ti will get used to the strain that is put on them, and the exercise may not have the same beneficial effect. It, therefore, becomes necessary to progressively increase your length of exercises or increase the resistance that you have to make your muscles go through. This is an important essential in your quest for fitness. There will come a time when both the increase in time and resistance are difficult to keep up, and then it can help if you change your exercises to add variety that can in a way lull your muscles into feeling that they are not being strained as before.

                                                


Any exercise regime has the best effects if it is properly designed to include flexibility, strength, muscle endurance and cardio. Look for various exercises that allow you to address all these aspects in various ways, and this balance can help you to avoid injury. Changing exercises can also help you to avoid the boredom of repetition and allow you to remain constantly motivated.


It can always help if your exercise program has a specific goal, like losing weight, building muscle, increasing endurance or others. Always keep these goals in mind whenever you exercise or make changes in your routine. You will then find it easier to reach your desired goals, and this can be very encouraging and can help in continuing your exercises.

Barefoot Running- the Natural Way to Run

The ancients always believed that if you run on the earth, you can run forever. Shoes, as used by the modern generation are supportive, but this leads to artificial propping of the feet, that prevents them from working as they should, naturally.

It is a fact that serious runners will have leg injuries, which are often traced back to the shoes that they wear. Shoes can block pain, but rarely reduce the impact that running can cause on the heels and soles of the feet. It is said that wearing shoes is like turning off the fire alarm and prevents a person from dealing with leg injuries even before they occur. Barefoot running can change the way a person runs because it can allow the feet to immediately sense pain, and thus cause a change in the stride, or other action during running so that it reduces the pain. Shoes, on the other hand, can make our feet weak and lead to running with most of the weight transferred to the inside edge of the feet.

During running the outside part of the heel makes the first contact with the running surface. The foot then rolls in by a small percentage until it is completely in contact with the ground. This rolling in acts like a shock absorber and distributes the impact. When the gait cycle ends, the front of the foot pushes off by using the big toe and second toe. This natural process of running can be restricted when you wear shoes, and that is why barefoot running, the natural way, is the best. Your running adapts to your own construction of your feet and low or high arches will not matter.

Modern day man is not used to running barefoot, and this is where technology has come to the aid with the development of Vibrams or footwear that mimics the natural foot and allow you to run the natural way.

Walk Towards Fitness

Fitness is a concern for many of us, especially those who live rather sedentary lives. Set up a walking routine, as one of the simplest things to do to get the needed exercise. You will find that walking benefits you as soon as you have taken the first few steps.

Walking is the one exercise that does not demand that you need to join a gym, or buy some costly exercise equipment. Of course, there are certain treadmills that can have you exercising in the privacy of your home. But they will require a fair amount of money and the space that you need to install this equipment. You will, however, need the right shoes and will be more comfortable if you wear loose and comfortable clothes when you go out walking.

Now that you are properly outfitted, start with deciding the time you will devote to your walk. Start with a time allotted of not more than half an hour, as this is something that you should be able to spare, from your otherwise busy schedule. Note the time, open the front door, and start walking. Decide on a place in your neighborhood that you can walk to. A park or open ground is the best if you are lucky enough to have this close to your home. Start your walk at a leisurely pace, till your body is warm enough. After this you can speed up and walk faster, but make sure that you never overexert yourself, especially for the first few days after you have started this routine.

Walk with as erect a posture as possible, and swing your arms as you walk, as this will give your entire body the exercise that it needs. Make the walking a part of your regular routine, and once this becomes a habit, you will be surprised as to how easily your body adjusts, and even demands that you go for a walk. 

Fitness of the Mind is Equally Important

You have the ability to create your own mindset. Whether your attitude is positive or negative, is up to you. The ability to change your environment, the circle of friends, and attitude, is within your control.

Just like a computer absorbs raw data, so does your mind. Within your mind, a culture, within itself, has grown. Many people feel like they have no control of their own mind because this culture has become negative. The negativity is a result of past experiences, being in a negative environment, or being under the influence of unconstructive ideas.

Similar to a computer virus, you have to identify it quickly, to avoid letting it spread within your mind. You can also pass this virus of negative thinking to people around you. As a result, you are spreading negative energy around, like “weeds in a field.”

Much like a farmer, you cultivate too. The energy in your mind is the crop, and it is up to you, whether it is weeds or wheat. If you have a farm and let a field take care of itself; you will be lucky to have any kind of a crop, from it. 

Meditation

This is the same with the energy within your mind.

You have to option to pick quality seeds: Information, in the form of books, eBooks, DVD’s, CD’s, lectures, courses, workshops, and seminars. This is learning, for the sake of self-improvement, and it results in a positive mindset.

However, your work is not finished, because you must still reinforce the lessons, and keep everything in a focused order. This might be compared to fertilizing, watering, and “weeding the mind.” You have to work at it continually or the weeds will grow back. This, my friend, is meditation, and one of the reasons why we meditate, in the first place.

Meditation is controlled focus on an object, thought, or task without judgment. 
This process makes it possible to look at all situations objectively. You can find solutions, turn negative situations into positive learning experiences, and create your own positive mindset. As a result of this, you will make new friends, reach goals, handle problems easily, and develop an indomitable spirit.

Remember the last time you made an accomplishment. That feeling and that ability are within all of us. It is a formula for success, but you have to take action. An action is something that the vast majority of people will never take. 

Learn to separate yourself from “the pack,” through education, meditation, and action.

Components of Physical Fitness

Physical fitness is the ability to function effectively throughout your workday, perform your usual other activities and still have enough energy left over to handle any extra stresses or emergencies which may arise. You will reach your desired level of physical fitness faster by understanding the five components of physical fitness and how they fit together. 

 The components of physical fitness are:  

* Cardiorespiratory (CR) endurance - the efficiency with which the body delivers oxygen and nutrients needed for muscular activity and transports waste products from the cells.

 * Muscular strength - the greatest amount of force a muscle or muscle group can exert in a single effort

 * Muscular endurance - the ability of a muscle or muscle group to perform repeated movements with a sub-maximal force for extended periods of times.

* Flexibility - the ability to move the joints or any group of joints through an entire, normal range of motion. 

* Body composition - the percentage of body fat a person has in comparison to his or her total body mass. Improving the first three components of fitness listed above will have a positive impact on body composition and will result in less fat. 

Excessive body fat detracts from the other fitness components, reduces performance, detracts from appearance, and negatively affects your health. Factors such as speed, agility, muscle power, eye-hand coordination, and eye-foot coordination are classified as components of "motor" fitness. 

These factors most affect your athletic ability. Appropriate training can improve these factors within the limits of your potential. A sensible weight loss and fitness program seeks to improve or maintain all the components of physical and motor fitness through sound, progressive, mission specific physical training. Principles of Exercise Adherence to certain basic exercise principles is important for developing an effective program.

The same principles of exercise apply to everyone at all levels of physical training, from the Olympic-caliber athlete to the weekend jogger. These basic principles of exercise must be followed. Regularity To achieve a training effect, you must exercise often. 

You should exercise each of the first four fitness components at least three times a week. Infrequent exercise can do more harm than good. 

Regularity is also important in resting, sleeping, and following a sensible diet. 

Progression The intensity (how hard) and/or duration (how long) of exercise must gradually increase to improve the level of fitness. 

Balance To be effective, a program should include activities that address all the fitness components, since overemphasizing any one of them may hurt the others. 

Variety Providing a variety of activities reduces boredom and increases motivation and progress. 

Specificity Training must be geared toward specific goals. For example, people become better runners if their training emphasizes running. Although swimming is great exercise, it does not improve a 2-mile-run time as much as a running program does. 

Recovery A hard day of training for a given component of fitness should be followed by an easier training day or rest day for that component and/or muscle group(s) to help permit recovery. Another way to allow recovery is to alternate the muscle groups exercised every other day, especially when training for strength and/or muscle endurance. 

Overload The work load of each exercise session must exceed the normal demands placed on the body in order to bring about a training effect.

A Guide to Losing Weight

Weight loss is one of those subjects that everyone is always talking about. It seems you can’t go anywhere without seeing or hearing some type of weight loss message. Stories of the dangers of not losing weight appear regularly on the nightly news. Retail outlets and the Internet both are full of weight loss books and products. Weight loss is discussed in medical centers and at schools and even in the work place. If you’re trying to lose weight, here are a few tips to get you going. 

Tip #1 – Stop Talking About Weight Loss!

All that talk about how much you want to lose weight isn’t going to make the weight come off. You’ve got to take action, starting right now. So take this simple advice: Stop moving your mouth and start moving your body! It won’t take long to begin seeing the results.

Tip #2 – Slow and Steady is Best

Slow and steady weight loss is better (and safer) than riding the dieting roller coaster. If you’re looking for long-lasting weight loss results, aim to lose an average of about two pounds each week. In order to lose weight you’ve got to consume fewer calories than you burn. As a bonus, when you combine dieting with exercise, you’ll be reducing your caloric intake and increasing your caloric burn rate at the same time. 

Tip #3 – Save Your Money

Don’t spend your hard-earned money on the latest weight loss gimmicks. Pills, fad diets, hypnosis, and extreme surgical procedures are not the answer! These gimmicks won’t slim you down, but they will fatten the bank accounts of those who promote them! Eating a nutritionally-balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, good fats and lean proteins will encourage weight loss faster than any miracle cure you can buy.

Tip #4 – Weight Loss is a Way of Life

Unfortunately, the issue of weight is something that most people will struggle with throughout life. Excess processed foods and a sedentary lifestyle are the two biggest contributors to this constant struggle. If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you’ve got to change the way you think about food. It should be thought of as a source of fuel, not a passion. Successful weight loss really is about making lifestyle changes, including making the right food choices, and then sticking with those choices throughout life. 

Tip #5 – Weight Loss is More Than a Number

When you’re dieting, don’t become a victim of the dreaded scale. When the numbers go down, happiness goes up. But when the numbers stay the same or go up, it is easy to give up and give in. Remember that even if your weight isn’t changing as you would like, your body is. You’ll be taking better care of your heart. You’ll be lowering your cholesterol levels. You’ll be sporting a leaner body and your clothes will begin fitting more comfortably. When you learn to find joy in these other benefits, you’ll want to keep on being a loser!

Dead Lifts Can Help Fitness

Individuals who want to improve their strength, posture, and overall health usually include dead lift exercises in their fitness program. This exercise is an integral component of a strength development program that virtually works every muscle in the body and emphasizes hips, thighs, buttocks, lower back, the shoulders, and the forearms. These body parts are the postural chain of the body and are essential for maintaining proper posture. The dead lift is taught by fitness experts to people who want to increase their level of strength and muscle mass.

The dead lift is one of the best exercises for improving one’s physique, especially if that fitness goal wants to be attained in just a short period of time. The best thing about this exercise is that it does not require any fancy gadgets and equipment. All one needs is a barbell and a flat surface. The barbell can be loaded with as much weight as one can handle and pick it off the ground while keeping the back straight. The dead lift also has possible rehabilitation benefits. Research has shown that the moderate to high hamstring activity performed as part of a dead lift routine may help strengthen the Anterior Cruciate Ligament during rehabilitation. The movement of this exercise translates well into real life because it can be likened to bending and lifting.