Fitness-Fluids and Fitness
Body fluid level is an important component of keeping it in top condition for best performance.
As a person exercises, the internal body temperature rises. That triggers the body to release internal fluid to the outside through millions of sweat glands and via heightened respiration. As the high temperature sweat evaporates off the skin, it takes heat with it, cooling the body down again.
That internal temperature regulatory system is vital to health, but losing too much fluid can also produce problems. High activity can cause a person to lose three quarts or more of fluid per hour. As the amount of fluid lost increases, performance decreases.
Excessive fluid loss strains the cardiovascular system as well, which can lead to dizziness, muscle cramps and even heat stroke, in extreme cases.
Professional guidelines recommend regular replacement of both water and electrolytes (sodium, potassium and others) by drinking a sports drink before, during and after a workout. The right amount will vary with body weight and type, tendency to sweat, external temperature and other variables, but here are some rough figures.
Drink about 18oz (0.53 liter) a couple of hours before beginning your workout, then another 10oz (0.3 liter) about 15 minutes before starting your warm-up. Drink at least 30oz (0.89 liter) every hour you work out, then – after a cool-down period of a few minutes – another 20oz (0.59 liter) after the workout.
Caffeine-containing drinks should be avoided when re-hydrating since they have a diuretic effect. Consuming alcohol, too, is a bad idea for at least a couple of hours after a strenuous workout. Apart from the high amount of calories most alcoholic drinks contain, the alcohol can disrupt the smooth rate of cool-down as the body temperature changes.
Beware of sports drinks that have high amounts of sugar. You don’t want to put back all those calories you worked hard to burn, and too much sugar can unbalance cardiovascular regulation after vigorous exercise. That means, go easy on both soft drinks and concentrated fruit juices. Even diet soft drinks have excessive carbon dioxide, which is less than ideal for best recovery.
Look for drinks that replace magnesium (~100 mg per liter), as well as sodium and potassium. Both sodium and potassium are essential elements for proper heart function. They help regulate cellular electrical activity.
Isotonic drinks are designed to closely match the body’s natural concentrations of needed minerals, vitamins and enzymes. That makes them easier to absorb and excellent replacement fluids.
Maintain overall health, avoid medical problems and maintain peak performance by proper fluid regulation.
Warm-Ups For Optimal Workouts
Static and dynamic stretching are two elements in a warm-up routine that help prevent injury and maximize performance. But, consider, why do we warm-up at all? And, are there other aspects to a good warm-up routine?
By performing warm-up routines, you actually do literally just that – warm up the body. Internal body temperature can’t raise by a large amount, or you would have all the symptoms of a fever. Nevertheless, the temperature in the muscles can, and should, be raised slightly in order to dilate blood vessels and loosen muscles.
That dilation leads to greater blood flow, which helps oxygenate muscles and remove the waste products of cellular activity. Warm muscles are looser, more supple and flexible. That reduces stiffness and lowers resistance to larger movements. That helps reduce the risk of injury and prepares the body for high-performance activity.
A good warm-up also raises the heart rate, respiratory capacity and the overall metabolic level. Among other benefits, this helps deliver nutrients to muscles that will be useful for the workout to come. Warm-ups help lubricate joints, too, as well as lowering the risk to stretched tendons and tears.
No matter what kind of sport or workout you favor, having a well-functioning cardiovascular system and supple joints and muscles are essential for peak performance and low risk of injury.
A 10-15 minute warm-up period, including static and dynamic stretching activities, should be a low-intensity version of the routines that will be undertaken when the warm-up is complete.
Focus the non-stretching aspect of your warm-up more on the specific types of movement called for by the sport or activity you plan to engage in. If you plan to jog five miles, take a brisk walk, followed by a few gentle laps of a hundred yards or less. If you plan to play tennis or golf, spend a few minutes on low-speed, low-impact swings.
As you progress through the warm-up, gradually increase the speed and range of movement. This helps prepare the body and mind both.
Making the increase gradual helps increase the cardio and lung systems, and slowly cranks up needed body chemicals systems without depleting them. It helps gear up the mind for a high performance routine or sports event, in a way that static or even dynamic stretches won’t.
Like any physical activity, don’t overdo it. Don’t warm-up too much or too fast. The idea is to prepare the body for a workout, not perform one.
At the end, you’ll be ready to perform the sport or workout of your choice at peak level with minimal risk of injury.
Fitness-Exercise and the Immune System
Few subjects in health or diet ever get put to a final rest. Present studies often contradict earlier ones, until no one knows what to think. One of the few areas that almost all serious studies seem to agree on is the relationship between exercise and the immune system.
No reputable researcher will claim that exercise will repair a weakened or diseased immune system. Nonetheless, a broad spectrum of studies confirm that moderate exercise can help sustain and strengthen it, even when the effects are indirect.
The role of exercise in helping to lower stress – and the subsequent beneficial effects on health – has been widely studied. Here the studies are less clear, contradicting one another in some details. But overall the conclusion is the same: moderate, regular exercise helps the immune system by moderating the effects of stress.
Most studies carried out over the last 30 years agree: a continual high level of stress has a number harmful effects on overall health. People who experience high stress get more colds, suffer more digestive tract problems and have more frequent bouts of fatigue. Part of the latter is indirect, since it tends to lead to lowered amounts of restful sleep.
Regular exercise helps relieve stress. It does so directly, by providing an outlet for, and consuming much of, the nervous energy produced by stress. It also helps indirectly by shifting one’s focus away from the external factors producing the stress.
Exercise can help the cardiovascular system, which in turn improves blood flow, carries away toxins from muscles and organs, and helps keep the kidneys and endocrine system working well. It helps remove germs and circulate antibodies.
All those promote a healthy immune system by lessening the body’s susceptibility to disease, while increasing the robustness of the immune system itself.
Exercising increases the body temperature slightly. This, as anyone who has suffered from a cold knows, is the body’s natural response to colds, flu and other diseases. The increased temperature helps kill the infecting organisms.
A study at the University of Colorado, Boulder suggests that moderate exercise helps prevent colds as well. It showed that individuals are less likely to get sick after stressful situations when they had engaged in a regular program of moderate exercise. Those that began exercise only on the same day as the stressor didn’t enjoy those benefits.
The study was carried out on rats, but one of the reasons those mammals are used is the similarity in some systems, and their responses, to humans.
Exercise programs, undertaken consistently and correctly, help improve body image – that’s one of most individuals primary goals in making the effort, after all. That improved body image often leads to higher levels of confidence and relaxation in social situations. That in turn helps reduce stress and enhance the immune system.
Whether the effects are direct or indirect, exercising can help you support and enhance your immune system. That leads directly to better overall health.
Fitness-Keeping Fit as You Age
It’s a commonplace observation that as you age you have to work harder to keep the pounds off and to stay fit. One major reason is the inescapable biological fact that metabolism slows as we age. Inescapable for now, at least, until medical technology finds some safe way to alter it.
Genetic research into aging is trying, in a way, to do just that. Several studies in the last two decades have pointed to hints about precisely what causes aging. If they get sufficient knowledge of the subject, there is some hope of altering the situation.
Until then, there are several things a sensible person can do to stay trim, flexible and within a healthy weight or body fat percentage range. At any age, diet and exercise are the twin partners required to achieve those goals.
For some, working out an hour per day every day – a five mile run, a long swim, hitting every station on the weight machine – is still feasible. Others will have to adjust their routine to what is realistic for their own circumstances. Don’t ignore the signals that will help guide you to do that. Mild discomfort is to be expected, especially the day after a vigorous workout. Extreme pain is a sign something is wrong.
There are dietary changes that will be needed, too.
As we age there’s a greater temptation to indulge in tasty, but high sugar, high fat foods. We see it as a reward for all the years of hard work and dietary discipline. Unfortunately, we pay a higher price later in life for those than we did in our 20s or 40s.
An occasional dessert is actually healthy, both for your state of mind and the sugar and fat. Both are essential compounds in moderation, though simple sugars are preferable to complex and unsaturated fats are preferable to saturated. Sugar is essential to generating the energy needed for all biological processes. ‘Good’ fats help regulate hormones, neural processes and other vital activities.
Staying active is equally as important as the proper diet. A good walk helps keep the cardiovascular system in working order. Mild stress on the muscles and joints keeps them lubricated and firm. Both muscle mass and bone density reduce dramatically in sedentary individuals.
Studies show that a sedentary 65 year old will have (on average) only 60% of the aerobic capacity of a 30 year old. Those who do no strength training lose muscle mass equivalent to seven pounds per decade. But those statistics are not written in stone. Exercise can help improve them tremendously.
Studies at various universities carried out for 25 years show that runners who continued to train kept almost all their capacity of 20 years previous. Those who engaged in resistance training maintained muscle mass equal to that of ten years earlier. Use it or lose it.
A person who has been idle, but suffers no debilitating disease, can reverse their odds. Start slow and think long term. Pain from overdoing it is one of the leading causes influencing people not to stick with it. Take long walks, then work up to more vigorous activities under the guidance of a professional.
Live a long and healthy life, not just a long one.
Leg Exercises
What kind of leg exercises you do will, of course, depend on your goal. Are you trying to build massive thighs or heart-shaped calves? Do you want to build strength, increase running endurance or improve balance and flexibility? Are you a weight-lifter, a jogger or a ballerina?
Naturally, not all goals are mutually exclusive. Building strength can combine well with improving balance, for example. Having toned, strong leg muscles helps keep joints stable and improves appearance.
Remember that any strenuous exercise should be done only after a warm-up period that includes stretching.
Spinning
One of the best exercises for toning and strengthening leg muscles is ’spinning’, using a stationary bike. Using an ordinary bicycle is good too, but the exercise is less controllable and involves a lot of other muscle groups.
A 15-minute spin will help tone the calves, hamstrings and quads, improve joint flexibility and (sometimes) reduce cellulite and fat. It’s also a great cardiovascular activity so you get two for the price of one when you spin.
Knee Exercises
If you want something a little less vigorous, say you only want to help strengthen the knee, here are a couple of options.
This first one is really good for those who suffer from conditions such as chondromalacia patella. That’s a roughening of the cartilage underneath the knee cap, sometimes as the result of the bones not sitting properly in the ‘V’ of the knee joint.
Sit in a chair, back straight but not tensed. Your leg should be bent at 90 degrees, the thigh parallel to the ground, the lower leg vertical. Tense the thigh, hold for 5 seconds then release. Switch legs and repeat. Do 10 reps for each leg. Easy, huh!
Be sure to breathe normally during the exercise.
Another exercise does a little more to build strength in the muscles that control bending at the knee.
Sit up straight and breathe normally, then cross your legs at the ankle. Push forward with the rear leg and back with the front leg. (A little tricky at first, but think about it!)
Switch legs by reversing the direction of the cross. If the right leg was in front, move it to the rear. Repeat the exercise 10 times for each position.
Calf Burns
Now for something a little more strenuous.
Depending on your balance and the surface you’re standing on, you may need to do this on a mat or carpet, or on a wooden floor. Avoid using a cement or metal floor.
Stand up straight, heels together, toes slightly apart. Make sure you are well-balanced.
Lift the heels, balancing on the balls of your feet. Imagine a string attached to the center of your head pulling you up. Hold for 5 seconds, then lower slowly. Repeat 10 times. Over time, as you build strength and balance, increase the length of time you’re on the balls of the feet.
Vary the action by bending slightly at the knee while you still have the heels raised. This will bring the thighs (quadriceps or ‘quads’ and hamstrings) as well as the buttocks into play. Straighten up, then lower the heels. Repeat 10 times.
Among the many health benefits of strong, flexible legs there is one that is especially important for the older crowd. Many falls lead to broken hips, one of the leading causes of severe health problems for the elderly. A long-term practice of keeping the legs in shape will help prevent this later in life.
Arm Exercise For Women-3 Simple Exercises
Women often avoid upper body and arm exercise because of a fear that lifting weights will make them look like some huge bodybuilder. Really there is nothing to worry about. Any guy will tell you that growing huge muscles is not that quick or easy!
In fact, exercising the arms is a great way to firm up. Toned arms and shoulders will simply make you look fit. If shoulder and upper arm size increases a little that is a good thing, especially for larger hipped women, as you will look more balanced.
Arm exercise pretty much always involves lifting weights. However, you do not have to go to a gym. There are two types of weights: barbells (the long bar with a weight on each end that you see weightlifters raising over their heads on TV) and dumbbells (the mini version that you pick up with one hand). You only need dumbbells for these arm exercises and you can find a cheap set at a garage sale or local store. You can even buy pink ones if you want!
So here are 3 simple exercises that you can do using dumbbells. You should do them all so that the whole area is strengthened. Focusing on one muscle group alone can cause injuries in the others.
All of the exercises should be performed slowly. This is very important! Your muscles will work harder with 3 slow repetitions of an exercise than 6 fast ones.
To avoid muscle strain, start out with the lowest weight. If you don’t feel any effects of your workout later or the next day, you can move to the next weight.
Bicep Curl
This exercise tones the front of the upper arms. Hold weights with arms straight down, palms inward (facing thighs). Rotate arms so that palms face forward while slowing raising the forearms, bending the elbows until your hand with the weight is up near your shoulder. Slowly release back down. You can do arms separately or both together. (25 reps)
Tricep Press
This exercise tones the back of the upper arms, the part that is flabby in many people. Stand holding the weights, feet shoulder width apart. Take a big step forward with one foot. Lean forward a little, and slowly raise the weights behind you. Palms face the ceiling. Raise as far as you can and slowly lower back down. (20 reps, changing legs at half way)
Deltoid Press
This exercise tones the muscles that run along the top of the shoulders, which are important for arm strength and bicep development as well as many activities of daily life. Hold weights a little higher than shoulders, palms facing forward. Simply raise the weights up overhead and lower back down, slowly. (25 reps)
For a stronger workout, after a few days you can increase so that you do 2 and then 3 series of these exercises, resting between. If you do this 3 times a week you should soon see your arms and shoulders toning up.
Always consult with a doctor before starting any arm exercise or other fitness program.
Hip Exercise For Hip Arthritis-Reduce Your Pain
Hip exercise is a very important part of pain management for anybody with arthritis in the hips. It is also probably the best way to limit the development or worsening of arthritis in all joints.
Many exercises for the hips will also strengthen the knees which is important because arthritis in these joints is often linked. A person with stiff and painful hips will tend to put stress on the knees when walking to reduce their pain, and this stress can often produce problems of its own including causing arthritis to develop in the knees too. The same is true in reverse, when someone causes problems in their hips because they were trying to ’save’ their arthritic knee joints.
There are three types of exercise that you can do for arthritic hips: stretching, strengthening and reduced-impact aerobic exercise. Try to do a variety including all three types, spread over several days. It is fine to do a longer exercise period some days and a shorter one other days, but it is best to take some form of exercise every day.
Stretching Hip Exercises
Try to do some stretching every day, because these exercises should help you with important daily activities such as sitting, getting in and out of a car and putting on shoes. Never force a stretch further than is comfortable. Keep in mind too that you may need help getting up off the floor.
1. Bent Leg Raise
Lying on your back, slowly raise one knee, sliding your foot along the floor. Bring your foot as close to your buttocks as you comfortably can. Then lift your foot and bring your knee up towards your chest. If this is difficult you can pull with either your hands around your thigh (not around the knee) or a belt.
Hold for a count of 5 then return the foot to the floor and slide it back until it is stretched out again and relaxed. Repeat with the other leg. (5 times)
2. Bent Leg Raise With Rotation
Repeat the leg raise but while the knee is in the air, rotate it inward (toward the other hip) and back to an upright position. Again you can support the thigh if that helps. Rotate the knee slowly 5 times, then do the other leg.
Strengthening Hip Exercises
1. Straight Leg Raise
Lie on your back with knees up and feet flat on the floor. Tighten muscles in your right thigh and raise the right foot, straightening the right knee as far as you comfortably can. Keep the foot 1-2 feet off the ground, not more, and do not arch the back. Hold for a count of 10, relax and repeat with the other leg. (2-5 times)
2. Foot Roll
Stand 1-2 feet from a counter with legs apart and hands leaning on the counter. Standing on your heels, lift the toes and slowly turn them so they point first inward, then outward. This should cause the whole leg to rotate inside the hip joint. (5-10 times)
3. Backward Leg Raise
Still supported by the counter, raise one leg up and back. Keep the knee straight. Hold for a count of 5. Repeat with the other leg. (5 times)
Reduced Impact Aerobic Exercises
Avoid high impact aerobic exercises like running, skipping etc if you have even mild arthritis. The impact of the body hitting the ground can be very stressful for the joints. If you like walking, walk on a softer surface such as grass rather than on the street wherever possible. Better still, go for low impact aerobic exercise such as swimming or stationary cycling.
Do not stress your hips. Stop if you feel any sharp pain or if your hips or other joints begin to ache differently than your normal resting pain. Do not expect to see improvement in a very short time but begin gently and increase gradually.
Many people will have a reduction in their pain within a week or two. If you do not feel any better, you may need to see a physiotherapist who has access to your radiography results so that they can pinpoint where your problems lie. In some cases where the arthritis is worsening, exercise may not relieve pain but it will prevent it getting worse.
Do not neglect to consult with your doctor before starting any hip exercise program if you suffer from arthritis or other medical conditions.
Hamstring Exercise-What To Do And Why It Matters
Hamstring exercise is important for the development of the calves and also, of course, to avoid the well known injury known as becoming hamstrung. This is a strained or pulled hamstring, a painful injury which can put you out of action as an athlete or halt your workout problem at any moment if you allow the hamstrings to become weak.
The hamstring is a tendon running down the back of the thigh from the buttock to the knee. Injuries to the hamstring usually result from overdeveloping the quad muscles, which can then pull a weak hamstring out of line. You will not normally injure the hamstring by working the hamstring itself, although in extreme cases it might be possible to over stretch a weak hamstring. All athletes must be sure to strengthen the hamstrings to avoid injury.
Stretching the hamstrings can also be important in preventing or reducing lower back pain. This may not sound logical but it happens because tight hamstrings will pull the back of the pelvis down, which in turn pulls the spine out of its normal curved alignment. This is more likely to apply to people who sit a lot than to people who are active, but if you have a job where you sit down most of the day then it is especially important to include hamstring stretches in your workout to avoid back problems. Consult with a doctor before starting any exercise program.
The best time to do hamstring exercises and stretches is after the body is warmed up, when there is plenty of blood coursing through the muscles.
Hamstring Stretch
Lie on your back and raise one leg in the air with the thigh at right angles to the floor, knee bent. The other leg is bent with the foot flat on the floor. Straighten the raised leg as much as you can.
In a flexible person with a fully stretched hamstring the leg will be straight and the foot at right angles to it, sole of the foot facing the ceiling. But depending on your muscularity this may never be possible, and it is usually easier for women than for men. Don’t worry if it is not possible for you, just go to where you feel a good stretch in the hamstring. You can support the thigh with hands or a towel.
Stretch slowly with full awareness on the hamstring, and hold each stretch for 10-20 seconds. 5 reps each side is enough.
Hamstring Strengthening
The exercise most commonly used for strengthening the hamstring in isolation is the leg curl. The first two types of leg curl require a machine. Most gyms will have one machine or the other.
1. Standing Leg Curl
Face the machine with the padded roller behind you to one side. Curl the leg up backwards, lifting the padded roller with your heel. Repeat, then switch to the other side.
2. Lying Leg Curl
Lying on your stomach on the bench, you curl both legs up backwards, lifting the padded roller with your heels.
3. Standing Free Leg Curl
This exercise is suitable for people who are out of condition, seniors etc with weak musculature but there is no resistance so it will not strengthen the hamstrings enough for an athlete.
Stand with your hands supported on a tall straight backed chair or high counter. The back must not be bent. Keeping the knees in line, raise one foot off the floor, bringing the foot up and back toward the thigh. Hold for a count of 5. Repeat 5 times then change legs.
4. Deadlift
Lift barbell from the floor to thigh height (arms extended down). Start with bent knees and keep a neutral spine. Lower it back down slowly, again bending the knees. Done this way, most of the lifting is felt in the legs, giving hamstring exercise and strengthening at the same time as developing the quad muscles.
Best Home Shoulder Exercise For Strength And Size
There many different forms of shoulder exercise and it is hard to pick out one and say that it is the best. Considering that the shoulder is only a small area and the deltoids are not large muscles, it may seem surprising that there are so many different exercises to choose from. However, the shoulder does have a wide range of movement and this is why its supporting musculature is so complex.
For this reason it is important to vary the exercises that you do. Otherwise you risk ending up with unbalanced muscular development which not only looks weird, it also gives you a high risk of injury because the muscles that you have not developed will be too weak to support the developed musculature.
So here are some of the basic exercises that you can do at home to develop your shoulders. The exercises can be performed either seated or standing. Try to mix it up unless you have problems staying balanced while standing.
You will need dumbbells and either a straight back chair or stool to sit on when you are performing seated shoulder exercises. Be sure that whatever you choose to sit on, you can have your feet flat on the floor while maintaining a straight back and staying well balanced.
- Dumbbell Shoulder Press. Raising overhead. You can raise the weights either both together or singly.
- Lateral Raises. Raising out to the side to shoulder height only.
- Front Raises. Raise one at a time out to the front with a straight arm. Again to shoulder height only. Lower, then raise the other arm.
- Arnold Press. Start with palms facing you at shoulder height and raise to just above head height, twisting as you go so that the palms are facing outward at the top. Lift either both together or singly.
If you have a barbell at home or have access to a gym, you can add the Military Press, lifting the barbell overhead or using a shoulder press machine. There is a difference in the way that the shoulder has to work with dumbbells and barbells so you will benefit from using both if they are available to you.
You should warm up before beginning to exercise. A good way to warm up the deltoids is to perform each exercise with only half your normal weights for the first couple of reps.
Form is very important in all dumbbell exercises. Take it slow in all cases. If you don’t, you will miss out on a lot of the definition that you might have had. Breathe out while exerting, and be sure that your elbows and other joints do not move out of line during your shoulder exercise.
Back And Abs Workout On The Exercise Ball
Most of the exercises making up an abs workout on the exercise ball will strengthen the back as well as the abdominals and other core muscles.
An exercise ball is a piece of equipment that you will find at any gym. You can also buy them for home use. They are not expensive.
Exercise balls work by requiring you to use your muscles to balance or keep stable. Therefore they are also sometimes called stabilizing balls. The exercises may sound easy, like children’s games, but if you try them you will find that a lot is required of your abs. If you do not feel this at once you probably will feel it the next day!
It is important to choose an exercise ball that is the right height for you. When you sit on it your feet must be flat on the floor, knees and hips forming right angles, thighs parallel to the ground.
Before you begin your stabilization abs workout on the exercise ball, you should warm up the muscles of the back. This is easily done with a few minutes gentle exercise on a treadmill, exercise bike, elliptical trainer or simply walking or marching on the spot.
Abs Workout Stabilization Exercise 1 (seated):
Sit on the ball with feet flat on the floor. Keep your abdomen tight, including the deepest ab muscles that you can feel when you cough. Do the same number of reps for each exercise, starting with 10.
First, lift one heel, keeping toes on the floor, then the other.
Then lift one whole foot off the ground, keeping it flat, then the other (as if you were marching on the spot, but slowly).
Then raise and lower each arm in turn.
Finally, raise and lower each arm in turn while lifting the opposite foot off the floor (slow marching with arm movements).
Abs Workout Stabilization Exercise 2 (prone):
Lie with your stomach on the middle of the ball, hands flat on the floor, arms going straight down from the shoulders. Again keep the abdomen tight. Start with 5 reps of each.
First, walk forward on hands until the ball is under the thighs. Walk back to starting position and rest.
Then repeat walking forward on hands until the ball is under the thighs but this time stay there and slowly raise each arm in turn. Do the reps then walk back to starting position and rest.
Finally, repeat walking forward on hands until the ball is under the thighs, stay there and do pushups. Do not go too low at first. Do the reps then walk back to starting position and finish.
Cool down with some stretching, because the abdominal muscles and the muscles of the back will be very tight after this back and abs workout on the exercise ball.
