Fitness

Caffeine is one of the most highly used drugs in the world and is popular as an ergogenic aid for athletes. Although it has been removed from the International Olympic Committee banned substance list, caffeine consumption is still monitored in competitive athletes.

A study was conducted, and published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research that looked at the effects of caffeine on strength, muscular endurance and anaerobic activity. The research showed caffeine did not have an effect on lower-body strength, muscular endurance, anaerobic capabilities or upper body muscular endurance.

The study did show that drinking a moderate dose of caffeine approximately 1 hour prior to activity resulted in an increase in upper-body strength in resistance-trained men.

t’s 80 percent diet and 20 percent exercise! What you’re taking in is just as important as the abs series. My all-time favorite tummy-flattening technique is the plank. You can do a moderated or full plank version and can add to the series by dropping your knees and tucking your foot to the side while still in a plank position. It’s important to use correct form so your knees are under your shoulders, your navel is toward your spine, and your neck is relaxed and elongated.

Having Type II Diabetes does not mean that you need to stop your workout plans or goals in fitness. It does mean that you will need to alter a few things and take more precautions than the normal person who might want to work out. For the most part, Type II Diabetes can be controlled with a strict diet and exercise program. The nutrition plan will be beneficial not only in controlling your diabetes but also in weight reduction.

I recommend to my patients that they build up to at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity cardiovascular activity per day, or 20 minutes of vigorous-intensity cardiovascular activity, every day of the week.

You can, and should, incorporate some strength and resistance type activities at least two days a week. Weight training maintains and increases muscle strength and endurance. Weight training can consist of something as simple as soup cans, or fill an empty milk container with water for added resistance.

Always remember to check your blood glucose level before starting your exercise program for the day. You should also keep a close watch of blood pressure and make sure to keep your feet clean because uncontrolled blood glucose levels can lead to decreased sensations on the soles of your feet. If left unchecked, blisters can form without you being able to feel them, which will lead to further complications.

Yes, natural, functional movements are safe and encouraged for obese people. The only thing to keep in mind for an obese person is that their organs are being crushed by their visceral fat, so have to work harder, therefore intensity must be managed to prevent organ trauma.

When they do lose their weight however, previously obese people can become phenomenal athletes because of how powerful their organs have had to become.

The goal of a rest day/cheat day/recovery day is to repair yourself and come back stronger for the next week.Unfortunately most people use this day to ‘treat themselves’ by pumping their system full of fat, refined sugar and additives, so that they are forced to use the day-after-the-rest-day as the recovery day, the “recover from poisoning myself” day.

What they don’t know is that this type of recovery can take anywhere from 3-10 days, stunting or even diminishing their intended results.Speeding up the recovery period is therefore key to rapid physiological change.

There are a few creative and very effective methods to recovering faster, but the most tried and tested method is to take a forced rest day at least once a week, and if it is not enough, take another.

To ensure that your rest day is in fact a recovery day, you need to think like a body engineer; i.e. think what does my body need to recover as fast as possible?

The answer: lots of water and antioxidants to get rid of the broken bits, as well as enough protein to rebuild the muscles.

There have been many competing camps as to which time is the best to workout. Some will tell you that to lose weight, it is best to workout in the morning. You do not have the fuel from breakfast, so your body turns to the stored fat for energy. You then burn more fat, and this primes your body for an increased metabolism throughout the rest of the day.

The other camp says you should workout later in the afternoon or evening because your muscles have been warmed up from the day, and you will have more energy to perform the exercise which will mean more of an effort and more energy expended. More weight on the bar or pushing yourself that extra mile will help you achieve your desired effect more quickly.

I can see the logic behind both camps but I would like to offer a third option: It really doesn’t matter! Weight loss is primarily based on your body’s ability to burn more calories than you take in. It isn’t as much a question of when you exercise, just that you do something every day so you expend more calories than you take in.

Fulltime athletes, newcomers to exercising and everyone in between have potential for injuries.

According to the National Institutes of Health[Link http://nih.gov/ in a new window with off site icon and 3rd party content disclaimer] (NIH), the most common types of sports injuries are:

  • Achilles tendon injuries – An Achilles tendon injury is caused by stretching, tearing, or irritating the tendon that connects the calf muscle to the back of your heal.
  • Dislocations– A dislocation occurs when there is an abnormal separation in the joint, such as a shoulder, elbow, or toe, where two or more bones meet. A joint dislocation can also cause damage to the surrounding tissues.
  • Fractures – A fracture is a break in the bone that happens from either a quick, one-time injury (acute fracture) or from repeated stress on the bone over time (stress fracture).
  • Knee injuries – Knee injuries are common and can be frequently caused by ligaments and tendon injuries.
  • Ligament tears – Tearing a ligament, which is a band of tissue that connects the ends of bones together.
  • Rotator cuff injuries – The rotator cuff is in your shoulder, and it is common to have an inflamed rotator cuff or damage the rotator cuff in sports with repeated overhead motion.
  • Shin bone pain – Often known as “shin splints,” this describes leg pain that shoots along the shin bone, on the front of the lower leg.
  • Sprains and strains – A sprain is an overly stretched muscle. A strain is a twisted or pulled muscle.
  • Swollen muscles – The muscles can swell and feel sore from lack of stretching or overuse during exercise.
  • Tendon tears – Tearing a tendon, which is a cord of tissue that connects muscles to bones.
There are a variety of exercises you can do to help improve your balance, according to the Harvard Medical School (HMS). Some of those exercises include:
  • Balancing on a wobble board
  • Doing tai chi or yoga
  • Standing on one leg
  • Standing up and sitting down without using your hands
  • Taking a dance class
  • Walking heel to toe
The best way to tone long, lean arms is to use a mixture of three to five-pound weights and resistance bands. By doing low weight and high repetitions, this ensures that you don’t overbuild and bulk the muscles. Resistance bands are light and easy to travel with and can be used anywhere. For lighter resistance, choose red and higher resistance use blue.
Before starting a new exercise program, it’s important to keep a few things in mind. According to the American Association of Private Physicians (AAPP), some things to consider include:
  • Talk with your doctor – Before starting any kind of new exercise routine, talk with your physician to determine what level and type of activity might be best for you.
  • Think through your resources – Your location and your budget might make a difference as to whether you invest in new fitness equipment, a gym membership, workout videos or a new pair of running shoes. You can commit to a good workout anywhere, you just have to use the resources available to you at this time.
  • Create an exercise schedule the works for you – Plan your workout routine just as you would plan any other commitments throughout your week. Determine what will work best for you – mornings or evenings, multiple short workouts or a few longer ones – and make a plan you know you can stick with.
  • Start slowly – Set multiple small goals that you know you can be proud of as you achieve them. Setting smaller goals along the way to your overall goal is a great way to see the extent of your progress rather than feeling overwhelmed by working toward a larger goal.

It’s commonly known that exercise has great physical health benefits, but exercise also has many mental health benefits.

When a person exercises endorphins, are released in the brain. These chemicals act as natural painkillers, relieve stress and improve sleep, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA).

Exercise can help maintain mental fitness by reducing stress and fatigue, making you more alert, and improving concentration, according to ADAA. It also can boost your self-esteem.

Many studies done by various organizations spanning back to the 1980s show that exercise plays a big enough roll in easing depression that in most cases it can be used hand-in-hand with or instead of antidepressant medications, according to Harvard Medical School.

Physical fitness means the body is healthy, flexible, strong, and doesn’t get tired easily. Fitness affects the entire body – heart, lungs, bones, muscles – each body function works together.

Before the industrial revolution, fitness was defined as the capacity to carry out the day’s activities without undue fatigue. However, with automation and changes in lifestyles physical fitness is now considered a measure of the body’s ability to function efficiently and effectively in work and leisure activities, to be healthy, to resist hypokinetic diseases, and to meet emergency situations.

The amount of physical activity someone needs to be healthy can be different for every person.

Before starting or changing your exercise routine, talk with your doctor and review what the healthiest choices might be for you.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends workout guidelines for people who are of good health and are looking to maintain their weight.

Starting out slowly, the CDC recommends working up to 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity and 75 minutes of vigorous intensity aerobic activity each week. You can split up these workouts, as needed, as long as you end up with a total of these times every week.

Talk to your doctor for more information about the recommended amount of physical activity for you.

In today’s technology-rich world, there are many apps available to help build and maintain your exercise and fitness routine.

Taking advantage of exercise and fitness apps can help make the process of losing weight, maintaining your goal weight, and tracking your progress easier, according to the Obesity Action Coalition (OAC).

The OAC says that fitness apps – both ones that are free and ones that cost money to download – are great for accountability.

These apps can track your exercise for you, and also can provide great ideas for new workout routines, according to the OAC.

Talk to your doctor for more information about how exercise and fitness apps can benefit fitness routines.

It’s proven that 10-minute spurts of cardio are more effective than 30 minutes straight. So if you only have 20 minutes, do 10 minutes of cardio, which can be a mix of jump rope, burpees, and jumping jacks. Or you can focus on jumping squats, which will strengthen your lower-body muscles, followed by pushups and situps.

Yes, there are many factors but the main two are predisposition to stress, and metabolism.

The first one is (in non-nerd speak) the way someone reacts to stress. People will either eat more (comfort eaters) or eat less. In this busy world, stress plays a major role in body composition, and whether a person is a comfort eater or food avoider when stressed will determine their predisposition.

Metabolism is secondary.

If someone has a high metabolism (uses more energy to stay alive) then they will naturally lose weight faster than a person with a lower metabolism.

Age and gender are the major contributing factors to metabolism; a younger person has a faster metabolism than an older, and a man would have a faster metabolism than a woman.

In saying that, of every 100 people who lose weight quickly, 99 will put it back on. Consistency is far more important in a weight loss journey than speed

The long-term health benefits of exercise are positive for everyone, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Along with eating healthy food, physical activity is an important part of everyone’s overall health.

Exercising regularly, according to the HHS, can have many benefits on every person’s physical and mental health, including:

  • Build endurance
  • Decrease chances of depression
  • Gain strength
  • Help improve the condition of the heart and lungs
  • Improve self esteem
  • Improve sleep
  • Increase chances of living longer
  • Increase energy
  • Prevent chronic diseases, including heart disease, cancer, and stroke
  • Promote bone and muscle strength
  • Promote joint development
  • Reduce fat
  • Relieve stress
  • Strengthen muscles
Overall, exercising and being physically active is one of the best things you can do for your health throughout your life. Talk to your doctor for more information about why exercising is important to your health.