Warm Up Before You Exercise
warm up before exercise
Physical exercise takes a toll on the muscles, tendons and joints in the body. Ordinary physical activity stretches the muscles, but if you’re going to work out you need to be aware of the consequences of not warming up before strenuous physical activity.
What is the advantage of warming up?
Once physical activity is started, the body goes through some changes. There is an increase in blood flow, respiratory rate, levels of nutrients and oxygen sent to the blood cells. These increases need to happen in a controlled flow to get the body prepared for the stress on the body from exercise. It’s kind of like warming up your car to get everything lubricated and smooth before starting a journey. Not warming up will cause the body to work less efficiently, causing less than expected results from the workout. Warming up preps up the nervous system, heightens mental awareness and alertness, and loosens up joints and muscles to make them less prone to injuries. Warm ups jump starts the fluid located in the joints, minimizing the risk for wear and tear of the muscles. It gives the heart a suitable period to adjust and pump up blood and nutrients into muscles.
Older people need to take notice, since they’re tissues are more prone to injury; they’re joints have a lower fluid level, and some have weaker heart muscles. Warming up reduces the chance of heart attack for older people.
What is the proper way to warm up?
Initially, any routine that increases the heart rate will help. Walking, jogging or the use of a bicycle or rowing machine will help. Start at a gentle pace, and then slowly increase the pace until heart beat rate increases and the body temperature rises. It important to note that the pace should be in accordance to one’s current fitness level, where the activity will leave the person energized and not exhausted.
After working up a light sweat (suggested time is 3-5 minutes, longer if the person is working out in a cold environment) one should do dynamic stretching. Stretching helps in developing overall flexibility, particularly in the spine, shoulder, and hip areas. The kind of stretching depends on the type of activity a person plans to engage to. For instance, if one is about to play sports, the recommended kind of stretching would be the ones that mimics the movements that will be done in the court or field.
If one is about to do martial arts, light sparring can be done in the quarter of the normal speed, or just simply do the movements in slow motion. Be certain that the major muscles groups are stretched for 8 seconds minimum. It is necessary to remember to keep feet moving or do leg exercises whenever the upper body is stretched to keep prevent blood from pooling in the legs. Remember, one should only do stretching if the muscles are already warmed up. Do not bounce while stretching. It leads to a contraction that can result in muscle tear or pull.
For weight-lifters, this is what should be done after the initial warm up. Load the bar with about 50-60% of the heaviest weight to be done for the session and perform the number of repetitions that will be done for the heavy sets. For the second set, the weight will be increased to 80%, then eventually to 90%, decreasing to 2-3 repetitions. Afterwards, rest for about 30 seconds, then repeat the steps. After this warm up, one can now proceed to the heavy lifting for the day. The advantage of doing the procedure is that the heavy sets will feel less daunting and can now be performed with considerably less stress.
After warming up and proceeding to the main workout, it is equally important to cool down. When a person suddenly stops exercising or lifting weights, blood gathers in the muscle and oxygen is blocked. When this happens, a person runs the risk of having a heart attack. So cooling down should have the same importance as warming up.
Exercise is good for the health. Everyone is encouraged to pump it up, just remember to take all the necessary precautions not only to maximize the workout, but also to stay safe and healthy.
Have a newer healthy day!
Shopping With Healthy Living In Mind
There’s no doubt that diet affects health. We all know that what you eat is what you are. This saying may not spell it out as detailed as it really is, because the fact remains, your body needs certain nutrients…without them it is impossible to be healthy. Here are some ideas to keep in mind when you shop for groceries.
Nowadays, you can search online to see what specials the markets in your neighborhood are having. This is a great resource, simply because healthy food can be very expensive. Fresh fruits and vegetables can carve out a large part of your grocery budget. If there is a farmer’s market in your area, take advantage of the produce there. You can usually get better varieties of fruits and vegetables for less money.
healthy produce
When shopping for foods for home try to include these:
Lots of vegetables and fruit
100% Fruit juices
Low sugar drinks
Interesting condiments, like new sauces, chilies etc.
Low fat cottage cheese and sour cream (to use instead of cream)
Low fat crackers and dips
Generally look for the ‘diet’ and ‘low fat’ alternatives.
Lean meats, poultry and fish
If you like soup, go for the broth-based. Ordinarily, they are lower in fat then the cream soups.
Shopping With Weight Loss In Mind
Herbs and spices can flavor just as well as salt – if not better. Here are some recommended flavourings:
For carrots: caraway seeds, chives, ginger
For potatoes: caraway seeds, chives, curry powder, garlic, mint, tarragon
For squash and zucchini: basil, garlic, ginger, marjoram, rosemary
For fish: bay leaf, chives, coriander, nutmeg, tarragon, thyme
For beef: basil, garlic, ginger, oregano, thyme
Salads make wonderful light meals. Not only are they low-fat, they can be full of nutritious, fresh vegetables like shredded carrots, purple onions, chopped green and red peppers, bean sprouts, etc…The list goes on and on. If you like meat on your salad, grilled chicken makes a wonderful compliment. As always, go for the reduced fat, low-fat, low-salt dressings. Extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar are a great low-fat dressing.
Another nutritious addative to a meal could be squash. Steamed squash with a hint of butter and lemon is delicious, low-fat and very nutritious.
Always remember, never shop when you are hungry, or you will end up with a lot of products that you wouldn’t have ordinarily purchased.
I hope this information helps you in your quest for healthy living.
5 Quick Metabolism Boosting Tips
boost your metabolism
Increased Metabolism Equals Easy Fitness
When you have a high metabolism, it is so much easier to burn fat, lose weight faster and maintain your desired weight.
The description of metabolism is: the rate by which the body produces and consumes energy and calories to support life.
We all know someone who has a high metabolism..you know…the person who can eat whatever he/she wants, all day, and still not gain a pound. These folks have a high energy level and seem to be doing something all the time.
Well, not all of us have high metabolisms, so here are a few tips to help boost yours without the aid of drugs or supplements.
1. Hot, spicy foods with peppers (jalepeno, habanero, etc…) have been found to increase metabolism.
EAT SPICY FOODS!
2. Eat 4-6 small meals (2-3 hours apart), instead of 3 main meals.
EAT MINI MEALS 4-6 TIMES IN A DAY!
3. Toxins that are produced when the body burns fat are flushed out when you drink water. Lack of hydration will slow up your body system’s processes and also causes it stress.
DRINK MORE WATER!
4. It is a well-known fact that if you don’t eat breakfast, your body has nothing to feed it. Metabolism may slow down at a large rate if breakfast is eaten after a few hours of waking or even later in the early afternoon.
EAT BREAKFAST!
5. Physical or emotional stress causes the body to release cortisol, a steroid which slows down your metabolism. Some of us tend to reach for food when we are stressed, too.
REDUCE PHYSICAL OR EMOTIONAL STRESS!
I realize this last tip may be difficult to do, but with some foresight and tools, possibly yoga, you may be able to lower your stress level.
Until next time, here’s to a newer healthy you:)
Darlene
The Importance of Protein
get protein with breakfast
Protein in Healthy Eating
Protein has, up until recently, not gotten a lot of attention. It was often overshadowed by fat, carbohydrates, and vitamins. That is no longer the case. With the advent of all the protein diets that have come on the scene lately, interest in protein has exploded. There really is not a lot known about protein and health, but new information is coming out all the time.
It is recommended by Institute of Medicine that adults get a minimum of 0.8 grams of protein for every kilogram of body weight per day to keep from slowly breaking down their own tissues. That’s just about 8 grams of protein for every 20 pounds of body weight. Beyond that, there’s relatively little solid information on the ideal amount of protein in the diet, a healthy target for calories contributed by protein, or the best kinds of protein.
It is hard to determine exactly how much protein each person, individually, needs. There is no one-size-fits-all answer to that question, and research on the topic is still emerging. Around the world, millions of people don’t get enough protein. Lack of protein can cause growth failure, loss of muscle mass, decreased immunity, weakening of the heart and respiratory system, and even death.
Around the world, millions of people don’t get enough protein. Protein malnutrition leads to the condition known as kwashiorkor. Lack of protein can cause growth failure, loss of muscle mass, decreased immunity, weakening of the heart and respiratory system, and death.
In the United States and other developed countries, getting the minimum daily requirement of protein is easy. Cereal with milk for breakfast, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch, and a piece of fish with a side of beans for dinner adds up to about 70 grams of protein, plenty for the average adult.
Not all proteins are alike. Some contain all the amino acids needed to build new proteins. This kind is called complete protein. Animal sources of protein tend to be complete. Other protein sources lack one or more “essential” amino acids—that is, amino acids that the body can’t make from scratch or create by modifying another amino acid. Called incomplete proteins, these usually come from fruits, vegetables, grains, and nuts.
Vegetarians need to be aware of this. To get all the amino acids needed to make new protein—and thus to keep the body’s systems in good shape—people who don’t eat meat, fish, poultry, eggs, or dairy products should eat a variety of protein-containing foods each day.
Animal protein and vegetable protein probably have the same effects on health. It’s the protein package that’s likely to make a difference.
Brief description of Protein
Protein is found throughout the body—in muscle, bone, skin, hair, and virtually every other body part or tissue. It makes up the enzymes that power many chemical reactions and the hemoglobin that carries oxygen in your blood. At least 10,000 different proteins make you what you are and keep you that way.
Twenty or so basic building blocks, called amino acids, provide the raw material for all proteins. Following genetic instructions, the body strings together amino acids. Some genes call for short chains of amino acids, others are blueprints for long chains that fold, origami-like, into intricate, three-dimensional structures.
Because the body doesn’t store amino acids, as it does fats or carbohydrates, it needs a daily supply of these to make new protein. A 6-ounce broiled porterhouse steak is a great source of complete protein—38 grams worth. But it also delivers 44 grams of fat, 16 of them saturated. That’s almost three-fourths of the recommended daily intake for saturated fat. The same amount of salmon gives you 34 grams of protein and 18 grams of fat, 4 of them saturated. A cup of cooked lentils has 18 grams of protein, but under 1 gram of fat.
So, in essence, it is vital to our health and well-being to get a sufficient amount of protein everyday.
Free List of Negative Calorie Foods
Negative Calorie Foods for Weight Loss
eat plum tomatoes for weight loss
You will find a free list of negative calorie foods below, but first let’s consider what this means. There is no such thing as a negative calorie – a calorie is a unit of heat and it cannot be negative. So when people talk about negative calorie foods, this just means a food whose calorie level is low enough that it takes more energy to eat and digest it than the food contains.
For example, if you consider water to be a food, then cold water is certainly a negative calorie food. It contains no calories at all and the body has to expend energy to bring it up to blood temperature. So every time we drink a glass of cold water we burn up a couple of calories and lose a little weight. There are very few foods like this.
Most foods that are on the list do not really use more calories than they add, or if they do, the effect is negligible … until you remember that at the same time the body expends energy just to keep alive and breathing. Celery for example does not give us enough calories to cover both the energy that it takes to digest it, plus the energy that we expend even when we are doing nothing. So that is why people call it a negative calorie food.
Negative calorie foods are most attractive to anorexics, which is a very unhealthy eating disorder. A negative calorie diet would obviously result in starvation in the long term and nutritional deficiencies can occur surprisingly quickly. The calories burnt usually come from muscle mass, and the result is debilitating.
A more healthy way to use a negative calorie diet is as a form of fasting or detoxification. It is something you can do for one to three days right after the Christmas season or another time when you have been eating an over-rich diet. Provided you are otherwise healthy, it can be a great way to clean out the system. However it is still best to take medical advice before attempting this.
If you decide to use a negative calorie detoxification, keep the following points in mind:
1. It is never a good idea to eat huge quantities of one type of food, especially fruits. A lot of foods contain substances that can be damaging if consumed in excess. For example, the acid in grapefruit and pineapple can damage your stomach lining. Other foods put an excessive burden on the liver or may cause diarrhea. So try to use all the different foods in small quantities.
2. Do not spend all day eating. You will just become bloated and feel sick. If you are only doing this for a couple days, you should not feel too hungry. Plan four or five salad meals each day, and let your digestion rest at other times.
3. You will feel more satisfied if you eat slowly and chew your food thoroughly. You will also use more calories that way. So if the foods can be eaten raw, that will be more effective than cooking them. Foods like carrots and beets will also be more satisfying if you eat them grated.
4. Schedule time when you do not have any important commitments. As with fasting or any kind of detoxification, you may suffer some uncomfortable symptoms including headaches, tiredness, depression and irritability. If these become severe, stop the diet and see a doctor.
5. When you end the detoxification, plan a gradual return to normal eating.
If all the above points are checked and passed, let’s move on to the list of foods.
* Apples
* Asparagus
* Beets
* Blueberries
* Broccoli
* Cantaloupes
* Carrots
* Cauliflower
* Celery stalk
* Celery root
* Cranberries
* Cucumbers
* Eggplant
* Endives
* Garden cress
* Garlic
* Grapefruit
* Green beans
* Green cabbage
* Lamb’s lettuce
* Lemons
* Lettuce
* Onions
* Papayas
* Pineapples
* Prunes
* Radishes
* Raspberries
* Spinach
* Strawberries
* Tangerines
* Tomatoes
* Turnips
* Zucchini
Please use this list of negative calorie foods wisely.
Please make sure that you take good care of yourself by eating healthy, nutritious meals.
Darlene
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