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This Blog is intended to provide you the best distilled knowledge and information relative to your personal health, development and self improvement.Importance Of Warming Up Before Exercise
By Joe | July 25, 2009
Since many people are involved in regular, daily physical exercise, it is important that you warm up your muscles before engaging in any strenuous activity.
Why warm up? Several changes takes place in the body once physical activity is initiated. A person’s respiratory rate, blood flow, and oxygen and nutrient levels delivered to the cells increases. The rate of increase should be regulated in a steady pace to prepare the body for the physical stress that exercise will demand.
If one bypasses this priming procedure, the body will function less efficiently and the workout will produce less quality results. 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 start 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.
Warm ups are vital for older people, since they have tissues and muscles that are less supple and they have joints with less fluid, and weaker hearts if they don’t exercise regularly. Sudden exercise can produce heart attacks in older people.
How do you warm up properly? This can be accomplished with any type of cardio or aerobic exercise. You can simply walk or slow jog, or use cardiovascular equipment such as rowing machine or a bicycle.
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 your 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) you 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 you plan to engage in.
For instance, if you’re about to play sports, the recommended kind of stretching would be the ones that mimic the movements that will be done in the court or field. If you’re 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. Remember, you should only do stretching if your muscles are already warmed up. Do not bounce while stretching. It leads to a contraction that can result in muscle tear or pull.
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. It may cause varying degrees of muscle soreness. So cooling down should hold the same importance as warming up.
Exercise is good for the health. Everyone is encouraged to pump it up, but remember to take all the necessary precautions not only to maximize the workout, but also to stay safe and healthy.
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The Importance Of Working Your Core Muscles
By Joe | July 24, 2009
Suppose that at a distance you see a short, stooped figure walking with short, slow steps. Most likely, you will conclude that the person is old. The hunched posture gives you the clue.
Why does aging contort so many bodies in this way? The reason is that many people, throughout their lives, never extend the neck to its full range, and so the muscles shorten. Long hours of reading, sewing, surfing the internet, or standing at a workbench take their toll. Eventually deposits of calcium salts in the joints complete the process of immobilization.
Fortunately, people of any age can take action before it is too late. The best action is regular exercise that stretches the muscles and improves flexibility, with special consideration of the core muscles.
What Are Core Muscles?
Core muscles pertain to the muscles found at the obliques, abdominals, lower back, and the glutes. These four areas of the body are the ones that usually frame the posture of a person. A good posture reflects the strength in these muscle areas.
What people do not know is that core muscles are actually the “core” or the central part of all the strength that is needed to carry out different physical activities. This only means that if an individual’s core muscles are physically powerful, it will maintain equilibrium on the body and will stabilize the system every time the person is working out and moving around. This stability is what helps to prevent pulled muscles and backaches.
Strengthening Core Muscles
The main responsibility of the core muscles is to provide enough power and stability to the body in order to enable it to cope with the dynamic challenges of every physical activity that a person encounters. For this reason, many health and fitness experts have realized that it is more important to strengthen the core muscles than many other muscles in the body.
Through a series of experiments and research, it has been discovered that having stronger core muscles can lessen a lot of posture-related health problems. For instance, a well-conditioned core muscle group can support good posture. It can also improve the endurance of the back through the entire day.
Why? Because muscles that are included in the group of core muscles are actually the ones that initiate the proper stabilization of the whole upper and lower torso.
So, for those who wish to know and understand why it is important strengthen the core muscles, here is a list of some of the benefits that you can use as references:
1. Strengthening core muscles will improve posture and prevent low back pain of a muscular origin. This means that as you incorporate stretching exercises in your routine, taking a particular focus on the muscles of the upper and front part of the trunk, including the abdominal and trunk muscles, the activity has the tendency to strengthen the muscles of the back that extend to the spine.
2. It will help tone the muscles, thereby, avoiding further back injury. Exercising your core muscles will strengthen and tones your lower back muscles and buttocks while stretching the hip flexors and the muscles on the front of the thighs.
3. Improves physical performance: Exercising the core muscles with slow, static stretching is just as effective in relieving stiffness and enhances flexibility. Once the flexibility of a person has improved, it follows that they will be able to perform physical activities much easier.
4. They do not cause sore aching muscles: Static stretching for core muscles is best for the muscles and connective tissues. And because it employs slow stretches only, it will not cause any soreness, as do the quick, bouncing exercises that rely on jerky muscle contraction.
5. Lengthen muscles and be more sure-footed as you age: Core muscle exercises lengthen the muscles that have contracted as a result of pain. That tension can affect many muscles and bone/joint alignments.
Health and fitness experts highly recommend starting core workouts immediately and repeating the routine at least 3 times a week.
Core muscles are extremely important in determining the good posture of the body. Strengthening them can eliminate those nuisances of back pains and provide the flexibility to move through your day. You strengthen core muscles with resistance training and abdominal exercises, to name two.
I hope this gives you a better perspective on our muscles, and again please remember to check with your Doctor before making any changes.
Topics: HSE Articles | 3 Comments »
Healthy Benefits Of Stretching
By Joe | July 24, 2009
The body is flexible. It is supposed to be flexible. You must be able to bend and reach something you drop on the floor. You must be able to zip the back of your favorite dress. You must be able to reach that book you need to read from the top shelf.
These are simple activities. Nothing grand about them, you merely stretched out a bit. However, if there are difficulties in doing such simple motions, then you already need a stretching program.
What Is Stretching?
Stretching is simply the act of extending to full length the body or simply a part of it. This activity involves straightening or stretching the structure or the limbs.
How Does One Do the Stretching?
Stretching is fairly easy. As mentioned in the introduction, it is part of normal daily activities. It can be done by anyone, regardless of age. However the extent of stretching, flexing and the range of joint movements can be minimized as we age. This can very well slow an active lifestyle. This is why stretching as part of a regular exercise routine is very important.
Simple stretches can be done every day and easily incorporated into daily activities. It does not require much of your time.
Stretching exercises can also be done while training. Actually, stretching is an essential part of any training or sport. It must be done first before anything else. Stretching the body and the limbs is a good preparation for a more rigorous activity.
The ideal length of time to devote to stretching is about 10 minutes. This will give the body enough opportunity to move and flex the muscles, thus preparing it for more complicated and strenuous movements.
What Are the Benefits of Stretching?
1. Increase the Range of Movement: As you do the stretching exercises, the length of the muscles and the tendons are also increased. This helps to increasing the range of your movement.
2. Increased Ability to Perform Skills: When you have a wide range of movement, you will be able to do more things. For example, you can jump higher and land on the floor without feeling any pain. This will also help you if you start a new sport or improve the ones you already participate in. In this aspect stretching also allows you to have a more active lifestyle.
3. Injury Prevention: One can prevent injury to joints, tendons and muscles with stretching. When the muscles and tendons are well-flexed, they are considered in good working order. This will help in a faster recovery time and decreased soreness. The muscles of the body will be able to take more exhausting and rigorous movements with less probability of being injured.
4. Reduce Muscle Tension: If the muscles are given their regular exercises and stretching, it is less likely that they will contract. This may relieve you of muscle pains or problems.
5. Enhance Energy: Being able to move easily will also give you more energy. Stretching will also help enhance your awareness that you have a body that is capable of doing many things. That will create confidence to try new things, like salsa dancing or learning to swim.
6. Reduces Cholesterol: Research also shows that doing prolonged stretching exercises, like yoga, will help reduce the cholesterol in the body. This of course must be done in conjunction with a healthy diet. This could prevent and even reverse the hardening of the arteries, allowing you to avoid coronary diseases.
Incorporate stretching in your everyday lifestyle. It has benefits you cannot say no to. It also does not require much time. Just add it to your usual activities by bending and stretching every now and then. After all, your fitness is everything, so do what it takes to keep the body healthy.
Having a flexible body is vital to our well being. If we want to age gracefully and live a long and vibrant life we need to take stretching seriously.
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Benefits Of Using A Stability Ball In Your Training
By Joe | July 23, 2009
If there is one piece of equipment you should not miss utilizing in your training, it is the stability ball. The market comes up with new training tools every now and then but you may be hesitant to use them because you’re not sure if they do work and if they are safe. One that is guaranteed to work is the stability ball.
What Is a Stability Ball?
This is a large, inflatable ball used as exercise equipment. It is generally heavy-duty and capable of holding 600 to 700 pounds of weight. It is comfortable and gives good support. It may also be known as the physioball or the Swiss Ball.
The good thing about using the stability ball is that it gives some element of ‘play’ as you get tough with your training. It adds some fun and challenges as you advance in the movements and techniques.
Another good point with the ball is that it can be used by anybody. No fitness level is required. It is very portable, light weight and easy to bring along even when traveling. It is also inexpensive compared to other exercise equipment and it could last for a very long time.
How Stability Balls Came About
The use of the stability balls for training can be traced to rehabilitation. As early as the 1900’s, physical therapists have been using balls in addressing the neurological disorders of their patients.
In the early 1960’s, Aquilino Cosani, an Italian toy maker, made a ball and sold it as the ‘Gymnastik’. Two decades later, Cosani came up with a company called Gymnic and became the major supplier of the stability ball to most rehabilitation programs and centers.
The ball then shifted from rehabilitation device to an exercise tool in the 1990’s, to condition the bodies of professional athletes. From then on, the ball was very prominent in the fitness community.
At present, both medical specialists and fitness professionals very much recommend the use of the stability ball by the public. It provides more than just a solution to physical problems. It’s also good in preventing you from having any.
What Are the Benefits of Using a Stability Ball?
The stability ball definitely is best to improve the strength of the abs and the lower back. It improves as well the functional strength, balance and flexibility of the body.
1. Proper Alignment
Using the ball during training will test the body to make use of the different parts to maintain the proper balance. The dynamic movements during exercise will improve the natural motor reflexes of the body as different muscles are utilized in movement, especially the ones that are not usually used. The challenge posed by the ball is to maintain balance. As one aims to get the proper balance, the alignment of the body parts is also improved.
2. Great Abs
For people working out to achieve great abs, this ball can definitely target the abdominal areas. The abs and the back muscles are simultaneously moved as you work to achieve balance. Just imagine the good feeling of having flat, strong abdominal muscles and you will definitely love this ball.
3. Muscle Strength and Endurance
The stability ball can help in alleviating any back pain and preventing it in the future. As all the major muscle groups are exercised, the muscle tone, strength and endurance are also improved. Thus it gives the body flexibility, stability and resistance.
4. Core Stability
This concerns the major muscles that helps stabilize and support all of the body movements. This is made up of back and the deep abdominal muscles. With the ball, no matter how ‘deep’ or ‘into the core’ these muscles are, they are still exercised. This is something only the stability ball can guarantee. If you want an extra workout, sit on the ball for about 20 minutes a day while you watch your favorite show. While you try to balance on it, you are strengthening your core muscles.
5. Stretching
The ball is a good companion during stretching exercises. With this, you can easily move into and move out of different stretching positions.
6. Losing Weight
Of course, with all the good benefits of using the ball, you will not miss out on the aspect of losing weight. With regular exercises and training done with the stability ball, a person can lose unwanted pounds as the body is firmed.
Health is definitely your most important asset. Do your regular exercises and maintain a healthy diet. Most of all, have fun training with your stability ball.
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