Free Weight Loss
Tips: What You'll Need To Get Started On Your Goal
When it comes to free weight loss tips, it's not the "magic cures" that you should pay attention to, it's the real, solid advice that will set you on a healthy track for the rest of your life. And when you're starting a new weight loss goal, anything that'll make things easier on yourself is worth trying. With that in mind, here are 5 steps you should take at the start of your weight loss journey.
1) Buy A Scale: This is the first of the free weight loss tips and it's a very important one. You'll need to keep a scale not only to keep track of your weight but also scales for the kitchen to weigh out proper portions of food. Many of us overeat when we don't strictly measure our portions!
2) Find Support: If you can find an exercise and/ or dieting buddy then you'll have support to continue even when things are at their most difficult. Studies show that dieting alongside someone else makes it a lot easier to meet your targets and set up healthy new habits. If there really isn't anyone who wants to join you, one of the best free weight loss tips is to at least confide in others and share specific goals that will keep you accountable.
3) Get A Notepad: You need a notepad to note down the foods you're eating, and even the exercises you're doing if that helps. Although it can be tedious, knowing exactly what goes into your body helps you to improve things little by little. You can also use your notepad as a place to vent if you're feeling frustrated and to reinforce your goals to help motivate you to continue
4) Go Through Your
Cabinets: If you're going to be dieting then you don't want to have temptation
all around you in your home. So go through all your cabinets and get rid of
food that will lead you astray and won't serve you well. Then go shopping and
buy plenty of healthy snacks, like fruit, that you can have on hand whenever
you're feeling peckish.
5) Choose An Exercise Program: Now that you've got everything else sorted, it's time to work out the kind of exercise you want to do. Although you'll have to make sacrifices and sometimes do things you won't enjoy, you can cater your exercise to what feels best for you. This could mean starting by walking every day or running x amount of miles on the treadmill. Whatever you do, make sure you put it into a solid plan!
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Keyword = benefits of exercising
The Benefits Of Exercising: 10 Reasons Why You Should Make Fitness Your New Year's Resolution
We all know about certain benefits of exercising - above all, that it's good for us. But this isn't always enough to get us motivated to actually do it. If you're looking for a little inspiration to get started on your new year's resolution then here are 10 reasons why exercise can improve your life.
1) More Energy: Although exercise in itself may be tiring, one of the major benefits of exercising is the fact that it'll ultimately leave you feeling more energized. Studies have shown that regular exercise helps to reduce fatigue.
2) Increase Your Mood: Every time you exercise your body will release endorphins that help to make you feel good. Exercise really will give you a natural high!
3) Improve Your Health: There are so many health benefits of losing weight that it's impossible to list them all here! By getting fit you'll reduce the risk of diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease, and much more.
4) Improve Your Appearance: If being overweight or not being toned leaves you feeling unhappy about yourself then losing weight can help you to look and feel better.
5) Play With Your Kids: It takes a lot of energy to keep up with your kids. By losing weight and getting fit, you'll be able to run around with them without constantly getting out of breath. This can be one of the most rewarding benefits of exercising: it helps you to enjoy life more.
6) Sleep Better: When you exercise more you'll start to find it easier to get a good night's rest. This adds to the energy boost that you'll get from exercise in the long term.
7) Increase Your Strength and Stamina: Do you find it hard to go on long walks, even though you want to? Or maybe even carrying shopping bags up the stairs is a struggle? Exercise more and you'll eventually be able to handle these activities with ease.
8) Reduce Stress: Exercise can hugely reduce stress levels. If you regularly suffer from stress - or even mental health issues such as depression and anxiety - regular exercise can help to reduce your symptoms.
9) A Sense Of Achievement: When you start to exercise and see the improvements you're making week after week, you'll really get the feeling that you've achieved something worthwhile!
10) Keep Your Independence Later In Life: The more you can exercise now, while you're still able, the more you can reduce the impact of certain health problems later in life. In short, keeping fit and healthy will help you to keep your independence as late into life as possible.
So how much will you
need to work out to feel these benefits of exercising? That all depends on your
current fitness levels. The good news is that just 30 minutes of exercise a day
is enough to improve your health drastically. So what are you waiting for?!
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5 Healthy Breakfast Tips That'll Help You Lose Weight
If you want to lose weight, or you just want to get healthy, then breakfast should be number one on your list. Even if you're exercising every day, you could be sabotaging your plans by skipping breakfast! And, if you do eat breakfast every day, you may be choosing the wrong foods. Here are 5 healthy breakfast tips to make that first meal of the day a healthy one.
1) Never Skip Breakfast: This is number one on the list of healthy breakfast tips for a very good reason! You may think you're shaving calories off your day by missing breakfast, but it just leaves you more likely to snack on unhealthy foods throughout the morning. Above this, breakfast kickstarts your metabolism, making your body work harder to burn off calories from the meals you eat through the rest of the day.
2) Avoid Sugar: Many of us wrongly assume that all breakfast cereals are healthy. This is far from the truth: many of them are overloaded with sugar. This can lead to weight gain and energy spikes that will leave you feeling sleepy by lunchtime.
3) Don't Drink Too Much Juice: Although fruit juice is good for you, this doesn't mean that it's free from calories. The sugar in fruit juice can cause an energy spike, so stick to a small glass and drink water to hydrate you for the day. Drinking more water has the added benefit of helping you to feel fuller and avoid snacking.
4) Start As You Mean To Go On: Think of breakfast as a kick-start for your day, and start with healthy foods that'll give your body the energy you need. This means avoiding fast food and fried breakfasts that'll leave you feeling sluggish at work.
5) Include A Few Superfoods: Superfoods are ingredients known to greatly decrease your risk of developing a range of diseases. Thankfully, many of these are perfect for breakfast. Here are a few top ingredients to get you going: oats, tea, yogurt (low fat), berries, nuts, and seeds. Even if you only have a handful of these ingredients, it's a good way to make sure you get something healthy into everyday
If all these healthy
breakfast tips seem a little complicated for you when you frequently find
yourself rushing around in the mornings, remember to plan ahead. If necessary,
prepare your breakfast the night before to make it as easy as possible for you
to stick to a healthy diet.
Biking Benefits: 5 Reasons Why You Should Get Out Of The Car And Onto A Bike
Do you commute every day? If so, then you and I have something in common, along with tens of millions of others. Many people choose to drive to work, while others may take a train or bus. However, few choose to cycle. But cycling could be the best choice of all, and here’s why:
1) Save Money: Choosing to cycle to work is pretty much guaranteed to save you money, and who isn’t looking to save money in these difficult times? Firstly, you don’t have to pay for a car in the first place. Secondly, you don’t have to pay any tax for your car. Thirdly, you don’t have to pay for fuel and, well, you get the picture.
If you’re using any kind of transport other than your own two feet to get to work every day, then you’ll almost certainly save money by going on a bicycle instead.
2) Improve Your Health: With many of us doing little more than sitting at a computer all day while at work, exercise is becoming more and more important to living well. It’s your body that keeps you going day in and day out, so it’s important to keep it in decent shape.
Cycling to work is a fantastic way to help keep your body healthy. By cycling, you’ll also eliminate the need to spend so many hours in the gym before and after work, saving you money and also time.
3) Clear Your Mind: Those who exercise regularly know how good it can feel for the body, but they also know it feels good for the mind. Exercise can help clear your mind, distracting you from your worries and concerns. It’s also a known fact that cardiovascular exercise can help with mental health, reducing both anxiety and depression.
4) Help The Environment: Global warming scientists suggest that we could have a big problem on our hands if we don’t start to take action right now, and the best place to start is with your carbon emissions. One of the biggest sources of these emissions is car travel. By using your car less, you can directly contribute to reduced carbon emissions.
5) Save Time: Although cycling isn’t usually thought of as
the fastest way to travel, it clearly beats walking. However, on commutes where
there’s a lot of traffic, cycling can also be quicker than traveling by bus or car
if you don't live too far away. Even if it’s slower than your car journey,
you’ll still get to work pretty quickly, and can enjoy the many other benefits
listed above by doing so.
5 Simple, Safe, And Natural Ways To Boost Your Energy Levels
Our increasingly busy lifestyles both in and out of work are placing more demands on us than ever. All of this extra strain can really wear us out, and people are complaining of low energy levels in ever-growing numbers.
If you’re one of the many people who feel affected by low energy levels, then no doubt you’ll be wondering if there’s anything you can do to change this. Although doctors can offer medication to help with some energy level problems, there are actually natural ways of improving your energy levels that don’t require a trip to the doctor or any special drugs.
The following 5 ways of increasing your energy levels are all simple and natural. None of them is a guaranteed method, but there’s a good chance that by using any of these approaches you’ll experience at least some benefit.
1) Sleep: It might seem completely obvious, but getting enough sleep is essential to having good energy levels. What many of us now take for good sleep is actually inadequate. Although the amount of sleep needed varies from person to person, for most the optimal amount of sleep is 8 hours. This period of sleep should be as uninterrupted as possible. There are many ways of improving the quality of your sleep which you can easily learn about through searching online.
2) Exercise: You might think that exercise simply tires you out, but getting regular exercise can have a profound effect on your energy levels. By taking regular exercise, you improve your physical fitness, giving you greater stamina which means you can carry out activities for longer without getting tired as quickly.
3) Meal Skipping: One of the worst things you can do for your energy levels is to skip meals. Your body gets its energy from the food you eat, so eating less food means having less energy. And if you really must skip a meal, make sure it’s not breakfast. By the time you wake up in the morning it will already have been a long time since you ate dinner, and skipping out on breakfast only increases this. That’s a long time to go without a source of energy for your body!
4) Stress: Another big
factor in energy levels is stress. Feeling stressed can drastically decrease
your energy levels making it difficult to stay focused or even awake. Find
ways to reduce your stress and you will almost certainly see an improvement in
energy. Exercise is one great way to reduce stress levels. Another useful
stress-busting tip is to make lists of the things you need to do tomorrow not
long before bed. It can help clear your mind of unnecessary thoughts and
worries.
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Product = FitFlop
Women's Toning Flip Flop ($44.95-$72.95)
561 words
FitFlop Women's
Toning Flip Flop Review: Do They Really Work?
First came the toning sneakers, and now come the toning flip-flops for summer! And the FitFlop brand are taking the world by storm right now. But how does the FitFlop Women's Toning Flip Flop really "shape up" when you look at the evidence?
What To Look For In Toning Flip-Flops
1) Style: The premise behind the FitFlop is that you will benefit more from everyday activities like walking. This doesn't mean you want to look like you're kitted out to go to the gym all day every day, though, so you want your toning flip-flops to look stylish.
2) Comfort: Next, your toning flip-flops have to be comfortable. If not, you're not going to wear them, and you're not going to benefit!
3) Fitness Benefits: The main point of these flip-flops is that they need to be well-designed to help you improve your fitness.
Features Of The FitFlop Women's Toning Flip Flop
* Styles: FitFlops
come in a huge number of styles including metallic leather, sequins, suede, and
rhinestones.
* Color: Each style
can be purchased in a variety of different colors.
* Sizes: FitFlops are
available in US sizes 5-11.
* Design: They are
made with EVA foam to create a "destabilizing effect".
* Benefits: They can
help to improve leg, calf, and gluteal muscle activity and posture.
What Customers Are Saying About The FitFlop Women's Toning Flip Flop
FitFlops have been some of the best-selling shoes for months now. Customers aren't just buying them to improve their fitness and lose weight, they're buying them because they're extremely comfortable and stylish at the same time. Reviews are generally very positive!
Any Complaints?
Unfortunately, FitFlop
Women's Toning Flip Flops are only being sold in whole sizes. If you usually
wear a half size then the manufacturers recommend that you choose the smaller
of the two sizes. Aside from this, customers have noticed that some styles of
the shoe are a little narrow and may not be suitable for those with wide feet.
And, due to the height of the FitFlop, they're not suitable for all-terrain
walking.
Can Toning Flip Flops Really Work?
If you're looking for a shoe to help you tone up and lose weight, this is the big question and probably the biggest consideration for your purchase. Like other brands of toning footwear, the FitFlop Women's Toning Flip Flops is made using EVA foam that creates a "destabilizing effect" as you walk. In other words, they won't work miracles, but they will rock back and forth while you're wearing them to help keep your muscles more active as you walk, helping you to tone up quicker than you would normally.
The experts are firmly divided when it comes to toning footwear, with many arguing that it's simply the extra walking you're doing that makes the difference in your fitness efforts. However, many happy customers have reported feeling extra tired and achy after using these shoes with their normal workouts. The design of the shoe can help you walk the "right way" i.e. the most effective way for making the most of those muscles!
It really is up to you
whether you think it's worth giving the FitFlop Women's Toning Flip Flop a try.
Many happy women swear by these shoes, but you'll only see results if you put some
effort in!
Free Weight Loss
Tips: What You'll Need To Get Started On Your Goal
When it comes to free weight loss tips, it's not the "magic cures" that you should pay attention to, it's the real, solid advice that will set you on a healthy track for the rest of your life. And when you're starting a new weight loss goal, anything that'll make things easier on yourself is worth trying. With that in mind, here are 5 steps you should take at the start of your weight loss journey.
1) Buy A Scale: This is the first of the free weight loss tips and it's a very important one. You'll need to keep a scale not only to keep track of your weight but also scales for the kitchen to weigh out proper portions of food. Many of us overeat when we don't strictly measure our portions!
2) Find Support: If you can find an exercise and/ or dieting buddy then you'll have support to continue even when things are at their most difficult. Studies show that dieting alongside someone else makes it a lot easier to meet your targets and set up healthy new habits. If there really isn't anyone who wants to join you, one of the best free weight loss tips is to at least confide in others and share specific goals that will keep you accountable.
3) Get A Notepad: You need a notepad to note down the foods you're eating, and even the exercises you're doing if that helps. Although it can be tedious, knowing exactly what goes into your body helps you to improve things little by little. You can also use your notepad as a place to vent if you're feeling frustrated and to reinforce your goals to help motivate you to continue.
4) Go Through Your Cabinets: If you're going to be dieting then you don't want to have temptation all around you in your home. So go through all your cabinets and get rid of food that will lead you astray and won't serve you well. Then go shopping and buy plenty of healthy snacks, like fruit, that you can have on hand whenever you're feeling peckish.
5) Choose An Exercise
Program: Now that you've got everything else sorted, it's time to work out the
kind of exercise you want to do. Although you'll have to make sacrifices and
sometimes do things you won't enjoy, you can cater your exercise to what feels
best for you. This could mean starting by walking every day, or running x
amount of miles on the treadmill. Whatever you do, make sure you put it into a
solid plan!
5 Of The Healthiest Fruits And Vegetables: What Makes Them So Important?
“We are what we eat”, or so the saying goes. Different foods help our bodies grow, heal, and keep the immune system running properly. More than that, they stop our bodies from falling apart: the absence of many different nutrients can lead to various physical ailments. It’s really important to eat healthily, so let’s look at five of the best fruits and vegetables to include in your diet.
Broccoli: Green vegetables are widely considered among the healthiest foods we can eat, and broccoli is definitely one of the most nutrient-rich green vegetables. It’s a great source of vitamins C and K, as well as folate, vitamin B, and fiber. In addition, it contains potassium, vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, and B6, protein, and calcium.
Broccoli can assist in lowering cholesterol levels which improves cardiovascular health. It supports the body’s detoxification system, aids vitamin D uptake, and may also reduce our susceptibility to certain allergies.
Blueberries: Blueberries have a low glycemic index (GI) which means they have a low
impact on our blood sugar levels., so you won’t get a sugar rush from eating
blueberries. Eating foods with a low glycemic index is also believed to reduce
the risk of developing type-II diabetes as well as coronary heart disease.
Spinach: Spinach is one of the best green vegetables for your health. It contains a huge quantity of nutrients and offers several specific health benefits. Among the most concentrated nutrients are magnesium, folate, iron, potassium, calcium, vitamin E, protein, and zinc.
Spinach may help reduce the risk of developing aggressive prostate cancer. It’s also an anti-inflammatory, meaning it may help reduce our susceptibility to allergies. The vitamin K, magnesium, and calcium content of spinach are good for maintaining healthy bones and there are also antioxidants in spinach that help remove harmful free radicals from the body.
Peas: Green peas are another fantastic source of nutrients. They contain a huge range of nutrients in high quantities, including manganese, fiber, vitamin K and C, phosphorus, protein, copper, iron, and zinc.
Peas can help to regulate blood sugar levels thanks to their fiber and protein content. Fiber and protein slow down the pace of digestion, which also means that carbohydrates are digested more slowly too. Peas are also known to reduce the chance of developing cardiovascular disease and to help protect against stomach cancer.
Apples: Apples are a fantastic source of fiber which helps promote a healthy
digestive system. This also aids in the regulation of blood sugar levels. They
are also a great source of vitamin C. Although apples aren’t as nutrient-rich
as some other fruits and vegetables, they are thought to have both anti-cancer
and anti-asthma properties. In addition, they’re good for cardiovascular
health.
Planning Your Own Workout Program: The Basics
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When it comes to getting fit or losing weight, having a long-term workout program planned out for months at a time, with goals to achieve along the way, will help you to stick with it. To come up with your program, you need to start with the basics to come up with something that suits your needs.
Are you trying to lose weight? Are you trying to improve your overall fitness? Are you trying to tone or bulk up? Having a clear grasp of what you’re aiming to do in the long run will help to guide your plan and keep you motivated too.
Now it's time to think about how often you will work out. If you’re new to workout programs or are not particularly fit, you may need to go easy to start with. Plan to do some light training one or two days each week until you start getting used to physical exertion and recovery. Too much too soon could be overwhelming and put you off.
After easing yourself in, you can increase the intensity of the workout and add an extra one or two workout days to your program. Try for three days each week, or maybe four if you’re feeling really energetic. However, it’s as important to include rest and recovery days in your schedule as it is to include workout days.
The amount of time you allow for a workout session will dictate the variety and kinds of exercise you can carry out. For lots of variety, you’ll need a longer session, and for endurance exercise, you’ll also need more time.
You need to have an idea of the exercises you need to do in your program. Think about which areas of your body you’d like to focus on the most. Do you want to drop weight off your stomach? Do you want to increase the endurance of your legs? Perhaps you want to bulk up your biceps? You can plan each session with these focal points in mind.
Build your program up bit by bit. Start off by deciding on your general aims, then figure out how much time you’ll have available or want to spend exercising. With a range of possible exercises in mind, plan what you’d like to cover in each session. See if you can cover everything in a one- or two-week exercise cycle.
After you’ve begun the
actual workouts, you’ll have a better idea of which exercises work for you, and
how long it all takes. You can then adjust your program to match what you
learn. With this knowledge, you can then set yourself longer-term goals – like
increasing the number of reps or sets you do in a session or running further
in the same amount of time.
Rocking It: Six Reasons For
You To Take Up Rock Climbing
As children, many of us enjoy climbing. However, climbing isn’t just for children and taking up climbing as a hobby could be great for you. Here are some of the top reasons why rock climbing could be your next big passion, and why so many people make it a part of their lives.
Outdoors: Rock climbing can get you outdoors, and often takes you to some really beautiful places. You could find yourself in a local valley, at a national park, or even somewhere on the other side of the world. There is great climbing everywhere.
As an outdoor activity, rock climbing also ties in well with other hobbies such as camping and canoeing. You could happily spend a day paddling up a river to a climbing spot, enjoying a challenging climb, and then paddling back to your camp at the end of a great day’s climbing.
Indoors: Although rock climbing is more common as an outdoor activity, you can also enjoy it in indoor environments. Many gyms and public sports centers have climbing facilities. This is great for those who don’t have time to get to natural climb spots, or who live in the middle of a big city. It’s also useful for times when the weather is bad.
Graded: Rock climbing routes are graded. This indicates how difficult the climb is likely to be. As a climber, you will start out only able to tackle the lowest graded routes. However, with time you’ll improve and be able to tackle harder routes. This grading system allows you to gauge your progress, helping you to recognize your improvement and that of your friends.
Non-competitive: Generally, rock climbing is a non-competitive sport. The only person you usually compete against is yourself – to see if you can go that bit further and harder. This makes it a more mentally relaxed pursuit, even though it’s one of the most physically demanding of all sports. Generally, all you have to worry about is you and the rock. This makes it therapeutic, helping you to stay focussed and stop thinking about the stresses of your daily life.
Competitive: While rock climbing is non-competitive, there are competitive options for those who are interested. Competitions are usually held at indoor locations. Climbers compete in rounds and are judged on speed, point-reached, and various other indicators.
Fitness: In addition to the outright fun that rock climbing offers, it also improves fitness. Climbing itself is strenuous, and will challenge you whether you are a beginner or have become quite advanced. It uses all of the muscles in your body – from the tips of your toes to the tips of your fingers and everything in between! Your legs, glutes, core, chest, shoulders, back, and arms will all be put to the test.
After a certain point, you’ll probably even need to start a training program in order to continue to improve your climbing. Having lots of endurance as well as all-around body strength is essential to advanced climbing.
These are just a few of the reasons why so many people today enjoy rock climbing as part of their lifestyle, and why you should consider taking up rock climbing yourself. It’s great fun, challenging, good for the mind, and great for the body. What’ve you got to lose? Go ahead and give it a go!
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Product = Skechers Women's Shape-Ups Toners ($40.72 - $94.99)
609 words
Skechers Women's
Shape-Ups Toners Review: Do They Live Up To The Hype?
Toning sneakers have been around for a few years now, but it's only in the last year or so that their popularity has really soared. Although there are many brands on the market, Skechers Women's Shape-Ups Toners are still the most popular and are selling in huge numbers everywhere! But are they worth spending your hard-earned cash on?
Features of Skechers Women's Shape-Ups Toners
These are specially designed sneakers that promise to help you tone up faster, burn more calories, and improve your posture. Some of the main features include:
* Antibacterial sock
liner to increase breathability and avoid moisture build-up,
* A "kinetic
wedge" in the sole that rocks back and forth to force your muscles to work
harder as you walk,
* Rubber tread to
maximize traction.
* Available in a traditional sneaker style with lace up front, and in a wide range of colors.
* Designed for extreme
comfort while walking, with a lower impact on the joints.
How Do Skechers Women's Shape-Ups Toners Work?
First things first, how do these sneakers actually work to help you tone up more quickly? It's understandable to be skeptical when it comes to anything that claims to help you lose weight faster!
"Skechers" claims that you can burn more calories thanks to the curved design of the shoe and that the instability created by the "kinetic wedge" will make your muscles work harder in order to stay balanced. The end result? More toned calves, thighs, and buttock muscles.
Independent studies have confirmed that the design of the shoe may have an effect on your workouts, and will help to increase muscle activity as long as you use them. Other studies have concluded that the shoes simply motivated people to work out more than usual - so the evidence is still inconclusive.
Where the shoes have usually seen the greatest results is in the improvement of posture which can help to make your workouts more effective on their own.
What Customers Are Saying About These Toning Sneakers
The sales numbers speak volumes: "Skechers" has a number of very happy customers who are coming back to buy even more pairs of these sneakers. Although many buy them for the toning benefits and claim that they have noticed results when wearing them. One reviewer even tested the shoes while doing housework and noticed that she was aching when she finished!
However, many customers buy shoes simply for their comfort and reduced impact on the joints. They've found that it helps to make exercise and day-to-day walking more comfortable for them.
Are There Any Complaints?
The main complaint of the first series of Skechers Shape-Ups was that they looked noticeably different from standard sneakers. The good news is that there is now a large range of sneakers that look just like any other kind of sneaker, so you won't automatically stand out while you wear these shoes for your day-to-day walking. Most customers state that the shoe feels slightly odd and unnatural to wear at first, due to the rocking motion, but that you quickly get used to them.
Aside from this, the main complaint of the new style is that they run slightly small - you may need to order a size larger than you normally wear
Conclusion
Thanks to the new styles available, Skechers Women's Shape-Ups Toners are now more accessible to a wider range of women who want something that looks like a traditional sneaker. Although they do cost more than many sneakers, they're worth it if you're looking for something comfortable that will improve your posture and may help you to tone up faster than normal.
How To Stay Gym Fit Without A
Gym Membership
If the global recession is affecting you and you’re trying to cut costs then finding ways to stay fit without going to the gym might help. Regularly going to the gym can cost quite a bit of money and might be one of your single biggest monthly expenses.
While you may not want to stop going to the gym forever, one temporary cost-cutting measure is to try and keep fit from home. Here are a few exercise ideas and tips on how to give your home workout program a running start!
Cycling: If you’ve got a bike then it’s pretty easy to keep fit – just head out for a ride! If you usually use an exercise bike at the gym then this is a great alternative and can be much more fun too. You get to set your own route, so you can see what you want to see as you get your exercise. You can even vary your route to keep things interesting.
Bench and weights: If you’ve got a bit of spare cash you can buy a bench and weights for a home workout. You can pick these up pretty cheap – probably for the same price as a single month of a gym membership, and maybe even less! With these, you can do nearly all of the exercises that your gym weights machines do, without paying a single penny more than it cost to buy them. Not only that, but you can use them any time you want – not just during gym opening times.
Yoga: One of the cheapest forms of exercise to do from home is yoga. Although yoga isn’t for everyone, it’s incredibly popular and is a great way to stay healthy when taken seriously. To do yoga you really need nothing more than your body, but you might want to get a yoga mat too. That’s all you’ll need to start doing your own home yoga program.
If you’re not already familiar with yoga practice, then you can pick up DVDs on yoga instruction for next to nothing, and the internet offers loads of free yoga explanations too. There’s no reason to spend loads of money on yoga classes if you haven’t got the cash!
Exercise with no equipment: The most obvious kind of exercise that requires no equipment is running. However, there are a variety of other exercises that are easy to do with nothing besides your own body. Press-ups and sit-ups are classic examples. Pull-ups are another. Using exercises like these it’s possible to cover nearly every muscle in your body.
It’s also possible to use makeshift equipment in place of the “real” thing. For example, you don’t actually need dumbbells to do weights. All you need are heavy objects that are easy to lift. For light aerobic training, you can just use food tins like baked beans. For heavier weights, try using large bottles of mineral water. Both are just as good as real weights but cost nothing extra than your shopping bill!
Tip 1: If the gym forms a central part of your social life, then stopping your regular gym attendance might not seem like much of an option. But it is possible to get your gym buddies to come and train with you from home, so don’t rule it out altogether.
Tip 2: Staying motivated during home workouts is one of the toughest things. However, there are loads of ways to keep your motivation up. One of the best ways is to find buddies to work out with from home – go for a run with your gym pals or get a friend over for a yoga session.
Another great way to stay motivated is to reward yourself for every workout (as though your own personal fitness and well-being weren’t enough of a reward!). You can do this with food (careful not to undo all your hard work with this one though) or with small gifts.
Exercising from home also means that, if you’ve got music or a TV on hand, it’s your choice what to watch or listen to as you exercise. Together, these things should be able to keep you motivated and maintain your fitness even without heading to the gym regularly. Just remember not to let yourself start slipping!
Swimming is one of those exercises that's hard to hate since it’s gentle and yet fun at the same time. Most people enjoy a dip in the pool, so why not turn that dip into some laps as a form of exercise? There are many fitness benefits that one can get from swimming. If you're not convinced, keep reading.
Swimming Is Great Cardio
Swimming requires a lot of energy and burns a lot of calories thanks to the fact that, when you swim, you need to move your whole body instead of just your legs or your arms. Swimming works your body and heart the same way as any cardio workout, such as dancing or running, would. So if you take up swimming for your fitness, you will work your heart and boost your metabolism at the same time. To get the most out of swimming, it’s best to carry out interval training where you do high-intensity sprint swimming alternated with easier workouts. This way you’ll push your body hard but will be able to do so for a longer period.
Swimming Is Great For Strength Training
Not only is swimming good for a cardio workout, but swimming also challenges the muscles all over your body and is great for increasing overall body strength. The water resistance you face while swimming forces your muscles to work harder - just like traditional forms of strength training. You’ll be able to gain some muscle and tone up your body at the same time. Swimming is also widely used as a therapy to strengthen injured muscles in athletes since water resistance provides a good workout without giving stress to the injured body parts.
Swimming Is Great For Everybody!
The great thing about swimming is that
everybody can do it and enjoy it. It's suitable for every age group and fitness
level; you can decide how hard to push yourself when you swim. Elderly people
can benefit from swimming too since the water gives good support to their body
and they can stay fit without worrying about injuring their back or joints.
It’s also a great activity for you to do with your family: you can have fun together
and stay healthy at the same time. If you bring little kids along to the pool,
though, be sure to always keep an eye on them to prevent any accidents.
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Keyword = vegetarian weight loss diet plan
The Benefits Of Choosing A Vegetarian Weight Loss Diet Plan
People try a huge number of different diets in an effort to lose weight, one of which is a vegetarian weight loss diet plan. If you're looking to lose weight in this way then here's a quick guide to the various benefits and how to get started
Improve Your Health
Studies show that vegetarians are more likely to have a healthy BMI - body mass index - and are less likely to suffer from obesity, coronary artery disease, some types of cancer, and hypertension. Why is it so healthy? Because vegetarians avoid meat (the main source of saturated fat in our diets), they often eat more polyunsaturated fat and a lower amount of fat in total.
Although the word vegetarian is generally understood as someone who doesn’t eat meat or fish, there are other types of vegetarians that may still eat fish (pescetarian), or that may avoid all animal products including cheese and eggs (vegan).
Help The Environment
Although this isn't directly related to your weight or health, it's motivating to know that a vegetarian weight loss diet plan is good for the environment. Eating vegetables instead of meat, or even just reducing the meat you eat, will lower your carbon footprint! Why? Because the animals raised for meat also have to eat vegetables throughout their lives. Skip out the animals and eat the vegetables yourself and you'll be saving a lot of resources!
How To Get Started On A Vegetarian Weight Loss Diet
You don't have to go 100% vegetarian to benefit from a vegetarian weight loss diet plan. Simply cutting down on the amount of meat you eat can have a positive effect. For example, you may choose to eat meat three times a week and stick to a vegetarian diet the rest of the time. You can still eat similar portion sizes, but you'll find that you lose weight more easily as a vegetarian diet generally contains fewer calories.
While on a vegetarian diet, take care to ensure your diet is balanced. The main concern is usually that vegetarians don't get enough protein. This is unlikely to be true, as most meat-eaters take in far more protein than they need - and an unhealthy form of protein at that. As long as you're eating plenty of legumes, beans, and soy products, you should have the protein you need.
Remember, a vegetarian weight loss diet plan alone will not cause the
weight to fall off. You'll have to keep track of calories and perform the regular
exercise if you're really serious about getting your weight down.
Want To Lose Weight? Then Watch What You're Drinking!
Everyone knows that losing weight means cutting down on your calorie intake and burning more calories through exercise. However, many people fail to consider the impact that their drinks have on their weight loss goals. Drinks contain calories just like food, but some drinks can even hinder your weight loss efforts in other ways! Here's a guide to the main drink categories you need to watch while losing weight.
Alcohol
Many people are good at looking at their diet and knowing what they should and shouldn't eat but don't take the time to look at their alcohol consumption in the same way. Alcohol should be accounted for as part of your daily calorie allowance, so a couple of drinks a day will soon add up!
And they don't call it a "beer belly" for nothing: research has shown that alcohol can actually reduce the rate at which your body burns calories! It can also lead to some pretty unhealthy cravings, so it's important to be careful.
Coffee, Tea, And
Weight Loss
Some other drinks that many of us have every single day include coffee and tea. But are these helping or hindering your weight loss efforts? Studies have shown that any drinks containing caffeine can interfere with weight loss. The stimulation that occurs after you drink caffeine, whether from coffee, tea, or even soda, really isn't good for cravings!
Juice
Many people switch their unhealthy sodas for juice when trying to lose weight, on the assumption that this is "healthy". While it's true that fruit juice does come with more health benefits than sugary drinks, you still have to be careful about how much you're drinking. Make sure you choose juice without added sugar and include the calories within your daily allowance. Try not to have huge amounts in one go, as you'll want to keep your blood sugar levels stable.
Water
Why We Get Stitches When Running and How to
Avoid Them
What is a Stitch?
Why do Stitches Occur?
There is no definite medical explanation for why stitches occur, especially during running, but there are several theories. Some researchers claim that stitches are more common with beginner runners, due to the fact that they are more likely to engage in rapid or shallow breathing.
Rapid breathing is believed to not fully engage and relax the diaphragm, thereby causing the ligaments on one side of the body to contract forcefully. Another belief is that the rapid breathing, combined with the jolting of running and exhaling as your right foot touches the ground, puts additional strain on the ligaments near the liver and the diaphragm, which then causes the pain to be felt on the left side of the body.
Other research states that eating a meal within one hour of a run can cause side stitches, as well as drinking sugary or carbonated drinks. The digestive system doesn't work the food and drinks completely through the system and thus this can be the reason for the sharp pains felt on the side.
Still, other research
suggests that if a runner forgoes a proper warm-up before a running session,
and starts off running too fast, too soon, he or she will experience sharp side
pain.
Preventing Stitches
If you notice that you get side stitches often, first ensure that you are not eating any type of meal, even a small snack, and large amounts of liquid within one to two hours of a run. You can drink a little water, but not too much, and avoid sports and carbonated drinks. Water is always your best choice before a run, especially in hot weather.
Another means of preventing stitches is to practice deep breathing in a rhythmic manner. Smooth, slow, complete breathing cycles will allow you to avoid rapid breathing. While you are breathing in and out fully, you also want to maintain proper posture.
The proper posture for
running is to have your back straight, not hunched over, your chest up and open
for easy breathing, and your arms bent at 90-degree angles at your sides. This
posture will ensure that your muscles are not being squeezed,
which can cause almost a muscle cramp.
If you do happen to experience stitches, press real hard into the side that hurts and breathe deeply. Although it is hard to keep a good posture during this episode, try your best. After slow, even-paced breathing and massaging of the tense muscle, the pain should subside.
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Product = Wii Fit Plus with Balance Board ($77.99)
613 words
Wii Fit Plus
With Balance Board Review: Should You Buy This Fitness Game?
Fitness games were
relatively unheard of before the Wii Fit came along and changed everything.
With its revolutionary balance board, Nintendo somehow managed to combine video
games with getting fit! Since then, Wii Fit has been enhanced and added to with
the release of Wii Fit Plus. But is it worth your time, money and effort?
What Do You Get With The Wii Fit Plus With Balance Board?
If you never bought the original Wii Fit and balance board then this is the package to get! You'll get the game along with the revolutionary balance board that brought so many people into the new world of fitness gaming.
Some of the features
of this package include:
* The balance board
that can measure your movements and weight,
* The new improved Wii
Fit Plus game,
* Four game
categories: Aerobic, Balance, Yoga, and Strength,
* Work with a personal
trainer as you learn how to perform each exercise,
* As you improve and
play for longer you'll unlock new activities or increase the number of reps for
each exercise,
* Wii Fit Plus brings
several new features such as routines and specific areas of focus (see below).
How Does Wii Fit Plus Compare To The Original Wii Fit?
If you already have the original Wii Fit then you can get the upgrade simply by buying the software on its own without the balance board. This game does include the original content of the Wii Fit but adds a whole other level of gameplay. Some of the new features include mixing and matching strength and yoga activities and flowing exercises together seamlessly for an effective daily workout routine.
Other new features
include:
* A much larger range
of customization options,
* "My
Routine" allows you to put together your own routines,
*
"Favorites" is a collection of workouts you use the most,
* 15 new balance
games,
* 6 new strength and
yoga activities,
* Users can choose
which area of health and fitness to focus on,
* See how many
calories you've burned,
* New feature allows users to weigh their cats and dogs.
What Customers Are Saying About Wii Fit Plus
The product has received generally positive reviews, with customers noting how the new game has addressed many of the shortfalls of the original Wii Fit. With the original, while novel and fun, many would soon abandon it due to the lack of ability for seamless workouts and more control over which areas to work on. Customers have mentioned how they're now a lot more motivated to continue exercising with the Wii Fit Plus day after day.
Any Complaints?
Some customers have complained that the new games are mostly added for fun, but will not have much effect when it comes to exercising. There are only 6 new strength and yoga games to help improve fitness. Customized workouts are by far the biggest improvement, but the main drawback of this is that they do not include aerobic or balance activities.
Conclusion
When the original Wii Fit first made its way into stores it was all we had. However, since then fitness games have come a long way. Many people considered the original Wii Fit too basic to hold their interest, and the new Wii Fit Plus goes a long way to addressing those issues. If you don't already own the balance board then there's no reason to buy the old version over this new improved one. However, if you already own a balance board then it's up to you to compare Wii Fit Plus to other fitness games on the market to find one that matches your aims and interests.
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