Warming Up to Exercise

A lot of people exercise to get fit and maintain a toned body. Others take it to the next level and exercise regularly for competitive advantage, such as athletes do . For reasons that are either cosmetic or otherwise, exercise is the healthiest way of trimming down to your desired weight without resorting to taking pills or similar dieting aids. But that is not the only benefit that exercise gives us. It is an activity wherein a person gradually develops or preserves their physical fitness and health. Exercise can be done at home or in the gym, depending on your lifestyle and preference. It is important for a person to exercise regularly, since this also prevents certain cardiovascular diseases and chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity. It is also associated to good mental health and depression suppression because it increases the production of endorphins, a chemical that induces a feeling of over-all wellbeing. There are different types of exercises to suit a person's need and endurance level. Exercises like swimming, cycling, walking, and running are for cardiovascular endurance. Exercises such as weight training and sprinting are called anaerobic exercises which increase muscle strength. Flexibility exercises such as stretching, yoga and pilates can promote the range of motion for joints and muscles. A person is bound to get hurt when warm up exercises are not done properly. Our muscles tend to experience muscle fatigue after intense workouts or when a person is continuously exercising without rest whatsoever. Lactic acid builds up in your muscles because it cannot be removed by the body fast enough, making them feel sore and painful. Muscle fatigue is caused by lack of oxygen availability. According to medical experts, “This condition is caused by oxygen inadequacy and an accumulation of metabolites like lactic acid and carbon dioxide which are not carried away in the blood stream as fast as they are generated”. This type of fatigue is basically occurring when a person exercises harder. Intense exercise will make a person feel stronger or better, but having muscle fatigue would be a probable consequence. Another condition exercise fanatics experience is muscle spasm, an involuntary contraction of the muscle, and is felt in certain areas such as the back, neck, legs, or shoulder parts of the body. It is an uncomfortable state similar to cramps when doing exercise or any other strenuous activities. When performing certain exercises, people sometimes tend to overuse their muscles and feel the tightness around the area but is not always painful. It is often symptomatic of an injury which if not treated may form abnormal areas within the affected are called muscle knots. The particular muscle part, when having such spasm or cramps, may be painful and hard to use. Muscle spasms can also be experienced in the neck when a person undergoes a lot of stress, making it hard to turn the head. This is a condition commonly known as stiff neck. In avoiding muscle fatigue and muscle spasm when doing exercise, it is essential to have proper warm up stretching and deep breathing as well. Let your body be ready for the workout that will surely make your body and yourself, more fit and healthy.

Fitness:Home Exercises

Some of the home exercises you can benefit from are aerobics. Instead of paying high fees to visit the gym, practice working out at home. You can find videos, books, guides and more on the Internet or at local bookstores to help you get started with working out at home.

If you are just starting exercise, prepare by considering what you want to accomplish. For example, if you want to lose 10 pounds then consider resistance, or aerobics that focus on burning calories and fat.

Some of the best exercises to help you burn fat and calories fast is walking in place. Stand in a position anywhere in your home, start walking with your arms up, bended and hands in a fist, and work your arms while walking in place. You will burn fat around the arms, stomach, legs and so on.

You have many benefits with home exercises. You can do aerobics, such as walking, jogging in place, and so on to lose weight fast. Try to mix your routines so that you get the full benefit of your home exercises.

Do some leg and arm curls. Also, add a few sit ups, torso workouts and so on. Do aerobics three times each week for about 30 minutes and you will reap great health benefits.

If you have a problem working out alone, get some videos at the store or download aerobic software online. This gives you the option of working out with an instructor.

You can also ask friends and family members to join you in home exercises. Your friends and family members will thank you when they develop tight buns, firm chest, and flat stomachs and so on.

To compliment your workout buy a few dumb bells, Pilate equipment, treadmill, etc at bargain stores, or at yard sales. This will give you great benefits when weight training or doing resistance workouts.

You can purchase cheap equipment by shopping at garage sales or yard sales. Visit some auctions or bargain basement stores that sell gym equipment cheap.

Set up a full home gym if you can to get the most of your home exercises and routines. Set up a schedule and plan to do something each week, like lose five pounds. Creating goals will inspire you to continue working toward good health with your home exercises and routines.

High protein diet and foods for muscle building.

High protein diets have always been popular with athletes. Their popularity increased tenfold during the past 5 years with the introduction of the low carb type diets to the public that include high protein foods.

Regular people who do not exercise can eat moderately high protein foods. On the other hand athletes and people on muscle building diets must eat at least 1gram per lb of bodyweight in order to build muscle. A high protein diet is the staple of bodybuilders. Bodybuilding athletes always include a high protein food source in their daily diet.

High protein foods you can include in your diet are:

Turkey breast Chicken breast Lean cuts of red meat Lean cuts of pork Fish (most fish is high in protein) Eggs & Egg Whites Skim Milk Low fat cottage cheese Protein powders & bars

Whether you are going for muscle building or fat loss, a high protein diet plan can certainly help you either way.

If you are trying to build muscle, you need a high protein intake in your daily diet in order to recover from workouts and build muscle tissue. Protein provides the building blocks for muscle and without it muscle building and growth simply will not occur. During weightlifting and hard training, muscle tissue is broken down. In order for that muscle tissue to be rebuilt and grow stronger, we need to eat a diet high in protein. It's pretty simple.

If fat loss is one's goal, a high protein diet is also an absolute must. Most high protein foods are very low in carbs and saturated fats. Therefore by eating high protein foods in your diet, you also also eating quality low calorie foods. In order to accelerate the fat loss process, reducing carbs and overall calories is usually recommended. High protein foods can help you in achieving that.

An average person who trains hard and weighs 180lbs requires a minimum of 180grams of protein in his diet per day. This means at least 1gram of protein per pound of bodyweight. Anything less and muscle building/recovery will not be optimal. Some hard training athletes consume up to 2 grams of protein per lb of bodyweight in order to accelerate the muscle building process. This is not recommended for most people who require a moderately high protein intake. The total amount of protein taken every day should be spread over 5 to 6 meals throughout the course of a day.

Timing of high protein foods is also very important. You should be consuming high protein foods at all times but more for your breakfast, post workout meal and before-bed meal. Start your high protein daily diet by giving your body good quality protein to start the day. Then, right after your workout, consume a protein shake that will help kick start the muscle repairing process. Last but not least you have your before bed meal where you must consume a slow digesting form of protein (casein mostly) that will give you a steady release of high quality amino acids throughout the night.

Eating high amounts of protein in your diet can be very demanding. It requires a lot of time to cook high protein foods like chicken and turkey. The best way to get all of your protein is to use protein powders. Protein powders are extremely high in protein and they are very convenient to use. Just one small scoop of protein can provide 20-24 grams of the highest quality protein available. Make sure you choose your high protein supplements wisely. Do not get caught up in the marketing frenzy of magazines. A tub of high quality protein should not cost you more than $30 at any given time.

For more information on protein foods vs. protein supplements, check out: http://www.bodybuildingapplied.com/index_center_articles.asp?newsId=88

If you decide to embark upon a high protein diet, make sure you include a lot of vegetables and fibrous carbs with your meals in order to help protein digestion. Try to eat at least two salads per day and/or steamed vegetables. Furthermore, try to stay consistent with your high protein diet, day in day out, in order to keep a steady influx of aminos to your muscles. Always remember that if you are not eating enough protein & calories in your diet, your body will use existing muscle tissue to repair itself.

copyright 2006 Konstantinos Marangopoulos

Anabolic Steroids Are Good or Bad?

The debate on anabolic steroids continues. The anabolic steroids are one of the most debatable drugs of the recent times. “Are anabolic steroids good or bad?” is one of the most debated questions, often debated hotly in the United States, Canada, UK, Australia, and various countries of the world,  
Anabolic steroids are pharmaceutical chemicals resembling naturally occurring hormone, testosterone. Testosterone is the male sex hormone, which has many anabolic and androgenic effects. Responsible for androgenic or masculinizing features during puberty, testosterone causes development of sex organs, voice deepening, hair growth, and sperm production. It has anabolic, or muscle building, effects during adolescence.

Anabolic steroids are the drugs with a number of good and bad characteristics. The good characteristics of anabolic steroids are associated with the legal and medical use of anabolic steroids, but the bad characteristics are associated with steroid abuse or wrong use of steroids.
Legally - Medically, anabolic steroids are often part of a regimen to help restoring vitality in aging men and women. Anabolic steroids are also used to treat the patients of diseases, such as Breast Cancer, Osteoporosis, Hereditary Angioedaema, Inflammation, Anemia, Thrombosis, and Endometriosis. Other good characteristics of anabolic steroids are that – anabolic steroids especially help in the treatment of AIDS wasting syndrome; anabolic steroids are helpful in muscle rebuilding; anabolic steroids help fighting HIV infections and hormonal deficiencies in men; and they help reducing joint pain in women due to osteoporosis in the joints like knees, elbows, hips and more.
Dr. Alan Mintz, the founder of the Las Vegas-based Cenegenics Medical Institute, says that anabolic steroids give power to have a healthy life in the later years of life. There's a tremendous benefit, if anabolic steroids are used in the right and proper way. However, anabolic steroids abuse or overuse can lead to serious health problems.

Anabolic steroids are one of the most abused drugs. Often, widely used (abused) as performance enhancing drugs by bodybuilders and sports persons, anabolic steroids have many side effects and serious consequences, which are bad characteristics of anabolic steroids. Some of the common side effects of anabolic steroid include cancer, liver tumors, kidney tumors, jaundice, high blood pressure, coronary failure - increase in LDL (bad cholesterol) & decreases in HDL (good cholesterol), severe acne, trembling, nervousness, irritability, mood swings, fatigue, restlessness, and depression, etc. The visible bad characteristics of anabolic steroids in females include menstrual abnormalities, deepening of voice, breasts shrinkage, male-pattern baldness, and increase in sex drive, acne, body hair, and clitoris size.

Commenting on the good and bad features of anabolic steroids, Dr. John Baxter, the former president of the Endocrine Society & the professor of medicine at the University of California at San Francisco, says, “The concern I have is that hysteria over the use of anabolic steroids will cause people to lose sight of the potential good side of these hormones. It's really going to scare people away from their legitimate medical use.”

40 Day running program for 40 - 50 year olds.

Everyday is designed for a 30 minute workout routine. So you will need a stopwatch or a watch. Follow this program just as it is planned out, make plans on working out 4 to 6 times per week, if you do not make at least 4 times in any given week you need to go back redo that week. But whatever you do, do not give up.

DAY #1 THROUGH DAY #3
#1) walk for 30 minutes

DAY #4 THROUGH DAY #8
#1) walk for 7 minutes, then jog for 2 minutes
#2) walk for 8 minuets, then jog for 2 minute
#3) walk for 7 minutes, then jog for 1 minute
#4) walk for four minutes cool down

DAY #9 THROUGH DAY #11
#1) walk 7 for minutes, then jog for four minutes
#2) walk 7 for minutes, then jog for three minutes
#3) walk 6 for minutes, then SPRINT (or run hard)for 10 seconds
#4) walk for minutes, then SPRINT (or run hard) for 5 seconds

DAY #12 THROUGH DAY #20
#1) walk for 6 minutes, then jog for 6 minutes
#2) walk for 7 minutes, then jog for 3 minutes
#3) walk for 3 minutes, then jog for 3 minutes
#4) walk for 4 minutes cool down

DAY #21 THROUGH DAY #23
#1) walk for 3 minutes, jog for eight minutes
#2) walk for 3 minutes, then SPRINT (or run hard) for 15 seconds
#3) walk for 3 minutes, then SPRINT (or run hard) for 10 seconds
#4) walk for 3 minutes, then SPRINT (or run hard) for 8 seconds
#5) walk for 5 minutes, then SPRINT (or run hard) for 8 seconds
#6) walk for 5 minutes, then jog for 1 minute
#7) walk for 2 minutes cool down

DAY #24 THROUGH DAY #29
#1) walk for 5 minutes, then jog for 10 minutes
#2) walk for 5 minutes, then jog for 7 minutes
#3) walk for 3 minutes cool down

DAY #30 THROUGH DAY #35
#1) walk for 4 minutes, then jog for 15 minutes
#2) walk for 3 minutes, then jog for 5 minutes
#3) walk for 3 minutes cool down

DAY #36 THROUGH DAY # 40
#1) walk for 3 minutes, then jog for 27 minutes

Dale Dupree
copyright 2007

3 Principles For Overcoming Fitness Obstacles

If you’re like me, the quest to be in shape and manage weight feels overwhelming. And, as if the quest to be fit isn’t hard enough, there’s often other obstacles to overcome: health issues, time management, mustering up courage or energy. Even if you’ve been exercising for a long time, there’s always new barriers to be broken. So, how to put all of this into perspective?

According to Tom Turner, executive liaison for the Spina Bifida Association that’s exactly it: Perspective. And also, according to him, there’s no mountain too high to climb. Tom would know. Paralyzed from the waist down since birth he’s now 35 and trains about three times a week. In fact, he tells me, he just couldn’t get along without exercise.

So in my quest for the last word on overcoming barriers in fitness, Tom sat down with me and together we came up with 3 basic principles that will help break-down fears and intimidations when striving to reach fitness goals. (After all, if he can exercise on a regular basis, shouldn’t that be encouragement enough for anyone to give it a  shot?)

Principle #1 Move Into The Fear.

“Train you mind to believe no mountain is too high or any goal is too difficult to attain,” Tom tells me. Basically, it’s all about meeting your fears and facing them head-on. In this principle, aim to recognize your fears, acknowledge them and then move through them. Ask yourself what is it that makes you uncomfortable? Have you let yourself get out of shape and are afraid you’ll never get back? Do you have an injury that’s caused you to be afraid of your body? If you can visualize creatively, then you can put your fears in check. See your self as you’d like to be. Remember: your body loves you and has the potential to heal itself to perfection. Your only job is to trust it and listen.

Q: What is your body saying to you?

Principle #2 Trust Your Intuition.

It is important when overcoming obstacles and learning to break through barriers that you begin to listen to the still small voice of your body. In most cases, we all want the comfort of having someone telling us what we can and cannot do. However, our highest truth lies within us. This is not to say that the good opinion of others is not important, but ultimately the decision making comes from within.

When facing a challenge or an obstacle look to how you feel. What are your instincts telling you? Often it is simply your instinct that will move you into a new mindset and raise your consciousness. “I wasn’t about to let the wheelchair stand in my way,” Tom tells me. In fact, he says he had to merely change his perspective about it. He says he first had to learn about what his restrictions were then, create a boundary for himself. “We all have boundaries,” he tells me. "Regardless if a person can walk or not, obstacles are as unique as people themselves. Therefore, it’s first best to know your boundaries."

Next, Tom tells me he aims to meet those boundaries.  “I first reach as high as I can within the confines of what I am able to do. Whether it be more sets, reps or greater endurance, I allow myself as much time as necessary to accomplish my small goals. It always surprises me, with small steps, how quickly I can reach a Big goal.”

Principle #3 Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night.

What then, about fear? I wanted to know. If we move into the fear and meet it eye to eye what if fear meets us there? “So,” I asked Tom: “are you ever afraid? “After 19 operations in my life, I’ve really come to terms with fear,” he says. “It really comes down to our most primal fear; fear of death. Once you realize that death is all part of the divine plan, it’s liberating, you can let it go and, instead, choose how to live. So instead of being afraid of death I decided to choose how to live."

So what’s the take away message? Talking to Tom, I’m reminded of the poem by Dylan Thomas who said: “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night.” It seems appropriate here. The bottom line: Staying afraid often keeps us from truly living. Tom reminds me that a positive attitude is key, "Life is all about attitude." He also says he could let fear beat him down, yet he doesn’t. “I wouldn’t want to miss being part of tomorrow,” he concludes. That said, what fears are getting in your way? Make today the right time to face them.

In conclusion: Life Beyond The Boundaries.

When you’ve faced your fears and pushed your boundaries to the edges, what then? I wanted to know. Tom smiles. “Find a new mountain to climb,” he says matter-of-factly. “It’s what makes life fun. I know I have considerations. I know that there will be days that I’ll need to stay in bed and rest while my braces are getting tuned up. It’s those times when I am with my thoughts that I decide what I am going to set my sights on.”

Author’s Note: In my personal quest to live beyond the boundaries I’ve chosen Tom as my role model (lucky for me, he's my brother). We so often look to the media for these sources and so often they are illusory. There are “real” people everywhere doing great things...look around you; angels are everywhere! Learn from them. Choose someone you look up to, admire or of whom you appreciate their values. Set goals, climb mountains! Set intention in motion and enjoy the healthy process.