What You Need to Do After a Workout

Before you go to the gym, you probably get yourself hyped up and motivated. Once you hit the gym, you’re fired up and ready to go. You engage in few stretches and thoroughly warm-up your body. Next, you jump on your machine of choice or walk into your aerobics class and you vigorously give it your all for approximately 30 minutes to an hour. You feel energized and excited after you’ve completed your workout and you leave the gym feeling like your six-pack is on the way.

This sounds absolutely great… well almost. One very important factor was left out of the above mentioned scenario, the after-workout routine. You may have done the majority of the work, but how you treat your body in the minutes and hours after you exercise has a direct effect on muscle soreness, muscle strength and growth, and staying hydrated.

Cool Down:- After your last exercise, your workout is not over. The first thing you need to do is cool down. Even if running was all that you did, you still should do light cardio for a few minutes. This brings your heart rate down at a slow and steady pace, which helps you avoid feeling sick after a workout.

Stretch:- After a workout, muscles naturally contract. Stretching again prevents them from shrinking. It allows your muscles to rebuild, growing bigger and stronger, thus allowing you to get the full benefit from your efforts.

Drink Water:- Even when you are actually done exercising, you need to keep replenishing your fluid levels. It’s recommended that you drink another 2-3 cups within two hours after you have finished. Then, drink water regularly afterwards. You may not feel thirsty anymore, but you still need to replenish yourself to avoid getting dehydrated.

Refuel:- Eating is one of the last, but one of the most important items to do after a workout. You have not only burned hundreds of calories and lost carbohydrates, but you have also actually torn your muscles. You need to repair your muscles and boost your energy level, and you need to do it fast. It’s recommended that you eat within 90 minutes of your workout, but the sooner the better.

Next time you put down the dumbbells and think your work is done, remember these after-workout necessities to maximize your efforts and get the most out of exercising.

Happy Holidays, Without the Extra Pounds

From now until New Year’s, it’s a season of eating, drinking and, well, more eating and drinking. And worrying about how all those extra calories will translate into extra stomach fat the next time you dare to step on the scale.

Well relax. It doesn’t have to be another holiday of nail biting between nibbling. All you need is the proper attitude and proven strategies that work to keep your calories-in, calories-out equation balanced.

Anyone who’s fought with the scale over the holidays knows the basic tricks: Drink water or eat an apple before heading out to a party.  But other strategies and perspectives may be new to you.

The holiday season is not the best time of year for weight loss. Focus instead on maintaining a healthy weight, not on losing. Keep that focus when you’re faced with a huge buffet or Mom’s homemade cooking. Don’t deprive yourself, but don’t give free rein to your gastronomic impulses, either.

Remember the “calories-out” part of the equation. Always look for opportunities to move. Make sure getting some daily physical activity during the holidays remains a priority. It can be challenging with shorter days and hectic schedules to keep physical activity on the calendar, but now is not the time to go sedentary.

If you have young kids, you can build physical activity into your day by suggesting a walk to the park or a snowman-building contest or other winter fun. Or you might buddy up with a co-worker and hit the health club or a walking path at least three times a week, after work or during lunch. Good luck all!

Six Benefits of Stretching

The body is supposed to be flexible. You must be able to bend and reach that something you dropped on the floor. You must be able to zip the back of your favorite dress on your own. You must be able to reach that book at the top shelf.

These are simple activities. However, if there are difficulties in doing such simple motions, then you have to stretch your limits. You already need a stretching program.

How Does One Do the Stretching?

Stretching is fairly easy regardless of age. However the extent of stretching and flexing differs. The muscles tighten as a person ages. The range of joint movements can be minimized. This can very well obstruct an on-the-go lifestyle. That is why as the person grows older, bending or flexing becomes more limited. This is why stretching regularly, as part of a routine is very important.

Stretching exercises can 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.

Most athletes would do the sit and reach position on the floor, extending their legs and reach the tip of their foot with the tip of their hand. Actually, most trainers actually require their athletes to really do the stretching before playing.

What Are the Benefits of Stretching?

1. Increase the Range of Movement

2. Increased Ability to Perform Skills

3. Injury Prevention

4. Reduce Muscle Tension

5. Enhance Energy

6. Reduces Cholesterol

Incorporate stretching in your everyday lifestyle. It has benefits you cannot say no to. It can be your usual activities, bending and flexing every now and then. After all, your fitness is everything so do what it takes to keep the body healthy.

Holiday Eating Without the Guilt — or the Pounds

If you love the five-week holiday festivities from Thanksgiving to New Year’s, but are already stressing about the added stomach fat you’ll have to sweat off come Jan. 1, help is at hand. It’s possible to enjoy holiday eating and make it to 2010 weighing the same as you do today. It’s all about devising a strategy and thinking about holiday food just a little differently. Try this:

Eat before you go. Starving guests are more apt to load up their plates, so have a piece of fruit smeared with peanut butter or a small container of yogurt prior to heading out.

Think ”pick and choose,” not ‘’sample.” Picking and choosing is a great strategy if it involves picking the one dessert or other goodie you love and can’t live without. Instead of sampling all three pies at a holiday dinner, decide which one you really like.

Remember, alcohol is loaded with calories. Start off at a party with seltzer water or sparkling water, then switch to alcoholic beverages.

Take control as hostess. Take advantage of that, prepare or serve [ready-make] broth-based soups that are packed with vegetables as a first course. Switch from buffets to meals served by the course to pace eating. It’s probable you’ll eat less overall that way.

If you love gravy, make it from fat-free broth. Include more casserole dishes — you can increase the vegetables with hardly anyone noticing.

Move, even a little. Squeezing in a little exercise, no matter how hectic the schedule, will help.

Defend your resolve. Even with the best strategies in play, some people fall apart when face-to-face with those holiday hosts and hostesses who encourage you to eat.

You can resist them with a compliment like: “I love your pie, but I am full.”

Ways to Overcome the Plateau Effect

It’s inevitable. At some point during your exercise program your body will fail to respond to the exercise and diet that has guaranteed you results in the past. This state, known as “the plateau effect,” is your body hitting the proverbial wall. Strength increases dwindle; fat loss slows; lean muscle gains aren’t as apparent. Life was good at the beginning of the program when your body responded by shedding massive fat, gaining pounds of muscle, and gaining superhero strength almost overnight. Welcome to reality.

So, here’s what can you do to push beyond the inevitable plateau.

1. Clean up your diet:– As your body fat percentage lowers the body clings to its remaining fat stores making it harder to lose additional body fat. Your diet must remain very, very clean to drop below 10% for males and 15% for females.

2. Cheat or re-feed:– When you follow a very clean diet your body may need to be shocked. This is when eating pizza, nachos, etc. can actually jumpstart your metabolism and help push beyond your plateau.

3. Rest:– Vigorous exercise puts a lot of stress on the body. If you’ve worked out hard and consistently for 6+ weeks you should consider taking a week to let your body recover.

4. Variety:– Try varying the weights and doing more or less reps. Try performing different exercises to work the body in a slightly different manner. Try to adjust timings in your exercise routine. Try adding things like supersets, drop sets, negatives, etc. to your lifts. Try to introduce more intensity into your cardio.

5. Intensity:– Consider setting a new goal if your problem is mental. Consider supplements such as Creatine if your problem is physical. Consider training with a partner if your problem is accountability. Just remember, you can’t spell “workout” without “work.” Don’t make the gym experience overly social.

18 Ways to Burn 100 Calories

Sometimes exercising can be a real drag, especially if you are keeping to the same routine every day. Why not get creative with it and incorporate exercise into your daily routine?  It is not just about eating healthy, you will need to exercise as well.  However, it can still be fun.

So, if you really want to lose that jelly-belly, do five of these creative calorie burners each day to lose 1 to 2 pounds per week:

1. Get off the couch 33 times to change the channel.

2. Play beach volleyball for 13 minutes.

3. Go to the pool and dog-paddle for 17 minutes.

4. Go to the pool and do 250 breast strokes (approximately 10 minutes).

5. Walk up and down 33 flights of stairs.

6. Push a grocery cart for 45 minutes.

7. Carry five grocery bags from the car to the kitchen and put them away, take out the trash, wash the dishes and wipe down the kitchen counter.

8. Eat chili for a couple of days. Research shows that chili peppers boost your metabolic rate, burning 50 more calories a day.

9. Eat four meals with chop sticks instead of a fork. Slowing down can help you consume 25 fewer calories per meal.

10. Take a leisurely walk in the park for 51 minutes.

11. Walk backwards in the park for 43 minutes. For every 8 calories burned walking forward, walking backwards burns 10.

12. Shop during your lunch break while carrying a 7 pound bag.

13. Twirl in your chair at work 123 times, but don’t let your boss see you.

14. Drink 3 cups of green tea in 24 hours.

15. Chug 12 8-ounce glasses of ice water a day.

16. Go 20 mph on your bike for 6 ½ minutes.

17. Walk on a treadmill at 3.5 mph for 23 minutes.

18. Jump rope as fast as you can for 8 minutes.

Your Body Can Burn Fat by Itself

You probably took one look at the title of this article and said “Yeah right!” But it’s true. Your body can burn fat on it’s own. With a few simple adjustments, your body can become a fat burning machine. Here’s how to maximize your body’s fat burning ability.

1. Exercise in short, intense bursts for effective fat burning after exercise.

2. Increase the amount of resistance/strength/weight training you do, to build more lean muscle. Muscle is ‘metabolically active’ and burns more calories than other body tissue even when you’re not moving.

3. Chill on the amount of food you are eating.

Technically:

1. Our bodies are built to survive, so when you exercise for long periods of time (often and consistently) your body thinks it needs to hold on to fat for energy. Doing short (12-15 minute), intense exercise sessions builds strength and burns calories, but not fat, so it “feels safe” using fat stores for energy after exercise.

2. Resistance training helps build lean muscle mass, and muscle burns more calories than fat.

3. If you are obsessing over things like fat grams and not eating a nutritious diet, your body will reserve energy (store fat) to survive.

Realistically:

1. Varying your exercise is the most effective and efficient way to stay lean and healthy. You must do some longer exercise to build cardiovascular endurance, burn lots of calories, and yes, even burn fat during exercise – your body will not click in to “save” mode unless you exercise for long periods of time, regularly and often.

2. You must do resistance training in order to build muscle and strong bones.

3. Exercise efficiently – two short, very intense training sessions weekly, like a 15-minute fast run/walk, and two moderately long, moderately intense sessions (30-45 minutes) of strong walking, cycling, or yoga, with one long day (60-90 minutes) of a moderately paced walk/hike. That’s a great five-day/week training schedule.

Defy Holiday Weight Gain

With the combination of cold weather and holiday parties, it’s no wonder that the average American gains unwanted stomach fat over the holiday season. While this may not seem like much initially, over time it adds up. In order to avoid being one of the many who will pack on a few pounds before the New Year, here are some tips:

1. Exercise:- Continue your good habits, especially physical activity. Even if it’s cold outside and you’re busy, be sure to get in 30 minutes of physical activity every day.

2. Eat breakfast:- No matter how tempting, don’t skip breakfast! You will be less likely to overeat when you start the day with a good breakfast and continue to eat small 200-300 calorie meals every 3 hours throughout the day.

3. Don’t arrive at a party hungry:- Eat dinner at home and avoid hanging around the buffet table. If you must have a taste, then grab a small plate and load up on vegetables and fruit first.

4. Count your calories:- Figure out your daily allotment of calories and keep track of your calorie intake via a food journal. Generally, your calorie budget is your weight in pounds multiplied by 10 (i.e., 140 x 10 = 1,400 calories).

5. Limit alcohol:- Many people don’t realize that the average alcoholic beverage is high in calories—sometimes hovering around 200 per drink. Just remember: numbers can quickly add up.

The holidays can be one of the most difficult times of the year, especially for those trying to watch their waistline. Just remember to follow the above tips and you’ll ring in the new year with a smile—and most importantly, without any added weight.

Demystifying the Health Club

Have you been procrastinating about joining a health club because of the fear-of-the-unknown factor? There’s no doubt that the process can be intimidating to first timers trying to lose unwanted fat—the lingo, the classes, the routine. Arming yourself with a little knowledge about what to expect when you walk through the door can help you find a health club where you’ll fit right in.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Facilities are just as likely to provide personal coaching, medical-school-trained personnel and day care, as they are to offer sophisticated workout machinery. Every club has a different setup, so you need to look at your needs and your routine. Is flexibility in workout times most important, or would the latest and greatest classes bolster your motivation? Do you require child care, or is proximity to work a must? Questions like these will let you come up with a short list of what you’re looking for in a health club.

TAKE A TOUR:- Pay careful attention to how well the staff listens to your questions and how concerned they seem to be with improving your physical health.

GET STARTED:-  Take advantage of introductory programs, such as a fitness evaluation and equipment orientation, particularly if you haven’t exercised in a while, or at all. One-on-one time with a trainer can be key to creating a workout routine that you enjoy and will stick with. If you don’t feel like you’re clicking with your trainer, ask to be reassigned.

Health club employees can’t wave a magic wand to transform members from sedentary to taut and toned. But a good club and a caring staff can make you feel right at home and work in tandem with you to help improve your fitness level.  God luck all.

Real-Life Workout

You’ve got a gym membership you actually use either to get six pack abs or lose weight in general. You run three miles each weekend. So why does your back ache after you’ve hauled around one too many boxes? Or how come you get a sudden pinching sensation when you reach for something on the top shelf in the kitchen? You may be coming up short in a specific kind of fitness—functional fitness. Fortunately, improving functional fitness is something you can do at home, and it requires almost nothing in the way of equipment.

Agility:- Agility lets you move your body in new and different ways, even when it’s not prepared to do so. If you lack agility, your body will be shocked by sudden moves, and you’re more likely to strain or tear a muscle or tendon in your back, side or leg.

To improve this, try doing lunges while rotating your upper body, walking backward slowly or running side to side quickly, the way football players do during training. Do agility work two to four times a week, alternating with the days you do strength training.

Balance:- Good balance makes it less likely that you’ll fall and break a bone or otherwise injure yourself. It also promotes good posture, which can prevent back pain.

To improve this, try to balance on an unstable surface, such as a balance board, and then balance on a flat surface, like the ground. Once you get the hang of it, add a challenge by standing on one leg and have someone throw a ball to you.  Practice balance exercises every day.

Strength:- You want your body to be as strong as possible. It will not only help you do things in everyday life, but strength training is also important for bone health. Plus, strength plays a role in injury prevention. A loss of lower body strength along with poor balance can lead to falls.

To improve this:- Free weights are among the most common ways to build strength, but you can also use resistance from your own body weight by doing exercises such as push-ups or leg squats. Do this two to four times a week, alternating with the days you focus on agility exercises.