Stretching for Health Pt 7

Lack of flexibility is now seen to be a major cause of general health problems and sports injury and is being linked to everything from stress. back pain, and even osteoarthritis. It also means that nagging injuries, especially around your joints take longer to heal.

Latest studies show that up to 60 percent of the general population with bad backs and knees have tight hamstrings and hips and the main cause is a lack of flexibility.

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Active-Isolated Stretching (AI)


Olympians have been employing Active-Isolated Stretching (AI) now for about 10 years, but it has only recently been brought to the public’s attention.

I have used this technique on my clients for quite a while now with great success, while adding renewed life and spring to tired out muscles. AI stretching prevents injury, as conventional stretching can cause real harm such as muscle pulls and tears. 

AI stretching does what stretching is supposed to do; it transports oxygen to sore muscles and quickly removes toxins so recovery is faster. It also works as a deep massage technique because it activates muscle fibres during the actual stretch.


How to Stretch


Before stretching, dress in loose clothing and try and acquire a five-foot length of rope and tie a loop in the end. The purpose of this is to loop the end of rope around the exercising appendage to squeeze the last couple of inches of stretch from the exercise. 

Find a comfortable place to stretch either on your bed, a carpeted floor or on a mat.

Isolate the muscle or group you want to stretch then contract the muscle opposite. This causes the isolated muscle or group to relax straight away and when it does it is ready to stretch. 

Gently and quickly stretch the isolated muscle until it can’t be stretched any further; now give yourself a gentle pull with your hands or rope. Go as far as you can and then hold the stretch for no more than 2 seconds then release, do this for a total of 5 repetitions on the isolated muscle or group. 

The reason for just a 2-second stretch is because when a muscle realizes that it is being forced into a stretch it contracts to protect itself from being overstretched. 

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If you can beat this contraction you’ll be well on the way to a greater Range of Motion.

Remember to hold for no more than 2 seconds, release, return to the normal position and repeat for the five repetitions. Try not to have any hesitations between stretches and make it as fluid as possible. Try to stretch every day if possible, remember to:
1; Work one target muscle at a time. 
2; Contract the muscle that is opposite the targeted muscle, which will relax in preparation of its stretch. 
3; Stretch it gently and quickly. 
4; Release it before it realizes that it has been stretched and goes into its protective contraction.

Below are two exercises that can be done straight away even while you are at work to stretch that tension and stress from of your body.

1. Lie down on the floor with your buttocks against a wall and your legs straight up the wall. Slowly flex your toes towards your knees, hold for two seconds and repeat five times.  This will loosen up your lower back and stretch your hamstrings and hips giving instant relief for tired backs.

This exercise can be done while at the office anytime you start to feel that stress and tension building up.

2. Sitting in a chair and putting one leg out straight, flex your toes towards your knee, now lean towards that foot, stretching your hands towards it and letting your head and shoulders follow, hold for two seconds and repeat five times.  This will create a stretch right across your lower back and neck.

A flexible body is: 

A; More efficient

B; More easily trained for strength and endurance

C; Enjoys more range of motion

D; Stays balanced more easily and is less prone to injury

E; Recovers from workouts more quickly, and feels better.

Core Body Workout Need power? Try Core Power Yoga Pt 6

Core power yoga is an energetic yoga exercise that physically and mentally challenges to help connect to inner power without stopping and accompanied by a heated, climate controlled Vinyasa. It heals, detoxifies and stimulates the body and mind through balance and intention. 

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Power yoga has created a dynamic, challenging program that combines strength, sweat and spirituality. It recognizes power in different levels; first is the physical power which develops the body’s strength and improve health; second is the mental power or the will to concentrate on the practice; and last the spiritual power which is the power behind the physical and mental power.

Core power yoga is the Western version of the Indian Ashtanga Yoga. The term was was given by Beryl Bender Birch, an Ashtanga Yoga teacher. It has been brought to the west by followers of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, a renowned Sanskrit scholar who inspired Western Yogis with his Ashtanga Yoga Style and philosophies. 

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There are three programs in power yoga. “Core Power” is designed to strengthen abdominals and back and includes both abs-focused Vinyasa power yoga poses and variations of muscle-toning moves. “Unlocking Athletic Power” will develop flexible strength with an emphasis on abs, back, hips and pelvis. “Soul of Strength” on the other hand is a fast-moving power yoga program with a distinct “mid-body” emphasis and some very challenging moves.

Yoga sessions are done in a heated room and composed of different cardiovascular exercises intended to develop strength and flexibility, increase stamina, improves the ability to focus, release tensions and remove toxins through sweating.

Core power yoga practice also requires the execution of yoga poses. Poses are done in a fast pace, some poses are even held longer than the required five breaths. This practice can increase physical endurance and ability to focus on any task for a long time without breaking the concentration.

What is the difference between core power yoga and other exercises?

Core power yoga is a vinyasa style that has a unique program offering and focuses on core strength, balance and flow to build a solid practice based on strength and spirit. It offers diverse classes like Hot Yoga, Yoga Sculpt, Bootcamps, Teacher Trainings and Mat Pilates. Moreover, it provides better instructors that are personally involved in students’ progress, strong and forceful leaders who pays more attention to the students needs. Also the teachers of this exercise work with the students to personalize their programs and creating a sense of belonging and community. And lastly, it provides quality facilities equipped with a unique top tier amenities and a balance aura.

This exercise also offers great health benefits; this lengthens and stretches the muscles and at the same time it builds stamina, strength and lean muscle and mass. It also increases body heat that kills some bacteria and creates a finely tuned state of consciousness of the workings of the body. The focus of core power yoga is on the coordination of the breath movement, connecting the body, mind and spirit to the warmest level.

Core power yoga is best to those who want to improve their performance in their chosen sports like cycling, football, swimming, skiing, surfing, running/athlete, martial arts and other team sports. Some training grounds in sports practice this exercise in transition for aerobics.

Core power yoga can reshape your body and mind! 

Don’t Forget Your Lower Body: Aerobic Targeting Pt 5

When it comes right down to it, we all want to get healthier. You might not know it, but aerobics are going to be one of the best things you can do so that you can truly get healthier. Just think of the time that you spend worrying about how you look, or even the time that you end up sad and depressed about something in your life! If you can fill this time with aerobics, not only is it going to be beneficial for you, it is going to help you in more ways than simply your health.

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However, sometimes you want to work on a part of your body in a way that makes it stronger. Many times the workouts that we create for ourselves simply have an idea to focus on your whole body. This can be great, because aerobics are something that can work well for your whole body. But many people have an area of their body that they would like to target, and so it is sometimes good to target just a piece of you.

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Our lower body can be something that we want to work on. Your legs and rear end are parts of you that have to be strong because they are what get you through each and every day. You have to be able to have endurance when it comes to walking and running, and a lot of people don’t like the way that their legs or rear end look and want to change this by working out.

There are many things that we can do to strengthen our lower body while we are working out. Everyone should know that while you are doing aerobics you should be moving your legs constantly. The repetitions of whatever you are doing for your aerobic workout, such as walking or running, should be done in such a way so that your leg muscles are moving to their maximum potential. It is important to get your heart pumping!

A great way to increase the amount of work that your legs are doing, and therefore make them stronger, is to get leg weights to attach to yourself as you work out. This means that you’ll be able to be stronger because you’ll have to exert more force to move your legs and your ankles. This is a great way to make sure that your aerobic workouts target your legs and your lower body. Don’t forget to target all areas of your body when working out.

5 Great Tips On Exercise Pt 4

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Have exercise misconceptions prevented you from starting an exercise program? Clear up any confusion and let these exercise tips improve your workout routine. Hopefully none of these common exercise myths, mistakes and misconceptions have prevented you from working out.

1. Common Mistake: Failure to set goals. Do you exercise without a clear goal in mind? Having a clear goal set is a critical step in exercise and weight loss success.  Tracking your progress in a journal will help ensure you see your improvements, will help motivate you and help you meet your ultimate goal.

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2. Common Misconception: No Pain, No Gain. Pain is your body’s way of letting you know something is wrong. Do not ignore this. When you go beyond exercise and testing yourself, you will encounter physical discomfort and need to overcome it. An example of this would be training for a marathon. It is important that you have the “base training” before getting into the advance training. The base training develops the body and gets it ready for extensive training. You need to learn to “read” your body. Is the heavy breathing because you are pushing your body or could it be the beginning of a heart attack. Exercise is important. Do it correctly and you can do it for the rest of your life.

It is normal for you to hurt after you exercise, but it must be done gradually with a good amount of rest periods to allow proper healing. There are two common problems here with beginning exercisers. You can cause long lasting damage to muscles, tendons and ligaments if you work out while you are in pain, without allowing enough rest time to heal. You might find yourself in constant and long lasting pain if you do this which means that you will no longer be able to exercise.

If you wake up the next morning after you exercised and can barely drag your aching body out of bed because everything hurts, you are going to be less motivated to exercise at all. Constant pain is a sure way to kill your exercise program.

3. Common Mistake: Sacrificing Quality for Quantity. When you are ready to increase the number of reps of a particular exercise, and strengthen the corresponding muscles, instead of forcing yourself to do a little more each time try decreasing the number of reps in a set but increase the number of sets. Also, back off to half your usual number of reps but add a couple of more sets. You will feel less tired and will be able to gain strength in your fast-twitch muscles.

4. Common Myth: Weight Training Makes Women Bulky. Weight training for a woman will strengthen and tone muscle, burn fat and increase metabolism, not build mass. Women do not produce enough of testosterone to build muscle mass the way that men do.

5. Common Mistake: Over-Emphasizing Strengths. You should start focusing on your points rather then what you are good at. This will help you balance things. For example, if your lower body is stronger than you upper body, then try to work only on this area one day a week.

Being smart about how you exercise will take you a long way. It is important to have a healthy body so get out there and start exercising today.

Workout at Home Cardio Blast Pt 3

Everyone has wondered at some point in time which cardio exercise is better.  To put it in simple terms, both low and high intensity exercises will help you to burn off body fat.  The question here is which is the most effective to burn off more body fat.   

When scientists first discovered that during  intensive exercises, your body burns glycogen, which is a form of stored carbohydrates that are stored in your liver and muscles for energy.  During low intensity exercises, your body will burn a lot of fat. 

If your wondering whether or not it works, the answer is no because there are so many obese people still around.  Even though they are working out with low intensity routines, it still makes you  wonder how it can be. 

The scientists were right when they said the human body burns more body fat during low intensity exercises like walking or swimming.  During a  high intensity exercise such as running, the body will burn a lot more calories.  Even if some of the calories burnt are from glycogen, there are still many fat calories burned as well. 

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To put the icing on the cake, when your store of glycogen gets low, the carbohydrates from your food you eat will later get converted into  glycogen to fill up the store and won't be converted to body fat when they are left unused for energy. 

High intensity cardio exercise will juice up your metabolism even after you have completed your workout.  What this means, is that your body will continue to burn body fat hours after you have left the gym.  This effect is nearly non existent in low intensity cardio or aerobic workout.   

Accumulatively, your body will burn up more and more calories during and after you have finished a high intensity cardio exercise that it will with low intensity. 

You can inject high intensity exercises into your cardio workout by introducing some interval training. You can walk for 5 minutes or so, then break into some jogging for another 5 minutes or so.  Then, walk briskly again until you have caught your breath and then sprint for a minute before you walk again.  From this point, simply alternate your running and walking for the  next 15 minutes until you are finished. 

One of the best things about cardio is the more you do it, the more energy you'll have.  Cardio will help you to burn calories, although its more useful for keeping your energy levels high. 

If you've never tried cardio before, you should give it a shot.  If you like to exercise, you'll find cardio the best way to boost your energy and keep in top shape.  If you are just starting out, you'll want to go slow and keep your cardio  exercise in track - as it is very easy to over exert yourself.

Upper Back Exercises for a Strong Back Pt 2

The back supports the weight of the upper body and has to be strong to carry out its work unhindered. People focus on strengthening their lower back, but upper back muscles too need toning up. A well toned back looks good and helps in maintaining correct posture. Upper back exercises are a good way of strengthening the upper back. Some effective upper back exercises are mentioned below.

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Upper Back Exercises

Women would rather have a well-toned upper body, whereas men prefer a muscular back. Dumbbell pullovers and dumbbell rows are effective upper back exercises. 

Dumbbell Pullover:

You will need a narrow workout bench. Lie with the workbench supporting the upper back and neck, and your head leaning over one end. Place one leg each on either side of the bench with feet firmly placed on the ground. Lift the dumbbell over your face with arms stretched out. Slowly lower the dumbbell over your head in an arc; hold, and bring it back to original position. Initially do five repetitions and gradually raise the count to fifteen. 

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Another variation of this upper back exercise is to hold the dumbbell with bent arms. With elbows bent, slowly lower the dumbbell over your head in an arc; hold, and then gently pull back the dumbbell to original position. Initially do five repetitions and gradually raise the count to fifteen. 

Dumbbell Row:

 Place the dumbbell on the right side of the bench, and your left leg on the bench with the right foot firmly placed on the floor. Leaning forward, place the left hand on the bench in front of the body. Your back should be in horizontal position. Pick up the dumbbell and raise your arm slowly upwards until your upper arm is in level with your upper body; hold, and take back your arm to the original position. Initially do five repetitions and gradually raise the count to fifteen. Now, repeat the exercise with the left arm. 

These upper back exercises are a great way to build a strong upper back that add to the ‘V’ shape of the body.

Working Out From Home Pt 1

Making the decision of where you will go to exercise
is a very important step in reaching your goals of
fitness.  A lot of factors will go into this 
decision, and each one should be evaluated well
before you start exercising.  Once you have made 
a decision on where you will go to exercise, you
can move on to deciding how you plan to work out.

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As you probably know, exercising at home has many
advantages.  The finance department is one of the
best advantages.  With the gas prices being what
they are today, it is quite obvious that you'll
save money on fuel as well as wear and tear on
your vehicle by choosing to exercise at home.

Memberships to a gym can often be quite expensive
and may include other things that you don't need
such as child care or swimming pools.  You also
won't need to be concerned about the latest 
trends of exercise gear as you most likely will
be exercising by yourself at home.

Keep in mind that working out at home does 
require a bit of financial obligation.  Even 
though you may plan to run, it is very important
that you have high quality running shoes.  This
statment applies to any type of equipment that 
you may purchase to use at home.  If you go
out and buy cheap equipment, you'll probably
end up getting hurt or getting frustrated because
you aren't making any progress.

Along with the financial gains, exercising at 
home may also help those who don't like to work
out in public.  If you are worried about how you
look in gym clothes, it is very comforting to
know that the only person who has to be with you
when you exercise at home is you.  Also, when
you exercise at home, you don't need to worry
about time at all.

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Those of you who are motivated by being with
people you know or come to know while working
out away from home, a gym may be a better idea
than working out at home.  At the gym, you'll 
also more of a selection of equipment as well,
far more than you'll have at home.

If you need other services than just weights and
equipment, the gym may have just what you need.
If you plan to swim a triathlon, you'll find the
swimming pool at the gym to be just what you need
to prepare yourself.  Swimming is also a great 
exercise for your body and cardio, as it will work
muscles in your body that you probably didn't
even know you had.

Gyms will also offer you classes that you may find
very motivating.  If you attend class on a regular
basis, you may be motivated enough to continue
so you don't have to defend yourself when asked
where you've been or what you have been doing.
You can also meet new people in class, or just
help others along if you choose.

All in all, making the choice of exercising at 
home or at the gym is a choice you should make
based on your goals and personal preference.  The
most important decision you'll need to make is
to determine what type of environment you want
to be in and how you want to accomplish the
fitness goals in your life.

Once you have given it some thought and weighed
out the pros and cons, you'll have no problem
making the choice.  Always keep in mind that
once you've made your choice, you can always switch
if you aren't happy with the choice you made.