Category: Exercise

Exercise to achieve physical conditioning, tone and wellness. We offer the latest articles and blog posts. Therefore featuring the best workout routines, fitness training methods and ideas on how to develop your training goals.

Achieving Wellness. Improving mental health by means of carefully planned workout programs is the goal of this website.

We search for the best opinion pieces. The finest workout machines and present it to our readers for their benefit.

In the process we have learned what works and what does not, hence, we rate all of the exercise equipment we review.

Therefore, our aim is to inform the readership. Only a well informed consumer will be able to make the best decision.

Finally, we look for technology in all the gear we review. We feel it is the way of the future.

Develop your own routine, record it and follow your progress regularly. And rest assured, it is the best way to get fit and healthy.

Weight Loss For Men – Routines that Work

Weight loss for men is often faster than weight loss for women.. much to their dismay.

Photo by Alexander Redl on Unsplash

Weight loss for men often is easier than weight loss for women
The reason why this may happen is because of the way they digest food. Men typically have a larger muscle mass and their bodies are able to break down proteins more efficiently, so it’s easier for them to see results faster when trying diets or making exercise-related changes!

Here are some tips specific to weight loss for men that could help you start on a new weight loss journey or help to rev up the journey you’re already on.

Hire a Trainer

Many men working at their weight loss get faster results when they join a gym. Strength and resistance training could help you get great results and fast. Many men can lift more and do more reps than women as well as have the added benefit of upper body strength.

It can take time to get into a workout routine but a trainer can help you with the right form, can spot you, and can get and keep you with weight loss motivation while tailoring a customized work out regimen and diet that will help you reach your goals. Hence, using a trainer is a great tip.

Why is it so important to hire a physical fitness trainer? Physical fitness trainers are there for you. They will help you reach your goals, motivate and inspire you through hard times, and also celebrate along with you on the good days.

Many people don’t know that even though they say they want to work out regularly or be fit, they don’t know how to get started. It is difficult to get past the initial stages of motivation to actually start exercising on their own. A trainer will help you with that by putting together a plan and helping you follow through on it.

Another problem people run into when working out on their own is that they get hurt. They may not have a trainer to help them determine what exercise is best for their body or someone to spot them while they are lifting weights. A physical fitness trainer can help you find exercises that will be safe and effective for your body. Even if you have specific limitations such as an injury or chronic pain. In addition to helping you with what exercises to avoid and which exercises would be best for your body, they can also modify the exercise based on your ability level.

Working out at a gym is not for everyone. Some people simply don’t like it or cannot afford to pay for a gym membership. And if that person has found someone who gives group classes, they know that it is not the same as having a personal trainer.

Weight Loss for Men Tip: Switch it Up

If you don’t opt for a trainer but do choose to go to the gym, make sure you vary your workout routine every 6 weeks or so. This will keep you from hitting a plateau and will keep things interesting, too. A combo of cardio and strength training and / or boxing could be a great mix.

Set Manageable Goals and Stick to Them

While men do tend to see good results in terms of weight loss, many do set sights really high at first. Consider smaller milestones, such as a couple of kgs at a time.

Make Sure You’re Eating Enough

Men and women don’t have the same caloric requirements. Not all dieters should eat a specific number of calories daily. 1200 daily calories isn’t likely to be enough for you. Your specific requirements depend on you. Consider checking out your ideal calorie intake based on your age, activity level, and current size. There are many online calculators that will help.

It’s important to get a good mixture of carbs and protein and fat as well. Getting professional advice could help and you with your weight loss goals.

Every journey begins with a step. With each step your weight loss journey will produce results. Weight loss will help you with your health, wellness, energy levels, and your self esteem. Consider focusing on the above tips on weight loss for men.

Finally, use these Weight Loss For Men Tips and you will see results quickly!

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November 30, 2021
Yoga Enhances Athletic Performance

Yoga Enhances Athletic Performance for People of All Ages

Photo by Alice Naar on Unsplash

Nowadays we’re all acquainted with yoga: from magazines to TV to loved ones, yoga’s become a standard piece of our way of life.
However, yoga is definitely more than stretching and relaxing. Nowadays successful athletes from NFL stars to marathon runners have seen it as a significant gains during training by using yoga.
Truth be told, appropriately rehearsed, yoga can improve all aspects of your athletic performance, from continuance to capacity to speed.

In addition advancing overall fitness and health. In this article, we’ll investigate what yoga will do for your fitness practice.

A Background and Foundation in how Yoga Enhances Athletic Performance.

We as a whole realize that yoga, much like the hand to hand fighting, is a piece of an antiquated and profound custom. As they continued looking for more noteworthy self-information, the yogis understood our physical state profoundly impacts both our temperament and mental limit.
They found that by rehearsing the physical stances of yoga, they could turn out to be increasingly quiet and thus accomplish more noteworthy core interest.
They likewise found by restoring the body to its normal express that they could drastically improve physical limit, some portion of why huge numbers of the present top competitors think of it as a staple in their preparation.

How Yoga Benefits athletes.
A developing number of expert and school level athletes have gone to yoga and have praised it for its advantages.

See six reasons why athletes should check out yoga:

1. Yoga improves athletic parity and adaptability.

Improved adaptability and parity have evident significance in yoga. Research has demonstrated that the presentation of a program that spotlights on equalization and adaptability improves numerous exhibition measures, including scope of movement.

2. Yoga encourages athletes adjust to pressure.

Any type of activity can go about as a pressure reliever. However, yoga seems to help lessen pressure and encourages the body adjust to pressure long after an exercise. One examination on youthful cyclists following a thorough preparing routine presumed that fusing an ordinary yoga module into their routine helped keep the athlete both rationally and physically fit.

3. Yoga can fortify the safe framework.

Furthermore, in more seasoned athletes, yoga helps keep up athletic capacity with age. Normal yoga practice likewise improves cancer prevention agent safeguard frameworks in the body, furthermore, when the body is under intensely distressing preparing conditions.

4. Yoga can diminish muscle irritation.

At the point when yoga is added to a strenuous preparing routine, it diminishes muscle irritation. The explanation is that yoga diminishes lactate levels. Hence, it is an advantage that athletes have.

5. Yoga can better basic leadership and memory.

Additionally, wellness research demonstrates that yoga is unrivaled in improving brain functions identified with mental execution.

6. Yoga helps keep athletes damage free.

The most convincing explanation behind athletes to take up yoga is that it can help avoid wounds. In addition studies have demonstrated fusing yoga as a supplemental action to a high-volume practice routine is a successful technique.

Results show greater adaptability, better execution, and staying damage free. These are the fundamental reasons why athletes to take up yoga.

In Conclusion:

Yoga is consistently used to find a person’s internal equalization. Yoga is for everybody.

Any athlete could profit gigantically by adding yoga to her or his preparation routine.
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November 10, 2021
Using Strength Training to Prevent Disease

How Does Strength Training Help Prevent Disease and Degenerative Conditions?

Victor Freitas

While cardio workouts are great fitness routines, it’s important to add strength training into your routine too. Cardio exercises, such as running or swimming increase lung capacity and stamina.

Strength training exercises, on the other hand are designed to strengthen the body by repetition. Popular examples include push-ups, crunches, lunges and squats.

These tone your body, improve conditioning levels and make you healthier. It is also a great way to prevent diseases and other health conditions. It should become an essential part of your weekly routine.

Here are some of the ways strength training will prevent health problems:

1. Flexibility

As we age, our bodies become less flexible. Which make everyday movements such as sitting down and standing up very difficult. The more flexible you are, the easier you will be able to move around and carry out simple tasks. Additionally, it’s also a good way to help prevent arthritis and osteoporosis which develop as you age.

2. Heart Health

The risk of developing heart disease, and even bigger problems such as strokes increases with age. With regular exercise and strength training, you’ll be able to get your heart rate up and down and keep it working hard to improve the blood flow around your body. Hence, the better your heart pumps, the better your entire body will work.

3. Hypertension

Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is very common in both younger and older people alike. You don’t have to be middle-aged or elderly in order to suffer from high blood pressure. Regular exercise, including strength training, will lower high blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart attacks.

4. Diabetes

Strength training helps your body to better absorb insulin, reducing and preventing the development of Type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes often develops in people in their mid-50s or 60s.

Finally, using strength training and aerobic exercises will dramatically cut the risk of all of the above. It is the path to a life of health and wellness.
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October 20, 2021
Does Cardio Sabotage Weight Loss Efforts?

Does Cardio Sabotage Weight Loss, How It Could Be Hindering Your Weight Loss Plans.

Marlon Lara

Jogging is the most traditional exercise for people intending to lose weight. But there are many other choices such as swimming, football, or cycling. A whole host of aerobic cardio exercises to help you shed the pounds. The principle is simple: just get moving, and stay moving, for half an hour to two hours. Do it five to seven days a week, and you will burn enough calories to lose weight.

Cardio workouts are not the best way to loose weight

However, this approach is seriously flawed. For starters, cardio is not the best way of burning calories. Cardio only burns a certain number of calories per step or arm movement. Which means that the only way you can burn more calories per hour is by moving faster. And new exercise will burn more calories than exercise you are used to, because for new exercise you are growing new muscles, stronger tendons, and more nerve endings. Once you are used to it, you will only burn the bare minimum. In this sense, does cardio sabotage weight loss, the answer is yes.

Think about muscle growth

Secondly, burning fat is only part of the journey. To have a well-rounded figure and level of fitness, you need to grow muscle too. Muscle tightens your skin, making your figure better rounded, lifting your butt and arms to prevent sag, and generally making you firmer. And muscle gives shape to the body by plumping out the butt and legs, and shaping the back. This balances your figure and makes you look more youthful by adding shape and athleticism. Many women fear growing too bulky if they grow muscle, but in reality we all need some muscle to look and feel good, and for women it is so hard to grow muscle, you can stop long before you get too strong.

Weight loss must be sustainable

Additionally, if you want to ensure that your weight loss is sustainable and that you can avoid setbacks even if you are stopped from exercising, and eat a balanced diet later on without gaining weight, your metabolism has to increase. Muscle burns twice as many calories per pound as fat, and if you have more muscle, every time you move you will burn more calories because more muscle fibers are moving. This means that the number of calories you burn without even exercising goes up, so you can eat more food whatever you do.

In essence, it is vital that you add something which provides resistance training to help build your muscles up. A good start is always body weight exercises. This is especially the case if you have never done any muscle building exercises before, as you will need practice. Sit ups, squats, lunges, pushups, planks, and other common body weight exercises are all you need, no need to worry about doing anything new or special yet. Just add in half an hour of body weight exercises twice a week at first and build yourself up enough to start using weights or another form of resistance.

Develop a workout program

After body weight exercises you need to progress onto something else. Resistance band training, free weights, or exercise machines, add an extra level of challenge.

This is because, old exercise routines burn fewer calories. Therefore add resistance training often. Weights of all kinds are a great choice. Once you have lost the weight you wanted, stop increasing weights. Focus on staying active instead.

Some women just lift light weights more often in an effort to avoid getting big, but that is actually what bodybuilders do. If you want lean, strong muscles, without bulk, it is best to lift heavier weights fewer times.

Only if you do all of the above, the answer to does cardio sabotage weight loss will be no it doe not anymore..

Finally, remember that when growing muscle you will need more fuel to grow it with. Hence, you will need more calories and protein, especially if you’re losing weight too fast. Additionally, add glucosamine and micro nutrients to keep the body strong and healthy.

Does cardio sabotage weight loss efforts? Only if not done properly.
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September 10, 2021
Making Exercise Fun

Making Exercise Fun is a great way to achieve fitness!

Photo by mobina rb on Unsplash

We all know that we should exercise on a consistent basis to reap the health benefits like a stronger heart, better weight management, better sleep, improved mood, more energy … and the list goes on and on.

Exercising can even increase longevity. But, over time, it can get boring and is no longer the fun it used to be. If left unchecked, you will start missing workouts and eventually just quit exercising altogether. So how do we keep the fun in exercising?

Here are a few of the more popular ways.

Vary your routine

Doing the same thing when exercising over time gets boring. Instead mix it up by having a few different routines to choose from. For example, if you typically run on a treadmill, run outside occasionally. If you lift free weights as part of your stretch training program, switch and use kettlebells instead.

Not only will varying your routine help from getting bored, but you will burn more calories. If you keep doing the same routine over and over, your body becomes more efficient at doing it and ends up burning fewer calories. If you keep it guessing, you’ll get maximum calorie burn.

Pump up the volume

There isn’t a better way to get you going when you don’t feel like exercising then to put on a pair of headphones or ear buds and play some spirited music. Something with a good beat to it.

Exercise with a friend

Working out with a friend does a couple of things. First, it gives you someone to talk to while going through your exercise routine, so it adds an element of socialization, but it also creates accountability. There may be times when you don’t feel like exercising, but you do so as to not let your friend down. And if the truth be known they exercise with you when they don’t feel like it too.

Join a group class

Exercising with a group is one of the best ways to put fun back into exercising. Not only do you make new friends, but there is a certain energy when a group of people are all doing the same thing at the same time.

Get some new exercise clothes

Sometimes all it takes to put some fun back into your exercise program is to buy some new workout clothes or shoes. If you look good with what you are wearing, you will feel good and will want to continue working out.

Measure instead of weigh

Relying on a scale to measure your progress can turn you off to exercising if it shows you are not making progress. A better way to measure if you are making progress or not is to measure yourself. Your waist, hips, upper arms and thighs will measure your progress. In many cases, you lose inches, but not pounds. Some people go by how their clothes fit.

Because muscle weighs more than fat, the number on the scale can be misleading. You can still use a scale, but only use it as one method of tracking your progress and not the sole method.

Use these tips often, they are helpful in making exercise fun.
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September 9, 2021
Tai Chi – A Different Form of Exercise
Tai Chi – Improving Your Health

Andrei Panfiloiu

Connecting mind and body while meditating is what Tai chi is all about. Additionally it is a form of martial arts.

Tai chi practitioners move very slowly, breathing in a specific way involving 13 exercises that mimic movements animals make.

These exercises improve physical endurance, mental clarity and overall health.

Using the ideas of opposing forces like yin and yang, as well as “qi” which means your vital life force. Bringing both of these into your exercises will help improve your overall health because it will connect all the forces in your body with your life force. By mindfully moving your body in these ways, you can improve your health and vitality including increasing your immunity.

Tai-chi can help people in all levels of health improve their health. It is low impact, weight bearing and aerobic, all at once. It improves muscle strength, coordination and flexibility. Tai chi also improves balance which can help reduce falling risks. Additionally, you can improve problems of pain and stiffness associated from arthritis.

The breathing improvement you’ll experience can also help improve sleep quality. This routine improvese health and wellness to people of all ages and at all fitness levels, since the movements can be modified for the individual’s needs.

To get the maximum benefits from tai chi, follow these principles.
- Exercise on an Empty Stomach – It’s better to be fully hydrated and exercise before meals rather than after meals. This is the only way you’ll be able to do the movements comfortably.
- Start Slowly – Don’t start at the end, rather start with the beginning. It will take time to learn all the movements, let yourself have the time needed.
- Avoid Exercising When Very Tired – Tai chi is very relaxing, therefore it’s important not to work out when you are exhausted.
- Seek Licensed, Certified and Trained Instructors – You can use videos, but it is important to find an expert to ensure you’re doing it correctly at first to avoid injury.
- Focus as Much on Breathing as Movement – Both are equally important. When you are learning, concentrate in doing it correctly for the best results.
- Don’t Overdo It – Never do more than you can and don’t push yourself to do more. It’s okay with tai chi to do less than you think you can.
You can start exercising at any time. You don’t need to be in tip-top shape to do it, and you don’t need to be very young. In fact, tai chi is especially helpful for elderly people.

It helps people to gain strength, get more sleep, and increase their overall health.
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August 27, 2021
Hiking Safety Tips for Everyone

Hiking – The safe way.

Photo by Toomas Tartes on Unsplash

What to Look Out For While Hiking

When you are going on a hike, it is a great form of exercise and good way to be out in
nature, but there are also some health concerns to be aware of. Here are some things
to be on the lookout for when you head outdoors for a hike.

Signs of Ticks

There are a lot of different bugs and insects you might come across, from spiders to
mosquitoes, but one of the biggest concerns this summer is the tick. Ticks are not only
all over the place, but Lyme disease is increasing, which is a disease that ticks can
transfer to you or your pets. It is important to know where ticks hide, how they bite you,
and how to remove them. When you are going on a hike, be careful of heavily wooded
areas. This is where ticks are going to hide. If you feel a bite on your skin, look closely
for signs that a tick is lodged in your skin. With a pair of tweezers, you can pull the tick
out before too much harm is done.

Leave the Animals Alone

It can be fun when you’re hiking and you see wild animals like rabbits and squirrels, but
it is best that you leave them alone. Even if the wild animals seem friendly, they could
be rabid, carry diseases, or cause you harm when you don’t realize it. Leave all wild
animals alone, even if it looks like they are approaching you. Just keep along on your
hike to keep yourself and the other animals safe during the hike. Alert someone if you
see a more dangerous animal you think others should be aware of.

Find the Highest Point

The reason you want to do this is because it gives you a goal of how far you want to go.
Some areas have trails that intersect and just keep going for miles and miles, which
could mean you walk further than you thought, and you now have to walk back down.
This is really frustrating when it gets too late to make it back down before dark,
especially if you weren’t packed for camping overnight. To avoid this, look for a high
point on the hike and use that as a guide for how far you want to go. Track how long it
took to reach that high point, as that is how long it takes you to go back down. If you are
already pushing the time, it might be a good time to turn around instead of keeping on
the trail.

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July 24, 2021
Walking to Lose Weight
Walking to Lose Weight – A Simple Formula for Success.

Brett Jordan

If you are facing in the right direction, then all you have to do is keep on walking to lose weight!

Everyone knows how important exercise is for our overall health, not to mention how we feel about ourselves — which is also very important. Popular exercise plans often promise six pack abs, sculpted glutes and a lean silhouette if you work harder than you ever have and consume less than has ever satisfied you; neither of which are sustainable. However, it is possible to get the results without the strain of intense training. Are you looking to bulk up or slim down? If you have athletic ambitions or you want to increase your strength, then weight training and strenuous aerobics will be the sport for you. But for those who want to be slim and healthy, then walking is ideal.

All Around Benefits of Walking to Lose Weight
- Not only is walking enjoyable, it is cheap and also encourages socialization.
- It is great for body sculpting too. Walking melts fat off the whole body–be it the abdomen, upper arms and hips. The reason walking is fat burning is because it is aerobic. This means it increases circulation, it increases the oxygenation of cells, it detoxifies, and it increases metabolism. The areas of highest fat concentration melt away first. Taking regular walks is really the answer to a firm and slim body. But we don’t mean the casual afternoon stroll–you can’t expect to get the benefits without achieving moderate pace. If you are going to use walking as a way to trim your body, you going to need to up your pace, lengthen your stride, swing your arms and increase the walking pace. To melt fat away, you have to raise your heartbeat and keep it raised for at least half an hour. If you do this, you will notice a slimmer and more toned physique in a matter of weeks!
- Walking is low impact; it doesn’t damage the joints.
- Walking is more effective against cancer and other diseases too, than extreme intense exercises. High-intensity workouts can put stress on the body, and that can be detrimental to your health. You may have heard of strong young people dropping dead from heart attacks after a marathon or a lot of jogging. It is better to take it at an easier pace, but for longer periods. You will see your weight improve and you will reap health benefits too, for sure!
Sedentary lives out, get the walking shoes on!

Have you got comfortable walking shoes with cushioned soles? Buy yourself good ones and do your feet a favor – you will feel like you are walking on air. You won’t regret spending a bit extra on good walking shoes.

Modern home and work environments mean that we spend large parts of our day’s sitting, particularly when we have office jobs.

Sedentary lifestyles definitely contribute to weight gain and also increase your risk of health problems. One study estimated that in order for you to maintain a stable weight, you need to walk at least 150 minutes a week – remember to keep it brisk. And if you want to increase the intensity of your walk and burn even more calories, then you can try walking on routes that have hills and slight inclines.

When people cut their calories to lose weight, they can lose muscle in addition to body fat. Since muscle burns fat losing muscle is a bit counterproductive. Muscle is metabolically more active than fat; it helps you burn more calories each day.

Avoid Muscle Loss

Toning and resistance exercises, which includes walking, help to counter the effects of muscle loss by preserving lean muscle as you lose weight. It helps to reduce the drop in your metabolic rate that occurs so often with weight loss, making your weight loss efforts easier to maintain. Walking also reduces age-related muscle loss, helping you retain your muscle strength and function as well.

An effective way of reducing belly fat is to regularly participate in aerobic exercises. One study showed how obese women who walked 3 times a week for 50-70 minutes reduced their waist circumferences by 1.1 inch. They also lost 1.5% of their body fat too.

Other Benefits of Walking

Apart from helping you to lose weight, walking has other benefits too. It boosts your mood, decreasing feelings of stress, anxiety and depression. It makes your brain more sensitive to the hormones norepinephrine and serotonin. These hormones relieve the feelings of depression and stimulate the release of endorphins, making you feel happy. Get out and walk!

Walking: the most ancient exercise and still the best modern exercise. (Carrie Latet)

That’s true.

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July 30, 2020
Diet vs Exercise – Which is Better for You?
Diet vs Exercise – Which is More Important for Weight Loss?

Fitsum Admasu

‘You can’t out-exercise a bad diet’ – because when it comes to looking out for your body, diet is key.

Diet vs Exercise – Both are critical to maintain healthy bodies
- You need both diet and exercise if you want to lose fat and gain some muscle. Nutritional habits have far greater impact on your body and health than just exercising. Both however play their own role in losing the weight and keeping it off. The ideal is to combine healthy nutrition with exercise. Doing both will produce even more success in attaining your body goals and losing weight.
- If you apply 80% nutrition and 20% exercise rule, it is very apparent which plays a bigger role in weight loss. Exercise is just not complete without healthy eating. There is even a possibility for weight gain if changes in diet are not put into place and you increase the amount of exercise you do–this is because exercising tends to make you hungrier as well! Changing your diet is very important because the equation for weight loss is simple — calories in should be less than calories out. Exercise, on the other hand, is very important to build and maintain muscle which helps the body burn more calories and stay healthy.
Simply, you are what you eat
- It might be nice to believe that you can make permanent weight loss changes to your body if you concentrate only on exercise, but that is far from the truth. If you want to lose weight, then exercise and diet together will yield the best results.
- While exercise is vital for helping you to lead a healthy life, just doing exercises exclusively isn’t going to promote weight loss. A study completed in 2015 found that controlling your calories is more successful than exercise. Further research found that when you work out you might burn more calories, but eventually your body adjusts and the effect on weight loss plateaus if you only focus on exercise alone. This is why it is very important to stress that to get healthy weight loss, both diet and exercise go hand in hand! Eating the right food is very important but physical activity and exercise helps not only build muscle, but also helps reduce risk for heart disease, cancer and diabetes. It also helps in boosting your mood and can help you sleep better.
Why is diet more important than exercise?

For many years, physical exercise has been championed as being the most effective vehicle for driving home weight loss giving it an apparent lead on the Diet vs Exercise controversy. While a good exercise regime is certainly very important; it is nonetheless the diet that drives sustained weight loss.

Here are some reasons why diet is more effective than exercise, and how to benefit from it.
1. Exercise alone does not drive significant weight loss
Studies prove this. Some people become physically active to compensate for the calories they eat. The quality of food and the amount of food though will play a very big role and exercise alone will never be able to counteract the effects of a bad diet. To help with this, it is a good idea to keep a food diary that lists the food you consume, so it is easy to assess if your diet is in line with your weight loss goals.
1. Exercise increases your appetite
Yes, regular exercise can trigger subconscious eating habits, based on research, and that physical exertion increases your appetite and metabolism. Studies also show that those who do adhere to rigid exercise regimes increase their calorie intake simultaneously. Snacks and meals need to be regulated to get to desired the weight loss.
1. All this increased physical activity hasn’t countered rising obesity levels
Between 2001 and 2009 in the US, people involved in physical activities increased, yet obesity continued to rise.

Another confirmation that exercise is not sufficient to prevent weight gain. One needs to review the nutritional values of the meals they consume because exercise alone will not cut it.
1. Food is the fuel source that drives exercise
Many people misunderstand this statement. Without the right calories from the correct healthy foods, you won’t be able to exercise effectively and achieve the weight loss that you desire. You have to fuel your body with the right foods to achieve your weight loss and fitness goals.
1. Short-term weight loss driven by diet
Today’s new age makes everything around us fast paced. We become impatient if we don’t see fast results, and that includes dieting. Experts estimate that weight loss generally consists of 75% diet and 25% exercise. Short-term weight loss occurs through eating smart and lessening the calories you take. In other words, over the short-term, people look at diet first for losing weight over exercise in the same period.
1. The effectiveness of just exercise for weight loss as a standalone is not effective
The American Dietetic Association highlights that it is almost impossible to lose weight loss without reducing what they eat. Exercise is important but diet still has a bigger effect on weight loss.

On the Diet vs Exercise controversy, the decision is always a personal one.

The answer should be both, nonetheless changing your diet is key to reaching your weight loss goals!

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June 20, 2020
Yoga Basics – What can Yoga- do for me?

Yoga Basics – Why it Helps

Simon Rae

If you are thinking of trying a new exercise, then yoga is the way to go. Unlike other sports or forms of exercise, yoga does not only strengthen your body but also relaxes your mind and motivates your spirit. Yoga is the union of the mind, body and spirit. It is being one with the universe, leading to unification and enlightenment. Practicing this exercise includes postures or poses, breathing and even internal cleansing and cultivating the life-energy as it is also a form of meditation.

Here are some of the yoga basics you need to know.

Basic Guidelines of Yoga

Yoga can be done at home or in a yoga studio near you. An advantage to going to a yoga studio in the beginning is you can learn the correct way to do the poses since a yoga instructor is present to teach and correct them, and you can meet other people who are into this form of exercise, too.

In this way, you can share your experience about how it is beneficial your health and wellness and get more motivation to really include practicing yoga regularly into your life.

Yoga is simple enough hence a quiet place and a yoga mat are pretty much everything you need.

Other yoga basics to consider

1. What to wear?
Going to the gym might require you some spandex type clothes but in yoga you can wear clothes that are loose and comfortable such as leggings and tights and pair it with a shirt of your choice. What is most important is that your clothing of choice is comfortable and will not restrict your movement.

2. How long should I do it?
As a beginner you should start slowly. Do not push yourself to the limit and you should be very attuned to your body and its cues. Additionally, you can start your practice depending on your schedule, objectives and ability. Start with 15 to 30 minutes, after some time, 15 to 90 minutes. You can practice 1 to 6 times a week. Always remember practicing longer but less frequently can be better than practicing for shorter periods but more frequently.
3. What to do and what not to do?
As mentioned earlier, do not push yourself too much! Do the basic poses first before moving on to the more challenging ones. Also, if you have any medical issues it is best to consult your yoga master or your medical doctor to prevent injuries or further harm.

Benefits of Yoga: Mind, Body and Soul

After getting prepared physically and mentally, the next thing you should know are the benefits you can get from yoga. This exercise does not only affect the physical body but also the mental state of the person doing it.

1. Improves the health of the muscles, joints and even the heart.
This can help lower blood pressure and pulse rate, reducing the risk of heart problems. In doing yoga, it involves almost every body part to move, this also improves your flexibility and balance.

2. Improves the quality of life.
Yoga develops discipline, devotion and mindfulness in you as it involves not only the body to move but also the mind to be more disciplined, focused and calm.

3. Improves mental health.
Doing yoga relaxes your mind and rejuvenates the spirit. This can reduce stress, relieve anxiety and fight depression. It helps lessen the symptoms of anxiety and depression as it reduces the levels of cortisol or stress hormone and also controls the levels of serotonin, a neurotransmitter linked with depression.

Basic Yoga Poses

After knowing how it can benefit you, aren’t you excited to try it out! If yes, then here are some of the basic poses you can do even at home.

1. Corpse Pose
Lie of your back in a neutral position with your arms at your sides. Relax your arms with your palms up. Relax your legs and your feet and close your eyes. Breathe naturally and let your muscles completely relax. Stay in this position for a few minutes.

2. Downward Facing Dog
Bend down in all fours, stretching your arms further from your head, somehow forming an acute triangle. Also lift your hips slightly upwards and hollow your abdominal muscles, holding your breath 5 to 8 counts.

3. Tree
Begin from standing position, your weight distributed evenly on both feet. Shift your weight to your left foot and slowly anchor your right foot on your inner thigh. Also center yourself, balance and press your palms in prayer position at chest level. Inhale and keep to this pose for up to a minute.

4. Triangle
Stretch your legs apart forming an acute triangle and reaching the leg further from the other with one hand to your knees, then the other arm reaching straight upwards. Turn your gaze to the top hand and hold your breath for 5 to 8 counts. This could strengthen your legs and tone the entire body.

In conclusion yoga is an exciting exercise routine to try out. It improves your lifestyle and gives a healthier perspective of things.

Finally, practicing these Yoga Basics will relax your mind and spirit.
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May 10, 2020