Deciding to hire a personal trainer is a great route for women who are beginning to work out regularly but may not know how to reach their fitness goals. However, it is extremely important that you find the personal trainer that will be best for your body, motivations, and specific goals. Continue reading “Finding the Right Personal Trainer for You”
Author: Angie Tinsley
That Was Quick! 5 Short & Effective Workouts for Men
Finding enough time to squeeze in a workout as often as you would like can be challenging, but it doesn’t have to be. There are thousands of exercises out there that can be done quickly with little to no exercise equipment. Next time you find yourself in a crunch for time, try completing these short workouts that can be completed individually or together for a comprehensive and effective workout:
Raise Your Heart Rate with Jumping Jacks
This classic exercise is easy to complete anywhere. Along with working your leg and arm
muscles, jumping jacks increase your heart rate and get your body into fat-burning mode. If you find yourself sedentary most of the day (at a desk job for example), get up from your desk 2-3times per day and do 10-20 jumping jacks.
Work Your Core with Sit-Ups
Sit-ups are not as easily completed anywhere, but they are quick and effective if completed daily. When you wake up in the morning and before you go to bed, try completing 20-40 sit-ups. Sit-ups are great for working your abs and you don’t have to do them for long before you can start to feel the exercise working your muscles.
Strengthen Your Muscles with Jumping Rope
Jumping rope is another great cardio exercise. When you don’t have time to run down the road to the gym for an hour to use fitness equipment, purchase a jump rope and jump just a few minutes each day. Jumping rope will increase your heart rate and work the muscles in your arms and legs.
Build Upper Body Strength with Push-Ups
Push-ups, another classic workout, use your own bodyweight to improve the strength in your arms, shoulders, and core. You’ll feel this great exercise very shortly after starting, so it does not take up a lot of your time to complete. Aim for completing 5-10 push-ups each day.
Condition Your Whole Body with Burpees
Burpees are a great way to combine both cardio and strengthening exercises. Again, this workout won’t take more than just a few minutes and you will feel its effects almost immediately. This exercise is great to complete in the morning after rising, as it will increase your heart rate and get you ready for the day.
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Beat the Heat: How to Stay Safe When Exercising Outside
With the heat of the summer on, exercising outside can be dangerous. From overheating to dehydration, knowing how to stay safe when exercising outside is something all women should know, athlete or not. Don’t ignore these basic rules.
Wear Sunscreen
Even if you are exercising on a cloudy day, you can still get burned. Choose a sunscreen that provides 50 SPF protection and reapply regularly. Avoid spray on sunscreen and sunscreens that claim to be over 50 SPF. Not only are aerosols bad for the environment, but anything over 50 SPF doesn’t work.
Stay Hydrated
Before, during and after exercising outdoors, it is very important to drink plenty of water. Staying hydrated will keep your muscles and cardiovascular system functioning as they should, as well as allowing you to sweat.
Sweating may seem gross, but it is essential to maintain your body temperature. When you sweat, you lose a lot of:
- Water
- Electrolytes
- Potassium
When you lose these three components, you are losing necessary nutrients and minerals. If you have cramping, that is usually a sign that you need potassium in your diet. You can replenish electrolytes with a sports drink like Gatorade. Never drink soft drinks when exercising. Soft drinks contain sugar and caffeine, both of which will dehydrate you even more. Balance sports drinks with water.
Check the Humidity
Even though sweating cools you down, it cannot do so on a humid day. That is why you should not only check the temperature outside before you exercise, but also the humidity. Humidity will make a hot day seem even more unbearable because the sweat will not be evaporating off of your body as it should. If you have to exercise outside on a humid day, take precautions and regularly find cool places to rest.
Listen to Your Body
While you need to push yourself to get stronger or faster, watch out for any warning signs that you’re pushing yourself too hard. If you begin to experience these symptoms, stop exercising and take a break:
- Dizziness
- Shortness of breath
- Nausea
- Cramping
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Everything You Need to Know about the FDA’s Trans Fat Ban
Recently, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) announced a ban on trans fats. Trans fats have been popular since the 1960s due to their ability to spread easily after being taken out of the fridge and keep foods from going bad too quickly. It wasn’t until recent years that the health risks of trans fats was fully recognized. But how are they bad for you and why did the FDA move forward with this particular ban? Continue reading “Everything You Need to Know about the FDA’s Trans Fat Ban”
How To Correctly Use Battling Ropes To Supplement Your Workout
Battling ropes have recently emerged in the fitness world and have become increasingly popular ever since. The heavy weight of these ropes as your body propels them in different directions is a great strength-building workout with the added benefit of being incredibly easy on the joints. Take a look at these few techniques to make sure you are correctly and efficiently using battling ropes to get the most out of your workout:
Move in Different Directions
When using battling ropes, it is often easy to get stuck doing the same repetitive motion. Avoid getting caught in an exercise rut by switching up your motions every now and again. Continue reading “How To Correctly Use Battling Ropes To Supplement Your Workout”
The Many Benefits of Exercising While Pregnant
Exercise is beneficial for everyone. But for pregnant women, exercising is an important part of staying healthy that’s beneficial for them and their baby. By remaining active during your pregnancy, you can rest assured that you are taking advantage of the many benefits that come along with exercising:
Improve Health for Both Mom & Baby
By exercising while pregnant, you will not only be improving your health but your baby’s. Exercising prepares your body for the labor process and may reduce the need for pain medications. It also helps reduce the chances of:
- Back pain
- Gestational diabetes
- Needing a C-section
You also potentially improve your baby’s:
- Heart
- Memory
- Weight
How you take care of yourself during pregnancy also affects your baby not only in-utero but throughout its entire life. According to research, children of mothers who exercised during pregnancy had better memories and higher scores on intelligence and language tests. Mothers who exercised and ate healthy during their pregnancies also tended to have babies with healthier birth weight.
Exercising Helps Boost Your Immune System
Pregnant or not, exercising will help boost your immune system and fight off harmful germs and viruses. A healthy immune system is especially important when you are pregnant.
When pregnant, women’s immune systems tend to overreact when faced with invaders like the flu. In addition to exercise, it’s very important to stay up-to-date on your immunizations. Not only are you protecting your own health, but the health of your baby.
Exercising Reduces Stress
Exercising while pregnant is a great way to reduce stress, both mentally and physically. Keep your body in shape and your body will feel less of the negative physical effects of pregnancy. It’s also a great way to unwind and boost your mood.
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Fitness Dos And Don’ts For Looking Great In Your Wedding Dress
Wedding season is right around the corner. Women whose wedding is coming up often try to lose weight or tone up to look great in their wedding dress. While it’s okay to want to look good on your big day, going to extreme measures will do you more harm than good.
Don’t Lose a Lot of Weight
Once your dress is fitted, don’t lose a lot of weight at the last minute. Not only will your dress not fit correctly, but you won’t have time to get it altered. Continue reading “Fitness Dos And Don’ts For Looking Great In Your Wedding Dress”
Top 5 Worst Mistakes Athletes Can Make When Exercising
Even if you’ve exercised regularly for years, it’s easier than you think to make mistakes during your workouts. Many fitness experts know the best exercises and know how to complete them well, but they also may get over-confident and begin to cut corners. Here are the top five mistakes fitness experts and athletes tend to make and why you should avoid them:
Skipping Warm-Ups
Even if you feel like you’re in good enough shape to jump right into a workout, it’s not the best thing for your body. Continue reading “Top 5 Worst Mistakes Athletes Can Make When Exercising”
Why You Should Think Twice Before Starting a Cleanse
Many people believe that cleanses are a good way to keep your body healthy or to lose weight in a short amount of time. However, there could be potential dangers when starting a new cleanse. Cleanses, by themselves, can present many unwanted issues.
Lack of Nutrition
While it seems detoxing with fruit juices or fruit-infused waters would be a healthy solution that is by far not the case. Continue reading “Why You Should Think Twice Before Starting a Cleanse”