Archive for February, 2010
Abdominal workouts form an important part of any fitness plan. Everybody seems to be going for the look of the trim waistline, a hard rock stomach and the six pack outline. It is good to have the look but it is even better to achieve a strengthening of the muscle that will result in the flat tummy. Strong stomach muscles will be an advantage, whatever sport activity you indulge in you can start right now with one of the easier ab workout routine for the beginner. This exercise involves crunches. Do it in sets of 3, 25 reps. Take a 3 minute rest between each set:
~Lie flat on your back on a mat with your feet flat on the ground.
~Place your hands lightly on either side of your head keeping your elbows out. Push the small of your back down to the floor to isolate your ab muscles.
~Begin to roll your shoulders off the floor.
~Continue to push down with your lower back. Your shoulders should come up off the floor only about four inches, and your lower back should always remain on the floor.
~As always, make sure you let your abs do the work in a slow and controlled fashion.
Being overweight has lots of disadvantages. It can be detrimental to one’s health and can greatly lower one’s self esteem. This is the reason why several people want to lose weigh fast. It’s either they do not have time to go through the long process of dieting and exercise or they just lack the will to do so. Some people have personal reasons and deadlines such as special occasions like wedding, a beach party, etc.
It takes a lot of patience and will power to lose weight fast. You should drink lots of water which will cause you to flush out unwanted substances. Calorie and sugar intake should also be reduced and control. Monitoring your efforts by using pedometer is also a great strategy in losing weight the soonest possible time. Total lifestyle change is what it takes to achieve this very challenging goal.
Everyone is trying to take care of their hearts. Everyone should. Heart disease is one of the leading killers of mankind. To strengthen the heart, lose weight and do cardiovascular workouts. If you are just starting, exercise moderately 3 to 4 times a week is good.
Cardiovascular workouts are those that work your heart aerobically. This means you exercise between heart rates of about 60-74 percent of your max heart rate. The best is probably swimming and brisk walking. These two exercises won’t stress the joints much. Also, if you do these exercises you’ll find it hard to go anaerobic.
Taking up swimming will provide you with benefits that you can get from running by providing cardio stimulation. I will also provide weight training strength benefits. Swimming may be a fun activity but it actually is a comprehensive workout. Swimming fitness exercises are good for the lungs; it also reduces the risk of stroke and heart attack. It enhances the flexibility of the joints. It is perfect for people who have a hard time carrying out weight bearing activities.
Just like other forms of exercise, swimming is a way of relieving stress. Because you have to practice correct breathing while swimming, you benefit by being de-stressed. Learning new techniques such as front crawl, breast stroke or back stroke will help you forget about your problems and you will find that you are more relaxed. Go swimming on your own time and pace. It is a fun way to be fit.