Posted by: Kelly McCauley
Since the 1990s fitness professionals have touted training the poorly defined core to be the solution to a variety of problems. A common belief includes that a strong core stabilizes the spine and thus prevents lower back pain. However, there is scant scientific research to support this idea.
Most people including some personal trainers, have no idea what the core is and what the core does. ...
Read More...Posted by: Kelly McCauley
Breathing – It is one of the most imperative activities of life. It’s such a simple task, isn’t it? Inhale, exhale, inhale, and exhale. Increasing the volume of the lungs and consequently lowering pressure to bring in air, then the opposite to remove it. Not so difficult. But, what about during exercise? When you’re working with effort not seen in everyday life, when you’re focusing on contracting every muscle fiber to achieve the maximum speed in a sprint ...
Read More...Posted by: Kelly McCauley
As we become older (30+ yrs) our bodies are changing and many people don’t realize that their normal routines may be hindering their overall health, especially if their routines don’t include regular exercise. Some adults feel that if exercise hasn’t been included in their routine from an early age that they are too old to begin an exercise regimen once they get older. This ...
Posted by: Kelly McCauley
Did you know that water makes up more than half of your body weight? This is why staying hydrated is so important; water is used in the body to maintain temperature, remove waste and lubricate joints. However, while working out we lose water from our bodies and these important functions can be hindered. There are several factors that affect the amount of water lost during exercise including room temperature, the amount of sweat ...
Posted by: Vertex Fitness
BY TARA BEHAN PUBLISHED JANUARY 11, 2007 AT 12:00 AM
New Year’s Resolve
It’s not too late to get it together for 2007.
You had the best intentions as you toasted the New Year. You promised yourself 2007 would be different—that this time you’d stick to your plan for building a new and improved ...
Read More...Posted by: Dwayne Wimmer
During pregnancy, exercise can help you stay in shape and prepare for labor and delivery. In fact, pregnancy can be a great time to get active — even if you haven’t exercised in a while. During pregnancy, exercise can:
Yes, they can! Regular resistance exercise can help minimize the effects of aging and give seniors the strength and energy to continue to lead an active life by building stronger bones and burning extra calories. Before you get started, it’s essential to get checked out by your doctor. If you have any conditions such as arthritis, osteoporosis, high blood pressure or heart disease, you’ll need to learn the types of exercises you can and can’t do.
Read More...Posted by: Dwayne Wimmer
The answer is no, you won’t. If your fear of looking bulky and masculine is keeping you away from lifting weights, you’ll be relieved to know that a woman’s body isn’t naturally able to build large muscles the way a man can. Women’s bodies simply don’t have the testosterone levels necessary for major muscle gains; in fact, men have 20 times or more the amount of testosterone in their bodies that women have. The more important thing to remember is ...
Read More...Posted by: Dwayne Wimmer
Regular strength training stresses your muscles and produces some degree of tissue microtrauma. After each workout, the exercised tissues respond to the training stimulus by rebuilding tissue, resulting in stronger muscles. These tissue building processes can take anywhere between 24 to 96 hours. Taking a day or two of rest between training sessions is recommended. Most people make consistent strength improvements with two or three exercise sessions a week.
Read More...Posted by: Dwayne Wimmer
Yes and no. One of the most common reasons someone starts exercising is for a desire to lose weight. Yet, if we truly look at how and why our body stores fat, you see that exercise is not an efficient way to burn a lot of calories to lose weight.
Simply put, the problem of weight loss has less to do with storing fat than it does with having a food abundance. In fact, our ability to efficiently store and use ...
Read More...The key to any successful exercise program is consistency and a gradual increase in the pace and/or resistance. Exercise has to be progressive to continually yield a return. The rule of thumb is if exercise is easy then it probably isn’t doing much to change your body. If your exercise program includes walking, walk farther, faster or up hills to keep your body challenged. When the same mile walk that was once taxing, now feels easy and can be done ...
Read More...No, people do not “need” to take periods of time off from working out if they are doing it correctly. If someone is routinely using a progressive overload program such as strength training, getting adequate rest between workouts and seeing positive results, then there should not be a reason to take a break. However, if someone feels they need a “vacation” from their workouts, than it may mean they are over-training or doing too much. If someone is training too ...
Read More...This soreness you may feel is called delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and is experienced by many that have started a new exercise program. The soreness results from high force production when an exercise is new or a when a load is greater than normal. During eccentric muscle contractions (in which the muscle lengthens), small microtears occur in the muscle fibers. This is common and affects most exercisers during the first 24 hours post-exercise. It typically peaks in the next ...
Read More...Posted by: Dwayne Wimmer
Many people believe the key to a flat stomach is performing multiple sets of different abdominal exercises. However, research has proven you can NOT spot reduce body-fat around your waist by exercising that area. The key to shedding that unwanted belly fat is reducing your daily calorie intake. You can not out exercise a bad diet. Only a proper diet coupled with a progressive strength training program will help you achieve the flat stomach you desire.
Read More...Posted by: Dwayne Wimmer
The key to sticking to an exercise program is keeping the frequency to something that is manageable. Most people think they need more exercise than they actually do and end up spending needless hours in the gym. Exercise should not take up that much time. It’s like brushing your teeth. Make it a priority, do it when needed and take time off in between. Believe it or not, you can get the best results by training just one-to–three times per ...
Read More...Posted by: Dwayne Wimmer
The answer is “no”, you don’t. The purpose of working with a trainer is to help you achieve a higher level of fitness than you could on your own. Your trainer will assess your current fitness level in your first session and move you slowly and safely toward your goals.
Read More...When interviewing for a personal trainer, just because they look the part doesn’t mean they know what they are doing. Ask questions. If the conversation begins with a sales pitch for a weight-loss shake or other product-line, end the conversation and look for someone else. A great trainer should be listening to YOU, answering your questions and explaining how their program will give you the results you are seeking. Look for a knowledgeable trainer that uses an evidence-based exercise protocol, ...
Read More...There isn’t anyone that couldn’t benefit from having a personal trainer. However, those that will benefit the most are the people that truly want to change and are willing to do the hard work required. These people will get the best results because they listen, value the knowledge and expertise of the trainer and allow themselves to be coached.
Read More...Posted by: Dwayne Wimmer
There are numerous benefits to strength training regularly, particularly as you grow older. It can be very powerful in reducing the signs and symptoms of numerous diseases and chronic conditions, among them:
Tufts University recently completed a strength-training program with older men and women with moderate to severe knee osteoarthritis. The results of this sixteen-week program showed that strength training decreased pain by 43%, increased muscle strength and general physical performance, improved the clinical signs and symptoms of the ...
Read More...WEDNESDAY, May 4 (HealthDay News) — Vigorous exercise offers more of a mood boost than less strenuous exercise, a new study finds.
U.K. researchers compared 11 sedentary people who did moderate and high-intensity exercise. Their mood was assessed before, during, immediately following, and 20 minutes after they did the workouts.
The participants’ moods were more negative during and immediately after high-intensity exercise, compared to when they did the less strenuous exercise or no exercise. However, their mood 20 minutes after doing the ...
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