Posted in Recipe on May 19, 2012
Ingredients
2 large cucumbers
2 large tomato
2 tbsp olive oil
dash of fresh oregano
dash of fresh parsley
Preparation
Wash and skin the cucumbers. Cut the cucumber into 1 inch slices. Cut the tomato’s into 4 quarters. Add to bowl and add olive oil, fresh oregano, and fresh parsley. Chill before serving for best flavor!
Posted in Article on May 17, 2012
This exercise is once again aimed at the shoulders, but it also uses your tricep muscles.
This is classed by many as one of more difficult techniques to learn. It is also, however, one of the most effective for feeling ?the burn?.
This is an ideal exercise to do at the end of your workout session as a finisher. It is suitable for both men and women to do and is a great middle deltoid exercise.
For this exercise you will need a bench with a back support and two dumbbells of an appropriate weight for your level of expertise, fitness and strength.
Position yourself on the bench and hold a dumbbell in each hand at chest height. Make sure that your palms are facing your body and your elbows are bent. Your arms should be in close to your torso.
This will now become your starting position.
Making sure you are inhaling, raise the dumbbells while at the same time turning your hands so that the palms now face outwards.
Exhale slowly while continuing to raise the dumbbells until your arms are stretched above you and your elbows are locked.
Pause for a count of two at the top of the movement, and then start to lower the dumbbells while inhaling.
Continue to lower the dumbbells and rotate the palms of your hands back towards you. The right hand will rotate clockwise, and the left hand will rotate counter clockwise.
Do the required number of repetitions of the same movement.
Tip: Ensure that you work slowly, and get a full 180 degree rotation going through both hands and arms.
Another variation of the same exercise is as follows:
Position yourself on the bench and hold a dumbbell in each hand at chest height. Make sure that your palms are facing your body and your elbows are bent. Your arms should be in close to your torso.
This, as before, has now become your starting position.
Start by bringing your elbows out to your sides with your palms facing inwards towards you.
Continue to move your elbows outwards, while at the same time raising your arms. Turn your hands so that the palms are now facing outwards away from you.
While inhaling continue to slowly raise the dumbbells until your arms are straight above your head until your arms are straight and your elbows are locked.
Exhale, and slowly lower the dumbbells back to the starting position, once again rotating your arms so that your palms are again facing inwards towards you.
Do the required number of repetitions of the same movement.
Yet another variation can be carried out as stated above, but this time, instead of having straight arms and locked elbows, ensure that the dumbbells are overhead, but not touching each other. Also make sure that your elbows remain slightly bent and are not locked.
This exercise can also be performed while sitting on an exercise ball, although it would be recommended that extra care be taken.
Posted in Article on May 16, 2012
The following fitness tips can be applied to all low impact exercises. It is important to follow these tips as they will help reduce your chances of injuring your body especially if you have not exercised in a while.
If you have not exercised in a long time check with your doctor before beginning a new program.
While exercising if you feel dizzy or experience pain stop exercising immediately.
Work out at a pace that is comfortable for you.
Never exercise if you are sick and have a fever.
Perform exercises which incorporate both stretching and have a cardiovascular component.
Drink plenty of water, around 70of your body is water which you lose during sweat, so it is important to replace this each day.
A protein bar or banana make a good pre-workout snack.
Make sure you have all the correct equipment so you can work out effectively.
Wear loose, comfortable clothing.
Good shoes are crucial for exercising without getting sore feet.
Choose running shoes which are cushioned and which support your arches.
Performing a warm up will enhance your exercise.
Stretching after exercising helps to reduce the severity of aches and pains the next day.
Eat a high energy snack after you have completed your exercise.
Don?t eat a large meal for at least an hour after your workout.
Incorporate exercise into your life gradually.
If you are new to exercise start off with 10 minutes segments a couple of times each day.
Getting 8 hours of straight sleep will help improve your exercise performance.
Eating sensibly goes hand in hand with leading a healthy lifestyle.
No one is ever too old to work out, start slowly and seek medical advice if you have an ongoing medical condition.
Try to choose a low impact exercise that helps to target any trouble areas. For example bending and stretching will help tone and tighten your legs and buttocks. Performing crunches will help tighten your abdominal muscles. Exercises like walking, swimming and cycling will provide you with a whole body workout and help to increase your stamina and energy levels.
Just remember that eating a healthy diet is very important. You can make small changes like cutting back on the amount of soda you drink each day. Small steps really do make a huge difference when it comes to improving your lifestyle.
Posted in Recipe on May 15, 2012
Ingredients
1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/3 cup low fat mayonnaise (I use Hellmans)
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 – 7 inch whole wheat tortillas
1/2 pound roast beef, sliced deli style
2 tomatoes, thinly sliced
2 cups lettuce, shredded
Directions
Combine the basil, mayonnaise, mustard, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Spread evenly on the tortillas. Top each tortilla with one fourth each of the roast beef, tomatoes, and lettuce; roll up. Cut each wrap in half on a slight diagonal.
Posted in Article on May 13, 2012
When it comes to working out most people envision gyms and having to use all types of exercise equipment. This is absolutely not true! It is possible to get a great workout in just by performing some simple but effective moves. All of which require nothing more than the use of an exercise mat.
Circuit training is very popular and is the perfect way to get a full body workout in over a short time period. Doing quick sets of different movements allows you to exercise all your different muscles groups.
When starting any exercise you want to spend the first five minutes warming up. This can be done by doing some arm circles, some jumping jacks and a few knee bends. Once you have this completed you can start on your circuit training routine.
The ideal circuit training routine will focus on one exercise for the abdominal area, one for the lower body, one upper body movement that pushes and one for the upper body that requires you to pull. Each set of movements should ideally be repeated ten times in each circuit. The number of circuits that you complete will depend upon your physical condition. At first you may only be able to perform one circuit. That’s fine just work up to adding in another one when you can.
Sample Routine
First 5 or 10 minutes spent walking, doing arm circles and jumping jacks
Push Ups or Chair Dips x 10
Squats, Lunges or Walking x 10
Sit Ups or Leg Raises x 10
Inverted Rows or Pull Ups x 10
If you require a break in between circuits you can continue walking in place until you catch your breath and then start another circuit.
Perform a cool down that includes walking to allow your heart rate to come back to normal. Then perform some leg and arm stretches along with deep breathing exercises.
During your circuit training routine take the time to sip on water to prevent your body from becoming dehydrated. If you feel shaky afterwards this is a sign that your body requires some food so snack on something like a banana or other piece of fruit.
To make your routine fun you can aim to start at 10 reps of each exercise per circuit then on the next circuit decrease the number to 8, the next to 6 and so on until you reach 0. Doing this really makes the time go faster and allows you to perform more reps than you thought possible.
Posted in Video on May 12, 2012
Video: A super simple exercise, but very effective, jumping rope can be done almost anywhere and is great for getting your heart rate up.
Posted in Video on May 11, 2012
Video: This upper body workout is a great home workout that requires no equipment and little space.
Posted in Video on May 10, 2012
Video: The burpee is a full body exercise that incorporates both strength training and cardio.
Posted in Article on May 9, 2012
In the past doctors thought, overweight patients had increased risks of developing heart failure due to complications from diabetes, coronary heart disease, and high blood pressure yet new studies show that obesity leads to heart failure without the other medical conditions present. The studies also show that even excess body weight tremendously increases the risks even when the person is not considered obese.
One study was based on 5881 people who volunteered for the case study at the institution. The people were either obese or overweight during the 14-year study. Those people that were considered overweight had a risk of developing heart failure 34greater than the non-overweight individuals. The ones considered obese had a risk factor of 104
The fact that obese individuals, had a higher risk rate, caused alarm for the doctors in the medical field, since this new study brought to light; a new medical condition previously never known. The fact proven by the study showed even healthy people are still at risk for heart disease by decreased amounts. Overweight and obese people, based on the results, began to be counselled to lose weight to lower the risk of possible heart failure.
Obesity leads to heart failure because the problems associated with obesity such as left ventricular hypertrophy known as LVH, which is the thickening of the walls of the left regions of the heart. Over time, LVH can lead to heart failure.
Obesity is associated with metabolic syndrome X that is a metabolic disorder causing the lipid abnormalities. Both LVH and metabolic syndrome lead to heart failure in obese and overweight individuals.
The treatments designed at improving the LVH and metabolic syndrome X can help with stopping heart failure. The theory has been tested in clinical studies, while it is still highly recommended individuals lose the excess weight to lower their risks of the medical conditions. Using a healthy low caloric diet and exercise, many individuals lower their risks as well as reducing the risks of hypertension, lipid abnormalities, metabolic syndrome X, and other heart diseases; they were previously considered at high risk to get.
Doctors used the studies to counsel patients on the importance of weight loss and weight management citing the study results as proof the patient was at high risk. Many patients, required the study as proof they were at risk, since in the past many had been informed differently.
The fact remains that obesity raises the risk levels for heart disease. Heart disease is an extremely serious condition, which must be recognized and taken seriously by both the doctor and the patient; so proper treatments can be used to lower the risks and prolong the life of the patients.
Posted in Article on May 8, 2012
The gorilla chin crunch is a compound exercise that effectively works the abdominal muscles, as well as the lats and biceps. It is certainly no secret that everyone who takes the time to workout wishes to have a flat, washboard abdomen. You do not want to have great looking abs and walk around with flabby arms ? or do you?
If you want to perform the gorilla chin crunch, you need to understand that although it may look really simple but if you do not have upper body strength, you may not find this exercise very easy to perform.
What You Need to Perform Gorilla Chin Crunch
You will require a chin-up bar, upper body strength and determination
How to Perform Gorilla Chin Crunch
You can start by hanging from the chin-up bar; you should use an underhand grip (that is, having your palms face you). The underhand grip should be a little bit wider than shoulder width.
Then, bend your knees at around a 90 degree angle in such a way that your calves are parallel to the floor while your thighs stay perpendicular to it ? this will be the starting position.
As you breathe out, you should pull yourself up while you crunch your knees up at exactly the same time ? do this until your knees are at chest level. When your nose reaches the same level as the bar, you will stop going.
Important Note: when you reach this point, you should also be done with the crunch at the same time.
You should breathe in slowly as you return to the starting position.
You should repeat the gorilla chin crunch according to the recommended amount of repetitions.
If you want to, you can also add resistance by holding medicine ball or dumbbell between your feet ? but you need to understand that if you are not an advanced athlete, you should not try this. On the other hand, when you become an advanced athlete, you can also try doing the one arm gorilla chin crunches, the exercise involve grasping your wrist with your free hand and continue working the oblique more.
The abdominal muscles need regular workouts and 5 minutes of daily abdominal exercises can actually make a real difference ? that is, as long as you do the exercises everyday.
Now, you need to know that even though exercises play a vital role in getting the physique you have always desired, you will need to make sure that you eat the right kind of food and drink lots and lots of water too.
When you feel your muscles cramping, you should immediately stop the exercises and rest. Do not over push yourself, especially if you have just started working out ? with a little time, you will be an advanced athlete.
Important Tip
You can get a training buddy if you are not sure whether you will be disciplined enough to continue your work out routine ? a committed workout buddy will keep you primed and ready to go.
Remember, you will never regret dedicating your time to staying fit.
