> Cardio | Yoga Health and Fitness Guide - Part 2

Archive for the ‘Cardio’ Category

If You Can’t Lose Weight – A Step By Step System May Be What You Need

By yogaguid on 3rd July, 2009 | No Comments

If you’ve been fighting a losing (weight) battle you may be starting to think there’s something else to it and you just can’t lose weight.

I can re-assure you though that you can lose weight. Almost everyone can lose weight given the right system. Maybe you haven’t found yours yet?

I used to just assume I couldn’t lose weight. Then mother nature gave me a kick up the backside and forced me to think differently.

I used to be about fifteen pounds overweight most of the time. Then I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and at twenty seven years old. Shock, dismay, confusion, depression, I had it all.

I haven’t a clue how it all works but getting it made me realise my life now depends on being serious about losing some excess fat.

I’m a systems man at heart. Whatever I do if I can boil it down to a system, I will. Weight loss is no different.

A system is like a recipe, follow it properly and get the same end result. The end result here for you is a body you’ve craved for a long while now.

Systems are used successfully in all walks of life. In fact the modern world is built on systems. So why not borrow these ideas to lose weight?

I’ll admit now that I spent thousands on crap dieting products only to end up back where I started a few months later. I hope by showing you my path to success I can save you wasting the same money.

I unearthed a gem of a system, works great for me. I can easily plan what I need to do and then tick the tasks of as I do them every day.

I plan meals with a computer generated meal planner. Meals that don’t leave me feeling empty and are perfectly healthy. Stress free meal planning.

I used to get really stressed out planning a daily diet. Working out what was good or bad was becoming a nightmare. A couple of mouse clicks now and I’m good to go.

If you actually believe that you can’t lose weight maybe it’s time to try a system like mine. It’s a no stress join the dots kinda thing. You’ve got nothing to lose but a bit of fat.

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Exercise For Love Handles – Does It Hurt Bad?

By yogaguid on 28th June, 2009 | No Comments

Exercise for love handles, will it hurt me? Well that all rests on what & how you do it. But it doesn’t have to be.

Love handles are those horrid looking lumps of fat hanging off most adults sides, at about the waist level. Why they are called ‘love handles’ is beyond me. There’s no love there!

The correct term for them is ‘obliques’, as they are at an angle to our bodies. The term oblique means slanting, or at an angle.

Now, most advice for anything in the fitness or weight loss niche will start with all the same crap of eat healthy, balanced diet and exercise.

We are well aware of all that advice but we need an easy way without any real work, is it possible?

Yes it’s possible. You can continue on your junk food diet and lose your love handles but you are in for a huge amount of work.

The problem is while you are hard at it exercising for your love handles, sweating yesterdays burgers off, today’s burgers are making their way slowly to your midriff.

If, and I say then tentatively, if you were to cut the crap food out you will find you can do far less exercise to maintain a great body.

It’s about compromise. How much do you really want to lose those love handles? Is it enough to make a change to your lifestyle?

Or will you choose to work much harder and still enjoy all the junk foods you do now. That one is up to you.

A popular exercise for love handles is side bends. You may need to do a few hundred a day to maintain your love handles and your current diet. Or only do a few dozen to keep the love handles flat if you make the lifestyle change.

As you will gather from the above, it’s a fine balancing act. Junk food = more exercise while healthy food = less exercise.

As a person, I’m lazy. I try to eat the best options, this way it keeps the exercise to a minimum. I still exercise for love handles but only to stop them appearing again.

To wrap it up, it will indeed hurt if you have to do masses of exercise for love handles. Far better to minimise the exercise by altering your lifestyle a bit.

Have you got the willpower to do it? If you wanna check out my fav weight loss I’ve reviewed a few that I’ve tried on my site. What have you got to lose? Maybe your love handles!

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Learn the Aerobic Step and Stay Fit

By yogaguid on 23rd June, 2009 | No Comments

Aerobic step can be a part of a healthy lifestyle. It is essential to know a a balanced meal mixed with a course of sensible exercise will lead to a more healthy you. Though making the necessary changes to your diet is very important, especially if you are having an issue with obesity, undertaking heart exercises will enhance your fitness and well-being. Aerobic step is a simple form of cardiovascular exercise that can do more than simple things to your body.

As the name implies, aerobic step or more typically called step-aerobics involves stepping on a raised platform or using certain step aerobics kit like a wii fit balance board or other kinds of fit balance board. Traditional aerobics are done on the floor where you are stepping in tune to music: your right or left leg moving, knees lifted now and then, leg is curled at times, and your arms swaying too. These are all done to increase the movements of your muscles and to increase the amount of calories burned.

Aerobic step usually involves movement vertically rather than horizontally. There would be a step of four to ten inches in height in front of you and you’d be stepping up and down to the music. This is really an exercise that you can do in the comfort of your own house. You can choose to have a home tutor to help you can simply buy Step Aerobic DVD’s that you can simply follow.

As you advance in your exercise program, you can opt to add some tools to help build more muscles. Amateurs would generally begin with a four inch High step then the steps can be increased by 2 in. high increments. You can also add some further risers. Other tools can be brought by buyers over the Internet. You can check on different consumer reviews so you know which product would help you best in your aerobic step exercise.

It is significant that when you are doing your exercise to concentrate to your posture and the way you are stepping. Your head should be kept up and your shoulders back while stepping. Your feet should be centered on the platform. When stepping down, your toe should hit the ground first rather than your heel. Knee bend should never be more than the right angle which is ninety degrees.

Aerobic step is an enjoyable exercise. Try it and you would be surprised how fit and healthy you will be.

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5 Benefits Of Regular Dance Exercise

By yogaguid on 21st June, 2009 | No Comments

dance workout

We all know that we need regular exercise to get or keep our bodies in top shape. Working up a sweat not only helps us burn fat and lose weight, it can protect us from preventable diseases such a strokes, heart disease, diabetes, maybe even some forms of cancer.

But exercising doesn’t have to be something you always dread doing every day. You can have more fun exercising than you ever thought possible by adding a little dance into your workout regimen.

1) Dancing is a wonderful way to get your heart pumping and to burn calories while you’re having a great time. Our bodies were mean’t to move and regular dancing can be an important part of keeping your body in tip-top shape.

2) A regular dance workout can help improve your balance and coordination, protect your bones, increase your confidence, relieve stress and make you sleep better at night. You’ll feel sexier and more comfortable in your body when you make it move regularly.

3) Dance exercise can help you feel more energetic and reduce your anxiety levels. If you dance in the mornings, you will have the advantage of starting your day with a smile that will carry you through the day and make the little annoyances you have to deal with seem a little more bearable.

4) If you have kids, dancing is a wonderful activity that you can do together as a family. Your children will love seeing you dance around and be a little less serious for a change. Dancing gets everyone laughing, making you feel closer as a family as you do something that will improve the health of everyone.

5) A dance workout is not as strenuous as running or as complicated as weight lifting, but you’ll still find yourself working up a sweat and burning some serious calories as you work through a dance workout. Moving your body the right way will work all the major muscles, improving your posture, strength and stamina as you go through the rest of your day.

The best part is, you don’t need any special equipment, training or a gym membership to take advantage of the health benefits of dancing. All you need is some space in your living room, some music or a dance workout DVD and you’ll be ready to go!

Kenn Kihiu is a fitness expert and the creator of DanceX Fun Dance Exercise Workout DVD’s for both adults and kids. To learn more about Kenn or DanceX visit http://www.dancexfitness.com

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Don’t have a stopwatch? Learn to use the tachymeter function of your analog watch instead

By yogaguid on 8th June, 2009 | No Comments

How to read a tachymeter watch bezel

On some of the analog watches or wristwatches from brands such as Rolex or Omega, there is a outer scale bezel that is named tachymeter . This tachymeter is simply a classic tool used to compute speed based on travel time over a fixed distance travelled (like one mile).

These tachymeter’s are not designed to measure times over 60 seconds.  Depending  on the range of the scale printed on the bezel, tachymetre timer normally works accurately for all elapsed times from about 7.2 seconds to 60 seconds, thus these originally were designed to measure speeds greater than 60 miles per hour.

To use your tachymeter function, simply start the chronograph when the subject measured is passing the starting line. When the object reaches the next mile or kilometer marker, stop the chronograph or stopwatch. The point on the tachymeter scale that is adjacent to the second hand of the watch will display the speed (in miles per hour or kilometers per hour) of the object traveling between the two points.

For example, we want to discover the average speed of a particular Harley Davidson motorcycle. We start the chronometer function when the motorcycle leaves the bar, and stop the timer after the motorcycle travels exactly 1 mile or 5,280 feet and gets pulled over by the police officer. Then glance at where the chronometer hand (the second hand of the watch) is pointing to, and get the reading of the corresponding number at the tachymeter bezel or dial. Let’s say the stopwatch stops at the 9 o’clock position, meaning 45 seconds had elapsed for the motorcycle to travel 1 mile or 1 kilometer. At the 9 o’clock position, the tachymetre value shows the number 80.  This means the average speed of the motorcycle was 80 mph.

Due to the limitation and constraint on the tacheometer device mentioned above which makes tachymetre measurements works and valid only for certain spectrum of speed, so in order to calculate and measure slower speeds or higher speed, user can decrease or increase the unit of measurement (e.g. change to half-miles, or ten miles). However, basic math is required to get the correct average speed by using this approach.

For example, we want to measure how fast the senior adult is going through the crosswalk we drive through daily. Start the chronometer when the green walk light starts, and stop the stopwatch when the elderly person gets to the other side. Let’s say the old person took 10 seconds to finish walking 53 feet. According to the tachymeter, the speed of the senior is 350 miles/hr. However, the elderly person only went one hundreth (1/100) of a mile, so we should divide 350 with 100 or 1/100 of 350, which means the actual speed of the pedestrian is 3.5 miles per hour (go speed racer!!).

If your speedometer ever blows up on your car while traveling down the interstate you can also use the tachymeter function of your watch to find out the speed.  All interstates have mile markers.  Start your chronometer function at one mile marker and stop it at the next.  If the watch only made it to the 40 second mark, you need to slow down.  You could get a ticket for going 90mph on most U.S. interstates.

What if the object travels too fast, such as a bullet or space shuttle. In this case we can increase the units of the distance covered by the object to measure a longer period of time so that the duration is greater than at least 7.2 seconds (typically the lower limit to be accurate). We just measure the time taken by the object to cover 10 miles, let’s say it took 15 seconds, so the tachymeter will tell us the the speed is 240 miles per hour. However, 10 miles have been traveled, so that actual speed is 240 times 10, which is 2400 mph. Since the speed of sound is 768 mph, your subject is over Mach 3.I just don’t feel that tachymeter’s were ever designed to accurately measure speed faster than sound.

After reading this tutorial you should now know how to use your tachymeter (commonly misspeled as tachymetre or tacheometer).  Would you like to see vintage watches that have tachymeter’s, check out Gray & Sons.

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Should I Run Indoors or Outdoors

By yogaguid on 30th May, 2009 | No Comments

One question I get asked all the time is whether running outdoors is better than running indoors. It’s true that a treadmill is great for running inside on chilly days, but is it more beneficial to your body than running out in the sunshine? The answer to this is actually pretty interesting.

No, running outside isn’t massively better for you than running inside on your elliptical machine. That said, there are small differences that you might want to keep in mind.

 

  1. Running in Nature Can Help Your Balance – running outside makes your body adjust to the world around it, meaning that your muscles are going to be making minor adjustments to keep you upright. You may be running through a park or up and down a hilly area. All of these little movements are working smaller muscle fibers used for balance that are rarely used.The other benefit of this uneven terrain is that you are generally going to burn more calories as you adjust your intensity to your environment.
  2. Fresh Air – I know it might seem a little corny, but running outside means you’re going to be getting more fresh air. Is it a life changing thing? No, but it is a nice added benefit. You get to be out in a natural environment away from the TV and the air conditioning and clear you head.
  3. You’ll Get More Vitamin D – Vitamin D plays a significant role in preventing cancer and cardiovascular disease and you’re going to be getting a big dose of it every time you go running in direct sunlight. Exposing yourself to direct sunshine has also been shown to lighten depression and increase your mood.

There are, I’m sure, some people reading this (no you of course) who are just bound and determined never to leave their treadmill behind.I know I love being able to point my treadmill at the TV and run while watching Oprah, but there is something so much better about being in nature and not couped up in the house running on the same strip of rolling rubber. When the weather is crappy, it’s difficult to convince yourself to go out and run, but if you can opt for the great outdoors over the treadmill every once in a while, you’ll see your cardiovascular fitness grow by huge leaps.

For more information on running for weight loss, I recommend taking a look at The Ultimate Guide for Running to Lose Weight from Home Fitness Challenge.

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Walking and Weight Loss – How To Lose Weight Fast Safely & Naturally!

By yogaguid on 20th May, 2009 | No Comments

Walking and weight loss go hand in hand.  They really compliment each other, and you cannot have one without the other.  If you are trying to lose weight then walking is a must, and there are a few things you need to know about.  Many people take walking for granted as something they are forced to do everyday, but you could not be more wrong.  If you look at walking as a task then you will not enjoy it, but if you look at it as a way to relax, and get into shape then perhaps it will not seem so awful.

 

Here we are going to offer you a couple of tips on walking and weight loss.  Use them next time you dread walking to work, or taking the dog out for a walk.  Everyone hates exercise, but after you do it for a while, and make it part of your routine, it will not seem like such a drag.  There are a few things that you need to remember next time you go out for a walk.

 

Walking is a fact of life.  It is not something we can avoid doing.  If we have the ability to walk then we should utilize it.  Walking is the cheapest form of entertainment out there.  This is especially true if you choose a really nice place to walk that has plenty of things to see, and hear.  You do not have to own a treadmill to walk; it is free to do anytime of the day.

 

Walking is not just a weight loss tool, but rather an over all fitness regimen.  It is a good way to improve your overall health.  Walking can help reduce stress, and many people find it relaxing to do to calm down after a long day at work, or after dinner.  Walking at night is very peaceful, and in the morning when the only things that are awake are the birds.

 

If you are using walking to lose weight then make sure you take a few things into consideration.  Make sure you have a good pair of shoes to wear.   It will make your walk more comfortable, and enjoyable.  Just as shoes are important so are socks.  Go and get yourself a good pair of fitness socks.  They will keep your feet comfortable.

 

With today’s technology you have all the music you would want at your fingertips.  Bring your mp3 player or your iPod with you to enjoy your favorite tunes while enjoying your walk.  Some music can get people really pumped, and make them want to walk fast, or get up a large incline.

 

Walking and weight loss are two things that cannot exist without each other.  So take these words of advice, and walk your way to a slimmer you.  Make sure to take it slowly at first, and pace yourself.  Once you have gone out a few times you will begin to notice the wonderful results that come from walking.  So go ahead and give it a try.

 

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Cardio Machine Myths What To Look For

By yogaguid on 18th May, 2009 | No Comments

These exercises not only help to burn fat fast it’ll also brace your heart and lungs and therefore reducing your odds of getting high blood pressure, stroke and heart illnesses. Regular cardiovascular exercises can also reduce bad cholesterol and raise the level of good cholesterol. We shall now examine the more popular cardiovascular workout machines and the common mistakes folks commit when using these machines for their workouts. Common mistakes when using cardiovascular workout machines are. When doing step up step climber This is maybe the commonest mistake for not getting the most out of the step up step climber machine. Nearly usually, everybody when exercising with this machine will rest their arms on the railing. By doing this, the railing now becomes kind of like a crutch as it’ll now support some of your body weight making the exercise less in depth. Treadmill The treadmill is maybe the hottest cardiovascular workout machine in the gymnasium. A careful observation will show that many treadmill users run with too much up and downs. This error will wear out the person’s ankle and knee joints over time.

The proper technique is to take long, smooth and purposeful strides in the exercise. Stationery Bike When exercising on the stationery bike, do adjust the peak of the seat to a cushty level. Actually I don't get why many stationery bike users adjust their places to be either too high or too low. I mean, why be uncomfortable when exercising when you may be comfy. When the seat is too low, it adds strain to your knees and backbone.

When too high, your will butt will rock from side to side.

So besides not getting the best from your cardiovascular workout on the stationery bike because your body weight will be concerned when you peddle, you may also look strange. It is a mad workout mistake right? Another typical mistake is that I regularly see stationery bikers reading a book when exercising.

That implies that they exercise at a particularly low power level. So can low intense impact cardiovascular exercises work your heart and lung effectively? Elliptical Coach This is also another confusing common cardiovascular workout mistake.

You use the elliptical coach to tone your body and to exercise for your heart fitness right? Then why is it I frequently see folk who use the elliptical tutor exercising at a high speed? So what’s the mistake? The error is that they have set the resistant level too low. You see, if you don’t puff, puff and breakout in sweat, you are not getting the best out of your cardiovascular exercises. Is it any surprise then that folks are not shedding weight and worsening on their cardio health even if they do their cardiovascular exercises regularly? Now you know the way to elude these common cardiovascular machine exercise workout mistakes, you can now head for the gymnasium and get the best out of these exercises.

In a short time, you’ll see your body toning up nicely, improvement on your cardiovascular health being felt and visibly losing excess fat.

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New Cardio Discovery Running Helps Get In Shape Today

By yogaguid on 15th May, 2009 | No Comments

Jogging is a great form of exercise. Essentially, regular jogging will give you ripped abs and it’ll also condition your legs well so they are less vulnerable to injury of any type. Jogging is surely a good exercise for the body and the mind.

 

Care must be taken whilst jogging. If some folk like jogging, so be it. Jogging is management of the body.

Jogging is harder than walking as it needs more muscle to go quicker, bounce up-and-down, breathe deeper, and balance.

Running needs more effort than jogging, and is more intense. Running up and down steps or hill side, jogging or running, swimming, biking, rollar-blading or skating, dancing, shade fighting, hiking, walking, and enjoying sports are also great activities and exercises to bare your six pack abs. Running, biking, swimming, step climbing, jumping rope, tennis, volleyball, dancing, squash or any other activity that gets you moving and keeps you moving is a good way to burn fat. However, a heart workout should be performed for a minimum of twenty Mins to burn fat. Running, biking, jumping rope or using any great cardiovascular machine like a crosstrainer is a way to interval train your body. Workout indoors if weather doesnt’ enable you outuside. Run briskly round the house / office for thirty mins. Or jog on the spot whilst watching Television for 20 mins. Run, jump rope, play basketball, play racquetball, dance – do something that keeps you not only moving and working your heart, but is also fun. Studies show what many of us should doubtless think – it is a lot better to keep exercising when it does not feel just like exercise.

Jogging is of benefit to the body in total, strengthening the heart system, improving blood circulation and toning up muscles. Jogging is like writing. Jogging is about individualism and it’s also an indication of totalitarianism. Jogging is a particularly inexpensive way of keeping fit, because all that is required is a good pair of trainers. One can jog anywhere, while it is nice to keep away from main roads where the air is completely full of traffic smoke. Jogging is a discipline, and although it is extraordinarily delightful, it also takes lots of determination.

Want to lose weight and keep it off? http://TotalBodyTransformations.com Get in shape 100% Guaranteed http://TotalBodyTransformations.com

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Cardio Aerobics For A Healthy Heart

By yogaguid on 15th May, 2009 | No Comments

Have you questioned which cardio exercises are best for burning off additional body fat? Is walking ( low power ) better or running ( high power ) better for burning body fat? Well both modertate and high power exercises will help you burn off subcutaneous fat. The issue is which is better and burn more subcutaneous fat.

What’s your fat burning zone? When scientists first claimed that during comprehensive exercises, your body burn glycogen, which is a type of stored carbs stored in your liver and muscles for energy and during low comprehensive exercises, your body burn subcutaneous fat, everybody all of a sudden change their workout routines to perform low power exercises to burn fat.

Does it work? Glaringly it doesn’t work because there are still so many fat folks around although they are working out with low power exericies isn’t it? Why is that so? Well, the scientists were right when they exclaimed that our bodies burn more blubber during low power exercises like walking or a relaxed swim. But in a high power exercise like running, our bodies burn a ton more calories. Even if some of the calories burnt are from glycogen, we intend to still burn many fat calories too. When your storage of glycogen is low, the carbohydrates from your meal you eat later gets converted into glycogen to fill up the store and won't be converted to subcutaneous fat when left new for energy.

This implies you body will continue to burn fat hours after you have left the gymnasium.

This effect is nearly non existent in low power cardiovascular or aerobic workout. You can inject high power exercises to your cardiovascular workout by introducing some interval coaching. You can walk briskly for five mins, then breaking into a jog for another five minutes. Then walking briskly again till you caught your breath and then run for a minute before walking again for another minute.

From this point, alternate between a run and a walk, a minute each and do this for the following fifteen mins and you are done. Do this for five days each week and before long, you’ll be gradually losing undesired fat and weight healthily and naturally.

Want to lose weight and keep it off? http://TotalBodyTransformations.com Get in shape 100% Guaranteed http://TotalBodyTransformations.com

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