Fitness - Page 2

The Benefits of Endurance Training and How You Can Start Today

Published on
Benefits of Endurance Training

There are various types of fitness. Some of us like to focus on long-distance running, others are all about quick cardio boosts or cross fit. One form of exercise training that I find to be very effective and rewarding is endurance training.

What are the Benefits of Endurance Training? According to Wikipedia, endurance training can be defined as “the act of exercising to increase endurance. The term endurance training generally refers to training the aerobic system as opposed to anaerobic.” Aerobic exercise refers to exercises that get your heart pumping — swimming, skiing, running. Exercises that work out your heart and your lungs.

Now let’s ask another question: what exactly are the benefits of endurance training?

● Obviously, endurance training is a health benefit. Training your body for endurance means you’ll have to make lifestyle changes to take up the cause. No more drinking, smoking, excessive eating, and fatty foods. You need healthy lungs and healthy blood to get the full benefit of endurance training.

● By training your muscles and growing them, you also develop your bone density. This is also helped by changing up your diet and eating better.

● When you train your body, you train your immune system. You may not know it, but being unhealthy in a variety of ways can also make you more susceptible to diseases and bacteria.

● Have you ever complained about your metabolism? Your metabolism isn’t something you have to just live with. Endurance training enhances your metabolism, making it easier to burn fat and build muscle.

● If you have diabetes, endurance training helps you improve your insulin sensitivity. If you don’t have diabetes, The Benefits of Endurance Training can help to prevent its onset.

● Finally, endurance training gives you…endurance! The more you train, the easier exercising becomes. This also applies to all forms of exercise because your muscles build and your lung capacity grows.

How to Get Started on an Endurance Training Journey

Now you know the incredible benefits of endurance training…now how do you go about making it work for you?

● First, get used to drinking lots of water. You’re doing to need it if you want to begin the Benefits of Endurance Training.

● Start small, then work big. You won’t be running a marathon after only a month of endurance training.
● Warm up before you exercise. Stretches, squats, jumping jacks, lunges…they all help prepare your body for harsh training.

● Get the right wardrobe. You don’t have to spend lots of money — just make sure you have the right footwear and clothes that help you stretch and stay cool.

● Also focus on strength training. See those weights up above? You’re going to need those to regularly train your muscles to be strong and flexible.

● Endurance training isn’t a game of working out three times a day. It’s about the quality of your training and the longevity of your training program.

● You’ll also need to add more protein and carbs to your diet. These promote energy, and you’re going to need a lot of it.

The Benefits of Endurance Training sounds sort of intimidating, doesn’t it? Don’t worry — while it’s a commitment, and certainly not easy in the beginning, the results are certainly worthwhile.

You might be interested in

The Best Ways to Stay Hydrated During Your Summer Fitness Journey

Published on
hydrate

Summer is here, and so is the heat! The hotter it is and the more you exercise, the more likely you are to get dehydrated. That means staying hydrated in the summer is more important than ever.

You already know that you need to drink lots of water when exercising, but the necessity is two-fold during the summer, when you’re likely to sweat more when exercising outside and in general. However, drinking enough water every day is difficult enough as it is. How do you stay hydrated during the summer when you’re also someone who exercises a lot?

First, understand WHY hydration is so important. When you exercise and don’t stay hydrated, your ability to exercise is compromised and your body gets tired more quickly. As you lose fluid in your body through sweat, your heart rate increases exponentially. Sweat is also how your body cools itself, so without ample water you’re very likely to overheat.

Pre- and Post- Workout Water

There are certain rules that are suggested to be followed, like drinking three cups of water before and after your workout. But who actually measures out their water into cup-sized rations?

A good way to make sure you get the water you need is to either buy bottled water or a self-filled water bottle in comparable size. Drink one water bottle or a full self-filled water bottle serving before you allow yourself to workout. Afterwards, drink another bottled water or the same amount of water that you initially filled your own water bottle up with before you get out of your workout clothes.

Eat Your Fruit

Most fruits have a very high water content value. They aren’t called juicy for no reason! When you bite into a pear or apple, the moisture you feel inside is the water naturally contained within the fruit itself.

It can be tiring to have to drink glass after glass of water every day, but you have other options. Fruits like kiwis, berries and watermelon all have high water concentrations that can’t replace your entire day’s water needs, but they can supplement them. Other fruits with a high water concentration include grapefruits (and other citrus options), plums and cantaloupe.

Start Eating More Soup

It’s a pain to have to eat hot soup when it’s already so hot outside, but trust me — soup is a great way to stay hydrated. Cold soups are also a great option if you want to go with a dinner option that’s cooler than steaming broth.

Unlike water, broths and soups come pre-packed with nutrient value, include sodium that can help stabilize your levels in moderation. Depending on the soup ingredients, you’re also getting those added nutrients as well.

Dress Up Your Water

Finally, you don’t have to drink straight water all day long. Using lemonade or tea mixers in moderation can add some variety to your daily drinking while still giving you a lot of water that you need for exercising and hydration. For added health benefits, look for drink mixers that don’t contain calories or artificial sweeteners.

You might be interested in

#Fitness Myths to Avoid this Spring and Summer

Published on
Fitness Trainers on Instagram

Spring is in full swing and summer is approaching at a breakneck pace. Before we know it, fall will be upon us…but in the meantime, we’ve got some exercising to do!

Summer is largely about fitness, whether it’s getting ready for bikini season or being active outside with friends and family during school and work vacations. It’s also a time period where you see a spike in fitness novices trying to get out there and embrace fitness wholeheartedly. These newbies look for information online and on television from those they think they can trust — the secrets to achieving perky butts and flat bellies.

Sure, there are fitness secrets out there that do work, but there are many more myths out there that are way too good to be true. If you’re interested in getting fit this year, avoid these fitness myths like the plague.

“Lots of sweat = lots of fat burning.”

It’s a phrase that’s commonly tossed around: “more sweat, less fat!” Some exercise junkies use this as a mantra, and their confirmation bias comes out when they lose the pounds after rigorous exercise routines.

The truth is that sweat has no real correlation to how much fat you’re burning off. Sweating is biological and helps to regulate your body’s temperature. Sweating at all is a good indicator that you are pushing your limits, but there’s no correlation to sweating and fat loss.

“Crunches are the best go-to exercise.”

Make no mistake, crunches are great for exercising your core and abdomen. They’re a great beginner’s exercise that is easy to utilize for measuring your exercise journey. You’ll find them hard to do at first, especially if you’re trying to do them quickly, but they’ll become easier over time.

However, they shouldn’t be your exercise crutch. Many believe that crunches are the quickest way to a flat stomach and lower body fat, but that certainly isn’t the case. The best way to lose fat is to burn a lot of calories, but crunches don’t actually burn that many. Don’t rely on crunches alone if you want a beach body this summer.

“The longer you’re in the gym, the better off you’ll be.”

Finally, there’s a common myth floating around that the harder you push, the faster you’ll lose all that weight you want to get rid of. In fact, the opposite is actually true. Of course it’s a good idea to go to the gym, but continuously going to the gym with no breaks leads to fatigue, injury and weight gain.

Why weight gain? Your body eventually needs to rest. When you do take a day off, your body will desperately cling to the calories you take in and you’ll be set back for your next gym visit. Schedule rest days regularly. This also helps to keep you motivated to go to the gym — don’t risk burning yourself out and quitting altogether.

These are just three common myths you’ll find, especially online. When you’re researching information on fitness, always do your research and never trust the first article you see.

You might be interested in

How to Promote a Fit Work Environment to Boost Business

Published on
How Promoting a Fit Work Environment can Boost Your Business

Being conscious of your health is important for anyone in any walk of life. No matter if you’re a stay-at-home mom turned entrepreneur or a big-wig CEO at a Fortune 500 company, fitness isn’t something to laugh off. This is especially true in a work environment. Factors like staying sedentary and stress can lead to major health problems, like heart disease, weight gain, and overall immune system deterioration – and that’s just a small sampling of the potential risks of staying inactive in the business world.

It’s a common problem that professional women make unhealthy choices because they feel they’re too busy to do what’s right for their health. This can be skipping workout routines, choosing quick and greasy foods because there’s no time to make dinner, or even snacking too much while at work in order to keep their energy up.

This is something that needs to change, but it’s not a change that includes just you. Instead of only focusing on getting your own health in check, start considering a work environment that puts fitness first.

Group Activities Promote Teamwork

It’s always been advised that working out and dieting is best done with a buddy. When you exercise and diet with a partner, you hold each other accountable for your successes. Working out alone means that you can quit whenever you want with no motivation while doing it with someone else is motivation in and of itself.

This only increases when there are more people added to the mix. Think about a yoga class – you don’t want to be the only one who can’t do a Downward Facing Dog, do you? This same mentality can be applied in a workplace that promotes fitness. There’s a drive put in place that pushes employees to succeed and go beyond their capabilities, which also promotes workplace teamwork. Employees that get fit together work better together.

A Shift from Workplace Boredom

Think about your daily work schedule. There are certainly times when you think to yourself “I wish I could be doing something, anything that isn’t this right now.” Your colleagues and employees think the same thing too. The reality is that bored workers and unchallenged workers stagnate in the workplace. This ennui leads to lower productivity.

This can be fixed with regular breaks that focus on getting that blood circulating. When you encourage others to get up from their desk occasionally and walk around, be it around the block or a quick stroll through the office floors, you break up their boring schedule with something different. This recharges their minds and gives them an incentive to work more.

Science Supports It

Multiple studies have been done over the years that laud exercise and fitness increase productivity and focus. When you exercise, you get your heart racing and your blood flowing. Sitting or being inactive for extended periods of time causes lethargy, which isn’t conducive to workplace productivity while getting up and getting active gets the brain working again.

Would you rather have a work environment filled with sluggish employees and colleagues, or one that promotes fitness and gets things done?

You might be interested in

10 Minutes of Fitness Can Make You More Productive

Published on
10 Minutes of Fitness Can Make You More Productive

You’re sitting all day at the office. Sitting to work, sitting to eat, sitting on the way home. You probably get to your house, sit on the couch, and then sit in bed before you lay down. When you work a lot, you become really sedentary, and this isn’t the answer to a healthy and happy life.

There’s also another problem happening here – when you sit and sit all day, you aren’t operating at your best. When you’re at work you should be firing on all cylinders, not slumping through each day wishing it was over. When you sit and don’t move, you aren’t as productive as you could be.

Here’s a fun fact for you – every year you get older, your brain’s ability to generate brain cells depletes. If you want to help curb this process, exercise is the answer. In the short term, even exercising for 10 minutes a day can help your blood circulate to your brain, keeping you sharper. When your brain is engaged, it’s staying healthy and youthful.

The happier your brain is, the more productive you are as a person. A fully engaged brain is one that is getting things done, which means you could be wasting your potential just sitting in your desk chair for hours on end. Thankfully it’s not hard to get your brain going again, even at work. Those 10 minutes that it takes to get your brain going can be done sporadically throughout the day in short bursts – or you can literally work on them while you’re working!

Not to mention, in general, exercising is good for your body and overall well-being. These exercises are all doable at work, no matter if you reside in a cubicle or the top floor office. What are you waiting for?

  • Leg Lifts – Sit at a desk all day? It’s like that this sedentary position keeps your legs in a near-still state for long periods of time, cutting off circulation. You may shuffle or cross and uncross them occasionally, but that’s not doing much. It may not seem like a lot, but do some leg lifts while you’re sitting down and working. Life one leg from the knee, hold for five seconds, and put it down. Alternate back and forth for as long as you’d like. This extra movement is enough to get your brain back in motion, especially because now it’s working harder to focus on counting and your work at the same time.
  • Dine and Dash – So you’re at work on your lunch break, sitting at your desk or in the break room. Instead of simply sitting through your lunch break, walk around and eat – where it’s polite to, of course. If you can go outside, walk around your building while you enjoy your salad or burrito. Try to keep things healthy (but that’s for another post). Getting out and moving around can get your creative and productive juices flowing again.
  • Work Rewards – Make it into a game. Pick an exercise that’s simple or that you enjoy doing, like toe touches or squats. Tell yourself that after every five minutes you spend fully focused on work, you get up and do your decided upon exercise. Once you’ve done 12 reps in a row, so you’ve worked and exercised for approximately an hour, take a 15-minute work break – if you’re allowed of course. If not, find another way to treat yourself for the accomplishment. When you feel accomplished, you’re more likely to be productive.
  • PE Routine – If you want to get your work workout over with all in one fell swoop, that’s fine. Just wait until your longest break and think back to middle school gym class. Go through about 15-20 reps of the most basic stretches and exercises like high knees, the butterfly position, a jumping jack or two. This can get your circulation going and boosts your productivity after a long and boring afternoon.

You might be interested in

1 2