Common Exercise Mistakes

February 10th, 2012

It is not uncommon for people who exercise in or outside health clubs to not know how to use exercise equipment properly, or even safely. Whether you’re a veteran or novice at exercising, it is very important that you get the most out of your workout without injuring yourself.

Some of The Most Common Exercise Mistakes Include:

The All-or-Nothing Approach

If you don’t have all the time you’d like for your workout, a little bit can add up over time, so just do what you can. Having an unbalanced strength training program is not as effective. It is important to work your whole body as well as your core to achieve balance and health.

Not Stretching Enough

It is very important to spend a few minutes stretching the muscles you will be working out before you exercise. It is also as important to stretch for about 8-10 minutes after a workout to reduce the risk of injury and tight muscles.

Poor Technique or Form

Using an incorrect form can lead to unwanted injuries. A few examples of poor technique include: letting the knee extend beyond the toes during a lunge or squat; using momentum to lift heavy weights, and not exercising through a full range of motion. You can learn proper form by working with a certified Personal Trainer.

Not Warming Up

Besides stretching, it is also necessary to gradually warm up to prepare your body for the added demands of aerobic training. Warming up allows your body to re-route blood from your extremities to send oxygen to the muscles, and heart rate elevates to meet the need for oxygen.

Not Cooling Down

Not only does your body need to warm up, but it also needs to cool down. It is important to let your body gradually let your heart rate lower to minimize the chances of blood pooling or feeling light headed.

Inconsistent Progression

Exercising too hard and too often, or increasing intensity too quickly is a common mistake that can lead to soreness and burnout. Consistency and gradual progression is most effective and important for avoiding injury as well as for making improvements.

Incorrect Machine Set-Up

Exercise equipment is adjustable and it’s important that you set it up to fit you before you use it. If you use poorly adjusted equipment it is a set-up for injury. If you don’t know how, ask a staff person

Lifting Too Much Weight

Too much weight contributes to poor form when lifting and creates injury to other areas of your body including the muscles you are targeting. The most effective workout is one that is gradual progressive resistance training.

Not Drinking Enough Water

Drinking water replenishes all your fluid needs.

Poor Gym Etiquette

This can range from simple rudeness like lingering on machines, bad body odor, or not wiping your sweat from machines. Always be considerate of other exercisers.

Poor Goal Setting

If you begin an exercise routine with unrealistic or vague goals this can lead to dropout. The key is to establish a training goal that is specific and appropriate for your fitness and skill level.

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Understanding Exercise-Induced Weight Gain

February 8th, 2012

It is common knowledge that exercise burns calories and helps you to shed extra pounds.

Armed with this knowledge, many people think that losing weight should be easy with enough exercise. You may take this as bad news, but the truth is that for those who aren’t used to exercising and are out of shape, beginning an exercise program may actually lead to weight gain.

This fact, however, shouldn’t stop you from exercising, as you’ll eventually turn the weight corner and start losing.

What is it about exercise that may cause some people to gain instead of lose weight?

Muscle Mass: One of the main reasons exercising can lead to weight gain is that it promotes the growth of muscle mass.

If you are not used to working out and haven’t used certain muscles regularly, after exercising your muscles will be sore and will increase in size. While you may burn off fat, muscle is denser than fat. Therefore, the weight you gain is in your muscles.

And take heart. Since muscles take up less space than fat, your extra weight doesn’t necessarily translate to larger size. In fact, once you start working out, you’ll probably become thinner, even if you maintain your previous weight. Instead of using a scale to determine if you are slimming down, have your body fat tested regularly or measure your body at certain areas.

If you see that you’re losing inches, then you know you’re on the right track.

Cardiovascular activities like walking, running, or swimming will encourage the growth of lean, toned muscles. Other activities such as weight lifting promote the growth of larger, stronger muscles that contribute to weight gain.

But there is good news in this. If you stick with the exercise program, your muscles will soon stabilize in size and after a time, become toned. After your muscles are strong and able to handle more strenuous workouts, you will be able to burn calories faster.

While it may be frustrating and disappointing to see the scale go up after starting an exercise routine, it shouldn’t stop you from exercising. You may just be building muscle faster than losing body fat. This can be especially true if you’re genetically prone to building muscle fast. The key is to incorporate plenty of cardio exercise in addition to strength training. That way you will burn plenty of calories during your routine and be more able to shed pounds.

Eating Habits: When you work out and burn calories, your body will feel the need to replace those burned calories.

This may make you feel hungrier than usual, which can cause you to eat more than normal – sometimes without knowing it. A good idea is to keep a food journal to track of the actual number of calories you are consuming.

You may also end up eating more calories and justifying their consumption since you’re exercising. After a good workout, you may see an ice cream sundae as a reward for the calories you burned. Just be careful. If you’re interested in losing weight, you can’t simply break even with your caloric intake and the amount of calories you burn.

At the same time, eating too few calories can be counterproductive and slow your weight loss. Without enough calories, your body may slow its metabolism. So eat plenty to keep your body well fueled, but choose healthy calories that will help your body recover after a workout and grow stronger.

Hydration: Depending on the time of day you weigh yourself, the scale may read differently. Your weight can fluctuate as much as five pounds depending on the amount of water or food you have recently consumed or the amount of water you have shed in sweat. It is therefore important to weigh yourself at the same time each day.

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2 Exercises For Toned Abs

January 9th, 2012

In the United States, having a six-pack is all the rage—and the same can be said about the world! For most people, they salivate over the tight abs they see celebrities and models have in the media.  The majority of society has placed a certain sex appeal and mystique on abs that can’t be shaken—people want to see as well as have—washboard abs.

Besides just showing off your body, having toned abs is also important for professional and other serious athletes because a good set of abs is responsible for maintaining the stability in the center of their body.  Having toned abs protects your organs and your spine while providing the strength to move around large amounts of weight.  If you want to be able to move around considerable amounts of weight, you still need to have a strong central core even though you have arm and back strength.  Therefore, if you do these 2 ab exercises on a regular basis, you will be on track to having a tightened central core!

Ab Exercise #1–The Bicycle Crunch

The bicycle crunch is one of the best exercises to do for your abs, including your obliques.  Keep in mind that there is no real bicycle involved with this type of exercise.  This ab workout actually uses the weight and resistance of your own body, and if the workout is too easy you can add weights to your ankles or legs.

To do the bicycle crunch you can follow this process:

  1. While you are lying on the floor, put your hands behind your head.  (Do not lock your fingers as you don’t want to be pulling your head upward during the exercise using your arms.)
  2. Elevate your shoulder blades using your ab muscles as if you are performing a crunch.
  3. Raise your knees so that they are bent and your calf muscles are parallel to the floor, then slowly begin pedaling your legs as if you are on a bicycle.
  4. Finally, constrict your abs with each “row” by touching your knee with the opposite elbow (as you pull your knee up.)

 

During this ab workout, and/or any workout, remember to maintain your breathing–never hold your breath!  Your shoulders should be elevated at all times, and you should not be using your hands to keep them elevated!

Ab Exercise #2–Vertical Leg Raise

Doing a vertical leg raise will always be ideal for targeting your lower ab muscles, and with the variations in movement, this exercise can also work your obliques as well!

This ab exercise works best from a captain’s chair, and by following this process you will be able to start working out your abs by doing a vertical leg raise:

  1. Hold up your body by putting your elbows on the parallel pads with your back flush to the backpads.
  2. Grasp the provided hand holds and let your feet hang.
  3. Lift your knees near your chest.
  4. Pause and flex your abs then lower your legs carefully just before the starting position and begin again. (Never try to let your feet rest by dangling them.)

 

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5 Tips To Re-Start Your Exercise Routine

December 6th, 2011

So, it’s been a few months since you’ve worked out, ran, or even seen the inside of the gym that you pay monthly to get into.  After the wait, now the question you may be asking yourself is: how do you start and maintain your routine of starting out all over again?

Well, there is no need to worry because when you have established a routine, it becomes automatic. In fact, you just go to the gym—with no force at all.  However, after months or maybe a year off, it can be difficult to get started up again.

If you are having trouble getting into gym mode, here are four tips to help you get into the groove again:

Don’t Stop!

The best way to maintain is simply not to stop. Do not take extensive breaks in working out or re-starting the habit will be harder.

Work out for 30 Days

Make it an obligation to go every day (even for a half hour) for one month. This will strengthen your exercise routine. By working out steadily, you also take pressure off yourself in the first weeks back of contemplating over whether or not you should go.

Have Fun!

If you don’t have fun at the gym, gym time will be a drag. There are tons of ways you can work out, so don’t give up if you’ve determined that using dumbbells or doing pushups isn’t for you.  A lot of fitness centers will offer a variety of programs to choose from.

Stress Relief

What is it that you do when you’re under pressure? Chances are it isn’t running!  Exercise can be a great way to relieve stress, releasing endorphins that can better your mood. Also, when stress relief is related to exercise, it is easier to start working out after a period of not.

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Mind Blowing Exercise

October 28th, 2011

Exercising is not only about toning your thighs, building biceps, or keeping your belly flat, it is also the best thing you can do for your brain.

How So?

Daily exercise zaps harmful stress chemicals, boosts problem-solving skills, planning, and makes you more attentive. It also alleviates pain, both physical and mental. Exercise affects many sites within the nervous system and sets off pleasure chemicals such as serotonin and dopamine that make us feel calm, happy, and euphoric. There is nothing better than stimulating your nervous system (to function at a higher level) than through exercise.

Working out also helps keep us from ruminating by altering blood flow to areas in the brain involved in triggering us to relive stressful thoughts. In addition, a study from the University of California at San Francisco found that women who were stressed and exercised for at least forty five minutes over three days showed fewer signs of aging compared to stressed women who did not exercise. Further research also suggests that burning three hundred and fifty calories three times a week will reduce the symptoms of depression as effectively as antidepressants.  Exercising actually stimulates the growth neurons in certain regions of the brain damaged during depression!

Through exercise, brain chemicals called “growth factors” increase to help make new brain cells and new connections (between brain cells to help you learn!) In addition, engaging in complicated activities allows brain cells to grow and enhances our attention and concentration skills. German researchers found that high school students scored better on high attention tasks after doing ten minutes of a complicated fitness routine compared to ten minutes of regular activity. Those students who did not exercise scored the worst. Furthermore, self-esteem and body image is improved just by seeing fitness improvements!

The benefits of exercise are endless to your physical, emotional, mental being!

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Three Tips to Build and Maintain Muscle

September 2nd, 2011

Train Under An Hour

You should be keeping whatever program you are doing to no more than one hour.  You should also make sure that you are centering
on maintaining the force high, as opposed to making the workout drag on. There have been a numerous amount of studies on how bad things may happen to your hormonal state if you are training for over an hour. Also, when trying to gain weight, you would want to work out harder rather than longer.

Make Eating A Habit

To gain weight you need to focus on making your meals a habit rather than an afterthought. Your body is pre-programmed with your genetic disposition. Also, if you have a very fast metabolism that digests and burns calories quickly, you will need to consume more meals.

So even though you may limit yourself to the average of three meals a day (even if they may be high calorie meals) your body is going to burn through these very quickly.  You should focus on having five to six meals a day spaced two to three hours apart so that your body is
constantly being provided with something to metabolize and build muscle. Eating is one of the best ways to build muscle fast and accounts for nearly three thirds of body building achievement.

Take It Easy

Learn to relax more and try limiting any strenuous activity outside of the gym as much as possible so that when you are in the gym you have the energy to put forth to good use.  Rest is best and often one of the forgotten ways to build muscle fast in between strenuous workouts.

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Will your workout kill you?

March 25th, 2011

A healthy body entices many attentions!
A healthy body is no longer a luxury affair. Recently, a revolution in the fitness industry is experienced due to which cost effectiveness of the program has gone exceptionally down transforming the workout sessions into an unbelievable daily activity of a regular person. Considering the total focus on political realms in the mid 80s, it is unrealistic to conceptualize subtle unethical switch.The contribution of Yoga and Asian Marshall Artists influentially formalizing fitness sessions irrespective of economical and racial barriers.
A potential workout regime centers at spiritual well being rather than physical appearances which are relatively achieved by synthetic means. However, overindulgence and short-cuts to fabulous body are consistently leading amateurs to acquire unhealthy workout regimes and diet plans. The intake of stimulants—such as caffeine, ephedrine, amphetamine, and cocaine are frequently regulated to boost physical strength and endurance. These substances cause serious health problems. Untrained practice of a particular exercise and overindulgence under no professional supervision, too, leads to fatal injuries. Cardiologist Dr. Dave Thompson of Hartford hospital in Connecticut described a case of a man who died of a cardiac arrest while applying a wrong posture to a particular movement.
What precautions should one consider while performing an exercise?This article will help you with suggestions on safety while executing a certain posture.
? Sit ups tone your oblique, upper and lower abdominal. The movement puts stress on Vertebrae and spinal disc causing small ruptures. Brace and Hollow techniques can reduce the dangers and improve muscular girdle around your waist.
? Pec Deck trains your chest and shoulders. This exercise can cause bone dislocation, Ligaments and Rotar Cuff injury. Bench Press and Bar Dip are advised to avoid injuries caused by Pec Deck.
? Behind Neck Press trains neck and shoulders. The exercise lead to bone dislocation and injuries related to Rotar Cuffs. Bench Press and Bar Dip should be substituted to avoid fatalities.
? Dead lift trains hips and lower back. The exercise puts a huge pressure on spine forcing it to bend beyond a certain degree. The key to safety is the right posture with a straight spinal bone.
? Leg Extension is a common exercise to strengthen thigh muscles. A wrong posture can damage the tissue connectivity and the ligaments supporting the knee joints. For safety reasons, Squats, Leg presses, Lunges are advised by the professional trainers and coaches.

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Importance of rapidly increasing personal training and fitness in the society

December 3rd, 2010

People in the modern and fast pace society are becoming aware about the health benefits and they are serious about keeping their body fit and in shape. In such a scenario, it becomes very important that you check out whether the personal fitness training center is really professional and meets your requirements. Now, that was one point, and on the flip side, it is equally important to find out whether you want to learn or you want to become a fitness trainer?

Personal Training Program

Do you love to train people to remain fit? Do you like to remain healthy and want that everybody around your should also remain healthy? If yes, then, you have the traits to become a physical fitness trainer. But, do you really know on how to become a personal trainer? What it takes to be a physical fitness trainer? One question relates to another question. Let us discuss how you can become a personal fitness trainer.

  • Join a Certified Health and Fitness Training Course – Search through authorized fitness training institute, and make sure that you come across one which is close to your residing area. Enroll in the personal fitness training institute for at least a year or two.
  • Start Practicing on Different Fitness Exercises – Next stage begins with practicing. Make sure that you start practicing slowly and gradually and not aggressively. This is necessary, as the real effect of exercising can only come to play when you follow every part of the exercise very closely.
  • Learn Under the Guidance of Professional Trainer – Only a professional trainer can teach you real steps involved in the fitness training exercise. Therefore, make sure that you keep yourself under the training of professional trainer. Follow his footsteps and as much as possible ask questions whenever in doubt. A professional trainer is aware of fitness training exercises, and the frequency in which the exercises need to be carried out.
  • Do Not Get Away With Difficult Exercise Steps – There are many types of steps which are involved in the fitness exercise. Likewise, there are also many types of fitness exercises designed for every part of the body. Some physical fitness exercises are easy; while other fitness exercises are really difficult. Give time to difficult fitness exercises. Give as much time as you can.
  • Develop the Art of Speaking Loud and Clear – Vocal communication along with effective instructive actions will turn you into a complete fitness trainer. Make sure that you can communicate the fitness exercise steps in easy way to the learner. If you can easily communicate your steps to the learner, you have developed the qualities of good fitness trainer.

Follow the above steps sincerely, and nobody can stop you from becoming the best fitness trainer.

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Role of Nutrition Specialist in fitness training

November 11th, 2010

Personal Training Programs

The real effectiveness of fitness training exercise comes out only if nutrition specialist plays its role seriously. Good nutrition followed by fitness training exercises will result into a healthy and completely fit body. You just cannot ignore the very importance of nutrition and balanced diet in keeping your body performing and fit. And if you are thinking to become a fitness trainer, you ought to have fair idea about the nutritional aspects.

A fitness nutrition certification is the part of personal training certification. Nutrition certification is the food science that addresses effects of having balanced nutrition in your diet and personal fitness training program. The purpose of fitness training certification in a good exercise regimen is to achieve a fit and compatible body. It is an established fact that balanced diet plays key role in the healthy development of the body. Nutritious food also keeps the metabolic activity under control. Therefore, taking all these facts into consideration the role of fitness nutrition expert cannot be ignored or under weighed.

Achieving personal training and nutrition certification is not an easy task, especially for the new exerciser who has just started with his or her exercise schedule. There needs to be a perfect training given by fitness instructor as well as nutritional specialist. The novice exerciser should also be serious about his or her fitness. The novice exerciser should always be under consistent professional eye of registered dietitians, life coaches, exercise physiologists, group fitness instructors and many more. The role of nutrition specialist in personal fitness training cannot be undermined.

  • Nutrition specialist prepares fitness diet program which is followed by the exerciser – The benefit of fitness training program can be seen only if the exerciser strictly follows nutrition program charted out by nutrition specialist.
  • Nutrition specialist lists the exercises that are good for keeping the body fit – Not every exercise produces effective results. And moreover some of the exercises need more calories than other exercises. Therefore, the role of nutrition specialist out here is to bring together the best nutrition that syncs with the exercises.
  • Nutrition specialist will prepare nutritional diet chart for your Entire Personal Fitness Program –The nutritional chart program is necessary and every exerciser should strictly adhere to the chart. Make a note that nutritional chart program is different from fitness diet program. The fitness diet program is exclusively designed for your exercise purpose.

Once you are clear about the nutrition specialist and fitness training aspects, you have almost reached your destination of becoming a fitness trainer. Now, you have best of both –Nutrition as well as fitness training.  All you need to do is to develop your communication and get ready to impart training sessions which are liked by everybody.

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The significance of the latest exercise equipment and learning materials in fitness training

November 2nd, 2010

Personal training schools and gyms are going through large scale innovations as they introduce high end row machines and many other advanced exercise equipment to meet the challenging demands coming from exercisers. Besides the advanced fitness training and exercise machines, the Personal training schools and gyms are also innovating as they provide learning materials in the fitness training. What is real significance of latest exercise equipment and the learning materials? Are these advanced equipments and learning materials solving any purpose?

Here is the pointed presentation of the facts:

Latest Exercise Equipment provides Customized Training Modules – Unlike the traditional physical fitness training modules, the latest and advanced physical fitness training equipment is designed to provide you with customized training models. The exerciser can design his or her exercise regimen without taking the help of certified personal trainer or any other physical instructor. The ultimate purpose of advanced physical fitness equipment is to provide the exerciser a smart way to build his or her body and also keep a perfect measure of the body statistics.

Latest Exercise Equipment provides High Quality Training – Advanced and electronically operated exercise equipment render high quality exercise programs that will keep minute-to-minute track of the exercise. The equipment makes firm assessment between the pre exercise and post exercise training difference in order to show how much body weight has been converted into real muscle power. In case of women, the shape of abdominal muscles can be easily assessed with the help of advanced electronic exercise equipment.

Learning Material Provides Written Instruction – A written learning instruction on physical fitness is of great advantage to the exerciser who is practicing on the advanced exercise machines. The learning instruction provides complete details, besides providing complete time sheet on how much time one needs to practice on a particular exercise machine. What is total pressure that one needs to put on particular part of the body? In short, learning materials provide complete information about the kind of exercise an exerciser wants to do, and relates it with the total bio statistics of the human body.

Learning Material Helps in Increasing the Efficiency of Exercise – It is very important to know that only practicing on the advanced exercise machines will not solve any purpose. There needs to be complete perfection in the exercise. By following the instructions written down in the learning material, the exerciser will have a clear cut idea on how to perform the exercise. This in turn will increase the efficiency of exercise when the exerciser goes for work out on the advanced exercise machines.

Latest exercise equipment and learning materials therefore play significant role in managing the exercise plan of the exerciser, and he or she will get the maximum possible positive outcome from the exercises.

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