Natural Health Ezine » Natural Fitness

Exercise To Lose Weight

NHE — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 09:59:19 +0000

What comes to mind when you hear the word “exercise”? Do you think of big equipment like treadmills, ellipticals, or heavy weight machines at a gym? Most people think that in order to lose weight, they have to join a gym. After all, that’s where all the necessary equipment is, right? On the contrary, you have everything you need to get a great workout right there at home, or in your neighborhood. Everyone needs to get some sort of exercise in order to lose weight. It is possible to lose weight by just changing your diet, but exercise is a major key in burning off excess fat.

Cardiovascular exercise is one major way to burn off fat. You should always start out slow, and work your way up over time. This goes for any type of exercise, cardiovascular or strength training. For a cardiovascular routine, you want to get your heart rate up for at least 20 minutes a session. If you’re a beginner, raise your heart rate by 55% to 65% over your resting heart rate. If you’ve been exercising for a while, raise it by 60% to 80%. Calculate your resting heart rate by counting your pulse for one full minute.

You Don’t Need A Gym

There are many ways to get a cardiovascular workout without the need of heavy equipment. All you need is yourself. Walking and running both provide excellent exercise. One of the great things about walking and running is that you can do it anywhere. You don’t need any special equipment. Walk or run around your neighborhood. Bring your dog along with you. Dogs make excellent walking and running companions. If it’s a rainy day, find an indoor running track and keep moving.

Another great way to get cardiovascular exercise is by taking the stairs instead of the elevator. If you work in a high office building, park at ground level and walk your way up. If you’re at the very top, then park halfway up, and go on from there. During your lunch break, do a quick flight or two. If you’ve got stairs at home, that’s a plus. Make a point of going up and down the stairs once every hour. You could “forget” something upstairs and have to go get it.

Swimming is great exercise for anyone that has physical limitations. People who suffer from physical disabilities that affect balance, or those that suffer from joint pain can get a good cardiovascular workout by swimming. Either by swimming regular laps, or taking part in an aquarobics routine, the pool is a great workout spot. Swimming is much easier on your joints than land based workouts, as it provides less impact on your joints.

If you have children, play with them. Kids expend a lot of energy just by playing. Have you ever watched a child play? They run, jump, chase one another, and contort their bodies every which way. All this movement burns calories and provides great natural exercise. Join in the fun with them. Play a game of tag in the back yard, or a game of Frisbee. Take them to the park and have fun moving around with them.

Not all exercise is cardiovascular. Strength training is also very important to lose weight. Strength training raises your metabolism, just like cardiovascular exercise, and allows your body to burn fat more easily. And just like cardiovascular workouts, there’s no need to join a gym or buy expensive equipment.

Household items can double as exercise equipment. Dumbbells and hand weights can be replaced by cans of food or milk jugs. An easy way to incorporate strength training is to tell yourself every time you open the refrigerator, you’ll do 10 reps of an arm exercise. They can be arm curls, front raises, or triceps extensions. Any type of arm exercise can be done with a couple a food cans or a full milk jug.

Body weight exercises, such as push ups, crunches, or sit ups, can be done easily at any time. It doesn’t take many crunches to build up strong abdominal muscles. A lot of people think that you need to do 100 crunches every day to get a flat stomach. But just 10 to 20 reps is all you need to tone those muscles. As long as you feel those muscles working and getting tired, they’ll get stronger.

The combination of cardiovascular exercise and strength training is important. Strength training helps to strengthen and tone muscles, and cardiovascular workouts burn the fat to show off those strong muscles. You don’t need fancy and expensive equipment in order to exercise to lose weight. You’ve got all you need right where you are. A little creativity may be needed, but that’s part of the fun. And yes, exercise can be fun. It’s all in how you go about doing it.

What do you do to exercise at home?

Photo by mikebaird

Health Benefits Of Exercise For Children

NHE — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 09:21:48 +0000

Obesity in the United States is a big issue. The amount of obese people is much greater today than it was only 30 years ago. For children, it’s the same. Between the years 1976-1980 and 2007-2008 obesity in preschool aged children went from 5% to 10%. During that same time span, the rate for 6 to 11 year old children went from 6.5% to 19.6%. And the rate increased in children aged 12 to 19 from 5% to 18.1%. That’s quite a jump. Entertainment is a lot different now than it was back in the 1970s and 1980s. Computers, gaming systems, and cell phones are the popular entertainment options for children now. In earlier times, it was popular to ride bicycles with friends, run around in the school playground, and play games of tag. Children today are not reaping all of the health benefits they could get from exercise. And there are loads of health benefits of exercise for children.

Increased Strength

There are many ways that children can increase their strength ability. They don’t have to spend time in the gym. They can gain more strength by playing on a jungle gym at the park, climbing trees, performing headstands, or wrestling with friends. Increasing their strength through exercise (even playful exercise), will help speed up their metabolism, and tone their muscles.

Increased Endurance

The more aerobic activity a child gets, the more endurance they’ll gain. Fun ways to gain endurance as a child include swimming, basketball, bicycling, or running. Running in a game of tag is a great way to increase a child’s endurance. If the chaser gets close, the child being chased can give a burst of speed to get away. These “bursts” can become easier the more they’re performed. Having a large amount of endurance can result in an increased amount of energy. The more energy a child has, the more activities they’ll be able to do. If children have a high amount of endurance, they’ll actually seek out ways to actively use that stored energy.

Increased Flexibility

Having muscles that are flexible as a child is very important. By stretching every muscle in the body, children will have a better range of motion in their joints. If the muscles are not stretched, it may be difficult to do everyday activities, like tying one’s shoes. If they engage in active play, this will help the muscles stay limber, and become more flexible.

Overall Health

These are just a few ways a child can stay active. By staying active, children can decrease their level of stress. They will feel more confident about themselves. Exercising can lead to a better attention span, resulting in better performance at school. A healthy weight is maintained when a child exercises on a regular basis. Because children are exerting themselves during the day by exercising, they’ll be able to fall asleep faster, and have a better quality of sleep.

Many childhood diseases brought on by obesity can be avoided when children engage in everyday exercise. Plus, children who exercise regularly, will be less likely to develop health problems later in life. Children who are obese are at risk for high cholesterol, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease. These diseases and conditions can be avoided when a child gets only one hour of physical activity each day. Parents should encourage their children to get outside and find an activity they enjoy. Invest in a bicycle for your child (and for you), and offer to go on a bike ride to the park. If you teach them about the health benefits of exercise for children, they’ll thank you for it.

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5 Ways Massage Therapy Promotes Weight Loss

Guest Author — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 10:11:44 +0000

The following article was written by Elise Degrass who writes about Massage Therapy for MassageTherapy.net

Massage therapy has been practiced for many years mainly for relaxation but the aspect of using it as a weight loss solution is slowly coming to the fore front. Weight loss massage may sound too good to be true but it is a reality many people are benefiting from. As a matter of fact, this therapy can be included into the clients’ daily routine in order to aid in weight loss. This is not only fashionable but a good alternative for those that are intent on loosing any excess weight.

1. Stress Busting

Massage is an excellent way to alleviate stress and achieve overall rest and relaxation for the body and soul. When it comes to weight loss, stress is a factor to consider because the when an individual is stressed, the body reacts. In most cases, once Cortisol is released into the system as a result of pressure, the intestines slow down in preparation for either flight or fight. If this happens over extended periods of time, the end result is weight gain due to a poorly functioning digestive system. Massage alleviates the strain giving the body time and space to digest the food accordingly.

2. Sports Massage

This may sound far fetched but for those interested in weight loss it is not. This type of kneading is good after a tiring session at the gym. The muscles are relaxed after vigorous exercise resulting in faster recovery. This in turn translates into more sessions at the gym and faster weight loss.

3. Lymphatic massage

This may not sound like much until your lymphatic system gets blocked and the waste is not eliminated accordingly. Once the blockage occurs, the body retains the waste which is transferred to the organs resulting in weight gain. Massage helps to drain the lymphatic system giving the body the capacity to purge itself of the harmful waste. Consequently, metabolism is increased resulting in weight loss.

4. Ayurveda Herbal Massage

With this manipulation of the body’s system, a special paste or powder is spread on the body by two therapists resulting in toxin elimination. The treatment ought to be done once a day for approximately 1 hour in order for it to be effective.

5. Cellulite Removal Massage

Cellulite is an accumulation of fat beneath the skin giving it that orange peel look. It is brought about by fat stored within the body which is in turn pushing against the connective tissues. Cellulite can be eliminated by using different massage techniques resulting in weight loss.

Massage can indeed be used for weight loss but it must be incorporated with the more traditional methods of weight loss. These include a good, healthy diet as well as regular exercise and water intake. Once all these procedures are put into place and topped up with massage then weight loss occurs. Massage therapy without a doubt promotes weight loss but as always it should be conducted by an experienced and licensed therapist especially with regards to the more complicated treatments.

Photo by FoundryParkInn

Health Benefits Of Running

NHE — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 15:19:37 +0000

One of the most effective ways to work out is to take up running. There is no exercise equipment needed other than a good pair of running shoes. This form of exercise does not require a specific time of day to be accomplished. It can be done whenever a person chooses to do it. The benefits of running are many, including benefits for both the body and for the mind.

Running to lose weight

Perhaps one of the best health benefits of running is it is an excellent way to lose weight. Running burns more calories than other forms of cardiovascular exercise. Cardiovascular exercise is the only way to burn off excess body fat. It has been proven that running can help slow down the aging process. In people who run regularly, there is less muscle and bone loss than in people who do not run. The human growth hormone that keeps people young is activated when a person starts to run.

It is recommended for people who suffer from osteoporosis, hypertension, and diabetes to run a few miles every day. This will help combat these diseases, as it releases endorphins that can help people relax. People who are at risk of heart attacks are advised to run, because it will strengthen the heart, lower the blood pressure, and it will maintain the elasticity of arteries. Running regularly also helps to raise good (HDL) cholesterol, promotes the use of 50% of the long capacity that normally goes unused, and also reduces the chance of blood clots from forming. Regularly taking part in running can have a positive impact on the immune system. It causes a higher count of lymphocytes in the blood.

Psychological Benefits of Running

Along with the many physical health benefits of running, there are also many positive psychological benefits. Through the act of running, it can relieve psychological stress that builds up on a person’s mind. Through the release of endorphins, a feeling of happiness and satisfaction is felt. There is a sense of accomplishment every time a running goal is met. For every mile achieved it can boost a person’s confidence. Seeing results such as weight loss through the act of running is also a confidence booster. A person can gain more and more confidence when they realize their efforts through running is having a positive impact in their physical appearance.

Running helps depression

People who suffer from depression are often urged to take up running, as this has been proven to be a successful form of treatment. Running has also been used as a treatment for helping people who have addictions of any type. The feeling a person experiences after a run is described as an intense exhilaration, and can often replace a person’s addiction to a substance. This type of euphoria is the cause of the release of beta endorphin hormones.

People who are diagnosed with depression (natural cures for depression) often feel less fatigued, less depressed, and less tense after they have gone for a run. It is also been said that running can promote concentration, and leave people feeling more focused. People who run often feel more determined and have a better chance of finishing what they start.

The health benefits of running are many, and can be of help to just about anyone. This is a great form of exercise due to the fact that it can help both the body and mind.

Photo by ex_magician

10 Steps to Better Sleep

Guest Author — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 09:17:49 +0000

This article was written by Matt Sawyer. Matt is a Sports Science graduate (BA, MSc) and runs a health store and has recently opened Pharmas.

Tired of waking up feeling like you haven’t even been to sleep? Groggy, headachy, and like your get-up-and-go got-up-and-went? Good sleep is part of living an overall healthy lifestyle. Here are ten easy steps to follow, ten no-nonsense steps to better sleep.

Shake your booty. During the day, make sure you get at least a mild amount of exercise. The optimum amount is 30 minutes a day, and can include walking, jogging, dancing with your two-year old, or raking leaves. The more you move during the day, the more your body is ready to settle in to rest at night.
Stay on top of that food pyramid. Good nutrition, including lots of fruits and vegetables, and little fat and sugar, keeps your body healthy. Eating a huge fat-laden dinner is a recipe for disaster come bedtime.
Have a night snack. A light snack at least an hour before bedtime with a little protein and a little bit of carbohydrate, such as a slice of turkey on one piece of whole wheat bread, is a good choice. A whole bag of tortilla chips with salsa is not a good thing to have in your belly when you try to sleep.
Ditch the caffeine. If you like coffee, tea, or cola with your TV at night, make sure it’s the decaf version. It’s easy today to find your favorite tea and soda in a decaf variety, so make the switch. If you’re really susceptible to caffeine, don’t drink it after lunch time.
Turn off the idiot box. Speaking of the TV, turn it off at least half an hour before you try to sleep. Many people think they need the television to get to sleep, but the physical attributes of TV—sound, color and movement—are stimulating, and don’t allow your body to calm itself.
Quiet time. A bedtime routine such as your snack, a warm drink, and some quiet time for prayer or meditation helps your body prepare for sleep.
Bedtime routine. Remember when you, or your kids, were little, how a warm bath, and a bedtime story was a familiar routine that helped you sleep? The same is true for grown-ups. If you’re one of those people who get rejuvenated by a shower though, relegate it to the morning.
Get comfy. Your room should be a retreat. Indulge yourself in soft comfortable sheets, and if possible, purchase a good quality mattress. If you can’t afford that, try a nice mattress topper.
Cool it. Turn your thermostat down about an hour before you go to bed. Humans sleep better in a cool environment. Use a down quilt or electric blanket if you get cold easily, but keep the room air cool.
No-play zone. Reserve your bed for sleep only. Don’t read, don’t watch TV, and don’t flop on the bed and talk to your BFF. Train your body that bed is for sleeping only. (Well, a little marital recreation is allowed.)

What are your tips to getting better sleep?

Photo by craigmdennis

Benefits Of Yoga For Cancer Patients

NHE — Fri, 21 May 2010 16:08:11 +0000

There is a new study that was just released explaining that there could be some pretty solid benefits of doing Yoga for cancer patients. The study took a large group of cancer patients and had some regularly participate in yoga and others not – and it provided pretty conclusive evidence that yoga helps cancer patients feel better and sleep better.

Here are a few high-lights from the article…

“new research released Thursday ahead of the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting suggests yoga has beneficial effects on sleep quality, fatigue, and overall quality of life in cancer survivors.”

“Compared to how they felt beforehand, the survivors who participated in the yoga program afterward reported improvements in sleep quality and fatigue. Yoga participants also used less sleep medication than they did before the program, while non-yoga participants actually increased their use of sleep medication.”

“Distler said she would “absolutely” recommend the practice for cancer survivors with sleep problems.”

For more, you can read the full article here: Yoga May Help Cancer Patients

How To Burn Fat Naturally

NHE — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 11:59:28 +0000

You would be surprised to know that the body burns fat naturally. It just does the job very slowly. An easy and convenient source of food has made this process invisible to most of us. Many think they need to spend ridiculous hours at the gym or pay hundreds of dollars for pills and supplements. However, that is not necessary if you take advantage of the way the human body operates. Here are a few tips to use in your daily life.

Eat harder to digest foods

Your body expends energy digesting foods. Some of that energy comes from fat stores in the body. Foods that are easy to digest use less energy. Foods that are harder to digest use more energy. So when you make your next decision to eat, pick foods that make the body work harder.

Foods that are harder to digest include:

Fiber rich foods (ex. whole grain bread)
Cellulose (ex. celery)
Protein (ex. chicken breast)

Walk more

Walking is nearly as effective as running as far as fat loss is concerned. While running is good for your overall health because it works your heart and lungs, walking can help you lose weight by forcing your body to use energy. Walking requires muscle use and balance. Muscles need energy to keep up to the task. A part of that energy comes from fat stores.

Sleep more

Most people do not get enough sleep in a day. When you feel tired during the day, your body thinks it is hungry and will crave calories and energy to perk up. A night of good rest will mean you will be recovered and less likely to resort to food for energy.

Also, a lack of sleep will increase the amount of cortisol in the blood stream. This stress hormone causes the body to limit the amount of fat it will burn. This is an evolutionary mechanism. The body assumes that food will be scarce and goes into shutdown.

By sleeping more, you allow your body to relax and repair itself. By repairing cells and muscles, your body expends energy in the form of fat.

Fast a few days a week

Your body does not need to eat food constantly. In fact, research shows that intermittent fasting can be beneficial to metabolism. The way it works is restricting calories in a given day. Eat breakfast, skip lunch, and have a light dinner. You mentally become used to eating fewer calories and meanwhile the body continues to expend fat calories in a futile attempt to maintain weight. The key to fasting is to workout on days you are not fasting. The exercise will increase the metabolism and the fasting will force the body to use fat stores. This is a proven fat loss method approved by physicians.

The only downside to fasting is overdoing the evening meal. Many people are socialized into thinking it is not appropriate to go to bed hungry. However, the body actually responds best to having less food at the end of the day. Instead of focusing on digesting, the body can use energy to repair. This energy, instead of coming from dinner, comes from fat cells.

Photo by mikebaird

Yoga and Migraines

Terrie — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 03:14:45 +0000

Just a couple weeks ago, I had the worst headache that I can remember having. As it worsened, I laid on the couch covering my eyes and the nausea increased. By the time I went to bed, the nightlight caused me to cringe because it intensified the pain so much.

So a few days ago when I started to have another headache that looked like it could resemble a migraine, I took my wife’s advice; Yoga.

Doing yoga was about the last thing I wanted to do, but my wife swore by it as her natural healing method for migraines or any other headaches.

I gave it a shot and within 15 minutes, just about all of the pain was gone! I am not really sure why it works, but my wife says it works just about every time she tries it. It worked for me, so I will try it again next time I feel a headache coming on and I will draw my conclusions from that…

5 minutes of Yoga a day

Terrie — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 02:01:36 +0000

I discovered Yoga about a year or so ago thanks to my lovely wife. I didn’t really know much about it, other than I thought it seemed a little weird. I always saw “interesting” people standing in the middle of the park doing “interesting” things with their bodies, so what else could I think other than that it was “interesting”?

But then I tried it. Just like most things, you really don’t know until you try. My first Yoga experience was a good one. Using Yoga For Dummies, I got my feet wet and felt great after my first session. I felt invigorated and like I went through a light workout.

Physically I would say that Yoga is basically glorified stretching. Actually some of the poses that we do were very similar to many of the stretches I used to do when I played competitive sports.

5 minutes a day!

But anyway, recently when I haven’t been able to devote 30 minutes or an hour to a Yoga session, I have been just doing 5 minutes. I can go through about 6-8 poses and quickly feel a whole lot better. As a desk worker, my body gets mad at me and wants to move around a bit. 5 minutes of Yoga almost always brings the refreshing kick that I need.

So, if you haven’t tried Yoga, I say give it a shot. And if you have and don’t have a lot of time to devote to exercise, I say try just doing a few poses each day – it is surprisingly effective.

Call for a personal trainer for motivation to work out

Terrie — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 22:47:59 +0000

Working out on ones own can be challenging

It’s comprehendible, as a personal trainer many of my clients that I train feel it’s hard to muster up the desire to work out solo and that’s natural. Everyone deep down would like to be healthy and fit but yet don’t have the motivation to do it merely for being human. Many will allege that it’s merely laziness but at Better Life Fitness Solutions I would argue with that term because I recognize that people who don’t have motivation to live fit and healthy are yet industrious and productive citizens in society. A Great deal more than a personal trainer, I often have to council my clients not to get discouraged when they find that working out isn’t for them.

Humans are meant to live the easy life

Humans do all that they can to live as any other normal creature on the globe but humans also like to live the good, comfortable life. There was formerly a time that when humans sought to feed, they had to be really active to find all that they needed to subsist. Over time, human beings have learned how to create living a good deal easier with radically new ideas in technology and by supplying functions and services to one another that could be counterchanged with currency or trade. So nowadays, in order to exist one doesn’t need to be physically active at all, all humans necessitate to do is render a part to society and then run to the food market and get your meat and veggies or any other comfort item you desire.

Living the easy life takes away the motivation to work out and live fit

Us human beings at present with all our upgrades in technology and work that barely requires any physical activity can live easily and we savor it. No need to plow fields or hunt when all we need to do is kick back inside to do work at a desk or behind a counter, basically withdrawing what we construed to be the hard part of living. Better Life Fitness Solutions realizes this and knows how to bring this motivation back with exercises that are fun and online personal training with live personal trainer back up.