Facts About Stretching

Stretch before you exercise -- it's an oft-repeated maxim, but the benefits of stretching have not been conclusively proven. The goal of stretching is to prevent musculoskeletal injuries by making soft tissue structures, including ligaments, tendons and muscles, more pliable and less likely to overstretch or tear. Although stretching has become a mandatory part of most sports routines, it might actually increase rather than decrease the risk of injury, in some cases. Stretching might help with some sports and not others. Talk with your trainer or medical provider about the benefits and risks of stretching for you.

Research is Contradictory

Research on the benefits of stretching in preventing injuries has not firmly established a benefit. A Canadian review of available studies published in the October 1999 "Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine" stated that while some studies found a benefit of stretching combined with other warm-up techniques, others reported no benefit and several found that stretching increased rather than decreased the risk of injury. But a University of Alabama study reported in the 2007 issue of "Sports Medicine" claimed that stretching combined with warm-up exercises did help prevent injury. This report states that stretching within 15 minutes before starting an activity had benefit.

Stretching Might Hurt Rather Than Help

The 1999 Canadian study noted five reasons why stretching might increase the risk rather than help prevent sports injuries. The first was that, in animal studies, heat-induced muscle compliance increased the risk of soft-tissue rupture. Researchers also stated that stretching appears to mask muscle pain, which would prevent you from recognizing an injury immediately and stopping an activity. Lastly, researchers explained that stretching can cause damage at the cytoskeleton, or cellular level. Bouncing when you stretch rather than simply holding your stretch for 30 seconds can cause tissue injury Harvard Health warns.

Stretching Improves Flexibility

On the plus side, Harvard Health explains that stretching can improve muscle flexibility, which could help improve your range of motion if you have tightness in structures such as the Achilles tendon. Always warm-up for five to 10 minutes with low-intensity exercise such as light walking or biking before stretching. Don't stretch before a high-intensity workout, such as sprinting, because stretching can decrease rather than increase your performance. Stretch at least two to three times a week to maintain the flexibility benefits of stretching.

Stretching Increases Blood Flow

tretching increases blood flow to your muscles. If you have tissue damage, increased blood flow can increase oxygenation to the damaged tissues and decrease your recovery time. Increased blood flow can also carry away waste products that occur as a byproduct of exercise. Don't stretch to the point of pain and, if you have a current injury, clear any type of stretching with your medical team.

Categories: Aerobic, Fitness, Health, Sports

How Many Calories Are Burned in 20 Minutes of Step Aerobics?

You can lose weight by burning more calories than you consume. A step aerobics workout can help you burn calories. Twenty minutes of any cardiovascular exercise, including step aerobics, is unlikely to burn enough extra calories to make a big contribution to weight loss. That is why the typical step aerobics class lasts between 40 minutes and one hour.

Step Aerobics 101

A step aerobics workout isn't much different from other group fitness aerobics options. A session consists of moving with a group of other exercisers, performing motions that tone the muscles while elevating your heart rate -- all set to music chosen to energize you and make the workout more fun. The main difference is in the use of a step -- a plastic platform that you will step or hop on and off several times during your workout. Step aerobics sessions tend to put more load on your calves, thighs and rear than do many other options.

Energy Factors

Calories are a measure of energy, the same way kilometers are a measure of distance. Your body takes in energy in the form of food and burns that energy throughout the day. If you consume more calories than you burn, your body stores the energy for later use. If you burn more than you consume, your body accesses the stored energy to make up the difference.

What You Burn

Health resource website Harvard Health Publications provides data on the calories burned by activities ranging from cross-country skiing to sitting on your couch. According to Harvard Health, a 155-pound woman will burn approximately 173 calories during 20 minutes of step aerobics, depending on her level of effort. Heavier people will burn more calories. Lighter people will burn fewer.

Account for Variables

It's impossible to get a precise figure on how many calories you will burn in a given workout. Factors like your personal metabolism, air temperature and time of day will raise or lower your calorie consumption for any given session. However, a calorie calculator can help you estimate the calories you'll burn on average over the course of several step aerobics sessions.

Categories: Aerobic, Health, Sports, Weight Loss

5 Benefits of Regular Exercise

Following a regular exercise regime can provide you with numerous health benefits. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, over 60 percent of U.S. adults don't get enough exercise. The agency suggests performing at least 30 minutes of moderately intense aerobic exercise, such as walking briskly or swimming, on most days of the week to get the health benefits of regular exercise.

Boosts Your Mood

Regular exercise can improve your emotional and mental health by reducing stress and anxiety levels. Exercising stimulates various chemicals in your brain that leave you feeling more relaxed and happier. Regular exercise also helps you get in shape physically, which can boost your self-esteem and confidence. Following a regular exercise routine might also help you to sleep better, which can put you in a better mood as well. Don't exercise too close to your bedtime, however, or you might get too energized to go to sleep.

Improves Cardiovascular Health

Regular physical activity can enhance the health of your heart. Exercising boosts your cardiovascular health by lowering your blood pressure, preventing plaque from building up in your arteries and reducing your triglyceride levels. Physical activity also appears to increase the levels of high-density lipoprotein, or "good cholesterol," in your blood while reducing your risk of stroke.

Prevents Chronic Health Conditions

Regular exercise can decrease your risk of getting type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, a health condition involving high cholesterol, high blood pressure and high blood sugar. People who exercise regularly also appear to have a lower risk of suffering from breast, colon, lung and endometrial cancers, the CDC reports, and the Arthritis Foundation says regular exercise might help you prevent or manage arthritis as well.

Promotes Healthy Weight

Following a regular exercise program is crucial for losing weight and maintaining a healthy weight. You lose weight when you burn more calories than you consume. Exercise helps you to burn off calories while preserving your lean muscle mass. The CDC suggests performing about 150 minutes of moderately intense exercises every week to help keep off excess pounds. Combine regular exercise with cutting your caloric consumption to take off extra pounds.

Increases Strength and Endurance

Regular exercise can help to strengthen your bones, muscles and joints. It can slow down the loss of bone density that can lead to osteoporosis. Older adults who exercise regularly also lower their risk of suffering from a hip fracture if they should fall. Following an exercise regimen increases the strength of your lungs, which means that all of your tissues receive an increased amount of oxygen and nutrients. This oxygen boost gives you more energy.

Categories: Aerobic, Fitness, Health, Sports

Best Aerobic Exercises: Running Vs. Elliptical

It’s a common dilemma among many gym rats -- you can’t decide whether to run on the treadmill or use the elliptical machine, and wonder which is the best exercise. There is no simple answer because many factors come into play, largely dependent on your fitness goals. Figuring out the best aerobic exercise for you depends on what you are looking for in your workout.

Aerobic Workout

Aerobic exercise is a workout of relatively low intensity that you can perform for an extended period of time. Doing aerobic exercise strengthens your heart and muscles while improving circulation and respiration, among other benefits. If aerobic conditioning is your goal, then either running or the elliptical will work for you.

Weight Loss

When it comes to weight loss, the elliptical is the best aerobic exercise. Running a 12-minute mile -- a moderate pace -- burns approximately 596 calories per hour for a 155-pound person, while the elliptical burns approximately 670 calories per hour at moderate intensity. Try running outdoors for even greater benefits, because you burn more calories creating your own forward momentum instead of having a treadmill do it for you.

Joint Health

If you’re concerned about the impact on your joints, the elliptical is probably the better aerobic exercise for you. Considered a low-impact exercise, the elliptical causes less stress on your hips, knees and back than running on a treadmill. The elliptical is much less stressful than running on a hard surface such as cement or asphalt. Used correctly, an elliptical shouldn’t cause you knee pain. If you have a knee condition, however, you may still experience knee pain with the elliptical.

Expense

Running is the clear winner if you’re on a budget. While elliptical machines usually cost somewhere between $200 and $1,400, all you need for running is a quality pair of running shoes, which may cost you anywhere from $50 to $120. It’s important to shop for your running shoes at a specialty shop that will fit you with a pair that complements your gait and level of pronation. If you opt for running on a treadmill, however, it may be more expensive than an elliptical -- quality treadmills range in price from $1,000 to $2,000.

Training

Many runners choose to complement their runs with exercise on an elliptical because it mimics the motion of running and is easy on the joints. But because the elliptical uses some different muscles, it will not replace running when it comes to training for a race. For this type of training, you must work the proper muscles with ground impact by running on a treadmill or outside. To really get your body ready for race day, the ideal location to run is outdoors.

Categories: Aerobic, Health, Sports, Weight Loss

The 7 Principles of Fat Loss

Unfortunately, anyone attempting to develop a diet and fitness plan to lose fat and keep it off is swimming against the current these days. There is so much conflicting information about the best way to lose fat that many people are suffering from paralysis through analysis. Do you go low-carb or low-fat? Do you count calories or not? Should you strength train or do cardio -- and what type? Are gluten and wheat really bad for you? What about the Paleo approach? How much protein do you need in a fat-loss phase? It can be exhausting for well-meaning people who want results to sift through all of this information and apply a practical, maintainable and fact-based approach. Read on to learn about the seven foundational fat-loss principles that the world’s leading experts use with their clients to get results.

1. Establish Your Fat-Loss Calorie Requirements
There is a reason this principle is first: If you get this wrong, you can apply the other six principles and experience very little success. Yes, calories do count a great deal. There are different tools and formulas that you can use to track them. To determine your calorie needs for weight loss, simply enter your age, current weight, weight-loss goal, height and gender, and your needs are determined in seconds. The number provided by the tool is your baseline calorie requirement for weight loss. If you’re active or exercise regularly, you can factor in these activities and your calorie needs will increase. Holly Mitchell, an International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness figure professional and nutrition coach with Lean Bodies Consulting, cautions against dropping calories too low too fast. “The goal is to see how much you can eat and still lose fat, not how little. If you start out with too large of a caloric deficit and plateau, you’ll have nowhere to go,” she adds.

2. Consume Adequate Protein
Eating enough protein is a critical component of an effective fat-loss plan. Kelly Plowe recommends including protein at meals and snacks for increased satiety and preserving muscle when trying to lose weight. “Getting enough protein in your diet is fairly easy to do with a little effort,” says Plowe. “Try incorporating eggs into your breakfast and yogurt and nut butters into your snacks, and aim to include lean proteins like chicken, fish and beans at lunch and dinner.” A 2013 study of 39 adults looked at the impact of a calorie-deficit diet with three different levels of protein intake -- the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA), two times the RDA and three times the RDA. While all groups lost weight after 31 days, the loss of fat mass was higher in the two higher-protein diet groups. Mike Roussell, Ph.D., a private nutrition consultant is also an advocate of protein. “It is best to spread your protein intake evenly across your meals while also having a fast-digesting form of protein (e.g., protein shake) immediately after exercise,” advises Roussell.

3. Don’t Fear Carbohydrates
You need not fear carbohydrates because they can help you get more out of your workouts. Mike Roussell, Ph.D., a private nutrition consultant and Shape magazine’s “Diet Doctor,” feels carbohydrates are essential for hard-training individuals. “Eating carbohydrates before or drinking them during training can help you fight fatigue, work harder and burn more fat,” says Roussell. He also points out the importance of post-workout carb consumption because “carbohydrates eaten after you exercise will be preferentially shuttled towards your muscles so that they are refueled for your next training session.”

4. Don’t Attempt to Out-Train a Bad Diet
Trying to exercise off body fat is analogous to trying to drive a nail into a board with a screwdriver. If you bang away long enough, you might get the nail in a little bit, but it would be far more efficient just to use a hammer. In the case of fat loss, proper nutrition is the hammer. Exercising, a combination of strength training and cardiovascular exercise, seven days a week for an hour for the average person will burn about 3,000 calories. That’s less than a pound of fat. That’s a serious time commitment. On the other hand, how much time does it take to not eat those extra 3,000 calories? None. Use a combination of exercise and a good diet to enhance fitness and retain lean muscle mass while losing weight.

5. Prioritize Strength Training
Retaining lean muscle tissue is of paramount importance when in a calorie deficit, and the best way to ensure that happens is by prioritizing strength training. Tony Gentilcore, CSCS, CPT, and co-founder of Cressey Performance in Hudson, Massachusetts, is quick to point out that “what makes muscle keeps muscle.” Gentilcore feels one of the biggest mistakes people make when following a fat-loss plan is underestimating the value of strength training. “The goal should be to maintain as much muscle as possible,” he says. “Adding in more and more training volume, whether it be more cardio or higher-rep resistance training, especially in a caloric deficit, is a great way to lose muscle.” The solution? Gentilcore advises implementing traditional strength work into the mix: heavier loads for five to eight reps per set. “This will not only keep you strong, but it will also provide the stimulus the body needs to keep muscle,” he says.

6. Food Variety Is Not Your Friend
Variety may be the spice of life, but when it comes to fat loss, too much can be counterproductive. Optimal fat loss requires quantification - particularly regarding calories. Incorporating too many foods into your diet can make this quantification tedious, frustrating, impractical and time-consuming. I encourage people to pick four to five sources of protein, fat and starch and build their fat-loss diet around those. This keeps grocery shopping, quantification and meal prep simple. Attempting to incorporate several dozen foods and complex recipes will likely make it difficult to stay on track, and you’ll be spending endless hours in the kitchen. Keep it simple at first. Once you start to develop a routine, you can begin to add in new type of proteins, carbohydrates and fat.

7. Don’t Buy In To Supplement Hype
As much as we want to believe a magic pill, liquid, herb, plant or potion will melt away our fat, the reality is the vast majority of nutritional supplements marketed as fat-loss supernovas are largely ineffective. How can this be, given all the amazing studies these supplements tout? “Two words: mouse and rat,” says Kamel Patel, M.P.H., M.B.A., Ph.D., director of Examine.com. “Many fat-loss supplements have great evidence in animal models, such as the diabetic-rat model, but don’t do so well in human studies,” says Patel. What’s more, you need to follow the money because “human studies are often poorly designed and funded by the supplement manufacturer,” adds Patel. He also points out that even supplements that have a minor positive effect burn far fewer calories than just a few minutes of exercise, and they can have adverse side effects such as insomnia and jitters. Lastly, the supplement industry is loosely regulated, so often claims are made without sufficient substantiation or regulation of the product’s contents.

                                              Billy Blanks - Tae Bo T3 Transformation
                                                    

Categories: Aerobic, Fitness, Food, Health, Sports, Weight Loss

What Decreases Stamina?

Stamina is your body’s ability to sustain extended periods of physical activity. Extended periods can refer to several days of low-intensity exercise or minutes of high intensity exertion. Unhealthy lifestyle choices decrease your endurance and resilience, making it more difficult to sustain intense activities. You can increase your stamina with a few changes to make your body healthier.

Lack of Exercise

Leading a sedentary lifestyle can increase your risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, obesity, osteoporosis and many other health issues. In addition, lack of exercise allows your muscles to weaken, which decreases their stamina. If you spend most of your day sitting, lounging, watching TV or typing at a computer, you are at risk of decreased stamina from a sedentary lifestyle. You can reverse the detriments from lack of exercise by engaging in regular physical activity. Aerobic exercise, jogging, rollerblading, skipping rope, dancing, swimming, jumping jacks and other cardiovascular activities help rebuild stamina. Start with 20 minutes per day and gradually increase to 45 minutes per day, exercising four to five days per week.

Healthy Diet

Following a poor diet can decrease your stamina, causing you to become winded quickly from exercise. Consuming candy, baked sweets, soda and other sugary treats causes blood sugar level fluctuations and energy crashes. Eating a large heavy meal focuses your metabolism on digestion -- you feel sleepy, not peppy. Shortchanging yourself on calories leaves your body without the necessary fuel to convert to energy. Increase your stamina by eating five to six small meals each day and stick to fruits, vegetables, lean meats, fish, legumes and whole grains for high-quality, high-energy fuel. For best results, consult a dietitian to determine how many calories you need to maintain a healthy weight and activity level. Count the calories in each meal and eat no more than your required amount per day. In time, your nutritious diet will boost your stamina.

Quit Smoking

Smoking tobacco causes more than 2.4 million preventable deaths per year in the United States, according to the American Heart Association. Tobacco directly decreases your stamina by limiting oxygen to your heart, muscles and tissues. To counteract the decrease in stamina, stop smoking entirely. Benefits of giving up tobacco include a longer lifespan, lower blood pressure, and decreased risk of cancer, asthma, bronchitis, gum disease, heart attack, cardiovascular disease and several other medical conditions.

Warning'

If you have low stamina or notice a sudden drop in energy level or endurance, consult your physician. Discuss your lifestyle, daily exercise, diet, and any recent changes to your daily routine. Your healthcare provider can rule out any medical condition that could be contributing to your low stamina and suggest ways to increase your strength and staying power.

                                                     Billy Blanks - Tae Bo T3 Acceleration

Categories: Health, Sports

Incline Cardio vs. Sprinting

When treadmill walking becomes boring or tedious, incline or sprint intervals can add variety and boost the intensity of your workout. Increasing intensity for just a few minutes at regular intervals can help you gain more from your workout, according to MayoClinic.com. Incline cardio involves changing the angle of your treadmill to simulate uphill walking or running, while sprinting involves quick, short bursts of speed. Incline and sprint training both offer significant fitness benefits, but certain risks are involved with both forms of exercise.

Cardiovascular Benefits

Increasing the incline of your treadmill platform is an effective way to boost cardio output while you walk. Treadmill walking at 3 mph and 12 percent incline results in the same change in heart rate as running at 6 mph with no incline, according to Matthew Rhea, director of Human Movement at A.T. Still University in Arizona. The uphill climb -- even when performed at a mild to moderate pace -- provides resistance, which demands increased involvement of the heart and lungs. 

Sprinting offers similar cardio benefits, according to a study published in the "American Journal of Physiology — Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology" in 2008. Researchers at McMaster University in Canada concluded that sprint training improves the structure and function of arteries as effectively as moderate-intensity exercise performed over longer periods.

Building Muscle Mass

Both incline training and sprinting offer significant lower-body muscle-building benefits. By working out at an incline, you stimulate greater muscle activity in your calves, hamstrings, and gluteals than you do while walking flat, according to Rhea. In fact, when you increase incline to more than 15 percent, muscle tissue activation in the legs can exceed 75 percent of maximal isometric contraction. 
Unlike slower-paced walking or jogging, sprinting recruits fast-twitch muscle fibers, according to Tom Seabourne, who has a doctorate in exercise science. The result, according to Seabourne, is that brief, high-intensity sprinting builds more muscle mass in the legs than moderate-speed endurance training.

Risks

Due to the repetitive nature of treadmill workouts, your muscles and joints are subjected to significant stress, whether you’re working on an incline or performing sprints. Your workout, therefore, involves some risk of injury. People who suffer from equinus, or limited ability to flex the foot upward, often discover that working out on an incline aggravates their condition, according to podiatrist, Dr. Stanley Beekman. Sprinting on the treadmill, which involves increased impact than slower-paced walking, can aggravate various hip, knee and foot conditions.

Considerations

Both incline cardio and sprinting are high-intensity forms of exercise, which can result in normal levels of discomfort. However, if your workout leaves you feeling short of breath, dizzy, unstable or in pain, lower your intensity or stop. If you suffer from a pre-existing medical condition or are returning to exercise after a break, get clearance from your doctor before introducing incline cardio or sprints into your physical fitness routine. Plan to work out at lower intensity, and build gradually as your fitness level improves. You might find that high-intensity training aggravates a previous injury or puts too much stress on your back or joints, in which case you should opt for more moderate forms of exercise.

                                

                                      Billy Blanks - Tae Bo T3 Ignition

Categories: Aerobic, Health, Sports, Weight Loss