Tag Archives: exercise

Focus on the Mental and Emotional Benefits of Exercise to Help Stick to Your Workouts

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Anyone who’s tried to stick to a workout routine knows what it’s like to have those days when you just don’t feel like it—when you feel like you haven’t gotten any results from your exercise, and you wonder why you even bother. That can be depression (or laziness, depending) talking, and a surefire way to push through that fog and get your running shoes on is to focus on how you’ll feel when you’re finished.

Even though it seems counter-intuitive, you’ll feel energized after even a short walk or workout, and the emotional benefits will make themselves known to you long before the physical ones will. Most people try to focus on inches slimmed or pounds lost—since they’ll come later, consider honing in on the emotional benefits instead to hit that need for instant gratification you may have. In addition to preparing for those depressed days by remembering how good you’ll feel, the folks at BodyHack suggest making a running schedule you’ll want to stick to as a kind of carrot to stay motivated.

The idea itself isn’t new—we’ve mentionedrewarding yourself immediately as a way to keep exercise interesting, and the idea is definitely sound—if the feeling of accomplishment and the endorphins aren’t enough to get you up and onto the treadmill or exercise bike, maybe treating yourself to something nice when you’re finished will do the trick. How do you stay motivated to work out on those down days? Share your tips in the comments below.

5 Hacks to Stick to Exercise Through Depression | BodyHack

Photo by Andrey Burmakin (Shutterstock).

Republished from http://lifehacker.com

Advice of ‘Pocket Hercules’ Mr Universe Champion as He Celebrates His 100th Birthday

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Living proof that you shouldn’t :

‘Don’t take life too seriously’

Rippling his muscles and flashing a toothless grin a former Mr Universe known as the ‘Pocket Hercules’ celebrates his 100th birthday.

And what has been the key to long life for the super-fit centenarian who has battled poverty, a stint in prison and a minor stroke – not taking life too seriously.

The diminutive Manohar Aich, who is 4ft 11ins tall, overcame many hurdles to achieve his body building glory.

Born in the small town of Comilla in Bengal, he was attracted to exercising and building his muscles when as a schoolboy he saw a group of wrestlers in action.

After leaving school in 1942, he joined the Royal air force under India’s British colonial rulers and it was there that he began his relentless pursuit of body building.

Encouraged by a British officer named Reub Martin, who introduced him to weight training, Aich earned praise for his physique from his peers in the air force.

Some years later, however, he was thrown into prison when he protested against colonial oppression.

He said: ‘It was in that jail that I began weight training seriously. This helped me prepare myself for the world championship.

‘In jail I used to practice on my own, without any equipment, sometimes for 12 hours in a day.’ Continue reading →

Daylight Saving Time 2012: Could ‘Springing Forward’ Hurt Your Health?

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It’s hard enough to get the sleep you need each night, but on Sunday at 2 a.m., with the beginning of daylight saving time, we’ll spring our clocks forward and lose out on one of those precious hours of rest.

This time change is much trickier for our bodies to handle than when we “fall back” in November. That’s because so many of us aren’t getting enough shut-eye to begin with, and being robbed of an additional hour can put us over the edge. In fact, as many as47 million people are sleep deprived and 43 percent of Americans say they rarely or never get a good night’s sleep during the week. Continue reading →

Men’s Fitness Can Be Enjoyable

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Charlie Hunnam on Mens Fitness

Whenever it comes to men’s fitness exercise as well as weight loss plans, most men prefer building mass instead of losing weight. However, it is momentous to understand that there are 2 different options available here: getting a really solid muscular body or creating a healthy body.

How do you Choose the right fitness routine?

Regardless the reason why you are getting involved in fitness, you are going to be a much more healthy, especially if fitness has not been a major part of your previous life. Some of the most important health benefits that you can gain from a fitness regime include living longer, losing excess weight, lower your body fat and simply living a sound and healthy life. These results can be achieved from a workout routine that you do either at a local gym or in the comfort of your own home. The choice that is appropriate for you will depend mainly upon your time limitations and what you are looking to achieve. In fact, exercising in your own home will give you a great deal of privacy. On the other hand, at the gym or fitness center you can pay to have the help of a trainer but you may not have a lot of time to take advantage of this because you will also have to work around the gym’s schedule. Continue reading →

Pearman Fitness Year 1: San Francisco’s #1 Celebrity Trainer – Video

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San Francisco’s #1 Celebrity Trainer
The Best Fitness Tips

Recent Study Shows Molecular Benefits of Massage Therapy Following Exercise (Video)

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 Do you  actually need anymore reasons to book a massage appointment?

A new study published in Science Translational Medicine found that a short, 10-minute Swedish-style massage session can reduce inflammation, which can help your muscles recover after a hard workout.

“What massage seems to do is … it reduces the inflammatory response as a function of the damage you incurred while you’re exercising,” explained one of the study’s authors Simon Melov, a molecular biologist at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging. Continue reading →

Exercise as Housecleaning for the Body: Removal of Garbage From Inside Our Body’s Cells

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When ticking off the benefits of physical activity, few of us would include intracellular housecleaning. But a new study suggests that the ability of exercise to speed the removal of garbage from inside our body’s cells may be one of its most valuable, if least visible, effects.

In the new research, which was published last month in Nature, scientists at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas gathered two groups of mice. One set was normal, with a finely tuned cellular scrubbing system. The other had been bred to have a blunted cleaning system.

It’s long been known that cells accumulate flotsam from the wear and tear of everyday living. Broken or misshapen proteins, shreds of cellular membranes, invasive viruses or bacteria, and worn-out, broken-down cellular components, like aged mitochondria, the tiny organelles within cells that produce energy, form a kind of trash heap inside the cell. Continue reading →

Exercise May Protect Against Erectile Dysfunction

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Does really mean, if  you don’t use it your lose it?

The study, published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, assessed the association between physical activity and erectile function in young, healthy men ages 18 to 40. Previous studies have suggested that erectile dysfunction in men under 40 is correlated with increased cardiovascular risks.

“The men in our study who exercised more seemed to experience a protective benefit against erectile dysfunction,” says Wayland Hsiao, MD, co-author of the study and assistant professor of urology at the Emory University School of Medicine.

“We hope that early screening for ED may be a gateway issue to help motivate young men to live healthily on a consistent basis so that they can possibly avoid health issues associated with a sedentary lifestyle, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. We see this as just the beginning.”

Study participants self-administered two surveys: the Paffenbarger Physical Activity Questionnaire and the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF).

The Paffenburger Physical Activity Questionnaire translates patient-reported physical activity into weekly energy expenditure to determine whether a participant is sedentary or active. The IIEF is a 15-question survey for the measurement of erectile function.

The study reported improved erectile function in men under 40 with increased exercise, as well as higher rates of sexual dysfunction in sedentary men under 40.

“Several studies have evaluated the relationship between exercise and erectile function in older or obese men,” says study co-author Chad W.M. Ritenour, MD, director of the Emory’s Men’s Health Center and associate professor of urology.

“Our goal with this particular study was to determine if there is a connection between increased exercise and better erectile function in younger men.” (www.futurity.org)

Conquering the Chilly Workouts of Winter

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Half-naked South Korean Special Warfare Forces members train on the snow during a winter exercise in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Picture: AP

(Reuters) – The short days, the weak sun, and the warm beds of winter can wreak havoc on your fitness routine.

As the outside temperature plummets, so too can the will to brave the elements for outdoor exercise. Experts say as long as you layer up, drink up and tune into how cold is just too cold it shouldn’t impact your fitness.

“Come with a different game plan for the winter,” advises Jessica Matthews, an exercise physiologist with the American Council on Exercise (ACE). Continue reading →

Some of the 29 Hardest Ab Exercises to Play With

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A high percentage of failure rates for keeping true to  New Year resolutions, in my opinion, is due to boredom at the gym, or with whatever exercise you choose. Unless you are mixing it up or part of the small percentage of human beings who love working out, you will get bored. Common knowledge of AB work is limited to crunches for many men. Here is a run down of some advanced AB workouts and  exercises to add to your workouts to keep things fresh.

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#1 Medicine Ball Walk Outs

Put a medicine ball at your feet. Push your hips back without rounding your lower back. Place your hands on the med ball and slowly start walking your hands on top of the med ball driving it away from you. Walk your hands as far as you can without letting your hips sink, and then walk your hands backwards as you roll the ball back towards your feet.

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#2 Treadmill Pike Ups

Turn off the treadmill and set your body in pushup position. Drive your hips upwards by pulling your feet toward your hands against the tension of the treadmill belt. Try to keep your torso and legs straight and only hinge upward at your hips. Then, return to the starting position by pushing your feet away from your hands. Continue reading →