Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Common Exercise Myths, Mistakes and Misconceptions

Although todays article is regarding exercise on the whole, it can be applied to running exactly the same, firstly goal setting is one of the most vital things you can do if you truly do wish to improve and optimise your running!

If you are looking for simple guidelines for better training and racing go to: Improve your Training and Your Racing!

---------------------------------------

Learning About Common Exercise Myths, Mistakes And Misconceptions by Robert Michael

What has stopped you in the past from starting an exercise program? Has is been the confusion surrounding the misconceptions of exercise? Learn more about these common myths, mistakes and misconceptions so you can get on the road to a more healthy you.

1. Failure to set a goal is a common mistake. You need to have a clear goal in mind to be successful at weight loss and exercise. Keep a journal of your progress to help you see your improvements and hopefully to keep you motivated to obtain your longtime goal.

2. No Pain, No Gain is a common misconception you might come across. Your body tells you something is wrong by letting you feel pain. Never ignore these signs. You will feel uncomfortable when you start exercising and testing your body but you will need to overcome this. The beginning of a heart attack could start by heavy breathing because you are pushing your body too hard. You need to learn how to read your body. Exercise is very important and by doing it correctly you will be able to continue with it the rest of your life.

After you exercise you will probably notice that you will hurt. Make sure you start exercising gradually and take lots of time to rest to let your body heal properly. Two problems that beginner exercisers have are causing permanent damage to your muscles, tendons and ligaments if you continue to exercise while in pain without allowing enough time to rest so your body will heal. You will no longer be able to exercise if you end up hurting your body so badly.

You will probably wake up the morning after you exercise and realize that you can hardly get your sore body out of bed because everything hurts. If you feel this way you are going to feel less motivated to exercise in the future. Causing yourself constant pain is a definite way to end your exercise program for good.

3. Sacrificing Quality for Quantity is another common exercise mistake. When you feel you are ready to increase the number of reps you are doing and strengthen the surrounding muscles then try doing fewer number of reps in a set and do more sets. This will help you feel less tired and help you gain strength in your fast-twitch muscles.

4. Weight Training Makes Women Bulky is a common myth that you might have heard before. A woman will strengthen and tone muscle, burn fat and increase metabolism through weight training, not build mass. Because women do not produce enough testosterone they do not build muscle mass the way men do.

5. Over-Emphasizing Strengths is another common mistake. Instead of focusing on what you are good at focus on your weak points. Do this to help you balance things out. An example of this is when your upper body is stronger then your lower body than work only on this area on day a week.

Remember that it is important to keep your body healthy and coming up with an appropriate exercise program for you is a step in the right direction.

About the Author

Robert Michael is a writer for Walk Exercise which is an excellent place to find exercise links, resources and articles. For more information go to: http://www.walkexercise.com



Technorati Tags:
, , , , , , , , ,


Feed the Muscles, Burn the Fat - CLICK HERE!

Burn The Fat Feed The Muscles

Friday, September 08, 2006

Exercise and Recovery

This article, by Jeffrey Rose, although long, I found extremely interesting and is definitely worth a read for all athletes, sportsmen and average person alike. It is very thought provoking and provides insight into a variety of subjects regarding health, exercise and recovery.
If your looking or some fat burning help, try :

Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle


----------------------------

Exercise and Recovery by Jeffrey Rose

The importance that exercise plays in the health of the individual is now universally recognized. Everyone should be incorporating exercise into their life as a regular part of their life routine. As true as this is, there are special reasons why regular exercise helps those in recovery lead a healthier life. Exercise improves a person's outlook on life and raises their sense of well being. This eliminates any desire to reach for a drug to artificially improve how you feel in life. Many people have used drugs in the past to compensate for negative feelings. However, if you greatly alleviate, or even totally eliminate these negative feelings, your need to compensate for them with drugs will no longer exist. This is exactly what happens to most people when they embark on and carry through with a program of regular exercise.

When you hear the word "exercise" do you think of it as something that is pleasant or unpleasant, as fun or work? How you feel about exercise plays a role in how often you will do it? Have fun when you exercise because if you are having fun when you exercise, you will automatically find it more pleasant. Focus on how good it feels to move your body. Remember also, if life makes you stressed and tense, exercise automatically releases stress and tension and gives you more energy. You can't help feeling better about life and yourself too. So think of exercise as a wonderful way to make yourself feel better in just a short amount of time.

If you're feeling stressed and down, exercising will pick you up and make you feel better and more resourceful. And by releasing stress, you will no longer be drained of energy from stressors and tension creating situations that occur in your daily life. What did you do in the past when you had a stressful day? Did you hurt yourself by doing unhealthy things like overeat, drink, smoke or worse? Now you will be making a conscious choice to do what makes you healthier, while achieving the exact same goals of relieving your daily stress and making yourself better, with fun exercise. You'll have made a new commitment to yourself to treat yourself better by respecting your physical being and becoming healthier and healthier.

Later on in this article I will discuss an often neglected aspect of the health promoting qualities of exercising, but first I want to discuss what types of exercises are best for you. The most valuable exercise and the most valuable piece of equipment for doing this exercise is obvious, but usually not known by most personal trainers, who often seem to have a particular favorite regardless of the individual they are advising. It is, to put it succinctly, any exercise that you will enjoy doing regularly. People often ask fitness advisors what piece of equipment they should buy to work out on. Well, the correct answer is the one you will enjoy using and thus will use consistently and regularly. For example one person might enjoy a rowing machine in their home, while another might enjoy a treadmill. While, again, another might enjoy using a climber or stair-like workout piece of equipment. People have different tastes, and that must be recognized and acted upon. Just because your friend has an exercise bike at home, doesn't mean you should get one instead of say, an elliptical trainer that you would find more fun.

Often people are being advised to "watch television when you work out," I, on the other hand, typically advise my clients, to "work out when you watch television." When you are listening to your favorite music, you can also work out at the same time. If you have time to watch your favorite TV shows or again, if you have time to listen to some of your favorite albums, then, right there, you DO have time to work out, which can be done at the very same time. You probably have noticed that there are television sets in fitness centers. This strategy can easily be applied within your home. So have the equipment right there in your television room, and get on it whenever you watch television. In fact, a sedentary life style created by people spending hours sitting in front of a TV can be totally turned around, so that watching TV becomes the thing that propels you along the new path of getting a lot of exercise into your life. You don't even have to go to a gym, you don't even have to go outside, and you don't even have to set aside extra time, just do it while you are watching your favorite TV programs in your own home. Of course, you can also get good exercise and fresh air at the same time with an outside exercise such as walking, jogging or biking. However, you should only do these if you enjoy them. Since running can leave some people with wear and tear injury because of its impact nature, walking is more highly recommended because it is much safer.

It might surprise some of you that I believe that strength training is equally as important to good health as aerobic exercise. Doing aerobic exercise can improve the strength of your muscles, but only up to a certain point because a particular aerobic exercise will provide only so much resistance, so that after awhile, you are only maintaining the muscle you have already developed and not building any more muscle. The value of strength training for the health of every individual is becoming more and more recognized in the fitness world. It is now accepted that working out with heavy resistance provides benefits far beyond just being stronger and looking better.

Today using heavier resistance, moving at very very slow tempos, in both directions, and quickly reaching the point of failure, when you just cannot move the resistance any longer, is considered the best form of strength training. At the moment when your body tries but cannot overcome and move the resistance any longer, your muscle will signal your body to stimulate muscle growth to increase your muscle's strength, and also improve the metabolic functions employed in the use of your muscles, so that any future challenge can be more easily met. Maintaining a slow rate of movement in both directions eliminates the effects of momentum, and counters the effects of gravity as the weight inside the workout machine is being lowered. This system of slow training with heavy resistance creates a more intense and productive workout while lessening any potential injury to the body, both through the very slow speed of movement and the reduced number of repetitions. This is the form of strength training I recommend, both to achieve the results you desire and protect you from any injuries. Because of the large increase of the resistance you will be dealing with, this method of working out is best done only using exercise machines, rather them free weights. In addition, proper form must be maintained at all times, both to prevent injury and insure you will get a proper workout that will provide all the benefits that are intended. When people hurry through their strength training by doing many rushed repetitions instead of going slowly, and jerk the weight, twist their body, clench their teeth and hold their breath, they are doing wrong things that will only keep them from making good progress in a safe way. I want to further reiterate that no matter what type of weight training you do, it is essential that you breathe freely and never ever hold your breath.

The positive side of this increased effort from using much heavier resistance, and slower and fewer repetitions in your fitness center's machines, is that your sessions working out can be much much shorter in duration. With this new method that is more and more recognized as the best way to train, you can be finished with your complete workout in a surprisingly short time while achieving better results than you might have experienced the regular way. Strength training this way strengthens your bones, improves your cardiovascular health, improves your flexibility, makes your joints more stable and less prone to injury, and by improving your metabolism, helps you replace fat with muscle! Your added muscle will make everything in life easier to do and make you feel more energetic, thus, raising your spirit and mood.

Some people promote weight training as the complete answer to becoming and staying fit and insist that there is no additional need to be active. The truth is that even were you to work out with very heavy weights a couple of times a week, if you aren't staying active the rest of the week you will not be able to maintain your health. The reason for this is that an integral part of keeping yourself healthy and young is the working of your body's lymphatic system. Unfortunately this aspect of staying healthy has not received the attention it really deserves. This system is particularly important for the health of anyone in recovery since its main role is detoxification. Most people who have abused drugs have taken in and inundated their body's systems with toxins. It is very important for those in recovery to do all that they are able to remove these substances from their bodies as quickly and thoroughly as possible. And then, because of a need to continue to feel and be healthy to stay away from drugs, those in recovery should remain on a program that keeps their bodies detoxified and clean.

The lymphatic system is the metabolic cleanser of the body. It draws in and carries toward disposal the many substances that need to be removed for the cleansing and detoxification of the body's systems, including toxins, dead cells, cancer cells, nitrogenous wastes, fatty globules, pathogenic bacteria, infectious viruses, foreign substances, heavy metals, and other waste byproducts that the cells give off. However unlike the blood's circulatory system which has the heart to pump the blood through its system, the lymph system lacks a pump to move the lymph fluid with all its waste through its many capillaries and ducts toward disposal. It is absolutely vital that the lymph fluids continue to flow in order to eliminate waste from the body, otherwise the toxicity of the body will increase leading to poor health and disease. Using a set of one way valves, lymph is moved along the vessels of the lymph system by the movement and contraction of the muscles during activity. Now you understand why just working out once a week, is not enough even though that will give you more muscle, stronger bones and a better working metabolism to burn calories to become and stay thinner. Spending the rest of the time sitting in your office 9 to 5 during the day, and in front of your television as a passive and sedentary person during the evening, will not keep your lymph system properly active to promote health. Without regular exercise, the toxicity of the body would build up because of a relatively inactive lymph system.

One very good exercise that is fun and can be done while watching television or listening to music is rebounding. Running or jumping up and down in place on a rebounder burns calories effectively. Using one of these mini-trampolines is remarkably gentle on ones joints and avoids the wear and tear of other similar activities, and it can burn as many or even more calories as other similar activities like running and jumping rope. But more importantly, in regard to our present discussion on detoxification during recovery, this bouncing activity, running or jumping on a rebounder, effectively moves and recycles the lymph within the lymphatic system. In the end, it is very effective for detoxification and for continuing to keep your body in a cleaner less toxic state.

Those of you who have not been exercising and keeping your body in the best of health are going to be surprised and delighted with how much better you will be feeling and enjoying life when you have a stronger body and you are getting a lot of health enhancing exercise.


About the Author

Jeffrey Rose, CMH, is New York's leading doctor-referred, Certified Hypnotist , and is the director at The Advanced Hypnosis Center, (www.ahcenter.com), in New York City. He has practiced hypnosis for many years, successfully helping people with a wide variety of challenges to make important changes in their life and achieve their goals. Mr. Rose is not only a skilled practitioner of the art of hypnosis, but he is very knowledgeable in a



Technorati Tags:
, , , , , , , , ,


Feed the Muscles, Burn the Fat - CLICK HERE!

Burn The Fat Feed The Muscles

Thursday, September 07, 2006

So, Why do I Run, and Why Should You Also?

People often ask me, "Why do you run?" apart from the obvious health benefits, I think this article describing my run today will show just some of the joys of running and how uplifting an experience it can be.

After meeting up with my good friend Jim, a fellow keen runner and athlete, we departed at a brisk pace to beat off the late afternoon chill. Given the fact that we have lived in the glorious Yorkshire Dales for nearly our entire lives, it is almost by right that we should only run off roads, it would almost feel sacrilegious not to run over the beautiful hills.

After 15 minutes of pain, graft and hard work, we reached the top of Beau Hill, hidden from cars, drivers and civilisation, from the top of this small peak, you have views over to the glorious Lake District in the distance, behind you views encompassing the beautiful Yorkshire Dales. 15 minutes of effort to be able to witness such beauty is 15 minutes well spent.

Off we continued flying down the hill at break-neck speed back down into farmland only to be chased by somewhat rampant bullocks, this gives you one heck of an adrenaline rush as you stride for the next style while dodging and skipping through shin deep mud is something that you have to experience, to believe. The arrival at the style having the same relieving affect as a skydiver when his parachute finally opens, the realisation of safety, the endorphins pump round your body.

Past the style after running through a couple of overgrown fields, dodging nettles, thistles and other 'evil' plants such as brambles, you encounter a stream, in true running fashion as all good runners would do, you plough straight through and being the ever optimist, look on the bright side that it'll have washed some of the mud of your shoes.

Before long, we have descended down into a small forest, as the light shines through the trees, putting small spotlights on the forest floor, twisting and turning we run through the forest with the chirps of wildlife all around, and a deer playing cheerfully over to our left hand side, you realise the beauty of this world. Ten minutes later, and we're back down onto the final stretch home, another run complete.

So, you ask why I run? The range of emotions that you can experience during one run, from fatigue and pain as you struggle up the first hill, to the awe and inspiration that you can take from the beautiful world that is around us, hidden from our day to day life, fear as you get chased by some rather boisterous bulls, to the endorphin rush of flying down the hills as your stride lengthens and your confidence increases. All this in a 40 minute period, I struggle to think of any other sport, activity or event where you can experience such a roller-coaster of emotions and experiences in such s short space of time, while costing you absolutely nothing!

Running truly does have its rewards, both physically and mentally. Go out today, go for a run, and experience something new and special without emptying your wallet!

For health and Fitness Tips, go to http://squidoo.com/health-fitness.


Technorati Tags:
, , , , , , , , ,


Feed the Muscles, Burn the Fat - CLICK HERE!

Burn The Fat Feed The Muscles

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Have a Healthy Rest Day

Here's a little obvious/nice idea for you. So your feeling a bit fatigued and tired, but don't want to feel lazy, then go for a walk. Walking is a great low impact way of keeping you healthy, while giving your muscles and joints a nice rest! Everytime you have a rest day, go for a gentle walk, it'll keep you loose and give you that much needed fresh air.

Technorati Tags:
, , , , , , , , ,

Burn The Fat Feed The Muscles

Saturday, September 02, 2006

Motivation

The tips below can be applied to any part of your life, including your running. Just because you've reached a plateau or you're feeling down does not mean its the end of the road for you. Hopefully if you are lacking some motivation, these tips below will help you break it down, and continue on towards you goals.
Good luck, and happy running.

For health and fitness advice go to http://squidoo.com/health-fitness


---------------------------------------

4 Tips to Staying Motivated in the Midst of Failure by Colin L Wolfenden

Most successful people have failed miserably. That's right. At one time or another they have flopped, fell short, missed the mark, struck out and goofed up royally. However, the difference between these people and the rest of the world is that when they failed, they made a choice to use the experience to better themselves...to become stronger.

Are you determined to reach your goal? Do you really believe you can achieve what you set out to accomplish? With determination and belief, you too can make the same choice to turn a failed situation into a winning one. How? By choosing to adapt a positive perspective and engage in edifying self-talk. Here are four opportunities to stay motivated in the midst of failure:

"The Only Direction is UP" or "It Can't Get Any Worse"

Feel like you've hit rock bottom? Don't beat up on yourself too badly. To experience disappointment, heartbreak, embarrassment and/or self-doubt is to be human. However, to wallow in this state for too long is downright destructive. Tell yourself that it doesn't get much worse than this point of failure and let yourself know that the only place left to go is "upward." Use the failure as motivation to start climbing back up. When you do this, you will see that instead of running from failure you will look it in the eye and overcome it.

"I Have a Chance to Do Better Next Time"

As long as you're breathing, there's always room for improvement. Choose to use your failure as motivation to do better the next time around. When you remember your goal and envision reaching it, you will be super-charged to find ways to develop yourself. For example, if you need to do better in school, make (and follow) a consistent study schedule. If you are intent on a promotion at work, take classes to increase your skill-set. No matter what the failed task consists of, you can use it to motivate yourself to get more done.

"Hmmm, I May Need to Change Direction"

Does it seem like you've come to a roadblock? Then the solution may just be detouring and moving toward your goal in a different way. When something does not work out as planned, you need to re-evaluate the route you are taking. So review the situation, re-group and get on a track "around" that roadblock. The track may be a different one, but it may also be a more successful one.

"This is Not the End of the Line"

Know this: everyone fails from time to time but failure is not the end of the line unless you allow it to be. You blundered, you tried, you failed and it hurts. Allow yourself time to grieve it but then let it go so that you can get back to the business of reaching your intended goal. Your goal IS your motivation. Remind yourself that the only positive option is to seek ways to turn the situation around. Then tell yourself that in the morning, you will begin again!

About the Author

Colin L Wolfenden is an author of numerous health related articles And webmaster for http://www.my-resource.com



Technorati Tags:
, , , , , , , , ,

Burn The Fat Feed The Muscles