More Summer Fitness!

Summer just started, and for some of us that means going on vacation, relaxing and unwinding from work or school. However, that doesn't mean you shouldn't stay in shape! Check out this awesome article by Michelle Fiscus via herdon.patch.com for summer fitness ideas!

The first day of summer brings longer days. But the warm weather and laid back vibe have made this season synonymous also synonymous with “lazy days.”
A break every now and then if part of a healthy lifestyle; however, don’t let your workouts take a permanent vacation because of the sweltering sun or changing family schedules and commitments. There are plenty of ways to keep things interesting to stay in shape all summer long.

More after the jump! Remember to stay hydrated and healthy in the heat!

Cutting Carbs? Try these low-carb snacks!

If you are looking to lose more weight through doing cardio, you might want to cut down on your carbohydrate intake. Check out these cool ideas via fitsugar.com for healthy, low-carb snacks for the summer!

I love carbs —  love them! And while I'll never ban bread and pasta from my diet, thanks to my trainer, I am trying to be more aware of my carb intake. Easy, right? Not so much for me. As I found out pretty quickly, a good part of my meals consist of brown rice and bread, lots of bread. And while it's been easy to get more protein and fat into my meals, cutting down on carbs has proved to be difficult. To balance my meals out and shed a few pounds in the process, I've been striving for low-carb snacks through the day. Check out what I've been eating!

10 cool ideas for snacks after the jump! As always, stay healthy and eat right this summer!

Small workouts to fit in your summer plans!

Check out these awesome tips on how to incorporate everyday summer activities into a workout via The Huffington Post from Carolyn Scott!

Summertime means bathing suits, short shorts and tank tops -- overall skimpier clothing. This means watching what we eat and even more importantly, working out. People always want to look toned and trim and, unfortunately, you have go the extra mile and add some extra spice to your workouts to achieve these goals.

Summer is just around the corner and if we hit the beach, go out in shorts or go shirtless, we're going to want to look good! However, just regular summer activities can help us stay in shape.


Stay safe and healthy this summer everyone!

Help for parents: body image health

Kathy Kater, LICSW, wrote a classic essay, Debate About Fatness Increases Health Risks, for the British Medical Journal, reprinted here at BodyImageHealth:

...Genetic predisposition aside, it turns out that the most common advice for reducing fatness has made things worse. Research published over fifty years ago demonstrated how and why even a moderately restrictive diet is counterproductive for long term weight loss. New studies bear this out: weight can be lost on virtually any contrived plan to restrict calories or food groups, but between 85% and 95% of this weight is predictably regained, with over half of all dieters gaining more weight than they lost. If you doubt this, check the National Institute of Health for the data, then check your own observations to consider how many people you know who have gone on a diet once. If dieting was effective why would it be a perennial activity, and why would most dieters be fatter today than before their first effort?

Aside from weight loss, what other unpleasant recommendation with a 90% failure rate would still be prescribed? Even so too many health authorities persist in the belief that if we can make people feel bad or afraid enough about their weight they will “do something” about it. This flies in the face of new studies that document what many of us working in the trenches to reverse disordered eating have known for years: body dissatisfaction does not serve as a motivator for healthy behaviors. To the contrary, unhappiness about weight is a catalyst for disordered eating, weight gain, and poorer overall health. Worry about weight is a self-fulfilling prophesy. In light of this, how can we persevere like Sisyphus in unrelenting talk about the risks of fatness and the need for weight loss as if this will make people repent? In four decades the thinner we have tried to be the fatter we have become. But if fat phobia and efforts to lose weight contribute to the problem, what is the solution? The way out of this spiraling and dangerous problem requires the courage to ask the right question: fat or thin, what should we be doing for our health in any case? Few will dispute the evidence showing that fatter people who are well fed and fit are at lower risk for health problems than thin people who eat poorly and are sedentary. In light of this, what if instead of fear and loathing of fatness, health initiatives pushed the value, ways and means for wholesome eating and fitness for everyone—irrelevant of size? If instead of size or a BMI a sustainable, healthy lifestyle were the goal, then some people would remain fat, some would be thin, but virtually everyone would be healthier. Isn’t this the point?...

Check out BodyImageHealth for help promoting healthy body images for your kids, friends, loved ones, students -- whoever needs a bit of kindness on their journey toward better health.

Anywhere Exercises

If you find yourself in a situation that prevents you from going to the gym or if the weather isn't favorable for outdoor activities but you're still determined get some exercise in, there are simple workout options that don't require equipment or much space that you could do pretty much anywhere. It's important to get both cardiovascular and muscle exercises, and it's easy to squeeze either in during the idle activities of the day. It's easy to transform a sedentary moment into an opportunity to work on your fitness.

Upper body exercises:
- Push-ups work your pectoralis major, anterior deltoids, and deltoids. If you're at home or somewhere with a surface to lean on such as a bed or dresser, these could be used to assist your push-ups.
- If you're holding bags, use them as a weight for some bicep curls to strengthen your biceps and elbow flexors.
Abdominal exercises:
- When sitting, do it without leaning on the backrest of your chair. While sitting upright, flex and contract your abs for a simple abdominal workout whenever sitting, whether it's through a commute or while you're in your office.
- To work your obliques in a similar setting, sit with your feet flat on the ground, hip-width apart, with your fingers interlaced behind your head. Lift one knee towards your chest while meeting it with the shoulder of your opposite side and return. Repeat this motion, alternating between sides.
Lower body exercises:
- Squats engage many muscles in your legs, including the hamstrings, quadriceps, gluteauls, hip flexors, and calf muscles. These could be done during any stationary activity, such as you're brushing your teeth or talking on the phone.
- Calf raises focus on the muscles in your calf (of course), working the gastrocnemius and soleus. All this requires is for you to be standing, so it can be done during any idle waiting like when you're in a line.
Cardio:
- If there's a staircase near you and you have some free time, get your heart pumping by taking a few trips up and down the stairs. If there are multiple floors in your home, take whatever opportunities you can to more trips between them.
- When walking, do it briskly! You'll get to your destination faster and get a moderate aerobic exercise out of it.

The key to being fit is movement! Take any chance you can to squeeze some physical activity in. It all counts and makes an enormous difference in the long run. Not having access to the gym or the outdoors isn't an excuse to neglect your fitness. The activities suggested above are only a few ideas of what you could do to keep up with your workout plan. You could always be creative about your exercises and utilize the resources around you to make the most out of your workout. Do what you can to optimize your health and fitness.


Want to know more? Read more!

http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwfit/strength.html

http://www.ehow.com/way_5217718_abdominal-exercises-office-chair.html

http://24daychallengeiowa.com/quick-convenient-exercise-options/

http://www.loseweighttogainhealth.com/anywhere-exercises.html

http://www.exercisetv.tv/blog/post/2009/05/05/best-anywhere-exercises.aspx

Achieving Flat Abs

When losing weight, one of the most stubborn areas to achieve results in is the midsection. Losing it takes some directed exercises and adjustments in your diet with the focus of toning your abs and losing weight.
A few suggestions for some exercises that target your abs that are simple, yet effective:
The plank. Position yourself as if you were preparing to do pushups, except have your forearms resting on the ground. Keep your body straight and hold this position for as long as you can. You should feel your abs tense up and have increasing difficulty maintaining this position as time goes on.
Crunches work your abs directly. If you use an exercise ball, it will further engage your muscles and be more effective. Lie on the ball, positioning it on your lower back and cross your arms over your chest or hold them behind your head. Lift your torso off of the ball, pulling the bottom of your ribcage to your hips while keeping the ball steady and return.
Bicycle exercises target many areas of your midsection, being great for a well-rounded exercise for your abs. Lie on the floor and interlock your fingers behind your head, supporting it. Pull your knees towards your chest, lifting your shoulders off of the ground while pulling your neck in. Straighten a leg out while turning your torso to the opposite side, pulling your elbow to make contact with the knee of your still-curled leg. Continue this motion, switching between sides.

Have variety in your ab exercises. Working your abs from different angles and spreading the focus of your exercises throughout your entire midsection will even out the shape and yield better results for a flat and well-defined stomach. Also, ab exercises serve to strengthen muscles and don't burn so much of your midsection alone. It's important to keep up with your cardio exercises to ensure overall weight loss, which helps tremendously with losing belly fat.

The way you eat naturally plays a huge role in your body's weight and appearance. To cut off that tummy flab, you should cut off the foods that work against this goal. Avoid foods full of carbs such as white bread, pasta, white rice, and potatoes. It would be better to opt for more fibrous alternatives such as brown rice, wheat bread and veggies. Drink skim milk and limit your dairy intake in general. To give your metabolism a boost and aid your digestive system, drink plenty of water throughout the day (6-8 glasses) and eat small, frequent meals.

Keep up the effort and dedication and you'll be able to reach your fitness goals.




Want to know more? Read more!

http://exercise.about.com/od/abs/ss/abexercises.htm

http://regimes.hotexercise.com/aerobics/how-to-get-a-flat-tummy/

http://www.wellbeing-information.com/tummy-exercises.html

http://www.flat-stomach-exercises.com/flat-stomach-tips.html

How Much Exercise Is Enough?

It's important to get an adequate amount of exercise if you're looking to maintain a healthy body weight and reap the health benefits of being physically active, but how much is enough? The recommended duration and intensity of your workout depends on your personal fitness goals. There are two types of exercise that you should be sure to do: aerobic and muscle-strengthening. Strength-training activities such as weight-lifting and the use of resistance bands should be done about twice a week.

As an adult, you should be getting at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity in a week. 'Moderate' meaning that your heart rate increases to a point where you are still able to hold a conversation. This could be 30 minutes of light exercise such as brisk walking or swimming for 5 days a week. To work on preventing lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis, and hypertension, this is amount of exercise is adequate. It may not do much for weight loss, but it's certainly beneficial for your cardiovascular health.

For more health benefits and weight loss, increase the intensity and/or duration of your workout. It's best to get 300 minutes of rigorous activity such as running or biking each week if this is your goal. That should be an hour of working out, 5 days a week. Altering your diet to include healthier, lower-calorie foods can boost the effectiveness of your weight loss significantly.

All of your exercise doesn't necessarily have to be done all at once. Breaking up your exercise time to smaller portions throughout the day is also effective, as long as you're getting a decent amount of heart-pumping movement in your day.



Want to know more? Read more!

http://www.everydayhealth.com/fitness/basics/how-much-exercise-do-i-need.aspx

http://walking.about.com/od/fitness/a/exercise2007.htm

http://heartdisease.about.com/cs/exercise/a/enoughexercise.htm

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise/AN01713

http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/guide/your-exercise-routine-how-much-is-enough?page=3

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/fitness/How-much-exercise-is-enough/articleshow/8412191.cms