Archive for Posts & articles
Zumba ‘exercise in disguise’
Posted by: | CommentsDurango instructors offer new classes in fast, furious and sweaty ‘Latin aerobics’
The snow is still piled high, and the ice is thick, but inside Durango studios, the mood is muy caliente.
I’m 100 percent present. That’s a powerful thing people can give themselves. You can’t think about your bills or your problems while you’re dancing.
- Sara Illsley, Zumba instructor
The reason is Zumba (zoom-ba), a hot ‘n’ spicy flavor of dance fitness. Students shimmy, shake and sweat. When the energy reaches a fevered pitch, they may even yell “Ay, ay, ay!”
This is not your grandma’s aerobics class. (Or maybe it is. Does she like to dance?) Zumba is Colombian slang for “buzzing like a bee,” or going fast. The buzz is certainly spreading quickly in Durango, where four instructors – three of them newly certified – are teaching 13 classes in five different locations. Many of the classes began in January, and a new one began last Thursday
Full Article>>http://durangoherald.com/sections/Features/Health/2010/02/08/Zumba_exercise_in_disguise/
Lifestyle change can affect blood pressure, but it’s not the whole story
Posted by: | CommentsSo how much good will it do if you get more exercise, consume less salt, ramp up on potassium, eat the DASH way, give up smoking, take up meditation? Does it all add up to some impressive total that will knock your doctor’s socks off the next check-up time?
It depends a lot on where you start out. If you’re a confirmed couch potato, exercising even a little might help to bring your blood pressure down. But if you’re already a marathon runner, you’ve probably maxed out on the good that exercise can do you.
If you smoke two packs a day, quitting could make a big difference. If you’re already a nonsmoker, that option doesn’t even exist.
But it’s also really tricky to add up the effect of all these individual actions because so many of them are interconnected.
Full Article>>http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-hew-blood-pressure-interactions8-2010feb08,0,2036341.story
Exercise ‘cuts risk of developing painful gallstones’
Posted by: | CommentsDoing lots of exercise drastically cuts the risk of developing painful gallstones, UK researchers have found.
Gallstones are common but only 30% of cases have symptoms and complications.
A University of East Anglia study of 25,000 men and women found those who were the most active had a 70% reduced risk of those complaints.
The team, writing in the European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, said one reason might be reduced cholesterol levels in the bile.
They said exercise also raised levels of “good” cholesterol and help improves movement through the gut, all of which could contribute to the lowered risk.
Full Article>>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8500827.stm
Blood pressure: exercise
Posted by: | CommentsDozens of studies have reported a link between exercise and lowered blood pressure: Some have found reductions of up to 10 mm Hg (systolic) and 6 to 10 mm Hg (diastolic) blood pressure units in people who already have hypertension.
In general, reductions are not as great for people with blood pressure in the normal range: A Belgian review of scores of studies found that for people with high blood pressure, average reductions from exercise were 6.9 mm Hg systolic and 4.9 mm Hg diastolic, and for participants who did not have high blood pressure, only 1.9 mm Hg and 1.6 mm Hg.
Age seems to matter. In one study, exercise did not reduce systolic blood pressure in older people — ages 55 to 75 — although it did reduce diastolic pressure. (Both readings are important.)
Full Article>>http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-blood-pressure-exercise8-2010feb08,0,7079242.story
Exercise to Combat Disease
Posted by: | CommentsHere’s another benefit of a proper exercise routine, prevention of disease, including cancer. A recent study that was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that risk of cancer was cut in half for people who engaged in high intensity exercise, the higher the intensity the lower the risk.
The types of exercise they refer to as high intensity would definitely not include jogging or traditional cardio. That is exercise at a more moderate even pace and not at all included when talking about high intensity.
High intensity type of exercise can be done with many different activities the key is creating an oxygen debt so at the end of a short burst of activity you are gasping for breath. It can be done with a myriad of exercises. Sprinting would be the most obvious one but not everyone can run sprints. You can adapt it to any exercise though, such as jumping jacks, push-ups, jumping rope, riding a bicycle, you name it. You just need to get creative with it. But remember the key is that after a few seconds or up to a minute or two you are gasping for breath. Then you take a short break and do it again, repeating about 5-6 times and you have completed your high intensity workout.
Naturally those five to six sets of exercise don’t have to be the same, for example, you could start with a set of push-ups until you got winded, then jump into the pool and swim 2 laps at full speed. Then after a two minute rest do a set of jumping jacks, etc. You can get as creative as you want. It makes for a fast workout and it takes the boredom out of just doing the same activity like jogging. Besides that, it’s way more effective in terms of weight loss and for your overall health.
The reason that high intensity workouts help to prevent cancer and other diseases is that it floods the cells with life-giving oxygen. Oxygen is the basic fuel for cell metabolism. If you don’t have it, energy production drops and the cells lose their ability to repair DNA. Low oxygen levels in the cells – chronic hypoxia – is a cause of chronic disease, especially cancer.
Unfortunately, in the modern world, we are a society of couch potatoes. So the level of oxygen rich blood for most people is very low. This makes us more susceptible to disease. Most people when they do exercise do cardio, such as jogging. That doesn’t raise the oxygen levels enough to help prevent disease. The key is a high intensity workout.
We all have known for a very long time that exercise improves the cardiovascular system. And many in the world of sports and sports medicine and naturopathic medicine have suspected that the same was true for cancer prevention and other diseases. But now it is nice to have it confirmed for others with a study published in a respected medical journal.
So get busy and have fun with your high intensity workout and cut your cancer risk in half!
Keep The Pounds Off With Consistant Exercise
Posted by: | CommentsShedding pounds is a trying task for most of the people. However , with a correct exercise routine combined with a sensible diet, weight management can really be quite simply achieved. Step one to losing pounds is to ensure you are exercising regularly.
Full Article>>http://www.weightlossdietinformation.com/keep-the-pounds-off-with-consistant-exercise.html
KEEPING FIT: Mix it up to avoid overuse injuries
Posted by: | CommentsDuring warm weather, activities are typically performed outdoors where a variety of factors make each exercise a little different. For example, when you walk or run outside, the terrain changes throughout your course. This is especially true if you walk or run on athletic fields or dirt paths, where each step is different than the others because of uneven surfaces. Even outdoor cycling offers various speeds, gear ratios and pedal frequencies as you travel uphill, downhill and on flat sections.
This is not true of most indoor aerobic activities, at least not the way they are typically performed. Most indoor exercisers spend their training session doing one mode of activity at the same pace or intensity. For example, they may set the treadmill at 4.0 miles per hour at 2 percent incline and walk in exactly the same manner for 30 minutes. Likewise, they may program the stationary cycle for 150 watts and pedal consistently at 70 revolutions per minute for an hour.
Full Article>>http://www.patriotledger.com/lifestyle/x1124761618/KEEPING-FIT-Mix-it-up-to-avoid-overuse-injuries
Marathon Mama:How I Went From 250 lbs To Being A Marathon Runner
Posted by: | CommentsBy Barbara Roberson
I know that feeling of being 4 pounds away from a goal. I remember it like yesterday, sitting at the beginning of one of my many spinning classes and telling the instructor and classmates, “I just need to lose these last 4 pounds!” I was 204 pounds that the time, from an all time high of 250 pounds. I had been spinning for months and the weight loss was happening slowly. The instructor looked at me funny as I told her, “I know it sounds silly to all of you, but if I can lose these last 4 pounds then I’ll finally see 199 and then that means it is all in the bag! All downhill from there!” They looked at me smiling, sort of shaking their heads and that is when I realized I was with the wrong group! Not one word of encouragement or of advice, so that night I decided to make some changes. I reactivated my dormant Peertrainer account, switched from spinning 2 days a week and weight training 1 day a week, to the Couch to 5K program and weight training 2 days a week. I also refined the Weight Watchers program into my deluxe version in which I used Flex Points but only eating the daily points, used the weekly points as a safety net. I kept at it with the modest goal of running my first 5K in October 2007. I arrived at the race and was terrified but at the safe time felt so alive. I ran the whole thing with a grin from ear to ear! Folks must have thought I was crazy, but good golly it felt so great to be able to run again, and run in public! I had done it! I had ran the whole thing and my hubby and kids were at the finish line cheering me on! Then I signed up for another 5K to see if I can do it faster, did more weightlifting (these months concentrating on heavier weights, so I could get stronger, build more muscle and burn more calories). To my surprise, I did the Jingle Bell for Arthritis 5K even faster, then the New Year’s Resolution Run 5K also faster, and as I got more comfortable with my running, I found myself asking…what is next?
Full Article>>http://bit.ly/97VEsJ
Nutrition notes: Fuel your body right for exercise
Posted by: | CommentsWhether you are establishing a new exercise routine, increasing your fitness or looking for ways to maximize your existing plan, your body requires proper nutrition and hydration before, during and after you exercise.
Nutritional guidelines specific to sports, cardiovascular and wellness nutrition are designed to help you understand how much, how often and what kind of nutrients your body needs to improve performance and recovery.
Full Article>>http://www.news-press.com/article/20100202/HEALTH/2020311/1013/LIFESTYLES/Nutrition-notes–Fuel-your-body-right-for-exercise
Health Tip: Benefitting From Cross-Training Exercises
Posted by: | CommentsThey help vary your routine and benefit more of your muscles
(HealthDay News) — A well-designed cross-training program includes a variety of alternating exercises that stress different methods of workout and affect different parts of the body.
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons offers this list of cross-training benefits:
- It’s a total body workout that strengthens a variety of areas and muscles.
- It prevents boredom, which could otherwise derail your exercise regimen.
- It helps prepare the muscles for new forms of exercise.
- It reduces the risk of an overuse injury stemming from repetitive movements of the same muscles.
- In the event of an injury, you may not have to stop exercising. Instead, you can try other exercises that won’t aggravate your injury.
– Diana Kohnle
