Fitness Health Tip

by: Mary Rose

Everybody dreams of being healthy, beautiful and fit. The first fitness health tip is to believe that we are what we eat. Eat healthy and one will be healthy and beautiful. Healthy eating means eating three regular balanced meals-breakfast, lunch and dinner daily and making sure that each meal is a combination of carbohydrate and protein foods. Meals should include cereals, pulses, milk or curd, eggs, chicken, fish, fruits and vegetables.

There is a fitness health tip which may come as a pleasant surprise and that is- Adding sugar is not a crime. Three to four teaspoon of sugar a day is permitted if one is not diabeticFinally, the whole secret of fitness and weight control rests on how much oil is consumed daily and how much fatty foods are eaten in a day. The normal requirement is 2-3 or 3-4 teaspoons oil per person per day. One may indulge in richer food twice in a week.

Another fitness health tip is that the major reason for an overweight and unhealthy body is a change in lifestyle. Today we don't walk anywhere, and hop into and out of cars. We also spend a lot of time sitting in front of television and computer. This is one reason why people in their 20's and 30's suffer from hypertension, heart diseases and diabetes.

Everybody from six years and above must ensure that a regular exercise session is fixed in the daily routine. A 20-30 minutes walk must be taught and practiced as regularly as brushing the teeth and bathing.It is also important to avoid too many soft drinks and packed juices which most of us prefer and stock in our refrigerator. It not only increases our body weight but also harms our teeth and skin. Rather we should resolve to drink plenty of water.

To conclude, there is no magic wand to achieve healthy, beautiful and fit body. It is imperative to keep a watch on what we eat. Keep the diet well balanced, regular and complete with salad and fruits. Make sure that one is active throughout the day and follow a regular fitness program that is in sync with the age, body and health.

About The Author Mary Rose has several books to her credit including those on Health and Fitness.For more information logon to http://www.casanads.com/bm/hf.htm

Learning to Eat Healthy

by: Mary Watson

Many people have weight problems not because they don’t understand how to eat or prepare healthy food. There is some tendency to think that because a food is healthy, it must not be tasty. Avoiding these misconceptions is one of the first steps toward learning to eat and prepare healthy foods.

Choose Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

Instead of buying canned fruits and vegetables, choose fresh ones when they are in season. Fruits fresh from the produce department of your market are better for you than canned fruits that have added sugar or are packaged in high calorie syrup. If you must buy canned fruit, choose those with no added sugar that are packed in natural fruit juices. Vegetables from the can tend to have extra salt and other ingredients that are not essential for the flavour.

Instead of cooking vegetables in butter or margarine, steam them and add spices or lemon juice for flavour. With so many different spices available for purchase at the market, there is no need to use excess butter or salt. You can even blend some of your spices to create a unique flavour of your own.

Choose Lean Meats and Restrict Red Meat

Instead of going for the high fat and high cholesterol red meats, try to stay with poultry and fish instead. In addition, do not fry your meats but bake, roast, or broil them. Avoid cooking in vegetable oil and choose olive oil instead for a healthier choice. For foods such as steak or hamburger, grill rather than fry them. The market is prime today for people trying to cut their fat content, and products such as the ever-popular George Foreman grill are invading more homes than in the past.

One way to enjoy ground beef without the fat and calories is to substitute ground chicken or ground turkey. With the proper seasoning the flavour is pleasing, and when used for cooking things such as meatballs or chilli, the additional ingredients make the flavour undetectable. When trying to lose weight or stay healthy, many of us are guilty of deciding we don’t like something before we try it. In that way we restrict foods that we may potentially like and complain that dieting has too many restrictions.

Choose Carbohydrates with a Low Glycemic Index

One of the biggest contributors to weight gain and failure to lose weight is too many simple carbohydrates. The old adage that only candy and other sweets make up the simple carbohydrates is false. Any starchy food has the potential to turn to sugar, so it’s essential to learn to eat healthier carbohydrates, namely those made of whole grains such as wheat bread, wheat flour, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, and even whole grain cereals such as those made with oats, wheat, and barley. These whole grains do not turn to sugar when they are consumed and yet provide us the energy we need to attend to our daily activities.

Avoid Diets that Eliminate Food Groups

Most of us learned in school the importance of consuming food for each of the basic food groups daily. However, in today’s market many diets are geared toward eliminating or greatly reducing the amount of food we consume from some of the food groups. This may not be on a regular basis, but nonetheless these diets are not the healthiest nor will they help you achieve permanent weight loss. The key to permanent weight loss is changing your lifestyle such as the way you eat, adding exercise to your daily routine, and drinking eight to ten ounces of water every day. Eliminating entire food groups is not only unhealthy, but it also increases your feelings of deprivation.

About The Author Mary Watson writes weight loss, diet plan, health, beauty and general well-being articles for the Slim Eazy website at http://www.slimeazy.com

5 Tips For A Healthier, Stronger Core
by: Yuri Elkaim

Core training has become the new “buzz” word over the last few years as more and more people have begun to realize its role in posture, spinal health, performance and overall aesthetics. What is less commonly known is that the core is anatomically defined as the region between the shoulders and knees, not simply the midsection. Most people view the core as simply being their abdominal muscles and, as such, miss out on a tremendous amount of value that other functional movements provide.

When I refer to the core I allude to the inner and outer units of our body. The inner unit consists of smaller, more static stabilizing muscles such as the transverse abdominis, multifidus, and the pelvic floor and diaphragmatic musculature. The outer unit is comprised of larger phasic (or dynamic) muscles that generate movement such as the gluteals, latissimus dorsi, erector spinae group, biceps femoris, and peroneals. Aside from generating movement, these muscles work synergistically to provide much needed pelvic stability during motions such as walking, running, and so forth. Because all functional movements such as lunges, squats, step-ups, most stability ball movements, and many others revolve around the pelvis, they will offer tremendous core training effects when done with proper technique. The following are 5 tips you can use to train the inner and outer units of your core with maximal efficiency.

TIP #1 – Brace your abdominals

This is the first thing you should be aware of during any and every movement that you will ever perform. Abdominal bracing consists of three parts. First, draw in your belly button as if you were to put on a tight pair of pants. This will activate your transverse abdominis, the body’s waist belt muscle. Second, raise your pelvic floor by performing a kegel (contracting the pelvic floor muscles up as if you holding in a full bladder). This helps to increase intra-abdominal pressure which will aid in spinal stabilization. Third, lightly create tension in your abdominal muscles as if you were about to get punched in the stomach. This activates the internal and external oblique muscles. By performing all three of these actions you will ensure that your spine is well protected through all movements. Abdominal bracing should be initiated before and maintained through each and every exercise. With repetition, these muscles will remember their roles and tend to maintain a tighter constricted waistline, even without you being aware.

Exercise: Belly tucks

Lie face down on the floor with your forehead rested on the back of your hands. Inhale, pushing your belly button into the floor (“ballooning” your abdomen). Hold for 3 seconds. Exhale, drawing your belly button towards the ceiling (as if being pulled by a string), raise pelvic floor, and tighten your abdominal muscles. Hold for 3 seconds. Repeat 10 times.

TIP #2 – Maintain a neutral spine

A neutral spine is attained when your spine is kept in its natural alignment. This is best achieved by ensuring that your back is flat (with slight lumbar lordosis) during all movements, especially lifting. This, in conjunction with abdominal bracing, is essential to better support the spine during all movements. Let us take the example of picking up a heavier box from the floor. The last thing you want to do in the situation is reach down without bending knees and picking up the box…this is a sure way to throw your back out. What is instructed to do in such a case would be to squat down keeping your torso tall (ie. neutral spine), with your abdominals braced, and lift through your legs as opposed to extending up through your torso. If these lifting mechanics are not met, you place you spine at a greater risk of disc herniation, especially if the load is heavier.

Exercise: Cat/Camel motions

In a four point stance (hands and knees) take your spine through a series of cat and camel stretches. Meaning that you round out the back like a camel and then arch it out like a cat. Repeat 6 times. Once you have completed the 6 repetitions simply allow your back (spine) to relax. Wherever it feels most relaxed is your neutral spine!

TIP #3 – Incorporate unilateral lifting

Unilateral refers to the concept of carrying (or pushing) a load on only side of the body. For instance, walking to work holding your brief case in one hand. By doing so, the body automatically activates its contralateral (opposite) side to stabilize the torso and maintain good posture. Studies have shown that this type of lifting stimulates much greater core muscle activation compared to bilateral lifting (equal load on both sides).

Exercise: Unilateral Lunge Walks

Perform your lunge walks while holding a weight, equivalent to 10% of your body weight, in one hand. Perform 10 reps with the weight in one hand, and then switch. The key is to focus on keeping your torso upright and minimizing and lateral swaying.

TIP # 4 – Use a Stability Ball

Incorporating a stability ball into your workouts will make such a difference in your core strength and spinal health. Working on the stability ball offers several benefits such as increased balance, range of motion, co-ordination, and muscle activation. Simply by sitting on the ball, your core muscles fire to a much greater degree in order to stabilize your body. Any unstable surface for that matter will foster much greater core muscle activation as your body is constantly readjusting itself to maintain proper posture. This type of body awareness is known as proprioception, and is immensely beneficial for athletes of all endeavors, and even for people who want more balance while standing in the subway. Incorporate the aforementioned unilateral lifting and you get twice the benefit! Exercise:

Exercise: Stability Ball 1-Arm DB Chest Press

Position your body on the ball so that only the shoulders, neck and head are resting on it. With the feet shoulder width apart raise your hips so that your body is in one straight line (essentially forming a bench within your body). Squeeze your buttocks together as if holding a $1,000 bill between them. Next, with a DB in one arm, push it up and towards your body’s midline as if creating an arc like motion. Repeat 12 times and then switch arms. Ensure to keep your body and then ball as still as possible. Notice the muscle activation in the posterior side of the body especially in the glutes and lower back!

TIP #5 – Incorporate multi-planar movements

Our bodies rarely operate in one single plane (ie. front to back, side to side). Often, our movements require us to move through several different planes such as when walking and looking back over your shoulder. It is important to remember that all movement stems from the core, especially rotation based movements. As such, it is important to strengthen those core muscles accordingly to ensure movement efficiency and injury prevention. Did you know that 80% of our core musculature inserts on a diagonal. This means that our bodies are anatomically constructed for such multi-planar movements involving diagonal and rotational movements. Examples are throwing, kicking, and swinging a tennis racquet or golf club. I’ve seen clients improve their golf drive by 30 yards by simply incorporating these multi-planar movements into their routines.

Exercise: Cable chop (from knees)

Position yourself in the middle of the cable crossover machine. Face your body at a right angle from the cables. Starting from your knees, keeping your body upright and strong, reach over and across your body grabbing the handle (with both hands) on the highest setting. Keeping both arms straight “chop” the cable across your body from above your starting shoulder to the opposite hip. Return slowly and repeat 8 times on each side. Be sure to drive the movement from your obliques and not your arms.

By incorporating these 5 core essentials, you can look forward to having firmer, stronger and more performant core muscles. Not only that but you will also be more efficient and stable in all your movements. And, if you participate in regular sporting activities you will have an added edge over your untrained counterparts.

Written by Yuri Elkaim, BPHE, CK. Do not reprint without permission. Copyright 2006 © Total Wellness Consulting.

About The Author Yuri Elkaim is the owner of Total Wellness Consulting and creator of the only 12 week body shaping fitness program designed for Ipod/Mp3 players. Please visit http://www.myFitterU.com for more info.