Stretching exercises

RRFKS2GFDVER Stretching is important to help lengthen and loosen your muscles. People used to think that stretching was the first thing you should do before exercising. Now we know that you should warm up for 5-10 minutes by doing some light exercises and then you should stretch. The reason for this is that stretching cold muscles can directly contribute to pulled and torn muscles.

Here are some examples of stretching exercises:

Hamstring stretch
Lie on your back and place a piece of exercise tubing (or a rolled-up towel) around the bottom of one of your feet. Pull the tubing and raise your leg at the same time until a comfortable stretch is felt. Return to the starting position; and repeat for 10-15 repetitions. Repeat with other leg.

Torso twists
Stand with a shoulder-width stance. Place hands on hips. With knees slightly bent, turn from side to side, keeping feet firmly on the floor. Complete a total of 15-20 full swings.

Arm swings
Stand tall and hold arms out to your side. Slowly swing your arms back and forth across the front of your body. Repeat this continuous motion for 30 seconds.

Cross shoulder stretch
Stand up straight, with knees slightly bent. Place feet hip distance apart. Make sure toes are pointing forward. Keep shoulders even as you complete this stretch. Bend right arm at elbow joint, extend arm across chest. Place left hand on the right elbow to gently support the arm during this stretch. Feel the stretch in your right arm and shoulder. Inhale (breathe in) through your nose, and exhale (breathe out) through your mouth, as you complete this stretch. Hold stretch for a count of 8. Repeat this stretch on opposite side, using right hand to stretch left arm and shoulder.

Chest Stretch
Stand up straight, with knees slightly bent. Place feet hip distance apart. Make sure toes are pointing forward. Keep shoulders even as you complete this stretch. Place arms behind your back. Clasp your hands together, extending your arms behind your back and hold this position. Feel the stretch in your chest. Inhale (breathe in) through your nose, and exhale (breathe out) through your mouth, as you complete this stretch. Hold stretch for a count of 8.

Quad Stretch
Stand and hold onto a wall for balance if needed. Grab the top of the right foot and bend your knee, bringing the foot towards the buttocks, knee pointing straight at the floor. You should feel a stretch right down the front of your leg. Squeeze your hips forward for a deeper stretch. Switch sides

Precautions
See your doctor if you have any medical conditions, illnesses or injuries

What is Fitness?

Fitness isn’t how many miles you run, or how many squats you can do. It’s not the medals hanging on your wall or the food you eat. Fitness isn’t abs, pecs, quads, biceps, triceps or lats.

Fitness is what happens when we wake up and want to roll back over and sleep for another hour. Fitness is not hitting the snooze button. And braving the snow, rain, and hail. Fitness is forcing your body to keep running when your mind tells you to quit.

Fitness is not about being thin, having a small waist, or having bulging muscles. It is a combination of qualities that enable us to be at our full potential in performing vigorous physical activities. Physical Fitness involves the performance of the heart, lungs, and the muscles of the body. Specifically, it takes into account our Cardio Respiratory Endurance, Muscular Strength, Muscular Endurance, and Flexibility. To some extent, Fitness also influences our mental and emotional development since what we do with our bodies also affects what we can do with our minds.

Although Physical Fitness and good health influences each other, they are not the same. Healthy people could be physically unfit due to lack of exercise. On the other hand, Physically Fit people perform their everyday tasks effortlessly.

What is a good fitness routine for a full-body workout?

The most efficient and effective way to do a full-body workout is to focus on multi-joint exercises that give you the 'most bang for your buck'. This means the more muscle groups you can work at once (within reason), the better. For example, instead of just doing a set of biceps curls, perform lunges with a curl at the bottom of each lunge. Focusing on multi-joint exercises will allow you to train all of the major muscle groups without spending your whole day in the gym.

The best time to do fitness workout thing in the morning, before you have eaten. This taps into stored body fat instead of food you have recently eaten. If you can’t walk outside or on a treadmill, you can melt pounds in place. Turn on some upbeat music and walk in place pumping your arms and bringing your knees as high as you comfortably can. Advanced: To advance the move and tone the body further, hold a soup can in each hand and “punch” one can alternately up and forward on each 4 count of steps.

There are literally thousands of exercises to choose from.
Here is an example of a total-body workout:

1. Push-ups (kneeling or regular)
2. Pull-ups (assisted or regular)
3. Standing shoulder press
4. Standing biceps curls
5. Triceps kickbacks
6. Bodyweight squats

Perform 1-2 sets and between 8-20 repetitions with a slow and controlled tempo.

As you can see, full-body routines are almost infinite in their variety. Adjust your routine to match your fitness needs and goals. If you are training for a sport, be sure to add in power, speed and agility work. The key here is to get creative with your workouts but not to the point where the exercises lose their effectiveness. Trying to create the perfect 'functional' exercise by combining as many exercises and variables as you can will only result in a loss of effectiveness and possibly an increased chance of injury.

What is a balance tool in fitness training?

Balance tools have been used to increase core and balance stability and strength. When you use one of these tools, it will challenge your ability to balance, which is helpful in teaching your body how to maintain control in different, challenging environments, as well as increase the number of muscles you use during an activity (thereby increasing the amount of calories you burn). You might see tools such as Dyna discs, Airex pads, or BOSUs. All of these tools will help you gain better balance and core stability.

Is Dehydration dangerous?

Dehydration, is defined as the loss of bodily fluids. It occurs when an organism loses more fluids than in takes in.The human body is anywhere from 55% to 78% water depending on age, gender and amount of body fat, and water is essential to human life.

Water forms the basis for all fluids in the body, such as blood and digestive juices, and it's the catalyst in all metabolic functions throughout the body. Water removes toxins and waste products from the body, and it carries nutrients to the cells of the body.

Did you know that by the time you are thirsty you are already dehydrated? Dehydration, as little as a 2% loss in fluid, negatively impacts your body and your mind.

Here are the effects of dehydration at a mild to moderate level:
Fatigue
Muscle weakness
Poor concentration
Headaches
Dizziness or lightheadedness
Decreased metabolism

For athletes or those with physical jobs, the inability to perform and focus as a result of mild dehydration may increase the risk of injury. Athletes and those with physical jobs may suffer a loss of performance of up to 30%. They may experience flushing, low endurance, rapid heart rates, elevated body temperatures, and rapid onset of fatigue. It is imperative that you drink enough fluid before, during, and after your workout or work shift.

Severe dehydration is the loss of 10-15% of body fluids and is a life-threatening condition that requires immediate medical care. The signs and symptoms of severe dehydration include extreme thirst, irritability and confusion, very dry mouth, dry skin and mucous membranes, lack of sweating, little or no urination, any urine that is produced will be dark yellow, sunken eyes, shriveled and dry skin, rapid heartbeat, fever, coma, and even death. Dehydration of any kind will not correct itself.

Many people who suffer from one or more of these ailments have no idea that dehydration is the cause, and that getting relief is as simple as consuming more water. Drinking plenty of water is the best way to stay hydrated because water is processed by the body differently than other types of fluids. It is recommended that you drink the number of ounces in fluid that is equal to half your body weight each day. For example, if you weigh 100 pounds, your hydration goal would be approximately 50 ounces per day with normal activities. You would adjust accordingly for days that you exercise intensely, drinking more.

Most active individuals have some level of dehydration at the end of a workout or work shift. Here is another hydration tip… It is recommended that you drink enough fluids to replace approximately 150% of the weight lost during exercise.

It is important to replace fluids lost when exercising, but drinking pure water exclusively isn't always the safest choice for those who participate in very strenuous or long-duration exercise. When significant amounts of fluid are lost through high-intensity exercise, just replacing water can lead to a chemical imbalance in the body and deficiencies in electrolytes (hyponatremia). Sports drinks, like Gatorade, can help restore electrolytes. These drinks should contain carbohydrates, sodium, and some potassium. The electrolytes in our body include sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium and phosphate, but sodium is the substance of most concern when replacing fluids lost through exercising. Electrolytes are essential for proper organ function. The loss of electrolytes may contribute to dehydration headaches. It is imperative that you take in the proper balance of water and electrolytes, especially during exercise.

Fitness Safety Tips

One of the best ways to tone your body, lose weight, and improve your energy levels is to participate in regular physical exercise. Performing 20-30 minutes of exercise, three to five times a week can not only get you looking and feeling better, but it can also reduce your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other serious illnesses. However, before you rush into an exercise routine, it is important to become familiar with some exercise safety tips. Practicing exercise safety will ensure that you limit your chances of injury and get the most out of your health and fitness routine!

Consult a health professional.
If you’re starting out on a new Fitness routine, remember to consult a health professional to provide expert advice before you begin. This is a must to foresee possible health risks posed by the exercise, especially for those with medical conditions. It is best to seek professional guidance rather than risking your health and safety.

Start Slowly
If you are just beginning to get back into the routine of regular exercise, it is important to start slowly. Don't think that you are going to be able to climb a mountain or participate in a triathlon right away! You need to build up your stamina slowly and get your body accustomed to physical exertion. The majority of exercise-related injuries are a result of pushing too hard when you are just starting out.

Warm Up and Cool Down
The most important part of exercising is the ten minutes before and after your workout! Spend ten minutes warming up your muscles before any type of exercise. If you jump straight in, you risk damaging your muscles or straining your heart. Do some slow jogging to increase your heart rate slowly and warm up your muscles.

Stay Hydrated
Dehydration is one of the common problems suffered by individuals who frequently exercise. This may pose as a serious problem as water is a vital component of the human body, making up almost 78% of our body. Make sure you hydrate by drinking plenty of fluids so that which is lost from sweating is restored back to your body. Fluids help muscle endurance, as dehydrated muscles easily get sore and tired.

Work with a Fitness partner.
A Fitness partner or a buddy may be helpful especially if you are not exercising under the watchful eye of a Fitness Trainer. A Fitness friend can be your spotter, motivator, or warn you in case you are overtraining. Besides, working with someone is better than exercising alone. It makes all the exercise much more fun.

Wear the right kind of clothing and footwear.
Wearing the wrong shoe is usually the common cause of exercise injuries. Make sure that you’re wearing the right shoe size, and provide much needed support for your feet. Appropriate clothing is also a must. Wear comfortable clothes that are quick to dry and allow you to move freely during your regimen.

Know your limitations.
Don't do everything at once. Just because you've been pedaling an hour a day on a recumbent cycle doesn't mean you can suddenly bike up a mountain without suffering pain and stiffness the next day. Get used to outdoor activities gradually, and you'll have the whole summer to play outside.