13 Fun Ways to Work Out With Your Dog

 

http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20938047,00.html?xid=healthyliving08052015

3 Exercises You Need To Do To Counteract Sitting All Day

 

Fitness Lifestyle by Joel Runyon Are you a desk jockey? Do you spend most of your day sitting or hunched over a computer or laptop? According to a report from CNN, sitting all day may actually be killing you, or at the very least, could be taking years off of your life. When you sit, especially for long periods of time, your body slowly becomes more hunched over. Your internal organs get compacted and are forced to operate in less than ample space. Over time, the spine begins to weaken because of the unnatural stress placed on the joints. Hip muscles and joints begin to shorten and become tight, making standing up straight less comfortable. Ultimately, the body’s blood circulation decreases due to lack of movement. This is partially why legs and ankles will also swell during long stationary periods. The point is alarmingly clear: if you sit for long periods of time during the day, you could actually be doing your body some real harm. The great news is that there are simple foam rolling exercises that you can do in the comfort of your own home that can help your body heal, which all take less less than 15 minutes total. Grab a foam roller or a mobility ball (like a lacrosse ball) and try out these three exercises.   Glute Smash If you’re sitting on your butt all day, you need to give it some love. Most people don’t realize that rolling out your glutes will help you loosen more than just your butt muscles. You’ll also loosen your upper hamstrings and help remove some pressure from your lower back. How to do it: Place a mobility ball, or a lacrosse ball under your glute muscle on one side. Rotate the ball until you find a tight spot or “trigger point”. Contract and release the muscle (basically squeeze your butt cheek and release it) for two minutes. Keep your legs bent with the knees out to the side. Hip Flexor Like I mentioned earlier, when you sit for long periods of time, the hip muscles (including the quad and hip flexors) slowly shorten and become tighter. Tight hips make it really uncomfortable to stand up straight, and the tight joint puts a lot of unnecessary pressure on the lower back. Stretch out and open up the hips by focusing on the hip flexors. How to do it: Laying on your side, put the foam roller on the upper outside of your leg – near your hip. Roll the foam roller and knead it into the muscle tissue, fascia and tendon between your knee all the way up to your hip. Continue back and forth. T-Spine Smash This simple movement is one of my favorites because it helps counteract the “dreaded hunchback syndrome” so many people get from hunching over their computers every day. A great added benefit: part of this movement passes over the shoulders so you are able to help release tension that has built up throughout the week. How to do it: Lay on your back with your knees bent and your heels close to your butt. Position the foam roller just above your shoulder blades. Look straight up and give yourself a hug. Feel the stretch in your back as you hold the position and roll the foam roller down to your lower back and back to between your shoulder blades. Repeat for the duration of the movement. If you’re still not sure about each of these movements, find an app like MoveWell that will guide you through each movement in the mobility workout, step-by-step, or head over to these tutorials on YouTube: Glute Stretches Hip Stretches Thoracic Spine Stretches

Fitness for less: Low-cost ways to shape up

 

Want to work out but think you can't afford it? Think again. Consider these low-cost alternatives to a pricey gym membership. By Mayo Clinic Staff If the only thing keeping you from starting a fitness program is the cost of a gym membership, here's good news. You don't need to join a gym to take physical activity seriously. Plenty of low-cost alternatives can help you get fit without breaking your budget. These tips can help you get started. Take advantage of everyday opportunities You don't need a gym or special equipment for an aerobic workout. With a little foresight, activities you may take for granted can become part of your fitness routine. Step it up. Take a brisk walk every day, whether it's in your neighborhood or a local mall. Take the stairs instead of the elevator or make a full workout of climbing the stairs. Sneak in extra steps whenever you can by parking farther away from your destination. Make housework a workout. Mow the lawn, weed the garden, rake the leaves or shovel the snow. Even indoor activities such as vacuuming and scrubbing count as a workout if you increase your heart rate. Play with your kids. If you have children, don't just watch them play. Join them for a game of tag or kickball. Walk them to the park. Dance. Take a family bike ride. Go to a community pool. Even if you don't swim, you can enjoy time in the water or walk in the shallow end. Do your kids play video games? If so, plug in with them and swing a virtual tennis racket or do a little boxing. Improvise by using household items or your body weight If you'd rather not spend a penny on exercise equipment, use ordinary household items or your body weight for various upper and lower body exercises: Canned goods. Many canned goods can serve double duty as hand weights. Chair or step stool. Use a chair for support when doing exercises such as leg curls. A low, sturdy step stool can become exercise equipment if you use it for step training — an aerobic exercise resembling stair climbing. Use your body. You don't need to go to the gym and lift weights to increase your muscular fitness. Use your body weight to do weight training exercises and resistance training. Next April 17, 2015 References See more In-depth

Stand Up to Fight Sitting Disease

 

By Michael W. Smith, MD WebMD Chief Medical Editor Do you have sitting disease? Chances are you do. You’ve probably guessed the remedy — stand up. Move. But for how long, and what exactly do you need to do? A flurry of studies in recent years shows that we’re slowly killing ourselves by sitting too long on our tuckuses. The number of health problems associated with prolonged sitting continues to grow, from too much belly fat to heart disease and even cancer. Now experts are telling us we should be on our feet at least two hours during the workday. But maybe as little as a 2-minute walk every hour is enough – at least according to a recent study that showed this minimal amount of walking decreased the chance of premature death by 33%. Who’s right? Can’t experts just agree? Well, they do. If you’re a master desk jockey, then begin with a 2-minute hourly walk. Here’s a tip to help you remember to get up: drink enough water, so you have to get up at least every hour to use the bathroom. Staying well hydrated also helps keep your body running at top speed – even your metabolism. That 2-minute walk is a good start. But if health is a priority for you (I hope it is), then step it up a bit over time. Get up on your feet at least 2 hours a day. If you want even better health, work up to 4 hours. How healthy do you want to be? Do you want to maximize your chance of a long, healthy, vibrant life? Then capitalize on what we know. Standing up and moving around is good for you. Sitting isn’t. Look for more opportunities to break up your day. Stand during meetings. Ask your employer for a sit-stand desk. Take a 5-minute walk every hour. Baby steps, and over time you’ll be the talk of the office (in a good way). One important note … all this walking and standing doesn’t get you off the hook for exercise. If you really want your best health, throw in some moderate exercise — 30 minutes, 5 days a week. Yes, in addition to your newfound love of standing and walking at work. Unless you were walking around reading this (I wouldn’t necessarily recommend that), now’s a good time to get started on your new health goal. www.webmd.com

100 no-equipment workouts

 

A huge no-equipment workout collection with visual easy-to follow guides for all fitness levels. Get it from: http://neilarey.com/100-no-equipment-workouts.html   A huge no-equipment workout collection with visual easy-to follow guides for all fitness levels. Get the rest from here in one PDF.. to rule them all: http://neilarey.com/100-no-equipment-workouts.html or individually from here: http://neilarey.com/workouts.html

The 100 best fitness tips

 

The 100 best fitness tips

Fitting in fitness: Finding time for physical activity

Finding time for fitness can be tough. The key is making it convenient. Consider these practical suggestions. By Mayo Clinic Staff You know fitness is important for your health and well-being. And you want to get more active, but your days are a blur of work, household chores, errands, and time with family and friends. Setting aside enough time to sleep — let alone exercise — can be tough. So how can you find time for fitness? The key is to be flexible and make fitness a way of life. And remember all physical activity — not just formal exercise programs — adds up to a healthier you. Fitting in fitness at home Time spent at home doesn't have to be couch potato time. To make fitness a priority at home: Wake up early. Get up 30 minutes earlier than you normally do and use the extra time to walk on your treadmill or take a brisk walk around the neighborhood. Make chores count. Mop the floor, scrub the bathtub or do other housework at a pace fast enough to get your heart pumping. Outdoor work counts, too. Mowing the lawn with a push mower is a great way to burn calories. Raking and hoeing strengthen your arms and back, and digging works your arms and legs. Be active while watching TV. Use hand weights, ride a stationary bike or do a stretching routine during your favorite shows. Get off the couch to change the channel or adjust the volume. Involve the whole family. Take group walks before or after dinner. Play catch. Ride your bikes. It's best to build up to about 30 minutes of continuous activity, but you can exercise in shorter bursts, too. Get your dog into the act. Take daily walks with Fido or Fluffy. If you don't have a dog, borrow one. An enthusiastic dog may give you the motivation you need to lace up your walking shoes. Next Work out at work To fit in more physical activity while you're on the job: Make the most of your commute. Walk or bike to work. If you ride the bus, get off a few blocks early and walk the rest of the way. Take the stairs whenever you can. If you have a meeting on another floor, get off the elevator a few floors early and use the stairs. Better yet, skip the elevator entirely. Take fitness breaks. Rather than hanging out in the lounge with coffee or a snack, take a short walk. Or invite colleagues to join you for a walking meeting. Start a walking group. The regular routine and the support of your co-workers may help you stick with the program. Put it on the calendar. Schedule physical activity as you would any other appointment during the day. Don't change your exercise plans for every interruption that comes along. Take it on the road. If you travel for work, plan ahead. Bring your jump-rope or choose a hotel that has fitness facilities. If you're stuck in an airport waiting for a plane, grab your bags and take a walk. More tips for fitting in fitness Here are a few more ways you can add more activity to your routine: Get more out of errands. When you go to the mall or grocery store, park toward the back of the lot and walk the extra distance. If you have a little extra time, walk inside for a lap or two before you start shopping. Keep a pair of walking shoes in your car so that you're ready when you find a few minutes for exercise. Get social. Make a date with a friend to hike in a local park, or take a family trip to the zoo. Try a dance club, hiking group or golf league. Encouragement from others can help you stay with a new activity. Team up. Sign up for a softball, soccer or volleyball team through your local parks and recreation department. Making a commitment to a team is a great motivator. Join the club. Sign up for a group exercise class at a nearby gym or fitness center. The cost may be an added incentive to stick with it. There's no single best way to fit physical activity into your day. Your lifestyle, job and family responsibilities will point to the most convenient time and place for fitness. Do what works for you — and make daily physical activity a habit you keep. Notice : The images above don’t belong to the original article.

Boost your metabolism

 

The Top Fat-burning foods

Physical activity helps maintain mobility in older adults

 

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Older adults complete walking exercises at the University of Florida as part of the UF-led LIFE study. The study, released May 27, examined how physical activity affects the mobility of adults aged 70-89.

It's something we've all heard for years: Exercise can help keep older adults healthy. But now a study, the first of its kind to look at frail, older adults, proves that physical activity can help these people maintain their mobility and dodge physical disability.

A new University of Florida study shows daily moderate physical activity may mean the difference between seniors being able to keep up everyday activities or becoming housebound. In fact, moderate physical activity helped aging adults maintain their ability to walk at a rate 18 percent higher than older adults who did not exercise. "The very purpose of the study is to provide definitive evidence that physical activity can truly improve the independence of older adults," said principal investigator Marco Pahor, Ph.D., director of the UF's Institute on Aging.

What's more, moderate physical activity not only helped older adults maintain mobility but also helped prevent the occurrence of long-term mobility loss. Co-principal investigator Jack Guralnik, Ph.D., a professor of epidemiology and public health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, said there was a 28 percent reduction in people permanently losing the ability to walk easily.

"The fact that we had an even bigger impact on persistent disability is very good," said Guralnik, who also holds a faculty position at UF. "It implies that a greater percentage of the adults who had physical activity intervention recovered when they did develop mobility disability."

The results will be published in the May issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association and will be presented on May 27 at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine in Orlando.

Researchers showed that prescribed daily physical activity can prevent older adults' loss of mobility, defined in the study as the ability to walk 400 meters, or about a quarter of a mile. Although 400 meters might sound like an arbitrary number, it's an important figure for older adults, researchers said.

"Four hundred meters is once around the track, or from the parking lot to the store, or two or three blocks around your neighborhood," Guralnik said. "It's an important distance in maintaining an independent life."

Called the Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders, or LIFE, study, the study took place across eight field centers. There were two Florida field center recruitment sites at the University of Florida and Jacksonville Brooks Rehabilitation as well as field centers at Northwestern University, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, the University of Pittsburgh, Stanford University, Tufts University, Wake Forest School of Medicine and Yale University.

The researchers recruited 1,635 sedentary men and women ages 70 to 89 for the study. The participants could walk a quarter mile within 15 minutes but were at risk of losing that ability. Low physical performance can be a predictor of early death and higher hospitalization and institutionalization rates, and patients with low physical performance are not often recruited to large studies, Pahor said.

"These are people who are patients we see every day. This is why this study is so important: It includes a population that is typically understudied," Pahor said.

The participants were randomly separated into two groups and followed for an average of 2.6 years. The first group of 818 walked 150 minutes per week and did strength, flexibility and balance training. They were monitored by two visits to field centers per week. The second group of 817 attended health education classes and performed stretching exercises. This phase of the study occurred between February 2010 and December 2013.

Staff members assessed study participants every six months, checking their ability to walk, their body weight, blood pressure and pulse rate, among other measurements. The staff was not told which participants were assigned to physical activity or to the education classes.

The study did turn up one unanticipated result: The number of people reporting hospitalizations in the physical activity group was slightly higher than in the education group, though the number was not statistically significant. The researchers think this is in part because the physical activity group had more frequent contact with research staff, possibly resulting in a higher reporting of hospitalizations. The physical activity could also have triggered underlying heart trouble and other health problems. Researchers plan to study this occurrence more closely, Pahor said.

"It's quite a vulnerable and high-risk population," Pahor said. "Both age and poor health were factors. We selected people who had low physical performance, which is a strong predictor for future morbidity, hospitalization, institutionalization and mortality."

Wendy Kohrt, Ph.D., professor of medicine in the division of geriatric medicine at the University of Colorado, helped review the scientific merit of the study before the launch of the main LIFE trial. She said the information produced by this study fills gaps in researchers' knowledge of the types of people enrolled in the study.

"As an exercise scientist, I believe this type of research is absolutely critical to establish scientific evidence on which to make recommendations for how lifestyle can beneficially influence health status," Kohrt said. "There is a general belief among the public and the scientific and medical communities that we know exercise is good for you, so why do we need to do more research in this area? However, we still do not know whether certain types or doses of exercise are better than others, particularly for specific health conditions or diseases. The LIFE trial demonstrated that a modest increase in physical activity has the potential to help older adults maintain functional independence."

Pahor and Guralnik said there is still a vast amount of data to unpack from the study, including looking at the effects of physical activity on the participants' emotional well-being. The research team also plans to determine how physical activity impacted the participants' physiological, social and biological factors.

Belly fat.

 

 

Why You're Not Losing Belly Fat - Health.com

20 Ways to do a Plank

 

 

Hello abs! Change up your core workout with these fresh variations on the plank.

Cardio Workouts

 

 

5 Fat-burning body weight exercises

The Better-Butt Workout

 

Get a great rear view with these moves that lift and tone your glutes.

Credit: Cliff Watts

 

How Brooke got that booty

Brooke Burke-Charvet is a TV host, author, entrepreneur, clothing designer, and mom of four, and yet she still finds time to teach a fitness class called Booty Burn. Score her toned tush by doing her moves at home. Start with 30 seconds per side; work up to a minute.
Watch the video: 7 Moves for a Better Butt 

Best Workouts to Lose Fat

 

Effective Workouts To Burn More Calories and Lose Weight

By Malia Frey

Updated March 04, 2014

This article is part of my e-course How to Lose Weight with Exercise. It’s free! Sign up for the email class now to get started. Or incorporate these tips into your own weight loss workout program.

Do you want to burn more fat during your workouts? The most effective workouts to lose fat are those that burn the most calories. There are two ways to burn more calories with exercise. You can either work out for a longer period of time or work harder during each exercise session.

As you’ve progressed through the program, you’ve already learned to do longer workouts, so now it’s time to work a little harder. Sound intimidating? Don’t worry. Think about how much stronger and fitter you’ve become since you started the e-course program. You’ve earned the ability to do the workouts that burn more fat. Now it’s up to you to reap the benefits of your hard work.

In this lesson, you will replace one or two moderate workouts each week with high intensity intervals. If you’re not sure how to structure the week’s workouts, refer back to this sample schedule.

Lesson Five: Effective Workouts to Burn Fat

Burn More Calories in Less Time
Most of us don’t have two or three hours every day to workout. So why not burn more calories in less time? High intensity interval training is the way to do that. You must be healthy enough for vigorous activity to participate in this intense form of exercise. So be sure that you’ve gotten clearance from your health care provider.

• High Intensity Interval Training

Benefit from the “Afterburn”
Researchers have discovered that people who participate in high intensity exercise benefit from a phenomenon called EPOC or excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. It can also be called the “afterburn” and it can help you burn more calories.

• How to Burn More Fat and Calories

Lose Fat When You’re Not Working Out
The only bad thing about high intensity intervals is that they can wear you out for the rest of the day. And if you end up spending the rest of the day on the couch, you might lose the benefits of your fat burning workout. Here’s how (and why) you need to continue to stay active throughout the day.

• 5 Ways to Burn Calories without Exercise

Practice Active Recovery
On the days after your high intensity interval training, you get to rest. But that doesn’t mean that you lay on the couch. Learn why active recovery will help you burn more fat and calories while your body rebuilds.