EXERCISE

TOP CARDIO EXERCISES

Recommended by Specialists

By Jean Terrell

Cardio is an important part of your regular exercise routine. It can help to improve your heart health, lose unwanted weight, decrease stress and lift your mood. If you're ready to start incorporating cardio into your life, here are some of the top cardio exercises recommended by specialists.

ELLIPTICAL The elliptical is one of the best machines you can use at the gym for a cardio workout. It gives you a full-body workout but is easy on the joints, making this form of exercise suitable for a wide range of fitness levels. Elliptical exercise can provide a great low-impact workout for those with joint issues like arthritis, but can also provide an intense workout for those who want an extra challenge.

RUNNING

Running or walking can be done in multiple ways, making it great for those days when you don’t want to hit the gym and for people without access to one. You can go for a run or walk around your neighborhood or a park, hop on a treadmill, or simply walk/run in place! This classic, versatile type of cardio can be used as an entire workout, a warm-up, or a cool-down.

ROWING MACHINE When you’re in need of a cardio workout that targets your arms, you need to try rowing. Just like the stair climber, this exercise may be difficult at first, so take it slow and use a lower resistance setting when you’re first starting. SWIMMING

If you want a form of cardio that’s easy on the joints and will help to keep you cool, try swimming! Swimming is a great type of exercise that helps to strengthen your core and provides a great full-body workout.

STAIR CLIMBER

If you’re looking for a cardio workout that can also help build some serious muscle, the stair climber may be right for you. Be warned, this exercise can be extremely difficult when you’re first starting. You may only last a few minutes during your first few tries. Take it slow and build those glutes and quads while getting your blood pumping with this unique workout. AD

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By Christian Dischler Melons Melons

14

In a broad sense, melons are a special fruit. They are “predigested”, meaning their flesh is immediately bioavailable to our system thanks to a complex amount of enzymes and coenzymes within them. Also, the often diet-embattled fructose in melons is known to exit our digestive systems in less than two minutes. This means that our systems absorb the fruit rapidly, almost like an injection of valuable nutrients. That alone should be enough to encourage you to insert more melons into your diet, but there’s more.

Think of melons as sweet purified water spheres that are perfect for our bodies to use immediately for energy and purification of our own. Ingesting melon gives your body a boost to fight all kinds of intruders. The purified water latches onto various toxins in our systems such as mycotoxins, mold, bacterial toxins and undigested protein toxins. From there, it flushes them and allows the immune system a chance to breathe and rebound from their invasion. While this occurs, the high concentration of electrolytes in melons are released in our bodies, boosting our hydration and thinning our blood to reduce heart disease, stroke and blood pressure.

Considered one of the most alkalizing foods available, melons contain high levels of trace minerals that boost overall electrolytes in our bodies. This means those essential nutrients, the driving factors of balance and energy within us, receive a boost in natural production from melon consumption. This increase in bioavailability assists in further detoxification and expels pesticides, herbicides and heavy metals that have been stored deep within our internal organs. It’s like the powerful properties of these special fruits match their delicious flavor!

Melons are also high in natural silica which lends itself to healthier joints, ligaments, bones, teeth and tissue. A complete reinforcement throughout the body in the most bioavailable package possible, sometimes melons seem too good to be true! But thankfully they are as advertised, and Mother Nature once again brings us a powerful fruit capable of life-changing impact.

Get creative with the melons you select at your local markets. Pair some honeydew melon with prosciutto for a beautiful combination of salty and sweet, or take semi-firm cantaloupe slices and toss them on the grill this fall for a complex addition to any cheese board, salad or entree. Remember the varying sweetness of melons is a strength, not a weakness, and you can find many ways to work it into your meals. But at the very least, you can always have some fresh sliced melon as a snack and be confident knowing your body appreciates the gift.

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HEART HEALTHY MELON SMOOTHIE

By Nellie Palmer

 INGREDIENTS • 1/2 cup frozen pineapple, diced • 1/2 cup ripe cantaloupe, diced • Juice of 1/2 lime  DIRECTIONS  Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.