2Inspire Health & Fitness Magazine #9 - June 2020

Getting In Shape Without A Gym Membership Is Easier Than You Think Should You Train on Sore Muscles?

6 Super Easy Ways to Track Your Fitness Progress

How to Deal with Increased Hunger After Exercise How to Prevent Your Thighs Rubbing When Exercising 2Inspirenutrition.com June 2020 FREE

INSIDE THIS MONTH’S ISSUE Getting In Shape Without A Gym Membership Is Easier Than You Think pg. 3 The Link Between Obesity and Sitting Down Too Long - pg. 16 Should You Train on Sore Muscles? - pg.

18 How to Prevent Your Thighs Rubbing When Exercising - pg. 20 6 Super Easy Ways to Track Your Fitness Progress - pg. 21 How to Deal with Increased Hunger After Exercise - pg. 23

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Getting In Shape Without A Gym Membership Is Easier Than You Think

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How familiar does this sound..?

You decide to get in shape. Maybe you’ve set a New Year’s Resolution, or perhaps your favorite jeans no longer fit. You have the motivation to exercise, so you do one of two things…

1. You head straight to the gym and sign up for a membership.

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save money, of course.

However, you also get to find your right exercise program before you invest too much.

For example, Judy thought that she’d enjoy lifting weights and exercise classes at the gym. She joined the gym and spent a few months attending classes. But she found that she enjoyed her walks outside even more than any of her pricey or classes. Judy quit the gym and began walking 2. You head to the fitness store and spend a outside. Her fitness program gradually added few hundred dollars on bodyweight exercises equipment and attire. during her walk, as well as Regardless of the path you some HIIT training. Judy is choose, you probably start now in the best shape of off with some enthusiasm. her life, and she got there without a gym.

Maybe you actually do make it to the gym a few If you think the gym isn’t times each week for the first month. And then the quite the best solution, or you want the convenience enthusiasm wanes. It’s of exercising on your own difficult to find time to at home with minimal get to the gym and, let’s equipment, then this face it, memberships are exercise program is right expensive. And if you’ve for you. We’re going to invested in a lot of home explore three different fitness equipment, you may find that it becomes aspects of working out just another thing that you without a gym or gym equipment. They include have to dust. cardio, strength, and a combination approach.

There are many benefits We’ll talk about different to working out without ideas for exercising, offer spending tons of money on a gym membership or some tips for getting started and then explore exercise equipment. You

some sample exercise programs. Let’s start with good old cardio exercise.

Part 1: Cardio Exercises

Cardio exercise is exercise that raises your heart rate.

You might scratch your head at this because if you’ve ever done strength training then you know that raises your heart rate as well, right? So to be a bit more specific, cardio exercise is exercise that is designed to strengthen your cardiovascular system. It includes things like running, rowing and even dancing. Cardio is usually performed for at least twenty minutes at a time, a few times a week.

Cardio exercise is one that people either generally love or hate. It’s so important for your overall health that it’s crucial to include it in your exercise program. This means that it’s important to find an exercise or movement that you enjoy.

Running Many people really don’t like running. However, it really is one of the best exercises that you can do for yourself. All you have to do is put on a pair of

shoes, head out your front minutes and run for three door, and move your body minutes, then repeat those for twenty minutes. intervals for your desired workout length. As your One of the reasons that fitness improves, you people don’t like it is that might walk for one minute they haven’t found the and run for four. right type of running, or that they’re pushing their Road – Road running body too hard and too is probably the most fast. common type of running. You run around So let’s look at a few town or around your running options, and then neighborhood. Most we’ll talk about some tips races (including 5Ks, to actually enjoy running. half marathons and marathons) are road races.

Trail – Trail running is exactly what it sounds like. You really can enjoy You run on trails. The trails running… may be paved, gravel, dirt or something else. Trail • Listen to music, books, running is nice because or podcasts. Many the trails offer variety both people enjoy running in terms of the surface more if they have you’re running on, as well something to listen to. as what you get to see • Run at a pace that as you run. If you run in allows you to breathe the woods, for example, comfortably for the first then you may get to see animals as you run.

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Interval – Interval running is a type of running where you alternate between running at a relaxed pace (you might even walk) and running at an intense pace. Interval running allows you to get a better workout in less time. It also helps you gradually ease into running if you’re new to the sport. For example, you might walk for two

ten minutes. It’s really important to start slow and allow your muscles to warm up.

• Stay in the fat burning zone. The pace to burn the most fat is actually much slower than you might imagine. The fat burning zone is 60 to 75 percent of your maximum heart rate.

Roughly speaking, you can calculate your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220.

For example, if you’re 45 years old then your maximum heart rate would be 175. 60 percent of that is 105 and 75 percent is 131.

Running may be much more enjoyable if you’re running at a pace that isn’t extremely uncomfortable.

Running is just one way you can exercise without any equipment or a gym membership. Let’s take a quick look at walking before we jump to some more out of the box type cardio exercises.

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mentally and physically healthy.

Weighted – Weighted walking means that you’re walking with a weighted vest, or hand or ankle weights. It adds a resistance component to your daily walk and can help burn more calories and build muscle.

dancing, grab a video or turn on the radio and dance for half an hour each day.

• Bicycling – Ride your bike! Bicycling is great for your heart, lungs, and your legs. You can Walking make it part of your daily routine. You can Like running, there are ride on trails or on the different types of walking road. Be sure to wear and finding the right type Of course, there is good a helmet and to make for you may be the key old fashioned walking too. sure your bike is in to making it an enjoyable If you’re new to fitness good working order so part of your daily routine. or haven’t exercised in that you stay safe. quite some time, basic It should be said that walking is a great way • Interval Training/ walking can be one of the to get started. You’ll get Tabata – Interval best exercises that you your heart rate up, your training alternates can do for yourself. And if blood pumping, and you’ll between moderate you combine it with some strengthen your cardio and intense activity. of the strength moves system.

You can apply it to just we’re going to talk about, about any exercise. then you really do have a So what else can you do to You can do interval complete fitness program. add cardio to your day? sit ups, interval jump rope, and even interval Race/Speed – Race • Jump Rope – There’s dancing. A Tabata is a walking or speed walking a reason boxers jump specific type of interval is a method of walking rope. It’s great for your approach where you that strives to move as cardio system and your do intense exercise for quickly as possible without endurance. And it can twenty seconds with running or jogging. You be quite fun. Jump rope ten seconds of rest. You always have one foot on for twenty minutes repeat this 8 times. the ground when you race a day and enjoy the or speed walk. There are health benefits.

For example, you might speed walking events too, do twenty seconds if you’re competitive.

• Dancing – Zumba took of burpees and then off and became one of ten seconds of rest.

Hiking – Hiking allows the most popular forms (A burpee is a pushup you to get out in nature of exercise for a reason. combined with a to get your fitness. After Many people just love jumping jack. You drop half an hour on a nature to dance, and it’s great down on the ground, trail you may feel both for you too. If you enjoy do a pushup, and then

jump up and clap your hands over your head as you jump. Try it.

You’ll see that it’s more work than you might imagine.)

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cardio every day. Another guideline if you’re walking for fitness is to walk about 10,000 steps (or approximately five miles total). If you’re doing intervals or dancing or • Stairs. Find some stairs other exercises that may (perhaps in your home be a bit more difficult to or a local school playing measure then you can field) and run up and exercise in smaller chunks. down them. You might For example, to get 30 mix it up and jog 400 minutes of cardio every meters and then do day, you can break that ten sets of stairs. Stairs up into three ten minute can be walked or run. sessions. It doesn’t have to Your heart rate will be all at once. absolutely increase if you do several sets of Regardless of what cardio stairs. You can even skip program you consider taking the elevator at implementing, it’s truly work and march up the important to make sure stairs. If you work in a that you’re also strength high-rise then that can training. Strength offers be your daily exercise! a number of benefits, including stronger bones Getting Started With and a leaner looking body, Cardio and more muscle means you burn more calories.

We’ve already talked a bit Plus, you just feel better about how to get started when you are stronger. with cardio. It’s best if you So let’s look at strength start slowly and gradually training exercises next, increase your time and/ and remember… these or intensity. For example, are without a gym or you might run for a expensive equipment. minute and walk for three minutes. Over time you’ll Part 2: Strength decrease your walking Training Body Weight time and increase your Exercises running time.

Strength training is about Generally speaking, the using resistance to cause recommendations are your muscles to contract. to get 20-30 minutes of

This contraction builds the strength, anaerobic endurance, and the size of skeletal muscles. However, it’s important to point out that “getting bulky” from strength training is not likely to happen.

Most women, as well as a large number of men, just don’t have the genetics to bulk up. So if you’re worried about getting bulky, take comfort from the fact that it’s not likely.

And if you want to get bulky then you’ll want to eventually start working with a trainer to help you create a program designed specifically for that goal.

What you will see from strength training is a leaner looking body. Fat will burn away faster, and you’ll be able to see nicely sculpted muscles.

You’ll also have better posture, more energy, and improved health. So let’s get to it!

Squats The squat is a fundamental and functional movement.

Every time you sit down you’re using the same muscle groups that you do in a squat. Unfortunately, if these muscles are weak then the body ends up compensating.

Compensation and weakness often lead to injury. Proper squatting form is really important.

What is a squat? Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart. Ideally your toes will be pointing forward, but in the beginning you may find that you tend to point your toes slightly out.

That’s fine. Now bend your knees and send your rear back as if you’re sitting in a chair.

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You’ll keep your weight over the middle of your feet. Keep your knees pointing outward. If they roll in, you’ll have to fight to push it back out.

You also want to keep your back as straight as

possible. Holding your arms up in front of you can help you keep your back straight.

do this movement, but regular squats are too easy, try doing it with a little bit of assistance.

You might use a chair or lightly touch your unweighted foot to the ground.

This simple movement works your quads, hamstrings, and your glutes. It also works your core muscles as you strive • Weighted. Another to keep your back as option to add some straight as possible. Squats resistance and difficulty can be performed in many to the standard squat is different ways. You can do to add weight. You can a squat Tabata. Remember hold a medicine ball or that’s 20 seconds of kettlebell. You can hold squats, with ten seconds hand weights or wear a rest, and repeat for four weighted vest. You can minutes. If you think that even fill a milk jug with sounds super easy grab a water and squat while stopwatch and try it right holding it. now. You’ll be sore before your four minutes are up.

• Jumping Squats. A jumping squat is an If you want to make it active cardio/strength harder, consider doing one movement. You start in of the following options: a squat and spring out of it. When you land, • One Leg Squats, aka you drop right back into Pistols. To perform this a squat. Repeat this ten movement you have to twenty times and see to have great core how fast your heart is stability and mobility. beating!

A one legged squat is exactly what it sounds Pushups like. You’ll keep your unweighted leg out The pushup is a in front of you as you movement that works a lower and raise yourself large number of muscles on the other. Your at the same time and, back will be much let’s face it, regardless more curved forward of whether you’re male and that’s okay. It or female this simple is necessary to stay movement is also quite balanced. If you can’t difficult. Sure, maybe you

With the pushup, you start in the top position.

Your body is off of the ground and your arms can do one or two, but try are straight. Take a deep doing 100 pushups and breath and lower your you might be there all day. body to the ground, where your stomach/chest The great news is that this should touch. Now push is also a movement that back up. Don’t relax in the responds to consistency. bottom. Keep it tight.

Meaning that if you do pushups every week, you You can do a prescribed will be able to get to the number of pushups each point where 100 pushups day (perhaps 25 pushups, doesn’t seem impossible. for example), or you can We’re going to talk about do a tabata. You can also three different types of do sets of pushups with pushups, starting with other strength movements assisted pushups. like squats and sit-ups.

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Assisted Pushups

Traditional Pushups

Assisted pushups are not “girl” pushups. They are pushups that help you work your way toward the full movement. An aided or assisted pushup is from your knees rather than your toes. However, it’s critically important that your core muscles stay tight – no drooping butts – and that your hands stay strong and positioned just outside your shoulders.

Traditional pushups are from the toes. Once you get strong enough to do one regular pushup, you might begin your workouts with as many traditional ones as you can, and then finish your workout with pushups from your knees. As you get stronger you’ll eventually be able do to all your pushups from your toes. Your arms, chest, and

back muscles will look amazing!

Weighted Weighted pushups are what you do when 100 pushups is relatively easy.

You can add weight to your body. A weighted vest or a weight balanced on your back is usually the easiest approach.

Dips Dips are a movement that works your triceps, back, and biceps. The best place to do dips is at the playground on the parallel bars. Ideally, you need to bars that are about a foot apart. The width between the bars depends on your shoulder width. The closer your hands are to your body, the easier the dip will be. When your arms get wide it can hurt your shoulder to dip. With a dip, the goal is to lower your body until your shoulder is below your elbow.

Aided Dips Dips are traditionally quite difficult for most people to do, but the exercise can be aided with a resistance band. Wrap the band around the bars and place one or two of your knees in the band. Now dip with

that support beneath you.

You can also put your feet on the ground and use them to help you perform the movement. You’ll use your arms as much as possible and then rely on your legs to get you up.

Negatives

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• Bed positioned behind you with arms behind you for support • Any surface that is the right height and is stable enough to bear your weight will work.

The goal is to be able to lower yourself using your arms. Safety is critically important here.

You don’t want a table to collapse on you, and you want the surface to be the right distance from your body so that you don’t put any unnecessary stress on your shoulders.

movement.

A small pillow or rolled up towel under your low back can help protect your spine against the floor and give you support at the bottom of the movement.

You can add some difficulty to this Another option is to movement by adding jump into a straight arm weight to your sit-up. For position. You’re above the example, you can hold a bars and your elbows are weight on your chest as locked out. Now slowly you sit up. The movement lower yourself until your also changes depending shoulders are below on your foot position. For your elbows. Drop your example, if you let your feet to the ground and knees drop to the outside repeat. Negatives help Sit-ups and sit in a more butterfly you strengthen those position, you may feel like dip muscles so you can The traditional sit-up is your lower abdominal eventually do them often ignored for the muscles are getting more without help. fancier “crunch” variety. The of a workout. truth is that with a little Once you have dips, you back support and good Pull-ups can make them more form, a sit-up can really difficult with weights. You work your core muscles.

Pull-ups can be difficult to can hold a small dumbbell So what’s the right form? do if you don’t have the or weight between your right equipment. A simple legs, or tie it around your Knees bent and feet flat on pull-up bar installed in a waist. the ground. doorway can work quite well. Just be careful.

If you don’t have a Arms can be placed YouTube is packed with playground or parallel bars wherever you want and it videos of pull-up bar nearby you can use some is okay to use your arms accidents. They fall down. things around the home for momentum. Place People smack their head including: them over your head on the doorway, and when you’re on your back more. You can also use • Chairs and swing them down for the monkey bars at a local • Table or coffee table extra oomph as you sit up. playground or a super positioned behind you sturdy tree branch. with your arms behind Touch your toes or the you for support ground at the top of the A regular pull-up is

to make this movement harder, add weight.

You can hold a weight between your legs or strap it around your waist.

And obviously, doing more pull-ups makes the workout harder too.

There’s a big difference between 10 pull-ups and 100.

Lunges

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difficult, so if you don’t get one on your first try, that’s • Jumping – You can also okay. It’ll come. Reach up jump up to the bar and to the bar and grab the use the momentum to bar. Your hands are facing get your pull started. away from you and they’re If the bar is too far positioned about shoulder away for this to work, width apart. Shrug your grab a small stool and shoulders and get tight. jump from the stool. Be Take a deep breath and careful! Sprained ankles tighten your core. Now aren’t fun. pull up. Lower. Repeat.

• Negatives – Start with Aided Pull-ups – Because your chin over the most people aren’t able bar and slowly lower to do pull-ups, at least not yourself to hanging on their first try, there are position. a few different ways to make them a little easier • Reverse Grip – a chinso you can build strength up is a pull-up where and work your way up to a your hands are facing traditional pull-up. you. Reverse your grip so you’re looking at • Bands – You can wrap your fingers instead a heavy duty resistance of your knuckles. Now band around the bar. pull-up. You can reverse Place your foot in the grip and do negatives band and use the or bands as well. resistance to help pull you up.

Weighted – if you want

We’ve talked a bit about arm movements and core movements; let’s get back to your lower body with lunges. The standard lunge requires you to take a step forward with one leg.

You’ll bend your knees and touch the knee of your back leg to the ground.

Touch it to the ground, don’t slam it into the ground. That would hurt!

Now, using the strength of your front leg, stand up.

Switch legs.

It’s a simple movement, but like the squat if you do 50 or 100 of them you’re really going to feel it. It’s a fantastic movement for your quads, hamstrings, and glutes, and you’ll feel it in your adductors and abductors too. To add resistance and make it more difficult you can hold a weight in each hand.

And jumping lunges will have you sore and out of

breath before you can say “feel the burn.”

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your arms, legs, and core.

Rock climbing requires great focus and strength.

Plank You can start on easier routes and gradually work The plank movement is your way up. If you have one that works your core a public climbing wall or muscles, both in your back real rocks in your areas, and your abdominal areas. then this is a free activity.

With the plank you can do You can climb trees too! it in one of two ways. Lie flat on the ground with Box Jumps – Jumping your hands about shoulder works your lower body width apart, like you’re and your core. You can going to do a pushup. jump up onto a step first, Now push up until your and gradually increase arms are straight. Your toes the height the jump. Just will be on the ground. make sure that the box you’re jumping onto is The goal is to keep your sturdy enough to support body straight. As you your weight. get tired your belly and bottom will start to droop Playgrounds – Remember toward the floor. Keep it when you were a kid and tight. Breathe and hold the you could swing hand by plank as long as possible. hand across the monkey Try to hold it for at least a bars? Can you still? That’s a minute. good test of your strength.

Why not run to a nearby The variation on this is to playground and use the hold yourself up on your bars to do pull-ups and forearms. Resting on your dips, and then run back? forearms is actually more What a fantastically fun difficult for most people. workout!

Not only will you feel the burn in your core, you’ll Gymnastics – Handstands, also feel it in your arms walking on your hands, and shoulders. Other handstand pushups,

cartwheels and the like Fun Strength Training are all strength based movements. Try standing ideas to Consider on your hands for a minute and see what it Rock climbing or takes. You can use a wall bouldering uses your for balance. entire body, including

Obstacles and Tires – You see photos of CrossFit athletes flipping tires, but you don’t have to be a CrossFitter to have this kind of fun. If you have a large tire just lying around or something similar, and you have some space to flip it, then give it a try.

You’ll drop down into a squat to grab hold of it.

You’ll then use a deadlift motion to stand up and lift the tire. Push it over, stand back while it hits the ground and repeat. You can also set up obstacle courses in your yard or in a nearby park. Sprinting, cutting, and dropping to the ground to do a burpee can be fun when you’re outside.

There are lots of different strength-based movements that you can do. When you’re exploring your options, strive to find movements that use a large number of muscles.

For example, if you do a biceps curl you’re really only working your biceps muscles. However, when you do a chin-up you’re working your biceps, triceps, core, shoulder muscles, pecs, and your lats, just to name a few.

You get more for your exercise effort.

Before we offer a few

potential workout programs that combine both cardio and strength, let’s talk about getting started with strength. The following tips will keep you safe and help you reach your goals.

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Creating Your Cardio out several times a week and Strength Workout with a combined cardio and strength training Program

workout. We gave an example of that earlier The best way to achieve when we talked about overall health and fitness is to embrace both cardio running to the park, doing pull-ups, pushups, and strength training and squats at the park as part of your exercise on the equipment, and 1. Form first. It’s no good program. They both offer then running home. You if you’re lifting 100 different benefits, and a pounds but you’re combined approach helps can also do a combined workout in your home. doing it with poor form. prevent boredom. There Jump rope for twenty You’ll hurt yourself and are a couple of different you’re not getting the ways of taking a combined minutes and then focus on strength training for maximum benefit. Work approach. another twenty or so on performing the minutes. movement correctly Alternating Days. One first. option is to alternate days. You might do cardio The benefit of the combined workout 2. Bodyweight is great. three days a week and approach is that you’re Using your own strength three days a able to maximize your body weight for the week, plus one rest day. movements really can This approach works well exercise time. You might also cut your workouts help you get stronger. if you have limited time.

You might increase the You can exercise for thirty down to four or five times a week, which can give number of reps that minutes a day and vary you perform, but if you your workouts. Alternating you more rest days. Some experts recommend never add weight to a between strength and exercising three days on movement, that’s okay. cardio also helps prevent You might do 20 squats overuse and soreness. For and two days off. today and by the end example, you might work A third approach is to of the year you can on legs today, do cardio do 150. You’re getting tomorrow and then work break it up during the day.

You might start the day stronger. on upper body strength with a brisk walk or jog. the next day. You’re not You might take a break 3. Pay attention to your working out on sore body. It’s important to muscles multiple days in a from your desk and do squats and lunges. Later give your muscles a row. you might walk after lunch rest. If your body hurts, and do pushups. You get it needs a break. Don’t Cardio and Strength the picture. You blend push too hard or you in One Workout both cardio and strength can get injured. Some into your day. This works recommend three days Another option is to work well if you don’t have large on and two days off.

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chunks of time available to • Saturday - 50 pull-ups, you during the week, but 50 pushups, 50 squats you can exercise in ten to run 1 mile fifteen minute increments. • Sunday - Jump rope 100 reps, 100 walking As you can see below, lunges alternating legs there are a wide variety of approaches. The following As you can see, it’s easy sample exercise plans can to create a varied and help you get started with interesting workout your own program. program with just a few Alternating Days strength and cardio exercises. These simple • Sunday - Rest Day movements can really • Monday - 30 minutes help you take your health cardio (running/ and fitness to the next walking/cycling/ level, and if you make swimming) sure to take good care of • Tuesday - Tabata your sleep and nutrition pushups. 30 dips, tabata then you’ll see dramatic pull-ups changes quite quickly.

• Wednesday - 30

minutes cardio Staying Motivated • Thursday - Tabata squats, 50 lunges Motivation to get started alternating legs exercising and to continue • Friday - 30 minutes exercising can be the cardio biggest challenge. Your • Saturday - Plank holds own self discipline will be tabata sit-ups tested. There are, however, some proven tips and Combined Approach (3 strategies to stay excited days on, 2 days off ) and enthusiastic about working out.

• Sunday - Tabata sprints, 50 burpees 1. Set Goals - Set goals • Monday - 3 mile walk/ for yourself and create a jog, 30 pushups plan to achieve them. For • Tuesday - 5 mile bike example, maybe today you ride, 50 squats can only do one pushup.

• Wednesday & Thursday Set a goal that in five - Rest days months you’ll be able to • Friday - 400 meter run, do 30 unbroken, and start followed by 25 sit-ups working on that goal. (repeat 4 times)

2. Reward Yourself - When you achieve milestones, personal bests, or the goals you’ve set for yourself, celebrate. When you reach 30 unbroken pushups for example, treat yourself to a new exercise outfit or a shirt that shows off your lean arms.

3. Track Your Results - Why are you exercising and what do you hope to accomplish? For example, if you’re exercising to lose weight or to get into that old pair of jeans, then start tracking your results.

Weigh yourself monthly or every other week and chart your progress.

Finally, make it fun. Do exercises that you enjoy and do them in places that you enjoy. If you like being outside, get out as often as possible. If you enjoy listening to music then blast the tunes while you work out. The more fun you have, the easier it will be to make exercise part of your daily routine.

You can start exercising today with little more than your body weight and a pair of shoes.

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The Link Between Obesity and Sitting Down Too Long

Fact: Sitting down for long periods of time shortens your life span. Startling isn’t it? Various studies prove it’s true. Jobs or hobbies that require you to sit for extended periods of time also significantly increase your risk of: * Cancer * Heart Disease * Diabetes * Metabolic Syndrome * And yes, obesity 16

One obvious reason sitting increases your waistline is over time you are burning fewer calories, but probably are not consuming fewer; as a matter-of-fact, you are probably consuming more calories – especially if you’re sitting time is watching TV. There is something about watching TV and eating (and most likely unhealthy foods) that seem to go together.

However, obesity also increases the risk of other cancers not affected by prolonged sitting, such as esophagus, kidney, breast and pancreas.

black coffee or ice tea (both with no sugar).

Stand more and sit less.

Some good choices to get in more time moving include:

More research is needed to establish a definite link between obesity and colon cancer, but it does look suspicious at this point.

* If you have a choice in furnishing your office, choose a standing desk or one with a walking treadmill. * When talking on the phone, stand or walk (to the extent the cord will let you) throughout the conversation.

So what can you do to lessen your risk of becoming obese from But one little known fact sitting? In a nutshell, as to why you are putting watch what you eat and sit * After eating lunch, go for on weight is that sitting less! a 15-minute walk outside. makes the fat cells in your buttocks increase in size; More specifically, watch * Hand deliver a message more so than the fat cells the number and kind of to a colleague instead of in other parts of your calories you consume. body. It is as if your body is Fresh fruits and vegetables emailing it. trying to create a cushion have the lowest number of between you and what calories, yet still fill you up. While you can’t totally you are sitting on.

Some are even “negative” eliminate sitting while doing your job (nor do you foods meaning it takes have to), there are many And being obese also more calories for your ways to cut down the raises your risk of cancer. body to process them amount of time you spend So is there a tie-in than what they contain. sitting and spend more between and increased time moving. Couple that risk of certain cancers and Watch what you drink. with an awareness of what being obese from sitting? Sodas and coffees, like you are eating, and you Researchers don’t know lattes and cappuccinos, can stave off the dreaded for sure, but what they do are loaded with sugar. weight gain that know is obesity increases And diet sodas are not the risk of colon cancer, good for you either. Stick which is also one of the to drinking water when cancers increased by you can and supplement extended sitting. it with a couple cups of 17

Should You Train on Sore Muscles?

Before answering the question of whether it’s a good idea to train on sore muscles, let’s first discuss what is causing the soreness in the first place. Soreness, normally called DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) is a result of subjecting a muscle or muscle group to more stress that it is used to. DOMS usually occurs anywhere from 12 to 72 hours after exercising and is most common after starting a new routine that works a muscle set not worked before.

sore muscles, but train differently. In other words, don’t do the same level of weight or intensity that caused the pain in the first place. That is not to say you can’t exercise that sore muscle, just do so at a lighter weight or less intensity, until the soreness subsides.

Another concept used by athletes is to do a routine that uses a different set of muscles. One day work upper body; the next work lower body. The general advice for nonathletes is to not work the same muscles on two consecutive days. Have at least a day of rest inbetween so the muscles have time to repair themselves.

taking anti-inflammatory medicine unless the pain is unbearable. Ice is used to reduce inflammation while heat increases the flow of blood (with oxygen) to the affected area, thus helping repair itself (and grow) faster.

Both dynamic stretching before working out and static after, go a long way to reducing the amount of DOMS experienced.

And light stretching the affected area is probably one of the most overlooked exercises as far as pain reduction. It can reduce the tightness felt in the muscle after the onset of DOMS.

One of the most commonly adhered to What has actually mantras in the exercise happened is the muscle world is “No pain – no has micro tears in it. gain.” In general terms Sometimes swelling can this is a true statement. occur along with soreness The pain experienced is and depending on the due to tears in the muscle level of pain, is most which when healed will Reducing the Soreness commonly normal and it make that muscle strong will subside in a few days. Researchers have yet to again and slightly larger.

However, if the pain is find a panacea for DOMS. Just don’t overdue it to so intense that you can’t However, there are some the point of debilitation. function through your things you can do to Many exercisers, both new normal daily activities, reduce the level of pain. and experienced, use that then you probably Ice, heat, rest, stretching mantra as motivation to overdone it and may want and medication all work in continue hitting the gym to see a doctor in case you different ways. and working out. If that did suffer an injury. works for you, go for it (in So to answer the question, Most exercise professionals moderation)! do not recommend yes you can train on 18

How to Prevent Your Thighs Rubbing When Exercising

Having thighs that rub together or against your clothing when exercising is not only uncomfortable, but it can impact your health. Chafing is one thing, but when the area gets rubbed raw, not only is it painful, bleeding and swollen, but the rubbed area can get infected.

However, much of the chafing can be prevented by making some small changes to your exercise routine. First look at the workout clothes you are wearing. Is your skin rubbing in an area where two pieces of material are sewn together? If so, look for a workout outfit that has either covered seams or seams on the outside of the clothes and away from your skin. Also, remove any tags that might be causing irritation. Marathon runners frequently get chafed skin, if they don’t wear these specially-made types of running clothes.

Another trick runners use 20

is to rub petroleum jelly on the areas that are most susceptible to rubbing.

Or you can even buy an anti-chafing lubricant that is used by many runners.

It tends to stay on better than petroleum jelly.

irritation.

As counter-intuitive as it may sound, one method of relief is to sweat more. To do this requires drinking large amounts of water – up to 64 ounces per day or more while exercising.

For some people, the The science behind this rubbing is not caused so recommendation is that much from skin-on-skin if you are not properly rubbing (although that exasperates the situation) hydrated sweat dries on your skin leaving salt as it is from getting crystals behind which can irritated by excessive irritate your skin. By having sweating. In these cases, there are a few things that more water available to can be done to reduce the allow you to sweat more, the salt is more diluted moisture and hence the irritation. Once simple trick and won’t leave as many crystals behind when is to rub talcum powder evaporated away. on your skin. Not only does it absorb moisture, Of course, if overweight, but it helps reduce the your thighs will gradually friction if skin does rub begin to rub less as you together. lose weight from healthy eating and exercising.

Another is to buy clothes Eventually it will not be made from any of the an issue anymore. But new moisture-wicking until then, use these tips materials. They tend to to make exercising more suck moisture away from enjoyable without the your skin, keeping your skin drier and reducing the irritation of thighs rubbing.

6 Super Easy Ways to Track Your Fitness Progress The majority of people who lose weight successfully, build massive muscles, or sustain a good level of fitness have one thing in common – they keep track of their fitness training progress.

Tracking your progress can help make your diet and workouts more focused thus enabling you to achieve amazing results fast. But how exactly does one go about tracking their fitness progress? Here are some handy methods that you will find to be effective.

1. Take Measurements Depending on your fitness goal, you may be looking to either loose fat, gain muscle mass, become stronger, or elevate your endurance level. Taking measurements can help you determine if you’re 21

achieving the desired results. Measurements that you want to track may include your body weight, exercise duration, ability to complete certain routines, or even the size various muscles.

The measurements you take will let you know if you need to change diets, up the intensity of your workouts, or switch workout tactics in order to accelerate results.

let you determine if you’re making serious progress or not. There are many body fat measuring machines available, and they range from skin calipers to bioelectrical impedance gadgets. Some gyms tend to have these tools available.

of your dieting habits or lack thereof. It will also be easier to discover a diet plan that works for you.

6. Invest in Fitness Trackers and Apps

Numerous progress tracking gadgets and apps exist these days, which are all designed to do 4. Create a Workout everything from counting Calendar calories, to monitoring This is probably one of the your heart rate, to most overlooked methods recording every detail of your workout sessions. of tracking workouts 2. Take Pictures With these fitness trackers yet it’s quite effective. A and apps, you can give workout calendar allows Photos are a great and personalized attention you to compare different easy way to track your to the trouble areas of workout sessions to fitness progress. Not only your body, push yourself determine the effects do they give you a visual harder to reach a certain of the changes happening they have on your body fitness goal, or strive to as well as which ones in your physique, they maintain a steady level of are more effective and can also act as a huge performance. advantageous. It will also motivator that will push allow you to set realistic you to stick to your Whether you’re looking deadlines for when you workout plan. To get an to increase endurance, want to achieve certain accurate view of your fitness goals and allow you build strength, bulk up, or progress, make sure to to create routines aimed at lose weight, tracking your take photos wearing the progress can give you the same clothes, in the same meeting these targets. insight and motivation spot, under the same needed to achieve the lighting, and on the same 5. Keep a Journal desired results. So, make day of week and time.

Keeping a journal of your sure to use one or more eating habits and workout of the above progress 3. Keep An Eye On Your tracking methods and routines can help you Body Fat Percentage you’ll be well on your way track your progress as well as stay on track. With to reaching and surpassing Measuring your body your fitness goals. a food journal, you’ll be fat regularly is a good tracking method as it will able to access the impact 22

How to Deal with Increased Hunger After Exercise We have all experienced it – that feeling of hunger right after working out. But is it hunger or something else? Either way, there are some things you can do to keep the hunger pains from ruining your diet for the day.

Number of calories

calories by consuming an energy drink after exercising, eating an apple with peanut butter will be more satisfying and keep you full longer, thus reducing the temptation to further snack.

Staying hydrated

Sometimes signals in the Some people think they body get crossed. It is fact can eat as much as they we lose water through want after exercising. perspiration and through While it can take an hour our breathing. This loss to burn off 500 calories, is of course amplified it can take only five when working out. You minutes to eat the same may be interpreting this number back. A better loss of water as a sign of strategy, according to hunger when in reality, some dietitians, is to eat you are dehydrated and back half of what you need to drink water. Before burn. So for example if you consuming food, try did burn off 500 calories, drinking an eight-ounce you could eat back up to glass of water and wait 250 calories; not that you 20 minutes. If you still have to, but you could are feeling hungry, then and you would still be at a go ahead and eat a light 250-calorie deficit. healthy snack. In many cases, the glass of water Type of food will suppress the hunger signal.

Another strategy to satisfy a post-exercise hunger Pre-workout snack is to eat the right type of food. Not all calories are As counterintuitive as created equal. While you it may seem, eating could drink down 250 something that gives you 23

quick energy right before a workout, such as a piece of fruit, can actually lessen the post-workout hunger signal. By adding in those extra quick absorbing calories, you don’t end up burning as many stored calories as you would otherwise, but you won’t feel as hunger at the end of your workout either.

So instead of consuming 500 calories post-workout, maybe a 150-calorie snack satisfies you instead, thus saving you a couple of hundred calories or more in the end.

Timing By timing your workout so you are finished around a scheduled mealtime, you can avoid eating extra calories that you would otherwise had as a snack.

By using these strategies, you can deal with your post-workout hunger without busting your calorie count for the day.

Eat smart and listen to your body to ensure you really know what it is telling you.