Jan
Posted by shawn ·
2 Comments
Filed under Get Well , Wellness , Workshops
Tagged with Exercise, Fitness, Women
Easy Exercises Women Can Do at Home
Easy Exercises Women Can Do at Home
On January 21, we celebrate Women’s Healthy Weight Day. I say celebrate because we should be happy with the way we look and feel. And if for some reason you don’t, there’s no time like the present to become a healthier, fitter person.
I know that getting to the gym is tough. Perhaps it’s too far away or costs too much to join. And then if you do sign up, there’s the pressure to actually get to the gym. With school functions, work commitments and family time already filling up the schedule, many women feel like failures before—or if—they even start working out.
So this month I’d like to offer you some at-home exercises you can use to lose weight and get healthy. They’re simple, require minimal equipment and only a small time commitment on your part—which means you can even do them when you have a few extra minutes around the house.
- Kettlebells. A kettlebell is essentially a bowling ball with a handle attached to it. They are small and compact and can be used in a limited amount of space. Some of the most common and best exercises to start with are swings, bent presses and windmills. There are countless tutorials and videos online that can explain how to best utilize kettlebells and perform basic exercises in good form.
- Exercise Bands. These are basically stretchy jump ropes, which are small and easy to store. Stand on the exercise band and hold the handles. Once you’re in this stance, you can perform a number of common exercises, such as biceps curls, triceps extensions, butt kickbacks and outer thigh side raises. You can also use the exercise band to work your front delts, lateral delts and rear delts.
- Medicine Balls. Use these weighted balls to tone your core and abs. Here are two exercises to get you started: The Russian twist requires you sit on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Hold the medicine ball and extend your arms in front of you. Recline back until your body is angled at 45 degrees. Now slowly twist from side to side. Keep the ball held out in front and touch it to the floor on each side as you twist. Also try some crunches with a toe touch. Lay on your back with your legs straight in the air and your arms straight in front of you holding the ball. Now lift your shoulder blades off the floor and attempt to touch your toes with the ball. Numerous websites offer other medicine ball exercises to try at home.
- Equipment-free. There are other exercises you can do that don’t require any equipment, but which are equally efficient in burning fat. Squats and lunges work the legs, and always remember to contract and engage your core muscles so that every rep counts. Don’t forget to stretch!
- Walking. Okay, so you can’t do it “at home” per se, but all you have to do is step outside and walk for 5-10 minutes to start before gradually increasing the length of time and speed of stride over time. Make it routine to go for a walk first thing in the morning or right after dinner, and it will become second nature. Nothing else is better for increasing your energy levels and fitness, and contributing to fat loss.
References:
Home Exercises You Can Do To Aid Healthy Weight Loss. Buzzle.com. Retrieved January 6, 2010 from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/home-exercises-you-can-do-to-aid-healthy-weight-loss.html
Kettlebell Exercise Workouts for Busy Women. Squidoo.com. Retrieved January 6, 2010 fromhttp://www.squidoo.com/womenkbells
Medicine Ball Abdominal Exercises – Medicine Ball Ab Workout. Ab-Core-and-Stomach-Exercises.com. Retrieved January 6, 2010 fromhttp://www.ab-core-and-stomach-exercises.com/medicine-ball-abdominal-exercises.html
Quick Workouts – Portable Workouts with Exercise Bands. ShapeFit.com. Retrieved January 6, 2010 fromhttp://www.shapefit.com/quick-workouts-elastic-bands.html
Jul
Posted by shawn ·
3 Comments
Filed under Live Life
Tagged with Chiropractic, Fitness, Goals
It’s Never Too Late to Reset Fitness Goals
Most people who set fitness goals do so at the beginning of the year, when New Years’ resolutions are still fresh in their minds, when their willpower and conviction are the strongest. By summer, these same people often lose their momentum, when circumstances change or when the immediate results they expected don’t happen as quickly as they’d like.
These are crucial moments when the decisions we make can decide the fate of our fitness regimen for the rest of the year, even the rest of our lives. If your goals were too vague or unrealistic to start with, now is the time to sharpen your focus while achieving a level of success your mind and body can live with.
Perhaps you expected too much from yourself, especially if it had been a long time since you engaged in any regular exercise. Maybe you “bit off more than you could chew,” or you simply need a coach or a guide to help smooth out the rough spots in your regimen for health and wellness.
Most exercise plans and “healthy” diets fail because the path people choose for themselves is so drastically different than what they’re used to, they can’t manage the difficult changes they’ve structured for themselves. When the pressure and physical effort becomes too hard to bear, many give up completely, instead of letting up on the gas pedal or finding a happy medium.
You don’t have to exhaust yourself at the gym or starve yourself in the name of fitness. As a society, we are programmed to expect everything to magically fall in our laps, with relative ease and certainty. Better health takes hard work and discipline, and some are better than others are at maintaining their composure and keeping themselves moving in the right direction.
There is also the element of injury to our “core” supportive tissues in the back, the spine, and the tendons and joints that allow us to move freely. If we push our bodies beyond their limits, the potential for a damaging injury that limits our mobility makes staying on track that much harder.
There are practical tips for losing weight, staying in shape, and eating healthier, three things that can have a dramatic effect on the condition and stability of our nervous system and our cardiovascular system.
These are the key elements that pump blood and vital nutrients throughout our tissues, lubricate joints, and infuse the body with vigor and vitality. If we tax our bodies less with excess weight, empty calories, and erratic exercise routines, they will respond in positive ways, creating energy that keeps the wheels of our “train of fitness” in motion.
Sometimes all you need is a helping hand to bring your personal goals back into focus. The Specific Chiropractic Center has put together a special interactive class this month for a select group of willing individuals who want to discuss their obstacles and success stories with others. The practical tips we learn as a group will help us choose SMART goals for better health.
