Posts Tagged ‘heart’
10 Ways To Shake Up Your Workout Routine
Even the most dedicated gym-goers can find their previously hyped-up workout has suddenly become ho-hum. Our bodies physically and mentally build up a tolerance to the activities we take on each day. This means that not only do you have to increase weights and resistance to continue challenging your muscles, but you also have to find new ways to keep yourself excited about working out. If you find yourself feeling less than enthusiastic about hitting the gym, try one of these 10 suggestions to shake up your old routine:
Gym hop
Gyms of all shapes and sizes are constantly running deals for a free trial week at their location. Take a week or two off from your old gym and take an exercise tour around town. Find different gyms in your area and enjoy a few days of new scenery. Scoping out a new place can introduce you to new trainers, new equipment and new classes which may jumpstart your exercise regimen, or make you appreciate your old digs.
Take a vacation
Finally put your vacation daydreaming to use and cash in on some personal days at work. Vacations that involve skiing, kayaking, hiking or rock climbing can be relaxing and exhilarating all at the same time. Even just a long weekend at a nearby campground can provide lots of opportunity for engaging exercise in a new setting.
Teach an old dog new tricks
Pick a sport that you’ve never tried before and join a league in your area. If you were an all-state lineman in high school, try taking up racquetball. If you set college records in the breaststroke, find a volleyball league. Chances are, if you haven’t played these sports before you haven’t used all of the muscle groups necessary for them. Being part of a team has the added benefit of social encouragement to continue coming out each week.
Pimp your ride
If you live relatively close to your gym, skip the drive and run or jog there. Instead of driving to the gym and getting on a treadmill, enjoy a run outdoors on your way to the gym where you can then enjoy an abbreviated workout. After a nice long warm-up, you’ll be prepped for some toning weightlifting or strength exercises. Walk back home while you cool down, or catch a ride back with a workout buddy.
If you can do, teach!
Instead of taking class after class of monotonous aerobics, design your own fitness class and offer it to friends or coworkers. Host a yoga workshop in your living room or book an empty office space for after-work zumba. Running the class puts you in control to keep things fun and challenging, and having a group of recruits hold you accountable to stay active.
Move to the music
Grab your partner and sign up for a dance class. Not only does a dance class get you some one-on-one time with your spouse, but high-intensity classes such as tango or flamenco can burn just as many calories as an hour spent on the treadmill. Pay up front for 4-8 weeks of classes to give yourself a financial motivation for sticking with it.
Play coach
Break down and volunteer to help coach your kid’s soccer or basketball team. The daily or weekly commitment will get you to lace on some sneakers and chase after rambunctious children for at least an hour at a time. Being surrounded by an overabundance of sugar-induced energy can’t help but inspire you to join in the drills and scrimmages.
Bag the gym
When you simply can’t bring yourself to going to the gym one more time, skip it altogether and build a workout into your daily routine. Park a few blocks away from your office, choose stairs instead of the elevator, swap your desk chair for a yoga ball, and load on up playtime with your kids to burn calories throughout the day.
Set a goal
Instead of just working out for the sake of working out, set a definite goal that you can work towards. Anything from running a marathon, completing a bike race, or even mastering a yoga pose can give you a long-term goal to aim for. Set weekly or monthly mini-goals that will track your progress and celebrate your successes along the way.
Get techy
Hit up a local yard sale or games store for Wii or Kinect workout games. Adding some virtual workout time to your regular routine can provide a bit of variation. Challenge friends or family to a game for some competition while you burn calories.
This guest post was written by Ashley from Long Island Heart Associates. For questions about heart health and exercise, contact a local cardiologist today.
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Love your Heart
The heart symbolizes Valentine’s Day, and it’s no surprise that February is Heart Health Month. This year, learn how you can love your heart by taking care of it!
Heart Facts
• Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, and the #1 killer of women. It’s also one of the most preventable health concerns.
•Cocaine affects the heart’s electrical activity and causes spasm of the arteries, which can lead to a heart attack or stroke, even in healthy people.
•Three years after a person quits smoking, their chance of having a heart attack is the same as someone who has never smoked before.
•People that suffer from gum disease are twice as likely to have a stroke or heart attack.
How to take care of your Heart
Heart disease is a serious health concern. Every 25 seconds, an American will have a (negative) coronary event. It’s a very common problem, yet very preventable.
Now that you know that this major health concern is in your control, what are you going to do about it?
Here’s some tips that can help you – and your heart – become healthier.
Exercise – Regular physical exercise has been proven to positively effect the body, including one’s heart. If you want to have a healthier heart, exercise is a great way to use your hardest working muscle. When the heart is healthy and strong, it has a positive impact on the rest of your body.
Healthy Foods - Nutrition plays a big role in helping your heart become healthy. To help with nutrition that targets heart health, enjoy foods like Wild Salmon, tomatoes, avocados, squash, and carrots.
Avoid Tobacco – Whether your smoking or chewing it, tobacco is very dangerous for your heart and overall health. If you currently smoke, successfully quitting would be one of the healthiest things you could do for your overall health.
Avoid Stress – I know first hand how trying to avoid stress is easier said than done. I also know first hand how stress can negatively effect you, and it’s important that you do everything you can do minimize the stress in your life, and learn how to manage the stress you can’t quite get rid of.
Sleep - It’s important to get enough rest, which helps your body recover from everything it has to accomplish during the day. Getting enough sleep would be something that could help you manage your stress effectively. A lack of sleep never helped anyone.
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Tags: exercise, Fitness, Healthy Food, heart, heart disease, heart healthy, holiday, muscle, Nutrition, prevent, preventive care, Valentine's Day
Walk, Jog, or Run?
Is walking better for you, or is jogging? What about running?
Walk
Walking is a lot easier on your body than jogging or running, and if you have been out of the gym for awhile, walking is an excellent place to start. Walking is also a great cardiovascular exercise, and should not be looked at as an inferior workout to either jogging or running. Try to keep a steady brisk walk, and this is a great way for you to burn calories and lose weight.
Focus on walking correctly, get good comfortable shoes, breathe correctly, and work your way up to speed walking. If you have ever had a knee injury, you might want to stick to walking until you have fully recovered from your injury. Never feel like you have to go faster than what your body is ready for, or capable of.
With any other workout that you do, walking is also a great cool down.
Jog
If you like a short and intense workout, jogging might just be for you. Jogging takes less time for the same calorie burn and cardiovascular benefits compared to walking. Be sure that you have great shoes, and that you are jogging correctly. Jogging can be really hard on the knees and shins if you jog “wrong”, jog for a prolonged amount of time, or even if you didn’t properly stretch before or after your workout. Something important to also keep in mind, is to breathe correctly. It is important that you breathe in through your nose, and out through your mouth. If you need help practicing this, try walking until you can get the hang of things.
Run
Most people who say then went “running” actually went “jogging” instead. Running is faster than jogging, and if you are on pace to finish a mile in less than 9 minutes, you are “running”. Just like walking and jogging, running is a great cardiovascular exercise, but takes much faster to burn the same amount of calories as it does for walking or jogging. Just know that this is an intense workout, and not for those just trying to get back to the gym. This is something you should work up to, but you don’t have to reach this point.
Which one is for me?
Do what is best for your body. Because I have had a knee injury in the past, I am not pushing myself to run, and I even limit the amount of jogging that I do. Am I depriving myself of anything? No. Whether you walk, jog, or run, you are having a cardiovascular workout, burning calories, and getting a great exercise in. As long as you are properly warmed up and prepared, whether you walk for an hour, jog for 15 minutes, or run for 3 minutes, your body will thank you.
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Tags: breathe, burn calories, burn fat, cardio, cardio workout, cardiovascular, cool down, exercise, Fitness, Healthy, heart, injury, jog, jogging, knee, Lose Weight, quality shoes, run, running, running shoes, shin, Skinny, walk, walking
