NIH Tips to Help You Get More Exercise

You know you need exercise. Regular physical activity helps you control your weight, lower your risks of chronic diseases like high blood pressure and type II diabetes, and can even make you feel happier and more energetic. If you are like me, though, you don’t always get the amount of physical activity you need. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommends the average adult should get two and a half hours of moderate physical activity per week.

Who is the NIH?

The National Institutes of Health is a branch of the US Department of Health and Human Services. Their primary mission is sponsoring research to help people live longer, healthier lives. Research can’t make a difference if people don’t know about it, so getting information and recommendations out to the public is an essential part of their mission.

Tips to Help You Get More Exercise

The NIH has published a booklet, Tips to Help You Get Active, to help people overcome various obstacles that stand in their way. You don’t need to read the whole thing, though, because many of the suggestions are the same, regardless of the problem. I’ll summarize the most important ones for you.

Start Slowly

This is the most important tip if you are out-of-shape, even if you starting an exercise they you used to do with your eyes closed.  The slower you start the less your chances of injury. Don’t be that guy or gal who enthusiastically starts a vigorous exercise program, works hard for a day, and then gives up for feeling so horrible the next day.

See a Medical Professional

If you have any medical conditions, this is the most important tip. Light physical exercise like walking is not usually a problem, but you should definitely follow your doctor’s advice for length, type, and intensity of workouts, even if you are healthy but are a man over 40 or a woman over 50.

Find Something You Enjoy

While different activities do have some different benefits, being physically active what is most important. Light exercise you do every day because you are having fun will pay off much more than vigorous exercise you only manage to struggle through a couple times a month.

Take a Class or Join a Fitness Center

Having a fixed time or place to do your workouts can help motivate you, especially when you know you’ve already paid the membership or class cost. Fitness centers can also provide environments that are more comfortable for your workout during hot summers or cold winters. You may also feel safer exercising in a group.

Use a Physical Trainer

Not only will using a physical trainer help motivate you to exercise, they will help make sure you don’t injure yourself by showing you the proper ways to warm up or use equipment. Also, if you already have an injury, they will customize your workout around your injury.

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Seven Benefits Of Used Fitness Equipment

It’s no surprise, but as we entered into the 21st century, people have become more and more in tune with the needs of their body, both health and fitness wise. Over the course of the decade, fitness equipment has been a prominent element for those who wish to keep in shape and live a healthy lifestyle. The health and fitness industry recognized that there are several machines to help with exercising and each and every day. Those in the industry are continuously working to improve the design characters to better the machines available to consumers.

Today, we are seeing that there is an abundant amount of used fitness equipment on the market, whether it be for commercial use in gyms and fitness centers, or for an at home gym. As the fitness industry strives to improve the machines for use, the latest and greatest machines offer several benefits for users and most can be found available for purchase with less than one year of age.

With great technological advances most of the benefits of used fitness equipment include low maintenance, compact machines, built-in programs, heart rate controls, music speakers, power inclines and shock absorption.

Low Maintenance

Most fitness machines require very low maintenance. These machines need a power source for the user to operate and typically, there is no upkeep unless there is a broken part that needs replaced. Due to the lack of upkeep, this results in much less wear and tear.

Compact Machines

There are several machines that come smaller in size, requiring less floor space. Many machines also come equipped for storage use, having the ability to fold and be placed in a closet when the user is not operating the machine.

Built-In Programs

The great thing about the latest technology available is that built-in programs allow for great personalization and customization to the user. Depending on the fitness level of the operator, they can choose particular programs that enable them to stay under, at, or above their normal heart rate.

Heart Rate Controls

The latest machines have heart rate censers that allow the user to know where their heart rate is during their workout program. This allows them to adjust their fitness level accordingly so they aren’t over working their body.

Music Speakers

Music speakers are available in the machines for MP3 plug-ins where users can select their music choice depending on the workout program.

Power Inclines

Power inclines provides the operator the choice of having more resistance training. Often times, treadmills are set at a 5% incline to help fight against wind that may occur on-street running. This also builds bone density and burns calories more efficiently.

Shock Absorption

Shock absorption helps to have a no-impact exercise. This is highly useful as it provides less impact on knees, hips and joints when exercising.

There is a wide variety of used fitness equipment available to the public. It’s important to review each equipment one-by-one to verify you are selecting the right machine to meet your fitness goals.

 

Lorna Horne is a freelance writer who frequently reviews used fitness equipment for websites like DiscountHomeGyms.com.

How to Make Exercise Fun

How to Make Exercise Fun

One of the things that I hate most about looking in the mirror and determining that it’s time to seriously consider getting myself in shape is the idea of setting up an exercise schedule. In my case, it’s even more difficult, since I don’t have the funds to hire a personal trainer or to join a fancy health club where they make sure that you get the results you’re looking for. No. Not me. However, I do have all the information I need and a ton of past experience to assist me in my exercise regimen endeavors. That’s not really the problem. It’s the motivation factor that has continually eluded me. At least that was the problem until I discovered something interesting about myself. I love to have fun!

Now this might sound a bit confusing, at first. After all, how many people do you know that actually look forward to an exercise session and say “I can’t wait to have some fun on that treadmill!”? Probably not many. But a slight adjustment in the way that I viewed my valuable exercise time made all the difference in the world. Here are some tips that you might be able to use the next time you get ready to get yourself in shape with a healthy exercise routine.

The first thing that you need to do is change your approach to the time that you’ve set aside to exercise. Remember, this is a reward to yourself – a way to be healthy and to have more energy for the things that you need and want to do throughout the day.

Personal trainer showing a client how to exercise the right way and educating them along the way. The semi-spherical device is a BOSU. Category:Fitness Category:Fitness_training Category:Personal_training Category:Stretching Category:Challenges to physical balance (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Secondly, try to engage in exercise that involves other people! Why conduct all of your exercise in some isolated room inside your home, when group activities are so much more fun? How about a sport that can put a smile on your face – like tennis, for example? If you do decide to exercise alone in your home, don’t turn your exercise room into a dungeon. Remember – the key to your mental outlook is the environment that you create. This can mean playing some motivating, upbeat music when exercising.

Better still – you might want to invest in a small recording/playback gadget that will allow you play an audio book, written by your favorite author. In this way, you can tell yourself “Time to read my book!” instead of “Time to exercise.”

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