Fit and Youthful Life

Guest Author: Sam Morovy


If you’re trying to lose weight, you have to strike up a weight loss plan that involves both exercise and a balanced diet. With the right combination of a good fat-burning workout schedule and the commitment to eating healthy, in no time at all, you’ll probably achieve your intended weight loss goal. It not only gets you the size that you want but also ensures a longer and healthier life for you.

What is “cardio”?

Cardio or cardiovascular exercises are a combination of different types of exercises designed to elevate the heart rate to the fastest level it can beat. Also referred to as aerobic exercises, cardio exercises burns calories, strengthens the heart, body and lungs and combined with strength training increases muscle mass and tone.

Cardio and Weight Loss

Now you ask, what do cardio exercises have to do with weight loss? Imagine if you’re not doing any exercises and you’re relying on a simple diet to trim yourself down. Yes, you’re not putting in any more unwanted calories but you’re also not burning any of the excess. Cardio exercises will fix that. Aside from giving you the body that you want, you also benefit from better and stronger heart and lungs.

A regular aerobic exercise lasts for 30-40 minutes a day and as much 3-5 times a week, depending on your needs and stamina. Activities include swimming, walking and biking so you can just imagine the bulk of your workout. Yes, these exercises need your total commitment to work so it’s important that you choose an exercise you like doing.

Naturally, you’ll start with a low-impact workout so as not to jar your untrained muscles. Also, you won’t be able to last long with your exercises if you plunge yourself into a high-intensity, fast-paced workout immediately. You might end up in the hospital for your efforts. It’s best to start out with a leisurely workout, doing it for a longer period of time to burn the most of your calories. Once you get used to the schedule and the basic regimen, you may increase the pace.

When you do your aerobic exercises, your heart and lungs get a good workout. They in turn need more energy to sustain the demands your exercise is extracting from them. Where do you think they’ll get the energy to offset this additional strain? They’ll use the fat stored in your body and convert that into energy. Because that’s what calories are – they are a measure of the body’s energy consumed. The more calories you burn, the lesser your weight becomes.

Cardio and Aerobic Cross-Training

Since cardio exercises are ideally done on a repetitive basis, it is advisable that you stick to a routine that you’re comfortable with and with exercises that you’re sure you enjoy. That’s why, some people combine different types of exercises in their workout schedule. This is called aerobic cross-training. You go from one type of exercise to another with almost no breaks in between. For instance, if you’re a beginner, you may try 10 minutes of walking plus 10 minutes of working out to an exercise video. You just add more time to each exercise or add a new and different exercise when you need to increase your pace and endurance.

This method of aerobic cross training is very useful in combating the boredom often associated with exercising. You are more motivated to work out and you are more inclined to exercise longer if you’re looking forward to the other exercises in your routine. It also helps if you try out the different equipment in the gym. A new experience will certainly boost your interest.

Another advantage to aerobic cross-training is that you’re also less likely to injure the parts of your body which are regularly bombarded with the stress of exercising. Going from one exercise to another, for example, biking which is suited for your legs and then moving to rowing which is suited to your arms, distributes the muscle building and toning to other parts of the body.

When you combine your cardio exercises and do cross-training, you are in general, building more of your muscles. When your muscles get developed, they need more calories to function well. This means, they burn more fat in the process, even while you’re at rest.

Lastly, in order to enjoy a good workout session, you have to do it when you feel you have more energy to accomplish what you need done. Other people prefer to exercise in the morning while others have more energy at night. Try out different times and see what works best for you.

The key to a good cardio workout is that you tailor the workout to suit your lifestyle and goals. Be sure that you enjoy what you’re doing. Believe it or not, you may not even notice that you’re losing weight that fast.

Guest Author: Ann Marier


Yoga DVD’s are hosted by knowledgeable yoga experts that guide the listener through the series of exercises. The instructional DVD’s will be intended for different skill levels from beginner to advanced and something to challenge nearly everyone.

Beginners

Choosing the right yoga DVD to begin with is as simple as looking for the words beginner on the packaging. Choosing an AM/PM regiment for beginners or a total body yoga program would probably be best for people who have never taken a yoga class. These types of yoga DVD’s will teach the basic poses making learning more advanced yoga techniques possible.

Other choices for beginner yoga DVD’s include those for back support, weight loss, stomach sculpting, children, and seniors. Each instructor uses a calming well paced voice to lead the listener through yoga stretches and poses, helping them to make the essential, body mind connection. Some yoga DVD’s have different sections within them, which will allow the person learning yoga to use a more difficult variation of their routine as they become stronger. They also have an advanced routine with the same poses teaching the person how to gradually advance their flexibility and stamina.

Intermediate

Intermediate yoga DVD’s are intended for people who already know many of the basic yoga poses and are fit and limber enough to not be challenged by beginner exercises any longer. Intermediate DVD’s will have challenging poses that will deeply stretch the muscles and can help over all health. Yoga DVD’s are intended to bring the health benefits of yoga to anyone who is interested in learning the art form. Power yoga is a combination of cardiovascular exercises and intermediate to advanced yoga poses that give the entire body a feeling of wellness and exhilaration.

Advanced

Advanced yoga DVD’s are intended to challenge people who have been working at the intermediate level long enough to need deeper stretches and to learn more exercise and relaxation techniques. Some Advanced yoga DVD’s will give the person practicing yoga the skill-set to create their own routine. Some of these forms can include yoga trance dancing, total body power yoga, and complete body yoga routines. Most of these allow the individuals to express themselves by combining their yoga poses in different combinations.

Yoga DVD’s can be a fun and easy way to learn yoga, supplement yoga lessons, continue learning yoga in between locations when traveling or moving to a new city or state. Yoga is a fun, relaxing way to exercise the body and mind. People all over America are using yoga to be more physically fit and to escape from the daily stress of a fast paced life.

Guest Author: Alien


Yoga today is essentially a way of life that integrates the means of harmonizing the body, mind, and spirit. It is all about a series of postures, breathing exercises and meditation Yoga and meditation are increasing their popularity with the stress filled and health conscious among the people all over the world.

Yoga today is becoming very popular, as people know the benefits of yoga and it helps them to feel better not only in them, but also to maintain their body shape.

There are different yoga poses and breathing exercises in yoga today for making the body healthier.

Yoga today is one of the best ways for relaxing the body and mind and also to maintain your body in good shape.

Benefits Of Yoga

The benefits of yoga are numerous. It has both preventive and therapeutic benefits. And the most important benefits of yoga are physical and mental benefits to the body and the mind.

The health benefits of yoga with a regular practice of yoga poses, breathing exercises, and meditation are:

Yoga today helps in combating illnesses, and there are some reliable researches proving that yoga aids in controlling certain illnesses such as headaches, arthritis, stress, anxiety, blood pressure, asthma and many more.

Yoga today also helps in reducing the stress and tensions. After getting out of a busy day, your muscles are tensed and may feel that your self-esteem will increase with a regular yoga practices.

This type of confidence boosting is very essential as it helps people as a means of reducing the stress in their routine busy lives.

Yoga today also helps to improve muscle tone and increases your energy, stamina, strength and flexibility. It also helps those people who feel themselves as out of shape by a regular practice of yoga. Practicing yoga can burn up your body’s excess fat and provides you a much-improved body shape or figure.

Yoga today also helps people to improve their concentration and enhances a person’s creativities particularly when they are in a need of relaxation and stop thinking about the stressful effects in life such as self-responsibilities.

So, practicing yoga regularly makes yoga practitioners to feel that it is easier to think more positively and there will be a much more fresher outlook on life. A sense of calmness and well being can be obtained through practicing yoga.

The yoga exercises can improve the blood circulation in the body. By yoga practices, the immune systems can be stimulated to help prevent us from diseases. A good immune system will help us to avoid getting sickness and diseases.

Many people are practicing yoga today in order to be progressive. Some people consider that yoga helps in bringing their spirit and keep them relieved.

Most of the people consider yoga as a practice only for spiritual people. However, it is not true. Yoga today can be practiced by all groups of people irrelevant to their caste, age or gender.

These are just a few things that the yoga practices and yoga today can provide. Its potentials are eternal.

Guest Author: Gary Matthews


Ever wondered why most sports scientists agree that cardio-boxing is one of the best forms of exercise, well it is because it conditions the total body and provides a complete workout for your cardiovascular and endurance systems. Lets have a look at the benefits:

The major benefits of cardio-boxing include:

* Increased Stamina

* Increased Strength

* Increased Speed

* Increased Coordination

Cardio-boxing also promotes a person’s well being by strengthening their self-discipline and combined with strength training it’s well and truly the total package for self-defence and fitness and usually consists of:

* Adjusted heart rate work

* Actual boxing techniques

The usual workout consists of the age-adjusted heart rate work starting with 10 minutes for beginners and leading up to 20 minutes for the more advanced. For the second part of the workout, you’ll need to perform and practice 20 minutes of actual boxing techniques.

Cardio

The best way to measure the effects of an exercise program on your body is to check your pulse.

The easiest way to check the pulse is to place your index and middle fingers on your carotid artery or the wrist. Immediately after the exercise, count your pulse for 15 seconds and multiply by 4.

You can also check your pulse during the exercise but with safety as a first priority. To get a more precise reading of your pulse rate, purchase an electronic device from any sports store.

Now you have your exercising pulse rate or heartbeats per minute. We’ll be concentrating at the upper end of your pulse region: the 50% – 70% ranges.

To figure this out, deduct your age from 220. Suppose your age is 40, deduct this from 220 and you get 180.

50% of 180 is 90 beats a minute,

60% of 180 is 108 beats a minute,

70% of 180 is 126 beats a minute and so on.

Don’t jump into 70% work straight away. Start with 50% and slowly work your way up to the 70% upper limit.

Start with no more than 10 minutes, and work up to 20 minutes. Once you’re comfortable with working out for 20 minutes at 70% then try to increase the heart rate up to 80%.

Mix up your cardiovascular activities in the gym. Use the treadmill, skipping, rower, climber, and bike and other equipment that might be available to you.

Boxing

The boxing stance is the posture a boxer takes before and after every action depending on whether you are left or right handed. We’ll be dealing with the most common; right-handed. For left-handed people, just reverse the instructions.

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, with your left foot in front of your right foot. Your right heel should be slightly raised with your left foot flat on the floor and toes pointing ahead.

Bend your knees a little and balance your weight comfortably and evenly.

Place your elbows close to your body with your left fist held at head height and in a position that corresponds to your left foot.

The right fist should be at head height also and guarding the chin, with both elbows protecting your body and both fists protecting your chin.

This is your defensive and offensive position after throwing punches, so please practice this before going any further. When moving forward in this boxing stance the left foot moves forward first and then the right follows.

When moving back, the right moves back and then the left follows. When moving sideward to the right, the right foot moves first followed by the left. When moving sideward to the left, the left foot moves first followed by the right.

Practice this moving forward, back and sideward in the boxer’s stance until it is done smoothly and quickly. Remember to keep your guard up and elbows tucked in to your sides.

Keep your head at eye level with your upper body leaning forward slightly. In boxing it is important that punches are thrown quickly and then bought back quickly to assume a defensive posture.

Punching

A left jab has many uses, it can be used for both offensive and Defensive actions. From the set stance the left arm is pushed quickly and forcefully forward, the weight is shifted to the front foot. The fist moves in a straight line and straight back again for defence.

At the moment of impact the back of the hand and the lower arm are in a straight line. Keep the right fist in the defensive position and elbow tucked into the body during the movement.

The straight right is also known as the punching hand and can be thrown with considerable force. The arm moves straightforward from the chin, the body weight is shifted to the front foot with the ball of the foot of the back leg pushing into the floor for more power.

The back of the hand is straight and pointing up at the moment of impact. The arm is then immediately pulled back for protection after the hit.

The left hook to the head and body is an effective punch for closer range work. From the set stance turn your left shoulder quickly and move your elbow up to shoulder height. The fist moves in a circular motion to the target, with the elbow bent.

Rotate your hip and body whilst pressing your front left down keeping the back of your fist pointing up and in a straight line with the lower arm. The left hook to the body is similar to the above but increases the rotation of the body

The right uppercut is also carried out at close range. Drop the lower part of your punching arm until the lower and upper arm is at right angles to each other. The back of your hand should be pointing away from you, now thrust your arm forward and upward to your target.

Shift your body weight to your front leg and rotate your hip and shoulder on the same side. Remember to keep your left fist guarding your chin during the entire movement. Now practice all your punches until they are done quickly and smoothly.

To develop speed and endurance, try punching straight left and right combinations into the heavy bag.

The duration of the exercise period is the same as the rest period i.e. 10 seconds exercise, 10 seconds rest, 20 seconds exercise, 20 seconds rest, and so on. Move up higher as your condition improves.

Believe me after you start applying Cardio-Boxing to your regular fitness workouts your cardiovascular and endurance systems will thank you for it.

Guest Author: Robert Harden


xercisers know that there are two vital components to a successful fitness program. Number one, you want to build muscle by participating in weight training. Number two, you must keep your heart healthy with cardiovascular fitness activities, usually called “cardio.” Unfortunately, many people find cardio, specifically running, to be a difficult challenge. The solution to this is, quite simple; pick a new activity! Let us give you a few ideas on some good cardio workouts.

There are a lot more cardio activities than one might imagine. However, many people get trapped by the idea that a good cardio workout must include running. This is simply not true. There are literally hundreds of activities that can get your heart rate up and produce the unbelievable benefits that come with consistent cardio activity.

Guest Author: Cindy Heller


Many people practicing yoga techniques had reached to the point where they are seeking more advanced yoga exercises. Most yoga sessions focus on the meditation and breathing exercises. These basic yoga techniques give emphasis on providing relaxation and flexibility to the body in order to attain beneficial health effects. There are other yoga techniques which exceeds the norm of the commonly used yoga postures namely Ashtanga yoga, Bikram Yoga and Kundalini yoga. The asana poses involved in these yoga practices require proper concentration and dedication to achieve mastery of the involved yoga techniques.

Ashtanga Yoga – Muscle Building Yoga Technique

This yoga technique is much different from other forms of yoga exercises. The asana postures to be performed in this yoga exercise focuses on enhancing the strength and endurance of the practitioner’s body. The Ashtanga yoga technique is often restricted to those with proficient body status, due to the intensity involved in performing the difficult poses on this exercise. The yoga sessions for this yoga technique are often subjected to a fast pace of exercise procedures which would perfectly suit those people who are into building up their body’s strength and stamina.

The level of difficulty offered by the Ashtanga yoga asana postures gave it the name “athlete’s yoga”. The yoga techniques to be performed in this type of exercise require hard work, constant practice and great concentration. This is a good choice for people who are physically fit.

Bikram Yoga – Heating while Bending Yoga Technique

This 90-minute yoga session involves flexing your body while inside a sweltering room. The training room for this yoga technique is preheated to at most 105 degree Fahrenheit and 40 percent humidity. For those people who are interested on this extraordinary yoga experience, preparation is very crucial to survive this yoga technique. Students of Bikram yoga sessions should follow important reminders before starting the yoga exercises. Due to the heated environment, this yoga technique regulates breathing and releases the body’s fluids at faster rate compared to other yoga techniques. The extreme temperature applied with the constricting movements benefits the body’s blood flow. This yoga technique is advisable to those who can endure heat while performing the asana postures.

Kundalini Yoga – Releasing Inner Body’s Potential Yoga Technique

The postures involved in this yoga technique excite the endocrine and nervous system of the body. This is a very interesting type of yoga exercise since it gives serenity and ecstasy to the body if mastered. Kundalini yoga techniques compose of unique poses, meditation and chanting. The chanting is considered as the most crucial part of this yoga exercise. The chanting provides the practitioner to experience inner peace and at the same time enhancing the body’s senses. Most Kundalini yoga sessions require the assistance of a professional guru. This yoga technique is an excellent choice for those who want to experience the soothing effect of concentrated meditation.



Longevity and Health Now

Guest Author: peterhutch


Cardio exercises are the best way to increase your heart rate and metabolism and if you train using intervals, you can keep your body burning fat even hours after finishing your workout. These exercises are one third of the factors to have a flat stomach (the others being strength training with stomach exercises and dieting).

The reality is, there actually is no number 1 cardio exercise. The most beneficial activity is the one you will do regularly. Therefore, finding out something you like is vital to accomplishing your weight loss dreams. That said, some workouts offer more intensity than others.

Cardio exercises are most important for anyone who is looking to pick up an exercise routine. Especially for a beginner exercises are most important as it will help to develop the stamina and the resistance that are required for other exercisers. The cardio exercises strengthen the muscles of the heart and of the lungs and make them more beneficial.

Cardio exercises may seem tough and boring. Some treadmills and stair climbers may claim to help you burn 1000 calories per hour, but you may not survive more than 30 seconds on them. Start with the activity which you can continue for a longer time period. Number of calories depends on your heart rate and fitness. A beginner will be able to burn 4-5 calories per minute but a fit person will burn 10-12 calories per minute. There are slow cardio exercises and high intensity cardio exercises and both burn your calories effectively.

It depends upon how fast you want results- Some cardio exercises are high intensity which would bring you faster results as compared to other cardio exercises. For example cardio dancing would provide you with a high intensity strong workout as compared to plain jogging. Therefore if you want fast results and are willing to put in the energy you must go for high intensity workouts.

There are a number of cardio exercises that are meant for the beginners. It depends on the person that which ones he want to perform and which ones are suitable for him. Cycling, running, swimming, aerobics, rowing, stair climbing and walking can be good examples of cardio exercises.

Those who spend longer hours will likely to burn more fat than those who stay for only 30 minutes of cardio exercises. The 10 common fat burning cardio exercises stated in this item have one common goal: to break down body fat and strengthen heart. Pick one that suits your capacity and body type.

A great way to get the best of both worlds, is to add some high-intensity interval training to your cardio workout. For example, do your low-intensity walking for about five minutes, next go into a higher-intensity jog for the next five minutes. Then return to walking until you catch your breath. Now break into a sprint for about a minutes and then walk again. Continue alternating between walking and running until the end of your workout, or for about 15 minutes.

Guest Author: Scott White


Jumping Rope

Jumping rope provides a number of health benefits: not only is it a great cardiovascular exercise that burns calories and fat, but it also develops good coordination between the hands and feet, as well as rhythm (muscle coordination). The greatest thing about jumping rope is that it is very inexpensive and you can do it almost anywhere.

Jumping rope has been proven to be a very effective method for burning fat. It has been shown to burn as many as 1,000 calories per hour. Wow, that is some serious caloric expenditure! Some of the best and leanest athletes swear by it. Movies often depict professional boxers skipping rope because it develops great cardiovascular endurance and stamina. It’s no wonder that boxers are some of the best-conditioned athletes.

Grab a jump rope and try it yourself!

Stand erect, but relaxed, when you jump.

Keep your knees slightly bent.

Look straight ahead, not at your feet.

Land on the balls of your feet, not on your heels.

Keep your arms fairly still, do not flail.

Start by jumping slowly, building up your speed so you can jump rope more quickly over time. See how many times you can jump without missing. Try to do 100 skips before you have to stop – then, beat that record the next time. Do 50 super fast jumps, followed by 50 slower jumps.

Jumping rope is great for the whole family. Have even more fun by getting some friends to play Double-Dutch. Jump rope for 30 minutes, five times a week, and watch your waistline shrink. Go invest in a jump rope today, and quickly get the body you want.

Jumping on a Trampoline

Jumping on a trampoline – yes, I said jumping on a trampoline – is a great workout. It not only develops excellent proprioception (body awareness), but it also burns a ton of fat and calories. And did you know that the rhythmic bouncing has a powerful effect on the lymphatic system, which builds a stronger immune system?

A trampoline provides exercise that are easy on the joints, very low in stress, and great for the body.

It’s easy to start a trampoline regimen. Buy a mini-trampoline for your living room and jump while watching your favorite TV show, or bounce to a trampoline workout video. For tons of family fun, buy a large trampoline for the backyard. Start jumping on your trampoline for 30 minutes a day and bounce away your pounds.

Outdoor Sprints

A Great workout: go outside and sprint as hard and fast as you possibly can. Once you feel like you’re going to collapse, stop; walk until you’re no longer huffing and puffing; then, sprint again. You might call this the ‘Forrest Gump’ Workout. Repeat as many times as you can, or until you complete a full 30 minutes of sprints and rest/walking.

This is a very intense workout, so you need a good level of fitness and conditioning before trying it. Sprint your butt off, walk until you catch your breath, then do it again. The harder you push yourself, combined with the faster and longer distance you run, the sooner you will get in shape and the more fat you will lose.

Outdoor sprints offer fat loss and a great body at no cost, so push harder than you ever have pushed before. If this sounds too difficult, consider the payoff. Any successful athlete will tell you they have put their bodies through this type of workout challenge.

If you are in good physical health, a sprint workout is extremely safe – so remember, just because you might feel like quitting doesn’t mean you have to. In other words, keep pushing and get your butt in shape, no whining, no complaining; just results, and a happy, more confident you.

Stadium Stairs

Running up stairs is a great no-cost, outdoor workout available at your local high school or college stadium. Sprint to the top of the stadium, then walk down the stairs. Remember, safety first! As soon as you get to the bottom, sprint back up to the top, and repeat.

This extremely high-intensity cardio program will burn fat quickly and send your heart rate through the roof. Sprinting stairs is a common exercise for all levels of athletes, and who among us doesn’t want the lean, muscular shape of an athlete? So stop complaining about not being able to afford the fancy equipment. Go to the stairs and run your butt off! You’ll get a tight, firm rear because you’ll lose that fat from your behind, and everywhere else, as you burn up the calories running up those stairs.