The Untold Secrets To Improving Your Fitness

You might disagree with me on this but please hear me out "The best and the
only exercise program for you is the one you will do!!" The next time you
start an exercise program or eating plan take note of the following
guidelines and if they don't stack up don't put yourself through the hassle.

You need something to stick to for the rest of your life, never start a
program that will set you up to fail. It must be interesting and fun or you
will never stick with it.
Below you will find some very interesting fitness tips that will keep you
right on track.

Abdominal Training - The safest and most productive way to train the abs is
to use the brace and hollow technique. Try standing normally, breathing
normally, now suck your stomach in towards your spine and hold, remember to
breath normally, hold for seven seconds and release, now do this exercise 10
times. This is a basic isometric exercise that helps strengthen the abs and
the muscular girdle around your waist.

Fast Walking - Research shows that regular, brisk walking is one of the best
exercises we can do for overall fitness. It suits people of all ages and
fitness levels, it's easy to get started and there's no complicated
technique to earn or equipment to buy. Walking is an excellent way to get
fit because it uses nearly all the muscles and, as you have to carry your
body weight, its relatively strenuous. It's also safer on the joints and the
back than most other forms of exercise because you're not jumping up and
down, so the impact is low.

Try Boxing For Fitness - Today, boxing is recognized as a health promoting
exercise program that provides a total workout for you're cardiovascular and
endurance systems. The exercises can be done with or without equipment. If
you want to buy equipment then a heavy punching bag and boxing mitts
available at any sports store for between $50.00 and $100.00.

A good skipping rope can be bought very cheaply also. Other benefits of
boxing include, increased stamina, increased strength, speed and
coordination and used for reducing aggression. Sports scientists agree that
boxing training is one of the best exercises because it conditions the total
body.

An additional advantage of boxing is it promotes a persons well being by
strengthening self-discipline. Combined with strength training,
cardiovascular work it becomes the total package for self-defence and total
fitness.

Checking Your Pulse - 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. This can also be conducted during the exercise if safely
possible. For a more precise reading of a pulse rate purchase an electronic
device from any sports store.

Age Adjusted Heart Rate Work - So now you have your exercising pulse rate or
heartbeats per minute. Concentrate at the upper end of 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% 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. Having reached 20 minutes at 70% and you are comfortable with
that then work to increase the heart rate up to 80%.

Try Active Isolated Stretching (AI) - AI stretching does what stretching is
supposed to do, it transports oxygen to sore muscles and quickly removes
toxins so recovery is faster. Finally it also works as a deep massage
technique because it activates muscle fibres during the actual stretch.
Isolate the muscle or group you want to stretch then contract the muscle
opposite. This causes the isolated muscle or group to relax straight away
and when it does it is ready to stretch.

Gently and quickly stretch the isolated muscle until it can't be stretched
any further; now give yourself a gentle pull with your hands or rope. Go as
far as you can and then hold the stretch for no more than 2 seconds then
release, do this for a total of 5 repetitions on the isolated muscle or
group.

So there you have it, you require a program that is realistic for you now, a
program that is time efficient for your time schedule and your life other
wise it will not be followed.
http://www.maximumfitness.com/news.php

Kate's Special Recipe for Fitness for the exercise impaired:

Walk a little every day: try five to ten minutes gentle walking to start
with. Wear good protective foot gear that cushions and supports the
foot, and choose a cool time of day: early morning is best! Find
somewhere nice to walk, and borrow a dog if you need an excuse. Start
with a an elderly Yorkie and work up to an energetic young collie and a
dozen sticks/balls to chuck. Also borrow an 11 YO boy (as well as the
dog!) when you get really fit...

Slowly, as you lose weight, you can increase both the speed and the
duration of your walks. I started with it taking an hour to do two
miles on the flat, on paved paths in trainers. Now five to eight miles
across rough and humpy North Downs chalkland is possible, and the paved
walk to get the boy from school takes 30 minutes, including nagging him
to collect all his kit together! And I get to borrow a nice dog for a
whole week next month!

Swim! Swimming is great exercise for the whole body: it allows you to
get good aerobic exercise without excess stress on joints and muscles.
I started with 30 lengths of our local pool in an hour, with frequent
five minute breaks to get my breath back. Now I can do 60 lengths, the
stops are much shorter, and I cram 70 in on a good day! And this at
pushing 50, with fibromyalgia and RSI in both shoulders and one wrist...
Swimming is also great at toning up flabby muscles, and meaty muscles
burn more energy than fat... You might weigh the same, but you'll LOOK
so much better!

Dance! Dancing is fun, and anything from a slow and gentle waltz to a
vigorous morris dance with bells and sticks will be good for you. The
fibro means I fall over rather a lot when I dance, so I prefer swimming
and walking.

Stretching exercises: these help to strengthen and tone things like back
and leg muscles, leading to stronger muscles and better posture. Better
posture means fewer injuries and less stiffness. There are some
excellent stretches that can be done sitting down, so you can exercise
while you type! I got my best stretching exercises from my pain
management course, and when I can't get exercise by walking and
swimming, I got back to them. Some are great to do sitting in the car
on long journeys: they help keep the lymph nodes working and help to
lessen or prevent swelling feet and journey induced water retention.

Water! Don't forget to water yourself as you exercise, or all the
goodness of the exercise will be lost to dehydration!

Personally, I CBA with hectoring classes, and am warned against high
impact stuff, but a daily doze of something gentle keeps me moving. It
would be too easy to let the pain take over and sit forever, but that
would just make everything worse. The thing is, you need to find
exercise that you LIKE! If you don't like it, you won't do it. If you
do, you will.
--
Kate XXXXXX R.C.T.Q Madame Chef des Trolls
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.katedicey.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

all good advice, Lee
Kate Dicey wrote in message
...
Kate's Special Recipe for Fitness for the exercise impaired:

Walk a little every day: try five to ten minutes gentle walking to start
with. Wear good protective foot gear that cushions and supports the
foot, and choose a cool time of day: early morning is best! Find
somewhere nice to walk, and borrow a dog if you need an excuse. Start
with a an elderly Yorkie and work up to an energetic young collie and a
dozen sticks/balls to chuck. Also borrow an 11 YO boy (as well as the
dog!) when you get really fit...

Slowly, as you lose weight, you can increase both the speed and the
duration of your walks. I started with it taking an hour to do two
miles on the flat, on paved paths in trainers. Now five to eight miles
across rough and humpy North Downs chalkland is possible, and the paved
walk to get the boy from school takes 30 minutes, including nagging him
to collect all his kit together! And I get to borrow a nice dog for a
whole week next month!

Swim! Swimming is great exercise for the whole body: it allows you to
get good aerobic exercise without excess stress on joints and muscles.
I started with 30 lengths of our local pool in an hour, with frequent
five minute breaks to get my breath back. Now I can do 60 lengths, the
stops are much shorter, and I cram 70 in on a good day! And this at
pushing 50, with fibromyalgia and RSI in both shoulders and one wrist...
Swimming is also great at toning up flabby muscles, and meaty muscles
burn more energy than fat... You might weigh the same, but you'll LOOK
so much better!

Dance! Dancing is fun, and anything from a slow and gentle waltz to a
vigorous morris dance with bells and sticks will be good for you. The
fibro means I fall over rather a lot when I dance, so I prefer swimming
and walking.

Stretching exercises: these help to strengthen and tone things like back
and leg muscles, leading to stronger muscles and better posture. Better
posture means fewer injuries and less stiffness. There are some
excellent stretches that can be done sitting down, so you can exercise
while you type! I got my best stretching exercises from my pain
management course, and when I can't get exercise by walking and
swimming, I got back to them. Some are great to do sitting in the car
on long journeys: they help keep the lymph nodes working and help to
lessen or prevent swelling feet and journey induced water retention.

Water! Don't forget to water yourself as you exercise, or all the
goodness of the exercise will be lost to dehydration!

Personally, I CBA with hectoring classes, and am warned against high
impact stuff, but a daily doze of something gentle keeps me moving. It
would be too easy to let the pain take over and sit forever, but that
would just make everything worse. The thing is, you need to find
exercise that you LIKE! If you don't like it, you won't do it. If you
do, you will.
--
Kate XXXXXX R.C.T.Q Madame Chef des Trolls
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.katedicey.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

Great advice...I do think that in order to succeed you must consider
exercise as important as changing your eating habits...They work best in
tandem...For me 5 days a week I go to the gym...It's not optional...I'm
lucky that all my children are grown and I have the time to do it...I know
not everyone is this lucky...When I started I was lucky to do 15 minutes at
2.5 miles per hour...Now I do 4.5 miles in a little more than an hour...I'm
amazed at what I am now able to do...The combination of exercise and diet
change has worked wonders...I see many people who say they just can't
exercise...Your cheating yourself and you will see much more consistent
weight loss doing both...Granted it isn't easy to get started but in time it
becomes easier...Kate's advice is right on...GG

"Kate Dicey" wrote in message
...
Kate's Special Recipe for Fitness for the exercise impaired:

Walk a little every day: try five to ten minutes gentle walking to start
with. Wear good protective foot gear that cushions and supports the foot,
and choose a cool time of day: early morning is best! Find somewhere
nice to walk, and borrow a dog if you need an excuse. Start with a an
elderly Yorkie and work up to an energetic young collie and a dozen
sticks/balls to chuck. Also borrow an 11 YO boy (as well as the dog!)
when you get really fit...

Slowly, as you lose weight, you can increase both the speed and the
duration of your walks. I started with it taking an hour to do two miles
on the flat, on paved paths in trainers. Now five to eight miles across
rough and humpy North Downs chalkland is possible, and the paved walk to
get the boy from school takes 30 minutes, including nagging him to collect
all his kit together! And I get to borrow a nice dog for a whole week
next month!

Swim! Swimming is great exercise for the whole body: it allows you to get
good aerobic exercise without excess stress on joints and muscles. I
started with 30 lengths of our local pool in an hour, with frequent five
minute breaks to get my breath back. Now I can do 60 lengths, the stops
are much shorter, and I cram 70 in on a good day! And this at pushing 50,
with fibromyalgia and RSI in both shoulders and one wrist... Swimming is
also great at toning up flabby muscles, and meaty muscles burn more energy
than fat... You might weigh the same, but you'll LOOK so much better!

Dance! Dancing is fun, and anything from a slow and gentle waltz to a
vigorous morris dance with bells and sticks will be good for you. The
fibro means I fall over rather a lot when I dance, so I prefer swimming
and walking.

Stretching exercises: these help to strengthen and tone things like back
and leg muscles, leading to stronger muscles and better posture. Better
posture means fewer injuries and less stiffness. There are some excellent
stretches that can be done sitting down, so you can exercise while you
type! I got my best stretching exercises from my pain management course,
and when I can't get exercise by walking and swimming, I got back to them.
Some are great to do sitting in the car on long journeys: they help keep
the lymph nodes working and help to lessen or prevent swelling feet and
journey induced water retention.

Water! Don't forget to water yourself as you exercise, or all the
goodness of the exercise will be lost to dehydration!

Personally, I CBA with hectoring classes, and am warned against high
impact stuff, but a daily doze of something gentle keeps me moving. It
would be too easy to let the pain take over and sit forever, but that
would just make everything worse. The thing is, you need to find exercise
that you LIKE! If you don't like it, you won't do it. If you do, you
will.
--
Kate XXXXXX R.C.T.Q Madame Chef des Trolls
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.katedicey.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

Gary G wrote:

Great advice...I do think that in order to succeed you must consider
exercise as important as changing your eating habits...They work best in
tandem...For me 5 days a week I go to the gym...It's not optional...I'm
lucky that all my children are grown and I have the time to do it...I know
not everyone is this lucky...When I started I was lucky to do 15 minutes at
2.5 miles per hour...Now I do 4.5 miles in a little more than an hour...I'm
amazed at what I am now able to do...The combination of exercise and diet
change has worked wonders...I see many people who say they just can't
exercise...Your cheating yourself and you will see much more consistent
weight loss doing both...Granted it isn't easy to get started but in time it
becomes easier...Kate's advice is right on...GG

It's amazing what counts as exercise, too!

45 minutes in the loft shifting heavy boxes of fabrics earns me 3
exercise points! I use at least as much energy doing that as I do
swimming for the same period of time... Great aerobic exercise (heart
rate goes up and I get PUFFED!), as well as good stretching and muscle
work. Those boxes weigh between 20 and 30 lbs... And half the time I'm
ballanced on rafters, not standing on proper floor! It's astonishing
just how much fabric you have to shift to get to that bit of silk crepe
de chine that's in the bottom box of a six high stack, three stacks
back, and all you want is a bit left over from making a skirt with which
to trim a hat!

Galloping up and down the stairs for 15 minutes shifting fabric back up
to be packed away in the loft gets me another one... Ha! A 40lb bag of
fabric takes a bit of shifting in this heat, especially up a ladder into
a baking hot loft! It can wait for another day for all the bits to be
dispersed between the various boxes up there... or maybe until
Wednesday when its supposed to cool down again.

--
Kate XXXXXX R.C.T.Q Madame Chef des Trolls
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.katedicey.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

Gary G wrote:

Great advice...I do think that in order to succeed you must consider
exercise as important as changing your eating habits...They work best in
tandem...For me 5 days a week I go to the gym...It's not optional...I'm

I have been thinking about joining a gym. I just don't know, for myself,
if I can justify the cost since I'm limited in what I can do. I have very
bad lungs and without one of my two different inhalers I cannot function at
all.

Diogenes

Yoga, pilates, low impact low intensity cardio.. swimming..

you start somewhere and see where you can go.

Will~
"diogenes" wrote in message
...
Gary G wrote:

Great advice...I do think that in order to succeed you must consider
exercise as important as changing your eating habits...They work best in
tandem...For me 5 days a week I go to the gym...It's not optional...I'm

I have been thinking about joining a gym. I just don't know, for myself,
if I can justify the cost since I'm limited in what I can do. I have very
bad lungs and without one of my two different inhalers I cannot function
at
all.

Diogenes

On Mon, 17 Jul 2006 17:58:53 +1000, "Gary Matthews"
articles@maximumfitness wrote:

You might disagree with me on this but please hear me out "The best and the
only exercise program for you is the one you will do!!"

Good advice.

Exercise is a great idea, but don't expect to lose much weight doing
exercise. It's benefit is in fitness not weight loss. Both are of
course important. You could add some anaerobic exercise (weights or
maybe sprints) if you want to make more of an impact on your weight.

Ray

diogenes wrote:

Gary G wrote:


Great advice...I do think that in order to succeed you must consider
exercise as important as changing your eating habits...They work best in
tandem...For me 5 days a week I go to the gym...It's not optional...I'm


I have been thinking about joining a gym. I just don't know, for myself,
if I can justify the cost since I'm limited in what I can do. I have very
bad lungs and without one of my two different inhalers I cannot function at
all.

Diogenes

Have a natter with your quack and see what they recommend as an exercise
regime. Then have a natter with the gym and see what they can offer
along those lines. My problem with the gym is that I cannot do high
impact stuff, and they seem to offer little else. There's no way I'm
going to get the bus or a lift into town to walk on a treadmill when we
have public footpaths through beautiful countryside right on my doorstep!

--
Kate XXXXXX R.C.T.Q Madame Chef des Trolls
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.katedicey.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

I disagree...Without question anaerobic exercise increase's weight
loss...The combination of exercise (done properly) and change in diet will
greatly enhance weight loss...I have no idea of the percentage of benefit
but I believe it is substantial...I can Google it and find websites offering
stats but have learned to glean information carefully...But speaking for
myself It has been incredible...One without the other is cheating
yourself...Normal eating as well as regular exercise are essential to
lifetime success and change...IMHO
"rmr" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 17 Jul 2006 17:58:53 +1000, "Gary Matthews"
articles@maximumfitness wrote:

You might disagree with me on this but please hear me out "The best and
the
only exercise program for you is the one you will do!!"

Good advice.

Exercise is a great idea, but don't expect to lose much weight doing
exercise. It's benefit is in fitness not weight loss. Both are of
course important. You could add some anaerobic exercise (weights or
maybe sprints) if you want to make more of an impact on your weight.

Ray