Archive for the 'Exercise' Category
Keeping Kids Active
It’s never too soon to start teaching fitness and play sports. Any child, whether they are crawling, walking novices, or big kids, can be athletic they don’t necessarily have to understand the rules of the game. All you do is make the activity age appropriate and you’re ready to hit the field, park, or playground. Starting sports activities young, also helps improve their hand-eye coordination as well and keeping their bodies in shape.
Crawlers. Join your child on all fours and “chase” him around the room and have him chase you. Sit down, with your legs spread, across from each other and roll the ball back and forth. Have races — roll the ball down a hall or across a room and “race” your crawler on all fours to get it.
Beginning Walkers. Build up their leg muscles by going for walks on different terrain — like sand, grass, hills, or pebbled beaches. Make sure you hold your toddler’s hand so they don’t fall. At this age, they’re ready to work out those arms by throwing and catching with a lightweight foam ball. They won’t be able to master the skill right away and the ball won’t hurt when they miss.
Big kids. By three years old your child should’ve mastered most of their motor skills and you can actually start introducing sports.
**Soccer. Kick the ball up and down a field and start teaching basic rules like not to use hands. You don’t have to buy expensive nets to teach your child how to kick a goal either. Stand with your legs spread apart and let your child practice kicking the ball between them.
**Baseball. Get a big oversized plastic bat and some whiffle balls. Focus on watching the ball and their stance — worry about running bases and what strike outs are for when they’ve mastered batting. Also work on throwing and catching. The rules can always be learned later.
**Tag. Nothing beats a good game of tag and the rules are simple enough that your big kid can grasp how a game of simple tag is played. “Tag you’re it.” Then explain that they have to now chase you. Three-feet-of-fun loves playing tag.
If you get your child started early they’ll always be healthy. It’s not about forcing them to learn sports or play if they don’t want to. It’s about finding games they like and have fun at that keeps them active and moving. Childhood obesity is on the rise but going to the park and running around for an hour might just be the cure.
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Losing Baby Weight
Losing the baby weight can be easier said than done especially because you are carting around a new baby everywhere you go. Yes, it’s true you burn more calories while breastfeeding and it can help you lose some weight, you still need to workout. Where do you find the time especially when you don’t trust a sitter with your little bundle of joy yet?
Being a new parent can zap your energy and sleep will take on a new precedent in your life that you didn’t even imagine. But did you know that even ten minutes here and there a few times a day is almost as good as a straight half hour and it sure beats doing nothing at all. Here are some great tips of what you can do with baby in tow to help work off the weight you gained while pregnant or the sympathy weight you gained while your partner was pregnant.
Hiking. If you love nature, it’s never too early to share the joy of it. Get a front carrier that makes sure your back and your baby is well supported, don the hiking boots, and find an easy trail to navigate. It helps if you like what you’re doing for exercise, it keeps you at it.
Walking. It always helps to change out of the ratty sweats you’ve been wearing for four days straight and go for a walk around the block. Brush you hair, change your clothes, put on your sneakers, and then put your baby in a stroller for a walk around the block. It gets you out of the house and exercise. There are also great mom-and-baby stroller exercise groups where you get to meet other moms and incorporate your baby into the routine.
Videos. Take advantage of all the sleeping your infant does and pop in a workout tape and get to sweating. This is especially nice when the weather is rainy, snowy, or otherwise too cold to take your new baby out into. Exercise videos are also a great way to squeeze in a quick workout in your busy schedule.
Exercise is a great way to fight postpartum depression because of the natural high the release of the endorphins gives you. So you’re not only losing the baby weight. Exercise is always better with a friend so grab your spouse, your partner, or a friend and get to stepping.
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Why Weight?
Toning your upper body is a topic in and of itself. Weights are one way to fight the arm flab but there are a couple weightless toning exercises that work and don’t require you go out and spend money on weights.
The Chest Expander
Target Area: Chest
Benefits: Firms up the breasts and loosens the shoulders
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, as with all standing exercises, and with a straight posture. Never lock the legs, so keep them bent slightly with your weight in your legs. Fold your arms in front of your chest with one arm over the other, not touching, and the hands pointed down.
Slowly, open your arms like an exaggerated shrug until your arms are straight out from your sides, forming a “T” with your hands facing up. You should be able to feel your chest expanding. Out and back in is one rep and you should do three sets of fifteen - twenty of them with a five second pause between each set.
The Push Up
Target Area: Chest, Shoulders, and Arms
Benefits: Firms up the breasts, targets all muscle groups in your arms, and strengthens shoulders.
To get the best results from push ups make sure you use the full range of motion. On the up, make sure your arms are locked and on the down let your nose touch the floor. It’s important to keep your back straight and support your weight in your arms and legs.
There are variations on the push up if you can’t do a full one.
Knees down. Set up like a regular push up but be on your knees instead. Start with your lower leg and feet on the floor and build up the arm muscles. Gradually you can work into having your feet off the ground while your knees are down. Finally, coming to a full push up.
Against the wall. For those who have bad backs and knees, a vertical push up against the wall. Start with a small angle of 20 to 30 degrees to the wall and do the push ups. They aren’t as weight intensive so you have to do more of them to be effective but still get the job done if you do them enough. Gradually, make the angle from the wall bigger until 75 to 85 degrees to the wall. This will put more weight into the push up and make it more effective and still not a strain on your back or knees.
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Attack of the Swimsuit Season
With swimsuit season upon us, we all go out of our way to try to look our bests. Around New Years it hits us that summer is fast approaching and that is why over half of us always make our New Years Resolution to be losing weight so we can look good in our bathing suits. The mistake is just thinking it’s only losing weight.
When you gain weight, your skin expands to accommodate it. Your skin is like a rubber band and after so many stretches it starts losing its elasticity. So if you just focus on losing weight and not on getting toned and being fit you aren’t going to look great in a bathing suit because your skin will not be taut and will be loose. Beat the sag and focus on not only eating healthy but working out. Here are some excellent ways for women to help their skin regain its firmness after the pounds come off. Don’t forget to always check with your physician before you start any exercise regimen.
Pilates. Keep your joints limber and your body taut with these exercises. They focus on strengthening your core muscles in your abdomen and ultimately help your posture, weight loss, and flexibility. A word of caution: make sure if you’re a beginner you get a video that has different levels of difficulty — you don’t want to hurt yourself.
Weights. One of the biggest complaints in women after they lose weights is having “bat wings” which is the skin the hangs from your upper arms and flaps around when you move. One of the best ways besides stretching to tone those muscles and tighten the skin is using weights. A common fear among women is that if they use weights that it’ll make them bulk up like Arnold Schwarzenegger. This is a myth. Women don’t bulk up just using weights, that takes hard core training, protein shakes, and in some cases hormones. If you get 2 to 3 pound weights and do a lot of repetitions you are doing strengthening not bulking up.
Aerobics. Cardio is a great way to help shed pounds. A lot of time what you think is just loose skin is really disguising fat that is still on your body. Aerobics are a great way to not only to keep you heart-healthy but help get those pesky hidden pounds off so your skin can start constricting again.
Crunches. Crunches are easier on your back than sit ups and just as effective. Depending on your fitness level, if you’re a beginner, start out with 20 in the morning and 20 in the evening and add 20 to that number each week. Do them in 20 rep increments with 5 seconds rest in between sets. Make sure that you don’t stress your neck and are using your stomach muscles to crunch and not your arms and neck.
Stretching. It’s always important to stretch before and after you exercise for warm up and cool down but it’s also very effective for flexibility and skin toning. Toned muscles equals toned skin.
Push ups. Push ups not only help with those pesky “bat wings” but they also use your stomach muscles too. You don’t have to do full push ups. They are just as effective if you do them on your knees instead of your feet. If you have back problems you can do them against the wall — start at a 10 degree angle and work your way to 60.
Water. Water is hugely important it keeps the skin hydrated and healthy. Did you know you burn more calories if you drink ice cold water than if you drink room temperature? When you’re making a life style change every calorie burn counts. The recommended amounts of water vary between 6 and 8 - 8 ounce glasses of water a day. The easiest way to know if you’re drinking enough water is if your urine has color or not. If it does, you aren’t getting enough water in your diet.
One thing I’ve learned is that no matter what a lotion or body butter says it can’t erase stretch marks or tone skin. The vitamin D doesn’t hurt, helping to keep the skin soft and supple, but the only way to firm up skin is the old fashion way. You have to work at it. If you do the exercise while you drop the weight you firm your skin as you shrink and you have less excess skin in the end. But even if you dropped all the weight first, surgery isn’t the only answer; you can still work that skin out and get it back into shape. It may never look like it did when you were in your teens but eventually, with hard work, it will look good anyway.
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