exercise machine

So you’ve decided to start a fitness program, and you want to know what the best exercise machine is? I bet you’ve done some research on the web, and you’re more confused now than when you started!

That’s because almost everyone who’s selling exercise machines and other fitness equipment is going to tell you theirs is the best, and they will probably have studies, research or testimonials to back them up. And if the product is being sold on TV, they’ll probably dazzle you with the bodies of fitness models, both male and female, using their equipment. But you do know these people had these physiques before they ever set eyes on that particular piece of equipment, right?

If you’re going to try and find yourself the perfect exercise machine, you have to ask yourself a few questions first, the main one being “what do I want from this equipment?”. And you need to be specific. None of this “I want to lose weight”, or “I want to get in shape” stuff. Nope, you need to hone in on the goal – “I want to have a 28 inch waist”, or “I want to gain fifteen pounds of muscle and lose twenty pounds of fat”. Then you can make some educated decisions.

Another question you need to ask yourself is whether you want an aerobic training machine or a piece of strength training equipment. If you really want to get in shape, you should be doing both – but that doesn’t mean you need to buy two separate machines. More on that later. Among aerobic machines, you’ll find the treadmill, elliptical machine, stepper or stairclimber, rowing machines, recumbent exercise bikes, spinning bikes and more. Strength training machines include multi-gyms, power racks, half racks, smith machines, and separate machines that concentrate on just about every individual muscle group in your body.

How many of these machines do you need? None, really. If you have the funds and the space for them, then they can make exercise more convenient. But you can get a great strength training workout with a bench and some dumbbells and/or a bar and weight plates. If for some reason, you can’t swing that – not a problem. You can do bodyweight exercises such as pushups, dips, pullups, situps, crunches etc. You might think these are too easy to build any real strength or muscle, but there are ways to make them hard enough for even the strongest person. We don’t have room to go into that here, but do a little research on the web for bodyweight exercises. You might be surprised at what you find. When it comes to your aerobic workout, you can jog, run, walk briskly, jump rope, do jumping jacks, or create your own interval workout from conditioning exercises like the crab walk, bear walk, walking lunge, jumping jacks, etc. Do a few sets of those without stopping and see whether or not it gets your heart rate up! Once again, if you don’t know what these exercises are, just do a web search.

But I want an exercise machine! Ok, if you say so. When the elliptical trainer first became popular about ten years ago, there were some studies showing that you could get a better workout on that machine than if you invested the same amount of effort on the treadmill. Level of perceived exertion, they call it. But then some other studies seemed to show that it was really the treadmill that allowed you to get equal benefits while feeling like you were cruising a little bit. So where am I going with all this contradictory research? Well, the truth of the matter is that this research doesn’t really matter that much to you. Or to me. Because if I hate to sit on a bike seat, it doesn’t matter if a study comes out tomorrow saying that the exercise bike provides a workout ten times better than any other piece of aerobic equipment. If I’m not going to sit on that seat, I’d be stupid to go out and buy a bike. Actually, I own a spinning bike and love it, so that wasn’t a very realistic example, but I think you get the point 🙂

Experiment to see what works for you. Try a spinning class. Try jogging in the park. Try pushups and pullups, or a power rack, or bench presses. Hop on the elliptical at the gym, or find a friend who has one. Try them all to see what you like, and then build a balanced strength and aerobic program from those options. That’s what’ll keep you exercising consistently, and doing it consistently is the main key to getting the results that you want.

Drinking Water

Drinking water or potable water is water of sufficiently high quality that it can be consumed or used without risk of immediate or long term harm. In most developed countries, the water supplied to households, commerce and industry is all of drinking water standard, even though only a very small proportion (often 5% or less) is actually consumed or used in food preparation.

Over large parts of the world, humans have inadequate access to potable water and use sources contaminated with disease vectors, pathogens or unacceptable levels of dissolved chemicals or suspended solids. Such water is not potable and drinking or using such water in food preparation leads to widespread acute and chronic illness and is a major cause of death in many countries.

Typically, water supply networks deliver potable water, whether it is to be used for drinking, washing or landscape irrigation. One counterexample is urban China, where drinking water can optionally be delivered by a separate tap.

Swimming is good exercise (that’s obvious). Swimming is a lifetime sport that benefits the body and the whole person! But what is it that makes swimming good, specifically? That depends on what you are trying to accomplish.

Swimming is a healthy activity that can be continued for a lifetime – and the health benefits swimming offers for a lifetime are worth the effort it takes to get to the pool.

Why do you swim? For the health benefits to your heart and lungs? For the chance to be with some of your friends at the pool? Because, in your case, running everyday hurts? Because you like the feeling of floating and sliding through the water? Or is it something else?If you are looking for a break from the heat of the summer, then a dip in the water is exactly what you need; swimming is a way for you to cool off. It fills a wonderful recreational need for individuals and families, from beach and pool fun to water parks.

Maybe you are a runner, training on a regular basis, and want to find an activity that keeps your heart rate up but takes some of the impact stress off of your body. Perhaps you have been doing some other form of land exercise, and now an injury prevents you from putting weight on a knee or ankle. Swimming can help you. Kicking workouts, water aerobics, pool running, or a regular swimming workout can all give you a great exercise session without the weight of your body pounding you with each move.

Regular swimming builds endurance, muscle strength and cardio-vascular fitness. It can serve as a cross-training element to your regular workouts. Before a land workout, you can use the pool for a warm-up session. Swimming with increasing effort to gradually increase your heart rate and stimulate your muscle activity is easily accomplished in the water. After a land workout, swimming a few laps can help you cool-down, move blood through your muscles to help them recover, and help you relax as you glide through the water.

Swimming does burn calories at a rate of about 3 calories a mile per pound of bodyweight. If you weigh 150 lbs. and it takes you 30 minutes to swim one mile (1,760 yards or 1,609 meters), then you will be using about 900 calories in one hour. However, many swimmers do not swim that quickly, and many cannot swim for that distance or duration.

Spending time in a group workout, whether water aerobics or a master’s swim practice, is a great social outlet. Exchanging stories, challenging each other, and sharing in the hard work make swimming with others a rewarding experience.

There are other psychological benefit to swimming, if you allow it to occur. Relax and swim with a very low effort. Let your mind wander, focusing on nothing but the rhythm of your stroke. This form of meditation can help you gain a feeling of well-being, leaving your water session refreshed and ready to go on with the rest of your day. Many swimmers find an in-direct benefit form swimming. They develop life skills such as sportsmanship, time-management, self-discipline, goal-setting, and an increased sense of self-worth through their participation in the sport. Swimmers seem to do better in school, in general terms, than non-swimmers as a group.

One thing swimming is not good for is losing a lot of weight. The on-line Merck Manual explains that swimming is not the best way to lose weight due to the cooling effects of being in the water. While you do use a lot of calories swimming, once you get out of the pool much of that calorie burning stops. Doing land based exercise like running or cycling may use about the same amount of calorie per hour as swimming, but once you stop exercising the land-based workout usually leads to continued increase in calorie use for as long as 18 hours after the workout. Why? Because when you are in the pool you don’t heat up as much as you do on land, and your body does not have to work to cool you down as much once the exercise session concludes. Swimming does exercise almost the entire body – heart, lungs, and muscles – with very little joint strain. It is great for general fitness, just not a great way to drop excess pounds.

And I didn’t mention the neat things chlorine and sun can do for the texture and color of your hair…

Swim On!

Credit to About.com

Diet

There are many diets on the market these days and most people have tried more than one. The Zone Diet has been around for a number of years and is still being chosen by those looking to lose weight and improve their health.

History of the Zone diet

The Zone diet was designed by Barry Sears, a former biochemist at M.I.T. He says that the problem with our lives revolves around eating habits. If we were to eat in “the Zone” we would be healthier, not have to contend with obesity and live a longer, more meaningful life.

His principle is based on the “40-30-30” rule of eating. Your body needs a moderate amount of protein, more carbohydrates and some healthy fat at every meal. Eating foods in strict proportions makes you feel better and reduces future disease processes from entering your body.

How it works

The Zone diet claims to be different from other diet plans out there because it doesn’t advocate one food group over the others. Diets that limit or eliminate a particular food group miss the point of proper body nutrition. The human body needs all types of foods to survive and thrive.

Sleep

Think of your body as a big machine working all day long. After a hard day, your “body machine” needs to recharge. Sleep is the recharge time. Unlike any machine, your body never turns completely off. The brain is still sending messages and screening out unimportant noises so you don’t wake up at every cricket. Your heart is still beating too. It’s things like these that work 24/7.

Sleep is important to recharge your body and it’s also important for your brain. No one is sure what the brain does when you’re asleep, but some scientists think that sleep is the time when the brain sorts through and stores information, solves problems, and replaces chemicals .

Here are some great tips to help you catch yourself

exercise well to improve physical capability and efficiency particularly the blood circulation as well as the heart and lung working systems.
The best way of doing exercises is to