Many years ago, I forced myself to wake up early to go to the park to exercise before sending my little girl to kindergarten. It was not an easy thing for me because I like to sleep in. I'm sure many of you are like me. If you're a night owl, it is hard to get out of bed early in the morning.
However, there are benefits to working out in the morning.
A study conducted at Brigham Young University found that a 45 minutes morning exercise helped reduce food cravings in women. We all know that if you want to lose weight, you've got to control your food cravings.
Exercising in the morning also means less chance of you skipping the exercise session later on. I'm sure you agree that as the day progresses, you just get busier and busier. There are many things to do and places to go. Getting your exercise done and over with early in the day prevents you from canceling your workout session or social engagements.
If you live in places where it gets hot and humid as the sun rises, morning workouts help you escape the heat. You can exercise when it is still nice and cool.
My friends who work out in the morning always tell me that they feel more energized the rest of the day. I guess that can be true because exercise gets your blood moving. So your muscles, organs and other tissues are getting a healthy dose of oxygen and nutrients. That is one way to jump start your body for the day. However, when I was just beginning to exercise, I did not feel that energy boosting feeling. On the contrary, I felt really tired after that. Therefore, if you are just starting out on your exercise program, give your body some time to adjust. Once your body is used to the exercise, you will feel that increase in energy.
Although there are benefits to working out in the morning, it is important that you choose an exercise time that fits your schedule. Sleep is important too. If you plan to exercise early in the morning, make sure you hit the bed early the night before. Whether you exercise in the morning or late evening, the important thing is that you do it regularly.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Monday, September 10, 2012
Excess Calories Is Not The Real Reason For Overweight Teenagers
We always think that our teenage kids are obese because they eat too much. However, a recent study does not vindicate our opinion.
"For older children and teenagers, increasing involvement in physical activity may be more important to weight and health than is their child’s diet," said study researcher Asheley Cockrell Skinner, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
As parents, we need to educate our kids the importance of physcial activities. Not just any activity. But it should be one that can expend their calories.
Furthermore, we should teach them about healthy eating. Knowing when to stop eating is important too as this should prevent overeating.
Read more about teenage obesity here.
"For older children and teenagers, increasing involvement in physical activity may be more important to weight and health than is their child’s diet," said study researcher Asheley Cockrell Skinner, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
As parents, we need to educate our kids the importance of physcial activities. Not just any activity. But it should be one that can expend their calories.
Furthermore, we should teach them about healthy eating. Knowing when to stop eating is important too as this should prevent overeating.
Read more about teenage obesity here.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
How Is Your Body Similar To A Car
You want to lose weight, become leaner and improve your body's condition but do you know how to do it? If you understand how your body works, you can come up with a plan that will successfully get you to achieve your health goals.
[caption id="attachment_238" align="aligncenter" width="500"]
Your Body Is Like A Car | Photo Credit[/caption]
Todd Bassler, a certified personal trainer with Premier Fitness, compares our body to a car. Making this comparison should give you clearer picture on what your body needs to be in tip top condition.
First, he talks about fuel. The kind of fuel you put in your car determines how smooth it runs and the efficiency of the engine. Likewise, the food we eat is fuel for our body. Get the right kind of nutrition and your body will function efficiently. Your body can produce more energy if you eat the right combination of carbohydrates, protein and fat. You should know that a nutritional meal will give you more energy than junk food, even if the caloric count is the same.
Next, Todd compares a car's alignment to our joint stability and strength. Our skeleton will be pulled out of alignment if some muscles are tight while others are loose. This could lead to joint and back problems. To improve joint stability, strength training is essential. Stretching exercises to keep your muscles flexible is important too.
Last of all, revving up your car's motor is akin to your metabolism. The longer your rev up your car, the hotter the engine gets. Likewise, raising your metabolism will get you burning more calories. You can raise your metabolism by increasing your muscle mass. Muscle cells burn more calories than fat cells. So, gain more muscle through strength training or lifting weights.
Changing the way you eat will affect your metabolism too. Instead of the 3 standard meals per day, break your meals down to smaller portions but eat more often. Todd used the idea of building a campfire to help us understand this concept. A couple of sticks won't help to build a roaring fire. However, if you keep adding sticks to the fire every few hours, you'll have a nice bonfire for a long time. That's the reasoning to why eating smaller meals consistently can help you burn more calories.
How you exercise will also determine how fast you burn calories. The best is high intensity aerobic exercises as it ups your heart rate and that gets more calories burning. Todd recommends that you burn a minimum of 500 calories every hour of exercise.
[caption id="attachment_238" align="aligncenter" width="500"]
Your Body Is Like A Car | Photo Credit[/caption]Todd Bassler, a certified personal trainer with Premier Fitness, compares our body to a car. Making this comparison should give you clearer picture on what your body needs to be in tip top condition.
First, he talks about fuel. The kind of fuel you put in your car determines how smooth it runs and the efficiency of the engine. Likewise, the food we eat is fuel for our body. Get the right kind of nutrition and your body will function efficiently. Your body can produce more energy if you eat the right combination of carbohydrates, protein and fat. You should know that a nutritional meal will give you more energy than junk food, even if the caloric count is the same.
Next, Todd compares a car's alignment to our joint stability and strength. Our skeleton will be pulled out of alignment if some muscles are tight while others are loose. This could lead to joint and back problems. To improve joint stability, strength training is essential. Stretching exercises to keep your muscles flexible is important too.
Last of all, revving up your car's motor is akin to your metabolism. The longer your rev up your car, the hotter the engine gets. Likewise, raising your metabolism will get you burning more calories. You can raise your metabolism by increasing your muscle mass. Muscle cells burn more calories than fat cells. So, gain more muscle through strength training or lifting weights.
Changing the way you eat will affect your metabolism too. Instead of the 3 standard meals per day, break your meals down to smaller portions but eat more often. Todd used the idea of building a campfire to help us understand this concept. A couple of sticks won't help to build a roaring fire. However, if you keep adding sticks to the fire every few hours, you'll have a nice bonfire for a long time. That's the reasoning to why eating smaller meals consistently can help you burn more calories.
How you exercise will also determine how fast you burn calories. The best is high intensity aerobic exercises as it ups your heart rate and that gets more calories burning. Todd recommends that you burn a minimum of 500 calories every hour of exercise.
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