Students Of Success

Exercising During Commercials

I’m getting up an hour earlier these days. At first I said I’d never be able to do it: I was already sleep deprived rising at 6 AM how would I ever get up at 5 AM? I’d never be able to get to sleep earlier (this is still true), and a hundred other reasons why it wouldn’t work. And then I tried it, and it does work. I’m still sleep deprived, but that extra hour in the morning is a Godsend. I love it.

How do you Present Ideas to Yourself?

So why did it take me so long to “just do it?” Probably the way I presented the idea to myself. Notice I used words such as “never” and “already” as in “I’m already sleep deprived.” I kept telling myself it wouldn’t work, that it was a bad idea and until the first time I actually tried it, I secretly believed when the alarm rang, I’d just turn it off and go back to sleep. I’d forgotten how much I enjoy getting up early. Mornings are my best time of day. I’m the most productive in the morning so it makes sense to give myself an extra hour.

I Don’t Have Time to Exercise

Sometimes a small adjustment in how you run your day can help enormously in freeing up some time for things like exercise. “I don’t have time.” I hear that a lot, but if asked, “What’s your favorite TV show?” most people can list a few — hours spent sitting and watching. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying some TV, but there’s also no reason you can’t exercise during the commercials.

When I was a kid and it was my turn to clean the house, I made a game out of it. I loved TV, watching probably six or seven hours a day then, so missing a show to clean was not going to happen. So I’d clean during commercials. Today there are over 20 minutes of commercial time during each hour of the show. That’s plenty of time for getting things done. As soon as the show broke for commercial, I’d jump from my chair and dash to wherever I’d left off. I’d bring in laundry and fold it while I watched. I’d iron in front of the TV, I’d bring in piles of miscellaneous debris from other rooms and sort it into piles for where it belonged, then on the next commercial I’d go put things away.

I’d move from one room to the next, carrying things that belonged there with me, and returning with things that did not. Eventually the house was clean, and hadn’t missed my programs.

If you enjoy TV, consider how much time there is available during the commercials and start using it. Whether for exercise or cleaning, or anything else you need to get done: responding to correspondence, studying, paying bills, grooming the cat - there are lots of little chores we need to do, no reason we can’t carry them into our TV room and get them done.

Turn TV Time into “Get Fit” Time

You can turn your TV room into a fitness room easily. A cushy floor mat, if the room isn’t carpeted. A pair of dumbbells or two. Empty bleach jugs make good dumbbells, but be careful if they are only partially full of sand, dirt or water (whatever you use to fill them with something to create the weight), as if the weight shifts during the movement you could injure yourself.

Canned food make good homemade weights. I have half pound and one pound cans, heavier can may be too difficult to hold. Go on a scouting expedition around your house and see what you find that could work as weights then store them behind the couch and start using them. Twice a week or three times, consistently, and you’ll start noticing a change within a short time - usually in a month or six weeks definitely.

My first exercise equipment was a pair of dumbbells, a one pound and a five pound set. You don’t have to have a fully equipped home gym to exercise at home.

Push ups are an incredible exercise, men’s and women’s style. No special equipment needed, just get on the floor and start. Standing squats (pretend you are going to sit in a chair, then stop at about or before chair level, and return to standing straight). There are even books written for exercising on the commercial breaks. I put together a page with a few of the books I’ve found which present this concept such as “The Commercial Break Workout: Trim and Tone Two Minutes at a Time” by Linda Buch and Seth Anne Snider-Copley.

Grab some Extra Minutes and Get Started

I wanted to get up an hour earlier so I could work out in the mornings. When I exercise first thing, nothing else interferes. No matter what comes up, it doesn’t take away from my fitness program. Unexpected calls or invitations, traffic jams, “There’s no bread,” yells my son who still thinks it’s my job to keep the pantry stocked, so I need to run to the store, nothing ruins my day’s plan to ride my bike or lift weights. The consistency of a regular exercise program just makes me feel good - you might find it does the same for you, and if you have had a difficult time finding time - make time. Grab some extra minutes during commercials on TV, get up earlier, find whatever works for you. Write it on your calendar, make a date with yourself, and get started.

Kathryn Martyn, Master NLP Practitioner, EFT counselor, and author of Changing Beliefs, Your First Step to Permanent Weight Loss. Visit OneMoreBite-Weightloss.com to learn how she lost 80 pounds over 20 years ago and kept it off, and how you can do the same.

I’ve pretty much always subscribed to the R.I.C.E (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) theory to treat an injury – but what about if you’re in the middle of an ultra-endurance event, your support crew is half a day away and you need to keep going before it gets dark.

Or what if you have 60 students booked in for a martial arts seminar and they want to see you in action – not the right time to say, “sorry, I seemed to have a cramp and want some ice”.

And not the time to stop and put your feet up.

Says Sports Nutritionist and Trainer Richard Renton on the subject of hot and cold treatment, “If you’re done for the event then putting an ice pack on the muscle and alternating with a hot pack is fine. However if you’re going to continue to perform, then keep the muscle as warm as possible.

If you want to continue to perform and put ice on an injury and keep using it, then during a performance you’re going to create more damage – so applying heat is the thing to do.

After an event, I like to apply ice for the first three hours and then alternate with heat, depending on the extent of the injury – to help with recovery”.

Eastern medicine certainly agrees with this approach with it’s use of moxa, acupressure and acupuncture techniques designed to stimulate blood flow (and generate heat) to an area.

Best advice for runners, sportspeople and anyone who suffers cramps at night is to have a tube arnica gel, tiger balm or ‘CM Cream’ on hand as part of a treatment plan to keep you going.

When I am teaching or training other people I always have a small pot of tiger balm on hand. I’ve found in the case of cramp that once you have squeezed and then stretched the muscle to get it going, a little tiger balm will help increase the blood flow to the affected area.

This cramp relief tactic of applying heat to the area before ice also seems to reduce recovery time. After the event is complete and it’s time to really rest the muscle, follow up with ice treatment.

Dave, a friend of mine who works as a massage therapist in Tasmania has a passion for ultra-endurance events – working on them not competing. It’s a great opportunity to get out of the office and catch some of the great scenery ‘Tassie’ has to offer.

There’s an amazing cross country mountain bike race that’s held annually and goes over 4 days (called the Wildside MTB) one of the chief complaints of the competitors is, you guessed it, leg cramps and muscle soreness.

Taking advantage of the surroundings, Dave gets all the competitors wanting a massage (that’s about all of them) to wade into the icy waters of their lake and beach-side camping areas before he treats them. He says the combination of cold treatment followed by therapeutic massage does wonders for rejuvenating cramped and tired muscles.

After an event (and if you don’t have a mountain lake handy), is to get a paper cup or plastic cup that holds about 120 ml, fill it with water and put it in your freezer and you make a great big popsicle that you can hold on to. After you race or train you peel the paper off and rub the ice on your cramped muscle and it’s an effective and inexpensive way to ice down.

For heat, tiger balm, arnica and CM cream are lightweight and easy to carry in a running pouch, can be purchased commercially for a reasonable price and will act as a lubricant for massage and to assist with initial stretch and recovery in the event of a cramp.

Don’t leave home without them!

Paul Newland is a health and nutrition consultant, trainer, martial arts instructor, commercial helicopter pilot and author. His Ultimate Cramp Busting Guide is one of the internet’s leading health information books and is the definitive guide to preventing, treating and curing cramps associated with exercise. In the Ultimate Cramp Busting Guide Newland speaks with 6 health, sports, nutrition, medical and complimentary health care professionals and explains why you get cramps, the best ways to treat them and how to prevent them from happening again.

It seems like I’m always telling people that the best way to get fit, boost your metabolism, and constantly burn fat is to make sure that you work out frequently. But much of the time, I think that this is interpreted as “working out five times a week”, or making sure to “get to the gym every day”. While this is a great habit to have, there is a way to incorporate frequency into your program at an even more practical level. For example, a great nutritional practice is to eat frequently, but that doesn’t mean that you try to eat “every day”. You should actually be eating up to 8-10 times per day. Guess what? Exercise is no different. This may cause some jaws to drop, but there is absolutely no reason why you should not be exercising up to 8-10 times per day!

Of course, this sounds absurd and extreme. No one in their right mind is going to come to the gym 8-10 times per day. The good news is that you don’t have to. A great secret to a lean and muscular body is to “grease the groove”. This means that constantly, throughout the entire day, you have small activities that you do to shoot your heart rate up just a little bit. This doesn’t mean you have to breathe hard, sweat or even spend 5 minutes in a routine outside of your normal daily workout at the gym or elsewhere. It just means that you have *something*, some set of rules that you follow, to force you to do just a little bit, now and then, throughout the whole day.

This is where the Three Rule concept fits in. This week, try something new. Give yourself three rules, based on three different exercises. In this case, let’s say the three exercises are: 1) a regular or knee pushup; 2) a body weight squat; and 3) a crunch. The next step is to generate a quantifiable goal that you will reach with each rule. Pick something that is achievable, let’s say 30 pushups, 30 body weight squats, and 45 crunches. So Rule 1 is that each day, you must complete 30 pushups, Rule 2 is that each day you must complete 30 body weight squats, and Rule 3 is that is that each day you must complete 45 crunches. Your regular workout in the gym does not count as a time to complete your three rules. You must finish them sometime outside of your normal workout.

So here’s how a sample day for a working professional might look. In the morning, before your cup of coffee or breakfast, you complete 10 pushups and 10 body weight squats. Then, in the mid-morning, next to your desk at work, you complete 15 crunches. Right before you head to lunch, you do 20 more body weight squats (by the way, this completes Rule 2, and if you get funny looks, just do them in the bathroom stall). After lunch, before you head in from the parking lot, you do 10 more pushups. In the mid-afternoon, it’s 15 more crunches next to the desk. Finally, after you’re off work, at home, next to the couch, or before bed, do 10 more pushups and 15 more crunches. When it’s spelled out all at once, it looks like quite a bit of work, but that entire day probably amounts to perhaps 5 total minutes of exercise. Obviously, that isn’t enough to see a huge response, but when combined with a daily routine of 30-60 minutes at the gym, it’s enough to make a difference, because each time you do something that gets the body and limbs moving, you’re pushing your metabolism up just a little bit. That little bit can amount to double digit pounds of fat in a single year! The added bonus is that after your quick 30-60 second exercise break, you’ll find yourself much more focused and productive.

This is something I do personally. Here are my 3 rules: Rule 1) 10 1 arm pushups or 10 1 leg squats; Rule 2) 50 regular pushups; and Rule 3) 25 body weight squats. I do them all at some point throughout the day. It’s a great reason (or excuse) to get up and take an active break from sitting at the computer or reading a book, as well as great way to jump start the morning. Try it out and tell me what you think - my e-mail is elite@pacificfit.net.

Head trainer Ben Greenfield runs the online training website Pacific Elite Fitness, and holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Sport Science and Exercise Physiology, as well as certifications from the National Strength and Conditioning Association as a Personal Trainer and Strength and Conditioning Coach (NSCA-CPT & CSCS). For over 6 years, Ben has coached and trained professional, collegiate, and recreational athletes, and helped hundreds of individuals achieve their personal fitness goals. For more information on online personal training and fitness, contact Ben at elite@pacificfit.net.
www.pacificfit.net

Synergy: the working together of two or more things, people,
or organizations, especially when the result is greater than
the sum of their individual effects or capabilities

Momentum toward your goals is generated when all components
of fitness are incorporated into your workout program.

” Heart-through cardiovascular workout

” Skeletal muscle-through strength training

” Joints-through flexibility exercises.

” Good Nutrition-through balanced sensible eating.

Some exercise is better than no exercise; however, if your
program is lopsided with one or two of the same activities,
you will not get the best results.

DRIVING THE CAR

Having synergy in your exercise program is like turning a
car as you are driving down the road. It’s much easier to
turn the wheel while the car is moving rather than when it
is sitting in your driveway. Momentum allows you to steer
the car, just as momentum allows you to continually progress
in your workout program.

ROLLING THE SNOWBALL

Another example of having synergy in your workout program
would be rolling a snowball. Once the momentum has started,
it keeps building and building. Keeping that in mind, it is
very easy to only do certain exercises that you like and
those that take less effort; however, because this will not
work, in the end you will end up having to workout harder
and longer.

In a Nut Shell:

It is really important to have all areas of fitness working
together and in the most effective way possible. When all
the parts are working the machine works better. Leaving out
parts of your exercise routine, just because you do not like
them, is asking for failure.

Greg Ryan is a high profile fitness expert and former employee of Kathy Smiths. Body building champion, public speaker and personal trainer to the stars. He is a best selling author of the Changing from the INSIDE OUT through real behavior change, smart eating and effective exercising. Start getting in better shape today!
For FREE MINI COURES click here http://www.resolutions.bz

Fit Balls, Swiss Balls, Physio Balls and Exercise Balls! Call them what you will, we all know what you’re talking about - those big blow up balls of different sizes and colours you have always wanted to try but never had the chance. They are becoming a favoured tool of the personal trainer, the ‘must have’ piece of equipment for the home studio, and an essential item for complete programming for the development of core strength and reduction and termination of lower back pain.

Because of a sedentary lifestyle, most people have poor posture. The muscles of the trunk are no longer able to support the body in the most efficient way possible. Because of external support from a chair, couch, car seat, etc., the neuromuscular system has “forgotten” how to maintain posture easily and efficiently. This usually leads to breakdown, pain and dysfunction.

I have found that using a Fit ball is a very effective way to correct postural alignment. Exercises on the ball can be very mild or extremely challenging depending on the needs of the client. By balancing on the ball, the client now has no other support to rely on except his or her own body. The body will automatically call on the righting and equilibrium responses, facilitating a coordinated effort of the postural muscles. The client unconsciously finds a way to balance on the ball with the least amount of muscle use possible, therefore reinforcing positive movement patterns.

Fit Balls are one of the most effective exercise tools to improve and develop spinal, pelvic and shoulder girdle stability. Total core stability is achieved along with improved posture and an increased awareness of your own body – the way it moves and the way it is designed to move. An enhanced kinesthetic sense is discovered and refined, allowing you to ‘feel’ your own actions and be able to adjust incorrect positions and movements performed throughout the exercises.

Fit Balls add variety to create new and challenging demands on the body in a number of different planes. Just about any exercise done in the gym can be performed using the Fit Ball. We all know how important variety is to every program. Not just from the point of view of changing the stimuli to allow for continued adaptation but to enhance motivation. Without it, the likelihood of adhering to our current exercise program and achieving our goals is somewhat slim.

Available in a number of sizes, from 45cm to 75cm in diametre, the right size Fit Ball is determined by your height and more importantly your leg length. While sitting on top of the ball, with calves perpendicular to the ground, your thighs should be parallel and at 90-100° with your knees and your body weight evenly distributed over both feet. This is your correct postural position. Imagine a straight line starting from your ear, travelling through your shoulder and stopping at the centre point of your pelvis. This visual connection will help you adjust and maintain correct postural alignment in the initial stages of learning with the Fit Ball.

Implementing the use of a Fit Ball recruits your ‘stabilizer’ muscles to establish and maintain a solid platform from which you develop strength, endurance and correct postural adaptations. They encourage the contraction and stimulation of deep muscle fibres within the trunk including external and internal obliques, rectus and transverse abdominals and the erector spinae and quadratus lumborum. I’m sure those of you who have sought professional advice for lower back pain and postural correction have heard of these muscles before. The relationship between the abdominal and lower back muscles is crucial to core stability, yet neither should be the sole focus of any particular training session.

When using the Fit Ball it is possible to reach muscular exhaustion without showing any normal signs of physiological fatigue due to the high involvement of stabilizing muscles and joint structures. Rotate exercises between the upper and lower regions and the trunk. This guarantees complete recovery of all muscle groups to allow each muscle to be utilized with maximum efficiency and productivity.

As with all exercise, the quality of the movement is more important than the quantity of exercise, repetitions or sets performed on the Fit ball.

The Fit ball is a great tool for the personal trainer to use. Clients enjoy using the ball, and it also promotes body awareness, improves balance and coordination, and reinforces proper spinal alignment along with a great new and challenging stimulus for your brain, as well as your body!

As a health and fitness professional for over 10 years, Daniel has personally trained more than 4000 people, on 4 continents towards the achievement of their fitness and lifestyle objectives using his unique holistic and functional approach to lifestyle enhancement. Daniel is a true leader and innovator in the industry. Daniel draws from an academic background in Human Movement, Exercise Science and Sports Management in Australia & also holds a Diploma in Massage Therapy, & Certificates in Workplace Health Promotion, Personal Training (ACSM) and Australian Training for Fitness Professionals (ATP), Golf Fitness & Conditioning, Postural Analysis, Weight Management & Fat Loss.

Daniel is the founder and CEO of Fitcorp Asia, Thailand’s only Corporate Health & Fitness Solutions Company. “We don’t just conduct personal training, we take pride in our ability to ‘coach’ our clients in all exercise science principles including nutrition and total lifestyle transformation to ensure our clients achieve a holistic goal orientated approach to their personal health and fitness endeavours.

Adding the use of treadmills to your exercise program has benefits. A treadmill will give you an awesome cardiovascular workout for your heart, your lungs, and your circulation. There is less pain and it’s easier when you workout when there is low impact on your joints.

Women who are pregnant will get a fantastic workout. Endurance is built which helps with labor because it is low impact and cardiovascular in nature. Treadmills are not that expensive especially the lower end models and they are easy to use. Losing weight and body fat is possible with the use of a treadmill.

It is a non-physical benefit that treadmills don’t take up a great amount of space. If space is an issue you can find manual treadmills that are powered by your movement only and they fold, if space is an issue, although some could take up a whole room.

Doing research and talking to professionals will help you find one that would be appropriate for you. The best idea is to take a look at different models. What features are you looking for on your treadmill? There are some things you should be aware of when looking at assorted models.

All you want to do is workout and this can be overwhelming. Your machine size can be affected by the type of motor it has. Most importantly you should check out the belt trackers. It’s the movement type and running belt placement as you workout.

There should be no jerky movement you want a belt that moves easily over the rollers. Did you see the belts at the checkouts that jump and start all the time? If your treadmill movement is like that injury could result and there could more impact on your joints than necessary.

The belt’s length and width is something else you need to look at. If the belt is too short you could end up “running off” the end of the belt. If the treadmill belt is too narrow, it may not support your stance. Try out, if possible the machine you really want or something very similar.

The incline’s type and percentage will affect your workout and the impact on your joints. Most treadmills allow you to adjust the grade of the incline, as you progress, to be as if you were climbing a steep hill. The speed of the belt should also be adjustable.

Have you read the manual and learned what the minimum and maximum speed is? You will be better able to plan your workout with this knowledge and make it more effective. One of the primary features you should look for on your treadmill console is a heart rate monitor.

A workout can be made more beneficial by knowing your resting and target heart rate-the highest rate you can attain safely and get maximum benefits. Your console should show your speed, your time, and the distance you traveled.

It is vital that your learn how to run your treadmill properly before you try to use it. The control panel should be very easy to read. Do you need the software program to use the control program? Your preference should be for a quiet treadmill. A bit of noise is normal, but you don’t want it to be unbearable.

Is the noise level within comfortable limits? The belt should be of a particular thickness, what is it? You want a belt that is thick enough to last for a long time, a belt that is too thin could wear over time. Belts can begin to stretch.

Check your belt for stretching, cracks, or other problems, if you want your treadmill to last. Take consideration of how heavy your machine is. Some companies will make it your duty to bring it in the house and set it up, they will only go as far as your door with it. The appearance of your machine is important because if you don’t like it, you will be less likely to make use of it.

Is it going to be easy to store when not in use? It is most likely that it will remain in the same spot when not in use, you will need to decide, if this feasible for you. Place your treadmill away from walls to keep you from getting hurt. It should be placed about eight feet away from any wall, ledge, or windows.

All the wires and the power supply should be put out of the way or taped down to prevent someone from falling off the treadmill while getting off. Here are some tips on using your new treadmill. In order to make sure your machine is set at the appropriate speed, straddle the belt before you get on it. Look straight ahead as your feet will follow your eyes. You should stay in the center of the belt in order to prevent slips and falls.

If your looking for tips and advice on treadmills or fitness equipment in general, Martin Smith had a resource of information available. From Treadmills to Home Fitness Equipment you’ll find something.

Have you ever experienced a dull ache or sharp pain in your shoulder or upper arm? Maybe you are unable to sleep on one side because your shoulder wakes you up at night. Perhaps, you have discomfort reaching behind your back to tuck in your shirt or grab your wallet. If so, you may be suffering from a rotator cuff injury.

Rotator cuff injuries, such as tendonitis, bursitis and tears plague several people in our population. The rotator cuff consists of four small muscles, which form a sleeve around the shoulder and allow us to raise our arm overhead effectively. These muscles, consisting of the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor and subscapularis, oppose the action of the deltoid and depress the head of the humerus (upper arm) during shoulder elevation to prevent impingement.

The most commonly injured muscle is the supraspinatus. It is responsible for initiating and aiding in elevation of the arm. If torn, the individual typically experiences persistent pain in the upper lateral arm and significant difficulty raising the arm without compensatory motion from the scapula (shrug sign). The hallmark signs of a tear are nocturnal pain, loss of strength, and inability to raise the arm overhead.

However, acute tendonitis may also present with similar signs and symptoms, as pain can inhibit motion and strength. Yet, symptoms associated with tendonitis normally respond to rest, ice, anti-inflammatory medication and therapeutic exercise.

Rotator cuff tears are most common in men age 65 and older. Tears and/or injury are typically related to degeneration, instability, bone spurs, trauma, overuse and diminished strength/flexibility related to the aging process. However, youth are also at risk for injury if they are involved in repetitive overhead sports, including swimming, volleyball, baseball, softball, tennis, gymnastics, etc.

Many people can function adequately with a torn rotator cuff provided they have a low to moderate pain level. The primary reason for performing rotator cuff surgery is to alleviate pain rather than to restore function. It is common for post surgical patients to lose some mobility/range of motion. Strength recovery is dictated by the size of tear, quality of the torn tissue at the time of surgery, time elapsed between injury and repair, and the surgeon’s ability to recreate the proper anatomical relationship.

It may take up to 18 months following surgery to completely recover, although most people return to normal activities of daily living in 3-6 months. On the contrary, tendonitis usually resolves within 4-6 weeks, depending on the management of the injury.

The key to avoiding rotator cuff injury is performing adequate conditioning prior to stressing it with vigorous activities. Many weekend warriors try to pick up the softball, baseball, football, etc. and begin throwing repetitively and forcefully without properly warming up. In addition, they are not likely to condition before the season like competitive athletes.

This often leads to excessive strain on the rotator cuff and swelling. The inevitable result is soreness, especially with overhead movement or reaching behind the back. The act of throwing is the most stressful motion on the shoulder. The rotator cuff is forced to decelerate the humerus during follow through at speeds up to 7000 degrees/second.

Without proper strength and conditioning, the shoulder easily becomes inflamed.
Since the rotator cuff muscles are small, it is best to utilize lower resistance and higher repetitions to sufficiently strengthen them. Sample exercises include theraband or light dumbbell external and internal rotation exercises, which can be performed at various degrees of abduction.

Other common exercises include forward elevation to shoulder height in the plane of the scapula (scaption), press-ups, prone dumbbell horizontal abduction with external rotation, and diagonal arm patterns with bands, weights or medicine balls. In addition to cuff specific exercises, it is also important to strengthen the muscles around the shoulder blade. These exercises include wall push-ups with a plus (rounding shoulder blades), shrugs, rows and lower trapezius exercises.

Finally, it is important to note some precautions with general exercises routinely performed in health clubs. I recommend the following suggestions to prevent rotator cuff problems:

• Avoid lat pull downs and military presses behind the head, as they place the shoulder in a poor biomechanical position encouraging impingement.

• Do not lower the bar or dumbbells below parallel with incline/flat bench press for the aforementioned reason.

• Refrain from using too much weight with lateral shoulder raises. This exercise increases the load on the shoulder to 90% of the body weight, so there is no need to use heavy weight. It is best to maintain an arc of movement slightly in front of the body with lateral raises to decrease stress on the rotator cuff, while avoiding elevation above 90 degrees.

• Specific rotator cuff exercises can be incorporated into upper body workouts. Perform 2 sets of 15-25 repetitions for each exercise. These exercises should be done no more than three times per week to avoid overtraining.

Brian Schiff, PT, CSCS, is a respected author, physical therapist and fitness expert. For more information on his e-book on resolving rotator cuff pain, visit http://www.rotatorcufftraining.com. This article was originally published in Business First Columbus, Ohio in 2004.

Copyright © 2004 Brian Schiff

Many people want you to believe that you should be working out for 30 minutes a day, all 7 days of the week. It’s just how the information has trickled down to us.

Personally, I think this is for robots.

You don’t need to workout that much to feel better and have more energy.

In fact, fitness success hinges on your ability to forget working out for a certain period of time. No more 5 times a week for 60 minutes or 3 times a week for 90 minutes. What you need to focus on is working out frequently throughout the week.

This may seem groundbreaking to you… and it is.

I want exercise to be a regular part of your day. Just like eating, showering and sleeping.

It was like this for those as little as a century ago. They would exercise all day long. Walk to the store, do the laundry, work in the field, the factory–most of this work was labor. No one really ever went to the gym and worked out for hours on end.

Unfortunately, those times have passed. We have computers, office buildings and cars. Plus, we seem to think that we have certain time restraints and commitments that don’t allow us the time to exercise. Which is another issue in itself!

So, yes, you’re busy. That’s fine. But I bet there are times when you could sneak in a few squats, stretches and dips. In fact, there are probably 10-15 times during that day that you can.

What I’m asking you to do is equate those down times as an opportunity to squeeze in an exercise or two. By the end of the day, you’ll feel great knowing that you’ve put in a good amount of time exercising. Time that you thought you never had!

Will you still burn fat exercising this way? You bet! Your frequent motion will allow your body to up its metabolism, burning calories faster so you can lose weight.

Having the freedom to know that you can exercise in small clips will help erase your chances of failure and get you feeling great in no time!

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If you’re looking for some exercises that you can do during the day, check out our Lifestyle Fitness Points Program Workbook. This system will show you over 80 exercises and activities you can do without equipment and keep you accountable by using our unique point system! The program is currently on sale, so get it while it’s at such a low price!

About the Author: Kevin Gianni is the holistic fitness expert. He is a certified personal trainer and co-founder of Lifestyle Fitness, a home workout program that gives you the tools to radically change your views on health and fitness for the rest of your life.

Lifestyle Fitness

There are hundreds and maybe thousands of physical fitness guru’s all claiming to have the perfect answer, the “magic bullet” for physical fitness and a solution to a healthier body and lifestyle. Well, I’m not going to claim to have the perfect answer! However, I do have a few tips on an easy to use piece of exercise equipment that may be one of the best for all ages and is particularly suitable for those of us who are either baby boomers or a bit more seasoned. It’s the Bowflex…any version but a basic machine such as the Bowflex Sport is a perfect place to start.

So what’s the catch here? Absolutely no catch whatsoever….. just an enthusiasm to share some ideas on perhaps one of the most efficient, versatile and affordable exercise machines available for home use. The Bowflex combines aerobic and strength training with a smooth pulley and power rod resistance system that’s easy set up. You can easily switch resistance with the power rods through a wide range of motions for a complete strength and aerobic workout. Now don’t get me wrong on the expected results. The Bowflex ads show smiling, well muscled young people whom we all would like to look like, no matter what age. Well, now you may just want to get back some muscle tone and some of that past strength and endurance you once had. At any rate, here we are at 55, 60, 65 or older and card carrying members of AARP. Most of us simply want to maintain or improve our strength, muscle tone and respiratory efficiency. Today many doctors and physical fitness experts are espousing weight training and especially the use of free weights as we age. Everyone now acknowledges that maintaining and / or building our strength is critical in later years. We will certainly function with greater confidence and renewed strength but we will also be less likely to fall and if we do, less likely to suffer fractures since strength training adds to our bone mass. What we don’t hear talked about too frequently is the potential of injury with free weights if not properly supervised. Added to the injury possibility, there is also the need for other pieces of equipment such as various benches and supports in order to get a full range of activity with free weights.

So, let’s talk about the Bowflex. Perhaps you’ve seen the infomercials and watched as the group of well muscled young men and women gathered around a Bowflex machine and marveled at how easy it works and the quality of the workout it provides. So, how does this apply to you…at 55, 60, 65 years or older?

First, you can safely use the Bowflex without needing a partner. However before staring a program check with your physician to insure that you have no physical ailments that would preclude vigorous exercise. The Bowflex is a home device and since it’s in your home, it’s available at anytime. I must caution you on the hype of “now you can use it anytime of your choosing”. That may be correct, but to be successful you must establish a set time every day for your workout. Once you start slipping or changing times, you run the very real danger of skipping days and then a week or more and then suddenly you have no set program and you’re back to being a couch potato.

The Bowflex machine comes with a very nice manual of exercises and instructions and most will also have an instructional DVD. Let’s walk through some Bowflex 101 in the real world and set some realistic goals and simple to follow instructions:

1.Maintain a set time schedule either daily or every other day. Many prefer early morning exercise routines so that it doesn’t get cancelled out later in the day by unexpected events…..or lost will power. Early workouts also tend to set a positive, go get ‘em attitude when those endorphins kick in from good prolonged vigorous exercise. Many experts say that the most effective time for the body to exercise is mid-afternoon and the least effective is at night. Working out late in the evening may also cause some sleep disruption.

2.Review the exercise manual that Bowflex provides but don’t become a slave to the described routines. While the programs were developed by experts, let your own sense of what’s working be your guide.

3.After reviewing the manual, establish your beginning program routine and stick to it for at least two full weeks or longer without deviation. Maintaining a consistent pattern will allow you to assess whether the program you’ve selected is comfortable for you and not too boring. It’s important to make the workout interesting as well as challenging. Boredom can lead to you dropping out so don’t let that happen!

4.Design your program to include aerobic as well as strength activities. While the Bowflex will greatly assist in developing strength, the aerobic exercises are terrific and important.

5.Start off with easy resistance power rods. Remember, this is going to be a lifestyle addition and not a quick fix so there is no reason to use too much weight resistance at the beginning. It is best to get comfortable with how the Bowflex operates using lower resistance and then gradually increase the weight / resistance.

6.Don’t feel compelled to “do the manual”. Select the exercises that work well with your strength and flexibility and rotate through them. Make sure, though, that you balance upper body, arms, legs and abdominals in your program.

7.Make sure you take advantage of the aerobic rowing motion. The seat glides easily and the resistance power rods and pulleys are exceptionally smooth in operation.

8.Be Creative! In a short time, you’ll be totally at ease and be able to handle any of the Bowflex routines. When that happens, you’re now ready to mix and match and create new routines on your own.

So, while this is an exercise machine for all ages, the Bowflex from my experience is exceptionally well suited for the great generation of Baby Boomers and beyond. It’s simplicity of set up, easy switching process from one exercise routine to another, wide range of weight resistance and easy fluid motion give this machine an A++ rating in my book!. While this is not an advertisement, you may want to check out the Bowflex website or other websites that offer exercise equipment. At any rate, get started on a healthier life style.

Be active, be healthy and be happy!

Mike Coll is recently retired and a lifetime fitness enthusiast and is a contributing author to http://retirement.divinfo.com and http://health.divinfo.com.

When you exercise for a long time, your muscles start to burn and feel sore. This forces you to slow down, because keeping up the pace will make your muscles burn and hurt even more. You call this fatigue and tiredness, but a recent study from Japan shows that muscle fatigue is caused by damage to the muscle itself (Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, July 2005). This also explains why exercising long and hard enough to feel the burn for an extended period leaves your muscles sore for one or more days afterwards. Athletes call this Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) and they learn that they have to have this next day soreness to improve for competition.

That’s why running is so much more fatiguing than cycling. When you run, your heel hits the ground and stops your leg from moving. This sudden stopping with each foot strike stretches your contracting muscles and tears them to cause a lot of muscle damage. It’s called eccentric contractions of muscle and occurs with far less force in cycling. You pedal with a smooth rotary motion and do not stop suddenly. The eccentric contractions during running cause a high degree of muscle injuries, limit how far person can run fast, and require far more rest days or easy days than cyclists use in their training programs.

Since muscle fatigue during endurance competitions is caused by muscle damage, anything that strengthens muscles will improve performance in endurance events. The only way to make a muscle stronger is to damage the muscle with hard exercise, feel sore on the next day, exercise more easily on as many days as it takes for the soreness to go away, and then exercise vigorously again. Athletes in competitive sports must exercise on the days that their muscles feel sore. This makes muscles more fibrous and resistant to injury so that muscles can withstand greater forces when athletes exercise on their hard days. Since muscle fatigue during vigorous exercise in endurance sports causes fatigue and slows them down, athletes in endurance sports have to train for their sports by making their muscles stronger by following a stress and recover program.

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Dr. Gabe Mirkin has been a radio talk show host for 25 years and practicing physician for more than 40 years; he is board certified in four specialties, including sports medicine. Read or listen to hundreds of his fitness and health reports at http://www.DrMirkin.com

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