Exercise

Does Lifting Weights Cause Weight Gain And Bulkiness in Women?

Why Women Should Not Fear Heavy Weights

Women, are you afraid of lifting heavy weights because you think it will make you gain weight or become bulky? If so, do you head for the lighter weights or avoid weights altogether? Contrary to popular belief, women do not gain weight or bulk up by lifting heavy weights. Heavy weights ensure muscle tone and strength. Lifting light weights with many repetitions does not strengthen or tone muscles effectively.

Testosterone is the culprit for large increases in muscle mass. Therefore, men have a tendency for large increases in muscle mass due to their high levels. Most women, on the other hand, have only a fraction of the testosterone that men have.

For women, lifting heavy weights is the only way to become toned and shapely. The formula for achieving these goals is to maximize the amount of calories burned. Not only does your body burn more calories lifting the heavier weights, the body continues to burn calories even after the workout, prompting the process of repairing muscle fibers that were damaged during the weight lifting itself. This is known as building lean muscle. Building muscles, while burning off the excess fat, increases metabolism, which in turn, burns more calories throughout the day.

A pound of muscle, does in fact, weigh the same as a pound of fat, but muscle takes up a lot less room. If the scale inches up slightly, it is coming from water gain because more water is retained by active muscle tissue. Your muscles begin to store more carbohydrates in the form of glycogen. Glycogen has a tendency to hold on to water. After a while, your muscles adjust and don’t retain as much of the glycogen. At that point, the weight begins to come back down.

The only thing women are going to gain by lifting heavy weights is a leaner more defined body. So if you think all of a sudden you have bigger thighs, it is not from lifting heavy weights, but either from a temporary water retention or from consuming more calories than the amount being burned. Being obese and out of shape will make you look and feel years beyond your age, while building lean muscle and being fit will improve your health and appearance by building strength, reducing the potential for injury, increasing metabolism, and elevating the good cholesterol levels.

If your goal to is to have shapely toned muscle then you should lift heavy weights. On the other hand, if you only want to loose weight then you don’t even have to exercise. What you eat will determine how much weight you gain or loose. If you want to be healthy, then do both. There are other health benefits of exercise that you will miss if you only diet. Furthermore, the American Heart Association recommends 30 mins of cardio daily and resistance training 2 times per week.

7 Reasons Why Women Are Not Seeing Results When Working Out

7 Mistakes Women Make Working Out

Many women are disappointed when they make the effort to hit the gym or the jogging trail three or four times a week, but still see no real difference in their weight or their shape. Why does exercise not help you achieve the results that you want? It’s possible that you’re making mistakes or heading in with assumptions that aren’t sound.

Watch What You Eat After Working Out

For many women, the post-workout coffee and pastry is one of the important pleasures of life. The problem is that the average cappuccino and lean muffin can pack between 500 and 600 calories. If you worked out for anything less than a solid hour, you probably didn’t burn off as many calories.

Even if you do work out for an hour to burn off 500 calories, you still don’t make much progress if your treating yourself to plenty of calories afterward. It’s important to skip the high-calorie foods, and switch to sugarless fruit smoothies that you make yourself at home.

You Are Not Burning As Much As You Think

Often, people make the mistake of believing that they’ve probably worked out hard enough if they’ve broken into a sweat. Working up a sweat isn’t a good measure of workout intensity, however. Instead, you need to find out how long you’ve been getting exercise.

If you’re a woman who weighs 160 pounds, low-impact aerobics for an hour is likely to only burn about 365 calories. Swimming for an hour burns a little more. If you are walking on the treadmill, doubling your speed from about two miles per hour to four miles per hour can help you burn an additional 100 calories an hour. It’s important to not overestimate how much you’re burning.

You Are Doing It Wrong

Grabbing on to the handles when you’re on the treadmill, or helping movement on the elliptical by pulling and pushing on the handles, are two common mistakes that women tend to make at the gym. Women often also make the mistake of neglecting to engage their core when working out with weights.

Incorrect technique hurts you in two ways. To begin, it makes it hard for you to burn as many calories as you should. Additionally, it puts you at risk of injury. For instance, if you use incorrect posture on the rowing machine, you risk hurting your back. Something as simple as setting the seat at the wrong height on an exercise bike can hurt your hamstrings.

The solution is to carefully study the right form to use either by asking a coach or by looking at videos online. You need to understand what muscles you should aim for with each exercise, and use them carefully, making sure to not overstress them.

You Don’t Lift Heavy Weights

Women are often less enthusiastic about working out with weights than men tend to be. The fear is that working with weights will make them put on unseemly amounts of muscle mass. In truth, however, it takes plenty of the male hormone testosterone to put on significant amounts of muscle mass. Even men have a hard time gaining muscle mass.

When you turn your back on weight training, you miss out on a great calorie burning opportunity.

You Dont Change it Up

It can be tempting to get on the treadmill every day, and do a slow, steady jog as you watch television. It’s important to remember, however, that when you do the same kind of workout every day, your body gets used to it, and learns how to do it with minimal energy expenditure.

It’s important to try different kinds of exercise each day. From high-intensity interval training to swimming, cycling and dance exercise, there is a wide range of variety to try. You need to keep throwing new routines at your body if you are to work it hard enough to burn calories.

Unless You are A Sprinter Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Aiming to lose twenty pounds to get into your swimsuit by summer when it’s only eight weeks away, or hoping to get in shape well enough to run a half-marathon in a month, is unrealistic. Using exercise as a way to lose weight or boost strength and endurance is a gradual process. If you rush yourself, you’ll probably only succeed in injuring some part of your body. With exercise, you need to be patient.

You Can Build A Better Butt But You Can Spot Reduce Fat

Women often pick a part of the body that they would like to improve, like their abs or their arms, and try to focus only on building those parts up. Often, they’re disappointed by the lack of progress that they see.

The problem is that even when you do work out the right parts of your body with the right technique, the difference usually doesn’t show through the layers of fat that cover those areas. You first need to concentrate on a full body workout that helps you lose fat tissue overall. It’s only then that you can hope to have your newly acquired muscles show through.

Before you begin to work out for a fitness goal, it’s important that you understand how the body works, and do away with incorrect assumptions about how best to go about achieving your aims. It’s important to understand energy expenditure, use the right form, and understand how to train with weights if you are to succeed in making exercise work for you.

Five Easy Exercises for Overweight People

Complications from cardiovascular diseases is the leading cause of death and disability for adults in America. If you are obese you at risk for developing conditions such as high blood, high blood sugar and diabetes. They are known to cause cardiovascular disease and they are also modifiable. Which means they can be controlled with lifestyle changes. One way to reduce your risk of being plagued with these conditions is to engage in physical activity. If your excess weight makes it difficult for you to workout on a regular basis, you should not give up. Instead, you should choose your exercises carefully and keep going on your wellness journey. The following five easy exercises are perfect for overweight people who are trying to drop those extra pounds and get healthy. They can be done at home . No gym membership necessary.

1. Wall Push-Ups

These are great for making your arms stronger and giving you toned biceps. They are also a good precursor to regular push-ups as they help you develop strength slowly in preparation for tackling your first full push-up.

To do a wall push-up, stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Position yourself arm length away from a wall and place your hands against its surface. Slowly lean forward until your elbows are at a ninety-degree angle to the wall. Push yourself back to starting position to complete the exercise.

2. Modify Jumping Jacks

Lifting two or three hundred pounds is difficult, so you might not be able to do a regular jumping jack until you have lost some weight. However, there are several variations of this exercise including the no jumping jack that allows you to ease in into this exercise and improve your fitness levels at the same time.

To do a no jumping jack, stand with your feet together and arms at your sides. Raise your hands above your head and step out to the side with your right leg. Return to the starting position and repeat with your left leg. Complete the required number of reps and sets.

3. Wide Leg Dumbbell Squat

This exercise works quadriceps, abductor and abductor muscles, and your core. It is great for burning calories, increasing your flexibility and toning your lower body.

To perform a wide leg dumbbell squat, stand with your feet slightly more than hip-width apart. Hold a dumbbell in both hands and slowly lower your body until your hips are at a 90-degree angle to the floor. Pulse several times until you have completed several sets.

4. Seated Reverse Fly

This is a great exercise for flabby arms as it works the back of your arms to burn fat and build muscle.

To perform this exercise, sit on an exercise ball and hold a dumbbell in each hand. Lean forward until your face is parallel to the floor. Raise your arms to each side until they are aligned with your shoulders, keeping your elbows slightly bent. Return to starting position and repeat as needed.

5. Planks

Planks target mostly your core . You will also engage muscles in you arm, chest, leg and butt.

To do this exercise, kneel on the floor with your hands under your shoulder. Stretch both legs out backwards until your entire body is in a straight line. Hold for 10 seconds.

How Often Should You Exercise?

As a beginner, you should start off at a low intensity 2 -3 days a week . Your goal should be to exercise for 5 -6 days a week. Give yourself time to come up with a schedule and routine that you can stick to. The American Heart Association recommends 2 days of strength training and 5 days of cardio for 30 mins. You do not have to do all the exercises above in one day. Ease into the routine by picking 2 each day. And go for a walk if you can. See below table for a workout plan.

Exercise	Reps	Set	Rest
Wall Push	12	3	1-2mins
Modify Jumping Jacks	12	3	1-2mins
Wide Leg Dumbbell Squats	12	3	1-2mins

Seated Reverse Fly	12	3	1-2mins
Modify Jumping Jacks	12	3	1-2mins
Planks	10 seconds	3	1-2mins

Reps, Sets and Rest are terminologies that are commonly used in the fitness industry. Their meanings are below.

Reps is the abbreviated word for repetition. This means how many times you will be repeating the exercise before stopping.

Set refers to the number of cycles of reps. In the above examples you will have 3 cycles of rep for each exercise.

Rest refers to the length of the break at the end of the reps prior to start the cycle. In other words, its the break between sets.

How to Make Exercises Harder

As you get stronger and the exercises become easier you can intensify the workout by:

Increasing the Reps
Increasing the Set
Decreasing the Rest between sets
Increasing the weights or adding weights
Hold the plank longer
Increase to 4 or five days of exercise
Do all exercises in one day

If the exercises are done consistently your body will adapt and therefore you will have to find other exercises to challenge and activate new muscles. It really only takes a few key exercises done with the right form to change your physique. Do not over complicate things by tyring too many at once.

To Conclude

Exercising when you are already overweight can certainly be a little difficult. However, it is by no means impossible. The exercises outlined in this article are a great place to start your new workout regime.

What are Medicine Ball Slam Benefits?

Medicine balls are very common in the gym and fitness studios, but you can also use them in your home workout routine. They will intensify your workout and help you reach your goals.

A medicine ball is a weighted ball that is used in fitness and rehab for strength, conditioning, mobility, and stability. The name of the ball implies that it used to treat diseases, but it does not. The balls are available in different weights up to 50lbs. Some have a little bounce, but you cannot dribble with it. The exterior of some is smooth while others are rough.

What are Medicine Ball Slam Benefits?

The most common exercise used with ball is a medicine ball slam. A very simple but effective exercise the comes with some benefits that you might like. First, medicine ball slam benefits anyone who wants to take their workouts to the next level or newbies who are not interested in lifting weights but wants some of the same rewards. Next, on the serious side, medicine ball slams will get your heart up, develop your power and strength. Lastly I am happy to tell you that the balls are very easy to handle and fun to slam against the wall or floor. It is a good way to let out your anger and frustration. Slam the ball as hard as you can. Not only are you working your core, you will also be getting a great cardiovascular workout, training for endurance, power, strength, and speed. There is hardly any machine that can give you a full body workout. You will need a few pieces of equipment to achieve a full body workout. No worries. A medicine ball can give you a full body workout. No need to go to the gym.

Is Medicine Ball Safe?

Just like any other equipment, injuries can occur if used incorrectly. Since injuries can also be linked to intense workouts or improper training while working out, it’s best to get accustomed to the feeling of the ball before trying any intense activity. Furthermore, if you drop the ball on your toe or throw it at someone you can hurt yourself or them. However, compared to a dumbbell falling on your toe you will have less damage. Proper form is also key, but at the same time watch out for the ball when it bounces back. You don’t want to break a nose, nor do you want to slam the ball on your foot and break a toe.

What is Medicine Ball Made of?

There are many types of medicine balls; most are typically made of soft vinyl and filled with gel. This type of medicine ball won’t float or bounce therefore they make the perfect ball for any exercise that you want to slam against the floor or wall that won’t bounce back at you and fracture your nose.

Leather medicine balls have a leather exterior and are the oldest ball on the block. Some are soft, and they don’t usually bounce or float

Some medicine balls are specifically made for wall slams and are better at the bouncing ball off the wall and floor, so it’s important to make sure you choose the right medicine ball for whatever exercise you’re looking to incorporate into your workout regime.

Medicine balls with handles will help you incorporate more speed, and ones with grips are the most common and can be used for almost all types of medicine ball exercises, another benefit that they provide is they will typically float in the water so you can also use them for any aquatic exercises.

Air filled medicine balls are the floating balls. They are also portable because you can take the air out of them for traveling.

Medicine Ball Slams

The most popular way to use the ball is ball slam. There are two main ways to slam a medicine ball with a myriad of variations that you can use. The first most common way is the floor slam and the other being the wall slam. As you get used to doing these repetitions, you will notice that it will become easier and easier to do. You can always increase the weight of the medicine ball as well as add reps of different various exercises in between your medicine ball slams. For example, you can do 5 medicine ball slams and then five push ups or you could also do 15 medicine ball slams followed by 1 pull up, then 14 ball slams followed by 2 pull-ups, then 13 ball slams followed by 3 pull-ups, etc. You can also do things such as jumping up vertically as high as you can before each slam to exert as much energy as possible and come to exhaustion faster.

If you are working out at home and want to add variation and intensity to your workout, then medicine will be great. Also, at some point in your routine you will need to change it up. This will prevent you from plateauing and continue to change in your physique. Not only will the medicine ball slam help you achieve your wellness or fitness goals, but it will also teach your body how to move as one unit as well as increase hip extension, coordination, and core control.

The Wall Slam

The medicine ball wall slam will work your shoulders, triceps, calves, back, glutes, quads, and core when done correctly. Here a few you can try.

Wall Balls
Side Throws
Crunch Throw
Chest Pass and Shuffle
Overhead Throws
Squat and Throw
Underhand
Throws for Height
Half-kneeling
Rotational Throw

The Floor Slam

The floor slam is the most basic and easiest (no wall needed) to do between the two types of medicine ball slams. Keeping your core tightened when doing either the wall slam or the floor slam is going to give you the best workout as well as making sure you keep yourself in the squat position. This will put more stress on your legs and give you a better burn when you’re working out. Try one of the below. Which one did you like best?

Floor Slam
Russian Twists
Rainbow Slams
Pushup Shuffle
Pushup Pass
Medicine Ball Slam
Burpees
Explosive Floor Press
Rainbow Split Squat Jumps
Wood Choppers

Now that you know the benefits of medicine ball slam, if you are ready to include them in your routine, you must first decided how you will incorporate them in your workout. The possibilities of exercises are endless, but you still will want to make sure to purchase the right one that fit your workout style. Training with medicine ball will bring fun and excitement into your workouts. There’s a multitude of different exercises that you can do whether its different variation of the ball slam or just adding in different exercise in between sets slams
.

Health Advantages of Exercising at Home

Why Home Workouts Are Better for Your Health

The best place to work out is at home. Why? When your gym is at home, you have control over when you work out, and you don’t have to worry about what you wear or how you look. Convenience is a beautiful thing but working out at home has other perks as well. You control the environment. As it turns out, the “health” club can be a surprisingly unhealthy place to be.

Health Clubs, Air Pollution, and Health

Air pollution is bad for your health; no argument about that. You’re exposed to it when you’re outdoors breathing in exhaust fumes and the chemicals produced by factories and businesses in your area. Some of the pollutants that most of us breathe in daily include ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter. Many of these molecules are small enough to enter your lungs and be absorbed into your bloodstream.

Why is this a problem? Air pollution has been linked with a higher risk for a variety of health problems, including asthma, lung cancer, irregular heart rhythms, emphysema, and heart disease. In fact, the World Health Organization states that 7 million deaths each year are linked with exposure to pollutants in the air. However, it’s not just outdoor pollution that’s a problem; indoor areas can be a hotbed for compounds you don’t want to breathe. Believe it or not, health clubs and gyms, so-called healthy places to hang out, fall into this category.

Is exercising at a health club risky? A study published in the journal Building and Environment monitored the air quality in 11 indoor fitness centers to see how clean the air in gyms and health clubs where people work out is. Gym goers beware. In this study, the concentration of volatile organic compounds, carbon dioxide, formaldehyde, and particulate matter in the air was unacceptably high at the workout centers they tested.

Should people who belong to health clubs be concerned about what they’re breathing? A high level of carbon dioxide probably doesn’t pose long-term risks to health, but when carbon dioxide builds up in a closed space, it can make you feel tired or lightheaded. However, some types of volatile organic compounds and formaldehyde are more troubling since exposure is linked with cancer in animals. Where do these compounds come from? Yoga mats, carpeting, flame retardants, and chemicals used to clean the equipment.

Your Breathing Rate Increases When You Exercise

The way you breathe at a health club makes the problem worse. When you exercise, especially at a high intensity, you breathe rapidly. With each deep breath, you suck these compounds into your lungs. Think about how hard you breathe when you do a high-intensity workout. Then consider what might be entering your lungs. Also troubling is the fact that many health clubs and gyms don’t have good ventilation. When you take a spin class at a health club, you may be crammed into a small space without good air flow.

The Clean Up is Just as Bad!

Ever notice how people grab a spray bottle of cleaning solution to disinfect the machine they used, so someone else doesn’t have to deal with their sweat and germs? If you read the label on what they’re spraying on the equipment and into the air, you’ll see it’s not earth friendly. Standard cleaning products are full of stuff you don’t want to breathe, and when you have a crowded health club full of people spraying those products, you know what happens: the bad stuff builds up.

Most people are so focused on their workout that they don’t think about this issue. After all, it’s called a health club; it MUST be a healthy place to be, so the thinking goes, but it’s not necessarily so. The smaller and more crowded a club is, the less healthy the air is likely to be.

Other Risks of Working Out at a Health Club

Despite attempts to keep a health club clean by using hardcore cleaning products, yoga mats are still a breeding ground for bacteria and fungi. According to the New York Times, podiatrists are seeing a rash of cases of Athlete’s foot and plantar warts among health club goers, especially among those who do yoga or Pilates. Whereas people take the time to clean exercise machines, they often neglect to disinfect the exercise mat they just had their feet on. Yuck! Most health clubs don’t clean these mats every day, so you can expect bacteria and fungi to be left behind at the end of a workout class.

Other sources of hidden dirt and germs at the health club: gym bags, exercise balls, locker room floors, gym bags, machines that aren’t wiped off, and towels. Yes, even the “clean” towels may be a source of germs. Many health clubs use the same hampers to hold clean towels and dirty towels.

Wait, there’s more. When flu and cold season rolls around you have to contend with the person next to you on a machine coughing and sneezing because they didn’t want to miss a workout despite being sick. A study published in the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine found the virus that causes the common cold was on 63% of surfaces that come into contact with hands.

When you work out at home, there’s no guarantee you won’t get the flu, but who needs the extra exposure? When you’re breathing in fast and hard during a workout, your chance of sucking in a virus or bacteria is higher.

The Bottom Line

Working out at a health club may NOT be so good for your health. Enjoy the freedom and control you have when you exercise at home. It’s easier to focus on your workout when you’re not distracted by other people. Home workouts are more convenient, less expensive, and, now you know, they’re better for your health too.

References:

EPA.gov. “What Are the Six Common Air Pollutants?”

“7 million premature deaths annually linked to air pollution”. WHO. 25 March 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2014.

EPA.gov. “An Introduction to Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)”

The New York Times. “Communal Yoga Mats: Beware of Germs”

Fitness. “Germs at the Gym”

Spark People. “5 Dirty Secrets about Your Workout”

What Exercises Help Type 2 Diabetes?

Beat Type 2 Diabetes with Exercise

Poor food choices and inactivity are the two main reason why type 2 diabetes and obesity is on the rise. If you are overweight you should be very concerned about developing diabetes. 90% of overweight individuals are prediabetic and if not managed, most will progress to type diabetes. Prediabetes is your body attempting tell you that you need to watch out or else. Most people ignore it. Which is sad because, with the right habits, prediabetes does not have to progress to type 2 diabetes. In fact, modifying your lifestyle to include more activity can reverse the condition and help you to beat it.

Low to moderate intensity aerobic and resistance training exercise is recommended for type 2 diabetics. Exercise is one of the most effective weapons you can use to beat type2 diabetes. If you are not utilizing this weapon then you are missing out on an simple solution that can save you from the turmoil you will encounter as the disease progresses. A regular exercise routine will give you tremendous benefits in terms of using blood sugar for energy, toning and strengthening, muscles, and lowering your cholesterol. You can also lower your blood pressure when you exercise. But it has to be a habit and not something you do for a special occasion like a vacation or reunion.

Making the decision to get active, perhaps after years of sedentary living, can feel like beginning to climb a mountain when you are already exhausted. This very understandable fear of total exhaustion is perhaps one of the reasons that many people suffering from type2 diabetes resist taking those vital first steps towards a meaningful exercise regime. You may be reassured to know that the kind of exercise recommended for diabetes sufferers is not the kind that leaves you gasping for breath. High intensity workouts are the craze right now but you don’t have do those type of exercises if you don’t want to. On the contrary, a program designed specifically for you will increase strength and endurance as the days turn to weeks, you will begin to feel much more energized and even start looking forward to your workout. All you have to do is start.

Some Ideas to Help You Get Active

Start slowly. Just add about fifteen to twenty minutes of extra movement into your day, and that means every day. It can be walking the dog, visiting a colleague on a different floor of your office block (use the stairs!), housework, weeding the garden, cutting the hedge, sweeping the patio, walking to the shops and back.

If you have nerve damage, known as peripheral nephropathy, extra activity will help control the pain. Findings from a study where participants with neuropathy took a brief walk on a treadmill four times each week, concluded that this amount of exercise significantly helped to reduce the impact of nerve damage.

If you have problems with balance here are some easy exercises to help with this prior to starting an exercise routine:

• Holding onto the back of a chair, raise yourself onto the balls of your feet and hold for a count of six seconds. Repeat this three times.

• Imagine you are walking on a tight rope and place one foot in front of the other with your arms stretched out to balance. If you can do this without wobbling, try to do it walking backwards too.

• Stand on one leg by slowly raising one foot off the ground. Hold this pose for thirty seconds and then change legs. The aim is to do this without holding on to anything but make sure the back of the chair is nearby in case you over-balance.

What Sort of Footwear?

If you have diabetes, you will know the dangers of risking cuts, scrapes or blisters on your feet. Any wound on you foot can be dangerous. Therefore it is very important that you take the time to find very comfortable, breathable, well-lined shoes for exercising. A good pair of lightweight walking shoes or sneakers, wide enough not to cause rubbing or pinching and which support your foot with be worth money.

What Sort of Exercise?

High impact training, which includes circuits, spinning and kettlebell training, are all activities that are not for those suffering from type2 diabetes. There is some evidence that high-intensity training may help to reduce blood sugar more quickly, but these claims don’t take into account the risks involved to people who may already have complications. This level of activity could result in undue strain on the heart and other organs of the body. It would also be dangerous to the condition of blood vessels which, for those with diabetes, are already vulnerable.

So, the sort of exercise you need to aim for is a low to moderate impact intensity routine. There are many things that will work for you and will leave you feeling exhausted. You do not need a gym membership. Since you are just starting your body weight will be enough to get your heart rate up and sweating. The chair, steps, couch and wall can also be used as workout tools. Once you are no longer challenged by the body weight exercise then you can add weights.

A easy no brainer exercise can include walking up and down the stairs and around the block. Just ten minutes walking on around the block and another ten on the steps , if you do them regularly at least three times each week, will soon start to give you back a great deal of strength and stamina. As your fitness levels increase, you can add other pieces of equipment to your routine, such as an exercise bike and some of the resistance training devices to work your upper body, spine and abdomen.

The most important thing is not to overdo it. A work out that pushes you a little bit out of your comfort zone is all you need. Pace yourself and listen to your body. In fact, the main thing is that you enjoy your exercise, because your new routine needs to become a regular part of your life. If you don’t enjoy it or if you find it unpleasant, then the chances are you find some excuse to skip it. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to stay active, if you are serious about you health you will continue until you find an activity that you like and can stick to.

Some More Ideas

For anyone who may be overweight, getting started with an exercise routine can be an uncomfortable prospect. The best way to overcome this hurdle is to start with non-weight bearing exercise. This means you will be getting the movement in your joints and muscles, having a light cardiovascular workout but without adding your body weight to the equation. Here are some excellent forms of exercise which fall into this category:

• If you have access to a pool you should swim. Swimming is a superb way to get maximum movement to every part of your body without any of the stresses and strains that the equivalent exercise on dry land would entail. When you swim you use all the muscle groups and even give the internal organs a massage too. That feeling of suddenly becoming weightless and able to move about freely in the water is wonderful. Please don’t be concerned about appearing in your local swimming pool with a less than sylph-like figure. Put your health and fitness first and forget what anyone else might think; it couldn’t matter less. Once you are in the water you are just the same as everyone else and your weight will no longer hamper your movement or progress in any way.

• Water aerobics classes are fun and great for recovering lost muscles and gently increasing the heart rate. This form of exercise is a gentle way of building up stamina and flexibility with no risk to joints. It is particularly helpful to those whose feet may be affected by nerve pain because it provides exercise to improve the circulation without risk of shoes rubbing and causing blisters.

• Exercise bikes are a very useful way of building up stamina. Be sure to start slowly on a low setting for just five to ten minutes. Many gyms now have bikes with a built-in TV screen, so as well as monitoring your progress you can watch your favourite programmes. Build up the time you are cycling until you are doing about thirty minutes on a random setting.

• Rowing machines are excellent for strengthening the arms, shoulders and thighs. Rowing will also help get your blood pumping.

• Resistance exercises – there are various types of weighted equipment for this sort of toning. You can decide which areas you need to work on and add the appropriate machine to your routine. .

Although these exercises are non-weight bearing, they are still burning calories, so helping you lose excess weight as well as doing an incredible amount of good in terms of general strength, stamina and fitness.

Weight-Bearing Exercise:

Weight-bearing exercise will strengthen your bones, and that is great for overall fitness. Such activities as walking, climbing stairs, lifting weights, using cross trainers and treadmills, dancing and badminton. Anything that causes you to take the weight of your body on your feet is a weight-bearing exercise. Here are a few ideas:

• Cross trainer – gives a good workout and because of its sprung motion, it puts less strain on hips, knees and ankles than ordinary walking. Do not attempt to jog or run on the cross trainer. Be content to walk and as your fitness levels increase you can adjust the setting so that you are walking up a slight incline.

• Treadmill – fine for steady, consistent walking. Just set your pace and build-up from a ten minute, slow start until you’re walking more briskly for a little longer.

• Out-and-about walking – you don’t need anything other than good footwear. Walking out of doors can be simply walking around town or a shopping centre where you can window-shop as you go; it doesn’t have to be a country hike or three laps of the park.

• Dancing – an enjoyable way to get exercise. There are many different kinds of organizeddancing classes, but you can also just dance to your favourite music in the privacy of your home.

• Pilates – a method of working the muscles of the body at a deep level. It is amazingly effective in increasing core body strength without the strain of aerobic exercise.

• Yoga – a wonderful way of not only learning how to breath properly and stretch the body to attain maximum flexibility and balance. It also teaches you to find the calm in your life that everyone should have as their right. Yoga will help you so much on your journey back to good health.

How Much Exercise is Enough?

The American Diabetic Association recommends 30mins of low to moderate intense cardio activity 5 times per week. Any exercise is better than no exercise, so even if you only had twenty minutes to half an hour each day, it will certainly help. A steady walk around the block or through the park or shopping mall is not going to leave you gasping for breath, but it will certainly be an improvement and will set you on the right track for adding more exercise as your fitness levels begin to increase.

You should start with low impact workout and as the activity becomes less challenging then you can increase the intensity.which lasts for about one hour three times each week. If you do your workout on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, it will be sufficient to make a major difference to your health. Perhaps you may even feel inclined to add a swim after you have finished your exercise routine, or even take a yoga or pilates class once a week. Whatever you decide to do, make sure you enjoy it so that it becomes a natural part of your life.

To Summarise the Advantages

Just to put the main plus points of an exercise routine for you in a concise form so that you can see at a glance exactly why you are planning to make exercise a valuable part of your life and your relief from diabetes:

• Your body will respond more effectively to insulin, ensuring lower blood glucose levels.

• Exercise will help burn calories and help you to lose excess weight.

• The risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, stroke and heart attack are all greatly reduced by a regular exercise routine.

• Stress is eased by exercise.

• Physical activity makes you more able to get a good night’s sleep.

So in summing up, there is one very important fact you should know, exercise, along with a healthy, low sugar diet, high in vegetables, will put you on the road to improving the stability of your blood glucose levels to the stage where you may no longer need to be on diabetes medication.

How to Raise HDL Naturally and Lower Risk for Heart Disease.

5 Ways to Raise Your HDL-Cholesterol Naturally

HDL, an abbreviation for high-density lipoprotein, is often referred to as the “good cholesterol,” since higher levels are associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. This is in contrast to LDL, the so-called “bad cholesterol,” a different form that may play a role in causing heart disease. These terms actually refer to the lipoproteins that carry cholesterol through the body rather than the cholesterol molecule itself.

The reason we care about and measure HDL is that higher levels are associated with a lower risk of developing heart disease. One way in which HDL cholesterol may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease is by removing cholesterol from the inner walls of arteries, blood vessels that carry blood. Once HDL picks up cholesterol from the arterial wall, it carries it to the liver where it can be broken down and eliminated. Plus, research suggests that HDL cholesterol may also have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects that help protect against cardiovascular disease.

Therefore, HDL plays a useful function in the human body. It helps clear cholesterol from the walls of arteries and keeps them healthy. Therefore, it is desirable to have a high ratio of HDL cholesterol relative to LDL cholesterol. Your physician can check these values with a blood test to see where you stand. If you find your HDL cholesterol is low, are there ways to raise it naturally? Here’s what science shows may help.

Lose Weight

If you’re carrying extra pounds of body weight, losing the excess weight may boost your HDL-cholesterol level, but the effects are modest. On average, you can raise your HDL level by about 13 percent through weight loss alone. But losing weight has other heart health benefits as well. Body fat produces inflammatory compounds that may contribute to cardiovascular disease. Recent research suggests inflammation can damage the inner walls of arteries and increase the risk of a heart attack or stroke.

Exercise is a natural HDL booster. However, the greatest increase in HDL cholesterol comes from high-intensity exercise. In one study, 12 weeks of high-intensity exercise was linked with a 10 percent increase in HDL cholesterol in men. However, another group who did low-intensity exercise only experienced a boost in HDL of around 2 percent. So, taking a slow walk through the park is unlikely to boost your HDL by much, but taking part in vigorous activities on a regular basis likely will. Duration of exercise may be a factor too. One study found that the increase in HDL was proportional to how many weekly miles runners ran. The bottom line? Move more vigorously and do it more often!

Chuck the Bad Habits

If you’re a smoker, quit. Research shows smokers who kick the habit experience a modest increase in HDL cholesterol of around 6 percent. This occurs despite limited changes in LDL cholesterol. Smoking is risky to heart health for other reasons too. It constricts blood vessels and increases the workload on the heart. Smoking also raises blood pressure and has an inflammatory effect on blood vessels. Over time, smoking damages blood vessels throughout the body.

On the other hand, drinking modest quantities of alcohol, around an ounce per day, can boost HDL by up to 8 percent. However, you have to weigh the pros of drinking alcohol against potential risks. Alcohol in large quantities can cause liver damage.

Change Your Diet

An overall healthy diet of mostly whole, unprocessed foods has favorable effects on blood lipids in general. One of the most heart-healthy diets is a Mediterranean style of eating. The Mediterranean diet emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, fish, and olive oil. It de-emphasizes red meat, processed foods, and sugar. One study found that a Mediterranean eating plan lowered LDL cholesterol, a positive for heart health. Although it didn’t raise HDL, it improved the function of existing HDL. The results were strongest in those who consumed more extra-virgin olive oil.

Also, some but not all studies suggest that consuming more fatty fish, like wild-caught salmon, modestly boosts HDL cholesterol or improves how it functions. Taking a fish oil supplement may have similar benefits, although the results are most compelling when people eat fish in whole food form as opposed to taking a supplement.

Based on research, the benefits are greatest in people who consume fatty fish 4 or 5 times per week. You have to weigh this against the high mercury content of some fish. Mercury can accumulate in the body and cause health problems. Know which fish are high in mercury and follow the guidelines on how often you should consume each type of fish.

Watch Your Carbohydrates

At the very least, eliminate refined carbohydrates from your diet. Some research in diabetics suggests that reducing carbohydrates to under 50 grams per day can raise HDL cholesterol. In one study in diabetics, those who consumed a low-carb diet experienced twice the rise in HDL relative to those who ate a higher carb diet. But you may experience some improvement by simply watching the quality of the carbs you eat. Consume more non-starchy fruits and vegetables and fewer processed carbs and foods with added sugar. In other words, fewer packaged foods and trips through the drive-through!

Conclusion

Lifestyle can have an impact on your level of HDL-cholesterol. Although HDL-cholesterol appears to have a protective effect against cardiovascular disease, new research shows the size of a person’s HDL particles and how well they function may be a factor too. In other words, you may have a high HDL, but if your HDL isn’t very functional, it may not protect your heart as much.

It’s also not clear whether artificially raising your HDL, as through medications, has protective benefits. Hopefully, further research will sort these issues out. In the meantime, doing these five things should lower your risk of cardiovascular disease in general. So, take advantage of these natural ways to raise HDL and lower your risk of heart disease.

References:

Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2014 May;24(5):554-62. doi: 10.1016/j.numecd.2013.11.003. Epub 2013 Dec 2

Medical News Today. “Nine Ways to Increase Your HDL Cholesterol Levels”

Am Heart J. 2011 Jan;161(1):145-51. doi: 10.1016/j.ahj.2010.09.023.

Science Daily. “Mediterranean Diet with Virgin Olive Oil May Boost ‘Good’ Cholesterol”

Am J Clin Nutr. 2015 Oct;102(4):780-90. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.115.112581. Epub 2015 Jul 29.

Bear Crawls Benefits For Powerful Strength and Mobility

Lifting weights and running on the treadmill is not the only way you can get your weekly doses of strength and cardio. Is a pound just a pound? When it comes to weight training, Yes!!!. And who cares how you get your heart rate up, just get it up!! Here is how. Bear Crawls.

Doing the bear crawl is that exercise that will kill two birds with one stone. All you need is your bodyweight. Bear crawls benefits anyone who needs to workout. They can be performed anywhere, even in a small apartment or hotel room. Push your furniture out the way and lets start crawling like a bear.

What Is Bear Crawls and Why Are They A Good Workout?

Bear crawls are a pivotal part of the functional fitness program that focuses on the maximum usage of quadrupedal and ground movements to strengthen your entire body. This exercise engages almost every muscle joint of the human upper body making it the perfect compound exercise without using weights.

If you are bored with squats, sprints, curls, and presses, it’s time to move to bear crawls. If one has to define bear crawls in the simplest terms, it would be ideal to say that bear crawls are somewhat of an advanced version of a moving plank. Much like the plank, a bear crawl also engages the core muscles, but since it also involves moving, a bear crawl forces the performer to use their core more intensely to maintain balance.

Bear crawls have witnessed a sudden surge in popularity. Suddenly, almost all knowledgeable trainers and coaches have jumped on the bear crawl endorsement bandwagon. Why? Primarily because the fitness devotees are being seen making a deliberate shift towards full-body and functional exercises that prepare the body for day-to-day tasks. Doing the bear crawl is a cheap way to get a good workout.

What Muscles Are Used in a Bear Crawl?

The bear crawl is primarily a strength- and mobility-enhancing exercise and thus effectively uses almost every single muscle group in the body. Abdomen, shoulder, chest, glutes, and legs are the primary muscles used during this exercise. In fact, you are using all these muscles at the same time. It also increase joint mobility in the hips, wrists, spine, ankles and the knee.

A Step-by-Step Guide to How to Do a Bear Crawl?

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Doing a bear crawl is not complicated. But it is very challenging. The critical thing to remember is maintaining the right posture to maximize the movement pattern. However, the wrong position while doing bear crawls can easily lead to injuries.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to how to do a bear crawl. Before you attempt the bear crawl make sure you warm up your muscles and stretch for 5 -10 mins before attempting.

1. Start in a crawl position. Your hands should be directly underneath your shoulders, and your knees should be placed under your hips. You will be on all fours just like a bear.

2. Stabilize your spine and elongate your back. The key idea is to engage the abdominal muscles to their maximum capacity. Do not attempt exercise until you are body is stable.

3. While maintaining stability slowly lift your knees off the floor, stay on your toes, while still in the crawl position. Move out your right arm, left leg and starting crawling. Knees should not touch the floor. Start crawling.

4. Cover whatever your distance you can cover comfortably and rest.

5. Repeat as many times as you can

How to Make Bear Crawls More Advanced?

Once the basic move becomes easy peasy, now its time to advance to more challenging steps. Now try these advanced versions.

1. Go Faster. Or for a longer distance. Get competitive and race a friend.

2. Pull something by securing a backpack to your back or a rope attached to a heavy object. Wear a weighted vest.

3. If you think you have perfectly mastered the basic bear crawl, it’s time to move to the next step. Instead of doing a basic bear crawl, make it tougher by simply lifting one hand and the opposite leg off the ground. Be sure to maintain crawl position

4. A spiderman crawl is another variation of the standard bear crawl which can be performed by bending your chest closer to the ground while crawling.

5. Don’t have a lot of time? Bear crawls are ideal for High-Intensity Interval Training Crawl for 20 seconds and rest for 10 seconds. Repeat for about 20 mins duration no more than two times per week.

6. Add it to your circuit training. For example , Burpees, Bear Crawl, Jumping, Jacks, Squats. Rest after the first set and Repeat four times.

7. Do backward bear crawls

What Are the Benefits of Bear Crawls?

If you have been looking for reasons to include bear crawls in your routine, here are a few:

1. Bear crawls help you build total body strength. While most exercises focus on a particular group of muscles, the bear crawl is one of those few exercises that use almost all muscle groups. It forces your core to work harder, which makes it an excellent strength-building exercise.

2. As previously mentioned, bear crawls engage more than one joints. The work of these joints is pivotal to ensuring perfect stability while doing a bear crawl. Thus, this exercise also enhances muscle coordination and mobility.

3. Crawling around without the support of your knees on the floor will undoubtedly get your heart rate up. You can even go faster and turn it into a high-intensity workout.

Getting your weekly dose of exercise should not be difficult if you include bear crawls in your routine. All you need to do is get on all fours and start crawling like a bear.

Sandbag Training Benefits that Will Surprise You

If you do not want to break a nail or get callouses from the heavy metal of barbells and dumbbells, then sandbags might be just what you need to add to your resistance training routine. To fight diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol, the American Heart Association recommends resistance training at a minimum of 2 times per week. All you need is to set aside 30 mins a day for two days. You can split the 30 mins into 2 15 mins sessions and use sandbags to make it more tolerable and fun.

Sandbags have been around for donkey years by those desiring to push the limits of their strength and toughness. Experts now believe that training with unstable loads like sandbags can improve strength in innumerable functional ways.

An unstable load is anything that shifts during training or weight lifting. You have probably heard that you have to maintain stability when training and weight lifting. New research from a University in Norway has busted that myth. Instability during exercise helps to stimulate muscle movement and growth in unique ways. However, always stay safe.

With stable training, for instance, dumbbells and kettlebells, the only growth you will be from the heaviness of the weight. That could be the reason why it takes so long to see significant results when you start going to the gym. A little movement of the muscles due to the instability of the weights can shift the scales of balance in your favor.

Unstablize Your Routine With Sandbags

Sandbag training will jolt your body into change. It has the potential to burst past the plateau stage in your muscle gain endeavors. The stagnation happens when your muscles do the same movements over and over again. It is your body’s way of saying ” I am bored now . What’s next”. Listen to your body and change it up. You have to change up your routine to keep progressing.

Admittedly, it can be hard to find a sandbag in a commercial gym. You could buy or make your own, or visit a boxing club. Training sandbags usually resemble a duffle bag. At first sight, they might not appear to be a challenging training tool, but in the real sense, they are instrumental at both fat blasting and muscle gain.

The sand in the bag is continuously shifting during training. When you lift the sandbags, all your muscles including those of the legs, core, and back are engaged in trying to stabilize the bag. You will get shredded in the shortest time.

Some sandbag designs feature handles for gripping. These will enable you to lift the bags in a different range of ways. By experimenting with the various forms of lifting the sandbag, your muscles get engaged in explosive ways.

Features of Sandbags

The bags are designed to help fitness aficionados to jack up their strength, raw power and build endurance. The sandbags come with everything you will need for the unstable rough training. Sand is the only thing you will need. You can make your own or buy one, either way when not in use, you can slide it under bed.

Tough Outer Shell

Training sandbags are made for rough handling and merciless drills. The material is tough, and you will often notice belted reinforcements all around. The bags may feature triple stitched, heavy-duty and cross stitched fabrics. The zipper also has to be incredibly strong to keep the sand on the pack during the training.

Easy Access Handles

These are natural inclusions to improve their ease of use. The grips allow you to exert your maximum force, stability, and power without faltering during training. There could be six; more or fewer handles to provide comfortable and firm grip options.

Removable Inner Bags

As mentioned earlier, training sandbags often feature smaller inner sandbags. These are removable, and they are the ones that you fill up with sand. This feature will enable you to adjust the weight and regulate the workout intensity to match your stamina.

Benefits of Sandbag Training

The core idea behind sandbag training is motion functionality. Regular weight lifting is a slow process of building muscle because if the minimal muscle movements. Sandbag workouts mimic daily body motions such as moving a bag of grocery, lifting a bag laundry, or lifting a child to your shoulders. Countless workouts are possible.

Both beginners and experienced sandbag trainers can appreciate the different exercises and intensity levels enabled by sandbags. You can manage a wide range of workouts including lunges, deadlifts, squats, presses, and throws. The adjustable weighted bags will allow you to push your limits regardless of your fitness levels. Unlike dumbbells and barbells, you can easily add or remove resistance by adding or removing weights. Let me explain. Most bag have individual weight sacs that can be removed. For instance, there can be 5 10lb sacs. You can add and remove the sacs to desired weight.

Sandbags can be added to some of the exercises you are already doing. You do not need to learn anything new. But there are also sandbag specific exercises that you can add to your routine.

Below are five examples of sandbag workouts you can try.

Bear Hug Squats

All it entails is hugging the length of the sandbag on your chest and proceeding with squats. The exercise strengthens your back, legs and core muscles.

Sandbag Push-Ups

This is a type of raised push-ups that maximum pressure on your abs, core, and chest. Ensure to maintain a flat and neutral back as you lower and increase in the push-up position.

Sandbag Thrust

Sandbag thruster is an advanced form of sandbag squats. In this case, when you lower yourself in the squat position with the sandbags in arms, straighten back up fast and thrust the lift bag upwards over your head. Hold for about three seconds before reversing to the squat position. This workout is good for the glutes and shoulders.

Sandbag Row

Some bags have handle therefore you can do rows. The sandbag row workout entails maintaining a neutral spine as you pull the sandbag towards you in a bent position, hinging at the hips. It builds your back and core strength.

Sandbag Shouldering

This movement relies on your hips to lunge the sandbag over your shoulder. In that motion, do not round your back or use force in your arms. Bend at the knees, hinge at the hips and grab the sandbag then drive it over your shoulders. Drop it back down and repeat on the other shoulder.

Builds Dynamic Resistance

Unlike when working with weights these simple exercises are very challenging. You will be battling with balance and the shifting movement of the sand in the bag. Such dynamic strength can come in handy for anyone.

Brutally Builds Your Core

Sandbags movements are merciless on your abdominal muscles. Be it carrying, shouldering, thrusting or squatting, each of these exercises at least engages one of the core muscles and hips. That is where the overall strength of the body lies.

Real Life Strength

Functional training or strength training is much more effective with movements that are more like actual life movements. Such is the kind of raw power that will come handy in your day to day activities when you to pick up something off the floor or reach for an item on the top shelf.

Workout Everything Including The Fingers

Can you live without a good grip? The muscles in your hands and fore are activated when you grip with the bag without handles. Due to this activation of muscle, sandbags helps to improve your grip.

If you want to unlock all your movement potential, then add sandbags to your routine. Sandbags are a versatile tool that you should at your arsenal of equipment for optimal workout. The act of stabilization as you manage the weights uses every little muscle on your body. It is uncomfortable but feels good to your core.

What is Functional Fitness Training About and How can It Improve Your Livelihood?

The fitness industry is like fashion. There is always an old something that makes a come back or recycled as something new. Because of this, you can never get bored. Regardless of your fitness level or your goals, there is something for everyone even if you workout at home or the park. You do not need to join a gym to get your recommended dose of aerobic and resistance training. The latest fitness craze to get you moving and grooving is Functional Training.

What Is Functional Training?

Squatting down to pick up your child or getting on all fours to scrub the floor are examples of functional movement. In other words you are moving for a purpose and this is what Functional Training teaches you how to perform effectively.

Functional training focuses on movement patterns that are similar to our activities of daily living. These are activities that we engage on a day to day basis. For instance walking, jogging, sprinting, running, jumping, pushing, lifting, pulling, bending, turning, twisting, starting, stopping, standing, lunging and climbing. A common aspect of these activities is that they involve smooth, rhythmic motions that helps you get the job done without hurting yourself.

Functional training is a form of resistance exercise that focuses on improving the overall strength to directly enhance normal body movements. It goes beyond building the capacity of specific muscles and muscle groups to focus on building coordination between the muscular and the nervous systems. Simply put, the core goal of functional exercises is to condition your body to perform your daily activities more efficiently and effectively. It helps you achieve this by transferring the gains in muscle strength to enhance the performance of your daily movements through the neuromuscular system. As such, functional training exercises your muscles in a similar way your body uses them in everyday life. These exercises focus more on practical full body workouts than weightlifting to target specific muscle groups. The end result is an overall strength and endurance enabling you to optimally function throughout the day.

Functional Training Origin

Though this form of physical activity has gained popularity more recently, it has been in use for decades. Physical therapists have been using them since World War 1 to rehabilitate patients with movement disorders. Functional training is now increasingly penetrating the fitness arena because it involves various exercises that target the core body muscles, enabling people to perform their daily activities more effectively.

Most of the modern fitness ideologies are also currently focusing on function. This has also resulted in the development of new training equipment such as battling ropes, slosh pipes, sandbags, suspension trainers and kettlebells.

How Does It Differ from Others Forms of Exercise?

The conventional fitness disciplines such as powerlifting, bodybuilding, and others lay emphasis on exercise techniques that serve specific objectives such as achieving muscular or a defined physique. These use machine-based exercises that target specific muscles and joints in a controlled environment to stimulate optimal muscle growth.

What sets functional training apart from the rest is the way it targets your body. The exercises lend themselves to the mindset of mastering a skill or completing a task rather than just doing a specific number of reps and sets. It is both an art and a science that involves the transfer of strength gained to the normal body movements.

Success in this area requires coordination between the training movement and the actual performance movement. This is because the brain section that is responsible for muscular movement, thinks in terms of whole motions, and not the movement of specific muscles. Thus, by making the training motions similar to your daily movements, the brain is able to transfer this energy to your daily routine with much ease.

The traditional exercises do not effectively transfer performance from the gym to the real world. However, this does not mean that you should avoid them completely. The non-functional exercises can also add value to the functional ones. For instance, they can be used to strengthen a “weak link” which could be a joint or a muscle that is getting in the way of proper function. By restoring the right muscle balance, the individual can effectively and safely do functional activities.

Benefits of Functional Exercise

Increases The Ease of Everyday Life

For normal people, the benefits of functional fitness usually out-weigh those of conventional training. Functional exercises have numerous benefits because they can be applied to our daily lives. They are designed to assist you to carry out your routine body movements with much ease. For instance, lunges which are a functional exercise come in handy when climbing a steep hillside.

You will also notice that climbing up the stairs will get easier with time, or even moving things around the house. Functional training simply increases the ease of your everyday life by developing muscle and body stability, boosting muscle strength and endurance, and improving the overall function of your body.

Saves Time

Functional training is also efficient in terms of time taken to reach your fitness goals, whether weight loss or even strength gain. This is because the exercises focus on completing full-body movements and also targets multiple muscle groups resulting in a boost in calorie expenditure. Given that it incorporates a wide range of movements and activities such as dancing, your fitness journey can also turn out to be fun.

Improved Posture, Balance and Eliminates Joint Pains

Functional training works on the full body by targeting multiple muscles and joints. Because functional exercises are generally not stabilized, it forces small muscle groups to grow so that they can support the larger ones in terms of balance and posture. This results in equilibrium throughout the body in terms of energy, posture, strength, and balance. The exercises also eliminate the imbalance in the body and cushions the joints; effectively eliminating the sources of chronic pain.

To Summarize

Functional exercises are suitable for beginners and pro athletes alike since they involve full body movements that target multiple muscles simultaneously. It is a great starting point for anyone at any fitness level since it implements low impact exercises. Athletes too can benefit from these exercises by increasing the intensity to train for strength, speed, power, flexibility, cardiovascular fitness, muscle endurance, or even fat loss. The benefits of functional exercise are far reaching and wide because they are designed to assist you to carry out your routine body movements with much ease.