Friday, April 18, 2014

BENEFITS OF FITNESS ROWERS

A complete workout of the body fitness rowers are the best. They exercise the entire body, much in the same that swimming does. Thus it's a great cardio vascular exercise, which helps to lose the calories as well as tone up the body. The fitness rower uses air as a means of resistance. Fitness rowers come with a variety of resistance levels. Thus a person can have the workout required by them. Therefore athletes as well as the beginners use it. The smaller fitness rowers are meant for home use. They can also be folded and tucked away to increase the usage of the spaces inside the house. The best fitness rowers are also the most expensive ones. The upper end of the fitness rowers is means for the gym. They have a variety of resistance levels as well as programs to suit the needs of all. A control panel is a must because this displays feedback readings when exercising (found on the best fitness rowers) thereby making the exerciser reach their optimum workout level. Since stationary bikes and the like can't be stowed away, the usual storability of rowing machines is one of the greatest benefits they have. It is not an all-encompassing rule because the larger more expensive machines, although space efficient are not foldable. Fitness rowers need to be assembled, before they can be made usable for workouts. Hence one should read the instructions manual carefully so as not to break any parts while assembling the fitness rower. The personal trainer or the gym instructor should be asked before . Ask around for the best available fitness rowers within a particular budgets. Sometimes the best fitness rowers are also available on discounts. Shop around before you purchase a fitness rower. This will enable you to negotiate for lower prices.

Sunday, December 23, 2012

BODY MASS INDEX(BMI) AND YOUR FITNESS


What Is BMI How Is BMI Calculated

I was really surprised to find out that BMI was created in the 1800's as it is only in the last couple of years that I have heard of it. All of a sudden everyone seems to be relying on BMI to tell them whether they are overweight or not and as a guide in their weight loss journey. BMI can't actually help you lose weight, it is simply a measure of your weight in relation to your height. Your BMI result will indicate whether you are in the right weight range for your height or whether you are under or over weight.

BMI is shortened for Body Mass Index. It is a tool that measures body mass and has been around for 200 years. BMI was created by Adolphe Quetelet and is sometimes referred to as the Quetelet index. Adolphe Quetelet developed the BMI formula while working on social physics and it is still used today, 200 years later, with very little variation from it's original form.

So we know that BMI measures body mass, but what does that actually mean? Well, it doesn't measure a person's body fat, but rather it compares a person's height to their weight to determine if they are in a healthy weight range for their height. It is a tool that is widely used by doctors, fitness trainers and even insurance companies to determine whether a person is overweight or obese. The BMI formula is not without it's flaws and in some cases is not 100% accurate, but it is still the preferred tool used in the medical community.

Let's take a look at the formula used to calculate a persons BMI. First you take your height in meters and square it - you times it by itself. Then you divide your weight in kilograms by the answer to your height squared. For example, if a person is 1.5 meters tall you would times 1.5 by 1.5 which will give you 2.25. If that person weights 54 kilograms you would then divide 54 by 2.25 which gives you an answer of 24 and this is your BMI.

What does that mean?

Your weight status is worked out by where it lies on the BMI chart. A normal weight range has a BMI of between 18.5 and 24.9. If your BMI is below 18.5 then this indicates that you are underweight. Likewise if your BMI is in the range of 25 to 29.9 this indicates that you are overweight. A BMI of 30 or more indicates obesity. Using our example above of a person 1.5 meters tall and weighing 54 kilograms, they fall within the normal weight range at a BMI of 24.

I mentioned earlier that BMI figures are not accurate 100% of the time and this is mainly so with people that are extremely muscular. The BMI formula doesn't distinguish between muscle and fat and because muscle is much heavier than fat then the result is not accurate. A body builder for example would have a large muscle mass and so his weight would be quite high when compared to his height. This would give him a high BMI, although in actual fact he may not have an ounce of fat on his body. For the majority of people though, BMI will give an accurate indication of whether you have a good weight for your height or not.

Next time you hear someone talking about BMI you will know exactly what they are talking about and could even tell them how it is calculated. BMI is simply a comparison of a person's weight to their height to determine whether they are in a healthy weight range.

All You Need To Know About The BMI Index

The BMI index was created in the early 1800s and is still used today to measure whether a person is in a healthy weight range. The BMI index is one of the few tools that is still used relatively unchanged 200 years after it was created. The BMI formula compares your height and weight to find out whether you are within a normal weight range or whether you are under or over weight. Although most people will know if they are putting on weight when they find their pants are getting too tight or they can see it when they look in the mirror, many doctors and also insurance companies rely on the results of BMI testing.

Insurance companies don't like to insure someone if they are high risk so they will often use a person's BMI to determine their risk. If a person is found to be overweight or obese by their BMI results then their health insurance costs can be significantly higher. Life insurance can also be higher for those who are overweight or if obese it can be refused altogether. An insurance company is protected it's own business and has the rights to refuse insurance to someone if they are high risk, however, unless other factors are taken into consideration, the BMI index is not always accurate.

To understand how the BMI is not always accurate let's take a look at how the BMI index is calculated. A person's weight is divided by their height squared - which is their height times itself. The BMI index is usually calculated using kilograms and meters, although the formula can be changed slightly to calculate using feet and pounds. For most of the population, the general BMI formula will give a fairly accurate result of what they weigh in relation to their height, but for some the result is not accurate because there are other factors involved.

What if we consider a weight lifter or a body builder, who's body is made up of a large percentage of muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat and takes up less room than fat. If someone who is solid muscle does the BMI formula then their result will indicate that they are overweight because their weight is too much for their height. However, it is because of their mass of muscle that their weight is what it is and not fat, so you can see how this result wouldn't be accurate. So if someone with a lot of muscle took the BMI test to apply for insurance, they could have higher premiums or even be refused insurance because they would be in the overweight range according to the BMI result, even though they don't have an ounce of fat on their body.

BMI results can also be inaccurate for children and also for very tall people, but generally for most average people the results will be accurate. If you calculate your BMI you can then work out what weight range you are in. A normal range BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9 so if you are within this range then you are in a healthy weight range. If you are below 18.5 then you are likely to be underweight, if you are between 25 and 29.9 then you are likely to be overweight and if you are 30 or higher then you are in the obese category.

The BMI index is a very good tool to use to check your weight range as long as you aren't in any of the categories that would make it inaccurate. When using BMI to determine your ideal weight, you will also want to use common sense and know how your body looks and how much fat you might have compared to muscle.

BMI And Body Fat And Health

BMI is one of the most popular tools that people use to determine whether they are in a healthy weight range. Because body fat and lean muscle tissue don't figure into the equation at all, many experts believe that BMI is not at all accurate for some people. In this article we will take a look at exactly what BMI is and why it isn't always accurate for some people.

BMI is short for Body Mass Index and was created by Adolphe Quetelt in the early 1800s. Basically, BMI compares a persons weight to their height and with this information will determine whether they are in the correct weight range for their height. BMI measurement has remained popular for all these years and still remains one of the most popular weight measurements.

Body fat, bone and frame size, muscle and body type are not included in the formula for working out BMI. The formula for working out BMI is to take your height in meters squared and divide your weight in kilograms by that number. Let's do an example: If you are 1.7 meters tall you would do 1.7 times 1.7 which equals 2.89. If you weigh 65 kilograms you would divide 65 by 2.89 which equals 22.49 as your BMI. This is in the normal weight range which is from 18.5 to 24.9. If you have a BMI below 18.5 then you are considered underweight and if you are over 24.9 then you are considered overweight. If your BMI is over 30 then you are considered obese.

Generally you can get an idea of whether you are in a healthy weight range by how much body fat you have and also by your general health. BMI can be a little trickier however than working out your healthy weight range using body fat.

The reason that BMI is not always accurate is because if you have a lot of muscle then your BMI might not be right. Muscles weighs a lot more than fat but will take up less space than fat so some people can have a lot of muscle but they don't look all that big. BMI doesn't take this muscle weight into account. If an athlete, football player, body builder, wrestler or anyone that gains a lot of muscle through their exercise routine, will actually calculate a BMI that puts them in the overweight or obese range.

So BMI isn't accurate for people who have a lot of weight in muscle, but what about everyone else? Well the accuracy will vary between people with different situations. Children don't get an accurate BMI and also very tall people might not get an accurate BMI either due to the weight of their longer bones. So generally, if you are extremely tall, a child or have a lot of muscle then BMI isn't a good way to measure your weight range.

The other inaccuracy with BMI is that it uses the same formula for both men and women, however women will generally carry more body fat than men so for that reason you would think the formula would be a little different to give accurate results.

East Steps For Calculating BMI

BMI is reasonably simple to calculate but before we look at that, let's take a look at BMI and what it actually is. BMI is short for Body Mass Index and this is a tool that was created in the 1800s to determine a persons weight range. The formula will give a result that will indicate whether a person is in a normal weight range for their height or whether they are over or under weight. Even though this formula was created 200 years ago, it is still widely used today.

There are some situations where BMI results won't be accurate but generally for most people it will give an accurate result. The problem with BMI is that it doesn't distinguish between fat and muscle so those people, like body builders, who have a lot of muscle, their BMI results would not be accurate. For most of us though, BMI will give us a pretty good idea of whether we are in a healthy weight range, underweight, overweight or obese.

How to Calculate BMI

There is a basic formula that is used to calculate BMI and that is weight divided by height squared - kg/m2. You take your height (in meters) and square it, so you times it by itself. Then you divide the answer into your weight (in kilograms).

Let's do an example so you can see exactly how it works. If a person is 1.7 meters tall we would times 1.7 by 1.7 which gives us an answer of 2.89. Now if that person weights 90 kilograms we then divide the weight by the height squared, so that is 90 divided by 2.89. This gives us a BMI of 31. A BMI of 31 would indicate that this person is obese.

The normal weight range is a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9. If you fall below 18.5 then you would be underweight. If you fall in the range of 25 to 29.9 then you would be considered overweight. If your BMI results was 30 or over then you are considered obese. So now you can see how the answer we got above of 31 would put that person in the obese category.

Let's do another example using the same height but a different weight. So the person is 1.7 meters and 1.7 squared is 2.89. This time let's say that they weight 68 kilograms so we divide 68 by 2.89 which gives us a BMI result of 23.5. This person would be within the normal weight range. You can use BMI calculations to determine how much weight you need to lose to be in a healthy range. With these two examples, the person in the first example would need to lose around 20 kilograms to get down to a healthy weight range.

If you don't like to work in meters and kilograms there is another formula that you can use for pounds and feet. With this formula you take your weight in pounds and times it by 4.88. Then you divide that number by your height in feet, squared. Let's work that out using a person that is 200 pounds and 6 feet tall. You would times 200 by 4.88 which is 976. Then you would take the height in feet and times it by itself, so 6 times 6 equals 36. Now take the weight answer of 976 and divide it by 36 which equals 27.1 - this is your BMI. A result of 27.1 would put a person in the overweight range.

When calculating your BMI just remember to factor in whether you have a lot of muscle or not as this can make the results inaccurate.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

FITNESS AS A WAY TO BETTER HEALTH

Many people end up abandoning perfectly good fitness programs and weight-loss regimens before they even lace up their sneakers.

Why? Because in a world filled with fast food, instant messaging, and a five-second disease-tracking device, anything without a quick payoff goes against the grain of the typical American instant gratification ethic. While it would be nice to actually drop inches in just a few days like what most miracle ads proclaim, managing weight and losing weight through physical fitness is a slow and steady process that takes time and commitment.

Setting weight management goals for yourself can be a good motivator. Gradual weight loss, for those people who wish to shed off some extra pounds, is usually the safest.

That is why health and fitness experts had come up with the idea of lifetime fitness in order to teach people set realistic goals. These lifetime fitness programs generates dietary regimens that cut your normal calorie consumption for your weight by 500 to 1,000 per day, so will burning the same amount with exercise. In turn, this will definitely encourage healthier weight loss.

Lifetime fitness teaches you how to maintain a physically fit body at the same time enjoy and live a happy, contented life. It gives you the chance to strike a balance between the two (exercise and diet), and make exercise, be it team sports, cycling, or walking, something you will truly enjoy.

That is why lifetime fitness embodies the concept that making a long-term healthy lifestyle change is essential to keeping the pounds off once they are gone.

To know more of the advantages and benefits that lifetime fitness can bring, here are some facts that you need to know:

1. Lifetime fitness programs offers you the most comprehensive and wide-ranging fitness and health encounter with quality services, in which the customers will feel gratified.

These fitness programs provide you the right method in maintaining health, build up and encourage your competence, and take care of your family’s physical fitness as well.

2. Because the goal of lifetime fitness is to provide you with long-term achievements as far as physical fitness is concerned, these programs utilizes numerous fitness equipments that will tone and manage your health and the different parts of your body.

There are fitness equipments that will give your cardiovascular system a lift. You can also opt for some sports facilities that will provide you with an alternative way of being physically fit.

3. Lifetime fitness programs and centers also provides nutritional products such as food supplements that will aid in the formation of good blood cells and tissues thereby making your body at its pink of health.

Lifetime fitness centers and programs also provide you with up-to-date fitness magazines that do not only give substantial information about fitness and health but inspirational stories as well. These articles will give you an insight on how to make you life balance and how to live a life that is healthy and fit.

Indeed, staying fit and healthy can be a long and winding road and there are instances wherein you may find your enthusiasm fading occasionally. Nevertheless, with the comprehensive programs provided by lifetime fitness plans, you can start heading back to the right track of a better health.

Monday, May 28, 2012

7 SPECIAL TIPS FOR FITNESS IN WOMEN

Would you like to be a fitness woman? Or are you a fitness woman but would like to be effective? Here are 7 great tips on how to become an effective fitness woman:

1. Get a program that will best suit you. Every fitness woman is different. You may have surgical history where a program may not be suited for you. Always consult a qualified trainer to make sure that the fitness program will not hurt you. If the fitness program is not for you, it will only be a cause of frustration and injuries.

2. Set realistic targets. Wouldn't you be frustrated if you set your mind into reshaping your body in month? Make sure that the body you prefer in a period of time is achievable and realistic. The program should also be practical and will not give you false hopes. It is important to be aware of the blocks you encounter in your daily living. This will help you know what program is satisfactory. And once a program has been reached, then you can set goals and timelines that are realistic.

3. Exercises should work on the parts of your body where muscles are. The reason mainly is, when you develop muscles, you burn more calories and then you lessen the fats in your body. Multi-joint exercises and weight lifting are recommended. Learn what exercises work on certain parts of your body. Multi-joint exercises are also said to be effective but time saving.

4. Be systematic on working on your muscles. Your muscles should be working harder over time. Repeating the same sets of exercises and same weight without getting your muscles to work harder will not give satisfactory results. You can record your daily results and make the progression based on your previous data. A daily log will also motivate you since you are able to track how far you have gone. It builds confidence since there is a written proof something that was successfully accomplished.

5. Perform a set of exercises in 10 repetitions. Every number that was accomplished is called a repetition. Try to make every repetition with less momentum as much as possible. The lesser the momentum, the harder your muscles work. And the harder they work, the bigger they become. To check if there is much momentum when lifting, see if the arm is floating. If the arm does float, then there is much momentum.

6. Be flexible and perform a variety of exercises. Every exercise program should have a variety. You can change your exercises, goals and sets every month to keep you motivated and on the go. Doing this will help you prevent being bored and losing energy physically and mentally.

7. Be Motivated! The best way to keep the energy levels of trainees is to allow a healthy competition and allow them to have a sense of control. Having control is having the sense ownership where everybody gets a part in implementing a program. To do this you also need to be consistent in demonstrating your skills.

Not all programs work for all types of people. There is no workout that is best for everyone. But you learn from experienced people. Learn to acknowledge blocks and demonstrate self-discipline, keep yourself motivated and work harder everyday and add variety. Doing these things, you will discover that a lot of programs will work for you.

TIPS FOR WOMEN TO STAY HEALTHY AND FIT

1. Staying fit and healthy starts with a balanced diet. Know and monitor the right weight for your age. Consult your doctor to learn what food you should avoid and follow your eating discipline routines. If you are trying to lose some weight, foods with high calories should be omitted from your meals. Food with high fiber and low fat should be included a priority in your grocery list instead of red meat, sugars and fats.

2. Drink plenty of water. Drinking at least eight glasses of water everyday. This cleanses the body from impurities. It is also advised for lactating women to increase water intake to keep the body hydrated.

3. Take Vitamins and Supplements. Do not forget your Calcium supplement. Sufficient Calcium intake is beneficial for women of all ages. This has been proven to prevent having cramps and Pre-Menstrual Period (PMS) Symptoms. It also prevents Osteoporosis especially for menopausal women. Vitamin E boosts strong immune system. Women who undergo menopausal period should take Vitamin E-400 as it stops night sweats and hot flashes. Also, Vitamin E is said to be best in avoiding wrinkles when aging.

4. Quit smoking. If you are smoking, stop. It is also a big “NO” for pregnant women, as this will affect the health of the baby. Pregnant women who smoke may pass the harmful content of cigarettes to babies through the bloodstream. Recent studies have shown that women smokers are more prone to diseases than men smokers. Women who smoke hve a high risk of getting breast cancer. Also limit your alcohol intake.

5. Incorporate exercises in your daily routine. Take a walk after work, use stairs instead of elevator or play with your kids when you are at home. Home exercises are also effective especially when you do not have time to go to the gym and would like to lose some weight. Yoga and Pilates are only a few of the many effective exercises you can do at home. Exercises help in limiting the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

6. Avoid stress. Many women are prone to too much stress. Stress has been known as cause to many sicknesses. As much as possible take time to relax. Read a good book, hang out with friends and engage into sports. Pamper yourself by going to parlors or you can do some shopping. And do not forget to get enough sleep to revive your energy.

7. Use sunscreen to protect your skin from the harmful rays of the sun. Wear hats when under the sun to protect your skin. Too much sun is bad for your skin. The skin is prone to cancer when exposed to too much sunlight. It also speeds up the aging of skin cells, which causes wrinkles to women.

8. Make sure to visit your dentist to keep that beautiful smile. Always have it cleaned to prevent cavities and bad breath.

9. Visit your Gynecologist. Women who are eighteen and above should have their Physical Examination annually especially for the Pap Smear test. Women who are forty and up should have their mammograms and the Breast self-exam is encouraged once puberty has been reached and should be a habit as they mature.

10. Safe sex is strongly recommended. Use condoms to prevent sexually transmitted diseases.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

NOTABLE POINTERS FOR HEALTH AND FITNESS

Exercise is an essential in life. Most people will certainly nod their heads to this. Exercise is not only perfect for losing weight, it is also good for keeping a reasonable body weight, for giving a boost on the metabolic rate and also for burning those unwanted excess calories. Exercise also revs up the heart and the lungs' machinery making them more efficient in doing their natural functions.

Aside from these, exercise also works for strengthening the bones and keeps people looking good and feeling good about themselves. Exercise also gives people the stamina to enable them to keep up with the pace of their lifestyles. Unfortunately, not many people chose to do what is good for them. Most people could not decide exactly what to do when waking up in the morning; whether to exercise or to press the snooze button one more time.

The following tips are very helpful in reaching and maintaining the ideal body weight. This is especially great for women since they get through a lot of things going on in their bodies and are more susceptible to osteoporosis. Not to mention that many women are under the pressure of keeping themselves beautiful. It is recommended that one or two of these tips at a time are incorporated to the work out routine.

Worry not that the exercise routine is not enough. It is important to keep the commitments one makes. Ideally, it is advised to exercise three to five times a week for 20-60 minutes. However, this is not exactly the case in the real world. One should not frustrate herself by aiming for the ideal when she knows for herself that it is utterly impossible. If she an manage it two times a week for twenty minutes per session, that will do just great.

It is best to focus on doing what one knows she can do than to reproach herself for having not done enough. She can start from this point and then progress on afterwards. This should make her feel successful for having kept her commitment to herself.

Weight lifting should always come first. Many women always do cardio exercises first before weight lifting. A disadvantage of this is that it is possible to miss a critical component of the routine and spend all of it on cardio training. A women may notice this by not being able to see results even after devoting long hours at the gym. This can be avoided by reversing the order. This will guarantee visible positive outcome.

Remember to monitor heart rate. It is recommended to exercise at 75-85% of the maximum heart rate. Many people stick with just pumping up only 50% of their maximum heart rate. To ensure that one is working out at the prescribed target heart rate, she should use a heart rate monitor or any exercise equipment with this feature.

Work out for only an hour or less. Doing this will keep one from dreading the gym. Focusing on the exercise and the aim to be accomplished will make each work out session more and more efficient.

Have some sort of fitness social support. Being in a fitness community maybe the important element lacking in your training program. A social support can do amazing wonders and therefore should not be underestimated. It would be helpful to work out in a gym once in while if one customarily does her work outs at home. One can also try classes in activities that have always been interesting such as yoga, pilates or sailing perhaps. One can also join clubs such as a walking club or a running club for instance.

Pep talk yourself. One should not pressure herself too much; rather, it is best to congratulate one's self and give out words of encouragement in between exercises. One should never forget to say some positive feedback for herself
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Thursday, September 15, 2011

FITNESS RESOLUTION

You want to resolve your fitness and so the holidays are done but your body is a "chef-d'oeuvre" of nearly two months worth of dinner parties and celebrations! How quickly it all sneaks up! With the New Year comes great intentions and goals but historically in our flurry and fuss world, most are broken only a couple of weeks after devising them. I'm here to share with you a couple of fast fitness tips which will enable you to sustain your resolutions, regardless what your daily routine might be! You don't have to spend hours in the gymnasium or eat like a rabbit to accomplish the two-piece model results you wish.

What's your need? It is trying on that slinky cocktail dress for the huge blowout next month? Is it enduring a marathon? Is it bearing more energy to fire up your productivity? No matter what motivates you, realizing your motivation is the opening move to transforming yourself from who you are now to who may and will turn into months from today. Utilize the power of visual image to help you see what you wish to achieve and always keep that goal in the back of your brain for inspiration.

Regardless how much time you spend in the gymnasium, if you don't get adequate sleep or supplement right, you will not see the advancement in the fitness you so much merit! I wish you to be successful in each aspect of your life, beginning with helping you make those little habitual alterations that will yield big results ultimately! Get your rest, make an effort to eat the right foods & drink lots of water to keep you alert & rid your body of toxins. It's simple to incorporate these hints into nearly any lifestyle and maintain your fitness

So now you have your motive & instruction, the sole thing left is the planning! When you're prepared, you're twice more than likely to win at your goal, whether you're attempting to lose five or forty pounds. Make it simple for yourself by keeping a gym bag with a change of exercise clothes in your trunk & by forever carrying healthy snacks to power you through your crazy day. These are the most vital things you are able to do to embark or re-embark on a fitness resolution