Spinning for Weight Loss

Spinning is a popular group  stationary cycling session which promises to make your fitness goals a reality. Spinning involves different techniques like interval training, high intensity and variations in cycling for burning calories, building endurance and stamina and strength. Spinning is a hybrid form of stationary cycling that is conducted by an instructor to the beat of fast music.

Spinning is getting popular  as many find spinning a fun way to lose weight. But is spinning as effective for weight loss like other forms of exercise? Does it focus on overall body toning? Does it exercise every muscle of the body and support a complete body workout.

The basic position of the body is sitting and cycling all the time pedaling with a few variations to keep the sessions interesting while cycling to the music. Therefore spinning is mostly a lower body workout. The  leg muscles are worked while the upper body is neglected. It is an incomplete workout for those looking for an upper body toning or overall body muscle development. This routine burns quite a few calories at a moderate level of intensity but you could literally burn more calories and get a better toned body with running with same the effort put in a spinning session.

As every form of exercise has advantages and disadvantages the biggest plus point to spinning is that it is highly motivational  as it is a group training session which keeps you pushing harder to be more competitive. The cycles can be adjusted to ones comfort levels and the entire concept is a lot of fun. It is basically cardio exercise that  can be compared to running. The only difference being you engage your entire body while you run but here you only move your legs. Read more

How to train your muscles

There are numerous exercise that you can workout in a gym. Each exercise is either for a specific muscle called an isolation exercise or compound exercise where multiple muscles are worked together. Which muscle should you train first or what combination of muscles should you take for more training. Training different muscles depends upon what your objective is and your approach to muscle training.

There are certain number of things one should keep in mind while training his/her muscles. When lifting weights it is most important and foremost to maintain the right posture and perform the exercise in the right manner. Doing them in the wrong posture could unbalance the symmetrical growth of the muscles and could cause injuries and pain. If you are looking for muscle mass then lift more heavy weights with which you could do only 7-8 reps of the exercise. For defining and better cuts of the muscles don’t rush through your session. Change your exercise pattern at times as the body can adapt to the pattern. Rest is important as muscles require time to repair the wear and tear and increase in size and strength.

Work Bigger Muscles First: There are various combinations that you can take while building muscles. There are big muscles in the body like chest, back, thighs, abs and small muscles are biceps, forearms, shoulders, triceps etc. If you work on the small muscles first then working the bigger muscles will be straining as smaller muscles assist in training the bigger muscles. If the small muscles get tired then it will be less supportive for bigger muscles. So do the bigger muscles first and then move on to smaller one. This gives more muscle mass and density to the muscles with strength too.

Combine Opposing muscles: If you are looking to increase strength in your muscles to lift heavier weights then train opposing muscles to concentrate more on the muscles and provide them enough rest. Opposing muscles are least incorporated while doing the other muscle so its gives you time and strength to work the opposing muscles with heavier weight. This style allows you to work more muscles in a workout. Suppose you work your chest then the biceps don’t play much role in it. So it is possible to work the biceps as well with full power and weights.

Work the supporting muscles: Work out combining muscle group in one workout. The muscles that support each other. Like biceps and back. Chest and triceps etc. This helps build muscle endurance, gives better shape to the muscles.  Training supporting muscles works the bigger and small muscles as well. It gives a right combination to exhaust the muscles for better and ripped muscle mass.

Circuit Training Benefits

Circuit training is a great combination of high intensity workout in combination with resistance training. What does it exactly mean: There are 4-10 exercises ( mostly resistance training) that make a circuit or a single set. Each exercise is performed for a specified number of repetitions before moving on to the next exercise. The exercises within each circuit or set  are separated by a short rest period, and each circuit or set is separated by a longer rest period. Circuit training is highly effective in increasing strength, stamina and flexibility. Each exercise has to be done in a steady pace and maintaining the right posture while performing them.

Circuit training in not a fixed type of exercise pattern but can be changed according to the fitness level of the individual. The exercises in a circuit can be total body, upper body, lower body, abs, combination of these body parts, biceps and legs etc . It can be designed to your body requirement hitting specific muscles if required.

Benefits of Circuit Training:

Weight Loss: Circuit training is a high intensity workout which will make the body burn a lot of fat as different muscles are being engaged in high repetitions with little intervals for recovery..If one is looking for a weight loss and wanting to get active and powerful then circuit training can be beneficial.

Body Building: If one is looking to build muscles then circuit training could help get lean and muscular including weight exercises to build bigger muscles. Circuit training helps maximize muscle size and  while reducing  the body fat to the minimum.

Develop strength and Endurance: It is a great way to develop strength and endurance as it can be made higher intensity circuits which make the muscles work more and build strength.

Equipments: With circuit training you have the flexibility to choose exercises from body weight, dumbbells, machines, elastic bands, Swiss balls, barbells, heavy weights, aerobics etc in a circuit . You could combine machines and weights or any other combination according to objective and convenience.

No Age Factor: It is high intensity but the intensity necessarily doesn’t have to be the same for everyone. It can be made according to physical ability. So old people can follow a circuit suitable to their body types. Women can choose a circuit which will tone up the body.

Feel Good: Circuit training finds a lot of popularity amongst people because of its options of plenty. Some people find gyms or other kind of aerobic exercises boring and mundane, while circuit training helps break that monotony and adds adrenaline pumping routine to the regular exercises that are done in isolation. Besides giving you double the results in half the time of any other exercise training fro weight loss.

Yoga for weight loss

Yoga helps in weight loss by improving muscle flexibility, strength, stamina and circulation of blood. The yoga asanas along with correct breathing technique and correct posture help in creating the perfect balance between the mind and body. Yoga compliments the other forms of more active exercises and can never substitute it.

Yoga is fit for beginners that want to start losing weight but are not motivated enough to start running or lifting weights. Yoga helps increase the flexibility in the body gradually motivating you to start more active form of physical activity.

Over the years some forms of yoga like power yoga, flow yoga  have become extremely popular for weight loss. There are many schools of yoga that have similar benefits as power yoga  and have infact helped people manage  heart diseases, asthama and other lifestyle diseases.. To know what style is most conducive to your lifestyle here are few schools listed out for your information.

Hot Yoga: Hot yoga is doing yoga poses in a heated room Read more

How to Reduce Weight

Reduce Weight by managing your diet and exercise. If you are over weight then it doesn’t mean that you have a disease and you need to go on a medication. Eating fat burners and  pills for weight loss will not be the ultimate step in reducing weight but you would gain it back in sometime. We spoke about liposuction and how one gains back the weight after an year at different places.

You have gained weight over a period of time by eating simply more than your body requirement. Suppose your daily caloric requirement is 1500 and you are eating 2000-2500 calories per day, then your body will save the rest 500-1000 calories as fat which adds on by time and becomes a problem.

Here are tips to reduce weight Read more

How to Control In-between Meal Snacking

We ensure that most of our meals are healthy. The problem comes when we crave food in between meals. If you feel hungry so often then you certainly need to watch out as eating more  food whether healthy or junk leads to weight gain.

The biggest trouble with in between snacking is that one craves something that is satisfying and ready to eat. Unfortunately we dont find having salads or fruits as snacks satisfying enough. While junk food or fattening foods manage to hit the spot, instantly satisfying the hunger pang. Gradually these small food breaks stop having the same satiating effect. After sometime the portion size increases  giving way to more food cravings and constant need to eat something Most of the times this snacking is psychological, as in we condition ourselves to feeling hungry even after having proper meals. Here are some reasons and tips to keep the hunger pangs in control, making you eat less.

Untimely Meals: Not having meals on time is a big factor in making you feel hungry at odd times . The body follows no patterns and gets used to giving a call at random times which pushes us to eat more than a usual meal. Time your meals and eat food with high fiber and protein to keep you feeling fuller.

Breakfast: People who don’t have a balanced and satisfying breakfast often find themselves bingeing on odd time. The unsatisfaction of the previous meal  makes the mind want for more and eating unhealthy. Have a good nutritious breakfast with satisfying food. Read more

Lose Weight and Stop Snoring

Snoring is a result of blockage or obstruction of breathing. It is not as big a problem as it may seem but can be irritating at times when you want to sleep and the person next to you is snoring. Snoring is a sign telling us that there is a problem in breathing while one sleeps and take action in curbing the problem before it becomes big and chronic.

Some people have a problem that they can not breathe during sleep due to snoring. This is called Apnea. Body takes immense pressure on the body, unable to take in oxygen properly. Hypertension, hyperactivity and heart problems are more common in people who snore. People who snore probably don’t get good quality sleep due to breaks during sleep because of
breathing. For people with greater difficulty in snoring can cause problems to the brain due to lack of oxygen going to it.

Sleep researchers in Israel examined more than 2,000 sleep apnea patients, for example, they found that 54 percent were positional, meaning they snored only when asleep on their backs and the rest were non positional.

Other studies shows weight plays a major role. According to the National Sleep Foundation, in people who are overweight, slimming down is generally the best way to cure sleep apnea and end snoring for good. People who were overweight saw rduction in snoring when they lost weight.

Due to increasing obesity rates snoring is picking up with kids too which is not a healthy sign. If you snore at night then try sleeping on your side and not your back, it may help. If that is not of any help to you then reduce your weight maybe you get away with the problem and sleep tight.

With the help of some breathing exercises and reducing alcohol and smoking snoring can be curbed. Sleeping on the side can help in reduction of snoring. Most importantly a healthy diet and some exercise plays a great role in maintaining a balance in the body.

Health News – Running, Exercise & Motivation

It’s been known for a while that hormone levels drop in women treated for cancer. Now a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology is showing similar effects in older men. Read more to know if cancer effects testosterone level in men.

Sometimes there are just days when we just don’t feel like exercising. I’m sure that everyone has those days. When it all comes down to it, exercising is definitely a way to feel physically good about yourself, lose weight, or get ready to achieve a physical goal. To really see a difference in your physique, in addition to a healthy diet of course, you need to exercise. Read more for 5 ways to stay motivated.

Running is one of the best, most complete exercises for improving general fitness. It works legs the most, but also has an impact on your back, your core, chest, arms, and the cardiovascular system. Running is also one of the easiest ways to get exercise; and you don’t need a lot of special equipment. As easy and straight forward as it is, there are a few things that you should know if you are just getting started with running. Read more to know how to get started with running.

If you do just one thing to fight fat, exercise might be the way to go, judging by a new study. Read more to know how exercises fight “Hidden” body fat.

Stand for a few minutes on a platform that vibrates. Get off and try to do some weight lifting — squats, for example. Or try a short sprint. Or see how high you can jump. You are somehow supposed to be able to lift heavier weights, sprint faster, jump higher. Researchers report that they actually seem to slightly improve performance in the few minutes after a person gets off the machine. Read more if you like a shake with that workout.

Get a body like Shahid & Priyanka

Many of us want to be fit like a sportsperson or a super fit celebrity, aspire for a 6 pack like Hrithik Roshan or a body like Shahid Kapoor, or wish to have a perfect figure like Lara Dutta or Priyanka Chopra.

When you see Sachin Tendulkar sustaining 50 overs at 36 it inspires you and makes you believe  that you too can do it. We like setting ourselves a goal of reaching to a fitness level like our favorite celebrity but how many have you have really worked-out to enjoy the high standard of fitness level of stamina, endurance Read more

Exercises Good for Knees

There is a lot of hearsay about exercises negatively affecting your knee and other joints among people. Recent research says that exercises can be good for your knee. Researchers at Monash University in Australia found that studies on the correlation between exercise and knee pain to be conflicting; with some studies showing negative effects, some showing positive, and some being neutral. Overall the study indicates exercise is beneficial for the knees.

Several factors can lead to a bad knee due to being over weight and putting extra tension on your knees due to weight, old age, physical exertion, running on the metal and some other factors. But gradual and light exercises for the knees and the muscles around it can lower the pain and strengthen it further. Whether you walk, run, sit, jump or stand, your knees are used in all these by bearing the tension of the body and the movement. Below are some exercises for knees that can help you out.

Strengthen your Knee

Perform exercises to strengthen the quadriceps and hamstrings to support the knee and exert less stress on your knees. Doing sit ups and lunges can be done for these muscles to make them share the tension of the knees. Laying down on the back and doing leg lifts will help reduce the pain and strengthen it. Squats and some swimming pool exercises can be beneficial in reducing the pain. Sit by the pool and cycle your legs, standing in the pool and doing kickback exercises will help you with the knee.

Although, these exercises will strengthen the knees but if it hurts or have further problems avoid these exercises. Consult your doctor or a fitness specialist, for a tailored exercise program suitable for you. Avoid running on the metallic track while running outside and opt for the muddy to reduce the  stress on them. Avoid heavy weight exercises for less impact on your knees. Give rest to your knees on weekends to let it recover and repair tissues and muscles around it.

Household Chores to Burn Calories

Does signing up at the gym seem like a herculean task? Maybe regaining your energy levels by actively participating in daily chores can help you finally get on with your life and get fit. Interestingly doing basic chores at home or office can help you burn off those calories and help you get more energetic. Here are a few basic chores to get started with:

Wash your Read more

Jump Start Your Workout

From now on doing proper workouts will not be a problem once you learn a few basics for workout which you should know. Understand how you can start exercising with some suggestions.

How to start?

Divide up your time through out the day any way you want. 4-6 ten minute workouts can do the wonders Read more

Simple Yoga Asanas to Start

You’ve probably heard about the benefits of yoga, but have you wondered how you can start. As we always suggest, start with the easy stuff. So, here are some simple yoga asanas and poses that can get you started.

Child Pose or Balasana: This pose is ideal for beginners where a person surrenders to Read more