Archive for the exercise routines Category
Warming Up and Cooling Down
22/11/2011 by admin.
Warming Up
You need to warm up for at least 10 minutes. Your aim is to increase your heart rate slightly and then move onto gaining flexibility. It is good to start with exercises that increase the heart rate so you are slightly warmer when you start your stretches. You are less likely to damage muscles this way.
Exercises that increase the heart rate slightly are gentle jogging, fast walking or jumping. You should feel that your heart rate is slightly raised as you begin your routine.
Exercises which increase flexibility include knee lifting, placing your hands on your hips and making a circular movement, raising and lowering your shoulders, gently tilting your head from side to side to stretch the neck and also gently stretching the back.
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Cooling Down
Cooling down is also a vital part of your exercise routine. You want to return your cardiovascular system to its former level. When you are exercising your body is delivering a high level of blood to muscles. If you stop suddenly this flow continues when it is not needed, this could cause dizziness or even fainting.
Your aim is to cool down slowly and let the muscles cool down at the same pace. If you are running it is good to slow the pace to a walk, if you are weight training it is good to perform stretches of the muscles you have been using. Cool down should last for at least 5-10 minutes. Try to hold the stretches for a longer time than you did when you were warming up. Stretching the muscles you have worked also reduces post workout aches.
Back and Muscle Support during weight training
If you are weight lifting, it may help to wear a back support belt. This helps improve body mechanics and posture, ensuring that the back is supported when lifting heavy weights. Do not wear the belt expecting it to stop injury. It is a support. All support socks and knee braces are meant to support the body. They cannot prevent further injury. Make sure you do not exercise when your body is not 100%
lifting belt weight lifting belt reebok weight lifting belt
For fitness equipment visit www.naturalmatter.co.uk
Warning:- The information contained on this website is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, cure or treat any medical condition. Should you have any medical condition, always consult your doctor, before undertaking any change in exercise or dietary advice.
Exercise can be hazardous. If you use any of the ideas, techniques or suggestions discussed in these documents, all are undertaken at the reader’s sole discretion and risk.
Calipers can help you on your way to a beautiful body.
23/10/2011 by admin.
Do you want to change your body shape? Maybe you want to lose weight or develop more muscle mass? Maybe you’d like both. Whatever your goal, all bodybuilding or weight loss programs are going to take time, so a great way to start is by drawing up a fitness plan.
1. Set a healthy and achievable target weight with a shape up routine that can be easily maintained.
Don’t aim for an unrealistic or unhealthy body shape. Severely underweight people are certainly not healthy. At the other end of the scale, even the most shredded muscular physique cannot be maintained indefinitely.
2. Use body fat calipers to work out your fat and lean body mass ratio or perhaps ask your gym to measure you.
A great way to get your exercise program off on the right foot is to get a set of body fat calipers. This instrument measures your body fat and lean muscle mass ratio. It is important to have an accurate measurement of your fat / lean muscle ratio from the very beginning of your program, rather than relying on the bathroom scales.
Scales are inaccurate because they do not let you know if you have replaced body fat with lean muscle. They give you the same reading regardless of dramatic changes in your body. You may have reduced body fat but replaced that weight with lean muscle. Unfortunately, your bathroom scales are unable to detect that difference. If you attend a gym you could ask them to do this measurement for you, as they will have the correct instruments. When you are training you need motivators to keep you on course. body fat calipers allow you to see any results immediately helping you stay on track.
Check your progress on a monthly basis. This will allow you to see any changes and plot progress. Don’t check yourself any more than this as there are natural changes in the body throughout a period of a month, depending on whether you are retaining water, perhaps from food you have eaten. It is best for females to check themselves after their period has finished due to water retention. Try to stick to the same part of the month when you record your fat/lean muscle mass ratio.
3. Measure four folds of skin with your body fat calipers and work out your body fat/lean muscle percentage by using the table provided with them.
Body fat calipers measure the thickness of a fold of skin. There are 4 places on the body where a measurement should be taken, because of where these places are someone else can help you do this. They are,
· Centre of the back of arm (the triceps)
· Centre of the front of arm (the bicep)
· The back, just below the shoulder blade at a 45% angle.
· The waistline between the hipbone and the naval horizontally.
By recording your fat/lean muscle ratio regularly you can see positive changes in your body that you wouldn’t normally be seen with a set of weighing scales. 4. Work out a diet plan. Remember, you don’t have to starve, just eat the right foods.
5. Work out an exercise routine incorporating stretches, a cardiovascular routine and weight training for all the muscles.
6. Check your improvements on a monthly basis, no more than this. It will encourage you on when you start to lose heart or waver.
7. Stick to it, even if you have a bad few days just start again and you’ll soon be looking and feeling fantastic.
The Bicep Curl - The Key to Beautiful Biceps
27/09/2011 by admin.
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Visit www.naturalmatter.co.uk for dumbbells, weight training accessories and supplements.
1. This move can be done with a barbell or dumbbells.
2. Make sure when you start the move your feet are placed about hip width apart and that your knees are bent slightly.
3. If you are using a barbell make sure your hands aren’t too wide apart.
4. Keep your hands and wrists in a straight line. Don’t bend them.
5. Slowly bring the weight up. Your hands should make it to your shoulders but no higher. |
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6. Don’t let your elbows come out too far in this exercise.
7. Lower the dumbbells slowly and with maximum control.
8. When they reach your lower sides again rest for a second, and then slowly repeat the exercise.
9. It is possible to do this move standing or seated with dumbbells.
10. When seated make sure the back is supported at all times. |
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Warning:- The information contained on this website is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, cure or treat any medical condition.
Should you have any medical condition, always consult your doctor,
before undertaking any change in exercise or dietary advice. Exercise can be hazardous. If you use any of the ideas, techniques or suggestions discussed in these documents, all are undertaken at the reader’s sole discretion and risk. |
Total Body Fitness – endurance, movement and strength.
23/09/2011 by admin.
For more info please visit www.naturalmatter.co.uk
Total body fitness is an equal ability in three different areas. The three areas are endurance, movement, and strength. The area you concentrate on most depends on what goals you wish to achieve. However, all three areas should be considered when training.
A marathon runner for example, is going to concentrate on endurance training, but still needs to work on their flexibility and strength. Their focus will be on endurance because they are looking to increase the amount of oxygen their body can supply to their muscles.
All oxygen requirements are supplied via the heart and lungs. Endurance training of any kind (like cardiovascular or endurance aerobic work) increases the productivity of the heart by making it a larger and stronger muscle. It also increases the capacity of the lungs and in doing so increases the amount of oxygen that is supplied to the muscles.
Once the oxygen has been delivered it can be used to release energy from stored reserves of fat and carbohydrates. As training continues the heart becomes much stronger and there is an increase in endurance levels for sustained periods of activity.
A weight lifter needs to focus on different areas of exercise. Their focus will be mainly on their strength training and this is achieved by weight resistance work. Muscles must be worked beyond their capacity in order for them to grow.
Weight training is an excellent form of exercise as it can be aerobic or anaerobic. Using a lower weight and repeating the move many times can improve muscular endurance. Using a heavier weight and completing a shorter amount of repetitions can improve strength.
The very least you can achieve from strength training is a more productive life with regards to lifting, correcting lazy posture, tiredness and being easily injured. Strength training increases your metabolic rate and the muscle fat ratio within your body.
Muscle is living tissue and requires energy to be sustained or grow larger. The stronger your body is the better chance it has to fight off injuries as you progress into old age. Weight training has been shown to develop bone density, which can help prevent Osteoporosis, (a degenerative bone disease particularly prone to target older men and women.)
Do not start high intensity weight training if you have a history of high blood pressure or heart problems, as high intensity training has been known to increase blood pressure levels. Always consult a doctor if you are unsure about your state of health and its impact on your fitness regime.
Remaining flexible is another very important feature of any exercise programme. By regular correct stretching it is possible to avoid injury and post work out muscle ache or stiffness. Stretching also enables you to keep full mobility and speeds up any recovery from injury.
It is always important to stretch when working out but it is vital to remember not to stretch until you are fully warmed up. It is best to do approximately 10-15 minutes of cardiovascular activity before attempting a stretching routine.
When warmed up the muscles are more flexible and can be extended much more easily avoiding unnecessary strains. A great way to incorporate stretching and strength is to take up yoga. Not only does yoga develop balance, posture, strength and great flexibility but also calmness and inner balance. This, of course, is another important requisite for the other side of fitness - mental fitness.
Find all our fitness equipment, weights, dumbbells, yoga mats and supplements at www.naturalmatter.co.uk
The Calf Raise
18/09/2011 by admin.
| For all our dumbbell and fitness equipment www.naturalmatter.co.uk
1. The calf raise can be done using the calf machine in the gym or by using a dumbbell. You must remember to hold the dumbbell on the same side you are doing the raise.
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2. If you are using a dumbbell you will need to steady yourself while you do the raise. Make sure you are supporting yourself with your other hand.
3. Find a raised platform like a step. |
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4. Place the right foot on the step. |
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5. In the right hand hold the desired weight. |
6. Curl the left foot around the back of the right heel. |
7. Support yourself with your left hand, holding onto something about shoulder height. |
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8. Lift onto the ball of the right foot. You will feel the pull in the right calf muscle. |
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9. Repeat the move slowly lowering and raising the right foot. |
10. Make sure you repeat the same exercise for the other calf.
For dumbbells visit www.naturalmatter.co.uk
Warning:- The information contained on this website is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, cure or treat any medical condition. Should you have any medical condition, always consult your doctor, before undertaking any change in exercise or dietary advice.
Exercise can be hazardous. If you use any of the ideas, techniques or suggestions discussed in these documents, all are undertaken at the reader’s sole discretion and risk.
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