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November 20, 2008 |
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There are many benefits associated with sports massage.
As a driver and as a pedestrian - do your part to make our environment safer for everyone! Read the entire tip from the Portland Office of Transportation! Suppose you were told that you only had to add an extra five to ten minutes to each of your workouts in order to prevent injury and lessen fatigue. Would you do it? Most people would say yes. Then they might be surprised to learn that they already know about those few minutes called a warm-up. If done correctly, a preexercise warm-up can have a multitude of beneficial effects on a person’s workout and, consequently, their overall health. Read the entire tip from the American Council on Exercise! The biggest concern when exercising in the cold is the risk of hypothermia, or too much heat loss. When you exercise in a cold environment, you must consider one primary factor: How much heat will your body lose during exercise? Read the entire tip from the American Council on Exercise! Can Exercise Reduce Your Risk of Catching a Cold? Sir William Osler, the famous Canadian medical doctor, once quipped, “There’s only one way to treat the common cold — with contempt.” And for good reason. The average adult has two to three respiratory Read the entire tip from the American Council on Exercise! Contrary to popular belief, women aren’t the only ones with biological clocks. We all have them, and heed their ticking on a daily basis. If you are a regular exerciser, you may have already determined your most productive time to exercise and follow a routine that works best for you. On the other hand, if your exercise time varies from day to day, and it’s wearing you out instead of pumping you up, you may be interested in the work of scientists who are studying the proverbial internal clock and how to best determine what time of day you should schedule your workouts. Read the entire tip from the American Council on Exercise! What You Need to Know to Purchase a Treadmill Data from the National Sporting Goods Association indicates that treadmills have been the number-one-ranked home aerobic equipment for the past three years. If you’ve decided to join the ranks of treadmill owners, there are a number of factors to consider to ensure that you purchase a machine that meets your needs. There are a multitude of treadmills on the market with prices ranging from $299 to $4,000. Read the entire tip from the American Council on Exercise! The popularity of walking as a fitness activity is growing by leaps and bounds. Low risk and easy to start, walking has proved its health benefits in numerous studies. An eight-year study of 13,000 people found that those who walked 30 minutes a day had a significantly lower risk of premature death than those who rarely exercised. Read the entire tip from the American Council on Exercise! Functional Strength: Head for the Hills Explore the possibility of adding one or two hill-training days to your usual walking routine, if you are not already doing so. It’s nice to have a variety of hills to choose from; varying slopes from moderate steep to more gently graded. It’s nice to have a rolling route with ups and downs to challenge your endurance and strength. Hill walking is a form of strength training for walkers. The primary movers are the gluteal muscles (butt muscles) and hamstrings or back of the legs (upper thigh).
You might also consider walking the stairs - walk up a flight (or more) and recover by slowly walking back down. Push up using your gluteal muscles and hamstrings. Coming down, use your quadriceps (front of leg). Do you wonder how to improve your walking performance? You begin by improving your walking technique. Create better balance in your activities. Know your desired walking goals or outcomes. Have a support network in place to help you during the tough times. In spite of the fact that we have all been walking for more years than we haven’t, you can improve walking technique to receive better benefits. Here is a quick review: Posture
Head
Shoulders
Arms
Hands
Torso
Hips
Legs
Feet
Wear the Right Wet Weather Walking Apparel From Vibrant Life, March/April 2002 by Karen Fritscher-Porter Judy Heller offers tips on how to dress in rainy walking weather. The most important aspect of walk training or any training program is balance. It is easy to exercise with exuberance, sometimes too much, too far, too fast too soon. Balance in training is one of the keys to success, whether a recreational walker, an avid fitness walker, or competitive racewalker. Balance is achieved by adhering to basic principles. |
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