Category Exercise

There is a definite correlation between walking and blood pressure. And it’s a good one. Did you know as little as thirty minutes of walking a mere three times a week might be enough to significantly lower your blood pressure?

This guide will explain just how walking and blood pressure are related, so you can make the necessary changes in your life to create a healthier heart and longer longevity. And doing so may be as simple as putting one foot in front of the other.

Many sufferers of high blood pressure may also suffer from the incorrect assumption that extremely intense physical activity is needed to have any significant impact on BP readings. But fortunately, that does not appear to be the case.

Studies on Walking and Blood Pressure

A study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health cited research taken from 106 healthy civil servants who participated in a twelve week exercise program. All of the participants had sedentary jobs, which provided little to no physical activity.

One third of the field was directed to take brisk walks for thirty minutes a day, five days a week. Another third were simply asked to walk briskly for thirty minutes a day for only three days a week. The remaining volunteers were told to alter their lifestyles in no way at all. The thirty minute time period was chosen because research has led to many programs in the United States and other countries which tout this minimum number as a daily requirement for moderate exercise to maintain healthy fitness levels.

Study participants wore pedometers to monitor their walking levels, with researchers frequently measuring blood cholesterol, hip, weight and waist size, as well as the all-important blood pressure. These measurements were taken before and after the study, which showed a systolic blood pressure drop of 5 and 6 points respectively for those volunteers which participated in a walking regimen for three and five days. Waist and hip measurements also decreased by roughly 2.4 cm, with no changes found in the sedentary volunteer group.

And a researcher at Queen’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Mark A. Tully, said that a decrease of just a few points in BP, accompanied with even a very small reduction in waist and hip size, can significantly reduce your risk of death due to a myriad of heart diseases. This is because the physical act of walking promotes healthy blood flow to all areas of your body.

During walking and other exercises, your systolic blood pressure ramps up to increase blood flow, which delivers much-needed oxygen to your working muscles. Make a concerted effort to add more walking to your daily routine, and the simple exercise can help regulate your blood pressure, keeping your heart healthy and strong. Yes, walking and blood pressure have a close relationship indeed.

If you’d like to get more out of your walking for fitness plan, check out the “Guide to Setting Your Walking Fitness Goals” for more in depth knowledge on the subject of walking for fitness. While you’re there, be sure to sign up for the free MyFitnessNut.com Newsletter to be kept up to date on the latest health and fitness topics.

Walking, as a way to improve your health and trim your waistline, requires the use of a good exercise technique – Specifically, a good walking technique involves:

1. Using good form; let’s start with your head and work our way do.
2. Looking forward and not down with your eyes when walking; this way your neck, shoulders and back all stay in a straight vertical straight line with your head.
3. Giving some rhythm to your walk by naturally swinging your arms; to get even more benefit out of your walk and to burn more calories, use light hand weights and “work” your arms in a back-and-forth pumping motion.
4. Tightening your abdominal core when walking. A strong core gives your body good posture and helps keep head, neck, shoulders and back in alignment.
5. Making sure as you take steps forward, your foot contacts the ground on the outside of your heel first and as your step progresses, your weight should shift inside to your arch and then shift back to the ball of your foot and finally to your toes where you push off for your next step.

But you should also bear in mind these three walking technique tips if you’re going to get the most from your walking workouts…

Walking Technique Tip 1 – Exercise (Almost) Daily

The United States Department of Health and Human Services recommends moderate exercise at least 2 1/2 hours each week to stay healthy. For most of us, this can be broken down into 30-minute increments of walking five days per week, interspersed with one day of strength training and resting on the seventh day, to round out your weekly healthy walking plan.

Walking Technique Tip 2 – Set Realistic Goals

If you are extremely out of shape and have not exercised for a while, start slow. Once cleared by your doctor to exercise, try walking five minutes per day for the first week. Increase this amount by five minutes each week. After 6 weeks, you will be walking 30 minutes per day.

If you can’t find a 30-minute chunk of time to walk, you get the same benefit by walking twice a day for 15 minutes each time or even three 10-minute daily walks.

Walking Technique Tip 3 – Track Your Progress

Tracking your progress is the part that gives you the motivation to stick to your healthy walking plan. Today, there are several electronic “tools” on the market to make tracking easy. Invest in a good pedometer or accelerometer to keep track of how many steps you walk each day. Your goal, between walking and other steps you take each day, should add up to 10,000 per day.

Benefits of Using the Correct Walking Technique

Besides losing weight and getting healthier, following a walking plan can lift your mood, improve coordination, strengthen bones, and even prevent or negate the effects of various illnesses, such as heart disease, high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes.

To make walking even easier, enlist a friend or family member to walk with you. Both of you will reap the benefits of walking when consistently using a healthy walking technique.

If you’d like to get more out of your walking for fitness plan, check out the “Guide to Setting Your Walking Fitness Goals” for more in depth knowledge on the subject of walking for fitness. While you’re there, be sure to sign up for the free MyFitnessNut.com Newsletter to be kept up to date on the latest health and fitness topics.

Walking is a great way to get exercise, lose weight and get fit, but if not done properly, it can be counterproductive. These four walking mistakes are the ones most often made by inexperienced walkers when starting a new fitness plan:

• Wrong Walking Stride
• Wrong Walking Shoes
• Wrong Walking Posture
• Wrong Walking Frequency

Walking Mistake #1 – The Wrong Walking Stride

It seems that if you want to walk faster, you could do so by taking longer strides – increasing the distance walked between one foot and the other. Wrong! Increasing your stride tends to result in an ungainly (and unnatural) walk that can end up hurting your feet and shins. If you want to walk faster, take shorter strides, but more of them during the same amount of time.

Walking Mistake #2 – The Wrong Walking Shoes

Not all shoes coined as “walking shoes” are good for your feet. If they happen to be too stiff, too heavy or too small, they may actually do more harm to your feet than good. When purchasing a new pair of walking shoes, consult with an athletic store expert. They can size you for a shoe that will be not only comfortable to walk in, but will give you the support, but also the flexibility, your feet need when walking.

Shoes wear out. While your favorite pair of walking shoes may seem like they are not worn out yet, they in fact may have lost their cushioning ability. If you walk 30 minutes per day three or four times per week, plan on buying new shoes every six months. Your feet will thank you for it!

Walking Mistake #3 – The Wrong Walking Posture

Using the proper posture is important when walking. Many people tend to walk with their head tilted forward and their eyes looking down. This creates an imbalance of weight and can lead to neck, back and shoulder problems. Instead, walk with your head aligned over your neck with your eyes looking forward about 10 to 20 feet in front of you. Strive to keep your head, neck, spine all in a line with each other.

Walking Mistake #4 -The Wrong Walking Frequency

You can walk too much. If you find yourself losing your enthusiasm to pound the pavement, feel tired all day and always have aches and pains, all could be signals your body is sending you to walk less frequently. The most you should be walking is six days per week. Your body needs at least one day to build muscle, repair torn muscle fibers and to put energy back into your muscles.

A better plan yet is to walk four days per week, do some upper body strength training two days and rest the seventh day. Your two days of strength training should alternate with your walk days, meaning you should not strength train two days in a row, but have a walk day or two between them. Doing it this way balances your upper body muscle groups with the lower body and it give the muscles you use for walking a little extra time off.

Don’t let these walking mistakes derail your fitness program. Take heed, walk smart and have fun! If you’d like to get more out of your walking for fitness plan, check out the “Guide to Setting Your Walking Fitness Goals” for more in depth knowledge on the subject of walking for fitness. While you’re there, be sure to sign up for the free MyFitnessNut.com Newsletter to be kept up to date on the latest health and fitness topics.

A workout is the combination of exercises that you do in a single session. And remember that you can’t (and shouldn’t) do the same workouts every day. Strength training involves tearing muscle fibers, so that means you need rest periods for each muscle group so that they can rebuild into bigger and stronger muscles.

So, you should exercise two or three times a week, but not on consecutive days. Your muscles will need at least 48 hours to rest and repair before they can grow. If you’re not doing a full body workout, you can focus on different muscle groups.

Before anything else, makes sure that it’s safe for you to work out. There are many possible reasons why you should refrain from strength training, but it boils down to one thing: if you don’t feel well, don’t force yourself. If you’re feeling tired or experiencing some pain, strength training workouts may do more harm than good.

Always listen to what your body is telling you.

Next, make sure you have your equipment handy. Strength training requires a few bits of equipment beyond a good pair of shoes and comfortable clothes. That may be good enough for jogging, but not for strength training workouts. To begin with, you’ll need ample space, perhaps a chair without arms and one that doesn’t rock, barbells and dumbbells, and maybe even some sort of special training balls.

Gauging the Intensity of Your Strength Training Workouts

Once you get into your exercises, you need to determine the right intensity for you. You need to progress to increase your strength, and at the same time you need to be careful that you don’t injure yourself by trying too hard. Go for light weights at first, and then increase as you become accustomed to each weight.

Watching others do a strength training workout session such as in the video below can be very helpful.

You also need to track your reps (repetitions of doing a certain exercise). For example, if you cannot complete two sets of 10 reps in good form, reduce the weight until you can lift it properly for 10 reps. Rest for a minute or two, and then do another set. When you can do 10 reps and you need to rest because the weight is too heavy after ten reps, then you’re working at the proper intensity. And if you can do twenty reps straight, this means you will need heavier weights next time.

Progression is essential if you want your strength training workouts to provide you with the maximum benefits. Continuously challenging your muscles is the key to strength training. To help you put your workout routine together, you can borrow our muscle building training series on video (no cost) when you subscribe to the MyFitnessNut.com Newsletter.

An Introduction to the Belly Fat Epidemic

Millions of people struggle with weight loss. One of the primary areas in which fat collects is around the midsection. We’re talking about abdominal fat or belly fat. And as you get older, the fat continues to accumulate around the midsection. It’s so common that we even have names for it. We call it the “spare tire,” “beer belly,” “muffin top,” or “love handles.”

Why is Belly Fat is So Difficult to Get Rid Of?

There are many different reasons why fat likes to accumulate in the midsection, and those reasons are the same explanations for why it’s so difficult to get rid of. Let’s start by exploring why belly fat is so difficult to get rid of and then we’ll dive into what belly fat is, why it’s so dangerous and how to get rid of it for good. Because it is possible to have a trim and healthy waistline.

Age and Hormones

Two things happen as you age. The first is that your metabolism slows down. So this means that you automatically burn less fat and calories during a standard day. The trouble is that you’re still probably consuming the same number of calories. The extra calories are stored as fat.

The second reason that fat accumulates as you age has everything to do with your changing hormones. Both men and women begin to see a decline in their sex hormones. We’re talking about testosterone and estrogen in this case. The decreasing amount of these hormones changes where the body stores fat. In both men and women, more visceral fat is stored.

Another way that these hormones impact fat storage and weight gain is through sleep changes. In women particularly, the hormonal change affects sleep quality. Sleep has been directly linked to appetite hormones like leptin. It may feel like your body is working against you. Your hormone levels drop, making you store more fat and making you hungrier.

Stress and Belly Fat

Stress is one of the biggest causes of belly fat. Cortisol is a hormone that is released when a person is under stress. The body shifts all of its focus to help you survive a fight or flight situation – even if you’re not in any actual danger.

Your brain cannot tell the difference between stress from rush hour traffic frustrations and a bear chasing you. It reacts the same way, which is to essentially shut down digestion and shift energy to help your muscles. Your heart rate and breathing increase, and all your fuel is stored as fat.

Yep, cortisol tells your body to store your energy and calories as fat. It tends to store it right in your midsection.

Good Old Fashioned Genetics

You can take a look at your family members and know whether or not you’re prone to belly fat. It tends to be genetic. There are three basic body types; mesomorph, ectomorph, or endomorph.

Male endomorphs tend to store fat in their abdomens and often have the “beer belly” that has become common. Female endomorphs tend to be curvy and store their fat in their backsides and breasts. They’ll be described as pear shaped or have an hourglass figure.

Mesomorphs, if you’re curious, tend to be muscular and athletic, while ectomorphs tend to be tall and thin. Female mesomorphs may store fat in their abdomen and can be described as apple shaped. Of course there are many different combinations of these body types and there is evidence that specific genes determine how many fat cells you have, as well as where those fat cells are most abundant.

Your Diet

You’re probably not surprised to learn that what you eat has an impact on your body fat. In fact, diets that are high in sugar and starchy carbohydrates cause insulin resistance. When your body is becoming insulin resistant it stores fuel as fat rather than signaling your cells to uptake the calories for fuel.

You eat more because you’re tired and your cells need the fuel. Unfortunately, this cycle leads to fat accumulation in your abdomen and eventually it can lead to diabetes. This is one of the reasons it’s important to recognize fat accumulating on your stomach and to take steps to get rid of it.

Childbirth and Your Abdomen

Childbirth doesn’t make you gain belly fat. What it does do for women is change the look of your stomach. After having a baby a woman may find that her stomach has lost its muscular tone. The good news is that even after having many children, a woman can get her flat stomach back.

Abdominal fat isn’t fun, and it makes clothing difficult to find and uncomfortable to wear, but there’s more to belly fat than meets the eye. In fact, belly fat is the most dangerous type of fat. Let’s take a look at the research behind the dangers of belly fat and then we’ll move into a discussion about how to get rid of belly fat.

Why Cardio Is Key to Belly Fat Loss

The reason why cardio is key to belly fat loss can be summed up in two words – calories burned. To lose a pound of weight in a week, you have to expend 3,500 more calories than you take in. To accomplish such a calorie deficit on a consistent basis, you have to exercise at a moderate to high-intensity level. Cardio routines typically have this intensity advantage over other forms of exercising.

Why Cardio Training for Belly Fat Loss?

While cardio training is key to blasting belly fat (and weight loss in general, along with healthy eating) don’t overlook the health benefits of weight and resistance training. Toned and defined muscles burn more calories, so by also improving your muscle definition, your body becomes better at burning fat when doing cardio training due to an increased metabolism. However, it is cardio that truly lights your “furnace”. It does no good to have a more efficient metabolism, if you are not going to use it.

And if you are a women, don’t worry about “bulking up” if you do strength training. You will get toned and defined without increasing your muscle mass significantly.

The After Burn for Continued Belly Fat Loss

Once reason cardio training is best is due to the “after burn”. When cardio training, you should strive to get your heart rate elevated to a target heart rate of around 80% of your maximum heart rate (220 minus your age). By holding it in its elevated state throughout your cardio training session, you get an after effect where your body keeps burning calories at a higher rate once you stopped, then if you had not elevated it to begin with.

To get to your target heart rate, you have to do 20 to 40 minutes of moderate to high intensity training, like swimming, running, cycling or using an elliptical trainer.

The Rest of the Belly Fat Loss Story

While cardio is an important component of belly fat loss, an equal partner is eating healthy. All the cardio in the world is not going to get you closer to your goal if you also don’t eat right.

Cut out processed and fast foods from your diet. Not only do many of them contain saturated and trans fat, but they normally have high amounts of salt – the main cause of water retention and higher numbers on the scale. Instead, create your own dishes by concentrating on fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean meats.

Cardio is key to belly fat loss, however without strength training and a healthy diet, cardio alone will not get you to your goal of losing belly fat.

You can find more “Belly Fat Success Tips” in our weight loss category found at http://myfitnessnut.com and while you’re they, be sure to subscribe to our monthly fitness newsletter and be kept up to date on the latest developments in the world of health and fitness.

Let’s be honest, losing belly fat (also known as visceral fat) is hard to do, but not impossible. But if it’s so difficult, why would anyone even try to get rid of it?

Because having an excess amount of visceral fat – the type of fat found deep in the abdominal cavity – is unhealthy and can lead to a whole host of diseases – many of which can be life-threatening. If you are a women with a waist measurement in excess of 35 inches, or 40 inches for men, you have an increased risk of getting heart disease, a stroke, sleep apnea, bone density loss, insulin resistance (leading to Type 2 diabetes) and some types of cancer.

How to Lose Belly Fat

So what are the secrets to losing belly fat?

Exercise and eating healthy foods.

Lose Belly Fat Through Exercise

There are many products and methods that tout themselves as being the Holy Grail when it comes to losing belly fat, but the fact of the matter is none of them work. Instead put that money into a gym membership. The only way to lose belly fat is to burn more calories than you eat.

Fortunately when you start to lose fat, belly fat is one of the first to go. But to set the record straight, but there isn’t a program that specifically targets belly fat – the body just doesn’t work that way.

Do high intensity cardio-style workouts four times per week. Add in a couple days of strength training per week (with one day off) and you have half of a recipe for losing belly fat and body fat in general. The other half is healthy food choices.

Lose Belly Fat Through Healthy Food Choices

You can only burn off so many calories per week working out. If you make bad food choices, both in the type and amount you eat, you will not create a calorie deficit and lose belly fat.

One tactic in portion control is eating on a smaller plate. This works by tricking the brain into thinking you ate more than you really did. So when it sees your plate empty, it thinks you are full.

The food you eat should be healthy. Focus on eating foods low in saturated fat and calories, but high in protein and fiber, such as fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean meats. These foods keep you fuller longer without adding in a ton of calories.

Avoid sugar. At first it gives you a lot of energy, but your body quickly metabolizes it by dumping insulin (usually too much) in your bloodstream. Once the sugar is gone, you “crash” from low blood sugar. So what do you do? Eat more sugar. This yo-yo effect eventually causes insulin resistance leading to Type 2 diabetes.

So as unglamorous as it is, it comes down to a combination of exercise and healthy food choices as the way to belly fat loss. Eating healthy food prevents you from consuming empty calories that have no nutritional value and exercising burns off calories. If you burn off more calories than you take in, you’ll lose belly fat. It really is that simple, but not easy.

You can find more “Belly Fat Success Tips” in our weight loss category found at http://myfitnessnut.com and while you’re they, be sure to subscribe to our monthly fitness newsletter and be kept up to date on the latest developments in the world of health and fitness.

The right answer is it depends on you! It depends on when you want to commit to exercising and eating healthy. But keep in mind, you didn’t gain belly fat overnight, nor will you lose it in that same amount of time. But dedication and persistence will pay off in a slimmer, healthier you.

Burn Belly Fat – The First Step

To know you are making progress, you have to know your starting belly fat measurement. Measure your waist just above your hip bone with a tape measure. The tape should be loosely around you and exhale just before taking your reading. This number is your starting point. Now when you take a periodic reading, you have something to compare to (and something to show you are making progress). This can be a huge motivator!

6 Ways to Burn Belly Fat Fast

Everyone has to start somewhere, so here are 6 tips you can use to start burning belly fat fast:

1. Sleep more
2. Drink more water
3. Do cardio exercises
4. Cut out sugar and processed foods (think fast food)
5. Get some color on your plate
6. Eat fat – yes you read that right!

Sleep more – Strive to get at least 7 hours of sleep each night. Not getting enough sleep can trigger sugar cravings and throw off your hormone levels leading to extreme blood sugar swings.

Drink more water – Keep a water bottle with you at all times. Occasionally sip from it throughout the day. Not only will it invigorate you, but if you drink a glass before a meal, you’ll feel fuller and end up eating less.

Do cardio exercises – Exercises that work your large muscles groups burn the most calories. Strive to do step aerobics, bicycling, jogging, walking, swimming, using an elliptical trainer, or racquetball. These exercises burn between 360 to 1,000 calories per hour of exercise.

Cut out sugar and processed foods – Calories from these food types end up as stored fat in exactly the areas where you don’t want it – the belly and buttocks.

Get some color on your plate – The more color you have on your plate in the form of fresh fruits and vegetables, the better it is for you. These foods are normally high in fiber, but low in fat and calories.

Eat Fat – The key is to eat the right type of fat – the Omegas 3. Foods such as salmon, tuna, avocados and walnuts are chocked full of nutrients that keep you satisfied throughout the day.

The key to losing belly fat is not how fast you can do it, but to keep making steady progress. These 6 tips will help you get started. Seeing the numbers drop through periodic measurements will keep you motivated to keep going!

You can find more “Belly Fat Success Tips” in our weight loss category found at http://myfitnessnut.com and while you’re they, be sure to subscribe to our monthly fitness newsletter and be kept up to date on the latest developments in the world of health and fitness.

Don’t rely on Sit-ups Alone for Reducing that Belly Fat

While many “diet and exercise programs” would lead you to believe you can, the cold hard truth is no, you can’t reduce belly fat by doing sit-ups. Reducing fat in just the abdominal area is touted as spot reducing, but the body does not work that way. The only way to lose belly fat is to reduce the fat from your entire body. In the process, a certain amount of fat lost will come from your abdominal area.

Body fat is your body’s “rainy day account”. During the good times when food is plentiful, we store fat so we have an excess supply to use as energy during the lean times. Unfortunately in many people, the belly is one of the first places fat gets stored.

The Value of Abdominal Exercises to Reduce Belly Fat

As noted, doing sit-ups does no good as far as losing belly fat, but they (and their close cousin crunches) are beneficial at strengthening your abdominal core muscles. And a strong core means better posture and less potential for back problems. A strength training routine performed a couple times a week will greatly improve your abs. You want your “six-pack” to shine through once you lose your belly fat.

We know that to lose a pound of weight per week, you have to burn more calories than you consume – 3,500 to be exact. We also know there are two ways to have a calorie deficit, working out and eating foods lower in calories (or a combination of both which actually works the best).

Working Out to Reduce Belly Fat

To burn the maximum amount of fat, two things have to happen. One, you have to increase your heart rate by performing a warm-up routine so your muscles are getting the maximum amount of oxygen. Two, you have to exercise your body as hard as possible (while monitoring your target heart rate) by doing intense workouts, such as cardio exercises, going on long runs or bicycling a long way.

Eating Fewer Calories to Reduce Belly Fat

Not all calories are created equal. Your focus should be on eating food low in saturated fat and carbohydrates, but high in fiber and protein. Such broad choices include fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grain products, seafood, beans and lean meats to name a few. And don’t forget to add in some of the good fats – the poly and monounsaturated fats. These come from olive oil, fatty fish such as tuna and salmon, nuts and avocados.

By lowering your overall body fat percentage, some of your loss will be belly fat. To accomplish the loss, eat healthy and exercise as defined in this article.

You can find more “Belly Fat Success Tips” in our weight loss category found at http://myfitnessnut.com and while you’re they, be sure to subscribe to our monthly fitness newsletter and be kept up to date on the latest developments in the world of health and fitness.

Tone Your Belly with Crunches, Planks and Your Bicycle

Once you have lost your belly fat, it is time to start working on toning muscles around your middle. While there are numerous different exercises that target the belly area, these three are the tried, true and get results:

• Crunches
• Planks
• The Bicycle

The nice thing about these exercises is that none of them require any equipment. However, you can use a yoga or exercise mat to make you more comfortable.

Tone Your Belly with Crunches

Crunches are similar to sit-ups, but not as stressful on the back and neck. To start, lie on your back on the floor (or a mat if you have one) with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor shoulder width apart. Keep your hands across your chest or locked behind your head.

Inhale and lift your head and shoulders by tightening your abs so that your shoulder blades are just off of the floor. Hold this position for a few seconds, exhale and slowly lower yourself back down to the starting position. Do as many crunches as you can right now with an eventual goal of two sets of 10 to 20 crunches per set.

Tone Your Belly with Planks

There are several variations of the plank; the one explained here is the full plank. Start by lying on the floor face down; your forearms, elbows, hands and stomach should touch the floor. Tighten your abs and lift your body off the floor. Only your forearms, elbows and feet should now touch the floor.

While in this position, your body should be in a straight line from your shoulders to your feet; avoid the tendency to raise your buttocks or to arch your back. This defeats the purpose of doing planks.

Hold this pose for 10 to 30 seconds. Relax and slowly drop to the starting position. Work up to the point where you can hold the pose for a full minute. Do as many repetitions as you can.

Tone Your Belly with Your Bicycle

The starting position is to lie on your back with your fingers locked behind your head and legs bent at the knees. Now lift your left shoulder blade off of the floor, twist slightly and bring your right knee up toward your left elbow. At the same time, straighten your left leg. Now switch sides by straightening your right leg, bending your left leg, and bringing the right elbow up to the left knee. Keep alternate sides in a pedaling (bicycling) motion. Strive to complete 8 to 12 repetitions.

While there are several more exercises that target the abdominal muscles, these three will get you well on your way to having 6-pack abs and looking great. Start working your abs today so you’ll be ready to show them off in a bikini or short top this summer.

You can find more “Belly Fat Success Tips” in our weight loss category found at http://myfitnessnut.com and while you’re they, be sure to subscribe to our monthly fitness newsletter and be kept up to date on the latest developments in the world of health and fitness.