Fitness Freaks

A study was conducted on 259 Illinois third and fifth graders by putting them through classic PE routines: the “sit-and-reach,” a brisk run and timed push-ups and sit-ups. The math and reading scores were high with students who had fitter bodies.

If you have been putting off exercising it’s time to stop procrastinating. Exercise makes you smarter and what better reasons do you need to start exercising?

Scientists have also found that vigorous exercise can cause older nerve cells to form dense, interconnected webs that make the brain run faster and more efficiently. And there are clues that physical activity can stave off the beginnings of Alzheimer’s disease, ADHD and other cognitive disorders.

Greenough, a psychologist at the University of Illinois says:

If you’re thinking that by exercising at age 20 you’re going to have some effect on what you’re like at age 70, you’d better be willing to commit to 50 years of hitting the gym.

Aerobic exercise helps the heart pump more blood to the brain, along with the rest of the body. More blood means more oxygen, and thus better-nourished brain cells. Every time a bicep or quad contracts and releases, it sends out chemicals, including a protein called IGF-1 that travels through the bloodstream, across the blood-brain barrier and into the brain itself inducing production of several chemicals, including one called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF.

With regular exercise, the body builds up its levels of BDNF, and the brain’s nerve cells start to branch out, join together and communicate with each other in new ways. This is the process that underlies learning: every change in the junctions between brain cells signifies a new fact or skill that’s been picked up and stowed away for future use. BDNF makes that process possible. Brains with more of it have a greater capacity for knowledge.

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The way uSurt Wave-Action Exerciser works is really amazing and trust me, using it is just like enjoying sea surfing and more interesting is the fact that it provides good workout for calves, thighs and hips as they are instinctively engaged while riding it. Moreover, while trying to maintain balance, it naturally provides good workout for our arm and shoulder muscles.

So, won’t you call it a wonder device that not only provides you with the sensation of sea surfing but also cap-a-pie workout.

So, go and grab it!

Via: Chip Chick

Stretching your muscles prior and after your workout will assist you in greater performance and reduce injury. However, before stretching one must warm up / cool down by doing a slower version of the actual exercise such as walking for running or aerobics at a lower intensity than the actual session. In fact, stretching should become a regular part of all forms of workouts including gym.

Benefits:

Some of the benefits of stretching are as follows:
- physical fitness

- increased suppleness

- ability to learn and perform skilled movements

- reduced risk of injury to joints and muscles

- reduced muscular soreness

- less painful menstruation in females

- increased relaxation and a feeling of general well being

Common Mistakes:

While stretching is good for your health, it needs to be done correctly. Unfortunately, even those who stretch do not always stretch properly and hence do not reap some or all of these benefits. Some of the most common mistakes made when stretching are:

- improper warm-up

- overstretching

- performing the wrong exercises

- performing exercises in the wrong (or sub-optimal) sequence

Stretching Tips:

Here are some tips to take care while stretching:
- Stretch for at least five to seven minutes

- Begin with gradual mobility exercises of all the joints, i.e. simply rotate the wrists

- Hold each stretch for a minimum of 20-30 seconds

- Breathe comfortably, with deep breaths through your nose, and out via your mouth

- While stretching you must feel a slight discomfort, else you may be doing the stretch incorrectly

- Stop immediately if you feel any pain.

Also: Stretching Techniques

Who likes the idea of getting out of the warm ‘n’ cozy blanket early morning to hit the gym? No one, for sure! But, would you like the idea of a no-sweat workout, that too at your convenience - at the mall, a departmental store, a restaurant or just about in any public place when you feel like it?

The Japanese have come out with an innovative solution that promises to burn calories without any sweat and that too at your convenience. Coin operated workout stations are popping up all over Japan in convenience stores to help people get their workout at their convenience. These could in fact be the future money spinners!

How does this work?

You get a 10 minute workout when you drop coins equivalent of $4.10 into the slot of the machine. All you have to do is balance yourself on the footpads of the machine that moves in multiple directions @ 1,560 times per minute. You don’t want to smell sweaty if your next destination is a date with your partner, and this machine promises just that - a no-sweat workout!

I think the concept is great especially for fitness freaks who travel and find it difficult to find a gym in an alien place. The idea of ‘pay n use’ work stations is great and may just be the need of the hour when you see the growing obese population in the world.

So the next time you find yourself guilty over eating that deliciously sinful dessert, you just know where you have to head next for - The convenience store!

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Aren’t you doing physical exercise just because you think that it can aggravate your knee pain? However, physical exercise has nothing to do with your knee pain. This fact was put forward by a new research. Interestingly, this finding holds true even for people who are overweight.

Researchers reached this conclusion after going through a deep analysis of about 1,300 people whom they followed for over 10 years. This observation is no doubt quite significant however, it seems standing head to head to some, previous assumptions like extra physical activity may injure knee, physical activity may lead to knee pain, etc.

In order to know more precisely about the whole issue it is important to have more study on this subject and I fully agree with researcher Marian A. Minor, Ph.D, University of Missouri-Columbia when he says:

The time has come for studies that delve deeper into possible causes.

Image credit: Healthy Living Atlanta

Via: Ivanhoe