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Most people need to follow some sort of exercise program, in order to stay healthy. Here you will find a few good reasons why you should start exercising now.

a) Contributes to fat loss, it is well proven from scientific research all over the world that physical exercise contributes to weight loss. If you burn more calories than you consume through nutrition, you will lose weight. When you exercise, you burn more calories than when you do not. It is really simple, the more you exercise, the more weight or fat you will lose.

b) Prevent disease, the chances of developing several various diseases has been proven to decrease when exercising. These diseases include heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and the stroke.

Around four out of five deaths caused by heart disease and cancer, are linked to factors that include stress and lack of exercise. People all know that diabetes increases the chance for heart attacks and strokes. What this shows, is that many of the risk factors and diseases caused by not exercising are working in conjunction to damage your health. To prevent this from happening, start exercising.

c) Improving disease, many severe and minor diseases can be improved or even healed through regular exercise. These even include the diseases listed above. By following a regular plan, you can also decrease HDL cholesterol levels, decrease triglyceride levels, and decrease your blood pressure as well.

Exercising on a regular basis will also reduce the risk of prostate cancer for men, breast and uterine cancer for women, and much more. All of this is scientifically proven, which is why you should start exercising today.

d) Enhance your state of mind, everyone knows from the many scientific studies that regular exercising will lead to an increased release of endorphins in the body. These chemicals will fight depression and make you feel happy. The body releases these endorphins only 12 minutes into the workout.

There is another chemical known as serotonin that is increased during and after a workout. The increased levels of serotonin in the central nervous system is associated with feelings of well being and decreased mental depression. The chemical can also help you sleep better at night.

e) Enhance your wellness, when you are in great shape and well fit, you will have more energy and you will notice that your overall mood is improved. You will have experienced that you can stretch beyond your own limits and you know that you can do more than you thought possible.

f) Persistence, exercising regularly will give you more energy, which can help you be more productive at home and at work. Exercising can help give your new goals a sense of purpose and give you something to focus on and aim for. This can help you increase your persistence and prevent you from going off track while you aim for your goal.

g) Social capabilities, after a workout on a regular basis you can boost your self esteem. This can help you look better and you will be more comfortable as well. Exercise will also help you to become more active and meet new people, which will prevent you from feeling isolated and unsupported. Exercise will also increase your interests in sex, and can help you to improve your marriage or your partner relationship.

After knowing all of these tips and reasons to exercise, you should not hesitate to get out there and exercise. You can exercise at home or go out there and join a gym. There are several different ways that you can exercise, all you have to do is select a few that you like. Take a little bit of time out of your day and start exercising, you will feel better than ever before and your body will thank you.

By: James Murray

Common Exercise Myths

As the New Year approaches, women are inundated with new fitness trends that claim to be the solution to dropping pounds and sticking with new years' resolutions. But, according to Brad Schoenfeld, author of the popular, "Sculpting Her Body Perfect," (Human Kinetics, 2008) these fitness fads have created a multitude of training misconceptions.

"There is so much misinformation promulgated by so-called 'fitness experts' that it is difficult for women to separate fact from fiction. Ultimately, these myths can have a negative impact on their ability to achieve results," Schoenfeld says.

Schoenfeld dispels some of the most common fitness myths:

Myth: Abdominal muscles should be trained every day for best results. Abdominal muscles are indirectly involved in virtually every exercise. They act as stabilizer muscles, which help to support the spine and maintain balance during bouts of physical activity. Since the abdominals are being trained during every workout, daily abdominal training isn't necessary. In order to ensure adequate recuperation, abdominals should be trained no more than three times per week, allowing at least 48 hours of rest between training sessions.

Myth: Abdominal training helps to flatten the stomach. To reduce the midsection, abdominal training must be paired with aerobic exercise. Abdominal exercise helps to develop the muscles of the abdomen, while cardiovascular activity decreases fat surrounding the abdominal muscles -- aiding in the appearance of a flatter stomach.

Myth: Low intensity aerobic activities are better for fat burning than high intensity exercise. There is a direct correlation between physical effort and caloric expenditure; the harder a person works, the more calories they expend. Accordingly, high-intensity exercise burns more fat calories on an absolute basis than lower intensity activities. Since the most important aspect of weight loss is the total amount of fat calories burned--not the percentage from fat--training should be performed at the highest intensity possible.

Myth: The body cannot be over trained from performing cardiovascular exercise. Although the body can tolerate a greater volume of aerobic exercise than anaerobic activity, too much of it eventually will set back fitness endeavors, and have a negative impact on the body. While recovery ability varies among individuals, the body needs rest and recuperation to regenerate its glycogen stores. Glycogen reserves are the body's primary energy source, providing the strength and endurance to perform everyday chores. Since cardio burns glycogen (as well as fat) during exercise performance, too much of it will deplete these reserves, ultimately causing overtraining.

Myth: Women should train with lightweights so they won't bulk up. To tone up, not bulk up, a high repetition scheme should be utilized. Performing high reps (15 to 20 per set), targets the endurance muscle fibers and tends to get a leaner, harder physique without adding substantial muscular mass. To acquire great muscle tone women must train to momentary failure, which requires using heavier weights. If the weight is too light, the muscle is not worked hard enough to adequately stimulate results.

Get Rid of Stomach Fat - Anaerobic Exercise

Let's get something out of the way right now. Exercising a specific part of your body WILL NOT help you get rid of fat in that one area. For example, doing sit-ups will not make you get rid of stomach fat. It will make your stomach stronger and it might have you hiding a six-pack under that stomach fat, but what good is that?

So, doing 1000 sit-ups a day isn't a sure fire way to get rid of stomach fat. It may help you lose fat, but it will be from all parts of your body and only because 1000 sit-ups requires quite a bit of exertion.

So what kind of anaerobic exercise should you do?

Well, how's this for answer: any kind. That's right, anything that is high intensity over a short period of time will do. You could do some weight training or maybe sprinting while you take your daily jog or swim laps. Don't let the idea of weight training scare you. You don't need to go to the gym or buy expensive equipment if you want to try weight training. You can do a complete weight training circuit with only a couple of dumbbells right in your own home.

Circuits are especially effective to burning fat because they combine aspects of both strength and endurance training into one, highly targeted, set of exercises. This type of training is highly effective in making your muscles stronger and fit, meaning you'll be less susceptible to injury over the long run. Circuit training is generally not used when trying to build muscle mass, but remember you're not necessarily trying to build a ton of muscle, just get rid of stomach fat.

Always remember to give yourself a day of rest in between whatever anaerobic exercises you decide to do. It's very important that you give your muscles time to rest, not doing so can result in injury. Also be sure that you sufficiently stretch before any kind of exercise. For some reason this is something that many people neglect, even though anyone who's ever been in a PE class knows how important this is for avoiding injuries.

By incorporating anaerobic exercise into your routine you'll turn your body into a fat burning machine. This kind of exercise is absolutely key if you want to get rid of stomach fat naturally.

Daniel Theodore is a health and fitness nut who enjoys teaching others about the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.

Understanding Exercise Recommended Resources:

Harvard School of Public Health

The Franklin Institute