Archive for September, 2010

Why are rest days important to your workout program?

Just like you need a day or two off from your job every week,  your body needs a break from exercising.

This is especially important when it comes to strength training.  When you perform resistance exercise, you cause tiny tears in your muscle tissue.  In order to heal -  and grow – your muscles need recovery time between workouts.  If you are doing fairly light resistance training, a day between workouts is probably enough.  In the case of full out weight training or body building, two, three, or even more recovery days will be needed.

Taking  rest days is also good for you mentally.  Think of it as a reward for all your hard work during the rest of the week.  Just looking forward to your rest days can motivate you to keep going!

So, do I just veg out on my rest days?

You can do whatever you like on your rest days, even if that means watching TV from the couch potato position!   However, I suggest that you incorporate some type of leisurely activity purely for pleasure, such as a stroll through a beautiful park.  Just make sure you enjoy your day off!

Please share your thoughts about rest days in the comments below.  Thanks!

No matter what your age, you can’t take a healthy heart for granted.

Heart disease is the leading killer of women in the U.S.  Don’t become a statistic!  Make sure to keep your heart healthy for a lifetime by following these 4 healthy heart tips!

1. Exercise at least 30 minutes a day.  Exercise helps control your weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, and stress, which are all contributors to heart disease.  As a bonus, it also improves your mood!
2. Maintain a healthy weight. Do not consume more calories than you use up in a day.  If you’re trying to lose weight, make sure that you’re eating fewer calories than you burn.  Hint: it’s easier to control what you eat if you eat at home rather than eating out.
3. Choose the right foods. Avoid processed foods in favor of natural, whole foods.  Aim for a healthy balance of lean proteins, whole grains, fruits, veggies, and healthy fats such as olive oil.
4. Avoid excess sodium. Read labels carefully because you can’t always tell by the taste how much sodium something contains.  You should limit yourself to a maximum of 2400 mg of sodium per day.

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I’ve had a couple of questions recently about Tabata so I thought I’d write a short, simple explanation of this type of workout.

For a Tabata workout, you need to choose a cardio activity which involves your whole body.  You do your chosen workout for 4 minutes, alternating 20 seconds of activity with 10 seconds of rest.

Doesn’t sound hard, does it.  Well, you will be amazed by the intensity of this workout!  Studies have shown that you get more aerobic and anaerobic benefits from doing a Tabata sequence than from 30 minutes or more of a slower, steady pace.

Some activities you might use for this workout include:

• situps
• pushups
• pull ups
• squats
• jump rope
• rowing
• sprints

As a beginner, you should do your Tabata workout once or twice per week, and make sure to include warm up and cool down time.  Also, if you’re not already in very good shape, check with your doctor before adding Tabata to your fitness program.

Here’s a timer to help you keep moving through your 20/10 second intervals.

There is so much  misinformation  floating around about carbohydrates that it’s hard to know what to believe.

Some push the idea of a low carb diet, some mention “good carbs” and “bad carbs”, and some people act as if carbs were poisonous!  Today I’d like to talk about what carbohydrates are and what they do for your body.

There are 2 kinds of carbohydrates, simple and complex.  Simple carbs have a simple molecular composition, are easily and quickly digested and enter your bloodstream as glucose.  Complex carbohydrates have a molecular structure that takes longer to digest but they also eventually enter your bloodstream as glucose.  The end product, glucose, is the same for both types of carbs.

Your body needs glucose for energy.  People who are serious about strength training know that you need protein to build muscle and carbs to power them.

Problems can occur when you eat too many simple carbohydrates (candy, soda, etc.).  They are rapidly digested and quickly raise your blood sugar level.  To compensate, your body releases a bunch of insulin to get rid of the sugar.  But this causes your blood sugar to quickly lower, resulting in low blood sugar levels, low energy, and hunger.  Then you grab a candy bar, which causes your sugar levels to spike, and so on and so on and so on.

This is why so many people mistakenly believe that carbs cause weight gain.  In reality, they are trying to feed their bodies with the wrong fuel, which causes a chemical reaction that leaves them hungrier and more prone to overeating!

The better choice is to use complex carbohydrates such as brown rice, whole grain cereals, and vegetables.  These are digested more slowly and release glucose at an even rate so that your sugar/insulin ratio remains balanced.  There are no excessive highs or lows.

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We’ve been hearing more and more about chia seeds lately.

But what’s all the fuss about?  Are they better for your health than flax seeds?  Here’s an article I came across that explains it all.

Chia Seeds Health Benefits: 5 Fun Facts You Didn’t Know

by Alex Amari

Chia seeds’ health benefits are getting a lot of press lately. You may have heard many people using the words “superfood” and “nature’s perfect food.” No single food all by itself can flat out transform your health, so don’t be taken in all the hype! Nonetheless, if you’ve already eaten chia seeds on a regular basis, perhaps you’ve noticed some concrete health benefits.

But do you understand why chia seeds are so beneficial for you? And do you understand how to make the most of them? Here are five interesting things you may not know about chia seeds.

1. Chia seeds are not a recent invention.

Chia was a tremendously vital grain in pre-Hispanic Mexico, as coveted as corn and beans. Chia was included in tributes and tolls among the Aztec societies, and the health benefits were commonly accepted. So although you may notice people today dubbing chia a “new superfood,” it’s actually not new at all.

2. Chia seeds better for you than flax seeds.

This is not to say that flax seeds aren’t good for you – they’re excellent! But chia is even better. Chia has up to 64% of the omega-3 fatty acid that defends your cardiovascular system. This is more than flax and hemp. Moreover, chia has a balanced 3:1 ratio of omega-3 to omega-6, the ideal for remedying the imbalances that exist in the typical westerner’s diet.

3. You can drink chia seeds, too!

Chia seeds’ health benefits aren’t confined to solid foods. For a delicious and nutritious drink, mix about half a teaspoon to 1 teaspoon of chia seeds into a glass of fresh lemonade. Wait approximately ten minutes to give the chia seeds time to expand and become gelatinous. As you sip the beverage, savor the texture of the gooey seeds against your tongue. You might also add chia seeds to any sort of juice, plain water or a spritzer.

4. White and black chia seeds are equal in nutrition.

Which do you eat – white or black? It’s merely a private preference, so don’t concern yourself about it. If you have a look at black chia seeds carefully, you will perceive color disparities ranging from black to brown and white. White chia comes from white seeds that have been planted severally from the black chia seeds.

5. Chia seeds are overpriced at the grocery store.

All right, you probably already know this. But you may have thought that chia seeds are high-priced because they’re tough to cultivate or are uncommon. This is not the case. After all, chia seeds were a staple of the Aztecs and Mayans for thousands of years, remember? When chia seeds develop into a more mainstream part of our modern eating habits, probably we’ll see the price go down in grocery stores. Until then, the smartest way to buy chia seeds is online.

Chia seeds’ health benefits are facilitating people to keep a well-balanced diet and live more healthfully. Don’t get engrossed in all the hype about chia. Try it for yourself and make the choice that’s right for you.

Chia seeds’ health benefits don’t have to cost you an arm and a leg, either. Find out where to buy chia seeds for less than the price of a cup of coffee at chiaseedshealthbenefits.com.

Article Source: Chia Seeds Health Benefits: 5 Fun Facts You Didn’t Know

Have you tried chia seeds?  Please tell us about it in the comments below.  Thanks!

Summer's End

In honor of Labor Day I’m taking a day off from posting.  Actually, on this last official weekend of summer, everyone should be out enjoying themselves rather than inside reading blogs!

But if you are looking for some healthful reading, I invite you to check out my free publication, “40 Healthy Weight Loss Tips“.  It’s a collection of bits and pieces of advice that can help you along your weight loss journey.  I hope you enjoy it!