by David | Nov 25, 2021 | Health
The cold winter months may generally feel like we are in hibernation, where a lot of physical activity generally takes a back seat. Sometimes we feel waiting it out may be better but this isn’t always the case. Working out during the cold winter months has tremendous benefits for one’s overall health and well-being. Here are a few reasons why you should consider working out during the cold winter season.
- It boosts your immunity
It is easy to get a cold or the flu during the winter period due to the extreme drop in temperature. Your body has to put in more effort in fighting off the cold and other microbes that cause sicknesses during this time. Starting a workout routine helps to regulate your body temperature and also boosts your immunity. Recent studies have shown that regular moderate exercises can help boost your immune system which helps you fight colds, coughs, and the flus that are common during this period. Remember to keep it moderate and light so you get the desired effect.
- It improves your mood
Regular exercise has been known to boost and improve the moods of various individuals. Exercising during the winter is also recommended as a self-help strategy for many people, especially does who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorders such as seasonal depression linked to the winter period. The cold days can dampen the mood for some people, but working out can help alleviate those bad moods and put you in a better state of mind. You can go the extra step by doing your exercise outside in the morning which also exposes you to some much-needed vitamin D. at the end of the day, exercising can be good for both your mood and your health.
- Takes you out of a monotonous routine
Staying indoors constantly can put you in a rut, making your routine for the day very monotonous. Taking a break and doing some exercise can help you break free from this stiff routine and put some variation into your day. You can try out new workout routines every time you exercise, or simply schedule your workout at different hours of the day. Exercising regularly gives you something else to do and look forward to when it seems like your day could use a change.
- Less crowd at fitness places
For one, most people would prefer to remain indoors during the cold months, and this means less crowd at certain fitness centers or gyms. This is the perfect time to start a workout routine if you are not a big fan of crowded spaces. You can also try out new routines and machines that you haven’t due to the crowd in the space. This makes workouts comfortable and easy when you don’t have to struggle to use equipment with many other people.
Now, you know that working ut during the cold season can be beneficial for your overall health and well-being. When working out, remember to take it easy as pushing yourself could have the opposite effect and leave you feeling sore, sick, and not feeling so great. Moderate exercise at fairly regular intervals will do the job.
by David | Nov 18, 2021 | Health
The constant feeling of pain in your lower back can create a lot of discomfort. Being up on your feet for most of the day or you need to bend over to reach for something at some point can become a tedious task due to this kind of pain. Anyone can suffer from lower back pain and at any point, as it is not just limited to the elderly or people who are over a certain age range. There are numerous reasons that contribute to or can cause lower back pain among people of all ages. One of the most common causes of this kind of pain is constantly sitting for too long. People who work desk jobs or any job that requires sitting in one place for too long are at high risk of suffering from lower back pain.
Lifestyle choices and modifications can also contribute to lower back pain. Some other well-known factors that cause lower back pain are health conditions such as arthritis and stenosis which is caused by the narrowing of the canal of the spine. Other common causes include bad posture while sitting and standing, sports and work injuries, genetics, lifestyle, among other factors. People can sometimes experience sharp and sudden lower back pain, and at other times it may be felt much later or after an injury.
For any kind of lower back pain, either chronic or mild, it is best to seek out professional help to prevent further damage. An experienced health professional will give you a proper diagnosis using all the right equipment to make all the necessary findings. After getting a diagnosis, proper medication and the right treatment plan will be prescribed for the lower back pain. In the meantime, there are certain exercises that you can perform to ease the lower back pain. Here are the home exercise you can do to ease up the lower back pain you feel;
- Single Knee Hug
You start out the position lying on the floor face-up and have your feet to the floor, with your legs slightly spaced hip-width apart and knees bent. Lace your hands together behind one knee and gradually draw the knee to your chest until you are stretched comfortably. Tighten the abdominal section and hold the position for five seconds. Unlace your hands and return the knee to the starting position. Do this for the other leg as well, with three reps for each leg.
- Seated Spinal Twist
Here, you need to sit on the floor with both legs stretched out in front of you. You will then need to bend your right knee and place it on the outside of the left thigh, placing your right arm for support, and the left arm on the side of the right knee. Now twist your body starting from the base to the right side and stay in this position for about a minute. Repeat the same step for the other side of your body and do the stretch about two times.
It is pertinent to make suitable lifestyle adjustments while also being conscious of our posture for a longer-lasting solution. Pain killers can also ease the pain temporarily, along with the exercises mentioned above. You should seek out professional medical attention for persistent or chronic lower back pain. This could be as a result of other health factors which can only be found by visiting medical personnel.
by David | Nov 5, 2021 | Health
If you have been working out for some time now and feeling a weird muscle pain, which has yet not subsided, then chances are you it is because you have been skipping on warm-up and cool-down exercises.
Following a proper warm-up and cool-down routine helps your body become accustomed to the intense workout that is about to come and similarly helps your body relax after an intense workout session. Lack of proper warm-up and cool-down exercises could lead to muscle injuries and muscle soreness in the long term.
Benefits of Warming Up
- Better Performance: Warming up helps in improving your athletic performance.
- Better Blood Flow: All you need is 10 minutes to warm up if you want your body to adapt to your intense workout session. With proper warm-up movements, you can increase the flow of blood to your skeletal muscles, and open up blood vessels for healthy blood circulation. Your blood conveys the oxygen required for your muscles to work, increasing the flow of your blood to prepare your muscles for an intense exercise session.
- Oxygen Efficiency: When you do a warm-up workout, the oxygen in your blood moves more readily and promptly throughout your body, and at higher temperatures. Your muscles request higher measures of oxygen while working out, so make this oxygen more accessible through a warm-up action.
- Better Contraction and Relaxation of Muscle: Warming up with active work raises your internal heat level, which thusly, further develops your nerve transmission and muscle metabolism. What happens next? Your muscles will perform quicker and all the more effectively.
- Injury Prevention: Warming up forestall wounds by releasing your joints, and further developing bloodstream to your muscles — making your muscles more averse to tear, tear, or bend in an unsafe way during your exercise. Extending likewise readies your muscles for the proactive tasks you’re going to perform.
- Mental Preparation: A side advantage of heating up is that your mind will become zeroed in on your body and your active work as you go through the cycle. This center will persist into your instructional meeting to assist you with working on your method, coordination, and ability.
Advantages of Cooling Down
- Recuperation: After extreme exercise, lactic acid develops inside your body, and it takes a lot of time and effort for your body to get it out. Cooling down exercises can help your body in getting rid of lactic acid, helping with accelerating your body’s recuperation post-exercise.
- Preventing DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness): While muscle soreness is not out of the ordinary after a workout, a lot of DOMS could be painful and can keep you from working out later on. Cooling down after exercise helps with mitigating unbearable muscle soreness, allowing you to work out efficiently, and allowing your body to get back from the reprecuration period to the next workout session easily.
A moderate cycling, spot jogging, or simple breathing exercise could help your body in preparing as well as relaxing both before and after the workout. So, no matter if you have time or not, do not forget to include warm-up and cool-down exercises in the workout routine.
by David | Jun 7, 2021 | Fitness, Health
The water level in our body maintains osmoregulation and acts as one of the main ingredients of most metabolic activities. Be it regulating cellular respiration or maintaining the plasma volume, water is needed in the human body. The excess of the fluid is expelled out of the body in urine and sweat, which increases during summers.
This is why it has become important to stay hydrated during the hot weather season. This article will discuss how you can maintain the water needed in your body.
Helpful tips to stay hydrated during summers
Drink water and plenty of it
The first and foremost way to stay hydrated during the hot weather is to drink water in plenty. Always carry a water bottle whenever you are going out to ensure that you won’t have to depend on the shops for getting a new water bottle. Also, when you are indoors, make sure to set alarms for drinking a glass of water so that you don’t forget this important task because of the busy schedule.
Include more Fluid-Based Foods in your Diet
Not everyone likes to drink water, especially the kids and teens. So, as an alternative, include water-based foods in the diet. You can find information about the same on the internet, but if you wish to get the right knowledge and information, a personal trainer will be helpful. They know about the types of foods you can eat to maintain your body weight and regulate the water content during the summer season. Seasonal fruits like watermelon, grapes, mangoes, berries, peaches, and others will help maintain the water balance. Besides, having salads, coleslaw, raw vegetables, smoothies, and juices will also help replenish the water lost from your body.
Understand the Signs of Dehydration
Everyone needs to know the signs of dehydration. This way, you can increase your water intake when you experience any dehydration symptoms during hot weather. Some of the major dehydration signs you have to look for are:
- Dizziness
- Excessive sweating
- Dryness in the mouth
- Increased body temperature
- Nauseatic feeling and vomiting
- Stomach cramps
- Medium to dark yellow coloured urine
Avoid Caffeine, Sugar, and Alcohols
One of the best ways to stay hydrated during the summer season is by avoiding too much alcohol or caffeine. Both these drinks tend to cause dehydration as they reduce your body’s capability to absorb water. Also, they tend to decrease your thirst, thereby preventing you from drinking more water. So, keep a check on the caffeine intake.
Always Maintain your Body Temperature during Exercise.
During the summers, exercising outdoors is not a good idea, especially if you have a heavy-duty fitness chart. Outdoor exercises will expose your body to the sun’s heat, which will cause dehydration and improper body temperature regulation. So, keep the temperature at bay and prevent excess water loss. In addition, train indoors so that you don’t sweat profusely. Suppose you don’t wish to get into an exhaustive exercising routine during the summer season. In that case, you can seek the assistance of a professional Personal Trainer Surrey who can prepare a simple yet, an effective training program for you.
Conclusion
To maintain the water balance in your body, you must take proper fluids and avoid exposing yourself to the scorching heat of the summers. You can use alarms to remind you of drinking water or use a tracker to measure how much water you have drunk and how much more your body needs. With these few clever steps, you will be able to stay hydrated even in mild to extreme hot weather conditions.
by David | Apr 29, 2021 | Blog, Fitness, Health
Summer brings with it heat waves and humid air conditions that result in excessive sweating. It is vital to understand water is one of the most crucial elements for survival.
Human body is composed of 60% of water, and loss of water in the form of sweat can lead to dehydration. In case of dehydration, if one is not hydrated quickly, the condition can lead to severe consequences, ultimately affecting mental and physical functioning.
There are numerous tips that your Personal Trainer will give you to stay hydrated during the hot weather. Before discussing them, know how to identify the symptoms of dehydration.
In order to combat dehydration, you must know the signs so that you can identify them with ease. Observe if your skin displays inflammation or itchiness. Moreover, notice the drying of the skin. Other symptoms include feelings of fatigue, muscle cramps, dark color of the urine, fainting, etc.
Below tips will help you stay hydrated in summers.
Drink Lots of Water
One of the best ways to stay hydrated is to drink water throughout the day. However, the intake varies depending on sex, age, and other factors. Start and end the day with at least one cup of water. Moreover, consume a glass of water with each meal. You don’t need to wait for your throat to get parched to drink water!
Opt for Natural Juices
Consume natural juices that are without any added sugar. It promotes hydration while supplying the body with vital nutrients. These nutrients can ultimately aid you in staying active. However, you must be careful while purchasing the bottle. For this, check out the ingredients list carefully.
Avoid Alcohol
Having a drink might sound tempting on a hot evening, but it is something that you must avoid. Alcoholic drinks remove water from the body. That is why it is advisable not to take alcohol during the hot weather. Instead, have water or natural juices.
Go for Cool Showers
It is vital to understand that cool showers don’t necessarily hydrate the body. They just keeps the body cool and prevents sweating. That, in turn, blocks the loss of fluid.
In order to stay fit, it is vital that you keep yourself hydrated in the summer season. If you intend to continue your workouts, make sure you have a chat with your Personal Trainer before continuing the same regimen.
#stayhydrated #water #drinkwater #hydration #healthylifestyle #hydrate #health #drinkmorewater #fitness
by David | Apr 22, 2021 | Fitness, Health
We all aim to achieve a fit body and physique. But often, the results are not what we expected. Have you ever wondered, why? Well the answer is very simple, only dieting is not going to help you achieve that tones body. It is necessary to perform some sort of exercises every day. In this blog, we present to you 3 simple exercises for your arms. Toned arms not only look good, but they also help in boosting the overall physique. The right set of exercises are going to give you the right results.
Unfolding 3 simple ways to achieve toned arms:
Bicep curls– This is a prototypical arm exercise and quite an easy one. All you need is a pair of dumbbells. Make sure you stand with your feet comfortably apart, this will give you balance. With arms by your side, hold the dumb bells in your hand and make sure your elbows are close you your body. Exhale as you curl up the arms moving the dumbbells towards your shoulder with your elbows pressing in. stay there for a second or 2 and inhale as you bring the dumb bells down. Beginners can do this 12 times in 2 sets and make sure to rest for at least for 90 seconds before you start the second set.
Hug a tree– Well, flabby arms are a trouble zone for most people. One of the ways to get rid of this is by regularly following this exercise. For this, you need to hold a dumbbell in your hands. Raise your arms to the level of your chest and open them wide as if you are about to hug someone. Make sure to keep your elbows slightly bent and so you exhale bring your arms in front of you maintaining the level and as you inhale take your hand back to the starting position. Do this 10 times in sets of 3 to get a desirable result. Do not forget to take rest between the sets, it’s very important
V-exercise– This is the best toning exercise. In this exercise, you have to hold dumbbells in your hands and keep them on your hips. Now as you exhale move your hands straight up drawing a V and as you inhale bring back to the starting position. You have to lift your hands up forming a V-shape. You do not bend your elbows in this one. To get effective results, you have to regularly follow this exercise and repeat it 10 times in sets of 3.
The Bottom Line
These are some of the easiest exercises that you can follow every day to tone your arms. It is always a good practice to hire a Personal Trainer in West London because they will be able to correct you if you make any mistakes, they will also correct your postures while performing the exercises. Incorrect postures can result in injury to the muscles.
#armworkout #fitness #workout #bodybuilding #fitnessmotivation #personaltrainerwestlondon
