Fitness
Mindful Fitness – Take Care of Your Mind & Body by Combining Exercise with Mindfulness
There are many different approaches to exercising. There is the long moderate cardio approach. With this approach you put in 20-60 (or more) minutes jogging, cycling, or some other form of cardio at least five days a week. Then there’s the HIIT approach. With this approach you work out at 100% intensity for just a few minutes each day. There are boot camps as well. With all of these approaches there is an absence of something that is vitally important to fitness and health. We’re talking about mindfulness.
Mindfulness is defined as, “a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.” (dictionary.com)
In general terms it means that you’re not “putting in time” to achieve a goal or striving for a maximum heart rate to achieve a fitness goal. You’re not even performing a certain number of workouts each week. Rather, with mindful fitness you’re paying attention to how you feel both before, during, and after your workout.
At its core, Mindful fitness is about awareness.
Mindful fitness is for you if:
- You’re not getting the results you want from your workouts
- You are getting bored with your workouts
- You are experiencing injuries from your workouts
- You want to feel more connected to your health, fitness, and body
- You’re not sure if you’re working out in a way that is supporting you
- You want to take your workouts to the next level, but you’re not sure how
- You’re looking for a way to combine meditation and working out (hey, you multitaskers out there! This is for you)
- You’re looking for more peace of mind
- You’d like to learn how to improve your focus
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From Couch Potato to Fit & Healthy – How to Get Moving, Get Fit & Enjoy the Process
How many times have you thought, “I should exercise”?
Yet you’re tired, maybe you’re really out of shape, and the idea of exercising seems so overwhelming that it’s just easier to push the idea of exercise from your mind. Deep down you know that you will feel better, look better, and live a better and healthier life if you just get started.
That’s what this guide is designed to do. It’s designed to help you leave your sedentary lifestyle behind. And it’s not filled with huge promises and goals that you will give up on. Instead, this guide puts you in charge of how you move forward. We stress the idea of small steps so that you create a pattern of success. It boosts confidence and helps you make exercise part of your lifestyle.
There is no shame in living a sedentary lifestyle. Millions of people are living this way. It’s the result of a hectic life that leaves you feeling exhausted at the end of the day. It’s the result of not really finding an exercise program that feels manageable or even fun.
That’s all about to change.
In this guide, you’ll transition from your currently sedentary lifestyle to a lifestyle where you’re focused on doing something terrific for your body and your health every day. This guide is divided into nine steps or sections. Each section leads you through the process of getting off the couch and exercising in a way that makes you feel proud, energized, and that provides results.
Use this guide, be honest with yourself, and work through each step to create an exercise program that you can integrate into your lifestyle – we’re talking about exercising every day. Ready? You can do it, let’s get started!
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Steady State Cardio Fitness
When it comes to fitness training and exercise, there’s no shortage of options and approaches. From endurance to high intensity interval training (or HIIT), it seems there’s something for everyone. This is good for a number of reasons.
One, there’s no one right way to exercise that works for everyone. Two, people have different exercise personalities, and while one person may enjoy going for a five-hour run, another person may only want to lift weights.
Steady state cardio is one exercise and fitness approach that works for many because it’s straightforward and easy to embrace, and because it can lend itself to mindfulness and mindful fitness – something that’s on a lot of people’s minds.
So, what is steady state cardio
Steady state cardio is simply a cardio workout where you put out a continuous, steady effort.
For example, with interval training you moderate intensity, right? You might sprint for a minute and then walk for a minute. With steady state cardio, you don’t vary the intensity. You find a pace that you can maintain for a predetermined distance or amount of time and you go.
The concept of steady state can be applied to just about any type of exercise. If you can do interval training for something, then you can also do steady state. However, we’re talking specifically about steady state cardio, so this naturally assumes that you’re going to increase your heart rate and get an aerobic workout. Steady state keeps your heart rate at a moderate level. It’s a pace that you can maintain for 20-30 minutes at a time or more.
Aerobic or cardio workout means that you’re using oxygen for energy.
Anaerobic, a state that you can get to with sprinting and high intensity exercise, requires your cells to utilize other resources besides oxygen for energy and muscle contraction.
There are benefits to both types of exercise, and we’ll talk more about integrating steady state cardio into a comprehensive or holistic exercise program.
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A Guide to Stretching for Health & Fitness
Stretching is one of those things that most of us know we should do, and yet few of us actually take the time to do it. Stretching is usually considered not as the first thing in the morning or before and after a workout, but rather when it’s too late and your body is telling you that it’s sore and stiff.
If you wait until your body is sore, stiff, and you have limited mobility then you’re missing the point of stretching. We stretch to prevent soreness, stiffness, and the shortening of tendons, muscles, and ligaments that leads to a reduced range of motion and mobility issues.
And contrary to popular belief, stretching isn’t just for athletes and dancers. Everyone should stretch and make mobility a part of their daily routine. Yes, athletes and fitness enthusiasts should stretch. So too should those who take a daily walk for exercise. Men, women, seniors, children – everyone should stretch.
In this report we take a look first at the benefits of stretching. You’re going to be surprised. it’s about much more than being able to touch your toes, from there we’ll talk about common stretching myths, and the difference between stretching before and after exercise. We’ll spend the bulk of this report talking about different stretches for different needs.
For example, stretching after an injury is different than stretching to reduce soreness. By the end of this report you’ll be able to put together your own stretching and mobility program designed to help you achieve your personal goals and needs.
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The Tabata Fitness Plan – Get More from Every Workout!
Looking for a fast, fun, and effective workout?
The Tabata may be exactly what you’re looking for. The Tabata was discovered and created by Professor Izumi Tabata in 1996. He studied Olympic speed skaters on a cycle ergometer. The purpose of the study was to see if they could increase the VO2 Max for the athletes. Those that participated in the Tabata training saw an increase in their aerobic capacity. The method was quickly adapted by many fitness programs, which were beginning to uncover the benefits of HIIT or High Intensity Interval Training.
What it is a Tabata?
A Tabata, as mentioned, is a form of HIIT. It is a repeated cycle of 20 seconds of high intensity all out work, followed by ten seconds of rest. The cycle is repeated eight times, which equates to four minutes of work total. This is another reason why this method was quickly adopted. If you can see aerobic and fitness gains in four minutes a day, that’s a workout most everyone has time for.
Why does it work?
The Tabata works for a number of reasons. One, it taps into your anaerobic energy systems, which releases a cascade of hormones that are beneficial when they’re released occasionally. The Tabata isn’t designed to be something that you do every single day or for a long duration. Generally speaking, you want to add a Tabata into your regular fitness program once or twice a week.
The other workouts should be at a moderate pace, and a few should involve strength training. Tabatas also work because many people are able to push themselves hard for twenty seconds and perform a workout knowing that it’s only going to be four minutes long. It’s quite a different thing to push yourself hard for twenty, thirty, or even sixty minutes.
Additionally, Tabatas don’t cause that post-workout hunger that many other longer cardio workouts do cause. You can do your Tabata and go about your day not feeling like you’re exhausted or need food to recover. So there’s no unintentional weight gain from exercise.
Who uses a Tabata workout?
Anyone and everyone should use a Tabata workout. The pace you go and the movements you perform are based exclusively on your level of fitness right now. As you increase your endurance and strength, your Tabata workouts will evolve. They’re perfect for beginners and advanced athletes alike.
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Healthy Sleep Habits – Daily Fitness, Diet & Lifestyle for a Great Night’s Sleep
Sleep. If you’re like many people, you have a love/hate relationship with this life-sustaining necessity. You probably love to sleep. Who doesn’t like to climb into their bed, snuggle in, and get some quality Z’s? However, if you struggle to fall asleep, stay asleep, or you just don’t feel like you’re getting quality sleep, then sleep can feel stressful.
Take a deep breath.
Sometimes all it takes to improve your relationship with sleep, and your quality of sleep, is a bit of awareness and some proven tips. In this report we’re going to offer a wide variety of tips – ranging from what to eat before bedtime to what type of exercise works best for quality sleep.
As you read the report, consider writing down a few of the tips that you want to put into practice today. Yes, you can start improving your sleep today. Step by step, as you find the keys to your improved sleep, you’ll begin to live a happier and healthier life. Sleep, as it turns out, has a tremendous impact on your health and well-being.
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How to Tone Your Legs
Do you love your legs? So many people don’t. They hide them year-round, even in the summer, under long pants and skirts. They wear long shirts and sweaters that cover their backside and thighs. And swimsuit season is not their favorite time.
From thigh gap to cellulite and everything in between, legs tend to be a struggle for many. The good news is that toned legs are in your near future.
The benefits of toning your legs are many. In addition to being able to wear clothing that fits the season – that means shorts in warm weather – it also means feeling more strong and confident. Toned legs are strong legs. They look great with bare feet and cutoffs, or heels and skirts.
Toning your legs means that you never have to worry about hiding your legs again. Instead, you’ll get compliments on them, and inquiries about how you have such great legs.
For both men and women, it’s nice to be able to wear more revealing clothing. But it’s important to not forget that just about any leg toning exercise you perform strengthens your muscles as well, including your glutes and your core muscles. You’ll have better posture, your clothing will be more flattering on you, and you’ll feel more confident.
As you tone your legs, you also improve your strength and mobility. That means you may no longer experience those painful pops and clicks in your hips, ankles and knees. And your flexibility may improve, which is always fun to experience.
Many people, especially women, worry about becoming bulky when they do strength training. We’ll talk about that in this report.
This guide is divided into three categories. The categories include beginner, intermediate, and advanced. It’s divided this way so you can approach your toned legs program with confidence. There’s something for everyone. Each exercise is modifiable, meaning you can make it easier or harder, depending on your strength, mobility, and needs.
Each movement also includes instructions on how to perform it, necessary equipment, tips on success, and guidelines on reps and rounds.
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The Kettleball Fitness Plan
You may have recently heard a lot about kettlebells. They are the hot new fitness equipment and everyone is talking about them. But why? What makes the kettlebell unique? It’s essentially a heavy ball with a handle, and that is exactly what makes them so awesome.
About that Heavy Ball with a Handle
You might wonder what makes a kettlebell different from a dumbbell. The answer is the handle. The handle makes all the difference. Imagine trying to swing a dumbbell. Not a pretty picture, right? You don’t have the same range of motion.
Kettlebells provide that range of motion because the handle can rotate in your hand. It also can challenge your stability, which makes you stronger, and it’s more versatile. You can perform the same movements with a kettlebell that you can with a dumbbell, and many more that you cannot really perform well with a dumbbell.
Finally, that handle makes the exercises and movements more functional. Generally speaking, when you’re lifting and carrying things, you have some swing and range of motion. You need to work your body in a way that resembles and supports proper function in real life.
For example, carrying a big bag of groceries is much more like carrying a heavy kettlebell than it is carrying a dumbbell. Kettlebell exercises are much more functional than those done with a traditional dumbbell.
We’ve already discussed the versatility of the kettlebell. You can do twice as many movements with this type of weight when compared to a dumbbell. However, the benefits don’t stop there.
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