Thursday, April 14, 2011

Health Benefits of Trampolines


Author: Claire Jarrett

Have you ever considered the host of health benefits in using a trampoline in your regular workout? Research carried by NASA scientists suggests that a trampolining session be over 60% more effective as an all-round workout in comparison to jogging for the same length of time. As well as offering an excellent cardiovascular workout, it can offer many other positive health improvements which other cardio workouts do not offer.


Using a trampoline to bounce on one spot can greatly improve one's sense of balance as you will constantly be making small adjustments in all the body's muscle group to maintain your balance. The improvement in balance is developed in parallel with greatly improved coordination, as you coordinate movement across all your limbs in order to perform the multitude of various different twists, somersaults and maneuvers. Together the gains in balance and coordination lead to vastly enhanced bilateral motor skills: both sides of the body and brain are utilized to the fullest. This is in contrast to many other sports such as soccer, which tend to focus on one side of the body.


Using a trampoline for your workout can even improve bone density, as bouncing puts a tiny amount of stress on bones. This stress does not damage the skeleton, but rather builds up bone strength. This leaves you less prone to fractures, and can stop osteoporosis developing in later life.


In addition to improved cardiovascular fitness, using a trampoline in your regular workout can also lead to improved lymphatic circulation, as being weightless for a short time mid-bounce can help the body detoxify itself. Trampolining is unique in being the only sport that can offer such a benefit. Trampolining is also a low impact sport. There is very little stress put on the body from intense periods of acceleration and deceleration, as the trampoline has a lot of "give" when you land on it. Other sports (for example; tennis, soccer) can be very stressful on the body in this respect, as the hard ground is very unforgiving on your skeletal structure.


The health and well-being virtues of trampolining cannot be extolled highly enough. Whether being the solitary component of your workout, or as a supplement to your regular workout, it is a fantastic, self-confidence boosting sport. Indeed, the incorporation of trampolines and bounce mats into the training regimens of several high profile athletes such as David Beckham is testament to this.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/fitness-articles/health-benefits-of-trampolines-4600750.html


About the Author

We recommend Super Tramp for 10ft trampoline with enclosure and Trampolines with Enclosures

Jumping On The Trampoline

Sunday, March 27, 2011

4 of the Best Six Pack Abs Bodybuilding Exercise Routines

Author: Brandon Ward

Here's how to succeed at six pack abs bodybuilding. If you have always wanted to own a six pack, what you need to is to prepare yourself first for the challenge. This is not going to be easy, in fact, you will get hurt and get body aches along the way. If you are determined to build and maintain your muscles though, you will do fine; as the saying goes: no pain, no gain. When it comes to six pack abs bodybuilding, you should be ready for the strenuous task of lifting weights, exercising constantly and consistently every day, sacrificing alcohol and cigarette smoking, and most importantly, changing your diet entirely. Most people want to brandish a six pack but they rarely work for it. If you want to succeed in six pack abs bodybuilding, you need to invest time and effort for this activity. If you believe you're all set, start out by securing the following things first. 1. Know your body and your health. Do you have an existing health condition? If you do, you need to know what triggers it and if exercising could potentially risk your health. You need to ask a doctor or a fitness expert's advice regarding your current health condition. If you are banned from doing anything close to six pack abs bodybuilding, abandon your plan immediately. 2. Change your lifestyle. Let us assume that you are perfectly fine with no critical health condition whatsoever. The next thing you should do is to change your lifestyle. That means, if you are a smoker and a drinker, you need to get rid of your vices immediately; say no to cigarettes and say no to beer. 3. Change your eating routine. You should also change your eating routine depending on your exercise routine. Most bodybuilders follow a protein-filled routine; however, others opt for a vegetarian diet. If you are aiming for six pack abs bodybuilding, you should not choose a vegan diet since it is important to consume red meat from time to time. If you have food allergies, consult a dietician or your doctor. 4. Look for the right exercise routine. It is not enough to do crunches and lifts every day. You must also look for a six pack abs bodybuilding exercise routine—many fitness experts have formulated their own routine, all you have to do is to select one that is compatible with your body type, goals, and health condition.


Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/wellness-articles/4-of-the-best-six-pack-abs-bodybuilding-exercise-routines-4484015.html

About the Author

For the best six pack abs bodybuilding exercise routine, visit How to Make Six Pack Abs for expert health and bodybuilding advice you will not find anywhere else!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

What is the Correct Way to Breathe When Doing Yoga?


Author: Diaya Boeris
Yoga Basics: The Essential Beginner''s Guide to Yoga for a Lifetime of Health & Fitness

Yoga instructors will often say "breathe" as if you were not already. Breathing is usually a natural process that takes little effort, either physically or mentally. However, there are times when breathing correctly, while moving the body through space, is as important as knowing how to do the yoga pose. Sometimes yoga students will unintentionally and unconsciously hold their breath while doing a pose.


A case in point, is the prowling tiger pose where you are on one knee and the opposite arm with the other leg and arm stretched out in front and back. The prowling tiger is a fairly difficult pose to hold for any length of time because it requires the use of strong back muscles. A beginning yoga student will tend to hold their breath when doing this pose because, in the first place, they are unaware of their breath. This is why an experienced yoga teacher will say "breathe."


Being aware of the breath is a learning process that gets easier with practice. Awareness becomes almost instinctive, in that the breath "flows" with the movement, without having to think about it. In the beginning, learning to be aware of the breath is more like watching the breath. When holding a pose and even while moving from one pose to the next, being the observer of the breath is more of an intentional act than an instinctive one. It isn't until the student finally becomes a yogi that he is aware of the breath. So, the question is, how do you become aware of the breath?


If you are relatively new to yoga, begin by feeling the difference between positive and negative forces when you move your body. For example, from a standing position slowly squat down and then slowly stand back up. The movement down into the squat is a negative force and the act of standing up is a positive force. In weight lifting they call the standing up movement, concentric (positive force) and the going down into the squat, eccentric (negative force).


Pressing a barbell up off of your chest in bench pressing is a concentric movement and lowering the barbell is an eccentric movement. It is not necessary to know the terminology but what is important is to be able to feel the difference between positive (concentric) and negative(eccentric). The general rule for breathing correctly is to breathe in while performing a negative force movement and breathe out while performing a positive force movement. This is true for 98% of all yoga moves.


Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/yoga-articles/what-is-the-correct-way-to-breathe-when-doing-yoga-4460446.html


About the Author

Monday, July 27, 2009

Getting Fit Tips - how to get the most from exercise

Author: Rupert Trubshaw

There are some getting fit tips that can apply on a universal level, no matter what you are trying to achieve from a workout, whether you want good abs, you are getting ready for sport, or just trying to feel better if you lead a sedentary lifestyle.

The one secret which is not spoken enough often about is overtraining. Just don't do it! If you take one of these getting fit tips with you, it's not to overtrain. When you are trying to build muscle, the muscle you have broken down needs recovery time to rebuild and grow back stronger. It will not get the chance if you keep pushing, pushing, pushing - even though you think you might be doing yourself good.

The other problem part of overtraining is spending too long on one exercise session. After 45 minutes or so, the body starts producing cortisol. It's a hormone which does muscle growth no favours. So beware the length of that workout.

The second of my getting fit tips is also very simple. You have to sleep well. The body isn't really building up that lovely new muscle when you exercise - the biggest recovery time is during sleep - and sleep is when that growth process principally takes place. Good, regular, sleep will ensure you get the most from any exercise that you do.

These are just a couple of very general getting fit tips. When it comes to using exercise machines, treadmills and many other devices, there are plenty of things to ensure that you get the most out of them, but if you over-train and don't sleep well, you will be missing out on maximum benefit.

For the best inside track on effective exercise check out getting fit tips for some great secrets, while it is well worth finding out how the two for two rule can transform your strength and conditioning for the better!

About the Author:

Rupert Trubshaw is a freelance journalist, writer and fitness enthusiast

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Getting Fit Tips - how to get the most from exercise

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

How to Exercise Your Stomach - 2 Great Exercises For Six-Pack Abs

Author: Susan Roberts

Everybody wants a flat, toned stomach. Problem is, too many people go about stomach exercises the wrong way. Getting a flat stomach involves two processes: building your abdominal muscles and burning the fat off those muscles.

The first part is easy: building the muscles by exercising your stomach. A combination of these exercises will ensure that you have tight abs.

Crunches are the staple of stomach exercises. Lie with your back and feet flat on the floor, and your knees bent at a right angle. Making sure that you don't move your legs at all, lift the shoulder blades off the ground, making sure to use your stomach muscles only. Shoot for 20-30 reps per set, and 3-5 sets at a time (with a couple of minutes rest between sets).

Regular crunches work out the top of your abs the best. For a balanced stomach work out, you should do sets of reverse crunches as well. Start by lying on your back with your feet a few inches from the ground. Move your legs towards your chest while lifting your butt off of the ground. Again concentrate on using your ab muscles for this, you should feel the burn quickly if you're doing it right.

As with all exercises, it's important to move slowly to develop range in your muscles instead of swinging your body around, which can develop flat spots in your muscles' strength.

Remember how stomach exercises aren't the sole part of building a tight, flat stomach? You also need cardio exercise to burn the fat off the stomach muscles. All the crunches in the world won't burn fat as fast as a few good cardio exercises. Go out and jog for a few minutes each day and get your heart rate up to burn those calories and work the fat off your stomach muscles.

About the Author:

Cardio exercises benefit you both by burning fat as well as generally bettering your health. Everybody should start on a fitness program for better health, in addition to building muscle.
Exercise For Your Muscle Type

How to exercise your stomach

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - How to Exercise Your Stomach - 2 Great Exercises For Six-Pack Abs

Friday, March 13, 2009

Often times middle-age people avoid riding a bicycle because they claim that it hurts to ride. While this may be the case for some people because of health issues, for healthy individuals, riding a bike should not be painful. If you find cycling painful, it's quite likely that you are riding a bicycle that is the wrong size for you.
The most common types of pain that are often associated with cycling include back pain and knee pain. For those suffering from back pain, improving posture is one of the best things that you can do to alleviate the pain. Your back should be properly arched in order to make pedaling easier and allow for some flexibility when going over bumps. Some people feel that modifying their bike in order to make the handlebars higher is the solution, but this does not actually work well. It may allow you to sit upright, but bumps in the road will cause the vertebrae to hit one another, causing back pain. High handlebars also make it hard to ride any faster than a fast walking speed. Study proper posture and consult a professional if it becomes a problem for you and you should be able to ride without back pain.
BIG Racing Bike by Simba

Often rider complains about knee pain as well, but there are things that can be done to alleviate knee pain. One of the best ways to stop knee pain is by using the correct gear for the terrain and slope or the road. Also, the saddle height can make a large impact on a rider's comfort level and will help to eliminate knee pain. If the saddle is too low, the knees are bent most of the time, causing pain. Often riders feel that they need to put the seat quite low, simply because they do not know how to properly mount the bike. If you want to enjoy painless bike riding the buying the right bike is important for your enjoyment and health. Visit Discount Bikes where you find a whole range of bikes and advice.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

How To Get Huge Muscular Arms? Build Big Triceps Exercises

Author: Chris Chew

So you want to get big huge muscular arms. Do not ignore your triceps exercises.



In gyms everywhere, you will see people doing bicep curls after bicep curls. If someone were to ask them to show their muscles, they will most likely flex their biceps. How about you? Well, since you are reading this article, then you must have known that to own huge muscular arms, you must build huge triceps.



Do you know why? It is because your tricep is 2/3 the size of your arm. Just imagine, your bicep is only 30% while your tricep takes up 60%. So if you are neglecting your triceps, you are neglecting 60% of your arms while working on the miniscule 30% called the biceps. Of course you still need to work on your biceps for that well rounded balanced muscular look.



Furthermore, since your triceps are involved in many other body building exercises such as military presses, bench presses and many other exercises, having strong triceps will help you to lift heavier in those other exercises and thus will be encouraging further muscular growth in other body parts.



Your triceps consist of three main muscle whereas your biceps has only 2, the their respective names begins with "tri" and "bi". That is another reason why your triceps should be bigger.



Tricep Excercise Form



So you have been training your triceps but do not see good results. It could possibly be due to your movement during your reps where the exercises are not performed to its full range of motion. You see, the mass concentration of tricep muscles is at the top of the arm and therefore you have to stretch your arms beyond what you feel that is natural in order to reach the deep fibers of your tricep muscles.



On top of that your form must be strict with minimum elbow movements when performing tricep exercises like skull crushes and tricep extensions. These exercises reach deep into your triceps muscles when you do it with full range of movement.



Tricep exercises like close grip bench press, diamond pushups and cable pushdowns do not give you that range of movement as the range of these exercises are limited. This is not to say that you don't do these exercises, just concentrate on them less.



So in order to build big huge triceps, you must feel the pull of your tricep muscles when the weight is at its lowest position before pulling them back.



Want those big muscular arms? Then do not forget to work on your triceps hard and do it in good form.


About the Author:

Chris Chew is a personal trainer of actors, fashion models, and international male pageant winners. See his interesting websites How fashion models lose weight and gain muscles and Fitness" target="_blank">www.sgfitnessonline.com">Fitness trainers and courses


Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/how-to-get-huge-muscular-arms-build-big-triceps-exercises-16909.html