Archive for March, 2009

Exercises for Diabetes, Control Diabetes With Exercises

Tuesday, March 31st, 2009
peterhutch


Exercise is an important treatment in normalizing blood glucose level in type 2 diabetes as well as in type 1 diabetes. It is also important to know the type of exercise diabetics should undertake that involve minimizing the risks and at the same time deriving maximum benefits to normalize the blood sugar and giving good health. There are mainly three types of exercises - aerobic, anaerobic and stretching exercises.

Exercise is a vital part of the management of diabetes. All diabetics should aim to make exercise a part of their daily routine. Exercise can help to improve the quality of life for diabetics. But there are some safeguards to consider before you start an exercise regime. It is wise to consult your health professional before you begin. This would be true for anyone, but it is especially so for someone who suffers from diabetes.

That means that intense exercise can help to both prevent and treat diabetes. The most tissue damage occurs immediately after eating when blood sugar levels rise the highest. After you eat, sugar goes from the intestines into the bloodstream. The only places that sugar can be stored are in your muscles and liver. When your muscles are not exercised, they are full of sugar and sugar has no place to go after it enters your bloodstream.

Aerobic exercise, commonly referred to as cardio, raises the heart rate and the breathing rate while working major muscle groups. Cardio burns blood sugar and stored fat, and is recommended by most doctors for their diabetic patients. Dancing, swimming, aerobics, tennis, basketball, and bicycling are all forms of aerobic exercise. Cardio offers all of the benefits mentioned above, and is especially important for diabetics.

Exercises like jogging, swimming, fast walking and cycling are good for diabetics. These exercises help to keep cardiovascular system in good condition. These exercises should couple with stretching exercises as warming and cooling down exercises. A typical exercise session should consist of: 10 minutes of warming up exercise of stretching type; about 20-30 minutes of aerobic exercise and finally 5 minutes of cool down and stretching exercise.

A regular exercise program can help the body respond to insulin and is known to be effective in managing blood glucose. Diabetes types exercise can lower blood glucose and possibly reduce the amount of medication one needs to treat diabetes. Some are even able to eliminate the need for any medication. With exercise, one can also improve the circulation in many areas of the body such as arms, legs, fingers and the major joints.

Diabetes Exercise, along with good nutrition, helps decrease body fat, which helps control glucose metabolism. Exercise and good nutrition provide real physical payoffs–they are essential to controlling diabetes. Exercise can help prolong your life and get better the quality of your added months and years.



Diabetes - Exercise Questions Answered

Tuesday, March 31st, 2009
Jeanna Rhoulhac, Rd, Ld/n, Cde


Q. What are the benefits of exercise?

A. For people with diabetes, the benefits of exercise are blood glucose level improvements, stress reduction, increased energy, weight control, and for those who participate in regular physical activity, which includes moderate aerobic exercise, there will be a reduction in cardiovascular disease risk.

Q. How do I begin an exercise program?

A. Schedule a physical exam with your physician before beginning your exercise activities. This is especially important if you have not been active recently. An EKG or ECG test (electrocardiogram) may be recommended by your doctor along with a graded exercise test to evaluate how exercise may effect your heart. Ask your doctor what types of exercise are best for you.

For any recommended exercise program, remember to begin slowly and safely, and gradually increase your physical activity level over time.

Q. What is an exercise goal?

A. Remember to discuss with your doctor how often to exercise, and what level of intensity at which you shoudl perform. Begin any exercise program with a slow, steady pace. Try to be active for at least 20 minutes in the beginning. You can steadily increase the time period for exercise over an eight (8) week period.

Research has proven that weight lifting (anaerobic exercise) may benefit people with diabetes. This type of exercise is known as “resistance training.” Lifting heavy weights may not be helpful for persons with certain diabetes complications, so always comply with your physician’s recommendations.

Q. What are the different types of exercise?

A. There are two main types of exercise, anaerobic and aerobic exercise. Anaerobic exercise involves lifting weights or using exercise bands. Activity usually lasts for a shorter duration and involves intense activity done in short bursts. Anaerobic exercise is commonly known as “resistance training” and the goal is to build muscle and increase strength.

Aerobic exercise works the large muscle groups in the arms and legs. Examples of this include: jogging, brisk walking, swimming, biking, dancing, biking and rowing. Aerobic exercise gradually increases the heart and breathing rates. Aerobic exercise is usually recommended for most diabetic patients because of the proven benefits to the cardiovascular system (heart, lungs, and blood vessels).

Q. What if I have had a sedentary lifestyle?

A. You will improve your overall health by increasing your activity level. Take advantage of any opportunity to bend and stretch as much as possible during the day.

To make your day more active, here are some simple tips to get ready, get set, and get moving:

Parking your car further away from the store when you go shopping Use stairs rather than elevators whenever possible Communicate with neighbors or co-workers by stopping by in person, rather than using the phone to call Stay active at home with light gardening and housework chores

Q. What are the strategies for exercising success?

A. Make exercise part of your daily schedule - even small increases in physical activity will be beneficial to your health. Being active simply means moving more!

All physical activities should begin with a warm-up, and then progress to the chosen exercise. After exercising; remember to have a cool-down period. You will see the most progress with your exercise plan when you are consistent with a specific type of activity. For example, if you chose to walk, try to find the most convenient time of day for walking, and then stick to it.

Your exercise program should always include these three (3) essential elements:

Warm-up: Approximately 5-10 minutes of stretching and bending. This will prevent injuries to muscles and joints.

Activity: 20 minutes (or more) of sustained physical activity. This includes walking, biking, aerobics, swimming, or other sports, such as tennis or racquetball. Cool-Down: Gradually reduce your activity, and then stretch for at least 5 minutes.

Q. Are there any exercise precautions or other guidelines?

A. Remember, exercise will lower your blood glucose level. If you feel symptoms of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), take glucose tablets or gel to treat low blood sugar. Avoid very vigorous activity when the insulin activity is peaking (insulin is working at the hardest level). If you plan to exercise at moderate or high intensity, check your blood sugar before beginning your exercise. If the blood glucose level is below 100 mg/dl, eat a light snack with a carbohydrate source before exercising. Remember, low blood sugar can occur shortly after exercise or up to 24 hours after physical activity, so monitor blood glucose levels regularly.

When purchasing shoes for exercise, protect your feet with properly fitting shoes and socks. Plan to purchase your shoes at the end of the day when your feet are larger. Avoid open-heeled or open-toed shoes.

Shoe-Fit guidelines: the in-step of the shoe should conform to your the size and the shape of your foot. Your toes should have some “wiggle-room” - the shoes should securely fit at the heel to prevent slipping.

Sock Suggestions: White socks should be used, and they should be soft and padded with no seams.

Diabetic patients need adjustments in insulin dosing or eating schedule. Food intake may need adjusting to prevent low blood sugar when exercising. For example, if you will be bike riding, do not

inject insulin into your leg. Insulin should not be injected into a body part that you will use during exercise.

Wear medical identification as a precaution when exercising.

Remember to drink water and stay well hydrated. At least 64 ounces of water should be consumed daily.

 

You can find more articles at Destination Diabetes

 



Five Ways to Get More Personal Training Clients

Saturday, March 21st, 2009
Bedros Keuilian


Getting personal training clients is easier than you think - if you systemize your personal trainer marketing strategy.

The problem with most personal trainers is that they spend way too much time on insignificant marketing ideas that fail to produce results and not enough time on the few significant ones that actually work and often times cost little to no money.

In all my years of selling personal training, creating multimillion dollar personal training businesses, and coaching top fitness experts on all things fitness marketing I found five clients getting systems that work the best.

Strategy one: The Internal Referral. Your currant, active clients should be your walking talking billboards. In fact you should condition then to be your referral generating machines. This is called making it a condition of doing business with you and it start the day they sign up with you. Let them know you keep your rates low because you relay on their referrals. At least once a month give them a reason to send you referral by sending them a hand written note, cards, or even a gift certificate.

Strategy two: The List. If you’re not actively building a list of loyal fans (prospects and active and inactive clients) then you’re leaving a lot of money on the table. The list is king. And the best way to use a list to grow your personal training business is to offer a biweekly online newsletter. Consistent email marketing is the fastest, easiest and most economical way to position yourself and get people to know, like and trust you. And once people know like and trust you and consider you the local fitness expert your business will boom.

Strategy three: Expert Endorsements: There are all types of businesses around you who probably cater to your potential clients. Chiropractors, doctors, cosmetic surgeons, day spas, health food stores and other businesses already have clients and prospects that trust them. What you want is for these experts to refer their clients, customers, and patients to you. You can do this by making them a win/win proposition by offering to endorse their business or service to your list and then ask them to endorse you to their list.

Strategy four: Free Media. People read newspapers and watch TV news for the stories and not the advertisements. One of the best ways to get the local media to publish your story and showcase you personal training business is by creating a strong human interest hook that they will want to share with their audience. Maybe you’re going to give two free training sessions to anyone who donates a new toy for the ‘toys for tots drive.’ Or maybe anyone who donates $25 during Thanksgiving week can get a free week of bootcamp. The point is you need a “hook” a human interest story and the media will be way more likely to listen.

Strategy five: The blog: There are over a dozen ways to get tons of traffic from the internet. One of the easiest ways is to set up a word press blog and start blogging on a daily basis about all things health and fitness. The secret to a good blog, one that attracts a lot of visitors is entertainment, content, and consistency. Boring blogs get no traffic. Use lots of social proof in your blogs, offer lead generation ebooks and reports to get people on your email/newsletter list.

Personal trainer marketing system is easy once you figure out the handful of marketing strategies that produce the best results. The trick is to figure them out and use them consistently.



Must Do Thigh Exercises for Head Turning Legs!

Saturday, March 21st, 2009
Tony Leong


There are distinctive kinds of thigh exercises, which if performed sincerely can give exclusive results. It is really challenging to choose between them, as you don’t know your ultimate goal. If you ask me I would definitely recommend you to perform exercises that tone, firm and strengthen your thighs, but at the same time burn the fat. I say so because burning fat is very essential as you’ll never be able to see your thigh muscles if they are hiding behind the fat.

For women, shaping the muscles of the thighs is an important fitness goal. They typically carry excess fat on their thighs and hips. As a result they get confused when it comes to lose weight, though they try different types of thigh exercises with no results.

Don’t Make This Mistake with Thigh Exercises

Generally majority of women don’t want to perform thigh exercises that will make their thighs big and bulky like a man or like a big female bodybuilder. This is a very big mistake. They desire to become slim with a flat stomach and bulky thighs without performing upper leg exercises and tend to use lighter weights. Performing with lighter weights will not burn fat, better to perform with heavier weights with moderate repetitions. (8-12reps). so listen and read carefully, you will never get big and bulky thighs if you keep on doing common mistakes.

The reason is simple - Testosterone.

The main reason why women cannot get big and bulky thighs from any of the thigh exercises like men is amount of testosterone. Women don’t have anywhere near the amount of testosterone that a man has.

I see a lot of women think aerobic exercises are better than Any thigh exercises. You need to include exercises for your thigh muscles and weight training as aerobic training doesn’t increase or tone muscle and lean muscle.

After the age of 25, the average woman will gain one pond of body fat and at the same time lose muscle tissue, which results in decrease of metabolism. Proper thigh exercises can increase your metabolism by restoring muscle tissue that you lost over the years.

Effective thigh exercises will work all the major thigh muscle groups, including your hamstrings, groin muscles, quadriceps at the front of your thighs, and hip-flexors at the front of your pelvis. The more effective upper leg exercises will work all the above muscles at once resulting in much better fat burning, toning and firming.

Thigh Exercises That Simple And Easy To Do!

Below you will find a list of exercises for your thigh muscles to use in your lower body workout. A combination of the best thigh exercises, cardiovascular exercise and good nutrition is the most effective for fat loss and toning and shaping your muscles.

(1) Compound muscle leg exercises- Dumbbell Lunges:

This thigh exercises are good for working your gluts, quads, inner and outer thighs and hamstrings. This exercise can be done with either Dumbbells or Barbell.

STANCE: A feet together stance is recommended.

STEPS:

Grab hold of a pair of dumbbells and stand upright.

Keeping your back straight take a step forward bending your knees and getting them as close to the floor as possible.

Push yourself back to the starting position and repeat with the other foot.

(2) Compound muscle leg exercises- Leg Extensions:

This thigh exercises will help to define and shape the front of your thighs, known as your quads.

STEPS:

Sit on the leg extension machine (adjust the seat according to your body). Hook your feet beneath the roller pads and grasp the handles at the sides of the machine for support.

Straighten your legs and lift the weight up. Pause at the top for a second or two to enhance the peak contraction in the quads. Lower the weight slowly to the starting position. Repeat.

(3) Compound muscle leg exercises- Leg Press:

This movement works the quads, hamstrings, and gluts. The leg press allows you to work your legs hard without putting extra stress on your back.

STEPS:

Sit in the leg press machine with your back on the angled seat and your feet on the footplate about shoulder width apart with your toes pointed forward or just slightly out to the sides. Straighten your legs and release the bars at the sides of the machine. There is usually a handle on each side for you to hold on to and stabilize yourself.

Bend your legs and slowly lower the weight until your knees are at a 90-degree angle. Straighten your legs and lift the weight back up to the starting position. Repeat.

(4) Compound muscle leg exercises- Hack Squats:

This movement works the quads, hamstrings, and gluts.

STEPS:

Position yourself on the machine with your feet just wider the shoulder width apart with your toes pointed just slightly out to the sides. Straighten your legs and release the bars at the sides of the machine. Bend your knees and squat down until your knees are just less then a 90-degree angle. Straighten your legs and lift the weight back up to the starting position. Repeat.

(5) Compound muscle leg exercises- Straight Leg Dead-lifts:

These variations of the dead lift work the hamstrings, gluts, and lower back. It also works the forearms because you have to grip the barbell.

STEPS:

Stand in front a barbell with your feet placed shoulder width apart. Bend your legs and grasp the barbell with your hands just wider then shoulder width. Using your back and legs stand up with the barbell at arms length in front of you.

Keep a slight bend in your knees and bend over as if you were going to touch your toes. Keep your head up and you’re back flat as you bend down. Straighten up to the starting position. Repeat.

Along with compound muscle leg exercises you can also try single muscle leg exercises. The thigh exercises for your thigh muscles listed above will indeed do the job for you. These upper leg exercises will tone, firm and burn a tremendous amount of fat cells. With the one mentioned above you’ll define and separate your thigh muscles, creating the sexiest thighs you could imagine.



.Exercise?

Friday, March 20th, 2009
xMistakes


I’m 5′5 and weight about 125. I’m trying to lose some pounds overall so I can thin out my thighs. I’ve already limited my junk food intake. I’m an extremely picky eater, so I don’t eat any fruits, vegetables, and the majority of meats. Yeah, I know — I’m a total freak for disliking all that. I’ve read in several places online that eating 6 small meals a day and then exercising helps to lose weight.. but I can’t really eat that often in the day.

The way I’d prefer to exercise is using a stationary bike. I was wondering how long I should exercise on the bike each day to lose 10-15 pounds before the end of the year? And maybe what I should limit my caloric intake to in respect to the exercise so I can lose that weight? Thanks a ton guys!

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These is Why Pilates Sample Exercises are so Important

Thursday, March 19th, 2009
Muna wa Wanjiru


Pilates sample exercises are specially performed on Pilates mats. They are designed to build familiarity with basic Pilate’s exercises.  These exercises are useful to develop muscles and get core strength of your body parts. These Pilates sample exercises provide flexibility and stability.

Pilates sample exercises help you to build balanced and flexible routine; these exercises are mainly focus on muscles of your body. These exercises are also useful to get better abdominal support.

Pilate’s sample exercises can be modified according to user’s fitness requirements, these modifications will depend on the fitness level of the people.  The selection of Pilate’s sample exercises will depend on the fitness requirements of the users. These exercises are performed under the instruction of trainers.

modification of Pilates sample exercises is essential to make these exercises easy and effective. These modifications make exercises much less difficult to perform. Reducing physical limitation of people is another advantage of these Pilates sample exercises.  These modification are done under the observation of trainers, trainers will guide you to perform exercises in a better and effective way. 

Warm up is essential to perform these Pilates sample Exercises, warm up usually done well before any strenuous exercise.  Warm up is essential to make exercise smooth and easy.

There many kinds of Pilates sample exercises such as angle arm, pelvic curl, pelvic clock, etc.  These exercises are performed on the Pilates mats.  Pilate’s exercises are useful to show you how to move the arms and shoulders without affecting the back and ribcage. These exercises are useful to get complete toned body posture. These exercises are useful to improve stability of your body and help you to get wide range of motions.

Pelvic clock is an example of Pilates sample exercise; this exercise is useful to perform body movement in any direction.  These movements of exercises will guide trainees to perform exercises without stressing their abdominal muscles.  These exercises will teach users to separate the movement of the hips from the movement of legs and hips sockets.

Pelvic exercise is an example of Pilates sample exercise; this exercise is a warm up for your spine and abdominal muscles. These exercises are very effective and useful.  This exercise is also useful to get balance between the two sides of the body. 

Imprinting is another basic Pilate’s exercise; it is most effective and relaxing exercise. This is very good exercise technique to perform before any exercise routine. Stress reduction is very good advantage of these Pilates sample exercises. This exercise is a perfect way to start your Pilates sample exercises routine. This exercise helps you to relax your spine and settle your body.  This exercise is quick and effective technique to reduce stress.

There are many resources are available to perform these Pilates sample exercises

Such as books, DVD’s, websites etc. these resources will tech users to perform Pilate’s exercises. They are most popular among fitness centers and gyms. 

These resources will help users to find their best Pilates exercises. Pilates sample exercises are simple and easy to use. These exercises are suitable for each age group of people.



What kind of drugs/weight loss pills do a really nice job or suppressing appetite?

Monday, March 16th, 2009
Janie J


I’m trying to lose weight, and I’m wondering what kind of legal drugs or weight loss pills really work. Please don’t tell me to just eat well and exercise, I already do this.

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The Best Exercise for LOWER ABS: Part 1 of 5

Sunday, March 15th, 2009
StandFirm


The Best Way to Exercise with Doug Jones www.TheBestWayToExercise.com A simple, yet effective, exercise for the lower abdominal muscles. Part 1 of 5. Please watch all of the other FREE abdominal clips on my channel or go to http for the smartest and speediest solution to strength, stamina, stretching, and sustenance. Stand Firm with Doug Jones

Tips For Getting Fitness At Home

Thursday, March 12th, 2009
Amit Kothiyal


A person is said to be physically fit if he or she is physically sound, healthy and he or she has the ability to perform physical activities well. Nowadays more than 60 % of people say that they don’t have enough time to running for an hour or hit the gym. But all these people want to be fit and get into better shape.

No doubt people all over the world are more and more health conscious, but most of them don’t know how actually complete fitness can be achieved. Although one can prepare his / her personal fitness plan provided some important tips and precautions have been taken into consideration, otherwise it can cause adverse effects.

Online books and videos about fitness training can be helpful to some extent but has the drawback of non confirmation that you are adopting them correctly.

If you can not visit gyms or health clubs and also are not able to make up your mind to rely upon books or videos, then the best option for you could be hiring a personal trainer for few days. Personal training sessions are very popular these days among people who want a focused fitness program designed for their individual needs and implementing it in the right direction at their own place.

You may hire a certified and professional personal fitness coach who can provide you fitness training sessions with a well organized fitness plan as per your age, sex, medical condition and your daily works schedule at your home or office.

Benefits of hiring a Personal Fitness Coach:

Diet plan - Personal fitness coach prepare daily diet plan in which he / she decides that what are your calorie requirements and how can you get it perfectly. Fitness trainer know very well that according to trainee’s age, height, weight and medical condition what calories requires to get high fitness results.



Fitness training sessions
- On the basis of trainee’s age, sex, weight, height and medical condition fitness instructor prepares the physical exercise session plan in which he or she decides what type of exercise is required for trainee and which exercise a trainee should do first and for how many times. Fitness coach divides the whole fitness programs in different small sessions and set the priorities and time of exercise according to particular fitness trainee. This training program you can further continue by yourself at your home.



Exercise Equipments
- Personal fitness trainer generally bring fitness equipments needed for exercising and also can guide you what kind of equipments you should use to carry on with your fitness program.



Physical and Mental fitness
– Perfect physical fitness is directly correlated to mental fitness.

A certified fitness trainer trains you to develop a positive attitude and motivates you for exercising so that you lead a healthy life.



5 Steps to Going Independent in Personal Training (Part 2)

Thursday, March 12th, 2009
Kaiser Serajuddin


This article is a continuation of Part I, where we went over steps 1-3 in taking your personal training practice independent.  Here are the next two steps in the process.

Step 4 - Getting Clients (Believe In Yourself)

Let’s talk about getting clients.  Even after you make your move to quit your personal training job and go independent, the one thing that you still need as a trainer is the real belief that it’s possible to succeed on your own.  No matter how easy we call it and how many other trainers have done it, going out on your own without any clients can be very scary. I can definitely relate.  That’s the one thing of which I assure other trainers - here are the three things that were the gist of the advice I typically give to newly independent personal trainers.

1.  If you can do it in a gym you can do it solo.

If you’ve been struggling in a gym until now, fighting with other trainers for leads, always under the pressure of a quota, and having to train a ton of hours, then you can surely make it solo - it’s in fact much easier than working for someone else in a typical gym environment.

2.  Push new clients hard for leads.

To be a successful solo trainer, you don’t need all of the aggressive ninja hard sell and referral tactics — those all have their place, but this level can be a more laid back and easy game.  But that doesn’t take away from the fact that you do need to be aggressive, and that’s most important when starting out.  You need to push to turn one client into two, then two into four, four into eight, etc. Every successful personal trainer will tell you about the one client that brought in tons of referrals and got their whole business started - you need to cultivate this type of phenomenon so you can get tons of clients without spending money on marketing costs.  Leads from referrals are free.

3.  Set training hour and income goals on a weekly basis.

You need to set a goal of how many hours you want to train and how much you want to make, and then push to hit that number.  Reschedule missed client sessions immediately, book sessions frequently, and if you have an hour already taken, then double it up and run a semi-private session - whatever it takes, get your sessions in! A session is money for us trainers, so the more sessions you can get in, the more you’ll make.

Step 5 - Hustle

Once you made the clean break from the gym, you’ll find that you have a ton of free time on your hands.  This is the time to hustle. There are a lot of on people and places to tap - you can find these places on your own, if you look in the right spots.

Time Management

The one thing I often remind new trainer about is the importance of time management.  It’s very easy to waste a lot of time and gas driving around pursuing pointless things during this phase.  Instead, use the phone and tie down appointments and do as much detective work as possible.  Time management is most important for trainers - watching every minute, if for no other reason than so that you have more time to really take off, and do the things you want to do, which is what this is all about anyway.

If you were on the fence, I hope that shows you this is definitely something anyone can do.