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Friday, October 10, 2014

Finding the Best Cardio Training For You

Being healthy is tricky.  In fact, being healthy is so tricky, and then a growing number of Americans are struggling with their weight.  Obesity is on the rise, and health concerns that go along with obesity like diabetes and heart problems have never been more prevalent. 

The first thing people think of when they consider losing weight is to go on a diet.  Monitoring what you eat is helpful, especially look into the nutritions, though it represents only half of what you need to be doing to be healthy.  Exercise is also a must.  The purpose of diet and exercise isn’t to become stick thin, but to be healthy.  Each of us have our own ideal body size, and that doesn’t mean being skinny.  Rather, it means being healthy, being comfortable with our bodies, and maintaining an appropriate body fat% based off of age, sex, and height. 

Central to living healthy is being active.  The best way to be healthy is to have a little cardio training every day.  So, what does cardio training mean?  What is the best cardio training for you?  Lets take a quick look and find out.

What Is Cardio?

Simply put, cardio is physical exercise you do, with a low to high intensity.  It depends almost entirely on aerobic energy, which is energy that comes about through doing something for an extended period of time.  Cardio helps strengthen muscles like your heart, while also burning calories.  If you are considering exercising and you have not exercised in quite some time, then you will most likely be doing a cardio workout.

A Few of the Best and Easiest Cardio Training You Can Do

Below is a list of 5 different kinds of cardio training you can do with little set up or through a gym.  The types of cardio increase in their impact and fat burned the further down the list you go.

1.  Walking
Impact:  Low
Rate of Fat Loss:  Slow

Walking represents a low impact activity that is great for our health.  By taking time out of the day to walk, you can keep your body active.  While it is not the best way to burn calories, it is perfect for those who are looking to build strength, or who do not want to tax their heart with a more intense workout.

2.  Biking
Impact:  Low to Medium
Rate of Fat Loss:  Medium

Depending on the kind of bike, the impact to your joints will be between low and medium.  Indoor biking offers an opportunity to exercise in a controlled climate, and allows you to distract yourself with TV, books, music, etc.

3.  Running/Jogging
Impact:  Medium to High
Rate of Fat Loss:  High

Every beginners guide to running first starts with walking.  Running is a great cardio activity, but it can be stressful if your body is not ready for it.  The best thing you can do is to build up slowly.

4.  Swimming
Impact:  Low
Rate of Fat Loss:  High

Swimming offers the fat loss of running with little to no impact.  Though it takes time to build up form, swimming is a great way to exercise many parts of your body at once.

5.  High Intensity Interval Training
Impact:  High
Rate of Fat Loss:  High

High intensity interval training (HIIT) is an amazing way to build muscle and lose fat.  Comprised of a number of activities that are done in quick succession, HIIT can be a challenge on your body but well worth it because of the results.

Sporting is healthy if you do it in the correct way. Don't overdo your trainings and get injured! A good life starts with enough sport and good food, creating a great health!

Cardio training is very important for other sports as well. Think of football, Nascar drivers to boxers. All of them train a lot of cardio to stay in a great shape!


Thursday, October 2, 2014

How To Go About Setting Your Daily Nutrition Goals

Out of 100 random people, how many do you think believe healthy eating is a good idea? Now, how many do you think actually make an effort to eat nutritious foods? Out of the two groups, which are you? If you'd like the switch from the former to the latter, read on! There are some easy changes you can make to improve your diet. All it really takes is some minor adjustments, and this article will give you some great advice about how to do that.

Ensure you're consuming enough fruits and vegetables on a daily basis. To ensure you receive the recommended daily allowance of fruit and vegetables, eat at least 9 servings. It may seem like a large amount, but eating that amount is not so difficult. Have a cup of orange juice when you're eating breakfast, or put tomato sauce onto spaghetti dishes.

Try not to make meat the only source of food that you get protein from. There are other edible form of protein out there. Find it in fish, tofu, legumes, and most nuts. Try switching up the main course in their favor or adding your favorite proteins to a side dish. Not all proteins are of equal molecular structure. Try to consume different types of protein so that your body can then put them together.

Pregnant women need to focus on nutrition. Pregnant women require a lot of protein in their diets, which can be difficult if they are experiencing morning sickness and have a lowered appetite. To get an adequate amount of protein in her diet, an expecting mom can add egg whites to her breakfast smoothie. Eggs have no fat, are low calorie, and each egg white has 3 grams of the protein needed. Therefore, for pregnant women they are a wonderful protein addition. Use pasteurized eggs to avoid health problems.

A great thing to do when you are trying to get healthier is to prepare your own meals and snacks for school or work. When you pack you own meal, you are sure that you won't eat out or eat unhealthy foods. In a few short minutes of preparation, you can have several meals that are of high quality.

If you're sporting a lot, watching your nutrition intake is very important. You need to eat some carbs but protein and vitamins are needed too! Maybe professional athletes (from boxers, cyclists to skiers) get advice on their nutrition intake. 

When eating a restaurant, share your meal with your partner. Even when you choose carefully, you can end up with more food (and more calories and fat) than you need. You will also save money while you're saving on calories by giving some of your meal to someone. That way, it is possible to enjoy dining out but not sink your dietary goals.

People that study nutrition know that they need to cut highly milled grains out of their diets. If you take out the husks or hulls of the grains you will get rid of the source of the most nutrients and fiber. Does purchasing these depleted milled grains and then proceeding to purchase supplements to restore the original benefits of the original whole grain make any sense? This is an absurd practice.

It is too bad that a lot of people do not understand the ease with which they can eat better. Hopefully now that you have read this article, you know what you need to do. Even small changes can have a large impact on your health.