Fitness

Image Credit: Shutterstock.com Okay, so the first month of the year has already passed, and it’s time to revise your New Year’s Resolutions. Is there anything about leading a healthy lifestyle? We bet there is, and if it’s not there yet – it's high time you added it to the list! Read on to learn what easy steps you can take to lose weight, get stronger and feel younger. First things first – there isn’t going to be any ad aimed at promoting some magic pill. Losing weight and building muscle to get stronger invaria...

The overwhelming majority of Americans fall short of meeting the goal of maintaining a decent level of physical activity. The updates to the national guidelines published this year have made it more liberal: there are still certain levels that should be met in order to reap substantial health benefits, but there is a statement that makes many an American more optimistic: any physical activity is better than none. Image credit: gettyimages.ca / GlobalStock Snowed under dozens of chores and overburdened with duti...

If you are convinced that in order to be healthy you should run on a treadmill for hours on end, you are wrong. Research into what factors apparently play a significant role in longevity showed that physical activity affects health profoundly, but natural movement, like gardening, cycling to work, walking your dog, etc., is more effective than artificial training sessions. Image Credit: pic.wikianimal.news Physical activity is undoubtedly an integral part of a healthy lifestyle. It is only if we challenge the bod...

One of the fad ways to lose weight that has taken off quite recently is the one promoted by Toshiki Fukutsudzi. Using little to no equipment (if a towel can be considered one) and spending no more than 5 minutes per session on it, you can reduce back pain, lose weight, and benefit in many other ways, as rolled towel advocates claim. Let’s take a closer look at it. Image Credit: google images The Internet is teeming with all kinds of diets, exercises, devices and other means of losing weight – with the obesity rat...

Midlife fitness is often deemed dangerous, with excuses like ‘I am too old to exercise properly, so what’s the point of doing it?’ being voiced by most middle-aged people. However, it can be extremely beneficial to health, even if you have chronic diseases. There are many myths about fitness after 50, and it is time to bust them! Image Credit: Monkey Business Images / shutterstock.com According to a 2016 study, most Americans aged 50 or older do not get enough exercise. Since physical inactivity is associated wi...

We have all been told many times that regular physical activity is a must if you want your body (and the mind!) to be healthy. The mark that is usually set as a goal is 10,000 steps. But is this goal based on scientific evidence? Where did it actually come from? And is it really necessary to hit this mark to benefit your health by means of walking? Image Credit: shutterstock.com / MPH Photos The history of the proverbial 10,000 steps dates back to the 60s, when a Japanese doctor Yoshiro Hatano decided to promot...

People tend to stretch for a plethora of reasons – it’s good and feels nice, it’s part of a pre-workout activity, or because our muscles seem to be stiff and/or sore, and we think stretching may fix that, if we do it right. Image Credit: Yandpphilly.com The latest research shows that all the things we know about stretching are totally wrong and proves that the assumptions many athletes and people going in for sports accept are incorrect. In fact, stretching can do the opposite of what it is advocated for: It ...

Toning your body does not necessarily mean that you have to sweat every day and spend hundreds of dollars on the gym nearby. You do not actually need any equipment: your body weight can be enough, regardless of whether you are a beginner or an experienced athlete. Here is a program for busy ladies: 30 minutes of outdoor bodyweight exercises 3 times a week! Image Credit: MindBodyGreen Ready So you have finally decided to dedicate at least some time to exercising–such a comforting thought for the thighs!–and cann...

Anxiety can strike anyone, and there are many ways of handling it. From pills to pets, the abundance of approaches to tackling the problem is impressive. However, one of the fastest ways that help bring relief is physical activity. Of all fun activities of the kind, Zumba has recently been reported to be most effective at reducing anxiety. Ready to learn a couple of moves? Image Credit: shutterstock.com / Syda Productions If anxiety becomes a problem, many people prefer to take drugs instead of making changes t...

While Buddhism implies renouncement of your own desires, yoga does not seem to help Western people achieve this goal. Meditation is touted as a way to calmness, but it appears that yoga exercises and mindfulness practices inflate your ego instead of making you less selfish, say researchers. Image Credit: ikehikojapan.com Some people use only a part of the yoga practices and stick to the exercises while ignoring its mindfulness aspect. Others prefer to have it all and plunge into the world of yoga to experience ...

What was your last New Year’s resolution? To start doing sports? With more than half a year behind, you still have a chance not to fail it. Doing just one exercise a day for 20 minutes can benefit your health in a number of ways. Well, it’s not an exercise proper, rather it’s a yoga posture, but it is calming and easy to do. Ready to give it a try? Image Credit: yogainbound.org The first advantage of this posture is that it does not require any efforts. You just lie on the floor with your legs resting against th...

American football is a full-contact game, which explains why the overwhelming majority of those playing the sport have injuries, and brain injuries in particular. However, the range of health problems associated with American football is not limited to concussions. In this article, you will find a list of other health issues players may have after playing the game for a while. Image Credit: Scott Halleran / gettyimages.com American football is a violent game, especially in comparison with the football popular i...

The health benefits of yoga are touted in every nook and corner of the Internet, which definitely contributes to the fast expansion of the practice. As more people are converting to yoga adepts, researchers keep up with the trend and investigate what effects yoga exercises have on health. A recent addition to the list of benefits is improvement of sleep quality. Image Credit: shutterstock.com / Luna Vandoorne Poor sleep is common among people on a low income. While anyone can be affected by it, low income commu...

Yoga is fashionable, popular and so holistic in its approach that more people are converting to yoga adepts. While the “spiritual” aspect of yoga is a matter of faith, yoga exercises are reported to be beneficial for everyone, and seniors are no exception. In this article, we will discuss whether yoga is appropriate for seniors and what exercises they can do relatively easy. Image Credit: womenfitness.net Yoga can seem to be controversial as not everyone approves of the chakra-part of the practice. However, it ...

Our sedentary lifestyle takes its toll. We barely move, relying on delivery services, video games, and online jobs. It definitely affects our bodies, and it appears that it is not only the body that is destroyed by our failure to maintain a decent level of physical activity, but also the mind. To counter sedentary lifestyle-induced depression, you can exercise, and weightlifting has recently been praised as one of the good options. Image Credit: shutterstock.com / Jacob Lund Digital devices and networks permeat...

The health benefits of exercising have long been praised. However, the amount of exercise that can help keep the heart healthy remained a matter of heated debates. A recent research showed that different parts of the cardiovascular system require different minimal amounts of exercise to stay healthy as long as possible. Image Credit: istockphoto.com / lzf As we age, our cardiovascular system is changing, and blood vessels, the blood transportation system, are stiffening. Arterial stiffness is a contributor to h...

Losing weight faster than recommended can result in saggy skin, which is far from what you might want to have. However, having flabby skin does not mean you will have to resort to surgery. In this article, you will find a list of exercises for different areas, which can help you strengthen fat-was-here skin rolls. Image Credit: google images Women who have recently given birth to a child, and those on a strict diet run the risk of having flabby skin, because the skin cannot keep up with the fast changes that th...

Like any other industry, sports and fitness have their own trends emerging. A set of exercises being popularized – though the overwhelming majority of them are widely known – called calisthenics claims to offer a lot of benefits. One of its advantages is that it enables one to keep fit without having to purchase gym membership: all you need to exercise is your body. Image Credit: pinterest.fr Like any other industry, sports and fitness have their own trends emerging. A set of exercises being popularized – thoug...

Going to a gym is time-consuming and expensive. Working out at home is also an option to consider if you want to lose those extra pounds you have providently gained during winter. In this article, you will find a list of workout websites that offer free lessons, which you can use to keep fit without spending a fortune on gym membership. Image Credit: gettyimages.com Before we get to discussing workout websites, we’d like to mention a workout app, which is one of the best ones around. It’s called Seven – and the...

With so many people willing to lose weight, unusual yet healthy ways of burning calories may come in handy. While most known ways to spend energy imply active heating, i.e. sweating while exercising, there is scientific evidence suggesting you can burn calories due to passive heating too. According to scientists, 1 hour of taking a hot tub equals a 30-minute walk. Image Credit: fotolia.com Exercising for the lazy Lying in a hot bath can be beneficial, as it can have a soothing effect on muscles. However, it app...