exercise - 2/10 -

Beyond Crunches by Nicole Bryan

July 15, 2015 By hywo Leave a Comment

A strong core is essential to functioning better during our day, and even more so to functioning pain-free during our day. Our core includes many muscles that overlap and intertwine through our mid-section. Sometimes we use our core muscles to prevent rotation. For example while carrying a suitcase in one hand and nothing in the other. In this situation, we’re using our core to keep us upright and centered. Other times we use our core musculature to rotate us to one side or bend to the side, forward or backwards. For example, we use our core when bending to pick up an item off the floor. These are the muscles that help return us to our standing upright position. To effectively improve strength our core it’s important to move at many different angles. Here are a few non-crunch exercises to strengthen core muscles. The following exercises are for intermediate exercisers without injury concerns. Consult your physician before beginning exercise.

Floor Plank. Begin in a push up position on the floor; place your hands directly below your shoulders and lift your knees up off the floor. Hold your body straight. Hold for a count of 10 seconds.

Floor Side Plank. Lie on your right side on the floor. Place your forward flat on the floor, with your elbow directly below your shoulder. Lift your body up off the floor, holding the position with your right knee and right forearm. Slowly lower your hip and stop when your hip is about two inches off the floor. Repeat lifting and lowering your body up off the floor. Do ten times. Repeat lying on your left side.

Lie on your back on the floor. Hold your arms directly over your shoulders and your knees up directly over your hips. Extend your right arm overhead and your left leg out straight toward the floor about six inches. Return to the center. Now extend your left arm and your right leg about six inches. Repeat 10 times.

Sit on a Stability Ball. Place your arms across your chest, and lift and hold your right foot up off the floor. Count to 10. Repeat by holding your left foot up off the floor; count to 10.
Lie face down on a Stability Ball. Lying face down on a Stability Ball, pull your upper body up and extend your legs so your body is lined up almost parallel to the floor. Lift your right arm and your left foot up off the floor. Return to your starting position. Now lift your left arm and your right foot up off the floor. Repeat 10 times total.

Stand on a Wobble Board. Stand with both feet in the center of a Wobble Board for timed holds of ten to thirty seconds.

Toe Touches. Stand on your right foot only. Bend forward from your hips, keeping your back lined up, and touch your left foot. Return to your starting position. Do ten times. Change leg position to stand on your left foot only; bend forward and touch your right foot. Do ten times.

Think about all the different angles in which we move during the day. Consider adding these angles into your workout to learn how to move properly and to strengthen those muscles. Enlist the aid of a Fitness Professional to outline appropriate exercises for you.

*Disclaimer: Result may vary from person to person.

Get Motivated!

June 5, 2015 By hywo Leave a Comment

Get Motivated!

Join #HealthyWayMag Fitness Chat every Monday at 5pm(Pacific)/8pm(Eastern) on Twitter.

How does a Twitter Chat work?

Consider a Twitter Chat an online or virtual club meeting. Instead of holding a meeting in person at a location in town, we all agree to meet on Twitter on the same day, at the same time, via the hashtag #HealthyWayMag. Join in by following questions noted as Question 1 “Q1″, Question 2 “Q2″, and so on. The questions are our discussion points. Tweet your answer by noting “A1” to designated Answer 1, etc. Chat, interact, have fun with other participants. Pick up workout tips, exercise ideas and GET MOTIVATED!

Monday June 8, 2015 #HealthyWayMag Fitness Chat Giveaway from RaceDots:

Do you race, participate in community events or organized athletics? Every athlete needs to know about RaceDots. An alternative to traditional safety pins, race dots are reusable magnets that hold your bib in place without damaging your treasured race apparel. It’s time to ditch the cumbersome safety pins and stop fussing with your race number! Race numbers and bibs stay in place and secured, and the magnets are so light-weight you won’t even know they’re there. Now you can focus only on your athletics. They also make a great gift for the athlete in your life. Check them out on Twitter @racedots for more info!

Filed Under: Your Fitness Tagged With: exercise, fitness, fitness motivation, fitness routine, increase workout motivation, workout consistency, workout motivation

Is medical clearance really important? By Nicole Bryan

May 29, 2015 By hywo Leave a Comment

Is medical clearance to exercise really necessary?

“Obtain a doctors approval before beginning an exercise program.” We’ve all read this, heard this and seen this advisory many times, does it still need to be taken seriously? Yes. Absolutely. 100 percent. Why is medical clearance to exercise or activity in general so important? It’s important for several reasons:

Firstly, things change. We change. Bodies change. Our biology and body chemistry changes. Medical conditions change. It’s important to check in with your medical professional before beginning a new activity, as well as before increasing activity because our health (internal, as well as external health) status may have changed since our last visit. For most of the general population, it’s important to re-evaluate our health status at least once a year. For example, maybe your blood pressure was never an issue in the past. However, with a more sedentary job, higher daily stress and poor nutrition choices due to long work hours your blood pressure could now be elevated. High blood pressure is an example of compromised health that often goes undetected in the early stages, but is considered a serious health risk.

Secondly, generalizations are exactly that, generalizations. For example, youth does not automatically mean healthy. Skinny doesn’t always mean healthy. Another example; competitive athlete doesn’t always mean healthy. Likewise, an avid exerciser doesn’t always mean automatically healthy. Each individual should pursue and manage his or her health as an individual.

Thirdly, underlying conditions can be swept under the rug or disregarded as a symptom of mileage, hard workouts or heavy weights. Heavy exercisers may often feel fatigue, aches and soreness, so if something new arises there is less likely the chance the new symptom will be noticed and therefore tended to. For example, heavy lifting can make us sore in our upper back, neck and chest muscles. However, chest pain, neck and/or upper back pain can also be symptoms of cardiovascular issues.

Re-evaluating our health status is an important component of managing our overall wellness program. Doing so also allows us to tend to issues before they become serious. It’s not a matter of being paranoid; it’s a matter of simply being aware. If something feels off with your body, pursue it. Next time you see, read or hear the phrase “seek medical clearance before beginning an exercise program or activity” take it seriously. In fact, there’s no argument not to. Every smart exerciser is constantly re-evaluating how they feel and how their body is working. Checking in with medical professionals is just another way of managing our wellness.

Filed Under: Your Fitness Tagged With: exercise, exercise motivation, exercise safety, fitness, healthy lifestyle, how to exercise, injury prevention

What’s the BEST workout? By Jennifer Austin

May 22, 2015 By hywo Leave a Comment

Question: What is the best workout? Answer: The workout you’ll do! The list of possible exercise is endless. Choosing what to do for exercise is really very simple: Go back to the basics of finding what you enjoy. If you enjoy what you’re doing, you’ll want to be doing it! And when you want to be doing an activity, you’ll increase your effort. Effort is where results happen. Design your exercise according to an activity you enjoy.

Ask yourself the following five questions:

Does the activity fill you with ease?
Do you look forward to this activity?
Do you feel physically, psychologically and emotionally better after?
Do you miss the activity when you’re away from it?
Does the activity feel natural and comfortable (doesn’t feel painful) in your body?

Find what activity promotes a “yes” answer to the previous questions, and that’s where you should begin. Here are a few ideas for common activities with fitness-focused progressions to get you started:

If you like to walk, take one day a week and extend your walk to slightly longer than your usual duration. A great way to make your walk longer is to plan for a destination walk. Head to a different neighborhood and explore, for example. You’ll be distracted by new surroundings you’ll hardly notice the longer time spent walking. Adding on in 5 minutes increments is a good way to build fitness into your walk. Build on from there to create an unaccustomed effect on your body.

If you like to ride your bike, think about organizing a work or neighborhood bike club to prepare for an organized ride. Gathering a group of friends together at a set time and place each week to prepare for a ride will add consistency into your bike schedule. Riding with others is also a great way to learn new techniques and bike handling skills to make riding more effective. Combining bike riding with a task is also a great way to make use of the time that would otherwise spend sitting in your car. For example, have to drop something off at a friend’s house, ride your bike there! Have to pick up something small at the store, hop on your bike.

If you like to jog, try adding in a few sprint intervals. If you’re used to jogging the same loop, the same speed the same days of the week, your results probably ceased awhile ago. Adding in sprints increases intensity, which is great for burning calories. Sprint to a landmark on your route or sprint according to your watch. Finding hills to jog also makes for a great muscle loading workout.

Designing your exercise around what you love to do is a great start toward fitness. Most important when just starting out, is not always what you’re doing but that you are in fact, doing something to challenge your heart, lungs and muscles!

Filed Under: Your Fitness Tagged With: change up your fitness plan, choosing exercise, exercise, exercise consistency, fitness, goal setting for health wellness and fitness results, healthy lifestyle, how to get fit, how to get results in your workout, how to improve exercise motivation, how to workout

Break through the Mental Plateau by Nicole Bryan

April 24, 2015 By hywo Leave a Comment

Break through the Mental Plateau

Are you experiencing a mid-year slump in efforts toward your fitness goals? If you’re dreading each workout, bored and uninspired, it’s time to try a few of these mid-year plateau busters to boost inspiration.

Race! That’s right, compete! Some adults think they can’t or shouldn’t be competitive or admit wanting to win. However, striving to be the best or wanting to place in your age group, paying attention to time splits and wanting to pass others on the course is perfectly acceptable in athletic competition. Go ahead; keep time on a stop watch, push hard, announce wanting to finish first or set a personal record! And you’ll discover a secret in the process, competing is a great method how to improve or get better in your sport or activity.

Hone leadership skills. Why not send an evite to your friends, family or co-workers inviting them to a specific location each week for an outing such as a beach walk or neighborhood bike ride. If you’re the leader, organizer or point person for the group, you’ll be guaranteed to show up! With a meager 15-20 minute time investment each week, you could send fun fitness email tips to club members every so often, send links to healthy recipes, offering fun home-made prizes for the most improved or most consistent participant each season or year will also maintain interest. Have some fun, keep it light hearted and on task. Host a wrap up pot luck at the park once a quarter or once a year, invite spouses and others to expand the group. The momentum that builds toward wellness will keep the group (and you) on track, as well as setting new fitness goals.

Take in a change of scenery. For example, pack up your bike and head to a neighboring town or city for your regular Saturday ride will eliminate exercise staleness. Carpool with friends to a different area of town for your long run is also a fun option to mix up the mundane same old running route. Conduct a search online for information pertaining to the specific activity, including roads, and safety notes, then invite some friends and embark on a fitness focused road-trip. Having to refer to a map or notes on the new area, along with new and different scenery will keep you engaged and interested.

Daydream! Bring back the daydreaming days of childhood. Ask yourself, if you could undertake any physical activity, what would it be? Whether you dreamed of being a prima ballerina or the greatest baseball player of all time, why not take action to participate in that activity now. Look up adult ballet classes at the city recreation center or check out city league baseball teams. Instead of worrying how you’ll find the time, motivation or fitness level to achieve your daydream, start from the goal and work backwards. Ask for help, ask to be held accountable and start!

Let go of the structure that usually governs your day as adults, and embrace the freedom and creativity that sport and being active brings. Thinking about what moves you, will lead to figuring out what will make you want to move more. Everyone in your surroundings will benefit as your mood will improve, focus on tasks will increase due to be just generally happier and you’ll inspire many others in the process! So head on out to a race, organize an activity focused group, take a fitness field trip or simply daydream. Find what works and the mental fitness plateau won’t stand a chance!

Filed Under: Your Fitness Tagged With: exercise, fitness, fitness article, fitness results, fun workouts, healthy lifestyle, how to workout, lose weight, workout results

Find your FUN with #HealthyWayMag Fitness Chat

April 11, 2015 By hywo Leave a Comment

#HealthyWayMag Fitness Chat every Monday at 5pm(Pacific)/8pm(Eastern) on Twitter!

Fitness should be FUN! Find energy, inspiration and accountability every Monday on Twitter. We chat about all things fitness, exchange exercise ideas and workout tips. Discover what has worked for others to keep exercise on track, reach their goals and beat boredom.

Simply log into your twitter account, enter #HealthyWayMag to join in and pump positive energy back into your exercise. You’ll super-charge your motivation and your workout FUN!

Monday, April 13th #HealthyWayMag Fitness Chat is sponsored by PowerICE:

PowerICE offers all natural hydration for your sports and workouts! All natural means there’s no high fructose corn syrup or artificial flavors for you. At only 30 calories each, their hydration solution is light-weight, easy to carry and will cool your core at the same time. Fueling your fitness with their on-the-go frozen electrolyte bars really couldn’t be easier. And they’re great for kids sports too! Check out www.PowerICE.com to learn how they can help make your workouts better. Follow them on Twitter at @PowerICE.

Filed Under: Your Fitness Tagged With: exercise, exercise adherencee, fitness motivation, healthy lifestyle, workout

Are you new to exercise? By Sarah Johnson

March 26, 2015 By hywo Leave a Comment

Creating a Habit for Beginner Exercisers

New to exercise? Fantastic! First of all, congratulations on making the decision to become healthier!

I’ve met many Brand-New-to-Exercise members during my years at the gym, and the most common mistake they make is overdoing it at the beginning. To avoid that pitfall, which can lead to injury, disappointment or even quitting, beginner exercisers can start with some simple cardio. Cardiovascular exercise strengthens your heart, builds endurance and burns calories. It’s a great way to create the habit of increasing the amount of activity in your life.

First, choose an exercise that you enjoy doing. The good news is that there are so many different types of cardio to choose from! Walking indoors or outside, cycling, hiking and swimming are all great low-impact activities that will raise your heart rate.

Next, make a plan to do your chosen activity 2-3 days a week. Look at your schedule or calendar, and write it down or create a reminder. If it’s in your planner, just like any other important appointment, you are more likely to stick to it.

When doing the activity for the first time, make sure you warm up at a slower pace for 5-10 minutes before increasing the pace. Plan on moving for 20 minutes at a time, including the warm-up. Remember, we don’t want to overdo it the first time!

After you’ve succeeded in fitting in 3 cardio workouts in one week, it’s time to increase the duration. Add 5 minutes to each workout the following week, for a total of 25 minutes. Once you’ve achieved 3 workouts in a week at 25 minutes, add another 5 for a total of 30 minutes.

Don’t worry about distance or speed just yet; as a beginner, your main focus is fitting exercise in regularly and making the habit stick. Once you’ve been regularly exercising, mix it up by trying a new activity or increasing the intensity. And at this point, you’re no longer a beginner! You’ve made being active a normal part of your life!

Follow Sarah on Twitter @SarahJChicago

Filed Under: Your Fitness Tagged With: cardiovascular exercise, exercise, fitness, getting fit, gym workout, healthy lifestyle, how to lose weight, how to start an exercise program

Hands-Free Fitness with Handana Sweatband

March 18, 2015 By hywo Leave a Comment

Hands-Free Fitness with Handana Sweatband

Handana is a sweatband that is worn on your hand, not your wrist. This unique and patented design allows for a comfortable fit allowing you to be hands-free during your physical activity or sport. With Handana’s innovation, long gone are the days of dragging around a cumbersome, sweat-soaked towel. Handana is truly the only one of its kind.

Proudly made in the USA, “Handana is a high performance fashionable sweat band worn on the hand to wipe away sweat, snot or whatever you got” explains founder Katie Niemeyer. Made of SupplexTM LycraTM fabric that is soft, yet durable. So if you have allergies or sensitive skin this fabric won’t irritate or chafe. “Handana is softer being kinder to the sensitive skin of your face” Katie adds. And, it’s machine-washable!

Boasting “one continuous loop so it slips on and off easily” shares Katie. Handana comes in 5 sizes, a variety of colors and prints. For under $20.00 and free shipping on orders of 2 or more in the United States, your Handana is waiting for you. Here’s what fan Aimee K says, “just received my Handana and love it! Got here just in time for me to use this weekend for my 1st Half Marathon and it’s the perfect color. Very impressed with the fast shipping. Thanks!” Order yours here or via Amazon.

Why is Handana the #1 sweatband choice of athletes around the world?

Wraps around your hand, not your wrist. This means your wrist range of motion is not incumbered. Wear your Handana while playing Tennis, Racquetball, or any racquet sport and you’ll find you’re able to move and wipe sweat away without having to carry an extra towel.

Provides cushion. Whether you’re Obstacle Course Racing, Kayaking or Stand-Up Paddle Boarding you’ll enjoy the extra layer Handana has to offer. Protect your hands from the elements and wipe sweat as you go without breaking your rhythm. If you study Martial Arts, consider wearing your Handana to keep hands protected.

Improves traction. Exercise mats can become slippery or unstable during a sweaty workout. Now you can worry less about slipping during workouts that involve mat work such as Yoga, Pilates and calisthenics.

Increases grip. Wearing your Handana increases reliable grip tension during your strength training, such as a Cross-Fit workout. You’ll be able to do press and pull moves during your workout with confidence.

Reduces distraction. Handana allows you to keep your eyes on the road during cycling for example, as you’ll be able to wipe sweat away without risking safety by reaching for a towel.

Fingers-free. Having your fingers free, means dexterity is unaltered. For example, wear your Handana while sailing to confidently pull and cleat lines. Do you enjoying rock climbing as your activity? Use your Handana to wipe away sweat, while still having fingers free to crimp, edge and negotiate your climb.

Gardening, yard work, fishing, playing instruments and marching band are additional activities outside of the gym during which Handana provides protection and is there to easily wipe away sweat. How will you use your Handana?

Join the movement! Handana is a product from the heart, Katie’s heart to be exact. Her goal and Handana’s mantra is “to inspire all to cross their finish line no matter where it is in life and empower others along the way.” She has her own story to tell after all. When training for her first marathon, she needed to wipe sweat before it went into her eyes stinging badly, and so the Handana concept was born. As a teenager, she spent 3 weeks in the burn unit with 2nd and 3rd degree burns from an allergic reaction to medication called Stevens-Johnson (SJS), therefore leaving her with many sensitivities. Click on Handana’s YouTube video for more on Katie’s mission. Katie staged an inspiring comeback and now encourages others to ignite their passion for an active lifestyle.

Check out their booth at the upcoming Rock-n-Roll Dallas Half Marathon and Relay Event on Saturday March 21 and March 22, 2015, and GO! St. Louis 5K on April 11 and April 12, 2015. Follow them on Twitter and join their Facebook page to be in the Handana loop.

Ignite YOUR passion with Handana!

Filed Under: Your Fitness Tagged With: exercise, exercise accessories, exercise gifts, fitness gear, fitness motivation, gifts for runners, health, healthy lifetyle, how to workout, outdoor exercise, physical fitness, sports gear, sports sweatbands, sweatband, workout sweatband

Buddy Friendly Fitness by Nicole Bryan

February 13, 2015 By hywo Leave a Comment

Want to invite your friend to exercise with you? A medicine ball makes a great buddy friendly fitness equipment option. The following is for intermediate exercisers without injury concerns. Consult your physician before beginning exercise.

Begin with a 5lb or 8lb medicine ball. A few rules to remember when working with a weighted ball. Firstly, only work in a range of motion that you can control. So if you’re using momentum, risk of injury is greatly increased. Secondly, do not sacrifice form for repetitions, ever. When your form starts to fade, your set is over. Finally, start light. Choose a light weighted ball when learning a new exercise.

Rotate and Pass. Standing back to back. Turn to your right and pass the ball as fast as you can control to your friend. Your friend takes hold of the ball and passes it to you via his or her right side as well. Continue passing the medicine ball clock-wise for 15 rotations. Repeat passing the ball to your left in a counter clock-wise direction.

Squat and Toss. Stand facing one another. Perform a squat and then toss the ball under-hand to your partner. Your partner catches the ball and immediately drops into a squat, stands up straight again and tosses the ball back to you. Perform 15 squats and tosses each.

Jog and Toss. Stand facing one another about 4 feet apart. Jog to your right about 10 feet, tossing the ball back and forth as quickly as you are able. Stop, change directly and jog to your left about 10 feet tossing the ball back and forth. Repeat 5 total sets.

Filed Under: Your Fitness Tagged With: exercise, exercise article, fitness partner, health, medicine ball exercise, partner workout, workout

Ready, Set, GOAL! By Tera Busker

February 10, 2015 By hywo Leave a Comment

Ready, set, GOAL!

You have been training and working hard towards a goal and BAM – you hit a road block. Whether it be an injury, a change in plans or an act of God, you are sidelined. You now have 2 choices. You can A) give up or B) get back in the game. You don’t have to let a setback be the end of your journey – you can take the opportunity to view it as a set UP to a new goal.

A Goal Within A Goal

Many athletes train for a particular event only to be stopped in their tracks by an injury. They don’t give up and throw in the towel. They reassess their overall goal by reaching for a new goal – recovery. Their eyes are still on the big prize, but they have to work on a new goal in order to get back in the game. Take a cue from them and set yourself up for a new venture. As you heal , try a new activity like yoga or swimming. As you recover, you can still “compete” by challenging yourself to learn and perfect a new pose or stroke.

Change Of Plans

Maybe your setback was due to change of plans on your part or the event itself. This happens A LOT to runners because of poor weather conditions. It’s very frustrating, but if you trained for a race your training doesn’t have to be for nothing. Find another race! Running a race that you don’t have planned or is unfamiliar to you can be exciting and fun. If finding another race is not an option, then run your own race. When the weather improves or your schedule clears up, map out the distance you planned to run and get after it. You may not get a finisher medal, but knowing you stuck with it is reward enough.

It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over

Sometimes setbacks actually mean giving up on your goal. Things happen that can permanently halt your progress, but don’t let it stop you from excelling. Find a new goal that fits into your life and your abilities but also takes you out of your comfort zone. The fear of something new and challenging can be refreshing and exciting. Excel. No matter what your setback is, don’t let it get you down. It may take you a little longer to reach your goal or take you in a totally different direction, but you can still persevere.

Tera Busker is an ACE Certified Personal Trainer and owner of Fitness To Go, an exclusive In Home & Private Studio Personal Training Service based out of Roberts, WI. www.fitnesstogo.net

Filed Under: Your Fitness Tagged With: exercise, fitness, fitness goals, goal setting, healthy lifestyle, workout, workout motivation