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Catch the Spirit of your Fitness

October 1, 2014 By hywo Leave a Comment

Catch the Spirit of your Fitness!

School is back is session and school spirit is at its peak! Can you say the same for your fitness?

Remember your high school pep rally to gear up for the big game? Put that volume of energy and enthusiasm into your workout! Find your fitness spirit, workout support and exercise community on Twitter with #HealthyWayMag Fitness Chat!

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

Thank You to September Fitness Chat Sponsors:

RecoFit. Discover the RecoFit Compression Gear difference for yourself! Their technical-fit and uniquely designed gear helps you get more oxygen to your muscles, reduce swelling and delay fatigue. RecoFit is the only compression gear that cuts their fabric in a cross-grain process; this means effective compression and no-slip positioning! Founded by an athlete, tested on athletes, made in the USA and made for everyone! Contact your compression gear experts via Twitter at @Recofit.

Handana. Handana is an innovative sweatband worn on your hand. They offer a variety of colors and sizes to fit every athlete and every workout outfit! The high performance soft fabric wraps around like a fingerless glove to make wiping easy-you don’t even know it is there until you need it. Find Handana representing at the upcoming Rock N Roll St. Louis Half Marathon Oct. 18th and Rock N Roll Denver Half Marathon Oct. 18th. Follow them on Twitter at @myhandana.

ENERGYbits®. This high protein, low calorie snack gives unlimited energy as it is 100% organic spirulina algae. Spirulina contains as much gram for gram of calcium as milk, as well as containing 5 times more iron than spinach. Easy to carry and convenient to consume before or even during your workout. It’s stomach-friendly and it’s packed with nutrients which means awesome energy for you. Follow them via @ENERGYbits.

Quickpack First Aid. Do you consider first aid during outdoor workouts? You should! And now it’s easy than ever to be prepared and safe. Quickpack First Aid personal kids are ideal for all outdoor fitness enthusiasts as they are 4 inches by 6 inches and weigh only 1.5 ounces. The pack fits easily into your hydration pack or cycling jersey. With your safety covered, you can now focus on your getting an awesome workout. Follow them on Twitter via @Quickpack1.

Get in the Fitness KNOW!

September 5, 2014 By hywo Leave a Comment

Get in the fitness KNOW!

Join #HealthyWayMag Fitness Chat on Twitter every Monday at 5pm(Pacific)/8pm(Eastern.) You’ll pick up your workout motivation for the week, find fitness-minded friends and exercise accountability. You’ll also be introduced to people and gear that will help improve your fitness.

Thank You Fitness Chat Sponsors:

Jessica Matthews. Fitness expert, college professor, yoga teacher, fitness writer, trainer, group exercise and health coach. She believes in taking a balanced approach to fitness and wellness. You’ll be inspired to live a happier and healthier life with Jessica’s motivation. Follow her on Twitter for workout tips, exercise articles and healthy living ideas, @fitexpertjess.

Drink Chia. Drink Chia is an innovative all natural chia seed beverage that offers an alternative to sugary and stimulant laden drinks. Drink Chia provides enhanced hydration, endurance and immune system support. They are the only chia drink that has the power of chia with B-complex vitamin, selenium and zinc as well as being rich in plant sourced-omega-3 fatty acids. Follow them on Twitter @DrinkChia.

Filed Under: Your Fitness Tagged With: exercise, exercise accountability, exercise motivation, fitness, fitness article, fitness tips, healthy lifestyle

Park Workouts that Work! By Gen Levrant

September 4, 2014 By hywo Leave a Comment

Park workouts that work!

A park visit can benefit the whole family. Not only is it a great opportunity for fresh air and sunlight (both essential factors of health) but the workout possibilities are endless – and FREE! (Consult your physician before beginning exercise. Perform exercises at your own risk.)

Hill sprints
This is a fantastic cardio workout and excellent example of high intensity interval training (HIIT) Most parks have a hill or steep slope. Start by running to the top as fast as you can. Walk back down slowly to reduce your heart rate. Repeat as many times as you can or set yourself a time to see how many you can complete.

Monkey bars
A great functional training tool, not just for the kids! They enable us to develop strength the way we were designed. Try hanging knee raises (bringing your knees towards chest) or toe raises (keeping your legs straight and lifting them out in front of you) to strengthen your core. Or just try swinging from one bar to the next, seeing how far you can get!

Lunge walks
You don’t necessarily need a park for this, but it’s a great leg toning exercise to do in a large open space. Lunge walk for as far as you can, going uphill to make it more challenging.

Ladder press/pull
If you struggle with press ups, the slide’s ladder rungs are a great progression tool! As they get easier, go one rung lower until you can fully press up from the floor. Lat pull ups can also be done standing on the ‘wrong’ side of the ladder and pulling yourself up towards it.

Gen Levrant
FASTER Personal Training Southampton
http://www.ptgen.co.uk

Filed Under: Your Fitness Tagged With: exercise, fitness, fitness article, healthy lifestyle, how to exercise, kids fitness, lose weight, outdoor exercise, park workout

Is a Warm-Up Essential? By Brett Klika, C.S.C.S

August 21, 2014 By hywo Leave a Comment

How Should I Warm Up?

When you’re looking to maximize results and minimize your risk of injury from an exercise program, beginning each workout with a proper warm-up is key. Warm-up activities are those that prepare the body (and brain!) for what they are going to experience in a workout or exercise program.

An effective warm up usually progresses from low to moderate intensity exercises that involve the muscles, joints, and ranges of motion that will be used during exercise.

According to the American Council on Exercise, a proper warm-up:
• Increases core temperature, which can create better elasticity in muscles and a more efficient metabolism.
• Improves muscles’ ability to contract quickly and forcefully because the brain gets an opportunity to “practice” movement before it is required at a high intensity.
• Delivers more oxygen to working muscles due to increased circulation.
• Improves joint range of motion allowing for greater flexibility and mobility.

In regards to preparation, a warm-up is responsible from safely and effectively transitioning your physiology. Imagine if your peaceful evening slumber was interrupted by crashing symbols and someone demanding you immediately start doing complex math problems. How well would you do? Without a proper warm-up prior to exercise, this is exactly what we are doing to our body.

A great deal of research suggests we part ways with the inactive, stationary, pre-exercise stretching routines many of us grew up doing in favor of a more active, movement- based approach. Forcing muscles to stretch before blood flow, muscle temperature, and coordination has been temporarily increased may actually INCREASE the likelihood you will get injured from an exercise program.

Most experts recommend at least 5-10 minutes of an active warm-up that combines both general and specific exercises. Spending a few minutes performing a general warm-up consisting of jumping jacks, light jogging, shuffling, skipping, and other upper and lower body movements functions to get blood and oxygen to the muscles while increasing core temperature. It also wakes up the brain and gets it ready to perform.

Brett Klika, CEO of SPIDERfit Kids (www.spiderfitkids.com) is an award winning personal trainer, author, and international motivational speaker inspiring men, women, and children around the world to create a culture of wellness in their home and live the best version of their life. To contact Brett with questions or comments at brett@spiderfitkids.com.

Filed Under: Your Fitness Tagged With: exercise, fitness, healthy lifestyle, warm-up, workout

Jump on in!

August 5, 2014 By hywo Leave a Comment

Jump on in… to your fitness, that is! Your healthiest self awaits.

Join us every Monday at 5pm(Pacific)/8pm(Eastern) to start your week healthy and motivated. You’ll find workout ideas and healthy living inspiration with others who share your fitness journey.

Where: Find us on Twitter via #HealthyWayMag
When: Every Monday 5pm(Pacific)/8pm(Eastern)

Thank You to our Summer Fitness Chat Sponsors! Check them out to learn how they can help make your fitness better.

Sunscreen Bands. This new product allows you to be smarter in the sun. Through their patented color changing technology, their UV Sunscreen Bands will remind you to reapply sunscreen. No more worries, only sun protection through a fun and user-friendly method. Follow them on Twitter via @SunscreenBands for more product info.

Shaping Her Esteem. Shaping Her Esteem (SHE) promotes the participation of girls in physical activity to increase their health and wellness. They share nutrition tips, motivational videos and facilitate boot camps for young girls. Shaping Her Esteem is looking for girls between 8-16 who would love to write about her experiences in sport/dance, and to share positive experiences in physical activity! Follow them on Twitter for more info @ShapeHerEsteem.

ENERGYbits®. This high protein, low calorie snack gives unlimited energy as it is 100% organic spirulina algae. Spirulina contains as much gram for gram of calcium as milk, as well as containing 5 times more iron than spinach. Be sure to follow them on Twitter @ENERGYbits for more information.

SIX:02. The ultimate women’s fitness destination offering apparel, footwear, and accessories from top brands. You’ll find a wide selection for women who love to exercise, embrace personal challenges and strive to achieve their goals. A #SIX02Moment is when women are inspired to accomplish a goal, make the most of their workout or reach for new ambitions. Follow them on Twitter @SIX02 for all product information.

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

3 Simple Exercises for Kids by Brett Klika, C.S.C.S

July 29, 2014 By hywo Leave a Comment

Research suggests active kids get better grades, are less likely to become obese, and are more likely to continue being active into adulthood. The same research goes on to suggest active families create active kids! With television, video games, and other inactive distractions, sometimes today’s youth need some encouragement to get off the couch and get moving.

What’s more encouraging than a little friendly family competition that gets everybody moving, smiling, and making exercise part of a happy, healthy lifestyle? Try these 3 fun, simple exercise “contests” with your kids.

For video on these family challenges, CLICK HERE! (http://spiderfitkids.com/fit-family-challenges/)

#1: The Mobility Master
1. Grab a broomstick or other rod about 3 feet in length.
2. While standing, place the broomstick on your back, in line with your spine.
3. The hands should hold the broomstick in the small of the back and behind the neck.
4. Keeping the back of the head, upper spine, and tailbone in contact with the broomstick, bend at the hips as if you are bowing.
5. Knees can be slightly bent at the start, but cannot continue to bend.
6. If the head, upper spine, or tailbone lose contact with the broomstick, you are out.
7. The winner is the one who can bend the furthest keeping everything in contact with the broomstick.

#2: The Get- Up Guru Challenge
1. Sit on the floor with the arms crossed across the chest.
2. Using any movement strategy you wish, except for crossing the legs or rotating the entire body to face another direction, come to a standing position without using your hands or arms.
3. If you can get up straight from your rear to your feet without coming to your knees or crossing your legs, you are a Get-Up Guru!

#3: The Jumping Jack Speedster
1. Set a timer for 20 seconds
2. When the timer starts, perform as many jumping jacks as possible in 20 seconds.
3. For a repetition to count, arms must remain straight, they must touch the sides of the legs at the bottom and the hands must touch above the head. Crown the fittest family member!

A family that moves together, THRIVES together!

Filed Under: Your Fitness Tagged With: exercise, family activities, healthy lifestyle, kids fitness

Weight Training: Why You Should Start NOW! By Angelena Riggs

July 16, 2014 By hywo Leave a Comment

If you’ve never ventured to the weights section of your gym, then you are missing out! Weight training is the fastest way to speed up your metabolism and give you a tight tone look. Weight training isn’t only good for your appearance either it is so great for your overall health.

Here are the top 5 benefits when it comes to weight training:

1. Lose or maintain your weight. Wherever you are in your fitness journey, strength training can help you lose body fat or maintain the weight you worked hard to reach. When you add lean muscle your metabolism is revved up and helps to burn more body fat even when you are not working out.

2. You will look lean even if the scale doesn’t change. Muscle weights more than fat, but takes up less space. For example a woman who works out with weights may weight 150, and her friend who doesn’t also weighs 150, the woman who strength trains will look leaner and fit.

3. It maintains or improves your bone density and muscle mass. Studies have shown that weight bearing exercise is the best way to increase or maintain your bone density and muscle mass as you age. Both of these tend to decrease with age, the best way to slow this loss, you guessed it lifting weights! This will improve your quality of life as you age.

4. It is important for your mental and emotional well being. When you work out you are releasing endorphins which improve your mood. The more consistent you are with your workouts the more benefits you will see. Exercise is also a great anti-depressant and helps to improve your quality of sleep. Have you ever finished a workout and felt like you can take on the world?

5. It reduces your risk of injury and illness. Strength training helps to increase the strength of your connective tissue, muscle and tendons which improves your range of motion in every day life, thus leading to less injury. Regular strength training also helps to strengthen your immune system. Who doesn’t want fewer sick days?

Angelena is a mom, healthy living blogger at On Fire Fitness Healthy Living (www.OnFireFitnesspt.com), a NASM Certified Personal trainer and Fitness Nutrition Specialist. Her goal is to inspire others to take the steps to living a healthy lifestyle. Visit Angelena on Facebook and on Twitter.

Filed Under: Your Fitness Tagged With: exercise, fitness, fitness article, get stronger, gym workout, healthy lifestyle, lose weight, strength training, weight training

Fitness Blunders by Nicole Bryan

July 14, 2014 By hywo Leave a Comment

Slamming the weights, not wiping down the equipment after your use or cutting in one someone else’s superset without asking! These are all etiquette oops-a-daisies in the gym. There are also misconceptions in the science of doing exercise that you’ll see often in the gym. Are you guilty of any of these?

Doing too much too soon. As a basic principle your body’s job is to always adapt to what you’re doing. Your muscles will adapt to the load of your workout by becoming stronger, when the load is appropriately increased in small intervals that is. Performing too many exercises too soon will place harmful stress on muscles, as well as your tendons and ligaments leading to injury.

Using momentum. Another basic principle in the science of exercise is control before load. If you are unable to control the weight you are lifting, it is too heavy. Decrease the weight before causing injury. Control means you should be able to stop the movement at any time during the range of motion. If this is not possible, momentum has taken over in place of your working muscles. Bouncing through exercises is a waste of time and more importantly, will lead to injury.

Doing the same thing all the time. Performing the same exercises for months on end will lead to a plateau. If you perform the same workout, same weight, same order, same exact exercises, your body will no longer be experiencing overload which means your body will cease becoming stronger.

Rushing through your workout. Rushing through your workout will cause your form to suffer, therefore increasing chance of injury. If the duration of your workout is overwhelming, it will be unsustainable. In turn you won’t be consistent. Since consistency is the key to your body changing, if you are hurrying through your workout to get it all in, it’s time to re-evaluate our exercise plan or change your schedule to allow for the extra time in the gym.

Pushing through extreme range of motion. More is not necessarily better in regards to exercise; the same rule applies to range of motion. Moving in a greater range of motion is not always best, because you’ll sacrifice stability. It’s important to stay in the range of motion where the resistance is the greatest on the goal muscle.

Filed Under: Your Fitness Tagged With: exercise, gym fitness, healthy lifestyle, how to get fit, workout

Mix it up!

July 11, 2014 By hywo Leave a Comment

Get Fit Quick Tip

Mix it up! Change up a component of your workout routine every 4-6 weeks to:

Keep results coming. Your fitness will improve while adapting to a new challenge.
Increase motivation. Your mind and focus is required when learning new exercises or skills.
Decrease risk of injury. Changing the angle at which you’re working your body prevents over-training.

Our Get Fit Quick tip will always be easy to remember and you’ll be able to implement it the very same day. Our tip will be so clear and concise you’ll be motivated to forward it to all your friends and family to inspire them to live healthy and fit as well.

Filed Under: Get Fit Quick Tagged With: choosing an exercise routine, exercise, exercise article, fitness, healthy lifestyle, how to get fit

Catch it!

July 7, 2014 By hywo Leave a Comment

Catch it!

Living healthy is contagious! Catch the energy and then pass it on to others you know struggling with exercise motivation! It’s challenging to be around those who enjoy fitness and physical activity, and NOT smile and take part. Joining our #HealthyWayMag Fitness Chat Community on Twitter is easy. Here’s how:

When: Every Monday 5pm(Pacific)/8pm(Eastern)

Where: Twitter!

How: Simply follow #HealthyWayMag for live chat feed

Thank You Summer Fitness Chat Sponsors! Check them out and learn how they can help improve your fitness.

RunnerBox. Runnerbox delivers subscription boxes full of products hand selected to enhance the training, racing and recovery of runners, cyclists or triathletes. It’s the perfect gift for yourself or someone else! Check out their Runnerbox, Tribox and Cyclebox. Follow them on Twitter for more info.

Momentum. Momentum Jewelry’s signature piece is a delightfully comfortable bracelet that blends function with purpose. Intended for active use, it is washable, lightweight, and non-tarnishing. More importantly, their motivational and inspirational sayings are personalized and become internalized. Check them out on Twitter to see all their products.

Milestone Pod. Milestone Pod the simplest way to track the mileage on your shoes. Lace the Pod on and it automatically collects workout data including: distance, pace, cadence, stride length, stance time, calories, and run history. The Pod also displays the total mileage on your shoes, so you know when it’s time to replace them! Follow them on Twitter for details.

Filed Under: Your Fitness Tagged With: exercise, exercise motivation, fitness, healthy lifestyle, how to get fit