Posts Tagged ‘fitness’

Here’s How To Introduce Your Kids to Exercising?

Tuesday, February 5th, 2019
Kids in a Gym

Kids seem to have an endless supply of energy. They come back from school, run straight to practice, come back home and still want to play with their friends outside. Therefore, worrying about your kids having too much physical activity is not entirely surprising.

The sad reality is that most children aren’t getting nearly enough exercise to begin with. Their desire to run around is only a natural response to their increased energy levels, so in most cases you should just let them run their course.

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5 Ways to Start Building Up Your Body Mass

Sunday, January 27th, 2019
Skinny Muscle

Incorporating more muscle training into your life can be beneficial, and there are numerous reasons you might want to build up your body mass. While it may be a great goal to have, it can sometimes be hard to know where to start. Learning how to balance your diet and exercise plans with the correct supplement intake is crucial for safe and successful mass building. Here are five steps you can take to begin building your body mass in the most effective way.

1. Set Goals

Building up your muscular strength and size is a process. While it can be good to jump right in and get started, it is also vital that you take some time to set goals. Not only can goals give you a way to track your progress, but they can also help you to keep things in perspective. You shouldn’t expect instant results, but you should also be able to enjoy the progress you’re making along the way. Goals help you to keep centered on the end results you want while still being able to identify improvement as it happens.

2. Plan Your Diet

Building up your body mass can require some changes in your eating habits. Incorporating a healthy amount of protein can be one of the most important things you can do. While it’s important not to overdo it, protein can act as the building blocks for your muscles and getting enough of it can make a notable difference in the results you get from working out. You may also need to eat more than you have been normally in order to give your body the nutrients it needs to power you through your workouts and recoveries. 

3. Create a Workout Routine

It can be a well-known fact that weightlifting is generally the exercise of choice for individuals interested in building up mass, but there can be a lot of different elements of a good muscle building workout to consider. You should plan a workout that pushes you to be stronger and capable of lifting more. The number of times you repeat a movement and the amount of weight involved should be designed to push you to new levels of strength without causing injury. Keep in mind that recovery time can be just as important as the workout itself and that overdoing it during training can cause more harm than good to your muscles and joints.

4. Consider Using Supplements

While not meant to be used in place of exercise and good nutrition, supplements can be one more tool for you to use in your journey towards increased strength and toning. Depending on your personal level of health, there are different options for supplements that can be better suited for you. Protein supplements, as well as vitamins and minerals, can all be worthwhile considerations. You should always make sure that any supplements you use are safe and that you only consume them in healthy amounts. 

5. Do Personalized Research

The most successful mass building plans should be catered to fit you as an individual. You can do further research into the different aspects of mass building online. There can be a lot of good information available such as this 30 Day guide to mass building. The more knowledge you are equipped with going in, the better prepared you can be to succeed at meeting your goals.

Reaching Your Preferred Mass

Like any worthwhile goal, building up muscle mass can require commitment. While it takes dedication of both time and energy, you should find that reaching your preferred level of muscle mass is a great reward that can make it more than worth the work. By using the steps above and balancing the different aspects involved with healthy body mass increase you should find that you are on the track to success. 

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Getting You and Your Pet on the Path to Good Health

Friday, December 28th, 2018
pet health

Whether you’re a fitness rookie or veteran, something worth considering this new year (and the years thereafter) is finding more ways to keep you and your pet on the path to good health.

Our beloved pets often share the same struggles as us — too many treats and not enough exercise can lead to stiff joints, weight gain, low energy, and more. While enjoying the occasional indulgence is important for an overall happy, healthy lifestyle, working out regularly and enjoying a well-balanced diet can ensure you and your pet have many more memorable years together. If you want to be extra careful that your pet stays healthy, it’s always a smart choice to invest in pet insurance, like Bivvy insurance.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

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What Are The Health Benefits of Skateboarding?

Monday, December 24th, 2018

Most of the sports that are played or loved by the people have uncountable health benefits for players. Different sports have cultural importance based on their origin of the sport. One of such examples is skateboarding. Unfortunately, skateboarding was looked down upon for many years. It was associated with the rebellious people but now the world has finally realized that active skate is even beneficial for general health and fitness.

Surprisingly there are a number of health benefits of skateboarding, which it has to offer. If you love skateboarding but hold yourself back because you think it is just a waste of time or it is dangerous, then your worries are certainly wrong. Down here is a list of all the health benefits which skateboarding has to offer to your body.

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Testosterone and Muscle

Wednesday, December 19th, 2018

Increase Testosterone Levels to Add Muscle Mass

The human body is a complex machine, one that operates using a wide variety of linked and correlating systems. We all like to keep our bodies in the best possible shape – perhaps you work out, or you might simply exercise lightly on regular basis – and there is plenty to know about if you are to get the balance right.

Diets, exercise, and basic healthy living all come together, but what about testosterone? This is a hormone that is essential to the male exercise regime, and one that is helpful in keeping your body in the right shape, but what is it all about, and why should you be conscious of the link between testosterone and muscle mass?

Let’s talk a little more about what testosterone is, and why it is essential that you understand its place in the body.

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Foolproof Ways to Bust Out of a Fitness Rut

Monday, December 17th, 2018

In every person’s life who’s devoted to their fitness regime, there comes a time when you just can’t do it anymore. It all goes around in circles, and you become fed up with your work out sessions. Instead of lifting your spirits and making you feel good, you just end up walking away more frustrated.

This is the point where most people give up and undo all their hard work. The truth is, all you have to do is overcome this point and you’ll be more productive than ever. Thankfully, there are some foolproof ways you can do this without wasting any time or energy.

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8 Tips on Staying Active at Work

Friday, December 14th, 2018

1. Take Timed Breaks

We’re all guilty of it. You’re focused on the task at hand, completely engrossed in your latest project and you don’t realize how much time goes by. That is until you can’t turn your neck, your back is stiff, and you feel your shoulders slouching. Don’t let too much time pass without some form of movement. Set a timer on your phone, computer, or smartwatch that gets you up and moving every 15-30 minutes. Even if you have to walk laps around your cubicle or take a stroll to the bathroom, any movement is better than none. Fitness trackers are great for this too. Most are equipped with alerts that tell you when you’ve been sedentary for too long. Pay attention to these queues. It’s your body’s way of telling you that you need to get moving.

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Could Cannabis Be Helping With Your Exercise?

Friday, November 9th, 2018
stoner athlete

Cannabis could be the edge you need to take your running to the next level!

Endurance Training

Adrian Landini is not only a long-time runner, but he’s also a long-time cannabis user. Not only does he enjoy smoking cannabis, but he also enjoys smoking it before a run and sometimes during a run. What may have begun as a one-off, has now become an integral part of Adrian’s endurance training. “I just kind of Zen out, I pay attention to my movements and what’s around me and whatnot, and just bring it in with good form,” the Toronto resident says about why he smokes cannabis.

Adrian believes that cannabis is what helps him with focusing his sense of awareness and also with the pain associated with endurance running and training. Often during long endurance runs, the pain from sore toes and feet, while minor, can often become overwhelming if a runner can’t lock it out and power through it.

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Health Hacks: 9 Budget-Friendly Ways To Combat The Flab

Tuesday, November 6th, 2018

Let’s face it, eating healthy is expensive. Not each and every individual can afford to spend extra $500 per month on groceries. That is why people often give up on losing weight due to budget constraints. There is, however, a solution to this problem. There are ways in which you can lose weight without inflating your budget. 

Fitness Couple

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Is Drinking Cold Water When Exercising Good or Bad?

Monday, October 22nd, 2018

Drink Water

You are approximately 60% water. In fact, you probably wouldn’t survive for more than 3 days without water. It is an essential part of your body as it ensures nutrients are able to move between cells and toxins are flushed out.

This is even more important when you’re exercising as you’re sweating the water out of your body. To counteract this you’ll need to drink before and after you exercise. In fact, many people prefer to drink water while they are working out. But is it a good idea to drink cold water when exercising?

The first thing to understand about cold water is that it will reduce your internal core temperature. If you’re not exercising when you drink the cold water then your body will need to increase your core temperature. This boosts your metabolism and helps you to burn more calories. (more…)

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Make the Most of Your Post-Workout Shower

Friday, October 12th, 2018

So, you already know all the benefits of taking a nice, relaxing post-workout shower, but are you making the most out of those showers?

shower fitness

You push yourself through each workout, becoming stronger, healthier, and happier with your growth and accomplishments. However, it’s important to not let all that hard work go down the drain. Here are some important post-workout shower tips that can step up your workout routine:

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8 Tips on How To Build Your Muscle

Wednesday, September 19th, 2018

build muscleMost people who exercise do so for two main reasons – to lose weight or to build muscle. Sometimes these can be done concurrently. In order to lose weight people do cardio exercises which help in shedding the fat. They also focus on burning more calories than they are consuming. Building muscle is a bit more complicated because it requires eating and exercising in the right way. A lot of lean men and women fail to build muscle because they think it is as simple as lifting some weights and waiting for the results. Building muscle takes hard work, consistency, and most of all knowledge on how exactly you can pack on the muscles.

So here are 8 tips to get you started on your bulking journey.

1. Eat Enough

As you work on increasing the size of your muscles you must provide your body with enough food to support this growth. It is important to consume enough calories to ensure that you are taking in more calories than you are burning. A calorie deficiency leads to weight loss so aim for the opposite. Taking in more calories leads to weight gain and when coupled with weight-training this will result in muscle growth. (more…)

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5 Bad Habits You Need to Quit Now if Sustained Muscle Growth is Your Goal

Wednesday, August 8th, 2018

build muscle

Here is an interesting guest post by a good friend of Project Swole. He wishes to remain mostly nameless (aside from mentioning his name is Andy), but trust in me he is smart and experienced, and I think this piece will really connect with most Swole readers.


It’s unpleasantly like being drunk.”

“What’s so unpleasant about being drunk?”

“You ask a glass of water.”

– Douglas Adams, British author, and humorist

 

Human beings like habits, as a rule. It’s like that old phrase, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” So, if we do something, and it works out ok, we’ll do it again.

 

Good or bad, habits allow us to predict the future – if I do this (exactly as I did yesterday), I know what will happen. Habits equal proven outcomes. Get on this train at this time in the morning, and I’ll be at work on time.

 

And if those habits are linked to a reward of some description, anything from a hit of dopamine in the brain by achieving a specific goal or, heaven forbid, one of a human being’s primary rewards – either food or sex, we’ll be back same time tomorrow, guaranteed, with our plate in our hand, as it were.

 

Habits provide routine, and for us, routinely provides security.

 

Unfortunately for us, some habits don’t sit well with others, and the rewards each brings actually off-set against one another, which kind of defeats the object. Take, for example, the diabetic cake-shop owner. You get my point. In fact, like the rest of our existence, it’s all just one big juggling act, seeing what works, what doesn’t, what affects something else, and so on, and hoping for a happy medium somewhere along the line. (more…)

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How to Choose the Right Personal Training Certification Program

Wednesday, August 1st, 2018

How to be a Personal Trainer

Female PT
* Don’t miss part 1: How to Get a Degree in Exercise Science

* Don’t miss part 2: How to Get a Degree in Physiology

* Don’t miss part 3: How to Get a Degree in Kinesiology

If you enjoy trying all different kinds of physical fitness and you like to keep your own body in peak condition, then perhaps you’re interested in finding a career that allows you to engage in physical activity and impart your knowledge of fitness to others.

Getting Certified in PT

As a certified personal trainer, you can not only meet these professional goals, but you can also put your outgoing personality, communication skills, and motivational strategies to good use by helping others to realize their true potential and meet their fitness goals through targeted training programs.

But before you can get started transforming your clients one physique at a time, you need to obtain the proper certification to practice. If you want to find the one that best suits your personal and professional goals, there are a few things you should consider before you choose.

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What You Need to Know About LA Fitness

Sunday, July 15th, 2018

LA Fitness

If you are tired of postponing your workout or finding reasons to skip the gym, you should think about how important it is for you to look good and stay healthy. Even if it’s not easy to find the right gym that goes hand in hand with your busy schedule, you have to make an effort in order to stay in shape. You want to look for a gym local to your home or work, that has adequate equipment, lenient rules, helpful staff, and workable operating hours.  (more…)

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Dexter Jackson’s Tips for Constructing a Chest Workout

Sunday, July 8th, 2018

Dexter Jackson chest training

Dexter Jackson, also known by his cool name “The Blade” is a legendary bodybuilder and is known for his perfect body symmetry and conditioning.

Dexter has won multiple titles namely Mr. Olympia, Arnold Classic, and New York Pro. He has also won 28 IFBB professional bodybuilding awards to set a unique world record.

With only about 10 weeks left for Olympia 2018, The Blade has hit the gym hard and has been extensively doing chest workout.

Dexter started with incline bench barbell press and worked up his way to flat bench presses. He also did one other variant of bench presses.

The next exercise was Incline-Bench DB Flyes and Hammer Strength Incline Machine following that. He did some core exercises to finish off the routine and took some supplements to help recovery from the workouts and repair his muscles. (more…)

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5 Easy Ways to Have a Strong Upper Body

Wednesday, July 4th, 2018

Many people who hit the gym tend to concentrate more on the lower body exercises and the body parts with muscles that tend to bulge easily, and they can end up forgetting about the back and shoulder exercises.

strong upper body girl

You should know that working out your upper body is very important if you want to maintain an all-round fit body. Being well rounded and robust from your back, shoulders and the rest of your body gives you a good posture and an excellent body shape.

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6 Habits You Seriously Need To Drop To Lose Weight

Wednesday, May 30th, 2018

We all have bad habits that hinder our quality of life. When it comes to weight loss, we need to reconsider our habits and eliminate those that keep us from healthier bodies. Our bad habits might relieve us of stress temporarily but in the long run, it is not the best for us. For example, fast food is convenient after a long workday but it adds to our waistlines gradually.

Poor Health Habits

Here are a few bad habits you must ditch if you want permanent weight loss.

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Elliptical Vs Treadmill – Which Is Better For You?

Tuesday, May 29th, 2018

treadmill vs elliptical
There are several types of workouts which you can do at a gym. Some of the most effective and useful workouts for weight loss and overall health are cardio exercises. You will find several workout machines and pieces of equipment that can help you get a proper cardio workout. Two of these include a treadmill and an elliptical trainer.

These machines can help you get a solid cardio workout within just a few minutes. You will hear several myths about these two types of exercise machines. However, the truth is that if you use them the right way they can both be highly effective for your body. Elliptical trainers and treadmills are especially beneficial for those of you who are interested in losing excess body weight while putting minimal stress on their joints. (more…)

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7 Pieces of Home Gym Equipment Every Bodybuilder Needs

Friday, May 25th, 2018

Home Gym GirlAll of us would prefer to be in better shape, but in today’s hectic world, it isn’t always easy to find the time to do so. It is much easier to get the necessary exercise and to stay in shape when the equipment you need to is in your home. But with so many options for gym equipment out there, it can be hard to know where to begin. The following are the most essential pieces of gym equipment for any home gym setup.

Adjustable Dumbbells

No home gym is really complete without a set of adjustable dumbbells. Whether you are going to be trying to build or maintain your muscle growth, a set of adjustable dumbbells will see you through. Not only are dumbbells an already versatile piece of equipment, by adjusting the weight, you can increase or decrease the difficulty and, therefore, effectiveness, of your workout routine.

Of all the most common pieces of gym equipment found in the home, dumbbells produce the most reliable and consistent improvements. The nature of dumbbell exercises means that they require a significant amount of effort from muscle fibers to maintain stability. A good set of adjustable dumbbells is a worthwhile purchase for any serious bodybuilder.

Olympic Barbell Set

Much like the dumbbells, a barbell will put the same kind of strain (a good kind) on your body and muscles as dumbbells. The barbell is essentially a single long dumbbell, and most of the exercises done with the barbell are two-armed variants on dumbbell exercises. A barbell set is a worthwhile addition to any home gym setup, but if you already have dumbbells, and there are other pieces of equipment you are missing, you might want to invest in another piece of equipment first. (more…)

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