Fitness Friday

WebFit Tip April 27, 2007

Take that extra step

When looking for a parking spot, try to find one further away from your destination and walk briskly. Walk when talking on your mobile phone. If you need to get a message or documents to a colleague at work, get up and do it yourself rather than sending an SMS, email or messenger.

All juices are not created equal

Healthy eating includes plenty of fruits and vegetables. What about juice? Check the label.

Fruit flavor in a juice doesn't mean fruit nutrition. The label "100% fruit juice" is the key to getting fruit nutrition. Beverages labeled fruit drink, fruit cocktail, or fruitade may contain added sugars which often replace fruit nutrition. These added sugars may also increase the calories.

How To Cut Down Sugar Intake

If you're trying to lose weight or just eat a healthier diet,
cutting down on sugar is a great place to start. The average
American consumes about three pounds of sugar every week, about
six times the maximum recommended allowance.

Here are a few ways to start getting sugar out of your food:

1. Don't add sugar to your food. Try adding berries or bananas
to your cereal instead of sugar. You should try to avoid
drinking tea or coffee, but if you must, drink it without
sugar. Try reducing the amount of sugar slowly, until you don't
need to add it at all.

WebFit Tip April 20, 2007

Maximize your muscle development by developing a regular lifting routine supplemented with adequate aerobic activity.

A good weightlifting routine consists of lifting several times per week, resting a day in between each muscle group. Work with a physical fitness expert to learn to lift weights properly. Before you start any physical activity plan, remember to check with your physician.

For proper fuel, you will need carbohydrates to help the body during a workout, repair muscles after, and to aid in rebuilding muscle mass.

A Personal Trainer's Top Five Fitness Tips

One of the factors that affect our happiness is how well we feel physically.

Exercise and proper nutrition can play a vital role in our mood and our sense of well-being. Exercise is all about keeping your body-well tuned. A well-tuned body can handle everything better, including everything that is happening in your body at a microscopic level.

When one's body is happy, so is one's countenance. Nutrition is about getting the right ingredients to your body to cook up optimum health. If money can't buy happiness, health can...or at least, it can help you avoid unhappiness. Both exercise and good nutrition help you feel energized, which is an important component in motivation, in extroversion, it feeling optimistic and in so many other key indicators of happiness. Happiness is about much more than fitness, but fitness should not be overlooked.

WebFit Tip April 13, 2007

Strength Training Tips

Include some type of strength training in your weekly exercise regimen no matter what your fitness goals are.

How long you rest between sets is important. For building muscles and getting bulkier the rest time should be longer. For more muscle endurance and leaner, sculpted muscles the rest time should be shorter.

Go nuts

Pistachios are a good source of potassium and they provide a whole collection of heart friendly nutrients such as vitamin B6, magnesium and copper and are a useful source of antioxidants. They are also cholesterol free and snacking on them regularly, within a healthy, balanced diet, may actually help to reduce blood cholesterol levels.

Are You Eating The Right Carbohydrates?

Whether you're trying to lose weight or just want to eat
healthier, you may be confused by the news you're hearing about
carbohydrates. With so much attention focused on protein diets,
there's been a consumer backlash against carbohydrates. As a
result, many people misunderstand the role that carbohydrates
play in a healthy diet.

Carbohydrates aren't all good or all bad. Some kinds promote
health while others, when eaten often and in large quantities,
may increase the risk for diabetes and coronary heart disease.

WebFit Tip April 6, 2007

Many people think eating late at night causes weight gain. In truth, it’s not when you eat that matters, it’s what and how much you eat.

Fueling your body is a matter of timing. The longer you wait between meals, the more you tend to eat at the next meal. Three to four hours between meals is about the right amount of time to keep blood sugar levels in control.

Plan snacks with small portions in mind. Crackers and low fat cheese, yogurt and fruit, cereal and milk, or peanut butter and apple slices are good options. Eating snacks with both carbohydrate and protein helps the body stay fueled.

If weight loss is your goal, space meals three to four hours apart, no matter what time of day, and watch your portion sizes.

Little by Little - Take the half hour challenge

Exercise burns calories. A daily 30-minute brisk walk will burn around 1,500 calories every week. Over six months this totals a staggering 39,000 calories! Start today and remember to do something everyday.

Running vs Walking - Which Is Better?

There is some controversy as to whether or not running or
walking is the better exercise. Each form of exercise has its
own pros and cons. If you are wondering whether or not you
should be running and exercising, you may want to consider the
positive and negative aspects of each before you choose one.

 
Keep in mind that a lot of people feel as if doing a workout
that is a combination of both is ideal. Walking provides
excellent cross training for running and vice versa. And that
way you can reap the benefits of both. If the workout includes
alternating bursts of running and walking you can get the best
of both worlds.