Angelou's Fitness for Men and Women

Sunday, April 10, 2016

The Fitness and Health Benefits of Sauna

Most people claim that sauna is considerably beneficial for all sorts of medical ailments such as headaches, arthritis, cold, and more. Many of these claims are indeed true, as there is a decent amount of research which proves there are all sorts of health benefits one can gain through a session of sauna.

Simply put, sweating it out in a sauna helps keep a variety of issues at bay while providing some much needed relief to the body’s systems and organs.

The Effects of Heat on Organs and Systems

· Liver: When you take a sauna, the congestion of blood in the liver is considerably reduced. This helps improve the liver’s ability of detoxification.

· Kidneys: While you are sweating, blood gets sent away from the kidneys as it goes towards the surface of your body. Due to this, the kidneys are unburdened as the toxins are purged through sweating.

· Cardiovascular System: In a session of sauna, both the stroke and pulse volumes increase. The surface vessels tend to dilate since blood gets shunted from the internal organs. Sauna, on a routine basis, assists in decreasing elevated levels of blood pressure by improving elasticity in the arteries and removing all sorts of toxins from the kidneys.

· Immune System: As the body is heated by several degrees, it increases the activity of white blood cells and destroys all microorganisms which are sensitive to heat.

· Nervous System: Through a session of sauna, your sympathetic nervous system is inhibited while your parasympathetic nervous system is strengthened. What this means is that a sauna provides calming effects for the nervous system.

Sweating

Sweating is fantastic for the removal of toxins. Most of the substances which are eliminated out of the kidneys can instead be eliminated from the skin. Due to this, sweating assists in unburdening the kidneys.

In case you didn’t know, sweating through exercise isn’t the same as sweating through a steam room or sauna. Firstly, a sauna conserves the body’s energy as it provides external heat. This provides energy for the detoxification. Secondly, sweating through exercise tends to activate the sympathetic nervous system, and this reduces the eliminative organs’ activity (colon, kidneys, liver).

Detoxification

You must’ve heard that saunas are useful for detoxification. This is because heating the body by several degrees increases circulation dramatically. Dr. Lawrence Wilson, a well qualified physician, tells us that this assists in removing toxins from the places which are otherwise hard to reach, such as teeth, sinuses, and bones.

What’s more, most of the bacteria are sensitive to heat, which is why the heat of a sauna can kill or weaken them. Apart from that, cells damaged due to chemicals and toxic metals are weaker as compared to healthier cells. Exposure to intense heat can get rid of the weaker cells.

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Thursday, April 7, 2016

How to Avoid Injuries at the Gym

Needless to say, almost every athlete is at constant risk of getting an injury. This is mostly because these individuals push their bodies to the limit every now and then, and unless they bring things along in the correct manner and at the right pace, injuries are inevitable.

Bodybuilders are at a similar risk of developing injuries, in the form of strains, muscle tears, sprains, tendinitis, or even hernias or bursitis.

Don’t Show Off

The point is, with proper care and common sense, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to enjoy a successful career in bodybuilding while being free of any injuries. The primary cause of injuries to bodybuilders is definitely carelessness, specifically when they are performing near-limit lifts. The “show off” aspect plays a huge role in sudden injuries.

Avoiding Curls Early On in Your Workout

You shouldn’t ever be tempted to lift heavy dumbbells to pull them overhead. This may lead to a pinched nerve, and that can cause pain for several years. It is universally agreed upon by all fitness experts that you should never begin the workout with barbell curls. Of course, the exercise is good, but you should refrain from starting your workout with it because it locks the elbow joint, which leaves your biceps vulnerable to injury.

Warming Up Properly/Stretching

Warming up is an important aspect of all training programs, so you shouldn’t neglect it. Before you perform any exercise, you need to carry out at least a single set of 10 to 15 reps with nearly 50 percent of the limit. If you aren’t a fan of doing a high repetitions warm up, then you can do 2 or 3 sets of lower repetition warm ups. But only use nearly 50% of your maximum.

Another safeguard against injuries is practicing some sort of stretching before starting your workout. In order to get a complete stretch, the muscles need to be warm. As such, you should wear a sweat suit in cold temperatures.

Taking Care in Key Exercises

You need to take particular care if you’re doing a few key exercises. For example, in the squat, you should keep your back flat at all times, while also keeping your head up. You should refrain from bouncing out a squat. Apart from squats, the deadlift also needs to be carried out with a flat back and head up.

Similarly, when you are performing the bent over rowing, you need to keep the knees bent and back flat. Always remember that this is a risky exercise, since your lower back is significantly susceptible to strain while heavy weights are being used. As such, try doing one arm dumbbell rows instead, in which your other arm is able to support the torso on a bench.

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Losing Weight and Fat Through a Cardio/Weight Training Program

When considering weight training in order to lose weight, most of the people are concerned that they will actually start looking bigger as they gain more muscle.

One thing is for certain, including weight training into your routine will definitely result in muscle buildup. At the beginning, it might seem like you aren’t making progress in terms of weight loss. However, if you stick to it, you will begin noticing several changes in your body, such as muscular tone, increase in energy, and better-fitting clothes.

Why Weightlifting is a Powerful Tool

Weightlifting is an incredibly powerful tool as far as weight loss is concerned. Of course, weight training isn’t usually considered an aerobic activity. It primarily makes use of the glycogen system in order to produce energy. Your own heart rate is likely to increase while you are lifting weights, and if you work out for around 40 minutes, you will be able to burn a considerable amount of calories.

The average individual burns nearly 2,000 calories a day simply by carrying out their routine activities. If you add weight training to your daily routine, you will be able to burn extra calories each day that you work out. One pound of fat equals nearly 3,500 calories, which is why you need all the more calories you can burn every day through weight training to lose a pound of fat every week.

Including Cardio Into Your Weekly Regimen

Another interesting fact is that you can burn even more calories a week by including a cardio session or two into your weekly workout regime. To make this work, you can consider getting a fitness tracker to see the number of calories you get to burn. By doing this, you will be able to adjust all your workouts properly.

While lifting weights puts several of your muscle groups to work, cardio sets the tone for an overall healthy and well balanced body. It strengthens your lower body, increases your heart rate, while also providing you all sorts of health benefits. And let’s not forget the fact that cardio is the ultimate tool for boosting metabolism and burning fat even while you are at rest.

Resistance Cardio

Resistance cardio consists of a combination of cardiovascular training with resistance training. For example, rowing with added resistance is a form of resistance cardio, and so is riding a stationary bike which on high setting. If your primary goal is to lose weight, get healthier, and have a more toned appearance, combining resistance and cardio together is definitely an excellent idea. With a session of resistance cardio every once in a while, you will make sure your body torches fat and burns calories like never before.

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Monday, April 4, 2016

All You Need To Know About The Side Effects Of Using Steroids

If you are looking to enhance your performance levels and gain competitive advantage by taking performance enhancing drugs or steroids, then it is important that you first understand the side effects of using them. Steroids are referred to as a group of drugs that are used to treat a number of medical conditions by regulating the immune system and enhancing reproduction. Furthermore, they help in the treatment of many other medical conditions such as inflammation.

In order to gain muscles, nowadays many young and old people are turning to steroids. However, steroids can cause adverse health effects, which is the reason why using them without prescription is illegal. It is quite unfortunate that many athletes today are using performances enhanced drugs (PEDs) to boost their performance and win accolades. Doping is the term used when athletes indulge in such activities. Doping not only lands them a ban from their particular sport/competition, but it also affects their health negatively.

Following are the two types of steroids and their negative side effects.

Anabolic Steroids

Anabolic steroids treat certain medical conditions related to hormone deficiencies, late puberty, and muscle loss. Furthermore, they promote the growth of male skeletal muscles. In order to improve athletic performance and facilitate muscle growth, many athletes and body builders use anabolic steroids. However, this practice is illegal and causes many health problems. The most common anabolic steroids side effects include:

· Hair loss

· Oil hair/skin

· Acne

· Liver Damage

· Disruption of puberty in children

· High Blood pressure

· Increased sexual appetite and aggression

· Infertility

· Excess body of facial hair

· Depression

· Heart Disease

· Kidney Disease

· Breast tissue development in men

· Deeper voice in women

· Shrinking of testicles in men

· Abnormal menstrual cycles in women

· Male impotence

· Breast development cessation in women

· Reduce sperm production

· Enlarged clitoris in women

Apart from the aforementioned side effects, anabolic steroids can make you psychologically and physically dependent on them. Use of anabolic steroids can cause severe depression and may even lead to suicide. The side effects of anabolic steroids can persist for up to a year after you stop using them. These side effects include steroid cravings, reduced sex drive, insomnia, loss of appetite, restlessness, fatigue, and mood swings. Oxandrolone, methyltestosterone, testosterone, and danazol are examples of anabolic steroids.

Androgenic Steroids

Organ development and the development of male sexual characteristics are the two things androgenic steroids aid in. Individuals with growth deficiency and potency related issues are the ones androgenic steroids are meant for. There are many side effects of repeatedly using this type of steroids. These include facial hair growth in females and breast development in males.

There are two types of steroids available today in terms of consumption, oral and injectable. The injectable steroids include Depo, Deca, and Equipoise, while Oxandrin, Dianabol, and Androl are examples of oral steroids. However, it is important that you keep the serious side effects of steroids in mind before you use any of the above-mentioned drugs.

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Saturday, March 26, 2016

Polar activity tracker (watch) review

Exercise programs can never be successful until and unless you equip yourself with all the required things. This includes the fitness supplements and gadgets. As of late, gadgets have been playing a vital role in improving the efficacy of exercise programs. One such gadget is the Polar Activity Tracker watch. The Polar Activity Tracker is Polar’s new do-it-all fitness tracker that tracks all day fitness metrics, sleep duration, and exercise.

The tracker has a colored touch screen display. It is waterproof so you can wear it while swimming and in the shower. It is currently available only in a black and a white band option. However, there will be more color options released soon. Now, it is said that the Polar Activity Tracker is one of the simplest touch screen fitness trackers available today, and in my experience, that’s definitely true. Also, it is the easiest and most intuitive touch screen fitness tracker that I have ever used.

The tracker even boasts a couple of smart watch features such as call and text notifications delivered right to your wrist. Now, this fitness tracker features a polar loop along with a rectangular elongated design, some chrome edges and an overall well-designed built quality. Furthermore, it is the first and only fitness tracker to use a standard USB charging port to charge the internal battery.

The band is comfortable as it is made out of a soft latex, rubbery material. One of the nice things about the design is that even if the band does wear out, you can easily replace it. You can also set this device up with your computer, be it PC or Mac. Additionally, you can set it up with your Smartphone too which is something most users would probably want to do.

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The best features of this fitness wearable include the optical heart rate monitor, paired with a Bluetooth chest strap like the Polar H7. The bands have a nice, rippy texture on the inside which allows the optical heart rate sensor to sit on the wrist nicely and still to get accurate readings. The band is secured with a pin styled clasp and loop. Initially, I was concerned that the band would eventually become loose, but fortunately, that just did not happen.

The user interface of this device is pretty simple; you just push the button on the side and it will open up the watch menu which you can then just scroll down to set the training parameters. You need to select training and then select the type of workout you will be doing. While you are busy selecting the workout, the heart rate monitor begins to work in the background to acquire your heart rate.

The activity tracker band might be a little bit tighter than what you usually wear. However, it immediately comes alive and is the best optical heart rate monitor that you’ll find today. After every lift or high intensity interval training, you will be able to get quick and accurate results.

If you are someone who does any sort of lifting, any sort of high intensity interval training or cross fit exercises, then, in my opinion, the polar activity tracker will be a great watch choice for you.

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Monday, March 21, 2016

The Importance of Strength Training and Best Strength Training Exercises

According to studies, there is a type of exercise that strengthens your bones, improves your balance, benefits your heart, and even helps you lose weight. The type of exercise that allows you to do all of these is strength training. Contrary to the popular belief, strength training is so much more than bodybuilders lifting weights. Strength training benefits all sorts of people including those with health conditions such as heart problems and arthritis.

There are many benefits of strength training. This includes shedding a few pounds off your body, protecting your muscle mass and bone health, becoming stronger and fitter, developing better body mechanics, preventing some diseases, boosting your metabolism, and improving your energy levels/mood. If you want to achieve all the aforementioned benefits then you simply need to incorporate of the following four strength-training exercises in your exercise regime.

Bodyweight Squats

One of the best strength training exercises is bodyweight squats. In order to perform this exercise, station your toes in a forward facing direction and stand with your feet and hip separated apart. Without allowing you knees to surge ahead of your toes, sit back as if you’re sitting in a chair. Until your hamstrings, quads and glutes engage and come back up to standing, do not stop sitting back. It is important that you create 90-degree angle in your knees. 8 to 12 repetitions are what you need to complete. When this becomes easy, start adding weight to the exercise.

Single-Leg Deadlifts

Another great strength training exercise is single-leg deadlifts. In order to perform this exercise, lift the opposite leg behind you after bending one knee and hinging it forward towards the waist. It is important that you do all this while holding a barbell or free weight slightly in front of your body. Until the weights come below your knees, lower them and keep them very close to the top of your legs. Come back to the standing position after engaging the glute of the leg on the ground and your hamstring. Switch to the other leg after you’ve performed 8 to 12 repetitions.

Core work

Core work is another important strength training exercise. You can use any one of the hundreds of exercises meant for strengthening core. Some of the best exercises include reverse crunch, bicycling, planks, and crunches. All of them are equally effective and you need to make them a part of your daily workout routine.

Single-Leg Squats

The final exercise that I am going to recommend is single-leg squats. In order to perform this exercise, sit with your hips back, bend your knee, balance yourself on one foot, and squat down. Extend your leg back to standing after your knee is down in a 90 to 110 degree angle. Rest the toes of your hovering foot on the ground if you find this too challenging. Switch to the other leg after completing 8 to 12 repetitions.

You can achieve all the benefits of strength training by making the above-mentioned exercises a part of your exercising routine.

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Related Links:

Make every step toward health count with a Fitbit tracker.

Don't live in gym, just look like you do!

Transform your body in just 90 days with P90X!

INSANITY - Get a Year's Worth of Results In Just 60 Days!

Body Beast - Go from Regular Joe to JACKED...Ho-Hum to HOTTIE in 90 Days flat!

Beauty Sleep by BikiniBOD™ is a delicious, innovative tea supplement that takes the typical weight loss and detox elixirs found on the market today to a whole new level. Beauty Sleep Tea combines the very best of the leading detoxifying, appetite suppression and beauty ingredients into one mix.