6 Fun Fitness Activities...

6 Fun Fitness Activities...

by: Kathy Burns-Millyard

 

Exercising and staying fit doesn't have to mean hard work. Simply being active will help you get or stay in good shape. So with that said, here are some enjoyable activities that can help with your fitness goals too.


Bicycling

When you ask many adults when the last time they rode a bike is, they cannot answer. Although bicycling is a favorite pastime, many adults do not take advantage of this great option for exercise. Not only does bike riding exercise the body and build a stronger cardiovascular system, it allows you to get out and enjoy nature, fresh air, and see new sites.


Jogging or Walking

Both jogging and walking are GREAT ways to get fit. Not only do they tone the muscles, relieve stress, create a healthier heart, and improve lung capability, they make you look wonderful, which in turns helps you get excited about doing other exercise for fitness activities.


Swimming

Swimming is an excellent way to get into and stay in shape. If you do not own a pool, many high schools have aquatic centers, or there is always the YWCA or YMCA, or your local gym. Many offer water aerobic classes that will help you tighten your body, lose weight, and get a good overall workout.


Tennis Anyone?

Tennis is not only a fun sport, but also a great way to exercise. You do not have to be a Venice Williams to play; in fact, you do not even have to be good. Just running after the ball alone will help get you into shape. This is a great way to strengthen your cardiovascular system and lose weight. You can find tennis courts in just about every city and if you would like to play but have no idea how, lessons are reasonable.

Tip: Raquetball is sort of a "one person tennis". If you don't have someone to play tennis with, or you aren't feeling sociable, try raquetball instead.


Dancing

Dancing is so much fun and whether you enjoy a slow, Ballroom dance or a nightclub packed with people all moving to heart-pumping techno, as long as you are moving, it really does not matter what type of dance or music. The whole idea is to move your body. Dancing has long been recommended as an avenue to fitness.

Tip: Belly Dancing is an excellent workout for your stomach, waist and hips ladies!


VCR

If you have a VCR or DVD, rather than just using it for your favorite comedy or action-packed movie, try sticking in some good workout tapes. Even taking 15 minutes every day to work out will get you started. Try that for two weeks and you will be surprised at the results. Once you see that 15 minutes a day makes a difference, you will be encouraged to increase the time spent.


And one of my personal favorites... Yardwork!

Whether you're pulling weeds, planting flowers, mowing the grass or chopping wood: All of these activities can help you get into better shape. Don't cheat yourself though. Using a riding mower to cut the grass won't help you use the muscles or get your blood pumping ;)

So go out and get active, have fun, and work on getting or staying fit too!



About the author:
© 2004 Kathy Burns-Millyard and The Health and Fitness Information Network - A large and growing health portal featuring quality health and fitness articles, tips, news, advice and resources. Visit http://www.health-and-fitness-information.comnow and get subscribed to our RSS feed so you'll have the newest articles as they're published!

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Treadmill Workouts: Walking And Jogging Backwards

Title: Treadmill Workouts: Walking And Jogging Backwards
Author: Ashish Jain

 

Treadmills have created a buzz for fitness freaks. Everyone
desires to own a machine of their own. But just owning a
treadmill won't give you all the benefits. With possession of a
good treadmill, you also require that adequate knowledge to make
good use of it.
 
Nowadays, treadmill are manufactured with a plethora of
workouts programs, suiting everybody's needs. All you need to do
is to first realize your requirements and then make the use of
the treadmill exercising. With a good and sturdy treadmill, you
can practice different walking styles. Lately, walking and
jogging in backward styles have caught the attention of most of
the fitness freaks.
 
Backward walking or jogging gives you those benefits that your
forward walking might be missing on you. The muscle activity
that happens when you walk backward is entirely different from
the one that happens when you walk straight.
 
But one thing is common. Whether you walk backward or straight,
your hands should be off the side rails. Now, you must be
wondering that what benefits a free hand holds, while you are on
a treadmill workout. When you let go your hands of the treadmill
machine, the postural muscles of your legs, ankles and hips come
into action. Thus walking back with your hands off the railing
works as a conditioner to your ankles. This further works in the
direction of improving your body balance.
 
Another important thing that you need to keep in mind while
walking backward is that you should always start slow. When you
feel that you have sufficiently adjusted to the treadmill
exercising, you can increase your speed. An advantage that
backward walking has is that the muscles that would not be used
while walking straight are enticed through this process, thus
giving you more physical advantages.
 
Like other workout programs, backward walking on treadmill
comes with certain variations. This is done to make your
exercising fun while giving you reap the maximum benefits. The
most useful of them is the incline walking. Today the machines
are designed as such that you don't have to worry too much about
the inclination that you would prefer to use. The recommended
inclination that is beneficial is around 15 per cent with a
speed of 2 mph. Besides this, you can also benefit yourself from
inclined low walks. This can be done by lowering your center of
gravity and keeping your back straight.
 
And on the top of all this, you can introduce some interval
sessions in your backward walking treadmill workout and reap in
further benefits.

 

 

Dentally Yours: www.denticom.co.nr

Protein Intake For Bodybuilders

Title: Protein Intake For Bodybuilders
Author: Shareen Aguilar

Bodybuilding means proper discipline with time management,
training and of your diet intake. No, bodybuilding isn't just
about physical hard work but it also requires wise decision in
setting up diet plans for your daily intake. Since a bodybuilder
requires a lot of work out, proper nutritional supplement is
highly needed.
 
But don't perceive bodybuilding diet as a difficult element in
achieving your bodybuilding goals. It doesn't take a lot of time
to decide which appropriate you should choose since most likely,
energy-giving food is going to be on top of your diet list.
Don't forget though that you also need to complete your other
nutritional needs to balance out everything.
 
Protein enriched foods should be a priority. You might ask why.
It's simply because protein-rich foods is responsible for
developing muscle synthesis and since your goal is entirely
devoted to developing body muscles, you need not to argue why
there's a need for you to drink milk or include eggs in your
meals. For better protein consumption though, ensure that you
consume about a gram of any food rich in protein for every pound
of your bodyweight daily.
 
Assuming your total weight minus body fat is 190 pounds. This
means that you should consume 190 grams of food rich in protein
everyday. But you don't have to take it all in one sitting.
Divide your protein consumption depending on the grams you need
to take each day. If you eat five times a day for example,
divide 190 grams to five. This is easier since you don't have to
eat all the 190 grams of protein food in one go. But other
problems may occur. You may not be able to take the entire
amount of grams you need per day. If this is the case, you can
resort to supplements rich in protein instead.
 
Keep in mind that protein is just a portion of what you need to
have everyday as a bodybuilder. Watch your body fat as well.
Your calorie and complex carbohydrates intake should also be
monitored.


About The Author: Shareen Aguilar is a writer for Bodybuilding
Training Program http://www.body-building-book.com which has
information on Bodybuilding and other fitness topics.