Lisa's Gluten Free Advice and Healthy Living

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

The Pillars of Health and Fitness

When someone says 'are you fit?' this can be a very ambiguous term. Of course the answer might depend on the context - they might be asking if you are fit to do something in particular. In such cases the answer will be easy, and most of us know whether we are fit to run a race or partake in sports. However for the most part the question is far more open and means instead are you 'generally' fit. Answering this can be more difficult.

All of us would like to be fit and healthy, but this can be hard to achieve if we can't even define it. What then does it actually mean to be fit and healthy? Here we will examine some of the things that make someone fit or not so fit.

CV Fitness

CV fitness means that you are capable of exerting yourself for long periods of time without getting tired and without having some kind of asthma attack or heart complaint. If you have good cardio fitness you will be able to go running for long periods of time, and to climb flights of stairs deftly without bending over panting when you reach the top. This is probably what the vast majority of people mean when they say 'fit'.

To be fit in this regard, you need to be a good weight for your size, and you need to work to improve your VO2 max and heart by going for jogs, rowing, cycle etc, or engaging in sports.

Strength

Strength also comes into health and fitness. Someone fit generally is not going to be wiry and is not going to look as though they'd fall apart if you flicked them. In order to be fit you will likely to some form of resistance training which might mean calisthenics or using weights. For women this means achieving a basically toned body, while for men it often means more impressive biceps and pecs.

Health

This is an equally ambiguous word, but in general being healthy means being free of disease and injury. If you are currently limping because of a bad ankle, then in most people's books you are not going to be considered fit and healthy. To maintain your general health you need to ensure that you are getting enough sleep and that you are eating lots of vitamins and minerals which will help you to develop a strong immune system. You also need to prioritize rest and recovery time in the face of injury to get yourself back to full health as quickly as possible.

Flexibility

Being flexible might not be as crucial as having a strong cardiovascular system, but it is nevertheless one of the 'pillars' of fitness and falls into that category. If you work on flexibility then you can help yourself to avoid injury, and can at the same time improve your range of movement. Simply stretching and warming up before training will help you to develop and sustain flexibility.

Jan Hargrove is a blogger and fitness expert. He writes about family wellness, health and other group fitness related topics.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Food and Health Carnival March 15

Do you have a Favorite Recipe, a Great Tip, a Great Resource or a Giveaway? Do you have a Giveaway Linky or Recipe Carnival on your blog? Or maybe you would just like to share your Food or Health Blog/Website.Add your link to my Food and Health Carnival.

All I ask for in return is for you to add my blog button above to your blog and/or a link to my website. Lisa's Gluten-Free Advice and Healthy Living. Another idea is that you could add my link to your blog roll. Thank-You.

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This week I will share with you: Science of Gluten Intolerance

Gift Ideas for any Occassion

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Sunday, March 11, 2012

Getting the Motivation to Use Your Elliptical Machines

So you did your research and read up on 2012 elliptical trainers. You learned with elliptical trainers were the best ones and you learned how to use them to burn fat, built muscle and generally transform your appearance and your fitness for the better. You did all that, but then you bought the trainer you wanted and found that you couldn't bring yourself to use it as regularly as you need to. The problem then is, that no matter how much you spent or how well you chose your device – unless you actually use them, even 2012 elliptical trainers aren't going to be enough to get you into shape.

The problem is no doubt motivation and you probably find yourself talking yourself down from working out when you know you should. No doubt you wake up in the morning and you think about all the ways in which you are running late and how cozy bed is, or you get home from work and feel tired and stress and maybe even ill and believe you 'deserve' a night off to relax in front of the TV. Perhaps you do, but ultimately if your 2012 elliptical trainers just sit there then you've wasted money and you're not getting into shape. How do you find that motivation?

Well first of all you need to make sure that you think about working out in the right way. When we feel tired or ill then we feel like our body wants us to relax and as though exerting ourselves would do us harm. Quite the opposite is normally true however unless you are ill, because exercise is good for the body. Thus by using 2012 elliptical trainers we are able to increase our energy and get our blood pumping again kick starting our body to feel fresher and healthier – and we'll get more out of the evening as a result as well.

If you find yourself not being able to face a workout then you will make lots of excuses such as 'I'm too tired' or 'I just had a very hard day'. Recognize then this – there is no such thing as a good excuse. Any excuse you give is a hollow one because you can always benefit from a workout and because you can always fit in at least ten minutes. Unless you're sick, you shouldn't let yourself off in any instance. Nor should you try to put the workout off until tomorrow – because it just quite simply won't get done. Being strict and sticking at it is the only way to see positive changes.

The solution to this feeling then is to challenge yourself to do just a ten minute workout. Sure you might not have time, or the energy, to do 60 minutes as you intended – but recognize that something is always better than nothing. In other words even if you only do a five minutes then that's not a waste o time and it will help your body to kick start itself. The good news is though, that after doing five minutes you will normally find yourself getting carried away and training much longer.

Author is passionate about fitness and is an expert in giving elliptical machine reviews. He reviews the best elliptical trainers on his blog to help readers to choose the perfect ellipticals.