Thursday, September 10, 2009

How to Have Fun Losing Weight by Dancing

Have you ever gotten tired of all the ways to lose weight and look great. All the dieting, aerobics, exercises and cardio workouts can be hard work and boring after some time. Here's one way I know that's fun. Dancing ....yes dance your way to fitness.

Dancing is a great way to lose weight. Why else do you think that most professional dancers look great and have good figures. Look at Jennifer Lopez, the late Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, Kevin Bacon and even Fred Astaire who are all good at dancing. They must be doing something right. For one, dancing helps you to :

1. To destress and have fun
2. Burn calories and lose weight
3. Improve muscle tone & coordination
4. Strengthens bones
5. Increase energy
6. Improves cardiovascular system
7. Lowers risk of heart disease
8. Reduce blood pressure & cholesterol levels
9. Improves blood circulation
10. Builds endurance & stamina
11. Increase flexibility and balance
12. Improves overall health and body shape

However as with other types of exercises, you should warm up and stretch before dancing. Just move within your own tempo, start with a slow number and build it to faster tempo to avoid straining and injuring your muscles. Slow down or stop when you are short of breath or exhausted.

Dancing provides a channel to be yourself. Its an expression of self through the beat of the music. Dancing is an entertaining activity you can do with your friends or partner. It elevates your moods by raising our endorphin levels allowing us to reduce stress.

Best of all you can do it anywhere, even in the comfort of your living room. You don't need any expensive gym equipments just some music. You can move to the beat of the music and get creative creating your own dance moves. Or if you prefer learn the salsa, tango, ballroom dancing, breakdancing, disco, hip hop. It's a fun activity for all ages, the old and the young and breaks down racial barriers between diverse cultures.

So the next time you get bored with dieting or the regular exercise routine, remember you can still lose weight, have fun and look great through dancing.

Cardio Fitness Exercises

The term "cardio" is short for cardiovascular. Cardiovascular involves the heart and the blood vessels. The ability for the body's organs to transport, consume and use oxygen is cardiovascular fitness. By engaging the appropriate exercises for cardio fitness an individual can become more efficient at utilizing the oxygen. The heart becomes increasingly efficient at pumping blood and oxygen to the body.

Participating in a conditioning program for the cardiovascular has many benefits for the individual. The good cholesterol will increase, while the bad cholesterol decreases. Other benefits include lowering blood pressure, decreasing body fat, increasing heart function, decreasing anxiety and reactions to stress, as well as stimulation of insulin and reduction of glucose. An individual can only gain these results with the appropriate mix of frequency, intensity and time.

The number of times each week that an individual exercises is the frequency. The recommended frequency for cardio fitness is a minimum of three days a week. Of course, when first starting out with a program, the type of exercises will be a bit different so that you do not overdo it. Slow and efficient progress is the most beneficial for those just starting out with any type of exercise program. If possible, an individual should try to perform some type of cardiovascular activity every day.

Another important aspect of a good cardio conditioning program is the level of intensity. The amount of work put forth during the work out and how quick you work out define intensity. Keeping the appropriate level of intensity when exercising can define the effectiveness of a work out. A program utilizing an inappropriate level of intensity enhances the process of burning fat. Too much intensity in a cardio fitness program can cause injury, but a certain level of intensity should be sustained in order to maximize potential for burning fat and improve cardiovascular.

The amount of time spent to complete each particular exercise and the duration of the overall session of exercise. As with the other aspects of a cardiovascular workout, the amount of time spent on certain exercises or session duration should gradually increase. A beginner would start out with spending a total of 20 minutes on a cardiovascular workout. That includes warm up and cool down time.

Monitoring your heart rate is key when making the decision to undertake a cardio fitness program. This helps you to assess the progress toward your overall goals so that you know in which direction to regulate the different aspects of your conditioning plan. Each method of cardiovascular training will have a different overall impact on the individual.
The methods of cardiovascular conditioning include aerobic composite training, circuit training, continuous training, fartlek training and interval training. Each method has sub-methods that you could mix up through your work out.

By engaging the appropriate exercises for cardio fitness an individual can become more efficient at utilizing the oxygen. The heart becomes increasingly efficient at pumping blood and oxygen to the body. By choosing the method of cardio fitness training that you prefer, and maintaining the appropriate levels of frequency, intensity and time a person could improve their fitness level and overall quality of life.

Aerobics Exercise Together With Anaerobic Exercise

Getting your exercise is always important. This should be something that you already know, but what you might not know is that type of exercise that you are getting is just as important as actually getting it. In order to be completely healthy, you have to get all of the types of exercise that you need, and you have to be sure that you are getting them all in the right way. Aerobic exercise along with anaerobic exercise is the best way to make sure you are getting all parts of the work out that you need. When it comes right down to it, it is a great combination. You are getting your heart rate pumping with the aerobic exercise, and with the anaerobic exercise you are allowing yourself to do strength training, which is also very important for your body's health.

If you are concerned about these exercises and you don't know what kinds of exercise you should be doing, you really need to check with your doctor because after all your doctor knows the most about your body and what you can do to feel and look better with who you are. Your doctor can give you the correct combination and make sure that you are getting enough of both types of exercise in your daily routine. In short, aerobic exercise will help you to build heart and lung health and burn fat, while anaerobic exercise will help you build muscle.

Remember that it is not a good idea to only get one type of exercise, no matter how strong you think you are. In order to be really healthy you have to be sure that you are getting aerobic exercise along with anaerobic exercise to have a well-rounded level of health. This can really be your best shot at being competently healthy, because it is only by getting both types of exercise that you are allowing your body to have full control over its movements and to be fully in control of how healthy you are. Remember always that using both types of exercising is the best way to go - you don't want to leave one type out.

15 Minute Cardio at Home Workouts

Now more than ever, people want more results in less time, and they also want to save money. As a result of this fact, many people are turning to cardio at home workouts. If you want to lose body fat, improve your health, and save time and money, then at home workouts are your ultimate solution.

Don't be fooled into thinking you can't transform your body and improve your health without spending a penny on workout equipment. That just isn't true, and in many cases you can get better results with at home cardio workouts without any equipment.

As a personal trainer, it was necessary to the success of my business to provide my clients with a time efficient cardio workout that could be done at home. After much study along with trial and error, I discovered the key to highly effective at home workouts that could be completed in only 15 minutes that were more effective than traditional cardio workouts that lasted 30 minutes or more. That method is what I refer to as "bodyweight cardio."

The bodyweight cardio circuits are a series of different bodyweight exercises completed in succession with little to no rest until the end of each circuit. This method is excellent for burning fat, increasing heart health and saving time and money because it can very easily be done at home and requires no equipment.

At Home Cardio Workout Tips:

-Choose exercises that engage a lot of muscle mass at one time. For instance, you should choose planks over crunches, squats over leg lifts, and other big compound movements over isolation exercises. This will allow you to burn more calories while you are working out and keep your metabolism elevated for a greater period of time.

-Keep your rest periods to a minimum. The best way to do this is to only rest after you complete a circuit; by doing so the workout will be more challenging. However, you will complete the workout in a shorter period of time, and you will increase the rate at which your body burns fat. Furthermore, this will allow you to build lean muscle. That is something traditional cardio workouts just can't do.

-Progress to move challenging exercises. You should definitely start out with exercises that are easier to learn and are appropriate for your experience level. By progressing to more difficult exercises, you will keep challenging your body. This will allow you to keep getting the results you want without hitting the dreaded plateau.

Beginner Sample at Home Cardio Workout:

-Jumping Jacks x 50

-Squats x 15

-Elevated Push-ups x 12

-Assisted Inverted Rows x 12

-Plank x 30 seconds

-Mountain Climbers x 10 each leg

Perform each exercise for the prescribed number of repetitions without resting between exercises. After you complete the circuit, rest for one to two minutes and repeat the circuit two to four more times.

Intermediate Sample at Home Cardio Workout:

-Squat Thrusts x 15

-Jump Squat x 10

-Spiderman Push-ups x 12

-Inverted Rows x 12

-Side Plank x 20 seconds each side

-Burpee x 10

Once again, perform each exercise for the prescribed number of repetitions without resting between exercises. After you complete the circuit, rest for one to two minutes and repeat the circuit two to four more times.

Workout Tips

-To add variety to your workouts, perform your exercises at different speeds. For example: perform a set of squats as fast as possible while maintaining control and perfect form. The next time, perform a set of squats very slow and controlled.

-Instead of performing a certain number of circuits, you can also perform as many circuits as possible in a set period of time. For example: set a timer for 15 minutes and complete a circuit as many times as possible.

-Progress to more advanced exercises, increase the number of repetitions you perform for each exercise, and decrease your rest periods. Those simple changes can allow you to keep experiencing body transforming results.

These sample body weight cardio workouts will allow you to get greater results in a much shorter period of time. Not only will you get better fat burning and health benefits compared to traditional cardio workouts, but you will also build lean muscle, which is something traditional cardio workouts cannot do.

Leg and Hip Exercises For Women Looking to Tone Up and Slim Down!

Here are some leg and hip exercises that will tone you up and slim you down fast. If you're looking for a feminine hourglass shape while losing some weight, read this now so you can go about this without much effort at all.

Leg and Hip Exercises

1. Incline walking

This exercise is the ULTIMATE when it comes to working the legs and hips... and the BUTT too.

Don't confuse this with just walking. Walking is fine and dandy for long term weight loss, but for quick weight loss that drops inches from your legs, hips, and belly... you need to walk uphill.

The best way to do this year-round is to do it on a treadmill that inclined. Just set the incline to 15 degrees and walk. Walk for 20-30 minutes each time. If you can do this 5 times a week, WATCH OUT. Results come fast! Don't make me beg. If you don't believe me, just try it once and see for yourself. What do you have to lose?

2. Hula hooping

This is more for the hips and waist, but it also helps tone the butt and hips to a degree as well.

I'm sure you hula hooped when you were a child. So there's not much that needs to be said here. Just twirl it around your waist. The goal for you is to do this for 10 minutes a day. I personally hula hoop for about 90 seconds at a time during commercials while I'm watching tv.

One thing I should mention. Splurge a little and buy a $10 weighted hula hoop. This makes it easier for you since these don't fall to the ground so easy. If you do just these 2 leg and hip exercises, you will start to see that your body is toning up and slimming down within 10-12 days.

If you're SICK and TIRED of getting the same old boring weight loss advice... you know, like "Eat more fruits and vegetables, drink 8 glasses of water, jog, and blah blah blah", then...