Apr 07

5 Great Stretching Exercises for Your Spine

by admin in Workouts 0 comments
Roughly 80% of Americans will experience back pain at some point in their lives, and for most of them the pain will resolve on its own within a few weeks. For millions of people, however, back pain becomes chronic. In fact, back pain is the second most frequently reported medical complaint. Board-certified orthopedic surgeon Dr. Thomas Jones II and our team at The Spine Institute of Southeast Texas understand the impact of back pain on daily life. Simple activities that most take for granted can be a struggle. It can interfere with many areas of your life, from work to social activities. Seeking medical evaluation is the first step to getting relief. Treatment for chronic back pain depends on the cause. Dr. Jones formulates a treatment plan for you after a comprehensive evaluation. Your treatments may involve steroid injections, physical therapy, pain-relieving medication, or surgical approaches.   Common causes of back pain include: A herniated disc (bulging disc) Spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal) Degenerative disc disease (arthritis of the spine) Sciatica (problems with the sciatic nerve)   Stretching exercises for back pain can help keep your spine healthy and provide relief. While these stretches are safe for most […]
Apr 07

This Is the Best Time of Day to Work Out, According to Science

by admin in Workouts 0 comments
Finding time to exercise can be challenging, and the most important thing is to squeeze in any amount of it whenever you can. But if you want to optimize your workouts to get the widest range of benefits, you might want to try exercising in the morning. Here’s what the science says about the best time of day to exercise — and what to expect if you opt for later workouts.   Morning workouts have an edge Working out in the morning — especially on an empty stomach — is the best way to burn stored fat, making it ideal for weight loss. That’s largely because the body’s hormonal composition in the morning is set up to support that goal, says Anthony Hackney, a professor in the department of exercise and sport science at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. “In the early morning hours, you have a hormonal profile that would predispose you to better metabolism of fat,” Hackney says. People naturally have elevated levels of cortisol and growth hormone in the morning—both of which are involved in metabolism—so you’ll “draw more of your energy from your fat reserves,” Hackney says. That can potentially help with weight loss. Research also suggests that […]
Apr 07

5 Ways to Revive a Workout Routine

by admin in Workouts 0 comments
Whether you are watching the sun go down early every day, unable to hit your regular gym, or busy with work or kids, it’s easy to miss a few workouts and then more than a few. After all, exercise thrives on routine. In a 2019 study, researchers found that people who maintained a weight loss tended to time their workouts similarly each day. During the winter especially, it’s common for exercisers to shirk their typical regimen, says Lee Jay a personal trainer, mat Pilates instructor, and nutrition coach, specializing in clients new to fitness. The days are shorter, meaning if you are working out before or after work, it’s likely to be in the dark, she says. Couple the short days and increased obligations with the need for tons of layers during outdoor workouts, and you have got the perfect recipe for an excuse. When we are committed to a routine, our minds are physiologically prepared to take on this workload, and our bodies are revved up to go, Jay says. Once we break this momentum, it takes immense energy, on the mental and physical front, to get things going again. Once you get over the hurdle, motivation tends to […]
Apr 07

Does your mind wander during meditation? Yoga expert shares 5 tips to prevent it

by admin in Workouts 0 comments
If you keep bringing your attention back to meditation every time your mind wanders, here are 5 health tips by Yoga expert to tackle mind wandering and achieve this evolution of consciousness where we are more alert, self aware, sensitive and relaxed.   Mind wandering during meditation is very common where an unintentional and unrelated spontaneous shift of attention occurs and the mind tends to regale in varied thoughts which can disrupt the primary task of developing a healthy relaxed and stable mind set. If you keep bringing your attention back to meditation every time your mind wanders, fret not as we got you sorted with 5 health tips by a Yoga expert to tackle mind wandering and achieve this evolution of consciousness where we are more alert, self aware, sensitive and relaxed. In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Yoga Master and Spiritual Guru – Grand Master Akshar – shared, “The purpose of meditation is to evolve our consciousness as humans living on this planet. In order to achieve this evolution of consciousness we need to build ourselves to become more alert, self aware and sensitive to the environment around us. For the purpose of meditation we need to find […]
Apr 07

12 ways to keep your brain young

by admin in Mind & Body 0 comments
Every brain changes with age, and mental function changes along with it. Mental decline is common, and it’s one of the most feared consequences of aging. But cognitive impairment is not inevitable. Here are 12 ways you can help maintain brain function.   1. Get mental stimulation Through research with mice and humans, scientists have found that brainy activities stimulate new connections between nerve cells and may even help the brain generate new cells, developing neurological “plasticity” and building up a functional reserve that provides a hedge against future cell loss. Any mentally stimulating activity should help to build up your brain. Read, take courses, try “mental gymnastics,” such as word puzzles or math problems Experiment with things that require manual dexterity as well as mental effort, such as drawing, painting, and other crafts.   2. Get physical exercise Research shows that using your muscles also helps your mind. Animals who exercise regularly increase the number of tiny blood vessels that bring oxygen-rich blood to the region of the brain that is responsible for thought. Exercise also spurs the development of new nerve cells and increases the connections between brain cells (synapses). This results in brains that are more efficient, […]
Apr 07

5 Workout Tips For Beginners

by admin in Workouts 0 comments
With 2022 here, it’s the time of year when millions of people begin exercising to meet their resolution of losing weight or getting healthy. When beginning any exercise program, it’s important to pace yourself and not risk injury by overexerting yourself from the get-go – especially if it’s been a while since you worked out. To prevent that, here are some tips and tricks to get you started on your journey towards a healthier life. Tip 1: Start Slow Don’t just jump right in and start exercising five days a week — that’s a recipe for disaster, says John Higgins, MD, Director of Exercise Physiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. It’s better that you gradually work up to exercising several days per week while you see how your body responds. “Start low and go slow,” Dr. Higgins said. “The current recommendation is 2-3 days per week, for at least 30 minutes per day. But for someone who is just starting out, we recommend that they start at 1-2 days per week and ramp it up from there.” Tip 2: Know When to Stretch Stretching right before a workout may seem like the best thing to do, […]
Apr 07

Why 7,000 steps a day is the new 10,000 steps a day

by admin in Mind & Body 0 comments tags: count the number of steps, help improve our health, smartwatches or apps, university of massachusetts, walking daily, walking steps a day, world health organization
Many of us have smartwatches or apps on our phones that count the number of steps we do. Usually, we aim to reach at least 10,000 steps a day, which we are often reminded is the target to help improve our health. This target is an arbitrary number that seems to have come from a Japanese marketing campaign for a pedometer. However, it is now included in daily activity targets by popular smartwatches, such as Fitbit. When trying to get more active, it can often be demoralising when you look at your step count and realise you haven’t reached that goal of 10,000 steps. In fact, it can even be demotivating, especially in times where many of us are still working from home and only manage to walk from our makeshift offices to the kitchen to get our (usually) unhealthy snack. The good news for everyone is that the evidence is building to suggest that doing less than 10,000 steps is still good for your health. The most recent large study, led by the University of Massachusetts, followed over 2,000 middle-aged adults from different ethnic backgrounds over a period of 11 years. The researchers found that those taking at least […]
Apr 07

Will Consuming Lemon Water Actually Aid In Losing Your Weight?

by admin in Healthy Living 0 comments tags: aid in losing weight, author of healing superfoods, burning fat, consuming high calorie, consuming lemon water, karen ansel, lemon into glass of water, lemon reduces your weight, lemon water benefit, lemon water weight loss
Drop a piece of lemon into a glass of cool water or a cup of hot and drink it before breakfast. Instagram and “wellbeing specialists” swear it supports digestion, disposes of toxins, and causes you to get more fit. Karen Ansel, R.D.N., author of Healing Superfoods for Anti-Aging: Stay Younger, Live Longer and other people, however, say that it is not going to burn any amount of the fat present in your body. So what is the actual results of drinking water mixed with lemon? While lemon won’t directly help you in losing any of your calories, what lemon water is going to do is to act as a supplement of your cream laden frappe that you wanted to have. So consider it as an alternative that fills you up and at the same time doesn’t add any calories. So this is a great way to start off your day if you enjoy the taste of lemon. It will act as an alternative to consuming high-calorie food items. Water is directly related to weight loss so that might actually help you on your weight reduction plans but there is no solid ground to say that lemon water directly reduces your […]
Apr 06

9 Stretches to Relieve Lower Back Pain

by admin in Workouts 0 comments
Lower back pain can be persistent and difficult to fix. These yoga poses can help. Lower-back pain plagues just about everyone at some point. A widely cited Canadian survey from the late 1990s found that nearly 85 percent of adults will experience some kind of lower-back pain in their life. Whether you’re recovering from an injury or just deskbound and stiff, gentle stretching and strengthening can help alleviate pain. “Even a little yoga can go a long way,” says Alyx Walkinshaw, a yoga instructor behind the book and app Yoga for Seniors and Adults. “I really identify with the beginning yoga practitioner and with making the practice accessible to everyone. No matter how busy you get, yoga can help bring you back into balance,” Walkinshaw says. Here, she walks us through a sequence of nine poses that will help mitigate and prevent persistent lower-back pain.   Roll Down/Roll Up with a Forward Fold What It Does: This movement is a great way to warm up your entire spine, lower back, hamstrings, calves, and ankles. Start your practice here to open the areas of the body you’ll be working in this sequence. How to Do It: Start standing with your feet […]
Apr 06

How to Become a Morning Workout Person (and Actually Stick With It)

by admin in Workouts 0 comments
There are several benefits of working out in the morning—here’s how to shift your exercise schedule with a few simple strategies.   Just as the best type of exercise is the one that you actually enjoy doing, ultimately, the best time to exercise—whether that’s afternoon, evening, or morning—is whenever works best with your schedule and lifestyle. Because let’s be honest, figuring out how to start working out is hard enough without having to rework your entire routine. That said, if you’ve been wondering if there’s one time of day that’s best for exercising, there are some undeniable pros of working out in the morning.   The Benefits of Working Out in the Morning Surveys show that you’re more likely to stick with a morning workout or exercise program than one later in the day, when you’ll likely be distracted by other responsibilities or have time to come up with excuses to skip your fitness session. Research has also found that exercise can help improve mood and sense of well-being by increasing feel-good neurotransmitters like endorphins, epinephrine, norepinephrine, and dopamine. Physical activity also been shown to boost cognitive functioning like memory, attention, concentration, and learning. Needless to say, a sweat session […]
Recent Posts
Categories