Apr 06

5 practices to follow to keep your heart healthy

by admin in Healthy Living 0 comments
A doctor, a nutritionist and a fitness trainer dole out tips to keep your heart muscle pumping Did you know cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the world’s leading cause of death? According to the World Heart Federation, it claims over 18 million lives every year, globally. But the good news is, it can be prevented and controlled by simply making a few lifestyle changes. In order to spread more awareness about CVD and encourage heart-healthy living, World Heart Day is celebrated every year on September 29. We asked experts to share simple tips that’ll keep your heart health on the right track.   1. Pay attention to what’s on your plate It is rightly said that you are what you eat. So, the next time you pile up those fried snacks and munchies on your plate, take a second to think about its impact on your heart and overall health. According to Shweta Shah, nutritionist and co-founder of Fitza, omega-3 fatty acids are great for improving heart health, so include pumpkin and sesame seeds, and walnuts in your diet. “Broccoli is an excellent heart-healthy food so add it to your salads or stir-fry,” she says. She also recommends having ash gourd […]
Apr 06

Get To Know Your Mini Bands Before Your Next Workout

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These small training accessories can provide huge benefits, when used properly.   A mini band is a 9-inch flat looped band that’s great for targeting the smaller muscles of your hips, glutes, thighs, and shoulders. These bands are versatile, portable and can be added to both bodyweight or weighted exercises to add strength to smaller muscles that may be preventing your larger muscles from making major gains. These bands may not look like much, but when you add them to certain exercises, mini bands will work your muscles in ways conventional moves may not. When my clients have trouble with feeling their glutes or upper back, strapping on a band will have them making weird faces in no time. In other words, these tiny objects can pack a powerful punch to your training. As versatile and simple as they are, you need to watch out for things that make min band exercises less effective. Here we’ll go into mini band training tips and some common errors with popular mini band exercises.   4 Essential Mini Band Training Tips As you might not feel the mini band exercise immediately, your ego may tempt you to go with a heavier band. But […]
Apr 06

Barre workout tips to tighten your glutes faster

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The butt, hip, backside or however you wish to address your gluteal muscles, are the strongest and biggest muscles of the human body. Here are some tips on barre exercises to strengthen glutes and avoid imbalances in muscles that may lead to pain/injury in spine, knee and hip. Strong glutes help you perform activities of daily life, give you power to run faster, reduce the risk of injuries and improves posture muscles hence, it is important to strengthen our glutes as prolonged sitting is often linked with creating imbalances in muscles that may lead to pain/injury in spine, knee and hip. The butt, hip, backside or however you wish to address your gluteal muscles, are the strongest and biggest muscles of the human body and the 3 glute muscles, maximus, minimus and medius, work together to push leg to the side (abduct), rotate and extend the hip from a bent position. Incorporating barre exercises can help you achieve real glute pump and strength without really lifting heavy or visiting the gym as this style trains you like a dancer without technically training like one. It is a lot like a mix of Pilates, Yoga, strength training, stretching and cardio where […]
Apr 06

Helping Kids Maintain a Healthy Body Weight: A Cheat Sheet for Success

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When children are young, parents and other caregivers are responsible for providing an environment that helps them maintain a lifestyle that is beneficial to their health. You can help your child by doing the following: Be a positive role model for healthful eating and activity habits. Provide a calm, reassuring atmosphere at regular meal and snack times. Set appropriate limits on screen entertainment like television, tablets and video games. Involve the whole family in fun physical activities. Help children develop and maintain a positive body image. Avoid restrictive diets and excessive exercise regimens.   When it comes to nutrition and fitness, the role of parents is the same no matter the size of their children. A healthy weight for kids is about much more than numbers. It is about healthy behaviors, such as enjoying a variety of foods and activities for strength, flexibility and aerobic capacity.   Diets Are Not the Answer Diets can do more harm than good. Research suggests kids who diet end up weighing more than non-dieters, with lower self-esteem and greater risk for eating disorders. Do not put your child on a diet, especially without consulting your doctor and a registered dietitian nutritionist. Here are some […]
Apr 06

Food and Diet Tips For Healthy Aging

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The definition of healthy eating changes as you age. For example, as you grow older, your metabolism slows down, so you need fewer calories than before. Your body also needs more of certain nutrients. That means it’s more important than ever to choose foods that give you the best nutritional value. Here are several tips to help you find the best foods for your body and your budget. Understand what a healthy plate looks like You might remember the food pyramid, but the USDA recently unveiled a simpler way to help people see what they should eat each day. It’s called MyPlate. The simple graphic shows exactly how the five food groups should stack up on your plate. These are the building blocks for a healthy diet. Look for important nutrients Make sure you eat a variety of foods to get all the nutrients you need. Your plate should look like a rainbow – bright, colored foods are always the best choice! A healthy meal should include: Lean protein (lean meats, seafood, eggs, beans) Fruits and vegetables (think orange, red, green, and purple) Whole grains (brown rice, whole wheat pasta) Low-fat dairy (milk and its alternatives) Remember to choose foods that are high in […]
Apr 06

How to Relax When Faced With School and Work Stress

by admin in Mind & Body 0 comments
Fall is typically a time of change. Days shorten, weather cools and pressures at work ramp up. Gone are the vacations and slower pace of summer, replaced by increased work demands and strain. Work stress has a variety of causes. High work loads with unrealistic deadlines, a lack of control over your work day, a work culture of blame or being expected to perform on tasks for which you’ve had insufficient training all create strain and stress.   How Can You Manage Work Stress? Although there are many effective coping strategies for managing stress, it is helpful to think of stress and how you manage it in two different ways. You can manage stress by managing the stressor, that is, by solving the external problems that are causing you stress. Using these strategies, you might work with a supervisor to gain necessary training or to change unrealistic deadlines. These strategies are highly effective when you have the ability to exert some control over your workload and work pressures. A second method for managing stress is by managing your reaction to these stressors. These strategies don’t change the demands of the job, but they are effective in reducing the amount of […]
Apr 06

15 Quick Tips for Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle

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That person seems to have it all. You hate to admit it, but their effortless fitness and healthy life drive you mad all year round! What do they have that you don’t? You’ve tried the diets. You’ve done the workouts, what gives? But what if you could BECOME that person too? Don’t believe that’s possible? Let me explain. I have always been an all or nothing type of person. There was one year where I drank something made entirely out of veggies for dinner for a month – a month! You heard me: I’m talking about a puke-worthy smoothie made entirely of spinach, kale, broccoli, and spinach. Gross. After a while, I began to realize something extremely pivotal to my fitness journey: being all or nothing doesn’t work with having a healthy life. Our bodies are delicate! Too few calories and too many workouts will literally spike cortisol and prevent you from losing weight. Too many calories and too few workouts and well, we’ve all been there. So what am I getting at? My point is that there are several secrets that these seemingly effortless fit people incorporate, knowingly or not, that greatly contribute to their health and wellness. The […]
Apr 06

How To Speed Up Metabolism

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Our metabolisms get blamed for a lot. “Metabolism” is a word that is bandied about in our frustrated conversations with girlfriends. Our inability to mainline chocolate without putting on weight? Metabolism. Those seven pounds that just won’t budge? Metabolism. Our general fatigue? Metabolism. But do you know what your metabolism is and what it even does? According to the NHS website, “metabolism describes all the chemical processes that go on continuously inside the body to keep you alive and your organs functioning normally, such as breathing, repairing cells and digesting food.” Our bodies need energy to carry out all those metabolic processes, and it’s our basal metabolic rate (BMR) that is the number of calories our body uses to just keep us alive. The site also says that “a slow metabolism is more accurately described as a low BMR.”1 While we probably need to shift the focus from wanting to speed up our metabolism to increasing our BMR if we want to be totally accurate, at the end of the day, we all just want to know how to lose any excess weight, right? Keep scrolling for easy-to-follow tips on how to boost your metabolism.   Eat a Metabolism-Boosting Breakfast […]
Apr 06

7 awesome forearm workouts you’ve never tried before

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They’re one of the most important muscle groups in your body, responsible for everything from your ability to hold heavy objects without pain or discomfort to your ability to lift heavier weights in the gym. But they’re also one of the most visible; even when there’s no sun these guns will be out. Forearms are one of the most under trained body parts – we guarantee that you’ve never heard anyone say “I want a great pair of forearms!” But strong and healthy forearms can not only give you more athletic-looking arms, you’ll also benefit from a better grip and improved muscular endurance. Why is it then that so few people make any effort to train them at all? It is a fear of developing arms like Popeye? A lack of awareness about the huge impact that grip and wrist strength has on your ability to train your upper body? Or is it just a lack of interest? If you think your forearms are a weak point, then you really need to read on…   Why are forearm exercises important? Ask a dozen different fitness enthusiasts for their favorite body parts to exercise and rarely will you hear the forearms […]
Apr 06

3 Ways Meditation Can Help Your Heart, Body and Mind

by admin in Healthy Living, Mind & Body 0 comments
During these uncertain times, it is important to focus on ways to help manage fear and anxiety while coping with our ever-changing world as we know it. Meditation practices can be a great way to help find balance as we learn more about COVID-19 and how it will affect our lives moving forward. Although we can’t rid ourselves of daily stressors, meditation may provide the mental shift needed to equip you for life’s oncoming obstacles. Given all the buzz surrounding meditation, you might be tempted to dismiss it as trendy. But this centuries-old practice of calming the mind and easing day-to-day stress is backed by loads of scientific evidence.   How Meditation Can Help with Stress According to Penn’s Program for Mindfulness, extensive research has demonstrated that mindfulness training improves mood and quality of life, increases working memory and resistance to distraction, and enhances emotional regulation. Learn how meditation can help counteract the affects of stress and help reset our minds and bodies.   Meditating for a Healthy Mind Problem: Two regions of the brain tend to play a special role in our mental health: the amygdala and the default mode network (DMN). The amygdala is the region of the […]
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