Mar 25

10 Top Fitness Pros Share the One Stretch They Slot Into Every Cooldown

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Mix and match some of these favorites for a perfect workout finisher.   If there’s any tenet in the fitness world that’s gone unchallenged, it’s the importance of a solid warm-up before your workout. These warm-ups, which usually involve dynamic stretching, or the kind that’s done with easy movement that mimics the exercises you’re about to do later, are essential to ward off injury, help improve performance, and simply make your routine feel better. One that tends to fall by the wayside? The importance of a cooldown, when you gradually reduce workout intensity and pace to let your breathing and heart rate return back to normal, and ideally add some stretching into the mix along the way. A cooldown is actually just as vital as that warm-up, strength coach Alina Kennedy, CSCS, a New York-based personal trainer at Bloom Fitness, tells SELF. “The end of a workout is the perfect time to stretch, since you’re warm from exercise, and your muscles and joints are loose, so it’s the best time to work on your flexibility,” she says. “Unlike during a warm-up where you should always do dynamic stretching, during the cooldown, static stretching is best.” Static stretching refers to getting […]
Mar 25

Yoga for increasing height: 5 most effective exercises to grow taller

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Are you looking for a safe way to add a few centimetres to your height? Then look no further as Yoga is a holistic practice that can provide you with the solution to increase your height. Fitness expert reveals 5 most effective exercises to grow taller. The practice of Yoga is known to increase your growth hormone and fitness experts insist that practising specific Yoga asanas is definitely one way to charge these hormones up and get them working for you. Doing Yoga regularly can bring innumerable benefits for the mind, the body and soul since Yoga asanas are physical poses with breathing that entail flexibility, strength, stamina and balance and when you do these repeatedly, it can prove to be very beneficial in increasing your height too. Asserting that Yoga improves your posture, Himalayan Siddha, Akshar revealed 5 most effective exercises to grow taller. He said, “Another significant factor that stimulates the growth hormone apart from postures is pranayama or deep breathing exercises. Pranayama is an effective way to relax the body before; during or after Yoga asana practise and can help to increase height in kids and adults.”   Yoga asanas for increasing height:   1. Samasthithi/Tadasana Method: […]
Mar 25

Tips and shortcuts to help you eat well when you can’t be bothered cooking after work

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Cooking can be hard. Particularly when you’ve come out of two years of intermittent lockdowns and are still living through one of the most severe health crises of our time. Which is perhaps why a tweet I haphazardly flung into the universe about not being able to summon the energy to cook after physically commuting into the office struck a chord with people. I received many tips and hacks, many more expressions of people experiencing the same struggle. Anecdotal evidence isn’t the only thing underlining our collective inability to cook at the moment. An UberEATS report from March 2021 revealed that Australians were spending 210 per cent more on food delivery than before the pandemic, even as in-venue dining returned. This is at odds with the significant shift in how people fed themselves while in lockdown. Research showed that as people spent more time at home and less time doing everything else that a regular life entails – socialising, exercising, commuting to the office, recreational activities – their food consumption became more sustainable and healthier. They ate more fruit and vegetables, bought local, reduced their household food wastage, improved their culinary capabilities, and used online deliveries not for readymade food, […]
Mar 25

The best workouts for stronger arms

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Mumbai-based celebrity trainer Preetesh Manas believes that whenever someone wants to show you their strength, or the fact that they’ve been going to the gym, the natural gesture is to flex one’s arms at the elbows and show off muscular biceps. Little wonder then that arm day is a favourite among gym goers. Apart from showing off, the arm muscles, such as the biceps and triceps, play an important role as accessory muscles in almost all kinds of exercises. Take pushups for example: our triceps are the accessory muscles in this exercise even though it is the chest that is the major muscle group that is engaged. And in case of pull-ups, it is the biceps that play the accessory role while it is the back muscles that are actually being targeted. There are three main sections of the arm, the anterior (front), posterior (back) and shoulders, and you need make sure that you are training all three sections, says Bengaluru-based Rahul Huidrom, strength coach at Cult.fit. Biceps brachii (commonly known as biceps) are located in the front, triceps brachii (or triceps) are in the rear and along the shoulders sit the deltoid muscle. Finally, on the rear of your […]
Mar 25

10 tips for ageing better

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We know it’s not just about living longer, it’s about living healthily and happily for longer. Follow our top 10 tips for ageing better.   1. Watch what you eat and drink It sounds obvious, but having a balanced diet is crucial for good health, energy and preventing illness. An ideal diet should be low in saturated fat, with lots of fruit and vegetables, wholegrains, oily fish, and small amounts of low-fat dairy and lean meat. Don’t forget to top-up with lots of water to avoid dehydration, which can make you feel tired and confused. Tea, coffee and fruit juice will also help you to stay hydrated, but avoid sugary fizzy drinks. If you drink alcohol, keep at least two days per week booze-free to give your liver time to recover from the toxic effects of alcohol, and don’t exceed recommended daily limits for alcohol consumption.   2. Look after your teeth Brush your teeth twice a day and floss daily. Floss helps to prevent gum disease by removing pieces of food and plaque from between the teeth. If it’s left to build up you might notice sore or bleeding gums, and gum disease can also be linked to diabetes, […]
Mar 25

4 Ways Meditation Changes the Brain

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Meditation is a powerful tool that comes with a number of health benefits. It’s the practice of thinking deeply or focusing one’s mind for a period of time with the goal of obtaining feelings of relaxation and inner peace. While meditation is an ancient practice that has been around for centuries, scientists are just beginning to study its effects on the human body. One realm of research concentrates on how meditation impacts the brain. Studies show that meditation has a variety of neurological benefits, from changes in brain volume to decreasing activity in parts of the brain involved with stress. Below are four ways that meditation has been shown to change the brain:   1. Meditation Changes Structures in the Brain Some studies suggest practicing mindfulness meditation can actually change the structures of the brain. A study published in the journal Psychiatry Research that was conducted by a team of researchers at Harvard University used brain scans to determine that eight weeks of a mindfulness training program called Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) increased the cortical thickness in the hippocampus, the part of the brain that controls learning and memory and plays an important role in emotion regulation. While scientists are still […]
Mar 25

9 Self-Help Solutions for Reducing Symptoms of Depression

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Being depressed is painful and debilitating. An estimated 10 percent of adults in the United States suffer from symptoms of depression each year, resulting in family strife, loss of work productivity, and misery for the person affected by the condition and those around them. While getting professional medical help for depression is always a good idea, especially if the condition is severe, there are also many non-medical solutions a person can take on their own to reduce symptoms of depression. Many therapists and doctors advise that depressed patients take steps like these, along with counseling and medication. Here are nine ways a depressed person can engage in self-help to overcome or reduce the symptoms of mild to moderate depression.   1. Get Some Exercise Many scientific studies on depression find that exercise is as useful for relieving mild to moderate depression as medication.  Exercise has multiple positive benefits beyond helping with depression symptoms such as improved cardiovascular health, weight loss, and reduced risk for developing many chronic diseases. It can be quite challenging to exercise when feeling depressed, so it is best to start small and do something enjoyable. Taking a short walk each day, doing ten minutes of calisthenics […]
Mar 25

3 Simple Steps to Increase Metabolism

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Learn to Improve Metabolism to Lose Weight Effectively There are many different ways to increase metabolism, but if you’re trying to lose weight, some methods work better than others. Why? Because some metabolism diet tricks actually cause weight gain. Yep, that’s right. They cause your body to get bigger instead of helping you to slim down. So how do you sort through the science to find effective metabolism-boosting strategies? First, it’s important to learn what not to do when you’re trying to slim down.   Dos Keep a food journal Increase your daily activity Enjoy favorite treats as a reward   Don’ts Follow fad diets Take diet supplements Consume energy drinks   How to Increase Metabolism You’ve probably seen plenty of articles online and in magazines that teach you how to increase metabolism. Many times they suggest that you eat a hearty breakfast or snack throughout the day to burn more calories. The problem with those methods is that they boost your metabolic rate and your calorie intake at the same time. In fact, they often boost your calorie intake more than they increase metabolism. So the end result is that your body gets bigger instead of smaller. There’s nothing […]
Mar 25

Exercise Tips for Kids and the Whole Family

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Family Fitness Many children do not get the exercise they need. The “Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans” developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommends children and adolescents get at least 60 minutes of physical activity daily. Video games, television, and computers are sedentary behaviors that need to be limited to help your kids be more active. This slideshow contains to get your kids up and moving. Make an Exercise Schedule You and your children are more likely to exercise if you schedule it into your days. Set aside time for physical activity and be a role model for the behavior you want your children to follow. Support Physical Education Programs in the Schools Physical education (P.E.) at school can help kids be more active, but many states have limited programs that require little time. Be an advocate for your child and let the school administration know you want P.E. to be part of your child’s curriculum. Plan Your Vacations, Weekends, and Days Off Around Fitness Fun Vacations and days off can involve activities that get the whole family moving. Bike rides, nature hikes, swimming, or even play time on the playground. Make the activities fun […]
Mar 24

Science-Backed Ways to Push Through Workout Fatigue

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That tiredness might be all in your head. Here’s how to work past a mental block if your muscles still have some energy.   What makes your muscles want to give up when you’re trying to hold a plank, go the distance on a long run, or do speed drills? Well, research shows that they may not actually be tapped out — but instead are getting mixed messages from your brain. In other words, when you’re putting in the workout time to train your muscles, it’s your mind you may actually need to condition to get past that moment when you want to quit. That’s right: Mental fatigue can seriously affect your workout. Here’s exactly what’s going on, and how to prevent your brain from getting in the way of your gains.   What’s Happening When Mental Fatigue Inhibits Your Workout   When you work out, your muscles and your brain are in direct communication. With every step or rep, your muscles are sending signals to the brain, telling it what they need in order to keep going — namely, oxygen and other fuel — and reporting their level of fatigue. The brain then responds, adjusting muscle contraction demands accordingly, […]
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