Sep 20

12 Tips to Make Waking Up for Early Morning Workouts Easier

by admin in Workouts 0 comments
These Philadelphia-area fitness pros have mastered the art of waking up for early morning workouts — here are their tips and tricks. Raise your hand if you love to sleep. Okay, now raise your hand if you love waking up for early morning workouts. We’re going to take a guess that we lost a few people on that second one. And rightfully so: Sleep is ah-mazing and getting the motivation to leave a warm bed to work out can be darn near impossible. Despite the fact that many of us hate the thought of leaving our beds in the morning, early-to-bed and early-to-rise is an undeniable trend in our Sweat Diaries — you know, our peek into a week in the life of local fitness pros. Because Philly trainers all seem so well-versed in the art of waking up at the crack of dawn, we asked eight local fitness pros to share their tips for waking up early. And just in case you think this isn’t for you, we’ll let you in on a secret: Some of these pros aren’t morning people either. If they can do it, so can you. Read on for 14 tips to crush your next […]
Sep 20

How to keep your heart and brain healthy? Check out these 5 yoga poses

by admin in Workouts 0 comments
Yoga is known to increase flexibility and balance. However, you can perform yoga for heart and brain as well. Try these poses. One of the best things you can do for your heart and brain is to get on the mat for some yoga. Regular practice of yoga can help you manage your stress, which can lower your risk of heart disease and helps your body work to its full potential. Yoga for the heart and brain can also help you enhance your physical, mental, and emotional well-being, all of which contribute to a healthier heart. What’s more? Yoga can also help your muscles get stronger and bigger. Health Shots spoke to Akhil Gore, yoga instructor, lifestyle coach, and founder of Routein Yoga, who listed down some of the best yoga poses for heart and brain health.   Yoga for the heart and brain “Yoga is a holistic approach to regulating your lifestyle in a better manner. While performing asanas and pranayama, you can keep your mental and physical health in check. When it comes to specific asanas which can keep your heart and brain strong, one should follow the sequence of heart-opening asanas,” says Gore.   5 asanas to […]
Sep 20

5 at-home exercises to strengthen your core and melt away belly fat

by admin in Workouts 0 comments
If firming up your midsection is on your to-do list, you’re not alone. Getting rid of stubborn belly fat is one of the most common goals for people looking to lose weight and get fit. And while targeted fat loss or spot reduction does not work, you can tighten and tone this area — along with the rest of your body — by exercising and following a healthy diet. Belly fat is hard to eliminate Reducing belly fat is often more challenging than dropping inches from other parts of the body because doing so relies heavily on diet, says Caley Crawford, NASM CPT, and Director of Education for Row House. “We often think if we do enough sit-ups, then we’ll get a flatter stomach; however, abs also happen in the kitchen,” says Crawford. “So, if you’re looking to lose belly fat, it’s crucial that you partner a strong and healthy diet with your exercise routine,” she says. You’ll also need to consider your age and genes. According to the Mayo Clinic, they can play a small role in where you store fat. That’s why adhering to a healthy, balanced diet (with little or no processed carbohydrates) along with your exercise […]
Sep 19

How To Keep Your Muscles Pumped Post Your Workout

by admin in Workouts 0 comments
You’re probably familiar with that feeling of rejuvenation post your workout, despite having thoroughly exhausted yourself during the session. And if you’ve ever wondered about the science behind the irony, it’s because when you work out, blood is pumped to provide energy to your muscles and keep them nourished. This process causes muscle hypertrophy or muscle growth which stays for a short duration until after your workout and then decreases gradually. But if you want to keep your muscles pumped long after your workout, you need to ensure they are nourished well. Here’s how you can prolong pumped muscles post your workout:   1. Increase your reps You can perform variations of strength training exercises with a high number of repetitions and low resistance setting. The higher number of reps will increase your heart rate and blood flow to your muscles which will ultimately keep them pumped for longer.   2. Down a protein shake post your workout Consume a protein shake post your workout since it contains carbs and protein which will begin the recovery process of your muscles and minimise breakdown. Along with a scoop of protein powder, include fresh fruit juice or milk blended with a fresh […]
Sep 19

Part II: The Most Effective Exercises

by kevin in Workouts 0 comments
Anyone looking to get into shape can often be at odds with what type of exercise to try. There’s a fair amount out there to try too, with the likes of aerobic and strength training offering various benefits to your health and fitness levels. Thousands of routines are available based on different forms of exercise, so it can be a bit confusing where to start for those who are new to fitness. Check out the basic and most simple forms of exercise and why they are so good for you – be sure to try a few of these out and see the results for yourself! Squats Squats are a form of strength and conditioning exercise that work wonders at improving strength in many of the muscles found in the lower body. Many different styles of squats exist; all tailored to improve certain muscles or work on certain body parts (thighs butt, lower back, etc.) Your core strength is improved through squats too, not to mention improvements in strength to your bones and ligaments too. Most notably are your quads, glutes and hamstrings, which get a simultaneous workout when squatting. Introducing weights can further increase strengthening of muscles, toning and […]
Sep 19

Six Things You Can Do to Improve Your Workout Results

by admin in Workouts 0 comments
When it comes to working out, do you ever feel like your results don’t match your effort? You put in your time at the gym, but your squat PR has plateaued or you’re still struggling to sustain that 8-minute mile? Everyone’s heard the mantra—stop working harder and start working smarter. But what does smarter mean? Here are six ways to smarten up your training and move closer toward your body composition or performance goals.   Prioritize Determine your goal and train for it. While this sounds straight forward, many people’s workout routines don’t support their fitness goals. Just because you “feel the burn” doesn’t mean a particular exercise is right for you. If your workouts aren’t tailored to support your goal, they’re unhelpful at best and counterproductive at worst. Want to build strength? Heavy resistance training should be the focus for most of your exercise sessions. Running a marathon? A combination of long, steady-state running mixed with short high-intensity interval work is your best bet. You can’t be a world-class power lifter and a champion distance runner at the same time. Training too hard for different goals robs you of your ability to excel at one. Instead, narrow your focus […]
Sep 19

The Rock’s strength coach shared 3 tips for building muscle, from doing negative reps to trying earthquake bar presses

by admin in Workouts 0 comments
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s strength coach shared three key tips for maxing out your strength in the gym, which the Rock himself said he includes in his training. Strength and conditioning coach Dave Rienzi, who co-founded the ZOA energy drink brand with Johnson, shared the advice in a June 22 Instagram post. The tips include specific exercises and techniques you can add to your current workout to gain muscle and build overall strength and fitness, like negative reps and stability training.   Negative reps can boost muscle-building Rienzi’s number one tip is to include negative reps — the part of an exercise that involves lengthening the muscle or lowering weight. Also called eccentric exercise, negatives create a lot of tension on the muscle, which is ideal for making gains to both strength and muscle size. Typically, negatives are done on a slower tempo, such as a count of three, for even more tension. Examples include the lowering portion of a leg press, squat, or bench press, or bringing the weight back to the starting position in a shoulder press or bicep curl. Rienzi recommends slowing the reps so they last about four seconds, and using the technique for two to […]
Sep 19

Greatest Myths Regarding Workout

by kevin in Workouts 0 comments
It shouldn’t be a surprise that the fitness industry, considering its popularity in the recent decade, should have plenty of rumors and myths just floating around, ready to be put into social media or word-of-mouth where people can be deceived into believing it and following them, thus ruining their workout regimen or even their overall fitness. With that in mind, here we are, presenting you with some of the most common myths that you should not buy into: 1. More Sweating Equals Better Workout: While a layman would buy into this theory, probably imagining that working harder results in more sweat and the same analogy applies to your workout too, anyone with even the basic scientific education would tell you otherwise. Sweating is actually a response when your body’s temperature is getting higher so that it cools down. Sometimes, when your body’s temperature is already cool no matter how heavy, the barbells or dumbbells were, it’s still a great workout. 2. No Pain, No Gain: Once again, this is what fitness enthusiasts would consider wrong. Sure, having a strenuous workout will be much better, but even if you consider doing something which doesn’t cause that much pain. You can still […]
Sep 19

Advantages Of Working Out With Peers

by admin in Workouts 0 comments tags: big motivator, conducted yielded results, exercising in synchronization, hardest part of working out, keeping your body fit, michigan state university, scientific evidence, solitary task, working out with peers, workout with peers
The act of keeping your body fit does not necessarily have to be a solitary task. In fact, it can be way more beneficial when you team up & start working out with your friends. Following are some of the benefits that are associated with working out in the company of other people. Scheming Fitness to be more Responsible – Sometimes, the act of getting to the gym may prove to be the hardest part of working out. The idea of someone meeting you at the gym & working out with you can be a big motivator & this isn’t a mere placebo, this is a fact which has scientific evidence to back it up. A study conducted yielded results that showed exercising with a partner yields to working out more often. On top of that, you will have to schedule the appointments beforehand to meet the other people, so it will on your calendar, further imbibing the act of staying fit in your lifestyle. Breaking Boundaries – Whether or not you consider yourself a competitive person, working out in a group can bring out our ambitious nature. A study conducted in the Michigan State University tested out three situations: […]
Sep 18

5 Squat Mistakes We’ve All Made and How To Get It Right

by admin in Workouts 0 comments
Let me blow your mind really quick: Squats are not the only way to strengthen your glutes, and they’re not the best way to do it either. Yup, a 2019 study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research suggests that Romanian deadlifts and weighted hip bridges worked participants’ booties harder than the back squat. So if you’re out here wondering if your squatting wrong, maybe it’s time to ask yourself if you could work other moves into your routine as well. Cool? Cool. With that out of the way, let’s discuss what a proper squat looks like, shall we?   How to do le squat Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Keeping your chest lifted, slowly bend your knees to lower your body until your thighs are parallel to the floor, keeping your knees behind your toes. Press into your heels and focus on your glutes as you straighten your knees to come back to the starting position. That’s one rep. Feel like a baller. Obviously, form is the MOST important thing when doing any kind of exercise, since effing it up could mean, at best, not getting the full effects of the workout and, at worst, hurting […]
Recent Posts
Categories