Jogging For Weight Loss

Does jogging for weight loss really work? Most health experts feel jogging is one of the most effective weight loss remedies available. Individuals that regularly jog experience an array of physical, mental, emotional and health benefits. This enables them to curb anxiety, stress and depression.

Many people fear jogging for a long period of time. They believe that jogging contributes to the damage of hip, knee and ankle joint. Although this is true this risks can simply be minimized by use of the required sporting shoes they should be of high quality. This can also be avoided via the use of a viable and realistic jogging schedule to avoid overworking and stretching joint ligaments.

Jogging is estimated to burn up about 10 calories every minute therefore it is very effective for weight loss. It also improves the respiratory system of an individual and enhances blood circulation. This boosts the digestive and metabolism system. Moreover, because of the lifestyle that is currently practiced many individuals suffer from a plethora of digestive problems such as bloated stomachs. Regular jogging helps to alleviate these problems.

For effective and fast results individuals should formulate a steady jogging for weight loss regimen. However, before formulating one it is important to evaluate their physical condition. Overweight individuals are advised to begin their jogging exercise with walking and then gradually advance to jogging with time. However, those that have the required body mass index and are physically fit can begin jogging immediately.

It is also very important to have a weight-loss goal. This acts as a motivator because it helps individuals to keep on going and not give up. For instance, individuals should aim at losing a certain amount of calories each day. It is also helpful to approximate the total amount of calories burned after every minute of jogging. On the average overweight individuals' burn approximately 12.7 calories every minute.

Moreover, it is vital for individuals jogging for weight loss to draft a jogging schedule for a whole week. For best results it is recommended to vary the jogging time, pace and length. For instance, on the first day an individual may decide to jog slowly. This should be done for at least 30 minutes. This can be followed by jogging in high-speed for about 15 minutes.

Long distance jogging routes should be between 6km and 20km while short distance jogging routes should cover about 3km to 6km. While jogging on the long distance route slow pace should be used as opposed to a high-speed which is ideal for the short distance jogging routes. It is also advisable to incorporate walking into the schedule.

Furthermore, pinpoint out a few routes that will be used for jogging. Although it is not an essential requirement, it is important to choose routes that have beautiful and interesting scenery. This also acts as a good source of motivation. In addition, the selected jogging path should be even to minimize the probability of an accident occurring for instance tripping as you jog. Lastly, it is important to have the required quality of sports gear for example running shoes.

As you can well see we have a wealth of information of jogging and we are always adding good articles on the subject monthly. Be sure and bookmark us if you are into jogging for weight loss or just the fun of it.By Robert N. Perry

Do Push Ups to Build Muscle Mass and Boost Metabolism

Having spent many years doing many different workouts involving weights, cardiovascular machines, and calisthenics, I determined that the best way to build mass and boost metabolism is by doing pushups. Lots of pushups! After less than three months training, I was able to complete a one-thousand pushup routine in exactly 80 minutes.

Calisthenics, like pull-ups and pushups, are commonly avoided because they can be extremely painful. Because strength training exercises are typically anaerobic, with few exceptions, the body produces a high amount of lactic acid, thus causing a burning sensation in the muscles. Coupled with physical and mental exhaustion, an abundance of lactic acid can persuade even the hardest of athletes to give it a rest. Remember that your body will prevail, as long as you maintain your mental strength.

To begin, I would recommend a routine consisting of no more than 100-200 pushups, spread out over an entire day. Break them down into even sets, of say 20 pushups per set. Whenever you feel confident in yourself, drop to the floor and pound out a quick set. If 20 pushups are too many when you begin, then do more sets consisting of fewer repetitions per set. Do not concern yourself with the amount of time it takes to complete the first few workouts, just make sure you drink a lot of water and eat a lot of high protein food throughout the day. The day following your first pushup workout, your chest, stomach, shoulders and legs will be sore. It will become apparent just how many muscle groups are worked when doing pushups. Take 2-3 days rest.

The secret to building the endurance strength necessary to do extremely large numbers of repetitions is to strategize with your own body. The workouts need to be strategically spaced apart and sometimes stacked together to maximize results.

The second workout should be the same as the first, however do not take a 2-3 day rest after the workout. Instead of taking a long break, work out every other day, until you no longer get sore the day after. It may take a few weeks in order to be comfortable doing 200 pushups every other day. Do not lose sight of your goal. Remember that pain is a result of muscle wear and recovery, and should mentally represent progress, not a limitation. It will never go away, but it will greatly diminish over time as your body adjusts.

The third stage requires that you compress your workout into a set time interval. For the sake of example, let's say one hour. Find a comfortable number of repetitions that you feel that you will be able to repeat until you have reached your daily goal of 200 pushups. In this example, we'll do 10 repetitions. This workout will consist of 20 sets of 10 repetitions. 20 sets, evenly divided across 60 minutes means that you will need to do one set of 10 pushups every three minutes. Make sure that whatever goal you choose is achievable, and also poses a challenge. Repeat this routine every other day, until it becomes comfortable.

Because your muscles will quickly become fatigued doing calisthenics, it is very difficult to continually add more reps or sets to your workout. The easiest and most successful method [in my opinion] for building endurance is stacking workouts. By stacking, I mean completing the same workout more than one time in less than a 24 hour period. During the fourth stage, complete a 200 pushup routine in the morning and in the evening, followed by a day of rest. Once again, just like the previous stages, do this routine until your body becomes comfortable- this should only take a couple of weeks. At which point, you will complete the workout stacking, by coupling the two sessions into one two-hour session, consisting of 40 sets of 10 pushups, totaling 400 pushups. My buildup workouts include two sessions of 300-500 pushups apiece, followed by a day of rest. Note that you should not work the same muscle group two days in a row without rest. This method gave my body time to rest and refuel between sessions without going completely into recovery mode.

If your body responds quickly and you start to build considerable muscle mass in a short period of time, which I'm sure you will, the next thing to do is increase the number of repetitions per set and decrease the amount of time between sets. I would recommend a goal of 25-30 reps per set, beginning one set every 2 minutes. If done gradually, the workout compression can be very smooth and your 400-pushup routine can be completed in 32 minutes. It sounds very difficult, but it is achievable.

Now that you have the tools; timing your sets, timing your workouts and adding reps, you can pull the strings and make the workout work for you. If you have any difficulty in any particular aspect that prevents further gains, use the other techniques to manipulate your body into cooperating. For example, if you cannot add more reps to your sets, do more sets, or if you cannot do more sets, do two larger workouts spaced apart from one another.

Two important things to remember when doing mass building exercises such as pushups are; drink lots of water and eat lots of high protein food throughout the day. When doing my one-thousand pushup routine, I drink at least one full gallon of water daily to avoid dehydration and joint fatigue. Good luck! 

By: Richard West

How To Jump Rope For Health and Fitness

Rope skipping is an excellent cardiovascular exercise according to the U.S. Olympic Committee Sports Medicine Council. It is far less hard on the muscles and bones than jogging.
While running or jogging, each foot absorbs up to 5 times the body weight from the force of the impact as the foot hits the ground. This force of hitting the ground can cause damage to the feet, ankles, hips and knees. But in rope skipping, the shock of hitting the ground is absorbed by both feet allowing the calf muscles to control and absorb the impact.
According to the American College of Sports Medicine, skipping rope is among the activities it recommends for aerobic conditioning. In order to improve heart and lung health, it must be performed 3 to 5 times per week for 12 to 20 minutes an hour, and at an intensity that will get the heart rate into training range.
To find your training range subtract your age from 220. Multiply that figure by .9 to get the high range. Multiply by .6 to get low range. With this formula a person 25 years old must keep their aerobic heart pulse between 117 and 176 to be gaining benefit. Aerobic benefits do not diminish or decline with training as in other aerobic activities.From an energy standpoint, jumping rope at about 130 revolutions per minute is similar to running at 6 miles per hour or cycling 12 miles per hour. Just 10 minutes of rope skipping is equivalent to a one-mile run.When choosing a rope, hold the rope and stand with your feet on the middle. If the length is correct, the handles should just reach your armpits. Handles should be thick and comfortable.
Look for a cushioned surface to jump on. A large rectangular carpet remnant is ideal. Hard surfaces like
concrete should be avoided.Choose well-cushioned athletic footwear just as you would for walking or running.
Start slow by gradually increasing session time over 2 to 3 weeks to let your leg muscles get accustomed to the extra exercise.
Many adults give up rope jumping because they are uncoordinated and miss too many steps. But this improves with time and practice.
By Marilyn Pokorney

Fat Burning Exercises

Fat burning exercises are the slow, aerobic, long duration types of exercise that involve most of the major muscle groups. Your body will burn a higher percentage of calories from fat with lower intensity cardio exercises.

Fat burning exercises include walking, jogging, running, elliptical exercise trainer workouts, cycling and swimming. The key factor to keep in mind is the more muscle groups you use, the more fat you'll burn.

Different type of exercises will burn more sugar rather than burning fat. Sugar burning exercises involve brief spurts of movement followed by rest which results in more sugar that is used for fuel instead of fat.

Sugar burning exercises include sprinting, tennis, racquetball, basketball, and golf. While these are great sports that benefit your overall fitness condition, they are different type of exercises that will not burn as much fat like fat burning exercises will.

To burn fat effectively, exercise at a moderate pace for a longer period of time. The residual effect of this type of aerobic exercise gives you the most benefits.

These aerobic fat burning exercises increase your metabolism which means you'll burn calories long after you exercise. People who exercise on a regular basis develop more fat burning enzymes than people who don't exercise at all.

By doing just twenty minutes of fat burning exercises you get those fat burning enzymes working. So if you are just starting out, exercise for at least twenty minutes and work up from there as your fitness level improves. Try to set 3 days a week as your goal to workout and work up to 5 days as you become more fit.

Home treadmills and elliptical exercise trainers are perfect for fat burning exercises. These fitness machines will give you the slow, aerobic, long duration types of exercise that work best to burn fat.

They are the most popular pieces for home gyms because they allow you to stay fit in any weather condition. They are easy to use and cost efficient because quality fitness equipment will last for many years.

If you want to reduce body fat, eating properly will always help. But by combining it with fat burning exercises, it will give you the excellent results you are looking for.

Gary Gresham