Entries Tagged 'Fitness' ↓

Want to cut a few strokes off your golf game? Or thinking about trying golf for the first time? Whether you’re new or experienced on the greens, a sport-specific conditioning program can give you an edge. Even if a training program doesn’t help your score, it could keep you on the course rather than on the sidelines with a nagging injury, says Dawn Norman, MA, ACT, athletic trainer and golfer.

A good golf conditioning program emphasizes strength and flexibility, according to exercise researcher Wayne Westcott, PhD. The conditioning goal for golfers is a strong and flexible musculoskeletal system that maximizes swinging power and minimizes injury risk. The golf swing is one of the most complex and unnatural actions in sports, so it’s difficult to design sport-specific exercises. However, research has found that improved muscle strength and joint flexibility can increase swinging speed and enhance driving power. Continue reading →

• It is well documented that for every minute that you exercise, you add one minute to your life. This enables you at 85 years old to spend an additional 5 months in a nursing home at $5000 per month.

• My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was 60. Now she’s 97 years old and we don’t know where she is.

• The only reason I would take up exercising is so that I could hear heavy breathing again.

• I joined a health club last year, spent about 400 bucks. Haven’t lost a pound. Apparently you have to show up.

• I have to exercise early in the morning before my brain figures out what I’m doing.

• I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.

• I have flabby thighs, but fortunately my stomach covers them.

• The advantage of exercising every day is that you die healthier.

• If you are going to try cross-country skiing, start with a small country.

• And last but not least: I don’t exercise because it makes the ice jump right out of my glass.

There are a variety of ways to warm up, ranging from an extended cardio session to almost none at all. Each has its drawbacks and merits. Do whichever one you feel comfortable with or gives you the best results. Beginning trainers should stick with the first and second types of warm-ups while advanced trainers may wish to try the third type.

1. Full Warm-Up

* This usually involves doing some low-intensity cardio work for five to ten minutes until you break a sweat.
* It gets blood flowing and prepares the body for work to come.
* Some light stretching follows this then a few light sets of whatever exercises are going to be done. Continue reading →

The gym is a unique environment in our world. People come there to improve their bodies and feel better about themselves.

Most gyms have a written set of rules to govern our behavior while working out. ALL gyms, however, have an unwritten code of behavior that is not always readily apparent to sometimes even the most advanced of us.

The aim of this report is to tell you the written as well as the unwritten rules of behavior in The Gym.

The Written Code
The written rules of the gym are usually few and designed to ensure members safety, convenience and equipment care. You are probably familiar with the majority of them.

These rules are all fairly straightforward and come out of common sense. These written rules are also grossly outnumbered by the unwritten rules of the gym.

1. Don’t drop weights

Dropping weights on the floor can cause injury to yourself or others and can also damage the equipment itself. Always set it down as gently as you can. Continue reading →

If you have never been to a gym before then it is quite possible you aren’t sure how to tell a good gym from one that may not suit you. Many of the things you should look for are simply common sense, while other things are not so obvious. It is up to you to choose what is important to you.

It is always a good idea to try out a facility at the time you are planning to work out at so you know what sort of conditions you will be facing before you sign up for a membership.

1. Location, location, location

Is the gym near your home or work? If it isn’t then it may become inconvenient very fast. Even the most dedicated of trainers would have a hard time commuting 45 minutes both ways to get to a gym . Continue reading →