August, 2017 - Wonderfully Fit

Golfing – Why Weight Training Is Important

August 25, 2017/in Blog, Muscle Building, Personal Training, Senior Fitness, Workout Advice

It does not matter what sport you play, strength as a necessary component. To the surprise of many people, golfing is not an exception to the rule. It is important that all golfers train for endurance, stamina, and aerobic activity. It is essential for your body to perform at its best until after the last sing of the day. A commonly overlooked training activity for golfers is weight training. Weight training allows you to strengthen muscles, and develop better spatial awareness. The weight training recommended for golfer’s targets muscle groups that other exercise programs ignore. This is why it is necessary to learn which muscles you will be using while golfing.

A strong swing puts a lot of force on muscles and joints around the shoulder, wrist, and elbows. You also put a lot force on the lower back and hips. Your weight training program should focus in on the specific areas. This will allow you to drive with more power and strength, as well as provide you with better accuracy. You will not require as much effort from these muscles if they’re toned and in shape.

As you use them, your muscles are naturally able to stretch and return to their normal position. When you perform exercises that are designed to focus on the muscle groups use them of, they will be able to lengthen further, and provide more strained without training. This will help improve not only your strengths, but also your joint flexibility and a range of motion.

The purpose of weight training is to focus your muscles and increased their ability to respond to outside forces, like weights. There are a large number of exercises you can use to assist with resistance training. In some cases, special equipment must be used, but the majority of exercises can be adapted to standard weights.

Each weight training program provided to golfers will have training cycles. The cycle you are in will depend on the season. Typically, during the preseason and well into the season, your focus will be on building strength and lean muscle mass. During the off-season, you will be focused more on maintaining the muscle and stamina you have built.

In golf, the main focus is on the upper body because this is the force that delivers the swing. Because of this, the majority of weight training for golfers is focused on the upper body. It is important that you do not ignore your lower body. Many golfers fail to train adequately on their gluteals, their thighs, their hips, and their abdominal muscles. This is unfortunate because they are crucial to executing the proper swing. Performing squats, leg lifts, and resistance training for the legs will help you develop these muscle groups.

It is extremely important for a golfer to protect their shoulder joint during weight training. This is because the majority of the golfers the shoulder workout should be performed on the course. There are very few exercises that allow local for to build strength and stamina in this joint while maintaining flexibility.

Before you choose a weight based exercise program, you should research the experience of other people. You will want to choose an exercise program that has high ratings, and plenty of customer testimonials. Your exercise regimen should help you focus your strengths in a way that you will perform better on the course without damaging your joints. If you do not feel confident in your ability to choose an exercise program, consult with a professional to help you design one specifically for your body type.

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Exercising Properly To Avoid Injury (exercise tips)

August 24, 2017/in Blog, Fitness Programs, Philosophy, Senior Fitness, Workout Advice

There are two main types of exercise that you can do – aerobic and anaerobic. The first one, aerobic, means with oxygen. Aerobic type exercise has an important distinction, it burns fat as the main fuel.

Anaerobic on the other hand, burns sugar as the main source of fuel. Despite common myths, exercise doesn’t have to be drastic in any way to provide massive benefits. Even if you choose light exercise, you will still burn fat.

Light exercise will clear out lactic acid, which is a waste of the body, and stimulate your cells to
regenerate. To be sure that you are burning fat rather than sugar, it’s very important to make sure
that you are doing several things as you exercise.

The most important thing you can do as you exercise is breathe deep. You should always breathe in deep into your stomach through your nose, hold it for a few seconds and then exhale hard through your mouth.

Second, you should make sure that you exercise at a comfortable level. You should exercise at a level of 7 out of 10, and still be able to carry on a normal conversation while you exercise. You should do this for 45 minutes or so each day, then you’ll begin to notice just how much your energy
will explode.

Even if you don’t think you have the time to exercise, rest assured that there is always time. If you have to, use the time that you would normally spend sleeping. With exercising, you’ll actually need less sleep than before.

You can also use the time of your lunch break to exercise as well. The increase in productivity will have you more on the ball, and you can save your time through the dramatic increase in your
overall productivity.

Cellularise, or rebounding, is one of the best forms of aerobic exercise there is. If you have access to a rebounder, you shouldn’t hesitate to use it. Use any break you have at work to engage in some type of movement and deep breathing.

Any type of exercise you do will strongly benefit your heart. It will make it a stronger and larger organ. Deep breathing will help your lungs become stronger and larger as well. There is research now that links exercise to helping benefit and almost prevent each and every type of disease or ailment.

Movement of the joints will promote proper blood flow and create energy, as sitting down all day
will rob your body of much needed energy. If you sit down all day, it’s very important that you promote blood flow, circulation, energy, brain flow, and the strength of your heart. With just a little bit of your time devoted to exercise, you’ll find yourself healthier than you have ever been in the past.

Nine Facts About Fiber

August 24, 2017/in Blog, Dieting Advice, Nutritional Consultant, Senior Fitness

If you’ve been looking for a way towards a high octane diet, you’ll find fiber to be exactly what you need. Even though research has shown fiber to be powerful, many people aren’t taking this nutrient
seriously.

To help you fuel your health with fiber, here are 10 facts to help.

Fiber fights diseases. A diet high in fiber can help to prevent colon cancer and heart disease. High
fiber helps the body to eliminate cholesterol by binding it in the digestive tract. For thousands of
years, fiber has been used to stop constipation.
Fiber can actually help with overeating. All high fiber foods will take longer to chew and digest,
making you feel satisfied longer
Most popular foods don’t have enough fiber. If you like the more popular foods, you probably need
to increase your intake of fiber.
Grains offer the most fiber. Dietary fiber is actually plant matter that we cannot digest. The best
sources are whole grains and concentrated grain products.
Kids need fiber as well. Children that are older than 2 years of age should consume a daily intake of fiber. Kids are most receptive to fiber found in fruits, vegetables, and even fortified breakfast
cereals.
More fiber needs more water. In order to keep fiber moving through your digestive tract, you’ll
need to consume a lot of water. With your diet of fiber, you’ll need eight or more glasses of water
every day.
Fiber cannot be cooked out. When you cook your fruits and vegetables, don’t worry about cooking
the fiber out, as it stays. The fiber found in fruits and vegetables aren’t just in the skin or
in the peel.
You can get enough fiber. If you eat more than 50 grams of fiber in a day, you can get diarrhea
and bloating, which can interfere with your body’s absorption of other key minerals.
Getting the right amount of fiber in your diet doesn’t have to be hard. Even though you may think
so, getting the amount of fiber you need isn’t very hard to do. All you have to do is eat the right
foods and you’ll be well on your way to a fiber rich lifestyle.

As one of the key ingredients to healthy eating, fiber is something you don’t want to skip. Fiber can
serve many different purposes, which were covered above. If you aren’t getting enough fiber in your
diet – you should do something about now instead of waiting until it is too late.

Agility Training for the Football Player

August 24, 2017/in Blog, Personal Training, Workout Advice

Agility training has become an integral part of football training at both the high school and college levels. In order for players to play at championship levels they must have power, speed and agility. It isn’t enough to just be strong and not sufficient to be very fast. Players must also have the ability to turn instantly, stay on their feet and out-maneuver the opposing team.

There is a science to the approach of teaching players agility. It isn’t enough to build endurance through long runs or speed through interval training or speed work. These all develops specific muscle groups, but by developing agility the player also hones his neuromuscular system and engages more of his muscles to perform the same motion.

Players who are agile on their feet are able to maintain their balance during direction changes, starting, slowing or stopping. It also helps the player the chance to develop better kinesthetic awareness, and stronger neuromuscular coordination that increase control of the body and prevent injuries.

The cornerstone of agility is explosive start speed, better reaction time, more stable balance, stronger footwork, and more reliable acceleration. For players to achieve these things, coaches must use less than ideal tools, the unreliable body of the player. Utilizing exercises like as traditional, the standing broad jump, tires, repeated short distance runs or explosive starts over a distance of between five to 30 yards.

But today agility training for football players, and other ball related sports such as soccer and basketball, must include other forms of training to improve their skills. High school players are starting from a point where they are bigger and naturally stronger than in past years which means they need more aggressive training to achieve good results.

One way of teaching agility to even larger players are the ladder drills. These drills can take many forms and teach the player to move their feet quickly in and out of small slots while maintaining balance and changing direction. Coaches can encourage explosive speed by directing a 30 yard sprint at the end of each pass over the ladder.

Another new addition endurance and agility training is proprioception training. This is a means of muscle training that physical therapists have been using in rehabilitation for many years. Only recently have coaches discovered the benefits for their players.

Proprioceptors are special biochemical receptors in the muscles, joints, tendons and inner ear which collectively provide us with a strong understanding of the body’s general position, and the positioning of body parts, body parts. Proprioception training puts a strong focus on the development of core muscles in the abdomen and back in order to improve balance.

When it comes to joint stability, balance is necessary. Without the joint being balanced, a player becomes at risk for developing an injury. Proprioception increases balance and by improving stability also decreases the risk of injury. Part of the training forces the body needing work onto uneven surfaces which develops significantly improved overall strength and endurance.

Tools for proprioception training can include cones, plyoboxes, balls that are weighted to the player’s needs, ropes, ladders with flat rungs, and agility mats or dots. Other training items that are more specific to proprioception are trampolines, wobble boards and dyna-discs, all increase the balance ability of the player.

Including agility training for football players will only help to improve their overall performance and decrease their rate of joint injuries. Both of these factors will help to keep the player on the field all season and improve the overall level of play for the entire team.

5 Simple Stretching Exercises To Relieve Back Pain

August 23, 2017/in Blog, Fitness Programs, Senior Fitness

As our bodies undergo day to day stress it takes a toll on our backs and stretching exercises to relieve back pain can help. Depending on the occupation that we hold, we either sit or stand for the better portion of our day. Poor posture of the spine can bring about pain and long term problems for our backs. Fixing our posture and stretching exercises to relieve back pain will help your back.

Another issue that we face is that we attempt to over compensate for lack of activity during the week and put ourselves through rigorous physical activity on the weekend. Exercise is highly recommended and even beneficial, however it can cause problems if you are not physically used to it. This can make your back and body able to be easily injured. Exercising during the week and also doing stretching exercises can prevent this from happening. The stress that our bodies go through during the weekday can be overcome by doing five stretching exercises to relieve back pain for 15-20 minutes a day. These stretching exercises to relieve back pain will require an elastic band that could be purchased at a local store.

Lower Back Stretch Start by sitting on the floor with your legs together and straight out in front of you. Put the exercise band around your feet and hold on to it with both hands. Then “climb towards your foot using the band to pull yourself. Continue this until you feel a stretch from your calves, spine and lower back. Hold the position for 8-10 seconds as you breathe normally.Repeat 3 times.

The Groin Stretch Lay on the floor face up with your legs in an almost split position. Bend your left leg at the knee and place your foot on the floor. Put the elastic band on your right foot and then pull gently with both of your arms. You should hold this position for 8-10 seconds and then repeat the exercise 3 times.Then switch to the other leg and do three times.

The Glute and External Rotator Stretch Laying on the ground face up, wrap the band around a toe and straighten your leg while holding on to the band. When your leg is extended twist your torso at the hip until your leg is on the ground while keeping your back as flat as you can. Then hold this position for 8-10 seconds and repeat 3 times. Switch to the other leg and repeat.

The Hamstring Stretch Start in the same position as the External Rotator Stretch. However, instead of twisting at the hip, lay straight with your leg straight up then pull your leg gently towards your head. This will stretch your hamstring and help to relieve tension on your back.

The Quad Stretch Lay face down on the floor and wrap the band around a toe then pull your leg towards your head. When you feel the stretch in your front thigh, hold the pose for 8 seconds and repeat twice more. Then switch to the other leg and do the same. These exercise will help with flexibility and strength but they are also wonderful stretching exercises to relieve back pain.

The Greatest Dieting Mistakes

August 23, 2017/in Blog, Dieting Advice, Nutritional Consultant, Philosophy, Senior Fitness

When it comes to dieting there are many mistakes that are made on a near daily basis. While there are many real profound mistakes that go along with the territory there are a few that seem to have far more profound and lasting implications than others. Hopefully by learning about these mistakes you can learn to avoid them in your own weight loss pursuits.

Perhaps the single largest mistake that dieters make is adopting an all or nothing attitude. These are the dieters that scour the pantry and the refrigerator removing anything that could be seen as a potential source of temptation. They embark on a dietary regimen that is nearly impossible to maintain and believe that all is lost the moment they stray from the strict guidelines of their diet.

While this may work for some in the short term, it sets them up for failure, frustration, and ill will towards the entire dieting process. The important thing when it comes to dieting is the goal. Your goal is to shed pounds. There are many ways in which this can be done that do not require starving yourself or punishing yourself in the process.

Another great mistake when it comes to dieting is selecting a diet plan where you eat the same thing every day. Despite our human need for structure and routine we tend to enjoy changing our lunch routine on occasion. Select a diet or new nutrition plan that allows you to enjoy a wide variety of foods rather than one that limits you to the same meal or meal selection day in and day out.

Other common mistakes include depriving yourself of everything you enjoy. One thing that we often forget is the importance of moderation. Fill up on servings of fruits and vegetables but allow yourself to enjoy the occasional indulgence for the sake of sanity. If you never allow yourself to enjoy a taste of chocolate, why on earth would you want to live forever? Seriously, do not forget to enjoy food for the sake of dieting. There is nothing wrong or sinful about enjoying food. The problem lies when you enjoy only the wrong sorts of foods.

You should also avoid the mistake of not setting goals. While you do not want to set goals that are impossible to achieve you should also avoid the opposite end of the spectrum, which involves having no goals at all. Those who set aggressive goals that are achievable will see the greatest degree of success. Making those goals public and asking for support is another thing that will help you achieve greater success. This is one reason the Weight Watchers program has enjoyed the phenomenal success is has.

The final mistake when it comes to dieting that is made all too often is giving up. We all have setbacks along the way. Even those who have achieved monumental dieting success have met with failure on the road. The end result however, for those who stick with the plan is a healthier body and that is something that is worth fighting for. Your goals may get side tracked but you can set new goals. You may have had a bad day or even a bad week when it comes to your dietary goals and plans. Do not let this defeat your desires to become a healthier you.

Learn to overcome those mistakes and move on from them. Let your failures teach you as much as your successes and you should be well on your way to the healthier person that you know is hiding inside. Whether you want to get rid of 10 pounds or 210 pounds the only way to achieve that goal and make it last is by dedicating yourself to the process of becoming a healthier person. A healthy person has healthy eating habits and doesn’t starve him or herself. Nor does a healthy person binge on things that aren’t healthy. Learn to enjoy food in moderation and you should be well on your to the success you seek.

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What is Physical Training for Football?

August 23, 2017/in Blog

Preparation for football season is an important part of training that happens before the football season. With a competitive season that lasts from August thru May it’s difficult for any athlete to peak for each competitive challenge – a manager’s nightmare! Instead it’s important for each team player to come to the start of the season with a base of conditioning under his belt, prepared to begin the season playing instead of begin the season becoming conditioned.

In the competitive atmosphere of both high school and college sports an athlete who arrives the first day without conditioning will find themselves sitting on the bench if not in the stands.

Most of the running and strength training happens during the summer months in preparation for the winter campaign. The benefits of strength training is well supported by research. De Profit compared the work of Belgian professionals who performed extra weight training during the season with those who didn’t and found those that did had stronger kicking power and leg strength. Another researcher from Hungary, Peter Apor, concurs that strength training is beneficial to football players stating that strong hamstrings and quadriceps protect the knee from injury and strong abdominal muscles prevent hernias.

Strength training that helps players receive the most benefit are those that improve the strength of the trunk, legs and neck. These exercises can include leg curls, bench press, lat pull downs, leg press, abdominal crunches, leg extension and pull ups. Most of these strength training moves can be accomplished using multi-purpose gym equipment from the local Y to the team gym.

It is important not to overlook cardiac conditioning and speed work to give the athlete the speed training they need for the short bursts and endurance to maintain play throughout the whole game.

Players can intertwine both the road work and strength training to produce a well rounded conditioning program. There are several rules about weight training to help improve the benefits for the players. Use weight training only every other day. In other words, if the player uses weights on Monday morning they shouldn’t use weights again until Wednesday morning. This gives the muscles time to rebuild stronger than they were before.

Players should also intersperse speed work with endurance runs. So while players should run between 5 and 6 days a week they should do no more than 3 days of speed work and 3 days of endurance runs. Players should allow at least one day to rest and recover, and possibly two if they start the conditioning program in poor shape.

Always begin your runs with a warm up to loosen up the muscles and decrease the potential for injuries. Endurance runs can be between 3 and 4 miles depending upon the athlete. Sprint work outs should include 10 X 10 yard sprints, 10 x 20 yard sprints, and 10 x 40 yard sprints with a warm up and cool down jogs before and after.

Physical training in football is an important part of helping players to become more competitive and garner a spot on the team of their choice. With the help of a good coach and perseverance players are able to improve the general conditioning and strength making them better candidates for the team and less likely to be injured during the season.

Benefits of Physical Therapy

August 22, 2017/in Blog

When one hears the words physical therapy, what most likely comes into mind are masseuses. Yet physical therapy delves much deeper than your typical run-of-the-mill masseuse. The benefits of physical therapy far outweigh those of regular massages from untrained masseuses. What physical therapy is – is a science. It’s a far cry from the indiscriminate kneading and pounding of some masseuses. They only make you feel better for awhile, sort of like a placebo. One of the benefits of physical therapy compared to massages is that physical therapy cures you.

There are virtually hundreds of benefits of physical therapy, but the key benefits are to evaluate physical problems, increase and maintain muscle strength and endurance, restore and increase joint range of motion, increase coordination, decrease pain, decrease muscle spasm and plasticity, decrease swelling and inflammation of joints, promote healing of soft tissue lesions, prevent contracture and deformity of limbs, alleviate walking problems, educate patients and family, decrease stress and a whole lot more too numerous to mention. These are but a few of the benefits of physical therapy.

Regular massages from untrained individuals may prove beneficial in some ways, but in the long run and more bang for the buck, physical therapy very much eats the competition for lunch. The benefits of physical therapy depend greatly on the treatment methods that physical therapists utilize. Some examples are joint mobilization, soft tissue release, trigger point release, manual therapy, myofascial stretching, muscle re-education, modalities, therapeutic exercise, re-conditioning program, specific strengthening of weak muscles, and a home exercise program to name a few. These methods are not only far superior to indiscriminate kneading and pounding, but proof of the scientific nature of physical therapy. The benefits of physical therapy are not only for instant gratification in terms of comfort, but the benefits are a long term solution for afflictions, a lasting cure for those who need it.

I am reminded of a friend who had a sore back. Instead of seeing a physical therapist, he went to a masseuse for instant relief. He did get instant relief, but after a few days, his spine grew worse and now walks with a permanent limp and crooked back. He himself says that he should’ve gone to a physical therapist and regrets not having gone. This is a perfect, if tragic example to the benefits of physical therapy, and the pains and risks of leaving your health in the hands of untrained masseuses.

3 Hour Dieting

August 22, 2017/in Blog, Dieting Advice, Nutritional Consultant

The title of the 3 Hour Diet might make it sound a bit more miraculous than it really is. Designed by the renowned fitness trainer Jeorge Cruise, the 3 Hour Diet focuses on speeding up the metabolism by eating every 3 hours. Sorry for those of you who thought you might be able to get the perfect body in 3 hours, it just isn’t so. However, eating every 3 hours has become a very popular approach to dieting as of recently.

The 3 Hour Diet is less restrictive than many other diets, which makes it appealing to the average consumer looking to lose weight. Those tired of starvation type diets will love being able to eat every 3 hours. Eating every 3 hours averages out to about 5 meals a day, more than enough for most people.

So what’s the different between eating 3 meals a day and eating 5 meals a day? It is believed that when only eating 3 meals a day, the body is trained to horde calories back until the next meal. Eating 5 meals a day is supposed to trick your body into thinking that it needs to be in a constant state of calorie burning, thus speeding up your metabolism.

On the of the greatest appeals of the 3 Hour Diet is that it doesn’t restrict fast food or processed foods. These types of foods are usually shunned by most diets. Allowing such foods into the diet gives a more realistic approach to dealing with the temptations and lifestyles of the typical dieter. Some people don’t have time to cook, so it’s easier to pop in a low fat television dinner than prepare a whole meal from scratch. While other times, you’ll be going to a fast food restaurant with a group of co-workers and don’t want to be the odd man or woman out.

The 3 Hour Diet is a great starter diet for anyone just starting a weight loss program. However, it might be hard to sustain considering that the program does not support plateauing, something common to most dieters. Regardless, this is still a great diet that has worked wonders for a lot of people.

Soccer – The Right Weight Training Workout

August 22, 2017/in Blog, Muscle Building, Personal Training, Workout Advice

Soccer has got to be one of the most demanding sports played today. When you consider the players in a soccer game cover an estimated 8-12 km of ground in a single game, you realize just how physically demanding the sport really is.

Not only that, but they do not have the rest periods in a soccer game that are typical in other sports, so the conditioning of the athletes is crucial for them to be able to play a good game. It is important for these players to find a good soccer weight training workout that will help them to improve their endurance and strength.

Although aerobic training is very important to a soccer player to be able to stay in a game, muscle strengthening and building is just as important for endurance, not to mention giving them the ability to sprint and kick the ball with necessary force to be at the top of their game.

Strength training has become a very crucial part of the soccer players’ training program. They need to have balance and power in their bodies in addition to the endurance to cover the ground required in a game.

Soccer players are prone to having larger quadriceps muscles in relation to their hamstrings, which can put them in danger of injury to the smaller muscles. That is why muscle strengthening and building is very important for creating balance in the muscle groups for a soccer player.

While it is true that upper weight training is not as important to the game as lower muscle workouts, it is still important to work out the upper body to improve overall performance and stamina. It is advised to do a lower body workout one day, with one day off in between, and an upper body workout the next day, with another day off, and so forth during the training program.

One of the most effective exercises for the lower body is performing squats with a weight. Lift the weight with your legs about shoulder width apart, with the weight resting on the back of your shoulders. Then lower your body into a squatting position, then rise back up slowly to a standing position. It is recommended to start with a weight that you can comfortably lift, and do 20 squats per session. Take a 5 minute break between sessions, and repeat each session 2 more times.

That is just one of the weight strengthening exercises that work on the lower body. If you are starting a soccer weight training workout, it is important to consult a professional who can design a training program that will be tailored to your specific needs, and which can help to improve your overall performance and soccer playing abilities.