Self Help 101: Start Exercising Today

When it comes to self-help, it is important that you move forward with your life and make positive changes that can impact you, but some of these have nothing to do with journaling or setting goals. Some changes need to be done to your physical self in order to have a more fulfilling life. Here are some things to know about exercising while improving yourself.

Exercise Reduces Stress

If you are having difficulty motivating yourself to get more exercise, think about the fact that it can reduce your stress. You might currently be a healthy weight and feel like exercise is only for losing weight. That is definitely not true! If you deal with emotional stress, which many people do, exercising can benefit you. You will release endorphins, which are your body’s natural happy chemicals. This allows you to find natural stress relief and live a happier life overall.

Exercise Relieves Anxiety

You can also get help for any level of anxiety with more physical activity. Whether you have regular, everyday anxiety, or debilitating anxiety and panic attacks, exercise can help. It fulfills the need to get away from your current situation, especially if you take up activities like walking or running. Even running on a treadmill can make you feel like you have more control over your actions, which then helps to reduce anxiety.

Exercise Improves Your Self-Esteem

You will also start feeling better about yourself when you begin exercising. This comes from losing weight, feeling fit and strong, and getting that rush of happy chemicals going through your brain and body. You may feel intimidated when you first start going to the gym with people who spend every day there, but before too long, you get used to the machines and feel confident in your movements. If you have decided to pick up jogging, soon you won’t be as tired and will feel more confident when you can jog for longer stretches of time without being winded.

Exercise Gets You Outside

When on a journey to personal development, you might have a goal of spending less time in the house while watching television or using your cell phone. Exercising takes away from these activities that aren’t productive, and gets you moving. Exercising outdoors is even more beneficial as you get oxygen, feel more in-tune with nature, and can get away from many of your life’s stresses. Even if you just spend 20 minutes a day waling outside, it can make a drastic difference in how you feel.

2016 Fitness Trackers

There are many fitness trackers available in the market right now. A lot of people have finally began to embrace these gadgets and have started using them as a means of keeping fit and staying healthy. Which are some of the popular lifestyle trackers in 2016?

Fitbit Charge HR

Anyone who has even a little bit of information about fitness trackers must have probably heard about or come across the Fitbit Charge HR. One of the most popular lifestyle trackers in 2016, this gadget has iOS, Android and Windows phone compatibility. When fully charged the battery can last up to five days. It also enables Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity. The Fitbit Charge HR is able to automatically detect exercises such as running and cycling. It has an improved pulse tracking ability which gives you an option of setting tougher weekly fitness targets. This tracker also has a screen, an altimeter and a pulse counter to tell you how much calories you’ve burned during your fitness exercises. The app is wonderful and the gadget’s strap makes it a comfortable wrist piece. It comes in a sleek and discreet design, a perfect fit for many people who use trackers to monitor their health. Fitbit Charge HR is definitely one of the most popular fitness trackers in 2016. The gadget retails at about $175.

Microsoft Band 2

This is an excellent combination of a step counter and a great exercising companion. It is compatible with iOS, Android and Windows operating systems. When fully charged, the battery lasts for about two days. With Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity and a better screen than the initial Microsoft Band, this upgraded version is clearly a much superior product. It has eleven sensors including skin temperature, ambient light and UV sensors. It’s ideal for tracking sleep, running, the gym, cycling and many other outdoor fitness activities. It also retails for about $175 on Amazon.

Jawbone UP2

One thing that conspicuously stands out about this fitness tracker is that it’s very light and comfortable. The Jawbone UP2 is compatible with Android and iOS, has a Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity and a long battery life of about 10 days. It does not really do much but if you want to monitor the quality of your sleep and count your steps then it might just as well serve the purpose. This fitness tracking gadget is also very affordable and retails for about $54 on Amazon.

UA Band

This fitness tracker is as a result of a joint venture between HTC and Under Armour (UA). It is very sleek and has great functionality. The tracker’s screen is sensitive to touch while the gadget itself has a waterproofing of 2ATM. It also has Bluetooth connectivity and a battery life of 5 days. The UA Band is slightly expensive but nevertheless a wonderful gadget.

There are still other fitness trackers like Garmin Vivofit 2 and Withings Activite Pop that fitness enthusiast use. The above are some of the most popular lifestyle trackers for 2016. Most people prefer them because of the improved functionality and great design. With constant innovation, others are bound to appear in the market.

How Does a Fitness Tracker Work?

It’s always good to be curious about how things work because then you begin to properly understand the significance of their functions.

A fitness tracker sits perfectly on your wrist, counting the number of steps you make, measuring calorie expenditure and monitoring the quality of your sleep. Yet just how exactly does this gadget collect information and relay it to your smartphone?

To explain it simply, fitness tracking devices measure motion. Most of the current trackers have accelerometers that track movements in all directions. Some also measure orientation using a gyroscope. The data gathered is afterwards converted into activity and steps and then sleep quality and calories. Some assumptions are made on the way to arriving at these information.

The altimeter, as the name suggests, is a feature used for measuring altitude. It is very important in measuring the heights of mountains when you are working out at high altitudes and the number of flights of stairs taken in a day. All these information is gathered and compiled to create a general reading. The accuracy of the data will increase with the number of sensors that your tracker has.

The sensors of the tracking device determine acceleration, duration, frequency, intensity and movement patterns. All this data collected together improves the accuracy of your tracker reading. The sensors will collect information whether you are enjoying evening walks or just dancing to your favorite music.

Other trackers have temperature sensors that check the body temperature alongside bio-impedance sensors that measure the resistance of the skin to small electric currents. Some fitness trackers make use of optical or light sensors to measure pulse by shining light on the skin. The light illuminates capillaries as the sensors take measurements of how fast your blood is flowing and subsequently the rate of your heartbeat. These sensors come in handy when you are working out and want to monitor your heartbeat. Bio-impedance sensors are however more effective in gauging your general health.

When monitoring the quality of your sleep, the trackers use a process known as actigraphy to translate wrist movements into patterns of sleep. It will ideally measure how much you toss and turn in your sleep. To measure the amount of calories burned, a tracker will add heart rate data and amount of perspiration into the algorithm plus the number of steps taken.

Fitness trackers use algorithms that differ slightly to convert raw data into real statistics. Different trackers have different thresholds for collecting information and that’s why some trackers will ignore a small body movement like stretching while others will record it. This has an effect on the accuracy of the final data presented. As you purchase your fitness tracking device, you’ll be asked about your age, weight, height and gender in order to find one that greatly suits you.

The final link in this chain is the smartphone app. Once the data goes through numerous algorithms and then refined appropriately, it is presented in a format that is user-friendly. A lot of fitness tracking applications also come with the capability of adding data manually.

How effective are those fitness trackers?

Health and fitness trackers have become very popular as consumers concerned about health and fitness use them to monitor their work-outs and physical activity.

Smart watch for sport

They consider them as ideal tools for improving their lifestyles by staying fit and keeping healthy. There are different fitness trackers that vary on functionality and even brand. Seeing that these gadgets have become so common, the biggest question then is: how effective are they? Every consumer wants to get value for money and so they’ll be looking to purchase items that can fully serve them.

In looking at how effective fitness trackers really are, it is important to dwell on their functionality and then check whether they meet the buyers’ expectations.

More data capturing

Most smartphone fitness apps do not capture as much data as a fitness tracker can. Some fitness trackers are designed to collect extra data such as the rate of your heartbeat during physical activities or the cadence of a runner and time of contact between foot and ground. The extra functionalities of fitness trackers make them worth the cost because consumers will get value for money. For example, some fitness trackers possess smartphone features like push notifications. These gadgets basically collect data, analyze them and present them in a way that users can make comparisons and evaluate progress. It is difficult to determine the effectiveness of your fitness program without a simple way to gather data.

Motivation

From a psychological point of view, simply wearing a fitness tracker can be a great source of motivation for individuals looking to stay healthy and keep fit. There are those who are very much motivated by data, a key feature of fitness tracking devices. Just by reading their physical activity figures, they can find sufficient drive to meet and exceed their fitness targets. People draw inspiration and find motivation from different quarters. Some people find exercising with friends ideal while others are driven by life goals like looking awesome at a wedding.

Healthcare transformation

This technology has greatly transformed healthcare by making it possible to monitor the progress of patients without necessarily hospitalizing them. Monitoring of important medical aspects of patients like body temperatures, rates of heartbeat, muscle motions as well as other critical data can be effectively done using these gadgets. In sports training, trackers are used to measure sweat rate which could only be done through lab-based systems some few years ago. It is common to see athletes wearing fitness trackers as they go about their daily training routines because of their effectiveness in monitoring physical activity.

These are all key reasons that indicate the effectiveness of fitness tracking devices. They have great functionalities which serve to meet the expectations of consumers, a major requirement for any product in the current business environment. When all is said and done, it still comes down to the ability of an individual to put the collected data into use. The results will not come until you put in some good work. The trackers are supposed to aid you in your work-outs, the real work is done by yourself.

Advantages of self-fitness training over gym membership

There are people who prefer to have gym membership when exercising while there are those who find it much better to train on their own or in the comfort of their homes.

The gym has a variety of training equipment that members can choose from but there are still several advantages of home or self-training over gym membership. Fitness trackers are supposed to help those who train by themselves keep track of their progress and stay focused on their set out goals. What are some of the benefits that one would enjoy when training on his or her own as opposed to having a gym membership?

Save on costs

This goes without saying because gym membership comes with extra costs. The fee that you pay on a monthly or annual basis will carter for the wages of the gym instructor and equipment maintenance as well as being payment for using the gym itself. This is one thing that you don’t have to worry about when you train on your own. Using fitness trackers, you can jog, run or walk on a daily basis while monitoring your progress all on your own. You’ll end up meeting your objectives while still cutting down on unnecessary expenditure.

Ideal for those who hate crowded places

If you are one of those people who feel uncomfortable in crowded places then the gym might not be the most ideal place for you to exercise. Exercising in your own way and in your own space gives you comfort and makes you relax when doing your fitness routines. You can therefore opt for a home gym if you can afford it or engage in the simple exercises like jogging and running that will not cost you much. Having morning runs or taking nature walks will give you peace of mind due to the serene nature of the surroundings.

Move at your set pace

When you exercise on your own, you can determine your own pace and train at your level. Instructors at the gym sometimes tend to hurry things up or give you exercises that are difficult to perform. There is also the issue of playing catch up with those who started before you, a factor which can be the cause of unnecessary pressure. Fitness tracking devices will help you set and maintain fitness goals that are suitable for you.

Flexibility

Gym sessions are scheduled which makes them very rigid. You have to adhere to the set timelines or miss out. With home or self-training, you get to determine your own schedule. You can exercise whenever you feel like without the restrictions brought about by gym membership.

Hygiene

Sharing equipment with so many people is unhygienic especially when they are not cleaned immediately after use. When you train on your own or at home, you use your own training gear and equipment. You therefore don’t get to interact with other people’s sweat or bodily fluids which can sometimes be the cause of several communicable diseases.

You can train on your own and use the fitness trackers to monitor your progress. It has several advantages over regular gym membership as we have seen.

Why is it important to keep fit?

It is very important to keep fit and stay healthy. A lot of people fail to acknowledge the numerous benefits of exercise routines and only begin to do so when health complications arise. Why then is it important to stay fit?

Burning of excess fat

Regular exercises will help you burn excess body fat and keep your body lean. There are many health complications associated with having too much body fat. Heart diseases that are often very fatal are mostly as a result of excess body fat. The fats can clog arteries and overwork the heart which can then result into a lot of health complications. Stroke and heart attack are just some of the health risks that arise as a result of excess body fat.

Great physique

A lot of overweight people struggle with issues of body image yet they are not willing to do anything about it. Sometimes you see very nice clothes and you can't fit into them because of your body size. Fitness exercises will help you develop a great physique by shedding excess fat and gaining a great body. Exercising will help you get rid of cellulite and have a flat tummy. Weightlifting, a part of fitness exercise routines, is ideal for gaining muscles and molding a great body.

Mental strength

Exercising keeps you sharp and alert at all times. It's very ideal for developing your mental strength and increasing your level of awareness. Keeping your body active also improves the functioning of the brain. There is a reason why most athletes are usually happy. Exercising improves clarity of mind and through the release of dopamine, it changes your mood for the better. Maybe the reason why you stay grumpy all the time is due to lack of exercise. Run around the blocks each morning, jog or lift weights and see how much good it does to your mind.

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Building of physical strength

Fitness exercises are ideal for strength building. Regular exercise routines will build body muscles and improve your physical strength. They are also important in strengthening your back for good postures. People generally become less active as they grow older. This can be a very big challenge especially when you have small kids that expect you to play with them. Fitness routines will help you gain the much needed strength and agility to keep up with the youthful exuberance of your children. Exercising also slows down the aging process by tightening your skin and increasing your body's metabolic rate.

These are just some of the benefits of having a robust fitness routine. A lot of people ignore them only to start developing lifestyle diseases later in life. Exercising is very important and some of the consequences of not engaging in fitness routines are catastrophic. How can you drive yourself to exercise and maintain a disciplined fitness schedule? Having fitness goals that actually mean something to you will help you develop a disciplined fitness routine and achieve your desired result. Using fitness trackers, you can monitor your general physical activity and evaluate your progress.

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Benefits of Using Fitness Trackers

fitness app on the screen of mobile phone

There is no doubt whatsoever that inactivity can lead to a lot of health related issues. Fitness trackers monitor your level of activity and display the information on your smartphone. You not only have to stay fit but also track your progress as you go about your fitness regimens to see whether you are on course or you need to push yourself further. Fitness trackers are smart devices that are highly functional and will help you keep healthy while staying true to your fitness goals. What are some of the benefits of having these devices?

Monitoring your progress

This is the most basic function of these devices because they can greatly help you to keep track of your fitness goals. They monitor your general physical activity, heartbeat rate and other factors like quality of sleep. If you like to jog, or even run in order to lose weight, you can check your progress and determine whether your are making gains or lagging behind. The trackers have a smart way of displaying information which is very much beneficial to you. It’s always hard to gauge yourself but with trackers you can self-evaluate quite easily.

Motivation

By knowing how further away you are from realizing your goals, you can be motivated to work even harder to achieve them. Some employers are also using the fitness trackers to motivate staff to keep fit. They set targets and reward those that achieve them. It’s always great to exercise when you have people pushing or competing against you. The device allows you to see how much progress you are making which can be quite encouraging. There are many psychological advantages to this, the most significant being that people are generally motivated to work harder when there is some progress made.

Ability to personalize your exercises

Fitness trackers allow you to set your own goals. They are connected to your smartphones and tablets which means that you can very much personalize their functionality. There are people who hate going to the gym because it makes them uncomfortable. These devices can act as substitutes to gym instructors and help you keep track of your fitness exercises. You can monitor your progress and make the necessary adjustments if need be.

An up to date weight loss tool

Most people join fitness activities primarily to lose weight and fitness trackers use forward technology to help you achieve your weight-loss goals. You can check your heartbeat rate and see whether you are on course by using the monitoring tools that measure your activity levels.

Great fashion pieces

This is not a health benefit but still nonetheless a benefit that comes with fitness trackers. They are sometimes worn as digital watches and can be very ideal pieces of fashion accessories. They come in different sizes, colors and shapes and you can therefore make your pick based on what will compliment your personal style.

Discover 5 of the best exercises you can ever do

I’m a baby boomer and today’s my birthday (that’s past 60 in my case..) and I just came across this interesting article on Harvard Health which is great cause I was just wondering what I could or should do to get back in shape.

So if that’s your case too I suggest you read this article and maybe follow some of this excellent advice as well..

If you’re not an athlete or serious exerciser — and you just want to work out for your health or to fit in your clothes better — the gym scene can be intimidating. Just having to walk by treadmills, stationary bikes, and weight machines can be enough to make you head straight back home to the couch.

Yet some of the best physical activities for your body don’t require the gym or ask you to get fit enough to run a marathon. These “workouts” can do wonders for your health. They’ll help keep your weight under control, improve your balance and range of motion, strengthen your bones, protect your joints, prevent bladder control problems, and even ward off memory loss.

No matter your age or fitness level, these activities can help you get in shape and lower your risk for disease:

1)Swimming. You might call swimming the perfect workout. The buoyancy of the water supports your body and takes the strain off painful joints so you can move them more fluidly. “Swimming is good for individuals with arthritis because it’s less weight-bearing,” explains Dr. I-Min Lee, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Research has found that swimming can also improve your mental state and put you in a better mood. Water aerobics is another option. These classes help you burn calories and tone up.

2)Tai chi. This Chinese martial art that combines movement and relaxation is good for both body and mind. In fact, it’s been called “meditation in motion.” Tai chi is made up of a series of graceful movements, one transitioning smoothly into the next. Because the classes are offered at various levels, tai chi is accessible — and valuable — for people of all ages and fitness levels. “It’s particularly good for older people because balance is an important component of fitness, and balance is something we lose as we get older,” Dr. Lee says…

Read the full story here

The top Health Benefits of Cycling

Cycling is for everybody, from four-year-old young ones to old pensioners. Not only is it an excellent way to have some wholesome fun, but it also has numerous health benefits. Riding a bicycle is an efficient and also pleasurable physical exercise which offers you advantages.
 

Most of these benefits tend to be listed below:

1. Incredible for heart furthermore well-being and wellness: Riding a bike isn’t only advantageous to your general well-being aside from your own particular heart in the meantime. A decent heart could be the important to stimulating living. With riding a bicycle this veins supply towards the body is more prominent and in addition your heartbeat rate will increment. It is a result of this reason which heart diseases have a tendency to be lessened hugely or danger of requiring pretty much any is unquestionably stayed away from to a superior degree. Hazard associated with Excessive veins interest, diabetes furthermore sullen heftiness is likewise decreased.

   2. Weight reduction: Riding a bike helps inside spending unnecessary muscle to fat quotients bringing on pounds lose. The force that is required is through the calories from fat to smolder is supplied when you circuit consistently accordingly deliver riding a bicycle an example associated with yours!

   3. Change inside disposition: Riding a bike, the same as different structures joined with physical activity, could soothe endorphin that could prompt fulfillment inside you thus wash aside this powerless manner. It is a direct result of this that specific truly feel loose furthermore restored even with an astounding work out. With riding a bicycle you can truly feel great modify inside of your demeanor in the meantime. Additionally, unobtrusive workouts for instance riding a bicycle are perceived for soothing strain or discouragements indications furthermore helps inside expanding self-regard furthermore aura.

   4. Sturdiness furthermore coordination is dealt with: on the off chance that you circuit frequently you will wind up all the more improbable for getting extreme injuries, for instance, stress break inside of a tumble or in an occasion of a car crash. In accordance with investigation, riding a bicycle and in addition other related workouts, which keeps only one conditioned, when more develop have a tendency to be all the more improbable for getting new breaks.

   5. Fitness level improved: It can be investigated which a good small physical exercise can help developing health significantly. The effectiveness of this feet is also improved along with riding a bike regularly. Because your own strength connected with feet is greater, is more unlikely for getting traumas or fractures after having a tumble.

   6. Stress Reduction:
   Almost any and every physical activity is a proven stress-reliever and cycling is no exception. The constant exercise, the muscle fatigue, the calorie-burning all contribute to reducing overall stress levels.

   7. Sleep Well:
   Due to the extensive physical activity you experienced during the day, you’re likely to be able to spend better quality time with your pillow and bed-sheets. Scientific studies showed that insomniacs who cycled more than 30 minutes per day when to sleep in half the time of those who didn’t.

   8. Decreased Disease Risk:
   Overall, you will also have excellent health, illness and disease free. This is mainly because cycling helps heart health, so the risk of cardiovascular disease is decreased by a significant margin.

   9. Motivation Boost:
   Nearly any physical activity you engage in will increase your overall energy and motivation levels. Especially when you’re a prolific cyclist, you feel more confident and able, because you were able to cycle for longer periods of time than you could before starting out as a new cyclist.

   10. Positive Hobby:
   Instead of booze, gambling or nights at the pub, you now have a more productive hobby that you can engage in over and over again without hangovers or any other negative effects.

   Although the bicycle is used more as a recreational device rather than as a primary way to transport yourself around, there is evidence that people all over the world are seeing health benefits from using them. They help burn fat, reduce blood pressure, increase your own body’s protection against infections and diseases and help you stay healthy.

The Importance of Functional Strength

The term “functional strength training” it is a time for exercising each muscle group for strength to perform everyday activities in an easier fashion.

Improving daily movements with the muscles you use for everyday activities such as walking, sitting, standing, lifting, pulling, and pushing, among others. You begin to increase your functional strength by following a fun and easy routine right in the comfort and security of your home.

No need to go to the gym or to use fancy equipment. Working at home also means that no one is looking at how you are dressed. As with most exercise regimens, variation in your routine will help to keep you engaged and upbeat.

When you are actively present in the moment, you will have more fun.A sample five day plan could include a day for each of the following, aerobic training using stair steps and jogging, the next day you might have a day of stretching with yoga.

Then take a day of rest followed by resistance training and a day that includes Pilates. Fancy equipment is not necessary.

Repetitions of daily movements may be all one needs to get started on a functional strength training program. While waiting for the coffee to brew in the morning, use the counter to do, a few push-ups might be an easy way for you to incorporate bicep, triceps and shoulder strength into your day.

Set aside an entire hour or more at one time. Functional strength training can be completed daily in short bursts throughout the day. Just remember to use everyday activities and repeat repetitions to build strength.

Proper nutrition along with the all of the above will bring about positive changes in your overall health. You will find your energy levels developing. Even the blahs seem to fade as you become stronger and healthier. Another side benefit is good posture.

Another key point to remember when you are out there trying to build up a high level of strength is that it is not going to come quickly without a proper good foundation. This is to say that if you are regularly eating unhealthy food, it will be highly difficult to maintain and build strength than it would be if you always went out of your way to follow a good diet to the letter. While you do not have to go over board and be very strict with your nutrition plan, keeping to healthy foods, in general, will go a long way towards helping you build up a considerable amount of strength. And with good posture follows healthy bones. Functional strength training is a fun and simple way to increase strength, flexibility, balance, agility, and speed.

By simply starting to exercise and sticking to it, you have the opportunity to reduce diseases like heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes. You also create a better way of life for yourself by helping to maintain your weight, bone structure, and muscle mass. Additionally, exercise helps contribute to healthy mental states, keeping us smarter, saner and happier.
Functional strength is essential for good health, daily exercise and daily routine builds one’s muscles. Find opportunities to work out in everyday activities to improve your health strength condition.