6 Myths Uncovered About Exercise

Weight season is still here! And a lot of us still have a struggle with doing the right amount of exercise per day, if any at all!

We all agree that exercise is good for you mentally and physically. But the question is How much? 

And the question of whether too much exercise actually damages the physical body or not is another blog post. 

So here goes, 12 myths  uncovered about exercise: 

1.  An hour in the gym gives you a good workout! 

An hour is in fact too long. Your muscles get tired after the first 20 minutes therefore being in the gym any longer than that has no further adverse affect.  You are better of splitting out your sessions into 3 x 10 minutes or 2 x 20 minute workouts spread out during the day. 

2. Exercise is good for you!

Exercise in a moderate amount is good for you, it is better to do some sort of exercise on a daily basis moderately for 10 to 15- 20 minutes rather than doing one big burst every now and then which actually does more damage to your health

3. Exercise is not good for people with joint problems. 

In fact this is the opposite. Light exercise such as walking, stretching, yoga, Pilates can help with reducing weight and also help to keep the body supple and improve the joints  

4. People who are overweight should not do exercise. 
In fact people who are overweight are the ones who need to do some sort of exercise.  Start of with a gentle walk, pace yourself and only do what you feel you can do, then as the weight comes down, you can push yourself a bit more.  Weight strengthening is also good for helping you to burn fat effectively, as this builds muscles and muscle burns fat. 

5. Stretching before workout out is crucial to preventing injury

Fact: Stretching after a workout can be beneficial, but stretching before a workout actually doesn't increase your range of motion. In fact, some studies suggest that stretching destabilize muscles, making them less prepared for strenuous exercise, especially if you're doing something like weight-lifting. Instead, do a warm-up, which gets your blood pumping. 

6. Lifting Weights will make you look bulky!

Fact: If you've been avoiding the free weights for fear of becoming the Incredible Hulk, no need to flee anymore. 

When it comes to increasing muscle size, testosterone is key. Men have 20 to 30 times the more testosterone than women, which is why they can bulk up so noticeably. But for you to reach Arnold Schwarzenegger proportions would require you to do far more weight-lifting than the average woman, plus have some sort of hormone imbalance (either genetic or synthetically induced, as with steroids). 

Using weight will help you lose weight faster and keep it off in the long run," notes Jeffrey Janot, PhD, an assistant professor of exercise physiology at South Dakota State University in Brookings. If you also do cardio, it'll help you retain muscle as you drop fat, as well as prevent your metabolism from slowing. So don't focus all your efforts on the elliptical machine — some bicep curls could actually help you reach your ultimate goal.

There you have it, if you have found this post useful, please leave 

me a comment below.

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4 Exercises To Help Burn Fat

I found this excellent blog post online. I use the 'my fitness pal' app to monitor my food intake and activity.  This has helped me identify my days when I don't do enough activity. These are great exercises you can do anywhere. 

Most dieters today assume they need expensive gym memberships, fancy running shoes, or restrictive eating plans to get in shape. But before that stuff was invented, people had to exercise using only their bodyweight.

Throughout history, bodyweight exercises have been a consistent component in military training regimes. And largely due to its inexpensive and convenient nature, bodyweight training has stuck around because it works. Outside of an armed forces setting, bodyweight exercises are used to train athletes, and have once again becoming a staple of many of the best fat burning and muscle building workouts available, anywhere.

Here are 5 of the best bodyweight exercises to help you burn fat in as little time as possible:

1. Jumping Jacks I know what you’re probably thinking, “Aren’t jumping jacks a little basic?”Well, yes and no. They’re basic in so far as they’re a simple exercise, and you probably did them in pre-school, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t effective.

Jumping jacks can help you burn fat and get fitter, but the real reason I put them at the top of the list is because they’re a great way to warm up. Performing them before your workouts or other bodyweight exercises will help prepare your body for exercise, making your workout more effective and increasing your fat burn.

2. Push-Ups Push-ups are one of the best upper body exercises in existence, hands down (pun intended!). Even with access to a barbell and dumbbells, I often opt for the good, old-fashioned push-up instead. That’s because they’re convenient (no waiting around for a machine to free up), they develop a great deal of strength, and they are arguably safer for the shoulders than many weight-bearing exercises. Plus, there are a ton of variations to make them more difficult.

The problem is, people don’t always do them properly. Here’s how to do them right:

• Keep your head, neck, torso, and hips in a straight line. (It helps to brace your abs.)
• Keep your elbows close to your body—don’t let them flare out.
• Lower yourself down, and then push back up in a controlled movement.
• If a regular push-up is too difficult, do them against a wall to begin with. Using the same form as above, stand facing a wall, place your hands against the wall in front of you and push back and forth. Over time, do this on lower surfaces (such as a sturdy table or chair), until you are eventually ready to do a regular push-up from the floor.
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3. Squats Squats are often hailed as the king of exercise moves.That’s because they involve a lot of muscles, which in turn means they burn a lot of calories. You learned to walk by squatting, but as natural this movement is, you might have forgotten how to do it. Here’s what you need to get started:

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
• Keeping your heels planted, lower your body as far as you can by pushing your hips back and bending your knees until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
• Pause, and quickly stand back up again.
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4. Burpees Burpees are an awesome, calorie-torching, strength-building, full-body exercise. They’re also hard work, so it’s important you master your form and ease yourself in. Just follow these simple steps:

• First, get into a squat position (as above).
• At the bottom of the squat, reach your hands out and onto the floor in front of you.
• Kick your feet back into a push up position.
• Return your feet to the squat position as fast as possible.
• Immediately jump up into the air as high as you can.
• Squat back down and repeat!

The great thing about burpees is that they are a high-intensity exercise. This means that not only will you burn calories at the time, but they will ramp up your metabolism so much that you’ll be burning additional calories throughout the rest of the day.

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5. Jumping Rope Jumping rope is one of my all-time favorite exercises.It’s the only exercise on this list that requires some equipment, but a rope is so cheap I think I can get away with it. Similarly to jumping jacks, jumping rope is a great way to warm up, but the great thing about it is that it can easily be made more difficult. If you continually push yourself to get quicker, do it for longer, or learn new techniques, you can ensure that it never becomes too easy.

Keeping the intensity high is a sure-fire way to burn loads of calories and melt fat fast!

These are my go-to exercises when I’m traveling or can’t make it to the gym. What are your favorites? Let us know in the comments!

- See more at: http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/2014/05/5-bodyweight-moves-that-burn-fat-fast/#sthash.MtU7TWxQ.dpuf

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Natural Wellness Girl: Cinnamon for Weight Loss

Many women around the world have been using cinnamon weight loss recipes for decades now. It is one of the most popular spices in the world and its very appetizing oriental smell attracts all kinds of foodies. 

Most people use cinnamon for their own culinary masterpieces as a flavoring agent, so a lot of them don’t realize that cinnamon is good for you, especially when your aim is to lose some of that extra weight of yours. 

Another reason why is cinnamon good for you, aside from the fact that this spice can help one in their journey to a leaner body, it also possesses various other health properties which can improve man’s general well-being. One of the research studies showed that cinnamon can be used as a sedative for nervousness and mood swings. Its fragrance used in the room is able to work wonders with whole groups of people. The mood is significantly improved and it helps with creativity.

Start your day with a breakfast of cinnamon and honey

Add cinnamon to your morning tea and it instantly becomes a tool for weight loss. Its benefits increase when you add honey.

The easiest option: mix two tablespoons of honey with a spoon of ground cinnamon and pour 1 liter of boiling water over the mixture (best to drink after 1 hour).

You can wrap the container with a warm blanket to keep it warm during that hour. After, store in the refrigerator and drink 100 grams twice a day – in the morning and evening.

A tasty afternoon snack of cinnamon and ginger

Another great mixture for weight loss is cinnamon and ginger. These two components can become the basis for the rapid burning of the excess weight.

According to research, it is known that fat cells are afraid of both ginger and cinnamon, so these two combined will destroy any toxins and adipose fat tissue on their way.

The good news is that it isn’t necessary for you to eat cinnamon and ginger in pure form as is. It is better to add them to the mixture of honey, and then you can spread this onto your toast. All these three ingredients complement each other perfectly.

Get rid of cellulite with cinnamon and honey combo

It is worth remembering that not only is cinnamon good for weight loss, but also consequences of excess fat – namely, cellulite. Nutritionists believe that its appearance is primarily due to the increased amount of cholesterol in the blood.

Due to a large number of cholesterol, all those skin imperfections are becoming clearly visible, and they are especially noticeable with excess fat in those areas. Cinnamon for weight loss recipes and has from this scourge. The recipe for cinnamon and honey, as well as cinnamon and ginger mentioned above with help with the issue if used regularly.

Remember that cinnamon alone is just a tasty smelling spice that comes without any calories, which means you should try using it as often as you can even when the mixtures aren’t available to you. Cinnamon can go easy with everything and this makes it a truly perfect spice for both taste and weight loss.

Cinnamon powder and cinnamon pills

Those of you not certain about taking the matter into their hands, there’s a solution – cinnamon pills and powders are essentially the same thing in different forms.

These averagely priced products are made from quality and freshly ground cinnamon and come in different varieties, mostly based on the recipes mentioned above.

You can buy either 100% ground cinnamon powder, or you might be able to find a mixture of cinnamon and ginger powders.
Cinnamon pills also come in different varieties, and the most popular includes the mixture of cinnamon and honey. All these are naturally organic products and essentially the same cinnamon you would buy in your local grocery store.

Side effects of using cinnamon for weight loss

There are very few side effects in using cinnamon weight loss recipes, as it is a very safe and non-toxic spice. Cinnamon is a safe spice to consume during pregnancy, although it is not recommended to be used for weight loss during pregnancy.

Cinnamon does have a very strong flavor and can be past through breast milk, so limit how much you use as your baby may not enjoy the taste.

It is important to note that cinnamon is a warming spice, so do not use it if you have a fever. It also stimulates the body and can cause high blood pressure if you suffer from this condition, so please consult your physician before using should you have cardiac issues.

For certain people, there are also possible allergic reactions to cinnamon, just like any other food product, but they are rare and usually manifest in small rash. If you eat a lot of this spice on an empty stomach, it will cause nausea and even vomiting, but as with everything – maintenance is the key. Mostly there is evidence of why is cinnamon good for you, and it’s very rare that a person comes to experience any side effects.

Tags: cinnamon, cinnamon for weight loss, Diet, fat burning, featured, ginger, glucose metabolism, herbs for weight loss, honey, metabolism, natural weight loss, tea, weight loss

Category: Health, Nutrition

About the Author (Author Profile)

Kate Shean is the founder of Natural Wellness Girl. She holds a Masters in Physical Therapy from Northwestern University and is a mother of two great daughters. 

Source: http://www.naturalwellnessgirl.com/2013/07/cinnamon-for-weight-loss/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=cinnamon-for-weight-loss
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