Guide to the Better you

So you spent the winter working hard.   You exercised consistently, you were careful to eat more healthy foods and you watched your portion sizes.   Why?   So you would look great at the lake and have plenty of energy to enjoy summer.   You greeted summer with a healthy, toned body. But summer, in spite of all the fun and relaxation it brings, can be tricky and deal us a cruel blow when it comes to our fitness. Have you noticed the scale creeping up a little over the last couple of months?  If so, you are not alone. Summer is a very easy time to overindulge and pick up those pounds that you shed during the winter months. Is that what you want though?  Are you willing to undo all that you worked so hard to accomplish?  Remember that bad habits creep in slowly.  Perhaps you are skipping your workouts a couple days each week, because ‘You have so much to do.’ Or maybe you have been indulging in unhealthy food or drinks a little more frequently when you are with friends.  It happen

  Since the dawn of the fitness industry, cardio has been used by bodybuilders and novices to achieve one goal - decrease body fat percentage. It is not a secret that many athletes want that six-pack and the first thing that is associated with nice-looking abdominal muscles is cardio... However, is cardio really that useful for dropping these extra kilos or is it just a waste of time? Well, today we are going to find that out, but first... What is the price of cardio? Though cardio may offer a variety of benefits that can help us get closer to the ultimate goal of burning extra calories and losing weight, there are hidden costs to it… So let’s have a look at those! Cardio is time-consuming. We live in a world where everything moves fast and if we are not adaptive, we may fall behind. Putting these extra 30-40 minutes after training is something not many people could afford. Students, working adults, pregnant women, and entrepreneurs are managing their schedules very

  Vacation season is in full swing.   Whether you are traveling to the mountains or the beach, it’s the time of year when many of us start planning for a much needed break from the daily grind. When you think of getting fit, resting is probably not the first thing that comes to mind.   It is true that becoming healthy and fit involves work.   It involves lots of effort and sweat and determination.   But it also involves taking time to rest and relax.   To reach your goals, you need balance :   both hard work and R & R. Dangers of over training In our enthusiasm to lose weight and get fit, it is tempting to focus so hard on effort that we overwork ourselves.   But this is unwise, because it brings undesirable consequences such as: 1.   Burnout.   If you exercise too much with no breaks, you will likely experience burnout.   And this can be deadly as far as your goals are concerned.   Burnout leads to loss of motivation, and loss of motivation leads to giving up. Intense exer

  It’s 3 in the afternoon and you can barely keep your eyes open.   Your mind feels foggy, and all you want to do is curl up under your desk for 20 minutes and take a nap. But cutting-edge, productive people don’t take naps, do they?   Actually, they do. It turns out that a nap is exactly what you need in the afternoons when drowsiness takes over your body and mind. From N.B.A. players 1 to Google employees 2 , high-achieving people are turning to naps to recharge. Sleep experts have discovered that naps can improve stamina and motor skills, and enhance creativity.   In fact, Dr. Sara C. Mednick, author of Take a Nap! Change Your Life and Assistant Professor of Department of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside says, “…without a midday rest, we are not able to perform at optimal levels throughout the day. In fact, our performance falls apart. Napping maintains and even boosts our skills.” 3 When you are running on empty and slugging through your projects,

  Baby, it’s hot out there!   If you have been working out over the past winter and spring months, you may be surprised at the new challenges that summertime fitness throws at you.   Today is the first day of summer, and you are probably discovering that your body reacts to the heat and humidity differently than it does to cooler, drier conditions. But don’t let the heat cause you to lose your momentum.   You can keep working hard in the summer, you just have to adjust your approach a little.   Keep the following summertime fitness tips in mind as you continue getting stronger and healthier. 1.   Cool down first!   You can improve your performance in the heat by lowering your body temperature before heading outside.   Taking a cold shower or simply putting ice cold cloths on the back of your neck can help you to better tolerate the heat. 2.   Find some shade.   You may need to move your workout to a different area in order to be in the shade.   If you are a runner or biker, cha