Fitness

As part of membership at many gyms, you may receive a free hour with a trainer, who will instruct you on how to use the weight machines. Unfortunately, unless you hire a trainer, you will not likely receive any instruction…
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Overview Successful performance in sports is just as related to mental fitness as it is to physical fitness. Athletes who are psychologically prepared for competition consistently outperform unprepared athletes. It was for this reason that the discipline of sports psychology…
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Golf is a difficult sport to master, but improving muscular strength and endurance is beneficial for avoiding repetitive movement injuries. Strength-training workouts for back, shoulder, arms, legs, and abs can condition the muscles used as you play golf. Workouts can…
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Your shoulders and back consist of numerous muscles and connective tissues that facilitate various movements of your arms and torso. Stretching these structures can help increase or maintain the range of motion of your joints. This will help them function…
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There are several types of exercise balls used by fitness enthusiasts, athletes and therapists to improve performance and restore functional capacity. Heavy medicine balls are used for muscular power training, while the 1-lb. to 3-lb. medicine balls are used for…
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While exercise benefits everyone, men and women often want different results from their workouts. Men tend to want broader shoulders or bigger arms or a bigger chest, whereas women typically want slender arms, a toned midsection, a firm butt and…
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Frozen shoulder, or adhesive capsulitis, is a condition typically characterized by pain and range-of-motion loss to the shoulder joint. The shoulder’s joint capsule becomes inflamed and thickened, and a person often can’t lift her arm over her head, or internally…
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Your shoulder muscles–the anterior, medial and posterior deltoids–cap your shoulder joint much like football shoulder pads and are important for the health, appearance and function of your shoulder joint. To avoid muscle imbalances that could lead to chronic shoulder problems,…
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In the gym, there are many ways you can work your body core for strength, stability and definition. To get the best results, you will need to work in various positions to target all of the core muscles. For example,…
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Strengthening the core while having a big belly means focus on exercising the three major muscles of the abdomen–the obliques, or love handles; the transverse abdominis, running laterally across the waistline; and the rectus abdominis, running from sternum to pubic…
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Exercise power is your ability to rapidly do a bench press with heavy weights or to jump as high as you can for a vertical jump. The National Strength and Conditioning Association defines power as your ability to use as…
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Chair exercises are often performed by people who do not have access to a gym, are rehabbing from an injury or have poor balance, such as the elderly. Regardless of your situation, there are a number of upper- and lower-body…
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Resistance training using free weights can not only help to build muscle mass, it can improve your overall health, according to the University of Arizona. Resistance exercises performed using a weight bar and free weights can help to strengthen your…
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While crunches and sit-ups are effective abdominal exercises, if you are an experienced exerciser, you may find these exercises may have lost some of their benefits. Also, some people find crunches and sit-ups uncomfortable to perform, especially if they have…
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Walking into a gym full of machines can be intimidating, and while exercise equipment comes in all shapes and sizes, it can be divided into four main categories. Once you understand the function, benefits and drawbacks of each type of…
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Short for pectoralis major, your pecs are located on the front of your upper torso and are essentially your chest muscles. The pecs are important for the health and stability of your shoulder joint as well as overall appearance of…
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Girls do not need to do any special exercises to work their abs differently than boys do. However, you can tighten your abs to shrink your waistline by doing stabilization exercises. Exercises that involve unstable surfaces or require you to…
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Stretch tubes are commonly used during exercise routines to strengthen muscle groups. They are lightweight, inexpensive, portable exercise equipment that offers resistance when stretched. Stretch tubing is extremely adaptable, and there are many exercises that can be performed with little…
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Boot camp-style workouts remain increasingly popular in the fitness realm due to the effectiveness of the exercises. An ACE (American Council of Exercise) research study analyzed the health and fitness benefits of boot camp workouts and found that the average…
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Yoga improves breathing, calms the mind, increases flexibility and strengthens and tones the muscles. The ACE Fitness article “Does Yoga Really Do the Body Good?” by Mark Anders cites a study that proves regular practice of Hatha yoga significantly improves…
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Overview Rowing machines offer a combination of muscular and cardiovascular exercise options, as well as a total-body workout. While older rowing machines used components that simulated boat oars to help you pull your body weight, newer models rely on cables…
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Elliptical machines are pieces of fitness equipment that provide cardio workouts without putting a lot of strain on the joints. As of 2010, there are inexpensive models costing less than $1,500 and specifically manufactured for home use. They include many…
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Sitting down is the most common posture when you are awake. Whether sitting in a car, at a desk or on a couch, people sit a lot. When you are sitting, your hips are flexed. To combat the effects of…
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Proper back alignment allows you to have good posture, which is necessary to put the least amount of strain on supporting muscles and ligaments while moving or performing weight-bearing activities. Back alignment exercises help your body maintain posture while standing…
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Yogis say that your true age is reflected by the flexibility of your spine. Yoga exercises and back stretches help keep your spine flexible and strong. Exercises for stretching the back also help release stress that may contribute to pain,…
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Overview If you’ve focused on cardio exercise and diet exclusively in your fitness program and neglected weight training, now may be the time to stop hesitating and start learning the difference between a curl and an extension. Many women as…
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A study at the University of Alberta Hospital in Canada tested the spinal strain of 22 healthy adults in three sitting positions: leaning forward, upright and leaning back. The study found that sitting in a reclined position puts the least…
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Overview High blood pressure, or hypertension, affects about 74.5 million Americans, according to the American Heart Association. As much as one-third of all cases go undetected. The Centers for Disease Control estimate the cost of hypertension in this country to…
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A flatter stomach—we all want it, but how to obtain it is a mystery to many of us. For many of those who have it, the mystery is how to keep it. In an age of diet pills and supposed…
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Overview Speed training is not limited to college and professional runners. Speed workouts improve running speed, cardiovascular fitness and add interest to your runs. Speed training, like running in general, can take place on a track, a trail, the road…
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