The human body is made up of over 75% of water, and
as we all know, we cannot live without water. The
fact is, we can only survive for a total of 3 days
without water. Water has however, been replaced in
most diets by soft drinks and other sugar sweetened
refreshments. Keep in mind that water is a healthier
and necessary for leading yourself towards a better
health and longevity.
Your own personal need for water can vary greatly
due to exercise, weight, and temperature. Research
has proven that over 2/3 of adults don’t get the
water they need on a daily basis. By drinking water
on a regular basis you can replenish your body and
keep it well hydrated and functioning as it should be.
A majority of us wait until we are thirsty before
we drink water. Keep in mind, this way isn’t a
reliable gauge of the water needs for the body. By
the time you are thirsty you have already lost two
of more cups of the body’s water supply. Therefore,
drinking water regularly is much better than simply
waiting until you are thirsty.
It is very important that you don’t substitute
beverages with alcohol and caffeine for water. The
reason behind this is that those types of beverages
act as a diuretic and can cause you to lose more
weight through increased urination. You may think
and feel as if you are getting more water through
these beverages, although the fact is that you
are letting it go almost as fast as you consume it.
Anytime you exercise, you need more water. Due to
perspiration, your body will lose quite a bit of
water. For each pound lost due to exercise, you need
to drink 2 cups of water. Even when you lay down
to sleep, your body loses water. By drinking a
glass or more of water before you go to sleep, you
can wake up with your body functioning as it should
It should become more obvious that when you are sick
you’ll need more water than any other tine. When
you get a cold or the flu, your body can become
dehydrated quite quickly. You can help to prevent
this by drinking more water at times when you become
There are several mixed opinions as to whether
purified water will actually provide benefit. This
is a subject you should explore yourself as you
determine the best type of water for yourself.
Always make it a habit to drink water on a daily
basis. You should keep a bottle of water with you
at all times and drink it throughout the day. You
should also teach yourself to drink water instead
of other beverages that don’t replenish the nutrients
your body needs.
This post is sponsored by Gwynnie Bee, but all opinions enthusiastically my own as a member for over 5 years! This dress can easily be categorized as “extra.” Between the vibrant abstract print and a ruffle sleeve, it’s a lot of look. But as soon as I put it on, I fell in love. L-O-V-E. […]
Hey friends! Happy humpday! How’s the week been? It’s back to raining like crazy over here. I really like the rain -it keeps the grass and trees so lush, and prevents it from getting too hot- but I need some new ideas to keep the kiddos entertained. (Don’t worry about potentially spilling that coffee on…
Many us need to follow an exercise program, in order
to remain healthy. Below, you’ll find several good reasons why you should start exercising now.
1. Contributes to fat loss
It is well proven from scientific research all over
the world that physical exercise contributes to
weight loss. If you burn more calories than you
consume through nutrition, you’ll lose weight. When
you exercise, you burn more calories than when you
don’t. It’s really simple – the more you exercise,
the more weight or fat you’ll lose.
2. Prevent disease
The chances of developing several various diseases
has been proven to decrease when exercising. These
diseases include heart disease, cancer, diabetes,
and the stroke.
Around 4 out of 5 deaths caused by heart disease
and cancer, are linked to factors that include stress
and lack of exercise. We all know that diabetes
increases the chance for heart attacks and strokes.
What this shows, is that many of the risk factors
and diseases caused by not exercising are working
in conjunction to damage your health. To prevent
this from happening, start exercising.
3. Improving disease
Many severe and minor diseases can be improved or
even healed through regular exercise. These even
include the diseases listed above. By following
a regular plan, you can also decrease HDL
cholesterol levels, decrease triglyceride levels,
and decrease your blood pressure as well.
Exercising on a regular basis will also reduce
the risk of prostate cancer for men, breast and
uterine cancer for women, and much more. All of
this is scientifically proven, which is why you
should start exercising today.
4. Enhance your state of mind
Everyone knows from the many scientific studies
that regular exercising will lead to an increased
release of endorphins in the body. These chemicals
will fight depression and make you feel happy. The
body releases these endorphins only 12 minutes
into the workout.
There is another chemical known as serotonin that
is increased during and after a workout. The
increased levels of serotonin in the central nervous
system is associated with feelings of well being
and decreased mental depression. The chemical
can also help you sleep better at night.
5. Enhance your wellness
When you are in great shape and well fit, you’ll
have more energy and you’ll notice that your overall
mood is improved. You will have experienced that
you can stretch beyond your own limits and you
know that you can do more than you thought possible.
Exercising regularly will give you more energy,
which can help you be more productive at home and
at work. Exercising can help give your new goals
a sense of purpose and give you something to focus
on and aim for. This can help you increase your
persistence and prevent you from going off track
while you aim for your goal.
7. Social capabilities
After a workout on a regular basis you can boost
your self esteem. This can help you look better
and you’ll be more comfortable as well. Exercise
will also help you to become more active and meet
new people, which will prevent you from feeling
isolated and unsupported. Exercise will also
increase your interests in sex, and can help you
to improve your marriage or your partner
After knowing all of these tips and reasons to
exercise, you shouldn’t hesitate to get out there
and exercise. You can exercise at home or go out
there and join a gym. There are several different
ways that you can exercise, all you have to do
is select a few that you like. Take a little bit
of time out of your day and start exercising –
you’ll feel better than ever before and your body
will thank you.
When you decide to stop smoking, you’ll bring on
other changes in your life as well. Smoking is a
very addictive habit, meaning that it is very hard
to quit. There are a lot of changes that take place,
although exercise can be a big help to you when you
decide to quit.
Try to set a new routine, such as working out or
going to the gym. If that isn’t possible, you
should try waking up earlier and going for a short
walk. If you can turn that walk into a run or a
jog, it is going to be very stimulating and the best
way that you can start your day.
Keep in mind that exercise doesn’t really mean
pumping metal. If you don’t have the time to stop
by the gym every day, then it isn’t really that big
of a problem, as you can always choose to workout
Whether you choose to workout at home or at a gym,
you should always remember that regularity is the
key. It isn’t getting started that’s the difficult
part, it’s sticking to a regular exercise program
that is difficult and proves to be stumbling block
for most people.
Some people have a great start. They will buy
track suits, gym wear, running shoes, and a lot
of other gear, so their first day at the gym is
almost like a celebration. As the days go by,
they find it very difficult to meet the demands
and their routine will slow down a lot and finally
come to a complete exercise burnout.
One mistake that several people make is choosing
the evenings to exercise. If evenings fit your
lifestyle, then it’s fine. For most people however,
the evening hours are when they are completely
pooped. By the evening most of us are drained,
and simply too tired for exercise. Therefore, it
is always best to set some time aside for exercise
in the morning.
In the morning, wake up a half an hour or so
earlier, put on your shoes, and hit the road. Most
roads are less crowded in the morning and less
polluted as well, making it a wonderful and relaxing
way to start the day.
You should also steer clear from the coffee and try
tea instead. If you are moving around in the house,
try playing music. You can also redecorate your
room by adding a few pictures around. When you
redecorate, you should get rid of everything
that reminds you of smoking.
Plan your day where you’ll have something fun to
do at the end of the day. It doesn’t need to be
something that involves money, as you don’t want
to end up bankrupt. Spending time with family,
playing games, or going for a walk with your
family are all good activities.
Watching television doesn’t really fit into the
list. The reason is because television isn’t
something that demands a lot of attention. You
can easily do something else while you are
You should also make a list of things that build
up your stress and try to avoid them. If it
isn’t possible, you should try to find out some
some ways to bust stress and use them. Whatever
you do, you shouldn’t use stress as an excuse
to start smoking.
There are many other methods that you can use to
beat stress. You can try breathing exercises,
mediation, or even music. Another great way to
beat stress is using the distressing ball. If
you don’t have one or access to one, you can
always wiggle your fingers and toes. This too
is a great and natural method to beat stress.
Nothing beats waking up in the morning with the thought
of going to the gym to lift weights or jog on the
treadmill. After a hard days work, the gym is one
place you don’t even want to think about. Sometimes,
even the thought of exercising at home with your own
equipment can be less than desirable.
Sometimes, just trying to get and stay motivated to exercise on a regular basis can be a challenge. No
matter how you look at it, exercise can be downright
boring and even tedious at times.
So, you may be wondering just how you can get the
motivation you need to exercise on a regular basis.
If you’ve been wondering what you can do to make exercise more fun, you’ll find some ideas below that
just may help to make exercise more fun and a little
First things first, you should exercise with a friend.
You can challenge each other, help each other out,
keep each other motivated and on track, make each
other laugh or just make a game out of your exercise
You can also try something different. If you go
to the gym each and every day and use the same
piece of equipment or use the same piece of
equipment at home, you should try mixing things up.
Reverse your routine or just change the order of
Go to a city park that has playground equipment and
use the slide, climb on the monkey bars, do pull-
ups, hang from your knees, just let your imagination
guide you. You don’t always need to follow a strict
routine, just get out there and have fun working
An outdoor circuit in the park is also something
you can try. There are some parks that have circuit
courses set up with a planned course where all
you have to do is walk or jog to each station and
then follow the instructions. If there isn’t a
planned course, then you should do a combination
of jogging and walking, picking a distance of a
couple hundred feet. Jog 100 feet then drop and
do a couple of pushups, walk the next 100 feet
and then drop to do sit ups.
You can also ride a bike around your neighborhood
or hike on a hiking trail. A walk in the park or
around your neighborhood is also a great way to
get some exercise. Doing yoga in the park or on
a beach is also a nice and relaxing way to
exercise both your body and your mind.
Playing a competitive sport is also something you
can try. A lot of cities have team activities
such as softball, volleyball, tennis, soccer,
and so on. These types of activities will not
only provide you with good exercise but they will
also help you to meet new people as well.
When you exercise, try to picture your muscles
getting bigger. Research has shown that if you
focus all of your thoughts on the muscles that
you are working, they will respond better. Try
to watch them work with each repetition as your
muscles contract and relax.
As you can tell, there are plenty of ways you can
make exercise more fun and interesting. You don’t
need to follow the same routine day after day,
as you can do many other things to get in some
The important thing is that you should always try
to incorporate exercise in any various form into
your everyday life and make these habits the kind
of habits that will last a lifetime.
Something you need to keep in mind and never forget
is that when you exercise, you are training for
life. You still may spend an hour a day in the
gym, although that will still leave another 23 hours
or so for your muscles to function without using
any fancy equipment.
Whenever you do any type of exercise, the movement
of your body during the exercise is known as the
range of motion. The more difficult the range of
motion is, the more effective the exercise will be,
because your body has to work twice as hard to
perform the movement.
Take for the instance the classic dumbbell bicep
curl. If you aren’t familiar with the exercise,
it is performed by standing up straight with your
palms facing forward, and a pair of dumbbells held
down by your sides. You’ll contract your biceps
to bring the dumbbells up to your shoulder height,
then repeat the exercise as many times as you wish.
Using that same movement for exercise on a bicep
curl machine, you should sit down, brace your
upper arms on a pad, grasp 2 handles that are in
front of you, then perform the same movement as
above to move the handles in an upward motion.
Now, looking at the muscle contractions in this
exercise, you are contracting essentially your
biceps if you are using the curl machine, and
that is pretty much all you are doing. When you
use the machine you are sitting down, which will
limit just how much your shoulders give. The
machine has several muscles used in this
exercise limited to the biceps, as well as
the muscles in your forearms and fingers.
Most of the time, when using machine weights, you
will always be limited as to what type of exercise
you can perform. You must always follow a strict
procedure, which is pretty much the same with
free weights. Unlike free weights, machine
weights offer a certain degree of resistance.
One of the best thing about free weights is the
fact that you move a little chuck around to
select the weight you want to use. Instead
of dragging it over to your exercise area,
you simply select it on the machine. When
you are tired during a workout, this can be
A lot of people argue in the fact that free
weights are the best for your body. While this
is normally true, many people out there feel that
machine weights are the best. There are pros
and cons with both machines, although free
weights have been around a lot longer and have
been proven time after time to achieve dramatic
Body builders for example, have used free
weights over the years to build very impressive
bodies. If you ask most of them about machine
weights, they would probably laugh at you and
tell you that you need to quit joking around.
In a nutshell, free weights will use more of your
muscles than the machines do, which makes them
more effective overall. This doesn’t mean
that the machines are a waste of use, as they
offer some great advantages. In some cases,
it is best to stabilize the muscles that are
being used in a movement, which is where machines
are the best to use.
The decision on which to use for you should be
based on what you hope to achieve with lifting
weights and where you plan to use the equipment,
such as home or at a gym. Both systems are
great for your body, although the free weights
are best to use if you want the best possible
workout, and always ensure that your muscles
are getting the right workouts they need.
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
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
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
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
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.
Everyone knows that exercise is very good for your
health. During pregnancy, exercise can have many
other benefits as well. Normally, exercise should
be light, especially during your first few weeks
of pregnancy while your body adjusts to the changes.
Any type of heavy exercise can divert the blood
flow from crucial areas, and most women that exercise
on a regular basis should tone down their workout
regimen during pregnancy.
Swimming, walking, and yoga are two very popular
exercise activities that are suitable for pregnant
women. There are other forms of exercise such as
weight lifting that are acceptable as long as it
isn’t too strenuous. Most specialists recommend
exercise 3 – 4 times a week, unless you have a
medical condition that prevents it. If you are ever
in doubt, you should consult a physician first.
Below, you’ll find some of the best reasons as to
why you should exercise during pregnancy.
1. Exercise can help to reduce the length
of labor and recovery time. The right exercise
routines will also increase stamina that is needed
2. Improved mental health. Exercise can
lower stress and improve your emotional health,
making it easier for you to get through the
new experience of becoming a mother.
3. Exercise can also help with weight
management after the child has been born. A common
concern with most mothers is the weight they lose
after pregnancy. During pregnancy, exercise can
make postpartum weight loss easier.
4. Exercise is very good for your unborn
baby. By keeping your body healthy, you are also
looking out for your baby as well.
5. Exercise can help reduce the side effects
of pregnancy. Symptoms such as fatigue, headaches,
swelling, and constipation are all common with
pregnant women. Studies have shown exercise to
reduce the occurrence of these symptoms.
6. Exercise can also decrease the risk
of premature birth. Exercise has been proven to
decrease the risk of premature birth by at least
You should always make sure that you drink plenty
of fluids before you exercise, follow a nutritious
diet, and avoid over exertion. You should also
listen to your body, and if you start feeling
sick you should immediately stop and rest.
If you exercise during your pregnancy, you’ll find
it a lot easier to deliver when the time comes.
Exercise will help your body strengthen up, which
will make it very easy on you when you go into
the delivery room. Women who don’t exercise find
it much harder when the time comes to give birth.
Exercising during pregnancy is one of the best
things you can do for yourself and for your unborn
baby. Your baby will reap some of the benefits,
which is reason enough to exercise. Always be
safe when you exercise, and don’t hesitate to ask
a doctor for advice if you have any questions at
all. As long as you exercise safe and use good
common sense, you’ll do a world of good for
The most common types of diabetes are known as Type
1 and Type 2. The Type 1 diabetes, which is also
known as adolescent diabetes, differs from Type 2
in the sense that the body will stop producing
insulin altogether. Type 2 diabetes is normally
diagnosed in older adults and occurs as the body
stops producing enough insulin or the individual
becomes resistant to their own body insulin.
No matter what form of diabetes it is, you’ll lose
your ability to adequately utilize sugar. The
blood sugar levels will increase due to the body’s
difficulty in transporting sugar into the cells
and out of the blood stream. There are several ways
to lower your blood sugar levels, including diet, exercise, and medication.
As a whole, exercise is a very important part of
diabetic management for both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics. Those that have Type 1 will find regular exercise helps to maintain insulin sensitivity,
helps to prevent the accumulation of excess weight,
and also increases the use of glucose by muscles.
Although there is really no way to prevent Type 1
diabetes, it is possible to prevent Type 2 diabetes.
The things to consider when you attempt to prevent
the onset of Type 2 diabetes are regular exercise
supplementation with vitamins and herbs that will
help to prevent insulin resistance and proper
control of weight.
Not only with exercise help directly with diabetic
management by lowering blood sugar levels and
maintaining insulin sensitivity, but it will also
help minimize several of the complications that
can occur in a diabetic individual. Research has
shown that walking 30 minutes each day can
diminish the possibility of developing Type 2
Almost all diabetics tend to develop circulatory
problems and exercise can help lower blood
pressure and improve circulation throughout the
body. Seeing as how people with diabetes tend to
have poor blood flow to their lower areas and
feet, better circulation is a great benefit.
Even though there are risks associated with
exercise, the potential benefits will outweigh
the risks. Exercise does indeed lower blood sugar
levels, so those with diabetes should measure
their blood sugar both before and after they
exercise. Since your body uses more sugar while
you exercise and makes you more sensitive to
insulin, there is a risk of blood sugar becoming
too low and causing hypoglycemia as a result.
Whenever you exercise, it is important to let
others know that you are diabetic. They should
also be informed about what they should do in
case of hypoglycemia. To be on the safe side, you
should always carry candy or fruit juice with you
to treat low blood sugar when it occurs.
During and after you have exercised, you should
pay very close attention about how you feel, since
rapid heart beat, increased sweating, feeling
shaky, or hunger can signal that your blood sugar
levels are getting too low.
With diabetic management and treatment, exercise
is very important. Exercise will help with blood
sugar control when the muscles use more glucose and
the body becomes more sensitive to insulin.
Exercise will also help to prevent and minimize
common diabetic complications which include heart
problems, high blood pressure, and circulatory
If you are a diabetic, exercise should be part of
your daily routine. You should always exercise at
a slow pace and never overdo it. Also, you
should be sure to exercise around people you know
or at a gym, so there will always be people around
you in case something goes wrong. Being a diabetic
doesn’t have to hinder your life or your
performance, as exercise can help you get your life
back on track and heading in the right direction –
the healthy direction.