Search Results for: blog weight training and weight training safety

More Car Seat Safety

On July 23 we welcomed a new baby into our home. She was a day old. I realize that I write about toddlers not babies, so you may be wondering why I’m starting this blog with Baby E, but she’s pertinent to the topic. We have a Graco Snugride infant carrier. I have transported four children in the seat. It’s a great and safe seat. Baby E was so small, though, that the seat’s lowest strap slots were above her shoulders and as tight as the straps would go were not tight enough. I got a Chicco Keyfit so Baby … Continue reading →

Keeping Your Kids Fit and Safe This Summer

Now that school’s out millions of kids across the nation are spending their summer days having fun on the soccer field, basketball court and in the swimming pool. While these activities are great ways to burn calories and stay in shape, they often lead to sports-related injuries such as bruises, scrapes and broken bones. In fact, a new report shows that sports-related injuries accounted for 22 percent of hospital emergency department visits for children ages 5 to 17 in 2007. If you have an active young son, then you might not be surprised by the new findings. After all, according … Continue reading →

Prenatal Fitness Classes

Exercise offers many benefits to both mother and baby. Prenatal exercise helps improve circulation, keeps weight gain under control, reduces the risk of some pregnancy complications, prepares the body for labor and may help with weight loss after the baby is born. For many women, a lack of motivation or not knowing what exercises are safe and effective during pregnancy keeps them from working out. A prenatal fitness class can be the perfect remedy for both these problems. A regular class will keep you motivated and on track. A class designed specifically for pregnant women takes the uncertainty out of … Continue reading →

ACOG Guidelines for Exercise

Most medical professionals agree that exercise during pregnancy is beneficial for otherwise healthy women. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology advocates exercise for healthy women at least three times a week. The organization made the recommendation along with other guidelines for exercise. The ACOG suggests various forms of exercise, including swimming, bicycling and weight bearing exercise. If a woman is healthy, she can often exercise at the same level of intensity as she did prior to pregnancy. The duration and intensity will vary from woman to woman and often depends on the fitness level prior to pregnancy. Active women … Continue reading →

Exercising on the Road: No Excuses

Hopefully, you have been inspired by the change of seasons (and perhaps my blogs) and are now a few weeks into your new fitness routine. Now that you are advancing nicely you want to make sure you stay on track. This means following your exercise regime regardless of if you are at home or on the road. Whether you are traveling for business or you’re taking a short family vacation, being away from your gym shouldn’t be an excuse to halt your workouts. Executing your fitness plan on the road may be challenging, but it’s not impossible. Instead of looking … Continue reading →

Strengthen Your Core, Protect Your Heart

Cardiovascular exercise is a great way to protect your heart. So is weight training! Experts suggest that people who are at risk for heart disease undergo a functional exercise program. Functional exercise works many muscle groups in different directions against a source of resistance. Some examples of functional exercise include shoveling snow, raking leaves, and vacuuming the house. You can often get the same results by doing a variety of different exercises — like combining a Pilates class with free weight training. Functional exercise helps build muscle mass, thanks to the resistance portion. As you build muscle mass, you raise … Continue reading →

DIY Training Tools

There are lots of tools out there to help train your dog — from clickers and training discs to fancy treats and toys. But if you’re a frugal sort of person, you might prefer making your own training tools at home! Training discs are great for distracting your dog and giving you the opportunity to grab his attention. Basically, they’re a series of metal or plastic discs on a ring. Guess what — you can get the same effect from a home-made shaker. Take an empty soda can and rinse it out. Drop a small handful of pennies inside and … Continue reading →

Body for Life Workout Day #3

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I used to think that a good leg workout necessitated heavy duty equipment like a squat sled and a calf press machine. Then I discovered that a great leg workout can be had at home, or anywhere for that matter, without any specialized equipment at all. Day #3 on Body-for-Life calls for weight training for the lower body (abdominals and legs) and can be easily done at home. I’ve included the Progress Report with this blog for your convenience. Following are the exercises I suggest you try on day #3 and how you can use common household items to add … Continue reading →

Healthy Workout Tips

Regular exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Here are some tips to boost your energy, boost your calorie burn, and love your workouts more. Change your shoes. The usual advice on replacing your sneakers is to pick up a new pair every 400 miles or so. But if your activities aren’t measured in mileage, what do you do? Try to replace your sneakers after 150 hours of activity — that’s every five months if you wear your sneakers for an hour every day. They may still look new at that point, but the important internal cushioning may … Continue reading →

Using Perceived Exhaustion

It doesn’t matter what your fitness experience is, you can use perceived exhaustion to help measure your fitness experience. Remember, perceived exhaustion is how hard it is for you to do the workout. It’s not about walking the furthest or running the fastest. It’s about how you feel when you are doing the exercise. Think for a moment, when you go to a doctor and they ask you to tell them on a scale of 1 to 10 – how badly does something hurt? A 10 being excruciating and a 1 being discomfort. This is using a perceived pain scale … Continue reading →