Search Results for: blog weight training leads to longer term results

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 →

Fitness Journal – Strength Training Today

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Today’s workout focused primarily on strength training. Cardiovascular workouts are important I will walk my mile or more as needed. In the meanwhile, we start out with the warm-up and limbering stretches. Comfortable clothes are required and I didn’t both with shoes, most of what I was about to do I do at home and on the carpet, bare feet are more comfortable and I can use my toes for counter balance as necessary. (Try it sometime to see if you are more comfortable doing some strength training without shoes). I have my heart rate monitor, but I don’t pay … Continue reading →

Can You Do a Push-Up?

You know what a pushup is, right? It’s a lift that you do using only your arms, controlling your frame and pushing up from the ground? The lift portion is that you are lifting your own body. Push-ups are ideal for building upper body strength and chest definition (yes ladies, it will help your chest too). Too often women think push-ups are only for men, but they aren’t. There are many variations on how you can do a push-up. So let’s talk about specific things you need to keep in mind when you do a push-up: First and foremost, you … Continue reading →

You Can Do It With Your Television

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Almost a year ago, I made a suggestion for a great way to incorporate pop culture into your exercise routine. The following, although it can work, is not necessarily the most serious of exercise routines. On the other hand, if you’re not serious, then you’re laughing and likely having a good time. Laughter burns calories, releases endorphins and reduces your stress. So does exercise. So combining exercise and laughter is always a good combination. Television Exercise Game So how does the television exercise game work? Well here is the simplest idea. You can set up for you evening with a … Continue reading →

Spring Forward to Action: Week 4, Day 2: Happy May Day!

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Welcome to the first day of May here in the Fitness Blog as we count down the last week of our Spring Forward to Action Challenge. How are you doing with your workout? As I described yesterday, I’m feeling pretty great about my workout. Today is a strength-training day and I’ll make use of my free weights and my balance ball. Balance Balls Are Great For Core Workouts They allow you to focus on key muscle groups and provide you with strong support. Performing crunches, sit-ups, and 7-7-7s with the balance ball is straightforward and easy enough to do. When … Continue reading →

Dear Heather … Fat Burning Workout

Hello, well I’m 16 and going to start running and eating healthy. I weigh 240 and I want to lose 70 pounds or more in 6 months what should I do? And if I walk and run at the same time around a football field for a hour or more how many calories could I lose every week cause I’m want to do this every day until I reach my goal and drink lots of water only water and how many pounds u think I could lose every months? Could you help me Heather? Could you give me tips and … Continue reading →

Dear Heather … I’m Stuck in the Mud

Dear Heather, I’m stuck in the mud. Seriously stuck. I’ve been working out for about a year. I started on a regular regimen of cardio just like you suggested (I’ve been reading your blog since last April, I got interested during that challenge you were hosting, but I couldn’t keep up back then). I walk 60 minutes every day of the week. I started out small, just doing it 20 minutes a day, four days a week, but I’ve built it up over time. I walk, rain or shine and the only days I miss my walk is if there … Continue reading →

Strength Training Basics – Rules to Follow

We’ve talked about strength training this week and explored what you need to know and more. It’s important to reflect on those articles as we begin to build our strength-training program for the New Year. Come this spring, I’ll be launching our Spring Forward to Action Challenge once more and for those of you who weren’t here for the Challenge last Spring, it’s a 30 Day Fitness Kick Start that is designed to help you get up and get moving. Since strength training is a vital part of the Spring Forward to Action Challenge, I want you to have all … Continue reading →

How to … Strength Train

So we’ve been talking about strength training and that will naturally lead into a discussion on how to strength train. First and foremost, as with any new fitness program that you want to start, you should pay a call on your physician and get a physical. You also want to make sure there are no underlying causes or reasons that you shouldn’t be lifting weights and if there are any areas where you should have a care with your weight lifting. Start Slowly & Lightly If you have never weight lifted before – you want to start slowly and you … Continue reading →

Give Yourself Weight Loss for the Holidays

It’s the holiday season and while Santa may be a jolly old soul with a belly that jiggles like a bowlful of jelly, that doesn’t mean the rest of us are interested in the same. So it’s time to make a few lifestyle changes in order to give yourself some weight loss instead of weight gain for Christmas. The average person puts on about 5 pounds between Thanksgiving and January 1st. 5 pounds sounds like a lot, but it’s really not. To burn one pound, you need to burn 3500 calories, you can do this in 7 days by putting … Continue reading →