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Workout Wednesday: Tips To Make Your Workday More Active
Staying active during the workday can be a challenge for people who sit at a desk all day. This is especially true on days when you are so busy it feels like there’s rarely an opportunity to look away from your computer, much less get up and move around. Luckily, there are many ways to stay active in the office, even if you can’t manage to leave your desk. The tips listed below are easy to incorporate into your workday so you can stay as active as possible… SUBTLY BOOST YOUR BURN Add extra resistance to your movement, turning that quick walk from your desk to your printer into an…
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Workout Wednesday: When Is the Best Time to Exercise?
If you are following a healthy lifestyle, you know that regular exercise will help rev up your metabolism, so you lose weight faster and avoid weight loss plateaus. But does the time of day you choose to exercise make a difference in how much fat you burn? The answer is not as black and white as you might think. Current research suggests that slightly more fat is burned when you exercise right after waking up in the morning. However, most people can work out at a higher intensity later in the afternoon when their body temperature and hormone levels peak and their muscles are more flexible. The kind of exercise…
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Workout Wednesday: Common Walking Injuries & How to Avoid Them
Despite its reputation as being an ideal low-impact exercise, walking can also lay you up if you are not careful. Injuries ranging from blisters to tendinitis happen to walkers, but that certainly doesn’t mean you should hang up your walking shoes. Here are a few of the most common walking injuries and tips on how to manage, or avoid them altogether: Blisters Blisters are caused by friction from ill-fitting shoes and sweaty socks. Even though they are usually small, these fluid-filled sacs can derail a walk, hike, or run. No matter how tempting it might be, do not pop blisters. When you puncture the skin, you open up the potential…
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How To Start A Fitness Walking Routine
Spring is here and what better time is there to start a fitness walking routine! Walking is fuss-free, there’s no cost, and it’s easy to schedule and if you do it regularly, it reduces the risk of heart disease and can help you burn fat and lose weight. Uphill walks work your calf muscles, hamstrings, and buttocks. Downhill walks are great for your thighs and walking on level ground works your abdominal muscles and lower back. Where to Walk Walk anywhere you like, whether it’s indoors on a treadmill or outside at the park, by the sea or around your local neighborhood. Experiment with different routes that will challenge you…
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How To Stay Healthy While On Vacation
It’s the start of vacation season with spring break going on now and summer travel is just around the corner, and a lot of people struggle with staying healthy on vacation. You worked hard to maintain your healthy ways in the days leading up to your trip, but then have trouble keeping them in mind once you are actually there. It’s so tempting to literally eat your way through your adventures, but you will most likely feel bad later, so I have come up with a few tips for avoiding that groggy, full feeling that you have experienced while on vacation (myself included), and they aren’t actually that difficult to…
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Money Saving March: Spruce Up Your Workout Wardrobe For Spring/Summer On A Budget
Longer days and rising temperatures may be all you need to jumpstart your workouts this spring. But if you are still finding it a bit of a struggle to make exercise a priority, a little retail therapy may be just the motivation you need. There is nothing like a new pair of athletic shoes or a light spring jacket in your favorite color to put a little extra spring in your step, but that doesn’t mean you have to break the bank (hello Walmart, hello Target), but a new item or two can help you look and feel your best during your workout (whether you are an exercise newbie or…
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Money Saving March: Great Gear for At-Home Workouts
“Money Saving March” continues with this question: “Who says you need an expensive gym membership to get and stay in shape?” You can reap many of the same fat-burning, body-toning benefits by working out in your own home, especially if you have some inexpensive exercise equipment at the ready. Here are some great gear ideas for starting or enhancing your at-home workouts: Yoga Mats A yoga mat is handy for floor-based exercises because it provides support for your body and offers better traction than a towel. Learn some basic moves from a yoga or Pilates video, then (weather permitting) take your mat outside for a workout on your deck or…
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The Truth About Exercise & Weight Loss
There is a false belief that the key to weight loss is exercise. While exercise is very important for your overall health and will certainly aid in weight management, the food you eat is far more impactful when it comes to losing weight. To put things into perspective, you will need to run a full (26 mile) marathon without putting any food in your mouth just to lose a single pound of body weight. Food is Far More Important for Weight Loss Than Exercise On average, people today are working out at the same level that they did 30 years ago. However, obesity has skyrocketed. So, what has changed? People…
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Willpower Is Overrated
Are you struggling to eat healthy or exercise regularly? Don’t blame your willpower. Successful people don’t have more willpower than you do. They simply know how to plan out what they want and that makes hard things easier for them to do and you can do it too! I have listed a few simple things you can do that will help you out, no willpower required: Quit Drinking Soda Start with not buying any sugary drinks for home consumption. This requires no willpower at all. Instead buy alternatives such as carbonated water or flavored water or don’t buy any drinks at all. Instead, have a cold bottle of water ready…
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Losing Weight Starts With Self-Love & Compassion
Losing weight is a physical, mental, and emotional challenge, so today I want to talk about love and compassion or more specifically, self-love because loving yourself and truly believing that you are a worthy person, is the first step towards optimal health. So, here are some ideas that can help you shift your thoughts and actions: Every Day is a New Beginning No matter how bad things are, each new day brings an opportunity to start fresh; to push the reset button; to start off on a new path, or to get back on the path you were already on but lost for some time. When we start the morning…