Stretching and Strengthening Exercises for Physical and Mental Health Promotion

Hectic life and busy work are common causes of muscle fatigue, resulting in soreness in neck, shoulders, back and limbs. Prolonged disregard of these symptoms may result in overuse injuries. Regular exercises can keep you in good shape for health promotion and improve your productivity in your office or home.

Please do some simple exercises targeted at different parts of the body. You may choose the suitable types according to your needs. Exercises can increase blood circulation and enhance body function, as well as promote psychological well-being and increase confidence. Stretching exercises can increase flexibility of joints and reduce chance of injury, and reduce mental stress and lift your spirits. Strengthening exercises can strengthen your muscles and reduce muscle fatigue, as well as consume calories and maintain ideal body weight.

When you perform stretching and strengthening exercises, please note the following:

1. Select the type of activity that suits you and ensure the sporting location is spacious enough for your workout.

2. Examine your physical situation before doing physical exercise. When you feel tired or uncomfortableness, stop working out.

3. Perform the training according to your capability. Do not overexert yourself.

4. Execute the activity slowly until you feel a stretch in your muscles. Stretching too much or too quickly can easily damage your muscles and joints,especially when doing exercises connected to the neck, back and knees.

5. Persistence is the important to good results for health promotion.

6. Do not put on close-fitting clothes and high-heel shoes or boots.

Actually with the advance in information technology, people are now doing less physical activities. Therefore, we should make the best use of our time to do some stretching and strengthening exercises for physical and mental health promotion, and to improve our work efficiency everyday.

How to become a certified personal trainer and Exercise Physiologist

There are many advantages to becoming a personal trainer. Some of these benefits have already been mentioned like the freedom to set your own hours and choosing where you work. Another benefit to becoming a personal trainer is that there are no limits to how successful you can become. Your success as a personal trainer solely depends on how hard you are ready to work at becoming certified and promoting yourself.

Another attractive aspect of becoming a personal trainer is that the job will probably pay a lot of money. Some of the most successful trainers are making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year training professional athletes, celebrities and high profile individuals. Also, successful personal trainers often times can make small fortunes in publishing training books, how to become a personal trainer movies, health education blogs and even promoting food supplements and beauty products. If this sounds like interesting work with great opportunities, then you should join a personal trainer course and get started in a new path as a trainer.

Growing to be a personal trainer and exercise physiologist usually requires learning about personal health, sports nutrition, injury prevention, and managing stress and lifestyle changes in future clients. You will need to be able to tell them the best nutrition plans for their specific age, body and metabolism. Another key element of becoming a personal trainer is commitment. In addition to have client appointments all hours of the day and night, you might teach classes. These classes will supplement your income. Some trainers choose to teach and train at their client's homes. Others work with a gym or fitness center. In both instances you will have to learn to juggle your appointments and personal life. Simultaneously you have got to take into consideration your own fitness. People will want a trainer that is just as or even more fit than they are. You want to make sure that you stay abreast on all the latest fitness trends and crazes. Fitness instructors usually earn their personal trainer certification from a personal trainer school. After achieving personal training certification, personal trainers are relatively well-compensated, because people often pay top money to work out and achieve their physical exercise goals with a exclusive, personal trainer.

So the very first steps to becoming a personal trainer are ensuring you have the proper education and taking a certification exam. If you're currently working in or have a degree in a health or health and fitness occupation, the transition into personal training should be fairly simple. You almost certainly already have most or all of the knowledge you should acquire a certification, and you'll simply require some on-the-job coaching and experience.

After having the certificate from graduating the course, you could start becoming a personal trainer at a gym center. But, if you are lucky, you can be hired by some people to be their private personal trainer. You will most likely to have to go to their place with some exercising equipments. It will worth it because you will get paid quite a lot. Anything that has something to do with a private trainer or teacher must involve a high pay. So, you should not wait to take a personal trainer course.

You also needs to have a background in operating with others in fitness. A fitness background and personal experience is an essential step to becoming a personal trainer. You should be physically active and have several years of experience with your own training and workouts. Customers look for a personal trainer who is in good condition and practices what he preaches. You should also have a background in working with others in fitness. Teaching classes at your local gym is a good way to do this. You do not need to be a personal trainer to teach aerobics classes, but you will need to take a course from the gym to become certified to teach that class. This background will assist you to understand the technology of training when you study, and it will give you more credibility with clients when you become a personal trainer.

On the other hand, one of the top things that prospective personal trainers question is certifications. If you're considering about becoming a personal trainer, you may be enticed to skip getting certified altogether. After all, certifications cost time and money. How can you be sure that they will have any remarkable effect on the amount of money that you make or on your success in general? The general agreement, though, seems to be that certifications certainly can't hurt. Since they aren't going to take away from your achievement - and may only promote it - they are worth your while.

As you take steps toward to become personal trainer, remember that your personality will play a role in how much you are able to help people. Understanding this will help you get more out of your future job in personal training and become a exercise physiologist.

Prevention of Chronic Back Strain of Spine Issues

Any work that requires sitting or standing partly bent over for long periods of time can cause extra stress on muscles which can become painful. A vicious circle may develop if chronic strain continues with the muscles becoming less able to withstand strenuous activities and becoming more prone to further injury. Working too long, too hard or holding the back in a fixed position can cause tension, tired muscles, weakness, less control of movement and proneness to back injury and spine issues.

Seating and other work positions should be so designed that the back is not bent for long periods. The best sitting position is with knees higher than hip and lower back flat against a firm back rest for spine health care.

The following simple procedures can also help for prevention of chronic back strain of spine issues:-

(1) Change body position frequently;

(2) Stretch—by clasping hands behind head, bends forward until back is horizontal;

(3) Adjust working height to prevent slumping or excess reaching;

(4) Relax—let shoulders and neck muscles go limp, swivel head and let it droop all the way forward;

(5) Muscles are most rested during sleep by using a firm mattress (or hardwood between springs and mattress) and lying on one side with hip and knees bent.

Prevention of Back Injury and Spine Issues

The use of mechanical aids for load lifting and handling, whenever practicable, is the most effective method of preventing back injury. When manual handling of loads is unavoidable, the worker should be instructed in and apply the principles of safe lifting and handling. These guides are aimed at describing the common stresses imposed on the back by work activity and advising on the prevention of back injury and spine issues as below:-

Principles of safe lifting and handling for spine health care and back pain prevention

The safest methods of manual handling and lifting for prevention of back injury and spine issue are based on the following six principles:-

(1) Correct Grip

The sense of touch and the ability of the hands to carry out both hard and sensitive work is, next to sight probably the most valuable of the senses. The ability of the fingers to maintain pressure is limited, however, and they soon become tired, especially when the hands are being held out in front of the body to hold an object or when they are trying to grip a shiny surface. Gripping with the fingertips will therefore strain the fingers and also the muscles in the forearm. The correct grip uses the palm of the hand and the roots of the fingers and thumb so that prolonged strain on the fingers is avoided. Where boxes or small bins are used regularly to carry materials or objects from one position to another, they should never be fitted with finger holds or narrow handles which encourage the worker to use his fingers.

(2) Straight Back

If the back is bent as a worker reaches down to pick up an object he is off balance, strain is immediately imposed on the muscles controlling the spine by giving them more work to do and the discs between the vertebrae are compressed. When the object is lifted, this weight is added to the already considerable weight of the head, shoulders and arms. All too frequently, therefore, the worker suffers strain in the back muscles, or possibly a slipped disc. In lifting, therefore, the back should be kept straight and the body lowered to reach the load by flexing hips, knees and ankles. The lift is then carried out by using the powerful muscles of the legs rather than the back, which is kept straight, though not necessarily vertical, throughout the movement.

(3) Chin Position

To help maintain a straight back, the chin should be tucked in before the lift is begun. This pushes the top of the head upwards and keeps the top of the spine straight.

(4) Position of Feet

If the feet are close together, the weight of the body and of the load being lifted is balanced on a small floor area. This means that the worker can easily lose balance on his own or from someone bumping into him. The feet should therefore be the width of the hips apart with one foot in front of the other. The leading foot should point in the direction in which the worker will be moving. This balances the load far more securely and means that the worker can more easily ride any bumps he receives while he is lifting and is less likely to lose control of the load.

(5) Position of Arms

Lifting, pushing or carrying with the arms held away from the sides of the body imposes unnecessary strain on the chest upper back and shoulder muscles. The arms should therefore be kept as close in to the body as possible.

(6) Use of Body Weight

If used properly, the weight of the body can help in moving a load by acting as a counterbalance, so reducing the amount of muscular effort needed. It is wrong for the worker to feel comfortable at the beginning of a lifting movement because it means that he is positioned for remaining still. If the body-weight is to be used correctly, the starting position will usually be uncomfortable if he holds the position for more than a few seconds without moving. The action of moving the body from the uncomfortable starting position into a more comfortable one means that the weight of the body is being used as a source of power to overcome the weight and the resistance of the load, without excessive muscular effort. Such a movement must be a smooth one, however, and not a jerk or "snatch".

These six principles can be applied to all manual handling and lifting operations. The essence of them is the controlled use of the body, especially body-weight, and they require thought and practice. However, once they become as automatic as his second nature, the worker can lift and handle loads in much greater safety to himself and other workers than by using the "natural" methods.

Where two or more workers are carrying out lifting or handling operations it is essential that they should work together as a team, one worker, preferably the lightest, giving all necessary orders. Every workplace has its own difficult handling problems, either through environment or, more usually, special processes. Under these circumstances and as a result of long practice, the workers often develop their own skills and knacks in carrying out the work. Provided these skills are acceptable, they should be retained and the worker encouraged adopting correct body movements along with them.

Rules for safe lifting for spine health care and back pain prevention

The basic lifting rule is "use your head" to think things through before starting. Essential Steps are:-

(1) Examine object for size, shape and weight. Decide where and how to hold it. Check for grease, oil, sharp edges. Be extra careful of awkward shapes in difficult situation;

(2) Clear path of obstructions and tripping hazards;

(3) Know where and how the object will be let down; and

(4) Get help if there is any doubt

General rules for all situations are:

(1) Start close to the object. Have a firm footing with feet spread on either side of the load;

(2) Keep back straight—bend knees;Squat down—straddle the load somewhat;

(3) Grasp object firmly. Be sure grip will not slip;

(4) Breath-in—inflated lungs help to support the spine;

(5) Lift with legs—slowly straighten the legs. After legs are straight bring back to vertical position;

(6) Hold object firmly close to body;

(7) Always lift smoothly. Avoid jerky motions. Turn with feet instead of twisting the back.

Activities Predisposing to Back Injury and Spine Health Issues

Work activities predisposing to back injury and spine health issues are:-

(1)Lifting or setting down loads;

(2)Carrying,stacking,pushing,pulling,rolling,sliding and wheeling of loads;

(3)Operation of levers and other mechanical devices;

(4)Maintenance of unbalanced postures while performing these tasks;

(5)Normal movements of the spine aggravating existing damage to intervertebral discs.

Aggravating factors for back injury and spine health issues are:-

(1)Gross overloading of the spine;

(2)Lifting with a bent back or with the object held well out from the body or to one side;

(3)Loss of balance while lifting;

(4)Using a jerking or twisting lifting motion;

(5)Unexpected weight bearing;

(6)Restricted room to maneuver;

(7)Inadequate grip on heavy, awkward, hot corrosive, sharp or slippery objects;

(8)Unstable footwear;

(9)Slippery, uneven or littered floor surfaces;

(10)Uncoordinated team lifting; and

(11)Unfitness to lift

Many jobs require performance of tasks in the seated position. Constant sitting in unergonomically designed chairs in stressful postures dictated by visual or manipulative tasks is a common source of recurrent or persistent back pain. Appropriate workplace and chair design promote maintenance of correct posture and the prevention of postural strain and spine health issues.

Back Strain and Spine Health Issues

Back pain and spine health issues affect many people during their working and exercising life. It is a very common cause of disability and sickness absence with serious consequences for the individual and industry. While a severe accident such as falling or crushing may result in gross back injury the onset of pain is more often associated with repetitive and cumulative accidental and postural stresses, and then lead to serious spine health issues.

The back is a complex system which includes the spine, spinal cord, nerves and muscles according to spine anatomy. The spine supports the weight of the head, most of the trunk and upper limbs. It is composed of 33 bone segments (vertebrae) of which those in the pelvis and coccyx are fused together. Those in the neck, chest and lumbar region possess a limited degree of mobility with respect to one another. Each vertebra consists of a body in front and an arch behind, bearing various bony projections (processes), to which are attached powerful muscles and strong ligaments. The space enclosed by the vertebral body and arch is known as the spinal canal. Between the vertebral bodies are discs (intervertebral discs) composed of a tough outer ligamentous covering and a central core of plastic, viscous tissue (nucleus). The disc is weight bearing, but is sufficiently compressible and flexible to absorb shock and to permit a limited degree of bending and twisting of the spine.

The spinal cord is a cable of nerves running from the brain down through the spinal canal and controlling all activities below neck level. Nerves branching out from the spinal cord send information to the brain and orders to the muscles. There are about 800 muscles producing motions in all directions and they are attached to the bone by over 4 000 tendons.

Repeated spinal stress may cause disruption and degeneration of the intervertebral discs in the lower back (lumbar region) with rupture of the covering of the intervertebral disc and projection of part of the nucleus into the spinal canal where it may compress nerve roots and cause pain in the thigh, calf and foot (sciatica). Most cases of persistent or recurrent low back pain of spine health issues are caused by intervertebral disc degeneration disease.

Some Factors You May Concern at Home Workouts

When is the best time for cardio exercises at home? Experts compared people who work out in the morning to people who do so in the evening. The results showed Three-fourths of those who got moving forward in the morning were still working out a year later, while half of the evening exercisers had pooped out. Regular physical exercise is great for inducing a good night's sleeping, but you may have issues sleeping if you hit the sack less than two hours after work out at home, so it's better to get home exercises at least two hours before sleeping if you have to exercise in the evening, and then sometimes we eat too much for dinner not because we’re hungry but because we’re sleepy, so we unconsciously think that eating will wake us up. Next time you’re thinking of eating when you know you shouldn’t; ask yourself if you’re really sleepy. If you are, and if you can, take a nap of 15 minutes before exercises to do at home.

Researchers also found out that overweight school children got less if they had a 10-minute recess right before lunch. Go for a quick walk before your meal and see if it serves to decrease your appetite. On the other hand, people who are less than 30 percent above ideal weight will burn more calories if he exercises after a meal. If more than 30 percent above his ideal weight, he will do better to exercise before he eats. After-meal exercise takes advantage of a process called diet-induced thermo genesis. This means that metabolism increases after the ingestion of food, swallowing up seven to 10 percent of the calories eaten. Several studies suggest that this process increases if home exercise is done after eating.

Home workout routines is easy for some people, try go solo if you are really willing to keep physical fitness, Failing to take into account this personality trait could causes a premature end to many an exercise program, so go solo for exercise can be considered if just want to be alone, to go running with your husband or friends, sports medicine experts have discovered, prefer to do cardio exercises at home on their own. They would much rather ride a stationary bike in a quiet corner at home or perhaps walk or run alone. Actually most of us find home exercise alone boring and blah, you can improve your routine simply by livening up your surroundings, hanging motivating posters on the walls or turning up the volume on high-energy music. Some of us get our best workout routine when we don’t realize we’re doing it. For example, you could try to lose 30 pounds riding a stationary bicycle 30 minutes a day for three months while watching your favorite soap opera, you even will get so caught up in the program that you hardly even noticed you are sweating. Next thing you will notice, your pants will already are too loose. You could consider wear some fabulous exercise clothes can further inspire you in your weight-loss efforts by yourself! You don’t have to have a perfect body to look good. Who cares if your stomach shows?  And you deserve to look good and feel good at home exercise.

Actually household chores do a good job of burning off calories and you could take it as the best workout routines. Among them: Shoveling snow, Chopping wood, Mowing the lawn, Scrubbing floors, Washing window Washing the car, Painting the house and plant the garden - Use up 400 to 450 calories an hour and have a beautiful garden as well. Gardening - with all its standing, stooping, kneeling, walking, watering and weeding, cultivates a fit physique, not to mention a harvest of fresh vegetables and fruits.

A written report of your achievements is very pleasurable and enables encourage you to keep at it. You could put a red check on my calendar the first day you take an aerobics class or other cardio exercises at home. After two years ago, you will have two thick calendars covered with red checks for progress record. So pull out a calendar and a red pen. Or use those gold stars your elementary school teachers put on your outstanding papers. Your accomplishment for home exercises is outstanding, after all. A log can help you reach goals, too. In pencil on a calendar, write down your goals a week or two in advance. For example, if you plan to take a walk on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, write “walk” on those days. After each day’s walk, circle the word in red and pat yourself on the back. You said you’d do it and you did!

Finally don't be modest when you attain great results for the cardio exercises at home, and declare your exercise results. Tell your friends and your family and soak up the compliments, they'll be amazed, and may even be motivated to give it a try themselves!

Don't Let the Sports Injure Children

Some parents premature to let the children in some physical activities, actually some physical activities, not benefit the children’s health status, but easy to cause harm.

The health experts say children are in the growth and development of the period, the body organs and tissues have not yet matured; there are many different from adults of the physiology characteristic, so sports games for kids are unsuitable for children in early.

The children should not attend tug-of-war. According to the physiological theory, the child's heart is in the development stage, when the body load increases, mainly rely on the heart rate increase to gain the supply of blood, therefore, heart is easy to fatigue, and children can't afford such big powers to fight. Medical experts used to test 250 five to six years-old children after the tug-of-war competition, found their heart rate are too high, 30% of children fail to restore normal heart rate after one hour. In addition, the tug-of-war is a very tough against movement, because the pull time last too long and strong external force easy to cause dislocated and soft-tissue hurt.

Children can’t train the muscle too early. In the growth process, height is growing faster than the weight, and their muscle contains more moisture, less protein and inorganic salt, and easy to fatigue. Therefore, in childhood, don't do muscle weight exercise too early.

The children should not stand on his head. If often stand on their head, or every time handstand time is too long, can damage the eyes function in the adjustment of the intraocular pressure.

Children under the age of 10 could not play bumper car. Children's muscles, ligaments, bones and connective tissue and not mature and very fragile, when meet strong collision will cause the sprain and collision hurt.

Scooter games are unsuitable for children under the age of 8. When the children play scooter, the waist, knee and ankle position is easy on injury, so be sure to prepare well the protection, better with parents accompanying then play in a flat and spacious area.

According to children's body growth characteristics, parents could let children skip rope, bounce, playing kids soccer, and basketball games for kids, swimming; these sports games for kids help to increase the height of children, and would not damage their body.

The Correct Body Posture and Benefits of Chiropractic Care

Enhanced nerve communications between your brain and your body can help everybody. Modified adjusting approaches can support children, the elderly or those with special requirements. The objective of chiropractic care is to locate and correct places of the spine that interfere with the proper central nervous system control of your body. Since chiropractic care depends on the healing abilities of each patient, results can vary from patient to patient. Everybody reacts differently. Some detect changes in a few short days or weeks, others may take weeks to months before showing improvement. Regardless of your age, size or condition, chiropractic care could be useful, and some patients choose to continue with some type of regular chiropractic checkups and enjoy benefits of chiropractic care.

Some people are confused into believing that it is merely part of the aging process. Not true! It seems clear that it is the result of long-standing, uncorrected spinal stress. The nerves to the arms and hands exit the spine through the injured area of the neck, numbness and tingling are common. Even lower back pain can result directly from the trauma or as a reaction to the loss of proper spinal curves.

Many disc problems are the result of years of neglect such as wrong posture. Many spinal problems are nonsymptomatic until the advanced stages of degeneration. Many elderly patients who have maintained their spines throughout their lives continue to enjoy excellent spinal health and function. Chiropractic adjustments help restores proper motion and position of malfunctioning spinal bones, reducing nervous system involvement. If caught before permanent damage occurs, disc tissue often returns to a more normal size and shape.

It's easy to trace some spinal issues to an event, such as a car accident. Yet, Sciatica is often the result of cumulative injury. Years of bad body position, poor muscle tone, excess weight or countless other causes set the stage. Then, something simple like bending over to tie your shoes can trigger an episode. Most sciatica patients are delighted with the results they get after weeks or months of care. Naturally, this varies from patient to patient. Many discover that years of neglect have produced spinal instabilities that never fully heal. These patients elect to continue with periodic chiropractic checkups. However, Chiropractic doesn't cure anything! Only your body can do that. The benefits of chiropractic care approach to sciatica (and other health problems) are to help recover the way your spine works, reducing nerve soreness and revitalizing your own healing capability.

How to Look Younger with Youthful Looking Skin

No Matter what your age, you undoubtedly want softer, younger looking skin. A radiant complexion is the hallmark of beauty and a measure of health for women and men alike. With so many experts promising treatments to restore vitality to your skin，it's important to separate sensible skin care from unnecessary and even harmful practices. Here are the younger skin tips for how to make your skin look its youngest and most vibrant.

Keep your skin clean.

Daily, your skin encounters environmental attackers: grease, grime, germs, oils, perspiration, cosmetics and pollutants. At one time, strong soap, hot water and scrubbing were recommended. Today, gentleness in the rule. Soaps are alkaline and can be drying, even though they contain fats such as palm or coconuts oil for lathering. If your skin is sensitive, try a soap that contains added fats. Soap-less or synthetic-detergent soaps irritate less than conventional soaps and leave less residue. Their benefits are shared by the new liquid sensitive-skin cleansers. To prevent over-drying, use a facial cleanser only once or twice a day. Using your clean fingertips, not a sponge or wash-cloth, and then rinses thoroughly with lukewarm water. Gently pat with a clean towel, and then apply a moisturizer to the still-damp skin.

Keep your skin moist.

As we grow older, natural oil-gland production diminishes, resulting in dryness, a common affliction. Dryness docs not cause wrinkling but accentuates it. Fortunately it isn't necessary to spend a lot of money on a moisturizer to combat dryness. Many effective products are relatively inexpensive. Petrolatum, recognized by dermatologists for its ability to lock water into the skin, and glycerin, which draws water up from the lower skin layers, are beneficial (though not mandatory) ingredients.

Seek the shade.

Protecting yourself from the sun is the single most important step you can take to have younger-looking，healthier skin. At least 80 percent of skin damage, including roughening, wrinkling, mottled discoloration, broken blood vessels, sallowness, sagging, as well as skin cancers, is due to exposure to the sun. A "healthy" tan, whether from the sun or a tanning booth, is actually the skin's expression of permanent, irreversible damage, which may take up to 20 years to become apparent. To protect your skin, you need not give up sports or lead a cloistered life indoors. Use sunscreens. Most sunscreens are labeled with sun protection-factor ( SPF) numbers. Generally, the higher the number, the greater the protection. It is best to purchase a product with SPF 15 or higher. Your sunscreen should be water-fast. Apply it liberally to dry skin 15 to 20 minutes before going outside, and reapply it after swimming or heavy sweating. For added protection, wear broad-brimmed hats. UV shielding sunglasses, long pants and long sleeved shirts.

Treat your skin gently.

Toners, astringents and after-shave lotions are all popular because they give a feeling of freshness. But except on very oily skins, these compounds have no other value and may worsen a dry skin problem. If you use them, pick those with the lowest percentage of alcohol. Do not apply astringents to irritated skin. Avoid excessive pulling and tugging your skin. Over time, such practices can contribute to the skin's loss of elasticity. Taking off your makeup can also stretch or irritate your skin, especially in the fragile eye area. Wipe gently with an eye makeup remover on a cotton ball for younger looking eyes .

Be alert to hype.

Sunscreens can help prevent premature aging of the skin. However no over-the-counter cosmetic product can remove wrinkles or reverse other signs of aging. Therefore, be wary of products with such claims. The top layer of skin, called the stratum corneum, is totally replaced every three to four weeks by epidermal cells moving upward. Older skin has a slightly slower epidermal-cell turnover rate than younger skin. The addition of irritant chemicals to "cell renewal stimulants” may step up the rate, but there is no evidence that these expensive products can combat the aging of your skin. You can get the same effect by gently using granular cleansers or buffing sponges once or twice a week. (Avoid them entirely, however, if you have sensitive skin.)

Stop smoking.

A study by researchers at the University of Utah Health Sciences Center in Salt Lake City appears to confirm what scientists have long suspected: cigarette smoking causes premature facial wrinkles and for sure stop smoking will make you look younger. When dermatologists studied 132 adults with an average age of 47, they found that those who had smoked the equivalent of two packs a day for 25 years were five times more likely to get facial wrinkles than were non-smokers.

Eat and drink wisely.

Paying attention to how much water you drink can make a difference in your appearance, says Christine Hart, a registered dietitian. She advises drinking at least six to eight glasses of water or other no caffeinated fluids a day to help keep skin moist. Important in slowing the aging process is a diet of variety and moderation. If you eat so different foods for younger skin a week, you'll be well nourished. If you know your diet is inadequate, consider taking a daily multivitamin mineral supplement.

Think positively.

What goes on in your mind shows up on your face, worry, guilt and anger all make you look older. Since adopting a positive mental outlook can reduce stress, it may lead to a more youthful appearance and younger skin and then make you look younger.Pay a little extra attention to the way you face the world each day and just follow the above tips for younger looking skin, then you maybe able to slow down the hands of time and how to look younger at 50 or even over 60.

Some Unusual Physical Activities For Calories Burned

All persons have a strong need for an occasional practical experience of "abandon" when we let go of our cares and self-consciousness and throw ourselves freely into an actions. A issue for many overweight people is that the closest they ever come to experiencing this feeling is through overeating. Exercise, with its physical challenge and relieve and its childlike, playful nature, can provide that abandonment. Whatever you choose, from an aerobics class to ski, get involved in an activity that makes you feel free. In the process, you may be freeing yourself from the desire to overeat, actually some of them are unusual and easy to carry out.


Browse the Magazines about Physical Activities
Newsstands are filled with magazines devoted to a wide range of physical activities and sports, from Muscle and Fitness to Runner’s World. Reading them, plus ogling the pictures of svelte, healthy people who really seem to savor all that effort, can get you psyched for your own activity. These magazines — and books, too — carry articles explaining the basics, answering technical questions, profiling interesting people and introducing products that may aid your performance. Jog over to your newsstand and take a peek.

Exercise at Your Table
Being office-bound doesn’t stop advertising salesman Aron Durant from getting into gear. He keeps a stationary bike in his closet and pedals about 10 miles during his lunch hour. Even without that kind of space or equipment, you can still do stretches and different kinds of isometric exercises at your desk.For a quick workout, put the palms of your hands together, press as hard as you can, relax, rest and repeat 10 times. Next, plant your feet firmly on the floor, push down hard, relax and repeat 10 times. Finally, tense and relax your bottom 10 times. Then raise your hands in the air and get a good, long stretch, either while you’re still sitting or standing up.


Climb Away Fat Accumulation
When it comes to fighting fat, research shows that climbing stairs is actually better than jogging or riding a bike.Some people make climbing a few flights of stairs part of their daily routine exercises.John Hanks,a desk-bound scientist, spends his coffee breaks walking up and down several flights. Other people turn stair-climbing into a serious sport, donning running clothes and shoes before they hit the steps. Climbing stairs can pay off in more ways than one. One health-conscious company gives its employees a $500 bonus if they climb the stairs to their 19th floor office. Next time you’re waiting for an elevator, consider whether you might do better to take the stairs.

Row the Boat
The motion of rowing strengthens the arms, chest and back while providing a super aerobic workout for for calories burned. Before you run out and buy a boat, be advised that rowing machines are standard equipment in many health clubs, and home versions are available, too. As with any intense exercise, start your rowing program slowly. Aim for a dozen strokes a minute for about five minutes. The next week, increase these figures by 10 percent — about 14 strokes per minute for about five-and-a-half minutes. Your ultimate goal should be about two dozen strokes a minute for about 20 minutes. Remember: Warm up and cool down slowly for about five minutes.

Some exercises are good for you because they’re relaxing, and this is one of them. The only force operating here is gravity,the principle being to raise your derriere and feet up off the floor. Lie down, putting a pillow under your bottom and your feet up on a chair or couch. Take a deep breath, lie back and enjoy it for 15 minutes or even a half-hour. Invigorating blood will rush to your organs and head, and you’ll feel oh-so-good.

Finally, although exercise offers its own intrinsic rewards, giving yourself a special reward as you go along — when you have made your first mile-long run straight through without stopping, for instance, or gone to the health club three months in a row — is a way of taking good care of yourself.Take yourself to the movies,buy yourself a present,get a haircut or a facial as a unusual action during the process of your calories burned ,just don’t reward yourself with food!

How to Increase Flexibility and the Benefits of Flexibility

How to increase flexibility ? Before flexibility training, it is critical to warm up the muscles and joints. Stretching cold, tight muscles can result in injury, so perform some gentle joint rotation exercises and an easy aerobic exercise first. Joint rotations are done by working head to toe using small, slow circles (clockwise and counterclockwise) at every joint until they all move smoothly and easily. You can also do some marching or even jumping jacks to raise your core temperature and increase your circulation before start your stretching exercises.


As a sports athlete, remember that all round flexibility workouts is less important than having the right flexibility exercises for your sport. Studies have shown that the relationship between flexibility and injury risk is misunderstood. Having more flexibility does not necessarily mean fewer wounds and an athlete with poor flexibility is not more likely to get injured. The main factor is to have the right flexibility for your sport, so you can easily move through the range of motion without straining muscles.


In fact, research also supports the opinion that performing a correct warm up before exercise is far more likely to help reduce injuries. Warm up by lightly exercising the major muscle groups to be used in your sport. You can also warm up with marching, arm circles, jumping jacks, or starting your sport at a very slow pace. If you lift weights, it's important to stretch and the best time is right after a workout. Static stretching a tired muscles can increase flexibility and improve muscle tissue building. Static stretching helps loosen muscles, removes lactic acid and avoid the muscle tissues from healing at a shorter length after a heavy exercise.


In General, for a stretching routine exercise to improve flexibility, it needs target the specific joint and provide enough stretch to the muscles and ligaments over time to allow an adaptation to a new, increased, range of motion. Basically, what this means is that when you stretch, you need to feel the tightness and slight burning sensation that proceeds from going slightly beyond your normal range of motion. By doing so, you will develop a new span of motion over time. It is important to avoid over-stretching the muscles and causing an injury or muscle strain. The recommendation is to stretch to the point of mild discomfort but not to the point of pain.To develop long-term improvements in flexibility, stretch every other day for at least 6 weeks to enhance the benefits of flexibility. Don't forget that when you stop using or stretching this new flexibility, you are likely to lose the improvement you made.


Will be able to too flexible? Possibly for the muscles and ligaments around a joint to become too flexible. Overwhelming flexibility may be due to loose ligaments and muscles which may provide less joint support and may even increase the risk of injuries such as joint dislocations. Excessive flexibility training can be just as bad as not enough.

Flexibility Definition and Types of Stretching Exercises

Flexibility refers to the ability to move joints through their whole span of movement, from a flexed to an extended position. The flexibility of a joint would rely on many factors including the length and suppleness of the muscles and ligaments and the shape of the bones and cartilage that form the joint.


Flexibility exercises is an important element of fitness and exercise tends to increase the amount of flexibility in a joint. Flexibility is also specific to the type of movement needed for a sport so it is more valuable for some sports than others. Cyclists, for example, require less hip flexibility than hurdles, and swimmers require more shoulder flexibility training than runners.


How to improve Flexibility? Flexibility can be genetic, but it can also be developed by flexibility stretches. Improving flexibility is done mainly by performing stretching exercises. All stretching techniques -Static, Ballistic and PNF Stretching are based on a neurophysiologic phenomenon involving the stretch reflex. Every muscle in the body contains mechanoreceptors that when stimulated inform the central nervous system of what is happening with that muscle. 


The most usual classical stretch exercise are static stretching, sustained stretching exercises that are slow and controlled. Static stretches are regarded as safe for most persons. They include a slow, gentle stretching exercises of the muscle that is kept in a lengthened position for 10 to 60 seconds and repeated about three times, which is sufficient time for the muscle organs to begin responding to the increase in tension. The impulses from the muscle organs have the ability to override the impulses coming from the muscle spindles, allowing the muscle to reflexively relax after the initial reflex resistance to the change in length. Thus lengthening the muscle and allowing it to remain in a stretched position for an extended period of time is unlikely to produce any injury to the muscle.


Another type of stretching exercise is called Ballistic Stretching. Ballistic Stretching involves gradual increases in your range of motion and speed of movement with a controlled swing (not bounce) that attain the limits of your range of motion in a controlled manner. You never force this type of stretch. Examples of Ballistic Stretching are slow, controlled leg swings, arm swings, or torso twists.With the jerking, bouncing motion of Ballistic Stretching the muscle spindles are being repetitively stretched; therefore there is continuous resistance by the muscle to further stretch. The Ballistic Stretching is not continued long enough to allow the muscle organs to have any relaxing effect.


Ballistic Stretching exercises improve flexibility required in most sports and are often performed after a warm up before aerobic exercise training.Ballistic Stretching exercises includes 10 to 12 repetitions of the movement.Ballistic stretching uses momentum in an attempt to force a joint beyond its normal range of motion. This type of stretch should be careful because there is an enhanced risk of injury (from overstretching the muscles, tendons or ligaments) with Ballistic Stretching .


The effectiveness of the PNF techniques stretching exercises may be attributed in part to these same neurophysiologic principles. The slow - reversal - hold technique' discussed previously takes advantage of two additional neurophysiology phenomena. The maximal isometric contraction of the muscle that will be stretched during the 10 - second push phase again causes an increase in tension, which stimulates the Golgi tendon organs to effect a reflex relaxation of the antagonist even before the muscle is placed in a position of stretch. This relaxation of the antagonist muscle during contractions is referred to as autogenic inhibition.


During the relaxing phase the antagonist is relaxed and passively stretched while there is a maximal isotonic contraction of the agonist muscle pulling the extremity further into the agonist pattern. In any synergistic muscle group, a contraction of the agonist causes a reflex relaxation in the antagonist muscle, allowing it to stretch and protecting it from injury. This phenomenon is referred to as reciprocal inhibition. Thus with the PNF stretching exercises the additive effects of autogenic inhibition and reciprocal inhibition should theoretically allow the muscle to be stretched to a greater degree than is possible with the stretching exercises of static stretching or the ballistic technique.