Karen’s Free Health and Fitness Tips

Staying fit and working out is something we all want to do but it normally stops there. We may have the desire but there are always excuses to not workout. Time and money are the big two but even if those are not issues, we can normally find some. Aerobics is a great workout to increase your heartbeat and burn calories. You are not lifting heavy weights but repeatedly doing a high-energy motion. This is possible even at home from a simple video.

Workout videos have come a long way over the past 20 years. We all remember Jane Fonda and her workout videos. Today we have access to hundreds of videos from low impact workouts to high impact step workouts and kickboxing. There are even videos for pregnant women, the elderly and children. Truly, something for everyone if you do some research and find some that work well for you. You can buy the old tapes or DVDs.

You do not need much to do aerobics at home from a video. An aerobic video costs somewhere in the neighborhood of $10 to $25. You do not need any expensive gym equipment, just a good pair of shoes, a step and sometimes a dumbbell.

Most of us think of aerobics in terms of walking, running, dancing and even swimming. And these are all great and we should all do them. One of the aerobic exercises that has taken hold is water aerobics. Not as popular because it has the limitation of requiring water, usually a swimming pool. But it is a very beneficial exercise if you have a pool or access to one.

The great thing about water aerobics is that you can exercise every part of your body. Depending on the exercise, the water should be from waist deep to chest level. You can actually do just about any exercise routine that you do out of water. There is a great advantage to water aerobics in that it is no, or very low impact. This is especially helpful to people that have injuries or for senior citizens that sometimes struggle with aches and pains.

Here’s a no-brainer aerobics exercise for abdomen weight loss that just about anyone can do. Let’s face it, we’re all sick of hearing about jogging, riding a stationary bike, doing a dance aerobics class, and on and on and on when it comes to weight loss.

That’s basic stuff, boring, and not really effective. This exercise I’m about to talk about is fun, effective, and simple to incorporate into your busy life.

Aerobics Exercise for Abdomen Weight Loss

Spinning in a circle like little kids do for fun…

Spinning may not even be considered an exercise, but it gets results that top just about all exercises when it comes to weight loss. Spinning stimulates your Endocrine System to balance out the hormones it releases into your body each day. With balanced hormones, your body is ready to go. It’s ready to lose weight fast. You basically turned the switch with spinning.

What you do is spin around clockwise, with your arms out like airplane wings. Spin 5-15 repetitions to begin with to get an idea on how dizzy you get. You want to get slightly dizzy.

Step aerobics used to be very popular some time back. Are you still doing it? If you are I don’t suppose you have done it for many years. To some it was a civilised alternative to straight aerobics dancing.

Step aerobics is based on stepping up and down on a platform, in time to music of course. It can be good fun, and is good for the leg muscles and to get some aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise is when your body works hard enough to raise the heart beat by 40 per cent or so.

You use a platform about 30 inches by 15 inches and four to twelve inches high, according to your level of fitness. First, you step on to the platform landing at a particular point, with one foot, then bring the other foot up alongside. Then you step down to a different place with your feet in turn. There are many different movements you can do to make it more interesting, but you always have to lift your body up to get on the step.

More vigorous exercise than aerobic dancing

As we all know, there are numerous ways to exercise to get healthy. However, water aerobics might be something that you would not have thought about. Being naturally buoyant, water is a superb medium for workouts, especially if impact on the knee or ankle joints, for instance, is part of the problem. Hydrotherapy has a long history of helping to sooth pains and to get fit, indeed back to ancient Egyptian times. Many top athletes use water exercises as part of their fitness routine. Basically, water aerobics will not only help you to get really fit and healthy, but there are many other benefits to exercising in water.

Before you embark on any course of exercise, it is always wise to consult your doctor beforehand to find out whether your chosen method of exercise, (in this case, water aerobics), is going to be right for you and your fitness levels.

Once you have decided that you would like to exercise with water aerobics, you will then have to decide whether you are going to be doing these exercises on your own or with a club or group. With a club or group, you will be taught how to do the exercises as well as enjoying the camaraderie of a group. Either way, alone or in a group, you will find that water aerobics can, and will, fit into your regular workout routine.

Aerobic workouts are an effective way to control your weight, exercise your heart, strengthen your muscles and just make you feel healthier. It can also help you live a longer, healthier life and enhance your well being.

Aerobic workouts are any exercise that helps your body use oxygen more efficiently. This is done by increasing your heart rate and breathing harder for an extended period of time.

Regular aerobic activity can increase your ability to take in and transport that oxygen improving your aerobic capacity.

A regular aerobic routine gives your heart the kind of workout that helps it do a better job of delivering oxygen to all your organs. It makes your heart more efficient and stronger.

When you raise your heart rate your body begins to used stored carbohydrates and fatty acids for energy. That boosts your mood, helps you with weight loss and can even lower your blood sugar levels.

Aerobic activity makes you feel better about yourself so you can enjoy life more. It can also help increase your stamina and even help you manage stress.

I bought my first aerobics DVD 3 years ago, and have not used it since. I don’t remember what it was named - I have since misplaced it somewhere in the back deferral of my home, and have not seen it in months, but I do remember some things about it. It was bright pink, and had some smile guy in spandex and big hair on the cover, recounting you to get thin. I idea that the aerobic DVD would actuate me to get my rear in shape, but it was not to be. Instead, my brand new aerobic DVD just decided to sit in the corner, gathering dust spell I sat on the sofa, growth fatter and less in form.

My s workout picture was a measure aerobics DVD, but it do no better. I think I did try that particular aerobic DVD a couple of modern world, but to no service. I just felt so silly sitting there at home, ripple on with a socio-economical class on film who were not flush in the room with me, pretending that I was make something that was not completely pathetic. I just could not make it a part of my modus operandi. I had originally planned to set out each day with the aerobic DVD and a shower, but when I would get out of bed in the morning, it was the fillet point thing that I wanted to do.

Aerobics and health benefits? Aerobics or aerobic exercises basically
refer to the process of physical conditioning which is designed to improve respiratory
and circulatory efficiency. The word ‘aerobics’ itself means ‘with
oxygen’. This involves intense and sustained exercise such as swimming,
cycling, and jogging etc.

So what exactly are the health benefits of aerobics?

Regular aerobics exercise helps to keep you fit and healthy. It also helps

your body to work more efficiently and effectively.

Aerobic exercises

yield are very beneficial to your health. Aerobics if carried out consistently

and regularly can be effective in weight loss. This is mainly because it burns

calories and can potentially increase your BMR rate (basic metabolic rate).

Other benefits of aerobic exercises include:

- Aerobics improves your respiration system by strengthening your muscles that

facilitate air flow around your body

- Aerobics improves your stamina by strengthening your heart and lungs (that

is, your aerobic system)

- Aerobics tones your muscles which improves overall blood circulation around

your body

- Aerobics improves the flow of oxygen around your body
Your heart, lungs and your blood system will be strengthened through prolonged

It is a common misconception that aerobic exercise tones and firms muscles. Actually it accomplishes very little toning and firming. Resistance exercise (weight training) is where real toning and firming of muscles occurs.

Doing both aerobics and weight training is the optimal way to lose more fat and gain more muscle. If you are trying to lose weight, studies show that weight loss increases by 56 percent with aerobic and strength exercises combined.

Muscle may weigh more, but when you increase your muscle composition, the body is able to burn more fat, even when you are resting, because your metabolism is higher. A pound of muscle will use 350 to 500 calories per week to survive, while a pound of fat only needs about 14 calories per week. New studies have shown that building muscle helps your body fight disease better, too.

Strength training benefits everyone, no matter what age or sex, and is becoming recognized as an important component of fitness. Research is indicating that the muscle loss found in elderly people doesn’t come from age, but lack of activity. Even a young person who doesn’t get enough exercise can lose muscle mass and strength. Strength training, such as lifting weights or performing weight-resistance exercises, as little as twice a week can help maintain or increase muscle mass.

Water aerobics is one of the many types of aerobics exercises available today. Aerobic actually means with oxygen and aerobics exercises make use of the large muscle groups in our body in order to maintain them over a period of time and aerobics are also performed in a rhythm. There are many variations of aerobics exercises and one of them is the aerobics exercise which is performed in chest level deep water.

Water aerobics is a very fun way of working out especially during the hot weather. It also helps relieve the hard work from other regular exercises. It is not just splashing about in the water but is a wonderful way to burn away your fat and build strength while increasing the capacity to perform aerobics. It can greatly benefit people who may be suffering from arthritis or multiple sclerosis.

People usually think that water aerobics is only about swimming in the water. However, this is not true. Water aerobics is a great exercise routine for fitness novices. It is affective for those who want to burn extra calories or just become stronger and be more flexible.