You may already be eating a balanced diet and don’t even know it. The sample menu below provides the “minimum amount recommended” for each of the food groups from the USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans. You might even have room to add more grains or fruits and vegetables.
A Sample Menu read more »
Usually, the more vigorous activities a person engages in, and the more time they spend doing it, the more health benefits they will get. When a person cannot do vigorous intensity activities, moderate intensity activities can be an excellent fitness choice for them.
Vigorous Intensity Activities
Vigorous activities are especially helpful for conditioning a persons heart and lungs. A person will also burn more calories doing vigorous activities than those that are less vigorous. read more »
Swimming and exercising in water is a great way to get regular aerobic activity. Two and a half hours of aerobic activity per week, like swimming, can decrease your risk of chronic illnesses.
Water-based exercise is a non-weightbearing exercise. Non-weight-bearing activities, like swimming and water workouts, put less stress on your joints because you don’t have to lift or push your own weight. read more »
A Sample Weekly Schedule
Sunday - Stretch – Aerobic activity
Monday - Stretch – Aerobic activity – Strength Training
Tuesday - Stretch – Aerobic activity
Wednesday - Stretch – Aerobic activity – Strength Training
Thursday - Stretch – Aerobic activity
Friday - Stretch – Aerobic activity – Strength Training
Saturday - Stretch – Aerobic activity read more »
Your heart rate is a good method for judging how hard you should exercise during endurance activities like running, cycling, swimming, and other aerobic activities you do.
Your maximum heart rate is the fastest your heart can beat, based on your age. Your target heart rate is a percentage of your maximum heart rate.
Estimated Maximum Heart Rate
The heart rate you should maintain is called your target heart rate. There are several ways of arriving at this figure. One of the simplest is: read more »
Fitness is an individual quality that varies from one person to another. Athletes who train for high level competition follow different workout programs than people whose goals are for good health and the ability to meet work needs and recreational needs.
Factors you should consider for your workout include:
Factors that determine what you are trying to accomplish include: read more »
We know that intense exercise requires more energy than resting on the couch!! However… when a persons body needs energy during intense exercise, their body goes for the more easily metabolized foodstuff first like carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are quickly turned into energy and require less energy to metabolize.
To burn fat… read more »
Pilates (puh-lah-teez), also called Pilates method, is a body conditioning routine that works to strengthen the body’s core (torso) by mostly focusing on the muscles in the stomach and back. Pilates are done through a series of mat exercises using the body’s weight as resistance, or with special resistance equipment available at some health clubs and pilates studios.
Joseph H. Pilates, born in Germany, developed the pilates method of exercise. He based pilates on various exercise methods from around the world, among them yoga, calisthenics, Chinese martial arts, and ballet. The great thing about pilates is that just about everyone can do it.
Pilates exercises require: read more »
Stay Up-to-Date on Tainted Products Marketed as Dietary Supplements
The FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) wants you to be aware that there are many tainted and fraudulent products you can buy that are marketed as dietary supplements. These products may look like dietary supplements, but they are NOT legal, and they are VERY dangerous and can cause serious injury to you, including stroke, heart palpitations, kidney failure, liver injury, and even death. read more »
The waist to hip ratio calculator shown below calculates how much fat is stored in your abdomen. Extra fat stored in your abdomen raises your risk for chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.
Waist to Hip Ratio Calculator
Measure the smallest part of your waist which is about halfway between the bottom of your rib cage and the top of your hip bone. Then measure the widest part of your hips which is the fullest part of your buttocks. Enter those measurements in the calculator below to help you determine if you may be at a higher risk for heart disease and diabetes.