It’s time to dig out your stability ball from the back of the closet, give it a few extra puffs of air, and take it out for a test drive. Here are examples of a few simple exercises you can do with a stability ball to help you build and maintain your upper body strength.
What you need:
A stability ball
Weights – for different presses
1) Chest-press on exercise ball – Lie with your back on the stability ball and your feet on the floor. Your knees should be at a 90 degree angle. Hold a weight or dumbbell in each hand.
Posts Tagged ‘exercise’
Habits that Jeopardize Fitness
February 9th, 2012 by Angela Yorke | Eating & Exercise
Working short exercise snippets into your daily routine is a good way to get fit without feeling as if you’re making a lot of effort. So is committing to fitness with better eating habits, good food choices, and exercising regularly. Yet, there are bad habits that, unwittingly adopted, can derail the trek to fitness.
The first one is familiar to most, where people allow themselves to become stuck doing the same workout for months on end and seeing diminishing results, which is discouraging. When a routine becomes boring, you might wind up working out less over time. If this were
The first one is familiar to most, where people allow themselves to become stuck doing the same workout for months on end and seeing diminishing results, which is discouraging. When a routine becomes boring, you might wind up working out less over time. If this were
Irisin
February 7th, 2012 by Bea | Weight Loss
A team of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers believe to have found a natural hormone that triggers some of the key health benefits of exercise. They think that this muscle cell hormone serves as a chemical message that could treat diabetes, obesity, and more.
Researchers have found that exercising seems to trigger this messenger, and they believe that this could have health benefits. Irisin is a protein that seems to "talk to" various tissues in the body. Irisin levels can rise through exercising, and when irisin levels rise, it seems to have a powerful effect on fat tissue deposits called adipose.
Researchers have found that exercising seems to trigger this messenger, and they believe that this could have health benefits. Irisin is a protein that seems to "talk to" various tissues in the body. Irisin levels can rise through exercising, and when irisin levels rise, it seems to have a powerful effect on fat tissue deposits called adipose.
Using Stairs for a Good Workout
February 6th, 2012 by Jessica B. | Strength Training
Some days I just don't make it to the gym, and instead of feeling guilty, I put together this little lower body workout I can do on the stairs.
- Warm-up – Strength training is more effective when your muscles are warm. Begin by jogging up and down your stairs five times. You can always make this a bit more difficult by carrying some weights, wearing ankle weights, or adding a few extra reps.
- Lunges – Take a big step up using the right leg first, skipping one-three stairs depending on your staircase and the length of your legs. Keep your left
Food and Walks
February 2nd, 2012 by Bea | Nutrition, Walking
I realized that I have covered a decent amount of ground in terms of using walking as a form of exercise and the tips and tricks that are associated with the physical motions, but I have yet to write about food and how that can influence your walk. Don’t worry so much about the carbohydrates in your diet. True, too much of them will be harmful, but you do not have to remove them from your diet. The same goes with fats; too little fat is also not healthy for your body. Exercising will use up the glycogen storages in
