Five Fun Ways To Get In Shape

By Mckayla Anna

There are so many ways to get in shape, but they don't all
fill us with excitement! Getting fit is something that can
be fun, however, if you're a little creative about it. To
help you out I've put together five fun tips to help you get
fit again but without the traditional kind of exercise!

1) Dance Classes

One of the best fun ways to get in shape is to dance. There
are so many different types of dance class these days,
you're bound to find one that suits you. Better still, go
with a friend. It's a fantastic night out and you'll be
burning calories at the same time! When you're not out at
your class, just put on some uplifting music at home and
dance around the place. See how tired you get in just thirty
minutes - you'll be getting a fantastic workout without even
trying!

2) Play With Your Pet

If you have a dog then there's no better way to bond and
have some fun than going out for a long walk or run. Your
dog will love it: and you will too when you start to see
those pounds falling off! Even running around with them in
the back yard can have a great effect.

3) Play Some Sport

Most of us dread the idea of facing the gym regularly, but
doing something like sports with your friends can be a lot
easier to get your head around. Whatever sport you like,
even if you just end up playing catch, it'll get you moving
which will, in turn, get you back in shape without you even
realizing it.

4) Sign Up for A Charity Run

Doing a sponsored walk or run is one of the best ways to
earn some money for charity. What better motivation do you
need to get out there and to start exercising? Whenever
you're feeling tired or down about being active, just
remember that you're doing it for a fantastic reason.

5) Get A Fitness Game

These days, even playing a computer game can keep you fit!
Games such as the Wii Fit are now some of the most popular
ways to get in shape. They give you a real workout but they
make it fun, helping to take the pain out of exercising
regularly. Not only this, but they're a fraction of the cost
of buying a membership to the gym!

No matter how you exercise, have some fun! You'd even be
surprised at the
(http://www.gettinginshape.org/walking-as-an-exercise.html)
walking exercise benefits that you'll reap just by taking
your dog for a walk each day. If you still need a bit more
motivation then head on over to
(http://www.gettinginshape.org) Getting in Shape for more
exercise and dieting tips.

5 EXERCISE MYTHS, MISTAKES AND MISCONCEPTIONS EXPOSED

Have exercise misconceptions prevented you from starting an
exercise program? Clear up any confusion and let these
exercise tips improve your workout routine. Hopefully none
of these common exercise myths, mistakes and misconceptions
have prevented you from working out.

1. Common Mistake: Failure to set goals. Do you exercise
without a clear goal in mind? Having a clear goal set is a
critical step in exercise and weight loss success. Tracking
your progress in a journal will help ensure you see your
improvements, will help motivate you and help you meet your
ultimate goal.

2. Common Misconception: No Pain, No Gain. Pain is your
body’s way of letting you know something is wrong. Do not
ignore this. When you go beyond exercise and testing
yourself, you will encounter physical discomfort and need to
overcome it. An example of this would be training for a
marathon. It is important that you have the “base training”
before getting into the advance training. The base training
develops the body and gets it ready for extensive training.
You need to learn to “read” your body. Is the heavy
breathing because you are pushing your body or could it be
the beginning of a heart attack. Exercise is important. Do
it correctly and you can do it for the rest of your life.

It is normal for you to hurt after you exercise, but it must
be done gradually with a good amount of rest periods to
allow proper healing. There are two common problems here
with beginning exercisers. You can cause long lasting damage
to muscles, tendons and ligaments if you work out while you
are in pain, without allowing enough rest time to heal. You
might find yourself in constant and long lasting pain if you
do this which means that you will no longer be able to
exercise.

If you wake up the next morning after you exercised and can
barely drag your aching body out of bed because everything
hurts, you are going to be less motivated to exercise at
all. Constant pain is a sure way to kill your exercise
program.

3. Common Mistake: Sacrificing Quality for Quantity. When
you are ready to increase the number of reps of a particular
exercise, and strengthen the corresponding muscles, instead
of forcing yourself to do a little more each time try
decreasing the number of reps in a set but increase the
number of sets. Also, back off to half your usual number of
reps but add a couple of more sets. You will feel less tired
and will be able to gain strength in your fast-twitch
muscles.

4. Common Myth: Weight Training Makes Women Bulky. Weight
training for a woman will strengthen and tone muscle, burn
fat and increase metabolism, not build mass. Women do not
produce enough of testosterone to build muscle mass the way
that men do.

5. Common Mistake: Over-Emphasizing Strengths. You should
start focusing on your weak points rather than what you are
good at. This will help you balance things. For example, if
your lower body is stronger than your upper body, then try to
work only on this area one day a week.

Being smart about how you exercise will take you a long way.
It is important to have a healthy body so get out there and
start exercising today.

Start Walking To Get Fit And Healthy

Walking is good for the body and the mind. It is a
pleasurable way to improve ones health and it is easy on the
bones and joints. Those who walk for at least 30 minutes or
more four to five days a week can witness a variety of
health benefits.

Start your program slowly as your need to allow your body to
adjust at a gradual pace. Keep yourself well hydrated as you
walk and pay close attention to your posture. To start a
walking program you need to find the motivation to get off
the couch and then you need to dress in comfortable clothes
and put on a pair of walking shoes.

Walking shoes are not the exact same as running shoes as
they have less cushioning. If you walk often then you need
a proper pair of walking shoes. Always try both shoes on at
once and shop in the late afternoon. Shoes should not have to
be broken into to fit comfortably.

Increasing the speed you walk is one way to go, as is
walking uphill. Carrying some type of weights in both hands
will also help you to burn more calories. You can burn
plenty of calories when you walk if you do certain things.

Taking 10,000 steps a day can give your level of health a
tremendous boost. Unfortunately most people only take 3,000
steps daily. I suggest you get a pedometer which measures
how many steps you take and also how many calories you burn.

How successful a walking routine is, often has to do with
motivation. Everyone can feel less than motivated from time
to time.

How fast a person walks has to do with a number of factors,
one of which is their gender.

The most important thing about a walking program is that you
begin. Walking will make you feel better and fell better
about the new healthy you.

Exercise to Stay Healthy? Why of Course

Some years ago I was part owner in a Seattle business and was searching for a person to do our bookkeeping. My first stop on that search was the local senior center. And I lucked out!

I found a 76 year old retired banker who came to the office and we quickly started on a sound relationship. He did in two afternoons a week what it might have taken someone else five days.

And, even though he lived 17 blocks north and eight blocks east of the office he walked most of the way, only relying on the bus for a short part of the trip, both ways.

He told me one day that when he was younger the doctor told him that walking was the best thing he could do for his health, so he did it.

It is too bad that these researchers didn't know this fellow, but I'll vouch for the benefits.

Fitness and the Brain: Can a Walk a Day Keep Alzheimer's Away?

In the U.S. some five million people have Alzheimer’s disease and 10 million boomers will be at risk for memory problems over their lifetime. Worldwide, more than 100 million people may have Alzheimer’s by the year 2050. As clinicians, we have learned to recognize that jokes about “old-timer’s disease” and “Teflon brain” are often calls for help from seniors worried about their memory lapses. Living longer is obviously no fun if you cannot remember your home address or drive a car. Although we have made tremendous progress in understanding brain changes that accompany aging and dementia, no medications have proven effective for preventing Alzheimer’s to date. In recent years, however, more evidence is pointing to a non-medical way to bolster brain health as we age: exercise.

The Benefits of Exercise
Scientists are excited about the prospects of physical activity and exercise as anti-Alzheimer strategies for many reasons. Exercise training has been shown to reduce risk factors for dementia such as blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes and depression. Studies in animal models of aging show that exercise can increase blood flow, stimulate nerve cell growth in regions associated with memory and reduce the pathologic changes characteristic of Alzheimer’s. Studies of exercise and memory in humans have been promising but not yet definitive. For example, some, but not all, observational studies of older adults time found that those who were more physically active (for example, in such activities as swimming, walking, ballroom dancing) or who exercised at least three times a week had a lower risk for dementia. Likewise some short-term clinical trials found that aerobic exercise improved certain cognitive abilities. The inconsistency across studies has hampered firm conclusions about the relevance of these findings, however. What was needed to move the field forward was a clinical trial testing whether regular exercise could produce sustained long-term improvements in older adults with memory problems.

In a study published in September 2008, Nicola Lautenschlager and colleagues at the University of Western Australia attempted to do just that. They studied 170 older people with memory complaints of whom 60 percent had objective memory deficits severe enough to be diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, a condition thought to be a precursor for Alzheimer’s.

Over the next six months, half of the study participants were assigned to a home-based exercise program. They were encouraged to do at least three 50-minute sessions of exercise (mostly walking) each week. Those who were already doing this level of exercise at study entry (about 25 percent) were asked to up their activity level by an additional 50 minutes. The other half were assigned to receive basic health education as a control group. At the end of six months, exercisers improved modestly (scoring about 20 percent higher than controls) on an overall measure of cognitive abilities. The subgroup of people with mild cognitive impairment also improved. One year after the trial ended, the exercisers still sustained a 10 percent edge on overall cognitive score compared with controls and also had significantly less decline on a memory measure. A host of other cognitive subtests did not differ between the groups, however. This study is important because it is the first to demonstrate that exercise benefits cognition in older adults with subjective and objective memory problems over 18 months.

Further Questions
But this study was not a clean win and raises additional questions. The effect size was too small for an average person to be able to notice a benefit (although any effect is better than nothing in a field with no alternatives). Compliance with exercise decreases over time: Can we motivate people to sustain exercise habits over long periods? Are memory benefits seen only with aerobic exercise or can any type of physical activity help? This study did not follow people long enough to address the billion dollar question: Can regular exercise postpone the development of Alzheimer’s disease? The study by Lautenschlager and colleagues provides an important proof of principle and will help us design future trials to test these issues further. The availability of newer brain scans will also help us directly track whether exercise can affect the progression of Alzheimer brain pathology in people at risk. It has been said that “a man’s health can be measured by which he takes two at a time—pills or stairs.” As our society grows increasingly reliant on medications, lifestyle strategies such as exercise seem like, well, a no brainer.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)
P. Murali Doraiswamy, M.D. is head of the Division of Biological Psychiatry at Duke University and an author, with Lisa P. Gwyther and Tina Adler, of The Alzheimer's Action Plan, a consumer guide to memory problems. Benson Hoffman, Ph.D., is assistant clinical professor of Medical Psychology at Duke University.

The Easiest Way To Reduce Stress

I admit exercise is not the most exciting subject to think
about. But regular exercise will help you reduce stress in
your life, which will improve your sense of well being and
lead to a more enjoyable life experience. If you haven't
been exercising regularly, overcoming procrastination is the
hardest part.

Stress reduction is a great reason to get the exercise ball
rolling. How often have you heard someone you know say about
an ailment, "it's just stress related"? Most folks have a
tendency to make light of stress, but it's a fact that too
much stress in your life can eventually lead to illness and
even serious health problems. So starting an exercise
regimen to reduce stress in your life could be one of THE
most important decisions you make.

Exercise will help strengthen your immune system and bring
your stress level down. Even simple activities like
stretching, walking, jogging or hiking will strengthen your
heart, lungs and muscles and increase your endurance.

Walking could be the smartest exercise choice you could
make. No equipment or gear of any kind is required and you
can walk anywhere, anytime. Walking can be enjoyable,
especially if you go with a partner and just enjoy each
other's company. Going for a walk with a friend will make it
something to look forward to.

Slowly increase the intensity of your walking workout to
increase the health benefits. Pick up the pace and walk a
bit further each week. Walking can be the best overall
activity for your health if you do it properly. That means
pushing yourself so you maintain your target heart rate for
20 minutes or so. If you don't know your target heart rate,
you can easily check it online. Buy a good quality heart rate
monitor if you don't have one.

Make sure to do some basic stretching before you walk for
the purpose of loosening up the muscles in your neck,
shoulders and legs. Doing so will start the blood flowing
and help to prevent unwanted injuries.

There are a variety of activities that you could choose that
will help reduce stress in your life. But walking is easy
and inexpensive. It's an activity that allows you to get
your workout in fast, and that's important if you are on a
tight schedule. You can do your stretches and your walk, in
as little as 30-35 minutes. Surely you can find half an
hour a day for something that will make you healthier.

Even if you have to settle for a short walk occasionally,
the exercise and socializing will definitely reduce stress
over time. So grab a pair of comfy shoes and a heart rate
monitor, and walk as often as you can. It will reduce stress
levels, and it will make you feel wonderful.