Can Air Pollution can cancel your Exercise benefits !

Exercise is good for your health but polluted air is not. Everybody know this fact, but what everybody don't know if it is OK to workout in a city with polluted air. Does polluted air cancel the benefits of exercise ? The answer to this question is really important because most of the health counselors advise to workout for at least 30 minutes daily, but if polluted air is cancelling the benefits the why should we do that.

Living in metropolitan city with traffic in streets is not an easy task, as the polluted air is always making you prone to serious health risks. You must have seen people walking, jogging, cycling and exercising in streets and parks. Even you may be one of them and must have started worrying now, if it is OK to exercise in such conditions. Don't worry ! The answer is that exercising still improves your health and reduces the risks of heart diseases. Exercise can reduce the ill effect of bad air, but there is noting better than clean air for your health.

Air Pollution should never be an excuse to skip your workout, especially if you are not already suffering from a medical condition. An asthmatic person should avoid exercising if air pollution stats are bad as it can trigger asthma attack. But a healthy person will still reap the benefits of exercise.

Some researches were done to know the effect of different types of physical activities on health of people living in metro cities with a reputation of bad air. The results of these studies are enough to clarify this issue.

• According to a study, active commuting, walking or biking, can reduce the risk of stroke or heart attack by 11 percent.
• Normally 10% of first heart attack cases result in recurrent heart attack. But playing sports, gardening, biking and walking for four or more hours a week reduced that count to half. Moderate cycling have the best effect, which reduced the count of recurrent heart attack by 69%.

Living in a city with high air pollution increases the risk of first heart attack by 17% and recurrent heart attack by 39%. Overall bad effect of polluted air is always bad, but regular exercise can reduce that bad effect to some extent.

Some experts believe that exercising in polluted air can put your lungs at stress as they work harder with polluted air, while you were exercising.

Note: It is better to use a park with lots of trees to jogging or exercising purpose, instead of some road or street with traffic running on it.

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Importance of Warm up before Workout or Sports

It is a common fact that you must do warm up exercises before doing any workout or sporting event. But why do we need to do it ? Is there any scientific reason behind that or it is just a way to put your body in slight motion before going for actual pace. Does warm up increase your performance afterwards or decreases it by consuming some amount of muscular energy. You will get answers to such common questions in this article.

Scientific Explanation of Warm up

Warm up is low level activity done prior to more strenuous exercise. It rises body temperature and muscle temperature and alerts it to be ready for more physical activity. Blood starts flowing towards muscular areas to provide more energy to them. It prepares cardiovascular system, respiratory system and nervous system by gradually increasing their activity and demand. Sometime a sports specific workout is done by athletes to make some particular muscles more alert for the upcoming event. Warm up reduces the chances of muscle damage.

What are negative effects of avoiding Warm up ?

Some people think that their body is better than others and they don't need a warm up before workout. Implementation of such thoughts can lead to physical side effects on their body. Some of those negative side effects are described here.

• Muscle Damage: Muscle damage may occur as a result of avoiding warm up. Especially if you are going for very tough workouts, such as weight lifting. Muscles at low temperature can't bear as much weight and may get damaged as a result of bearing excess pressure.
• Capacity reduced: As a result of lesser blood supply to the muscles (due to avoiding warm up), the muscles can't work to their full potential and you will feel reduction in your capacity.
• Muscle Soreness: Muscle soreness may occur due to lack of warm up, as lesser amount of oxygen would be reaching muscles, when they are in need of more.
• Lack of elasticity: Warm up increases elasticity of muscles. Avoiding warm up results in lesser elasticity, which means lesser strength and more chances of muscle pull.
• Reaction time: Warm up reduces reaction time, thus increasing performance. But lack of warm up results in more reaction time which can result in bad performance for athletes.

How much warm up is OK ?

There is no specific time limit for warm up. It depends on what you are going to do next. If your task only involves a particular muscle set, then warm up of only those muscles is necessary. Your trainer or coach can give you the correct suggestion about it. Main motive of warm up is to increase body/muscle temperature and increase blood flow. Rising your body temperature by 2 degrees is considered sufficient. However some coaches expect you to sweat before going for actual workout.

Warm up is must during winters

Yes, you heard it right. Cold weather makes our muscles stiff and directly involving them in some strenuous exercise can cause muscle damage. So warm up is must during winters.

Never mix up Warm up with Stretching

Warm up and stretching are two different activities. Stretching can't be considered as warm up. If you directly involve in stretching without any warm up, then it may result is muscle injury. Muscle tear or strain may occur to cold muscles if you directly go for stretching.

Some common warm up exercises are:

• Jogging
• Static Running
• Jump Rope
• Free Squats
• Forward and Backward run
• High knee run
• Stretching without holding a posture

Note: Never do static stretching before a workout session, as it tells your body to relax and cool down, instead of warming up. So static stretching can cause negative side effects. You may do it after a workout session to relax your body and muscles.

Warm up is a way to tell your heart and body to be ready for some physical activity. Your muscles may mind it, if you don't convey this message. So never forget a warm up before actual workout.

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Britney Spears improving health for Summer Tour

World famous teen star of her time and now a mother of two is improving her health for "Piece of Me tour", that will start in july this year. The 35 year old mom shared her pics and videos on twitter and instagram to let her followers know about her workout details. She is looking in perfect shape and ready to rock the stage. However sharing such pics and videos is often considered as a publicity strategy but her fitness will inspire a lot of women to keep themselves fit . Fitness is the key to happiness and you can get inspiration for such things from anybody.

Britney Spears Workout

• Sumo jump squats
• Bosu ball crunches
• Side leg raise
• Kettlebell swings
• Band donkey kicks
• Donkey kicks on the ground
• Downward facing dog crunches
• Chaturanga
• Sitting side stretch

The above workout is enough to keep anybody more than fit. These workouts can keep the whole body fit, but it seems that britney is more concerned about thigh and abs regions, as most of the moms remain more concerned about fat in those areas.
Don't hesitate is expressing your views about these latest shares by Britney. Do you think that it will inspire others or is it just a showoff. 

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Strongest Muscles in Human Body

Muscles are something that makes us feel stronger. But which muscle in human body is strongest ? But reality is that definition of strength is different for different conditions. Some muscles are strongest in terms of working continuously for longer duration while some muscles are best in giving huge amount of pressure within a few seconds. So based on these different definitions of strength, you will come to know about different powerful muscles in human body in this article. If we declare any one muscle of body as the strongest muscle then it would be injustice to more than 800 other muscles.

We collected a list of different muscles whom we can call as strongest muscles of our body. Out of these muscles we can't give the status of number one to a single muscle, as all of them do exceptionally were at their respective places in our body. We can't even think about surviving without any one of them.

Cardiac Muscles: These muscles make the wall of the heart and contract to pump the blood to the whole body. These muscles never rest and stop only when a person dies. They do the hardest work in body and never get tired. 2 ounces (71 grams) of blood is pumped in every heart beat. It means daily 2,500 gallons (9,450 liters) of blood is pumped. Cardiac muscles are involuntary and can't be controlled at will.
Masseter Muscle: This  facial muscle helps us in chewing food by exerting pressure on food through our jaw. These muscles help us put pressure of 200 pounds (90.7 kilograms) on the molars and 55 pounds (25 kilograms) on the incisors. This pressure is sufficient to chew any solid food and get the best taste out of it.
External Muscles of Eye: These muscles are best in terms of coordination with our body. We can't see an object properly without these muscles. They help us in maintaining a focus any object either it is still or moving. They even help us in not losing the focus even when your own head moving or shaking. 10,000 coordinated movements are made by these muscles within an hour while reading a book. So you can easily imagine how much stress they bear when you are running or driving. These muscles get tired and need rest in the form of sleep.
Gluteus Maximus: These muscles are inside our hips and the largest muscle in our body. It help us in keeping our posture erect. Without this muscle we can't even think of standing straight and walking upstairs.
Uterus Muscles: These muscles work at the time of delivery of a baby by contracting the muscles of Uterus to push the baby out. Pituitary Gland secrets oxytocin hormone to stimulate contraction of these muscles.
Soleus: This muscle is responsible for walking, running, standing, dancing and making balance. It is also known as the anti-gravity muscle of human body as it works against the force of gravity. It is present in our leg just below the calf muscles(gastrocnemius).
Tongue Muscles: There are many muscles inside our tongue working at different levels. It has got one of the toughest job to do, i.e.pushing the saliva into our digestive system. It also helps in mixing the food while the food is being chewed by our teeth. It works with great coordination with our teeth and never get cut.
Rectus Femoris: This muscle helps in kicking or sprinting. This muscle connects our hips to knees and helps in extending or raising the knee. Injury in this muscle is mostly found only in soccer players due to its over usage.

All of the above muscles are strongest in one or other way. Their sequence in this article has nothing to do with their ranking. You will never want to get any of these muscles hurt in any way in your lifetime.

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Whose muscles are better: Athlete or Bodybuilder ?

Health conscious people often compare the body/muscles of an athlete with bodybuilders. The truth is that even professional bodybuilders can't beat the strength of muscles of a professional athlete. The looks of a bodybuilder's muscles might be more fascinating compared to an athlete, but not the strength. Even the best bodybuilder in the world with best leg muscles can't beat Usain Bolt on a racing track.

What makes muscles of an athlete work better than a bodybuilder ?
Muscles of an athlete are trained for strength, while muscles of a bodybuilder are made to look bigger in size. There is a major difference between their body types. More strength in the body of an athlete is a result of better nervous system. Bigger muscles are not a proof of better nervous system functioning behind. More power generated by athlete's muscles is done by both muscles and nerves connected to brain. It would not be wrong to say that real strength lies in your brain. Practice is necessary in both cases, but exercises of a bodybuilder are totally different from athletes. Training programs of an athlete train their nervous system equally with their muscles.

Science behind improving nervous system for more strength

Intense physical activity causes motor unit recruitment to increase the strength. Motor Units (motor neurons connected to muscle fibers) make our muscles contract by bringing the electrical signal sent by brain from spinal cord to muscle fiber. Motor Unit Recruitment is activation of more motor units. Intense physical activity activates more motor units and thus increases the strength of contraction of muscles.

Our brain fires electrical impulses to motor units to contract a muscle. The strength of contraction depends on two factors.

• How many muscle fibers are connected to each motor unit.
• How fast is the firing rate of electrical impulse sent fro brain to motor unit.

Regular intense physical activity increases both of these factors. It increases the strength of contraction by 2 to 4 times. 

When we exercise regularly our brain get used to increased blood supply and adapts the ability to turning some genes ON and OFF as per need of body at that time. When we exercise our body take that moment as a moment of stress, due to increase of blood pressure and breathing (as if we are fighting or fleeing from some enemy). To protect our brain from this stress a protein called BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor) is released, which empowers our memory neurons.
So in more easy terms you can say that exercise or intense physical activity not only increases your muscle size but also improves your memory and ability of your nervous system to contract your existing muscles with more power.

Athlete versus Bodybuilder

After reading all of the above content you will believe it if we say that size has nothing to do with actual strength.

• Body of a professional sportsperson is trained to use its muscles with speed and strength. While the body of a bodybuilder is trained to show how much it can pump .
• No matter how big are muscles of bodybuilder, they can't push the body to attain the speed of an athlete. It is due to lesser motor unit recruitment, which empowers the nerves behind the muscles to show more strength at a certain time.
• The coordination between different body muscles is better in athletes/sportsperson. Even eye's coordination with other body parts is better in them.
• Muscles of a bodybuilder may be bigger but their flexibility is lesser that a sportsman. 
• Muscles of an athlete can bear more burden for a longer duration. Again it is due to better nervous system functioning behind.

If you understand the difference between exercises of Athlete and Bodybuilder, then you will be better able to know why athlete's muscles work better in certain sports while the bodybuilder's bigger muscles can't do that.

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Do you think that Bodybuilding makes you stronger ?

If you use to think that bodybuilding makes you stronger, then you might be wrong. A recent research which compared the muscles and power of bodybuilders with some physically active men, found that both have same amount of power in their muscles. However the size of muscles of bodybuilders is larger comparatively but it has nothing to do with actual strength. Sometimes a physically active person with lesser muscle size may be more powerful than a body builder who just looks more powerful.

Bodybuilding increases Size not Strength

If you understand the science behind bodybuilding you will understand that it is an art to make your muscles bigger and make them look better in a desired shape. But the real strength lies behind muscles, i.e. you nervous system. The mechanism of strength lies in your brain and nervous system. Improving this mechanism is not an objective of bodybuilding. However some strength increases in bodybuilding but that improvement is not as much as it appears.

Science behind increasing Muscles Size

There are three types of muscles: cardiac, smooth, and skeletal. Cardiac muscles are located at heart and they are involuntary muscles (that we can't control at will). Smooth muscles are located in walls of hollow visceral organs. Skeletal Muscles are connected to out skeleton and allow us to move different body parts. Skeletal muscles are the main muscles that we target in body building. If we keep these muscles under tension for longer duration then their size increases with time. Some strength also increases with it. But real strength lies in the our nervous system and there are different ways to improve and strengthen your nervous system.

How does muscles size increase by body building ?
When we exercise our muscles consume instant energy called ATP and demand more energy/glucose from body. To provide that energy and oxygen, our breathing and pulse rate increases. But still due to insufficient oxygen, lactic acid is released in muscles which makes tiny tears in muscles and we start feeling pain. These small tears in muscles are repaired by body during resting phase and they grow bigger and stronger. The key to growing muscles bigger lies in keeping your muscles under tension for longer duration, which can done by using lesser weight with more repetition. The weight should go up and come down in a controlled way to fulfill this objective. Proper amount of rest is also necessary to give adequate amount of time to let the muscles heal and grow. 

The motive of this article is not to demotivate you from body building. Body building makes you look better than before and it is better than sitting idle and being overweight. It is a good way to burn calories and living a healthy life. It can make you look like a superhero but in reality it doesn't mean that you will be able to lift weight like power lifters. Body building and weight lifting are two different things and its better to understand them if you want to make anyone of them your career.

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How does exercise improve your Cardiovascular System

Regular exercise is a good lifestyle habit to stay away from diseases and get a good looking body. Those who are suffering from some heart diseases often come to know the importance of exercise once they got affected by it. If you make exercise a habit from the very beginning of your adulthood then most often you won't ever by affected by any cardiovascular disease or any other health issue. In this article we will discuss the effects of exercise on your cardiovascular health and how it saves you from hypertension.

• Exercise makes your heart stronger: Regular exercise makes your heart stronger and its ability to pump blood increases. When we exercise on regular basis, our heart starts to adapt and left ventricle enlarges to store and pump more blood per beat. It is the reason why professional athletes have low resting pulse rate compared to an average person. Their blood pressure also remains on lower side. 
• Exercise improves quality of Blood: Exercise stimulates our circulatory system and enhances the removal of toxins from blood. It also increases the flow of oxygenated blood in body.
• Exercise lowers Bad Cholesterol:  LDL Cholesterol, which is considered bad for human health is found more in obese people or those who live sedentary life. Exercise on regular basis triggers some enzyme activity in body which helps in transfer of that bad cholesterol from blood vessels to liver which later converts it into bile and further excreted from body.
• Exercise makes you arteries flexible: There are some flexible tissues in the arteries which usually diminishes as we age. But we exercise regularly then these flexible tissues remain there for longer duration and arteries remain flexible. Flexibility of arteries helps our body in dealing with sudden elevation in blood pressure due to some intense physical activity, such as running.
• Exercise lowers blood pressure: Resting blood pressure of a person who exercise regularly will be lower than a person who don't exercise. It is because of the facts explained above. Exercise makes heart stronger, arteries flexible and improves quality of blood by removing toxins and bad cholesterol. All of these things help in lowering the blood pressure. Low blood pressure means less chances of stroke or heart attack.
• Exercise Reduces Inflammation in Body: Regular exercise reduces C-reactive protein (CRP) in body which indicates inflammation in body. Inflammation is body is also responsible for Coronary Heart Disease.   
• Exercise can help in quit smoking: Some researches found that regular exercising can help those who want to quit smoking which can save you from heart diseases.

How much exercise is enough for cardiovascular health ? Know more


All of the above facts about exercise and cardiovascular system are for those who understand human anatomy. Very simple fact about exercise is that it reduces your weight and keep it under control. If you have your weight in control then you are automatically saved from those diseases that are directly connected to obesity. Hypertension and diabetes are most common diseases found in overweight people. So even if you don't know more about human anatomy, you may get sure that you won't get hypertension of diabetes if you exercise regularly.

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How much exercise is enough for your Cardiovascular Health ?

The answer to "how much" depends on the exercise that you prefer to do. Exercise regime of differing people differs from just jogging to power lifting, as it depends on your present health and interest level. All exercises are not meant for every person. A person who has never done any exercise can't directly jump for power lifting, thinking that it will benefit him/her more. If you want to go for intense exercises than it is better to increase your exercise level gradually with the help of a professional fitness trainer.

How much exercise is enough for your Cardiovascular Health ?

When we discuss exercises for your cardiovascular health then keep it in mind that these exercises are not meant to make you a bodybuilder but to increase the health of your heart and keep you away from cardiovascular diseases.

Here are some points that can help you in making an exercise schedule.

• 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week is sufficient for heart health. It means 30 minutes per day for 5 days in a week.
• If you can't exercise continuously for 30 minutes due to some health reasons then you may divide the time in 2 or 3 segments of 15 or 10 minutes.
• If you prefer vigorous exercise then you may save 50% of your time. 75 minutes of vigorous exercise is sufficient, which is just 15 minutes per day for 5 days in a week.
• If you want to do a combination of moderate and vigorous exercise then anything between 15 to 30 minutes per day is sufficient.

Below we have mentioned some moderate and heavy exercises to give you an idea about them. Even if the exercise that you prefer is not listed in it, you will get an idea if it is moderate or vigorous. So you may decide a exercise schedule.

List of Moderate Intensity Exercises

• Walking at a pace of faster than 3 miles per hour
• Cycling slower than 10 miles per hour
• Ballroom dancing
• Light Gardening
• Tennis doubles
• Water Aerobics

List of Vigorous Intensity Exercises

• Running or Jogging
• Swimming laps
• Aerobic dancing
• Jumping Rope
• Heavy Gardening (like continuous digging)
• Cycling faster than 10 miles per hour
• Hiking uphill

Note: Before making an exercise schedule it is better to take your present health into consideration. If you already have some medical condition then decide your exercise schedule after consulting your physician.

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Eating after a Workout : Good or Bad !

I have met a number of people who have their own beliefs about eating after a workout session, but none have of them any scientific explanation. Some believe that its good to eat after a workout session, while some believe that its better to wait for an hour. The very first thing that i believe after writing so many articles for betterhealthfacts.com is that you should not believe any thing just because others are doing that. Others may be wrong ! So try to find the real facts and scientific explanation about that belief. You may find something that is better than your belief.

Eating after a workout - Good or Bad

It can be good or it can be bad. It depends on what you are eating. But before we go to what to eat, we should know about the the science behind it. After a workout session, the glycogen stores of our muscles are depleted and if we eat anything at that time then the calories will be used to fill those glycogen stores instead of turning it into fat. After a workout session our muscles are in more need of glycogen than any other time. But what we eat matters at that time. A fat-rich diet diet is lesser useful at that time than a protein-carb rich diet. Carbohydrates are used to fill the glycogen stores, while protein is used to repair and build the muscles. But fat don't fulfill any of these purpose, instead it needs more energy from body to digest it. So choose what you eat after a workout session keeping this simple science in mind. Proteins, Carbohydrates and a little sugar can do some good to you at that time, while fats can do the opposite. If there is little amount of hidden fat in that diet then it will do no harm to your body.

Why you should have a diet after workout session ?

• If we don't eat anything after a workout session for 2 hours, then gradually our muscles ability to fill the glycogen stores decreases up to 50 percent. 
• If you are doing heavy weight workout and neglecting the demands of your body then you are doing more harm to your body than any benefits. If you are not taking necessary diet after  a workout  then the micro damage to your body muscles are not repaired due to absence of necessary proteins. Further damage can occur to your muscles in absence of such diet.
• Our blood sugar is lowered after a workout session and diet can easily set it to desired level.
• Our body releases a lot of calcium and potassium with the sweat during a workout. Calcium and potassium salts are necessary electrolytes which helps in normal function of nervous system. Getting these salts through a diet fills the necessary salts back into our body and make it function normally.
• Water is also a necessary part of your diet and saves you from dehydration.

Now you know what to eat after a workout. A good diet repairs your damaged muscles, fills the glycogen stores and saves your body from any possible further damage. So don't skip a post workout diet and make your workout do something good to your body.  

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How Exercise affects your Blood Pressure

To know the effect of exercise or workout on our blood pressure its better to study the blood pressure of athletes. Its a well know fact and proved in various research studies that normal blood pressure of athletes is lower than a non-exercising person. Its because the cardio vascular system of an athlete is far better and effective than others.

How Exercise affects your Blood Pressure

• A single session of Aerobic exercises or some moderate intensity exercises can lower your resting blood pressure and this effect can last up to 22 hours. This study was published in March 2014 journal of "Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise".
• Exercising can temporarily increase your blood pressure, but in a normal human being its not something to worry about. It will just increase the power of your heart and increase elasticity of blood vessels.
• When we exercise on regular basis, our heart pumps more blood at that time and temporarily increases the blood pressure. It makes our heart stronger and it pumps more blood with less effort compared to a normal human being. This whole thing decreases our resting state blood pressure.
• Usually our blood pressure increases with age due to various factors. One of these factors is reduction of elasticity of blood vessels. But exercising on regular basis can help in not getting our blood pressure increase with age.
• Regular exercising can reduce the Systolic Blood Pressure (the upper reading) by 4 to 9mmHg . This effect is equivalent to taking some medication for blood pressure. So if you can reduce it without medicines then why don't you exercise.
• Blood Pressure of a healthy human being should be always less than 120/80 . If its slightly above than that, then its time for you to take some step and lower it.
• Apart from all of the above facts, exercise can help you in getting rid of extra fat. Obesity is the major reason behind high blood pressure. Reducing your fat can directly save you from a number of heart diseases.

So from now onward adapt a drug free approach to lower your blood pressure. If its possible with routine exercise then why should we take medicine for that. You may do any type of exercise that you like. It may be running, jogging, power-lifting, swimming, aerobics or yoga. Its not necessary to run a marathon or being a body builder to lower your blood pressure. Just being active is the main motive of doing exercise.
If you are already a patient of hypertension (high blood pressure), still you can do mild exercises to help yourself. But its better to consult your specialist before starting it.

We hope that all these facts collected by us will help you in lowering your blood pressure.

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Why women don't develop muscles like men ?

Usually bodybuilding is considered as an activity for men, not women. But some women are acting against the dominance of men in this field. During recent decades a number of female bodybuilders have gained popularity and motivated a number of women to go to gym. Exercising is a good habit for both men and women, but when it comes to muscle development the female counterparts lack in something. Even if women workout equivalent to men, the muscle development will be lesser and exertion will be more. The reason behind this thing is natural, its the male hormone Testosterone.

Role of Testosterone in Muscle Development

Testosterone is known as a male hormone and its responsible for muscle development. When we do a workout, some wear and tear happens in our muscles. At this time is generated to repair those muscles and make them even stronger for next use. So as you repeat the same exercise again and again in the following days on the same muscles, those muscles start developing. Its a simple adaptation of muscles for the workload. Bodybuilders utilize this feature of body to shape some particular muscles and design exercises to develop them.

Why women can't develop muscles like men ?

The answer to this question is the level of testosterone hormone in women, which is much lesser than men.

Do women have testosterone ?

Yes, women have testosterone. But the quantity is just 5% of a men. This quantity is sufficient enough to repair the muscles but not enough to develop them like men. But still a women who workout on regular basis can have better muscles than those men who don't exercise.

Is it a good decision for a women to be bodybuilder ?

We can't say either its a good decision or a bad decision. Its a personal choice. But women need to work harder than men to develop the muscles. They don't only need good workout but some food supplements and hormones as well. All female bodybuilders who have become a role model for several women have achieved that body after a lot of hard work and dedication.

There is no need for men to be happy after reading this article. There are a lot of things that a men can't do, but a women can. To know more about those things read our next article "Who's body is Better: Men or Women ?" .

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Six Pack Abs vs Slim Stomach ! Whats Better ?

Six Pack Abs are dream for a number of men but some just struggle to get a slim stomach. Some people think that just a slim stomach is better for a normal human being, and six-pack abs makes the stomach region harder than required. Here we will try to find an answer to this rare question that Whats better between Six Pack Abs and Slim Stomach.

If you ask a body builder the same question, his answer will be six-pack abs, as he has already got it. But if you ask the same question to a person with slim stomach then there are 50-50 chances of both answers. The answer to the same question depends on own physical structure of the man. Sometimes if we can't get a thing then we say that its not good. Same thing can happen with Six-pack Abs. If we can't get it, then we say that its not good for human body. However some people can tell the truth that they can't control diet and work hard enough to get six-pack abs. But these answers were just views, not the real answers to the question.

To get the actual answer to our question its better to know the views of doctors on this thing. Here we collected some answers to the same question from some fitness and medical experts.

According to some fitness experts overworking on your abdominal muscles can do harm on your spinal health, posture and breathing pattern. Usually we do crunches to develop abs muscle and exhale while moving forward, which reduces the breathing capacity and changes our posture.

• Short and tight abdominal muscles pulls our breastbone towards the pubic bone and disturbs the normal posture and also makes us prone to injury. In such cases poor posture syndrome becomes visible with age.
• Having tight abdominal muscles leaves lesser space for internal organs. It also shortens the space for lungs to expand while inhaling. It disturbs the breathing pattern and breathing becomes shallow and fast.
• Our breathing and posture are directly connected to our spinal cord. Disturbance in breathing pattern and posture can directly affect the spinal health.

Even doctors say that first objective of a person to be healthy is to be slim, not obese. Developing six-pack abs is a personal choice, but take guidance of some fitness expert in doing so to reduce any side-effects mentioned above. If you want to develop your abs muscles then its necessary to do correct exercises so that the harm is either nil or minimal. Our fitness industry has mislead youngsters by marketing six-pack abs are the key to being sexy. But the actual fitness truth is that your stomach should be slim and soft(at least according to Ayurveda) .

We hope that the facts given above have provided some insight on this topic. So now you have one more excuse if you were unable to develop six-pack abs earlier. :-)

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Rheumatoid Arthritis Exercises for Hands Knee Feet and Shoulders

Rheumatoid Arthritis is a rare disease in which our immune system start to attack its own tissues, and most affected part of our body due to this disease are joints. Joints of Hands, Knee, Feet and Shoulders are most affected by RA, a common name of Rheumatoid Arthritis. Swelling in the joints are also normal in this disease. If precautionary measures are not taken then this disease can grow with time. So timely medical intervention is necessary to cure Rheumatoid Arthritis. Apart from medication its better to change your life style and make changes in your diet and add some exercises to your daily routine after consulting your doctor. Usually Cardio or Aerobic exercise are mostly suggested by doctors. These exercise not only provide workout to the joints but also make your muscles and bones stronger.

Rheumatoid Arthritis Exercises

Here we will mention some exercises for Hands, Knee, Feet and Shoulders to make your condition better and decrease the effect of Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Its better to warm up before starting the main exercises. So of the easy and light warm up exercises are

• March at one point
• Pump your Arms and Legs

Walking is considered one of the best exercises for all age groups and for all disease. It provides mild exercise to every part of body including joints. In the beginning start slow and then increase your pace to the limit which your can bear. Its important to stay hydrated, so keep a water bottle handy. You can do this exercise almost anywhere but make sure that your shoes are comfortable.

Stretching Exercises are considered best for RA. It reduces stiffness in body and maintain range of motion. Some of the stretching exercises are;

• Try to touch the sky standing on your toes.
• Try to touch your toes either in standing or sitting position.

Cycling is good for your joints in your legs, such as feet and knee. If you are not comfortable in cycling on a road then use a stationary bike. Its good for both joints and heart. Don't try to reach your limits while cycling and consult you doctor especially if you are a blood pressure patient.

In some cases strengthening the muscles around the weak joints can help you. You can do strength training in the guidance of a physical therapist to make your situation better.

Small Joint Exercise are the main thing that we usually forget. A patient of Rheumatoid Arthritis should never forget his/her fingers and wrists. Curl your fingers and move your wrist in circular movements in the beginning of your exercise session or in the middle of the day, whenever you have some free time. Such exercises can be repeated anywhere both in office and home.

Yoga and Tai Chi provides some of the best exercises for Rheumatoid Arthritis. There are some breathing and flowing movement exercises in Yoga and Tai Chi which not only help joints but also gives you balance of mind and relives you from stress. You can search for these exercise videos on youtube if you want to practice them.

Exercise in Water : Those who are fond of swimming will agree with the fact the swimming in itself is the best exercise. But even if you don't know swimming, you can do some workout in water. If you lift some weight inside water then it will feel lighter and the arm movement will be like a flow, which provides mild exercise to joints. If you feel it appealing then give it a try. A number of people go for Hydrotherapy, exercising in warm water, to ease themselves from Rheumatoid Arthritis joint pain.

Rebounding is also used by some experts. Its like a mini trampoline and its safe to be used by people of all ages. It absorbs the impact of exercise but still gets your heart pumping and joints moving.

Whatever exercise you do, don't try to test your self by reaching your maximum limits. Its better to three ten-minute exercise sessions instead of a single 30 minute session. Its better to give a few minutes break between each exercise session. Try to enjoy your exercise session with proper clothing and equipment. Exercise done with enjoyment doubles the benefits. That's why some people listen music during workout.

Diet Recommendations for Rheumatoid Arthritis: Read More

Not Recommended Exercises for Rheumatoid Arthritis

• Jogging and Running
• Heavy Weight Lifting

A number of RA patients suffer from depression. Exercises change you mood without taking any antidepressant. So its better to keep moving and make your body healthy.

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Benefits of Running in the Morning before Breakfast

Running in the morning before breakfast is considered as one of the physical activities. So what makes it best. Here we will tell you some interesting facts about running in morning. Those who are conscious about their health should read it and decide it themselves if they want to start running or not. Running is not just to improve your stamina or leg muscles, its works on several aspects of your health.

Benefits of Running in the Morning before Breakfast

• It improves the working of your lungs. If you run on regular basis then you will notice that you won't feel out of breath while climbing stairs.
• Running improves the hearing capacity by supplying more blood and nutrients to our ear while we are running.
• Running helps in getting relief from Migraine pain. Those who run regularly are less prone to Migraine.
• Running prevents age related muscle loss and generates new muscles.
• You are less prone to Depression if you run regularly. Running is a natural Antidepressant. 
• It boosts your blood flow for a few minutes and supplies blood to some important parts of brain, which increases your brain power.
• Running starts nerve cell production in brain and also creates new blood vessels. It increases our thinking and analysis capacity.
• It makes your knees healthy and help them remain fit till an elderly age. Running increases cartilage production, which saves your joints from arthritis.
• Running increases bone density and make them stronger. Thus you are less likely to get a fracture.
• Your immune system become strong if you run regularly in the morning. If your immune system is strong then you are less likely to fall ill.
• During morning air is more oxygenated and less polluted. So its more beneficial rather than evening.
• Running in the morning before breakfast reduces the extra fat in your body. So morning time is a good running time for you if you want to lose fat.

All of the above benefits increases the work productivity as you remain healthy with a good working brain.

Running not only saves us from various diseases but also improves our metabolism and immunity. It makes you able to live a long and healthy life. Most of us don't run due to our lazy attitude towards our health. Everybody should make a habit to get up early in the morning and then go for running after answering the nature calls. In the beginning you might run a lesser distance. In that case you can follow Run-Walk-run method. In a few weeks you will be able to run a longer distance.

If you are suffering from High Blood Pressure / Heart Problem or any other major disease then consult your doctor before starting running on a regular basis.

Its better if you start running regularly from 20s or 30s. It will not only save you from aging factor and diseases but also increase your work productivity.

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Exercises to reduce Tyres of Stomach (Belly Fat Reduction)

Exercises to reduce Tyres of Stomach

Tyres of Stomach  are really something to worry about. You should try to get rid of them as soon as you notice them. This belly fat is a normal phenomena caused due to more intake of calories than what you consume. You can reduce this belly fat or tyres of stomach by doing some exercises on regular basis and consuming more calories than you intake. You can easily reduce 1 pound weight in a week if you consume 500 calories more than what you intake. It means that 3500 Calories equals one pound of body weight. But you can't reach this target if you don't exercise. According to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services guidelines 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio is essential for a normal man. If you want to loose weight then it should be 150 to 300 minutes. Plus you should also do strength training for two days in a week.

Moderate-Intensity Cardio Exercises to reduce Tyres of Stomach

Moderate-Intensity Cardio include walking, running, biking, step aerobics, jumping rope and swimming. These are some basic things that everybody should do remain healthy. But if you want to reduce the tyres / belly fat then you should do it in excess (around 300 minutes per week), which means around 50 Min daily. If you are ready to do it then you will easily loose 1 pound every week.

Strength Training and reducing Stomach Tyres

Strength training activities include traditional weightlifting and body-weight exercises. Its not necessary to do it every day. But a minimum of two days is necessary. Its not necessary to do a abs workout. You can do mixed exercises for different muscles. Our target is to burn calories.

As you will burn extra calories which are deposited on different parts of your body as fat, you will notice that you are notice the change. But make sure that you have not increased your intake, else there will be no difference. If you burn extra calories, then fat from all parts of your body will reduce. So your stomach tyres will also reduce. 

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Personal Fitness Trainer

All of us sometimes need a little help with exercise, regardless of whether we are beginners or experienced exercisers. However, there are people who shy away from training, unsure of what to expect and ask themselves if it is worth the money.
Think about some common reasons people hire personal fitness trainer and see if it is a good idea for you.

Why to hire a Personal Fitness Trainer ?

If you are already exercising consistently and see no changes, you should find a personal fitness trainer. A personal fitness trainer can look at your exercises and eating habits and help you to determine the changes that you need to make so you could exercise properly.

Personal Fitness Trainer can make Workout Effective

A Personal fitness trainer can also help you determine if the goals you have set are realistic for you.
Organizing a balanced program that includes all the exercises you need can be quite concerning. Great thing when you have a personal fitness trainer is that he can help you make the most of the time you are taking to exercise and he can watch over you and help you not to exceed your limits. He can help you to reach your goals and set a specific schedule so you know when, where and how to exercise and preserve your health.

Personal Fitness Trainer provides variety in workouts

If you are an experienced exerciser, maybe you have not considered about hiring a personal fitness trainer. However, it can be an excellent choice if you need variety in your workouts. A trainer can bring a fresh insight that will provide a challenge for your body and mind. Even if you practice with him just a few sessions or meet every few weeks, new exercises will be refreshing.

You need accountability and motivation 

If you are like me, you tend to skip exercise from time to time, especially when things get tough. A professional fitness trainer can motivate you to push past those self-imposed limits, encouraging you to lift heavier, go ahead and set to challenge yourself more than you would on your own.

Even if your goal is to create your own workouts and exercise alone, you should think about having a trainer help you out with a few sessions to teach you how to exercise properly. Small number of sessions with a personal trainer can teach you a lot about your body and physical fitness. If you have any specific issues like muscle pain, heart disease, old injuries, etc., working with an experienced fitness trainer (who, of course, cooperates with your doctor) can help you find a program that will help heal injuries and avoid any further problems.

Exercising with a personal fitness trainer is a great idea if you are pregnant and want a safe, effective exercise program that will help you feel healthy. Find a trainer with experience in dealing with your specific problem.

Even Bodybuilders have a trainer

Some people know how to exercise but also like to have a personal trainer to oversee their training and provide support. Fitness is a great workout and you can train other sports as well; you will only benefit from it. If you are lifting very heavy weights or need someone to perform the exercises in pairs, a good choice is to work with a personal trainer. He will accompany you during workouts and help you in preparing the training plan to reach your goals. If you want to exercise at home but do not have much equipment or do not know how to use what you have, a personal trainer in your home is a great choice. A personal trainer will show you how to practice on the equipment you have to get the best results and can bring equipment with him. He can recommend what equipment would be best to get and help you achieve goals .Find a personal fitness trainer and make your life easier. Sometimes we cannot choose to be healthy and fit, but we can choose a healthy way of lifestyle.

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Get better Abs with a Chin Up Bar | How to do it

Most athletes and bodybuilders do not know that doing certain unconventional ab workouts will help them to achieve their fitness goal quickly. Doing leg raises while hanging on the chin up bar for example can help you to work out your abs in a more effective way. So, you should consider including unconventional ab workouts in your fitness session. They will do you some good. 

Unconventional ab workouts like leg raises can be performed while hanging on a chin up bar. You can increase the strength of your abdominal muscles through these exercises. However, it may be difficult and more challenging to perform leg raises and other unconventional ab workouts while hanging on a bar. Below are some of the benefits of doing leg raises on a chin up bar.

• Leg raises increases the abdominal and core muscles.
• It reduces the risk of lower back injuries, back strain and back pain.
• Doing leg raises while hanging on a chin up bar increases your grip strength.
• It also increases your hip flexors’ agility, flexibility and strength. 

Incorporating leg raises in hanging ab workouts is a veritable means of involving the entire body in the workout.

Doing leg raise on the bar

There are several ways of doing leg raises. It all depends on the hanging ab workouts that you are doing. You can do it in the bar or at home. If you do not have any chin up or pull up bar at home, you can use any sturdy bar that can bear your weight and will also allow you to hang on it.

First grasp the bar tightly. Keep your body and legs straight. Now raise your body up until you get to the chin level. Hang on the bar and raise one of your legs until it is parallel to the floor. Bring it back to the starting level and raise the other leg. Bring it down and continue raising them in turns for 4 to 5 times or until you are tired. 

You may experience some difficulty at the beginning. Your legs may not be parallel with the floor initially but with time, it will be easy for you.

There are other unconventional exercises that you include in hanging ab workouts in order to achieve better result. They include:

• bicycle
• knee lifts
• upside-down crunch
• advance leg lift

All these exercises will give different results but all will help you to work out your abs and hip flexors.

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