Rise and Exercise

Archive for the ‘Guest Post’ Category

If you’re having consistent and debilitating back pain, you may want to consider exercises that can relieve the cause of your malady. Because the spine is such a critical aspect of human health, you want to take every precaution to keep it in good condition. Too commonly, people experience lumbar discomfort and turn to extreme stretches and exercises that only cause further damage. Be sure to follow these exercises and their guidelines to relieve many types of back pain and bring you greater health.
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Low calorie diets have been at the source of major controversy over the years but what do we really know about the safety and usefulness of diets that operate with very low calories?

Many dieters, fitness enthusiasts and even doctors claim that people who participate in low calorie diets will begin to suffer from various conditions due to lack of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and other nutrients due to not eating enough of the substances. However with the advent of nutritional supplements, can’t a dieter substitute these products in order to reduce calories?

Another interesting point is that research has actually been done in regards to a very low calorie diet (VLCD) that has shown promising results. The Diabetes Centre, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia conducted a research study of 14 obese diabetic patients of which 7 were insulin dependent to determine the effect of a VCLD. Each patient was allowed less than 500 calories per day for 12 weeks and then evaluated after the study. The results were astonishing, the study showed that all 14 patients lost weight and decreased their waistlines, lowered their cholesterol, lowered their triglycerides and the 7 insulin dependent patients were able to come off the insulin.

Another popular low calorie diet is the hCG diet which combines a 500 calorie per day diet with the hormone hCG. The original ATW Simeons diet specifies the use of hCG shots (not drops) along with a specific low calorie diet plan in order to mobilize fat and also fight off the feelings of hunger. The diet is expected to be followed for roughly 30 days with a 30 day break in case the dieter plans to take the diet again. This plan has been used since the 1950’s and there have been very few reported side effects over 5 decades of use.

The point is that low calorie diets have been proven useful and even beneficial in certain cases. It is also critical to keep in mind that a low calorie diet is intended to be a short term plan in order lose weight as fast as possible before returning to a sensible diet and fitness plan.

About- Pete Kontakos writes for US HCG Injections regarding the hCG diet and other topics.

What is Sports Massage?

Sports massage is a deep massage technique that focuses on alleviating soft tissue aches, pains and injuries that can occur through sports and recreational activities. Sports massage is proven to aid recovery of muscle stiffness, improve relaxation and much more.

How Can Sports Massage Help?

Athletes put their bodies through an enormous amount of intense stress when working out, playing, training and/or competing. Muscles are constantly put to the test. Sports massage can have many benefits to an athlete’s performance and muscle durability, often preventing injury and improving performance. Sports massage can also have a positive impact on athletes’ psychological and physiological well-being. Read the rest of this entry »

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Losing weight has become an obsession for some people. If they’re carrying a couple of extra pounds, they may go to extremes to get rid of it, and that’s not healthy. Going on a crash diet or exercising until you drop may shed some pounds, but your overall health may suffer if you do. The best way to lose weight is to do it gradually–cut back on calories, eat the right foods, and exercise moderately but regularly. Walking is a good form of exercise. It’s relatively easy to do, and it isn’t high impact, so your body won’t be overtaxed. Following are a few tips on how to walk off weight.

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This is our first guest post on Rise and Exercise. Thank you to Emma Green. We hope to see more guest posts in the future! Enjoy!

If you’re like me, you don’t want to take the time to stretch before working out. While I love stretching, because it feels good, I always feel that it cuts into my actual exercise time. If I only have a half hour to work out, and I spend 10 minutes stretching, then my run will only last 20 minutes, and part of that will be the warm up and cool down.

It has been proven that many most normal stretches won’t decrease the risk of injury during exercise, so if you choose to do regular stretch routines, you aren’t helping yourself a whole lot. In fact it could be a detriment to your body.

Use Dynamic Stretches Rather than Static Ones

Overstretching to the point of pain isn’t doing your body any good.  If you overstretch, you may have higher levels of metabolic waste, which will create a catalyst that contracts muscles. The result of this catalyst is that you may be more prone to injury. Some people believe that active static stretching increases the inflow of Ca²⁺ from your cells into the muscles being stretched. The increase of Ca²⁺ reduces the muscle twitch tension (as much as 60%). Increased levels of Ca²⁺ in resting muscles predisposes individuals to fatigue quicker than individuals who did not stretch.

However, if you research to see what types of stretching will benefit the specific type of exercise activity that you are going to participate in, you will see that doing specialized stretching exercises will decrease the risk for injury. Look up PNF stretching (aka proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation) as a source for deciding which types of stretching you want to incorporate into your workout. Another benefit of stretching to keep in mind, especially for runners, is the increased range of motion during your workout.

So if you are going to stretch, make sure that you do not overdo it, and focus on stretches that are specifically tailored for your workout. As a runner, I really enjoy this dynamic routine. The instructions are easy to follow, and it was formulated specifically for runners.

Bio: Emma Green has enjoyed running since high school, when she did cross country. She enjoys staying fit, especially when it involves running or swimming. She is also passionate about Nutrition, Emergency Preparedness, and Food Storage. Feel free to visit her blog, or you may contact her with any questions about Fitness or Food Storage at emmagreenie@live.com