Rise and Exercise

There are very few exercises out there in the world today which are quite like the rebounding. At first glance rebounding may seem to be nothing more than jumping up and down on a mini-trampoline, and for some people that is all it amounts to.

However, there are so many different ways to use a rebounder that a person using a rebounder has the ability to exercise most any part of their body, including the insides. When done correctly, rebounding becomes more than just simply jumping up and down.

One of the most apparent benefits of using a rebounder is that fact that rebounding itself is a low-impact exercise. This means that joints will be protected from excessive wear and tear, unlike exercising on a hard surface.

This makes rebounding ideal for those who are a little further along in years and have trouble with exercising because of joints. This also means that rebounding can help prevent problems later in life such as joint pain, which may come from stress on joints over a long period of time.
The fact that rebounding is a cardio exercise automatically gives it the benefits of regular cardio exercise, along with all the different benefits included with rebounding. This means increased metabolism for less trouble burning fat.

One of the biggest advantages to rebounding, which is actually stressed quite often, is the effect that rebounding has on the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system, similar to the bloodstream, that circulates throughout the entire body.

This system has very important tasks to perform, including the circulation of white blood cells throughout the body and also the transportation of waste. Unlike the bloodstream the lymphatic system is circulated through movement of the body and not the heart of some other organ.

The rhythmic jumping motions of rebounding can help to circulate the lymphatic system, thus allowing the many different benefits of increased circulation to lymphatic system, which essential cleans out the body. The health benefits of rebounding go on.

Above all, a rebounder, unlike many other exercise machines, is relatively inexpensive and takes up very little storage place. Some rebounders can even be folded into different sections which allow for even better portability and are even more convenient to store.

Rebounding is a great way to be able to get into shape and has so many different benefits that it seems almost unbelievable. However, the only way to find out is to personally try one. It could make all the difference in the world.

It is pretty apparent that in today’s culture there are a lot of different demographics that people have to cater to. Between little children and college students, there are so many factors that go into designing clothes and other types of everyday items it can be overwhelming.

One demographic that seems to be so very present in certain parts of the country is the elderly. Now, many have come to know the elderly as slow drivers and cranky old people, and there is a lot of truth to those statements. However, this demographic makes up about 13 percent of the population.

With that being said, even though many would have it otherwise, it is important to cater to this demographic as well. That could very well be the reason for senior citizen discounts at restaurants and national parks.

Despite all these perks that senior citizens get purely by virtue of advanced age, there but only a few types of exercise equipment that can be used by these people. Senior citizens need exercise too.

Although there is an excess of elderly folks walking the trails or doing some kind of other exercise such as pickle ball or golf, there is one particular piece of equipment that can do wonders for this demographic. That is the rebounder.

The rebounder is essentially a mini-trampoline that provides an easy, low-impact workout that can be enjoyed by anyone of any age. The exercise is essentially bouncing up and down on a trampoline.

Although this may seem easy, the intensity of the exercise is controlled by how much the user puts into it. For example, for a really intense exercise, the user needs no more than try to jump higher or try to light legs up higher when jogging in place.

This is ideal for senior citizens as there is no preset pace that has to be kept only as fast as can be done safely. What is even better is the fact that many rebounders come with a safety bar that can attached for added safety and stability.

This is more of less the holy grail of exercise for people of this age demographic. There are very few, if any, other types of exercise equipment that offer this many benefits to this particular demographic. It is also great for rambunctious grandchildren who need to lose a little bit of that youngster energy.

Investing in a calendar was the best idea I ever had.  It cost approximately nine dollars, and that is because I wanted to get the one with the rock climbing pictures on it.  This single investment has impacted my health and fitness more than any other, but that may be because I have yet to buy a treadmill, elliptical, rebounder, or stationary bike.  You see, I believe in calisthenics and body weight resistance.  The best part about these is that they can be done without any external apparatus.  All it takes is a little motivation, and that is where the calendar comes into play.

Make a deal with yourself, everyday that you exercise you can cross off a day on your calender.  This allows you to keep track and kind of view your progress.  I like to use a big red sharpie personally, but if you prefer to use a dainty pencil to cross the days off that is fine, whatever suits your prerogative I suppose.  Simply having a single X to record your progress is something, and after just a couple days they start to add up quick.

So here is what you do.  Buy a calender, a sharpie,  and set up a fitness routine. I’ll provide the first one. Don’t worry it isn’t hard, each day has about a 10 minute workout.  It is a great little cardio routine to blast belly fat.

About every month you should switch up your routine. Perhaps you could take this one provided and tweak it a bit to get a little more resistance.

Preface: The idea of this article is fairly universal, but it may help to think of it in terms of exercising and learning to change your lifestyle.

There is something of a stigma in our society attached to failure.  People look at it is if it were the plague, and that is fairly reasonable.  Nobody gets up in the morning and tells themselves that “today is a good day to fail!”  However, for some of us, we need to rethink the way we see failure.  We need to all realize that we are all going to fail at some point and it’s not going to be the end of the world.

Failure is an inevitable and necessary part of life, but sometimes we look at failure as a loathsome disease, feeling strong and often times overwhelming feelings of displeasure and shame.  This is especially true for those obsessive-compulsive over-achieving perfectionist personalities and oftentimes we are conditioned to beat ourselves up if failure rolls around.

Life is full of failures, small failures.  It’s those small course corrections that we learn from.  It’s like falling down, but picking yourself up afterward.  The key is to laugh, to learn, and to grow from the daily minor failures.

I was recently reading an article on this very subject, and it really hit home, because I myself hate the idea of messing up.  I just want to do things once and do them perfectly.  I hate the idea of having to repeat something again and having to start over.  However, this article suggests three things that we need to consider and do when dealing with failures:

1)  Acknowledge – You first need to acknowledge the failure or mistake.  This can be very difficult for some of us because we are constantly trying to hide or minimize our faults and failures.  Now that doesn’t mean going around flaunting everything you have done wrong, but it does mean reconciling yourself with the fact that sometimes you do make mistakes.  You can even poke fun or embrace those failures, which may in turn end up completely changing the nature and the outcome of a failure.

2) Breathe – Sometimes we tend to tighten ourselves up when we fail, so try instead to notice your breath.  Consider the fact that you are still breathing and you are still alive, in the in midst of difficulty and failure.

3) Learn – We oftentimes tend to become self-critical and we bash ourselves for the mistakes we make.  Instead of spending our energy on beating ourselves up, try instead to think of a solution, consider what you can learn from any given mistake and use that as a point of growth instead of a point of stumbling.  However, the fact of the matter is, in order to grow, we must stumble.  No one’s perfect.

So, these are just a couple of things that I learned about failure and about becoming a better me.  Again, consider this in whatever context you want, but since this blog is more or less devoted to becoming healthier, remember that it is okay to make mistakes as long as you learn from them, and come back stronger and more determined to reach that peak level of fitness.

Carlos Morgan is a 22 year old Communications Major hoping to get into Law School one day and make a difference. If you feel you want to know more, check out his Google+

If you haven’t heard by now, there is a strong correlation between the amount of hours of sleep we get a night and obesity.  As a general rule of thumb, adults need an average of seven to eight hours of sleep a day in order to function properly.  Getting less than six hours of sleep can cause a number of problems within in the body and within the mind.

According to research in the American Journal of Human Biology has shown that not getting enough sleep could affect glucose metabolism and even raise blood pressure.  It can also affect the ways that our appetites are regulated.

“These findings show that sleeping poorly can increase a person’s risk of developing obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, or heart disease,” says Dr Kristen Knutson, of the University of Chicago.

According to the research, there is a link between sleeping fewer than six hours a night and having a higher body mass index (BMI).  This study shows that the link is stronger in teens and kids.

The research also suggests that sleep deprivation increases the secretion of gherlin, the appetite hormone, and leptin, which tells us when we’re full, which then increases how much food we consume.

These findings can be very relevant to those seeking to lose weight, as not getting enough sleep can actually be counterproductive to that goal.

Aside from the fact that not getting enough sleep may contribute to obesity, it also dulls reaction times and oftentimes causes irritability and makes concentrating more difficult.

The bottom line is, make sure no to sell yourself short in the evening.  Make sure you get enough sleep as it will not only improve your physical performance, but also your mental performance.

So next time you’re faced with the option of staying up late and getting up early, opt to go to bed early instead.

Carlos Morgan is a 22 year old Communications Major hoping to get into Law School one day and make a difference. If you feel you want to know more, check out his Google+

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

If you’re getting bored of your typical workout routine you may want to consider adding some variation with Kangoo Jumps. Kangoo Jumps are specialized shoes that turn your running, jogging, and aerobics routine into a plyometric workout. The shoes lower impact by 80% and work much like a mini trampoline or rebounder. Running with these shoes on is sure to quickly tire you out. This is one of the more unique and innovative ideas I’ve seen in the fitness world in a while.

You’ve decided to get in shape. You’ve thought long and hard about it and made your decision. You know what you have to do. You have to run, jog, walk, lift, stretch, and many other such exercises. Where are you going to go to do these things? Yeah, you could probably just do them around your neighborhood or at a gym. There are better places though. Have your ever thought about going on a trip to a close-by state or national park for the sole purpose of running until you can’t anymore? Our world is beautiful and there is no motivation like strolling past some of the most tranquil, peaceful, and inspiring landscapes. It will sure beat being stuck in a smelly gym that’s for sure.

This place is misleading, hearing the name Joshua Tree immediately makes me think of trees and  also of my friend Joshua.  First off I don’t know if there is actually a tree called the Joshua tree. I assume there might be, but it really doesn’t concern me enough to even deserve a Google search to find out.  However, I do know of a placed called in California called Joshua Tree and this places concerns me a great deal.  Not like I am concerned because this places is going to do something bad, but more like I am interested and affected by it.

Oh that's concerning

This place is a climbers paradise, one of those places that really makes me want to learn how to grab a boulder and traverse it, ya know.  No, just kidding I am an avid climber and a good one too.  However, I am sorry to say I have never been to Joshua tree, so I can’t tell you how the rock feels, whether or not it’s sandy or if it is going to tear your hands up. Furthermore I don’t know what the temperature is like down in California year round, so I can’t tell you if it is humid or hot or what not. But, from the looks of it people have a good time here.  California is a little far away for me to just up and trot on down to, but I do plan on running down there on some holiday weekend and making a climbing trip out of it.  When that time comes you can bet I will post a much more comprehensive blog about the place. Oh yeah, they have bouldering too.  So if you are a scaredy-cat and you are totally afraid of heights then you can work some dynamic problems.  Basically, I feel like i need to get myself on a rock soon.

Exercising is something of a mystery to lots of people. I’m not an expert but I don have an exercise routine that I actually enjoy and that I have seen results from. The two characteristics of my routine is consistency and the use of the buddy system. Working out with a close friend can be one of the most helpful things you will ever do for your personal fitness.

Some people think that they need to go to the gym with their spouse or a good friend in order to have the workout buddy system work for them. Unless your spouse or friend is actually going to the same gym as you in the first place it could be hard to manipulate them into adopting your exercise regimen for your benefit.

Better than waiting for your friends or your spouse to start coming to the gym with you, you can try finding your exercise buddy at the gym. This makes more sense because that person will already be going to the gym and probably wants to workout regularly.

Besides having an exercise buddy you will need to be consistent in your workouts. Consistency is second in workout importance only to actually getting out and exercising in the first place. There are lots of people who made huge lifestyle changes just by doing a little bit at a time.

Of course, if you can do a lot at a time and still be consistent then you will be even better off. If you really get into heavy training though you will eventually need to be a little less consistent so that you can give your body a break.