Choosing the right exercise bike

When you re exercising, it is necessary to choose the perfect Exercise bike. Choosing the wrong one will not only affect your exercise but will also affect your health. Therefore, you should choose the best exercise bike. here are some of the things that you should take a look at when you are choosing an exercise bike.
The flywheel weight
You should take into consideration the flywheel weight, it is because that determines the comfort as well as the fluidity of the cycling. Choosing proper weight is important to work if you are new and just beginning to exercise, you should choose the bike that has only 7 to 9 Kg of flywheel weight. Whereas, for the intermediate, you should go with the one that has 9 to 14 kg. In the same way, if you are experienced enough, you can go with the flywheel that has more than 15 kg of weight.
Bluetooth is must
When you go to choose the running bike, you might notice that there are certain bikes in which console doesn’t have Bluetooth support. Whereas half of them does have. Therefore, many of the people will go without Bluetooth because it is more affordable. However, you should only go with the one that has Bluetooth support. This is how you can manage all the programs directly from your smartphone. You can add the exercise and even customize them. Therefore, make sure the bike you are going with has Bluetooth support.
Comfortable sitting and handling
Exercise is not all about the pain, you should see the comfort as well. There are certain comfort things that you should take a look at. Among those, the first one is the handlebars. The handlebars must be adjustable and you should set it as per your convenience. This is the must-have a part in any bike that you are choosing to go with. Many of the people don’t take this into consideration.
Read Continue....

Here's What You Should Eat Before, During And After An Intense Workout

While we all know that an intense workout can help you lose the right amount of weight, what you eat before, during and after you exercise plays a huge role in your fitness regime.
The right kind of food can make or break a workout routine and possibly affect the desired results. So what to munch on? According to experts, quality carbohydrates are important pre-workout and lean proteins post-workout.
Before you start with your exercise, eat carbohydrates, but not too much, said Nancy Cohen, a professor specialising in nutrition, reported CNN.
Cohen recommended consuming 1 to 4 grams of carbohydrates per every 2.2 pounds of body weight if you are planning to exercise for longer than an hour. Eating about an hour to four hours before working out is perfect for your fitness regime.
A review paper by researchers at the University of Sydney in Australia suggested that carbohydrate ingestion can improve endurance exercise performance. The paper was published in the 'Journal of Nutrition'.
The researchers assessed 50 randomised studies on carbohydrate ingestion and endurance exercise. The researchers found that the data in the studies provide evidence that consuming carbohydrates can enhance endurance exercise performance in adults.
"By eating carbohydrate-rich foods that are low in fat and low or moderate in protein, you can make sure you have enough muscle glycogen as fuel for your physical activity. This might include low-fat granola bars, fig bars, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, banana, yoghurt, pasta or other high-carbohydrate foods," Cohen said.
Staying hydrated is equally essential, consuming lots and lots of water can do the trick.
"Sufficient fluids are also important. In general, you can consume 5 to 10 millilitres of water per kilogram of body weight in the two to four hours before a workout," she said.
If you prefer to exercise in the morning, experts are divided on whether you should eat ahead of time.
It should be your own decision on whether to eat breakfast before or after exercise, said Stuart Phillips, a professor.
"I work out before breakfast every day because that's when I like to work out. I don't take in anything other than perhaps a cup of coffee most times or perhaps a slice of toast. My big breakfast comes after. But that's not to say that's good or bad. That's just what I do," Phillips said.
However, Cohen said that it's important to not make a habit of exercising on an empty stomach.
"If you haven't eaten in a long time, your body is in a fasted state. Normally, your body will use glucose for fuel and begin to break down muscle glycogen to deliver the glucose your body needs for exercise. In a fasted state, the muscle glycogen will be depleted sooner. Your body will then turn to breaking down fats for the energy it needs," Cohen said.
"This can lead to ketosis, or keto-acid buildup in the blood, which can be harmful to the kidneys over the long term and cause fatigue and dizziness," she said.

Source

These Are The Best Times To Workout For Your Goals

Best time for weight management: morning workouts

 

There are some physiological perks to morning workouts in general. Working out first thing on an empty stomach may be more conducive to burning stored fat, because of your body’s hormonal composition, Hackney explains.

Best time for intense training: afternoon workouts

 

Hackney says afternoon workouts can also be beneficial. The perk of these workouts is that by the afternoon, you’ve had time to get a few good meals in, which can raise your blood sugar levels, making it easier to do more high intensity things. A Journal of Physiology study noted that working out between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., like a morning workout, can shift forward your body clock and help you recover from things like jet lag more easily.

 

Best for stress management: evening workouts

 

There’s some conflicting research out there about evening workouts, and how they impact your sleep. The Journal of Physiology found working out between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. may delay the body clock, making you go to sleep later. But a paper published in the journal Experimental Physiology found nighttime exercise wasn’t disruptive to sleep, and could even reduce levels of the hormone ghrelin, which stimulates hunger. Hackney says the recovery period after exercising could suppress appetite and make you less likely to crave evening snacks.

Best time in the month: workout on your period

 

Hackney did research looking at how working out at different points in your menstrual cycle may impact the way you exercise. The research found that, in some cases, the second half of your menstrual cycle after ovulation may cause you to metabolise more fat as an energy source, compared with the early part of the cycle. He says this is because oestrogen tends to spikes after you ovulate. "So, when you go to the gym during this time you may actually be burning more fat," Hackney explains.

 

Best time overall: when it works for you

 

Ultimately, the best time to workout isn’t about small physiological gains. It’s about carving out time for yourself, and accommodating your schedule and chronotype. If your work and life schedule doesn’t align with your chronotype, you can train your body to workout at a new time, Hackney says. Say you’re really a night owl, but you don’t have time to workout at night because that’s when your kids need help with homework. You can train yourself to be a morning exerciser by easing into it.

 

Source

How to get back into a workout routine after an injury

1. Keep things low intensity

If you’re used to crushing your local CrossFit or other HIIT (high-intensity interval training) style workouts, it’s best to find a more relaxed alternative until the injury has fully recovered.

2. Find a workout buddy

Working out with a friend is always more fun, but can be especially important if you’re recovering from an injury.

3. See a physical therapist

This can be a no-brainer if your injury is severe, but even those with minor injuries can benefit from the expertise of a professional.

4. Focus on nutrition

Proper growth and recovery cannot happen without the proper diet. The right conditions for healing start with overall wellness, and what we eat and drink impacts how well our bodies heal after an injury.
Source

Got 10 Minutes? Blast Your Arms With This Dumbbell Workout

When it comes to your gym time, it's important to remember that you don't have to spend hours and hours in the weights room to get noticeable results.

Similarly, you don't have to go on a safari around the gym and use endless pieces of kit to get the physique you want. In fact, some people don't even need to go to the gym.

The workout, above, ticks all of these boxes and more. As it's only 10 minutes long, the workout's especially handy if your arm routine or upper-body finishers have got a little stale.

 

Follow the coaching cues in the video above and make sure you own every rep — don't rush through them. Now get to it.

Round 1

• Bicep Curl 21s

7 reps low-to-mid, 7 reps -mid-to-high, 7 full range

• Bench Dips

20 reps

• Skullcrushers

20 reps

Round 2

• Bicep Curl 21s

7 reps low-to-mid, 7 reps -mid-to-high, 7 full range

• Bench Dips

20 reps

• Skullcrushers

20 reps

Round 3

• Bicep Curl 21s

7 reps low-to-mid, 7 reps -mid-to-high, 7 full range

• Bench Dips

20 reps

• Skullcrushers

20 reps

Source

7 post-workout hygiene habits we all must follow

Post-workout hygiene habits we all must follow

Sweating out is natural while gymming. It is a sign of accomplishment and gives a sense of satisfaction. But we also know that a gym is full of sweaty bodies and sweaty clothes, which is an ideal environment for breeding of germs and bacteria. In such a situation, it is important to follow good post-workout hygiene habits. Skipping these can put a person at the risk of developing harmful diseases. Here are some important things you should do without fail: 

Wash your hands properly

As soon as you are done with your workout, immediately rush to the washroom and wash your hands properly. Public places, including the gym, are full of harmful bacteria. Hundreds of people touch the equipment every day and germs present in their hands get transferred to the equipment.

Wipe down your equipment

Wipe down the gym equipment after you are done with your workout. Most of the people overlook this important gym hygiene habit, which can prove to be harmful to others. Sweaty gym equipment is an excellent place for the multiplication of germs. Use a spray or wipe down your equipment before and after using it.

Clean your yoga mat

Do not forget the yoga mat after coming back to home. The mat in which you practiced yoga to calm your mind and body is full of germs and sweat. Various studies prove that yoga mat which has numerous small holes are a potential breeding ground for fungus and bacteria. It is even better to take your own yoga mat and avoid the communal yoga mats. 

 

Source

7 Signs Your Workout Is Too Intense, According To Experts

1. YOU’RE FEELING THE WRONG KIND OF BURN

You know that age-old saying, "If you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen"? Well, if you're body's feeling the wrong type of burn, it's time to re-evaluate your workout.

2. YOUR FORM IS WAY OFF

When a workout is too intense, that's usually a sign that it's also too advancedfor your skill set. If the moves you're performing are outside your comfort zone, it'll show in the strain on your face, and through your incorrect form.

3. YOU’RE OVER-EXERCISING A SPECIFIC MUSCLE GROUP

Keep in mind that too much of anything is never a good thing — especially when it comes to exercise. There are certain styles of exercise that, if done on a regular basis, will no doubt lead to a state of physical exhaustion. The golden rule of thumb, master SoulCycle instructor, founder of East Side Dance Companyas well as #MoveWithMell at Bandier’s Studio B, Trammell Logan says, is to not work one specific muscle group more than once a week.

4. THE RECOVERY PROCESS IS LONGER BETWEEN WORKOUTS

Listen, I love a rest day just as much as the next person, and if you don't feel like working out today, tomorrow, or the next day, then do you, boo. But if your workout is too intense, rest days become a necessity — not a luxury. And in order to fully recover, you might benefit from a few extra days of rest and relaxation.

5. YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM IS SHOT

Feeling under the weather? Your workout might have something to do with it. That might sound contradictory, considering one of the many benefits of exercising on the reg is to build up your immunity. However, Eric Bowling, a NASM- certified personal trainer at Ultimate Performance Los Angeles tells Elite Daily that the more you work out, and the harder you work out, the more difficult it is for your body to repair itself, thus resulting in some negative side effects, like a weakened immune system.
Source

The 12 best chest exercises to add to your workout ASAP

1. Chest Press
How to: Lie on your back, with your knees bent and feet placed flat on the ground. Hold a dumbbell in each hand, and extend your arms upward, palms facing toward your feet. Slowly bend your arms and lower them to the side, parallel with your shoulders, until your elbows nearly touch the ground. Slowly reverse the movement and return to start. That’s one rep. Complete as many reps as possible in 50 seconds.

2. Chest Fly
How to: Lie on your back, with your knees bent and feet placed flat on the ground. Hold a dumbbell in each hand, and extend your arms upward, palms facing toward each other. Keeping a slight bend in your elbows, lower your arms to the side of your body, parallel with your shoulders, until your hands are about six inches off the ground. Slowly reverse the movement and return to start. That’s one rep. Complete as many reps as possible in 50 seconds.

3. Inner Chest Press
How to: Lie on your back, with your knees bent and feet placed flat on the ground. Hold a dumbbell in each hand, and extend your arms upward, palms facing toward each other. Keeping the weights together, bend your elbows and bring your hands to your chest. Slowly reverse the movement and return to start. That’s one rep. Complete as many reps as possible in 50 seconds.

4. Bridge With Chest Press
How to: Lie on your back, with your knees bent and feet placed flat on the ground. Lift your hips so your body forms a straight line from your knees to shoulders. Hold a dumbbell in each hand, and extend your arms upward, with palms facing toward your feet. Slowly bend your arms and lower them to the side, parallel with your shoulders, until your elbows nearly touch the ground. Slowly reverse the movement and return to start. That’s one rep. Complete as many reps as possible in 50 seconds.

Read full story

5 ways to get the most out of your lunchtime workout

1. Prep your lunch the night before-  Making the most out of your lunch hour starts the night before with your meal prep. The last thing you want to be doing is spending 10 minutes in a queue or deciding on what to eat after you've trained. Instead, take your lunch in with you, stick it in the fridge and grab it at your desk after your workout. And to save time in the evenings, cook in batch, this way you’ve got plenty of food to keep you going for a few days!
2. Choose your exercise wisely - There are a plethora of exercise options out there for you, from a brisk 15-minute walk to a 30-minute spin class. But the best one has been under your nose this whole time...
3. Stay close to home - Scope out areas close to your office that could work for your session. All you need is an open space – and a bench if you're planning on doing exercises such as step-ups or tricep dips. The closer you are, the longer you can spend working out – or enjoying your lunch after! And you can even integrate your warm-up into your travel by jogging to your chosen location.
4. Don't skip the warm-up - Talking of...you may be tight for time, but by not preparing your body for a workout, you put yourself at risk of getting injured. If you don't plan on running to your location, run on the spot for a minute or two to get your heart rate up, increase body temperature and circulation.
5. Keep a diary to track your progress - To get stronger and faster, you need to be progressively overloading (making them harder) your workouts each week, so aim for that extra rep or add another second to those split squats on the bench. Plan these session goals by writing them down in a diary – and keep a record each week of how you've got on, so you can keep track of your progress.
Source

How long would it take to lose 60 pounds

It is not surprising that the treadmill can be a great exercise to lose weight to an extent. This is the reason why we people would like to choose the treadmill to burn the fat in the easiest way. There are a lot of tricks out there to lose weight, however, the user should be consistent with the treadmill workouts in order to lose unsaturated fats and to create a deficit to burn weight. It was rumored that if you walk at least 4 miles per hour during the treadmill workout, chances are that you may burn 170 calories during each session. It is also said that you can create 3,500 calories deficit about each and every 20 workouts, which makes you feel comfortable and it motivates to do a lot in your workout session.

Walking

Walking on the treadmill is one of the easiest ways to burn fat without doing much effort. You might be surprised to know how it is easy to walk on the treadmill just like the way we walk on the road. You would not feel as walking or riding on the roller coaster unless you walk on it at the slow and steady pace. If you walk at a rate of 3 miles per hour, you can burn at least 277 calories per hour, which means that you can even burn out at least 1,939 calories per week.

Jogging

Who hates jogging? It is highly recommended that jogging is one of the easiest options that give you happiness while burning out unsaturated fat as well. However, some researchers state that jogging is not recommended for women yet they can try it at a slow pace to avoid any further ovary related risk in the future. While jogging, you can lose 60 pounds a day. Yes, you can easily lose that much fat if you don't hesitate to jog for at least an hour for about 52 weeks continually. if you jog at 5 miles per hour, you can increase the speed above 3,5 miles per hour to lose weight gradually.
Source

Why Your Head Hurts After a Workout — & What to Do About It

From staying slim to that post workout high, regular exercise comes with plenty of perks. It can even reduce your chances of having a headache or migraine. But, it can also have the opposite effect and cause a whopper of a head banger, too. While experts aren’t completely sure what causes them, some of us tend to be more susceptible. “They are more common in individuals who also experience migraines,” says Rashmi B. Halker Singh, MD FAHS, headache neurologist at Mayo Clinic. In a study published in Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain, women disproportionately experienced more migraines than men.

Exertion headaches usually occur during or right after an activity that causes tension in the abdominal muscles or increased pressure in the chest from straining during heavy lifting, sneezing, and sexual intercourse. There are two types of exercise headaches: primary and secondary. “Primary meaning there is no known underlying cause and secondary meaning there is an identifiable cause,” says Zubair Ahmed, MD, assistant professor of Medicine at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine Director of Headache Research and Outcomes. Sufferers of primary headaches can experience pulsating and throbbing pain throughout their entire head lasting anywhere between five minutes and 48 hours, though primary headaches are usually short. But if this is your first time experiencing this type of headache, check in with your physician because secondary headaches can be linked to other underlying causes. “It is important to rule out things such as tumors, cerebral bleeding, vascular abnormalities including cerebral aneurysms or abnormal connections between the arteries and veins, and abnormal constriction of the blood vessels, so that they can be treated,” says Ahmed.

Source

How Is Drinking Alcohol Affecting My Workout Routine?

There are few worse feelings in a pickup basketball game than blowing a layup, which is doubly true when the punishment for the blown layup is to sprint to the other side of the court and take a swig of a 40 while everyone else is still playing. This tough (but fair) set of rules was strictly enforced at a recent GQ charity pickup game, and I would be lying if I said I did not have to pull from the 40. The faintest sensation of unwelcome liquids sloshing around my stomach—even sans any actual impairment to my motor skills—was more than enough of a warning, ahem, shot that alcohol is not a performance-enhancer during athletic activities.

Avoid drinking before cardio

Separate and apart from dealing with a hangover, which I’ll get to shortly, there is concrete evidence that imbibing in the hours leading up to any sort of endurance training—namely, cardio—will hamper your workout. You’ll fatigue quicker, and take longer to hit your usual goals. As sports dietitian Claire Siekaniec notes in a 2015 research paper examining the interactions between alcohol and athletic performance, the extra fatigue that accompanies drinking is the result of the citric acid cycle slowing down—the pathway known as gluconeogenesis is inhibited, which effectively means less glucose (less energy) for the body to use.

 

Avoid drinking after resistance training

Alcohol and weightlifting actually interact in a very different way than alcohol and cardio exercise, says. Dr. Jakob Vingren, a professor of exercise physiology and biological sciences at the University of North Texas.
When we spoke, he wanted to first make clear he absolutely does not endorse drinking before pumping iron. That said, “alcohol ingested before a workout does not appear to affect strength and maximum power,” he explained. Of course, being wasted affects motor performance, and studies have mostly examined alcohol’s effect on maximal strength, so it’s not known if it impedes one’s ability to do a high-reps, low-weight routine. Vingren’s gut feeling is that too wouldn’t be greatly affected by drinking. (Perhaps this is how former Yankees pitcher David Wells allegedly managed to throw a perfect game while simultaneously buzzed and hungover from a bender.)

Source

5 reasons to exercise during your lunch break

1. There’s no need to get out of bed at the crack of dawn

You have to set your alarm for crazy o’clock as it is, in order to rise, shine and be at your desk on time. Trying to fit in a pre-work fitness session as well is sometimes just too overwhelming. Save your workout for lunchtime, and make the most of catching a few more zs in your cosy bed each morning

2. It will break up your working day

Everybody knows that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy (and if there’s a proverb about it, it must be true). So shut down that spreadsheet for an hour, step away from your desk and do something fun – be it running, walking, yoga or a spin class. Basically whatever sets your soul on fire.

3. It will reinvigorate you

It’s safe to say no-one has ever returned to their desk after a fitness session feeling more lethargic than when they left. Studies have shown that exercise can reduce feelings of fatigue, so if it's been a busy morning, a lunchtime workout could be just the ticket to help get you through an afternoon of back-to-back meetings.

4. It will offer up new activities and/or surroundings

Have you run around your local park 2,158 times? Does the gym close to your home offer a great spin class, but no boxercise sessions? By checking out the options available close to your workplace instead, it could open up a whole new world of fitness opportunities. Suddenly, you’ll get to explore a variety of new walking and running routes, and the nearby gym might put on classes you’d never considered before. Even having a different instructor can mix things up a bit, as you’ll find they may challenge you in new ways, helping to improve your strength and fitness.

5. You can enlist your colleagues

The only thing better than exercising in your lunch break? Exercising in your lunch break with friends. Seriously, a run chat with colleagues is one of the best ways to let off steam, seeing as it ticks off two big happiness hits – exercise and social interaction. Or why not organise a game of five-a-side football or rounders in a nearby park – a great way to interact with people from the office you wouldn’t normally hang out with.

Source