Tag Archives: exercise

The Five Most Common New Year’s Resolutions

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Stamping out of the drinking and smoking habit is easily one of the more difficult commitments to make.

Stamping out of the drinking and smoking habit is easily one of the more difficult commitments to make.

Every New Year marks a celebration of new beginnings. Most people associate this occasion with commitments to reform old habits or make lifestyle changes, usually for the better, effective January 1. As 2009 comes to a close, people make pledges to resolve certain practices or issues and experience a fresh start as they welcome 2010.

Check out this prominent list of recurring New Year’s resolutions. Is yours one of them?

1. Get fit.
People vow to put on the right weight by paying attention to what they eat and exercising more. Depending on a person’s need, getting in shape may mean losing or gaining weight. However, this drive for healthy living sparked by the freshness of the New Year normally takes a backseat as people start leading their busy lives. As weight loss or weight gain becomes less of a priority, fitness becomes a lifelong underachieved goal.

2. Quit drinking and smoking.
Stamping out of the drinking and smoking habit is easily one of the more difficult commitments to make. Fact is, not everyone is equipped to make drastic lifestyle changes all at once. Over the years, the availability of over-the-counter nicotine replacement drug and a world of quit-drinking therapies are proving to be effective as vice-quitting aids. However, About.com says that on the average, drinkers and smokers make at least four attempts before finally quitting for good. People repeatedly commit to quit and fail, keeping this New Year’s resolution always on the list.

3. Manage finances wisely.
To say that money is a source of stress is an understatement. The year 2009 was plagued by unstable and unpredictable global economies, thus getting a handle on finances was no easy job. Spending less, spending just right, paying debt or securing the finances for oneself or for the family is a promise that makes it to the top yearly resolutions. It is expected to be part of the list many times over in the coming years.

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Prevent Cancer Naturally

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Prevent Cancer Naturally

breast cancer cells (in pale violet) attacking healthier cells (in blue green)

It is already a fact that cancer is one of the deadliest diseases that has ever hit the world. Despite what we know of cancer and how it affects the body, not much is known as to why it occurs in the first place. Adding to people’s concerns are the current strategies to treat and hopefully cure cancer. Available options for cancer patients include radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery. Not only do these processes cause great discomfort to the patient, their success rate has never been much acceptable.

As such, the best way to fight cancer would be to stop it from taking place. Surprisingly enough, one does not have to take drugs in order to prevent cancer.

It is sometimes a paradox that our ancestors never had to face the wrath of cancer and be able to live longer than us, even though we are supposedly medically superior to them. At the same time many veterinarians concede that there are only a tiny amount of animal deaths were caused by cancer tumors. These striking data only confirm the belief that it is not just destructive cells that divide rapidly that is the cause of cancer. Cancer is the end result of our mismatched lifestyle.

It is true that cancer attacks almost anyone, but trends have started to show that cancer cells are encouraged by how we live our lives. If you eat too much, drink a lot, and smoke several times a day, you are more likely to have cancer.

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7 Fundamentals of Fitness

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7 fundamentals of fitness

Obesity kills. This has been proven time and again by a multitude of studies on obesity. The United States Center for Disease Control writes that obesity increases the likelihood that one develops coronary heart disease, certain types of cancer, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, stroke, liver disease, respiratory problems including sleep apnea, osteoarthritis and gynecological problems. Yet, according to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, around 1 in 4 adults in the United States are obese.

The rise in obesity awareness has led to a rise in the number of people wanting to be fit. Here are 7 fundamentals for fitness.

1. Know what fitness is for you.
Like it or not, not everybody can be as fit as, say, Sylvester Stallone. You must know your body and your limits. This means that you should know what level of fitness is right for you. Physical fitness actually means that you can look good, feel good, and have the energy to do what you need to do everyday and other supplemental tasks like leisure and emergency demands. When you are physically fit, you can do your daily tasks with vigor and alertness.

To know the optimum level of fitness for you, make sure that you take into consideration your age, genes, gender, personal habits, exercise and eating patterns.

2. Consult a doctor.
Before starting any exercise regimen, you should consult with a doctor on whether you could undergo a fitness regimen and how rigorous it could get without damaging your health. You should also be careful if you have medical conditions like heart problems, high blood pressure, arthritis, muscle problems and any other health problems.

3. Eat right.
You would need to watch what you eat. Eat more healthy foods while avoiding “bad ones” like sweets, fatty foods and similar stuff. You would also need to strike a balance between your food intake and your energy output, to make sure that you lose fat when you need to or gain weight when it is necessary.

4. Set a workout schedule and stick to it.
You should be clear as to how often, how hard and how long you exercise in a certain week. Your workout schedule should reflect your goals, your fitness level, age, skills and convenience. It should include enough time for warm up, the exercises you need to do for strengthening your muscles, building up your endurance and flexibility and lastly cooling down.

5. Determine the exercises you need to do.
You should know the right exercises you need to help you with your fitness goals. If you want to build strength, then look for strength training exercises. You should be aware that you should slightly overload your body to make sure that it builds endurance, as well. Your exercises should be regularly done and balanced, and it should progress over time.

6. Keep your heart-rate under control.
Do not overdo your exercises. Maintain a target heart rate that is healthy for you. A good way to calculate your target heart rate is by subtracting your age from 220 and multiplying it by 70%. Do not go over this as this is your maximum heart rate.

From your maximum heart rate, subtract your resting heart rate and then multiply it again by 70%. Add this number to your resting heart rate to get your target heart rate.

7. Wear comfortable clothing.
Exercise clothes should be comfortable and should allow you to move freely in them. More importantly, your perspiration should be able to evaporate freely.