Work those Flabby ABS

The relationship between women and a set of taut abs goes back a long way. Any expert will tell you that the abdominals are among the hardest muscles to exercise. Add to that a combination of factors – poor diet and lack of exercise – and getting a healthy and flat set of abs becomes that much harder. So then how important is it for women to work out this section of muscles? Is it for purely cosmetic reasons? For hardcore health reasons or a combination of both?

For many looking good goes beyond the face. It means looking good all over, and that includes abdominals as well. And for others, looking sexy and feeling healthy goes along the profession as they have to stay in shape. Women can attain that lean look without fearing that if they do stomach crunches; their abs will look ‘un-feminine’. The idea is to keep the muscles firm.

For most women, the rigors and rhythms of daily life leaves them little time to exercise. But yet, strong abs can actually increase one’s productivity by making your lower back stronger and less prone to injury. That means you save on medical bills and visits to the doctor. A strong set of abdominal muscles helps maintain the posture as well. Stabilizing core abdominal muscles stabilize the spine, which is involved in every movement that you do. In fact, if your core abdominal muscles are weak, you can get a jerk even while you are driving.

Working for your lower body, be it for your butt, abs or thighs, also has great health benefits. For women tend to put weight around those areas as they grow older and their metabolism slows down. Extra weight around the stomach combined with weak abdominal muscles puts a strain on the back muscles, puts a strain on and leads to an irregular curvature of the spine.

Cool Down after a Good Work Out

So you have just pumped some iron, cursed your trainer for making do those two extra stomach crunches, but managed to run on the treadmill dreaming about the sumptuous toast and sunny side up, sausages and juice waiting for you at your breakfast table. The last three minutes on the treadmill seems like an eon, and once you’re done, you rush your sweaty body straight to the shower.

Though you feel great after the work-out, you’re dreading the next morning because you’re sure that every muscle in your body is going to scream, ache, make you walk funny and go ouch, ouch, ouch’ at the slightest move. Why that happens do you think? Simple, you haven’t cooled down.

What if I don’t?
A cool down is of super importance and should be factored into every exercise regime, just like the warm up. The most definite effect of not cooling down properly after intense exercise is that it leads to stiff and painfully sore muscles the next day or causes cramps.

This is because abruptly stopping in an activity may cause pooling of the blood and slow the removal of waste products like lactic acid, which is accumulated in the muscles. The tension in the muscles also leads to uncomfortable tremors, which make your limbs feel weak and wobbly.

The Routine
So, make sure you cool down after vigorous exercise. The routine however, purely depends on the intensity of your exercise regimen and the amount of pressure put on your muscles and body.

It can involve a slow jog, walk or stretch. It is said that a minimum 10-15 minute cool down period allows heart rate and breathing to return to normal. Slow walking will prevent blood from pooling in the legs, which is a cause of dizziness and blackouts.

The simplest way to cool down is to follow the same stretches that you do to warm up. This will prevent the muscles from becoming sore and stiff. So, breakfast can wait ten minutes?

Make exercise an extra activity

Weight loss seems a simple bargain - eat less, exercise more and weight will go away. Some feel diets are difficult while others exercise. But why is exercise the difficult part of the bargain?

Diet is so much easier than exercise to lose weight?

Often due to a sedentary lifestyle, people gain weight due to excess calories from eating or lower calorie expenditure. When it comes to losing weight most choose dieting as it appears easy and there's always the prospect of reward after a bout of dieting. With exercise it requires a lot more effort, very boring, and there's always no time or space to do it. Also one cannot do without food; but on the other hand one can do without exercise, it's not critical to daily life.

How important is exercise for weight loss?

The more we think of exercise as an exclusive weight loss activity the less is the chance of making it a way of living. This is the first mind shift one must make. Exercising activity has three major benefits - health, fitness and weight maintenance. Dieting and exercise both help you lose weight - but dieters also lose the value of building healthy muscle. Healthy muscle improves functional fitness and metabolism - the latter helps in burning fat mass. At another level good aerobic workouts improve health in terms of lowering risk factors such as high cholesterol, diabetes, etc. So, being physically active has a three-tier improvement in your way of life - health, functional fitness and maintenance of weight. Losing weight without appropriate exercise is inadvisable.

How do I make exercise a way of living?

To make anything a way of living requires two conditions - first it should be easy to do at home and secondly it should fit into our daily routine, just like brushing teeth twice a day. It is not essential to join a gym or go out to get an aerobic workout. There are a number of exercises you can do in the privacy of your home, at your convenience, to your music and perhaps with the whole family. Think of exercise as a fun activity with the family or kids who bring a whole lot of meaning and wonderment to life.

Brisk walking for fitness: Know How?

Walking is one of the simplest and yet so effective exercise to tone your body, lose some calories and control weight. It is a great way to accustom your body to exercise. Brisk walking is the most popular aerobic exercise among women and is appropriate for women of all ages. Of course men can always accompany their ladies while brisk-walk. What makes brisk-walk different from normal walk is the speed.

Many people don’t realize what difference a regular walking pattern can bring to their life. Cardio-vascular diseases are the number one threat to the people worldwide. It has been proved that 30 minutes of regular brisk walking can lower the risks of having cardio-vascular diseases. Brisk walking burns almost as many calories as running or jogging for the same length. It is very beneficial for fat-loss around your waist and hips. Your thigh muscles and calf muscles become so flexible and the joints at knees, ankles become free.

Whenever you plan to start walking, start with a slower pace and small distance. Gradually, increase the pace as well as the distance and you will feel the difference. Also, observe the time you take to finish one mile so that you can analyze your speed and work on it. Walking in morning is said to have a bigger impact because it keeps you active and fresh throughout the day. The climate in the morning is much more soothing and you feel closer to nature. Start walking and lift your spirits!