5 ways to boost your energy

Energy is essential in this sleep-deprived, overstretched, high-speed world. How do we recharge our batteries when there is a constant drain on our resources?

Tip #1: Try Diaphragmatic Breathing

In Chinese Medicine, energy is called "qi" (pronounced "chi"), and one of the most important ways we make qi is by breathing deeply. Stress, poor posture, a snug waistline, and habit are some of the reasons why our breath doesn't make it down to the bottom of our lungs. Diaphragmatic breathing, also known as belly breathing, is a simple way we can increase our qi energy and improve our stamina.

 

Tip #2: Get a Good Night Sleep

Most of us know that 8 hours of sleep per night is optimal. But what many people don't know is that the actual time you fall asleep is important too. Sleeping from 1 am to 9 am is not though to be as restorative as sleeping from 10 pm to 6 am.

The reason why is because hormone secretion, body temperature, digestion, and other important restorative processes follow a 24-hour cycle linked to natural light exposure. The later in the evening we fall asleep and the later in the morning we wake up, the more out-of-sync our cycle becomes. If you've ever gone to bed at 3 am and woken up the next morning at 11 am, you may have noticed that you feel worn down and not fully "with it".

Growth hormone is one such restorative hormone. Eighty percent of growth hormone, which is needed for lean muscle, optimum immune function, and strong skin, is secreted during sleep between the hours of 11 pm and 1 am.

Try to go to bed before 10 pm. It may be difficult to get used to getting to bed at an early time, especially if you work late or if night-time is your only downtime and you like to watch late-night television. But you'll be rewarded with increased energy.

 Tip #3: Eliminate Energy-Sappers From Your Diet

• Not enough alkaline-forming foods in your diet - Foods that are alkaline-forming include figs, molasses, green leafy vegetables, almonds, beets, dates, celery, canteloupe, and parsley and explains the concept of alkaline- and acid-forming foods).
  
  In addition to eating these foods, taking 1 teaspoon of a greens powder every morning mixed into juice or a smoothie can also raise energy.
  
  
• Excess sugar - Excess sugar causes fluctuations in blood sugar, which can result in plummeting energy levels. Try to decrease all forms of refined sugar. Watch out for low-fat foods -- many have forms of sugar, such as high-fructose corn syrup, added to make the food more palatable.
  
  
• Insufficent protein - With high-protein, low-carb diets being so popular, it's hard to believe it but insufficient protein is a common reason for fatigue. Pack some almonds and nuts for a quick and convenient protein snack.
  
  
• Too much coffee - Although coffee initially raises stress hormones and gives a rush of energy, consuming several cups or more of coffee per day can promote burnout. Try to gradually cut back to one cup a day.
• Not enough water - One of the most common reasons for low energy is not drinking enough water.
  

 

Tip #4: Take 20 Minutes Every Day Just For You

Create a daily ritual where you take 20 to 30 minutes for yourself just relaxing and doing nothing (no watching tv or surfing the net). Pick up a book, listen to music, meditate, have a cup of tea, or try a new yoga pose.

 

Tip #5: Consider a Stress-Formula Multivitamin

People who are under chronic stress require more B vitamins. A stress formula multivitamin often has more B vitamins than standard multis. B-50 B supplements are also available as a supplement to a standard multivitamin. The B-2 in a B complex can turn urine a bright yellow color.

Why cool down after a workout

Just because you’ve clocked your last mile or finished your final rep, doesn’t mean your workout is over. In fact, what you do after your workout is just as important as what you do during it. After any workout involving cardio or weights—your muscles are tired and begin breaking down. The immediate time after exercise is essential to muscle and tissue repair, strength building and overall recovery.

Cool down
There’s a reason the treadmill has a “cool down” setting: When you’re exercising, your effort is at, say, eight out of 10 and your body needs help getting back down to one out of 10. “A sudden stop in physical activity can cause blood pooling in your legs, your blood pressure could drop and you could get very dizzy,” After a run, slow down your stride and walk for three to five minutes (or longer if it was an exceptionally intense effort).
Cooling down is even important after a strength workout. After lifting, try doing some dynamic stretches such as walking lunges or yoga poses. “You want to bring your heart rate back down to a more calm state—about 100 to 120 beats per minute,” Burke says.

Stretch
After strength training or cardio, your muscles are warmed up so they’re more elastic and pliable. “This is when you’re going to see the most benefits in flexibility,” says Burke. “Stretching also relaxes the tension from the workout.” Although stretching hasn’t been found to decrease injuries, it has been shown to decrease next-day soreness in hamstrings, quads and calves. Stretching also maintains circulation in key areas and expedites the healing process after muscles begin breaking down. “You’re technically supposed to stretch each major muscle with four reps at 15 to 60 seconds each,” says Comana. “But that could take about 40 minutes. Instead, you can get away with five to 10 minutes.”
If you just do one stretch, I suggests a hamstring towel stretch: Lie on your back, raise one leg and loop a towel around your foot. Pull the ends of the towel to bring your leg toward your chest and feel the stretch in your hamstring. Hold the position, then repeat with your other leg.

Hydrate
Every time you move you’re expending water from your body. After an intense workout, you need to replenish water supplies—this helps decrease muscle soreness and increase strength and flexibility. How much liquid do you need after a workout?  Weigh yourself before you workout, then weigh yourself when you’re finished. The weight you lost is strictly water weight. To replenish, you need to drink that weight in liquids, plus 25 to 50 percent to make up for what you’ll loose in urine.

Grab a protein shake
No matter what time of day you work out—morning, afternoon or night—you should drink a protein shake after you work out. “Do this 15 to 30 minutes after your workout, when your metabolic window is open, “This is when your muscles are more reactive to absorbing nutrients.” A shake will put carbohydrates and protein back into your muscles so they can rebuild and get stronger. A good recipe is about four grams of carbohydrates for every one gram of protein. “If you don’t want a protein shake, I strongly recommend a glass of chocolate milk. Sure, it’s high in sugars but skim milk is good for you and, with the chocolate, it’s got just the right ratio.

Get a massage
Some studies fail to support claims that massages after strenuous workouts can speed muscle recovery but others find that massages can speed up recovery by up to 50 percent, and reduce swelling and muscle damage. And both of our experts are pro massage. “Massages are great to break up knots and or adhesion. Anything you can do to make sure your muscles are still aligned is a good thing,” says Burke. If you can’t afford a full-out massage, get a foam roller, put it on the floor and use your body weight to roll it along your back and neck. “Even if there are no physical benefits, I think there’s at least psychological and emotional benefit. . Just make sure the pressure isn’t too deep or heavy—as it could damage the already vulnerable muscles.

Why warm-up before you workout

A warm up is the act of preparing for an athletic event or workout by exercising or practicing for a short time beforehand. Warming up helps reduce your risk of injury and the aches and pains that come with exercise. The physiological reason to warm up is to assist your circulatory system in pumping oxygen-rich blood to your working muscles. The idea is to increase circulation throughout the body in a gradual manner. A proper warm up safely prepares the body for the increased demands of exercise. Cold muscles do not absorb shock or impact as well, and are more susceptible to injury.

A warm-up helps you prepare both mentally and physically for exercise and reduces the chance of injury. During a warm up, any injury or illness you have can often be recognized, and further injury prevented. Other benefits of a proper warm up include:

• Increased movement of blood through your tissues, making the muscles more pliable.
• Increased delivery of oxygen and nutrients to your muscles. This prevents you from getting out of breath early or too easily.
• Prepares your muscles for stretching
• Prepares your heart for an increase in activity, preventing a rapid increase in blood pressure
• Prepares you mentally for the upcoming exercise
• Primes your nerve-to-muscle pathways to be ready for exercise
• Improved coordination and reaction times

You should always have a 5-10 minute warm-up before any workout. Your warm up should consist of a 5 minute low intensity cardio activity (treadmill, bike, light calisthenics) and a 5-10 minute period of stretching.

How to Eat After a Workout

Many people claim that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but for those concerned with nutrition and fitness, the post-workout meal is key. You must replenish calories and nutrients after putting your body through its paces.

1  Eat your post workout meal within one hour after exercise, preferably as soon as possible. This window of time is the most beneficial period for your body to receive post exercise nutrition.

2  Include both lean protein and complex carbohydrates, while avoiding fat, in your post workout meal. There are many good fats that you should include in your regular diet, but save them for your other meals. You should try to include about 30 g of protein and 50 g of carbohydrates in your post workout meal.

3  Choose the right sources of protein and carbohydrates to eat after a workout. Eggs, tuna beans and skinless chicken are all good sources of protein. Whole grains, like brown rice and whole wheat bread, are good sources of complex carbohydrates. These foods will restore and maintain your energy after a workout.

4  Drink a protein shake, if you don't have time for a full meal within one hour of your workout. Protein shakes are a great way to replenish fluid lost during a workout and are a good easy-to-absorb source of essential protein and carbohydrates. Shakes that include whey proteins and dextrose, are more quickly absorbed and utilized by your body and usually include a sufficient amount of carbs and protein.

How to Eat Before a Workout

You may have heard conflicting stories about whether to eat before or after a workout, if at all. While your buddy at the gym may be training on an empty stomach to reduce body fat, you can rest assured as you eat your pre-workout meal that you’re on the right path to attaining and maintaining a healthy body. The key is to know when and what to eat to suit your particular workout routine.

1  It is a commonly misunderstood notion that you should not eat before a workout because it defeats the object of building muscles and maintaining low levels of body fat. However, many experts agree that training on an empty stomach is a bad strategy to adopt and can in fact cause more harm than good. This is because you will burn calories more efficiently before you work out. Eating foods containing simple sugars will reduce the amount of glycogen you use during exercise, which means you will be able to train for longer and prevent your immune system from being compromised.

2  You should balance your pre-workout meal so that it is comprised of around 50 carbohydrates, 5 to 10 grams of protein, and no more or less than 250 calories. A mixture of simple and complex carbohydrates is best before working out, with a little more emphasis on having fast-burning simple carbohydrates available quickly for energy. If endurance training is a big part of your training routine, make sure that your pre-exercise meal contains significant amounts of branched chain amino acids such as milk. Keep yourself hydrated throughout your workout. Drink a 1/2 liter of water, juice or a sports drink 2 hours prior to exercise and then another liter immediately before your workout. Drink smaller amounts roughly every 15 minutes during exercise to remain hydrated.

3  If your training session is going to last for 90 minutes or more, you will need to take in additional carbohydrates such diluted fruit juice or a sports drink. For prolonged endurance events or activities (2 hours or more), eat small carbohydrate-rich snacks (approximately 15 to 20 grams of carbohydrates) about every 20 minutes. Healthy options are energy bars, dried fruits or oatmeal cookies. These will hold fatigue and enhance your endurance.

4  If you’re working out to increase your muscle power then your diet may need adjusting. Muscle is comprised of mainly water, 2500 extra calories are needed to gain a pound of muscle, compared to 3500 excess calories to make a pound of fat. Although many people believe that extra protein is needed for muscle gain, and your body will indeed use more protein during weight training, the average American diet is already high in protein.

5  So how soon before your next workout should you eat? If you’re boosting your body with a pre-workout nutrition drink, then finish it from 45 minutes to an hour before you work out. If you're powering up with solid food you should eat between 90 minutes and 2 hours before you work out. Don’t eat any closer to your workout or you won't be in peak condition and will probably suffer cramps while you’re training.

How to gain weight from skinny to curvy

How To Gain Weight For Women Tip 1 – Set On Some Muscle 

Packing on a several Bodyweight of muscle is the surest and healthiest way for women to Set on Weight and accentuate their natural hot curves. Muscle weighs significantly more than Bodyweight so it can make feeling to Place on muscle Weight instead than Bodyweight, plus you Attain to make a decision in which the muscle tissues expand (I say this for the reason that virtually anyone Place Excess fat on in numerous destinations relying on their body style…rely on me, it’ll at all times conclude up where by you minimum desire it – often on a female this is all over her butt and waist)
Never be afraid of Building Muscle by Weight coaching – you won’t Obtain large like Arnie or something…in reality a lady’s body just doesn’t generate sufficient testosterone to Attain huge.
Deliver a Weight schooling regimen aspect of your workouts at the gymnasium and you will Set on Weight Rapid and in the areas that you wish.

How To Gain Weight For Women Tip 2 – Lose Your Cardio Routines

Cardio is a staple element of most womens workouts and is frequently suggested in most magazines, However if you\’re searching for how to gain Weight, then cardio will basically be setting up your lifestyle far more tricky, as it’s just burning much more Weight and calories and leaving next to nothing for your body to save.
If you’re hunting to gain Weight, style out a workout schedule that focuses further on mass establishing routines like weights and much less on cardio.

How To Gain Weight For Women Tip 3 – Rest A lot more

And you assumed this Weight gain for women thing was all gonna be hard work? This is the simple and easy bit, and the most at all times disregarded.
When we Rest our bodies provide natural progress hormones which benefit fix our muscular tissues and benefit to gain Weight and muscle mass. The greatest secretions of these hormones are in the course of deep Rest, and so it’s critical to Attain a superior night’s rest when pondering all over how to gain Weight for women. All over 8 hrs is suitable. Look at to reduce as considerably worry from your day by day everyday living as plausible as this may very well have an impact on your Rest and contribute to to lose much more Weight instead than gain it.

How To Gain Weight For Women Tip 4 – Eat Significantly more

In addition to starting up a Weight education program you will need to be consuming considerably a lot more. Muscle mass and Weight are obtained by eating even more calories than we melt away, so you should really Eat an significantly more 500-one thousand calories per day in contrast to the typical lady (avg. is approximately 2000, so you will want to Test to Achieve all over 2,500-3000 per day).
Split this about 6 smaller sized foods per day and focus on your proteins – which are the making blocks of muscle.

How To Gain Weight For Women Tip 5 – Use Protein Powders And Shakes

To build muscle and gain Weight you will should really focus on your proteins – about 1 gram of protein per pound of Fat (i.e. if you weigh a hundred and fifty Bodyweight then you will need to be eating all around a hundred and fifty grams of protein per day).
The best way to Eat these proteins is in the style of natural foods like lean meats, fish, beans and pulses, eggs and milk. But, this may very well be hard in nowadays’s active lifestyles, so assume around incorporating a protein shake into your every day meal plans. One serving of a protein shake may very well develop you with as a whole lot as 50-sixty grams of protein in one shot, so it is highly simple and easy.

5 Reasons Your Running Training is Stale

 

Can't go that extra mile or shed those extra seconds? Here's what's holding you back and how to fix it.

 

Beating running distances and times, like anything else, requires practice, patience and commitment. As much as you're dedicated to your routine and determined to push yourself to new limits, getting stuck on a runner's plateau is a common occurrence. We've asked endurance sport coach, elite runner and NASM certified personal trainer Jim Lubinski what things hold runners up in the pursuit of gold, and what you can do to power through these snags.

Being a Baby

When stuck in a running plateau, sometimes you need to keep chugging along through the brutal times. "It is natural for us to tire as a workout progresses, but if you can adapt to running hard on fatigued legs, you will be much stronger and faster on fresh legs. The only way you make gains is to push yourself out of a level you believe is your maximum effort, " Lubinski says. If you're comfortable all the time, then you're not pushing hard enough.
Training Advice
Break up your typical run distance into separate sets and take two-minute breaks in between them. This will allow you to recover, gain composure and mentally prepare yourself to put your head down and go for more distance or speed. "Train your body to get there," Lubinski advises.

Too Much Booze and Junk Food

Junk food and alcohol will absolutely wreak havoc on your progress. "Every extra pound on your body is an extra pound you have to carry around while running. Imagine if you had to run a 10K with a five-pound weight wrapped around your body," Lubinski explains.
Training Advice
If you're serious about busting through a previous personal best, Lubinski advises getting your priorities in order. "If you can cut down on the excess junk in your diet, you will lose weight, which will bring your running times down."

Avoiding the Weight Room

Think runners don't need to hit the weight room? Think again. "I'm not saying that you should go into the gym and start bench pressing 350 pounds. But you need to hit the gym and perform exercises that will benefit a runner," Lubinski says. Specific weight training exercises are what opens up a runner's stride and builds running strength, resulting in faster times.
Training Advice
Get into the gym and hit the weights one to two days per week. Lubinski recommends: hip openers, a variety of glute strengthening exercises and core stabilization movements.

Sticking to the Same Routine

Running the same route, day in and day out, or spending all of your time on pavement is bound to get mundane and limiting. Fitness trails are ideal environments to change things up. "Trails test your stability from your ankles to your knees and hips. The instability of the paths will force you to be a stronger runner," Lubinski says.
Training Advice
Lubinski recommends allocating a couple days per week to training on trails. "By becoming a strong trail runner, you will be that much faster when you hit the road. The muscles engaged through the ups and downs of a trail will make the road feel like a dream."

Keeping Pace With a Running Partner

A running partner could be the best workout tool, but if you're not progressing, it's time to reassess your working relationship. If you're the one always pushing your friend, don't expect to make any progress.
Training Advice
Surround yourself with better athletes, immediately. "Faster runners help you get to another gear, so find someone faster to help you or seek out a running group that has all ability level," Lubinski recommends.