Archive for the 'Fitness' Category

24 Hour Fitness Clubs - How They Serve Your Fitness Needs

Saturday, October 17th, 2009
Abhishek Agarwal


With 300 Twenty Four Hour Fitness clubs throughout the nation there will be one close to you. A Twenty Four Hour Fitness Club offers just that. Twenty four hour access to a top of the range facility. No matter what time of the day or night you are free to exercise we are open for business.

All that is available without the obligation of an annual contract. You can pay monthly. There is no need to sign up for a whole year at a Twenty Four Hour Fitness Club.

We find this arrangement suits the busy lifestyle that many of us have today. Demanding work schedules and family commitments can all be fitted in to your fitness routine. No one needs feel that exercise is impossible for them.

If you are out of town for a couple of weeks you are not wasting money at Twenty Four Hour Fitness. Twenty Four Hour Fitness even offers a baby sitting service.

Yet you still have all the advantage of membership. The fully trained staff at Twenty Four Hour Fitness will create a fitness program tailor made to suit your needs.

Your fitness program can help you to increase your fitness for a specific sport or prepare you for serious competition. This program is designed by athletes for athletes.

The Performance Program offers a menu plan to help you get your diet right. At Twenty Four Hour Fitness we understand the importance of diet in achieving fitness. Your fitness programme includes resistance workouts and cario vascular training. After the seesion there is metabolic rate test that will show you have far you have improved as a result of your efforts.

This is a great program for any one who wants to get started straightaway but does not know much about fitness and nutrition. By following this program you will learn all you need to know about improving you fitness levels and achieving a healthy weight.You will be laying the basis for lifelong fitness.

As you follow the Performance Program you will learn how nutrition influences your health. Correct intakes of vitamins and minerals are important to your fitness and general well being. At Twenty Four Hour Fitness you will discover how to create a better diet for yourself.

As your diet improves and your fitness increases you develop a noticeably better quality of life and more positive outlook. Coming to Twenty Hour Fitness is about taking active control of your life and health.

Whether you are an athlete who wants to improve your performance or someone who wants to lose weight and maintain your health Twenty Four Fitness clubs have something to offer.

You can chose from a range of club options. You might like the active club which offers group exercise in addition to free weights and cardio machines. This can be a good option for those who need to shed the pounds. Exercise in a group can be very motivating. This is an ideal option if you have a busy life and are short of time.

Alternatively you might prefer the sport club which offers basketball as well as heated pools and a whirlpool. The super-sport club offers the same amenities as the sport club plus a sauna, massage and steam room. These facilities are excellent if you are an athlete who is engaged in intense workouts and need to protect your body against injuries. They are also ideal for those recovering from injuries who need to rehabilitate their bodies.

Then there is the ultra-sport club which offers all the amenities in the active, sport and super sport club with the addition of a day spa, racquetball courts and an executive locker room. This is the de luxe option for those who are really serious about their fitness and health.



Stomach Exercise To Lose Belly Fat

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009
Chung Leong Yu


There is no magical gizmos or high tech gadgets to help you get your abdominal muscle. You have to exercise to flatten stomach and get a lean, defined six-pack. Your dream of getting a sexy body with flat and trim abs is within your reach! Sculpt up with lower abdomen exercise and get rid of those love handles with exercise. Here is how!

Stomach Muscle Exercise

A good abdominal workout program requires high intensity muscular overload and an increase in intensity progressively. Stomach exercise must be performed carefully so that the lower back is supported properly.

Stomach exercise can help build the entire abdomen region because the upper and lower abdominals are not separated and are connected. Of course, there are some stomach exercises that can help build and strengthen specifically the lower and upper abdominal muscles.

Abdominal exercises can help you also gain strong stomach muscles and back muscles. This can reduce the likelihood of back pains and provide protection against injury by efficient response to stress.

Lets have a deeper look into the muscles in the abdominal area. The Rectus abdominals is the muscle that stretches down the stomach from your ribs to the hips. The external and internal oblique run down the sides of the waist and their job is to rotate the torso and assist the abdominals during curling and twisting movements.

Stomach exercises are needed to tone or harden the muscles in that area. Not only that, the layer of body fat that is covering the abs must be burn off and this could be only done with proper eating plan. Try to increase your protein intake and limit your carbohydrates, eating a low carbohydrate diet is said to be one way of tackling flabby abs along with a sensible abs exercise routine, strength training and cardio exercise.

Stomach exercise

Stomach exercise must be followed religiously and is all about frequency rather than intensity. No exercise must be continued if it leads to pain or extreme discomfort. The best stomach exercise program can also help you achieve a flat and tight stomach. Many an abs exercise can be performed on the floor. Like any other muscles, the abdominal muscles will react to resistance training like bicep curls and crunches.

A simple pelvic tilt performed while sitting in a chair can strengthen your abdominal muscles and help support the back.

Best Stomach Exercises

Crunch

Lay on your back and knees bent, lift your shoulders off the floor. The emphasis is on moving the ribs towards the hips.

Reverse Curl

Lay on your back, bend your knees towards the chest. Keep the hips on the floor. Contract your abdominal muscles at the same time. Your lower abdominal exercise program must include reverse curls.

Leg raise

Single leg raise involves raising one leg from the floor. The double leg raise involves raising both legs from the floor at the same time and this works as an abdominal muscle exercise. Lying leg raises are ideal lower abdominal exercise

Abs exercise with the ball

The stability ball is an effective training device for the abs and lower back. Due to the curve of the exercise ball, the lower abdominal muscles get trained better on account of the greater range of motion.

Bicycle

It was ranked the best abdominal exercise by the American Council on Exercise. When performed with the abs muscles pulled, this exercise does great things for you.

Plank

For this exercise program, you need to position yourself for a pushup and hold the pose. Ensure that your body is in one long, straight line from head to toes.

Captains chair

This abs exercise involves standing on a gym chair and gripping the handholds. Press your back against the head pad and slowly lift your knees towards your chest. The back must remain straight.

Postnatal stomach exercise

A lot of women just cannot wait to get back in shape after childbirth. But before they can participate in any postnatal weight loss exercise program, they have to consult their doctor first.

Pelvic tilts and simple abs contractions are an ideal way to start on a postnatal lower abdomen exercise program. Combined with Kegels exercise, you can get your pelvic floor muscles back in shape. Isometric contractions can even be practiced with the baby on your stomach. Stick to a steady lower abs exercise program and watch the flabby skin harden.

Stomach exercise to flatten stomach

Getting a lean defined six-pack abs is a dream for most of us. Millions of dollars are spent yearly in the process of achieving a flat stomach and trim waistline. There are many gadgets that are sold to those seeking an exercise program getting the stomach fat down.

The first step towards a lean waist and flat stomach is to remove the fat that sits on the abs. A combination of cardiovascular exercise program coupled with a low fat diet aimed at preventing fat can do wonders. Stomach exercise program would include the following:

Forward flexion exercises such as sit-ups and crunches.

Rotational exercises such as trunk rotations and standing twists

Stomach Exercise for love handle

Love handles are a misnomer, as all women would love to shun them. Love handles are the ugly fat belts around the waist. This lump of flesh starts at the side of the bra-line and extends all the way down the back. Aerobic exercise aimed at this region can help you shed those love handles. Exercise for love handles involve exercising the oblique muscles to tighten up the sides of the waist. Abs crunches could also do the same.

Here is an easy stomach exercise for the oblique that you can do at home.

Sit upright with a stick across the back of your shoulders. Twist from side to side. Side bends also work wonders on love handles. Keep at it and watch these muscles firm into place.



Must Do Thigh Exercises for Head Turning Legs!

Saturday, March 21st, 2009
Tony Leong


There are distinctive kinds of thigh exercises, which if performed sincerely can give exclusive results. It is really challenging to choose between them, as you don’t know your ultimate goal. If you ask me I would definitely recommend you to perform exercises that tone, firm and strengthen your thighs, but at the same time burn the fat. I say so because burning fat is very essential as you’ll never be able to see your thigh muscles if they are hiding behind the fat.

For women, shaping the muscles of the thighs is an important fitness goal. They typically carry excess fat on their thighs and hips. As a result they get confused when it comes to lose weight, though they try different types of thigh exercises with no results.

Don’t Make This Mistake with Thigh Exercises

Generally majority of women don’t want to perform thigh exercises that will make their thighs big and bulky like a man or like a big female bodybuilder. This is a very big mistake. They desire to become slim with a flat stomach and bulky thighs without performing upper leg exercises and tend to use lighter weights. Performing with lighter weights will not burn fat, better to perform with heavier weights with moderate repetitions. (8-12reps). so listen and read carefully, you will never get big and bulky thighs if you keep on doing common mistakes.

The reason is simple - Testosterone.

The main reason why women cannot get big and bulky thighs from any of the thigh exercises like men is amount of testosterone. Women don’t have anywhere near the amount of testosterone that a man has.

I see a lot of women think aerobic exercises are better than Any thigh exercises. You need to include exercises for your thigh muscles and weight training as aerobic training doesn’t increase or tone muscle and lean muscle.

After the age of 25, the average woman will gain one pond of body fat and at the same time lose muscle tissue, which results in decrease of metabolism. Proper thigh exercises can increase your metabolism by restoring muscle tissue that you lost over the years.

Effective thigh exercises will work all the major thigh muscle groups, including your hamstrings, groin muscles, quadriceps at the front of your thighs, and hip-flexors at the front of your pelvis. The more effective upper leg exercises will work all the above muscles at once resulting in much better fat burning, toning and firming.

Thigh Exercises That Simple And Easy To Do!

Below you will find a list of exercises for your thigh muscles to use in your lower body workout. A combination of the best thigh exercises, cardiovascular exercise and good nutrition is the most effective for fat loss and toning and shaping your muscles.

(1) Compound muscle leg exercises- Dumbbell Lunges:

This thigh exercises are good for working your gluts, quads, inner and outer thighs and hamstrings. This exercise can be done with either Dumbbells or Barbell.

STANCE: A feet together stance is recommended.

STEPS:

Grab hold of a pair of dumbbells and stand upright.

Keeping your back straight take a step forward bending your knees and getting them as close to the floor as possible.

Push yourself back to the starting position and repeat with the other foot.

(2) Compound muscle leg exercises- Leg Extensions:

This thigh exercises will help to define and shape the front of your thighs, known as your quads.

STEPS:

Sit on the leg extension machine (adjust the seat according to your body). Hook your feet beneath the roller pads and grasp the handles at the sides of the machine for support.

Straighten your legs and lift the weight up. Pause at the top for a second or two to enhance the peak contraction in the quads. Lower the weight slowly to the starting position. Repeat.

(3) Compound muscle leg exercises- Leg Press:

This movement works the quads, hamstrings, and gluts. The leg press allows you to work your legs hard without putting extra stress on your back.

STEPS:

Sit in the leg press machine with your back on the angled seat and your feet on the footplate about shoulder width apart with your toes pointed forward or just slightly out to the sides. Straighten your legs and release the bars at the sides of the machine. There is usually a handle on each side for you to hold on to and stabilize yourself.

Bend your legs and slowly lower the weight until your knees are at a 90-degree angle. Straighten your legs and lift the weight back up to the starting position. Repeat.

(4) Compound muscle leg exercises- Hack Squats:

This movement works the quads, hamstrings, and gluts.

STEPS:

Position yourself on the machine with your feet just wider the shoulder width apart with your toes pointed just slightly out to the sides. Straighten your legs and release the bars at the sides of the machine. Bend your knees and squat down until your knees are just less then a 90-degree angle. Straighten your legs and lift the weight back up to the starting position. Repeat.

(5) Compound muscle leg exercises- Straight Leg Dead-lifts:

These variations of the dead lift work the hamstrings, gluts, and lower back. It also works the forearms because you have to grip the barbell.

STEPS:

Stand in front a barbell with your feet placed shoulder width apart. Bend your legs and grasp the barbell with your hands just wider then shoulder width. Using your back and legs stand up with the barbell at arms length in front of you.

Keep a slight bend in your knees and bend over as if you were going to touch your toes. Keep your head up and you’re back flat as you bend down. Straighten up to the starting position. Repeat.

Along with compound muscle leg exercises you can also try single muscle leg exercises. The thigh exercises for your thigh muscles listed above will indeed do the job for you. These upper leg exercises will tone, firm and burn a tremendous amount of fat cells. With the one mentioned above you’ll define and separate your thigh muscles, creating the sexiest thighs you could imagine.



These is Why Pilates Sample Exercises are so Important

Thursday, March 19th, 2009
Muna wa Wanjiru


Pilates sample exercises are specially performed on Pilates mats. They are designed to build familiarity with basic Pilate’s exercises.  These exercises are useful to develop muscles and get core strength of your body parts. These Pilates sample exercises provide flexibility and stability.

Pilates sample exercises help you to build balanced and flexible routine; these exercises are mainly focus on muscles of your body. These exercises are also useful to get better abdominal support.

Pilate’s sample exercises can be modified according to user’s fitness requirements, these modifications will depend on the fitness level of the people.  The selection of Pilate’s sample exercises will depend on the fitness requirements of the users. These exercises are performed under the instruction of trainers.

modification of Pilates sample exercises is essential to make these exercises easy and effective. These modifications make exercises much less difficult to perform. Reducing physical limitation of people is another advantage of these Pilates sample exercises.  These modification are done under the observation of trainers, trainers will guide you to perform exercises in a better and effective way. 

Warm up is essential to perform these Pilates sample Exercises, warm up usually done well before any strenuous exercise.  Warm up is essential to make exercise smooth and easy.

There many kinds of Pilates sample exercises such as angle arm, pelvic curl, pelvic clock, etc.  These exercises are performed on the Pilates mats.  Pilate’s exercises are useful to show you how to move the arms and shoulders without affecting the back and ribcage. These exercises are useful to get complete toned body posture. These exercises are useful to improve stability of your body and help you to get wide range of motions.

Pelvic clock is an example of Pilates sample exercise; this exercise is useful to perform body movement in any direction.  These movements of exercises will guide trainees to perform exercises without stressing their abdominal muscles.  These exercises will teach users to separate the movement of the hips from the movement of legs and hips sockets.

Pelvic exercise is an example of Pilates sample exercise; this exercise is a warm up for your spine and abdominal muscles. These exercises are very effective and useful.  This exercise is also useful to get balance between the two sides of the body. 

Imprinting is another basic Pilate’s exercise; it is most effective and relaxing exercise. This is very good exercise technique to perform before any exercise routine. Stress reduction is very good advantage of these Pilates sample exercises. This exercise is a perfect way to start your Pilates sample exercises routine. This exercise helps you to relax your spine and settle your body.  This exercise is quick and effective technique to reduce stress.

There are many resources are available to perform these Pilates sample exercises

Such as books, DVD’s, websites etc. these resources will tech users to perform Pilate’s exercises. They are most popular among fitness centers and gyms. 

These resources will help users to find their best Pilates exercises. Pilates sample exercises are simple and easy to use. These exercises are suitable for each age group of people.



How You Can Take Your Health and Fitness to a New Level With Hit Fitness

Sunday, March 8th, 2009
Zach Hunt


ss in the Spokane Valley, WA area is a growing trend

Hit Fitness , or High Intensity Training, is a fitness system built around a unique combination of science and sport.

Hit Fitness is definably an “alternative” way to personal fitness, but it is a method that is worthy of a look.

What Will I Really Be Doing In HIT Fitness?

Hit Fitness combines a unique combination of typical fitness along with sporting elements, such as the practice of Fencing or Kenpo.

Some of the activities that are included in Hit Fitness include:

*Fencing

*Kenpo

*Self-Defense

*Personal Fitness

*Other Sporting Activities

The types of activities that you participate in depends on the type of Hit Fitness Spokane program that you join.

Different instructors of the Hit Fitness way have different methods. Regardless of the methods that your fitness coach uses to teach you Hit Fitness, you will experience a unique exercise technique that will benefit your body more than a traditional fitness plan can accomplish.

Hit Fitness Sporting Events

Participating in sporting events in the Hit Fitness program is a big part of your training. The sporting events not only help you reach your fitness goals more quickly but can be used later on as well.

Sounds Fun. What Does Hit Fitness Spokane Concentrate On? Well, the Hit Fitness program is quite the unusual exercise system. The Hit Fitness program focuses on the following aspects of the fitness world:

Anaerobic Threshold Balance Body Composition Strength VO2 Max (maximal oxygen consumption)

Hit Fitness Anaerobic Threshold

A basic definition of the Hit Fitness Anaerobic Threshold is that it occurs when muscles “burn” glucose without the use of Oxygen. Anaerobic Threshold is ideal for those who need that short extra burst in their life. On the flip side, Anaerobic Threshold would not be ideal for a distance runner.

Hit Fitness Balance

Another important part of the Hit Fitness way is the aspect of balance. A majority of people who participate in the Hit Fitness exercise plan are athletes. These people require a great amount of agility and balance to succeed at what they do best. By having great balance, you can even increase the efficiency of your Spokane workout.

Hit Fitness Body Composition

Hit Fitness Body Composition is a way of describing the percentage of bone, fat, and muscle in your body. The Hit Fitness Spokane system puts a lot of attention on the aspect of body composition, as it is vital to balance the mass percentages of bone, fat, and muscle in ones body.

Hit Fitness Strength

Hit Fitness works with your overall body strength. Since the Spokane Hit Fitness way of exercise revolves around sporting activities, it is important to have strength as it will give you the opportunity to push your body to the next level.

Hit Fitness VO2 Max

What is VO2 Max? Basically, VO2 Max is another meaning for the maximal amount of oxygen consumption. It plays a very important role in Hit Fitness as your VO2 Max directly determines how physically fit you are. Each person has a different VO2 Max. The max can be included over time through Hit Fitness Spokane WA exercises.

So, is Hit Fitness Right For You? Spokane Hit Fitness is not right for everyone. If you are athletic, then you should definably consider the Hit Fitness way of exercise. If you are interested in starting on a Hit Fitness exercise plan, you should speak to your local fitness coach today to see if such a program is offered.



Exercise Plans - How to Create the One for You!

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009
Don Pasco


Do you have an exercise plan? Do you own any exercise equipment? Perhaps a treadmill, an exercise bike, or any of the gazillion exercise machines advertised on infomercials over the last 10 or 20 years? I think we’ve all been sold at one time or another on something to make exercising easier… or so we thought. And that’s good! Having the desire to look better, feel better and implementing a good exercise plan can help us to reach those goals and also help us to keep our weight under control. And those are just a few of the benefits of exercise. When we perform an exercise routine regularly we begin to not only look and feel better… we even sleep better. When you get right down to it I think we all know that a good exercise plan is part of a healthy lifestyle.

I often hear people ask “What is the best exercise?” And the answer to that question is the one you like the most. Why? Because that’s the one your more likely to do! For many people, just one exercise would not be enough because although we all want to be in good shape and the proper weight, we all have different fitness goals… but for others, one exercise performed consistently and regularly provides all the benefits mentioned above and then some!

So… how many exercise plans do you need to receive all of the exercise benefits described above? One! That’s right… just one! And how many exercises do you need to do? That will depend on your particular fitness goals… your likes and dislikes… but the first question I encourage you to ask yourself is “What one exercise do I like the most? That answer will get you started on a good exercise plan.

Now…

Did you know that how often you exercise is the single most important factor in whether you: • reach your weight loss goals • will be satisfied with your results • will feel good about your progress

You could own every piece of exercise equipment ever advertised on an infomercial, from an exercise bike to an exercise ball and every exercise machine in between, but if you’re not going to use them, then your exercise plan will never succeed. Now I’m not saying that you need to own exercise equipment to be in shape. There are many people who are in excellent condition who own nothing more then a pair of Nikes. If you get just one thing from reading this, understand that your fitness level is directly related to the frequency in which you exercise.

It doesn’t matter if you know how to do every imaginable abdominal exercise, dumbbell exercise, aerobic exercise, tricep, deltoid or backside exercise. The important thing is how often you do them!

I challenge you right now to base your exercise plan on frequency, and I promise you will be much more successful. Whether your exercise plan consists of 20 different exercises or one… please remember this.

Now I don’t want you to get carried away. There’s more to life than just exercising… much more. All I’m saying is when you set about creating an exercise plan, the frequency of exercise is crucial. So as you create your exercise plan answer these two questions: 1) What one exercise do I enjoy the most? Even if you currently hate all exercise… there must be one that you like or hate less than the others. 2) And secondly, how often can I sincerely do this?

Answer those two questions and your exercise plan will be off to a great start!



Idealbody4life-Personal Training & Plyometrics

Saturday, February 28th, 2009
Serge


IdealBody4Life aims at bringing fitness to you on your terms at your own convenience. We provide mobile highly experienced and professional personal trainers, ready to help you achieve your fitness goals at your house, in the park, in the gym, or anywhere at anytime.

One of the more popular workout options offered by Idealbody4life Personal Training team is Plyometrics.

Plyometrics involve exercise that use explosive movements in order to develop both muscular power as well as ability to generate large amounts of force very quickly. This is achieved by the rapid alteration of lengthening and shortening of specific muscle groups while continuously applying resistance force to the muscle.

In order to grasp a better understanding of how plyometric exercises stimulate our muscles lets have a closer look at muscle contractions.

There are three different ways in which our muscle can contract: eccentric, concentric and isometric.

An eccentric muscle contraction occurs when your muscle contracts and lengthens at the same time. An example of an eccentric muscle contraction is lowering your self from a chin-up position. The bicep (upper arm) muscle contracts and lengthens as you lower yourself from the chin-up bar.

A concentric muscle contraction occurs when your muscle contracts and shortens at the same time. An example of a concentric muscle contraction is lifting your self into a chin-up position. The bicep muscle contracts and shortens as you raise yourself up to the chin-up bar.

An isometric muscle contraction occurs when your muscle contracts, but does not change in length. An example of an isometric muscle contraction is hanging from a chin-up bar with your arms bent at 90 degrees. The bicep muscle contracts, but does not change in length because you’re not moving up or down.

During a plyometric exercise, an eccentric muscle contraction is quickly followed by a concentric muscle contraction. 

Plyometric exercises are often used by athletes in order to develop an explosive power for their chosen sport but recently have been used for both injury prevention and injury rehabilitation.

Essentially plyometric exercises force the muscle to contract rapidly from a full stretch position and in this position muscles tend to be at their weakest point. By conditioning the muscle at its weakest point, (full stretch) it is better prepared to handle this type of stress in a real or game environment.

Furthermore, an eccentric muscle contraction can be up to three times more forceful than a concentric muscle contraction. This is why plyometric exercises are important in the final stage of rehabilitation, to condition the muscles to handle the added strain of eccentric contractions.

However, one must remember that plyometric exercises are not for everyone as they are advanced form of athletic conditioning and can place a massive strain on unconditioned joints, ligaments, tendons and muscles. Please take great caution when during   plyometric exercise routine. 

Low Intensity Plyometric Exercises:

Pencil Jump

Stand with your feet parallel and shoulders widths apart, jump as high as possible by pushing off your toes and try to keep your legs straight. 

Low Lateral Jump

Place a marker or draw a line. Stand close to the side of the obstacle, with your feet parallel and ankles close together. While keeping your ankles close together jump up and over obstacle in a side to side motion. 

Ski Jump

Stand on one foot while the other leg is bent at 90 degrees and located under the bottom. Jump from side to side, bounding from one foot to the other. 

Medium Intensity Plyometric Exerices

Tuck Jumps

Stand with your feet parallel and shoulder width apart, jump as high as possible by bringing the knees up to the chest. Hold your arms across the chest during the drill and make sure to have a few practice smaller jumps before you start. 

Squat Jumps

Stand with the feet parallel and shoulder width apart. Place your hands behind the head. Jump up as high as possible during the concentric phase and keep your legs as straight as possible after take-off. 

Ball Wall Throw

Stand opposite a wall while holding a medicine ball to one side, throw the ball across your body and catch it off the wall on the other side of the body. 



Fun And Fitness Through Sports - 4 Tips For Sportspeople

Thursday, November 27th, 2008
Abhishek Agarwal


What do you think of when you hear the term “sports fitness”? Do you see football players on the field, soccer players scuffling over a ball, a volleyball team at the beach, or a tennis match? There is a tendency to understand the term to mean the sport itself, rather than a way to stay fit.

People engage in sports for specific recreation-related reasons like entertainment, competition, or self-satisfaction. Because sports involve physical activity, most fitness experts and health care professionals know that sports is one way to stay fit and healthy. Sports fitness, as opposed to “exercise” or “physical fitness,” however, involves developing a skill or ability. Sports fitness is an opportunity for personal growth.

Sports enthusiasts may be more likely to maintain a healthy lifestyle (although some would question that assertion) because of the inherent discipline and physical demands. But sports fitness can also mean weight loss, better mobility, greater energy, and a host of the things we use to describe good health. Sports fitness is a character-building pursuit.

Sports do teach people to value their health. Without health, they couldn’t maintain the energy and vitality necessary to participate. Especially if they are in professional sports, their livelihood may depend on their fitness and health. Sports fitness is a lifestyle.

Let’s assume, for a minute, that you are a person who needs more exercise to get or stay physically fit and healthy. You have many options: gyms, health centers, home exercise. You can do aerobic exercise routines, undertake a weight training program, or spend hours on an exercise bike or treadmill. Those are all beneficial activities. But some of us find them boring. We won’t stick to them because we’re not having fun. Sports fitness is fun!

One way to get healthy and have fun at the same time is to pursue sports fitness. You can get your workout on the basketball court or baseball field. You can enter swimming competitions or run marathons. These exercise routines involve other people, interaction, and FUN! So, let’s say you’ve decided to get your exercise through sports fitness.

There are some things you should know about things you can do to assure sports fitness is a safe, healthy program for you:

1. Get a Lot of Fluids

We can go days, even months, without food. But we can’t live without frequent drinking water. It’s the most important nutrient we’ll ever consume. And when you’re engaged in sports, you perspire more, losing that precious liquid gold. In fact, if you lose too many fluids without replacing them, you could have very serious health problems. In the extreme, you could die.

So when you’re engaged in strenuous exercise, you should always drink water to replace what you’re losing through sweat. Some sports involve losing fluids so rapidly that it would not be possible to replace them with water alone. In fact, drinking too much plain water at once can lead to a toxic reaction (water intoxication) due to an unhealthy balance of electrolytes in the body. To avoid dehydration and water intoxication while playing sports, experts recommend sports drinks. They come in three categories.

Isotonic sports drinks contain a similar balance of water and other nutrients as in the human body, including 6-8% sugar. Hypertonic sports drinks contain less water and more sugar than the human body. Hypotonic sports drinks contain more water and less sugar than the human body. Most of the sports drinks on the market are isotonic.

No matter which you choose, sports drinks have two important ingredients you won’t find in plain water: carbohydrates and electrolytes. Carbohydrates help keep energy levels up, and a proper balance of electrolytes (made up of sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, chloride, phosphate, and hydrogen carbonate) is essential to well-being. Drinking a lot of fluids is essential for sports fitness.

2. Eat more Fruits and Vegetables

The strenuous exercise involved in sports rapidly depletes the body of essential vitamins and minerals. Fruits and vegetables contain essential nutrients. When you’re engaged in sports fitness program, make it a habit every day to eat a dark green vegetable, a yellow or orange fruit or vegetable, a red fruit or vegetable, beans or nuts, and a citrus fruit like oranges. Sports fitness involves a healthy, balanced diet.

3. Protect your Bones

Obviously, people involved in sports fitness are at a higher risk of injuries, including broken bones. The more you can do to keep your bones strong, the better off you will be. Be sure your diet includes calcium sources like sardines, tofu, and dairy products, etc. You might also consider adding a calcium supplement to your daily routine. Not only will your bones withstand the bumps and crashes you get on the court or field, you’ll be getting a head start in fending off the dreaded osteoporosis.

4. Warm Up and Cool Down

You may strain a muscle or fall prey to another type of injury if you’re body isn’t loose and limber when you start playing any kind of rigorous sport. Like runners, stretching routines are a great way to get limber. And more active warm-ups get your heart rate going gradually.

After the game is over, don’t go straight to the clubhouse or bar. Do a few cool down exercises to gradually release tension and transition to less activity. You have fewer sore muscles and less tightness if you do. Sports fitness involves responsible preparation and follow-through.

Participating sports is a great way to get and stay physically fit and to have an active, interesting social life. Sports fitness allows you to meet more active people interested in health and fitness who can help you stay motivated and involved. The best thing about sports fitness is that you get a great workout while you’re having a great time. It’s the best of both worlds!



Join 24-hour Fitness Clubs - Best Way To Keep Fit

Sunday, November 16th, 2008
Abhishek Agarwal


If you want to have and keep a healthy well-toned body, a good gym or health club can offer you a variety of equipment and services to help you meet your goals. But remember that not all fitness clubs are equal.

You want a fitness club that’s in it for more than your cash. It should be fully committed to health and quality service so that you see positive results as quickly as possible. It should offer an informed professional staff that can guide you through your workouts and show you how to use new equipment. And it should offer a variety of programs that focus on different aspects of fitness and health. Having a professional nutritionist on staff is another important feature you should look for.

One health and fitness club you can count on is 24 Hour Fitness, with have five types of clubs to meet your unique needs. The Ultra Sport club offers all the amenities and is set up for every type of workout you can imagine, from basketball and volleyball to saunas and spas. You can even sharpen your rock climbing skills. There’s a kids’ club, so you won’t have to hire a baby-sitter and a complete juice bar for dietary health. After your workout, you can get a wonderful massage or visit a tanning booth. 24 Hour Fitness’ Super Sport Clubs include many of the same amenities, without the massage or rock climbing. Similar to the Super Sport, the Sport Club doesn’t offer tanning. The Active club type focuses on the basic - weight training, cardio workouts, sauna, steam room, and a kids’ club. Finally, the Fitlite club offers a complete cardio workout and some group classes.

Operating since 1983, 24 Hour Fitness is the biggest privately owned and operated fitness center chain in the world with over 385 clubs. For years, they’ve maintained a expert staff to help their clients get the most out of their exercise program, and they use qualified nutritionists to complement working out with great advice on the foods you should - and should not - eat.

Signing up to a new club only to find that they have incomplete facilities and gaps in their equipment offering is a real disappointment and a waste of time and money. You won’t be disappointed at 24 Hour Fitness. They maintain state-of-the-art fitness equipment for every workout need. You’ll never have to stop your workout because the equipment broke down, and you won’t have to wait until a machine becomes available to get the exercise you need.

They offer team sports facilities and group classes to help you learn new skills and enjoy your friends at the same time. 24 Hour Fitness classes cover a wide range of exercise interests, such as pilates, strength training, aerobic workouts, yoga, and water workouts. Their worldwide instructor team includes over 7000 professionals, and 24 Hour Fitness keeps them up on the latest techniques by offering in-house training for Group Trainers.

You can choose from a range of membership types to meet your schedule and your budget at 24 Hour Fitness. Four types of all-club memberships give you privileges at facilities everywhere, and three different one-club options allow for savings, great workouts, and short-term fitness programs.

Since they have facilities all over the world, travelers will want to take advantage of the Passport Program, where you can workout at other private fitness centers as part of your membership in 24 Hour Fitness. All you need is your 24 Hour Fitness Passport Program ID and a reasonable fee to get a great workout at any Passport Program member’s facility.

In 2000, 24 Hour Fitness made a bold move when they entered into partnerships with five world-famous athletes to advocate fitness and make fitness a way of life for all of us. Representing the qualities 24 Hour Fitness values (determination, hard work, persistence, and a positive attitude), these sports super stars are role models and living proof of the benefits of exercise and good health. Lance Armstrong, Shaquille O’Neal, Magic Johnson, Andre Agassi, and Jackie Chan signed on to represent 24 Hour Fitness and bring good health to the people.

In 2004, 24 Hour Fitness became the first official fitness center sponsor for U.S. Olympic Teams, offering grants to help Olympic hopefuls follow their dreams and upgrading Olympic Training Centers across the country. Their commitment to good health is clear.

Your workout at 24 Hour Fitness will be fun, easy, and personally rewarding. You’ll find a wide range of exercise options and equipment, complete modern facilities and amenities, and a professional staff to help you achieve your goals in record time.

If you’re shopping for a health club, you owe it to yourself to check out 24 Hour Fitness.