Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
Your hydration strategy is just as important as your workout plan. Proper hydration can be the difference between a good workout and a painful one. Dehydration can impact numerous functions in your body, including your metabolism and your sweat rate. Your metabolism owes much of …
Photo by Bruce Mars on Unsplash In honor of National Women’s Health & Fitness Day, we bring you the benefits of specific nutrients for women’s health, including essential nutrients needed for fitness. It’s so important that women are getting the essential nutrients to make sure …
If you’re like the majority of the world, weight loss is difficult. You’re making sure to take the right vitamins, eat the best foods and stick to a workout regimen. But how does fitness actually help to maintain your weight loss?
Here’s the thing – you actually need to understand how your body’s hormones work in order to determine if the exercise you are doing will work best for you. Sometimes a HIT or high cardio workout may not be the smartest option for you.
When you exercise, you are releasing hormones – CRH and cortisol. This is why you feel get into that relaxed and euphoric-state after a good work out; you are releasing the chemicals that would otherwise cause you to feel stress. But overexercising, if the exercises are not right for you, can actually be harmful.
Cortisol levels have been shown to rise with rigorous exercise like running, which can actually lead to wear and tear on the body (especially your joints!) and accelerate aging. You may actually have to tone down your work outs in order to be sure your body – especially your cortisol levels – are not too high, as intense workouts have been shown to increase cortisol levels in the body.
Of course, “toning down” your workouts do not mean to sit them out completely. Inactivity is not healthy; for example, sitting too much has been shown to increase your risk of diabetes and heart disease and can contribute to back pain and stiffness.
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Photo by Form 679333 on Unsplash New research, published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, explores the link between two conditions, finding that for many who suffer from depression, exercise is the best treatment that keeps both the mind and the body healthy. What is Depression? Depression …
Being physically fit is known to contribute to a host of healthy benefits, including staving off metabolic diseases and protecting against heart disease. Now, a new study says that being physically fit can highly decrease a women’s risk of dementia. What is Dementia? According to …
It’s true – having a “fitness buddy” has a positive impact on your health! According to a new Dutch study, scientists report that more than 90% of people who start an exercise program with a fitness buddy continue to work out after a year. If you’re struggling with your motivation or you want to squeeze more out of every workout you do, one of the smartest choices you can make is to invite a fitness buddy on your workouts. This doesn’t mean you can’t be successful by yourself! If you can try solo routines like the one man punch workout (read more about the program here) or Crossfit! But if you find you can lack motivation then it is probably best Here are four reasons why having a fitness partner is the best method to reach your goals.
It’s tough to ditch a friend when you know they’re counting on you to go to the gym or a class with them, or if they have set up a home gym and they have invited you over. Professor of Psychology at Santa Clara University, Thomas Plante, PhD, says that multiple studies prove the power of exercise partners. “If you know a friend is waiting for you at the gym or won’t pound the pavement without you, it’s tough to bail.”
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A study from Michigan State reported that women who were told they had “super-fit virtual sweat sisters” simultaneously spinning pedaled for nearly twice as long as those who believed they were working out alone. Another study by Stanford University has found that simply receiving a phone call invitation to work out every two weeks can boost the amount of exercise you do by up to 78% (on average).
Having a workout partner while walking or jogging can be a great way to both decompress and multitask. Plus, time goes by fast when you’re having fun! You’ll be so into each others stories that you won’t even notice the time. Competition is good for the mind and it makes you perform better. In one study, participants performed better when they were paired up with a workout partner who was fitter than they were. The study also found that in order to maximize motivation, your workout buddy should be about 40% better than you are. Don’t let that scare you! Use your fitness partners strengths as your own and work to push yourself against them.
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If your usual routine is to jump on the treadmill for 20 minutes and you’re starting to feel bored and unmotivated, ask your fitness buddy for some tips or switch your workout with them! Also, if your workout buddy has some fitness exercise, they can help you correct any mistakes your making, especially when it comes to your form. Unless you’re working out in front of a mirror each time, there may be things your fitness partner can see that you aren’t aware of. According to a UK study, you’ll burn 41 calories per session on average while exercising with your buddy than you would burn alone.
Grab your fitness partner and head outside, to the gym, or a HIIT workout class. You’ll thank us later.