Larson Institute of Self-Mastery » Exercise

The Impact of Exercise on Health and Well-Being

Guest — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 08:02:36 +0000

Author - Wayne Mcgregor

We live in a very technologically evolved society. This has many benefits in terms of making our lives easier, more comfortable, and more convenient. In fact, it makes our lives a bit too convenient.

We take our cars to and from work, we sit at a desk all day, and come home to houses that are heated and cooled automatically, and that have water available at the turn of a tap. Car, computers, indoor plumbing, these might seem like commonplace things, but they are all relatively recent inventions, and they all lead to our living sedentary lifestyles.

This means that we don’t get enough exercise, which is one of the primary causes of overweight and obesity, which, in turn, cause high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, and premature death.

Even a small increase in our daily level of physical activity can dramatically improve our health. For every bit of exercise we do in a day, we use up calories, which translates into weight loss, and maintenance of healthy weight. The more we do, the less we are at risk of developing number one killers like heart disease and certain types of cancer.

Regular physical activity can also help us combat depression, anxiety, and panic attacks. These are often caused by chemicals that build up in our bodies until they flood our systems and make us feel miserable. Exercise helps our bodies to flush these excess chemicals out.

Furthermore, our musculoskeletal and immune systems benefit hugely from regular exercise. This is important when we are young, of course, but many people don’t realize that it is just as important in our later years.

Older people need physical activity in order to maintain their immune systems, and to keep their muscles, joints, and bones strong. This reduces the risk of falling, improves coordination, and defends against many of the illnesses and injuries that tend to plague us later in life.

But wait! Don’t jump off the couch like a crazy person and begin an intense anaerobic exercise regimen. Many people who want to become more physically active fail because they begin by setting extreme, dramatic goals that are impossible to achieve.

We shouldn’t be exercising just to “get healthy.” We need exercise in order to be healthy, and that means that we are going to need to get into doing regular physical activity on a daily, or near-daily basis, for the rest of our lives.

This may seem daunting at first, but don’t let yourself get overwhelmed. We don’t need to run 10 K every day, or do two hundred crunches every morning, in order to be active. Studies show that moderate levels of daily physical activity will dramatically improve the health of a sedentary person, and that any increase in our regular exercise level has big health benefits.

This means that if you can walk at a brisk pace, cycle, or swim for just 30 minutes each day, or even every second day, you will be reducing your risk of contracting heart disease, diabetes, and other obesity-related health problems that lead to a difficult, unhealthy old age, or even to premature death.

And you can, and should, start slow. If you are a complete couch potato, find time in the day for even ten minutes of light exercise. This could be a stroll around the block, a set of tai chi, or a short spin on an exercise bike or treadmill.

Starting out with just those ten minutes every day or two will quickly find you building your way up to twenty minutes, half an hour, than an hour or more of exercise, easily done throughout your day. This process can happen so gradually that you will not even feel the strain. In fact, it will be your pleasure to do a little more and push a little further each day.

Of course, sometimes it can seem just about impossible to find even that ten minutes. An easy way to make time for exercise is to put it into your regular routine in some way. This might involve walking or cycling to and from work, or turning your lunch break into a workout break.

It doesn’t sound like too much fun on paper, but in practice, exercise throughout the day will actually leave you with a sharper mind, more energy, and a more positive outlook than does a car ride through rush hour traffic and a big, carb-o-riffic lunch.

Integrating physical activity into your daily routine is also a great way in which to make it a life-long practice. This is absolutely crucial to good physical health. Even a few weeks without exercise will negatively affect our bodies, so our goal should be to get out there every day and move those muscles!

Finally, remember that every little bit helps. Never tell yourself it’s not worth it because you only have ten minutes, or that since you missed yesterday, it doesn’t matter if you skip today. Whatever little thing you can do to get burning calories will lengthen your life by strengthening and protecting your body. So start now, take it slow, and say hello to a future of limitless health.

Wayne Mcgregor has studied nutrition and dietetics at university. He holds a diploma in fitness training, and also has a wealth of experience in helping people through their difficult weight loss. He has further experience in help others gain body shape and build muscle. His website provides hundreds of free weight loss articles, including exercise help, sample diets, fitness tools and charts of calorie values in common foods.

http://www.weightlossforall.com/benefits-walking.htm

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Wayne_Mcgregor

Taking Baby Steps To Better Health

Guest — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 08:02:18 +0000

Author: Ethan Kalvin

Perhaps the biggest reason why New Year’s resolutions don’t cross the finish line at the end of the predetermined time line is because it is going to take some sobering lifestyle changes that will generally take longer than the month of January. While the goals are always very ambitious, the results are much less than desired and usually inspires giving up rather than pressing through to get the results you envision. Revamping a new you will require more than 30 days. New Year’s resolutions are good examples of goals that are usually never achieved because of the gun ho attitude that soon looses steam and the time line that is attached to them. However it is very possible to achieve any goals set, by using a common sense healthy perspective approach.

Any steps that you undertake to make significant changes for the good in your life should always be taken seriously, because of the positive impact it will have but it should never be allow to lead to extreme behavior. While any type of change can be difficult, making these changes successful is more successful if done in a timely manner, without being a overwhelming self defeating endeavor.

For instance if you want to begin eating healthier then start by doing something small to change your eating habits like drinking more water, eliminating soda from your diet, switching to whole grain bread, or even just adding one or two servings of fruits or veggies per day. You will find the taking one little step in the right direction and keeping with it until it becomes a healthy habit is by far the best way to keep moving in the right direction and making the changes that you want to not only for the short term but for the long haul.

Great diets are fantastic, but work better when coupled with a good daily exercise routine. Exercise routines can often be tackled with the wrong enthusiasm and can be self defeating because of a gun ho attitude. Making your goals very realistic and not goals that super heroes would have trouble measuring up to is another commonsense approach to making lasting changes you can live with. Why would you expect to go from no miles to 10 miles a day jogging when no one else expects you to. This is a unrealistic goal and is failure prone for anyone. However, if you slowly increase your daily activity you can see you goals become a reality. This will also allow your body to adjust nicely to the changes going on and not try to go into movement shock within the first couple of days.

The changes that can be implemented by most anyone with the desire to change, will most always work best if the start is slow and is increased slowly. A good New Year’s resolution should by designed to last all year long, because the changes that need to take place will take longer than the couple of months you are hoping for. Increase your expectation by making your goals and resolutions more change friendly. A better resolution plan could include a full twelve months before making the next phase of changes the next New Year’s resolution.

About the Author

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The Secret of a Strong Jaw Line

Guest — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 08:06:50 +0000

Author – Helen Snow

What is attractive? A strong jaw line for sure. This is true for both genders – male and female. Even if we don’t find ourselves paying attention to jaw lines, it works on a subconscious level. We see it in magazines and pretty much all Hollywood stars have one. So what is the secret to having a strong jaw line – if there is one at all?

For many people it is one of the most desirable part of face. That is why is causes so many questions, for example what makes a strong jaw line, is there is a way to grow muscles, how to do it, how much time it will take? Some might thought of implants, botox or specific haircut. But if you want to keep your mimicry, and don’t want any extraneous things under your skin, then this is what you’ve been looking for.

Strong jaw lines can be associated with fertility, strength, power. This is one of the reasons why women prefer this type of men. Have you ever notice neck and face muscles of bodybuilders? Their muscle growth having an effect on all muscle groups. But if you are not a bodybuilder? Many people ask themselves if there is a way to develop the jaw muscles – for example, by chewing gum or exercising in a certain way. The answer is yes, there is a way to define your jaw line.

The truth is that it tends to depend on our genetics, and bone structure. One can determine a lot about a person’s body type simply by looking at his or her jaw bone. We all look different, but we can do our best with what has been given to us. It is not necessary to have a big jaw bone, but the line just up to our neck should be seen, it will make you look more sexy and your face brighter.

There are three main muscles: platisma muscle in front of our neck, mentalis muscle and masseter muscle near jaw line. Exercises will not make these muscles huge, but they will make them defined. They will tone and firm skin and will help to get rid of double chin fast, if you have it. And there are three easy steps.

Instructions.
1. Sit upright and keep your face relaxed.
2. Put your lower lip upward and holds this contraction for 2 seconds.
3. Move your chin downwards without changing position of your head, hold for 2 seconds.
4. Repeat all this for 10 times.

Human nature is that we want to get this amazing result suddenly. So you might be asking a question, how much time it will take? The muscles in this area are not easiest to control, it depends how well they are developed. But after certain facial exercises for jowls you will feel right muscles, and understand what you have to deal with. Face fitness system helped many people, but only you can make it work for yourself.

Solutions for all those problems such as double chin, chubby cheeks have been found. You can do it naturally, without side effect. Discover your body and feel confident.

Helen Snow, beauty researcher enthusiast, who started this website as a free resource for others who wish to explore the face fitness.
http://www.face-fitness-guide.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Helen_Snow

Quick-Fixes Not So Quick

Gary N. Larson — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 09:55:00 +0000

I once had an old car that I drove back and forth to work. It was pretty beat-up, but it got me where I wanted to go. One day I noticed that the engine was getting awfully loud. So I climbed underneath the car to see what the trouble was and found the muffler pipe had rusted through. Instead of fixing it correctly by taking it into a muffler shop and having a new pipe welded on, I decided to be clever and patch the hole in the pipe myself.

I took an empty tin can and cut both ends out and split it on the side. I wrapped it around the rusted hole in the exhaust pipe and clamped it on with hose clamps. I started the car up and it sounded so much better. I was so proud of myself for fixing my car with very little cost or effort. My worries were over – or so I thought!

The next day as I was driving to work I began to smell a strange odor in the car. It got worse and worse and suddenly I realized it was smoke. I looked down to see where it was coming from and saw smoke coming from the carpet on the floor between the two front seats.

I quickly pulled over to the side of the road and turned the engine off. I looked under the car and found my clever exhaust pipe patch glowing red hot. Had I driven my car much further it most certainly would have burst into flames. That was a close one! I ended up taking my car into the muffler shop anyway and having an expert mechanic weld a new pipe on. It ran great after that.

How many times do we have something in our lives that needs to be fixed and we attempt the quick-fix, the clever and easy method, only to end up with a near disaster in the end?

Some things in our lives take more than band-aid fixes. Are you guilty of trying the fad diets, the miracle creams, the instant-hypnosis, the get-rich quick schemes, the insider trading tips, the instant piano courses, and on and on? Some things can’t be fixed or done overnight. Some things require patience and real, determined, effort.

Be Good to Yourself

Gary N. Larson — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 23:17:51 +0000

There are some people who go to extraordinary lengths to take care of their car. They wash it, they wax it, they keep it tuned, they get it serviced on a regular basis and they keep everything in perfect working order. They have meticulous records of every oil change and rotation of the tires. Yet these same people neglect a much more important piece of machinery – themselves.

We see people all around us plodding along, making mediocre attempts in their jobs and their relationships. They are crippled in their attempts at success because the energy has gone out of their lives. When obstacles arise they don’t have the strength to rise above them. They are easily defeated. They go through life only half-awake!

When you burn a candle at both ends you will eventually get burned. Don’t squander and abuse the most incredible instrument you have – your body. Give it the care and attention it needs.

Shouldn’t our great aim in life be to preserve and keep our physical bodies in the best possible condition so we can experience and live life to its fullest? Why not make every occasion a great occasion? If this life is worth living then isn’t it worth living well?

In order to live life to its fullest we need to take care of ourselves both mentally and physically. “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” What you think about yourself is manifested in your life and pictured in your body. If you are to make the most of yourself then you should never picture yourself as anything other than what you would actually want to be. See yourself as the person you wish to become. Your thoughts and actions are manifested in your body.

Everywhere you go you find people who are half-alive and barely awake. They resemble walking zombies rather than fully charged human beings. The world is full of them. They are the products of physical self-abuse and wrong thinking. They commit emotional suicide by killing every chance they have in life through neglect of their mind and body.

The saddest thing is to have an opportunity come our way and not be able to take advantage of it. Life passes us by because we aren’t ready to live it. We’re bogged down by poor health, fatigue, exhaustion and weariness. We’ve abused the instrument with which we live life with. When the conductor raises his baton, we are unable to join in the symphony. Our talents and gifts go unused. We are silent.

Too many of us overtax our strength and energy by pushing too hard. We live in an X-Treme world where it’s cool to push everything to the edge. We take risks. We eat too much. We stay up too late. Then we go to bed with sleep aids and wake up with the use of artificial stimulants. We have no time for true rest and relaxation. We are fooled by false economies, thinking we are saving time and accomplishing more. It’s a counterfeit sense of accomplishment. We’ve squeezed all the juice out of the fruit and are searching for more where there is none.

They say it’s a sin to be unkind to others. Isn’t it just as much a sin to be unkind to ourselves? Whatever you do in life, take care of yourself. Be good to yourself. Care for and protect your vitality, energy and strength because they are the tools with which you accomplish everything else in life. The person who does this and has no money is rich compared to the person who is wealthy and has squandered their vitality and precious energy. Whatever you do, protect and care for the most amazing machine – You!