Tag Archives: exercise

Now you can go to the gym… to nap!

31 Wednesday Jul 2019

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It’s a trend our researchers spotted, with many fitness centers offering a class called “Napercize” – where you work out for a while, then go down for a nap with a bunch of strangers. The temperature is taken down to 67 or 68 degrees, which is ideal for sleeping, and each person gets a little cot, a blanket, and an eye mask.

The class is designed to help boost your mental and physical wellbeing and reinvigorate the mind and body.

While it may seem ridiculous to some people, taking naps has remarkable benefits for our mental health, which is backed by research from Pennsylvania’s Allegheny College. And think about it: Nap-time has been working for years in kindergartens all over the planet. So, maybe it’s time for us adults to give Napercize a try.

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Does yoga count as moderate exercise?

24 Wednesday Jul 2019

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You know you should get a 30-minute dose of moderate exercise, 5 days a week. So does your yoga class count? Maybe not. Moderate exercise means getting your heart pumping about 130 beats per minute – or walking to the beat of the song “YMCA.” And most yoga classes fall short of that heart-rate goal. However, you don’t have to stick your yoga mat in the closet just yet. It has major benefits as far as improving balance and strength and reducing stress. And if you want it to count as moderate exercise, you need to move through poses faster and focus on ones that engage your core. If you want to see what that looks like, Google Cardio Yoga and you’ll see examples. Otherwise, keep doing yoga for the other health perks, but add in moderate heart-pumping exercise 5 days a week.

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If you’re exercising in hot weather…

16 Tuesday Jul 2019

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…make sure you have something cold to drink. Because the temperature really does make a difference. In a study from the University of Montana, scientists monitored people walking briskly on a treadmill, for 3 hours, in almost 90-degree heat. And the exercisers either had ice water to drink or lukewarm, room temperature water. The result? Study subjects had to drink twice as much lukewarm water as ice water, to maintain a healthy heart rate, and core body temperature. So if you’ll be exercising in hot weather, carry an insulated sports bottle filled with ice water.

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Do you only exercise on the weekend?

11 Thursday Jul 2019

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Did you know it’s now okay if you’re a Weekend Warrior, and only have time to exercise on the weekends? A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found what really matters is that you get 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week. So, an hour of hiking on Saturday, an hour-long bike ride Sunday, and a few brisk dog walks will get you to your goal. And that 150 minutes of exercise is linked to a lower risk of death from all causes, including heart disease and cancer. And this recent study tells us this holds true whether you only sweat on the weekends, or you spread those exercise sessions out through the week. Yes, it’s now okay to be a Weekend Warrior.

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What are you usually doing at 9pm?

27 Thursday Jun 2019

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Watching Shark Tank or America’s Got Talent? Well, more and more people are at Spin class at the gym… or on the treadmill. 9pm is the new go-to time for working out, according to the Mind Body journal. It’s the fastest growing choice for workouts at fitness studios. There are 46 TIMES more classes booked at 9pm now than there were 10 years ago… mostly because people have more free time at night and gyms are staying open later to accommodate people’s schedules. The bonus of exercising at night? People are able to go 20% longer than in the morning – without feeling fatigued. That’s according to the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism. That’s because our body uses oxygen more efficiently at night.

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Keep one of those sports water bottles on your desk at work.

18 Monday Feb 2019

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Doing that can prompt you to be more active, and make exercise a part of your everyday life. That’s according to Bangor University in the UK. They found that putting a visual cue somewhere you’ll see it all the time makes people more likely to follow through and work out. It needs to be something you always use when you exercise – like your water bottle, ear-buds or running shoes. The physical reminder boosts activity in the brain region linked to organization and planning, and literally doubles your odds of becoming a regular exerciser.

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Here are two reasons to do handstands every day:

29 Tuesday Jan 2019

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First: Emotional stability. The physical stability needed for a handstand can help you feel more emotionally calm and centered. Because our body can dictate our emotional state.

Handstands also build physical strength. It takes a lot of muscle to hold yourself up, so it’s a great workout for your arms, core and back.

If you can’t do them on your own, ask someone to assist you until you can do it alone.

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What you watch at the gym matters!

24 Thursday Jan 2019

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What we watch while doing cardio at the gym can impact our workout, according to Australia’s University of Western Sydney. For example, skip news or game shows, because whatever triggers deep thinking can tank your workout intensity. Instead watch shows with a physical component that’ll inspire you to work up a sweat, like “The Amazing Race,” or a sporting event. Because research shows when people watch a video of someone else being active, it increases blood flow, heart rate, sweat and respiration.

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How to power through that tough workout!

17 Thursday Jan 2019

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You can use water to power through a tough workout by sticking it in the freezer first (even though it’s winter). According to exercise physiologist, Dr. Lawrence Armstrong, in a study, people who sipped icy cold water before and during a strenuous workout were able to keep going significantly longer than those who drank room-temperature water. That’s because the ice-cold water cools your core temperature.

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Did you know that exercise literally makes your brain bigger?

14 Monday Jan 2019

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Here’s how it works…

University of Kentucky researchers had a group of men and women run on a treadmill – then researchers scanned their brains. And they found that, after exercise, there was more blood flow to the brain. That triggers the growth of new cells, particularly in the brain’s memory center… and that can help stave off Alzheimer’s disease. And you don’t need to kill yourself running for miles, either.

Research from the University of Pittsburgh shows even going for a brisk walk boosts the size of the brain’s memory center, and other areas, by as much as two percent.

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