chicashealthy - Tumblr blog

chicashealthy · 6 years ago

Photo

STRENGTH-TRAINING MACHINES YOU SHOULD LEARN TO USE

At the gym, a number of trainers recommend the use of free weights instead of machines for strength training, especially for beginners. Additionally, beginners find machines too sophisticated and intimidating thus avoiding them during training. However, this fear should be overcome by using the machines for their rightful purpose. Machines are beneficial because they enable trainees to focus on their progress safely and in a controlled manner. For the purpose of strength training, the following machines can be beneficial at the gym.

Assisted Pull-Up Machine

Assisted Pull-Up Machine is a counterweight machine meaning that the weight selected works against your body. Therefore, you have to use weights that weigh more than your body. You have to consider how many reps to pull off without endangering your form. It should be noted that, when using the machine, what matters is how well you lift not how much you lift. it is therefore beneficial to apply manageable weights and perform maximum reps in the right manner rather than applying heavyweights and straining to workout. This machine is great because it requires the whole body to be stabilized and thus one is able to work out more muscles as compared to when performing a traditional lat pulldown. When using the assisted pull-up machine, you work out your lats, back, and shoulders.

Cable Machine.

Cable Machine requires you to maintain stability in the joints when at every angle. It creates tension continuously at every angle. The tension created is entirely dependent on the weight in use. While using this machine, you will be able to challenge every muscle at every varied range of motion thus allowing one to be in control, be flexible and avoid imbalances. Most cable machines provide interchangeable handles that allow you to perform multiple exercises such as chest fly, standing trunk rotations, and seated row. The good thing about this machine is that you can work your entire body.

Chest Press.

The Chest Press enables you to build upper-body strength and stronger triceps. The machine is also reliable for performing push-ups. Interestingly, it can also help your posture. However, it should be noted that in case of an imbalance between the back and chest muscles, it can cause injury to the shoulders and damage your posture since it will roll towards the stronger side. To avoid this, you should apply manageable weight and add as your body gets stronger. Chest press machine strengthens the back since it operates on different sides of the same joint. The body parts you work out when using this machine are chest, shoulders, back, and triceps.

Lat Pulldown.

This machine is great for work out because it targets the latissimus dorsi which is the largest muscle on the back. It also helps you build stronger biceps since you pull the weight using your hands. Working out using this machine is beneficial because it strengthens your lats thus improving your posture and protect your spine ensuring that it is strong and fit when performing other exercises. It also helps you build stronger shoulders. It is recommended to use manageable weight when using this machine in order to attain maximum results.

Smith Machine.

The Smith Machine is more of a multipurpose machine because it can be used to work out the upper and lower body. It finds a way between a fix-joint machine and weights thus providing a greater advantage for trainees. For example, the Smith Machine provides a fixed pathway for barbells preventing them from falling. As mentioned earlier, the machine can be used to perform squats and bench presses.

#strength-training machines you should learn to use

3 notes · View notes

chicashealthy · 6 years ago

Photo

Helping You Better Understand Acupuncture With These Simple To Follow Tips

Most people know that acupuncture is a complementary technique that uses needles. However, that is as far as the average person's knowledge goes. There are many different styles from purely Traditional Chinese to strictly Western. Even techniques and procedures can vary from practitioner to practitioner. To learn more about acupuncture and its many methods, keep reading.

Do your research! Before choosing an acupuncturist, get as much information about him or her as you can. You want to make sure they have professionally treated their past clients. You will also want to make sure they have the proper credentials before you make an appointment.

Do not overeat before your appointment with an acupuncturist. You should also avoid going to the appointment without any food in your stomach. Being too hungry could cause you to feel dizzy or even nauseous. A light meal or snack is all that you need to have an enjoyable experience.

If you'd like to get more out of your acupuncture sessions, start cleansing. A good cleanse will free your body of toxins, which means acupuncture will be more effective. During this time, you may also want to detox from substances like alcohol. Ask your acupuncturist to recommend a proper detox diet.

When looking for acupuncture professional to treat your aches, pains, and ailments, be sure to ask if they are nationally certified. Although this will not guarantee that your sessions are perfect and painless, it will ensure that the specialist you visit has had a lot of formal education and is well qualified to perform the service. You should see the certificates on the wall.

Be sure the acupuncturist doing the procedure for you is experienced and knows what they are doing. Though rare, one wrong move and the needle could pierce through an organ, such as your lungs. Should this occur, you could end up suffering from internal bleeding. You are less likely to have to worry about this if your acupuncturist is experienced.

Have a basic understanding of what acupuncture treatment looks like before taking part of it. Typically, you will undergo approximately twenty sessions before really seeing results. If you cannot commit to the entire treatment series, you might be wasting your time, as no benefits will be examined. Make sure that this time commitment will work for you before signing on.

Have you been toying with the idea of having acupuncture done? It has become so popular that it can be hard to choose a good acupuncture office in your area. Asking friends and relatives who they see can be helpful. The Internet can also be an excellent resource for finding a superb acupuncture office.

As you can see, there is much more to learn about acupuncture than most people know. It is more than just needles. After reading this article, you should now be well versed in the styles and techniques available and have a better idea of which is right for you. Use your new-found knowledge to begin acupuncture therapy and start relieving your pain.

#better life #Beautiful girls #healthy living #Health & Fitness

0 notes

chicashealthy · 6 years ago

Text

101 Ways to Lose Weight Naturally

Introduction

Losing weight is the probably the most prominent problem many of us face on a daily basis. It is possibly the favorite New Year’s Resolution along with giving up smoking. It is one of the hardest things to achieve and stay positive at the same time. Losing weight naturally is better for you than any fad or crash dieting programs. Fads and crash diets make you lose fluid and muscle tone first, that is why it is so hard to keep the weight off. By changing your eating habits and doing more exercise, the weight will gradually disappear. You don’t have to do everything at once either. Cut some things back first; limit your chocolate bars to one or two a week instead of one or two every day. Little goals are easier to reach than that huge goal of twenty or thirty kilograms. Be nice to yourself and have a treat outside of the home instead of keeping tempting ice cream in the freezer.

Keep a Food Diary

When you want to lose weight one of the easiest to track when and where you are eating is to keep a food diary. If you write down everything you eat and drink every day when you come to a plateau and can’t seem to lose any more weight or inches, see if you are overeating at times of the day, or if there is some way to change your eating habits. Some people find it better to have the main meal at lunchtime and have a smaller meal at night. The afternoon gives you more time to use the energy from the food you have eaten.

Include More Exercise

Exercise is the best way apart from eating less to lose weight naturally. There are many easy and quick ways to include more exercise in your day.

Walk to work if possible or walk to the next bus stop or hop off one stop sooner

Use the stairs-even if you work on the 10th floor, you can walk up a couple of floors each day

When you are going to park your car, make sure you are parking it on a long distance from a shopping spot that can also help you to lose your weight and make you healthy.

Join a walking club-many town have walking clubs that walk over the city or drive to a central place and walk from there

Join a gym-some people thrive on going to the gym; others don’t. If it suits your lifestyle, this can be a great starting point for more exercise

Get an exercise partner-it is always easier to exercise with another person. You can keep each other motivated on those days you don’t feel like exercising

Play with the kids kick a ball around with the kids in the park, shoot some hoops, it all adds up and you will be surprised how much exercise you can get in half an hour of kicking a soccer ball

Walk the dog-always a great treat for them. Get in the habit of a daily walk or ball game in the park

Shop Better

Forget about packaged foods and go for fresh fruit and vegetables and unprocessed foods. If it has more than five ingredients or an ingredient you can’t pronounce, put it back on the shelf.

Eliminate all packaged bakery products-cakes, biscuits, cookies

Buy fresh fruit and vegetables to snack on instead of cakes and cookies

Shop on a full stomach

Make a shopping list and stick to it

Beware of low-fat alternatives-a lot of low-fat food products contain higher amounts of sugar and sodium. Many low-fat dairy products are full of sugar to give you the same taste as full-fat products. It is often better to eat less of the full-fat product and skip the low-fat alternative.

Change Eating Habits

Eat breakfast

One of the most important ways to lose weight is to start eating breakfast every day. Skipping meals is not the way to lose weight. By all means, eat less but eat regularly.

Eat Slower

By eating slower, it gives your brain time to recognize that you are getting full. You will find that you eat less and will still feel full.

Eat more fresh fruit and vegetables

The more colorful fruit and vegetables you eat the more vitamins and minerals you are getting. Fruit contains antioxidants that are good for us, and it is found in colorful fruit like blueberries.

Eliminate processed foods

The processed foods we eat are full of fast acting carbohydrates that contain loads of sugar, sodium and sometimes fat. A lot of baked goods contain Trans fat that is not good fat. Olive oil and the natural fats from lean meat are good for us. They keep our joints in good condition, and we need a certain amount each day.

Eat more fish

Oily fish contains good omega fats that are important for our good health, and they help to lower cholesterol.

Eat more fiber

Fiber is the stuff that makes you feel fuller longer and gives you a healthy bowel. It helps to remove any excess fat from your system and is a vital part of a proper healthy diet. If you don’t think you are getting enough fiber add oats to your breakfast, sprinkle bran on cereal and add dried peas and lentils to soups and vegetable dishes.

Add vegetarian meals

Have a couple of vegetarian meals each week. You will be surprised at the variety of meals that you can make for the whole family. Avoid meat substitutes but have eggs instead of meat, include dried pulses or nuts for protein. Replace a meat meal with hard cheese and a fresh salad full of greens, fresh herbs, tomatoes, cucumber, celery, and olives.

Eat less meat

Reduce the portion size of lean meat. Your plate should be 2/3 to 3⁄4 vegetables and the rest lean protein. Meat is still important for iron and other minerals, but you will notice that you will feel less bloated by eating less red meat. Try to eat red meat medium to rare as it is easier to digest.

Eat less saturated fats

Saturated fats are found in processed and packaged foods and stay as fat in our body. These are the fats that make bad cholesterol and contribute to heart disease.

Reduce fast acting carbohydrates

By removing these from your diet, you will feel fuller longer and have a lower chance of becoming a diabetic. These carbohydrates cause insulin levels to spike and raise your blood sugar.

Replace rice and pasta in soups with barley and dried pulses like lentils, split peas, kidney beans, borlotti beans, haricot beans, lima beans or cannellini beans

Choose grain bread products with higher fiber content

Make a barley risotto, a lovely nutty flavor and add your favorite veggies like mushrooms and asparagus, some lean cooked chicken or prawns

Eat food with a lower GI

Food that has a lower GI will keep you satisfied longer as it takes your body longer to break it down. Most calorie counters have a GI list included, and lots of supermarket products like yogurt have a GI listed on the packaging.

Use less salt and more herbs and spices

Using less salt will lower your blood pressure and stop you from reaching for unsuitable fizzy drinks, sodas, and cordials. Add flavor to food by using herbs and spices to make your taste buds sing. If you add chili to meals, it can increase your metabolism that aids in weight loss.

Healthy drinks

Choose healthy drinks in your eating plan. Water is great, and sometimes if you feel hungry, you are thirsty. So have a glass of water and see if you still feel hungry. If you can’t come at drinking 2 liters of water every day, you can drink other things.

Iced tea-make a liter of black tea, add lemon juice or mint leaves and ice cubes for a refreshing drink

Green tea is a great drink as it contains lots of antioxidants

Clear broth made from meat and vegetables-this is like making stock and it can be flavored with your favorite herbs and spices

Select from fat releasing foods

Indulge in fat releasing foods-they will stop you from feeling deprived and binging on higher-calorie foods. Some foods help more than others in eliminating fat from our diets, and they are healthy alternatives. Food containing protein, fiber, and vitamin C is a good start.

Honey-at, just 64 fat releasing calories in one tablespoon, drizzle over natural yogurt and fresh fruit

Eggs-have only 70 calories and are full of fat releasing protein. Sprinkle with chives for an even more elegant treat.

Part-skim ricotta cheese-has just 39 calories in one ounce of this food, packed with fat releasing calcium. Dollop over a bowl of fresh fruit for dessert.

Dark chocolate has about 168 calories in a one-ounce square, but it’s packed with fat releasing fiber

Shrimp-good omega oils and just 60 calories in 12 large

Eat at home more

By eating at home, you are more able to control what is on your plate, and you won’t be tempted by rich, creamy sauces and calorie-laden desserts. You can always use going out for a meal as a treat, but you may find that the food is too rich and fatty and disagrees with you and makes you feel bloated and nauseous.

If you do pine for taking away occasionally choose wisely and select the better choices.

Choose from salads with oil-free dressings

Say no to mayonnaise and creamy dressings

Pick a cheese-free pizza or a low-fat cheese one

Eat Less More Often

Use a smaller plate

Serve your meal on a bread and butter plate instead of a dinner plate. It looks like you are eating more as your plate is fuller. Don’t heap your old size meal on the plate; it defeats the purpose. By eating less and using a smaller plate, it does not look like you are depriving yourself.

Five small meals a day

Use the smaller plate and have five small meals a day.

You will never be starving and eat more than you need

Divide your calories over the five meals

Have a bigger breakfast to start your day

Healthy snacks

Only buy healthy snacks to keep in the house.

Replace ice cream with frozen yogurt

Replace crisps with raw nuts

Make your popcorn that is butter free

Make up a plate of fresh vegetables with a tasty no oil dressing. Choose from lettuces, red, green and yellow peppers, spring onions or shallots, carrot and celery sticks, sliced mushrooms

Set Goals

Set yourself goals that you will be able to achieve. Don’t make your entire weight loss one goal. Split it up into achievable amounts. Attempt to lose 10 kilos at a time, and you can start by setting smaller goals to change your eating habits gradually. If you set yourself goals that you can achieve with a little extra effort, you will find yourself reaching them and setting more. Don’t be over ambitious and set yourself goals that are unattainable and end up feeling discouraged and depressed and give up and go back to your old eating habits. It is all about eating the right foods and not starving yourself or exercising like a maniac and being sick to reach that goal.

Food

One less biscuit with coffee

An extra piece of fruit a day

A colorful vegetable with dinner

Less coffee

Cut out one thing at a time

Exercise

Walk around the block every day

Do some gardening every week

Walk the dog at the weekends

10 minutes more exercise each day

Buy a pedometer and add 1000 steps to your day

Eating

Eat breakfast every day

Have three meals and two snacks each day

Use a smaller plate for dinner at night

Eat slower and savor the taste of your food

Don’t eat in front of the television

The Power of Positive Thinking

Never underestimate the power of positive thought. It can turn your mood around and give you a jump start to weight loss. Start off by liking yourself regardless of your size. Find something you like about yourself, maybe you have beautiful long hair, gorgeous eyes, this ankles, great legs. Whatever it is, turn your negative obesity into a positive fact about yourself. There are ways to keep positive.

Find a mantra you like and repeat sometimes each day. Something like “I will lose weight,” “I am getting healthier” and “I am feeling better.”

Find time to meditate or sit each day quietly and just be by yourself. Focus on yourself and not your partner and the kids. You will also sleep better by doing this.

Conclusion

Losing weight the natural way is never going to be easy or very fast, but you will gradually lose weight, feel better and look at life from a different perspective. By changing a few aspects of your lifestyle at a time, you won’t feel like you are on a diet. You are starting to eat healthier and do more exercise, and by doing this, you will lose your weight.

You will find it easier to exercise with a partner, for motivation and encouragement. A person exercising with a partner will push themselves more too. So don’t go on a diet, go on a healthy eating plan to get yourself fitter and stronger.

0 notes