Exercise Articles

Great Ways to Exercise through Swimming

With the warm weather comes the opening up of public pools and home pools and people break out the bathing suit for another season of swimming.

For many people, swimming is a good way to wind down after a long day.  But others are using swimming as another means of exercise and they are finding that exercise in the spring and summertime can be fun! Swimming is an excellent way to lose weight and strength train all the while enjoying the beautiful outdoors.

Exercise experts recommend swimming as a form of exercise because of the great cardiovascular workout you get from swimming.  It is considered a great aerobic exercise because by definition it is an action that maintains an elevated heartbeat for a minimum of 20 minutes.

You can simply add swimming to your pre-existing aerobic workout to help switch things up and keep your workouts fresh.  Alternate days that you decide to use swimming as your cardio for that day, so you don't get bored with any one workout.

Instead of staying indoors and using the treadmill or elliptical for a day, get outdoors and swim laps in the pool for the cardio portion of your workout and you will find that exercising comes much easier when you aren't sticking to the same routine day in and day out.

Like any exercise, you should also start any swimming workout routine by stretching first. You may not realize the affect swimming has on your entire body until it is too late, so be sure to stretch appropriately before you begin.

Then start off slow by swimming strides and gradually increasing your speed in the pool.  This will help to elevate your heart rate at a safe pace and help you to last longer during your workout. Swimming, and using swimming as your key workout, is more about endurance than quickness.

New Treadmill Workouts

Looking for some new treadmill workouts to keep your routine fresh and easy?  Here are some popular ones,

Warm Up and Cool Down- Prior to and following any treadmill workout you should always include a warm up and a cool down session.

A typical warm up session should last for about 5 minutes.  Walk slowly (1.5 to 2 mph) for one minute, increase your incline to stretch out your legs for one minute, then reduce to your speed to 1.8 for two minutes and wrap up your warm up by speeding up to 3 mph for one minute.

At the end of your walk as a cool down session, you should reduce your walk speed to 2.5 or 3.5 and walk for three minutes.  Then slow your speed down to1.5 or 2.5 mph and walk for two more minutes.

Speed Pyramid- Following your warm up session, walk for 30 seconds at 3.5 mph; increase to 4.5 mph for 30 seconds. Walk for 45 seconds at 3.5 mph; increase to 4.5 mph for 45 seconds.  Walk for one minute at 3.5 mph; increase to 4.5 mph and walk for one minute.  Continue in this fashion adding 15 seconds to each circuit until you reach 5 minutes walking at both 3.5 and 4.5 mph.  Then perform your cool down session.

Incline Pyramid- Following your warm up session, start at an incline of 4 and walk for one minute.  Elevate to 5 and walk for another minute.  Continue to increase the incline every minute up to an incline of 8, and then decrease the incline every minute, back down to 4.  Try to maintain a speed of 3 or 4 mph throughout the workout.  Finish up with your cool down session.

Easy 30-Minute- Following your warm up session, run at what you would consider your normal pace for 10 minutes.  Then walk for a minute to catch your breath. Increase the original running speed by 0.2 and run for another 10 minutes.  Walk for two minutes to catch your breath.  Crank it up by another 0.2 and run for five minutes.  Slow it down and walk for two minutes.  Finish strong with a good cool down session.

Exercise 101: Spruce Up Your Spring Workout

Now that the seasons are changing, it is the perfect time to change up some of those old worn out items and routines that you have been stuck with for so long in your exercise routine. This is a handy list of “what to ditch” to make the exercise switch:

Ditch the old running shoes.  Instead opt for a new pair and keep track of how much “mileage” you get out of them.  Typically if you run/walk 10 miles per week then shoes can last for 12 months (15 miles : 8 months, 20 miles : 6 months, 30 miles : 4 months).

Throw out the old cotton workout t-shirt.  Instead invest in some shirts that are made of wicking fabrics.  Wicking fabrics (like synthetics) do a better job of keeping you drier and cooler when you are exercising.

Toss the lightweight dumbbells.  Instead try heavier dumbbells that are more challenging in your workout.

Fitness for All: Switch up Your Workout!

If you are getting tired of the same old gym workout day after day, then luckily there are plenty of other options out there to shake things up a little bit.  Here are some fun and interesting ways to add a little something different to your daily gym routine.

Mixed martial arts training and conditioning : If you have even seen a mixed martial artist then you know that they are in top physical shape.  Not only are they lean, but are also very strong.  Some gyms offer MMA circuit training, but if they don't you can perform all of your exercises in one big superset, rest and then repeat.

Resistance training : Many gyms now offer plenty of different options when it comes to resistance training and you can spot chains and bands virtually anywhere in most gyms.  You can begin using these bands and chains by putting them on the ends of barbells and dumbbells.  As you lift, the weight will get heavier.  While this is an often-overlooked technique, it is an excellent way to increase strength and size quickly.

Non-traditional implements : Not all gyms will have tractor tires, sleds and sledgehammers lying around, but if they do, then you should be using them!  Implementing these non-traditional items into your workout is a great way to increase strength, improve conditioning and increase power.

Train unilaterally : By training unilaterally, or one side at a time, you can quickly point out weak spots while eliminating the need to do other parts of your workout that you used to do to make up for these weak spots.

Rest actively : If you find that you are spending lots of time at the gym and not seeing results, you may be spending too much time resting. If you rest for two minutes in between sets, either shorten that to one minute or do another quick exercise, such as jumping rope, during one of those two minutes.