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Going Healthy, Going Strong, Health, Lifestyle

The Major Health Benefits of Working Out

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Physical activity is scientifically proven to be highly beneficial to the human body. However, research shows that less than 50% of adults engage in dedicated exercise. This has led to an increase in health hazards globally. Common illnesses that result from not exercising are heart-related problems and stroke. Working out is fundamental in boosting your health, which is why many people get a home gym installed. Since I took fitness seriously, I have been in good physical condition. Major health benefits I have enjoyed because of workouts include:

Controlling Weight

When I started working out nine years ago, my main goal was to cut weight. I would watch my diet and strictly watch the workout routine. I started with 328 pounds and had an aim of getting below 220 pounds. To reach my target, I had to hit the gym. Consistent workouts helped me burn calories and subsequently lose weight. Currently, I weigh 200 pounds, a figure that makes me feel confident and fit. To maintain this weight and keep healthy, I still exercise frequently.

Reduces Risk of Heart Illnesses

During the time I weighed 328 pounds, I did some research on the risks arising from being overweight. Heart problems could lead to a heart attack which became a big scare. Excess weight also affects blood pressure. To prevent this from happening, I took to exercising. Working out has a lot of benefits to the heart. It leads to increased blood flow which increases the oxygen supply in the body. Working out is beneficial because it helps keep such illnesses at bay.

Helps Improve the Mental Health

Mental health issues are on the increase in today’s world. To counter such illnesses, medical practitioners advocate for people to do exercise. Exercise helps me relax my mind by giving me a break from real-life problems. Research shows that workouts make the body release chemicals to boost a person’s mood, thus relieving stress. This has helped my mental health by reducing the risk of falling into depression.

Strengthens the Bones and Muscles

A strong body contributes to good health. Workouts help in building muscles and strengthening bones. I engage in a lot of muscle-building exercises. Looking at my physique, I can note some improvement in terms of strong muscles. I feel my joints get better thanks to the workouts.

Boosts Immunity

Exercise has a positive impact on the body’s immune system. A strong and healthy body is good for fighting against diseases. With a healthy body, one stands a higher chance of good well-being because the body is able to fend off illnesses. Since I started working out, I have lived a healthy life. I have not visited the hospital due to illness apart from when attending for routine check-ups.

The Body Can Manage Blood Sugar and Insulin Levels

Blood sugar and insulin level problems put a person at risk of illnesses like metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. Doing exercises helps to make the insulin work well and lower the blood sugar level, therefore, reducing the risk of getting ill. One can do exercises as a precaution and as an action to manage existing problems.

Improve Quality of Sleep

Good health, as noted by many experts, is a result of many factors, sleep being among them. Working out helps me improve the quality of sleep and thus aiding good health. Anytime I do exercises, I am sure of getting sound sleep.

The importance of exercise to the human body cannot be overstated. While exercising may be punishing sometimes, the results are always rewarding. You do not have to begin with heavy exercises to reap these benefits. Starting slowly and growing gradually is always a sure way towards a happy life.

Going Healthy, Going Strong, Health, Life

The Essential Data Of Your Strength

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The world is made of data. Whether you book your next holiday or reach out to a friend on Facebook, data are part of your interactions. Therefore, it seems only natural to use data to create a strong and fit health routine. After all, most of us are familiar with fitness tracking watches. Trackers such as Fitbit and smartwatches are probably part of your fitness routine already. But have you considered new ways of introducing data to enhance your strength training? 

Indeed, most of us are convinced they already have all the data they need at their wrist. But, if you’re being honest: How much help is your fitness tracker when it comes to building up your strength? There’s room for your Fitbit in your training program. But row muscle performance requires a different kind of data. Here are some of the most useful data along your strength journey.

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Motivational data

Strength training can be tough. As your body adapts to the weight resistance, you need to push your boundaries further. Indeed, while many physical activities can include diversities and renewal, you are likely to stick to a strength set for a while. In other words, as if the weights weren’t hard enough, you also need to be able to motivate yourself. Where do data come into play? For instance, data streaming services, such as Spotify, can become your best ally to stay motivated. You can create a playlist of music that makes you want to push through and move. Besides, your playlist can become an essential part of your routine. Not only does it inject a new sense of energy, but you may be surprised by how much you can achieve when you listen to your favorite tunes. 

Track your efforts

As mentioned above, traditional fitness trackers are good, but they can’t help with muscle-focused movements. What you want is a tracker with weightlifting technology, that can monitor your performance and record enough data to spot mistakes and areas of improvement. It’s a specialist tool kit. Therefore you can’t expect to find it in your local sports gear store. If you use barbell sets in your workout, you can track the different speeds in all phases of the lift and load-related information. Too many strength training amateurs don’t know how to monitor their progress and can end up hurting themselves. Using data records can keep you safe and focused. 

Follow body transformation

There are two types of strength athletes: The bodybuilders who prioritize muscle growth and those who focus on muscle performance. You are likely to notice an increase in muscle mass in both types. Muscle growth enthusiasts tend to measure results in terms of bulkiness. For muscle performance, it’s hard to see whether your hard work is paying off. But you can use a body composition scale to track your muscle mass. Did you know that lean athletes don’t always notice any weight difference? That’s because their body replaces fat cells with muscle cells. That’s where your scale data can tell a different story. 

Are you ready to start your strength training? Strength workouts can be challenging, especially as building muscle power is a time-demanding process, making it easy to feel disheartened. But the right set of data can keep you on track and bring your strength goal closer. From music data streaming services to expert performance recording, you can turn your home gym into a strength power room.

Going Healthy, Going Strong, Health, Lifestyle

5 Things To Do After A Workout

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If you are into fitness, you’ll know that the preparation that you do before a workout is just as important as the recovery that you go through after a workout. Your training is important, and that’s why you stretch and warm up before you start to work out. But what do you do after a workout? 

The recovery that you do afterwards is just as essential as your warm up, but it’s something that is too often overlooked. You need to know how to jump start the recovery process for your muscles before you start the workout, as this can prevent injury. You may have already looked up the best heat pads for muscle recovery, or tried to figure out what is ibuprofen and how it can help. However, there are some specific things that you should be doing post-workout to make this an easy recovery for you. So, let’s take a look at five things that you should be doing after a workout.

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  1. You should always cool down after a workout. It’s the first thing that people forget to do when time is precious, but it’s really a bad idea to leave it out at all. You need to bring your heart rate down slowly, not just shut off the treadmill and walk away. Without the cool down, you’re going to end up with blood pressure bottoming out too quickly and you could feel faint. Take the five minutes to bring your workout to a close and you’ll thank yourself later.
  2. Stretch properly after your cool down. The last thing that you want is for those muscles of yours to seize up and stop working for you. Without those adequate stretches, you’re going to end up with DOMS – delayed onset muscle soreness.
  3. Use a roller if you want to reduce your muscle tension. Foam rollers are a form of massage and they can help your muscles to feel relaxed and adequately looked after a workout. You want to do this if you are in the gym and your muscles have started to feel sore very soon after the workout has completed.
  4. Hydration is so important when you are working out, but you need to remember to rehydrate after a workout, too. Drink water with added electrolytes to boost your hydration levels after your workout and give your muscles that extra chance at recovery.
  5. Nutrition is essential, and after a workout, it’s always a good idea to go for a snack. Most people love to have protein snacks like boiled eggs and fresh meat after a workout, but it’s also important that you go for something like a banana to up your potassium levels.

A workout is supposed to be something that you enjoy and get something out of when it’s done. The best thing that you can do is to ensure that you follow the steps above and you can recover faster post-workout. Your recovery is as important as anything else, so pay attention to it and allow yourself the time to feel great!