Archive for June 2009
Isometric vs. Isotonic Exercises
What is Isometric Exercise?
Isometric Exercise is a fantastic way to exercise the muscles while in a stationary position. Isometric exercise is experienced by pushing or pulling a fixed object like a wall or bar anchored to the floor. Research has shown that a muscle contraction during Isometric exercise produced more force then a contraction generated by lifting weights. Although research shows that Isometric exercise increases muscle tension significantly, it still fails to change the length of the muscles
What is Isotonic Exercise?
Isotonic exactly means equal tension. Isotonic contraction is a contraction in which the tension remains constant as the muscle shortens or lengthens. This can be carried out either with free weights like dumbbells or barbells or with fixed equipments. In both these forms exercises are carried out against a fixed resistance. Although ‘isotonic’ is the term used most frequently to describe fixed resistance variable speed exercise.
Advantages of isometric exercise
- In isometric exercise one can attain maximum muscular contraction in contrast to Isotonic exercise which are also known as weight training.
- In isometric exercise one can gain strength but it will only strengthen very isolated areas of the muscle group.
- Isometric exercise slows muscle erosion and it enhances the tone and shape of muscles.
- Isometric exercise helps to improve bone density.
- Long sessions of isometric exercise help to improve digestion and lower cholesterol levels.
Advantages of isotonic exercise
- Isotonic training is relatively cheap.
- There are broad ranges of exercises.
- When you lift weights in Isotonic exercise blood is pumped into the muscles which help in increasing muscular endurance.
- In isotonic exercises all major muscle groups can be exercised.
- Isotonic exercise increases the muscle strength in few repetitions.
- Isotonic exercise lets you to build strength throughout the entire range of motion.
Disadvantages of Isometric exercise
- Isometric exercise does not generate the same blood flow as isotonic exercises, thereby potentially decreasing the muscular endurance.
- Building strength during a static contraction in isometric exercise can potentially reduce the speed of the muscle response.
- Increased blood pressure. It increases blood pressure more than any other form of exercise. This may perhaps lead to a ruptured blood vessel or irregular heartbeat.
- Isometric exercise allows you to gain strength only within 20 degrees of the angle you hold.
Disadvantages of Isotonic exercise
- In Isometric exercise there is uneven force throughout each exercise.
- Exercises may not fully strengthen each muscle group.
Fitness For Kids
The lifestyles of today’s kids have undergone enormous change. Computers, television, and video games have taken place of many of the physical activities children once enjoyed.
Fitness seems to have taken a backseat when it comes to the modern child. Our kids are becoming victims of unhealthy lifestyles, inactive, unmotivated and their health is deteriorating.
Kids, whether they are overweight or at a healthy weight, should be physically active and need to exercise regularly to be physically fit and for a healthy lifestyle. That doesn’t imply that every child needs to spend four or five hours day training for the Olympics or should do the workout in gym, or practicing with a select baseball or soccer team. Just active free play is enough, as kids can get plenty of exercise during active free play.
How Much Exercise Do Kids Need?
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children and teens must be “physically active for at least 60 minutes per day,” though that doesn’t need to be 60 minutes of continuous activity.
Fitness practices
Remember that kids don’t like to go to health clubs or use home exercise equipment. That is why you don’t see many kids in health clubs. Kids do better with lifestyle exercise programs, including active free play and organized team and individual youth sports.
To get kids more active and more interested in exercise and fitness, it can help to:
- Involve the whole family in being more active. If you go out with your child to play or simply go for a walk, you will see your child will be quick to follow.
- Encourage your kids use “active transportation” by using stairs instead of elevators and walk to school or to their friend’s house or use a bicycle instead of always being driven.
- Support personal fitness and fun recreational activities.
- Help your child find the sport that he/she likes. This could be a team sport, such as soccer, football, an individual sport such as tennis, karate or dance.
- Encourage your child to help in household works and gardening. This will help them to be active at least better than doing nothing.
- Swimming is all the time popular choice with children and parents. Regular swimming sessions will not only teach children how to swim properly but is the best exercise and kids love to do it.
- Encourage your child stay fit and healthy and show the active participation in different sports and activities.
- Teach the children the importance of health and fitness at an early age. Then, they are more expected to continue to be healthy and get regular exercise when they are older.
- By including goals to aim for such as swimming badges or getting involved in some competitions, your children are going to stay motivated, and by encouraging them, you can help them to enjoy being fit and healthy.
Regular exercise is excellent for kids, may be done in any form. Exercise helps them build self confidence, sleep better, have more energy, build stamina, decrease depression or in short… “better overall development”.
Isometric Exercises to Try
Isometric Exercises are a fantastic way to work muscles while in a stationary position. It does not need increased oxygen production because it is done only for a few seconds, which involves static contraction of muscles. It doesn’t require extreme joint rotation and is the best for those who have muscle problems, heart problems or various health problems regarding health.
Here are some Isometric Exercises that Build Strength and Size:
Isometric bicep exercise
This exercise can be easily performed while at work as you’ll only need to be seated by your desk.
Start with your hands underneath your desk with your palms up. Keep your elbows tight and tucked in against your sides. Now push upwards with your palms and hold for 10 seconds or a count of 10. You can repeat this exercise 2 to 3 times.
Isometric push up exercise
Acquire the regular push-up position, with your arms fully extended, and then lower yourself gradually to about the halfway position. Now be in this position for 10 seconds or to a count of 10. Don’t hold your breath, always remember to breathe. Repeat this exercise two or three times.
The Plank
This exercise is good for abdominal improvement. Lie down flat on the floor. Gradually raise the body so you are resting on your toes and forearms. Keep the back flat and the abdominal muscles tight.
- Hold the position for 10-30 seconds.
- Repeat the exercise 3 times.
Isometric Calf exercise
Stand close to a wall on one foot and touch the wall lightly for balance, if necessary, but do not let yourself to rest against the wall.
- Rise up onto your toes.
- Hold the position for 10-30 seconds.
- Change feet and repeat the exercise for the other calf.
- Repeat the exercise 3 times on both calves
Isometric Shoulder exercise
Stand with the feet shoulder-width apart and the knees slightly bent. Grasp a dumbbell in each hand and lift the weight out towards your side until it is at shoulder length and your arm is parallel to the ground.
- Hold the weight for 10-30 seconds in this position.
- Repeat the exercise 3 times.
One can do these isometric exercises without the aid of any equipment, this is a big plus point for them. These simple, yet effective exercises have been proven to increase strength by up to 5% per week when performed correctly and regularly.
Comparing Atkins & South Beach Diets
Among all low carb diets, the South Beach and Atkins diets are fairly popular. Here are some similarities and differences in how Agatston and Atkins designed their weight loss diets.
Similarities
1. Plans: Both diets put emphasis on that their individual diets are lifetime plan for healthy nutrition and disease prevention. Losing weight is roughly an afterthought but both claim you’ll lose plenty.
2. Structure: The structure of both diets (South Beach and Atkins) is nearly the same. Both of these start with a restrictive phase which lasts for about two weeks.
- In first week both have recommended a restricted carbohydrate diet (No breads, pastas, rice, alcohol, sugar, etc.) that is virtually indistinguishable.
- In the second week, they both slowly add carbohydrate (such as fruits and whole grains) to get the optimal level for each person. Once the desired weight is reached, they go to a maintenance phase.
3. Best part in the diets is that both are structured to help one find the level of carbohydrate that works for him.
4. Both Atkins and South Beach make a distinction among various carbohydrate sources. Both have advised not to eat refined carbs (such as sugars, white flour, etc).
5. Both say to avoid Trans fats completely.
Differences
1. Both the diets differ the way carbohydrates are accounted.
- In South Beach, sources of carbohydrate are accounted for by the size and number of portions.
- In Atkins, every gram eaten is accounted in the daily carbohydrate intake. It requires counting all digestible carbohydrates; generally this means carbohydrates that are not fiber.
2. Fats: The major difference between the two diet plans is the advice concerning fat in the diet.
- In South Beach, emphasis is put on reducing the intake of saturated fats, i.e., butter or the dark meat of poultry. Agatston also emphasized on getting adequate Omega-3 fatty acids.
- In Atkins, eating a variety of fats is recommended. Omega 3s and 6s are advised to be balanced, which means that many oils that are primarily Omega-6, such as corn oil, should be avoided. Saturated fats, such as butter or dark meat, are allowed in greater amounts than South Beach.
There is no doubt that there are differences in the details, but both are trying to teach dieters to decrease the consumption of carbohydrates in junky processed foods and refined sugars. The diets can agree that building a diet around healthy proteins, lots of vegetables, tons of fiber, good fats and some fruits and nuts is the best you can do.
Stress Reduction Techniques
Stress is a part of day-to-day living of every person but the reasons for the stress vary from person to person. The stress people experience should not be necessarily treated as harmful. An optimum amount of stress can even act as a motivator and drive people to apply the efforts and achieve the targets. But a high level of stress can be a serious danger to the personality traits of the person and can cause physiological and social problems.
There are many different techniques to reduce stress. Here are some simplest and most effective methods that may be most useful for you:
Identify sources of stress
Stress management starts with identifying the sources of stress in your life. To identify your true sources of stress, look closely at your habits, attitude, and excuses.
Avoid unnecessary stress
You may be surprised, however, by the number of stressors in your life that could be eliminated.
- Take the responsibilities which you can easily manage. In your personal or professional life, refuse to accept added responsibilities if you can not handle them.
- If someone consistently causes stress in your life, avoid that person or limit the amount of time you spend with that person or end the relationship entirely.
- Take control of your environment – If the news or something on TV makes you anxious or disturbs you, turn the TV off. You can utilize that time in listening to the music of your choice which will relax you.
- If traffic makes you tense, take a longer but less-traveled route.
- If it is the work load which is troubling you- examine your schedule, responsibilities, and daily tasks. Drop tasks that aren’t really essential to the bottom of the list or eliminate them completely.
Alter the situation
If you can’t avoid, try to alter it.
- Be more confident. Deal with problems, do your best to solve and prevent them.
- Manage your time in the best possible way. Poor time management can cause a lot of stress.
Adapt to the stressor
If you can’t change the stressor, try to adapt to stressful situations and get back your sense of control by changing your expectations and approach.
- Be optimistic: Much of your experience of stress has to do with your attitude and the way you perceive your life’s events. Try to outlook stressful situations from a more positive viewpoint.
- Set reasonable standards: Avoid the stress from the failure by demanding perfection, set reasonable standards that are achievable.
Healthy Living Habits
You can boost your resistance to stress by strengthening your physical health. When we’re stressed, we normally don’t take care of our bodies, which can result in even more stress. Here are some ways to take care of you and keep stress levels lower.
- Regular Exercise: Physical exercise not only supports overall fitness, but it also helps us to deal with emotional stress and tension.
- Eat a healthy diet since well-nourished bodies are better prepared to cope with stress.
- Get enough sleep, as adequate sleep fuels our mind and our body. Feeling tired will increase our stress.
- Reduce caffeine and sugar.
- Avoid alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs.
- Rediscover your sense of humor.
- Indulge in your hobbies.
- Try meditation or yoga, which are great stress busters.
