Exercise to Fitness

Yoga for Fitness and Weight Loss

JoyntHeir — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 02:50:54 +0000

When one starts exercising after being inactive for quite a while, usually the recommendation is to start by walking each day, going a little further and/or faster each day until your endurance builds up. This is a good plan. Where do you go from there? As I outlined in my post 8 Types of Exercise Workouts, there are many types of exercise programs to choose from.
Let’s look at Yoga. Whenever I think of yoga, my mind goes to the movies of the ninja’s in training doing the movements, or the documentaries of everyone in China meeting in the town square first thing in the morning to do their yoga movements. My early experience with Yoga is you go at your own pace, gently stretching in different poses until your muscles become more limber. Probably one of the ‘easiest’ exercise types to begin with (in my mind) is Yoga. This is a simplified look at yoga.

Now that I have been looking into Yoga, I find it is a very complex subject. First, it originated in India. The word ‘Yoga’ means union. There are many types of Yoga. The ‘limb’ that we would be interested in this blog is called ‘asana’ which is the physical postures or poses and the movement from one to the other. Asana (and yoga) is about creating balance in the body, developing strength and flexibility. The movements can be fast or slow, and can focus more on stamina or on alignment. Yoga goes on to include correct breathing and meditation. I will focus in my posts more on the physical side of yoga rather than the spiritual.

How does Yoga fit into losing weight and getting fit? Iyengar yoga, where you hold poses for several minutes, helps to build muscles and improve posture - we all need that. If you want to do Iyengar type yoga, you will have to combine it with other aerobic type exercises to lose weight. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn. This is a good combination.

The Vinayasa style of asana yoga includes many styles itself. For weight loss Ashtanga, Power Yoga, and Hot Yoga give you the physical workout needed for weight loss. I have found it is recommended that you do three 90 minute sessions a week for weight loss.

One more thing about yoga. This can be a family activity. There are special programs for children that Mom and Dad can do with them. I bought kits for my grandchildren here which include dvds. They love it!

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Calories Burned Chart

JoyntHeir — Sat, 24 May 2008 06:00:31 +0000

I have been researching and have combined several charts for calories burned per different exercises/activities. I have it put together on a spreadsheet so you can enter your weight (in pounds) and the minutes expended to come up with the calories you burned. Since it is in a spreadsheet, you can put several activities in and it will give you the total calories burned at the bottom of the spreadsheet. I also have a converter to convert kg to lb. Then enter the pounds value in the spreadsheet.

You can download the spreadsheet - right click here and save to your computer. It is in the 2003-2007 excel version and can be opened in Google documents also. If you do not have excel or have an older version of excel, you can get the excel viewer for free from microsoft. Click here.

Leave a comment an let me know how you like it!

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Exercise Posts

JoyntHeir — Tue, 20 May 2008 17:05:49 +0000

I need your help. There comes a time in anyone’s life that their mind is blank. Now is one of those times for me. I am a little stuck on what to write on next.

I do have some ideas.

1. Review different types of exercise equipment/dvds

2. Review different types of supplements said to ‘help’ exercise

3. Review different types of exercises like the ones I listed in 8 Types of Exercise Workouts

4. Find some charts of calories burned per exercise

5. Alternate ways of getting in walking/running

Please, give me your ideas and what you would like to see in future posts. Leave a comment.

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May 15th - Respect for Human Rights Begins at Home

JoyntHeir — Wed, 14 May 2008 03:37:14 +0000

Break for Human Rights

May 15th is Bloggers Unite for Human Rights. So on this day, I take a break from exercise to talk about Human Rights. I have a post entitled May 15th - Respect for Human Rights Begins at Home on my blog JoyntHeir.

Please join us in the fight for Human Rights. Visit JoyntHeir and all the other blogs with article about Human Rights. You should be able to find the links to a lot of them at the Bloggers Unite page. Then join in the fight and right a post yourself!

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Is Housework Exercise?

JoyntHeir — Mon, 05 May 2008 23:12:23 +0000

Today we have a guest writer. He has investigated and found how much exercise you can get from house cleaning. Let’s see what Guy Marlow has to say.

House Cleaning Fitness

Many people live a busy life in this day and age which stops them from pursuing a fitness regime that sees them travel to the gym three or four times a week to get fit. This does not mean you can use this as an excuse to not keeping fit.

There are many ample opportunities in the home to keep fit, opportunities that also fit in to your daily workload without you realising it. If you work your household chores correctly you could make a fitness regime from your cleaning duties, meaning you don’t even need to visit the local gym.

I must say at this point there may be quite a few of you sighing as you do not like your household chores, don’t worry I am one of those people. What you have to think is “Hey this is helping my fitness and supporting my weight loss”, to do this though you have to manage your chores effectively.

Below is a list of household chores and the calories they burn.

Cleaning windows: 40 calories for ten minutes
Scrubbing floors on: 50 calories for ten minutes
Vacuum cleaning: 40 calories for ten minutes
Dusting: 30 calories for ten minutes
Mopping: 40 calories for ten minutes
Making beds: 20 calories for ten minutes
Washing the dishes: 30 calories for ten minutes

Now we break these down in to three fitness workouts that will benefit your body greatly and support your home routine at the same time! Imagine doing the housework yet seeing this as a fitness benefit.

Day one

20 minutes cleaning windows
15 minutes scrubbing floors
20 minutes washing dishes

Total - 215 calories burned

Day two

20 minutes dusting
30 minutes vacuum cleaning
20 minutes making beds

Total - 220 calories burned

Day three

20 minutes mopping
20 minutes washing dishes
20 minutes vacuum cleaning

Total - 220 calories burned

If you find these three workouts interesting and want to make them harder then why not try adding other household chores to the fitness workouts.

It is important to note that to get the most out of this training regime you need to complete all house hold chores without breaks in between so you work up a sweat. Actually thinking about it this is also a benefit as it means you complete your chores in a more timely fashion so that you have more time to rest!

This article was written by Guy Marlow, writer and owner of www.musclepowershop.com

Now - I ask you - What household chores do you do that will burn calories? Leave a comment.

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10 REASONS TO CHOOSE TO EXERCISE

JoyntHeir — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 03:09:34 +0000

Do you every have trouble getting your exercise in. You realize that a couple days have gone by - you missed going for that walk or getting to the gym, or turning on that low impact ‘Sweating to the Oldies”

I ‘should’ exercise. I ‘should’ go walking. I ‘should’ do my low impact DVD. I should, should, SHOULD.

Now that is not going to get me anywhere. If I should, then I probably have the mindset that I am not going to, also that someone expects me to, and I don’t have a choice. In fact, it irritates the rebel in me.

But I do have a choice - to exercise (increase my activity) or not to exercise. It is my CHOICE - and it is your CHOICE. So, I choose to exercise (or I don’t). I choose to find the time to do it. I choose what type of exercise I want to do. I choose the time I will do it. I choose how long to do it.

So, I choose to - but why? It is because I deserve to:

1. Be healthy

2. Be more energetic

3. Be more relaxed

4. Be more fit

5. Lose those extra pounds

6. Be able to play with my grandchildren without getting winded

7. Be please with my looks when I am in front of a mirror

8. Have my clothes fit

9. Have more self-confidence

10. Be able to tie my shoes without going through contortions

The list can go on and on. But by listing my choices, I am able to answer myself.

Me: It’s time to exercise

Myself: I don’t feel like it, I am tired.

Me: I choose to exercise because it makes me feel energized and more relaxed. And I deserve to feel that way. I deserve to be more healthy and fit.

Myself: Well, when you put it that way - let’s get going!

What is your reason to exercise or increase your activity? Leave a comment.

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7 EXERCISE SUGGESTIONS FOR COMPUTER ADDICTS

JoyntHeir — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 23:30:42 +0000

Do you spend most of your time in front of a computer? I do both at work and at home. I become engrossed in what I am doing, and the time is gone. That’s OK if I am forgetting binge, but it’s not if I don’t stop to get my physical activity. The question is – how can you exercise while sitting at a computer, or desk, or watching TV.

I have seen some articles suggesting ways to get exercise at work. They include taking a walk, doing simple stretches standing by your desk, etc. What if you cannot do this at work – your boss objects to you standing up at your computer? I have a couple suggestions – you can at least do some of these at home.

This is rather easy. Get a fitness ball, either medium or large, fill it to its fullest, then sit on it instead of a chair. You can roll it back and forth or bounce on it. This works on your leg, abdomen, and other muscles as they work to keep your balance. I have yet to be brave enough to try it at work, but I have used one at home. .
When you go to the restroom as we all do during the day, take the ‘long’ route. Go to another floor using the stairs, or to the building next door. You can even be brave enough to walk around the building and back in. You can walk several flights of stairs up to the restroom.
Likewise, when you go to a meeting or to lunch, find a route that gives you more walking time. Every step helps.
Of course, there is still the old trick of parking a couple blocks away to walk to work. Or take a more distant subway or bus stop and walk from there to work.
Keep hand weights handy at your desk. When you are waiting for a program to come up or finish executing, pick up your weights; do some arm lifts.
Put weight bands on your ankles and lift your legs up straight from time to time. Hold them straight once in a while.
Instead of rolling your chair back and forth to the different machines (printer, fax, etc), stand up and walk over to it and back. Just standing up and sitting down is activity.

There are some of my ideas. What type activities can you work into your schedule at work for exercise?

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Welcome to the new home for Shape Your Body

JoyntHeir — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 02:37:15 +0000

Welcome. I have moved the Shape Your Body blog located at wordpress.com to this offset. I am excited about the move and have plans to improve the blog.

If you have subscribed to Shape Your Body, you will need to subscribe again as the URL has changed. Use the subscription button at the top right to get a feedburner.com feed. Also, I have added an email feed for those who prefer it.

This blog is a complement to Be The Weight You Want and Stay There. To reach your weight goal and your fitness and health goals, you have to increase your physical activity. Hopefully you will find points in this blog to help you with this part of your journey.

I hope you will enjoy this blog and will participate as enthusiastically as you do on Be The Weight You Want and Stay There. I also hope to have a new post soon.

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Rock Hard Abs

JoyntHeir — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 19:50:14 +0000

There’s a new article published at Shape it Up! by Dane Flecher. It is a down to earth truthful look at why people (especially men) don’t have hard abs and what they need to do to to get them.

It’s worth the read. Go to Rock Hard Abs: Converting That Keg Into A Six Pac

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8 Types of Exercise Workouts

JoyntHeir — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 20:45:24 +0000

When we decide to exercise or become more fit, the first decision is what type of exercise to do.

1. Activity - I would call this your normal activities that you do more of like playing with the kids, playing sports, walking, shopping, etc.

2. Aerobics - these are available in low impact, intermediate, and advanced programs. Find one you like (Richard Simmons has quite a variety) and have fun doing.

3. Water aerobics - most Y’s, community colleges, and some fitness clubs have classes available. The resistance of the water help to burn calories without putting stress on the joints and heart.

4. Exercise - I classify sit ups, jumping jacks, squats, toe touches, everything they have you do in gym class as exercises. There are a lot of DVDs with exercise workouts available - and some target a specific area such as abs and thighs.

5. Speed walking, jogging, running, bicycling - Some people enjoy this. Basically, your legs muscles are strengthened, you burn calories (thus lose fat), and increase your endurance. You can get more exercise by adding wrist and ankle weights. These are good for your heart also. The only draw back is once your body becomes used to the amount you do, you have to increase the amount you do. At that point, you need to add some other type of exercise to round out your workout plan.

6. Resistance - This can be done in a myriad of ways. You can do resistance just by the way you tighten your muscles, putting an imaginary resistance - like pulling an imaginary rope. There are resistance bands you can buy, and weight machines. Resistance exercise is very effective.

7. Weight lifting - Weight lifting will not only define you body, but also burns calories more quickly. It can help skinny people fill out and overweight people slim down. I would suggest you get a good workout plan such as Tony Little’s or Vince Delmonte’s for the guys and Shannon Clark’s for the gals. Their workouts are formulated for the whole body (you don’t end up with Popeye arms) and if you following their coaching, they are safe. Remember to have a spotter when doing the more difficult routines.

8. Yoga - Yoga is a great way to become more limber while relaxing not only your body, but also your mind. Yoga appears to be an easy type of workout - unless you remember that all the martial arts use a form of Yoga in their workouts. Whew, that could be quite a workout!

When decided which type to start on, keep in mind your present physical condition, your weight, your age, and your goal. One thing is for sure. You workout will never help you until you actually start doing it.

What type would you choose and why?

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