Fitness Mastery: Hypertrophy, HIIT & Running Optimization

Comprehensive fitness involves a mix of strength training for hypertrophy, HIIT for metabolic health, and corrective exercises for postural alignment.

Woman gripping a barbell with heavy weights about to lift

Do Weighted Vests Work?

Strength and conditioning coaches are always looking for some form of training to give their athletes an edge in competition, but some training might not carry over to performance. Weighted vest are one of these training tools that might elicit some benefits in one area of performance but not in another.

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Exercises for Hand Swelling

Your hands can swell for seemingly no reason when the mercury on the thermometer climbs or when you exercise. Swollen hands can also be a sign of lymphedema, a type of swelling that occurs after lymph nodes are removed from your upper body.

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Leg stretching

Is It Bad to Work Out With Sore Muscles?

Muscle soreness occurs when you do an activity that is new for your body or push a little harder than usual. Called DOMS, or delayed onset muscle soreness, this discomfort shows up 48 to 72 hours post workout. Small tears in your muscle fibers are the likely culprit for your tender body.

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young stong woman doing pull ups outdoors

Shoulder Pain From Pullups

The most common symptom of a shoulder injury is pain, followed by numbing, tingling, stiffness or the sensation of your joint locking. If you have a stress or overuse injury from doing pullups, avoid lifting your arms above your head, and eliminate heavy lifting until the pain dissipates.

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Young woman stretching

How to Increase Hamstring Flexibility

Tight hamstrings don't just make the backs of your thighs ache after a long day sitting in the office -- they can also make your lower back hurt as the tight muscles pull your pelvis, putting strain on your lower back muscles.

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Slim woman measuring her waist

Can Oblique Exercises Make the Waist Wider?

Your external obliques are located on the side of your abdominals along your waistline. Due to their location, it is possible that you can expand your waistline by exercising your obliques.

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Thyroid Problems & Exercising

Health conditions, such as thyroid disease, can make exercising difficult or even impossible. Thyroid disease manifests itself as either an underactive thyroid gland, or hypothyroidism. The disease can also cause overfunctioning of the gland, or hyperthyroidism.

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Young man and a young woman exercising on treadmills

Is It OK to Run After Lifting Weights?

Cardiovascular and strength training exercises are essential elements of a well-balanced fitness program. If you are considering including a cardiovascular activity like running and a strength training exercise like lifting weights in your weekly workout routine, you may be wondering when it's best to do them.

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Two young athlete

Heart Rate on Treadmill

For maximum fitness benefits, your heart rate on a treadmill needs to fall into your target heart rate zone. You have several ways to measure your heart rate on a treadmill as well as several ways to adjust it to fall into your target zone.

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Fitness girl running on treadmill

Features of NordicTrack C2000 Treadmills

The NordicTrack company became a household name when it brought cross-country skiing indoors. Since then, the company has expanded its home-exercise equipment line to include treadmills, bicycles, stair steppers and more. The Nordictrack C2000 treadmill is no longer being produced but can be bought used.

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The Best Exercises for Tricep Tendonitis

Triceps tendonitis is characterized by pain at the back of the elbow, caused by damage to the triceps tendon. The triceps muscle is anchored on the scapula, or shoulder blade, and the upper arm. It connects to the ulna, a bone in the forearm, by means of the triceps tendon.

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Businessman suffering from stomach pain.

Pain in the Testicles After Exercise

The testicles are extremely sensitive, and even a slight injury can cause serious pain in the testicles themselves, your groin or abdomen. Itโ€™s not always possible to diagnose the cause of testicle pain, and conditions as diverse as trauma, hernia, infection and cancer can cause it.

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Pregnant woman exercising and holds her belly

Corrective Exercises for Diastasis Recti

Diastasis recti is a medical condition that causes a separation of the muscles that cover your abdomen. This most commonly occurs following pregnancy because the growing baby places excess strain on the abdominal muscles.

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Crossfit Barbell

Is There a Difference Between Dumbbells & Barbells?

Barbells and dumbbells are the two main types of free weights. Using this type of resistance does not restrict your range of motion the way a weight machine does. With free weights, your movements more closely resemble real-life movements.

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Women Doing Stretching Exercises In Gym

How Often Can I Train My Abs?

Strengthening and toning your abs requires no more or no less effort than any other muscular group in the body. The American Council on Exercise recommends resting a day in between abdominal workouts to allow for muscular recovery and growth.

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Young woman stretching

Does Exercise Lower the Heart Rate?

Your resting heart rate can tell you a lot. It can reflect your level of fitness, the air temperature, the altitude, how recently you ate and how many cups of coffee you drank this morning. A high resting heart rate can also signal whether you are at risk for atherosclerosis, sudden death or cardiovascular disease.

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Private gym in a home

The Best Flooring for an Exercise Room

When you create a home gym, there are many factors to consider, including the type of equipment you will include and the layout that will be best for performing various types of exercises. One element of a home gym thatโ€™s important not to overlook is the flooring.

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Close Up of an Overweight Man Weight Training in a Gym

Back Exercises for the Obese

Obesity comes with its fair share of problems, a major one being back pain. While much of this can be due to the spine carrying excessive weight, some of the pain may be due to weakness of muscles around the area.

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