If you had to warm the bench in the months leading up to your baby's birth, you may be eager to resume your pre-pregnancy activities. For optimal health and peak performance, your body has to completely recover from the stresses and traumas of pregnancy and delivery.
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Every month, girls and women of childbearing age experience menstrual symptoms ranging from mild cramps to bloating, headaches and nearly intolerable pain. While the menstrual cycle is a natural fact of life for women, nutrition and health status can be factors that influence the severity of symptoms you experience.
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Whether you're munching on a candy bar or scarfing down your favorite pasta, the carbohydrates you eat are eventually broken down to glucose in your digestive tract. From there, they are either used for quick energy or stored for later use.
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Peristalsis is the involuntary contraction of smooth gastrointestinal muscles that causes food to move through your digestive tract. Many things can slow peristalsis, including physical inactivity and poor nutrition.
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The 1996 U.S. Surgeon General's "Report on Physical Activity and Health" is a landmark document that emphasizes the important link between physical fitness and American health.
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For the fit population, weight scales and Body Mass Index calculations do not give a true picture of your fitness level and changes brought on by exercise. Body composition is a ratio that relates your fat-free mass to your fat mass, and provides a more accurate means of assessing your progress.
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The squat is a multi-joint exercise that recruits multiple muscles in the lower body, making it one of the most frequently used exercises for strength and conditioning.
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The calf muscles play an important role in sports and fitness, enabling you to propel yourself forward and upward. A tear in the calf muscle, also called a strain or rupture, can be painful and debilitating.
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You feel great! You cleaned up your diet, renewed your gym membership and knocked out your first couple of killer workouts. Never mind that you're so sore you can hardly climb on the scale. It's worth it just to see the numbers go...up?!
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The muscles involved in a pelvic thrust are also known as the core muscles, which include the gluteals and hamstrings, along with the muscles of the low back, the abdominal muscles, and the muscles of the pelvic floor. Working these muscles is relatively easy and requires minimal equipment.
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If you feel as though your get-up-and-go got up and went, or find yourself winded with little effort and your heart racing during light activity, this could be due to a number factors which influence fatigue and energy levels.
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You know that exercise is supposed to be good for your health, and you have undoubtedly tried to get into a regular routine. But when exercise leaves you with a racing pulse and unable to catch your breath, it's hard to stick with the program.
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Whether it's off-season, an injury, burnout or deployment, sometimes your weight training regimen falls prey to circumstances beyond your control. While you may welcome a break from grueling hours at the gym, be prepared to lose strength and size as well.
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Medical and fitness personnel often use body weight to compare individuals to norms based on the general population. But if you have an athletic build, chances are you're toward the higher end of the charts.
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For rapid weight loss, low carbohydrate diets have an enormous appeal. But if your goal in losing weight is to be healthier and more energetic, simply eliminating carbs without paying attention to your body's nutritional needs can leave you feeling drained and discouraged, and reaching for a bagel.
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The adverse effects of smoking on the lungs are well-known. But if you are a regular smoker, you may also be interfering with your body's ability to absorb vital nutrients.
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Unsightly belly fat can ruin your look, especially if you're happy with the rest of your body. Clothes that otherwise fit you are tight around the waistline, creating belly bulge and muffin tops that are hard to hide.
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If you are a serious athlete or a hard-core fitness enthusiast, managing your nutrition for optimal performance can seem tricky. Post-exercise nutrition is particularly important to replenish fluids, electrolytes and glucose that were depleted during your workout.
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Middle age brings with it many physical changes that are not always welcome. In particular, a loss of strength and muscle size can leave you feeling weaker and less vital than you did in your younger days.
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A workout using body weight can improve your body's form and function with minimal equipment and a small time commitment. But the fact that you skipped the gym doesn't mean you can bend the rules for recovery. To avoid injury, make sure you give your body time to restore its equilibrium.
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