Fitness & Wellness

Should I Stop Eating After 6pm?

Should I Stop Eating After 6pm?

You may have heard you should stop eating after 6pm or some other arbitrary time like 8 pm and wondered why. There are some good reasons you should do it. Some of the reasons are based in truth and some are founded in fiction. One of the most popular myths is that everything you eat after 6 pm turns to fat. That’s simply not true. A calorie is a calorie no matter what time you eat it, whether it’s six in the morning or six in the evening. However, newer studies indicate the later you eat, the more food it takes to make you feel full.

There is a link to eating later and gaining weight.

When you stop eating at 6 pm, or right after your evening meal, you’ll be less apt to snack. Reducing the window of time when you eat can help you keep calorie consumption under control. Intermittent fasting is based on limiting your eating to a certain window of time, such as an 8 hour window, and fasting the rest of the time, in this case, 16 hours. If you quit eating at 6 pm, and waited until 10 am to break the fast, it’s what you would be doing. Studies show you eat less when you do this.

Ceasing food consumption after 6 pm means eating fewer snacks.

If you’re like most people who eat after 6 pm, or at least after their last meal, you consume mostly snacks. These are often higher in calories and lower in nutrition, providing only empty calories to the body. You may be one of those people that eat only healthy snacks, but that’s not normally the case. In fact, most people crave food that’s higher in carbohydrates and snack foods. It’s the way our body is programmed. If you don’t have enough calories, the instinct is to stay awake and look for food. Unlike cavemen, we simply open the fridge or the cupboards.

You won’t be doing your body any favors by eating later.

Do you have digestive issues, frequent sinus infections, chest pain without heart issues or dental carries, regardless of oral hygiene? It might be from eating late at night. Acid reflux can cause all those issues and can be caused for a number of reasons. Eating right before bed is one of those. The stomach acid during digestion splashes back into the esophagus if you’re laying down and gravity doesn’t play a role. It can go as high as the sinuses, leading to chronic sinus infection, and even be a factor in dental carries and esophageal cancer. Obesity also plays a role in acid reflux and late night eating can make it worse.

  • If you’re one of those people who have to eat something later at night in order to sleep, have healthy snacks that can aid in sleeping ready, like almonds, eggs or pistachios for the melatonin or salmon for the omega 3 fatty acids.
  • Your digestion slows down when you sleep, and the body focuses on repairing tissue. Food lingers in your digestive tract longer and tissue repair isn’t as effective.
  • New studies show that late night eating increases the risk of obesity by reducing the satiety hormone leptin and increasing hunger. Calories were also burned at a slower rate and there were hormones increased that promote the growth of fat.
  • Eating later at night can also affect the quality of your sleep, especially if the food is high in saturated fat. It can cause an interruption in NREM sleep, the first stage of sleep.

For more information, contact us today at Rising Fitness Gym


Smart Pre-Workout Foods

Smart Pre-Workout Foods

You need to fuel your body before a workout, contrary to many opposing myths. However, choosing the right food and focusing on the timing is extremely important when choosing pre-workout foods. The closer you get to the time you workout, the less you should eat. You need fuel, but it shouldn’t come from fat either, but be a blend of carbs and protein. Studies show that the right type of fuel can improve your performance and a study involving cyclists showed it even helps burn more fat. There are some good examples of beneficial pre-workout foods that will help you achieve your goals.

Your pre-workout should be approximately 60% carbs and the rest protein.

If you’re going to eat a completely well-balanced meal, make sure it’s at least an hour or two before you workout, to avoid digestive issues. If you’re going to opt for the snack route, eat it about a half hour before working out. It should be approximately 100 to 200 calories and contain carbs that are easy to digest. You can keep it simple with a sandwich. Whether you make a half sandwich from a single slice of bread or a whole sandwich made from two and topped with peanut butter and bananas.

It’s easy to get the right blend, just combine healthy carbs with a protein.

You need the quick fuel carbs provide and the slower burning protein for the best performance. What are some examples? Try apple slices with nut butter. Greek yogurt and nuts both provide protein, so combining them with fresh berries or other type of fruit is also a good pre-workout snack. You can toss in banana slices or put everything in a blender and freeze it for a change of pace.

Drink a smoothie at home before you go to the gym.

Make a fruit smoothie and drink it ½ hour or an hour before you go to the gym. Add protein powder, milk or other source of protein to the smoothie. If it takes a half hour to get to the gym, make a fruit smoothie and drink it on the way. Fruit smoothies are high in natural sugars to give your body the boost it needs. They also contain phytochemicals that are good for your health. If you want a far simpler option, you can consume a half hour before working out, consider a handful of nuts with dates, raisins or other dried fruit.

  • Have you ever made a stuffed date? They’re good pre-workout snacks. Open a pitted date by slicing it down the side and stuffing it with nut butter or cream cheese. Top it with fresh berries, dried fruit or nuts.
  • Don’t forget veggies and dip. You can make healthy hummus at home with chickpeas and use it as dip for sliced vegetables. Make a cucumber hummus bite by topping a slice of cucumber with hummus and topping it with a half a cherry tomato.
  • A dish of oatmeal topped with fresh fruit will provide energy. You can even add a bit of honey as a sweetener and chopped nuts or seeds to provide the protein.
  • Be careful of having too much fat in your pre-workout snack. It digests slowly and can cause digestive issues that will affect your workout. Make sure you have adequate protein to build muscle tissue and carbs to provide energy.

For more information, contact us today at Rising Fitness Gym


Is Kombucha Worth The Cost?

Is Kombucha Worth The Cost?

If you live in Houston, Texas, you probably have noticed an increase in the options and brands of kombucha at your grocery or local health food store. You probably also note that it is a bit pricey. Is it really worth the price? If you really like the taste, you don’t need to go any further. It’s about the same price as a Starbucks specialty coffee. If you only drink it for its health benefits, finding out whether it’s truly healthy is important.

The microbes in it can boost the benefits.

Whether you drink green tea, black tea or other variations, there are health benefits. The benefits increase when you ferment that tea, which is exactly what kombucha is, fermented tea. Just like sauerkraut, kim chi, kefir and yogurt, it offers health benefits from the microbes that occur during the fermentation process. It’s a probiotic, boosting the health by giving bacteria in the gut, which is responsible for a high percentage of your immunity. Not only do the bacteria help digest food, making them easy to absorb by the body, they aid in fighting infection and provide antioxidants and anti-inflammatory benefits.

It all starts with the tea.

The tea has polyphenols, powerful antioxidants that help decrease inflammation. The fermentation process then increases the polyphenol contents. Like vinegar, it has organic acids, such as glucuronic, acetic and D-Saccharic acids, which are antimicrobial and can aid in detoxification of the liver. These organic acids also aid in the movement of polyphenols throughout the body. There are several studies that show kombucha is beneficial for lowering blood sugar levels, cholesterol and reducing the potential of cancer. It’s also been shown to have antimicrobial properties, while improving digestive functions and liver functioning.

You can keep the cost down by brewing your own.

Like all fermented foods, it starts with a “symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast,” known by the acronym SCOBY. You also need a starter tea, which can be any type of tea, but normally black or green tea bags are used, sugar, and water. You can buy the SCOBY or make your own. You need bottles and time, but it may be worth the effort if you’re on a limited budget, since it lowers the cost from several dollars a bottle to several cents. Be aware, there are some things that can destroy your plans, like using flavored tea, decaf tea, honey or sugar substitutes, metal containers, antibacterial soap or putting the kombucha in the refrigerator.

  • Like yogurt, kombucha can be a good drink to help prevent Candida from yeast overgrowth if you’re taking an antibiotic. According to the CDC, four ounces three times a day is a safe option to help with that problem.
  • The benefits to diabetics are still uncertain, since studies vary. The sugar in it is for the SCOBY to digest, not for the person who consumes the kombucha. Always talk with your health care professional before consuming.
  • The high antioxidant content of kombucha can aid in liver health by providing protection. It can also aid in preventing damage from acetaminophen overdose. Kombucha can also be good for the brain and the lungs.
  • There are side effects from drinking too much kombucha. If it’s homemade, some caution should be taken. Pregnant and lactating women and children shouldn’t drink kombucha. Neither should people with a compromised immune system or those with alcohol dependency.

For more information, contact us today at Rising Fitness Gym


Do Bananas Help With Anxiety?

Do Bananas Help With Anxiety?

There are many reasons people experience anxiety. Some of them are obvious, like a letter from the IRS or giving a speech in front of coworkers. Others aren’t quite as obvious and you don’t know the cause, just the feeling of being anxious. You can do several things to avoid that feeling in the pit of your stomach, some of these involve deep breathing, mind tricks or even medication. However, one option that works and has no side effects is eating bananas.

Bananas contain potassium.

These delicious mellow yellow fruits have lots of potassium, which is extremely important for the body. If you’ve eaten too much salt, it can lower the body’s sodium level, which increases blood volume and lowers blood pressure. Anxiety and stress can take their toll on the body in a number of ways and one is by reducing the potassium levels, so a banana can replace the lost potassium. Bananas are also a source of tryptophan that converts to serotonin that is important in reducing anxiety. It also has B vitamins, which affects the nervous system.

Bananas are nature’s beta-blocker.

Beta blockers block the beta receptors and prevent adrenaline from binding to them. They contain natural beta blockers called beta-adrenergic blocking agents. Adrenaline can not only cause blood pressure to rise, but it also increases anxiety. It makes your heart beat more rapidly and your blood pressure to raise. Beta-blockers, whether natural or pharmaceutical, cause the heart to beat slower and with far less force.

You can’t wait until the last minute to get the benefits.

If you’re in the middle of an anxiety attack or are faced with a racing heart, you won’t get immediate relief from eating a banana. It takes a banana or two to help avoid the symptoms of anxiety about a half hour before the anxiety producing event occurs. Rather than wait, eat several bananas throughout the day. Have one with your breakfast and one at noon, as a snack or with your dinner on a regular basis. It can help you deal with the stress from daily activities. If you’re particularly nervous about a situation that’s upcoming, eat a couple either a half hour before you face it or on the way.

  • Strawberries, blueberries and other fruit can provide some of the same calming effect as bananas. It’s due to the high serotonin content. In fact, blueberries have been shown to be more effective than some medications presently used.
  • Besides a high serotonin content, other nutrients found in fruit can help relieve anxiety. For instance, magnesium can promote relaxation. One sweet fruit high in magnesium is pineapple.
  • Make a smoothie that contains strawberries, blueberries, bananas and pineapple. Add a little green tea to it for good measure. Green tea also lowers heart rate and blood pressure.
  • Bananas can bring more than just anxiety relief and lower blood pressure. It can help lift depression and aid in stress relief, if you have mild depression. For more severe cases, always consult a health care professional.

For more information, contact us today at Rising Fitness Gym


Signs Of An Unhealthy Gut

Signs Of An Unhealthy Gut

Most people think signs of an unhealthy gut are strictly limited to digestive issues, but that’s just not true. While diarrhea, vomiting and stomach aches are a sign you have something bad going on in your digestion, sometimes the symptoms don’t seem to be related to your stomach at all. A healthy gut is one that has a well-balanced microbiome. Your gut microbiome is the collection of microscopic creatures, like bacteria and fungi, that live in your digestive system. Leaky gut syndrome is another potential from an unhealthy gut.

Whether it’s from an unhealthy balance of your microbes or a leaky gut, it can cause inflammation.

Inflammation is one sign of an unhealthy gut and also a cause of an unhealthy gut. It’s a vicious circle. You eat foods high in sugar or highly processed foods and it causes inflammation in your gut, while also disrupting the population of healthy microbes. Signs of gut inflammation are varied. They can include more obvious digestive issues and food intolerance, but also include things like mood swings, depression and anxiety.

Obesity may actually come from having an unhealthy gut.

There’s a significant link between obesity and an unhealthy gut. Part of the reason may be the type of food eaten. Remember, highly processed food and foods high in added sugar can cause inflammation, but they also can cause weight gain. When you want to give your gut a rest and feed it right, those same foods are often part of weight loss programs, just like cutting out processed food and foods with added sugar is part of weight loss. You can fix leaky gut and replenish a healthy collection of bacteria by adding food high in fiber and colorful veggies to your diet. Craving sugar is also a sign of poor gut health.

Skin conditions and other autoimmune diseases can be a sign of poor gut health.

Psoriasis and eczema are two signs you may need help with your gut health. Psoriasis is an autoimmune disorder. Other types of autoimmune diseases triggered by poor gut health. Some scientists identify poor gut health as a precondition to all autoimmune diseases. Studies show that people with eczema tend to have leaky gut syndrome and skin conditions like psoriasis are helped by balancing gut bacteria.

  • Lack of balance of microbes in the gut can lead to inflammation because of undigested food, just as a leaky gut can. Inflammation can lead to food allergies and food intolerance.
  • A poor microbiome can lead to malnutrition, since certain microbes aid in digesting food and breaking it down to nutrients the body can use. Some forms of cancer can also occur when you have an unhealthy gut.
  • Sometimes things you do to get healthier can create an unhealthy gut. Antibiotics, for example, can disrupt healthy gut bacteria unless you eat probiotics while you’re taking the antibiotic and have a healthy diet.
  • You might be getting sick easier due to poor gut health. Your gut health plays a big role in your immune system. In fact, your gut microbiome is part of your immune response. If it’s down, you’ll be prone to get sick quicker.

For more information, contact us today at Rising Fitness Gym


Can I Really Speed Up My Metabolism?

Can I Really Speed Up My Metabolism?

One reason Rising Fitness in Houston, TX, is so popular is that we not only work on problems you have now, we help prevent future problems. People often complain they can’t lose weight because of a slow metabolism, but that doesn’t mean they can’t speed up their metabolism, so they don’t have to fight weight gain forever. Learning how to boost your metabolism and then doing those things that make a difference may be the most important part of our training. It not only helps you get fit now, it helps you stay fit in the future.

Exercise is key to increasing the calories you burn.

Everyone knows that exercise helps you burn more calories while you’re doing it, but did you know it continues to boost calorie burning long after you’re finished? It also makes changes in your body that increases your resting metabolic rate. HIIT—high intensity interval training—increases afterburn, which is the extra calories burned to get the body back to its resting state. In fact, it can increase the calories burned by as much as 15%. Exercise also builds muscle tissue, which uses more calories for maintenance than fat tissue does, which boosts your metabolism and makes weight loss easier.

What you eat makes a difference.

Can eating increase the number of calories you burn? The answer is a resounding yes. You need to have enough calories daily to keep your body functioning at peak. If your calorie consumption drops too low, the body starts to conserve calories, which means it slows your metabolic rate. Some foods require more calories to digest, such as protein. Protein also helps you feel fuller longer and is necessary to build more muscle tissue, which also burns more calories.

Boost your metabolism by drinking more ice cold water.

It may sound too simple to be true, but drinking water can fill you up so you eat less. If the water is cold, you’ll burn more calories just to warm the water and make it available to the body. Ultimately that warming process is boosting your metabolism. By just drinking six cups of cold water every day, you’ll boost your metabolism by an extra 50 calories. While that doesn’t sound like much, it’s an easy way to burn an extra pound in just 70 days. That’s five pounds a year you lost just by drinking water.

  • Get more sleep at night. If you don’t have enough sleep, you’re probably less active. Lack of sleep can also disrupt your hormones and cause you to gain weight.
  • Get rid of sugar and processed foods. Both provide a boost of energy, since they digest quickly, then just as quickly, produce a rapid drop in your metabolism and energy level.
  • Find ways to eliminate stress and deal with stress that’s unavoidable. Methods to control stress include meditation, deep breathing exercises and even regular exercise. Not only does stress slow metabolism, but it also causes fat around the belly.
  • Include calorie burners in your diet. Green tea, coffee and spicy foods that contain hot peppers with capsaicin are a few calorie burning foods. Using coconut oil when cooking can cause a metabolic boost as high as 12%.

For more information, contact us today at Rising Fitness Gym


Can I Manage My Chronic Inflammation?

Can I Manage My Chronic Inflammation?

Inflammation is a necessary function of the body to protect it from invading bacteria and harmful substances. However, when inflammation becomes chronic, it can actually cause damage to the body and lead to health issues, which can include cardiovascular problems. You can manage chronic inflammation by making some healthy lifestyle changes, such as switching your diet, getting adequate sleep and hydration and exercising regularly.

Eat more greens and colorful veggies and fruits.

You probably know by now that food like kale and other leafy greens, such as oak leaf lettuce are exceptionally good for your health and can help reduce inflammation. Other colorful fruits also help. The group of blue, red and orange fruits and veggies, such as cherries, blueberries and strawberries, also help reduce inflammation. Cutting out food high in added sugar or those highly processed makes a huge difference too. By simply cutting out food with added sugar and eating fresh fruit instead, you can reduce inflammation significantly.

Eat fish, but not deep-fried fish.

Fried foods add to inflammation, just as fats like margarine do. Cut back on meat and eat fatty baked fish instead. While red meat doesn’t increase inflammation, it doesn’t help reduce it either. Use red meat substitutes, such as fish or beans as main fare a few days a week to significantly reduce inflammation. It’s especially good for the heart. Fatty fish contains omega3 fatty acids, which are natural anti-inflammatories. When choosing oil, don’t use corn oil, soybean oil and hydrogenated oils, instead, choose olive oil, avocado oil or flaxseed oil.

Other factors that affect chronic inflammation can increase the risk of some serious conditions.

Chronic inflammation is associated with severe diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, IBS, Crohn’s, bone damage and gum disease. It’s also associated with premature aging of the skin, diseases of the blood vessels, COPD and cancer. While diet and exercise can help, other factors play a role. An imbalance in blood sugar levels, lack of sleep, stress, environmental factors and chronic infection also play a role. A program of regular exercise produces IL-6, which reduces TNF that starts the process of inflammation.

  • Certain herbs can help reduce inflammation. These anti-inflammatory herbs include hot chili pepper, ginger root, lemongrass, rosemary, aloe and turmeric. In fact, turmeric is thought to help improve neural stem cell regeneration in the brain.
  • You can aid your digestion and reduce inflammation at the same time when you eat pineapple. Eat it with ginger tea and you’ll get double the benefit. Pineapple is also good for reducing the inflammation of arthritis.
  • What you drink makes a big difference. Not only does sugar cause inflammation, but drinks with artificial sweeteners do also too! Opt for green tea, plain coffee, water or ginger tea instead.
  • Reduce stress and get more sleep to help eliminate chronic inflammation. Stress reduction can come from exercise, meditation, or breathing exercises. Making your home environmentally friendly also helps.

For more information, contact us today at Rising Fitness Gym


Ever Tried Spaghetti Squash?

Ever Tried Spaghetti Squash?

Even if you don’t like regular winter squash, you’ll probably like spaghetti squash. It’s a type of winter squash that when cooked, can be separated from the outer shell in strings that resemble spaghetti, but is low in calories and loaded with nutrition. Another big benefit of spaghetti squash is its high fiber content. It has far more than traditional pasta, similar to most vegetables. Fiber is good for colon health and fills you up so you don’t eat as much, making it also good for weight loss.

Spaghetti squash is high in antioxidants.

Antioxidants protect your cells from free radicals. Like many foods, such as oranges, kale and spinach, it’s loaded with antioxidants. In this case it’s beta carotene and vitamin C. Both help prevent inflammation that can cause serious condition. Spaghetti squash also contains other nutrients, like magnesium, B vitamins, vitamin A, potassium and manganese.

Consider spaghetti squash if you want to maintain good dental health.

Just like all cells of your body, the cells in your mouth are susceptible to damage. The vitamin C in spaghetti squash can help protect your gums from gingivitis and other serious conditions. Lack of vitamin C can cause your gums to recede and if it continues, it can cause you to lose teeth. The vitamin A in spaghetti squash helps the tissues in the mouth, including those in the salivary glands. If you lack vitamin A, it causes weaker teeth.

Spaghetti squash also contains omega-3 fatty acids.

Omega-3 fatty acids help reduce inflammation and contribute to both mental and physical health. How does omega-3 help mental health. One study on a particularly dangerous prison found that by increasing the amount of omega-3 in the diet of the prisoners, the amount of violence was reduced. A meta study also reached the same conclusion. The more omega-3 in the diet, the lower the incidents of aggression. While you need both omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids in the diet, the ideal amount is a ratio of one to two parts omega-6 to one part omega-3, in reality, the American diet is more often like 30 parts omega6 to 1 part omega-3.

  • For anyone trying to control blood sugar levels, spaghetti squash is low glycemic. It won’t spike your blood sugar like the carbohydrate laden alternatives it replaces.
  • You can cook spaghetti squash several ways. It can be microwaved, cut in half and baked, put in an instapot or cut in slices and baked. The hardest part of preparing it is cutting it, since the outside rind is thick and difficult to cut.
  • Spaghetti squash seeds are also edible. You can roast the seeds like you do pumpkin seeds and consume them as a snack. They’re high in dietary fiber, vitamin A and C, folate, calcium, iron, magnesium and thiamin. You can also sprout the seeds for salads.
  • Consuming spaghetti squash regularly can reduce the risk of certain eye diseases, such as macular degeneration. It can reduce the risk of gout, arthritis, high blood pressure, heart disease, certain types of cancer and improve brain functioning.

For more information, contact us today at Rising Fitness Gym


Know The Symptoms Of Heat Stroke While Exercising

Know The Symptoms Of Heat Stroke While Exercising

During the summer, Houston, Texas, can get sizzling hot. That can bring on a series of heat related conditions. Two of the most common conditions are heat stroke and heat exhaustion. Heat exhaustion occurs when sweating too much causes dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. Heat stroke occurs when the body can no longer control its internal temperature. Heat exhaustion can become heat stroke and heat stroke is the most dangerous of the two. It helps to know the symptoms of heat stroke for both your health and the health of those around you. This serious condition needs immediate attention.

The color of the skin can tell you a lot.

If your skin is bright red and it’s not normal for you, it’s a symptom of heat stroke. It’s easy to see, so just ask someone or if you’re with a friend whose face turned beet red, get them out of the sun. The lack of internal temperature control can cause your skin to flush, but so can other things. Don’t push it if this happens while you’re exercising, get into a cool place. Besides red skin, your skin will be dry. This is also a symptom of heat exhaustion, which can lead to heat stroke. Take five, get out of the heat and plan your next exercise session in air conditioning.

Do you feel a little woozy or is your friend slurring their speech.

You’ll probably know something feels strange if you have heat stroke. It can cause you to feel agitated, confused and irritable. If you’re with a friend who is showing signs, other symptoms include slurred speech, a coma and seizures. All of these will definitely realize how dangerous this situation is. You may feel wobbly or dizzy. A throbbing headache is also a symptom.

Nausea, vomiting and increase in your body temperature signal there’s a problem.

If you have availability of a thermometer, take your temperature. Heat stroke causes your internal temperature to rise disturbingly high, which is one reason it’s so dangerous. The dehydration that occurs with heat stroke can make you feel nauseous. That can lead to vomiting and vomiting can make you even more dehydrated.

  • Heat stroke can cause irregular breathing and changes to your breathing pattern. Your breathing will be more rapid, but short and shallow. It may feel like it’s beating out of your chest. Your pulse may be rapid, but still strong.
  • Muscle cramps occur during or right before heat stroke. It occurs because of the loss of water and electrolytes when you sweat. If you start getting cramps, it might be time to drink a sports drink and take your workout to an air-conditioned area.
  • If your face is beet red and you don’t have a drip of sweat, you may be experiencing heat stroke. If you’re so hot, sweating doesn’t cool your body, it may simply quit sweating. Watch for both excessive sweat and lack of sweat, both are foreboding of a problem.
  • Error on the side of caution when it comes to heat stroke. If you’re or your friend is experiencing any of these symptoms, move to a cooler area. Find ways to get your body cooler, like cold compresses. Call 911 if body temperature is higher than 104 or unconsciousness occurs.

For more information, contact us today at Rising Fitness Gym


Is 30 Minutes-a-Day Enough To Stay Fit

Is 30 Minutes-a-Day Enough To Stay Fit

There’s a lot of variation on how long you need to workout every day to stay fit. Some say it’s an hour, while other focus on 30 minutes-a-day. Most research varies because everyone is different with different goals and there are different levels of intensity during exercise. If your goal is to become a better athlete, you’ll need to push yourself harder to get fit and stay fit for your sport. If you’ve been a couch potato, a half hour will definitely help you get into shape.

Your workout benefits vary by intensity.

The more intense the workout, the less time you have to spend. The Department of Health and Human Services suggests that you need at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise every week to be fit. That averages out to less than 30 minutes a day or can translate to 30 minutes five days a week. If you switch up the intensity the amount of time necessary drops to 75 minutes a week. That could mean as little as 15 minutes a day of intense exercise. Of course, all these numbers are based on aerobic training and fitness, so you also need time for strength, balance and flexibility training.

Besides increasing the intensity, you can also vary the intensity to cut exercise time shorter.

Varying the intensity means going from pushing your body to its maximum potential for a few minutes, then dropping back to a recovery intensity for an equal amount of time. This type of workout is called High Intensity Interval Training—HIIT. Intensity, in this case, is measured by heart rate. You can use almost any type of exercise for a HIIT workout, even walking. It provides more benefit than a steady state workout and does it in a shorter amount of time. Just a half hour of HIIT compares to 45 minutes of steady state exercising.

Is your goal to stay fit, get fit or get your body ready for competition.

If you just want to look better and have a some of the vitality you used to have, you probably won’t be training like a professional athlete like a boxer or football player or bodybuilder. Most of these people workout longer than just two to three hours a day, but if you’re an average person, two hours could be too long, especially if you have medical conditions such as joint problems, chronic injuries or other health issues.

  • Anyone who has a health issue needs to check with his or her health care provider to ensure that exercise is safe for their condition. In most cases, it’s not only safe, but encouraged.
  • If you’re doing a half hour a day of exercise, use a few minutes every day for flexibility exercises. Do strength training two days a week skipping two days between sessions and aerobic workouts the rest of the time.
  • Scheduling your workout at the same time every day can help you get into the habit of exercise. If you have a packed schedule, you can break your workout into two to three sessions throughout the day. Studies show that several short sessions are as good as one long one.
  • Add something fun that’s active to your schedule to increase the amount of exercise you get. Instead of staying home and watching TV, take a hike, play games with the kids or go dancing. Live the active lifestyle.

For more information, contact us today at Rising Fitness Gym