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If you hate to exercise, it might be because you haven’t found the right activity for you. Grant Leitma, Ph.D., leads you through a series of simple questions to help you identity an exercise plan that matches your personality type. And just like that, you’ll know exactly what to do to make exercise a little more fun and a lot less dreadful.
Between 50 and 70 million Americans suffer from headaches each year. Many of those headache sufferers often turn to medication or retire to a dark room waiting for the pain to go away. However, other headache sufferers are finding relief by taking a proactive approach. Before headaches strike, they engage in aerobic exercise.
Their results are impressive: people who engage in aerobic exercise get fewer headaches, their headaches are less severe, and they have less of a need for serious drug-therapy programs. “People who regularly walk briskly or jog have reported dramatic improvements in their headaches,” declare Dr. Alan M. Rapoport and Dr. Fred D. Sheftell, founders and directors of the New England Center for Headache in Stamford, Connect-icut, and authors of several books about headaches.
Read more about Why Exercise is the Best Medicine …
I entered adulthood with an image of myself as someone who does not “do” sports. I figured there was a human divide and I was on the side with those who discussed books and foreign films, sipped frothy drinks, and had pale skin in the summer. In my mid-20s, after a few years at the computer, my body started to protest my lifestyle. Headaches and neck pain were frequent, and I sensed my metabolism slowing. I should mention that I wasn’t really inactive, but I was passive. I never grasped the idea that physical fitness was something I could take charge of for myself. As I got older, busier, and less active, I began to envision layers of fat overtaking me in the coming years, and yet I felt helpless to do anything about it.
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Can there really be 50 ways to increase performance in your favorite sport? Twenty-five push-ups a day do not an athelete make, but combine those exercises you do for strength and endurance with a nutritious diet, aerobic conditioning, weight training, and a healthy lifestyle, and you can be at the top of your form-whatever your sport. Consider the suggestions below; you may be in for a few surprises.
Read more about 50 Tips to Increase Stamina …
If last names had anything to do with predisposing one to a sport, I guess this would be mine. Although swimming, bicycling, snowshoeing, roller skating, ice skating, and cross-country skiing also fall under the “volkssport” heading, walking is the main event, and the majority of volkssporting events are organized walks (the walking segment is sometimes referred to as volksmarching).
Read more about Volkssporting: A Whole New Kind of Walk …
The skeletons in my workout closet are many-an unused athletic club membership, a dusty NordicTrack, a lonely ab-buster. All purchased with the best of intentions. But, alas, they have all fallen to the same fate: while they may have physically challenged me, mentally I was “bored out of my gourd.” Consequently, I became a fitness failure, a workout wannabe.
Then one day my family upset me. Husband, sons, the cat; I can’t remember which one started it, but in the end I decided to take a walk to blow off steam. After 10 minutes I felt better. And after 20 minutes the argument seemed miles away.
To stay slim and trim, John runs five miles almost every day. Because of his vigorous workouts, he feels he’s earned the right to eat whatever he wants. His wife, Sue, however, would rather read the fine print on the insurance policy than get anywhere near a treadmill or gym. Her solution to weight control is carefully selecting what she eats. That’s why you’re more likely to see her reach for a piece of fruit instead of a cookie or slice of cake.
Sure, it’s more difficult to get back into an exercise routine after a long layoff–or even start one when you’ve never worked out regularly before. Once working out is a regular part of your life, it’s easy to stay in the habit of keeping fit and healthy. But the battle’s not over. Even the most diehard fitness buffs occasionally fight workout burnout and boredom.
Picture this scenario: It’s lunchtime, and you’re taking a brisk walk with a coworker. You know the exercise will help you think more clearly and concentrate better when you get back to work.
Do you give your yard a lick and a promise once a month purely out of respect for the neighbors? Do you enjoy gardening, but seldom take time to dig in the dirt? Maybe you need a new perspective on gardening to motivate you.
Gardening affords you access to the fresh air and exercise you need. It’s a wonderful, creative outlet. To many people, gardening is also therapeutic. One friend says, “When I’m angry or upset about something, I go out and pull weeds. When I’m depressed or sad, I putter with the plants. To me, gardening is comforting, and I always leave my garden feeling better.”
Mary is a cancer patient and an avid gardener. She says, “My garden is my therapy. It’s constant renewal. Working in my garden or just walking through it after work slows me down and helps me to refocus my thoughts.”