Archive for the ‘Fitness activities’ Category
Swimming to Fitness
Are you looking for a new way to tone your body? Do you want a great way to get fit at the same time? Swimming might be just the exercise that you should include in your weekly routine. If you are comfortable heading down to your local swimming baths and slipping into your swimsuit then you can take advantage of some of the following benefits of swimming.
Low Impact
Swimming is a low impact activity. So what? This means it is a great exercise if you are slightly older, pregnant, overweight, or recovering from some sort of injury. The feeling of weightlessness while swimming places less stress on your body while still enabling a great cardiovascular workout to achieve your fitness goals.
Burning Calories
As a general rule swimming will burn the same calories as walking fast or a slow jog. Obviously the harder you push yourself the more you will burn. If you are swimming front crawl or freestyle at a medium intensity for half an hour you can expect to burn around 350 calories.
Fun
Swimming is a popular pastime with women of all ages. Not only will it develop your fitness level and tone certain parts of your body but it can also be great fun. Your water fitness activities don’t necessarily need to be limited to swimming either. Aqua fitness or aqua aerobics sessions are available at many public swimming facilities so you can exercise in the water with like minded individuals.
Good For Pregnancy
Swimming is a fantastic option if you are pregnant. Again it is low impact and weight less so you can exercise away without impacting baby or body. Perhaps swim a few lengths, or alternatively you could try aqua jogging with a flotation belt simulating running but in water. Make sure that you check with your doctor before you get into the pool to make sure it is ok for you… and always stay out of the hot tub or spa pool after the swim as this can affect the development of the fetus.
There Are Some Drawbacks
As with any type of exercise there are some drawbacks to swimming.
Firstly, swimming is not necessarily the best exercise for targeting your legs. It is advisable to supplement swimming with some land based activity if you want to be toning your legs as well. Perhaps some cycling or even lunges or squats might do the trick.
Secondly… while you will burn calories and get a good workout with swimming, it is not as effective for weight loss as some non water activities. There are many theories on this. One is that you maintain a layer of fat for insulation if you are doing a lot of swimming – as you are typically training in a cool environment. A further theory is that spending time surrounded by cold water increases appetite and therefore you eat more. And finally there is a theory that the body’s metabolism increases at higher body temperatures… and cooling while swimming reduces the metabolic effect of exercise and subsequent amount of food energy burnt.
Roller Skates – Fun and Fitness
Roller skates have always been recommended to fitness freaks. They can also be a fun yet eco-friendly form of transportation. Roller skates enable the skater to travel on boots that are generally fitted with three, four or sometimes five wheels. Roller skates have two basic designs:
Quad Roller Skates: A shoe that has been fitted with four wheels on its sole to glide swiftly on a floor.
Inline Skates or Blades: These skates have three, four or even five wheels arranged in single line. Sometimes inline skates feature a rear break.
Roller skating has evolved from a pastime to a sport activity due to its popularity. Roller skating is also recommended by the American Heart Association (AHA) as an aerobic fitness sport. Taking long strides can help increase the heart rate and strengthen the back muscles. Studies have shown that roller skating is equivalent to jogging or cycling and engages all of the body’s muscles. You can burn up to 600 calories while skating 10 miles per hour. According to the statistics released by the National Sporting Goods Association, inline skating topped the list of sports that witnessed the greatest growth between 1993 and 1998, in terms of participants. Roller skating is a fun and effective way of participating in fitness activities.
Roller skates have been involved in many sports:
Artistic roller skating: This sport includes several events and is generally performed on quad skates. Artistic roller skating comprise of activities such as figure, dance and freestyle.
* In figure skating, skaters form a series of circles or oval shapes to show accuracy, control and balance.
* In dance skating, the participants are judged on their choreography to music, accuracy of steps, skill and style. Skaters must pay attention to the rhythm and timing of the music to make certain moves.
* Freestyle skating is all about the combination of steps an individual inline skates
* l can perform on music, such as choreographed movements, jumps and spins.
Roller Hockey: Roller hockey can be played using quad skates or inline skates. It is a very fast game. To make the ball more visible, rinks are being built using blue or white pavements.
Inline skating: Inline skating is an aggressive sport, which is basically performed on the streets, parks and sidewalks. .
Roller Derby: Roller Derby is a fast growing sport that has been around for years. It is growing more and more into a high contact ladies’ sport that is very fast paced and very competitive.
Speed Skating: Many skaters enjoy the thrill of the sport of speed skating. You can speed skate on quad skates or inline skates. Many speed skate competitions are held indoors at a skating rink but a lot of races do take place outdoors on closed streets or tracks.
Skating is a fun activity that improves your overall health and does not adversely impact the joints and muscles, unlike running or jogging.
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Health Benefits
There are many reasons why a body needs a regular physical fitness routine. Physical activity is any movement that uses energy. Exercise is a structured physical activity that is performed at a specific intensity, for a certain length of time. Performing physical activity on a daily basis is proven to improve a person’s overall well-being.
Over time, a person can see many benefits from performing a regular exercise routine. Both regular exercise and increased physical activity can add years to a person’s life. Health benefits are obtained from increasing the amount of any physical activity performed regularly. Engaging in physical activity provides fitness and health benefits that will improve the following: cardio-respiratory endurance, muscular strength, muscle endurance, flexibility, body composition, and help avoid disease. Exercise is the best way to burn calories, along with these additional benefits:
- Enhances emotional functioning: Fitness allows an individual to become more tolerant, relaxed, and enthusiastic. Exercise increases oxygen intake, which activates endorphins, or positive hormones. These create a positive feeling. In addition, physical activity helps you feel good about yourself, increasing self-esteem and self-confidence. Fitness makes you feel more motivated; this gives you the ability to create the lifestyle you desire.
- Improves cardiovascular health: Active people have greater endurance and generally exude greater vitality. Cardiovascular exercise improves an individual’s lung capacity. It strengthens a person’s lungs, enlarging their capacity to absorb oxygen and expel waste products. A conditioned heart (and lungs) works efficiently to minimize the risk of heart disease. As the cardiovascular system adapts to more strenuous exercise, the heart rate actually returns to its resting level more quickly after exertion.
- Improves mental functioning: Exercise promotes proper blood flow, which clears the mind and gives the body more oxygen intake with proper circulation. People become more dedicated to their fitness as they discover they’ve gained improved concentration and alertness without boredom and fatigue.
- Increases muscle: Performing exercises, or any physical activity, will help decrease fat tissue and increase muscle tissue. Unexercised muscles deteriorate and become weak. Regular exercise makes the muscular system strong, firm, and defined. Good muscle tone holds bones and organs in their proper places.
- Increases metabolism: Exercise helps increase an individual’s metabolism, allowing the person to burn off more calories. Someone who is in shape is able to burn more calories, even while resting.
- Increases brainpower: Exercise increases the flow of oxygen to the brain. Increasing an individual’s metabolism will provide extra energy for the person to think and concentrate on a tough situation.
- Leaner body composition: Exercise uses up extra fat stored for energy, giving a person a leaner appearance. The individual’s body will achieve a greater muscular look and stronger posture.
- Lowers resting heart rate: The average resting heart rate is 72 beats per minute. Cardiovascular activities strengthen the heart, helping to circulate more blood per beat; this results in a lower resting heart rate. A lower resting heart rate signifies that the cardiovascular system is working efficiently.
- Medical conditions: Exercise reduces the risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure, and colon cancer. In addition, exercise can help people deal with the stressors associated with having an ailment.
- Reduce fat: Exercise burns calories, reducing an individual’s percentage of body fat. Any extra calories not utilized by the body become fat. Exercising will help burn the extra calories your body does not need to function properly.
- Strengthen bones: Exercise helps develop dense and resilient bones and joints. Fitness offers joints a much wider range of fluid motion, which allows a person’s body to move more freely. Over time, this will lower the discomfort level. Exercise also helps slow, stop, and possibly even reverse the effects of Osteoporosis. Exercise will help strengthen your bones, along with the muscles that support your bones.
Real Activities That Will Make You Lose Weight – The Top 12 Sports For Weight Loss
If you are overweight, you might want to burn many calories in the least amount of time. In order to do this, engaging in sports and recreational activities will certainly do the job. Here is a list of twelve activities plus the calories that they are going to burn. Remember, however, that it is best to consult with your doctor before you start doing the routines.
oRunning – You will be burning an approximate number of 459 calories every 30 minutes. This form of exercise will also give you an unbelievable cardio-respiratory workout. Endurance and leg strength are maximized. However, there are a few benefits targeting the upper body. Remember to wear the proper shoes and always keep a moderate tempo to avoid injury.
oRock climbing – This form of sports relies on rapid bursts of energy to get from one rock to the next. It may not do much for your heart but strength, flexibility, and endurance will greatly benefit plus you will be burning 371 calories every 30 minutes.
oSwimming -This is an excellent total body workout that will make you burn 360 calories in 30 minutes.
oCycling – This is a brilliant non-weight bearing exercise that burns 300 to 400 calories in half an hour.
oBoxing – You will be burning a total of 324 calories in half an hour.
oRacquetball – It is a fantastic cardio workout that burns 300 calories.
oBasketball – The non-stop action will make you burn 288 calories.
oRowing – Build muscles and burn 280 calories doing kayaking and canoeing.
oTennis – This is a fun game that will allow you to burn 250-300 calories.
oCross-country skiing – Being out in the snow will up your metabolism.
oIce skating – It will let you consume 252 calories in half an hour.
oSwing dancing – You can dance your way to fitness and burn 180 calories in half an hour.
Creative Club Ideas For a Kid After School Activity
School is back in session and you’re looking for a creative after school activity for kids. Whether you’re a parent or after school care provider, keeping kids busy, happy and safe can be a challenge. Between 3:00 and 6:00 p.m. is when kids need fun activities to keep them from being bored. I have listed ideas for after school clubs that are easy to plan and fun for kids to do.
Organize a cooking club to make a nutritious snack for everyone. Make a healthy trail mix with granola or cereal, peanuts, pretzels, seeds and dry fruit. Mix up fruit smoothies in a blender with low-fat yogurt, fresh fruit, honey and ice. Put together mini-pizzas with small bagels, pizza sauce, and cheese. Review math concepts such as fractions, addition and subtraction with the cooking lesson.
Physical fitness is an activity to plan each day. Kids need about an hour of physical exercise each day. Have a fitness club to organize a team sport such as dodge ball, softball, and volleyball to play with everyone. The club can also plan relay races and fitness and movement games. If weather is rainy or snowy, play indoor volleyball, basketball or set up an obstacle fitness course.
Putting on a play or puppet show is an activity that can be ongoing for several weeks or more. Have a drama or puppet club, which meets twice per week. The kids will pick a story or play that they like, design costumes or puppets, create props, and practice their parts. Pick a date for the performance and invite other students, friends and family to come see their production.
Eight more great after school club activity ideas:
Science Club: do experiments and record results Chess Club: have tournaments Book Club: read a book, discussion, and write book reviews Dance Club: learn dance steps from all over the world Language Club: learn sign or a foreign language Photography Club: take photos of other clubs Journalism Club: put together a monthly newsletter Art Club: drawing, painting, sculpture, and cartooning
Plan on each club being between one half to one hour in length. Offer sessions so everyone can have an opportunity to participate in many of the activities. A different club or activity can be offered each day. Have kids sign up for a club that they are interested in. Involve the kids in the planning, preparation, and even leading the club. The more the kids are involved in the activity, the more successful the activity will be.





