Advantages Of Massage

The effects of human touch through massage isn’t just “skin deep”, either. Massage has been shown to:

It helps lower your current blood pressure and improves the circulation of the blood.

It helps the body detoxify, because the act of massage moves toxic materials out through the lymphatic system.

It helps during times of inactivity and illness, because it improves your muscle tone and prevents the muscles from atrophying.

It can help to minimize emotional stress while promoting feelings of well-being.

How does massage give me all those benefits?

There is a constant and vicious cycle that can occur in persons who have tense muscles. A tense muscle is one that is usually contracted. When muscles experience this tension or spasm, less blood will be able to get to the tissue. The lactic acid build up and the lack of oxygen can irritate those related nerve cells, with will lead to the muscles contracting again!

Massage can break that cycle of contracted muscle – lack of oxygen/lactic acid build-up – contracted muscle. It helps with lactic acid and waste product removal from the muscle tissue. Once these waste products are removed, the dreaded contractions and spasms of the muscle may subside.

What benefits do different kinds of massage offer?

There are a wide variety of different massage styles, all which are beneficial. The styles of massage are:

Swedish Massage – the most basic bodywork available. Swedish massage includes long strokes, squeezing and kneading. Someone doing this type of massage is working to improve the circulation by attempting to loosen and relax superficial layers of muscle. This is a very gentle massage which is effective on muscles that are already sore from some kind of stress.

Sports Massage – This type of massage gets to a much deeper level of muscle and connective tissue. Slow, hard strokes in addition to sustained finger pressure work together to get to deep contracted muscles and tendons. This massage helps speed the healing process of the muscles by reducing any swelling. This massage is wonderful when you have overdone it playing in the weekend football game.

Reflexology and Zone Therapy – When looking at reflexology, you will be looking at foot massage. Pressure will be applied by the therapist to the top, side and bottom of your foot to help with any aches, pains, injury or illness in other parts of the body.

Shiatsu and Acupressure – An invigorating type of massage! You will not just be massaged by fingers, but by fists and elbows as well. All are used to apply pressure to what are called “acupuncture meridians”, which these therapists believe are energy pathways in the body. Their massage was created to relieve any blocked energy pathways and return a balance to the energy flow.

Not all forms of massage work for everyone.

The Reason Why Children Need To Exercise

Exercise is something not only adults need to do, but children as well. With exercise, the joints of adults and children maintain flexibility, muscles grow strong and they adapt a strong sense of endurance which is needed throughout their lives. Today, school work, home work and chores all seem to take most of a child's time during the day. In fact, there is hardly any time to play; however, it is important to stop this and incorporate some exercise through playtime for the child. Doctors say that keeping children from playing only causes trouble; and this is partly the cause for the rise in ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). It is necessary for children to have some exercise to burn off energy; without having much interference from an adult, and while burning energy, exercise helps in fighting against obesity in children.

To many adults, exercising is difficult because of insufficient time and just sheer laziness. However, if exercise is cultivated from childhood, they don't find it as an intrusion to their daily schedule.

Children, who exercise, have higher endurance levels. It is not necessary that the exercise programs they follow need to be the exercise routines done in gyms; playing itself if a form of exercise. With exercise in their daily routine, children will stay/become fit; they tend to sleep more soundly and awaken feeling refreshed; mental activities like puzzles become easier to them. Children who exercise feel that they are always filled with energy. With exercise, the child not only develops a healthy body, but also a healthy mind, wherein they learn to interact with others.

Children playing together learn the art of reading other children's body language. Children learn to interact politely amongst themselves and these lessons last a lifetime. School is a great place for children to exercise and play together; however, in such situations, teachers usually interfere when troubles occur. Actually, it is better to let children solve complications on their own without any interference from adults.

One of the best forms of exercise in a child's life is organized sports. While playing soccer, flag football and baseball, the child is taught to stay in shape. Moreover, such games teach children many important lessons in life like sharing, teamwork and resolving anger amongst themselves and others. With these qualities incorporated within themselves, these children develop into respectable and polite adults.

Though adults may feel like setting limits in exercise for a child, it is better to let the child decide him or herself when it is enough. So make sure that your child has his or her share of exercise everyday. With exercise, the child learns and develops valuable skills that last a lifetime.

How To Get Personal Training For Children

We as a generation of couch potatoes have now sprouted a generation of mini couch spuds. More children are obese, and becoming obese at younger ages than ever before in our history, and we as adults and as a society are responsible for these disheartening numbers of overweight children.

Obese children are susceptible to suffering from the same conditions that obese adults most commonly suffer from, even at a very young age. Helping children to become more fit has the potential for eliminating many if not all of these conditions in children.

Children learn by example and through instruction. Children have different exercise needs than adults because their bodies are still developing, and care to avoid injuries must be taken for children exercising. Personal trainers from across the country, recognizing the growing problem of obesity in children want people to become more aware of the benefits to personal training for children.

Personal training for children provides expert and compassionate guidance to children dealing with serious weight issues, and to those who just need a boost to getting and staying fit for life. A personal trainer is knowledgeable about the different exercise needs of children due to their still developing bodies and can advise parents and children on forms of exercise that are not highly recommended for children, such as weight training, or that should only be done under the careful watch of a fitness expert.

Personal trainers offering personal training for children also understand the physiological and emotional differences of children in comparison to adults. Personal trainers understand that children want to fit in with their peers and that children are more likely to mimic each other, especially if a fitness routine is made to be a lot of fun while intending improved fitness for children. A personal trainer can develop a fitness routine that a child can share with his or her friends, which promotes better fitness for all of them.

Obese and out of shape children can not fully participate with their peers which really impacts their emotional and social development. Personal training designed especially for children can help children with serious weight issues to get their weight under control, learn about proper diet and nutrition, and to develop a love of exercise making it more likely that they will always strive to be their fittest and healthiest.

Another option to personal training is signing your children up with local athletic organizations or school sports. Studies also show that children who participate in after school activities show fewer signs of depression.

Help the children in your life to become fit and healthy by learning more about personal training, and personal training for children. Personal Power Training  and US Fitness Trainer are two highly recommended resources for finding more information about personal trainers, and personal training, and information on personal training for children. The Personal Power Training website can be found here, www.personalpowertraining.net, and the US Fitness Trainer website can be found at www.usfitnesstrainer.com.

Advantages Of Swimming

There’s a lot of talk these days about muscle groups and concentrating on them one at a time.  You walk into any gym and you hear guys and gals make small talk while taking a break from their sets and repetitions.

Overdid it on the leg extension machine.”

Gym lingo, they call it.  They’re into triceps, laterals and pullovers and to help build bigger muscles, they add in the protein shake to their sacred rituals.

But there are smart ones.  As old fashioned an exercise it may seem to others, swimming is still one of the best fitness routines you can engage in.  You not only benefit from the cardiovascular workout – especially if you do those laps continuously to arrive at an ideal heart rate vis-à-vis your age, but you also get to work ALL muscles in one session.  No other exercise provides that advantage:  your arms, your legs, your core muscles – all glide in sync in the water.  Swimming offers the cardiovascular element that is necessary in any health and fitness program, but like the National Institutes of Health and the Mayo Clinic have recommended, 30-minute exercises for most days of the week should be done.  If you’ve decided that a swimming program is for you, you would worry less about injuries.  By swimming at a moderately vigorous pace frequently, you gain considerable stamina.

Given that a swimmer uses most muscles, there are distinct improvements in range of motion and flexibility.  A swimmer also builds muscle strength, develops endurance, muscle strength and power. 

Swimming also helps to protect the joints and cartilage of more mature people, providing them with a better capacity to resist shock.

And don’t be too quick to relegate swimming to that class of exercises for a certain age group, because one look at an Olympic swimming feat and you’ll know that even the youth find the rigors of the sport quite a challenge.

The activity is a great upper body toner because specific strokes like the breast stroke, the free style, and the butterfly engage most of the muscles in the upper body.

One more wonderful thing about swimming is what it does to strengthen to a person’s lower body.  The legs get a terrific workout. Notice how much faster you are doing the laps with regular swimming – that’s because your legs feel more robust and your respiratory system has improved considerably.

Many people find swimming to be a relaxing sport.  By doing the strokes, you allow more oxygen into your muscles and breathe in a more regulated manner, hence allowing you to rid your body and psyche of stress. 

Note too that the human anatomy is made of up more than 60% water, which explains why the pool – or the ocean – is a perfect place for humans to get healthier.

Yoga Has More Benefit For Us

Yoga benefits the body, mind and spirit. In recent years, yoga has worked its way into the mainstream health and fitness programs because people have begun to understand the benefits that those who practice it gain. When practiced regularly it can make a measured difference in a person’s physical, mental and spiritual health.

The physical benefits of yoga are outstanding. It’s been shown that yoga can:

·         Increase muscle, joint and tendon flexibility

·         Tone and strengthen muscles

·         Increase cardiovascular efficiency

·         Decrease blood pressure

·         Increase respiratory functions

·         Improve eye-hand coordination

·         Improve posture

·         Improve balance

·         Increase energy levels

·         Lower weight

·         Increase endurance

·         Eliminate toxins from the body

·         Heal damaged muscles

·         Limit the effects of diabetes, digestive orders, arthritis, asthma and heart conditions and decrease dependence on drugs for these problems

·         Manage pain

·         Reduce anxiety

·         Increased stamina

·         Slow the aging process

·         Improve the immune system

One of the most impressive physical benefits of yoga that many people report having is an increased awareness of their bodies and when their bodies aren’t performing as they should. They can actually sense when a health problem is beginning. Yoga not only contributes to physical health; with regular practice it also can improve mental health. The psychological benefits of yoga can include:

·         Mental clarity

·         Stress reduction

·         Emotional groundedness

·         Increased body awareness

·         A relaxed mind

·         Improved ability to pay attention, concentrate and retain information

·         Increased brain activity including an improved communication between the left side of the brain and the right side of the brain

·         Positive changes in mood

·         Positive change sin vitality and energy

·         An increased sex drive and a healthier view of sex

·         Pride in taking care of the body

·         Kinesthetic awareness

·         A decrease in hostility and anger

·         Increased social skills

·         A feeling of being refreshed immediately after yoga – as if just waking from a good nap

On the spiritual level, many who practice yoga also report benefits. Some of the spiritual benefits believed to come from yoga are:

·          A greater awareness of nature and a person’s connection to nature

·          An awareness of how the yoga practitioner’s life affects the lives around him

·          A sense of peace

·          Enjoyment of oneself

·          Enjoyment of life

·          An awareness of the Life Force

It’s easy to see how the three areas that benefit from the practice of yoga – body, mind and spirit – can intertwine. When the three areas are working together in harmony, the benefits of yoga increase. For instance, many people report that practicing yoga has helped them with smoking cessation. The practice of yoga can change much in person’s life.