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San Diego Gym – Master Trainer, Elyssa Tommer Featured in Shape Magzine

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It really doesn’t matter what activity is performed during a fitness program as long as the activity is able to produce the desired results. There’s a host of methods available to achieve many fitness goals. There are so many varied programs available today that everyone is bound to find some aspect that is appealing to them and will lead to improving their fitness level, and these activities are fun too! Try some of these ideas if you are looking to add an element of fun and variety to your fitness program.

Hiking: with the many parks and preserves situated around the country today hiking at any level is a very enjoyable fitness activity. If you add the element of photography or bird watching to the routine it may not seem like exercise at all. With the graduated hikes and cliffs hiking can offer a challenge for anyone at any fitness level.

Walking: There’s a lot of very beautiful parks and scenery where walkers are enjoying an environment which hardly seems like exercise. The visual stimulation and fresh air provide many health benefits for the participant. If you can find a partner or two to join you on regular walks you can add friendly conversation while you walk as well.

Bicycling: The amount of leg and cardio-vascular exercise offered from bicycling is substantial for anyone looking to improve their fitness in these areas. When you add the excitement of the open road and the scenery to be enjoyed the hours will pass and you won’t even realize how much work you have put into exercising.

Everyone knows that exercise is very good for your health. During pregnancy, exercise can have many other benefits as well. Normally, exercise should be light, especially during your first few weeks of pregnancy while your body adjusts to the changes.

Any type of heavy exercise can divert the blood flow from crucial areas, and most women that exercise on a regular basis should tone down their workout regimen during pregnancy.

Swimming, walking, and yoga are two very popular exercise activities that are suitable for pregnant women. There are other forms of exercise such as weight lifting that are acceptable as long as it isn’t too strenuous. Most specialists recommend exercise 3 – 4 times a week, unless you have a medical condition that prevents it. If you are ever in doubt, you should consult a physician first.

Below, you’ll find some of the best reasons as to why you should exercise during pregnancy.

1. Exercise can help to reduce the length of labor and recovery time. The right exercise routines will also increase stamina that is needed for delivery.

 2. Improved mental health. Exercise can lower stress and improve your emotional health, making it easier for you to get through the new experience of becoming a mother.

3. Exercise can also help with weight management after the child has been born. A common concern with most mothers is the weight they lose after pregnancy. During pregnancy, exercise can make postpartum weight loss easier.

4. Exercise is very good for your unborn baby. By keeping your body healthy, you are also looking out for your baby as well.

 5. Exercise can help reduce the side effects of pregnancy. Symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, swelling, and constipation are all common with pregnant women. Studies have shown exercise to reduce the occurrence of these symptoms.

 6. Exercise can also decrease the risk of premature birth. Exercise has been proven to decrease the risk of premature birth by at least 50%.

Some exercisers wake up early in the morning to do their workouts while others schedule their sessions in the late afternoon or evening. Many just try to fit exercise to any available period they have. Luckily, there are many gyms now that are either open pretty late or are open for 24 hours, so no matter what time is best, you can always go workout. But when is the best time to workout? The common belief is that as long as you do your routines, it does not matter when you do your workout. Most believe that the element of time – in this case, the workout schedule – is not really a major issue.

Scientific evidence shows, however, that your workout schedule plays a significant role in the achievement of weight loss and fitness goals. While you may be able to see progress with your currently irregular plan, your performance could be a lot better if you stick to an optimum workout schedule, that includes getting your heart rate up and lifting weights.

The Most Favorable Workout Schedules

It makes complete sense to workout in the morning. Starting the day by pumping up your energy can improve your disposition for the rest of the day. Also, it has been established that people who do their workouts in the morning are more likely to keep with the program than those who do theirs in any other time of the day. Morning sessions also facilitate better sleep for the exerciser.

Working out in the morning is said to be most useful to those who wish to lose weight. Since the body came from an 8-hour fasting period due to sleep, the body will be burning reserved fats, instead of carbohydrates from food, during the morning workout. Although this may sound sensible, medical professionals warn against working out on empty.

Evening workouts, on the other hand, offer the advantage of having an entire day of warming up. It is a known fact that the absence of proper stretching and warm-up exercises can cause injury. The body, after doing the usual activities in the morning, has prepared the muscles and joints to an intense workout session. This is the reason why muscle training is usually done in the evening. Evening workouts is when I like to do my own workouts, I have never been a great morning person. I really enjoy lifting weights, so I usually do a lot of my workouts after I get off work.

Summer’s nearly here… are you ready? Whether you’re planning a cruise to the Bahamas where you need to be bikini ready or a mountain climbing trip out West, chances are you’ve got at least a few pounds that set up camp over the winter and haven’t packed up to leave yet, so you’ll need an action plan to transform cringe-inducing images of your vacation to awe-inspiring glances at your vacation destination. Make getting in shape fun and as stress-free as possible, and you’ll be fit and ready for summer before you know it.

When it comes to exercising, you know how you get bored when you do the same activity at the gym day after day? Well, so does your body. If you have a fitness plan in place but feel you’ve hit a plateau, add some variety into your routine and your body will take notice. You’ll also have more motivation to get to the gym if you’re excited about the new kickboxing class you’re checking out or the new glow-in-the-dark spinning class your friend told you about. You should be changing up your fitness routine at least once every month or so. And if you find it hard to fit exercise into your already overcrowded schedule, trick yourself into getting at least 30 minutes per day by incorporating three 10-minute bursts of exercise throughout your day. Every little bit helps, and these little intervals will really add up over time!

Simply enjoying spring should be a good start to having your best body by summer. Take advice from the 5th Dimension and “let the sunshine in”, hiking, taking your dog to the park, going to a local lake or the ocean for a swim, or any number of physical activities that will help you enjoy the weather while exercising your body. On that note, enjoy nature’s bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins, staying away from man-made, processed foods as much as possible, and you’ll be on your way to a fantastic summer body.

1. Gives Energy to the Body
You can expect more energy and higher endurance after some form of regular cardio training.

2. Prevents Diseases
One could prevent heart diseases with regular cardio training. It is also helpful in preventing other variety of diseases like diabetes, obesity and even high cholesterol. The cardiovascular training strengthens the heart and the lungs. The low to moderated type of cardio exercises are required for people seeking to prevent diseases. Examples of these are walking, brisk walking or jogging.

3. Control Your Weight
With cardio training, you are able to burn more calories. This will help those who need to lose weight. While those who already achieved their ideal body mass, the training will make it easier to control the weight.

4. Lose Body Fats
Some people do not have a problem with their weights. However, there may be some excess fats that keep bothering you. Cardio training will help in getting rid of those. The activities involve the movements of large muscle groups. Regularly doing the training will make you leaner.

5. Gets Rid of Boredom
Cardio training is fun. It pumps up your system. You will definitely feel more energized and on the go.

A good cardio workout should consist of activities you enjoy both indoors and out. If you prefer the comfort of your home gym or the community of the local gym, your best choice is one of the many pieces of cardiovascular equipment commercially available. These include the staple treadmill and the traditional stationary bike. Bikes are great for cardio health and promote lower body strength without putting as much shock on joints as the treadmill does. Plus, those who like to bike can take their activity outdoors when the weather is nice or join a spin class for a group cardio session. Indoor cardio can also include the elliptical trainer, which is an excellent workout because it combines upper and lower body movement.

For those who prefer the outdoors, running and biking seem to be the norm and are also good cardio workouts. However, rigorous hiking, rowing, rock climbing, and swimming are also great activities. If you live near the beach, you can also add surfing to your workout regimen. Finally, playing outdoor sports that require multiple athletic skills also counts towards your much-needed cardio. So, get out there and join a soccer team, hit the ski slopes, or play a game of tennis.

Ultimately, each new cardio exercise you try will challenge your body in a unique way. For example, biking will work leg muscles that are not engaged while rowing. To create your best body, you will want to mix up your routines and perform more than one of these cardio exercises.

There a couple different approaches in doing cardio to burn body fat. Some people recommend you do “low intensity” cardio for long stretches at a time to burn body fat. The thought process is that you need to train at a moderate intensity to get your heart rate to the target zone to burn body fat. It has been argued that if you get your heart rate too high, you will begin to burn carbohydrates instead of body fat. Some people argue that high intensity cardio will allow you to burn more total calories in your cardio workout. Creating a “calorie deficit”, by burning more calories than what you take in, is another great way to lose body fat. Let’s compare the two different approaches in detail.

The Low Intensity Cardio Workout

This is the cardio workout that is currently being pushed by the mainstream. This cardio workout is often used due to the great results it gets. Low intensity cardio is very effective at targetting body fat for energy instead of just burning calories in the body. If the body burns fat for energy, you will lose body fat. It just makes sense. Most of the cardio equipment these days comes with a heart rate display. This is the best way to make sure that you reach the correct intensity level to burn body fat. In about 10 minutes of low intensity cardio, you will reach your target heart rate. It is suggested to stay within that zone for at least 30 minutes for good results.

The High Intensity Approach

This form of cardio is used much less than low intensity cardio. Training at a high intensity level can be tough, since you have to push yourself pretty hard. This cardio method gets great results as well. High intensity cardio will burn a lot more calories than low intensity versions, since it gets your heart rate to a much higher level. The calories burned are a mix of fat calories along with carbohydrate calories stored in the body. The idea behind focusing on burning calories in your workout is to burn more calories than what you consume each day. Creating a calorie deficit, by burning more calories than what you eat, will allow you to lose body fat.

Balance exercises are often neglected in fitness routines, but having good balance is an important part of overall joint health and injury prevention. One of the reasons that balance training is left out of fitness programs is that it has little impact on how your body looks. Instead, balance training is all about how well your body moves. There are a lot of good looking people whose bodies do work well.

Core Training and functional training is all about getting your body to move more efficiently. When your body moves more efficiently, you are less likely to get injured and you will perform regular activities and athletic activities at a higher level.

A balance exercise is an exercise that is done standing on 1 leg. Your center of gravity shifts when you stand on one leg, so your core muscles must work harder to stabilize your entire body over the standing leg. Running is a 1 legged exercise, so any sport or activity that involves running requires good balance.

Upper Body Plyometric Exercises: Where explosion and power in the muscles of the upper body are essential, the following upper body plyometric movements will further develop those traits. Sports that require power in the upper body include: wrestling, mixed martial arts and boxing (more powerful strikes), and any sport that involves explosive upper body movement (throwing, tennis, others). Most of these exercises employ either a medicine ball, or in some cases, a basketball may be utilized.

· Overhead Throws- An over-head throw requires a wall, or a partner, and some sort of ball (medicine ball is recommended; however, a basketball may be substituted). Begin the movement facing the wall at a safe distance, ball grasped in both hands with arms extended overhead. Your stance should provide for optimal balance during the set. To achieve this, stand with feet no further than shoulder width apart, and staggered, one foot slightly in front of the other. When ready, explosively extend the arms out in front, throwing the ball off the wall with as much force as possible. Catch the ball on the bounce and methodically return to the starting position. Immediately repeat the movement. Each throw is considered a repetition.

Side Throws-This movement is performed in much the same way as the overhead throw except the exerciser is standing with either the left or right side of the body facing the wall (standing sideways to the wall). The arms are held slightly bent, with the ball resting on the hip farthest from the wall. Knees should remain slightly bent throughout the movement. On exertion, allow the trunk to pivot naturally at the hips, and with as much force as possible, throw the ball off the wall or to your partner in a slightly underhanded fashion. Catch the ball on the bounce or from your partner, and thoughtfully return to the starting position. Immediately repeat the movement. Each throw is considered a single repetition.

Again, regarding the number of repetitions, one should start with a minimal number of throws to begin with, and then progress incrementally. As with any fitness routine, the same cornerstones apply. Whether one is new to exercise, or a highly-trained competitive athlete, there are some very basic rules and principles that apply to any successful personal training program or routine.