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Stop Kidding – No Home Gyms Allowed
By: Rolf Rasmusson
Home Gyms Not long ago my wife went shopping for home gyms. No not for her but of all people for me. I was devastated. The idea, me exercise? I sit and work at the computer all day and that's plenty of exercising for me. I told her we didn't have room and the (2) extra bedrooms were for visitors besides. Nevertheless off she went and darned if a couple weeks later she drug one home. A home gym – of all things! My wife was telling me that the convenience of privacy at home, no driving and time efficiencies is what I really would enjoy. Humbug! She also discussed her goals for me and frankly I was impressed. Lose 20 lbs or else! Else what? Rabbit salads and vinegar for life. She also told me that in making her decision she considered our budget, room available, weight based or rubber band machines and relative versatility. I told how appreciative I was of here thoughtfulness. She assured me I wouldn't need the motivation that a real gym provides, nor would we miss the room lost, and that putting the thing together would be a blast. Also, just because I wasn't surrounded by other hard exercising chargers my tendency to be lazy and slack off wouldn't be a factor. Thus far, the only thing that's lost weight is my wallet but I'm assured perseverance would prevail. Before starting that home exercising program I suggest seeing your doctor to check on your health condition and your brain because when you're grand kids see you trying to do your thing they'll think you lost your mind. Having home gyms is probably a pretty good idea and I for one am all for it. My grandson looks so fit now he can't keep the girls away from him. Boy, am I glad I have a grandson. More good stuff at http://www.home-fitness-gym-4u.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
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The Power of Stretching - Dave Snape
Your
muscles ache from a good stretch. This is quite
normal and is part of the process. Stretching has
seemingly been with us and particularly with athletes
since the beginning of time.
A very key point to good stretching is to hold the
stretch for at least seventeen seconds. This is a
pearl of wisdom gleaned from a ballet teacher a few
years back. She said that any stretch under 17
seconds was just not effective.
The 17 second rule is exceeded in the high intensity
Bikram's yoga where stretches are held for about 30
seconds. Don't forget the high level of heat that is
used in Bikram's to extract that last little bit of
stretch out of your muscles. An interesting twist
that
is not necessary to gain benefits from stretching.
But,
it can't hurt, right?
So what kind of benefits can you expect from
stretching? That's an easy one. Have you ever seen
the
movie, Blood Sport? Did you know that Frank Dux could
truly stretch his body to the extreme. The actor that
played him was quite elastic as well.
Great elasticity is also something you might see in
well trained Spetsnaz (Russian) agents. They often
work
out with Russian kettlebells too. They are for
superior
strength gains and the ability to withstand ballistic
shocks.
Why are stretching and flexibility considered
important
to these people? Stretching gives one the ability to
have explosive power available at one's fingertips
without the need to warm up. Of course most of us are
not martial artists or agents. But, you'll be happy
to
know there are plenty of other benefits.
Let me give you an example. After learning to sit in
the full lotus position for long periods of time, my
ankles became very flexible. One day I was walking
along and my left foot fell into a pothole. This
mishap
pushed my ankle sideways to about 90 degrees from
it's
normal position.
Amazingly, this didn't even hurt, not one bit. If my
ankle hadn't been so flexible, I may have suffered a
sprained ankle. At the very least, it would have hurt
for days.
Key point: stretching helps you to avoid injuries.
Not only that but if you do have a muscle, tendon or
ligament injury it should heal faster, theoretically
speaking.
Stretching actually grows the ligaments, tendons and
muscles being stretched. They really grow longer over
time.
Check with your physician before undertaking any type
of exercise, including stretching.
Here is some good
instructional material on stretching:
http://tinyurl.com/6c6kq
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Dave Snape
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