Swimming for health

Some people need to have their workout everyday. One of my girlfriends is missing her workout in the pool at the club which she makes it a point to go to a few times a week. The pool is now closed while the management is awaiting replacement of the pool water pumps.

Do you swim? Swimming is a wonderful exercise. Studies have shown that swimming can reduce cholesterol, prevent diabetes, relieve pain for arthritis patients, help asthma sufferers, improve the heart and it even can increase lifespan meaning swimmers live longer. Of course we don't have to be like Michael Phelps, the American swimmer and the most decorated Olympian of all time, with a total of 22 medals. We just need to swim at our own  pace, for health.

Floating Yoga is the new fad in Yoga

Browsing through bath mats and toilet stuff online the other day, took me to a site on exercise, yoga and yoga mats. Didn't know there are even yoga mats for children. Anyway, a yoga mat would definitely be a better gift for the girlfriend who received that box of condoms I commented about in the previous post, The Weirdest Gift.

Talk about yoga, there is now a new form of yoga. I read about floating yoga a few days ago.

Suspended mid-air on a hammock with your feet in stirrups, looking like a puppet on strings or a flying trapeze. This is floating yoga, the latest form of yoga currently the rage in Singapore. It is offered exclusively at the newly-opened Celebrity Fitness gym at Rochester Mall near Bouna Vista.

Floating yoga is an exercise programme developed by the gym’s fitness development director, John J. Sweeney. It joins a long list of other yoga fads that include hot yoga, lunar flow yoga and even baby yoga.

Yoga mats at will

Do you believe in vibes? Vibes can mean different things to different people. It can be coincidence to one, fate to another or plain providence to the next. It can be good vibes; it can be bad vibes.

A girlfriend who attended a get-together on Monday was thrilled when she opened her gift after the gift-exchange. Inside, she found not one but two yoga mats. Back to vibes, she had planned to go shopping to replace one of her yoga mats this weekend and this gift has saved her a trip and extra expenses. What a coincidence? This is the type of vibes I was referring to. Do you think things happen for a reason?

Here's an image of a nice yoga mat.

Physiic brings the Gym back home

Have you been taking exercise classes in the gym and had to stop due to time constraint caused by the arrival of the new baby or new assignment workload? If you're in the US, here's a new program you'd be excited about.

Physiic is an online community where you can workout from home in a live, InterActive fitness class by way of the webcam. If you cannot make it to a gym or studio for whatever reason, Physiic is the product that can fill that gap. If you don't like to work out alone and would like friends and family to exercise together with you, Physiic's online exercise classes make that possible. Your friends and family anywhere across the country can exercise together and receive personalized exercise instruction from quality fitness professionals.

Some people feel uncomfortable going to the gym so Physiic is just perfect for those who'd still want to attend gym classes but don't have to go to the gym. Classes can be done in the comfort of their home.

Physiic allows you to try new classes not offered in your area. Physiic offers Yoga, Pilates, Strength Training and Nutrition Classes. Check it out! New Users get their first class FREE when they register.

Quick Weight Loss the Natural Way

Many people are facing challenges on maintaining their weight. I have colleagues who are cutting down on food intake primarily the carbo group of food. A few are on a fruits-and-vegetables only diet. Others are either walking briskly, jogging or running or taking up gym memberships. Yet one or two are in Taichi classes, yoga, and/or line-dancing. And one is into kick-boxing and this one is a lady, mind you. And I applaud them for their efforts.

Common sense tells us that it takes many factors to contribute to weight loss. A site I came across offers a few tips for a quick weight loss.

Top of the list is Exercise. Exercise is key in order to really lose weight. It revs up your metabolism and burns off excess calories.

Weight training is next. Lean muscles can actually speed up your metabolism, and therefore, speed up your body’s fat burning capabilities. Without lean muscle mass, your results will be significantly slowed and be short lived.

Keeping a diary is important to really track your eating habits to track your hunger levels and emotions in connection with food. Being aware of your personal patterns can help you achieve success.

Others include

- Focussing on healthy, not getting thin
- Portion control
- Eating slowly
- Eating less fat without forgetting about fat - Fat is a necessary evil. Without good fat, you cannot lose weight. So if you obsess about cutting out every single gram of fat, you are essentially sabotaging your own possible results.

There you go, some tips we could bear in mind when it comes to weight loss the natural way.

Weightloss without Pills

Women in midlife could prevent themselves from gaining weight by just investing an hour of moderate activity a day — including such recreational activities as brisk walking, leisurely bicycling, ballroom dancing and playing with children. This has been determined by Harvard researchers as reported by the NY Times. Half that amount of vigorous activity, like running, jogging or fast biking, will do the trick as well.

Ladies, now you know. No need for adipex p or any other weightloss pills to do the trick for you.

We all know that losing weight is difficult, and keeping it off may be even harder, so whatever weight we are, the advice is to try to stay that weight.

Chinese New Year Shopping

With the Chinese New Year just barely two weeks away, shopping malls and markets are packed with shoppers. I haven't been to Chinatown yet but there is no doubt that the place will be crowded with locals buying the Spring festival goodies and tourists enjoying the hustle and bustle of the place.

There is certainly no let-up on consumer spending as department stores are again having their big sale just before the Chinese New Year. Clothes, shoes and bags would top the list of purchases as it's customary to have new clothes and related new stuff to usher in the new year. Even fitness equipment stores are having their sale to encourage people to get back in shape for the new year. Have you done your shopping yet?

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

Looking into a New Body Workout Program

Beginning of the year is always a time for new resolutions to effect a positive change. Among other aspects, I am also looking into being fitter and trying a new workout program.

Did you know that you could get a total body transformation in just 90 days? This Power 90 program teaches you to work a specific muscle group to guarantee serious muscle growth and fat loss throughout the entire body, one area at a time. The time you need to spend on the exercises is just 30 minutes a day.

If you think 90 days is too long, try the 60-day high-impact program. However, not everyone qualifies for the Insanity Workout because it contains 10 insane workouts. You'll qualify if you are among those in top physical shape, extreme athletes, graduates of other similar programs, Cardio lovers and former high school/college athletes. People who do not quality are Beginners to fitness, Pregnant Women, People who are not used to high impact exercise, and People who don't like to work hard.

I think I have found something that might work for me. But mind you, I am not looking into something to help lose weight (thank goodness weight is never a problem for me) but more so to stay fit amd toned and does not take up too much time. It's called the 10 Minute Trainer. 10 Minute Trainer workouts combine cardio and strength training simultaneously, rather than one followed by the other. Best of all, I can easily customize the program to work with my schedule making it easy to fit in workouts all week long.

A Portable Dip Station

At the mall the other day, I couldn't help noticing a crowd at a shop selling exercise equipment. Taking advantage of the year-end sale and perhaps the year-end bonus too, the shop was doing brisk business with their exercise balls and bells, gadgets and equipment.

A dip station fascinated me being compact yet strong enough for the workout. This one can even fit into the trunk of your car. Cool, eh? Probably good for guys intending to build up those six packs.

Installing a Home Gym for Convenience

Gyms are becoming popular again here in Kuala Lumpur. Hopefully, that is a good sign of people becoming more aware of the benefits of exercise and keeping fit and trim.

Our busy work schedule can sometimes derail our exercise routine. Some of us with cash and space to spare could easily work around that by having one of those home gyms thus eliminating the need to travel to and from the gym. Are you one of those who have a gym membership?

Fun at the Gym - Sexy Workout

Borrowed this video from Mick's Page. Hilarious stuff. Must watch..

Does Exercise Reduce Cancer Risk?

We all know that exercise is good for us. It keeps us fit and our body healthy. What else is new? Based on a new finding, exercise can reduce our cancer risk.

According to a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, Finnish researchers recently concluded that, if you wish to ward off lung or gastrointestinal cancer, you might want to spend your leisure time jogging instead of picking berries, mushroom gathering or fishing.

The study found that the more arduous the exercise was, the more protective it proved for the 2,560 middle-aged Finns studied. The health of these subjects, all men, was studied over the course of about 17 years. They kept diaries of their daily activities for a year. Jogging was the most strenuous activity studied, fishing among the least. The men who jogged or otherwise exercised fairly intensely for at least 30 minutes a day had “a 50 percent reduction in the risk of dying prematurely from cancer.

Results of other findings include:

The most active people are 24 percent less likely to develop colon cancer than sedentary people are, regardless of their diets, smoking habits or body weight.

Women over age 30 who defined themselves as “highly competitive” by disposition and who exercised more than the average for the group had much less risk of developing breast cancer than women who worked out for less than 60 minutes per week.

In order to use exercise to reduce the risk of cancer, you must make yourself sweat. In the Finnish study, the most beneficial exercise was both frequent and demanding.

If you are not that hardworking when it comes to exercising, at least moderately intense physical activity is more beneficial than low intensity physical activity in the prevention of cancer. The takeaway, in other words, is that jogging trumps berry picking.

How many of you hit the gym a few times a week or go jogging or engage in other active sports? Good for you.


Source: NY Times

Friday Frolics - What Yoga Pose Are You?

Yoga, with its origin in India, has been around for centuries and has been practised here for decades, mostly as a form of exercise, Yogis go through the routine of asanas or postures.

The recent shake-up in Malaysia (about banning Yoga for Muslim folks) created quite a stir in the community. The verdict as communicated by Prime Minister, Ahmad Badawi, put everyone at rest. He stated that Yoga practitioners who only perform the exercises without chanting mantras can continue to do so. He appreciated the fact that Yoga is a form of exercise and which is widely-practised by cancer survivors among others. His own wife succumbed to breast cancer a couple of years ago.

This week's quiz is about Yoga. Find out what Yoga pose your personality determines.

You Are the Tree Pose

You are a well grounded, down to earth person. Not much shakes you. You can remain steady through a crisis - and other people lean on you. You have high standards and morals. You easily rise above pettiness. While people sometimes accuse you of being stubborn, you are able to shift focus when you need to.

What Yoga Pose Are You?

Other Personality Quizzes

Yoga is not for Muslims

Yoga is a popular form of exercise and is practised by people of all ethnic groups.

On Saturday, the National Fatwa Council, Malaysia's Islamic body, declared that yoga is prohibited in Islam and Muslims are banned from practising it saying it had elements of Hinduism that could erode the faith of Muslims.

Related news:
The Star:
Fatwa Council deems ancient form of exercise from India 'haram'
Hindu Sangam urges Fatwa Council to ‘be more sensitive’

CNN:
Top Islamic body: Yoga is not for Muslims