Archive | September, 2015

Thinner Thighs Home Workout

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Home Workout Calf Raises

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Wrong Way To Do Push Ups

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Exercises for Two: Simple Home-Based Exercises for You and Your Partner

You love your spouse/ partner and you love spending time with him/her. You enjoy doing many diverse activities together. Since you both value your physical and mental health, why not spend quality time together exercising as a couple? Exercising together enables you to work on your relationship as you also improve your cardiovascular health, muscular strength and flexibility. Exercise at home or in your neighborhood to save time and money.

Benefits of Exercising as a Couple

a) Quality Time: Enjoy special time together while exercising, instead of going to the movies or watching television together.

b) Safety: You and your partner can look out for one another when you exercise together. You can help each other with your form and technique, too.

c) Common Interest: Find different cardiovascular activities that you enjoy doing together. Build on your number of shared hobbies and interests.

d) Deeper Bond: Exercise creates “feel good” chemicals in our brains that help us feel happy, relieved of stress, and more sexually interested. Studies show that women and men who exercise on a regular basis enjoy better and more frequent sex with their partners.

e) Motivation and Support: Encourage and compliment one another as you exercise. Try new athletic activities together and boost each other’s confidence with verbal and non-verbal affirmations.


Exercises for Couples

a) Bicycling: Find a pretty nature bike path near your home or bike around a nearby park. Ensure that you both have a good-quality bicycle and helmet. Consider purchasing bicycles so that you can enjoy biking together on a regular basis.

b) Yoga and Pilates: Purchase a basic Yoga or Pilates DVD to do at home together. Look for an exercise program that is specifically designed for couples.

c) Stretching Exercises: Stretch your neck, back, shoulders, arms, sides and legs together. Do stretches both independently side-by-side and also stretches where you lean against one another.

d) Walking or Hiking: Enjoy going on regular walks or hikes together as a couple. Utilize this time together to have meaningful conversations.

e) Dancing: Create an exercise/ dance space in your home. Gather a collection of energizing music that you both enjoy. Play CDs as you dance, both side by side and partner dancing. Dance to music of various cultures and tempos, including Swing, Celtic, jazz, African, Spanish, contemporary and Broadway music.

f) Gardening: Gardening provides both cardiovascular and strength-training exercise. Create and nurture flower, herb or vegetable gardens together. Gardening together will provide extra benefits, as you find comfort and inspiration enjoying nature together. Eating the fresh vegetables and fruit that you harvested together also helps you improve your diet and get necessary nutrients.

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Easy Relaxation Exercises to Do at Home

There are three basic components to a well-balanced exercise program: cardiovascular exercise, strength-training exercise and stretching and relaxation exercises. Stretching and relaxing are important parts of an exercise regimen that are often overlooked. Since our world is filled with chaos and uncertainty, it is crucial to our mental health to take time every day to train our brains and bodies to relax. Relaxation techniques help our muscles relax and lower our blood pressure and heart rate. We should try to spend time every day training our “relaxation response,” as most of our day is filled with symptoms of the “stress response” ñ the basic fight or flight response that overloads our bodies with adrenaline and causes stress damage. Consider beginning to practice Yoga to help you with relaxing. Perhaps purchase a basic Yoga DVD to follow at home. Create a relaxing and nurturing home exercise space to perform the following relaxation exercises.

Deep Breathing
Breathing is at the essence of our well-being. Learning to breathe properly can help you lower your stress and anxiety level and lower your blood pressure and heart rate. Deep breathing involves filling up your lungs slowly with air, as breathing is supported by the muscle under our lungs called our “diaphragm.” Singing lessons or yoga classes will help you learn healthy diaphragmatic breathing. Imagine that your lungs are two balloons that you fill with air slowly, starting at the bottom of your lungs. Many adults breathe improperly and use chest breathing, in which their shoulders rise up when they take in a big breath. Chest breathing only uses one/third of our lung capacity and can make us feel anxious and light-headed.

a) Lie down on your bed or on a comfortable exercise mat. Bend your knees and plant your feet firmly on the bed or floor. Rest your hands lightly on your stomach.
b) Breathe in deeply, using your diaphragm to support your breathing. Inhale for a count of 1-2-3-4-5…6-7-8-9-10… You should feel your hands slowly rise as your lungs fill up with nurturing air.
c) Now exhale in a slow and controlled manner for a count of 1-2-3-4-5…6-7-8-9-10.  You should feel your hands lower back down as your lungs empty.
d) Repeat this process of inhaling and exhaling for counts of ten for fifteen minutes.

Play relaxing and soothing music in the background to help you relax and concentrate on your breathing.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)
a) Lie down on your bed or on a comfortable exercise mat.
b) Start by tensing all of the muscles in your face (you have 44 facial muscles). Close your eyes tightly, tighten up all of your facial muscles and clench your teeth. Hold this position for a count of ten as you inhale.
c) Exhale and try to relax completely. Relax all of your facial muscles, like if you were asleep. Feel the tension leave your face and enjoy the light and relaxing feeling.
d) Completely tense up your neck and shoulders, inhaling for a count of ten. Then exhale and seek to relax your neck and shoulders and let go of all of the tension you have been carrying.
e) Continue this tightening and relaxing process through your body, repeating the technique with your:

  • chest
  • abdomen
  • right arm and hand
  • left arm and hand
  • buttocks
  • right leg and foot
  • left leg and foot

Consider playing relaxing music to help you move into the relaxation response.

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