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Wednesday

Buying An All In One System

These days, more and more people are turning away
from memberships to gyms and instead choosing to
invest money in a home gym.  You can put a home
gym in a spare corner of your home, or even in the
basement if you wish.  Along with helping you save
money by combining several different types of
equipment into one machine, these types of equipment
can easily fit in small spaces and type up a lot
less weight than their individual counterparts.

When you are considering to buy an all in one piece
of exercise equipment, you should first think
about your goals.  You should consider what you
hope to achieve from exercising and just how well
this piece of equipment will benefit you.

There are several types of all in one equipment for
exercise on the market and almost all of them are
advertised well on television, in magazines, and
on the internet.  The most popular types on the
market are those types that are geared towards
individuals who are interested in lifting weights.

Right now, the two most popular types of all in
one exercise systems are the Bowflex and Total Gym
brands.  The Bowflex system uses resistant bows
that bend instead of the traditional weights that
simply lift.  Bowflex is designed to fit a wide
variety of budgets and needs, it's widely
adaptable and extremely popular as well.

To make things even better, you can store the
basic Bowflex system in small and tight places,
even under a bed if you choose.  The larger and
more expensive Blowflex system competes with
the types of professional equipment that you can
find in gyms, which allow you a quality workout
on quality equipment.

The Total Gym system is great as well, as it
is advertised by martial arts legend Chuck Norris
and supermodel Christie Brinkley.  It is less
expensive than the Bowflex and uses gravity
and resistance instead of traditional weights.
By using this system, you have the ability to
adapt the machine to a wide variety of exercises
that will work many different areas of your body.

When you make that decision about buying an all
in one exercise system, you must also decide
on price, features, brand, and just who will use
the machine.  If your family plans to use it as
well, then you'll need to get a system that
everyone will agree on.  You obviously wouldn't
want a machine that is too complicated for
others in your home.

Even though Bowflex and Total Gym are the 2 most
popular types of all in one equipment, there are
several others out there as will, from brands
such as Weider and many others.  Before you
make your choice, you should look at several
to see which one offers you more for your money.

Tuesday

Why Water Is Important With Exercise

The human body is made up of over 75% of water, and
as we all know, we cannot live without water.  The
fact is, we can only survive for a total of 3 days
without water.  Water has however, been replaced in
most diets by soft drinks and other sugar sweetened
refreshments.  Keep in mind that water is a healthier
and necessary for leading yourself towards a better
health and longevity.

Your own personal need for water can vary greatly
due to exercise, weight, and temperature.  Research
has proven that over 2/3 of adults don't get the
water they need on a daily basis.  By drinking water
on a regular basis you can replenish your body and
keep it well hydrated and functioning as it should be.

A majority of us wait until we are thirsty before
we drink water.  Keep in mind, this way isn't a
reliable gauge of the water needs for the body.  By
the time you are thirsty you have already lost two
of more cups of the body's water supply.  Therefore,
drinking water regularly is much better than simply
waiting until you are thirsty.

It is very important that you don't substitute
beverages with alcohol and caffeine for water.  The
reason behind this is that those types of beverages
act as a diuretic and can cause you to lose more
weight through increased urination.  You may think
and feel as if you are getting more water through
these beverages, although the fact is that you
are letting it go almost as fast as you consume it.

Anytime you exercise, you need more water. Due to
perspiration, your body will lose quite a bit of
water.  For each pound lost due to exercise, you need
to drink 2 cups of water.  Even when you lay down
to sleep, your body loses water.  By drinking a
glass or more of water before you go to sleep, you
can wake up with your body functioning as it should
be.

It should become more obvious that when you are sick
you'll need more water than any other tine.  When
you get a cold or the flu, your body can become
dehydrated quite quickly.  You can help to prevent
this by drinking more water at times when you become
sick.

There are several mixed opinions as to whether
purified water will actually provide benefit.  This
is a subject you should explore yourself as you
determine the best type of water for yourself. 

Always make it a habit to drink water on a daily
basis.  You should keep a bottle of water with you
at all times and drink it throughout the day.  You
should also teach yourself to drink water instead
of other beverages that don't replenish the nutrients
your body needs.

Monday

Exercise and Alcohol

It's Friday afternoon after work, and you are probably
thinking  about going out for a few drinks with your
friends to relax and wind down.  Even though you
may think going out for a few drinks sounds like a
great idea, here are some things that you should keep
in mind.

Like any other day, tomorrow is going to be a day
for exercise, and since you are exercising on a
regular basis, a few drinks of alcohol won't really
hurt anything, right?  Before you decide to rush out
to the local bar, there are a few things below that
you should think about before you make your choice
about going out to drink some alcohol.

Research has proven that even small amounts of
alcohol with increase muscular endurance and the output
of strength, although these types of benefits are
very short lived.  After 20 minutes or so, the
problems will begin to surface.  All of the negative
side effects associated with alcohol will easily
outweigh any possible benefits that it can have. 
No matter how you look at it, alcohol is a poison
that can really harm your body if you aren't careful.

The negative side of alcohol can reduce your
strength, endurance, aerobic capability, recovery
time, ability to metabolize fat, and even your
muscle growth as well.  Alcohol will also have an
effect on your nervous system and brain.  If you
use it long term, you can cause severe deterioration
of your central nervous system.   Even with short
term use, nerve muscle interaction can be reduced
which will result in a loss of strength.

Once alcohol reaches the blood cells, it can and
probably will damage them.  With alcohol users,
inflammation of the muscle cells is a very common
thing.  Over periods of time, some of these cells
that have been damaged can die which will result
in less functional muscle contractions.  Drinking
alcohol will also leave you with more soreness of
your muscles after you exercise, which means that
it will take you a lot longer to recuperate.

Alcohol will also have many different effects on
your heart and circulatory system as well.  When
you drink any type of alcohol, you may begin to
see a reduction in your endurance capabilities.
Anytime you drink, your heat loss will increase,
due to the alcohol simulating your blood vessels
to dilate.  The loss in heat can cause your
muscles to become quite cold, therefore become
slower and weaker during your muscle contractions.

Drinking alcohol can also lead to digestive and
nutrition problems as well.  Alcohol cause a
release of insulin that will increase the metabolism
of glycogen, which spares fat and makes the loss
of fat very hard.  Due to alcohol interfering
with the absorption of several key nutrients, you
can also become anemic and deficient with B type
vitamins. 

Because your liver is the organ that detoxifies
alcohol, the more you drink, the harder your liver
has to work.  The extra stress alcohol places on
your liver can cause serious damage and even
destroy some of your liver cells.

Since alcohol is diuretic, drinking large amounts
can put a lot of stress on your kidneys as well.
During diuretic action, the hormones are secreted.
This can lead to heightened water retention and no
one who exercises will want this to happen.

If you must drink alcohol, you should do it in
moderation and never drink before you exercise, as
this will impair your balance, coordination, and
also your judgment.  Think about your health and
how you exercise - and you may begin to look at
things from a whole new prospective.