Exercise and Asthma advantage

Exercise And Asthma

If you suffer from asthma, you probably think that you
can't exercise properly or safely.  Contrary to what
many think of this subject, there are ways that you
can get in shape and exercise, even if you suffer 
from asthma.

Asthma is a chronic lung disease that is marked by
characteristics such as coughing, wheezing, shortness
of breath, and chest tightness.  Asthma tends to occur
with people who are genetically or environmentally
presdisposed to the condition.  

Some of the triggers that may start or make an attack
worse include exposure to allergens, viral respiratory
infections, airway irritants, exercise, and exposure
to things such as dust mites or cockroaches.

You can prevent asthma attacks by doing the following:
1.  Bathe your pets weekly.
2.  Don't smoke or permit smoking in your
home.
3.  When mold or pollent counts are high,
you should stay inside with air conditioning.
4.  Wash your bedding and any stuffed toys 
at least once per week in hot water.
5.  Wash your hands every chance you get.
6.  Get a flu shot.
7.  Wear a scarf over your mouth and nose in
the winter months.
8.  Be proactive and know your triggers and 
how you should avoid them.

Now that you know what you know about asthma, you 
may be wondering where exercise fits in.  As most
doctors will tell you, you shouldn't give up on
sports or exercise at all.  You just have to be
smart about how you play and take special pre
cautions to avoid attacks.

Almost all doctors agree that the best way to 
prevent attacks during exercise is to keep your 
inhaler and medication close by.  You should never
use the inhaler more than 3 times during a game
or exercise session.  If you are up the previous 
night with coughing and wheezing, it's always best
to go light with your exercise the next day.

For something known as IEA (Exercise Induced Asthma),
the symptoms are somewhat different, in the fact
that they appear after 6 - 10 minutes of exercise
and will often be worse in cold or dry air.

If you have IEA, there are several activities that
you can enjoy such as swimming, walking, biking,
downhill skiing, and team based sports.  There are
many activities for you to choose from, to ensure
you get the exercise you need as well.

Keep in mind that the condition of asthma isn't 
"all in your head", it is a real physiological 
medical treatment that will require treatment to
prevent and treat.  Even though your doctor will
be your best friend in treating asthma, you are
the one who can prevent your symptoms.  

Always be smart, take your medication, and be
proactive.  Don't let it put you in a life of 
misery - as you can enjoy exercise just like
everyone else.

Cardio Exercise Tips

Cardio Exercise

Everyone has wondered at some point in time which
cardio exercise is better.  To put it in simple
terms, both low and high intensity exercises will
help you to burn off body fat.  The question here
is which is the most effective to burn off more
body fat.  

When scientists first discovered that during 
intensive exercises, your body burns glycogen, which
is a form of stored carbohydrates that are stored
in your liver and muscles for energy.  During low
intensity exercises, your body will burn a lot of
fat.

If your wondering whether or not it works, the
answer is no because there are so many obese people
still around.  Even though they are working out
with low intensity routines, it still makes you 
wonder how it can be.

The scientists were right when they said the human
body burns more body fat during low intensity
exercises like walking or swimming.  During a 
high intensity exercise such as running, the body
will burn a lot more calories.  Even if some of
the calories burnt are from glycogen, there are
still many fat calories burned as well.

To put the icing on the cake, when your store of
glycogen gets low, the carbohydrates from your
food you eat will later get converted into 
glycogen to fill up the store and won't be
converted to body fat when they are left unused
for energy.

High intensity cardio exercise will juice up your
metabolism even after you have completed your
workout.  What this means, is that your body will
continue to burn body fat hours after you have
left the gym.  This effect is nearly non existent
in low intensity cardio or aerobic workout.  

Accumulatively, your body will burn up more and
more calories during and after you have finished a
high intensity cardio exercise that it will with
low intensity.

You can inject high intensity exercises into your
cardio workout by introducing some interval
training. You can walk for 5 minutes or so, then
break into some jogging for another 5 minutes or
so.  Then, walk briskly again until you have
caught your breath and then sprint for a minute
before you walk again.  From this point, simply
alternate your running and walking for the 
next 15 minutes until you are finished.

One of the best things about cardio is the more
you do it, the more energy you'll have.  Cardio
will help you to burn calories, although its more
useful for keeping your energy levels high.

If you've never tried cardio before, you should
give it a shot.  If you like to exercise, you'll
find cardio the best way to boost your energy and
keep in top shape.  If you are just starting out,
you'll want to go slow and keep your cardio 
exercise in track - as it is very easy to over
exert yourself.

Alcohol And Exercise Affect

Alcohol And Exercise

On Friday afternoon after you leave work, you probably
think about going out and having a few drinks with 
friends to relax and wind down.  Even though you 
may think you deserve to go out and have a few drinks,
there are some things that you should certainly 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 judgement.  Think about your health and
how you exercise - and you may begin to look at
things from a whole new prospective.

Exercise Fitness

Exercise  Fitness
Fact: Regular physical activity - even at moderate levels - reduces the risk of heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, and obesity. Here?s another fact: 65% of Americans are considered obese. So while the risks associated with not exercising are clear, we don't seem to be doing anything to change our sedentary ways