Categories
Weight Loss Exercise

How to Avoid Running Injuries




The most common cause of running injuries is over-training. When you try to do too much too soon, your body will suffer. Running injuries can also happen due to improper shoes or flaws in body structure and motion. Fortunately, the majority of running injuries can be easily prevented. Here are some tips on how to avoid running injuries.

How to Avoid Running Injuries

Create a running plan – Unless you have a sensible running plan, you’re likely to become a victim of “too much, too soon.” It’s tempting to run too many miles with too much intensity this is a key on how to avoid running injuries. Exercise experts recommend increasing your weekly mileage by no more than 10% each week. It’s all right to push your limits, but do it gradually. This will allow you to avoid running injuries such as shin splints and runner’s knees. Common sense and a smart training plan will allow you to reach your goals without suffering from pain and frustration.

How to Avoid Running Injuries

How to Avoid Running Injuries

Warm up and stretch – Before starting your running session, be sure to warm up for at least five minutes. Brisk walking is a good way to warm up your muscles. After warming up, start stretching your muscles, especially the calf, groin, hamstrings, and quadriceps. After your run, stretch your muscles again. Many running injuries occur because of inadequate stretching.

Wear the right shoes – Running is a high impact cardiovascular exercise that puts a lot of stress on your joints and feet. Your running shoes should provide the right amount of cushioning and support for the feet. If your running shoes are worn out, it’s time to get a new pair. Find the right model for your foot type and running style. It’s best to buy your shoes from a specialty running shop where you can be properly fitted for the right type of running shoes. Wearing shoes and socks that fit properly can also help prevent blisters.

If you have biomechanical foot problems, such as flat feet or high arches, you should look into getting fitted for orthotic shoe inserts. There are also specially designed shoes suitable for runners who suffer from over-pronation or supination.

Cross train – Injuries can happen if you focus only on your running muscles while neglecting others. Cross training develops muscles that work to help prevent running injuries. Strength training, swimming, biking and other activities help develop your quads, core muscles and overall strength. Cross training also helps prevent injuries caused by overuse when you do the same type of exercise all the time.

Know where to run – A final tip on how to avoid injury is simply to run on the right surface. You want to run on a surface that absorbs shock and reduces the impact on your feet, joints and tendons. If possible, run on grass or dirt trails. Avoid running on concrete, as it is 10 times harder than asphalt. Choose a route that consists mostly of straight paths and slow curves to avoid accidents and injuries.

These tips should, even in the long run, show you how to avoid running injuries, be sure to change things up and be healthy so that your personal running career is more good than injured

Categories
Weight Loss Exercise

Best Cardio Workouts for Men to Lose Weight



Aerobics or cardio training is an essential part of any fitness program. Cardio workouts for men are primarily performed to strengthen the cardiovascular system and burn body fat. Cardio exercises improve stamina and endurance so you can workout more effectively. The secret to cardio exercises for weight loss is to maintain your heart rate at the fat-burning zone.

Benefits of Cardio Workouts

Cardio training strengthens the heart and lungs to make you healthier. Multiple studies show that cardio workouts help men lower their risk for obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes. To get the most benefits from your workout, it’s important to exercise for at least 30 minutes per day, five days a week. Cardio exercise can also help you burn fat faster if you maintain your target heart rate which can be calculated by subtracting your age from 220 and multiplying the result by 0.75.

Effective Cardio Workouts for Men

Best Cardio Workouts for Men to Lose Weight

Cardio Workouts for Men

There are numerous cardio exercises that you can easily perform to keep fit. Many of them do not require a lot of equipment or extra space.

  • Running or jogging. This is one of the best cardio workouts for men. All you need is a good pair of running shoes for this exercise. You can run anywhere and anytime. You can burn up to 300 calories in half an hour while running at 5 mph. Running or jogging is a high-impact exercise, so take care not to overstress your ankles and knees.
  • Swimming. Swimming is a challenging cardio activity that involves your entire body. You can use different strokes to involve different muscle groups. The great thing about swimming is that you can workout without having to worry about possible high-impact injuries on your joints.
  • Burpees. Burpees are some of the most challenging cardio workouts for men. This exercise engages the muscles in your legs, arms and core. Burpees combine a squat, pushup and vertical leap to deliver an intense workout.
  • Step aerobics. This cardio exercise is performed on a raised platform. It targets the muscles in the legs, butt and hips. The number of calories burned depends on the step height, speed of movement, and duration of the workout. Step aerobics builds a healthy cardiovascular system and burns calories.
  • Interval training. According to the American Council of Exercise, interval training is the best type of cardio workout for men. It pushes the body aerobically and anaerobically. Interval training consists of short periods of intense exercise followed by a recovery period. The short bursts of intense activity allows the body to burn more calories. Interval training is suitable for all fitness levels because you can choose the intensity and duration of your exercise.

Use these tips if you are a guy looking to get in better shape using Cardio. There are so many great ways to get in better shape and cardio exercise will make sure that you are healthier and have a better lifestyle.

Best Cardio Workouts for Men to Lose Weight, 1.0 out of 5 based on 1 rating Recent Tags: whole milk nutrition label

Related Blogs

  • Related Blogs on Best Cardio Workouts
  • Related Blogs on Burning Zone
Categories
Weight Loss Exercise

Recap of the first six days


This is our first recap day. I am planning a few of these days as I know that some of the changes that you are making are tough and there is still more tough stuff coming to get you felling better and most of all getting healthier.

Whenever you make any kind of life changes there are a lot of tough times. There are days when everything seems to go right as well as days when nothing seems to click. The reason that this happens is that your attitude starting the day either tells you that YES you are moving ahead and the changes are great or NO everything was find before and the pain of the changes are not worth it. Hopefully to this point you are having more yes days than no days.

Our first day was just a subtle commitment to make changes without really know the impact that it would have in our everyday life except for the excitement that comes with changing for the better.

Our second day was adding more water to our diet and this I thought was a fairly easy start with a high impact result over the fairly short term.

Our third day was getting started doing cardio everyday. We did not go into any details on the cardio because the first most important exercise trait that you want yourself to get used to is some kind of movement. Just as long as you walk, dance, do yoga, run or bike you are doing great.

Day four was taking care of our meal sizes, far to often people eat to few meals and often to large to really give anyone the nutrition they need and giving anyone a great way to gain fat. Many meals are a great way to keep up energy and be more aware of the food you eat.

The fifth day was a day to learn how to stretch. After all that movement and cardio your muscles will be getting sore by this day and stretching is a great way to get the blood flowing to the fibers of your muscles to get rid of a day or two of extra muscle pain as well as giving you extra flexibility.

Day six is the first good nutrient day. Learning about carbohydrates is a great way to see how we eat when we are not conscious of what is an important kind of food. North Americans are really bad for eating a lot of sugars and then eating far to many carbs as well in each meal.

The next few days may be a little more difficult but I will try to keep a few easy days in as these changes are going to still be challenging. I am sure by this point that your new attitude and feelings are great. These 30 days are designed to give you not only a better feeling body but also a fantastic new outlook on life.