Author: Katie Carone

Are you a little intimidated when you think about strength training or walking into the “weight room land of testosterone”? 

Here are a few suggestions and common mistakes. 

• If you are not familiar with weight training, you can get one appointment with a personal trainer and have them show you a few lifts or machines to work on your major muscle groups. Many gym memberships offer this as part of your sign up fee.
• If you have access to a gym, go to the weight machines that will keep you in correct form in order to prevent incorrect posture and injury.
• Find a work out partner, especially one with experience or guidelines. Most people find it easier if they work out with someone else passionate about their health.
• Don’t be afraid to ask your peers.
• There are many online sources that can show you certain lifts for certain muscle groups (bodybuilding.com) is one of them.
• If you are somewhat familiar with free weights, make sure to lift your weights in front of a mirror and watch your movements in order to maintain the correct form and posture.

Sometimes the monotony of your exercise routine decreases the enjoyment and benefits you get out of your workout. There are many fitness crazes out there that can help get you out of your exercise funk. 

Some of these fitness crazes are: 

• Airobics, exercise on trampolines.
• Suspension: strength training, using your own body weight and gravity for resistance.
• Elite Fitness: muscle confusion
• Jumping shoes
• Pole Dancing
• Kettlebell

Summertime is a fun and active phase for many people. With this activity comes a possible increase in injuries. Many acute injuries are not serious, but can dampen the spirit and physical capacities of any active individual. If you find yourself with a sprain or strain, remember RICE. 

• REST the injury. Give it time to recover and prevent secondary injuries.
• ICE the injury immediately after the incident. A bag of crushed ice is best since you can wrap it around the joint or injury…even a bag of frozen peas works great.
• COMPRESSION around the injured site will prevent swelling from spreading and encourage the fluid away to allow healing. Tie or tape the ice bag around the joint, but not too tight, you should be able to slide two fingers between the skin and bag of ice.
• ELEVATION reduces gravities effect on swelling. Raise the injury a little, but be sure to support other joints. For example, raise an injured ankle, but be sure to put support under knee joint as well.

Summer is a fabulous time to get out and be active with your family. By being physically active with your children, you are teaching them healthy lifestyles skills that will improve their quality and quantity of life! There are also many social enjoyments and bonding that benefit a family that is active together. 

Here are some easy, fun, and inexpensive family physical activities: 

• Family bike rides: Just head out on a local greenbelt, bike, trail, or safe roadway. Pack a picnic lunch and have a destination of a local park (with playground for younger children).
• Local bike parade: Many towns will have a bike ride for families with t-shirts, raffle, and prizes. Register for that and you’ll meet many new families with the same goals as well as being escorted by the local police.
• Hike together as a family: There are so many places with easy hikes for children, more advanced hikes, or expert hikes. Hiking also allows you to see some beautiful country. Include a nature hike by picking all the different wild flowers you come across.
• Swimming: what better way to cool off for the summer as well as be active and have fun.
• Run/walk together: On a beautiful evening, instead of sitting in front of the television, go for a nature walk or exploritive walk. There are also probably some fun local walk/runs including half mile or miles for little children.
• Ever heard of a dirty dash! What would be more fun and active than running through a mud obstacle course as a family…what child or adult wouldn’t love that?

Why cycling takes off pounds: 

• Bicycling gives you more energy to burn
• Leads to better sleep
• Helps curb your appetite
• Relieves stress
• It is fun
• Makes you healthier

According to ABC News Medical Consultant Dr. Raj, CEO of Beverly Hills Orthopedic Institute, it just takes one injury to stop you from working out for a long time. Fortunately, most minor injuries have simple fixes. 

Here are four ways to avoid common exercise mistakes: 

• Make sure to warm up to prevent when most injuries occur.
• When performing squats, make sure to keep your toes in front of your knees.
• Stand in a staggered stance when curling or lifting weights
• Don’t sprint downhill.

Need a little ‘fitspiration’? Having a motto or motivational mantra can help you stick to your fitness goals. Below is a list of some ofToday’s reader’s motivational sayings. 

“It took more than a day to put it on, it will take more than a day to take it off.”
— Emily Coburn

“‘You’ve got to shock your body to change it’ and ‘You’re one workout away from a good mood” are two of my favorites.”
— Claudia Zapata

“(M)y mantra is: ‘I HAVE TO DO THE WORK.’ It is NOT going to magically be that way when I wake up, there is NO magic pill, someone else is NOT going to take my body and work out then give it back all while I am sleeping: so I have to be realistic and understand I HAVE TO DO THE WORK to get WHAT I WANT out of my body and health…” 
— Alicia Waldeyer 

“The difference between try and triumph is a little umph.” 
— Danna Goshorn

Doing your abdominal workouts correctly is equally as important as just doing the workouts. Below are some tips to help improve your abdominal workouts. 

• Make sure your form is correct
• Do more plank poses, bicycle crunches, kettlebells, use bosu and exercise ball
• As you breathe pull bellybutton in towards your spine instead of pushing it out.
• Change it up!
• Keep up cardio
• Eat the right foods
• Slow down on the work out
• Get enough sleep

Nearly 40 million Americans suffer from allergies, so how do you exercise with them?

• Change your schedule. Pollen is worse during the cooler hours of the day, so try working out later in the day.
• Stay inside and do an exercise DVD or use home exercise equipment.
• Avoid allergy-aggravating foods like certain fruits and vegetables.
• Eat the right foods, such as yogurt.
• After being outside, remove articles of clothing to avoid tracking pollen through your home.

Are you one of the 65% of Americans who encounter sleep problems? Sleep is essential to fight off sickness, decrease risk for obesity as well as depression; it is also an important time for your body to rest and recover from the day’s activities. 

Here are six bedtime habits that are ruining your sleep.

• Reading books in bed. It is okay to read before bedtime, just take it out of the room or bed.
• Working on computer before bed. The brightness from the screen stimulates your brain, so keep it simple and keep it off.
• Buying cheap or incorrect mattress and pillow. Choose the correct firmness in mattress and pillows.
• Using bright alarm clocks: cover the alarm clock or buy a small traveling clock. The light emulating from the clock can distract you. “If I go to sleep right now, I’ll get 5 hours and 32 minutes of sleep before I need to wake up.”
• Counting sheep: if you have been in bed trying to go to sleep for 30 minutes, get up, find something mundane to do, and you’ll find yourself crawling back into bed.
• Exercising late at night. An intense workout raises your body temperature and boosts your energy level, making it hard to calm down and go to sleep at bedtime. Try to keep workouts at least three hours before bedtime.