Too much of a good thing isn’t always such a good thing. Your body needs a well-rounded exercise program to stay in optimal health.

Here are some ingredients the experts at Life Fitness recommend for workout success:

Cardio. Cardiovascular exercises increase your heart rate for a sustained period of time. This is a necessary part of being fit because it strengthens your heart muscle, which in turn helps you breathe easier and helps your heart beat more efficiently. But just like anything, your body gets used to your daily cardio routine. Next time you’re working out at home or in the gym, try using the interval training program on the treadmill or cross-trainer for an extra boost of heart-pumping intensity.

Strength. For first time strength trainers, adding weights to a workout routine can provide impressive results on your body and on the scale. But it takes regular updates to ensure your training routine keeps your muscles guessing. Circuit training is a great strength workout as it follows a series of strength and/or cardio exercises that offer a great way to work all the major muscle groups in a short amount of time. Many gyms offer specialty circuit classes, or you can create your own circuit at home with a piece of cardio equipment and one of the new functional home gyms or a bench and dumbbells.

Flexibility. Flexibility is another key component to a well-rounded program and the part that most often gets overlooked. As your muscles get worked more often, they become tight, sore and sometimes leads to over-use injury. One way to prevent this from happening is by incorporating a good stretching routine. This will lengthen out those tight muscles and help stretch the connective tissue that surrounds them.

The Core. The core is the center of your body that holds you up and keeps you tall, much like the trunk on a tree. Strengthening your abdominals and back muscles will give you better posture, keep your body strong and tall, help you age more gracefully and help every movement you make easier. Try these balance props with free weights or a pulley-based system like the Life Fitness G7 Home Gym and feel the difference. Example: sit on a stability ball while performing the shoulder press reps. While your arms push the resistance, your midsection muscles engage to remain balanced on the ball, toning your core.

Before you get overwhelmed… remember, it’s not as hard as it seems. It’s all about cross training. A little bit of each is really all you need.

For More Information Contact:
Stephanie Weiss
Life Fitness
stephanie.weiss@lifefitness.com

Fit Tips are provided by Life Fitness, the leader in designing and manufacturing high-quality exercise equipment for fitness facilities and homes worldwide. For more information on FitTips and other fitness advice and expertise visit www.lifefitness.com or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/lifefitness or join our facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/lifefitness.

1. Drink plenty of water. This may seem obvious, as we all know it is important to take in plenty of water and sports drinks whenever we exercise, but it is even more crucial on hot summer days. You should be hydrating before, during and after your workout. It is also important to replenish electrolytes and salt as well, since they are also depleted when you sweat. The delicate balance of water and electrolytes is crucial to keeping your body functioning properly, and failure to do so can result in light-headedness, nausea and far more serious problems.
2. Wear the right clothing. Light fabrics such as synthetics don’t retain heat and light-colored clothing reflects the heat. The new high tech running clothes are made from material designed to keep you cool and "breathe", allowing moisture to be released from your body and are well worth the extra expense.
3. Workout in the morning and evening. Avoid working out in the middle of the day unless you are training for an event that will take place in the daytime heat, and then you should adjust to the heat gradually.
4. Wear sunscreen even on cloudy days.
5. Listen to your body. If you start to feel nauseous or light-headed, take a break or stop your workout altogether. Failure to stop and hydrate could lead to heat stroke or worse.
6. Check the weather forecast. If the temperature is over 90 degrees, especially combined with high ozone levels or air pollution, you may want to take your workout indoors.

Click here to shop for kettlebells online or visit your local HealthStyles retail store.

Click here to shop for kettlebells online or visit your local HealthStyles retail store.

Click here to shop for kettlebells online or visit your local HealthStyles retail store.

• Calories In vs. Calories Out. In order to keep your weight down no matter what your age, you have to create a calorie deficit, meaning you are burning more calories daily than you are consuming. This is especially important during your 40’s, when a drop in your level of hormones and possible reduction of activity level has likely resulted in a drop in your metabolism. Remember that it’s not about deprivation, but moderation – look for the little things you know you can afford to turn down, and it will add up to a big difference.
• Increase Your Strength Training. Strength training is important as you age. Muscle is an aging adult’s friend. It burns more calories at rest, which ultimately gives your metabolism a boost. Not to mention, it makes you look trimmer because muscle takes up less space than fat. Strength training also helps prevent osteoporosis and injuries. Try doing a circuit of upper and lower body strength training by using the machines at your gym.
• Reduce Belly Fat. The 40’s are often the decade when you start to feel thicker around the mid-section. Changes in hormones as we age can contribute to this trend. Working with your doctor to monitor any fluctuations is always important, and although you can’t spot reduce belly fat, you can do a few things to help prevent it. Step up your cardio workouts to burn calories and to lose fat overall. Hop on your treadmill for an extra 10 to 20 minutes a day. Get outside and take an extra evening walk. As you shed some fat, tone up your belly with core body exercises.
• Add flexibility training. Start stretching after every cardio workout. By lengthening the muscles, you can help protect against injury and improve your range of motion. What you didn’t feel in your 30’s you may start feeling in your 40’s, so be proactive and stretch.

For More Information Contact:
Stephanie Weiss
Life Fitness
stephanie.weiss@lifefitness.com

Fit Tips are provided by Life Fitness, the leader in designing and manufacturing high-quality exercise equipment for fitness facilities and homes worldwide. For more information on FitTips and other fitness advice and expertise visit www.lifefitness.com or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/lifefitness or join our facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/lifefitness.

Back in my early days the only accepted practice was to participate in static stretching both before and after training runs and races. Static stretches are exercises in which you stretch your muscle using body weight or opposing muscle groups and hold a gentle stretch for 20 to 30 seconds. This type of stretch does a good job of elongating the muscle and increasing both flexibility and range of motion. In the early days it was thought that this type of stretch was necessary to prevent injuries, maintain range of motion and improve performance. Examples of a static stretch are: hamstring stretch, quadriceps stretch, calf stretch and butterfly stretch.

There are actually two different types of static stretches. The most common static stretches are sometimes referred to as static passive stretch (SPS). When you are in a relaxed position and are using your own body weight to hold the stretch you are performing SPS. The other type is a combination of dynamic and active stretching called static dynamic stretch (SDS) in which a static or stationary stretch position is held using the force of an opposing muscle group. For example if you are lying on your back and you pull your straight leg up as far as possible using only your quadriceps muscle without assistance from body weight you are performing an SDS on your hamstrings.

Active Dynamic Stretches (ADS) are true dynamic stretches in which you are moving your muscles through full, exaggerated motions that mimic the motions of running. Examples of ADS are high knees, heel kicks and lunges.

As I mentioned earlier, for years SPS was the only game in town. You always performed SPS both before and after running because it was believed that SPS would prevent injury and improve performance. Today things have changed. The most recent research is proving that chronic SPS does very little to prevent injuries. An investigation conducted by Rob D. Herbert and Michael Gabriel at the University of Sydney found that static stretching before or after running does not provide considerable protection from injury or muscle soreness. There are other recent studies that agree.

Not only does chronic static stretching not provide a lot of injury resistance but it also may decrease your level of performance. A 2007 study by IM Fletcher and R Anness at the University of Lufton in the United Kingdom showed that static passive stretching included in a warm up decreased sprint performance. This is probably due to a decrease in muscle elasticity and reduced muscle activation prior to ground contact time. In simpler terms it is like over stretching a rubber band. Just as an over stretched rubber band loses its ability to return energy, your muscles lose elasticity and their ability to return stored energy. Muscle elasticity is not just important to sprinters. Distance runners depend upon muscle elasticity to maintain or improve their running economy and power.

The Fletcher/Anness study also showed that active dynamic stretching performed as part of a warm up did not adversely affect muscle elasticity or sprint performance and is the more appropriate pre event stretching method. Dynamic stretching has also been shown to be a more effective pre run routine because it increases the blood flow to your muscles, lubricates joints and decreases muscle tightness.

Does this mean you should never perform static stretching? Absolutely not – Static stretching remains an important part of your training routine. Static stretching is still one of the best ways to increase range of motion and maintain flexibility. What has changed is when you should do them. The best routine to follow is to perform dynamic stretching after a cardiovascular warm up run but before your training run or race. Then do your static stretching routine after your run to maintain flexibility.

By Rick Morris author of Treadmill Training for Runners

A proper running warm up is well worth the small amount of time you spend warming up. A pre run or pre race warm up will increase the blood flow and oxygen delivery to your muscles, raise the temperature of your muscles to peak operating level and increase the flexibility, elasticity and range of motion of your muscles. A pre run warm up is also necessary to elevate your heart rate so your heart is primed to deliver energy producing oxygen to your leg muscles.

How about a cool down? Are cool down exercises important. Yep – they sure are. When you’re running your muscles act like blood pumps. The constant squeezing action of your muscles helps push your blood through your vast network of arteries, veins and capillaries. If you stop running suddenly with no cool down your blood will "pool" in your muscles and veins causing swelling, pain or even dizziness.

Designer Warm ups – The Perfect Warm Up for Your Running Goal

Many distance runners will perform their same warm up time after time no matter what their goal for that session is. This is assuming that they perform a warm up at all! A proper warm up is important for several reasons. It increases the blood flow and oxygen delivery to your muscles so they are ready for activity. It will get your muscles to peak operating temperature and increase their flexibility, elasticity and range of motion. A proper warm up will lubricate your joints and tendons. It will gradually increase your heart rate so your heart is primed to deliver energy producing oxygen to your leg muscles. Last but certainly not least, a proper warm up will increase your performance level and help you avoid injuries.

Why won’t your standard warm up work for all race or training goals? It will work, or at least it will help. But if you want to maximize the efficiency of your warm up you should tailor it to your specific goal and current situation. If you’re preparing for a longer, more moderate paced race or training run you need a shorter, less intense warm up. On the other hand, if you’re performing a shorter, faster run your warm up should be a bit longer and should include some more intense phases.

Generally speaking your warm up will be more effective if you start with an easy jog to open up the oxygen and nutrient delivering capillaries in your legs. You don’t need a long aerobic warm up, just keep moving until your body feels warm and loose. The next step are some dynamic drills to improve your functional flexibility. At that point you’re ready for some more intense phases of your warm up such as plyometrics and strides. I usually advise leaving the static stretching for after your run, but if you have any lingering tight or sore spots in your muscles you can finish up with some light static stretching in those problem areas.

Here are my recommendations for a good warm up routine for specific goals.

800 Meters to 1 Mile

• 25 Minutes to Start Time – Jog easily for 5 to 10 minutes or until your body feels warm and loose.
• 15 Minutes to Start Time – Perform about 5 minutes of dynamic flexibility drills.
• 10 Minutes to Start Time – Perform about 5 minutes of plyometrics.
• 5 Minutes to Start Time – Do 3 to 5 strides of about 25 to 50 meters at race pace. Also some light static stretching if you have any problem spots.
• 2 Minutes to Start Time – Active rest. This rest period will allow your muscles to fully replenish their supplies of the ATP that fuel your body. Keep your legs in motion by either walking or hopping in place to keep your heart rate slightly elevated but stay as relaxed as possible.

2 Mile to 10K

• 20 Minutes to Start Time – Jog easily for 5 to 10 minutes or until you feel warm and loose.
• 10 Minutes to Start Time – Perform about 5 minutes of dynamic flexibility drills.
• 5 Minutes to Start Time – Do about 2 minutes of plyometrics.
• 3 Minutes to Start Time – Perform 3 to 5 strides of about 50 to 100 meters at race pace. Do light static stretching on problem spots.

1/2 Marathon

• 20 Minutes to Start Time – Jog easily for 5 to 10 minutes or until you feel warm and loose.
• 10 Minutes to Start Time – Perform 2 minutes of dynamic flexibility drills.
• 8 Minutes to Start Time – Do 2 to 3 strides of about 100 to 200 meters at race pace. So some light static stretching if necessary on problem spots.
• 5 Minutes to Start Time – Hydrate with 8 to 12 ounces of sports drink.

Marathon or Longer

• 15 Minutes to Start Time – Jog easily for about 5 minutes
• 10 Minutes to Start Time – Do 5 minutes of light dynamic flexibility drills. If you have any problems spots, do some light static stretching.
• 5 Minutes to Start Time – Hydrate with 8 to 12 ounces of sports drink.

Keep your warm up to a minimum before a race of marathon distance or longer. Your priority during a long race is to conserve your supply of carbohydrates, not waste them on a warm up. The moderate pace of a marathon or longer race minimizes the need for a long warm up.

By Rick Morris author of Treadmill Training for Runners

One of the best and most effective ways to shake it up and burn mega calories is to try interval training. You will find that doing intervals will help strengthen your heart and lungs, increase your endurance and help burn calories at a faster rate. You can create interval workouts with almost any mode of cardiovascular activity both indoor and outdoor. Try out some of these recommended programs from the exercise experts at Life Fitness:

Whether you favor the treadmill, elliptical cross-trainer or jogging outside, you simply create a pattern of working at a moderate pace (like a five or six on a scale of one-10), then pushing yourself to a high intensity (like a nine on a scale of one-10). For example, try a three to one workout, meaning you stay at a moderate pace for about three minutes and then go all out for aboutone minute.

You can repeat the interval as many times as you’d like or have time for. Try playing around with speed, incline or both to vary your intervals. End with active recovery and keep your feet moving, but slow it down and take some deep breaths.

The bottom line is if you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting. Step outside your box, find a new comfort zone and you’ll see the results!

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