According to the health professionals, walking 10,000 steps a day is good for fitness. When you do it regularly, it provides several significant health benefits.

It reduces the chance of developing serious health conditions such as heart attack, heart disease, diabetes, certain cancer types, and depression.

Are you on the way to achieve good health and fitness by walking 10,000 steps a day? But, before starting your 10000 steps to fitness, gain a clear idea about the workout and the essentials required to achieve fitness and good health.

The first and foremost aspect to know about this fitness program is why do health care professionals recommend only 10000 steps.

According to the research of Cooper Institute for Aerobic Research, 10000 steps a day is enough for a person to stay fit. Moreover, 10000 steps a day equals to thirty minutes of moderate physical activity on a daily basis.

According to the aerobic research evaluation, person taking less than 5000 steps a day is inactive; taking 5000-7500 steps a day is low active; 7500-10000 steps a day is slightly active and requires some walking (in any form); and taking more than 10000 steps a day is active.

Headaches and neck pain are mainly due to the stiff muscles in your neck and shoulders. Various things cause the muscles in neck and shoulder to become stiff.

Stress, sleeping in a bad position, poor posture and sitting for longer hours, and bulging discs are all the main causes behind stiff muscles.

Headaches and neck pain cause discomfort that range from annoying to excruciating. If you have severe headache and neck pain, then it is better to consult your doctor and ensure that you do not have any serious condition.

In order to get relief from headaches and neck pain, stretching greatly helps you. Though you are not suffering with any pain, stretching will greatly benefit you in many ways. [Stretching Exercise]

Here are the four simple stretches that only take few minutes to practice. Keep a warm towel around the back of your neck so that you will get additional pain relief. You can do these stretches either in a standing or sitting position. The only thing is you should be in straight posture while doing these stretches. It is better to use slow and deliberate moves while practicing the stretches.

Do each stretch for 3-5 times.

Two common barriers for people who want to exercise and get in shape are a lack of time and money needed for fitness.

Who has the time to go to the gym, or buy expensive equipment, or take long bike rides?

Well, if those are the things stopping you, you’re in luck.

It takes no equipment to get a great workout and get in shape, and with one or two pieces of simple fitness equipment, you can turn that great workout into a fantastic one, you magnificent beast, you.

And with little or no equipment required for a fantastic workout, you can do it at home, or wherever you are.

It’s hard not to find time for this type of workout — you can do it while watching TV, for goodness sake!

The Pros and Cons of Bodyweight Exercises

Using just your bodyweight, you can do a large number of challenging exercises.

If you add just one or two pieces of equipment: a dumbbell, a kettlebell, a jump rope, a medicine ball, or a chinup bar, for example, you can increase the challenge even more.

Read more at Zenhabits

It is very easy to build running habit when you are convinced with the physical health advantages of running.

The other important cause is that you like running otherwise it is better to select another sport of your interest.

There will be no sense to force yourself each day to run because after some days you will definitely lose the guts to run regularly.

The first step in developing the running habit is progressing with some discipline. Initially, you don’t like running, but after some days you will feel healthier and you will get some courage to run habitually.

Running in a group makes you to build the habit easily. Joining in a club and meeting with some other people who like running makes you to practice the sport seriously and in a more comfortable way.

When you know about the health benefits of running, you will definitely want to make running as a habit. These benefits include:

• Losing the weight
• Reducing the stress level
• Controlling high blood pressure
• Giving positive impact on your appearance
• Lowering heart rate that guards you against the heart attacks
• Feeling more energized

Children who immigrate to the U.S. seem to exercise less and participate in fewer sports than their U.S.-born peers, according to a government study.

In a national study of more than 68,000 children between the ages of 6 and 17, researchers found that immigrant children were generally less physically active than those born in the U.S.

Among Hispanic immigrant children, for example, 22 percent were sedentary, versus 9.5 percent of white U.S.-born children.

However, Hispanic children who were born in the U.S. and had U.S.-born parents were more likely to be regularly active; 68 percent reported regular exercise, while just under 15 percent were sedentary.

Among immigrant children of all ethnicities, more than one-third were not meeting the exercise levels recommended for children and teens, the study found.

Past studies, the researchers note, have shown that immigrants to the U.S. often have certain “health advantages” over natives that tend to fade as they become more assimilated: traditional diets are replaced by fast food, leisure time is increasingly devoted to TV and computers.

The reverse seems to be true when it comes to physical activity. Research has suggested that immigrant adults tend to exercise more as they become more acculturated.

The age after 50 is very critical period for everyone because this period is associated with various diseases.

After 50, you will suffer from diseases of aging, which are really the diseases of inactivity. These types of conditions can be modified with regular exercise irrespective of your age.

Regular practice of workouts for at least 30-60 minutes a day for 3-4 days in a week can greatly reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

Some form of weight bearing workouts like dancing and walking can help in avoiding osteoporosis. Practicing workouts which improve your balance and strength can greatly help in preventing the falls that lead to broken bones.

If physical activity is already a part of your life, then make it work for you in a better way. In order to start an effortless workout program, simply observe your everyday routine and try to find the workouts, which change your body to work and increase the amount of time spent in doing them.

Experiencing the trouble in doing the activities? Then here is a list of activities for senior citizens to start on a solid workout routine.

It doesn’t matter how much cardio you do, you cannot strengthen your triceps and they still remain flabby and shapeless.

Triceps are the muscles that are located on the back of your upper arms. But, by adding strength training exercises in your daily routine, you can shape and tone your lower arms.

By practicing the strength training exercises, not only you can strengthen the lower arms, but you can also get more muscular balance.

But, before going to practice the triceps exercises, make sure that you get your doctor’s approval. In order to start the routine, first you need to buy a pair of dumbbells. It is better to practice with smaller weights than you normally do, because the triceps are not much used regularly.

If you are a beginner, then it is better to start with 3 pounds, intermediate users can lift 5-8 lbs, and advanced users can lift 10-12 lbs. Lifting more than 15 lbs is not recommended for anyone.

All the triceps exercises should be practiced in a slow and rhythmic manner. Don’t allow any jerking and do with full concentration. Do 3 sets of 15 repetitions each.

Triceps kickback:

Short durations of stretching prior to activity may not alter muscle strength, and appears to temporarily improve joint range of motion (ROM), suggests a study.

The outcomes add to the debate on whether pre-exercise stretching contributes to a deficit in muscle strength and performance.

The study focused on practical durations of lower-leg [leg stretching] and ankle stretching - in two, four and eight-minute segments - among moderately active, non-athlete individuals.

Researchers tested the individuals in intervals before and immediately after, and also 10, 20, and 30 minutes after stretching.

Compared to no stretching at all among participants, the results indicated no stretching-induced changes in muscle strength, although there were improvements in ROM of the ankle joint.

Stretching prior to exercise or activity has been associated with increased flexibility, and enhanced flexibility was traditionally thought to aid or improve performance and reduce the risk of injury.

The authors noted that the majority of recent studies suggest stretching may compromise a muscle’s ability to produce maximal force, thus stirring controversy about whether muscles should be limber prior to activity.

Read more at Medical News Today

A person working full time spends 1/3 of waking hours at work. This factor makes health of the work environment is really essential for your overall health and wellness.

Breathing in cleaner air and the usage of healthier products make a great difference on your health and overall wellbeing.

Easy ways for workplace fitness:

Cross training:

Continual improvement is the most essential thing. Most of you worry that you don’t observe any improvement even you follow the same routine over and over. At one time, your body and mind slips into the neutral.

Cross training mainly focuses on different parts of your physical structure. You need to learn the new ways for holding the weights, balancing your posture and breathing, then only every time you will get new appreciation for different skill sets.

Hydration:

Your body demands for water when it is being physically taxed. The same holds for your brain. Keeping your body hydrated helps in your endurance.

Drive ahead of your barriers:

Two kinds of barriers are there, first one is the barrier imposed by others and the second one is the barrier imposed by ourselves. Second one is the most restrictive. While driving beyond your barriers, know that each of you have specific abilities.

According to a study, overweight and obese women need to do more than just limit calories in order to sustain a 10 percent weight loss over two years: they also need to exercise 55 minutes per day, five days per week.

Overweight people account for more than 65% of adults in America, and it is a serious public health concern. “Among obese adults, long-term weight loss and prevention of weight regain have been less than desired,” write the authors of this recent study.

“Therefore, there is a need for more effective interventions.” Experts have recommended at least 150 minutes of exercise per week through their suggestion of 30 minutes of moderate physical activity on at least 5 days of the week. More effective long-term weight loss maintenance, however, may require more frequent exercise.

The study, conducted by John M. Jakicic, Ph.D. (University of Pittsburgh) and colleagues, calculated the amount of exercise needed by studying 201 overweight and obese women who enrolled in a weight loss intervention between 1999 and 2003.

After all women were instructed to eat 1,200 to 1,500 calories per day, the researchers divided them into one of four physical activity groups: one group burned 1,000 calories per week, one burned 2,000 calories per week, one experienced moderate intensity, and the last experiences vigorous intensity.