Crunch exercise for losing baby fat

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Many new moms find it difficult to shed “baby weight” after giving birth. The trick to losing this extra weight is, of course, diet and exercise. But which exercises? Which diet will work for you? Tending a newborn takes a lot of time, and many mothers struggle with finding time to take care of themselves, too. Unfortunately, we don’t have all the answers. But we ...

The Strong Stomach Workout

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Years ago, everyone wanted a flat stomach but they weren’t concerned with adding muscle tone to the abdominals. It’s definitely possible to look fit and trim with a soft but flat stomach. But the advantages of having strong, toned abdominals are: Those muscles help support the lower back. Keeping them in shape can prevent back pain and strain, especially as we age. When your metabolism ...

Learning About Reiki

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Most of us think of Reiki as a type of massage, but it’s actually a Japanese spiritual practice used to reduce stress and promote relaxation. Unlike most massage techniques, you can perform Reiki on yourself as well as on others. Part of Reiki, called tenohira, is a form of “palm healing” in which practitioners believe they are moving “qi” or healing energy through their palms. ...

5 Weightlifting Accessories

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Whether you’re just doing strength training or are a professional body builder, there are accessories designed to make your lifting safer and more effective. Not everyone uses every accessory available, but it’s a good idea to be familiar with what’s out there so you can choose what you need. Weight gloves. One of the most common weightlifting accessories is a pair of gloves that allow ...

Overcoming objections to dancing

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Many of us have preconceived ideas about dancing and why we shouldn’t do it. For example: Some religions forbid dancing. Some men see dancing as not masculine enough. Some people fear they are too uncoordinated to be seen dancing. If your religion forbids dancing, then by all means, do what it tells you. But if it’s any other reason holding you back, there are a ...

Weight Lifting for Kids

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Can weightlifting harm children? If not, is there any benefit for kids in strength training? These questions have been debated for years because of concerns that certain physical activities can interfere with a child’s epiphyseal plates – more commonly called “growth plates.” It was believed weightlifting could cause these plates to close prematurely, stunting growth. The most recent studies, however, do not confirm this, and ...

Want to learn to dance?

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If you find other forms of exercise boring, you should try dancing. It provides a great workout while being fun, and probably something you already do for recreation without thinking of it as exercise. As with any exercise, you need to make sure you are doing the moves the correct way to avoid injury and maximize the benefits. There are several ways to go about ...

Warming up: an essential step

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It’s tempting to skip the warm up and go straight to your workout routine. We tend to focus on the workout, setting exciting goals for it – how fast we’ll go, or how much weight we’ll lift. But skipping the warm up session is a bad idea that can lead to injury, and when you’re injured, you may be unable to workout at all or ...

Finding your perfect gym

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Not all gyms are created equal. Some have better equipment while others have better trainers, for example. The difference in price from one gym to the next can also be considerable. In order to figure out which gym is best for you, there are a lot of factors to consider. Location. If the gym you choose isn’t conveniently located for you, you probably won’t go ...

Use strength training to lower your BMI

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If you’re looking to lower your BMI, a strength training (weight lifting) regimen is probably at least as helpful as diet and cardio. While simply not taking in as much fat from your food obviously helps to lower your overall body fat, weight lifting gives you an added advantage because it helps create lean muscle that actually burns more calories, even when you’re at rest. ...