Tag: Exercise

Guide To Better Living · Health

How to Maximize Muscle Recovery: 3 Key Ways

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If you want to build strength, improve your overall fitness, and prevent injuries, then you should focus on muscle recovery. It can be tempting to overtrain at times, in the hope of fast-tracking growth. 

But rest is absolutely necessary, allowing muscles to repair the microscopic tears that are caused by exercise, and this will result in stronger, more resilient muscles. Knowing how to recover your muscles the best way can provide the best results, so this post is here to help.

In this post, you will learn of the three key methods to maximize muscle growth; all of which are tailored to those who enjoy physical activity.

Incorporate Active Recovery

Although some people will think letting their bodies recover requires complete rest, which is known as passive recovery, this is not the case. In fact, removing movement from your workout routine with the aim of recovering can lead to muscle stiffness and other issues. This is why active recovery is preferred by many, as it can prevent injuries and reduce muscle soreness.

However, ensuring you incorporate active recovery correctly is important. It can be tempting to push your body further at times, but this must be avoided. Instead, active recovery will see you engage in low-intensity physical activity, like walking or swimming, to help your muscles mend more effectively. 

One way to do this is through Zone 2 training. Zone 2 training should involve exercising at a low-to-moderate intensity, roughly 60%-70% of your maximum heart rate. This can be incorporated into rest days to increase blood flow and oxygen delivery to muscles, and this is crucial to remove metabolic waste and facilitate muscle repair. The benefits of Zone 2 training don’t end there, though, as it can also enhance athletic performance and improve endurance capacity.

Fuel Your Muscles

The right food is important in many aspects of life, and muscle recovery is no different. It is vital to fuel your muscles, especially after exercise. With proper nutrition, your body receives the building blocks and energy needed to reduce inflammation, repair muscle damage, and replenish glycogen stores. All of this can lead to faster recovery.

There are key nutrients that are required for effective muscle recovery – carbs, healthy fats, and protein. Carbs, or carbohydrates, are needed to refill glycogen stores and assist protein absorption. Healthy fats, like fatty fish and nuts, help to reduce inflammation and can contribute to overall recovery. Protein is crucial to repairing muscle tissue, and it is advised to consume 20g-30g of protein in a post-workout meal.

Prioritize Sleep

As you sleep, your body works to repair itself. This means your body is rebuilding muscle tissue, releasing growth hormones, and restoring energy. If you do not get enough sleep, then these processes can be hindered, which could impact muscle growth and overall recovery. To ensure your muscles, and the rest of your body, recovers well, you must get enough sleep.

Making high-quality sleep a priority for your health includes aiming for seven to nine hours of sleep per night. This can be achieved by establishing a consistent sleep schedule and optimizing your sleep environment. Doing this will help you achieve restful and uninterrupted sleep.

To conclude, there are multiple ways to maximize muscle recovery, with this post listing three of the key methods. These steps are essential to complete to ensure your body remains healthy and capable of regular exercise.

Everyday People · Family · Health · Life · Parenting

All in a brisk walk…

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This morning I woke up with a foggy feeling in my head and it was as if I hadn’t slept at all. I felt lazy, and just wanted to continue lying on my bed, but I knew that doing so would simply set the wrong tone for my day and literally muttering ‘mind over matter, mind over matter’ I basically cajoled myself to crawl out of bed and take my antidote – which is to go out for a brisk walk, to get some fresh air and hopefully feel more alive in the process.

Photo by Juan Pablo Serrano Arenas on Pexels.com

My brisk walk can involve various things depending on my mood, either listening and humming to music that I enjoy with an occasional shake and a jig to accentuate the notes that hit home, listening to a podcast or any talk that piques my interest, venting in my head and going over an argument that I had with hubby and realizing that maybe I should have used a better punchline than I had; mentally deciding to save a punchline and use it to drive home my point, going over my to-do list in my head, making a shopping list, thinking of random stuff and just watching people go about their business…

I had almost come to end of my walk when an idea popped into my head out of the blues and I was so excited at the thought that I made a mental note not to forget to include it in my soon to be executed plans. Right as I turned into the bend leading to our apartment block, I ran into a young dad and a toddler – who by my assessment is barely more that 24 months – attempting to play football, and I slowed my pace to absorb the scene.

The man kept a few paces apart and kicked the ball towards his son. It’s either because the baby was wholly new to the game or wasn’t sure what to do; he missed it not once but four times. After each miss, his dad patiently walked towards him, picked the ball and kicked it again. I was silently rooting in my head for the little one and just as soon as I thought that he would miss it yet again, his little foot finally connected with the ball and he kicked it back with gusto. The ring of his delight and joy from his accomplishment had me applauding both of them and a huge smile made its way to my face.

A brisk walk of 40 minutes not only brought me such unexpected fullness, it drew home several pointers and set a positive tone for my day. During my grudgingly taken walk, I got inspired, I saw love and patience, I saw resilience and joy, I became energized, I gained more clarity and buzz that I wouldn’t have found in my cup of coffee. These little things we often overlook, they are the things that matter.

How is your week going so far?

Everyday People

Everyday people – Wordless Wednesday…

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#relax. #outandabout. #nature. #people. #exercise #powernaps

Health · Lifestyle

Get Your Health On The Right Track

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As they say, there’s no time like the present. Your health should be the most important thing in your life. But sadly, it is often left to last. We put bad lifestyle choices, as well as diet, before the thought of our health. The implications of this as we age are so big. I’m sure we can often admit that it is the fact of not knowing what exactly what is needed to get our health back on track. It goes so far off track, that getting back to the right place just isn’t even in sight. Well, we’re here to show you it isn’t. All it takes is a few minor changes and you can be as healthy as ever. One by one, we’re going to tackle the issues you might have, and get you feeling the best you ever have. Read on to find out more.

Health, Lifestyle, Healthy Living, Ageing, Cholesterol, Exercise

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Things That Can Be Prevented

There are many things that we can prevent that often goes wrong with our health. In fact, so many things that we could go on forever. But we’ll start with the main ones that can cause you hassles. Your eating habits are something that can have massive implications for your health. Eat well, and you’ll hardly have any issues. But we’re living in an era where the easy foods to make, the processed and the ones high in fats and salts, are the ones we’re filling our diets with. Which is understandable.

We work all day, potentially have families to look after, and there just isn’t enough time in the day to cook healthy foods… is there? Well, no, that’s not the case. Yes, a microwavable meal might be easier and quicker to do, but a few of them a week and you’ll be piling on the pounds, and your cholesterol will be going through the roof. Eating a diet that is dominated by fatty foods causes issues such as high cholesterol.

High cholesterol leaves deposits on the arteries within your heart. The more they’re clogged up, less blood is flowing to your heart. Eventually, it will lead to heart attacks or heart disease. To get your diet on the right track, you need to start experimenting with the healthy foods available to you. Fill your diet with lean meats, or tofu replacements etc. if you’re vegan. Plenty of vegetables and fruit and fewer carbs will leave you feeling amazing. You really won’t realise how much a bad diet will affect you as a whole. Not only the physical symptoms, but the grogginess and general feeling of being sluggish will be gone. You’ll have so much more energy, your weight will drop, and you’ll feel so healthy.  

Lifestyle Changes

A bad diet can be part of a bad lifestyle choice, but we all know we’re guilty of a few outside of the diet. One we know a lot of you won’t do is exercise. Exercise is so vital to a well functioning body. It helps to promote healthy bone growth. Increase muscle density, and improve the function of your cardiovascular system. Fitting exercise in around work and family, especially if you’re going to the gym, is just not an option for a lot of people. But how about just a nice 30-minute walk after work to wind down. It isn’t strenuous, and walking in some people’s eyes is actually better for you than running. It puts less stress on the joints, and tones up the muscles more.

A brisk walk opens up the airways, promotes weight loss, and relieves stress. Being out in the open with your own thoughts often clears the mind more than you would realise. Other lifestyle changes we recommend you do is cut down on alcohol consumption. Even if you don’t think you drink a lot, the odd binge each month has more of an effect on your body than if you were having a casual drink each weekend. Over time, it reduces liver function, damages your skin, and increases the risks of stroke. For a lot of people, it is also the reason for weight gain.

Aging Issues

Some things to do with our health we just can’t help. Many things happen to our bodies as we age, whether you like it or not. One of the most obvious is the physical signs of ageing such as fine lines and wrinkles. But they aren’t really going to affect your health, perhaps only your mental health. But things such as hearing and sight loss are something that just can’t be stopped. Once your sight stops deteriorating, you’re best off getting some done about it sooner rather than later. Despite maybe not liking the idea of glasses, the help your eyes so much.

The more your eyes are straining, the quicker they’re going to deteriorate. The retina is one of the main reasons for this, as they can degenerate over time. Your eyes are susceptible to other degenerative diseases, more of which can be seen on this website. Ears are the only other issues we come across. But a lot of people are worried about hearing loss, and the thought of having to wear a hearing aid. Unlike your eyes, your ears won’t get worse through straining. But it will become annoying for you, and the people around you, if you’re struggling to hear anything. All you need to do is visit an audiologist to put you on the right path.

Mental Wellbeing

Your health is often affected by your mental health, and vice-versa. The more clear your mind is, the more focused you will be on your actual health. One of the main issues that affect our mental wellbeing is stress. There are so many things in life that can cause stress, and it is hard to avoid them. Walking, as we’ve said, can reduce your stress levels. But we simply recommend talking to a friend and working through whatever is stressing you out. It could be money, overworking etc. Find solutions to your problem, and soon everything with your health will fall into place.

Lifestyle

Live in a Cold Climate? Here’s How To Tackle Winter Like a Pro

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There’s a number of reasons why winter isn’t usually a person’s favorite time of year. It’s cold, it’s wet, it’s dark, the social gatherings are few and far between, and then…it’s cold some more. When the chill sets in, you have two options: let it consume you, and become a miserable wreck until spring has returned; or you can shape up, prepare yourself, and get ready to do battle with mother nature. Let’s pick the latter: here’s how it’s done.

Winter, Woman's Black Zip Up Hooded Jacket, Cold, Climate

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Hit the Shops

You should have some winter clothing already in your wardrobe, but this year, in particular, it might be worth hitting the stores and buying some new items. Why? Because this year is “La Niña”, and that means it’s going to be even colder than usual. It’s essential that you have enough layers on to stay warm, both inside and outside the house. Also, remember that that super warm jacket you bought eight years ago might now have vulnerabilities that let in the chill.

Load up the Medicine Cabinet

There’s no getting around it: this winter, you’re going to fall ill. It happens to everyone at some point! But even when you’re not ill, you’ll still be up against all the niggling coughs and sore throats that are just an unwanted side effect of being in the cold for too long. As such, it’s important that prepare your medicine cabinet for any nasty bacteria that might come your way. Check out Med Consumers best cough drops, and you’ll be tackling those pesky coughs head on. You’ll also want to load up on warm lemon and honey drinks, which will be a lifesaver on those cold mornings when you just don’t want to face the day.

Home Comforts

Your home is always your refuge from the world, but it takes on an even greater importance during winter. As such, you should be taking steps now to turn your home into a comfortable retreat from the nastiness of the outdoors. Buy a few new blanket throws, make sure your heating is in working order, and add the candles and other comforts that’ll allow you to have many a cozy evening over the next few months.

Up the Exercise

Just because it’s cold doesn’t mean you get a pass on exercise. If anything, it’s even more important that you work out during the winter than it is in the summer! Having a thorough regime will keep you warm, healthy, and help keep that seasonal depression at bay. It won’t always seem like fun getting out of the house to exercise, but it’ll be worth it – we promise!

To the Sunshine

Remember, you always have a saving grace during the winter: flying to somewhere with warm sunshine! No matter where you live, you’ll have blazing heat just a few hours via plane away from you. Even if you only go for a few days, it’ll break up winter and make it much more manageable. Plus, you might just come back with a glowing tan, too….

Health · Lifestyle

Health and Wellness Through Nutrition

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As we get older, we often complain about our knees cracking, being stiff or just feeling rundown. Aches and pains should not be a common occurrence. These grievances are usually the result of our sedentary lifestyle that includes lack of exercise, poor eating habits and being overweight. Do remember that there’s no one-size-fits-all standard, so if the pain is not going away and you dread it is something chronic, then seek medical treatment.

Aging, Health, Exercise, Lifestyle, Wellness, Taking Care of Yourself

So, when your body speaks, listen up! Being healthy is more than simply being pain or disease-free. It is about becoming attuned to your body, changing your lifestyle in order to develop and incorporate the highest level of wellness within. So, how do you achieve this? Sometimes, knowing where to start is half the battle. Below are some tips to help you on your way to healthier you!

Diet

In 2015, the World Health Organization suggested limiting sugar intake to less 10% a day and to cut to 5% for added health benefits. Cutting down on sugary foods and beverages is not the only way to go. You don’t have to drastically overhaul your diet, a modest change will go a long way toward improving your health. So start by eating more whole grains, nuts, vegetables, fruits, and fish and avoiding foods with a high glycemic index, which cause water retention, swelling of the joints, and discomfort. Cutting back on processed foods and the consumption of red meat may also reduce the risk of premature death.

Aging, Health, Exercise, Lifestyle, Wellness, Taking Care of Yourself

So, swap sugary foods and beverages with a piece of fruit and a tablespoon of peanut butter. You will satisfy your sweet tooth and fill that hunger pang at the same time. Swap out a single daily serving of red or processed meat for a serving of nuts or legumes, and you will add years to your life. Adding dietary supplements is also an easy way to add nutrients and vitamins to your body. For our recommendations, click Research Verified reviews here. Stick to small changes that you will be able to commit to for a long time.

Exercise

Start your day by stretching and exercising. You will be glad you did since by doing so, you will ease your muscle pain and stiffness. You will also be able to maintain your body mass index within normal limits and avoid becoming overweight or obese, and avoid putting stress on your back, legs, and other body parts from those extra pounds.

Getting yourself to the gym is a good way to start and a great way to form a habit. Exercise should be a part of your day, like brushing your hair. If it is routine, you will be more unlikely to skip out on it. You don’t have to be a gym rat and live there, you can do high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts that are based on this “less is more” philosophy. Just remember to do at least 30 minutes of exercises, at least 5 days per week for a total of 150 minutes.

 

Aging, Health, Exercise, Lifestyle, Wellness, Taking Care of Yourself

Hydration

Staying hydrated throughout the day is crucial to staying healthy and maintaining the function of every system in your body, including your heart, brain, and muscles. A healthy person needs about 30 to 50 ounces of fluid per day, which can be derived from drinking liquids or by eating water-rich foods, like cucumbers, cauliflower, eggplant, red cabbage, peppers, and spinach.

However, drinking fluids is very important in order to eliminate toxic substances, produce digestive enzymes, maintain healthy skin, hair and organs, and to help your body absorb essential vitamins, minerals, and natural sugars.

Essential Oils

Essential Oils are not just nice for producing pleasant aromas. They are organic compounds extracted from natural plants (barks, flowers, fruit, leaves, seeds or roots) with tremendous healing properties and health benefits.

Aging, Health, Exercise, Lifestyle, Wellness, Taking Care of Yourself

Just adding some of the most common essential oils like lavender, lemon, peppermint, and tea tree oil can you fight colds and flu symptoms, improve digestion, alleviate pain, balance hormones and relax your body and soothe sore muscles, just to name a few things.

Whatever you do, you will greatly benefit and you will be closer to achieving health and wellness. Be good to yourself by taking care of your body and soul.

Lifestyle

Make Health An Effortless Part Of Your Lifestyle

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Everyone wants to be healthy and happy, but many people go about it the wrong way. Instead of focusing on making health into a natural and effortless part of their every-day lifestyle, they try to use sheer willpower to force themselves through different, painful practices that they’ll sooner or later be tempted to quit.

But people are driven more by habit than by incredible efforts of will. Here’s a look at how to introduce some good, healthy habits into your life starting today.

Get physically active every day

Setting yourself the goal of spending an hour in the gym every day may work for a while, but there’ll be the inevitable day when you find yourself too busy, too tired, or just too distracted to follow through.

Instead of setting yourself a specific exercise goal, set yourself the goal of being physically active every day. This can mean anything from taking a short walk to jogging on the spot to going to the gym for 3 hours or running a marathon — though if you’re running a lot, you might want to click here for some good anti-blister supplies.

The key is that it’s an easy habit to stick with every day, even when you don’t feel like it. Being physically active in one way will also make you feel motivated to be more physically active in general.

Prepare all your food from scratch

People argue a lot about different diet styles, and which one might be the best. One thing that all experts and scientists agree on, though, is that processed food is by and large terribly unhealthy, filled with potentially harmful additives, and at the heart of many modern health problems.

An excellent health-habit is to cut out all processed foods — anything you buy “ready-made” — and to prepare all your own food from scratch. That way you’ll know whether or not there’s a teaspoon of sugar in your dish, instead of being tricked into eating large amounts of toxic high-fructose corn syrup.

Eat foods that leave you feeling energetic

Energy is one of the most important things for good overall health, because the more energetic we feel, the more active we’re likely to be, physically and mentally, and the happier as well.

If you find that you’re always falling asleep right after each meal, this not only means that you probably struggle to be productive and positive each day, but it also means that your food is too heavy on your body and is taking a lot of energy to digest.

Save the heavy meals for special occasions, and try to eat foods that leave you feeling energetic on a daily basis, instead of ones that seem to drain your energy.

Read something uplifting every day

The mind is just as important as the body when it comes to health, and like the body, the mind is affected by the kind of “fuel” we give it.

While the body is fuelled by food and drink, the mind is fuelled by the things you read, say, watch, and hear.

If you want to promote healthy, positive and happy thoughts, it’s essential that you give your mind something positive to reflect on every day. A great place to start is by reading something uplifting every day. This could be an upbeat fable or a real-life story of someone succeeding against the odds.

Humor - Bellyful of laughter · Personal story

Yippee! Yes I Can! – Personal

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Today, I am thankful for the fact that I passed my Karate-do grading test, graduating from novice white to yellow belt. Yes!

As an overweight mom in her early forties, I found every reason under the blue sky to discourage myself from taking Karate classes – I used my age, my weight, time and every excusable excuse – but the desire in me was stronger than my excuses.picsart_09-21-05-08-501

I felt that I would be out of place and yes I’m still out of place – the only mama in the crowd of young children and men.

I told myself that my painful knees wouldn’t take it and would probably break.

Somedays, I felt too lazy to go for the night class and each day I had a class, I literally had to ask for the grace to survive it and I bought knee braces.

I knew within me that sticking to it was not going to be easy, but it would be far more empowering as against standing by the sidelines and watching others.

My children encouraged me and became my private coach at home even as I bungled all my moves 🙂

Yes, I burst into tears when I did my test and passed my katas to the cheer of everyone around – I can get emotional.

No, I didn’t tear my dojo pants as I feared I would and made sure I wore nice unmentionables just in case 😉

My heart felt full last night when I received my grading certificate.

I don’t care that I might be the elephant in the house entertaining others with my trundling moves, but you know what, I said I would do it, I had to ask for grace each day to do it and I did it 🙂

I’m sharing this post to encourage those who have things they want to do, but for some excuses are not able to.

Each day grace and gratitude take me higher; get your thankful suit on.

There are several gratitude/thankful platforms in the blogosphere that you can tune into and get your ithankful going on. I can’t express in words the enormity of Joy and fulfillment that comes from having a heart of gratitude. Please check out Maria’s blog, Colline’s blog and Bernadette’s for thankful/gratitude challenges.

© Jacqueline Oby-Ikocha

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Featured Blogs

Featured Posts – Share your post links.

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‘PLEASE KEEP SENDING IN THE LINKS.’ 

Today’s featured blogs posts are:

Broken: Every day you learn something new, like the Japanese art of “Kintsugi or Kintsukuroi.” When something is broken, it might actually become more beautiful. I’m glad I read such a heartwarming post to start my blogging day 🙂

Beauty is in the eye: Beautiful, liberating, powerful post. Uplifting and might cause a dust fleck to enter your eye’s 😉

Staying true to my exercise evolution: Pam share’s my thoughts about certain exercise observations (competition) that I’ve noticed out there. Do what works for you.

Happily: All I want is to live happily too. Is it such a big deal to ask for these days?

I fear Universal suffrage: A sound opinion, in my opinion.

Do step in and show some love.

‘Do you want more eyes on your words?’

Well then, add your LINK INTO THIS LOOP.

Comments are disabled here to keep the loop tidy. Any comments or link you want to send can be added through the link in the post.

Thank you for your understanding and regards.

‘We create a cohesive community when we come together. 

I hear the reverberations of the magic that’s hidden within.

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Support Me.

A Click A Day · Mundane Monday

Bird Walk – Mundane Monday.

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Mundane Monday Challenge is created to find beauty in almost everything.

The challenge is simple. Find beauty in everyday mundane things, capture the beauty and upload the photographs.

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Saw this lovely feet patterns made on the sand during my evening walk, but alas, I didn’t see the birdie that owned the steps. I guess she took her walk earlier 🙂

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