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Lower Blood Pressure the Natural Way. Improve your hypertension with good old exercise.

January 23rd, 2016 • Posted by Suzy Frick • Permalink

Did you know that an overwhelming 75 percent of people over the age of 60 have hypertension? This isn't a small number and certainly not one to be ignored. Defined as blood pressure greater than 140/90 mmHg, hypertension puts you at an increased risk for heart attack, stroke, peripheral arterial disease, kidney damage, vision loss, angina, and memory loss if left untreated. The frequency of high blood pressure is particularly puzzling since a few simple lifestyle changes can greatly reduce your risk for hypertension and the risks that go along with it.
What is one of the most effective natural treatments? Exercise! In fact, just a month of increased activity can lower your blood pressure by five to seven points. For mild to moderate cases of hypertension, exercise and a healthy diet can work wonders, but a blood pressure reading of 180/110 mmHg or above is an emergency situation requiring medication plus lifestyle changes to reach the safe zone.
As you age, it's important to get your blood pressure checked at least once a year. Don't take an elevated reading lightly. Start exercising today to lower your numbers.
What Exercise?
The good news when it comes to exercise and lowering blood pressure is that anything works. The goal is to incorporate physical activity into your daily life so your heart has to work harder and your breathing increases. An active lifestyle keeps your circulatory system healthy, keeps your weight in check, and reduces stress—all ways to lower blood pressure.
The choice is yours. Cardio, strength training, and flexibility exercises are all beneficial for your heart, so take your pick. And for a balanced routine, try to include all three types.
Jogging, walking, swimming, cycling, raking leaves, skating, aerobics, dancing, and basketball are examples of cardio exercise that get your heart rate and breathing elevated. Lifting weights, using weight machines, and performing bodyweight exercises are types of strength training exercises that build muscle and support bone health. Flexibility exercises are stretches that improve your balance, prevent injury, and increase blood flow.
How Much?
A second bit of good news about exercise and lowering blood pressure is that even a small amount can make a difference. You don't have to train to be an Olympic athlete or marathon runner to see results, but it will take more than a leisurely 10-minute walk a couple times a week.
For good health it's recommended to get at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week of moderate-intensity exercise or 20 minutes a day or three days a week of high-intensity exercise. Newbies to exercise should slowly work up to this amount of time. Remember, a little is better than nothing at all and every little bit counts.
Any Precautions?
High blood pressure is a health condition requiring close monitoring by your doctor. Before beginning a new exercise routine, talk with your physician to determine what limitations you should put on your routine.
Those with high blood pressure would do well to start each workout with a five-minute warm-up to give the heart a chance to slowly increase blood flow and minimize stress on the heart.
As you work out don't overdo it. It's good for you to sweat and breathe hard, but you should be able to carry on a conversation with someone during exercise. If you ever feel extremely short of breath, that your heart is beating irregularly or too quickly, dizzy, or have pain, stop exercising and call your doctor. While lifting weights, breathe through each exercise and gradually increase the amount of weight you lift. More repetitions of lower weights are safer for you than lifting heavier weights fewer times.
A 5- to 10-minute cool-down period is especially important for those with high blood pressure, as a gradual decline of your heart rate will keep you from passing out or feeling ill after exercise.
Remember, the benefits of physical activity on blood pressure last only as long as you keep exercise a regular part of your routine, so don’t give up!
No More Silence
Many people have high blood pressure and don't know it. Because it causes few symptoms, uncontrolled hypertension has been called “the silent killer.”


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Top 9 Reasons Jumping Rope Is Really Good For You (#9 surprised me a lot!)

July 28th, 2015 • Posted by Suzy Frick • Permalink

Jumping rope or skipping rope is the primary tool used in the activity of skipping played by children and many adults, where one or more participants jump over a rope swung so that it passes under their feet and over their heads. It’s a fun exercise and a way to enjoy a little me-time.

Jumping rope exercises add spice to the usual and boring workout routines. Without a doubt, a common barbell routine with a jump rope exercise incorporated is not only much better but also a fun take on the usual exercises done for cardio such as running or riding a bicycle.

Physical and Mental Benefits of Jumping Rope
Jumping rope is easy to do anywhere. It’s quite portable as it can fit easily into your bag which you can bring along on a trip, to school, work or done in the living room while you’re the kids — or watching TV. The benefits of jumping rope are several. To further inspire you to try the jump rope, we listed 9 #health benefits that should be more than enough reason to draw you in.:

1. Improves Coordination
Jumping rope actually improves your coordination by making you focus on your feet. Whether or not you are paying great attention to them, your brain is aware of what your feet are doing. This practice, over and over again, makes you “lighter” on your feet. The more tricks you do with the jumping rope, the more conscious and coordinated you have to be.

2. Decreases Foot and Ankle Injuries
ankle injury

When it comes to sports, it’s quite rare not to find anyone jumping rope as a form of exercise. Many athletes in tennis, basketball, football and other sports often suffer ankle and foot injuries from running and suddenly turning or pivoting. Jumping rope not only improves your foot coordination but also increases your overall strength in the muscles surrounding the ankle joint and in the feet which therefore reduces risk of injury. Jumping rope teaches players to stay on the balls of their feet, as opposed to being flat footed or on their heels.

And since you’re mostly focusing on the toes the entire time, you will find that staying on your toes when playing tennis will become easier and second nature.

3. Burns Major Calories
Compared to jogging for 40 minutes, skipping rope actually burns more calories. This aerobic exercise can achieve a “burn rate” of up to 1300 calories per hour of vigorous activity, with about 0.2 calories consumed per jump. Ten minutes of skipping rope can roughly be considered the equivalent of running a ten-minute mile.

4. Completely Portable and Fun
fun jumping rope

A jumping rope can go anywhere with you. Take it to school, take it to work. Cool down after a bike ride or warm up before your basketball game. Learn to do tricks and double dutch with your children or have competitions between you and your friends — how long, how low you can jump, how high, spinning — different kinds of tricks can be done with a jumping rope.

5. Improves Bone Density
It has been observed that the best exercise to improve bone density is simply jumping up and down. Jumping is great if your bones are strong enough to take the impact associated with the movement. If the doctor gives you a clearance when it comes to jumping rope, this could be used as a potential to further strengthen your bones!

6. Improves Cardiovascular Health
jumping rope muscle

Jumping rope is highly recommended for aerobic conditioning. In order to increase your lung and heart health, you must do it two to four times per week for 12 to 15 minutes at a time. Boxers mostly utilize this exercise to increase their lung power which makes them last longer than their opponents in a heated fight.

7. Improved Breathing Efficiency
In addition to improved stamina and heart health, skipping rope improves how efficiently you breathe. This becomes immensely beneficial when doing other activities because you would not be as out of breath after running down the court or swimming laps in the pool.

8. Makes You Smarter
jumping rope brain

Believe it or not, skipping rope can make you smarter. Jumping aids in the development of the right and left hemispheres of your brain, that further improves reading skills, enhances memory and makes you more mentally alert. Jumping on the balls of your feet requires your mind and #body to make neural muscular adjustments to imbalances created from continuous jumping. As a result, jumping improves coordination and dynamic balance, bone density, reflexes, and muscular endurance.

9. Improves Your Ability to Stay Calm
Because you are working your brain and your body at the same time, boxers in the ring who jump rope actually are calmer overall than those who don’t. As your dissect this workout further and view this exercise from a biomechanical perspective, this exercise represents a composite movement combining the circular motion with an angular momentum.

The body resembles a projectile subject to all laws that govern projectile motion while the rope becomes a dynamic flywheel subject to all laws that govern rotary motion. It is in the synchronous and harmonious coordination of these movements where the benefits and secrets are received. Your ability to jump rope and be synchronous with your mind, body and the rope can help you be calmer in challenging situations.

1 Response...

Patricia F. says:
August 12, 2015 at 4:32 PM
BIG YES! Happy to know all these benefits. I travel with a jump rope in the car or in my suitcase -- doesn't take up any room. When it's not too hot, we stop for jumping breaks. My daughter and I jumped our way across country when she moved from Virginia to LA. Sending this to the "Choir" of Jumpers!

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How Often Should I Lift Weights?

July 5th, 2015 • Posted by Suzy Frick • Permalink

We know it can be tough to go to the gym when there’s a full queue on Netflix, Ben & Jerry’s in the freezer, or really, anything better to do with your time. Or maybe you’re a runner whose workout schedule involves running, running, and more running. Then when you do hit the weights, your arms, back, and legs are so sore that you vow never to work out again (trust us, we’ve been there).

Whether your days are overtaken by running or you simply don’t have the time (or motivation) to get to the gym very often, you’ve probably wondered the same thing we were: Is it even worth it to strength train only one or two times a week?

Why You Should Lift (Bro)

We won’t be the first to tell you there are plenty of good reasons to hit the weight room—even if your goal isn’t to build arms like The Hulk. Strength training can improve physical performance, movement control, walking speed, functional independence, cognitive abilities, and self-esteem. Plus, it can reduce blood pressure, enhance cardiovascular health, and decrease chances of developing type 2 diabetes.

Gaining strength also minimizes your chance of getting hurt. “You’ll increase bone density and strengthen the tendons and ligaments, so not only are you simply able to lift more weight, but you’re also building resistance to injury,” explains Michael Boyle, a strength and conditioning coach and functional training expert in Boston.

And while you may think cardio is key to losing weight, a study found that men who did 20 minutes of weight training each day saw a smaller increase in belly fat as men who spent the same amount of time doing cardio. In another study, 10 weeks of resistance training was shown to increase lean weight by 1.4 kg (about three pounds), increase resting metabolic rate by 7 percent, and reduce fat weight by 1.8 kg (about four pounds). So if you’re trying to slim down, it may be time to say so long to the treadmill—and hello to the weight rack.

One and Done?

Research also suggests that a once-weekly strength training frequency can be just as effective on improving muscle strength as a more rigorous schedule. This small study followed two groups of adults over 60—one group performing a set of strength training exercises to muscular fatigue once per week, and a second group that exercised twice per week—and found that substantial strength gains can be derived from less frequent activity.

Trainers agree there are definite benefits to workouts on a limited schedule. “I have clients who only strength train once or twice per week, and they still see some significant results in strength,” says Noam Tamir, a Greatist expert and founder of Tamir Systems Fitness. “Most of this can be attributed to neural adaptation, which means that your nervous system is adapting to added force, even if nothing is happening to muscle size.”

“Full-body functional strength training can be super effective once or twice a week,” agrees Jordan Metzl, M.D., a sports medicine physician and author of Running Strong. In fact, Metzl created a series of programs for runners training for 5K, 10K, half-marathon, and marathon distances that incorporate a strength workout just one day per week. And he’s experienced the benefits personally: As Metzl has incorporated one day of functional strength training—think bodyweight exercises—into his own marathon and Ironman training plans, he’s broken his personal best times.

To be fair, one or two days of lifting per week is probably not getting you anywhere near those Hulk-esque arms—but that’s OK. Strength training isn’t just about “bulking up,” Metzl explains. “Instead, it helps your muscles get stronger, improves your balance, and preserves your fast-twitch muscle fibers, allowing your muscles to contract faster.” Translation: This helps you drive the golf ball farther, hit an overhead harder, and see improvements in any sport performance.

Strength training also increases endurance, or lactate threshold—the amount of time it takes for your muscles fatigue, Metzl says. This means the amount of exercise you’d have to do to make your muscles so sore you can’t use them efficiently (i.e. that painful soreness after hitting the weights when you do so sporadically) increases the more you lift.

An added bonus for people training for endurance races such as marathons or triathlons: Even though their time is already limited, adding anaerobic (strength) training one or two times per week helps the body handle the repetitive stress of movements like running, cycling, or swimming, Tamir adds.

What if you’re not doing any sort of exercise outside the one or two trips to the gym? “For the average person, strength training once or twice a week is enough to break the negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle,” says Rebecca Golian, a personal trainer and creator of the Obstacle Course Race Training Program at Chelsea Piers in New York City. “It’s enough to stimulate muscle growth, increase cardiovascular strength, and help improve endurance.”

The Sweet Spot: Two-a-Weeks

Not all experts agree that strength training only once a week is sufficient, however. “Strength training twice per week is perfect, but once is a waste of time,” Boyle says. “Sure, you can potentially gain strength on one workout a week, but you would continually be sore. Twice a week is less of a shock to the system and allows the body to better adapt.“

Research also makes the case for two or three weekly resistance workouts rather than one. One study examined the effects of three different strength training frequencies on 1,725 previously sedentary men and women. The one-day-per-week trainees added 0.7 pounds of lean weight, whereas both the two-days-per-week and three-days-per-week exercisers added 3.1 pounds of lean weight. Another study comparing different strength training frequencies on torso rotation muscle strength had similar results.

The good news is that you don’t need to dedicate a lot of time to each session. Boyle, who also trained the Boston Red Sox team that won the 2013 World Series, lifts just 15 minutes, twice per week on average. He believes this is the minimum amount individuals can strength train and still see results. But Boyle doesn’t mess around: He squeezes in a variety of compound exercises that target different muscle groups (both upper and lower body) as a circuit, completing two sets of 10 reps of each exercise.

“And keep in mind the size principle: The higher the resistance, the more muscle recruitment,” Tamir says, meaning you shouldn’t be reaching for the three- or five-pounders if you can actually lift 10 or 12 pounds with good form.

A final bonus: Training hard twice per week gives your body adequate time to recover, Golian says. Many people tend to overtrain, which can delay your progress.

If you’re looking to bulk up or train for intense lifting competitions or obstacle course races, adding additional days of training can be helpful but are not always necessary, Golian adds. She has clients who train up to four times per week, but cautions that stress from additional training sessions can be harsh on your body, so it’s important to speak with a trainer and tailor a program that suits your individual goals.

Make the Most of a Limited Training Schedule

Boyle recommends doing a total-body workout that combines moves like push-ups, pull-ups, basic plank-type core work, and squats. This type of workout twice per week can build strength without dedicating hours to the gym, he says.

Metzl agrees, recommending a quick training circuit right when you wake up. (Check out our GWODs for some ideas!) He’s a fan of the burpee, as well as plyometric jump squats and arm walkouts to push-ups. “These moves ramp up your metabolic furnace for the day,” he says.

If you have 15 minutes to spare, Metzl recommends his Ironstrength Workout, which consists of seven sections, including plyometric jump squats, planks, push-ups, mountain climbers, burpees, deadlifts, and more. Have more time? Try our 30-minute, no-gym bodyweight workout.

Also important to keep in mind: “A proper warm-up is crucial before kicking off a high-resistance, high-intensity workout,” Tamir says, especially if you’re sedentary the rest of the week. Doing a lot of single-leg and single-arm exercises also helps keep the body balanced and minimizes injury, he adds, and you can alleviate any soreness with recovery techniques such as ice baths or Epsom salt baths.

Finally, proper nutrition is still king when it comes to getting the results you want, so you’ll have to pass up those daily doughnuts. “Eating healthy carbs post-workout will replenish your glycogen levels and help your muscles recover faster,” Tamir says. But more important is the window for consuming protein: To maximize protein synthesis, have 20 or more grams of protein within an hour of working out, he suggests.

The Takeaway

Doing something is better than doing nothing, Boyle says. Hitting the weight rack (or the mat for bodyweight exercises) once or twice a week may not give you a Schwarzenegger-esque body, but the small gains you do make might incentivize you to exercise those muscle areas more often. After all, sometimes feeling sore is just what you need to remind you what a good workout feels like and get back into the groove of three, four, or even five workouts per week.


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