Fitness & Wellness

Reasons Why You Should Get Outside Everyday

Reasons Why You Should Get Outside Everyday

Published by on October 25, 2024 | Leave a response

If you aren’t taking fall walking tours in Alexandria, VA, you’re missing out on a spectacular view. Getting outside and walking is good for your mental and physical health. You’ll see the beautiful colors of the black tupelo, sweet gum, and silver maple throughout the city and in parks like Ft. Howard, Jones Point, and Monticello. You can stroll through nature’s wonderland or bike on the many beautiful trails in Alexandria parks. You’ll come back more relaxed and revived from the experience.

Getting outside helps improve your sleep.

Just as solar outdoor lights need sunshine to recharge, our eyes need enough light to reset the circadian rhythm and improve the sleep cycle. If you get early morning light, you’ll sleep sounder at night and fall asleep quicker. The cells in your eyes help set your internal clock. It’s one reason older people tend to have problems sleeping. Their eyes don’t absorb light as well as they did in their youth.

Don’t forget the immunity boost sunshine offers.

Your body uses sunlight to produce vitamin D. Getting out for 20 minutes daily can help improve vitamin D stores. Your body has an improved immune defense when you have adequate vitamin D. It also may help you lose weight. Studies show a correlation between vitamin D deficiencies and obesity. Scientists aren’t sure if a lack of vitamin D causes weight gain or if excess weight causes vitamin D deficiencies. Some scientists believe sun exposure also may energize the T-cells in the body. T-cells improve immunity. Being in areas with plants exposes you to phytoncides given off by plants that aid your immune functioning.

Get outside and walk, run, or ride a bike to aid in weight loss.

The activity will burn extra calories and keep you healthier. It aids in weight loss even more. It boosts vitamin D. Two other factors are improved sleep and the link between obesity and vitamin D deficiency. Getting sun and outside activity helps you sleep better. Lack of sleep can cause an imbalance in your hunger/satiety hormones. Your body produces more hunger hormones when you lack sleep and fewer hormones that make you feel full.

  • You may experience less respiratory distress and breathe better when you get outside. Indoor air pollution and allergens are two to five times higher than outdoors.
  • Getting out in the sun can lift your spirits and fight depression. If you’re doing mild exercise like walking or biking, the increased exercise helps so much that mental health specialists use it as an adjunct therapy.
  • A 2020 study found that children who spent more time outside had less chance of developing myopia. It might be due to a greater variety of colors, a more varied distance between objects, or the dopamine production from light stimulation. It only helps during youth.
  • Getting outside and being near other people can expand your social life. Smiling, nodding, or talking to others walking past you are examples. Walking or biking with others is another.

For more information, contact us today at Team Worx Fitness

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Does Fasting Accelerate Weight Loss?

Does Fasting Accelerate Weight Loss?

Published by on October 10, 2024 | Leave a response

Everyone is different. You may find the perfect exercise routine to help you get fitter, while it does little good for a friend or is too difficult. The same is true for weight loss. For some people, fasting can accelerate weight loss. For others, there’s only a temporary weight loss or even a weight gain when the fast ends. The type of fasting you do makes a difference, too.

Intermittent fasting is one type of fasting.

You can do a juice fast that lasts several days or a water fast where you only drink black coffee, tea, or water for a day. Many of the fad fasts you read about online are unhealthy to do for more than a few days. One that is healthy and works is the intermittent fast. There are several ways to do this fast, but the most popular is to limit your food intake to eight to ten hours daily. You might start eating at 10:00 a.m. and quit eating at 6:00 p.m. for an eight-hour intermittent fast. You eat normally, except the window of time is shorter. Studies show that people who ate in an eight-hour window and fasted the other sixteen hours ate 20% fewer calories without even dieting.

Long-term fasting triggers a few issues.

You may lose weight when you do a traditional fast that limits your calories to extremely low levels, but you also may sabotage any future weight loss or regain the weight you lost. Using a long-term extreme low-calorie fast sends your body into starvation mode. It slows your metabolism to ensure you have adequate calories for vital functions. You’ll burn fewer calories 24/7. That makes it easier to regain weight and more difficult to lose it.

Fasts can help jump-start your weight loss program.

Some people alternate their weight loss program between fasting and eating regular meals. Starting your efforts at weight loss with a fast may also help you stick with a program. The quicker weight loss provides motivation. Intermittent fasting is easier for some people and also improves success. In most cases, people don’t diet. They eat healthily and limit the hours they can eat. It reduces hunger pangs and the feeling of deprivation..

  • Intermittent fasting improves insulin sensitivity and increases human growth hormone. It improves your metabolic rate and reduces inflammation. Animal studies show intermittent fasting slowed aging and boosted weight loss.
  • If you fast for 24 hours, it can aid cell repair and improve waste removal. The process is called autophagy. The body removes damaged cells and creates new ones. It takes 24 hours to do. It lowers the risk of cancer and improves brain health.
  • If you have diabetes, hypoglycemia, digestive issues, or insomnia, fasting isn’t the best way to lose weight. It can compromise the immune system. Pregnant or lactating women should never fast.
  • Always check with your healthcare professional before starting a fast or any diet or exercise program. Even if you use a form of fasting, when you eat, it should be healthy food.

For more information, contact us today at Team Worx Fitness

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Reasons To Try A Spin Class

Reasons To Try A Spin Class

Published by on September 25, 2024 | Leave a response

If you want to add more variety to your workout, consider doing other options, like yoga, dance or spin class, or swimming. These options are low-impact. Some forms of dancing may be exceptions. Spin class, in particular, is a good cardio workout that improves circulation. It can benefit people with low mobility and joint issues, like seniors. It can help increase the synovial fluids in the joints that keep your joints lubricated. It’s excellent cardio, but you still need a whole-body workout that provides exercises for strength, flexibility, and balance. It’s a great supplement to any exercise program.

Spinning builds strength, especially around the joints.

You’ll build joint strength by building the ligaments, muscles, and bones of the joints. That can help you with activities of daily living that keep you independent and functioning properly. You use your entire body when you’re spinning. It’s not as effective as traditional strength training, but it does help more than just the quads. You need to use the proper form to maximize the effect.

You’ll reduce stress. ‘

Between gym sessions, people often focus on recovery exercises, such as walking and yoga, but spin classes can also fit that category. It burns off stress hormones and increases endorphins and happy hormones. When you focus intently on spinning, it frees your mind and helps you be in the moment so you break the chain of negative thoughts that plagued you throughout the day. It can even be more fun if you go with friends.

It adds extra ammunition to your fight against fat.

You’ll lose more weight when you spin on your days away from the gym. It’s fun and challenging, so you aren’t focused strictly on how hard you’re working. You can adjust your resistance to match your fitness level. If you’re using it as a recovery exercise, reduce the resistance to the minimum and go for the movement.

  • Spin sessions allow you to modify your workout and turn it into a HIIT—high intensity interval training—session. It’s where you alternate between maximum intensity and a recovery pace. It burns more calories than other workouts and gets you fit faster.
  • You can choose challenging spin classes or ones that are more relaxing. If you need a mental boost, pick a more challenging one to build mental strength. Push yourself to increase resistance to the maximum.
  • Like all types of fitness, spinning can improve cognitive functioning, increase telomere length, boost the creation of new neural pathways, and slow mental decline.
  • You’ll build core strength with spinning. Core strength can help reduce back aches and improve your posture. It burns belly fat, improves digestion, and flattens your stomach.

For more information, contact us today at Team Worx Fitness

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Exercises To Help Relieve Back Pain

Exercises To Help Relieve Back Pain

Published by on September 10, 2024 | Leave a response

Back pain affects people of all genders, ages, or occupations in Alexandria, VA. It can be chronic or acute, but always uncomfortable enough to interrupt your sleep or busy day. Common causes include muscle strain, arthritis, ruptured discs, cancer, stress, and digestive or other internal health issues. You can relieve back pain and even prevent it with the right exercises. Before you start, always check with your healthcare professional to identify the cause.

Constant computer and poor posture work can cause upper back pain.

Upper back and neck pain require different exercises than lower back pain does. Neck and shoulder rolls help with this type of pain. So does periodically taking a break and stretching. Roll your head to one side, then to the back, to the other side, and then down. Do it slowly. You’ll feel the tension start to melt. Rolling your shoulders in a circle, first up, then back, down, forward, and back to neutral position, also helps.

The cat-cow yoga poses help the entire back.

This simple exercise relieves all back pain and helps prevent it from returning. Start on your hands and knees with your neck in a neutral position, hands directly under the shoulders, and knees under the hips. Inhale while you round your back and lower your head. Pull your stomach tightly. You’ll look like a Halloween cat arching its back. Hold a few seconds, then exhale as you return to the neutral position. Move into the cow position. Raise your head and drop your stomach, causing your back to dip in the middle. Hold that position for a few seconds and return to the neutral pose.

Grab a towel for a stretch that relieves lower back pain.

One of the best stretches that can bring quick relief from back pain requires a towel. Lay on your back, knees bent, and feet flat on the floor. Loop a towel, holding one end in each hand. Put one foot in the loop and straighten that leg as much as possible, lifting it as you do. Hold it. Lower the leg back to the starting position and loop the other leg. Do this several times and feel the lower back pain melt.

  • Do a bridge exercise. A bridge exercise builds abdominal strength and helps back pain. Lay on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Lift your midsection until it forms a straight line from your knees to the top of your head. Hold and lower.
  • Reverse the bridge. Instead of laying on your back, lay on your stomach with the weight of your upper body on your elbows and forearm. Keep your lower body flat as you lift your upper body by straightening your elbows. Hold for a few seconds.
  • Twist your upper body for upper and midback relief. Stand with arms extended and feet slightly apart and twist your upper body first to one side and then to the other.
  • The simple act of walking can help relax muscles and increase circulation. Stretch your muscles before you walk. Focus on posture as you walk.

For more information, contact us today at Team Worx Fitness

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Hectic Can Still Be Healthy?

Hectic Can Still Be Healthy?

Published by on August 25, 2024 | Leave a response

If your day keeps you running at top speed and your day is hectic, it doesn’t mean you can’t be healthy. Living healthier doesn’t have to take a lot of extra time. There are even things you can do to make your life a little easier. It does mean making some changes to develop routines that create healthier habits. Each person is different and so are the lifestyle changes for a healthier life. You might need to improve your diet, exercise more, or get more sleep. Here are easy-to-adopt ideas to help you.

Find ways to increase your activity.

Maybe you don’t have a half hour or hour to devote to regular exercise, but you do have several ten-minute windows throughout the day. Take advantage of those times. There are short exercise routines you can do anywhere. You can do squats beside your desk, get off the bus before your stop and walk the rest of the way, or do leg lifts or bicycles at your desk. Get up early and do five minutes of stretching with a few calisthenics. Walk for ten minutes at lunch and do ten minutes of exercise or play with the kids for ten minutes when you get home.

Eat healthier as you save time and money.

If you’ve never tried meal planning, you should. You plan meals one day, shop on another, and on the third, cook everything for the week. You use many ingredients in several meals, such as chicken breasts one night, chicken salad on another, and chicken casserole on the third. Prep all fresh fruit and vegetables when you get home from the grocery. You can use them in cooking and have some left for snacks. When it’s mealtime, take the food out of the freezer or refrigerator to heat and eat. It’s faster than waiting in the drive-through line, healthier, and cheaper.

Have a sleep schedule and stick with it.

Adequate sleep is necessary for a healthy body. When you sleep, your body heals, and your brain does housekeeping and repair. People who lack sleep are prone to heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. Create a sleep schedule and stick with it on the weekend. Most people require between 7 and 9 hours, so see what works best for you. Turn off all electronics and sleep in a dark, cool room for the deepest sleep.

  • Have healthy snacks you can carry with you. Something as simple as an apple or banana can boost your energy. A handful of nuts or homemade trail mix are other options.
  • Learn relaxation techniques and take a minute or two during the day to practice them. Once you conquer meditation or relaxation, you’ll quickly calm your mind and body. The calmer your mind, the more you can accomplish.
  • Switch from soft drinks to water, green tea, or black coffee. Soft drinks drive up blood sugar, increasing your energy rapidly. It drops just as quickly. Studies show people who drink green tea live longer.
  • Get up and move about every 50 minutes if your job is at a desk. Studies show sitting for long periods eliminates many of the health benefits of your exercise program.

For more information, contact us today at Team Worx Fitness

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Does Getting Up Earlier Make You Healthier?

Does Getting Up Earlier Make You Healthier?

Published by on August 10, 2024 | Leave a response

People in Alexandria, VA, who focus on becoming healthier are getting up earlier. Does it make a difference, or is that just a myth? The Franklin phrase on the health benefits of early rising includes going to bed early. If you do both, then it’s beneficial. You keep a sleep schedule that maintains your circadian rhythm, your body’s internal clock. Studies show that getting at least 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night using a consistent schedule improves sleep quality and health.

Your circadian rhythm regulates your hormones.

Controlling your internal clock also regulates the body’s hormones. These hormones trigger responses in the body that affect your appetite, digestion, body temperature, and other functions. If you don’t get adequate sleep, it can trigger the release of excess ghrelin, the hunger hormone, and diminish the release of leptin, the satiety hormone. Leptin also controls insulin and blood sugar levels. It helps regulate weight.

Getting up early also provides benefits.

The early morning hours are usually quiet. The craziness and hustle of the day haven’t started. It’s an excellent time to relax and plan for the day’s activities. Some people meditate during the early hours, while others exercise to ensure they fit it into their day. An early riser has time to eat a healthy breakfast that is more than just a donut and coffee. There are few distractions, so it’s a mellow way to start the day without the rush.

Getting up earlier is only beneficial if you go to bed early, too.

If you go to bed late and get up early, only getting a few hours of sleep, it’s counterproductive. You need both parts: early to bed and early to rise. Not everyone has the luxury of going to bed early. Night shift workers don’t. Studies show that even when night shift workers get adequate sleep, they still may have problems. Going to bed late and sleeping late disrupts the body’s internal clock and interferes with natural sleep rhythms that allow the body to eliminate toxins and repair itself. It can increase the risk of breast cancer, heart attack, and depression. Shift workers have a higher risk of diabetes and gastrointestinal problems.

  • Getting up early in the morning also helps maintain melatonin regulation. Melatonin controls sleep/wake cycles. Even if you sleep during the day, the reduced melatonin won’t allow you to sleep deeply enough to let the brain and body repair.
  • Studies show early risers are usually more productive than those who sleep later. It may be due to lower stress levels or having more planning time.
  • No two people are alike. Neither are their sleep schedules. Most people require 7 to 9 hours of sleep, but not everyone. Some people function their best with little sleep, while others need more.
  • If you exercise early in the morning, it may improve your workout. Studies show early morning exercise tends to burn more fat than in the afternoon or evening.

For more information, contact us today at Team Worx Fitness

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At-Home Workouts For Abs

At-Home Workouts For Abs

Published by on July 25, 2024 | Leave a response

Whether you’re going to the beach or enjoying another fun-in-the-sun activity, more body parts are showing because clothing is more revealing. In Alexandria, VA, people often add to their regular exercise plans with at-home workouts for abs. Strong abdominal muscles help maintain good posture and prevent back pain. Even though you may develop strong abdominal muscles, you won’t have a flat stomach if you have layers of fat covering it, so fat loss is also vital.

You don’t need equipment to do the plank.

Many bodyweight exercises are good abdominal exercises. The plank is an example. It starts with your body face down. Your elbows are directly under the shoulders with your upper body weight resting on the forearms. Lift your entire body, keeping your weight on your forearms and toes. Create tension in your abdomen as you maintain that position as long as possible. You can modify that position and create a high plank by raising your upper body so your arms are straight and your weight rests on your hands.

Stay in plank position and walk like a crab or reach for the sky.

The plank offers versatility. It can be a high plank or low plank, but you can also have some fun with it while you strengthen your abs. Do a crab walk in a high plank position. Walk sideways by moving both the hand and foot on the right one step toward the right, followed by the left hand and foot. Try lifting one hand while in plank position or move forward as other modifications.

Other simple bodyweight exercises strengthen your abs.

You may already know many other at-home ab exercises, like crunches, push-ups, and burpees are a few familiar examples. Burpees are excellent for several reasons. They burn fat that might be hiding your abs. They work your abs but are also a full-body workout. They help improve cardiovascular health, can be done anywhere, and build mental toughness. You’ll maximize your workout time. Doing just 50 burpees, which is tough but doable, gives you the same benefits as running for 30 minutes, yet takes a fraction of the time.

  • Do the ab suction. You won’t sweat doing this exercise, but it’s extremely effective. Bend your knees slightly as you bend over, putting your hand on your knees. Blow all the air out of your lungs and pull in your stomach as tight as possible. Hold it for as long as possible.
  • Do a high intensity interval training—HIIT—workout. HIIT isn’t a specific exercise but a way of doing exercises. You push at maximum intensity for a short period and then switch to a recovery pace for an equal or longer time. It burns tons of calories.
  • Have you tried a bridge to tighten your core muscles and flatten your tummy? Lay on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Lift your bottom until your body forms a straight line from the chin to the knee. Tighten your glutes and abs as you hold them as long as possible.
  • Use simple exercise equipment. A jump rope and a hula hoop aren’t high-tech, but jumping rope and doing the hula hoop can strengthen your core.

For more information, contact us today at Team Worx Fitness

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Get Rid Of Cellulite Fast

Get Rid Of Cellulite Fast

Published by on July 10, 2024 | Leave a response

Cellulite is that lumpy look under the skin that makes the area look like an orange peel. The dimpling comes from fat pushing through the connective tissue. While diet is one cause, it doesn’t always happen to overweight individuals. Diet, hormonal influences, thinner outer layers of skin, genetics, and muscle tone can cause it. Even skinny people can have cellulite. That puckery appearance is harmless but not desirable. It’s why so many people look for ways to eliminate it. Some cellulite treatments require a doctor’s care, but others can be done without it.

Start by changing your diet.

A poor diet can cause cellulite. One offender is sugar. Cutting out food with added sugar creates insulin spikes. Insulin spikes increase inflammation, which is one cause of cellulite. Switching your diet to whole foods, and cutting out refined, high-sugar foods can help increase collagen production. The stronger your collagen, the less chance that fat pokes through to create cellulite. The less collagen and the weaker it is, the more prone you are to it. Cutting out caffeine and soft drinks and increasing water intake also helps.

Losing weight isn’t enough.

You might think that changing your diet and losing fat is all you need to do, but that’s not true. You also need to exercise. If you lose weight too fast, it can leave your skin baggy. That makes any cellulite you have more noticeable. If you exercise while changing your diet, you benefit from increased circulation. It helps remove excess fluid that builds in the area that causes the uneven surface, so it’s less noticeable. The muscles strengthen and cause cellulite to be less noticeable.

There are other treatments for cellulite besides diet and exercise.

While these types of treatments may be quicker, they can often be costly and don’t last as long. Cryolipolysis is one of those. It freezes the fat cells and kills them. Eventually, the body removes them. It takes four months to see results. Laser therapy liquifies fat cells and increases collagen production. After six months you’ll see results that can last up to a year. Shockwave therapy can take up to six weeks and involve twelve treatments but the results may only last two to six months. Lipomassage is a massage therapy that works on the same premise as exercise. It increases circulation. It may cause the skin to lose elasticity.

  • Women tend to have more cellulite problems than men do. That’s because hormones play a role. Women also have more body fat and a thinner outer layer of skin.
  • Self-massage creams may help. Like lipomassage, self-massage increases circulation. It also contains ingredients that can break down fat or build the skin so the cellulite doesn’t show, like caffeine and retinol.
  • Smoking contributes to the formation of cellulite. It interferes with collagen production. That inhibits the creation of collagen and leaves the body more prone to cellulite. It narrows the blood vessels and affects circulation.
  • Even if you choose medical treatments for cellulite, you still should make lifestyle changes. Making those changes can improve the results and increase how long they last.

For more information, contact us today at Team Worx Fitness

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What Is Wrong With Grains?

What Is Wrong With Grains?

Published by on June 25, 2024 | Leave a response

What’s wrong with grains? Some Alexandria, VA, citizens don’t eat most grains due to gluten intolerance, but other factors might make you want to eliminate them from your diet, even if they don’t contain gluten. People on a Paleo diet don’t consume grains because they believe our prehistoric ancestors didn’t, so our bodies can’t properly break them down, causing issues with our digestive system. There are reasons grains may not be healthy for you and ways to offset those problems.

Processing makes a difference.

Today’s grain is not processed as it was in the past. Historically, grain was soaked, sprouted, or fermented when making bread. That’s not true today. When it’s ground to flour, companies remove the bran and germ. The bran contains fiber that’s necessary for a healthy diet. The germ contains all the nutrients of the grain. All that is left is the endosperm. It’s primarily starch and empty calories.

The grain is different today.

In the 1960s, scientists created a hybridized high-gluten grain. Gluten is a combination of two proteins, glutenin and gliadin. Gluten makes bread chewy and gives it the dense texture and structure of modern white bread. It became so popular that over 90% of flour in the US comes from that hybrid. It may be the reason for an increase in people with gluten intolerance.

Grains contain antinutrients like phytic acid and lectins.

Phytic acid diminishes the absorption of magnesium, copper, calcium, iron, and zinc. It can cause issues in digestion to prevent enzymes from digesting protein and starch. Lectins are a category of anti-nutrients that protect plant seeds. One lectin is agglutinin. It’s a natural pesticide. GMOs are high in agglutinins, which may explain a high rise in gluten intolerance. Prolamins are another type of lectin. It prevents it from sprouting until conditions are perfect. It is what allows grains to survive in the digestive until they can be expelled in animal waste. The waste provides the fertilizer for the seed once expelled where it can grow. High amounts of lectin in the body can

  • Many of the grain products on the market today are highly processed. Companies bleach flour to make it white and add various chemicals to extend shelf life.
  • A negative reaction to prolamins in grain can cause a cross-reactivity from other types of seeds, like rice or oats. The symptoms of gluten intolerance continue if prolamin is the problem.
  • Grains produce enzyme inhibitors that don’t allow you to break down the protein in grains. Your body then produces more enzymes in a snowballing chain that leads to an abundance of digestive enzymes that potentially can destroy the gut lining and cause leaky gut syndrome.
  • You can reduce some of the problems associated with grains by choosing products containing sprouted grain, fermented grain, or soaked grain. Sprouted grain has more folate, fiber, useful amino acids, and polyphenols than unsprouted grain.

For more information, contact us today at Team Worx Fitness

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