They will have to flex fitness tests - Chicago Sun-Times

Posted by admin on May 16th, 2008 filed in Fitness

Cops who want to shoot an M4 assault weapon will have to flex more than a trigger finger. A male officer between 30 and 40 years old must run 1. The fitness tests are part of a broader training program for the gang, gun and tactical officers who want to carry M4s, Bond said. Jody Weis, meanwhile, is proposing mandatory annual fitness tests for new and promoted officers starting in 2009–and voluntary tests for other officers. read more

[Tags]officers, cops, carry, fitness, m4s, tests, fitness[/Tags]

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Diets and Weight Control Programs

Posted by carolynb on May 16th, 2008 filed in Weight Loss

Nowadays health-conscious people are concerned about their health and fitness. Many want to sculpture their bodies to achieve the magazine-cover look. As a result, health spas and gyms are appearing all over to cater to the fitness buffs.

Exercise machines and weight loss products have gained control over the airwaves. But it will take more than exercise. Being healthy and fit requires being responsible and setting long-term goals, creating good eating habits, and developing a new way of thinking about diets.

A diet should be thought of as a means to provide the body with essential nutrition to restore and maintain healthy growth. The popularity of keeping fit has many views, programs, methods and strategies. Among these are high carb diets and low fat diets, and food combination diet. All seems to be effective, but which one fits your lifestyle.

The first thing to know would be the fundamental differences between these diets. If one can not decide, try them all and stick with the one that fits your lifestyle. The high carb diet is about the intake of carbohydrate rich foods, low fat diets is about low fat food intake and the combination food diet is about not mixing proteins and carbohydrates together at the same meal.

Diet programs help shed unwanted pounds, gain weight, and can help heal the body. The important aspects of having a proper diet are moderation, balance and variation. One must be careful not to leave out important nutrients and other substances necessary for a healthy, energized body.

If weight loss is desired, it can easily be obtained by choosing one of the diets above. Just remember that a quick fix diet does not work. Develop a low fat, high energy lifestyle. More energy must be expended than consumed to lose fat.

The body composition can change without losing weight if a person is exercising and building muscles. A lifelong nutritious and exercise program will slowly change the body composition. The body will lose fat and gain muscle.

Weight training helps to increase muscle mass; so there is some benefit when incorporated into your weight loss program. It will also increase your resting metabolic rate (the amount of calories burned while resting). However aerobic exercise burns more calories.

A moderate calorie restriction with regular exercise is the best way to lose weight. As long as a person is consistent, the weight loss will be steady and slow; which will develop a lifestyle change.

Set a reachable goal to keep yourself motivated. Before starting a regimen of any type, consult your healthcare professional.

Carolyn Bell Smith, committed to help others improve their health, fight sickness, disease, and building a strong immune system. For more nutritional health information: Renewedhealth To request a Lifestyle Tips Newsletter Newsletter

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Healthy Resting Heart Rate

Posted by greeves on May 16th, 2008 filed in Fitness

Checking your heart rate (pulse) is an easy way to see whether or not you’re physically fit and healthy. You want to check your heart rate while you’re resting. The best time to measure it is after a good nights sleep. Check it while you’re still lying in bed in the morning. Be sure you are breathing normally.

How to check your heart rate is by counting the beats in a set period of time such as 15 to 20 seconds. You then multiply that number to get the number of beats per minute.

The more fit you are, the lower your resting heart rate will be. There is some debate on what exactly is a healthy resting heart rate. What most consider healthy for a man is between 60 and 75 beats per minute and for women it should be between 60 and 80 beats per minute.

People who are extremely fit and active, such as professional athletes, can have a resting heart rate as low as 30 beats per minute. Athletes like to measure their heart rate to see if they are over trained.

There are many factors that can affect your heart rate whether it is slowing it down or speeding it up. They include:

- Sex (men’s rates are usually lower)
- Age
- Drugs / Medication
- Genetics
- Physical Fitness
- Anxiety / Stress
- Caffeine (can speed it up)
- Nicotine
- Weight
- Working out prior to measuring your heart rate
- Common Cold / Fever
- Dehydration
- Anemia
- Overactive Thyroid
- Eating Disorders
- Diabetes

These factors can affect your heart rate, which means your measurement might not be completely accurate.
Although, measuring your heart rate is not the only way or the best way to determine your health. Some people may just have a lower or higher heart rate that cannot be attributed to a single, specific cause. Most say though, that a rate above 84 beats per minute can be dangerous for one’s health.

A heart rate above 95 beats per minute for men or women would be considered fast, which is called tachycardia. A fast heart rate rarely means heart disease because it can be caused by a number of things such as the many factors listed above.

Measuring your recovery heart rate after working out is another good way to see how healthy your heart is. Your recovery heart rate is how fast your heart “recovered” right after you stopped working out.

For example, if you exercised on a bike for 10 minutes and then stopped, your recovery rate is how much your heart beat slowed down in the first minute of resting. The quicker it slows down, the better condition your heart is in.

If you are worried with where your resting heart rate is now, speak to a physician because almost all of the reasons as to why you have a fast heart rate can be treated and reversed.

Michael Greeves, CEO and founder of Hyperstrike, wanted to develop an affordable fitness program for individuals and athletes that could be customized to their personal abilities and goals, and be delivered to any one, any where, any time. Learn more about HyperStrike exercise and workout programs.

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What is a Healthy Body Fat Percentage?

Posted by greeves on May 16th, 2008 filed in Fitness

Body fat is something that most people cringe at. The truth is, body fat is essential for many reasons; however, having too much body fat is not good. So what is healthy? In order to figure out healthy body fat measurements, we have to understand the two types of fat. Essential fat is the fat that everyone absolutely needs for survival. This fat helps regulate your body temperature and helps cushion your organs. A certain amount of storage fat is also needed for extra cushioning of organs.

The key to maintaining a healthy body fat percentage is not having too much storage fat, but enough essential fat. Essential fat should be around 3% for men and 12% for women. The rest of the percentage is storage fat. When looking at healthy body fat percentages, age, along with gender, provides a guideline because as you get older, your healthy body fat percentage increases.

Women

Ages 20-40 21-33%
Ages 41-60 23-35%
Ages 61-79 24-36%

Men

Ages 20-40 8-19%
Ages 41-60 11-22%
Ages 61-79 13-25%

Above are healthy body fat percentages at every age. There are several ways to get your body fat measured by a professional; there are also many different home body fat tests that you can do yourself. Many bathroom scales are now equipped with a body fat calculator. If you’d like to get actual measurements, there are three common tests that can be administered.

1) Bioelectrical Impedance

For this test, a low electric current is sent through the body. Muscle contains a lot of water, and water is a good conductor for electricity, so the current will sail through muscle until it gets to fat, which is not a good conductor. The machine takes this information to calculate your body fat percentage.

2) Skinfold Measurements

This test is the only one that depends on a human. A professional will use a set of calipers to take measurements from certain sites on your body. Some tests require three sites, while others can require seven sites. Typical sites for measurements are usually thighs, stomach, and arms. The person administering the test will take a fold of skin and fat and measure with calipers. These measurements get plugged into a formula, which computes your body fat percentage.

3) Hydrostatic Weighing

Of the three tests, this one is the most accurate. A person sits in a tub of water on a scale and submerges their entire body. All of the air in the lungs is blown out to give the most accurate reading. This test takes your underwater weight, and from that number your body fat percentage is calculated.

It is important to keep in mind that there are two sides to the range of healthy body fat percentages. It’s dangerous to be over the percentage, but it’s also very dangerous to be below your range. Women require more body fat than men due to hormonal and childbearing requirements, so falling below your range can effect pregnancy. For people looking to lose some weight, it is very important that the weight you lose does not put you under a healthy body fat percentage. Knowing your healthy body fat percentage range will give you a weight loss goal that will maximize your efforts!

Michael Greeves, CEO and founder of Hyperstrike, wanted to develop an affordable fitness program for individuals and athletes that could be customized to their personal abilities and goals, and be delivered to any one, any where, any time. Learn more about HyperStrike workout programs.

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Life Coaches - Who are they and how can they help?

Posted by greeves on May 16th, 2008 filed in Fitness

Sometimes sticking to that new workout schedule or new meal plan is more difficult than you expected. You might get busy, get off track or lose the drive and motivation. Maybe you try a workout buddy or personal trainer, but that still isn’t solving your problem. More people are turning to life coaches now. It’s becoming more popular because it does make a difference for many.

A life coach can make an impact on your life and be a key motivator for your healthy lifestyle. A life coach is not just a personal trainer, but a consultant and therapist as well. He or she helps evaluate your resources, goals and values. A life coach can help create personal successes whether it is to lose 15 pounds, three inches around your waste, or eat foods lower in cholesterol.

A life coach’s goal is to help others succeed. This person is to help you use your full potential. A life coach helps others make drastic improvements in their lives.

There are many people out there whose jobs are to help others achieve their goals. Some are called personal trainers, other life coaches, and then there are people called lifestyle fitness coaches. A lifestyle fitness coach is a combination of a personal trainer and a life coach.

When looking for a life coach, see what his or her background is. A life coach can be more general and cover areas ranging from health, finances or relationships. Or a life coach might have an expertise in one area versus another. Search around and see what kind of coach will best fit your needs.

There are many benefits you can gain by working with a life coach:

- Having a more balanced life
- Taking better care of yourself
- Having a motivator/supporter in your life
- Making better decisions for yourself
- Making more goals for yourself and striving for them
- Having more energy
- Feeling better physically and mentally

Life coaches can work with you in many different ways. A life coach can e-mail or call you on a weekly basis for motivation if getting to the gym is a difficulty for you. Or a life coach can work with you one-on-one at the gym with or without a personal trainer. He or she can e-mail you new workout routines weekly if exercising has become monotonous. Your coach can also help you with a nutrition log and help you stay on track with your meal plan.

Trying a new workout or nutrition plan can be frustrating, especially doing it alone. A life coach can be the person who keeps you on track or helps you if you have questions. Sometimes the hardest part is beginning that new plan, but a life coach can help you incorporate that new workout schedule or nutrition plan into your daily routine.

Michael Greeves, CEO and founder of Hyperstrike, wanted to develop an affordable fitness program for individuals and athletes that could be customized to their personal abilities and goals, and be delivered to any one, any where, any time. Learn more about HyperStrike exercise and workout programs.

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THOMSON WINNING FITNESS BATTLE - Sportinglife.com

Posted by admin on May 14th, 2008 filed in Fitness

The best results from google, Ask Jeeves, Yahoo! read more

[Tags]google, jeeves, results, yahoo, fitness[/Tags]

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How To Stop Yourself Gaining Weight During The Holidays!

Posted by gjkgroup on May 14th, 2008 filed in Weight Loss

When the holiday season arrives, it seems wherever we go, we are surrounded by stacks of great tasting and very tempting food. For many people they succumb to the temptations and begin to stuff themselves silly and swear that after the holidays they will go on a diet to lose the many pounds they have gained. This article will show you how, with the right attitude, you can stop yourself from gaining weight during the holidays.

Firstly, try to keep away from all those fizzy drinks with tons of calories in them. Yes, I know it is not easy, but it is best to avoid sodas and colas at all costs. Stick to drinking water as not only is it good for you, but it will get your metabolism working great and actually help you lose weight.

If you need to satisfy your taste buds with something sweet, then it is best to eat a low calorie yogurt. It is filled with protein and that will also help you to lose weight. Eat lots if you want, you will not have to worry about putting on weight with low calorie yogurt.

Try to keep away from all that tempting food. Especially all the great tasting cookies your mother makes! Again, this is not easy to do, but if you give in to temptation you will begin to ruin all the hard work you have done in losing weight. You could try not looking at them, or moving away if a tray is brought in and placed in front of you. Keep determined at all times or you will succumb to temptation trust me!

Don’t sit around after eating. Forget the TV. Go for a walk and suggest to your family that you should all go for a walk. If you just sit around and watch TV after eating you will not burn off the fat. Keep active at all times even if you have to do some exercises while watching TV.

Remember, you do not have to spend hours in the gym to maintain regular exercise. Short ten or fifteen minute walks after eating is all that is needed to stimulate your metabolism and get it burning that fat for you. No hard long visits to the gym are necessary so do not forget that. Just remember that every single exercise you do will help you keep off the weight and over time will help you to lose weight and keep it off forever.

You can avoid putting on weight during the holidays and still have fun at the same time. All it takes is a little determination and remember to exercise.

Author: Gary J Kidd has been involved in the health industry for over 8
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