Get Your Swim On!

Quote For Today:
You must also give mental and physical fitness priority.
-Jim Otto

This Article is from http://swimming.about.com/od/swimworkouts/a/swim_benefit.htm

Swimming is good exercise (that's obvious). Swimming is a lifetime sport that benefits the body and the whole person! But what is it that makes swimming good, specifically? That depends on what you are trying to accomplish as a swimmer.

Swimming is a healthy activity that can be continued for a lifetime. The health benefits swimming offers to a swimmer are worth the effort it takes to get to the swimming pool, get into your swimsuit, and then get into that pool and swim. If you do not know how to swim, taking swimming lessons or teaching yourself how to swim better are great ways to help you to enjoy fitness swimming.

Swimming works practically all of the muscles in the body (if you do a variety of strokes). Swimming can develop a swimmer's general strength, cardiovascular fitness and endurance. It does not help with bone density - you need to weight bearing exercise for that - but that is about all that is missing from what swimming could do for your fitness.

Why do you swim? For the health benefits to your heart and lungs? For the chance to be with some of your friends at the pool? Because, in your case,running every day hurts? Because you like the feeling of floating and sliding through the water? Or is it something else?If you are looking for a break from the heat of the summer, then a dip in the water is exactly what you need; swimming is a way for you to cool off. It fills a wonderful recreational need for individuals and families, from beach and pool fun to water parks.

Maybe you are a runner, training on a regular basis, and want to find an activity that keeps your heart rate up but takes some of the impact stress off of your body. Perhaps you have been doing some other form of land exercise, and now an injury prevents you from putting weight on a knee or ankle. Swimming can help you. Kicking workouts, water aerobics, pool running, or a regular swimming workout can all give you a great exercise session without the weight of your body pounding you with each move.

Regular swimming builds endurance, muscle strength and cardio-vascular fitness. It can serve as a cross-training element to your regular workouts. Before a dryland workout, you can use the pool for a warm-up session. Swimming with increasing effort to gradually increase your heart rate and stimulate your muscle activity is easily accomplished in the water. After a land workout, swimming a few laps can help you cool-down, move blood through your muscles to help them recover, and help you relax as you glide through the water.

Spending time in a group workout, whether water aerobics or a master's swim practice, is a great social outlet. Exchanging stories, challenging each other, and sharing in the hard work make swimming with others a rewarding experience.

There are other psychological benefit to swimming, if you allow it to occur. Relax and swim with a very low effort. Let your mind wander, focusing on nothing but the rhythm of your stroke. This form of meditation can help you gain a feeling of well-being, leaving your water session refreshed and ready to go on with the rest of your day. Many swimmers find an in-direct benefit form swimming. They develop life skills such as sportsmanship, time-management, self-discipline, goal-setting, and an increased sense of self-worth through their participation in the sport. Swimmers seem to do better in school, in general terms, than non-swimmers as a group.

Swimming does burn calories at a rate of about 3 calories a mile per pound of bodyweight. If you weigh 150 lbs. and it takes you 30 minutes to swim one mile (1,760 yards or 1,609 meters), then you will be using about 900 calories in one hour. However, many swimmers do not swim that quickly, and many cannot swim for that distance or duration, soswimming to lose weight is not always the best plan. Swimming does exercise almost the entire body - heart, lungs, and muscles - with very little joint strain. It is great for general fitness, just not a great way to drop excess pounds.

And I didn't mention the neat things chlorine and sun can do for the texture and color of your hair...

Swim On!

Mat

Many of are not as fortunate as to have a pool in our backyard or complex. However, that doesn't mean that you can't get a good swim. Below is a list of public pools located in the beautiful city of Fort Lauderdale. If you live elsewhere, just check your local government website for a list of neighborhood  pools in your area.

BASS PARK POOL
2750 NW 19th Street
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311 
(954) 828-6019

Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Complex

501 Seabreeze Boulevard

Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316

Phone: 954-828-4580

Fax: 954-468-1582

CROISSANT PARK POOL
245 West Park Drive
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33315
(954) 828-6156

LAUDERDALE MANORS PARK POOL

1340 Chateau Park Drive 
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311
(954) 828-5412

OSSWALD PARK SPLASHPAD

2220 NW 21st Avenue
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311
(954) 828-6455

RIVERLAND PARK POOL

950 SW 27th Avenue 
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312
(954) 828-5322 

CARTER PARK POOL

1450 W. Sunrise Boulevard 
For Lauderdale, FL 33311
(954) 828-5407

Benefit From a Vegetarian Diet

QUOTE FOR TODAY:
Exercise to stimulate, not annihilate. The world wasn't formed in a day, and neither were we. Set small goals and build upon them.
-Lee Haney

Meatless Monday is Tomorrow!

Since Monday is tomorrow, it's appropriate to share this website about Meat Less Monday. This website has so many easy vegetarian dishes that are sure to satisfy any ravenous carnivore. 

Click here to visit website.

Shoulder/Chest Routine

Women's as routine. However, this is great for men too.

Great article from CNN

A cup of edamame contains 676 mg of potassium, which may help lower your blood pressure. February 24th, 2014 04:01 PM ET Vegetarian diet may lower your blood pressure Nearly a third of American adults have high blood pressure, also known as hypertension. Often called the "silent killer" because it provides few warning signs, hypertension increases a patient's risk for heart attack and stroke. New research suggests eating a vegetarian diet could help combat this deadly disease. A healthy blood pressure is 120/80 mm HG. Previous studies have shown that each increase of 20/10 mm Hg in that number doubles the patient's risk of cardiovascular disease. But lowering that top number just 5 mm HG can reduce your chances of dying from cardiovascular disease by about 7%. And eating more fruits and vegetables may be a good way to do that, according to the new study, published Monday in the scientific journal JAMA Internal Medicine. Terms to know Systolic blood pressure - the top number on your BP reading - measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart muscle contracts, or beats. Diastolic blood pressure - the bottom number on your BP reading - measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart is still and refilling with blood. The study Researchers analyzed data from seven previously published clinical trials and 32 observational studies. A total of 311 participants were involved in the clinical trials. More than 21,000 participants were assessed in the observational studies. The researchers only used data from studies that examined the association between a vegetarian diet and blood pressure. A range of diets were studied, including semivegetarian, vegan, lacto-vegetarian, ovo-vegetarian and pesco-vegetarian. The results In the seven clinical trials, participants following a vegetarian diet had a systolic blood pressure that was 4.8 mm Hg lower on average than their omnivore counterparts'. The vegetarians' diastolic blood pressure was lower by an average of 2.2 mm Hg. In the observational studies, the difference was slightly bigger. A vegetarian diet was associated with an average decrease of 6.9 mm Hg for systolic blood pressure and 4.7 mm HG for diastolic blood pressure. Why? Many factors could be affecting the vegetarians' blood pressure. Vegetarian diets are often lower in sodium and saturated fats, while being higher in fiber and potassium. Vegetarians also tend to have lower body mass indexes because fruits and vegetables are less energy dense - meaning you can eat more of them for fewer calories. Study limitations The definition of a "vegetarian diet" differs from person to person, so the researchers can't tell you how much meat is too much. Some of the observational studies also did not adjust for lifestyle factors such as exercise or alcohol intake that could have affected the results. Two of the researchers are affiliated with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, which advocates for plant-based diets. Takeaway Eating more fruits and vegetables as part of an overall healthy diet could help lower your blood pressure, says study author Dr. Neal Barnard. You should also try to limit your sodium intake, exercise regularly and avoid drinking alcohol excessively. Post by: Jacque Wilson -- CNN.com Health writer/producer Filed under: Diet and Fitness • Healthy Eating • Heart • Hypertension • Nutrition

A brisk walk could do the trick!

QUOTE FOR TODAY:

Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.

John F. Kennedy

Check out this interesting video about eating lots of meat and cheese by clicking here.

The benefits of drinking water.

Stomach Fat Destroyer Workout

   

The Running Experience

Going for a jog not only relieves stress, but it can help your lungs and heart perform better, it can lower your blood pressure, and also give you the awesome pleasure of "runners high". 

10 minute chair workout for seniors.

Brisk walk really may be just as good as a run, study finds

Thursday Apr 4, 2013 1:03 PM

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By Maggie Fox, Senior Writer, NBC News

Walking really is just as good for you as running – but only if you compare it in terms of calories burned and not merely on time spent, researchers reported on Thursday.

Studies have gone back and forth on the question for years – is a stroll as good as a run? Does a brisk walk strengthen your heart as much as a pounding jog?

Paul Williams of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California and Paul Thompson of Hartford Hospital in Connecticut think they’ve answered the question, finally. They did it in the best way possible, by comparing tens of thousands of runners to tens of thousands of walkers.

The answer is what common sense would dictate – it’s how much a person exercises in terms of energy spent, not how long he or she spends exercising, that matters.

“It takes longer to walk a mile than to run a mile. But if you match them up on the energy expended, they are comparable,” Williams said in a telephone interview. “If you do the same amount of exercise – if you expend the same number of calories – you get the same benefit.”

They studied 33,060 runners taking part in the National Runners’ Health Study and 15,045 walkers in the National Walkers’ Health Study. They measured their blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol at the beginning, and then watched for six years to see who got diagnosed with high blood pressure, unhealthy cholesterol or diabetes.

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People who exercised equally in terms of energy output got the same benefit, regardless of whether they ran or walked, Williams and Thompson report in the American Heart Association journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.

Williams said it made sense to study dedicated walkers and runners, because they usually keep careful track of distance and time spent running or walking. Most other people have trouble accurately estimating how much time and effort they spend exercising, he says.

They used a measurement called a MET. “One MET is how much energy you expend when you are sitting,” Williams said. Walking at a brisk pace burns 3.8 METS, or 3.8 times as much energy spent sitting for the same time. Running burns anywhere between 7 and 12 METS.

One MET of walking is roughly equivalent to a kilometer, or just over half a mile, Williams estimates. But running is less efficient than walking, so runners do tend to burn more calories over the same time.

“A person would need to walk 4.3 miles at a brisk pace to expend the same amount of exercise as running 3 miles, and it would take about twice as long (an hour and 15 minutes by walking instead of 38 minutes by running),” Williams says.

In general, the runners were younger and fitter than the walkers were. The male runners were 48 on average, versus 62 for the walkers; female runners were about 41 on average versus 53 for the walkers. The runners were 38 percent less likely to develop high blood pressure, 36 percent less likely to have high cholesterol and 71 percent less likely to develop diabetes than the walkers.

But this all seemed to be because the runners actually exercised more than the walkers did, Williams said.

“We have sort of known this all along,” said Dr. Gerald Fletcher, a cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., who was not involved in the study.

Running can burn more calories in a shorter time, so it’s good for people who are crunched for time. “But walking is certainly easier than running,” Fletcher said. “As long as people get out there and do it.”

The Institute of Medicine says Americans should try to get at least an hour of moderate exercise such as brisk walking every day to stay healthy. The Heart Association has similar guidelines.

Goals Will Help You Get There!

Living a healthy and fit life is very rewarding. Being healthy and fit is something that most people want. However, life can present certain challenges that can make seem to be difficult to obtain. Still, with hard work and dedication, you can succeed in meeting your goals. Let's make a list of 10 simple things that you can do to help.

1. Stop thinking that "you can't", but "you can". Positive thinking will keep a smile on your face.

2. Set reasonable goals. Setting small goals will create a quick sense of accomplishment, while setting a complex goal may cause frustration.

3. Associate with like minded people. Your friends can have a major impact on you reaching your goals. 

4. Join a gym and GO! 

5. Learn new healthy recipes. 

6. Drink more water. Water can be very filling. It also helps to eliminate pollutants inside bodies.

7. Plan your menus for the week and stick to it.

8. Take a brisk walk for at least 30 minutes each day.

9. Read a couple fitness magazines to learn a new exercise. Then, try it.

10. Tell your friends about your goal. Your friends may motivate you so that you will succeed.

Of course, the list above can go on and on. I'm sure that you can think of more. I hope that these tips help. www.briannealfitness.org