HealthyLife Articles

Tag: Strength Training

  • Rucking For Beginners

    BE FIT

    Rucking is an excellent cardiovascular exercise and builds strength and stamina. It simply means to walk while carrying weight. All you need is a backpack to hold some weight and a safe place to walk. Here’s how to get started:

    *  Plan a walking path. Depending on your fitness level, beginners should plan to walk 2 miles or less. Over time, up your mileage as your strength and endurance increase.

    *  Choose a sack. You don’t need a special rucksack. Any pack can work, but backpacks with a hip belt will be most comfortable as you carry more weight.

    *  Start with light weights. Adding 10-15% of your body weight is a good starting point. You can use any weight, such as gym weight plates, heavy books, or water bottles.

    *  Wear comfortable walking shoes. And don’t forget to hydrate!

    *  Aim for 2-3 weekly rucking sessions. You should begin to see gains in strength and endurance.

    © American Institute for Preventive Medicine

  • Build A Stronger Body

    Fitness

    Smiling women sitting on a yoga mat.

    Add muscle-strengthening to your aerobic exercises to deliver even more health benefits, like protecting your joints, better balance and more restful sleep.

    Classes:Take a strength-training class at your local fitness center to learn the basics.

    Equipment:Use dumbbell or hand/ankle weights, resistance tubes, an exercise ball, and the weight of your own body.

    At-home gear:Use household items for weights, such as water jugs or canned foods.

    Safety matters:Before you start a new exercise program, always talk with your doctor to review any safety concerns you may have.

    Page from HealthyLife Weigh book by the American Institute for Preventive Medicine. www.HealthyLife.com. All rights reserved.

    © American Institute for Preventive Medicine

  • Build A Strong Core

    BE FIT

    Image of older man sitting on chair.

    “A strong core is key to good posture and for doing most day-to-day activities with ease, such as getting in or out of a car, walking up and down stairs, or reaching for a book from a shelf,” said Michelle Miller, an exercise physiologist at Indiana University. Weak core muscles can result in poor posture, increased susceptibility to back injuries, poor balance, lack of range of motion, and an altered walking stride.

    See how it feels to turn on your core muscles-in less than a minute.

    *  Sit on the edge of a firm chair with feet and legs at a 90-degree angle and place both hands on the front of your stomach area.

    *  Now, draw your bellybutton toward the center and pretend to lift at the same time to feel contracted and lengthened throughout the middle of the body-but not so much you hold your breath. Miller often tells clients to imagine putting on a tight jacket and then zipping it up. When doing this, the front and back of the body should contract at the same time.

    *  Finding the neutral position of the hips is important for proper posture. The hips should not be tipped forward or backward. Miller encourages you to “think of your pelvis as a bucket of water-tipping means spilling.”

    *  Now, for the shoulders and head. The head should not jut forward, nor the shoulders round in. Face straight ahead, chest high and sit tall.

    “If you can hold this position sitting, you can hold it when you walk, drive, do household chores or other leisure time activities,” Miller said.

    © American Institute for Preventive Medicine