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Wellness

How to balance education and fitness effectively

May 1, 2020March 18, 2020By jewelpts No Comments

By Vendat Patel, Edited by Paula Lacsena

How many times have you heard the phrase “I don’t have time to work out because of school”? I bet more times than you can count. What if there was a way you could do both and excel?

Here are some tips to consider in order to exceed in education and fitness simultaneously:

1. Plan your sleep schedule appropriately

A lot of students tend to avoid working out due to a lack of time, but they can plan their sleep in a way that gives them more time for exercise and alternative activities. Waking up early (between 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.) gives you more time in your day, allowing you to focus on your daily tasks more productively.

2. Plan and prepare quick work outs

College and university students can use their time between classes more fruitfully by exercising, preparing quick work-outs that require little to no equipment to stay in shape. You can start by finding yourself a quiet place to plan and complete a cycle of body workouts.. To ensure that you don’t overexert yourself, you can start off with a low-intensity work out plan then gradually move your way up to moderately-higher intensities of a faster pace.

Here is an example of a workout cycle that can be done in under 30 minutes:

10 Push-ups
15 crunches/sit-ups
10 Squats
15 Lunges on each leg (30 Total)

3. Follow a consistent daily schedule

To maintain proper balance between school and exercise, it’s important that students commit to a daily schedule structured reasonably around their goals. Planning your day makes you accountable for accomplishing the goals you have set for the day, especially if you have a physical list you want to accomplish. To maximize your time, you can start by separating your school goals from your physical goals; that way you can set time aside to complete one goal and follow with another. Prioritizing exercise for at least 30–45 minutes a day will enable you to maintain balance on top of school.

Trust me, your body will thank you!

Fitness, Wellness

Rebounding for Health

January 31, 2020By jewelpts 2 Comments

Rebounding has many health benefits. Rebounding increases both blood and lymph circulation. Comparing the circulatory system to the lymphatic system, the average person has 5 – 6 liters of blood circulated through the heart. and the lymphatic system has three times that much fluid. The circulatory system has the heart to pump the blood throughout the body. The lymphatic system has to work against gravity and needs to rely on you to move it through your body. The lymph systems one way valves can be increased by about ten times bouncing and jumping than at rest. Thus you are removing toxins at a higher rate and allowing the white blood cells to get to areas of the body where they need to be – increasing your immunity!

This is one of the reasons why less active people are more susceptible to illnesses. Poor diet can burden the lymph system as well with more accumulation of toxins and waste in the body.

Almost anyone can benefit from using a rebounder. You do not have to jump on a rebounder in order to gain benefits. You can bounce, or if limited mobility can sit or if more limited even just rest your feet on the rebounder while someone else is doing the bouncing can still have an impact on lymph flow.

Rebounding can produce up to 2 – 3 times vertical gravitation. This can serve as a bone strengthener while remaining low impact. It is gentle on joints, cartilage and vertebrae. It increase lymphocyte activity, strengthen your muscular system, development, and endurance, helps to improve balance and proprioception, strengthens cells, improves cardiovascular function, and can help to improve the effects of other exercises. There are also some other benefits such as mixing up your routine, working on coordination, rhythm and boosting your mood!

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Wellness

You should sleep more

December 27, 2019December 29, 2019By ucheblogger No Comments

Many people think that we should aim for 8 hours of elusive sleep each night but most people do not really understand the importance sleep plays in our physical health. Like helping to repair and healing blood vessels. Sleep also helps with high blood pressure. Increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke and kidney diseases are all linked to lack of proper sleep. Sleeping also plays a restorative role on the brain. Memory consolidation occurs during slow wave and as such, different pieces of what we learn during the day are pieced together and carefully stored as knowledge to be accessed later.

Extra sleep has also proven to improve athletic performance. In 2008, a study of five swimmers showed that when they extended their sleep to 10 hours a day for six to seven weeks, the athletes could swim faster and react more quickly. Similarly researchers at Harvard University and Boston College found that during sleep is when emotional components of memory are strengthened. As a result, sleep aids in creativity.

Sleep also helps with weight loss. Or at least helps with curbing appetite. Hunger is controlled by two hormones: leptin and ghrelin. Leptin is a hormone that is produced in your fat cells. The less leptin you produce, the more your stomach feels empty. The more ghrelin you produce, the more you stimulate hunger while also reducing the amount of calories you burn (your metabolism) and increasing the amount fat you store. In other words, you need to control leptin and ghrelin to successfully lose weight but sleep deprivation makes that nearly impossible. Research published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinoloy and Metabolism found that sleeping less than six hours triggers the area of your brain that increases your need for food while also depressing leptin and stimulating ghrelin.

Wellness

Making your New Year’s Resolutions

December 21, 2019December 11, 2018By jewelpts No Comments

For those of you who have been training, you will likely have started hearing in November about Reverse Resolutions where you are trying to accomplish a goal by New Years Day! I encourage having continuous goals throughout the year. However, stats show that the majority of Canadians will make at least one New Years Resolution. The general outline goes as such: 55% are aiming to eat healthier, 50% resolved to exercise more, 38% wanted to lose weight. On average less than 20% actually keep the resolutions.

Choose an Obtainable Goal. A model/celebrity/athlete is simply not realistic for the majority of people. Resolving to include daily physical activity in our lives could be very realistic and obtainable.

Avoid Choosing a Repeat Fail. A resolution that historically has not gone well for you should be analyzed and altered. Often this will mean that you need to break it down into smaller shorter term goals- and take immediate action.

Create a Game Plan – Starting right now, write a comprehensive plan for the next week, each month. You wouldn’t start a trip without knowing which direction to go, your personal plan will help you to succeed. Write it down where you can see it regularly or set a reminder in your phone.

Reward yourself for your Accomplishments – Include a reward as part of your plan. A reward involving self-care is ideal.

Limit your Promises Trying to do too much at once can be overwhelming and set one up for frustration and discouragement.

Ask for Help – You may need to set limits to the “help” that you get from friends, family, but have someone to be accountable to. If you can include those around you in your goals. Including a coworker in your goals to take a short walk with at lunch could mean packing a more health conscious lunch and getting in activity.

Get more Help- Sometimes friends, or family are not objective enough. Research studies show that assistance from a fitn3ess professional will greatly improve one’s success rate.

Wellness

3 Cheap Ways to Workout

October 25, 2019November 6, 2018By ucheblogger No Comments

Walking Workouts

We all generally walk during our day and increasing the number of steps you take per day and the efficiency of your walk may be more simple than you realize. Walking is one of the best exercises on the planet as it costs nothing and is readily available to most people. Simply walking for just 10-15 minutes increases cardiovascular function, aids muscle strength in the hips, legs and core and may help to reduce stress. Simply add in a few walking lunges or a short jog every 10 steps.

Body resistance training

Body resistance exercises require no equipment whatsoever and can be just as challenging as hitting the gym. Working out at home has never been easier. Perform floor exercises such as push-ups, bridge exercises and leg lifts to strengthen and tone your tummy, thighs, glutes and core. Standing routines to exercise your heart and lungs with a home-based cardiovascular workout and overhead activities such as shoulder presses and arm raises, to strengthen and tone the upper arms, back and shoulders.

Skipping

Skipping is an extremely popular exercise among athletes and trainers. In fact, it may well be one of the most efficient and convenient exercises for fat burning. Studies show that skipping for 30 minutes can burn over 300 calories, compared to cycling and swimming which came in under 150 calories. The best part is, even if you don’t have a rope, moving your arms in a skipping fashion can still be effective. If you are just starting out with skipping, begin at a level that you are comfortable with and slowly increase your time and endurance over time.