The swimming workouts are designed for those whose swimming skills are bringing the rest of their game down. If you’re a CrossFitter or triathlete, it’s no longer acceptable if your swimming isn’t up to par.
Swimming can also be used to condition all the systems of the body for endurance without beating it up the way some other modes of exercise can.
Note: Distances are in yards.
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A few years ago when I was working toward getting a little leaner, I started tracking my calories and macronutrients. I allotted myself a daily amount of the three macronutrients—protein, carbohydrate, and fat—and I did everything in my power to consume that exact amount every day. In order to do this, I was measuring and logging every morsel of food I consumed, using a food tracking app on my phone.
It took a lot of work, and I erroneously believed that anything so involved surely had to be effective. At first, it was new and interesting, but any excitement I had about tracking and logging foods wore off after about a week. Soon, I saw it for exactly what it was: nothing more than a huge hassle.
I was spending a ridiculous amount of time each day hunched over my phone, trying to figure out what I could eat that would fit those numbers, and then meticulously planning meals around those foods and numbers.
In fact, my thoughts revolved about foods and numbers practically all day, every day.
Tracking foods quickly exacerbated my already-problematic scarcity mindset around food. I panicked as I watched my “allowed” daily caloric intake decrease with every food that I added into my app. I lived in a perpetual state of worry that I would still be hungry but not be able to have any more food that day because an electronic program said so. Seeing which foods I could “fit” into my daily macros was like playing a bizarre game of Tetris; one that I could never seem to win.
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All vegetables and fruits are carbohydrates.
So it should come as no surprise that any diet attempting to completely purge carbohydrates—or anyone suggesting all carbs are evil—needs to take a step back, cut out the dogma, and take a hard look at reality and personal preference. Few popular diets ever suggest you eat more carbs. Why is it they get such a bad reputation? There’s a huge gap between understanding foods that have healthy qualities (think micronutrients like vitamins and minerals) and foods that play a part in weight loss. While foods are digested differently, almost any food can be part of a weight-loss plan. It’s why we’ve seen esteemed scientists eat a diet primarily of Twinkies to prove how dropping pounds can be turned into a mathematical equation.
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“If you want to conquer the anxiety of life…live in the moment; live in the breath.” – Amit Ray
One out of four Americans will experience an anxiety disorder at some point during their lives. Such disorders are sometimes accompanied by panic attacks – intense feelings of panic that often come out of nowhere. Panic attacks can include a pounding heart, sudden sweating, dizziness, and shallow breathing. Living with anxiety and panic attacks is difficult, but there are a variety of techniques that can help to ease symptoms. Yoga is an excellent way to reduce anxiety (and stress). Here are five ways that yoga helps with anxiety.
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As I’ve progressed in my training over the years, almost every part of my body has grown bigger: shoulders, chest, traps, biceps…you get the point.
Except for my forearms.
Several years into training, they were barely larger than when I first started out, and this, of course, could not stand. In my quest to build the ultimate, well-proportioned physique, I vowed to unlock the secrets of forearm training, whatever it took.
And I succeeded (after a lot of research and self-experimentation). Let’s start at the beginning.
Your forearms contain at least twenty different muscles, which get used in pretty much every motion you could possibly perform with your arms.
First off, you’ve got your digit flexors and extensors.
These, along with your hand muscles, cause your fingers to clench and unclench……
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If you play a sport, exercise, or live an active life, chances are you will sustain an injury at some point. To be clear, I’m not “wishing an injury” on anyone, but the reality is that injuries are an inherent risk associated with an active lifestyle. However, we can’t let that hold us back from pursuing the activities we love. Because even though injuries are debilitating and can set us back (sometimes significantly), they can also be a “blessing in disguise” and make us better athletes in the long run.
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I heard this saying recently: “Don’t Earn Your Food in the Gym.” It’s haunted my ears since. So many of us think this way, like we’re eight years old again and if we do our work, then we get a cupcake.
The concept of food as a treat is baked into our society. I’m not immune to this concept and, before I learned to love lifting iron for the sake of how it made me feel (versus the way it made me look), I was much more of an outcome-motivated gal. I was in that gym thinking that an extra set of this or more time doing that allowed me to eat more. I was earning my food in the gym.
But those days are gone now. Why? Because I do what I love and I let those old proverbial chips fall where they may. I’m deadlifting and squatting (and doing all sorts of other things) because I love how strong and powerful these movements makes me feel. The fact that those deadlifts work my glutes and make my butt look firmer? Icing on that cake that I’m not eating. (I’m not a big cake fan. Go figure. Chocolate chip cookies, however, have taken my virtue many times.)
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That’s where this desk exercise routine comes in. Think of it as a happy medium between sitting for eight hours and hitting the gym when you just. don’t. have. time. We tapped Lauren Williams, certified trainer at Tone House in New York City, to come up with a creative workout that will get the blood flowing—without making you sweaty.
So throw off your jacket and get started with the moves below.
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We could go on and on about the benefits of strength training—but it’s probably best just to let you try it for yourself. Thanks to this workout from Alex Silver-Fagan, trainer and Women’s Health‘s Next Fitness Star finalist, you can.
When it comes to creating workouts, her motto is simple: “Just get moving,” Silver-Fagan says. The trainer, who got her start in bikini competitions and then realized she wanted to do more to promote a well-rounded, healthy lifestyle, now teaches rowing and CrossFit and practices yoga #everydamnday.
Here she provides a creative workout that combines strength, yoga, and a unique twist on the classic move everyone loves to hate: the burpee.
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Core strengthening exercises are essential in any training program, particularly if you’re a female athlete new to training, or returning from pregnancy or injury.
In the previous article in this series, we focused on the importance of core strength for the push up and how critical core strength is for posture and framing in a sport setting. We’re going to continue the series with six progressive core strength exercises to perform a barbell squat with excellent form.
The barbell squat is a fantastic exercise that combines strength, mobility, balance, and explosive power. Squatting regularly with good form has excellent carryover into your sporting performance. However, if your legs are strong but your core is weak, you will not be able to execute a heavy squat safely and effectively.
There’s two ways a weak core can negatively affect your squat..
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This chakra is located in your lower abdomen, between your navel and genitals. Its main functions are pleasure, emotions, and creativity. Repressing any of these functions can result in lethargy, addictions, an inability to cope with change, and depression. Physical ailments can include back pain, sexual dysfunction, and urinary and kidney infections.
Beyond nurturing your body with healing touch (massage or reiki) and becoming more aware of your emotions and needs, the poses below will open your sacral chakra.
First, make sure that your body is properly warmed up with a flow sequence. Do 5 to 10 sun salutations, integrating a vinyasa (exhale to chatarangua or knees/chest/chin, inhale to upward-facing dog or cobra, and exhale back to downward-facing dog) between each.
Now, let’s move on to the poses!
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It seems the humble foam roller is having a moment in the world of health and wellness. If the last couple of years have been all about high-intensity workouts like CrossFit and the rise of luxury spin classes like SoulCycle and Flywheel, it would seem 2016 is officially the Year of the Foam Roller.
You’ve probably seen a stack of them in the corner of your gym, and you may have seen runners rolling their IT bands out on one. While the roller is definitely good for reducing muscle soreness and increasing range of motion and flexibility, there’s a lot more you can do with a foam roller than most people think.
So, here are six things you probably didn’t know a foam roller could do for you, and six moves you can do at home to get those benefits:
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