Fitness Articles

Keeping Fit, Be a HIT!

Whether you’re under 30, a yuppie in your mid-20s or a teenager in college, loving your body and engaging in a regular exercise work-out plan is always a fool-proof way to a healthier you. Physical fitness is your body’s ability to do tasks and leisure activities. It is your body’s capacity to withstand stress, endure and perform certain tasks under certain circumstances.

Physical fitness talks about an over-all focus on the body – the heart, the lungs, the muscles, and the other organs of the body. Your body’s fitness is dependent on your physical limitations and capacities as well as your lifestyle – the food you eat and your daily habits.

Here’s a backgrounder on the different components of physical fitness. There’s endurance, the body’s ability to sustain oxygen and nutrients to tissues over a sustained period of time. Strength, on the other hand, is the ability of the muscle to exert force for a period of time. Flexibility is the ability to move joints and use muscles in a wide range of activities and movements. Swimming, running and jogging are some of the activities that can build endurance while pushups and weight lifting are good for building muscle strength.

Your workout should include activities that should develop these components. Remember to have a warm-up before starting your work-out. A warm-up conditions and prepares the muscles for the more rigorous activities of your work-out plan. At the same time, it should end with a cool down, a moment wherein the muscles are given time to relax after a heavy work-out session. Remember not to overdo your exercise. A daily walk may sound good, but a daily session of pushups may do more harm than good to your muscles. Space your physical activities such that the body is used to a variety of physical activities, ranging from the simple to the more complex, from cardiovascular exercises to strength exercises. Two to three work-out sessions for a week is a good way to start. As you progress in your activities, you can now increase the frequency or duration of your exercises.

Take note of your diet. If you’re exercising because you want to lose weight at the same time build up your fitness, then the less calorie intake you have the better. Cycling can burn 240-410 calories while jogging can burn 740-920 calories. In general, avoid salty food and sweets. Avoid alcohol, caffeine and nicotine. Lessen your intake of saturated fat and take lots of water.

Of course, keeping fit and staying fit means listening to your body. Allow your body to adjust with each change in routine and exercises. If you’re experiencing cramps, dizziness or prolonged weakness, stop your work-out and consult a doctor. And most of all, never be discouraged. Take note, achieving the body you want is not an overnight miracle.

A physically fit body does not only spell abs to die for and a flab-free stomach. It also means lesser chances of acquiring lifestyle-related diseases like diabetes and heart disease. It also spells a more active and alert mind, improved ability to cope with stress, and more reserved energy for your daily activities. And let’s not forget a more confident YOU!

Unlocking the Secrets of the Navy Seal Fitness Examinations

There have been many men and women who have dreamt of becoming a part of the United States Navy Seals. If you are one of them, then you need to increase your chance of getting in. You should take a look at the challenging Navy Seal fitness examinations and see if you can do it.

You cannot easily join the team if you fail to meet some of the requirements. You need to pass in order to belong to the buds program. It takes a lot of courage before you can become a full pledged Navy Seal.

Make sure that you ask the advice of a physician before subjecting yourself to a new exercise routine. This is for your own safety and to ensure that your body is ready to handle physical activities on its elevated levels. It is important that you master all the exercises incorporated in the training program before you take the entrance exam and become a Navy Seal.

If you want to achieve success, then get ready to be wet. The fitness program of the Navy Seal teaches each team members to feel at home in the waters not only on land. In fact, water is utilized according to their advantage in ways that are possible for them. But, the trainings are focused on the things needed to be learned prior to the examination.

The fitness exam for Navy Seal requires the applicant to swim. This is the first part of the entrance examination. You should complete a 500-meter swim in 12 minutes and 30 seconds. There are two survival strokes that the Navy Seal approved. You can use either the side strokes or the breast strokes. It may sound easy but most students have failed in this phase. It is because they think that they are already physically fit and tend to ignore practicing.

You are lucky if you pass the first phase. But it is not the end of the fitness examination as the second phase begins. Within two minutes, you should be able to perform a minimum of 42 push ups. It is better if you exceed the given quota but it is advisable to reserve your energy. For another two minutes, you should perform 50 sit-ups. Next is performing a minimum of 6 pull-ups, no time limits but you should go back in the starting position in each repetition. Every exercise has a two minute rest period. So, this ends the second phase of your fitness examination.

Here comes the third phase. You are required to run wearing boots and camouflage pants. You need to complete a 1 ½ mile run within 11 minutes and 30 seconds. Most Navy Seal examiners have failed in this fitness examination. But you can pass if you are determined enough. Never make any mistakes such as eating a certain food before the exam begins. You will just end up in a mess along the field or track. Still, your success depends on your courage and determination to finish the fitness examination of the Navy Seal.

Keep in mind that the Navy Seal is not appropriate for the faint hearted. There is a great need for training to prepare oneself on the day of the exam. Only few people have passed the Navy Seal fitness examination without proper training. Make sure that the exercises in each phase are practiced rigorously to achieve success.