Sit on the floor and bend your knees up to a 45 degree angle and your hands behind your head.
Lower slowly your torso backwards to a 45 degree angle. You’ll feel your muscles begin to pull.
Hold for four seconds, then slowly return to start position.
Repeat the exercise for the required reps. (more…)
Your body is a system in which each part directly influences the others. Your perceptions about one part of yourself will likely dictate what you do with the other parts. For example, if you’ve always viewed yourself as unathletic, your actions probably reflect that. You may not exercise or pay much attention to the quality of your nutrition, and that leads your muscles to shrink and your fat cells to grow, furthering your perception of yourself as unathletic. (more…)
The mind-muscle link is a neurological pathway that is developed with experience in progressively contracting muscles during resistance exercise. Essentially, it is learning to feel the muscles work through a combination of strict form, mental concentration, and well-executed repetitions—all of which combine, in another of those synergistic systems, to create heightened outcome. To develop a muscle, it is essential to feel it work. (more…)
There have been several studies of the physiology of exercise, and now it is generally agreed that the best sorts for overall fitness are aerobic activities—running, swimming, rowing, and bicycling. You can add to that list cross-country skiing, disco dancing (providing you do enough of it and really get your heart beating and lungs working). Walking is acceptable too if you walk fast and far enough and if you go over hilly ground as well as over flat terrain. For only these activities offer the kind of steady, sustained movement that builds muscle strength, increases the flexibility of joints, and also fortifies the heart and lungs. You may be able to exert yourself by playing tennis or squash or golf, but how well depends on how you play the game and whom you play with. You can win sets of tennis without moving more than a few feet from one place or you can be all over the court and totally exhaust yourself. A recent study of men from thirty-five to seventy-four at Stanford University concluded that these games do not give as effective protection as swimming or running or cross-country skiing. So play them and enjoy them, but take up something else too. Let’s take a look at aerobic exercises first. (more…)
