Staying Fit On The Go

Just because you are a busy person with lots to do everyday, it doesnt mean that you dont have time to stay fit and keep in shape while traveling. Excuses do not keep you fit and in shape and able to keep up with the demands of your busy life. If you are a member of a health club it would benefit you greatly if you ask the club if it participates in any programs that offer privileges at other facilities. Guest passes to certain spa and athletic clubs are sometimes free for one day. If your hotel does not have arrangements with a club near your hotel, the hotel that you are staying at just might. Asking at the front desk may open your eyes to many possibilities for a workout away from home and you will find out exactly what your options really are. Lots of hotels at least have treadmills or similar machines, which are much better than simply laying in bed and watching TV during your stay. When traveling just remember that almost every town has a YMCA or YWCA. Locate the yellow pages in your hotel room and give them a call. Again, there is now no excuse to become a traveling couch potato. Opportunities for you to take care of your fitness needs abound in all of your business and personal travels.

If necessary you may need to get a little creative, by using your hotel room as the gym of the day. Exercising in your hotel room is an easily and very convenient way to make certain that you get in your work out without missing a beat. Before you leave for your trip pack some collapsible hand weights or elastic exercise bands or other equipment that is made for travel, and turn your hotel room into the indoor gym that it has the potential to be. Elastic bands are great for getting resistance without lugging around big old dumbbells everywhere you go. Use the chairs and other pieces of furniture to your advantage to satisfy all of your fitness needs. Body weight exercises are enough for a great workout. Combine crunches, pushups, and legups. You wont exercise a large variety of muscles using only body weight, but you will at least be able to work on your heart and your endurance.

We understand that working out is not as easily done when you are in route to your next destination, so if your time is extremely tight and you dont have time for a complete work out. There are other alternatives to not working out at all. Stretch in your room, take a long walk. I bet the hotel is just as nice on the other side of the pool. Speaking of pool, you could always take a swim. Swimming is definitely a workout that will work every muscle in your body. With all of these ideas for a good work out, if not the best work out that youve ever had, you should no longer have any excuse for not continuing your fitness routine while traveling. Just remember that it doesnt really matter where you are when you do your work out but that you do your work out where you are. And if you cant do the exact routine that you are useful, just take solace in the fact that you are getting a workout.

Humor To Relieve Stress-Can Take Its Toll

If it is left unchecked, stress will take its toll on your health. While it isn’t possible to completely eliminate all forms of stress from your life, you can feel a lot better when you use humor to relieve stress.

It has long been said that humor is the best medicine, and there have been several studies that have shown this to be true, at least to some degree. The full effects of humor are not completely understood, but laughter appears to release certain chemicals in the brain, and these chemicals make us feel better and relieve stress.

Before we get to ways to add humor to your life, it’s important to mention that you should always discuss any health concerns with your doctor. Your stress may be the result of an underlying medical condition, and your doctor can also give you additional suggestions for relieving stress.

Now, on to the funny!

Your goal should be to laugh as many times per day as possible and then a few more on top of that. Free your funny bone and look at the lighter side of life. Stress is the result of your perceptions. You can’t always control what happens to you, but you can always choose how to respond to it. There are times when stress is a good option, but those times don’t happen all that often.

Television and movies can be good sources of comedy. Maybe you don’t like the most popular show, or romantic comedies may not be your thing, but that’s okay. The key is to watch whatever makes you laugh. If you’re the only one in the room laughing hysterically while everybody else sits there with a straight look on their face, then you can laugh at that too. Humor is a subjective thing, but that’s no excuse not to laugh.

The internet is a practically endless source of humor to relieve stress. There are tons of funny people online, though some of them are unintentionally funny. Log on to the internet and you can find funny videos, cartoons, pictures, quotations, jokes, and just about anything else you can think of.

Surround yourself with as many things that bring a smile to your face as you can. A calendar that has a new joke every day, a T-shirt with a goofy picture on it, or even a humorous bumper sticker are just a few ways to add more humor to your life.

Starting your own personal “humor file” is another way to get a much-needed chuckle when you need one. Cut out funny comics from the newspaper, stories from magazines, pictures, and so on, then put them into a folder that you can access whenever you need to. It’s a good idea to have a one physical file, as well as a file on your computer dedicated to humor.

One of the cool things about using humor to relieve stress is that it doesn’t require a prescription, so there are no side effects to worry about.

Walking Offers Great Benefits for your Brain Activities

Walking is a way to get the daily exercise you need and it is also great for your brain activities. Research shows that people who walk are doing a huge service for their brains. As a person walks the blood circulates faster. At the same time more glucose and oxygen are sent to the brain. This is possible because walking is a very low impact type of exercise. When you exercise with fast paced movements your body is going to absorb that extra glucose and oxygen so it isnt available for the brain to receive.

The additional oxygen that goes to your brain is a great way to help you reduce levels of stress. This is why a brisk walk a couple of times each day can help a person to see pressing situations in new ways. Individuals that walk on a regular basis have better concentration and they seem to be more receptive to learning new things. It is estimated that they risk of a stroke is reduced by more than 50% when you walk each day. Since a stroke can have severe consequences for the brain activities this is good news.

There have been many studies with women and their walking habits. Those that walk at least 20 minutes each day seem to be able to remember things that have occurred more than others. The fact that they arent suffering from memory loss as they get older could be due to the amount of walking they have done in the past.

Start out by walking at least 20 minutes a day. Try to work up to at least 30 minutes. As you are able to get this time frame in without any problem offer yourself a new challenge. Try to walk further in those 30 minutes than you did before. This can be accomplished by picking up the pace and by focusing your attention on the size of your stride. Try to make them longer and with a purpose rather than just going for a leisurely stroll.

Dont use the excuse that you dont have enough energy to walk. If you have aches and pains you may be afraid to engage in such activities. However, walking releases more endorphins that are produced by the body naturally. This means you will have more energy than before when you walk. You will also have a sense of happiness that you didnt before thanks to those endorphins being released in the brain. Those endorphins can also help to relieve various types of pain your body may have.

It is understandable that people are very different when it comes to their fitness levels. Walking is low impact so just about anyone can take part in it. This is the perfect activity to engage in so that your body gets the physical exercise it needs. At the same time our brain gets a workout that keeps it youthful and vital as well. You can walk alone or with a friend to keep yourself motivated. If you are alone the use of an MP3 player can help make it more interesting.

If you have children, take them along for the walk as well. Children are never too young to work on their physical and mental well being. In fact, children that have been doing so from a young age will accept it as a part of what they need to do. They will be more likely to continue such efforts as they become adults themselves. This means that their brain activities will be very strong and healthy. They will stay that way too instead of slipping as they get older.

You can get them a stroller or a wagon to help keep the pace rapid until they are old enough to keep up with you. Many parents walk at tracks around playgrounds too. This is perfect because the children get to play while you walk. Yet you can still keep a close eye on them while you do so.

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Not Getting Enough Physical Exercise can Reduce your Cognitive Abilities

Not Getting Enough Physical Exercise can Reduce your Cognitive Abilities

There is no shortage of data out there that proves society as a whole needs to get their bodies moving. People of all ages seem to spend tons of time in front of the TV, exploring the internet, or playing video games. We all know this can lead to obesity as well as zap the energy out of your body. However, most people dont realize that a sedentary lifestyle can also reduce their cognitive abilities. This will be more evident as a person gets older.

When you engage in exercise your brain benefits because more blood will flow to that region. More energy is produced as additional waste in the body is removed. Those individuals that exercise on a regular basis have larger cerebral blood vessels. It is believed that this is a key aspect of having a healthy brain at any age.

Yoga is one of the best forms of exercise that you can take part in so that your cognitive abilities are their very best. It takes a great deal of concentration to learn yoga at first so dont be discouraged. The more you practice it the more it will become a part of your thinking process. Then you can move into more advanced forms of yoga which will offer even more benefits for your thinking process.

It may surprise you to learn that the brain uses about 20% of the energy you consume each day. Just like with your body, the more you exercise it the more it will produce energy. If you feel that it is stressful to get through the day, to make decisions, and just to juggle all you have to think about then you need to change the approach. By getting enough physical exercise you will also be giving your brain the level of energy it needs to be on top of the game.

What is also a connection is that many people that dont get enough physical exercise actually talk themselves out of the task. They put it off until the very end of the day, making one excuse after another. The brain is a very guilty party in this type of decision making. However, when you do get physical exercise and your brain benefits from it, things appear in a new light.

Instead of helping you to make excuses and to find ways to avoid exercising your brain will tell you that you should exercise. It will encourage you to make time for it and to be proud of your efforts. Once you get to that point, engaging in physical exercise on a regular basis becomes second nature instead of a forced action that you take part in. More chemicals that keep you happy will be produced as well so you can have a better attitude than before.

No matter how old you are or how little you currently exercise, you can make some significant improvements in your life. Start out with a commitment to exercise for 15 minutes every other day. Then slowly increase your time by 5 minute intervals until you are at 30 minutes. Then make the commitment to do those 30 minutes of exercise every day. Working up to it this way makes the goal more achievable and you wont be overwhelmed along the way.

Make it a goal to get at least 30 minutes each day of exercise. If you have a very busy lifestyle, try to fit it in during the early morning hours. This way you wont be blowing it off due to a lack of time later in the day. You will also have a great attitude to start the day. This is because you will know you already accomplished something great. There are enough types of exercises out there to take part in so you never have to waste your time doing those you dont love.

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