JumpSport Fitness Trampoline Soccer Workout

Soccer workout on the JumpSport Fitness Trampoline. This is a preview of one of the many dynamic workouts possible on the a Fitness Trampoline

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Fitness Nutrition - Essential Information You Ought to Know About

You've all heard that regular exercise and a healthy diet are part and parcel of staying fit. However, it seems that the idea of fitness nutrition is, more often than not, subordinate to exercise. What does this mean? There seems to be the mistaken notion that it's okay to eat anything as long as you burn it off afterwards. Not! This is one of the biggest lies ever propagated where fitness nutrition is concerned.

The aim of fitness nutrition is to give your body the nutrients it needs to stay strong, fit, healthy and energized throughout the day. With this in mind, it's also imperative to fill our diet with foods that give us this kind of nutrition. Eating for health requires that all food groups be represented. Remember the go, glow and grow foods your grade school teacher spent hammering into your head? Well, food groupings haven't changed much. You still need your proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals. That means you need to feed your body with fruits, vegetables, fish, lean meat, dairy, whole grains and cereals. That means going natural with your food choices as well.

But that's not all there is to eating for heath. It also means eating in moderation and at the right times. Too much of anything is bad, so don't get too caught up in the high-protein low-carb diets. They only wreck havoc on your normal body processes. Eating healthy means eating the right amounts from all food groups in small portions five to six times a day. This also means not skipping breakfast. When your mother nearly force-feeds you to eat this most important meal of the day, she wasn't kidding. If you don't eat, you're starving your body and preparing it to snack on more sugar-rich and unhealthy junk later in the day.

What if you do feel the need to snack during the day? Opt for fresh fruits like bananas, pears or apples. They're chock full of fiber, vitamins and minerals. Yogurt is also a good alternative. Not only is it rich in calcium and protein, it also has live Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria that's good for the digestive system as well.

Does that mean that all fast food is off-limits? That would be ideal? However, it's not necessarily a no-no for as long as you watch your portions and you don't do it often. But where soda is concerned, you'd do best to avoid it with your cheeseburger meal. Ask for water instead. Fruit juice? Unless you squeeze it from the fruit itself, forget it. Processed juiced drinks have more sugar than juice and you're better off with pure water.

Fitness nutrition also means minding how you eat. It's chewing your food well and taking the time to enjoy your meal for at least 20 minutes. It's eating when you're hungry, not because you're stressed or emotionally upset. It's stopping when you're already full. Finally, eating for health also means learning healthier ways of preparing foods. You need to learn how to cook foods through steaming and stir-frying instead of deep frying them. It also means stocking your pantry with healthful foods.

Eat healthy. Live healthy. That's the real essence of fitness nutrition.

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Aqua Fitness

Aqua fitness is used quite often by people looking to get in shape in this day and age dominated by the fitness craze. There are many reasons why aqua fitness is so popular, and there are many redeeming qualities for the body when it comes to aqua fitness, but the best feature about aqua fitness is the fact that for most people, it is fun. There is little in the universe that is more fun than swimming, and quite frankly, swimming is one of the best forms of exercise for the muscles in the human body, but there's much more to an aqua fitness workout than JUST SWIMMING.

Of course swimming laps isn't all that there is to aqua fitness routines, though swimming laps in a concentrated effort with varied strokes is certainly a part of any routine. Many muscles can be strengthened, toned, and stretched by swimming a number of laps, depending on your level of fitness, with different strokes. The butterfly, for instance, as an excellent way to workout your upper body torso, including your pecs and your lats. Even the doggie paddle strengthens your neck, back, arms, and legs. The biggest benefit of aqua fitness can come from simple static exercise. Herschel Walker, the famed Heisman Trophy winner, used aqua fitness techniques to build the endurance and strength in his legs by simply running under water. The resistance from the water itself helped build those oak trees that Herschel called legs. There are plenty of resistance and isometric exercises that can be used to build strength and muscles, from simple flexing and movement to more advanced routines involving light weights under water.

There are plenty of enjoyable water sports as well that can be used to help build the body. Sports such as water polo, water soccer, and water volleyball, while competitive and fun, are very good for building muscle. The great thing about aqua fitness is that it tends to use the whole body as you train and exercise. Bodybuilding in typical fashion generally requires exercises involving free weights and machines that focus on a primary and secondary muscle structure. For instance when you do curls with either a dumbbell or a barbell, you are using the resistance of the weight to strengthen the bicep as you curl the weight up, and you are stressing the triceps as you lower the weight back down. Two muscles are exercised, and unhealthy strain is placed on the back which supports the exercise as there is little to no support behind it. The same exact exercise done under water with far less weight is more effective and is safer as well. First of all, the back is reinforced by the water itself. Secondly you can use far less weight, putting less pressure on the back, because of the resistance of the water, which exercises the muscle. In the water, all of the back muscles and abdominal muscles are utilized as well, due to the resistance of the water, so it is a far more effective work out.

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Fitness Without the "Dumb" Weights

There's a lot to be said for weight resistance training - but some of us are just bored with dumbbells and repetitive movement.

Try these alternatives to invigorate your fitness lifestyle:

Upper body:

1. Do the gumby dance with Rubber Bands.

I get bored with repetitive moves here too - so I make it stupid and it gets fun! You can break up repetitive moves like a bicep curl and pretend you're working with more resistance. I pretend to be a Gumby mime artist, doing the same movements with extra resistance. The bands are great for improvising with, so combine your different movements to see how you can break the routine.

2. Use 1pd, 3pd or 5pd weighted balls also known as dancer's balls.

These balls fit in your hands and you can dance with them - but gently - so you don't throw out your arm joints! Try this activity - slow arm circles while sitting and lying, feel where you arm collapses, falters of feels weak. Now take the ball around your weak spot and see how you can integrate your abs into making the movement stronger. Try not to overwork your weak spot as this can cause muscle fatigue. The intention is to find how your abs and back can shift to SUPPORT the arm movement, rather than using your arm to do all the work.

3. Use the weighted balls while sitting on a fitness ball.

This makes it more interesting and challenging for your muscles and mind to balance. Do the arm rotations slowly and enjoy the massage of your joints. It's not all about muscle - your tendons and joints need to feel some juice moving through them too. You can use the balls to do arm stretches and reaches and create your own dance and stretch.

Lower Body and cardio combinations:

The legs act as a pump for the blood to return back to the heart. So find activities that are not repetitive to activate your heart and muscle health.

4. Boot camp training.

You can sign up for a weekly training that gets you playing games and doing physical activities you would not do unless someone you "forces" you to do them. These activities get you playing as if you're in the play ground - walking, running, jumping and balancing through obstacle courses, running up and down hills. Having some one yelling at you to do different activities activates the muscles and brain to fire in new ways, which stimulates the metabolism like crazy. Make sure you are not forced to do activities beyond your limit.

5. Game Days with the Kids. (Or just adults if you wish!)

If you have kids, you can play great activities that involve them too. Does anyone remember the old jumping sack race, three legged race and egg and spoon race? These are great activities for co-coordinating brain and muscle strength that challenge and increase your metabolism. Ball games and frisbee are always a great way to challenge your brain and muscle coordination as well.

6. Hiking.

Getting out in the out doors makes "working out" a pleasure and gives you the oxygen you're starved of in a gym and in air conditioning. Hiking also challenges the muscles and metabolism to fire in different ways that will only increase the need for more muscle cells and increase metabolism.

Combo workouts - Whole body:

7. Clean out the garden.

OK - I always resented doing the weeding in the garden. But these days a good session of pruning, weeding and breaking up garden waste involves every muscle group you could imagine. If you don't have a garden - you probably have a friend who does and they will love you for thinking about them!

8. Martial Arts.

There is nothing as deflating as trying to do a series of 10 kicks and realizing you have another 100 or so to go. Be warned that some martial arts training has no sympathy for the faint hearted. The kicking practice and warm ups of Kung Fu is the best way to activate the power and integration of your leg muscles. The warm up kicks will give you more control over your leg muscles that using a machine in the gym or even your good old leg lunges. Leg lunges are great but only work on balancing joints and muscles in stationary position. Once you start using kicks, you activate your core muscles, your guts and your attitude.

9. Qi Gong

For beginners find a tai chi class that gets you to do real slow form (Wu style) that activates your legs. For the more gung-ho, try fast form. Qi gong classes are also great low intensity ways to activate your legs and core as well as balance your blood pressure and breathing at the same time. You will be surprised how this slow form can tone your whole body.

10. Start Bouncing!

A good bouncing trampoline or "rebounder" with the right spring balance will tone all your muscles, inside and out. Dave Hall has created a mini-trampoline called "cellercise" which has springs with the right rebound so you avoid jarring the body and spine. Bouncing and balancing on a rebounder wakes up the core muscles, stirs up the body fat and invigorates lymph, blood vessels, organs, bones, skin and hormonal system.

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Children's Fitness Can Be Fun - Promoting a Healthy Life Style

When an adult thinks about exercise, the first thing that comes to his/her mind is exhausting workouts in the gym on a treadmill or lifting weights. But for kids, exercise can have entirely different meanings, because playing games and being active is also exercise, helping the kids get fit. Kids exercise when attending gym classes, dancing classes or soccer practice at school. They also exercise when they're at playing games, riding bikes, or having fun at the swimming pool.

Today, most people follow such hectic lifestyle routines that no one has enough time to engage in regular healthy activities like gym sessions or sports. It's also true that many parents don't have enough time to properly encourage their children to take part in regular and organized sports and physical activities. Exercise and fun sessions also help to boost confidence and learning power of a child.

Many Benefits of Exercise

Everyone can benefit from regular exercise and fitness routines, and Kids who are active will often benefit from the following;

Weight Control: It is often reported that many children spend their leisure time watching TV or playing computer games and do not involve themselves in children's fitness, healthy fun and sports activities, resulting in many children suffering from some level of obesity. Increasing physical activity along with a well balanced & healthy diet has been known as an effective weight-loss strategy, and helps with self-esteem and socialization. Overweight children are exposed to many health hazards like hypertension, hyperlipidemia, type 2 diabetes, growth hormone dysregulation, and respiratory and orthopedic problems. Fun session and kids fitness activities help a child to improve their health and encourage a healthier lifestyle in general.

Cardiovascular protection: Although cardiovascular disease often doesn't appear until adulthood, risk factors can be present much earlier in life. Regular exercise significantly reduces blood cholesterol level and thus, prevents from cardiovascular diseases.

Mental health benefits: Fun sessions and kids fitness activities can also positively affect the mental health of a child. They can help reduce anxiety and depression, increase self-esteem, improve a child's self-image, and help them cope with everyday situations better.

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