Tuesday, December 28, 2010

CONQUERING BELLY FAT By Mirabai Holland © 2010


Mirabai Holland M.F.A. is one of the leading authorities in the Health & Fitness industry, and public health activist who specializing in preventive and rehabilitative exercise for people. Her Moving Free® approach to exercise is designed to provide a movement experience so pleasant it doesn't feel like work. http://www.movingfree.com

Losing your belly fat.
Once upon a time, not so long ago, belly fat was a sign of prosperity.
Much to our chagrin, that little, or not so little belly, it’s actually a sign that you may be at risk for some serious health issues like Heart Disease, Diabetes, and High Blood Pressure, among others.
Women tend to after menopause when hormonal changes start to alter our body shapes.
Whatever the cause, the evidence is clear. Apple shaped people are more at risk!
So, how much is too much belly fat?
It’s all about your waist size.
For women it’s a waist measurement of 33 or more.

So, okay you say, I’ve got too much belly fat. What can I do about it? I’ve heard there’s no such thing as spot reducing.
While that’s scientifically true, there’s a lot you can do to target any specific area of you body for work.
Aerobic exercise can burn calories and help you lose weight in general. Targeted ab exercises can help you develop lean muscle mass in that area and help flatten your tummy.
Full body strength training can raise your metabolism and help you return your body to its youthful shape.
Here are a couple of exercises you can do to strengthen and firm up that area.
Try using the old army exercise of sucking in your tummy during every day activities, pulling your navel back to your spine.
And you can try this exercise to help you firm up faster. It tones the center as well as the sides of your abdominals.
Lie down on your back and bend one knee up towards your chest.
At the same time, turn you torso and point your opposite elbow toward the knee.
Start with a few: work up to 20 repetitions over several weeks.
Then do 20 reps, take a short break and do another 20.

Putting weight on around your middle is easy. Taking it off is hard. Unfortunately there’s no secret formula. Take a no nonsense look at your diet. Reduce your potion size and cut out empty calories. Start exercising slowly, and progress in your comfort zone. Chances are that pretty soon you’ll be able to find your shoes simply by looking down

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Moving Free® With Mirabai: Aerobic Rant: Dust Off Your Sneakers By Mirabai Holland, MFA © 2010


Exercise has always been trendy. From Jack LaLanne to the latest Wii technology, I’m sure you can fill in the blanks decade by decade. I’m not particularly upset by that. Trends drive the industry.
Some of them are downright wonderful as is the case towards softer workouts like yoga and pilates. One thing that does bug me though is the trend towards doing only yoga and pilates. They do little or nothing for your heart.
I love these forms of exercise but not at the expense of the basics.Remember Aerobics? (It’s trendier to call it cardio now)
But if one of your New Year’s resolutions is to get fit, you simply ain’t gonna be fit unless you get a regular dose of cardio. In case you forgot, aerobics is any exercise using your large muscle groups to increase the body's need for oxygen over an extended period of time. Low impact Cardio Dance, Brisk Walking, Jogging, Biking and Swimming, are all good forms of aerobic exercise.According to the National Institutes of Health a half hour of moderate aerobic exercise a day can reduce risk of heart attack by 50% and have a positive effect on most of the problems associated with aging.
Cardio energizes your body from the inside out. Your heart is pumping like mad. Your lungs and arteries are hard at work delivering the oxygen that you need to keep going.
Your muscles are getting a great workout carrying your body around. You’re burning a bunch of calories and if you keep it up for 30 minutes or more your natural mood enhancers the endorphins kick in and you get the exerciser’s high.

You can see why you'd want to get a daily dose of aerobic exercise.It goes a long way toward reducing our risk for disease, managing our weight, and lightening our mood to help us stay fabulous forever.
So dust off your sneakers. Happy New Year!