Print Article for : Cardio Exercises For Women

Your Online Guide » Sports » Fitness And Wellness

[C200]Cardio Exercises For Women

by Chhoda Nitin, Chh

Unlike men, women have unique life reasons that can interfere with exercise. These include the birth of a child, marriage, single parenthood, a new job, divorce, overworking, job stress and returning to school. Time is a big consideration. After a day of work and childcare, most women prefer to spend their leisure time in socializing with family and friends, reading and watching television, rather than rushing to the treadmill. Although some of the above-mentioned factors are applicable to men, my experience has shown that women tend to have a harder time to manage exercise on a regular basis.

The benefits of exercise are significant, especially for women. Regular exercise lowers estrogen levels, reduces body fat, and produces a healthier body mass index (BMI). All these factors significantly reduce the risk of breast cancer. Also, women who perceive themselves as having more energy, fewer emotional problems, less pain, fewer social problems and lesser feelings of nervousness and depression are more likely to start exercising. There is a unique exercise and diet method for women that I have developed on my own, and it has helped thousands of clients get results.

When starting an exercise program, it is important to remember a few basic principles –Get descriptions of exercises, with pictures. Ideally, you want a routine you can print out, take to the gym or use at home. It should include a start and end picture of exercises, with a description of technique. Such exercise charts are available in health clubs and can be found on various websites. Always obtain a routine from a reliable source and ask questions if you don't understand anything. Perform all exercises in a controlled manner. Never sacrifice control for speed. Breathing is also important. Never hold your breath while exercising. Remember to inhale as you lower a weight or relax and exhale as you raise a weight or exert. In an abdominal crunch, for example, you inhale when coming down and exhale while raising the head and shoulders off the mat.

Don't do too much too soon. Don't do too much, and don't do too little either. Every individual is different. This means that walking up the stairs may be easy for one individual, but strenuous for someone else. The best way to recognize how hard you're working is to be aware of your breathing pattern, heart rate and exertion levels. Moderate-intensity activity is going to make you breathe harder than light activity, make your heart beat faster and likely make you sweat a little.

Understand the meaning of moderate. There is a simple way to understand what's moderate for you. Light exercise does not result in any noticeable effort. Reading the newspaper is a good example. Light exercise results in noticeable exertion and normal to slightly increased breathing. Walking a dog can be considered light exercise for many individuals. Moderate exercise is slightly vigorous. Gardening, for example, may be associated with deeper breathing to panting and sweating. Finally, hard exercise involves vigorous exertion, gasping and heavy sweating. Think of that aerobics class that's hard to get through!Frequency is important! 3-4 days a week of moderate exercise for 30-45 minutes each time. Researchers have found that 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most days of the week can reduce the risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, and colon cancer. It lessens feelings of depression and anxiety, helps build bones and muscles, keeps joints functioning well, and in older women minimizes the risk of falling.

Making the time if it isn't there. You don't have to fit your exercise all into one session or limit yourself to only one exercise. For example, take a brisk 15-minute walk during your coffee break and another post-dinner. Use a bicycle for 15 to 20 minutes. It all adds up. You may find that you can reach an hour a day of moderate-intensity activity more easily than you thought.

If you have not done much exercise lately, start adding physical activity to your life with some simple tips. Park your car further from your destination and walk. Find a group of friends to walk with on weekend mornings. Garden or help in home repairs. Take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator. Use hand weights while walking. Vacuum while watching television. Every little bit helps!

Before we look at a few exercises for sciatica it is important to understand what sciatica is. Often misused and not clearly defined, sciatica is not a diagnosis in itself but in actuality sciatica is a set of symptoms being caused by another medical issue, most often a slipped or herniated disk. The term sciatica refers to the pain caused when one ore more of the nerves exiting the lower spine are being compressed or irritated. These nerves exiting the lower spines make up the sciatic nerve. A herniated or slipped disk is not the only medical condition that can cause sciatica but it is the most common.
The medical term for sciatica is a radiculopathy, which means that a spinal disc has extended beyond its normal position and is irritating the radicular nerve (nerve root) in the lower back, which connects with the sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve branches off as it travels down the lower extremity through the back of the leg, and thus pain can be experienced along this route.
Even though it may seem counterintuitive, healing sciatica pain through exercise is better than bed rest. Resting for a day or two after the patients sciatica flares up is acceptable, but inactivity after this time will usually make the pain worse. Your back muscles and spinal structure become deconditioned without exercise and movement and are less able to support the back. Leading to strain and further back injury this deconditioning and weakening is the most common reason for additional back pain. If you want to have healthy spinal discs you need to make sure that you are exercising. Nutrients and fluids are exchange within discs through movement and help to keep them healthy.
The focus of most sciatica exercises are on strengthening the back and abdominal muscles to provide more strength and support for your back. If you have muscles that cause pain when they are tight and inflexible, stretching exercises for sciatica targeted muscles is recommended. When you partake in stretching and strengthening exercises, the average patient will recover more quickly from a sciatica episode and prevent future flare ups of the pain.
Because sciatic pain is not caused by the same ailments, specific sciatica exercises are recommended depending on the cause of the pain. Its just like bringing your car into the mechanic, if the muffler is the problem then rotating the wheels will most likely not fix the problem. A certified athletic trainer, physical therapist, chiropractor or or spine specialist who deals with back and leg pain associated with sciatica may recommend a treatment program with exercise being a part of it. Making sure you are properly diagnosed before starting a specific sciatica exercise program is important because, while it is rare, sciatica pain can be cause by serious medical conditions such as a tumor or infection that require prompt medical attention. I was going to list an assortment of exercises that one could do but I don't think with what I have said in my above statement that this would be a good idea. Self diagnosis can often lead to further injury so I stick to what I wrote and recommend that before you start specific sciatica exercises you should consult one of the above recommended specialists and discuss a treatment plan with a professional.

Article Source : Pg. 175

About Author

Both Chhoda Nitin & Robert Langard are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Chhoda Nitin has sinced written about articles on various topics from Hoodia, Pilates Exercise and Lose Weight. For more information about these exercises, and to get free full color exercise routines, diet plans and grocery lists, visit and. Chhoda Nitin's top article generates over 14800 views. to your Favourites.

Robert Langard has sinced written about articles on various topics from Medical Condition, Fitness and Backpain. . Discover more information on .. Robert Langard's top article generates over 12100 views. to your Favourites.