Swim Lake By George

     If you’ve been out physically active for some time, it’s important that you aim to make gentle, steady progress rather than going all out. The best way to start is to carry on with your normal everyday routine, but do things in a way that requires a bit more energy. For example if you are used to a certain rhythm in doing your exercise make sure that the rhythm is more enthusiastic for a change.

     From a plethora of ideas you might be able to get from the Internet, here are a few that can get you started:

     * When you go for your morning walk, walk faster. More than anything else, this is definitely a myth. It’s not how fast or slow you walk, but how much it is the quality of walk that is of consequence. Of course you cannot afford to be slow. The only hitch would be that this would totally slows your pace and makes you feel lethargic.

     * Use the stairs instead of the lift or escalator.
     It might feel difficult to begin with but its better that you use the flight of stairs. An even better suggestion is that you tag along a pocket radio with you and make it a point to switch on your favorite radio station once you arrive at a flight of stairs. This will not only diverts your attention from the staircase, but makes you feel good. Moreover practicing to walk as often as you possibly can, as this will enable you to release a great amount of good cholesterol from behind your knees. Continue Reading

    To get a well toned and fit body you need to combine cardio workout with strength training. You also need to perform some stretching exercises before you start your fitness training. Here is a quick guide which will help you know more on how to get in shape fast.

     Stretching
     Stretching arms and legs before and after exercise helps prepare the muscles for further workouts, besides increasing your flexibility. While performing these exercises make sure that your movements are slow and controlled. Stretch your muscles until you feel a gentle pull. Hold each stretch without wobbling and make sure that you do not hold your breath while exercising.

     Hamstring Stretch
     Stand straight and place one foot on a chair or a stool and hold on to a wall for balance. Slowly lean forward, without bending your back. Now touch your shin with one hand until you feel a stretch at the back of your thigh. Repeat this exercise on the other leg.

     Leg Circles
     Hold a chair for balance and lift one leg straight behind you. Keep both your knees straight and rotate your leg clockwise and anticlockwise, as if drawing small circles with your foot. Continue Reading

     A correct posture means that when you sit on a chair your back should be straight, chest up and outward and your tummy should be completely tucked in. The simplest way to maintain such a body posture is to sit and stand straight maintaining the given ideal stance. Make sure that you put minimum possible strain on your bones and muscles. This is a great posture correction tip. Also, use a chair that allows comfort and the suggested posture for long term purposes. Read more on how to improve posture.

     Posture Correction Exercises
     Here are some posture correction exercises that will help you maintain a good body posture.

     Exercise 1: Stand erect. Align your ears over the shoulders. Raise both your hands straight up. The arms should be alongside your ears. Bend your hands at the elbow so that the palms touch the blades of your shoulders. Stay in this position for a minute. Perform this posture correction exercise to a count of 10 every day.

     Exercise 2: Take a chair and sit on it with both the feet touching the floor. Make sure that you sit on the chair straight yet comfortably. Wait and relax for a couple of seconds. When you feel at ease, place your palms on your thighs. Now, move your shoulders backwards. Squeeze the shoulder blades together. Do both the movements simultaneously but slowly. Stay in this posture for a moment. Come back to your original position. Perform this exercise for posture correction to a count of 15 everyday.

     Exercise 3: Sit straight on the floor with your legs crossed. Place your hands on your thighs. You should be comfortable in this position. Take a deep breath and pull your tummy in. Exhale slowly by releasing the tummy slowly. Do it 15 times in the initial stage. With regular practice you would be able to perform this posture correction exercise to a count of 150-200. This particular exercise is one of the most simple ways to tuck your bulging belly in and correct your body posture. Here’s more on posture exercises.

     Posture Correction Tools Continue Reading

     For those who use corrective lenses for vision correction, swimming with normal swim goggles is just the same as going in water without any lens. Good vision is just as important when in water as it is otherwise. Keeping with this requirement in mind, as well as the need to look good, a range of prescription swim goggles are being made by manufacturers in various colors and designs.

     Need for Prescription Swim Goggles

     We see objects when light rays are reflected from them back to our eyes. However, light rays behave differently in different media. This is the reason why the floor of a swimming pool appears higher than it actually is. Hence, while swimming, the eye-hand co-ordination may be difficult to maintain. Swim goggles provide a pocket of air around the eyes that reduces the anomaly in vision caused when light rays travel from one medium to another. This provides greater precision to our vision. In case of those who are nearsighted, farsighted or suffer from astigmatism, using corrective lenses underwater becomes all the more important. It is here that using prescription inserts in swim goggles comes into consideration. However, the same prescription for contact lenses or eye glass lens that one normally wears cannot be used for swim goggles. This is because the diopter of the lens varies according to the distance between the eyes and the lens when it is worn. This is the same reason why the diopter of the contact lenses and the eyeglass lenses for the same individual are not identical. Continue Reading

     Learning how to swim freestyle faster is something that can be done by improving swimming technique and by improving one’s stamina level. There are a lot of people who know how to swim freestyle properly, but not everyone can achieve the kind of speed that comes with the perfect technique. To learn to do this, one must read about the correct posturing and body positioning, and then physically apply this knowledge.

     All of the Olympic swimmers know how to swim freestyle faster and have been practicing these techniques for many years. To master this art, you need to show a lot of sincerity, dedication and commitment, as this art is not something that can be picked up easily. When the right technique is coupled with proper nutrition, regular exercise and adequate rest, learning how to swim faster freestyle becomes simpler.

     Kicking Patterns
     When you are swimming, it is your feet that are doing the paddling. So, it goes without saying that this needs to be carried out in the right manner. With the proper kicking technique you can easily learn how to swim freestyle faster and improve your clocked timing by a considerable margin. Learn to use your entire leg to kick, and time your kicks based on the distance that you need to cover. Do not bend your knee excessively, as this will hamper the free movement. Once you have figured out the rhythm of the kicks, try not to break that pattern. Many people, who set out to learn how to swim faster freestyle, are unable to increase their speed due to a wrong kicking motion.

     Arm Patterns
     Your arms are what you use in order to propel yourself forward. The longer the strokes that you take with your arm, the further each rhythmic movement will carry you. You must remember to swing your arm completely while keeping it as straight as possible. Complete the circular movements under the surface of the water and equate the rhythm of the arms with the rhythm of your paddling legs. When instructors teach people how to swim freestyle correctly, this is the first thing that they focus on. Without proper movement of the arms you will be unable to achieve a smooth streamline movement. Continue Reading

     It is better that you warm up your muscles before starting these exercises. Warming up helps the muscles to be in contracted position for five to ten minutes. There are different types of flexibility workouts. They are as follows.

     Dynamic Stretching – It involves dynamic movements of the body parts, gradually increasing the speed of movements.

     Static Stretching – Static stretching involves creating tension in the body by holding a particular posture for a some time. This boosts muscle elasticity.

     Ballistic Stretching – Ballistic stretching comprises basic aerobic bouncing repeated in sets of twenty to fifty. It is important to consult a physician before getting into ballistic stretching.

     Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) – This procedure is a combination of isometrics and passive stretching. Passive stretching, a type of static stretching requires an external force which acts upon the limbs so that they can move to a greater extent. Isometric exercises involve static contraction of muscles without visible movements in the joints.

     Benefits of Flexibility Training
     It improves the physical fitness of the muscles. It increases the range of motion of the joints. The two extreme degrees of flexion and extension that can be attained by any joint, in a given direction can be defined as range of motion (ROM). Some muscles in our body are overused due to heavy exercises or bad posture. Flexibility training helps in balancing out this discrimination in the use of muscles. Stretching exercises help the muscles to become more flexible. Continue Reading