Month: July 2019

The human body is made up mostly of water.  Any time you spend too long in the hot sun and you don’t replace the fluids you’re losing, you run the risk of dehydration.  If you pay close attention to the signals your body is sending you though, you can avoid the problem entirely.

What are those signs and signals, exactly?  We’ll outline them for you just below!

Dark Urine (Or Less Urine)

This is actually one of the best and most obvious signs that you are becoming dehydrated.  Generally speaking, when you’re well-hydrated, your urine is clearer. As you become dehydrated, it will grow darker.  There will also be less of it, as your body tries to conserve as many fluids as it can.

A General Feeling Of Lethargy

This is a sign of moderate dehydration and is typically accompanied by a feeling of growing weakness in your muscles.  You may also experience dry mouth that accompanies the sense of lethargy.  While either of those on their own is a decent indicator, both together are a sure sign.

Light-Headedness or Headache

Another sign of moderate dehydration is light-headedness or dizziness.  It may also be accompanied by a sudden headache or nausea.

You Stop Sweating

This is a sign of severe dehydration that normally only occurs when you’ve lost 10-15 percent of your body’s water content.  At this point, if you look in the mirror, you’ll probably also notice that you have sunken eyes and your skin looks shriveled and dried out.

Other symptoms of severe dehydration include:

• Delirium
• Fever
• Increased heart rate
• Low blood pressure

Anything you can do to put more fluids back into your system will help ward off the effects of dehydration. After a certain point, you’ll likely need medical attention to be sure that no complications arise as a result.  Be mindful of the signals your body is sending you and play it safe any time you spend extended periods in the heat!

When it gets hot outside, kids love nothing better than Slurpies, ice cream, popsicles, and other sweet treats like that.

When they’re indoors with air conditioning playing video games and the like, they love reaching for salty chips and the like.

It’s easy to see the attraction.  All of those things are delicious.  Unfortunately, they’re all incredibly unhealthy.  If you’re looking for ideas on how you can treat your kids to delicious snacks but keep things on the healthier side, then this article is for you.  Below, we’ll outline a few ideas!

Fresh Fruit

Sweetness, the way nature intended!  There are a nearly endless number of options where fresh fruits are concerned, from strawberries, to cranberries, blueberries and more.  If you’re not sure which ones your kids prefer, mix and match to try them all.  If you want to add a bit of salty goodness to the equation, pair small servings of salted nuts with your fresh fruit offerings.

Veggie Trays

You can make these yourself, but there are so many great pre-made ones to choose from on the market that it’s almost not worth the time and trouble. That is, unless your kids have very specific tastes you want to cater to.  Whichever option you choose, veggie trays are a versatile, great tasting alternative to conventional snacks.

Yogurt Cups

A cool, delicious alternative to ice cream.  In fact, if you want to spice things up a bit, mix in a bit of fresh fruit with your yogurt offerings and use the yogurt as a fruit dip.

As you can see based on the snack ideas above, it’s easier than you might think to provide healthier alternatives to your kids.  They’ll enjoy the diverse array of flavors and textures and you’ll have greater peace of mind because they’ll be eating healthier.  That’s win-win.

Did you make a New Year’s Resolution at the start of the year to get healthier?

How’d that work out for you?  How long was it before you threw your hands up in frustration and gave up?  Most people last a week.  A few last almost a month.

However, in the end only a handful of people stick with their resolution long enough to see much of a difference. That is, if they see any difference at all.

The reason?  Overwhelmingly, it comes down to a lack of consistency.  If you only work out once a week, even if you do so intensely, it’s not going to be as effective as it would have been if you work out more moderately, but more often.

Here are some quick tips to help you stick with it and start seeing a difference:

• Create a schedule – Not only that, but write it down! There’s power in the written word and you’ll have an easier time holding yourself accountable if you force yourself to look at what you’re supposed to be doing on any given day.
• Don’t do it alone – Find an exercise buddy. Someone who has the same basic fitness goals.  Not only will you have someone to work out with, but you’ll be able to help keep each other accountable.  That’s win-win!
• Flip the script – Many people just don’t like conventional workouts. It’s easy to see why, so don’t do that.  Find a fun physical activity you enjoy doing and do it consistently.  What’s your preference?  Tennis?  Fencing?  Frisbee?  All of those will give you a fabulous workout, but none of them really feel like exercise.

Even if you just do the three things mentioned above and nothing else, you’ll go a long way toward sticking with your exercise long enough to start seeing real, tangible results.  Once you do, it will provide all the motivation you need to keep going!

With the weather warming up, it’s no surprise that more and more people are moving outside for some serious summertime fun.  We can’t say we blame them.

As much fun as the great outdoors can be, it’s also important to keep safety in mind.

Accidents happen most often when people get so caught up in what they’re doing that they stop being mindful of their surroundings and bodies.  During the hot summer months, far and away the most common types of injuries and accidents fall into two broad categories:  Falls and Heat.  We’ll talk about both, just below.

Falls

When you read this heading, you might be inclined to think about kids falling down while playing outside.  That certainly happens and it is part of what we’re talking about here, but adults aren’t immune to summertime spills.

Where kids are concerned, the causes are much more wide-ranging.  It could be anything from taking a tumble off of a bike while riding, to roller skating in the street, falling off of a trampoline, and more.  Where adults are concerned, the most common type of fall is off of a ladder.

Unfortunately, nothing can outright prevent falls from occurring, unless you confine yourself to life in a bubble. Taking basic safety precautions can minimize the extent of any injuries that do occur.

Heat

After having spent the long winter months mostly indoors, it’s easy to overdo it when summer rolls around.  Heat exhaustion and dehydration are the two big things to watch out for here, and both are caused by  a lack of mindfulness.

When you’re out having fun, it’s easy to get so focused on your activity that that you stop paying attention to the signals your body is sending you to stop and cool down.  If you don’t listen to the early signals your body sends you, it’ll start sending stronger ones. That will invariably result in you collapsing and spending some time in the ER as medical professionals pump fluids back into your system.

Don’t let it come to that.  Just be mindful, stay hydrated, and don’t overdo it!

 

Just about every fitness expert you talk to will recommend doing a combination of cardio and weight training, rather than choosing one or the other.

It’s good advice because those are two very different forms of exercise with very different benefits.

The interesting question is, which should you do first in your weekly exercise routine?  Here, things get interesting and the answers will vary depending on who you ask.  In this article, we’ll shed some light on that, and in the process, uncover why there’s an ongoing debate on the topic!

Ultimately, the question of which you should do first for optimal results comes down to your personal goals.  Personal fitness goals tend to fall into one of three broad categories:  Losing weight, building muscle mass, or training for a specific physical event.  Note that muscle is sixteen times denser than fat, so if you’re focused on weight training, you’re actually quite likely to gain weight.  The muscle weight you add on will more than offset the fat you’re losing.

Here, then, is the answer:

If your goal is to lose weight, then you want to start with weight training and move to cardio afterward.  According to a study conducted by the American Council on Exercise, you’ll burn more pounds and shed fat more quickly if your heart rate is elevated when you begin your cardio routine.  An opening round of weight training accomplishes that goal and makes your cardio workout more efficient and effective.

On the other hand, if your primary goal is to build muscle and develop a nice six-pack to show off, then your best bet is to split your cardio and weight training workouts to separate days.  The reason is simple:  When you strength train, you need to be operating at 100 percent capacity when you exercise.  Bunching the two types of exercise on the same day will blunt your effectiveness on whichever one comes second.

If you are training for an event like a race or a marathon, you’ll want to do your cardio routine first, according to the latest research published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning.  Their recommendation is to use the cardio routine as a warm-up, and then exercise the muscles most needed for the event you’re training for before proceeding with the rest of your strength training routine.

As you can see then, there’s no one right answer here.  It is entirely dependent on what you want your exercise routine to do for you!