Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Heart Rate Monitor - A Must Have For Your New Workout Routine

If you purchase nothing else to support your new exercise regime, be sure to invest in a reliable heart rate monitor. We're not talking about the top-of-the-line model with all of the bells and whistles; a basic model will work just fine.

How a Heart Monitor Works
A traditional unit has two parts: a chest strap and a wrist watch. The strap fits comfortably around your chest and registers your heart beats, sending this information (wirelessly) to a display on the watch. The watch will show your heart rate, exercise time, and average rate. You will be able to set the monitor to alert you when your rate goes below or above your desired range.

This simple device can act as your personal training by helping you:

Accurately Measure your Heart Rate
As you work out, it is critical to gradually increase your heart rate, maintain it at a steady and appropriate level, and decrease it slowly. The best way to make sure your heart is beating as it should during exercise is to view it on the watch display. The only other way to get this information is to manually take your pulse which can be difficult to get right; especially for beginners.

Moderate Exercise Intensity
It is important to not over-do it when you first begin exercising. A monitor will let you know if your training is too strenuous for your fitness level. On the flip side, it will also tell you if you are not training hard enough.

Get Motivated and Track your Progress
Having goals is one of the best ways to stay motivated with an exercise routine. The monitor will allow you to set straightforward goals such as maintaining a defined rate for a set amount of time. You will be able to judge your improvement over time by recording your heart rate data after each workout (some more advanced monitors will let you download this information to your computer). Your successes will motivate you to work harder and you will know when you need to reset your goals.

How to Interpret the Numbers
The changing number on the display represents your current heart rate, i.e. the number of times your heart will beat in one minute's time. A beat is technically a contraction of the lower ventricles of the heart. You'll want to learn what these numbers mean to you. To find your maximum heart rate take 220 and subtract your age. Your target zone is between 50% and 80% of this number. For example, if you are 36 years old, your maximum heart rate would be 184 (220-34). Your heart rate range will be between 92 (50%) and 147 (80%) as you are working out. As your fitness improves your heart will slow down while doing the same amount of exercise. This will encourage you to work harder to maintain the same rate.

Before you splurge for the latest and greatest running shoe or fashionable workout wear, pick up a heart rate monitor and start using it from day one of your new exercise routine.

Elizabeth Dennis has been writing health and beauty articles for three years. She regularly contributes to the hair removal surgery guide and the cough treatments guide.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Elizabeth_Dennis

Dealing With Disease - Multiple Sclerosis Health Tips

When the term Multiple Sclerosis is said we often as quick to think about a slow as debilitating degradation of a person into a state that they are not able to live on their own. The truth is that this does not always have to be the case. There are things that a person can do to make their existence better and slow the rate of bodily control loss that they experience. With these tips you can easily extend the time that you can enjoy a high quality of living, even with MS.

You Can Live a Quality Life even with Multiple Sclerosis
One of the first things that you need to do is to assess your lifestyle and see what is not working for the improvement your overall level of health. Once you have this information you need to take action steps to change these things and get yourself to a fitness level that will help you to fight off the ravishing effects of MS. Some of those factors are, eating healthier, lowering stress levels and increasing mental health. IF you are a smoker stop and if have high blood pressure or diabetes get those condition sunder control. The healthier your body is the better equipped you are to fight this disease.

Include Natural Herbs in Your Diet
One thing that has been shown to help with controlling the effects of multiple sclerosis is natural herbs. Herbs that are beneficial to the support of the brain and the central nervous system have been shown to reduce the severity of MS symptoms and to slow the onslaught of the disease. Three of the most popular rare yerba mate, valerian root, and gotu kola.

Take Control of Your Diet
One of the best ways to help improve your overall health and slow the progress of MS is to get your diet under control. This is not to say that the occasional cheeseburger is going to hurt you, infect there is something to be said for the benefits of pleasurable indulgences such as this, but you need to get in the right frame of healthy eating habits and stay there as much as possible. A healthy body begins with a healthy diet and a healthy body is what you need to fight this disease.

Soak Up the Sun
The light of the sun is one of the best sources that our bodies have for vitamin D. D is one of the most important vitamins for a healthy overall body. The good news is that Vitamin D is also known to have a very positive effect on your battle with MS. Be careful not to get a burn but make sure that every single day you are able to get out unclothed and without sunscreen for about 20 minutes in bright sunlight. This will not only have a positive effect on your body but also the cool breeze and warm sunshine on bare skin will have a very beneficial effect on the mind.

Keep Yourself Active
This is vital; MS ravishes your Muscular and nervous systems. You can fight it by keep them as strong as possible. This means that you will want to stay active and vibrant as much as you can. Do not help the disease along, make it as difficult as you can for it to do is damage.

Reduce your Consumption and Interaction with Heavy Metals
Although we do not fully understand why, there is a definite correlation between contact and consumption of heavy metals with the development of MS. These heavy metals can be found in your water, beauty products medicines and food. Make it a point to begin paying attention to what you are consuming to reduce the impact of heavy metals in your life.

Keep yourself Positive
This is a key step. The body is very much in tune with the mind. If you have a positive mental outlook on your life then you will see that your health is better because of it. Make it a point to keep yourself in a good state of mind and it will make dealing with your condition easier in the long run.
So as you can see you do not have to consider MS to be a death sentence that will leave you without the ability to live a productive and meaningful life on your own. You can overcome the challenges and difficulties that are associated to MS and continue to live a comfortable existence with the condition.

Brent McNutt enjoys networking with healthcare professionals online. He also likes talking about Landau Scrubs and Landau Shoes and also likes writing articles about various topics.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brent_McNutt

Monday, June 21, 2010