The post The Importance of Sunlight for Health and Wellbeing appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>Known as the “sunshine vitamin”, sunlight triggers your body to produce Vitamin D. This is a crucial vitamin for the body’s overall health.
The sun helps the body to better absorb Vitamin D which helps our bones grow strong and to better mend themselves.
Sunshine has been shown to improve the skin’s immunity to disease and it helps boost the skin’s capacity for healthy sweating and absorption.
Vitamin D has been linked to improved vision. The sun’s rays can actually promote eye health and have a curative effect.
Exposure to sunlight helps the body to release serotonin which combats the symptoms of depression and leaves you feeling more energized and happy.
Sunlight directly affects the brain’s pineal gland which is the gland that secretes melatonin, a powerful antioxidant that is important for sleep quality and can help prevent depression.
The post The Importance of Sunlight for Health and Wellbeing appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>The post Intermittent Fasting: What are the Health Benefits and is it Worth It? appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>It varies in style, but at its core intermittent fasting involves the dieter refraining from eating at all during certain parts of the day—and then allowing themselves to eat freely for the rest of it.
For many people, it seems to have proven itself to be an effective practice. However, it should be noted that it’s not designed for those who have particular nutritional needs, such as children, teenagers, or diabetics. That being said, here are some of the health benefits that are often linked to intermittent fasting.
Intermittent fasting has been linked to better blood-sugar control. This helps your body monitor the levels of sugar in the blood and prevent it from spiking early in the day or late at night.
A more balanced blood-sugar level means higher energy throughout the day. The more consistent the sugar levels, the less your energy will spike for a short period and then drop drastically.
Intermittent fasting has also been linked to reduced inflammation, which is partially thanks to the better-controlled blood sugar levels.
Intermittent fasting also encourages a quicker metabolism. This means that more calories will be burnt and excess fat is more likely to be used up.
The post Intermittent Fasting: What are the Health Benefits and is it Worth It? appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>The post The Simplest Way To Meditate Before Bed appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>This meditation is best if you’re lying down, although you can also sit down if you prefer. You can lie on the floor or in bed with your legs outstretched, which will help you relax.
Take a deep breath to the count of four, hold it in for two seconds, and then breathe out to the count of six. Follow the movement of your breath.
As you breathe out, try to let everything go. Allow every inkling of stress and anxiety to wash away as you expel them from your body with your breath.
As you feel yourself relaxing, pay attention to the floor or bed that’s supporting you. As you go limp, notice that the world is holding you and comforting you.
After around ten minutes, roll gently onto your side, or get up slowly if you’re on the floor. Ideally, your mind, body, and soul should be in an optimal state for passing out smoothly.
The post The Simplest Way To Meditate Before Bed appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>The post Tired of Running? Here are 4 Viable Cardio Alternatives appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>If this has happened to you, don’t give up on your important cardio workouts! You just need to find effective alternatives. Here are four other options you can try out.
Definitely one of the best forms of exercise out there, swimming is a wonderfully effective form of cardio. It strengthens your whole body and improves fitness without exerting pressure or impact on the joints.
Rowing is great for strengthening the cardiovascular system and training the breath, while also strengthening the arm and core muscles.
Not only does skipping get you really fit and give you strong core muscles, but it’ll make you feel like a kid again!
Cycling is a great alternative to running as well. It’s a wonderful way to get out of the house, explore new territories, and go on a bit of an adventure while you pedal your way to your fitness goals.
The post Tired of Running? Here are 4 Viable Cardio Alternatives appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>The post 4 Easy Plank Exercises You Can Do at Home appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>The forearm plank is the most common form of planking and it’s also the most conventional. Lie on your belly and then lift your front off of the ground by supporting yourself with your forearms. Make sure to keep your back and body straight until you feel the burn.
This plank is the same as the forearm plank, but instead of resting on your forearms, straighten them out. This will mean holding yourself in a similar position to that of a push-up. This works out your shoulders as well as your core.
For this exercise, rest on your forearms as you did in the first plank, but this time arch your back and lift your bottom half into the air.
When you’re in the regular forearm plank position, bend your knees until they almost touch the floor. Hold for a few seconds and then straighten them out again. Repeat about three times per minute.
The post 4 Easy Plank Exercises You Can Do at Home appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>The post Tips for Ideal Stretching to Optimize Your Performance appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>Here are some great tips on how you should be stretching before your regular workouts.
During the night, our bodies often become tense and tight. For this reason, it’s important that we loosen our muscles shortly after waking up. If we don’t, this can lead to tight and inflexible muscles in the long term.
Tight muscles can be uncomfortable, lead to injury, and weaken athletic performance as well. Therefore, it’s important to aim for a full-body stretch within the first two hours after you wake up.
It’s extremely important that you stretch before a workout to warm up your muscles. This prevents injury and allows your muscles to work with you and not against you.
While you’re engaging in stretching, a top tip is to combine it with breathing exercises. This can help soften the muscles, reduce stress, and improve overall control of your body.
The post Tips for Ideal Stretching to Optimize Your Performance appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>The post How to Strengthen Your Arms Without Weights appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>Bodyweight exercises can in fact be more effective at strengthening arms than lifting weights. Push-ups are one of the most common workouts for a reason. Do 3 sets of 10 daily, and enjoy the results.
A very similar kind of workout to push-ups, pull-ups require you to pull yourself up on a horizontal poll or suspended surface. This uses your bodyweight to strengthen those arm muscles. Training with push-ups and pull-ups allows your arms to grow in proportion to the rest of your body. In this way, one could argue that they have a unique advantage over weight training.
Few exercises surpass swimming for sheer effectiveness. If you swim 2-3 times a week, you will see massive changes to the power of your arms. Front crawl and breast stroke are particularly effective at working out the whole arms in conjunction with the core.
Simple, practical and effective, exercise bands allow you to work out your arms at any time and any place.
Wall or rock climbing is very effective for strengthening the arms. It also works on your bodyweight, the same as push-ups and pull-ups do.
The post How to Strengthen Your Arms Without Weights appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>The post Winter Workout Trends to Warm You Right Up appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>Once you manage to break a sweat, you’ll forget about the cold in no time. If your workout routine has suffered so far this icy season, try out these winter-friendly workouts that’ll warm your body right up!
Fitness centers near you will often have large walls suited for climbing. These are great for working out your whole body and maintaining peak fitness levels throughout the winter months. They are great for the core, the arms, balance, and coordination as well.
Another great workout for your whole body is swimming at your local pool. While it’s usually too cold to run in the ice and snow, you can take refuge in a nice warm pool with perfect conditions for swimming. This not only strengthens and tones the entire body but it also improves mental health.
Alongside swimming, yoga is also a powerful exercise for strengthening the mind and body. You can practice from within the comfort of your own home, and you can also use meditation apps such as Headspace to guide you through it.
The post Winter Workout Trends to Warm You Right Up appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>The post Best Exercises for Building Your Shoulder Muscles appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>Take a dumbbell or a weight in each hand and lift up above the head, hold for five seconds, and then gently lower the arms back to the standing rest position. Repeat five times. This will strengthen your shoulders along with the lower back and legs.
Standing with a weight in each hand, lift your arms up by your sides, keeping them straight. Repeat ten times for a set. This works out your shoulders in connection with the chest and abs.
This is the same as the previous shoulder press, but this time you’ll be sitting down. Lift the dumbbell or weights up above your head, keeping your arms straight. The seated shoulder press works more exclusively on the shoulders since it doesn’t use the back so much.
An easy bodyweight exercise for the shoulders is the wide press up. This is like an ordinary press up, but set your hands wide apart so that they are past each shoulder. This will focus more on the shoulders, chest, and neck muscles.
The post Best Exercises for Building Your Shoulder Muscles appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>The post Killer Smoothie Combinations that Will Boost Your Energy Levels appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>Here are some winning smoothie combinations that you should start trying today.
Throw in oats, strawberries, banana, natural yogurt, blueberries, and raspberries for this deliciously creamy mix. It’s packed full of vitamins and minerals from the fruit, while the oats provide fiber and slow-release energy throughout the day. The natural yogurt makes the smoothie nice and creamy, but also provides essential prebiotics that improve digestive health.
Combine chunks of banana, pineapple, melon, and natural Greek yogurt with a few oats and Chia seeds. The result is a scrumptious, refreshingly sweet tropical smoothie packed full of vitamins, minerals, protein, and prebiotics.
It might not sound like the best tasting smoothie of all time, but it certainly packs quite a punch. Throw together kale, celery, spinach, carrot, and avocado and blend it until smooth. The result is an acquired taste, but it does provide high levels of vitamins and minerals that will leave you feeling great.
The post Killer Smoothie Combinations that Will Boost Your Energy Levels appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>The post The Importance of Sunlight for Health and Wellbeing appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>Known as the “sunshine vitamin”, sunlight triggers your body to produce Vitamin D. This is a crucial vitamin for the body’s overall health.
The sun helps the body to better absorb Vitamin D which helps our bones grow strong and to better mend themselves.
Sunshine has been shown to improve the skin’s immunity to disease and it helps boost the skin’s capacity for healthy sweating and absorption.
Vitamin D has been linked to improved vision. The sun’s rays can actually promote eye health and have a curative effect.
Exposure to sunlight helps the body to release serotonin which combats the symptoms of depression and leaves you feeling more energized and happy.
Sunlight directly affects the brain’s pineal gland which is the gland that secretes melatonin, a powerful antioxidant that is important for sleep quality and can help prevent depression.
The post The Importance of Sunlight for Health and Wellbeing appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>The post Intermittent Fasting: What are the Health Benefits and is it Worth It? appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>It varies in style, but at its core intermittent fasting involves the dieter refraining from eating at all during certain parts of the day—and then allowing themselves to eat freely for the rest of it.
For many people, it seems to have proven itself to be an effective practice. However, it should be noted that it’s not designed for those who have particular nutritional needs, such as children, teenagers, or diabetics. That being said, here are some of the health benefits that are often linked to intermittent fasting.
Intermittent fasting has been linked to better blood-sugar control. This helps your body monitor the levels of sugar in the blood and prevent it from spiking early in the day or late at night.
A more balanced blood-sugar level means higher energy throughout the day. The more consistent the sugar levels, the less your energy will spike for a short period and then drop drastically.
Intermittent fasting has also been linked to reduced inflammation, which is partially thanks to the better-controlled blood sugar levels.
Intermittent fasting also encourages a quicker metabolism. This means that more calories will be burnt and excess fat is more likely to be used up.
The post Intermittent Fasting: What are the Health Benefits and is it Worth It? appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>The post The Simplest Way To Meditate Before Bed appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>This meditation is best if you’re lying down, although you can also sit down if you prefer. You can lie on the floor or in bed with your legs outstretched, which will help you relax.
Take a deep breath to the count of four, hold it in for two seconds, and then breathe out to the count of six. Follow the movement of your breath.
As you breathe out, try to let everything go. Allow every inkling of stress and anxiety to wash away as you expel them from your body with your breath.
As you feel yourself relaxing, pay attention to the floor or bed that’s supporting you. As you go limp, notice that the world is holding you and comforting you.
After around ten minutes, roll gently onto your side, or get up slowly if you’re on the floor. Ideally, your mind, body, and soul should be in an optimal state for passing out smoothly.
The post The Simplest Way To Meditate Before Bed appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>The post Tired of Running? Here are 4 Viable Cardio Alternatives appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>If this has happened to you, don’t give up on your important cardio workouts! You just need to find effective alternatives. Here are four other options you can try out.
Definitely one of the best forms of exercise out there, swimming is a wonderfully effective form of cardio. It strengthens your whole body and improves fitness without exerting pressure or impact on the joints.
Rowing is great for strengthening the cardiovascular system and training the breath, while also strengthening the arm and core muscles.
Not only does skipping get you really fit and give you strong core muscles, but it’ll make you feel like a kid again!
Cycling is a great alternative to running as well. It’s a wonderful way to get out of the house, explore new territories, and go on a bit of an adventure while you pedal your way to your fitness goals.
The post Tired of Running? Here are 4 Viable Cardio Alternatives appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>The post 4 Easy Plank Exercises You Can Do at Home appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>The forearm plank is the most common form of planking and it’s also the most conventional. Lie on your belly and then lift your front off of the ground by supporting yourself with your forearms. Make sure to keep your back and body straight until you feel the burn.
This plank is the same as the forearm plank, but instead of resting on your forearms, straighten them out. This will mean holding yourself in a similar position to that of a push-up. This works out your shoulders as well as your core.
For this exercise, rest on your forearms as you did in the first plank, but this time arch your back and lift your bottom half into the air.
When you’re in the regular forearm plank position, bend your knees until they almost touch the floor. Hold for a few seconds and then straighten them out again. Repeat about three times per minute.
The post 4 Easy Plank Exercises You Can Do at Home appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>The post Tips for Ideal Stretching to Optimize Your Performance appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>Here are some great tips on how you should be stretching before your regular workouts.
During the night, our bodies often become tense and tight. For this reason, it’s important that we loosen our muscles shortly after waking up. If we don’t, this can lead to tight and inflexible muscles in the long term.
Tight muscles can be uncomfortable, lead to injury, and weaken athletic performance as well. Therefore, it’s important to aim for a full-body stretch within the first two hours after you wake up.
It’s extremely important that you stretch before a workout to warm up your muscles. This prevents injury and allows your muscles to work with you and not against you.
While you’re engaging in stretching, a top tip is to combine it with breathing exercises. This can help soften the muscles, reduce stress, and improve overall control of your body.
The post Tips for Ideal Stretching to Optimize Your Performance appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>The post How to Strengthen Your Arms Without Weights appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>Bodyweight exercises can in fact be more effective at strengthening arms than lifting weights. Push-ups are one of the most common workouts for a reason. Do 3 sets of 10 daily, and enjoy the results.
A very similar kind of workout to push-ups, pull-ups require you to pull yourself up on a horizontal poll or suspended surface. This uses your bodyweight to strengthen those arm muscles. Training with push-ups and pull-ups allows your arms to grow in proportion to the rest of your body. In this way, one could argue that they have a unique advantage over weight training.
Few exercises surpass swimming for sheer effectiveness. If you swim 2-3 times a week, you will see massive changes to the power of your arms. Front crawl and breast stroke are particularly effective at working out the whole arms in conjunction with the core.
Simple, practical and effective, exercise bands allow you to work out your arms at any time and any place.
Wall or rock climbing is very effective for strengthening the arms. It also works on your bodyweight, the same as push-ups and pull-ups do.
The post How to Strengthen Your Arms Without Weights appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>The post Winter Workout Trends to Warm You Right Up appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>Once you manage to break a sweat, you’ll forget about the cold in no time. If your workout routine has suffered so far this icy season, try out these winter-friendly workouts that’ll warm your body right up!
Fitness centers near you will often have large walls suited for climbing. These are great for working out your whole body and maintaining peak fitness levels throughout the winter months. They are great for the core, the arms, balance, and coordination as well.
Another great workout for your whole body is swimming at your local pool. While it’s usually too cold to run in the ice and snow, you can take refuge in a nice warm pool with perfect conditions for swimming. This not only strengthens and tones the entire body but it also improves mental health.
Alongside swimming, yoga is also a powerful exercise for strengthening the mind and body. You can practice from within the comfort of your own home, and you can also use meditation apps such as Headspace to guide you through it.
The post Winter Workout Trends to Warm You Right Up appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>The post Best Exercises for Building Your Shoulder Muscles appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>Take a dumbbell or a weight in each hand and lift up above the head, hold for five seconds, and then gently lower the arms back to the standing rest position. Repeat five times. This will strengthen your shoulders along with the lower back and legs.
Standing with a weight in each hand, lift your arms up by your sides, keeping them straight. Repeat ten times for a set. This works out your shoulders in connection with the chest and abs.
This is the same as the previous shoulder press, but this time you’ll be sitting down. Lift the dumbbell or weights up above your head, keeping your arms straight. The seated shoulder press works more exclusively on the shoulders since it doesn’t use the back so much.
An easy bodyweight exercise for the shoulders is the wide press up. This is like an ordinary press up, but set your hands wide apart so that they are past each shoulder. This will focus more on the shoulders, chest, and neck muscles.
The post Best Exercises for Building Your Shoulder Muscles appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>The post Killer Smoothie Combinations that Will Boost Your Energy Levels appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>Here are some winning smoothie combinations that you should start trying today.
Throw in oats, strawberries, banana, natural yogurt, blueberries, and raspberries for this deliciously creamy mix. It’s packed full of vitamins and minerals from the fruit, while the oats provide fiber and slow-release energy throughout the day. The natural yogurt makes the smoothie nice and creamy, but also provides essential prebiotics that improve digestive health.
Combine chunks of banana, pineapple, melon, and natural Greek yogurt with a few oats and Chia seeds. The result is a scrumptious, refreshingly sweet tropical smoothie packed full of vitamins, minerals, protein, and prebiotics.
It might not sound like the best tasting smoothie of all time, but it certainly packs quite a punch. Throw together kale, celery, spinach, carrot, and avocado and blend it until smooth. The result is an acquired taste, but it does provide high levels of vitamins and minerals that will leave you feeling great.
The post Killer Smoothie Combinations that Will Boost Your Energy Levels appeared first on yourdailysportfix.com.
]]>