Women-Strolling Won’t Ward Off Weight

A new study fromHarvardUniversitysuggests that every day women need to bike or walk briskly in order to prevent weight gain as they get older. 

 Women who were 25 to 42 years old at the start of the research gained less weight if they spent an additional 30 minutes a day riding bikes or walking 3 miles an hour or faster by the end of the study.  Those who increased only slow walking didn’t reduce their weight gain during the 16-year study, according to the report published onJune 28, 2010in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

 In theUnited States, about 66 percent of adults are overweight or obese, while 16 percent of children are overweight, according to the researchers.  The findings help clarify how much exercise is needed to slow weight gain as people age and the results also apply to men, said co-lead author Rania Mekary.

 “We want to give practical solutions to people to lessen their weight gain,” said Mekary, a research associate at the Harvard School of Public Health inBoston.  “Even small steps can make a difference.  It’s never too late.”

 The researchers in the study looked at 18,414 premenopausal women who didn’t have chronic diseases and were part of the Women’s Hospital Nurses Health Study II starting in 1989.  Participants were questioned about their medical history, lifestyle and health-related behaviors every two years.

During the 16-year study, the women overall gained an average of 20.5 pounds.  Anyone who stayed within 5 percent of their original weight was classified as having no weight gain.

Women in the study gained about 3.5 pounds less if they increased their time riding a bike by 30 minutes a day compared with those who didn’t increase their riding time over the study.  The participants weren’t asked about biking intensity, so it’s unclear at what speed they were riding.

Those who increased the amount of time they walked briskly at 3 miles an hour or faster by a half hour daily gained about 4 pounds less, the study showed.

It’s difficult to stay with an exercise program unless you enjoy the exercises you do.  At www.leemedfitness.com you can find a number of pieces of exercise equipment to help you enjoy your workouts more by letting you exercise at your own pace in the manner you choose to lose weight and stay healthy.

                        Originally published by Nicole Ostrow, Bloomberg News

The Benefits of Trampoline Rebounding

                                          Staying Healthy

 The Benefits of Trampoline Rebounding

Research has led some scientists to conclude that jumping on a mini-trampoline is possibly the most effective exercise yet devised by man, especially because of the effect rebounding has on the lymph in the body. Most importantly, rebounding isFUN, so we stick to it!

The human body needs to move. The lymph system bathes every cell, carrying nutrients to the cell and waste products away. Contrary to blood, which is pumped by the heart, the lymph is totally dependent on physical exercise to move. Without adequate movement, the cells are left stewing in their own waste products and starving for nutrients, a situation which contributes to arthritis, cancer and other degenerative diseases as well as aging. Vigorous exercise such as rebounding is reported to increase lymph flow by 15 to 30 times.

When the outer coating of cancer cells has been dissolved by the enzymes trypsin and chymotrypsin, the immune cells attack the cancer cells. Therefore, supplementing one’s healing diet with enzymes, combined with rebound exercise is a useful way to combat cancer. 

Rebounding is an exercise that reduces your body fat – which is highly beneficial for diabetes and a host of other diseases, provides an aerobic effect for your heart, and gives your body energy when it’s tired.  Adults can start with 5 minutes of rebounding and increase their time as their fitness level improves. Seniors can start with 2 minutes several times per day, with at least 30 minutes between rebounding sessions.

If you would like to learn more about the benefits of trampoline rebounding, you can read the entire article at; www.healingdaily.com/exercise/rebounding-for-detoxification-and-health.htm.  For trampoline rebounding products, you can visit the Lee Medical website at www.leemedfitness.com for rebounders both with and without handles as well as a variety of other fitness related products to improve your overall health.  Order any product online from our website and get a 10% discount just for reading this blog.  Use promotion code WP10.

7 Benefits of Starting Your Own Chicken Coop

7 Benefits to Starting Your Own Chicken Coop

1. Backyard chickens are healthier. Factory farmed chickens are kept in confined areas and are often feed an unnatural diet with hormones and antibiotics to increase growth quickly and cheaply. The added stress of unhappy surroundings affects the taste and nutrients of the eggs and how many each hen produces.

2. The eggs are more nutritious. In contrast to factory farm eggs, eggs from backyard chickens have 25 percent more vitamin E, a third more vitamin A, and 75 percent more beta carotene. Not to mention more omega-3 fatty acids than factory farmed eggs.

3. The eggs are tastier. Grocery store eggs can be there for days and even weeks. Air seeps into the porous eggshell and affects the nutrients, taste, and consistency of the eggs. Fresh eggs should have firmer whites and super bright orange yolks.

4. Chickens are great for your compost. Chicken poop is high in nitrogen which is great for your compost bin and you can even compost the used egg shells.

5. Chickens will improve your garden. They are natural foragers so free-range chickens (those not confined to a coop) will scratch the soil looking for yummy bugs like grubs, earwigs, and the same bugs that eat your summer fruits and veggies. Plus, as they turn the soil, it’ll aerate, breakup vegetations, and accelerate the decomposing process.

6. Chickens are a great lesson for kids. It’s important that kids have a connection to their food and understand the farm-to-plate chain. Children will love collecting eggs daily and feeding them.

7. Barter with the neighbors. Many people love farm-fresh eggs but aren’t willing to make the commitment to owning a coop yet. Offer your eggs to your neighbors in exchange for something from their garden.

If you’re interested in raising your own chickens, check your local government website for rules and regulations – each state is different.
Info courtesy of www.organicauthority.com.

An easy way to raise your own chickens for health benefits is by starting with a backyard chicken coop.  Please visit our website at  www.leemedfitness.com    for more information or call Lee Medical at 1 800 433-8950.  Order any of our products online at our website and get a 10% discount just for reading this blog.  Use promotion code WP10.

The Benefits of Adjustable Dumbbells

Dumbbell exercises are done to develop certain muscle groups and provide definition for the entire body. Dumbbells are not a fat burner as such but strengthen individual muscles such as arms, shoulders, legs, back and chest.

Adjustable dumbbells are smart. Buying a complete set of dumbbells is relatively expensive and takes up a lot of space in the home gym. You can organize your living space more efficiently with one adjustable dumbbell set as compared to some bulkier machines available on the market.

Dumbbells also give you a greater range of motion in comparison to barbells or machines. Moreover, dumbbell workouts are a great venue for both more advanced lifters looking to gain mass or novice trainers seeking to tone up and shed some extra weight.

All this is to say that instead of spending your hard earned dollars on useless machines that promise the impossible, get yourself a complete set of dumbbells in a simple adjustable dumbbell and get the job done once and for all.

When looking for the best adjustable dumbbell, buy one that adjusts using a movable pin mechanism rather than turning a knob to dial up the weight. Dial mechanisms by their very nature have more moving parts and are more prone to failure. One movable pin is quick, easy and effective and the set is usually much less expensive.

Regardless of what your fitness goals are, dumbbells are used to add intensity and variety to your exercise routines. But what do free weights really give you? These 6 benefits of dumbbell exercises will answer that:

1. It boosts up your self-esteem. When your muscles are developed and your fatty areas are trimmed using dumbbell exercises, you feel more at ease and confident about yourself. You look better and more contoured, thus it gives you more self confidence. Some even make use of their confidence and physique to compete in pageants and bodybuilding competitions.

2. It strengthens bones as well as muscles so you are less prone to osteoporosis when you grow older. Strength exercises elevate your bone density and ensure your muscles are protected, thus it helps you avoid wear and tear. Your bones become stronger.

3. It increases your metabolism. Consistently working out with dumbbells will cause your body to speed up your metabolic rate, thereby controlling weight gain. Once you increase your bone density and your muscles are stronger, it follows that your muscle mass is larger. Muscles burn more calories than fat.

4. It improves your sleep. Regular dumbbell exercises help condition your system. You become firmer and that leads to better sleep.

5. It takes a small amount of time but gives quick results. Dumbbell exercises don’t require as much time as fat-burning cardio routines. You only have to allocate 15 to 20 minutes of training for certain muscle groups. You can do leg muscles today, chest tomorrow and arms the next day. The more regularly you train, the quicker the results you get. Your muscles develop quickly using dumbbell exercises because you can isolate certain muscle groups you want to train.

6. Dumbbell training provides optimum wellbeing. Dumbbell exercises will strengthen your bones and assist your body in controlling blood pressure. Bad cholesterol is reduced when you maintain a regular exercise regimen.

For adjustable dumbbells as well as a variety of other fitness related products to improve your overall health, you can visit the Lee Medical website at www.leemedfitness.com.  Order any product online from our website and get a 10% discount just for reading this blog.  Use promotion code WP10.

4 Bad Habits That Can Age You by 12 Years

Sober up and get fit, research suggests

Four common bad habits combined—smoking, drinking too much, inactivity and poor diet—can age you by 12 years, sobering new research suggests.

The findings are from a study that tracked nearly 5,000 British adults for 20 years, and they highlight yet another reason to adopt a healthier lifestyle.

Overall, 314 people studied had all four unhealthy behaviors. Among them, 91 died during the study, or 29%. Among the 387 healthiest people with none of the four habits, only 32 died, or about 8%.

The risky behaviors were: smoking tobacco; downing more than three alcoholic drinks per day for men and more than two daily for women; getting less than two hours of physical activity per wee; and eating fruits and vegetables fewer than three times daily.

These habits combined, substantially increased the risk of death and made people who engaged in them seem 12 years older than people in the healthiest group, said lead researcher Elisabeth Kvaavik of the University of Oslo.

The study appears in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

The healthiest group included never-smokers and those who had quit; teetotalers, women who had fewer than two drinks daily and men who had fewer than three; those who got at least two hours of physical activity weekly; and those who ate fruits and vegetables at least three times daily.

“You don’t need to be extreme” to be in the healthy category, Kvaavik said. “These behaviors add up, so together it’s quite possible for most people to manage to do it.”

For example, one carrot, one apple and a glass of orange juice would suffice for the fruit and vegetables cutoffs in the study Kvaavik said, noting that the amounts are pretty modest and less strict than many guidelines.

The U.S. government generally recommends at least 4 cups of fruits or vegetables daily for adults, depending on age and activity level; and about 2½ hours of exercise weekly.

For a variety of fitness related products to help you get in shape, you can visit the Lee Medical website at www.leemedfitness.com.  Order any product online from our website and get a 10% discount just for reading this blog.  Use promotion code WP10.