Monthly Archives: September 2016

At some point in everyone's life, there comes a moment when you stop, take a step back, and grasp just how old you're getting. Your 20?s are long gone, and perhaps your 30?s are slipping away into memories as well. All of a sudden, you're in your 40?s! How did that happen? It seems like just yesterday you were partying it up in university. Suddenly all kinds of radical changes appear to be in order ? you don't want to let the rest of your life slip away! Yes, this is the dreaded "mid-life crisis" we've all heard so much about.

While it makes for humorous anecdotes and good stand-up comedy, experiencing it isn't as much fun. It's easy to feel like you have to make significant changes to recapture your lost youth. Do you, though? Instead of buying a fancy new car or taking an extreme holiday, you might be able to find the peace you're after simply through exercise.

What does working out have to do with improving how you feel about your life? Believe it or

People commonly regard regular exercise as necessary for a healthy overall physical state, but it, unfortunately, isn't always easy for everyone to take part in such activities. In spite of the importance of exercise, there are times when our bodies can work against us. In turn, that makes working out difficult. For example, one of the most common ailments that frustrate attempts to exercise is asthma.

According to one estimate by the World Health Organization, almost a quarter of a billion people worldwide suffer from asthma. That's a lot of individuals who might have trouble exercising! Rather than let the fear of an asthma attack keep you from getting the exercise your body needs, though, there are other options. In fact, there are many types of exercise which are quite suitable for asthmatics. One of the best exercises for asthma sufferers is swimming.

At a certain point over the last few years, fitness trackers exploded in popularity. Taking the form of everything from watches like the FitBit and other similar models to smartphone apps, it's hard to deny that many people love having a fitness device so close at hand. More than just being a watch that tracks statistics, though, lots of marketing and word of mouth suggest that these devices play some real role in developing better physical fitness. Is there any truth to that?

Pedometers, which fitness trackers indeed descend from have been around for a long time. What makes these devices so different? Before diving into the world of fitness gadgets, it's important to spend some time thinking

 As far as all the many different types of exercise go, running is up near the top of the list regarding its effectiveness and the positive benefits it yields for personal physical fitness. Running takes discipline if you want to do it regularly, and a lot of time and effort to build up your endurance. While those first miles are often hard and frequently punishing, eventually they become comfortable and enjoyable. The more you run, the better you become at it ? that's just a fact of life.

Unfortunately, there's a flip side to the situation as well; the more often you run, the more likely you are to injure yourself. Running injuries can take many different shapes and forms, from shin splints to muscle and tendon injuries. Many times these ailments have as their cause a lack of proper warm-up and stretching procedures. While it's true that it's not always easy to fit a run into each day, getting home from work and sprinting right out the door isn't good for you.

That

Maintenance of good physical fitness is a year-round effort. Once you start an exercise routine, sticking to it and being consistent are the two most important factors in seeing results. However, there are times when that task isn't always easy to accomplish, like during the dog days of summer when the sun is blazing endlessly.

What about the other portion of the year, too? When winter comes and temperatures dip, it can represent a rather large disruption to your exercise habits. The temptation to stay inside where it's warm grows and wintertime holidays add to the challenge. There are plenty of ways to beat the heat of summer, and many people even enjoy exercising in hot weather.

The cold can be different. While it might seem easier just to hang up your shoes for the winter and then get back to things in the spring, there is another option. In reality, there are plenty of ways to "Winterproof" your exercise routine. You can maintain and improve your fitness

Running is one of those activities where it's easy to see the different levels of devotion. Someone who runs every other day as part of a regular fitness routine probably doesn't feel the same way about it as someone who regularly trains for running marathons. That's OK, though, not everyone has to love every exercise they do for fitness or fun! Regardless of which camp you are in or how you feel about running while you're doing it, there is one thing everyone understands: the boredom that can arise in the middle of a long run. Sometimes, even with your music blasting on your earbuds, it can be difficult to stay in the rhythm of the run. Have you ever considered bringing your dog along for the run? Maybe you've even seen other people running with their dogs and wondered if it would be right for you.

While running with your dog can be a lot of fun while having a positive effect on your mental attitude towards running, it can also create challenges. Deciding whether or not it's right

Bicycles are such a ubiquitous part of so many cultures around the world that, for many of us, we already know how to ride a bike ? even if we don't currently own one! So many of us learn how to ride bicycles as children, and that's a skill which you retain for your lifetime. However, many of us fall out of the habit of even riding for pleasure, to say nothing of using our cycles to get some exercise.

If you have a bike that is collecting dust in the back of your garage or your shed, it might be time to think about dusting it off. Airing up those tires, and going for a ride is good for a lot more than just feeling the breeze on your face. Of course, even if you need to spend some time learning how to cycle first, it's still a good idea. There are many positive benefits related to riding your bike and plenty of reasons to give it a try. We'll look at ten of the best reasons for climbing on a bike and pedaling hard, from the mental wellness benefits to the effects that the physical

Where all the various types of exercise are concerned, swimming is one of those activities that is so much fun it doesn't feel like "working out" most of the time. When you swim casually or just for fun, you're receiving the health benefits of the activity while still enjoying yourself. Of course, if you want to take it to the next level, it's going to require lots of hard work and dedication too. Competing against others, or at least pushing yourself harder, is the natural next step to take. Swimming's place in global culture as one of the most fundamental skills a person can have means it's made appearances in competition for thousands of years. Its inclusion in the modern Olympics from their very first meeting in 1896 to the present day speaks volumes.

Olympic swimmers are at the top of the world in their stroke categories, and watching them is often breathtaking. The speed and grace with which they cut through the water reveals how much effort they've poured into their training.

Take a look around the world, and without a doubt, what you will see is that football is the most popular sport across the globe. From the legions of excited, shouting, and loyal fans who crowd the stands at Arsenal games to the World Cup teams filled with national pride, association football's popularity extends to all levels. Billions of people around the world not only love watching the sport, but they love playing it, too. While the quadrennial World Cup is often considered to be the tournament which crowns the world champion in the sport, there are other major competitions with just as much at stake ? like the Olympics, for example. Olympic football has a storied and rocky history, one characterized by highly contentious matches and the ever-present, looming shadow that politics often casts onto the Olympics. At the same time, though,