Technological advancement has given rise to many smart applications that not only improve efficiency but also make tracking and monitoring of different activities easier.
It's always important to monitor your progress as far as your health and fitness regimen is concerned. A fitness tracker is therefore that application or device used in tracking and monitoring fitness goals. It measures metrics such as distance run or walked, rate of heartbeat, calories consumed and sometimes even the quality of your sleep. Most of these tracking devices are wirelessly synchronized to a smartphone or computer for the purposes of regular data tracking and reporting.

In many cases, people have fitness goals or targets, whether monthly or on a daily basis, that they hope to achieve. Monitoring the progress of your fitness regimen can be a challenge especially if you are not a certified fitness trainer or health practitioner. Fitness tracking devices give you the capability to monitor your progress and determine how far you are from meeting your targets, or if indeed you achieved or exceeded them. Most of them are wearable and can also serve as regular digital watches. Some people wear them as accessories because of their fashion forward designs. These devices have become so main stream that some firms have decided to use them in encouraging consumers to live healthily.

The electronic fitness trackersare basically an advanced version of pedometers. Apart from counting

steps, they also use accelerometers to determine distance covered, graph general physical activity and

calculate calorie usage. In some cases they also keep track of and graph quality of sleep and heart rate. As you go about your fitness routines, there are various activities that you engage in such as walking, running, swimming, jogging, bike rides and normal house chores. It is important that you stay true to your goals and monitor your progress because that is the only way you'll be able to achieve your objectives.

A fitness tracker is an ideal way to easily monitor your activity with great accuracy. You can imagine it to be an electronic finger on your pulse, measuring your vitals on a regular basis. These trackers have made use of the latest technology to enable fitness enthusiasts monitor their activities and keep track of their progress. Most people spend so much time on their smartphones or tablets which is why fitness trackers are synchronized with these devices for report displays. Trackers can also be connected to social media apps like Facebook but one has to be careful since there are some instances when private information has ended up in the internet and public domain. There are different trackers available in the market and people can therefore make buying decisions based on prices, functionality and personal style.

read more →

A lot of us rely on our morning cup of coffee or tea to wake up and feel more alert in the morning. This can help us to clear the fog of ‘sleep inertia’ that will typically follow us around for a while after we have been asleep and it has been shown in studies to improve memory, focus and even long-term brain health.

And yet despite all this, caffeine is also something we’re often told not to rely on too much. We’re told that caffeine is bad for us and that it is addictive. So what’s the reality? Should we use it to wake up? Or are we causing more harm than good?

How Caffeine Works

A good place to start is by looking at precisely what caffeine does to the body. 

Essentially, caffeine’s effects occur because it is able to replace a substance called adenosine. Caffeine and adenosine are molecularly very similar and this means that when you have more caffeine in the blood, your body will mistake it for adenosine. 

This then allows the caffeine to bind to adenosine receptors, preventing it from being effective. It’s like putting a fake key in the lock so that the real key can’t fit in.

To understand what caffeine does then, we need to figure out what it stops adenosine from doing. And the easy answer to that, is that it prevents adenosine from making us feel groggy and sleepy. Adenosine is a by-product of the energy process in the brain and so the longer we’re awake and more we use our brain, the more adenosine builds up. Adenosine is a neuroinhibitor, meaning that it reduces activity in the brain cells and makes them less likely to fire. That’s why we can barely think by the end of the day and need to go to sleep. 

When you consume caffeine, it reverses this effect, making us feel more awake and alert. This then triggers a cascade of other neurotransmitters in the brain associated with wakefulness and attention – such as dopamine (the motivation neurotransmitter), such as norepinephrine (an analogue of adrenaline) and such as cortisol.

The Good and the Bad

So the good news is that caffeine really does wake you up and it really does make you more focussed. The bad news is that in many ways, caffeine acts like ‘stress in a cup’ – it triggers the release of excitatory neurotransmitters that are normally associated with ‘fight or flight’ and this is why we feel anxious and see our heartrate increase. This isn’t good if you’re someone who is already stressed at work and it means that sometimes caffeine is the last thing you need.

The other problem is that this can cause changes in the brain that make you dependent on caffeine. This is where withdrawal symptoms come from and it’s why some people actually need that coffee before they can wake up.

So what should you do? It all depends on your personal biology and habits. Just try not to rely too much on your cuppa Joe!

read more →

Would you like to be a fitness woman? Or are you a fitness woman but would like to be effective? Here are 7 great tips on how to become an effective fitness woman:

1. Get a program that will best suit you. Every fitness woman is different. You may have surgical history where a program may not be suited for you. Always consult a qualified trainer to make sure that the fitness program will not hurt you. If the fitness program is not for you, it will only be a cause of frustration and injuries.

2. Set realistic targets. Wouldn't you be frustrated if you set your mind into reshaping your body in month? Make sure that the body you prefer in a period of time is achievable and realistic. The program should also be practical and will not give you false hopes. It is important to be aware of the blocks you encounter in your daily living. This will help you know what program is satisfactory. And once a program has been reached, then you can set goals and timelines that are realistic.

3. Exercises should work on the parts of your body where muscles are. The reason mainly is, when you develop muscles, you burn more calories and then you lessen the fats in your body. Multi-joint exercises and weight lifting are recommended. Learn what exercises work on certain parts of your body. Multi-joint exercises are also said to be effective but time saving.

4. Be systematic on working on your muscles. Your muscles should be working harder over time. Repeating the same sets of exercises and same weight without getting your muscles to work harder will not give satisfactory results. You can record your daily results and make the progression based on your previous data. A daily log will also motivate you since you are able to track how far you have gone. It builds confidence since there is a written proof something that was successfully accomplished.

5. Perform a set of exercises in 10 repetitions. Every number that was accomplished is called a repetition. Try to make every repetition with less momentum as much as possible. The lesser the momentum, the harder your muscles work. And the harder they work, the bigger they become. To check if there is much momentum when lifting, see if the arm is floating. If the arm does float, then there is much momentum.

6. Be flexible and perform a variety of exercises.  Every exercise program should have a variety. You can change your exercises, goals and sets every month to keep you motivated and on the go. Doing this will help you prevent being bored and losing energy physically and mentally.

7. Be Motivated! The best way to keep the energy levels of trainees is to allow a healthy competition and allow them to have a sense of control. Having control is having the sense ownership where everybody gets a part in implementing a program. To do this you also need to be consistent in demonstrating your skills. 

Not all programs work for all types of people. There is no workout that is best for everyone. But you learn from experienced people. Learn to acknowledge blocks and demonstrate self-discipline, keep yourself motivated and work harder everyday and add variety. Doing these things, you will discover that a lot of programs will work for you.

  

read more →

Many people have benefited for years using the master cleanse diet recipe to lose excess body fat and unwanted toxins.  This effective method works well, but it's not the easiest method for weight loss around. It requires you to stick with a strict diet plan for several days up to a week. But, if you find the fortitude to do it, you'll be rewarded with practically instant weight loss and a healthier body.

We don't think it about it much, which is probably a good thing, but in today's world we are bombarded with chemicals. They are in the air, in the soil, and in our food and water. These chemicals are mostly benign by themselves but what happens when we mix one, two or a dozen in our bodies?  That is exactly what happens to all of us on a day to day basis, all the chemicals we take in daily all add up in our system.

This can cause many problems, most of them are minor like feeling tired all the time or the tendency to get headaches often. But sometimes they can be much more severe. Wouldn't it be great if we could get rid of them, quickly?  Well that's another huge benefit of the master cleanse. It will flush these toxins right out of your body. The result?  Feeling energized and healthy.

Of course, that is really only the side effect, most people use the cleanse to lose weight, and it works great for that too.  When putting together the 'lemonade' mixture, make sure to use only organic ingredients... remember, you're trying to detoxify not add more chemicals. As a matter of fact, after you're done with the cleanse you should seriously consider changing some of your eating habits.

Getting rid of things like tobacco, caffeine, and too many sweets as well as using only organic foods can help you stay toxin free long after your cleanse.  To make sure you are able to stick with the cleanse for at least 3 days you should prepare yourself for it first. Take several days before the start of your cleanse and lower your caloric intake. Get your body used to taking in fewer calories, that will make it easier during your cleanse.

And, of course, if you have any side effects during the cleanse such as dizziness, nausea, disorientation, stop immediately and talk to your doctor.  If you have existing health concerns you should talk to your doctor before you even consider doing the cleanse.

Use this recipe to make a whole pitcher full of the lemonade. You can than drink it throughout the day taking in at least 60 ounces each day:

12 Tbsp. Lemon Juice (use free squeezed lemons)

12 Tbsp. Maple Syrup (organic)

1/2 Tsp. Cayenne Pepper Powder

60 oz. of water

Just mix it all together and keep it cool in your refrigerator.  That's it. That's all there is to it. While drinking the cleanse you can also have water, tea or clear broth to liven things up. Try to stay on the cleanse for 3-5 days. After you're done, slowly add more solid foods back into your diet, do it slowly or you'll get nauseated.  That's how simple the the master cleanse diet recipe is. Enjoy!

read more →