Exercise

The technique of breaking up exercise into short "snacks" instead of long workouts is known as Exercise snacks. It has been shown to lead to measurable increases in cardio fitness - even when done infrequently.

Use “Exercise Snacks” To Improve Your Cardio Fitness

January 26, 2019 fitadmin 0

A new study published in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism shows that cardio fitness can be improved measurably with surprisingly little activity. The study showed that climbing 3 flights of stairs, 3 times per day, with several hours of rest in between resulted in measurable improvements in cardio fitness.[1] The concept of breaking up exercise into short, manageable chunks results in what are known as “Exercise Snacks”. By breaking up fitness into short, infrequent bouts you can more easily incorporate exercise into your daily routine. The study used 24 young adults with sedentary lifestyles and a control group of peers. The group that vigorously climbed 3 flights of stairs 3 times per day, with 1-4 hours of rest [Read more …]

An air bike (also called an assault bike) workout in a CrossFit box.

28 Awesome Assault Bike Workouts

January 19, 2019 fitadmin 0

Rogue Fitness Sale Alert! Rogue Fitness has the Assault Bike for only $699 and the Schwinn Airdyne Pro for only $999 – with FREE shipping for either. Quantities may be limited – act fast! The assault bike (also commonly called an air bike, or fan bike) is an awesome, calorie-burning workout. Why? Because it’s a total body effort – you push, pull, and pedal against resistance that gets more intense the more you go. The faster and harder you go, the more resistance there is. The assault bike has earned it’s nickname: Satan’s Tricycle The assault bike can be used for steady state cardio or super-efficient interval style workouts. In this article, we’ll bring you a round up of 28 [Read more …]

Many fitness trackers incorporate a heart rate monitor - this is a great way to utilize heart rate training

How To Get Started With Heart Rate Training

September 9, 2018 fitadmin 0

While cardiovascular exercise is crucial to physical fitness, “cardio” is a blanket term that could cover a wide range of exercises. Learn about heart rate training (HRT) for specialized workouts and results. What is Heart Rate Training? Heart Rate Training (or HRT) utilizes your heart rate to optimize intensity and help you to reach your specific fitness goals. While HRT can help you to understand different exercise intensities based on the way that they feel, not all is left up to intuition. HRT produces quantifiable progress by providing a measurement of your effort. Monitoring your heart rate during your workout can help you determine if you are taking it too easy, overtraining, or getting it just right. The frequency, duration, [Read more …]

Running - a great outdoor fitness activity that is both simple and effective.

How To Get Started With Running for Fitness

August 7, 2018 fitadmin 0

You don’t have to be a marathoner to benefit from a run. Running and jogging can be done anywhere. The only equipment that you need is a pair of running shoes. We’re not suggesting that you stop going to the gym, but we do think that running for fitness provides benefits that you can’t get from strength training alone. What Are The Health Benefits Of Running For Fitness? Jogging is good for your health in a number of ways. One of the most persuasive reasons to run for fitness is that the exercise can help you live longer [1]. In a study that was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers looked at disability and mortality among adults who [Read more …]

Prilepin's Chart (or table) shows the optimal intensity (% of 1RM) and volume (total numer of reps) for Olympic weightlifting training as observed by AS Prilepin - who was a junior and national weightlifting coach for the Soviet Union.

Prilepin’s Chart Explained

January 29, 2019 fitadmin 0

Prilepin’s Chart is a table of optimal Olympic weight lifting rep ranges to be used for training. It was created by A.S. Prilepin, a Soviet era sports scientist. The chart was created by reviewing the training journals of thousands of weightlifting athletes. It is meant to portray the optimal number of reps per set, and total rep count (volume) for power training required for the Olympic lifts (the Snatch, and Clean and Jerk). The chart, also called Prilepin’s Table, is as follows: The first column shows the training intensity – the percentage of 1RM (1 Repetition Maximum) being used. The second column lists the number of reps per set observed during training. The third column (this is the important one) [Read more …]

Why You Should Workout with a Weighted Vest

January 29, 2019 fitadmin 0

A weighted vest is one of the best fitness equipment investments you can make. It’s a versatile device that is simple, affordable, and adds a whole new dimension of intensity to a number of exercises. We’ll tell you exactly why a weight vest is an important tool in any fitness enthusiast’s garage or home gym, and the benefits you can expect to gain from its use. What is a Weighted Vest? A weighted vest (or weight vest) is just that – a vest that allows you to add metal weight bars for additional resistance. It’s a great endurance and strength builder. Pair it with bodyweight exercise (pull-ups, chin-ups, push-ups, box jumps, burpees, and more) or use it to add load [Read more …]

Rogue Abram GHD 2.0 - Glute Ham Developer

The Older I Get, The More I Love the Glute Ham Raise (GHR)

January 1, 2019 fitadmin 0

The older I get, the more I love the Glute Ham Raise. The Glute Ham Raise (or GHR) is a simple, but challenging exercise that works the entire posterior chain – the oft neglected back side of your lower-body. The posterior chain includes the calves, the hamstrings, and the glutes. There’s many exercises that you can use on this critical area – but I think the GHR has benefits above and beyond the rest. Why do I love this exercise so much? Read on to find out more. Why Strong Hamstrings and Glutes Are Important First of all, let’s agree that hamstring and glute strength and endurance are important. The hamstrings are extremely important muscles that help with explosive movement, [Read more …]

The FitAtMidlife Home and Travel WOD Generator works great on iOS - phone or tablet - as well as Android

Travel and Home Workout Of the Day Generator

January 6, 2019 fitadmin 0

We’ve built the FitAtMidlife Home and Travel WOD (Workout Of the Day) Generator to help you improve and maintain your health and fitness. It’s totally free, simple to use, and works on iPhone, Android, Windows, and Mac. What’s a WOD? It’s the Workout Of the Day. Simply load up the Travel WOD page and you’ll see a traveler and home-friendly, randomly chosen fitness routine – complete with a stopwatch style timer. If the exercise choice doesn’t work for your situation – simply hit the “Change WOD” button and try another combination. The WODs utilize a lot of time constraint techniques to boost intensity and keep you moving – such as EMOM (Every Minute On the Minute), Tabata intervals, AMRAP, and [Read more …]

Business Travel can disrupt your regular fitness and nutrition regimen - get tips on how to maintain

How to Stay Fit While Traveling for Business

January 29, 2019 fitadmin 0

How to Stay Fit While You Travel Ah, the joys of business travel – on short notice, you’re up at 4am to catch a flight to somewhere three time zones away – and then a full day of meetings and a formal business dinner. Just keeping on top of your regular email and to-do list is a challenge – never mind fitness and nutrition. Advice for busy midlife professionals If your travel schedule has a lot of free time – the sky is the limit. But we’re going to assume that’s NOT the case. At midlife family, career, and other obligations make the fitness challenge much greater – but not impossible. The key is efficiency. We will present options that [Read more …]

A photo showing Concept2 indoor rowers in use at a CrossFit box - indoor rowing is an excellent exercise.

Indoor Rowing – an Excellent Full-Body, Low-Impact Exercise

December 26, 2018 fitadmin 0

An indoor rower (or indoor rowing machine) is an exercise machine that simulates rowing a watercraft. Indoor rowing is an all-around excellent exercise. First of all, it’s a highly effective full-body exercise, but it’s also a low-impact workout. But it’s not easy – remember the last time you had to row a boat? Shown here is the Concept 2 Model D Indoor Rower, which many consider to be the gold standard for indoor rowers (especially in CrossFit). Why is rowing such great exercise? Here’s the reasons: Full-body exercise – The indoor rowing machine requires effort from both your upper and lower body. With a lot of major muscle groups in use this is a tough workout. But you can pace [Read more …]