Mind Body Excellence Blog

1. The human brain has about 100,000,000,000 (100 Billion) neurons

2. By walking an extra 20 minutes a day, an average person will burn off seven pounds of body fat a year

3. Everytime you lick a stamp you consume 1/10 of a calorie

4. If all the muscles in your body pulled in one direction, you would be able to lift 25 tons

5. The strongest bone in your body is the femur (thighbone), and it’s hollow

6. The strongest muscle in your body is your tongue

7. The average person spends two weeks of their life kissing

8. It takes seven seconds for food to go from the mouth to the stomach

9. Sailors once thought that wearing a gold earring would increase their eyesight

10. The average person laughs about 15 times a day.

-Lets all try and make it thirty.  While you’re at it, make a stranger smile and you will have just made a new friend.  Have a GREAT DAY!!!

Don’t forget to check out my new audio/video book, “Peak Performance and the Business Traveler” Makes a great gift for a loved one or co-worker

First let’s talk about the proper way to breath when you exercise. There are two types of movement when executing any exercise. You have a concentric (positive) movement and an eccentric (negative) movement. Knowing how to breath during these movements is very important. For example, when doing a dumbbell curl, exhale as you bring the dumbells up. This is the concentric movement. As you lower the dumbbells back down to the starting position, inhale. This movement is thae eccentric movement.   If you’re doing a push-up, exhale as you push up and inhale as you return to the starting position.

Why is it important to breath properly? It’s important for three main reasons. (1) Inhaling or exhaling at the wrong time can increase your blood pressure to an unsafe level.  (2)  This could result in the rupturing of an artery and (3) it could result in a ruptured alveoli sac(s) in the lungs. Alveoli sacs are air sacs in the lungs where oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged with the blood.

The next time you’re exercising, focus on your breathing and make sure you’re doing it the right way. Your body will thank you for it. 

Stay fit and be well,

-Frank

P. S. Don’t forget to check out my new audio/video book for the business traveler.   Makes a great gift for a loved one or co-worker.  Buy it today!

Have a busy schedule? Looking for a short workout that’s  guaranteed to get the heart pumping faster and the muscles working harder?   Try this 10 minute program.

1. March in place for 1 minute

2. Do some light stretching for 1 minute

3. Do the following routine for 6 minutes. Do each exercise, one right after the other for 6 minutes straight (No resting for the six minutes) 15-Jumping Jacks - 10-Standing abdominal twists (each side), and finish with 10-pushups with the knees off the floor (military style). Repeat the exercises until the six minutes are up. Once the six minutes are up, stop no matter where you are in the program. The key is to keep moving for the entire six minutes

 4. Finish with a cool down and some light stretching. This should last for 2 minutes.

 A great workout in just 10 minutes.

If you’re unable to do regular jumping jacks, try these. Kick the legs out in front of you and as you do this bring your hands overhead just like you would in a regular jumping jack.

Standing abdominal twists. Stand with your feet placed shoulder width apart. Turn your right foot slightly out. Extend your arms out in front of you with elbows bent and make a fist with both hands. Now raise your left knee up  high  and at the same time twist your upper body to the left. This counts as one movement or one rep. After completing 10 reps on the left side, turn the left foot out slightly, raise theright knee high and twist the upper body to the right for 10 reps.  If you’re not strong enough to do the pushups with your knees off the floor, don’t worry about it. Do the pushups with your knees on the floor.  And if these are to hard, do wall pushups.  Stand a few inches away from a wall, place your hands flat on the wall with arms extended. Now, lower your body towards the wall and push back up to the starting position. Choose the one that’s right for you.

Proper breathing technique. It’s very important that you focus on your breathing when you exercise. On the exertion phase of the exercise you want to exhale and on the relaxation phase you want to inhale.  When doing the abdominal twists, exchale as you lift the knee up and twist to the side. When you do a pushup, exhale as you push the body up away from the floor or wall.

 Intensity. If you’re looking to challange yourself, hold a medicine ball, a dumbbell or even a telephone book in your hands when doing the abdominal twists. For regular jumping jacks, you can bring the legs forward and back instead of out to the side. 

Modify the routine to fit your fitness level. Have fun with it and let me know what you think. 

 Always get approval from your physician before starting any fitness program.

 Stay fit and be well,

-Frank

P.S.  Don’t foget to check out my new audio/video book for the business traveler. Makes a great gift for a loved one or co-worker. Buy it today!

We are looking forward to posting many new tips about fitness