CHICAGO - Rev up the treadmill: Sobering new research spells out just how much exercise women need to keep the flab off as they age - and it's a lot.

At least an hour of moderate activity a day is needed for older women at a healthy weight who aren't dieting. For those who are already overweight, even more exercise is called for to avoid gaining weight without eating less, the study results suggest.

"We all have to work at it. If it were easy to be skinny, we would all be skinny," said John Foreyt, a behavioural medicine expert who reviewed the study but wasn't involved in the research.

Brisk walking, leisurely bicycling and golfing are all examples of moderate exercise. But don't throw in the towel if you can't do those things for at least an hour a day. A little exercise is good for your health even if it won't make you thin, the researchers said.

Their findings are based on 34,079 non-dieting middle-aged women followed for about 13 years.
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The women gained an average of almost 6 pounds (2.7kg) during the study.

Those who started out at a healthy weight, with a body mass index of less than 25, and who gained little or no weight during the study consistently got the equivalent of about an hour of moderate activity daily. Only 13 per cent - were in this category.

Few already overweight women got that amount of exercise, and the results suggest it wasn't enough to stop them from gaining weight.

The results echo what gymfuls of middle-aged American women see every time they step off the treadmill and onto the scales.

"Talk to any group of women and they all say the same thing," said Janet Katzin, 61, a "slightly overweight" marketing director from Long Island who exercises for an hour twice a week.

Thin as a younger adult, Katzin said the pounds started creeping up after she had her two children in the 1980s, despite exercising and watching what she eats.

"It's just extremely frustrating and discouraging."

The study appears in today's Journal of the American Medical Association. Only women were studied, so the researchers from Harvard's Brigham and Women Hospital said it was uncertain whether the results would apply to men.

The research "reinforces in a nice, clear way the idea of how difficult it is to maintain a healthy weight in our society," said Foreyt, of the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas.

The results bolster a 2002 Institute of Medicine report that emphasised the importance of balancing diet and exercise and recommended at least 60 minutes of moderate activity for adults and children every day.

But the study also indicates that the 2008 US guidelines urging about half an hour of exercise five days a week won't stop weight gain as women age without them also cutting calorie intake, said Dr I-Min Lee, the study's lead author.

The study underscores some inevitabilities about ageing.

Men and women often put on weight, partly because their metabolism slows down. But that probably has less to do with it than people's natural tendency to become more sedentary, without changing their eating habits, Lee said.

Hormonal changes in menopause also can make women prone to weight gain, especially around the belly.

Still, Lee emphasised that the benefits of exercise extend beyond what you see in the mirror, helping keep the heart healthy and protecting against chronic disease even if you don't get enough activity to lose weight.

The researchers analysed data on women who took part in a long-running federal study.

Participants were 54 on average at the start and periodically reported how much they exercised and weighed.

They also reported eating habits at the start, but not throughout, a limitation the authors acknowledged.
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Lee said the women's eating habits were thought to be typical of American women who aren't dieting.

Dr Howard Eisenson, who heads Duke University's diet and fitness centre, said it's likely some women underestimated what they ate and overestimated how much they exercised, which could have skewed the results.

Still, Eisenson said he doesn't encourage anybody to try to lose weight by exercise alone.

To combat age-related weight gain, "you're fighting in many cases a losing battle" if you don't also cut calories, he said.

That doesn't mean you have to starve yourself, but it does mean watching what you eat and avoiding frequent indulgences. People often don't realise how quickly a bag of chips, an extra piece of cheese, a few glasses of wine or a candy bar add up.

"You can eat a candy bar in two minutes. Most are at least 200 calories," and to burn that off requires walking for about an hour, Lee said.

Knowing that equation can help people make wise decisions about activity and food choices, she said.

- AP

Millions of people who strive to keep fit by jogging, swimming or going to the gym are wasting their time, scientists say. Researchers have discovered that the health benefits of aerobic exercise are determined by our genes - and can vary substantially between individuals.

About 20 per cent of the population do not get any significant aerobic fitness benefit from regular exercise, according to an international study led by scientists at the University of London. For these people, regular jogging and gym work will do little to ward off conditions like heart disease and diabetes which aerobic exercise is generally thought to resist.

Researchers say they would be better off abandoning their exercise regime and focusing on other ways of staying healthy - such as improving their diet or taking medication. James Timmons of the Royal Veterinary College at the University of London, who led the study, said that the discovery would pave the way for more personalised treatments, with patients able to take DNA tests to find out the most effective way of keeping their own hearts healthy.

It could also be used to root out would-be recruits to the Armed Forces who would never be able to reach the required fitness standards. Dr Timmons said the research broke new ground by using the human genome - the genetic map of the body which was decoded by scientists 10 years ago - to suggest improvements to healthcare. "This would be one of the first examples of personalised, genomic-based medicine," he said.
As part of the research, published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, more than 500 participants in Europe and the US were asked to undergo various aerobic training programmes in line with government advice to do 30 minutes of exercise five times a week.

By the end of the 20, 12 and six-week programmes the majority of people had shown a measurable improvement in how much oxygen their body consumes during exercise, a key indicator of aerobic fitness.
But 20 per cent saw their maximum oxygen increase by less than 5 per cent. Around 30 per cent showed no increase in insulin sensitivity, meaning that the exercise did not reduce their risk of diabetes.

An analysis of muscle tissue samples taken from the participants revealed a set of about 30 genes that predicted the increase in oxygen intake. Of these, 11 were shown to have a particular impact on how much a person could benefit from aerobic exercise.

WARMING UP

Everyone has their own idea about warming up so I have avoided telling you how to.  Instead I have answered the following questions in detail giving you the information to ensure your personal warm up is effective.


Most common questions:

1.   What is a warm up?

2.   How long should I warm up for?

3.   What's best, a specific or general warm up and what's the difference?

4.   What's the difference between an internal and external warm up and which is better?


1.   WHAT IS A WARM UP?

A warm up allows the body to prepare itself for an activity or movement that you may perform, without putting it into a high state of stress. It ensures that your muscles can be stretched effectively; it prepares your joints by producing fluid to help absorb shock and increases blood flow to the organs and muscles allowing them to work at a higher rate.

Add these factors together and you have a body that is more capable of operating injury free during and after an activity.


2.    HOW LONG SHOULD I WARM UP FOR?

This depends on the activity you want to do. For example, in the home gym or in a studio, you may spend anything from 30minutes to 1hour working out so it may be preferable to limit your warm up to 4-5 minutes so as not to tire your body.  This ensures you have enough energy to work out at a higher intensity.

If however you were going for a run (long or short), the decision would be when you feel that you can stretch easier as opposed to when you started.

There are also some easy indications you can look for like a higher heart rate, a slight sweat or just feeling warmer. I would suggest anything between 5-10 minutes of light jogging or brisk walking.

Remember trust yourself you know your body better than anybody else.  If you feel you haven’t warmed up adequately then you probably haven’t.


3.    WHAT'S BEST, A SPECIFIC WARM UP OR A GENERAL WARM UP AND WHATS THE DIFERENCE?

A specific warm up is using the movement you are about to perform at lesser intensity.  An example of this is if you were to perform a bench press (lying on your back pushing a bar up with two hands) you could warm up by performing a push up on your knees or toes, warming up the same muscles that are used in both movements.

A general warm up is using a bike, treadmill, rowing machine or a walk before a swim, before performing any specific or non specific movement.

Research shows there is no real difference in effectiveness between the two, generally if you honestly feel warmed up you are.


4.    WHAT ARE INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL WARM UPS AND WHICH    IS BEST?

An internal warm up is when you use an activity or movement to warm up your body. For example; a walk before you run.  An external warm-up is using heat from the outside. For example, having a hot shower, a massage, a sauna or heat lamp.

Both warm ups increase blood flow to the muscles and skin? However an internal warm up is preferable for strenuous activity as it increases your heart rate delivering oxygen and nutrients to the muscles and organs, also providing protection to your joints.

Here are some physiological and psychological benefits of a warm up.

Physiological

1      Gradual increase of blood flow and heart rate.

2      Increased oxygen to the muscles.

3      Helps to avoid the build up of lactic acid.

4      Increases muscle elasticity, which in turn increases the range of movement decreasing injury.

5      Helps coordination.

Psychological

1      Prepares you mentally for what you are about to do.

2      Psyches you up, which increases the adrenalin production to keep you alert and helps to speed up your reaction times, reducing the chance of injury.

Warming up is an essential part of exercise, if in doubt contact a fitness professional.

A lot of people I talked to in the gym are so obsessed with fat burning and building muscles. However, 90% of them seem to be in the dark of what they are doing and why they are not achieving the results they want.
Here are 4 tips how to burn fat
and build muscle for you to begin with.

Tip #1 - Do Cardio, Lots of It

Always do cardio, lots of it! You will almost never burn fat and build muscle if you don't do any cardio at all. Cardio will help you burn the excessive fat that you have in your body. Doing cardio the right way with the correct amount of strength/resistance will help you build muscle without you even realizing it.

Tip 2 - Weights

You can burn fat and build muscle by varying the amount of weights you life during your workouts. This will help you develop good muscle mass which will burn even more fat when you are not working out. Another alternative is to go for lighter weights with a higher number of reps, which is an even better fat burner. This will also tone your muscles.

Tip 3 - Circuit Training

Another method to burn fat and build muscle simultaneously is to do some sort of circuit training. This type of training is usually not available in your local gyms, but if you can find them, you should be part of it.
One example of circuit training involves a running track with a weight lifting equipment. You have to run, life the weights, run, and life the weight again, in a circuit. It will be very tiring for beginners, but very rewarding.

Tip 4 - Diet

A healthy diet will help you to burn fat and build muscle. Many people have the wrong understanding about this which leads them to burn fat and lose muscle mass. Therefore, you should be very careful of what you eat. A good and healthy diet should consist of 40% carbohydrates, 30% protein and 30% fat.

Tantric Yoga highlights the exaltation of the physical being more than anything else.

Tantra is known to be the concept that arises out of this kind of commitment to oneself, which is the basis of Tantra. And the supporters of this side of belief are called tantrics. These people not only worship the physical state but also got to any degree to please the body to achieve occult powers.

As of this time, it is not widely practiced and used in India. And it survived only in some parts of India in the middle of the jungles and hills of the Himalayas.

However, there are many clashes about its origin and source. Some have researched and discovered that the Pre-Aryans are the originators and others transcribe it to the norms of the early people. It is known to have risen at the same time Buddhism was flourishing. And because of this, some Buddhists had incorporated and adopted some of the Tantric signs and symbols.

And later on, it has grown to form a faction or guild. Like the Vedas, Tantras are composed of collections of poems and verses that speak of the elaborate methods on the righteous and proper of worship and adoration.

Often, some people perceive them as obscure and mystical in sense that is usually addressed to the persons who perform or do tantric acts. These persons are usually, sadhakas. These Sadhakas live a very simple life. And the practice of Yoga is like a prayer for them. He usually meditates in the lone and secluded places in the countryside far, far away from the madding society. His robes and his begging bowl distinguish him. He also sells medicine, shells, charms and herbal pieces.

This may be his good side but the other half lingers in vicious outrages and he inflicts austerities upon himself. The various positions of love-making and sex itself outline a significant principle of tantrism.

According to some, there is a way of acquiring sidhi. This is through practicing Kundalini or serpent's power. It says that in order to awaken the serpent, one must practice and perform a certain type of Yoga or mediation. Through this, the serpent is said to arise gradually. With constant practice, the serpent uncoils and awakens which in return, explodes a vast from of energy. As the process continues, the skin is becoming hot and sweating occurs until a stinging sensation is achieved or experienced. Once this is attained, it is said to be so prevailing that it may destroy the person if not controlled.

Soon, it rises and when it has come to its limit or peak, one feels absolute pleasure. And once this is attained, he therefore becomes a sage or Sadhu. Tantrism also involves the dissipated way of acquiring supernatural powers.

It is said that in order to gain deliverance, one must do everything that he wants to do even though it is immoral or prohibited.

It is also said that some tantric yoga exercises aids and improves the general and sexual health. With healthy reproductive organs, one can have improved well being and it is favorable for sexual activities. It is like the respiratory system, which needs air to function.

There are various exercises, both physical and spiritual which helps in integrating the body, mind and spirit into one. These different exercises are good to start each day with and favorable before going to bed.

Through this, the physiological functions of the body are stimulated and therefore revitalizes the whole well being of a person.

Inner thigh fat is the worst deposit of fat amongst all in the body. It is more a matter of worry for women, who wear short dresses.

With a proper combination of diet and exercise, even the most stubborn of inner thigh fat is a fact of history.

*Inner Thigh fat Risks:

If you have a high deposit of inner fat in your body, you are at a high risk of stroke and heart attack. For women, it is important that, they lose their inner thigh fat as fast as they can, since it can cause high blood pressure and even diabetes.

Hence, never take your inner thigh fat for granted. If you notice the girth of your thigh increase over the years, consult your dietician and family doctor. Follow the diet plan that your doctor may advise you. This is how you can minimize your health risks and lose your inner thigh fat.

*Tips to Lose Inner Thigh Fat:

Ensure that you do daily exercises. The more exercise you do, the better is your chance to lose inner thigh fat.

Along with exercise, it is important that you eat a healthy diet
. It helps in your digestion and keeps your metabolic rate up. For this, do the following:

1.Eat plenty of vegetables and fruits to increase your digestion.

2.Avoid soft drinks and sodas and drink plenty of water.

3.Do not drink cold drinks or iced drink while you eat. It slows down your digestion process. Try to have hot tea with your meals.

4.Do not snack in between your meals. If you do, fruits are best for you.

5.Never eat 2 hours after and before you exercise and 2 hours before you go to bed.

Follow these steps and you can loose inner thigh fat and become an instant centre of attraction amongst your friends.

For women, shaping the muscles of the thighs is an important fitness goal. A shapely lower body is considered very feminine, and the right proportion of the waist to the hips is part of the equation. It's surprising, but true, thigh toning exercises can be done at home, without equipment and results can be seen in 4-6 weeks. Also, did you know that thigh and hip toning gadgets are not required if you know which exercises work, and how to do them. Most importantly, thigh exercises are most effective when combined with aerobic exercise and a healthy diet.

This means that women must not only do the right thigh exercises, but also include aerobic exercise and sound nutrition to get best results. The following exercises are the most effective front thigh exercises for women. The routine also includes inner thigh and rear thigh exercises.

For best results, start with 15-20 repetitions and one set. Increase gradually to 2 sets. Complete the routine at least 2 times a week for best results. This is an effective beginner to intermediate toning program. Please remember that these numbers are general guidelines only. For an optimum program tailored to your needs, please consult a certified personal trainer. If you have any injuries or medical ailments, please obtain a physicians clearance before starting any exercise program.

Wall Squat: Front Thigh Exercise.
Starting Position: – Place your upper back against a smooth wall. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, toes pointed slightly outward. Distribute your body weight equally between both feet and lean back against the wall. Movement: – Inhale, keeping your heels in contact with the floor at all times, slowly lower into a squat position while sliding down the wall. Exhale as you slowly straighten your legs, keeping your head and chest up, returning to the starting position. Repeat as required.

Standing Dumbbell Squats: Front Thigh Exercise.
Starting Position:- Hold a dumbbell in each hand and allow them to hang down at your sides. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, toes pointed slightly outward. Distribute your body weight equally between both feet. Movement:- Inhale, keeping your heels in contact with the floor at all times, slowly lower into a squat position. Exhale as you slowly straighten your legs, keeping your head and chest up, returning to the starting position. Repeat as required. 5 lb dumbbells work well, but you can start with 2 lbs and then work your way up to 5 lbs within 3-5 weeks.

Lunges: Front Thigh Exercise.
Starting Position: – Assume a standing position with your feet slightly less than shoulder width apart. Grasp a barbell with a wider than shoulder width grip and place it across your shoulders. Movement: – Inhale, keeping your back vertical and slightly arched, slowly step forward with one leg making a long stride, lowering your body down slowly until your rear knee lightly touches the floor (if you cannot go as low as this, then work your way up to it over 2-3 weeks). Exhale and shift your weight backwards, taking one step (or 2-3 small steps if that sounds difficult) to return to the starting position. Repeat on the other side. Remember to consult your doctor before this or any other knee exercises if you have had any knee trouble!

Lying Face Down: Front Thigh Stretch.
Starting Position: Lie on your stomach on a matt with your legs together. Movement: Reach behind you and grasp your right ankle with your left hand. Pull your right heel up as far as you can. Hold this position for thirty seconds. Repeat as required on other side. Please remember to hold for 10 seconds for this stretch.

Seated Split Stretch: Inner Thigh Stretch.
Starting Position: Sit on an exercise matt and spread your legs as far as you can. Movement: Lean to your right side and reach for your toes. Rest your hands on your toes or at your ankle. Hold this position for thirty seconds. Repeat as required on other side.

Seated Butterfly: Inner Thigh Exercise.
Starting Position: Sit on an exercise matt with your back straight. Movement: Bring the soles of your feet together and pull them in as close to your body as you can. Allow your hands to rest on your feet or to apply light pressure to your thighs. Hold this position for thirty seconds. Hold this position for 10 seconds. You will find this most effective if you gently push your knees down using your hands, be careful not to push too much.

Seated Hip Twist: Outer Thigh And Rear Thigh Exercise.
Starting Position: Sit on an exercise matt with your legs straight out in front of you. Movement: Bend your right knee and place your right foot over your left leg. Wrap your arms around your right knee and gently pull it in towards your left shoulder. Hold this position for thirty seconds. Repeat as required on other side. Remember to hold for 10 seconds.

Lying Leg Pull: Total Thigh Exercise.
Starting Position: Lie on your back on an exercise matt with your knees in the air and feet flat on the floor. Movement: Bring your right heel to rest on your left thigh. Loop your hands around your left thigh and pull it towards your chest. Hold this position for thirty seconds. Repeat as required on other side. Remember to hold for 10 seconds in each set.