The beginning of 2012 brought forth a number of gadgets for fitness; the introduction of WIFI technology and blue tooth facility has made most of the fitness gadgets more efficient and accurate. Now you can easily check your heart rate, blood pressure and even diabetes while sitting at your home. However, as the mobile technology merge with the healthcare facilities, the chances of error also increase. Therefore, it is very important that you double-check the quality of the gadget for fitness that you are buying. A good idea would be to read online reviews of people who have already used the gadget. Make sure that you check two to three different websites before you make a final decision. Here are some of the top gadgets for fitness according to user’s rating:

Fitbit Ultra:

It is a very small and lightweight tracker, which looks more like a USB. Once you attach it to your waist, it starts noting down your everyday activities including the distance you walked, the number of steps you too, the amount of food you ate every day and other related physical activities. Once you go home, you attach the device to your computer; it transmits all the data collected into a figure showing the physique you will have if you continue your food intake and your physical activity in the same way. This device can be of great use for anyone who wants to figure out while he or she is putting on weight. The average price of Fitbit Ultra is around $ 100.

GPS Watch:

The GPS watches have not been a completely new thing. They have been in the market for quite some time now.  But the new series of watches issued in the beginning of this year are different in the sense that they do not only tell you about the distance you have travelled all day but also your heart rate, blood pressure, calories burnt and your exact location with the GPS navigation technology.

Along with this, it also provides you will a heat center technology that allows you to locate other people working out with the same watch as yours. GPS watches with a good rating include that of Nike and Motorola and the average price range for these watches is usually between $200 to $250 depending on the model and the brand you are choosing.

Wireless Pulse Meter:

People who have shifted to smart phones can also consider buying a wireless pulse meter, which checks your heart and pulse rate without having to strap anything around your chest. Along with this, it keeps in check your daily calorie count and allows you to play music etc. while you are working out. All you need to do is to strap it with your forearm, it has LEDs and special sensors that capture the visual while you are exercising. In addition to this, it also sends in motivating alarms and alerts to encourage you to work out. Once it gathers information of your everyday routine, it also sets your diet plan and workout schedule accordingly.

Nowadays, those people who are interested in sports and fitness games are looking for a wide variety of games that they can play indoors as well as outdoors so that they can stay in shape and even tone up their bodies. For many people, indoor exercises are becoming more and more important as it is becoming increasingly difficult to leave the house. This is especially true in winters when it is too cold to go for a walk or if you have a child in the house that you cannot leave alone. Many people are turning to fitness games in the form of video games. It may seem like an unhealthy option but with the development of technology “Kinect”, you can play just about anything in your living room whether it is badminton, tennis or you can even learn how to dance.

After the development of Kinect, many fitness games have been developed that target weight loss and allow people to stay in shape with fun. For many of these games, you do not have to play alone; you can always grab a friend to play it with you, right in your living room. For a full body workout, Zumba fitness dance routines are the best, because they appeal to women of all age brackets. Make use of the Zumba Fitness 2 on Wii where all you have to do is to follow the instructor and learn the dance steps that target the muscles of your body and allow you to stay in shape.

For a more personalized fitness training experience, try out Fitness Evolved 2012, which is the sequel to the popular fitness game. It is not only personalized but also very extensive, you can choose from boot camps and martial arts to resistant exercises, cardio exercises or even a good combination depending on your weight loss or weight maintenance goals. If your inclination for the Best Fitness Games is towards strength training and endurance then you should definitely check out UFC Personal Trainer: The Ultimate Fitness Trainer, which is a mixed martial arts fitness game. One thing you need to be mindful of is that this game is not for beginners, if you have previous experience with Kinect games and you are fond of martial arts, then this high intensity game will definitely keep you and your muscles occupied.

For beginners to best fitness games, the Wii Fit Plus and Balance Board is a good option because it helps you start your exercise and fitness game regime on a regular basis. It gives you the motivation required because this game starts by asking users what their real age is and then informing them of their ‘Wii’ age. You can choose from simple yet effective exercises like yoga to aerobics in this virtual fitness game. These are just some of the popular options available for you right in your living room especially if you have Kinect. So get some of these latest and best fitness games on your video game player and set a regular routine for yourself especially in days when you cannot go outside your house.

For all of you who love to swim, you should take some joy in the fact that the benefits of swimming are numerous but for those of you who have yet to learn how to swim or who fear the swimming pool; it is a good idea to overcome your fears and master this sport.

Unlike other aerobic exercises, you can do a full body workout with no harsh impacts on your skeletal system. This is because when you are in the water, your body becomes much lighter. With your entire body in the water and just your face above the water, the water bears about 90 percent of your weight, which gives you a lot of room to move about, and your muscles instantly start working to resist the movement resulting in the burning of calories.

People who have arthritis can get additional benefits of swimming because moving about the water helps to work out sore and stiff muscles and joints. In fact, do try out all types of exercises in the water that strength and strengthen your muscles; simply put, a couple of laps around the pool should do the trick for your arthritis. Because water is denser, moving through it requires more energy, which means that people used to swimming have more muscular strength and a good bone density compared to people who do not.

In addition to all this, the Benefits of Swimming include the fact that you are moving your entire body, which includes the movement of all of your muscles and ligaments, something that other exercises like aerobics do not achieve.

For those wishing for a stronger heart, swimming is the key because it helps the heart to pump more efficiently and can decrease the risks of coronary heart diseases. One of the main Benefits of Swimming of course is weight loss and in fact, swimming is one of the surest and fastest exercise routines to help you do that. To burn the most amounts of calories through swimming, consider have short bursts of hard workouts in the pool followed by small periods of recovery in the pool. For people with conditions of asthma, working out in the gym or in the outdoors with dry air can be a problem but not so with swimming.

Some studies suggest that the Benefits of Swimming extend to improving asthma conditions like teaching people how to breathe properly and increasing lung volume and flexibility. The aerobic power of swimming can help you get a good cholesterol or HDL level by increasing the flexibility of your endothelium, which is the layer of cells lining your arteries. The many Benefits of Swimming includes warding off the risks of diabetes as well and helping people with type-I diabetes to increase their insulin sensitivity. If nothing else, swimming helps release endorphins that relax the body and makes a person happier. With each stroke under the water, a person can drown out all types of noises and meditate. All of these Benefits of Swimming combines can eventually help you lose weight, tone up your body and help increase the years in your life.

Becoming a mother is probably the most wonderful feeling in this world. It is one of those emotions that you cannot describe in words. However, there is a toll that you have to pay for becoming a mother in the form of a de-shaped body, damaged skin and unhealthy hair etc. However, if you start following some basic tips from the beginning, these signs of pregnancy do not remain on you for long. In fact, you will be back in shape in less than a month even if you are breast-feeding your child.

The key here is to ensure that you do not fatigue yourself. A balance between a healthy food intake and work out is necessary so that your body is able to recover in its natural way. Below are some personal fitness tips that can help you in getting rid of the extra weight you might have put on during pregnancy.

Avoid Junk Foods:
After delivery, most moms over-eat junk food and alcohol because they have been avoiding it for a very long time. It is natural to feel the urge to have yummy deserts, burgers and fries but you will have to avoid these for a while. Your body loses a lot of nutrients and energy during pregnancy and at the time of delivery; therefore, you need to regain and replenish these.

Junk food does not provide you with any nutritional value. You can replace it with fresh fruits and vegetables; if you are craving something sweet, make a fruit trifle for yourself. Have freshly squeezed juices or eat raw vegetables like carrots or radish. Amongst the top personal fitness tips is the fact that there is no need to starve yourself just to bring your original figure back, instead eat anything healthy you like. Just make sure that you do it in smaller quantities.

Keep yourself Hydrated:
Especially if you are breast-feeding your child, it is very important to have as much water as possible. If you do not like drinking a lot of plain water, you can go for milk, green tea or simple milk tea. Do not have alcohol since it dehydrates your body further. The best personal fitness tips include counting the number of glasses you have every day to ensure that you are drinking enough water. On average, you need to have at least 10 to 12 glasses as a mother who is breast-feeding her child.

Exercises:
Most of the mothers complain that they do not get time to sleep and so they cannot take time out for exercise. However, if you really want to take advantage of the personal fitness tips, you will have to take some time out every day whether it is five minutes or fifteen. The idea is to mobilize your body a little so that the muscles do not become too flabby and the excessive fat on you does not become too hard to get rid of.

Today most fitness training programs for older men include weight training. This is because weight training is not just about building muscles and having a lean figure, but also about gaining fitness and strength, as well balance of the body.

In addition, building muscles during this senior age is even more important – not only for men, but also for women. This is because; muscles tend to weaken with age, thus taking away your ability to lead a normal, active and healthy lifestyle. However, there are various exercises for senior men that can completely alter the process and help you gain back your strength.

Is it okay for older men to lift weights?

It has been found out by a study that senior men and women ranging from the age group of 87 to 96 improved their muscle strength by almost 180 percent after just eight weeks of weightlifting. This new strength almost seems to cut back on the age of these elderly people. Thus, fitness workouts for senior men and women, with weights are not only safe, but extremely desirable, as it makes them stronger and more self sufficient.

What are the benefits of fitness training programs for older men with weights?

It has been found that even frail elderly people gain back huge amount of their strength through weight training. The balance of the body improves substantially, which is usually a huge problem when people grow old. The pace of walking improves and climbing stairs becomes much easier than before.

The workout training will not only make you feel younger outside, but also inside. You will feel much more confident and capable. Your new found walking ability will come as a huge boon, as you will no longer have to depend on others to help you, neither will you have to take rest after a few steps. A study carried out on people aged 65 to 79 found out that the seniors could walk almost 40 percent farther without rest after just 12 weeks of weight training.

Weak bones become a huge curse when you grow old. But proper weight training can help you to strengthen the bones to some extent. At the same time, it can prevent you from suffering a nasty fall by making you stronger and more agile. Since weight training can build bone mass in the hip and spine, it is especially important for elderly people with the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis.

Weight loss is yet another huge beneficial element of fitness workouts for senior men. Weight lifting increases your metabolic rate and thus helps you to decrease body weight and keep you healthy.

The weight training and fitness training programs for older men also improves the glucose control. If you are affected by Type 2 diabetes, strength training will help you to keep it under control.

Getting started

Before you begin with weight training, check with your doctor to ensure that it is safe for you to undertake the strength training routines. Once your doctor tells you it is okay to begin the training exercises, you can choose the right equipment. Make sure that you do not over-exert yourself. Stop if you feel stressed. Make sure that you warm up before any of your strength training routines.

Weight training or strength training routines for older men are a great way to keep healthy and fit – both mentally and physically. So you should include weights in your training exercises as it is a major element in fitness training programs for older men.

As a part of your fitness training program, pumping iron is something that you should not ignore. Today, more and more women are hitting the gym not only for aerobics, but also for weight training. Weight training for women is a way of achieving a toned, lean and sexy body that you can be proud of.

Fitness exercise with weight not only keeps you slim, lean, fit and healthy, but also adds to your body strength. It helps you stay energetic and gives you a lot of stamina to work through the day.

Resistance Training for women has other benefits too. It keeps your heart as well as your connective tissues stronger. You will also develop stronger bones. Weight training for women is especially good as it minimizes chances of developing osteoporosis problems.

Why should you include weight training in your fitness training program?

Everyone likes a toned body. Plus, if you are trying to lose some excess fat, nothing could be better than pumping iron when you are in the gym. The National Center for Health Statistics has found that only 21% of women weight train more than two times a week. But unfortunately, when you skip the weights, you are losing out on the best chance of burning calories – by almost doing nothing.

This is because, a study has shown that women who completed an hour long weight training session, would end up burning an average of 100 calories more in the 24 hours after the workout, even when they did not exercise in the interim period.

Yet another long term benefit of weight training is that it will help you to develop lean muscle. Muscle in turn, helps to increase your metabolic rate and thereby burn up more calories. This means that muscle can help you destroy calories, even when you are not in the gym. If you replace say around ten pounds of fat with 10 pounds of muscle, you will end up burning about 25-50 calories per day, without even making an effort.

Get started with your weight training

Before you begin to track the progress, remember that you should not track it with your scale. Sometimes, you will find that you have lost an inch or more off your belly, even though you have not really lost much weight. This is because,  exercising with weights have paid off and you now have more muscle than fat. Since muscle is heavier than fat, you would not weigh a lot less than before, but you will definitely appear much more slim and lean.

While following any fitness exercise program, you should aim for a total body workout that will target every part of your muscle. Aim for exercises that will target various groups of muscles, like squats, bench presses, dead press, shoulder press and so on.

Another thing to follow during fitness training is you should alternate moderate intensity workout of 8 to 10 reps with 12 to 15 reps.

Eating right

For the most successful results of weight training for women, you should eat a balanced diet. Since your muscles need protein, you must include a lot of protein in your daily diet.

Avoid straining

You can include three days of weight training and three days of aerobics in your fitness training routine. However, take care never to perform more exercise than required, as you can strain yourself.

Finally, if you wish to stay healthy, fit and strong, weight training is the way to go. You will be able to show off a great body that is lean and sexy, with just the right amount of curves. Remember that weight training will not make you look bulky and masculine. In fact, it will make you look curvier and even more feminine.

Have you ever wanted to develop more muscles but found it took way to long? Are you tired of putting in way too much effort for very little gain? Well, I finally have an easy solution for you to get big fast – follow these four easy steps to get bigger, leaner and stronger than ever before – and in no time flat! If you educate yourself on ‘what’ exercises to do, and ‘when’ you will develop huge muscles very fast.

Over the years, I’ve spent countless hours in a gym trying different exercises/routines and talking to many different people (trainers, body builders, heath fanatics, etc.) trying to find the answer to one of my burning questions: “How can I get bigger, in the shortest time possible”.  After talking to many people I’ve gathered the right answer to this question. Here we go:

1.  Lift big to get big.

In order to see results, you need lift heavier weights. I know it seems pretty obvious, but most people don’t realize what I’m talking about here. You need to lift a weight that is 80% of your one rep maximum. Quite simply, take any exercise, say Bench Press, and take 80 percent of the heaviest weight you could bench press once. For example, if you could bench press 200lbs once (and only once) then you take 80 percent of 200 to give you 160lbs. This is the weight to use for this exercise. You could probably do this exercise eight times before you felt completely spent. Now, you are on the right track!

Realistically, if you are doing three or four sets of exercise with eight to ten reps in each, you probably aren’t using a weight that’s at least 80 percent of your one rep max. Once you start using 80 percent of your max for three of four sets, you will feel it – you probably won’t be able to do 8 or 10 reps,  you are more likely to squeeze out five or six repetitions in your set. Your muscles will be tired – and this is what you want!

2. Lift fast to grow big.

Be careful with this one. Every trainer will tell you that you are supposed to lift weights slowly and under control. This is 100% true. In order to avoid injury, you need to have a controlled lift – but it doesn’t have to be slow. It is a well studied fact, that the faster you lift, the better your results. It doesn’t matter if you are trying to lose weight or gain muscle the principle is the same. If you’re trying to increase the size of your muscles (i.e. get big), fast lifts activate more of the muscle fibers that have the most potential to grow. If you’re trying to become leaner, fast lifts do more to jump start your heart rate and your metabolism which will increase your weight loss.

I can’t stress enough that the most important part about lifting fast is control. You still need to maintain perfect form to prevent injury – so if you can’t lift using perfect form, then you need to either slow down or lower the weight (or both). The rule is, you need to control the weight – don’t let it control you.

3. Quit once your muscles are tired.

When you start to lift heavier weights and when you lift them fast – your muscles will really be working. They will work harder than they have before and they will tire out on you (usually in 15 seconds or less). Once you muscles have quit on you, you’re left to struggle with the weight and the remaining reps using muscle fibers that aren’t up to the task. Your body will tell you when this has happened in one of two ways:  1. Your repetitions will be much slower and 2. Your form changes – either you will shorten your range of motion or have to cheat to accomplish the full range.

4. Don’t freak out if you don’t finish the set.

Most people I talk to get worried or discouraged when they can’t finish their set. Especially when they are lifting heavier weights at a faster pace (Steps 1 and 2). But the truth is, it doesn’t matter. As long as your muscles are exhausted, you are doing your job.  Instead of focusing on how man reps you do during one set, focus instead on total reps for each exercise. For example, let’s say you’re doing a workout that specifies five sets of six reps -that’s 30 reps total. What you should focus on is getting to a total of 30 reps regardless of how many you do in a set. Maybe you can only do 5 reps (instead of 6) – well then, if that’s the case, just do a sixth set of 5 reps to bring your total up to 30 total reps. It really doesn’t matter that you can’t do six reps in that one set – as long as you get to 30 total reps (in this example), that’s all that matters.