Inline Skates and Exercise Benefits by Peter Kudlacz

Inline Skates and Exercise Benefits by Peter Kudlacz

Inline Skates and Exercise Benefits
http://www.popularfitness.com

Inline skating is a fun way to get in shape and stay fit especially on warm sunny days when it's a lot more enjoyable to exercise outdoors than on a treadmill or exercise bike indoors at the gym. These days most cities have nicely paved paths through parkland, beach and waterfront areas to make your rollerblading experience more enjoyable. Unfortunately depending on where you live, you may not be able to or want to rollerblade all year round.

There are many benefits to be derived from inline skating. It's much easier and safer on the knees and back than jogging since your legs aren't taking as much pounding against a hard surface. You don't have to travel as far as cycling to get maximum benefits. Along with a great cardiovascular workout, blading provides you with a fantastic lower body workout by strengthening and toning your thighs, gluteus, calves and hamstrings. It's like doing thousands of lunges using your own body weight without even realizing it or getting bored!

I also recommend that you combine blading with strength training exercises with weights such as leg extensions, leg presses and calf raises to name a few. This will ensure that your muscles and bones remain strong and it helps to prevent any possible injuries from occurring.

Before you begin inline skating for the day, you may want to do a little bit of light stretching particularly focusing on your thighs and hamstrings. Right now there is debate over whether or not to stretch before exercising. I believe you should do what feels best for you. Also, the first few minutes should be done at a slower pace as a warm up for your muscles.

I find that roller blading is extremely safe once you get proficient at it. Rarely will you fall by yourself. If you do, it's usually a result of your surroundings. No different than cycling or walking on a sidewalk. To prevent injuries and scrapes, you may wish to purchase elbow, wrist and knee pads plus a helmet.

What should you look for when buying a pair of inline skates? If you're new to this sport, I suggest you either borrow a pair from a friend or rent a pair just to try it out, get a feel. When you're ready to buy a pair there are a few things to look for. If you're going to buy a really cheap pair I'll guarantee you that you will not enjoy inline skating. What I suggest that you buy a pair in the mid-price range.

What should you look for in a pair of inline skates? The obvious being that the boot fits your feet properly in a pair of sports socks. If you feel the boot rubbing against your ankles or your toes rubbing inside the boot, try another pair because ill-fitted boots will result in blisters and soar feet. Just like a badly fitting pair of running shoes.

I prefer laces for the boot with one plastic or velcro strap at the top and soft boots with plastic heel and bottom moldings for extra support. Soft boots with no plastic molding support usually give way to your ankle over time. Wheels should be in the 76-78mm range. 80mm is too big a wheel for most people. Look for bearings with ABEC 4-5. Most quality inline skates come with ABEC 5 bearings nowadays anyway.

I've tried several different makes of inline skates over the years. I find I like K2 the best and highly recommend them. I like their sleek design, they fit my feet very well and have great support. K2s are also very comfortable and light in weight. Ultra Wheels are also very good and I hear that Salomon are quality blades too.

Inline skates are easy to maintain. The wheels need to be rotated every once in a while to prevent uneven wearing out. So if you use them 3 times a week, monthly is fine or take a look for how much wear there is on the wheels. The bearings need to be lubricated too. I do this by removing the wheel bearings assembly and wiping the surface of any dirt and then spraying the entire wheel bearing assembly with lubricant. I don't remove the bearings from the assembly casing any more since I find very little dirt gets in there and it's a lot of work.

In this article I've discussed the cardiovascular and strength training benefits associated with inline skating. What you should look for when purchasing a pair of inline skates and their proper maintenance.

About the Author
At popularfitness.com you'll find qualtiy fitness and nutrition programs, exercise insturction guides, reviews, resources and free newsletters.

Are You Too Old to Pump Iron? by J. Bowler

Are You Too Old to Pump Iron? by J. Bowler

Are You Too Old to Pump Iron?
By: Jean Bowler
http://www.ageless-beauty.com

Are you too old for weight lifting? Will weight lifting help
you stay and look younger? The answer to the first question is
no and to the second is a resounding yes. Weight lifting will
help both men and women stay fit and supple and might even help
you look younger. And, no matter what your age, youre not too
old to start.

Dr.Walter Bortz, in The Journal of the American Medical
Association, 1982, stated that a number of the physical
changes we undergo as we age, such as loss of muscle tone,
organ deterioration, and osteoporosis are indistinguishable
whether caused by age or inactivity. He believed that exercise
could delay many of the diseases associated with aging, adding
at least a portion of the changes commonly attributed to aging
are in reality caused by disuse and, as such, subject to
correction.

As we age, we lose bone density and muscle mass. We get stiff
and our joints creak. Instead of using our body, we rest it
even more, starting a very dangerous downward spiral. The
synovial fluid dries up, the tendons become brittle, the sinews
grow weak. It hurts to move, so we dont.

More recently Dr Henry Lodge and Chris Cowley published a new
book on this theme, "Younger Next Year: A Guide to Living Like
50 Until You're 80 and Beyond". The premise of this book is that
weight lifting will help reverse the loss of both bone density
and muscle mass that begins to take place as we get older. And
theyre not talking about light weights, but rather big heavy
weights.

In July 1983, Terry Todd wrote in Sports Illustrated that Anyone
who has spent much time in what is sometimes called the "Iron Game"
has, of course, seen weight trainers over 40 whose physiques were
surprisingly youthful. Apparently there is something about the act
of regularly stressing your body with heavy exercise that gives it
the wherewithal to resist the visual manifestations of advancing
ageresearch in this area suggests that men and women of middle age
will respond to systemic progressive resistance with weights by
becoming more powerful and more flexible, with more endurance and
less fat.

In 2003, the Centers for Disease Control reported that strength
training "can be very powerful in reducing the signs and symptoms of
numerous diseases and chronic conditions, among them:arthritis,
diabetes, osteoporosis, obesity, back pain and depression."

Strength training will also increase your flexibility and balance,
which decreases the likelihood and severity of falls. One study in
New Zealand in women 80 years of age and older showed a 40% reduction
in falls with simple strength and balance training.

I dont agree that we need to undertake heavy weight training to
see substantial benefits.

The American College of Sports Medicine strength training
guidelines say we should start with at least two days a week of
any type of resistance exercise by doing 8 to 10 different exercises
and doing 8 to 12 repetitions per day. A repetition is how many times
you lift the weight or do the exercise.

So start off with a weight that you can lift correctly for at least
8 reps, even if its only 2 to 5 pounds. Rest between each set of
repetitions and between each exercise. If you can't make it to 8 reps
during the first few tries, don't give up. Do as much as you can do.
You'll be suprised at how soon you will feel like you need to add a
bit more weight.

But the goal is not to become a body builder, but rather to restore
your muscle tone and joint movement. You can gradually work your way
up to heavier weights if you desire, but you will obtain the best
benefit by avoiding injury and sticking to the programlifting
weights every two or three days.

An excellent resource on this subject is Getting Stronger: Weight
Training for Men and Women by Bill Pearl and Gary Moran, Ph.D. I have
the edition that came out in 1986. A newer one is now available.
I have referred to it constantly over the last 19 years.

The book gives you tips and pointers on how to set up a strength
training regime. There are illustrations of every exercise with step
by step instructions on how to do them properly.

You can either learn beginning to advanced body building, sports
fitness routines to help you do better in 22 different sports,
exercises to help prevent injuries at work or just the principles
of general conditioning and strength training.

And you dont need any fancy equipment to get going. Almost all the
exercises use cheap dumbbells and weights that are available in just
about every sporting goods store. All in all, this is a very
comprehensive book on weight training and is especially helpful to
those of us who have never lifted weights before.

If you have any disease, injury or physical disability, consult the
doctor who has been treating you before undertaking these exercises.
Follow his advice on how to get started and do not strength train if
he says not to.

Start off slowly with light weights. Follow the diagrams in the book
to make sure youre positioning your body correctly to avoid injury
and obtain the best result from your workout.

After several weeks, you will be well on your way to improving your
appearance, physique and general attitude toward life, while doing
wonders for you internal organs and maybe even fighting off disease.
Use it or lose it applies to just about every part of your body.
Dont lose it because of inactivity and disuse.

This article is for informational purposes only. It does not purport
to offer medical advice. Consult a qualified physician before
undertaking any exercise program.

By: Jean Bowler
http://www.ageless-beauty.com

About the Author
Ms Bowler has taught ballet, gymnatics and aerobics and has been a personal coach.

She is very interested in antiaging research.