Thursday, July 28, 2011

What the heck is conditioning?

Conditioning is the process of getting your body used to certain activities. Your body will change with conditioning depending upon the type you are doing. Strength training helps you to build stronger muscles. Cardio training helps your lungs and circulatory system to adjust to be better able to distribute oxygen throughout the body. You can condition your body to relax and rest more effectively. You can condition your body to use nutrients better. Basically, you are getting your body in the groove to perform at its best. It takes time, but is worth it. Your body will function better than ever before when it is in condition.

Athletes may undertake specific types of conditioning such as agility, speed, power, etc. Most common people are interested in general strength and health. General strength condition training is accomplished by resistance, or weights. The resistance of the muscle against a weight builds it up and the result is better strength. Strength training is a very important element of health because a stronger muscle continues to burn energy long after it has stopped working out. That means that calories are being burned for that amount of time as well. Strength training is a foundation for weight management.

Cardio conditioning helps to optimize the lungs and circulatory system. It is also called aerobic exercise. Cardio training increases the amount of air that needs to go in and come out at an increased rate. This helps to keep the heart healthy. It takes a lot energy to do cardio because it is usually of low intensity but long duration. Keeping the heart rate up and at a steady pace is the aim of cardio training. Performing aerobic activity also creates a lot of energy. Cardio conditioning is part of a balanced exercise program.

Training your body to rest and relax is also very important. Conditioning can help you to be in better control of your body. This can help you to be ready to handle any situation. Learning to rest and relax helps you to handle stressful situations properly and minimize damage to the body and the health. Training may consist of yoga type exercises, mediation practices, or some forms of karate. There are many ways to teach your body to rest, most involve plenty of practice. It is another element that should be part of a regular health program. Get your body exactly where you want it with conditioning.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

All you need to know about carbs.

Carbohydrates, or carbs, are a macronutrient. They provide energy to the body. They are basically a type of sugar that the body breaks down to give energy to the cells for muscles, nervous function, and much more. Every cell of the body needs this energy to do its job. Carbohydrates contain about 17 kcal of energy per gram. Carbohydrates are powerful energy that delivers when it is needed most. Some carbs deliver energy faster than others. But all types of carbs are needed to help the body function at its best.

Carbs are basically sugars. They can be classified as monosaccharides, disaccharides, or polysaccharides depending upon how many sugars they contain. Polysaccharides are usually referred to as complex carbohydrates since they have long chains of sugar units. They take longer to digest and absorb so they provide a steady amount of energy after the initial burst the simple carbs provide. Simple carbohydrates have shorter sugar chains. They are easy to digest and are absorbed quickly. They raise the blood sugar quickly as well. This supplies quick energy in a spike that drops off quickly. Starch is the most important type of plant carbohydrate and can exist in many forms. They form starch exists in can have an impact on how easily it is absorbed. Starch divided into small particles, or gelatinized starch is far easier to digest and absorb than plain starch.

Carbohydrates supply energy to the body, but little else. They are not rich in other nutrients and some think that they are not necessarily essential to your diet. In addition to carbs of traditional thought, there are other nutrients that are classified as carbs. Fiber is a polysaccharide. It is not easily digestible and is usually not able to be fully digested. It takes so much work for your body to process fiber it cancels out most of the energy it could provide. Fiber is important in the diet for at least two reasons. It aids gastrointestinal health and it slows absorption of sugars. In this way it helps to regulate energy availability.
Fiber can be separated into two categories, soluble and insoluble. Insoluble is the type that is indigestible. Humans cannot digest it because they lack the proper enzymes to do so. Soluble fiber slows digestion and absorption. Carbs are a very important macronutrient of the human diet. They are a staple food to many people of many nationalities.