Bodybuilding Exercises For The Legs

Do you have a plan to gain more muscle mass? Your legs are one of the most important muscle groups to train. Bodybuilding exercises for the legs are important for several reasons. Muscular legs look good, that's for sure, but it also keeps your body in balance when you regularly train your legs.

If you train your upper body to the max and you skip to train your legs, your body is not in balance and it will be bad for your health. The danger is that your legs need to carry the increased weight of your upper body. Your legs should be conditioned to handle that.

CREATE MUSCLE MASS IN YOUR LEGS

The intent of bodybuilding is to gain muscle mass. With some sports like running or cycling you won't gain muscle mass. These sports are good for endurance. You need to keep your focus on exercises that will train your muscles.

To create muscle mass it is very important that you train the legs regularly. It is wise to train the legs at least two times a week. After you trained your legs, it is better to do no other exercises. Training of the legs is very demanding. If you train your legs the right way, you shouldn't have any more energy to perform other exercises.

EXERCISES FOR THE LEGS

Which exercises are most suitable for gaining muscle in the legs? Well, it depends on several factors. Aptitude is very important as that is a factor you can't influence. Some people have more aptitude than others to gain muscles faster.

If you have less aptitude to create more muscle mass, you can still focus on other factors that you can influence, like training, rest and nutrition of interest. To train your legs full force, it is important to perform big and heavy exercises such as the stiff legged deadlift, leg extension, deadlift, squat, lunge and dumbbell squat.

THE IMPORTANCE OF HEALTHY NUTRITION

Besides heavy and regularly training, nutrition is also very important. In case you don't train very heavily, most times it is sufficient to eat healthy. In case you go for a more severe training plan, then it is important to pay special attention to your nutrition. With bodybuilding it is important to eat a diet that will break down fat and increase muscle mass. In addition there are also proteins that you need to help your muscles recover after heavy exercises.
                                                     Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8768255

Read More

Girls Guide To Body Building - Do You Need A New Workout Program?

Are you planning to start a girl's body building program? You might have already read numerous articles about work out training programs or what exercises you need to start. Do not forget that in order to achieve a girl's body building program, you should follow it with a healthy diet.

Beef: It is essential in your diet plan if you are to build lean muscles because of its content such as zinc, cholesterol, protein, iron and B vitamins. It is highly advisable that you prefer to consume grass-fed cattle because they have upper concentrations of conjugated linoleic acid or CLA than those cattle raised conventionally. It boosts you to shed body fats.

Beets: It is a perfect source of trimethylglycine or also called betaine. It enhances your liver and promotes joints repair. Beets will also assist you in having the power and muscle strength that you need in order to perform the training program you have chosen.

Brown rice: It is a whole grain which is slow in digesting that helps you to keep extensive energy for your activities the whole day and throughout your work out. It can also improve the amount of your growth hormone which is very vital in boosting lean muscle growth, strength gains and fat loss.

Oranges: It promotes growth, muscle growth and endurance especially if you consume oranges before working out.

Cantaloupe: It is one of the best quick-digesting carbs. It is the best carb to eat in the morning after hours of sleeping or after your training program.

Organic Cottage Cheese: It is packed with casein protein which is excellent to nibble before going to bed. Casein protein is known as the gradual-digesting protein that you can consume which will prevent your muscles from being used as a source of energy while you are fasting at night.

Eggs: These are the best source of protein. Do not worry about the cholesterol content of eggs. Its cholesterol that helps decrease the level of bad cholesterol particles.

Organic Milk: It is rich in casein protein and whey. It is also loaded with amino acid glutamine and omega-3 fatty acids..

Spinach: It contains amino acid and glutamine which are essential in the growth of lean muscles.

Apples: Polyphenols in apples will help you avoid from suffering muscle fatigue and improve your muscle strength during your workouts.
Achieve your girl's body building program through following the strength training programs suited for you and consuming the above list of foods. It is highly recommended as well that you read articles on different myths about body building. You might be doing some myths that will put you on higher risks.
                                                   Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7471902

Read More

Ahimsa (Non-Violence) and Healthy Aging

In honor of Martin Luther King, the American civil rights leader who was inspired by the social activism of great yogi Mohandas K. Gandhi, I thought on this, the American holiday Martin Luther King Day, we should rerun this post from Ram about ahimsa. Non-violence was the guiding principle for both of these important leaders. —Nina

by Ram 

Peaceful Valley by Brad Gibson

Himsa in Sanskrit means violence, which is defined as the intentional use of force or power on self or against a person or a group that results in a physical/psychological harm, mental disturbance, injury or death. Going by this definition, there is no difference between a person who is harboring severe judgment and negativity towards self or others and a person who walks with a gun into a classroom and randomly shoots at the students. Both have committed himsa or violence albeit to different degrees. We have also have heard or witnessed acts of himsa perpetrated in yoga studios as well.

Violence of any kind has profound effects on the health of an individual. Studies have shown the following:

• The stress of being in an abusive relationship has the obvious physical and psychological impact: it often increases one’s vulnerability to illness and may cause the victim to be more susceptible to disease.
• Battered victims experience depression, feelings of low self-esteem and helplessness coupled with somatic complaints.
• Chronic abuse causes serious psychological harm. Victims experience panic disorders, phobias, anxieties and depression that may last for several years. Their ability to trust and form emotional attachments are severely impacted.
• Victims often complain of enduring the effects of violence over many years and some even develop extreme symptoms years later in response to major life stressors.

Moreover violence severely impacts healthy aging and life expectancy is reduced in traumatic individuals. Recent studies have shown that the United States suffers far more violent deaths than any other wealthy nation. The United States has about six violent deaths per 100,000 residents. Homicide and suicide together account for about a quarter of the years of life lost for U.S. men compared to those in those peer countries. Children who are exposed to different types of violent childhood events suffer from all kinds of stressors that negatively affect their overall development. A ten-year study finds that a traumatic childhood reduces life expectancy by 20 years among adults who experienced six or more particular types of abuse or household dysfunction as kids. Thus, violence in all forms is taking its toll on the life expectancy of the U.S. population. The solution to this grave problem is shunning violence and cultivating ahimsa (non violence), the opposite of himsa. Ahimsa— which also refers to non-harming or non-injury—is the first of the five yamas in the yoga sutras of Patanjali. The five yamas serve as moral, ethical and societal guidelines for a harmonious living. Patanjali considered the yamas as universal vows, and preached that they be practiced on all levels: by way of thoughts, actions, and words. Verse 2.3 in the Yoga Sutras describes ahimsa as:

ahimsa pratishthayam tat vaira-tyagah

As a Yogi becomes firmly grounded in non-injury (ahimsa), other people who come near will naturally lose any feelings of hostility — trans. by Swami Jnaneshvara.

Going by the above translation, ahimsa would mean physical, mental, and emotional non-violence towards self and others. For those who are always in contact with individuals who experience natural inner peace and a non-harming attitude, there is a tendency for them to give up their hostilities, ill will or aggression in return. It is a natural process that everyone experiences in the presence of a truly non-violent person.

How does one cultivate ahimsa? Empathy and compassion are two excellent tools to foster ahimsa as they allow us to accept events as they are and act with an open and loving heart. Empathy and compassion replace violent tendencies with kindness, acceptance and love. Practicing it on oneself helps to cultivate the same feelings towards others. So how about cultivating some ahimsa in our lives starting now!

Kindly and non-violently,

Ram

Subscribe to YOGA FOR HEALTHY AGING by Email ° Follow Yoga for Healthy Aging on Facebook

Read More

Friday Q&A: What Yoga for Healthy Aging Is, And What it is Not

Branches at Sunset by Melina Meza

Q: Thinking about it now, I decided that the “active engagement” part of our yoga for healthy aging attitude really is tapas, which means practicing for physical, emotional, and spiritual health with dedication and persistence. What do you think, Baxter?

A: Yesterday in her post Another Word for Stubborn? Tapas, Maybe?, while recounting a recent conversation we had, Nina waxed on eloquently and engagingly about some of the essential qualities of Yoga for Healthy Aging. And at one point while ruminating about “active engagement,” she posed the above question to me.

It turns out that I think a lot about what Yoga for Healthy Aging (YFHA) is, and also what it is not. As for “active engagement” and tapas, I couldn’t agree more with Nina’s assertion. But I’d like to back up and look at the bigger picture again and maybe use some slightly different language to describe my perspective.

I have to start by mentioning a fellow yoga teacher who I study with on occasion who has this interesting way of getting us to do something in class by telling us what not to do in a few different ways, then finally telling us what to do. In this same spirit, I’d like to say what YFHA is not, first, at least in my mind: YFHA is not “senior’s yoga.” It is not chair yoga. It is not Boomer yoga or AARP yoga. It is not yoga therapy. It is not prop yoga, Iyengar yoga, or yoga in the tradition of Krishnamacharya. It is not gentle or restorative yoga, yin or yang yoga. But includes all of these things, and more. If it were a Venn diagram, it would be a large, inclusive circle, inside of which all these other things would be smaller circles!

So, what is it, then? Well, it does go back to what Nina mentioned yesterday: it is really the cultivation of an attitude, one that serves your highest goals as they relate to the unfolding of your unique life, which helps to enhance and preserve your overall health—mental, emotional, physical and even spiritual. I see this attitude included the essential qualities of curiosity, mindfulness, and willfulness. Curiosity leads the followers of YFHA to look for the reality and the truth of being human, growing, aging, and changing. Out of the discoveries that curiosity provides, we can then, via mindfulness, begin to plot a course of clear action or, just as possibly, a course of graceful acceptance of those things we cannot change. Willfulness, as expressed in tapas or fiery determination, equally allows us to set goals that can lead us to healing is some instances, assist in maintaining our present level of health in others, and even guide our course to new growth and higher levels of achievement. It is the healthy, honest balance of ambition and compassion. So, as Nina so rightly suggested, YFHA’s essential attitude and guiding principles can help you find the yoga practice that best serves you each day.

—Baxter 

Subscribe to Yoga for Healthy Aging by Email ° Follow Yoga for Healthy Aging on Facebook ° Join this site with Google Friend Connect 

Read More

Another Word for Stubborn? Tapas, Maybe?

by Nina

Leaf in a Grid by Melina Meza

Baxter and I had an interesting discussion yesterday about what “yoga for healthy aging” means. He said that he felt that essentially it was an attitude, you know, the combination of acceptance and active engagement we’ve been talking about since the early days of the blog (see What We Need to Practice  and Acceptance, Active Engagement, and the Bhagavad Gita). Then our conversation—as so often happens—wandered off track and we started talking about various older yoga teachers we know, how some of them were still very physically capable while others had lost a lot of abilities due to injuries and other physical problems. 

In reference to one particular teacher we knew, Baxter said he thought her injuries and physical problems were due to over-practicing asana over the years. 

I shook my head and said, “I think that some people are just more physically robust than others.” And then I mentioned another older teacher who was a very dedicated practitioner of asana who still seemed to be very good physical condition. 

“That’s also true,” Baxter said.

“Like me,” I sighed. “I not very physically robust.” 

“Yes, you are, Nina!” he said. “You’re very robust! Look at you, you recovered completely from two different bouts of frozen shoulder.”

I laughed. “I’m not robust. I’m just very stubborn. I remember once when someone was commenting on how I was practicing during class even while I had a frozen shoulder, Donald said, “Nina never gives up!”

Baxter laughed, too. “Maybe you should write about that—being stubborn.” 

“Good idea! I always need more topics....” 

“But the thing about you,” Baxter went on, “is that even while you’re being stubborn, you also know when to stop practicing poses that aren’t working for you.”

“Yes,” I said. “You need to practice only what is serving you.”

So this morning I’m sitting down to write the blog post on “stubbornness” that Baxter requested, and I’m thinking that “stubbornness” doesn’t really sound very yogic, if you know what I mean. But, really isn’t the term “stubborn” was just my humorous way of describing tapas, the niyama that Ram defined in his post The Second Branch of Yoga: Niyamas as “a burning desire or a disciplinary approach to achieve one’s aims and aspirations.” Yes, a “disciplinary approach” is a much nicer way of saying that when I was recovering from my frozen shoulders than I practiced stretching them every single day, even though it was quite painful, because, yes, I was stubbornly committed to trying to recover as much as could (see Living Proof). And I've actually already written about tapas as an important aspect of healthy aging in my post Tapas: Working with Dedication, where I used my mother’s determination to recover from a broken hip as an example of tapas and healthy aging. (Thank you, Mom, for setting me such a good example!)

Thinking about it now, I decided that the “active engagement” part of our yoga for healthy aging attitude really is tapas, which means practicing for physical, emotional, and spiritual health with dedication and persistence. What do you think, Baxter?

I’m also thinking that when Baxter said that I was good at practicing only what served me and giving up what didn’t, he was referring to the other side of the coin, acceptance. I used to believe—and even teach—that acceptance was primarily about santosha, or, as Desikachar put it, “the ability to be comfortable with what we have and what we do not have.” But this morning I’m wondering whether another big part of acceptance isn’t satya, or truthfulness (see Satya: The Truth About Lies and Healthy Aging). Perhaps I’m focused on truthfulness because I’m still mulling over what I wrote about Tama and how she faced her death with honesty (see The Death of a Friend). But it seems to me that to practice the yoga that serves you, you need to be able to look honestly at the aging process and how it is affecting you. Rather than practicing for the body you wish you had—or used to have—when you step on your mat, you need to meet yourself as you are at this moment, on this day. And adjust accordingly. Hmmm, I think I found a topic for my next blog post!

Subscribe to Yoga for Healthy Aging by Email ° Follow Yoga for Healthy Aging on Facebook ° Join this site with Google Friend Connect

Read More

Help Wanted!

by Nina

Writing by Zhang Xiaogang*

Yes, we’re looking for some new people to contribute articles to our blog. As you may have noticed, a few of our regulars have stepped down, and besides we can always use some fresh ideas and points of few. We’re looking for articles on any aspect of yoga, including asana, pranayama, meditation, and philosophy. 

To write for us, you must have some experience either teaching or practicing yoga. If you are a yoga teacher, you should either have personally faced issues of interest to our YFHA readers or have experience teaching students who have. If you are a yoga practitioner who is not a teacher, we’d love to hear your personal story! Again, you should either have personally faced issues of interest to our YFHA readers or be using techniques or concepts you’ve learned from our blog in your personal practice (and be able to refer to specific articles that inspired you). 

You don’t have to be a professional writer to write for us, but you do have to feel comfortable putting a short article together. In certain cases, if you have a compelling story and can’t figure out how to express yourself in article, I would do an interview. But that interview would have to be in writing where I email questions that you respond to in email. (Many successful interviews on our blog have been conducted in just that way, such as The Way Home: Yoga for Grief.)

You should know that I edit all the posts on this blog. I mostly focus on grammar and clarity, but if I feel there is an error, a confusing section that I can’t untangle, or a statement that I feel is somehow inappropriate, I will work with the author on a revision. Sometimes if I think a piece is too abstract, I’ll ask for concrete examples to illustrate generalizations. However, I don’t edit for style or tone of voice because we definitely don’t just want upbeat and chirpy, if you know what I mean. In fact, we prefer down to earth and honest. Ranting is also allowed. Encouraged, even. I want you to sound like YOU.

As this is a non-commercial blog, we don’t pay for our articles. However, when you write for us (or are interviewed), you can include a bio with any appropriate links to other web sites to advertise your teaching, books, or videos. We don’t promote specific products on our blog, whether that means yoga clothes, props, or supplements of any kind, so any references to commercial products are not appropriate. 

So, what do you think? Are you at all interested? If you are, pitch me by writing me an email (see Contact Us) with your idea for an article (or interview) and something about yourself. I look forward to hearing from you!

Subscribe to Yoga for Healthy Aging by Email ° Follow Yoga for Healthy Aging on Facebook ° Join this site with Google Friend Connect

Read More

Featured Sequence: Challenging Balance Practice

by Baxter

Last May I offered up an Easy Balance Practice for you to play with in your home practice. Since then, I have continued to study the subject of balance and have come across a recurring theme in non-yoga fields, such as sports medicine and biomechanics, which is the importance of variability. It seems that it is very important for maintaining and improving balance to change up the way you do balance activities as a way to keep your brain and body in sync. Changing up the way you do balance activities can come in the form of extending the time you hold a balance pose or in changing your body position a bit from the typical way you might do a pose. I was so intrigued by the concept of variability, I decided to try and invent a new balance pose each week of 2015: so far, 3 new balance poses! I will share those with you in a future post!

However, for today, I’d like to simply take a step forward from Easy Balance Sequence. In this Challenging Balance Practice, I will stick to some tried and true yoga asana, but I will occasionally suggest slight variations that will increase the challenge of the pose. So let’s dive in.

Challenging Balance Practice

1. Mountain Pose (Tadasana) to Arms Overhead Pose (Urdva Hastasana), with heels lifted

Start in Mountain Pose with a block between your thighs, on its narrow or middle width, depending on which one allows your feet to be about hips-distance apart. Squeeze the block with your inner leg muscles and become more aware of the soles of your feet on the floor, getting the right amount of squeeze to bring a sense of evenness to the inner and outer edges of your feet. Maintain the pose for about 16 breaths.

Then, grab a second block and place that between your hands, leaving the first block to use between your thighs. Now, with the first block between your thighs and a second block between your hands, come back into a strong Mountain pose. Then, on an inhalation, take your arms overhead into Arms Overhead pose with the block firmly held between your hands. Now the fun begins. Keeping your weight evenly across the balls of both feet, lift your heels 2-3 inches off the floor and maintain that position while breathing appropriately. Keep your gaze forward and slight ly down, fixing it on something that will not move. See how long you can stay up before you lose your balance, fatigue your legs muscles, or feel too wobbly in your ankles. Then come down, bringing your arms down as well. Repeat one more time, seeing if you can match the amount of time you achieved the first time. Over the course of several weeks, try to hold the pose a bit longer each practice.

2. Tree Pose (Vrksasana)

In the Easy Balance Practice, I had you practice with a wall just behind your back so you could lean back against it if you started to lose your balance. Today, I want you to start working further away from the wall or in the center of the room. When you do come up into the Tree pose, start with your arms out to your sides, as in Warrior 2 pose. Once you get steady there, take your arms directly overhead. See how long you can remain relatively steady before coming down with a sense of control. Repeat on the second side.

To add a challenge, try Tree pose with a block between your hands and take your arms up and overhead. Also, gradually advance the amount of time you spend in the pose as you get better at it.

3. Extended Side Angle Pose (Utthita Parsvakonasana)

In the Easy Balance Practice, I had you do Triangle pose. The standing poses have a definite balancing component to them, even though both feet are on the ground. Today, let’s try a version of the Extended Side Angle Pose (Utthita Parsvakonasana) where you are depending on just two limbs, your legs, to keep you balanced, instead of there. For the basic instructions on Extended Side Angle pose, see http://yogaforhealthyaging.blogspot.com/2014/11/featured-pose-extended-side-angle.html.

For this practice, instead of bringing your bottom hand to a block or the floor, place your bottom elbow on the top of your front leg thigh near the knee. Press down lightly with that arm into the leg, and let your legs do most of the work keeping you in the pose. See how long you can stay before your muscles begin to fatigue or your balance becomes wobbly and then exit as smoothly as you can. Repeat to the second side, noticing if one side is easy on your balance than the other. Do a short Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana) after the second side, maybe 30 seconds, as a counter pose to side angle.  

4. Warrior 3 (Virabradrasana 3)

As a quick review, in our last sequence, I had you working on Warrior 3 at the Wall . To take it to the next step, I’d like you to work towards Warrior 3 away from the wall, starting with arms by yours sides reaching towards your lifted foot.

Once that version gets easy, advance to taking your arms out to your sides.

Finally, you can work toward the full pose, reaching forward with your arms.

Usually each variation becomes a bit more challenging for the balance. For all the details, see (Featured Pose: Warrior 3 ).

After you have tried this pose on each side, take a short Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana) as a nice counter-pose. Then, from the forward bend, bend your knees, drop your hips into a brief squat, and then sit down on your mat.  

5. Full Boat Pose (Navasana)

Start by sitting with your legs extended straight in front of you. Then, as you did in the Easy Balance Sequence, move into Full Boat Pose by quickly cycling through variations 1, 2, and 3 to the place where you are balancing on your lower sacrum and buttocks muscles, your arms are reaching forward and your legs floating with the shins parallel with the floor.

To take it to the next level, begin to straighten your legs, with your big toes lined up in front of or just higher than the level of your eyes.

Maintain the full pose for 6-10 breaths or longer. Then come out of the pose, rest for a moment, and repeat one more time. To challenge yourself, vary the position of your arms, gradually bringing them up overhead as in Warrior 1 pose.

6. Side Plank Pose (Vasisthasana)

We have written a bit about the use of Side Angle Pose recently as it pertains to scoliosis (see Side Plank Pose (Vasithasana) ) So, follow Nina’s fine instructions on getting into Side Plank Plank pose by starting in Downward Facing Dog, swinging forward into High Plank pose, and then shifting into Side Plank pose.

However, for this sequence, instead of lifting or lowering your ribs or hips, make your body one long line from your feet to the crown of your head. Try it initially with your feet one in front of the other, and work towards the more challenging variation where your feet are stacked one on top of the other. Because this requires a lot of upper body strength in addition to balance, initially stay for shorter periods of time, maybe just a few breaths, and gradually work your way to longer holds. Try it on each side twice. 

7. Child’s Pose (Balasana)

Take a well-deserved rest in Child’s Pose for up to 2 minutes, and move your fingers and wrists around to release any excess tension there.

8. Relaxation Pose (Savasana)

As you rest in Savasana, ideally for 5 to 10 minutes, pay attention to feeling the more subtle balance of your body lying on the floor, establishing an even balance between your shoulder blades, the back of your pelvis, the backs of your legs and arms, and the back of your head. Notice the areas of the body where you can still feel the residual effects of the poses you worked on today. Finally, let go of whatever judgments around success or failure may have come up with the challenge of balancing poses, and instead let your attention follow the easy movement of your breath for several minutes. 

I hope you enjoy this sequence. Regular practice will help you maintain and improve your balance.

Subscribe to Yoga for Healthy Aging by Email ° Follow Yoga for Healthy Aging on Facebook ° Join this site with Google Friend Connect

Read More