Staying Healthy In Cold Weather

When the weather is cold, people are much more susceptible to sickness, but while this is going to be the case regardless of the measures you take, there are still a number of things you can do to keep yourself healthy when the weather turns cold - after all, unlike spring and summer (when airborne allergens can make you sick, and there is little you can do!), the cold is fairly easy to protect against.

One thing that you need to understand is that keeping heat in your body will be important if you are wanting to keep yourself from getting sick in cold weather, and more heat escapes your body through your head than through any other part of you; in addition to keeping your head covered in the cold, you will also want to keep your extremities (fingers and feet) warm, and will want to keep your chest covered with layers.

One thing that might seem minor on the surface, but that can actually make a big difference, is scraping frost off your car in the morning, and then driving in a cold car for about 10 minutes before the car warms up; instead of doing this, go outside about 15 minutes early and turn your car (and the defroster) on, so that your car will be warm, and your windshield will be cleared, by the time you get out there - realizing that the small amount of extra money you will spend in gas will be worth it for keeping you healthy!

And finally, you should understand that it is vital to keep your body clean if you want to stay healthy, and because it can be so cold to prepare for a shower when it is cold in your house (and because you may not be sweating as much when it is cold), it is easy to push showers off for a day or two; make sure you are still showering daily, however, in order to stay healthy!

When you follow these tips (and when you make sure your children are following these tips as well!), you will be able to keep a healthy family all throughout the winter.

Triathlons

Mind is All

Have you ever wanted to do a triathlon but ended up being scared out of it because you watched the iron man and thought there was no way you could complete those distances? The iron man can be a painful race but it isn't the only triathlon you should look at. There are actually shorter triathlons that you can do to experience the fun.

There are three main levels of distances for a triathlon. The biggest is the brutal Iron Man which includes a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride, and a 26.2 mile run. The more traditional size is the olympic triathlon which consists of a .93 mile swim, a 24.8 mile bike ride, and a 6.2 mile run. The final tri you are likely to run across is a sprint that contains a .47 mile swim, a 12.4 mile bike ride, and a 3.1 mile run. Sprints have become widely popular across the United States.

The Triathletes Training Bible is a great way to start getting yourself geared up towards training for one. This book is considered one of the best books for this sport. It goes into great detail about training down to what your workout plan should be week to week. It is a wonderful coaching book and really get you on the way to completing your first tri. It also if full of raceday tips as well.

It is common after completing your first tri to want to try another or move up to a longer one. It might just end up you become an amazing athlete yourself.

How to Improve Your Emotional Health

Feeling sad? Wishing you felt more optimistic? Try these mood boosters that will truly improve your emotional health.

Explore the magic of exercise. If you simply commit to 20-30 minutes of exercise each day, your body will feel as if you've been given a mild antidepressant. Experiment until you find a form of exercise (or two or three) that you like enough to want to do. It’ll help you trim down, tone up, and feel better about yourself.

Spend time with people who lift your mood. You probably need time with a close friend or social interactions with another person. Reach out to a coworker, a friend, a neighbor, or a family member and spend time doing something together. If something negative have been dominating your life (work, a bad relationship, tough parenting situation), take some time away from it and talk to a friend who understands.

Laugh. Believe it or not, laughing helps you feel better. Rent a comedy, read a joke book, or call a friend who always makes you giggle. Look online to see if there's a local laughter therapy group. No kidding! Laughter therapy is a real practice, and people seem to benefit greatly from them.

Give yourself a nutritional boost with vitamins D and B and a bit of Saint John's Wort. Supplements may give you just enough support to help you experience a mood shift. All of these vitamins enhance your emotional health. Be careful with Saint John's Wort if you have allergies, though; talk to your doctor first.

Find a therapist. Sometimes we just need a safe space to spill it all, and a therapist can give you suggestions that will be tailored to your life situation. In most cases, your insurance will cover the visits, and you don't have to go forever just because you go once.

Prioritize your emotional health. Your emotional health is linked to your physical health, which also affects your relationships with others. Take care of yourself!

Tips for Healthy Skin

Mind is All

Most women are concerned about the health of their skin. It is common to use different chemicals to moisturize, shrink pores, and peal. Which can be fine and good, however most women miss the tips that can really help to get their skin healthy. Following these tips can really give your skin an nice healthy glow.

Drinking more water is one of the easiest things to do. This may come as a shock but one of the best things you can do for your skin is make sure you are hydrated. I recommend you start to carry a water bottle with you. There are some arguements on how much water you should be drinking. A common number is eight glasses while others recommend taking your body weight divided by 2 and drinking that many ounces (for example 150 / 2 = 75 ounces). It doesn't matter which one you chose, the big thing is to drink more water. If your skin stays hydrated from the inside you skin will look considerably more healthy on the outside.

Second tip to healthy skin wear a good 30 SPF sunscreen. The days of a “healthy tan” are quickly coming to an end as more and more data shows that the sun damages your skin and causes premature aging. The key to dealing with this is to use a good sunscreen of spf 15 or greater. This also reduces your chances of melanoma, which can kill.

The third tip is eating correctly. More research is supporting this all the time. The mainstream is starting to get introduced to this data in books like Feed Your Skin Starve Your Wrinkles . Eating antioxidant rich foods like fruits and veggies along with high oil foods like nuts can help to slow down aging and improve your skins health.

Don't throw out all your skin care routing, just keep in mind that you need to start from the base if you want healthy skin. None of these tips are hard to include into your routine.

Make Your Workouts Count

It's hard to make time to exercise, so you want to make every workout the best possible. Check out these reliable tips for improving your workouts:

Vary your workout program. If you always do the same thing, you won't challenge your muscles as much because your body will adapt to the repetitive challenges. You'll want to introduce new exercises because each new activity will challenge your body in a new way, which builds more muscle and forces your body to expend more calories.

Protect yourself from injury. This is one more reason to develop a love for several different sports--you'll prevent yourself from wearing out your joints or building muscle in one area but neglecting another. It's best to invest in at least three different forms of exercise, such as running, yoga, and aerobic dancing, all of which you do every week.

An ideal exercise program consists of both cardio exercise and resistance training. Try to engage in resistance training twice a week and cardio three to five days a week. Pamper yourself in between weight lifting sessions so your muscles can repair, and make the most of your cardio sessions by alternating fast and slow paces.

Build your program gradually. If you push yourself too hard right away, you won’t be motivated to workout the next day. You don't want to injure yourself. Start out exercising at a level that feels challenging, but only leaves you moderately sore. Slowly add more challenges to your exercise program as your body adjusts, always seeking to exercise hard enough to be mildly sore. If you aren’t sore at all, you’re not pushing hard enough. You forced yourself to work too hard if you need to take painkillers to get through the next two days.

Get training where needed. Make sure you know how to use all equipment properly; your gym probably has a free orientation program that can help a lot. Make sure you know how to perform cardio exercises properly so you won’t hurt yourself and will make the most of your exercise sessions. You'll be amazed at how many variations there are on exercises you thought were plain and simple.

Exploring Three Benefits Of Oatmeal

Mind is All

When you are making an effort to eat healthy foods, you will get to a point where you are no longer looking at foods simply from the standpoint of how they taste, but also from the standpoint of how they make your body feel, and how good they are for your body! One of the foods you hear about frequently when it comes to “foods that are good for you” is oatmeal – and in addition to all the benefits of oatmeal, it can also be a delicious way to start out your day, as long as you make it the right way.

Lots of people try to wake up at the start of the day with coffee or energy drinks, but it is much better for your body when you indulge in foods that give you natural energy; oat-based foods are some of the best things you can find for gaining natural energy, and there is no better “oat-based food” than oatmeal itself!

Your body has both good cholesterol and bad cholesterol, and while you certainly want to boost your body’s good cholesterol, keeping the bad cholesterol under control will also be important, as bad cholesterol can clog your arteries and put unnecessary strain on your heart – and with a bowl of oatmeal at the start of each morning, it will be much easier for you to keep your bad cholesterol under control.

And finally, oatmeal is not going to break your bank account; with oatmeal, you will be able to enjoy a healthy breakfast every morning without spending more than a couple dollars – and in the long run, the health benefits of oatmeal will help you save even more money than this!

When it comes to looking for tasty, healthy, and inexpensive foods, there are very few that can match oatmeal, and once you begin to incorporate this as part of your daily routine, you will certainly see tremendous results!

Tips For Working Out Your Abs Without Hurting Your Back

Most people have a desire for their abdominal muscles to be in good shape, but while many people try to make it sound like getting good ab muscles is as simple as doing a few easy workouts, this is rarely the case, as most ab workouts are not only far less effective than they claim to be, but many of them are also downright painful to do if your back is sensitive at all. If you are looking for a way to strengthen your abs without hurting your back, the good news is that there are not only a few things you can do that are quite easy, but these "quite easy" things are actually even more effective than most of the other workouts out there!

It will be important that you are aware of the fact that most workouts that are labeled "ab workouts" are actually "core workouts" - meaning that they strengthen your whole core, which includes your back - but if your back is in pain from strain, and not from simple "workout pain," you should be doing something different.

Swimming is the best workout for your whole body, including your core, as it is a full-body workout that is also low-impact (which means it will not hurt your joints and muscles), but of course, swimming is not always a viable option if you do not have a pool of your own.

Your core will actually get strengthened quite a bit whenever you do pushups, but even better than pushups is to assume the pushup position with your elbows and forearms resting on the ground, and to simply hold yourself in this position for as long as you can, repeating this for three to five reps; this might seem like you are doing nothing, but you will actually be giving your ab and back muscles a great workout!

And in keeping with the idea of workouts that feel like you are doing nothing, the one that feels this way more than any other is for you to sit on a fitness ball; it might seem like you are doing nothing but just sitting there, but incredibly, you will actually be strengthening your core the entire time!