Mind-Body Fitness For Dummies is the complete guide to the world of holistic fitness -- from Yoga and Tai Chi to Pilates and Qigong. Get started the smart way with expert advice on the essentials, such as breathing, posture, and choosing a program that best fits you and your fitness goals. Filled with instructional photos and illustrations, this book also features expert advice on warming up and cooling down, as well as taking your workout program beyond the basics with coverage of bodywork techniques including NIA and the Alexander technique. Mind-Body Fitness For Dummies will also help answer common questions about equipment and space needs, as well as other issues to consider before committing to a new fitness plan.
How to make educated decisions regarding nutrition, exercise programs, choosing a health club facility and purchasing exercise equipment, clothing and accessories.
Tone up, burn calories, stay strong Weight Training For Dummies makes it easy to get started with weight training by offering trusted and straightforward guidance on the latest circuit and resistance training, and all-new information on the highly popular bodyweight and High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). Whether you're working with dumbbells, free weight sets, or machines, you'll find out how to combine weight training with other exercise to properly strength train and get in the best shape of your life. Along with aerobic exercise and flexibility, body weight training is an integral part of a complete physical activity program. But with all the different equipment and techniques available, getting started can feel overwhelming. Want to get pumped about weight training? Consider these facts: strength training, whether via free weights or a machine, builds muscle. And the more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism and the less prone you are to injuries—in and out of the gym. Plus, strength training promotes bone strength, which can significantly reduce your odds of developing osteoporosis. If that's not enough, strength training—unlike cardio workouts like running—reaps benefits almost immediately. So what are you waiting for? Weight Training For Dummies has everything you need to get started. Provides examples and directions for powerful 20-minute weight training routines for the time challenged Features advice to help you choose a weight training system that you enjoy and that fits into your lifestyle Includes new coverage devoted to warm-ups and the hottest and most beneficial stretches Introduces using weight training to address specific health or orthopedic conditions Whether you're already in the gym several times a week or are just starting out with a fitness routine, Weight Training For Dummies shows you how to use free weights or weight machines to get results—fast.
Until recently, the effortless "Zone" of peak performance was only within the reach of serious athletes. Now, with Body, Mind, and Sport, anyone can reach the Zone, regardless of fitness level. Designed to accommodate a variety of individual fitness needs, the Body, Mind, and Sport program is split into two levels. Level 1 is for non-athletes who want to improve overall fitness; Level 2 is for those who want to train for competitive or recreational purposes. Your own unique mind-body type is taken into account to guide you in achieving your personal best without stress or strain. In this revised and updated edition of Body, Mind, and Sport, fitness expert and trainer John Douillard outlines a program in which your individual seasonal constitution-Winter, Spring, or Summer-determines what exercises or sports are best suited to your mind-body type and what foods you should eat for optimum results. Using the Body, Mind, and Sport approach you can decrease heart and breath rates while improving both fitness and performance. Dozens of world-class athletes, including Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King, have used John Douillard's expert breathing techniques, dietary recommendations, and seasonally balanced workouts. Now you can, too!
A user-friendly guide that teaches you the origins and philosophy of the Pilates method and helps you set realistic fitness goals and custom tailor a program Once the secret fitness weapon of professional dancers, athletes, and movie stars, Pilates is sweeping the country and becoming more popular than ever. If half of what its many fans claim is true, then it’s easy to see why. Combining elements of yoga, dance, gymnastics, and boxing, along with many original movements, Pilates exercises build muscle tone, improve flexibility and balance, lengthen the spine, increase body awareness, and repair past injuries. Most people who’ve done it, even for a short time, say they feel stronger and more energized, centered, and physically confident than ever before. They also like having the flat tummies, tight buns, and long lean thighs of a dancer. Pilates For Dummies is your gentle introduction to the Pilates method without the high cost of private instruction. Packed with easy-to-follow exercises an plenty of photos, it helps you develop your own Pilates fitness program to do at home or in the gym and how to use eight basic Pilates principles to get the most out of your mat-based routines. With this practical guide by your side, you can: Look and feel better than ever Get stronger, more flexible, in control, and less prone to injury Target and tone problem areas Tone and strengthen your abs, buns, thighs, and arms Repair chronic stress and sports injuries Whether you’re just starting out with Pilates or know a few exercises and want to learn more, the book covers: Basic, intermediate, and advanced mat exercises How to use Pilates exercise equipment and accessories How to target specific areas of your body including the stomach, back, thighs, and chest Pilates for the pregnant and recently pregnant body How Pilates can help heal injuries and reform your posture The fun of combining Pilates with other forms of exercise, including yoga, swimming, aerobics, and more Additionally, you’ll learn simple ways to incorporate Pilates into your everyday life, changes you can expect to see from practicing Pilates, and questions to ask if you decide to join a Pilates studio or hire a Pilates instructor. Get your copy of Pilates For Dummies to start designing a Pilates fitness program just for you.
Move at your own pace with this kinesiology course guide A required course for majors pursuing sports medicine, exercise science, nursing, or sports therapy degrees, kinesiology is central to a variety of fields. Kinesiology For Dummies tracks an introductory course in the science and imparts the basics of human body movement. With this resource, you will learn how physical activity can alleviate chronic illnesses and disabilities, what factors contribute to musculoskeletal injury, and how to reverse those influences. Complete with a 16-page color insert of medical instructions, this book covers the basics of exercise physiology, exercise and health psychology, introductory biomechanics, motor control, history and philosophy of sport and exercise, and mind-body connections. Written by experts in exercise science Addresses a timely subject as exercise science careers and majors are increasingly popular Runs parallel to a kinesiology course with accessible, concise language Interested learners, kinesiology students, and health or sports therapy professionals will benefit from this refresher course in the basics.
Mastering the latest fitness craze-keeping your brain healthy at any age Judging from the worldwide popularity of the brain game, Nintendo DS, and such mind-bending puzzles as SuDoku and KenKen®, keeping one's mind as limber as an Olympic athlete is an international obsession. With forecasters predicting over a million people with dementia by 2025, today's young and senior population have a vested interest in keeping their grey matter in the pink for as long as possible. Training Your Brain For Dummies is an indispensable guide to every aspect of brain fitness-and keeping your mind as sharp, agile, and creative for as long as you can. Whether you want to hone your memory, manage stress and anxiety, or simply eat brain healthy food, this guide will help you build brain health into your everyday life. Includes verbal, numerical and memory games, brain games to play on the move, tips on the best day-to-day habits, and long-term mental fitness techniques Offers ten key brain training basics, tips on brain training through one's lifetime, and improving long- and short-term memory Includes advice on improving creativity, developing a positive mindset, and reaping the rewards of peace and quiet With tips on mind/body fitness, Training Your Brain For Dummies is a must-have guide for anyone, at any age, for keeping one's mind-and quality of life-in peak condition.
From Women's Health contributor and yoga expert Kathryn Budig-the essential, authoritative guide to yoga, for beginners and beyond. Approximately 16 millions Americans now practice yoga on a regular basis. Devotees can't rave enough about this ancient art of meditation, breathing, and physical postures that calms the mind and slims the body. Unlike fitness fads, yoga is worth the hype. The postures stretch and tone lean muscle mass and sculpt a strong and slender physique-burning up to 400 calories in a 90-minute session. But yoga does something even better. It's proven to reduce the biggest cause of weight gain-stress-which 43% of Americans say makes them overeat. This definitive volume features: - every essential pose to help readers lose weight and transform their bodies - Total Body Yoga: targeted workouts in 15 minutes or less - core-strengthening routines for hotter, more satisfying sex - a healthy, mindful eating plan centered around calming, cleansing foods Covering everything from basic postures to relaxation techniques to avoiding common injuries, The Women's Health Big Book of Yoga is the only guide readers need to achieve their fittest, healthiest, happiest selves.
An easy-to-follow guide to a hot new form of yoga Yoga with Weights is the latest breakthrough in mind-body exercise, integrating the mindfulness of yoga with the physical culture of body-building. Building on the strengths of both disciplines, this friendly guide shows readers how to safely combine yoga postures while simultaneously working out with lightweight hand-held free weights. It features customizable exercises that target specific areas of the body, each illustrated with multiple photos, and provides guidelines for combining healthy eating with workouts. Sherri Baptiste (Marin County, CA) is the founder of Baptiste Power of Yoga, a nationally recognized method of yoga offered throughout the United States. She teaches yoga classes throughout the United States and hosts retreats around the world.
Keeping Fit Is Not Just About Your Body. It's Also About Training Your Mind. Do you find it difficult to exercise on a regular basis? Is keeping fit and eating healthy a chore for you? Have you been on one exercise plan or fad diet after another without success? No one knows the frustrations of wanting to keep fit better than Don Staley. For over 20 years, Don struggled to achieve his ideal body, never keeping on a fitness program for more than a few months. Within 30 days of using the principles in Fit Mind, Fit Body, Don embarked on his ultimate fitness program and has been exercising every single day for 4 years in a row! In Fit Mind, Fit Body, Don Staley reveals why keeping fit is not about pushing your body to work harder but about understanding how your mind directs your body. You will learn: Why 95% of all exercise programs, gadgets and fad diets fail-despite our best efforts! 4 powerful ways to recondition your mind to make exercise fun, easy and almost effortless for you. How to banish your negative self-talk when you feel like giving up, or skipping a day. The one thing you can do right now that will set your immediate fitness goals in motion.
