The lower back and the hips must be checked when a person feels sciatic nerve pain for some time. Stretching can help a lot.

Unfortunately, it’s a type of pain which can spread towards the lower limb as well as the feet. The sciatic nerve actually connects the spine with the femur. It’s the most important muscle we need to move our hips, feet as well as upper legs.

Doctors can recommend the usage of aspirin, ketoprofen, muscle relaxants, acetaminophen, antidepressants, as well as many other painkillers.

Still, we’re here to recommend you a better way to recover from the pain. You could use some interesting exercises that will prevent you gaining the side-effects you get when you take painkillers. It is very important to visit a doctor before you decide to start with the exercises.

Warm up before you do them and take a look at the videos for further instructions!

1) Supine Piriformis Stretch

This exercise is done while lying down with bent knees. The leg that hurts should be crossed and the other leg should be facing up and going towards the chest. Hold your ankle very strong using one of your hands. Use the other hand to hold the knee.

After that, you need to align the shoulder with the ankle. Stay like this for 30 seconds. You need to have a feeling of extended glutes and bottom.

2) Standing Piriformis Stretch

Stand up and then put the leg that hurts above the knee of your other leg. After that, lower your hip while you’re at an angle of 45 degrees. The torso should be bent upfront. The arms should be extended and aligned with the ground.

Make sure the spine is straight. Remain like this for 30-60 seconds. Repeat the movement with your other leg.

3) Outer Hip Piriformis Stretch

Lie down. The leg which hurts should be bent. The foot should be close to the knee of the other leg. Curl the leg towards the opposite side and use your knee to touch the floor.

During the extending of the left leg, the right hand should be put on the knee and the left hand should be raised. Try to touch the floor using your shoulder. The arm should be lowered in the opposite direction of your knee.

Remain like this for 20 seconds. Repeat the same movement using your other leg.

4) Long Abductor Stretch

Sit down. The legs should be extended and far apart. The torso should be bent upfront. The hands should be on the floor. Use your elbows to touch the ground. Remain like this for 20 seconds.

5) Short Adductor Stretch

Sit down. Close the feet together in front of you. Use the left hand to hold the right foot ankle. The right hand should be used to hold the left foot ankle.

The knees should be pushed towards down. Remain like this for 30 seconds. Use your legs to wave rapidly for 30 seconds.

6) Side-Lying Clam

Lie on the side where your hip hurts. The legs should be tilted back forming an L shape. The feet should be one on top of the other. The legs should be in a parallel.

The hip which hurts should be kept high, but don’t tilt your spine or body. Keep the feet close. Use the top knee to raise it and stay like that for several seconds. Repeat the same movement for 15 times.

7) Hip Extension

The knees and the hands should be placed down. The hands should be in the same line with the shoulders. The leg that hurts should be raised and the knee should be kept tilt. After that, use the leg to lower it once again. Repeat the same thing for 15 times.

8) Supine Piriformis Side Stretch

Lie on the floor. Make sure your legs are flat and your back is straight. The leg that hurts should be tilted up.

The foot should be placed outside your other leg which should be close to your knee.

The knee of the leg which hurts should be dragged across the middle line of the body. Don’t raise your shoulders or your hips. Make sure they’re on the ground. Remain like this for 30 seconds. Repeat the same thing with your other leg. You can do it 3 times.

9) Bottom Stretch for the Piriformis Muscle

Stay on all fours. The foot of the leg that hurts should be placed under the stomach. It should be curled towards the opposite side, but make sure it’s close to the hip. The knee should be directed towards the shoulder.

Use your forehead to touch the ground. Make sure you have your pelvis straight and your other leg extended. Push your hips towards the floor. Remain like this for 30 seconds. Repeat the exercise for 3 times.

10) Seated Stretch

Take a chair. Sit. Then, cross the leg which hurts over your other leg. Make sure the chest is upfront. The back needs to be straight.

Breathe deeply twice. Then, bend slowly. Stay like that for 30 seconds. Breathe deeply twice. Then, bend slowly. Stay like that for 30 seconds. Repeat the same exercise using the other leg.

11) McKenzie Press Up

Lie down on the floor. Your face should be facing the floor. You can rest your head for 2-3 minutes on any side you want to.

The elbows should be on the floor. Try to lean on.

Breathe deeply for several times. Go down. Relax for 2-3 minutes. Watch the video to see the following position.

The post Relieve Sciatica Lower Back And Hip Pain Using These 11 Piriformis Stretches! first appeared on Healthy Gab.

The post Relieve Sciatica Lower Back And Hip Pain Using These 11 Piriformis Stretches! appeared first on Healthy Gab.

The Benefits of Doing Planks

Planking is one of the most beneficial exercises for the health of the entire body. Planking offers several benefits for staying healthy and getting fit.

1) Tone the belly

Since planking involves all of the core muscles, they can tighten and tone the belly far better than crunches.

Crunches are good for a small part of the core, and the focus on the upper abdominal muscles. On the contrary, planks engage the upper and the lower abs and the obliques.

2) Reduce and heal back pain

By tightening the abs and strengthening the core muscles, planks relax your back muscles and at the same time whip them into shape.

What is interesting is that planks alleviate back tension when your body is at rest.

3) Improve flexibility, balance and posture

After you have improved the tone of the core muscles, the benefits could be felt all over the body. Planking can make the body more flexible, improve the balance and improve the spinal posture, no matter if you are standing or sitting.

They can easily be adapted to different fitness levels

People with different level of fitness can do planks. Beginners might start with basic level and gradually progress to a higher level. Some forms of planks can be challenging even to the most physically fit people.

How to do Planks Correctly

Draw the belly button and try to keep the body as straight as you can, not locking the knees. Breathe without holding your breath. Maintain that position for as long as possible. Repeat this for 2 or 3 times. Slowly but surely, lengthen the time of being in that position.

• Lie down on the ground in a flat position with your face down
• Place your shoulders directly over the elbows, the wrists should be aligned with the elbows in a straight line
• Tighten the gluteal and the abdominal muscles and maintain that position for as long as possible.
• Take  one minute rest before repeating it

Common mistakes

• Dropping the hips, shoulders or head during the plank can damage the spinal alignment and can cause injury.
• Putting the hands too close together can stress and strain the shoulders and it can be more hurtful than helpful.
• It is important that you breathe normally because you need oxygen for the exercise to have effect.
• Don’t hold the plank for a long time.

Planks’ Variations

Side Plank

Lie on your side placing the forearm on the floor, press the body upward. There should be straight, diagonal line. Hold this position for as long as you would for a basic plank.

Reverse Plank

Sit on the floor and extend the legs straight out in front of you. Then put your hands on the floor aligning them with your shoulders. Raise the body up so that your heels are on the floor creating a diagonal line with the body.

High Plank

The high plank resembles a push-up. In place of pressing up on the forearms which is the case with the basic plank, you align the hands with the shoulders and press on the hands, using your toes in order to balance.

The plank challenge which lasts for 30 days

Days 1 and 2: hold the plank for 20 seconds
Days 3and 4: hold the plank for 30 seconds
Day 5: 40 seconds
Day 6: rest day

Days 7 and 8: 45 seconds
Days 9 and 11: 60 seconds
Day 12: 90 seconds
Day 13: Rest day

Days 14 and 15: 90 seconds
Days 16 and 17: 120 seconds
Day 18: 150 seconds
Day 19: Rest day

Days 20 and 21: 150 seconds
Days 22and 23: 180 seconds
Days 24 and 25: 210 seconds
Day 26: Rest day

Days 27 and 28: 240 seconds
Day 29: 270 seconds
Day 30: 300 seconds

If you want to learn more click here

The post Planks – this Exercise Can Change Your Whole Body! first appeared on Healthy Gab.

The post Planks – this Exercise Can Change Your Whole Body! appeared first on Healthy Gab.

These are labelled as problematic as it is most difficult to remove excess of centimeters from these parts (whereas it just takes one burger to bloat them up!)

In order to remove fat deposits from the inner and outer part of your thighs, we should do three things:

• Manage the total daily intake of calories – consume only as much as you can burn, or even less.
• Drink plenty of water and fluids to keep your system hydrated and well functioning
• Include some effective exercises in your daily routine, making it a point to not skip them for even one day!

You don’t necessarily have to go to the gym to incorporate some sensible exercises in your daily routine.

Slim, tall, toned – that’s how our legs should be, instead of being floppy, flabby and chunky!

Though, tall legs are more of a genetic thing, but the other aspects about thigh chub can be managed with this simple kind of a workout.

Here suggested complex of exercises can be worked out pretty much at the comfort of your own home! We can guarantee that with a mere 12 minute dedication in a day, you are bound to lose at least 1 centimeter from your hips and thighs in as little as a week’s time!

It won’t be easy, but it will definitely be worth it!

12 Minutes Inner Thigh Gap Workout

• Plie Squats 30 seconds
• Side Lunge 30 seconds
• Squat and Kick 60 Seconds
• Skater Hops 30 Seconds
• Inner Leg Lift 30 seconds each leg
• Leg Circles 30 seconds each leg clockwise movement
• Leg Circles 30 seconds with each leg anti-clockwise movement
• Outer Leg Lift 30 seconds with each leg
• Fire Hydrants 30 seconds with each leg
• Fire Hydrant Kick 30 seconds with each leg

Check out the video below for comprehensive instructions:

Now whether you have to go to the beach, or to your ex’s party – feel free to flaunt your toned body and have all eyes set up on you through out!

The post Easy 12 Minutes Exercise Will Give You Irresistible Sexy Legs And Thighs first appeared on Healthy Gab.

The post Easy 12 Minutes Exercise Will Give You Irresistible Sexy Legs And Thighs appeared first on Healthy Gab.

 

When the term obesity is mentioned to you, you are always relating the same with body appearance. The truth is that the physical look is not that great issue regarding the obesity, as the health diseases are. The obesity is one of the greatest reasons why certain people are struggling with hypertension, diabetes, heart diseases, and osteoarthritis. All vital organs may be affected by the obesity. The ultimate results of the same are fatal for the human organism.

If you do not want to be the next one who will die from a heart attack, prevent the same. Start with losing weight. It is well-known that losing weight it is not so much easy, but with a great motivation, proper diet, and regular exercises you can fight the obesity.

The following article is offering you 7 simple exercises on your way against the obesity.

Burpees

• Start the exercise by standing on both your feet, so that the same will be on a distance same as the shoulder width.
• Then make a squat position by lowering your body so that your hands will go in front of you, but on the floor.
• As you are getting your feet back, lower your chest as you are going to make push-ups.
• The chest needs to be brought up to the back.
• As your feet are in the starting position, stand up, then jump, and clap your arms over your head.

Crunches

• Start the exercise by lying down on the floor with your back, so that your feet will be placed on the floor to in a flat position, on a distance same as your hip width.
• Bend your knees and put your hands behind your head.
• Make the first movement by pulling your abdominal inwards.
• Then curl and go forwards so you lift off the floor your shoulder blades, neck, and head.
• Try to stay in that position for several second and then return to the ground. Make 10 repetitions of the exercise.

Squats

• Start the exercise by standing on both your feet so that the same will be on a distance same as your shoulder width.
• Your chest needs to be held up and out. Put your hands in front of you.
• Make the first movement by sitting back and down as you are going to sit on a chair.
• Your knees need to get over your body and your thighs parallel to the ground. Achieve this position by lowering your body down.
• Try to stay into this position for a few minutes and then return to the starting position. Make 20 repetitions of the exercise.

Lunges

• Start the exercise by standing on both your feet, so that the same will be on a distance same as your shoulder width.
• Your hands need to be placed on your hips.
• Make the first movement by stepping forward with your one leg and flex your knee so that the knee of the leg that you have stepped forward nearly touches the floor.
• Then return the body in the starting position and switch the legs to repeat the exercise with the other leg.
• Make 20 repetitions of the exercise.

Sumo squats to calf raise

• Starting position – standing with feet about twice hip-width apart, keep the hands on your hips, toes pointed slightly outward.
• Lower your hips, keeping your core tight, until they are parallel to the ground, and raise your hands in front of your face
• Raise both heels off the floor, lowering your arms.
• Repeat the exercise 20 times.

Jumping Jack

• Start the exercise by standing on both your feet.
• Your hands need to be by your sides.
• While jumping up, raise your hands above your head, so that your feet need to be on a distance twice shoulder-width apart.
• Return your body to the starting position. Repeat the exercise several times.

Plank

• -Start the exercise by placing your body as it is going to perform push-ups.
• The upper part of the body need to be in a straight line with your elbows and toes as they are slightly lifted up.
• As you are breathing In, keep the straight position of your body and feel how your muscles are getting stronger.
• Divide your weight into both legs and elbows by contracting your buttock muscles. That way you will have more strength and balance

 

The post 15-minute Exercise Set That Can Help Reduce Fat first appeared on Healthy Gab.

The post 15-minute Exercise Set That Can Help Reduce Fat appeared first on Healthy Gab.

It’s clear exercise has health benefits both physical and mental. But what if we could show it was more important to your mental health than your economic status?

According to a study from researchers at Yale and Oxford, we may have done just that.

In the study, published in The Lancet, scientists collected data about the physical behavior and mental mood of more than 1.2 million Americans.

Participants were asked to answer the following question: “How many times have you felt mentally unwell in the past 30 days, for example, due to stress, depression, or emotional problems?”

The participants were also asked about their income and physical activities. They were able to choose from 75 types of physical activity — from mowing the lawn, taking care of children, and doing housework to weight lifting, cycling, and running.

People who stay active tend to be happier

The scientists found that while those who exercised regularly tended to feel bad for 35 days a year, nonactive participants felt bad for 18 days more, on average.

In addition, the researchers found that physically active people feel just as good as those who don’t do sports but who earn about $25,000 more a year. Essentially, you’d have to earn a lot more to get you the same happiness-boosting effect that sport has.

But it doesn’t mean the more sport you do the happier you are.

Too much exercise can be detrimental to your mental health

Exercise is clearly good for you, but how much is too much?

“The relationship between sport duration and mental load is U-shaped,” said study author Adam Chekroud of Yale University in an interview with Die Welt. The study found that physical activity contributes to better mental well-being only when it falls within a certain time frame.

According to the study, three to five training sessions, each lasting between 30 to 60 minutes, are ideal per week. The mental health of those participants who exercised for longer than three hours a day suffered more than that of those who weren’t particularly physically active.

The scientists also noticed that certain sports that involve socializing — such as team sports — can have more of a positive effect on your mental health than others.

Despite the fact that neither cycling nor aerobics and fitness technically counts as team sports, these activities can also have a considerable positive effect on your mental health.

The post Exercise makes you happier than money, according to Yale and Oxford research first appeared on Healthy Gab.

The post Exercise makes you happier than money, according to Yale and Oxford research appeared first on Healthy Gab.

Get it right

Each week, start with the first challenge and repeat until you have mastered it. Then proceed to the next one. Practice at your own pace and match your skill levels, but be sure to engage in at least some work each day so you can complete the progression by week end.

Here’s a great schedule that will get you the results you want.

Week 1

Fix your form:

With planks, your form either makes or breaks the exercise

says New York City celebrity trainer David Kirsch. As a rule your body should form a straight line from head to heels.

Begin by standing: Stand up straight, feet hip-width apart. Now have someone try to gently knock you off balance. Pay attention to the muscles you need to engage to stay centred:

That’s exactly how you should feel when you’re in plank

says well known trainer Jonathan Ross, a senior adviser to the American Council on Exercise.

Perfect your position: Lying on your stomach, plant your forearms firmly directly under your shoulders. Come to your toes and squeeze your glutes. Hold that pose for between 5 and 10 seconds.

Start the timer: Hold your plank for 20 to 30 seconds or longer. If you need to take a breather then lower your knees to the floor for a few seconds.

Week 2

Boost your endurance: If you feel any shoulder or lower back pain as you start to hold your static plank for longer, or if your behind creeps upwards, stop and restart.

Master 30: Hold your plank for 30 seconds without resting.

Add 15: Hold your 30 second plank, then rest in a Downward Dog position for 5 seconds, suggests Kirsch. Return to plank position and hold for another 15 seconds or more.

Hit the minute mark: Hold a 45 second plank, followed by a Downward Dog and another 15 to 30 second plank.

Go for 90: Hold your plank for at least 1 minute. Rest in Downward Dog if you need to, then hold another 30 second plank.

Week 3

Power it up: Get used to the following variations individually (do each for 1 minute). Then stack them one after another, aiming to eventually finish all three back-to-back.

Move the centre of mass: From a forearm plank, drop your right hip so your right thigh just touches the floor. Return to the starting position and drop your left hip. Then Repeat.

Test your balance point: Extend your right arm straight out in front of you, parallel to the floor, without disturbing your form. Return to centre, then extend your left arm. Repeat with your right and left legs.

Change the levels: Start in a plank on your forearms. Press up onto your right hand, then your left, so you come into a high plank position. Return to your right forearm, then your left. Repeat the pattern, alternating the starting arm. Continue until you reach your goal.

The post Ripped to the Core with Planking first appeared on Healthy Gab.

The post Ripped to the Core with Planking appeared first on Healthy Gab.

Athletes rely on interval training to improve their speed and power, but generally as part of a broader, weekly training program that also includes extended, less-intense workouts, such as long runs or bicycling.

However in the past couple of years, scientists and many sportspeople have become interested in the idea of exercising exclusively with intervals, ditching long workouts altogether.

The attraction of this approach is obvious to all. Interval exercise duration can be short, making this form of exercise a positive gift for anyone who feels that they never have enough time to exercise.
Prior to this study most studies of interval training have had limitations, such as not including a control group, being of short duration or studying only health or fitness results, not a combination of both.

For this reason fundamental and important questions have remained unanswered about just how well these short, very intense workouts really compare to traditional, endurance type training.
This led scientists at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, (who had themselves conducted many of those earlier studies of interval training), to conduct what has been recognized as the most scientifically rigorous comparison to date of super short and standard exercise programs.

They recruited 25 out-of-shape men and measuring their aerobic fitness levels and as a marker of their general health their body’s ability to use insulin properly to keep blood sugar levels regular. The scientists also biopsied the men’s muscles to examine functioning at a cellular level.
The researchers then randomly divided the men into 3 groups. One group was asked to change nothing about their current, low levels of exercise – these would then be the controls.

A second group began a typical endurance workout exercise regime, consisting of riding at a moderate pace on a stationary bike in the lab for forty five minutes, with a 2-minute warm-up and 3-minute cool down time.

The last group was tasked with interval training, using the most abbreviated workout proven to have verifiable benefits. The volunteers warmed up for 2 minutes on stationary bikes, then pedalled as hard as possible for twenty seconds; rode at a very slow pace for 2 minutes, sprinted all-out again for twenty seconds; then recovered with slow riding for another 2 minutes; pedalled all out for a last twenty seconds; then cooled down for 3 minutes. The entire workout lasted ten minutes, with only 1 minute of that time being strenuous.

Both groups completed three sessions each week for twelve weeks, a period of time that is about 2x as long as in most past studies of interval training.

By the end of the study which was published in PLOS One, the endurance group had ridden for 27 hours, while the interval group had ridden for six hours, with only 36 minutes of that time being high energy exercise.

However, when the scientists retested aerobic fitness, muscles and blood sugar control, they found that the exercisers showed almost identical gains, whether they had completed the long endurance workouts or the short, more stressful interval routine. In both groups of subjects, endurance had increased by nearly twenty percent, insulin resistance had likewise improved significantly. There were also significant increases in the number and function of certain microscopic structures in the men’s muscles which were related to energy production and oxygen use.

The control group showed no changes in health or fitness.

The result indicates that three months of concerted endurance or interval exercise can almost identically improve someone’s fitness and health.
Is that enough reason for folk who currently exercise moderately or not at all to begin interval training as their only workout choice?

Martin Gibala, a professor of kinesiology at McMaster University says:

it depends on who you are and why you exercise

If you are an elite athlete, then obviously incorporating both endurance and interval training into an overall program maximizes performance. But if you are someone, like me, who just wants to boost health and fitness and you don’t have 45 minutes or an hour to work out, our data show that you can get big benefits from even a single minute of intense exercise.

The post Can you get Away with Just One Minute of Exercise? first appeared on Healthy Gab.

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