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Fitness Tips

5 Health Hacks for Busy Professionals

For busy professionals who are used to juggling different activities along with a hectic full-time job, staying fit can be a challenge. This is essentially due to a lack of consistency in sticking to a good fitness and diet plan. Here are some smart suggestions on how you can stay healthy even when you are busy.

5 Diet and Fitness Tips for Busy People

Integrate Activity into Your Everyday Life

Vigorous exercise is important. However, if your hectic schedule leaves you with no time to hit the gym, you can try integrating some activity in the course of the day for increasing your productivity and staying fit.

Eat Healthy and On Time

Foods which are low in nutritional value and have too many calories can pose serious health problems, including weight gain, cardiovascular problems and diabetes. It is important to stick to a healthy diet and a strict routine.

Sleep is Important

Finding it difficult to get a good night’s sleep? Sleep deprivation can lead to fatigue, confusion, memory lapses and irritability.

To get a restful sleep:

Focus on Deep Breathing

When you are trying to juggle multiple things at a time, you are bound to be stressed. Five to ten minutes of deep breathing can help in relaxing you and reducing anxiety.

You can also close your eyes and focus on relaxing and tensing each muscle group while taking deep, slow breaths. The best part about this is that you can do it any time, at home, workplace or even on the road.

Watch Your Posture

Good posture is not just great for your back and neck, but also allows you to breathe properly and increases concentration and thinking ability. To improve your posture:

These health hacks will ensure that you stay afloat even with your long to-do list. If you too have some amazing health tips for busy people, then do share them with us in the comments below!

Walking

10 Tips for Walking

Walking is one of the easiest and least expensive ways to stay physically fit. It's also a versatile form of exercise that can be done indoors (many malls and public buildings offer walking routes) or outdoors, and you can tailor the intensity of your exercise based upon your individual abilities and goals. Whether you'd like to begin walking for exercise, for weight loss, or if you're already established in the habit, these tips can help you get the greatest benefits from your workout. "Power walking," or walking rapidly with exaggerated swinging of the arms, burns even more calories.

  • Before starting a walking program, check with your doctor if you have a chronic medical condition or if you have had a recent injury. But don't assume that you aren't able to start exercise walking if you do have medical issues. Exercise walking can help control disease progression and relieve symptoms in people with cardiovascular disease and diabetes, and many people with arthritis or other musculoskeletal problems will experience symptom relief from a medically supervised exercise walking routine. Exercise is an important part of all weight-loss programs that will help with many chronic medical conditions.
  • Invest in good shoes. Since these are the only expense and equipment you'll need, pay attention to the fit and quality of your shoes. Shoes should fit when you try them on without any areas of pinching or pressure that could cause blisters or calluses. Wear the type of socks you'll wear when walking when you purchase your shoes, and remember that you'll likely need a larger-sized shoe than you normally wear if you plan to wear thick socks. Shoes should have good arch support and a slightly elevated heel with stiff material to support the heel when walking and prevent wobbling. Trekking poles or other accessories may also help, depending upon the climate and terrain where you'll be walking.
  • Always warm up by walking at a slow or normal walking pace for five minutes before picking up the tempo of your workout.
  • Pay attention to your heart rate and breathing. Walk at a pace that challenges you and elevates your heart rate, but don't overdo. You should be able to talk and carry on a conversation while you are exercising; if you can't, you may be working too hard.
  • Use good walking posture. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons recommends maintaining the following posture when exercise walking: Swing your arms. Keep your head up, back straight, and abdomen flat. Point your toes straight ahead. Take long strides, but don't strain.
  • Consider getting a pedometer to track the distance you've walked or the number of steps you've taken. Watching your improvement over time is a terrific source of motivation.
  • Tracking your steps on smart phone apps or Fitbits can provide additional motivators.
  • Be sure to carry water if you're walking long distances or are exercising in hot weather. In very hot weather, you may need fitness drinks or other sources of electrolytes as well. Be mindful of the sugar and calorie content of some of these drinks.
  • In the heat of summer, don't forget to wear a hat with a brim and to apply sunscreen to exposed areas.
  • Vary your route if you're getting bored. To increase your fitness, add a route with some hills or changes in terrain. Or alternate routes on different days of the week. Keep your workout interesting. Many people walk with a buddy or in groups for support and motivation. While lots of walkers swear by their iPods to keep them going, others prefer to pay extra attention to the sights and sounds around them. Find the solution that keeps you moving.

First Aid

First Aid

How to Treat a Sports Injury, Muscle Sprain, Strain or Pull

 
If you get injured during sports, here's what to do right away.  These injury treatment tips will keep your pain and injury from getting worse and may help you heal more quickly.

1  If You Have Pain - Stop Exercise Immediately
The first sign of any sports injury is usually sudden pain. And the first step in treating a sports injury is to prevent further injury or damage. This means stop activity immediately and start treatment. Resting an injured part is essential to healing, so don't exercise through pain, which will only make the situation worse and may delay healing by days or even weeks. So, if you have a sudden, sharp or shooting pain, get off the field and sit out the rest of the game.

2  Reduce Swelling with Ice and Compression
The first thing that happens after an acute injury is swelling around the site of the injury. The first treatment for most acute soft tissue injuries (bruises, strains, springs, tears) is to prevent, stop and reduce swelling. When soft tissue is damaged, it swells or possibly bleeds internally. This swelling causes pain and loss of motion, which limits use of the muscles.

To reduce swelling, immediately apply ice to the injury, elevate the injured part above your heart and, use a compression wrap to help keep the swelling in check. Compression keeps the blood from pooling in the tissues. Don't wrap the bandages too tightly, but keep it snug.

3  Ice the Right Way
After most acute or  sudden sports injuries, ice is your friend. Ice reduces swelling and helps decrease pain. Applying ice over a compression wrap can help reduce swelling more that the wrap alone. The common treatment guidelines include applying ice to the injured part several times a day for 20 minutes each time. One of the easiest ways to ice an injury is with a bag of crushed ice or a bag of frozen vegetables, like peas. Let the area warm completely before applying ice again (to prevent frostbite). Never apply heat to an acute injury. Heat will increase circulation and increases swelling.

4  Medicate When Appropriate
Pain is the primary symptom of the majority of sports injuries. Most soft-tissue injuries are painful because of the swelling and inflammation that occurs after an injury. Pain relief is often the main reason that people turn to over-the-counter (OTC) anti-inflammatory medications that work by reducing addressing the inflammation that occurs as a result of the injury. Over the counter pain medications are also useful for reducing the pain of muscle strains and muscle pulls.

5  Start Moving As Soon As You Can
After a day or two of rest and ice most sprains, strains or other injuries will begin to heal. If your pain or swelling doesn't decrease after 48 hours, see your doctor.

Once healing begins, mobility exercises, gentle stretching and light massage may reduce adhesions and scar tissue formation and improve muscle function. Slowly increase range of motion in the injured joint or muscle. But be careful not to force any stretches, or you risk re-injury to the area.

6  Rebuild Strenth and Joint Stability
After an injury, it is essential for joints to return to proper alignment. A good rehab program will include exercises that target joint stability, which is considered the most important thing to rebuild following a lower extremity injury.

Finally, after the injury has healed, strengthening exercises can be begun. Start with easy weights and use good form. Also See: Compund or Isolation Exercises for injury rehab.

7  Should I Ice or Heat My Injury?
The treatment for acute sports injuries starts by applying ice. But after healing is well underway, heat may be helpful to ease muscle tension in chronic aches and pains. Learn more about when to use ice and when to use heat on injuries.