Lower body stretches you can do with a partner

Video: Partner stretching is a great way to increase your flexibility.

Warmup your arms with large arm circles

Video: A fitness model shows how to do large arm circles, a great way to warmup your shoulders before exercising.

How to Buy the Right Pedometer for You

A calories burned counter is called a pedometer. Choosing a good and high quality Digital Calories burned counter usually means paying more as the more expensive pedometers are better. As with everything you buy, you get what you pay for. However, you can avoid paying for more pedometer than you need by researching and looking for reviews. The following are characteristics of a good Calories burned counter.

1. It Doesn’t Under-Count Or Over-Count Steps

The most essential characteristic of a good Calories burned counter is accuracy. While no pedometer can have 100accuracy in counting steps, you should not get one that under-counts or over-counts in either extreme. In most cases, a poor quality calories burned counter usually under-counts your steps. Because every step counts, you may end up working harder than you should if you buy a poor quality pedometer.

2. It Comes with a Waistband Clip or Durable Belt

No matter how well the pedometer itself works, it can only work if it is attached to you. That’s why you don’t want to choose a Digital Calories burned counter that comes with a belt or waistband clip that breaks easily. Once the clip or belt is broken the device may not be unusable since it is designed to be clipped firmly on our waist to count steps properly. Always look out for belt or waistband clip that comes with lifetime warranty if available as you can return it for a replacement if it breaks.

3. Comes With Warranty (At Least 1 Year)

A good quality calories burned counter will come with minimum one year warranty or more. A pedometer with no warranty or a limited warranty gives you no assurance that the device will last.

4. Comes With Longer Battery Life

A calories burned counter that comes with only a short battery life will not be accurate and this will negatively affect your wellness and fitness program. Thus, you must find one that has a longer battery life.

5. Comes With “False Step” Sensor To Remove Non-Step Motion

The better calories burned counters come with built-in “false step” sensor. These filter out motions that are not considered as a “normal step”. Such calories burned counters are usually more accurate in results compared to others.

6. Has Separate Step and Aerobic Step Counters

A pedometer that has separate calories burned counters for regular steps and for minutes walked more than 10 minutes continuously will give you a better sense of the actual calories you have burned off. These pedometers are more sophisticated and thus better.

7. Has an Automatic Shut Down Feature

Some of the more advanced calories burned counters will automatically reset themselves at midnight. While this isn’t an essential feature, it is nice to know that you get a fresh count of your steps each morning.

Calories burned counters that are used as freebies or are items given away in trade shows, or sold as promotional items are typically considered as “cheap” and “not-so-good-quality” Pedometers.

Instead, invest the $25 to $35 out of your own pocket to get one of the top quality calories burned counters available today.

Grilled Spicy Island Beef Kebabs Recipe

Ingredients

Marinade

1/2 cup chopped green onions

1 tablespoon ground allspice

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon chopped fresh or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 habanero or serrano peppers, seeded

Kebabs

1 1/2 pounds boneless top sirloin, trimmed and cut into 30 cubes

1 red bell pepper, cut into 18 pieces

2 black-ripe plantains, peeled, and each cut into 9 pieces

Cooking spray

Diagonally cut green onions

Lime wedges for Garnish

Directions

Prepare grill.

Combine marinade ingredients in a food processor or blender; process until smooth. Place marinade mixture, beef, and bell pepper pieces in a large zip-top plastic bag; seal. Marinate in refrigerator 20 minutes.

Remove beef and bell pepper pieces from bag; discard marinade. Place beef, bell pepper pieces, and plantain pieces in a large bowl; toss well to coat.

Thread 5 beef cubes, 3 red pepper pieces, and 3 plantain pieces alternately onto each of 6 (12-inch) skewers. Lightly coat kebabs with cooking spray or use olive oil mister. Place kebabs on grill rack coated with cooking spray. Cook 4 minutes on each side for medium-rare or until desired degree of doneness. Garnish with green onion pieces and serve with lime wedges.

Demonstration of high knees

Video: High knees is a great way to warm up and get your heart rate going.

How to do a forward stepping lunge

Video: In this video a fitness model demonstrates the forward stepping lunge, a great lower body exercise.

Refreshing Peach Cucumber Salsa

Ingredients

2 cups diced peeled pitted ripe but firm peaches

1 cup diced unpeeled hothouse cucumber (English kind is best)

3/4 cup diced red bell pepper

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons apricot preserves

1 teaspoon chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce.

Directions

Mix all ingredients in medium bowl. Season salsa to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 2 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Stir to blend before serving.)

Heart Disease Stroke And Obesity

Obesity is defined as having too much body fat. The body consists of water, fat, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. When there is too much fat, you are at higher risks for health problems such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.

When you are obese, you magnify your risk for heart disease. When there is excess body fat it raises your cholesterol and triglyceride levels. It raises your blood pressure and can lead to diabetes. In some cases for people with diabetes, they have doubled their risks for a major heart attack or stroke.

Obesity is caused by having more calories consumed, than are burned with physical activity, whether from daily activity or exercise. When there is a great deal of calories consumed, with too much saturated fat and cholesterol, the levels of cholesterol in the blood rises. This increases the risks for heart disease.

Determine If You Are Obese:

Body fat is measured by waist circumference and by body mass index. The high-risk waistline is more than 35 inches for women and more than 40 inches for men.

The body mass index assesses the body weight in comparison to the height. It is a method to measure the body’s composition in correlation to the body fat. It is calculated by taking the body weight in pounds divided by the height in inches squared then multiplying it by 703.

The National Center for Health Statistics has the following levels for mass body index calculations:

18.5 is considered underweight.

18.5 – 24.9 is considered healthy.

25.0 to 29.9 is considered overweight. This is generally 10over the ideal body weight.

30.0 or greater is considered obese.

Extreme obesity is defined as a body mass index of 40 or greater.

Here are some suggestions to reduce or prevent obesity:

1. Add physical activity to your daily routine. Adults need to have at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity three or four times a week. Children need to have at least 60 minutes the same amount of times a week.

2. Reduce time watching television or sedentary activities including time on the computer or playing video games.

3. Create opportunities for physical activity at work as well as home.

4. Promote healthier choices of food serving five to nine servings of fruit and vegetables every day.

5. Reduce the portions of the food consumed. Avoid “supersized” meals and value meals with larger portions.

Taking steps to avoid or reduce the chances of obesity has many benefits for everyone. The fact of living a healthy longer life is incentive to work on the weight issues leading to heart disease and other health related issues. Americans have the highest rate in the world for heart disease based on the amounts of people that are overweight.

Upper Body Workout

Video: This series of exercises will workout your entire upper body.

Mixed Berry Blast-Off

Ingredients

1/2 cup frozen blackberries

1 cup frozen strawberries

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt

2 ice cubes

1 scoop vanilla whey

1 tbsp honey

1/4 cup water

Preparation

Combine strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and ice into a blender and blend on high for 1 minute. Next, add the remaining ingredients and blend on high until creamy. Serve and enjoy! Ingredients

1/2 cup frozen blackberries

1 cup frozen strawberries

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt

2 ice cubes

1 scoop vanilla whey

1 tbsp honey

1/4 cup water

Preparation

Combine strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and ice into a blender and blend on high for 1 minute. Next, add the remaining ingredients and blend on high until creamy. Serve and enjoy!