Steepster is useless

According to the folks at Steepster, you should love the website for six reasons.

1) It’s an online tea journal – this is the only point I agree with. It’s probably a pretty good and stress free way to keep a journal of the teas you’ve tried, which I personally think is a good way to help you learn and develop your tea palette. Trying new teas and writing down what you think about it is an important process that helps you think about what you just drank. So far, so good.

2) It’s a different way to discover new teas – ok, hard to argue with that, it’s new anyway, but at the end of the day, you have to buy and drink it. The problem is not so much that it helps people find new teas – yes, it does that to a degree, by showing you things that may be similar, at least according to their algorithm. But their reviews don’t seem to allow pictures, and usually there’s only one relatively useless picture of the tea, so to get anywhere, you still need to head to the vendor’s page to find out more about the tea. Unhelpfully, Steepster doesn’t link you to the vendor’s page for the tea, but only to the vendor, so you have to go through the trouble to find the tea anyway. While for some vendors this is easy to do, for others it’s a non-trivial task, especially if the vendor has weird categories, such as puerhshop.

3) It’s the largest – well, that’s both good and bad. The size of Steepster would make it seem like a good thing, and on some level, I suppose it is – it has more reviews of more teas than anywhere else on the web, and it benefits from its critical mass so that, right now at least, it seems like the only player in town. Other rating sites, of which I only know of one, are basically dead, which means nobody will bother to go visit.

The size, however, is also a problem. First of all, the rather endless stream of reviews on the site is more than overwhelming, and if you happen to be following a few dozen people, chances are you have no way of sorting out one review from the next. Also, for the most part, the network is pretty much anonymous – you have no idea who’s posting. The person posting a poor review of a black tea could be a lifetime green tea drinker who hates anything black. The person reviewing a wonderful Yiwu might be drinking raw puerh for the first time without telling you so, and thus describes it as tasting like a drain cleaner. You have the option to “like” a certain review, but like is more ambiguous than Amazon’s “did you find this review helpful?”. Like might mean you agree, or you liked what the person said for other reasons, or because you’re their friend… there’s no way to tell. The volume of information on teas, in written form, is completely overwhelming on this site.

It also is very unfriendly for people who reinfuse their teas multiple times, which most readers of this blog probably do. So, there’s no way to indicate what you do with your tea, other than in written form. Unless you’re the only reviewer, nobody will ever read it.

Moreover, because of the sheer volume of written information on the teas, the only thing that people actually will pay attention to is the ratings, in numerical form. That’s easy, simple to look at, and quick to comprehend. So far, so good, but there’s a problem – almost everything on the site rates somewhere between 70 and 85, which means that, as a mechanism for picking out teas to try, the score is almost entirely useless – how different is something that rates 78 really from something that rates 82, especially when each of them only have, say, 5 ratings each, three of which have no number attached?

Let’s take puerh for example, one of the genre of teas that I think are least reviewed there. Sorted by rating, it takes 36 pages for you to reach the first tea rated in the 60s. That’s 36 x 28 on each page, totaling slightly over 1000 teas, many of which, I’m sure, are no long available. If you look under Menghai Tea Factory, almost everything is within the narrow band of 71-81. As a selection guide, this is more or less utterly useless.

As someone pointed out on Teachat, the name of the vendor is fungible, so that someone might enter Menghai Tea Factory, while another person might attribute the same tea to Yunnan Sourcing. Likewise, referring to what I talked about earlier about teas being anonymous, it is quite possible that two or three or four tieguanyin being reviewed (with different impressions!) are actually from the same wholesaler, rendering the ratings rather moot.

Curiously, among the top ten rated puerh are a number of teas from Verdant Tea, which as Hster has uncovered, has some issues as a puerh vendor. Is that shop really that great, or is something else going on? I can’t say for sure. It might, however, have something to do with the fact that he seemed to have distributed samples to folks on Steepster. Verdant Tea in general seems extremely active on Steepster, which might explain something. Seems like that’s a good way to goose your ratings.

4) You’ll broaden your horizons and try new teas – same as 2, really, but here they’re talking about their revenue stream, aka vendor sponsored sampling, which at the moment seems dead. Also, referring to the above point about Verdant Teas, I wonder if the key to high ratings is to send non-offensive teas to a bunch of people who’ve only had teas from Teavana.

5) It’s a place to hang out and talk about all things tea – yes, but the discussion on Steepster is exceedingly shallow, mostly because it is not designed for anything more in depth. Each review can have comments, and once in a while, you might have good comments on one thread – if you can ever find such things, that is, buried deep within each thread for each tea. The discussion board is largely useless, because it is only categorized in the most general way possible, which means that it is nearly impossible to follow specific topics for very long. If you search for a term, the search engine will completely overload you with information again, in the most useless way imaginable – by highlighting every instance in every thread where the search term has been mentioned, ordered in the number of times that term has been mentioned in each thread (at least that seems to be the way they’re doing it). This means that the longest threads will tend to be read, whereas shorter threads will drop off the radar. That’s great if you’re looking for something exceedingly specific, but if you just want to find some discussion on, say, sencha… good luck.

6) It’s free. Well, it better be.

I’m not trying to rain on someone else’s parade, but Steepster, while it is a great tool for someone to keep a personal log of teas to drink, fails on the sharing and discovery part of the equation. Is there a better way? Perhaps, but I think to start it might be more useful to introduce/tweak features that will result in more depth in the comments, notes, and discussions. Right now, reading reviews on the site is like reading a stream of consciousness writing, much of which is completely useless to anyone other than the drinker. The scores, likewise, is not very useful as it is. It doesn’t even really help you weed out teas, unless perhaps the ones that are universally hated, but those seem to be few and far between. Lastly, it might help to, for example, be able to toggle whether or not a tea is still available – listing a bunch of teas that are no longer available high on a list when you click “teas” really isn’t a good way to introduce more people to good tea either.

I’m not sure if there’s the right balance of information and quality, but right now, Steepster is high on information, but low on quality – you get a lot of stuff, most of which is noise, and it’s set up in a way that makes it difficult to filter out the noise. I think something like TeaChat, flawed as it is and hampered by an ancient discussion board engine, is nevertheless in some ways a superior forum for talking about teas than the more newfangled, social-media craze inspired Steepster.

Addendum: Some, fans of Steepster, for example, may see this as an out-and-out attack on the site. I have zero financial or personal reason to hate the site – I signed up a while ago hoping that it will be a good forum for more discussion, but came away pretty disappointed. I think there is no progress if there’s no criticism. I’m not saying I’m the one qualified to do it, but on this blog, I tend to say what I think without dressing it up too much. As I’ve mentioned, I think Steepster is a great tool for one purpose – keeping the journal of teas you’ve drunk. I hope the site’s creators can improve on the other aspects of it so that the users there can engage in tea more deeply, maybe even without knowing it. That can come from all kinds of angles – changing their algorithm in what it recommends, improving the way comments/notes are displayed and scored, organizing the discussion page using tags, instead of just what looks like an unfiltered stream of threads on unrelated topics, etc. There is a lot of space to improve upon the site now that they’ve gotten people to use it – and don’t do what Digg did and screw everything up with a drastic revision that everyone ends up hating.

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5 Great Tips for Exercising at Home

Exercising at home is becoming more popular with each passing day. With the already high cost of gym memberships on the rise, many people are choosing to exercise at home and save their hard earned coin. Monthly memberships are increasing almost daily, not to mention having to drive to and from the gym each day and waste an hour or 2 of your valuable time.

Below I will give you tips and techniques for exercising at home that will save you valuable time and money. Don't be fooled into thinking these simple techniques are not effective, they are, you just need to implement them on a daily basis to start seeing the results you are looking for in no time.

Set Your Goals

The first thing you will need to do is choose what area you want to focus on. There are three main areas, weight loss, basic fitness and muscle gain. Depending on which are you focus on will affect your daily routine and exercises dramatically.

If you want to lose weight, you will need to focus on nutrition, cardio and higher reps and sets when weight lifting with reduced pounds. Losing weight basically means that you will have to burn way more calories then you are taking in. Eat smarter and exercise more.

Basic fitness means being at a more appropriate body weight and maintaining a higher fitness level. It also means you will be doing more weight training and aerobics as well as eating more carb's and calories to fuel your efforts while exercising at home.

Muscle gain is entirely different. When one wants to gain more muscle, you have to really do lots of heavy weights (based on your strength level), at lower sets and reps but really push your muscles to exhaustion. Eating will involve way more protein and carbs to fuel your muscle gain.

Planning

Based on your goal from above, planning your routine to exercise at home will be your next step. You will need to research and list some exercises that you can do in your allotted space and pick the ones that you will enjoy the most. Planning these exercises will mean you will be fully prepared each day for your workout.

Being prepared means you will have no excuse not to work out when you should, so don't even think about skipping any. Be like the very famous footwear companies slogan, "just do it".

Routine

What I mean my routine is not doing the same thing over and over each and every day, that's boring. What I mean is the time of day and order in which to do certain exercises before others. Time of day is critical, early morning is best. Just do it early and get it done before you make excuses at the end of the day not to exercise.

Doing certain exercises before others is also important. Work the big muscle groups first, upper back, chest, thighs and arms. They will zap your energy the fastest. If you leave them until the end you will just not have enough energy to them effectively.

Nutrition

We all know nutrition is one of the most important ingredients to a healthy body and lifestyle. Plan your meals like you do your routine. Plan for each day and have whatever you need on hand for the next day.

Eat lots of fruits and vegetables, lean meats, fish, whole grains, seeds and nuts. Stay away from fast food, processed foods and foods high in fat and carbs.

Drink LOTS of water. Yes I know, you have heard it a thousand times before already, but you are probably still not drinking enough. Water is not only used for hydration, but is used in digestion, repair, building and detoxifying the cells and muscles.

Rest

None of what I have thought you so far will mean a damn thing if you don't get enough rest each night. Your body and mind needs rest and sleep, period. Not getting enough sleep while exercising at home means that you will take short-cuts or skip-out altogether. It also means your body will require more manual energy (food) to keep you going each day.

By no means are those 5 tips the complete puzzle for exercising at home. If you want further knowledge, explanation and practical use of these tips, click here at http://www.idealbodyformen.com/ and sign up for my FREE 7 part E-course. Together we can change your body and life forever. Stay strong.

5 Ways You Can Lose Weight and Build Muscles at the Same Time

One of the biggest problem body builders are confronted with when it comes to losing weight and building muscles is burning the fat but maintaining the muscles. Whenever we do weight lifting exercising we burn the fat but inevitably we are also destroying part of our muscles.

Here are 6 tips that will not only help you lose weight but it will also help you build muscles in the same time:

1. Get enough calories. The biggest mistake people do when trying to lose weight and build muscles is to cut back on calories more than they should. Muscles need calories in order to grow and by not getting enough calories you are actually stopping muscle growth and regeneration. The solution is to replace "bad" calories with good ones. Have a high quality shake that is rich in calories before and after your workout, as this will provide your muscles with the nutrients required for growth.

2. Get enough proteins. Proteins also help in muscle growth and regeneration and it's amazing how many people do not consume enough proteins. A weight lifter should get 1 gram of protein per 1 pound of weight. For example, if you weigh 170 pounds, you should consume 17 grams or proteins. One of the best source of proteins is a high quality whey protein shake with no artificial flavors.

3. Use high resistance training. This will increase your metabolic rate in order to lose fat but it will also simulate muscle growth. For the best results, you should use a combination of free weights and resistance bands. Also, make sure to warm up before doing any high resistance training exercising. This will get your blood flowing and will help prevent injuries. Use weights that you can lift no more than 6 times and to repetitions of 3. Strive to work 2 (or 3 if you are at an advanced lever) major muscles groups every time you train.

4. Don't overdo it. Muscles need time to recover and if you over train, you do not allow the muscles to regenerate. If you are a beginner, it is best to work out every other day, with training sessions no longer than 1 hour. This will ensure that your body will have time to rest. Some people recover faster than other, but even in this case it's still important to allow your muscles to recover.

5. Get enough high quality sleep. One of the best ways for muscles to recover is a good 8 hours of sleep.

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5 Weight Lifting Precautions You Should Keep In Mind

Weight lifting is one of the parts of functional training. It helps improve your appearance by building and toning the muscles of your body. Although weight training can also benefit you fight with muscle loss related with age, there are high risks of getting injured too. Therefore, learning about some safety precautions is essential for your functional training.

In order to take some safety precautions while lifting weights, keep in mind the following suggestions:

1. Wait till You Are 15

If you are in your teens, then you might be excitedly looking forward to start your weight training regime. However, health professionals say that there is high chance of damaging bones, muscles, and joints if weight lifting is done before the age of fifteen. In addition, taking a start so early can result in more health issues in the future. Therefore, it is recommended that you should wait until you are fifteen years old.

2. Fulfill the Pre and Post Weight Lifting Requirements

Warming up and cooling down are the two essential requirements of weight lifting before and after the session. Weight trainers put a lot of emphasis on warming up your body and cooling it down because this is how you can have the minimal risk of getting injured. Its main reason is that your body carries the blood flow through the muscles this way.

3. Breathe Properly

If you do not breathe properly while lifting weights, you will end up fainting. Holding your breath is extremely dangerous because it can raise blood pressure and provides less oxygen to your brain. So, always breathe properly during your weight lifting session. In order to breathe properly, you can exhale during the exercise, lift the weight up, and then inhale when you hold the weight or put it back.

4. Take Help from a Spotter

A spotter is a person who is with you during your weight lifting session. His main purpose is to ensure that you do not get any kind of injury while lifting the weights. Prior to starting your weight lifting session, make sure he is there with you. If you have recently started to attend functional fitness sessions, he will guide you how to lift weights in the most appropriate manner so that you do not end up injuring yourself.

5. Keep Proper Posture

In order to achieve maximum functional fitness, lift weight with proper posture. This is another way to avoid any injury. All you need to do is to keep your abdominals engaged, knees bent slightly, and spine neutral.

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A Great Strength Training Move for Losing Weight

When people think about weights and weight lifting, they often imagine the following: huge gorilla guys in their gyms, lifting massive amounts of iron, screaming and grunting as their veins bulge, their faces go crimson and they add even more muscle to their already massive frames. No wonder this doesn't appeal to most people. However, the truth is that resistance training really can benefit everybody, and if you are looking to lose a little weight than varying up your steady state cardio with some weight lifting can really kickstart your results. In today's article we're going to look at a great strength training exercise that you probably haven't heard of and that really helps you burn the fat off your body!

This exercise is one that you won't see practiced in the gym that often, for the simple reason that it's a compound exercise. What that means is that unlike most things you see people doing in the gym, you actually use many body parts all at once to pull off this routine, thus activating a wide array of muscles all at once for massive fat burning potential. It's efficient, it's quick, and it will help you work up a sweat before you've even realize it.

The exercise requires a little balance and lots of focus. What you do is take a free weight in one hand, anything from 5lbs to 30 or higher, and place your other hand on a chair back before you, or any other object with which you can balance. Then, look down, square your hips so that they are flat to the ground, and lift the same leg as your weight arm so that it extends straight behind you. You want your body to form a capital 'T', with your one leg supporting you and the other behind.

That done, with a flat back you begin to raise and lower the weight toward your chest. Keep your elbow close to your body as you do so, and be sure to breath easily and calmly. This is called a 'row', and you can do it with as much weight as you can manage. Be sure to focus on your posture and not wobbling about anywhere.

The combination of core work involved with keeping that leg up and activating of your back and arm muscles means that you will be burning a large number of calories. Do three sets of fifteen, and you'll be in great shape!

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About Senior Exercise Programs

As seniors, and I am 64, by the way, you and I are aware that we are different from many portions of the population which is catered to by exercise publications and equipment. However, that does not mean that we are so different that we cannot make use of the same information, guidance, and resources that "young folk" do. We just have to "exercise" (pun intended) some of that wisdom that supposedly comes with getting older.

Notice, I did NOT say, "old age". I'm not there yet and neither are you!

Actually, senior exercise programs, in most cases, can be essentially the same as any exercise program presented to younger people, just adjusted for the facts of life.

For example, younger folk may do a lot of bouncing around, while many of us...ahem...more mature individuals, will want to use less bouncing and more around in our senior exercise programs.

Of course, as in so many other things, a lot will depend on the individual, but as we age, joints tend to wear out, various conditions surface, and we have to take those things into account.

Another example of what we might need to consider when planning our senior exercise programs is the fact that, as we age, we lose a certain amount of strength. Even the most physically fit individual will commonly only be able to lift a portion of what he or she could lift a few years previously.

So, when you pick up an exercise book written by younger people FOR younger people, realize that you can probably still do most of the exercises, but maybe not at the same level of intensity as before. Those in senior exercise programs should realize, in fact, that, while they can do almost anything the young people do, they probably cannot do it at quite the same level.

It really doesn't seem to matter too much what kind of exercise or activity we are talking about, seniors can probably do it, they just need to adjust their expectations and goals to fit reality. This is not really too hard because first of all we are probably grateful that we DON'T have to work as hard as before, and the pressure is off to perform at some jock-like level.

When we were younger, we wanted big biceps or bosoms, but now we are grateful to have okay biceps or bosoms, and a little regular physical activity...okay, "exercise"...can help us attain our goals.

So, whether you are into yoga, weight lifting, swimming, biking, or some other example of the many senior exercise programs possible, you can do it and have fun. That's nice, isn't it: doing something that's good for you and having fun at the same time?

There are probably as many possible different senior exercise programs as there are seniors, so get out there and figure out what yours is.

Donovan Baldwin is a 64-year-young amateur bodybuilder and freelance writer currently living in Stone Mountain, GA. A University Of West Florida alumnus (1973) with a BA in accounting, he is a member of Mensa and has held several managerial positions. After retiring from the U. S. Army in 1995, he became interested in internet marketing and developed various online businesses. He has been writing poetry, articles, and essays for over 40 years, and now frequently publishes articles on his own websites and for use by other webmasters. He has recently posted a relevant article, "Exercise and Weight Training for Seniors on his website at http://nodiet4me.com/exercise/seniors/weight_training.html .

Aerobic Exercise Versus Weight Training: Which Should I Do First And Why?

The age old question: What comes first? Weight lifting or cardio training?

Athletes have been asking this same question to themselves for years when trying to plan out a proper workout program. If you feel slightly confused about the order in which you should be performing the components of your workout program, it's important that you keep a few key points in mind.

The training order you use when you hit the gym is important and is going to impact your long term results, so this isn't something to just brush off and not pay attention to.

Let's look at what you should take into account so that you can make the right decision.

What Are Your Primary Goals

The very first thing to ask yourself is what your primary goals are. If you're an endurance athlete and the number one thing is that you improve your cardio performance, then chances are you will want to do your aerobic training at the start of the session.

Since it's going to be vital that you perform your best during this element of the workout, you want to be at your most fresh and when you have the most energy.

If you do weights first, your performance is going to suffer.

On the flip side of the coin, if the primary goal of your workout session is to improve your strength, power, or speed, then you will want to begin with the weight training. Doing too much aerobic training before weight training will definitely reduce your total strength output, and that element of the workout will suffer.

What Type Of Session Is It?

Second, also check in what the nature of the session is. Are you planning just a simple bodyweight resistance workout? If so, you can likely do your aerobic exercise first. Especially if the aerobic exercise you're doing has any type of anaerobic element to it. That will be incredibly demanding, so you should do it when you're most fresh just like above.

If it's an easy cardio session however and you want to achieve some personal bests in the weight room, weights must come first. A light cardio warm-up will be important to do to prepare you for your weight lifting session, but you should not go doing 20-30 minutes of cardio training. It'll just have a negative influence on your ability to lift heavy.

So there you have the main two things to take into account when deciding the order of these workout elements. Whenever you're in doubt, place weight training first. It's the type of exercise that requires the most balance, agility, and strength output, so you should be doing it when your nervous system is at its best.

Only when you have very specific goals related to aerobic training or the weight workout really isn't all that demanding in the first place should it come second.

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Beginner Weight Training Exercises - Discover The Secrets To Starting A Strength Training Routine

Starting something new is always a challenge. Especially when you don't know where to start or what exercises to do.

In this article you will find beginner weight training exercises that will help get you in top shape quickly. As with anything your not familiar with, start off slowly with these exercises. Remember this is not a race to get into shape, but a long-term commitment to improve your overall health and fitness.

I always like to keep things as simple when it comes to weight training. Compound movements by far are the best exercise for individuals. Beginners need to focus only on certain movements to help in strength and muscle development.

If you practice and get these exercises right, you will enjoy working out and seeing significant progress. Just remember your beginner exercises is the foundation of your program. You can also just do compound exercises forever, whether your new at weight training or have been doing it for years.

The exercises recommended are for both men and women who are looking to improve their strength, muscle tone and conditioning. With proper eating habits, you can also get weight loss benefits if that's what you are looking for.

Each exercise should be done with strict form and should be done slowly. Proper technique is a must to prevent injury and to see progress in strength and muscle endurance. I also recommend some type of stretching and warmup before starting this program.

So here are the weight lifting for beginner exercises that will help start you on the right track to succeed. Be consistent and keep a positive mind and enjoy the benefits that strength training provides.

Abdominal exercises can be done with or without weights. Beginners should start off with just their body weight when doing abs. Keeping repetitions to as many as you can do.

Crunches are still considered a favorite abdominal movement. This will strengthen the core of the stomach and also flatten the abs.

Chest exercises are important for upper body size and strength. You will make your most progress at the beginning. Start off light and add weight as needed to get a good workout.

Bench Press is highly regarded as the best chest building exercise. There are different variations of the bench press, but you should start with flat press with either barbell or dumbbells.

Back Exercises - Bent Over Rows or Lat Pull-downs are common ones used to shape the back and neck.

Leg Exercises - Squats, Leg Press, Lunges, are the most common to build and shape the legs and buttocks.

Shoulder Exercise - Shoulder Press or also called Military Press is the foundation of a good shoulder routine.

Arm Exercise, should include some type of standing or seated bicep curl.

This outline of beginner exercises should give you a start to your weight lifting plan. Just remember to start off slow and stay consistent and you will see some amazing results.

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Can Children Lift Weights?

Getting kids in shape is a totally different ball game than allowing them to overstep their fitness boundaries too soon. With parents becoming even more competitive with their kids and with which sports they are involved in it is no surprise to hear that many parents are permitting their children to lift weights when they are simply too young.

Weight lifting may sound barbaric to some mothers and even fathers of young children, but believe it or not there are quite a few parents that permit their children to engage in lifting. Some parents feel it will increase their performance in any sports they are active in and it will also add to their size which is a benefit for those in contact sports such as basketball and football. The bigger the child is the less they will be injured in a face off situation and they can play more defensive positions as well. However, it is not always safe to allow your children to begin weight lifting before their bodies are fully developed.

Weight lifting for kids should not truly begin until hey are in high school. There are some modifications you can make to get your child involved in this type of routine to add bulk and strength to their frames. For example, you can allow your child to lift gallons of water instead of weights, it may seem very elementary but that is getting back to basics and keeping it simple for the kids. A child does not need to be concerned going to a health club or lifting heavy amounts of weight as they should start off with very little weights and do more repetitions of the exercises. When the child becomes more adapt to the gallon jugs, you can remove the water and place other items inside the containers to make them gradually heavier such as oil, paper clips or even small rocks. They can use the containers to do lunges, curls, front arm raises and calf raises. For an adult this would never be enough weight to provide any real results, but for a child with a developing body this could build muscles for a fit frame for a lifetime.

Children are not to lift weights until they are in high school or at the very least fifteen yeas of age. Some experts believe they should be at least sixteen or seventeen but this will be up to the parent to decide. Think of all the other exercises your child can participate in for additional fitness road work such as push ups, sit ups, squats and running. Jump roping for any child is a fantastic calorie burner and they enjoy doing it. If your son or daughter is involved in any sports, inquire with their coaches or any additional tips or drills they could be focusing on at home and during the off season. Provide your child with a healthy diet to further increase their healthy growing bodies and encourage them to get lots of sleep.

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Can I Lose Weight Through Gardening?

Gardening hobbyists usually enjoy the activity because of the produce they get after putting in long hours of back bending pruning, seeding, planting and watering their plants. They will either harvest beautiful flowers, or tasty, fresh fruits and vegetables. However, there are some who love gardening because of the way it has helped them stay healthy through the exercises that they get daily, just by keeping their gardens well maintained.

In fact, most people who had lost several pounds by spending hours improving their gardens will tell you that it is a far more enjoyable exercise than a day in the gym. After all the gardening activities one has to do are varied, from lifting pots, digging soil, mowing the grass, doing some carpentry here and there. When one is done at the end of the day, it's definitely equivalent to more than several hours of working out in a gym.

Each activity can actually tone one group of muscles, much like what one does with a series of weight lifting exercises in the gym. So, like any other work out, make sure that you also do some warming up exercises, which you can easily do by doing some simple stretching out. Remember to stretch even in between each task, as when you're hunched over for periods of time, you will feel some tension in your back muscles, which is not really a good sign.

When you're doing some weeding or pruning, you're actually exercising the legs a good deal. If you have to pull weeds that are over resistant on a regular basis, you would notice your arm muscles getting toned. Make sure that you switch arms from time to time so as not to overwork just your right or your left arm muscles.

Obviously, when you are lifting bags of soil or compost from one end to another, you are also exercising both your arms and legs. Make sure that you lift using your legs and not with your back. When you're using your lawn mower, you are also toning your chest, shoulder, back and arm muscles. Because of the amount of walking that you have to do around your garden, you are actually doing some cardiovascular activity, which by itself is already a great way to burn some pounds.

Yes, for sure you can use gardening to lose weight or to stay in shape. However, make sure to do some stretches before any activity and drink a lot of water. Take a good rest when you feel tired and remember to put on some sunscreen to protect your skin. You may also need to be careful about pulling muscles, so try to get into a regular routine that is not too strenuous, but just enough to get your heart pounding.

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Exercise Induced Nausea

Nausea during a strength training workout

Many weight lifters experience nausea during exercise. In fact, it's surprisingly common for weight lifters and other strength training devotees to vomit during a workout. There are several factors which contribute to this sort of workout nausea.



Too much food or water in the stomach. Stomach volume is limited, and stomach emptying rates are lower during exercise than at other times. As the old saw says, "Don't swim (or squat) until an hour after eating."

High or maximum heart rate and uncontrolled breathing. Sustained heavy lifting elevates the heart rate and blood pressure. This brings on a "sick to the stomach" feeling.

Bending over during a period of maximum heart rate, especially while inhaling. The esophageal sphincter is a band of muscle that closes off the top of the stomach. It prevents stomach contents from re-entering the esophagus. Unfortunately, it's notoriously weak and can open due to an overfull stomach, bending over while drawing a heavy breath, or a highly elevated heart rate.

To avoid exercise-induced nausea during intense strength training, remember these tips:


Get enough rest between sets so you maintain a manageable heart rate. If your heart rate is at its maximum, exercise induced vomiting may occur. Rest periods of up to five minutes are acceptable after a heavy set of squats or other compound exercises.
Don't bend over to adjust the weights. Instead, adjust weights while they're on the rack or on a table. Avoid compressing your stomach.
Drink the bare minimum amount of water that you feel you need. Try to avoid drinking right before intense sets. If you are properly hydrated before working out, you can keep your drinking to a bare minimum. Emulate a boxer who drinks only enough between rounds to replace the water lost to perspiration and exhalation.
Don't rehydrate with fluids containing dissolved gas. Never use carbonated drinks during a workout. Avoid shaking your water bottle when you drink from it. Sipping from a cup is preferable to using a water bottle; anything that introduces dissolved air into your water will increase the gas in your stomach during exercise.
Finally, get in shape for your weight lifting workout. If a single set of squats leaves you gasping for breath, you are not properly prepared.

Nausea after exercise

While weight lifters and bodybuilders can experience nausea after exercise, it more commonly affects endurance athletes.

If, as a weight lifter, you consistently experience post-workout nausea, remember that dehydration and (ironically) over-hydration or water intoxication can manifest itself as nausea after exercise. Check out some techniques for recovering from intense exercise and be sure to get your post-exercise carbs. For weight lifters, throwing up after exercise is atypical; if you experience extreme nausea after exercise, it is time to reevaluate your workout program, diet, and recovery protocol.

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Exercise Tips For Older Adults

Older adults need to stay active as they age in order to enjoy a fuller, happier and more active life. There are many good reasons to stay fit as you age and to continue exercising for the rest of your life. Healthy activity helps to keep your bones strong, dissipate depression that can be common among the elderly and fight various forms of illness such as diabetes or heart disease.

There is almost no end to the benefits reaped by those who continue to exercise no matter how old they become. Of course, the demands of healthy exercise changes as we age, but it's always good to implement a good exercise program that is appropriate for older adults. Here are some helpful exercise tips for older adults that can help you stay fit.

1. Aerobic exerciseYou should do some sort of aerobic exercise at least 4 times a week for 30 minutes a day. You can configure this base line suggestion by breaking up the 30 minutes into 10 minute segments if you need to throughout the week. Just make sure to complete at least 2 hours a week of exercise activity. Aerobic exercises can be anything like walking, swimming or tennis.

2. Muscle Resistance Activity

Not only do you need to do some form of aerobic exercise every week but you also need to add some muscle resistance activity to your schedule so that you can keep your muscles healthy as well as your joints and bones as strong as possible. Light weight lifting that includes all the muscle groups is important. You should weight lift at least 2 days a week. You can alternate muscle groups throughout the week so that you don't overstress any particular muscle group too much. For a more detailed plan, you can join a gym and hire a trainer who can set you up on an age appropriate weight lifting regimen.

These are some basic exercise tips that have proven extremely helpful to adults as they age. You can always increase the amount of minutes you exercise each week and add more weight lifting activities to your schedule for added benefits. If you have any concerns, be sure to check with your doctor before beginning any exercise or fitness program.

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