Cool Down With 5 Post-Workout Stretches In Under 8 Minutes

Cool Down With 5 Post-Workout Stretches In Under 8 Minutes

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Follow along with contributing fitness editor Assata McKenzie for the ultimate post-workout stretching routine that will cool you down from head to toe, in under eight minutes.

See the entire fitness guide here.

More:

5 Easy Pre-Workout Stretches in Under 5 Minutes

What Is CrossFit? Your Guide To The Fitness Phenomenon

Here Are The Real Benefits Of Yoga

Original article and pictures take www.chatelaine.com site

Cool Down Routine with Zuzka Light #2

Cool Down Routine with Zuzka Light #2

Here is a great stretching and cool down routine. Get more info at https://zuzkalight.com/

Original article and pictures take s.ytimg.com site

COOL DOWN EXERCISES

COOL DOWN EXERCISES

Stretch and relax your entire body with this 5-minute stretching routine. A set of cool down exercises to increase muscle control, flexibility and range of motion. Start the timer, play the music and unwind!

COOL DOWN EXERCISES INSTRUCTIONS

WARM UP AND WORKOUT

Start your exercise routine with a 10 minute full body warm up, continue with a full body workout and finish with this set of cool down exercises.

STATIC STRETCHES

1. Ab stretch: 20 seconds. Lie down on the mat with your arms in push up position and your legs straight. Straighten your arms slowly and lift your torso.

2. Cat cow stretch: 20 seconds + 20 seconds. Start on all fours, drop your head and round your back and neck. Hold and then slowly curve your back down and raise your head.

3. Hip flexor stretch: 20 seconds + 20 seconds. Kneel on your left leg and bend your right leg in front of you at a 90-degree angle. Shift your weight forward and feel the stretch in your hip. Switch sides.

4. Lower back stretch: 20 seconds. Lie down on your back and pull your knees up to your chest. Deepen the stretch as you breathe out.

5. Standing forward bend: 20 seconds. Stand up and then slowly rotate your hips and lower your torso. Try touching the back of your ankles, keep your knees straight and hold.

6. Quad stretch: 20 seconds + 20 seconds. Keep your thighs together, grab one foot and pull it toward your butt. Hold the stretch and then switch sides.

7. Calf stretch: 20 seconds + 20 seconds. Hold onto a wall and extend one leg back. Keep your back foot flat on the floor, your back knee straight and lean forward.

8. Shoulder stretch: 20 seconds + 20 seconds. Grasp one elbow and gently pull the arm toward the chest. Breathe slowly and exhale as you deepen the stretch.

9. Biceps stretch: 20 seconds. Straighten your arms, clasp your hands behind your back and rotate your palms. Raise your arms and hold.

10. Child’s pose: 20 seconds. Sit down on your heels and stretch your arms in front of you. Relax and feel all tension fading away.

INTERVAL TIMER

MUSIC PLAYLIST

CALORIE CALCULATOR

Enter your weight to find out how many calories you can burn doing these cool down exercises:

RELATED WORKOUT ROUTINES

Original article and pictures take www.cdn.spotebi.com site

Common Mistakes People Make After Exercise

Common Mistakes People Make After Exercise

Hinterhaus Productions/Digital Vision/Getty Images

What do you do after you exercise? If you're like me, you usually go home and sit on the couch. Or if you exercise in the morning, you shower, change and head to work. Do those habits sound familiar? If so, it probably means that you're making one or more huge post-workout recovery mistakes.

A healthy post-workout routine is essential for optimal fitness. And if you're trying to lose weight, your post-workout ritual can make or break the success of your program. So for my own benefit and for the benefit of my readers, I'm busting the five biggest post-workout recovery mistakes. These are the things we forget to do — or do wrong — that ultimately make our workout routines less successful.

Glow Cuisine/Getty Images

Post workout nutrition is essential to maintain a fit and healthy body. So you need to know what to eat after you exercise. Most experts recommend that you take in a reasonable combination of carbohydrates and protein in order to replace essential nutrients that were lost during the workout and to aid in the recovery process.

But what do many of us do? We use the exercise session as justification to overeat the wrong foods. If you're trying to lose weight, a single post-workout binge can completely undo the hard work you did in the gym. And then you won't lose weight.

If weight loss is your goal, the key to successful post-workout nutrition is to eat like you didn't exercise. Of course, you should refuel properly. But you shouldn't overeat because you worked hard at the gym. Be mindful of your food intake and include the calories from your post-workout meal in your total calorie plan for the day.

Jordan Siemens/Stone/Getty Images

If you're a smart exerciser, you leave stretching to the end of your workout. That way, your muscles are warm and flexibility training is easier and more comfortable. But what do most of us do (myself included)? We skip the stretching part of our workout and hit the shower.

Stretching at the end of your workout is important to maintain healthy joints, healthy muscles and prevent injury. If you're trying to lose weight flexibility training has even greater benefits — like stress reduction and improved sleep.

While I wouldn't necessarily recommend moving the stretching part of your routine to the beginning of your workout, I would suggest that you stretch like you've got nowhere better to go. That means that you commit to a solid 10-15 minutes of full-body flexibility training. Schedule this part of your workout routine just like you schedule your ab work and your cardio. It's that important.

Paul Taylor/Getty Images

This is the post workout recovery mistake that I make most often...and I'll bet you do too. After you exercise, you look forward to a restful recovery period — on the couch, in a chair or even in bed. Sound familiar? It's a huge mistake!

Post workout recovery and rest are essential. Your muscles need time to rebuild and your body needs time to relax. But you need to stay active in this phase for two reasons. First, if you continue to do the easy movement, your joints stay more limber and mobile. And second, you continue to burn more calories through NEAT.

If you are trying to lose weight, the number of calories you burn from NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis) can make or break your weight loss success. The number will vary from person to person, but if you stay mobile you can easily burn hundreds of calories during the day and maybe even more than you did during your workout.

So how do you stay active when your body just wants to rest? One way is to dress to stay active. Believe it or not, your clothing choices can have a big impact on how much you move each day. I like to wear compression gear after I work out. Many experts say it speeds recovery and even provides greater benefits to people who are trying to lose weight.

Ned Frisk/Getty Images

So how did your workout make you feel?

Believe it or not, writing down your feelings about your workout may help you stick to your program over the long term. A workout journal serves as a reminder of your progress and your accomplishments. It is also helpful to review if you have problems losing weight or completing your sessions.

So it's a good idea to take a few minutes after your exercise session to jot down a few notes about how you felt during the workout. Include information about:

• What you did (length of workout, types of exercise)
• How you felt when you started
• How you felt during the workout (confident? strong? uneasy?)
• How you feel now that you're done
• Other factors that may have influenced your mood (work stress, relationships, etc)

If you have a workout journal, keep it in your gym bag so that you can write down notes immediately after your workout is complete. I use my Polar M400 to rate my workouts — it's one of the coolest things about the device. The app allows you to choose an adjustable smiley face to reflect your post-workout mood.

JoSon/Getty Images

What's the most important post-workout recovery tool? A pen...or a smartphone, or calendar or whatever tool you use to schedule really important meetings and events. As you finish your workout, you should plan your next session as if it is the most important thing on your agenda. That way, you can be sure that it will get done.

Of course, you're not going to want to make a plan to do the same workout you just did. The best weight loss workout plans involve different types of activities, different durations and different types of training. It's smart to have a weekly schedule in place to make sure you get the right amount of exercise for weight loss. But as you finish your workout, revisit that plan or at least finalize the details it so you know which workout is next on the agenda.

Original article and pictures take www.verywell.com site

Cody’s Focus and De-Stress Yoga Playlist

Cody’s Focus and De-Stress Yoga Playlist

yoga playlist

Music is an essential part of any workout routine, including yoga. Typically yoga is done to the soothing sounds of the ocean, or rain, or whales bellowing, or other nature sounds.

But hey! It’s the 21st century.

The modern yogi might be craving something a little more stimulating than a bubbling creek, so I have put together a yoga playlist of of some of my favorite tunes to relax to. Roll out your yoga mat and prepare for 52 minutes of robot zen. Enjoy!

Cody’s Focus and Destress Yoga Playlist:

1. In Love Not Limbo, by Of Oceans
2. BTSTU, by Jai Paul
3. Geometer, by Slidecamp
4. Fences, by Phoenix (Def Starr remix)
5. Helicopter, by Deerhunter (Diplo & Lunice remix)
6. Lay Down, by XXYYXX
7. The District Sleeps Alone Tonight, by The Postal Service
8. Blackout, by Muse
9. Crystalised, by The XX (Neon Lights remix)
10. Basic Space, by The XX (Jamie XX remix)
11. No Diggity, by Blackstreet (Chet Faker cover)
12. Transatlanticism, by Death Cab for Cutie
13. Hide and Seek, Imogen Heap

Original article and pictures take 17eu8o3hks9l3pocszejtb1c.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com site

Christine Bullock’s guide to getting the best workout (and it might surprise you)

Christine Bullock’s guide to getting the best workout (and it might surprise you)

When Christine Bullock, our resident Fitness Guru, shared her favorite daily yoga flow sequence this month, we have to admit we were a little surprised. “But you’re invincible!” we said, wondering about tips for our tummies, butts and thighs. Turns out Christine’s approach is not only about cultivating a killer body, but a beautiful heart that radiates warmth and vitality throughout the day.

The once professional ballet dancer explained:

“My daily yoga practice helps me to cultivate an attitude of renewal and center myself for the day. A tired, stiff body cannot grow and adapt to your workouts, so it’s important to spend time daily on nurturing your body and preparing yourself for the day.”

So here you have it, folks. Enter Christine with her daily, pre-workout routine to get you reenergized and ready for more.

Did you know that women hold many of their emotions in their hips? Use these first three hip opening poses to clear out the stale emotions that you may be unknowingly holding onto as tension in this area. Resist the urge to force yourself into the poses, instead deepen slowly with your breath.

Pigeon

Begin in a seated position with your hands planted shoulder width apart on the mat in front of you. Extend your left leg straight behind you, while using your hands to support your torso as you keep your right shin on the mat in front of you. Encourage your shin to lie parallel to the front of your mat. Square your hips to the front and balance your weight in the center of your body. Sink deeper into the pose for three breathes. Switch sides.

Begin in a lunge with your right leg forward and left leg back. Using your hands for support, glide your left leg back to deepen the lunge so that you can place your forearms on the floor inside of your right ankle. Keep your right knee directly over your right ankle and continue to push out of your left heel to straighten your left leg. Relax and release through your right hip for three breathes. Switch sides.

Modification: If balancing is difficult, lower your left knee to the mat to keep the focus on the stretch in your hips.

Stand with your feet as wide as the mat. Lower into a deep squat. (Keep your heels on the floor if you can; otherwise, support them on a folded mat.) Press the palms together into prayer and open elbows wide, pressing them into your thighs to assist in hip opening. Lengthen your torso and sit up tall. Hold the position for three breathes, then come to standing.

Modification: If squatting is difficult, sit on the front edge of a chair seat, thighs forming a right angle to your torso, heels on the floor slightly ahead of your knees. Lean your torso forward between the thighs.

I use these twisting poses daily to wring out stagnant emotions and negativity. Be sure to lengthen your torso as you twist to create new space for growth.

Twisted Wide Leg Forward Fold

Begin standing with feet wider than hip distance apart. Fold forward at the waist and reach your left hand to the outside of your right ankle. Rest your right arm gently across your lower back. Use your left arm to encourage your left shoulder towards your right side and open your chest to the right. Hold the pose for three breathes. Switch sides.

Begin lying on your back with your arms by your side and your legs zipped together. Use your core to draw your legs up overhead while you shift your weight to your shoulders. Hinging at your waist and keeping your knees straight, bring your toes to touch the ground above your right shoulder. Push through your heels to intensify the stretch. Keep your chin down and gaze forward to protect your neck. Breathe into the stretch for three breathes. Switch sides.

Embrace the vulnerability of these heart opening poses. Focus on opening your chest and heart to graciously receive whatever opportunities and challenges are coming your way.

Bow

Begin face down on the floor with arms extended to a T, legs hip distance apart and tops of feet resting on the ground. On an inhalation, use your back muscles to lift your chest and arms off of the floor keeping the neck relaxed and drawing shoulder blades and elbows back; engage your glutes and thighs to hover your legs off of the floor. Then bend your knees and draw your arms back to capture your feet in your hands. Roll to the soft part of your belly. Breathe into the pose and lift up high through your hands and feet.

Flip Dog

Begin in Downward facing dog with your body in a pike position, hands shoulder distance apart, feet hip distance apart, hips lifted high. Bring your weight into your right hand and shift onto the outer edge of your right foot. Lift your left leg high and begin to rotate your left hip open towards the sky. Bend your left knee and allow your left foot to find the ground. Open your chest to the sky and extend your left arm overhead. Hold the pose for three breathes.

Begin by kneeling upright with your knees hip width apart. Rotate your thighs inward and press your shins and the tops of your feet into the floor. Rest your hands on the back of your pelvis, with your fingers pointing to the floor. Lean back, with your chin slightly tucked toward your chest. Beginners can stay here, but if you would like to take the pose deeper reach back and hold onto your heels. Hold the pose for three breathes.

Daily renewal is all about clearing out the old and starting fresh — new opportunities, new adventures, new habits. Habitually performing a morning yoga sequence can have an awesome impact on your attitude and mentality for your day and your life.

Join The Flexible Chef Tribe to get flexible workout routines and fitness motivation sent straight to your inbox!

Original article and pictures take theflexiblechef.com site

Cat Stretch

Cat Stretch

Come to hands and knees with your hands shoulder-width apart, knees hip-width apart, abs engaged, and back flat (spine neutral).

Engage your abdominals as if pulling your navel towards your spine and round your back towards the ceiling. Allow the head and neck to fall naturally between the arms.

Breathe deeply and hold for 10-30 seconds.

Stretch to the point of "mild discomfort," not to the point of pain. Never bounce. Keep the abdominals pulled in tightly and your pelvic bone slightly tucked under. Pull your shoulders away from your ears. This is a good compliment to the "Camel Stretch."

Muscles Stretched: Back

Original article and pictures take www.sparkpeople.com site