Should You Be Sore After Every Workout?

Some people measure the effectiveness of their workout by how sore they are next day after training. However, the nopain-no-gain principle should not always be your fitness motto.

This soreness (also called Delayed
Onset Muscle Soreness, or DOMS) is caused by small tears in muscles. This
happens when you train muscles that were previously less used or work out at a greater intensity than usually. Muscles
grow while they are recuperating. This is why rest and recovery are all-important
for muscle build-up.

Muscle soreness can be avoided if you warm up before exercising and stretch and cool down the muscles after your
workout.

If you feel soreness after each workout,
it means that your muscles do not have enough time to heal and you run a risk of overtraining and injury. Muscle soreness can actually hold your advance back if it hurts too much to work out. Consider speaking with your doctor if the pain continues days after a workout.

If you are no longer sore after your
training, it doesn’t mean that your workout is not effective anymore. The routine you stick to helps you maintain your achievements. Just make sure you vary your workout in order to avoid a
plateau.

Instead of measuring the effectiveness of your workout by how sore you are,
Think about the following:

• are you lifting proper weight?

• are you working all your muscle
groups during the week?

• are you diversifying your workout
from time to time?

If the answer is ‘yes’ to all these
questions, you are a getting a good
workout.

Metabolic Misconception

Some people blame their excessive weight on slow metabolism. However, metabolism is a natural process which is
balanced by your body according to its needs. It does not happen often that overweight is caused by medical conditions that slow down metabolism.

Weight gain mostly comes from eating more calories than you burn. While your
body’s basic energy needs depend on metabolism, it’s your diet and activities
that ultimately determine your weight
because these are two things that you
have control over and can adjust. Two more factors that determine how many calories you burn each day – basal metabolic rate and food processing stay relatively steady.

Basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the amount of energy your body needs to normally function. BMR is influenced by
your age, sex, body size and muscle-fat ratio. Big people or people with a large muscle mass tend to burn more calories, both exercising and at rest.
Women usually have more fat than men of the same age, which explains why
they bum fewer calories.

Also, the amount of fat increases with age and slows down calorie burning.
The energy used to digest, absorb,
transport and store food does not vary significantly.

The solution to the weight problem would be to zero in on the factors you can influence, such as your calorie
intake and expenditure through physical activities.

To lose weight, create an energy deficit
by burning more calories than you consume. Do regular aerobic exercise to
burn calories and fat, start strength
training to build muscle, change your
lifestyle to be as active as possible and reduce the number of calories in your
diet. These things can help you manage
your weight and even improve your metabolism.

Top 10 Autumn Foods

1. Parsnips. This fiber-rich root veggie is a pale relative of carrot.
Pick it up for a good source of vitamin C, iron and calcium. Parsnips can be boiled, mashed, sauteed, microwaved or eaten raw.

2. Pumpkin. The bright orange color
brings comfort and joy into the cold autumn months. But there’s much more to pumpkins than color: vitamin
C, beta-carotene and antioxidants.
And pumpkin seeds are rich in zinc and omega 3 fatty acids.

3. Apples. An apple a day keeps the
doctor away – these are not just words. Packed with antioxidants,
they also help prevent inflammations and allergies, at the same time being really beneficial for your skin.

4. Garlic. Never give up on garlic
because of its smell. It’s a truly miraculous food that fights viruses and bacteria and can prevent cancer.

5. Pears. Pears are packed with
fiber: one medium fruit contains over
15% of the daily fiber intake. You can also rely on pears as a source of vitamins C and K and copper.

6. Sweet potato. This autumn gift is
brimful of vitamins A and C important infection fighters. High in
fiber, sweet potatoes improve
digestion. They are also a top choice
for diabetic diet thanks to their low
glycemic index.

7. Cranberries. These bright red
berries simply scream “healthy food”!
They help prevent urinary tract
infections and gum diseases. Due to
the high content of antioxidants, cranberries can also fight heart
diseases.

8. Kale. An absolute autumn must:
kale protects you against common autumn infections. Rich in vitamins A and C, calcium, potassium and iron the perfect autumn food!

9. Ginger. Ginger is your go-to root
for healing coughs and colds.
Literally a hot root, ginger is a strong antioxidant and antiseptic.

10. Figs. It’s surprising, but figs are as rich in calcium as milk. Moreover,
they’re a great source of fiber. Nibble on some figs when you’re craving something sweet but healthy.

Enjoy autumn and reap all the health
benefits its rich harvests have to offer!

Skipping Meals Helps You Lose Weight

Skipping meals means less calories consumed, which should result in weight loss, right? Studies show that people who skip meals, especially breakfast tend to be heavier than those who eat regularly 4-5 times a day. A possible reason for this is that those who skip meals tend to eat more when they do eat which is also usually later in the day. So the old advice of breakfast being the most important meal definitely holds true