Answer Fitness®: Practical Fitness Advice for Everyone

5 Components of Physical Fitness | Fitness Tips & Guides

What Is Physical Fitness? Understanding the Five Basic Components of Physical Fitness Can Be The Difference Between Fitness Success & Failure.

What does it mean to be “physically fit?”

Ask a dozen people to describe to you a person who typifies the concept of “physical fitness” and you will likely get 12 different answers.

Many people will probably mention Olympic athletes as paragons of physical fitness — people like swimmer and Olympic Gold Medalist Michael Phelps or U.S. gymnast Shawn Johnson. Others might point to professional athletes like NBA forward LeBron James or legendary NFL running back Herschel Walker. Other people might say that fashion models, certain actresses or actors, bodybuilders or even professional wrestlers represent “physical fitness.”

So clearly, physical fitness is in the eye of the beholder.

Or is it?

Can You Look “In-Shape” But Not Be Physically Fit?

While excelling at some type of athletic activity — whether you are a professional or amateur — requires a certain level of physical fitness, it doesn’t guarantee that they are physically fit. 

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Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) | Preventing & Treating DOMS

Muscle soreness after exercise can put a real kink in your training. Find out what DOMS is, how to prevent it and what you can do to ease delayed onset muscle soreness if you get it.

Nearly anyone who works out regularly has experienced sore muscles after exercise. Sometimes you’ll feel it later that night, or the next morning … and in some cases, you may actually think you’re out-of-the-woods, only to wake up two days later with stiff, tender muscles that feel as tight as rubber bands.

It’s known as Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (also called “DOMS”), and it’s both loved and reviled by exercise fanatics. Loved, because many people view DOMS as a sign that yesterday’s workout was effective, but hated at the same time because in severe cases, Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness can prevent you from comfortably hitting the gym again.

And in the case of calf muscle soreness — which plagues runners as often as weight lifters — it can literally make going down a flight stairs in the morning a three minute ordeal.

Symptoms of Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness

You probably have a case of Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness if you experience any of the following symptoms:

• Muscle tenderness
• Muscle soreness
• Stiffness
• Swelling
• Pain
• Loss of mobility or reduced range of motion
• Muscle tenderness, including when the muscle belly is pressed with the fingers
• Loss of strength
• Acute muscle twitches or spams

The extent and duration of these symptoms may vary from person-to-person and are largely dependent on the amount of resistance — especially eccentric resistance — placed on the muscles during exercise.

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Weight Loss Plateau: Diagnosing & Overcoming a Weight Loss Plateau

Asking yourself “How do I get out of a weight loss plateau?” Try these ten tricks to jumpstart your fat loss and get back on track.

The weight loss plateau.

It happens to everyone, regardless of their level of physical fitness or training experience.  For weeks or even months, the fat and pounds just seem to be melting off. You’re riding high and seeing the fruits of your labor. Maybe you’ve lost a couple inches in your waist or dropped a dress size or two. The gym doesn’t seem like such a chore anymore. Life is good.

And then suddenly, everything stops.  

The scale is no longer your friend, but instead transforms itself into a daily source of frustration.

As far as you can tell, nothing has changed. You’ve still been eating healthy, exercising frequently (maybe even following your regular routine to the “T”) and keeping your portions under control. Yet something has changed: You’ve stopped progressing. And it’s driving you crazy. Even worse, it’s de-motivating you.

Welcome to the dreaded plateau: The bane of everyone from athletes, to fitness models to average people who are just trying to lose their gut, get ready for a holiday cruise or fit into that pair of skinny jeans.

The plateau doesn’t discriminate: Everyone has to deal with it eventually, and it doesn’t just apply to weight loss, but all kinds of other things, including how much you can lift during resistance or weight training, the amount of muscle you are able to add to your frame — or if you are a runner or biker — your distance or speed. 

And what makes the plateau particularly vexing is that it usually hits when you when you feel most unstoppable.

Weight Loss Plateaus: What’s the Cause?

Weight loss plateaus are typically caused by one of two things (and sometimes, a combination of the two):

1. A metabolic adaptation to your current diet and exercise regimen
2. Accumulated changes in your existing exercise and eating routine that are causing you to eat more or burn less calories with exercise, even though you aren’t aware of it.

Let’s take a look a each of these causes in detail.  

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Under Armour Cold Gear Review | Fitness & Athletic Apparel Reviews

Under Armour® says when it’s cold outside, you need ColdGear®. Find out whether Cold Gear lives up to its promise.

Product Line Reviewed: Under Armour ColdGear®

Specific Products Reviewed:

• Under Armour ColdGear Legging ($54.99)
• Under Armour ColdGear Long Sleeve Compression Hoodie (59.99)
• Under Armour ColdGear Loose Inferno Jacket ($69.99)
• Under Armour ColdGear Loose Inferno Pant ($59.99)

Manufacturer: Under Armour

Pros:

• Durable and well constructed
• Excellent moisture wicking
• Good thermal transfer and keeps you from overheating, while still keeping you warm
• Smooth seams to cut down on pinching and abrasions
• Looks cool

Cons:

• May be perceived as a bit expensive to some people; but very competitively priced compared to similar products from specialty outfitters like The North Face, Patagonia and Cabelas

Ratings (1-4 Scale: 1 = poor, 2= fair, 3= good, 4= excellent)

Fit: 4
Comfort: 4
Durability: 4
Product Options: 4
Price: 3
Does It Do What It Claims? Yes
Would You Buy It Again? Yes

Overall Rating: 3.8

Under Armour ColdGear Review

In most parts of the country, October means football, falling leaves … and dropping temperatures.

But for fitness buffs, runners, hikers and winter sports fanatics, a drop in the mercury and a little bit of snow and ice is no excuse for staying indoors and succumbing to cabin fever.

Of course, staying fit and active during the winter months means staying warm and dry, even in the face of rain, sleet and snow. And anyone who has ever spent a few hours hiking the Boundary Waters in December or running the streets of New York in January knows that the clothing you choose can be the difference between ecstasy and agony. When it’s hot outside, you can always strip off layers. When it’s cold and damp, on the other hand, what you’re wearing on your back is pretty much what you’ll be wearing until you get back in the warmth of your home, apartment or cabin.

So you better choose wisely.

Under Armour: More Than Just Gear For Athletes

Most people will know Under Armour as the company that started its business creating clothing for athletes to wear under their uniforms or athletic equipment. It was a niche that had gone unfulfilled for years, and Under Armour quickly moved into the space and become the de facto leader in high-performance sporting apparel.

Over the past few years, however, Under Armour has branched out into the general fitness and sports apparel markets, and has introduced a number of popular clothing lines that have broader appeal to sports and fitness enthusiasts. These products now include everything from hoodies, to running shorts, to t-shirts, and most recently, performance athletic shoes and men and women’s underwear.

But Under Armour is probably most well-known for their line of climate/temperature specific athletic and fitness clothing: UA Heat Gear and UA Cold Gear.

Back By Popular Demand: Free Under Armour Shipping!

Answer Fitness readers get complimentary free shipping on any order of $75 or greater from the Under Armour online outlet. To get this exclusive free shipping offer, click here, shop and make sure to use this discount code when you check out:  UAFALL01. This is a limited time offer good through October 31, so take advantage of it while you can.

What Is Under Armour Cold Gear?

UA Cold gear is a line of athletic and fitness apparel for … surprise … when it’s cold outside.

The Cold Gear product line is actually very diverse, and offers not only clothing intended to be worn under your outerwear, but also outerwear itself — things like jackets, gloves and hats.

What’s particularly interesting about the Cold Gear line is that it appeals to a broader group than Under Armour’s traditional customer base – people like hunters, cross-country or downhill skiers, or cold weather hikers and campers.  This has attracted a growing following for Under Armour Cold Gear among not just athletes and fitness junkies, but also outdoor enthusiasts, giving some of the traditional outfitters like Patagonia and North Face a run for their money.

Cold Gear’s claim to fame is that it uses a double-sides fabric that manages to wick moisture away from the body, while still providing insulation. Moisture wicking materials aren’t new — they’ve been widely used among hikers and runners for some time now — but Under Armour has taken this wicking and insulating fabric and fashioned it into a series of specialized clothing for customers who have specific cold weather needs. They’ve also been sensitive to people’s desire to not only stay warm, but look good — so in typical Under Armour fashion, they’ve added some nice styling to their clothing.
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Five Ways to Make That Glass of Water Taste Better | Diet Tips from Answer Fitness®

Try these five tricks to stay hydrated and enjoy drinking water at the same time. 

Water is essential to good health, but let’s face it, compared to soda, juice, wine or beer, water is pretty … um … boring. But it has zero calories, no sugar, is filling and may help with fat-loss, so drinking plenty of water makes sense.

The problem is, water just doesn’t have much zip to it.

Until now.

Try one or more of these tricks and products to meet your daily fluid requirements while making water a beverage that you actually enjoy:
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How Often Should I Workout? | Fitness Tips

Workout frequency is highly individual. Learn how to find your perfect schedule and avoid over training.

How often you should work out is really a matter of your current fitness level, the types of exercises you are performing, the intensity of your workouts, and how much time you actually have available to spend in the gym.

Current Fitness Level

Your current fitness level is one of the primary factors used to determine workout frequency.

Beginners will typically need more recovery time between workouts than more advanced trainees, bodybuilders or well-conditioned athletes or runners.  Nearly everyone has experienced one of those workouts where you “over did” it and couldn’t move for three days. While this can happen at all levels of fitness, it’s more common among beginners who are still gauging their strength, stamina and recovery ability.

The body also makes certain adaptations with training over time that may shorten the required recovery time. So while some people can go heavy in the gym every day, others may need to take a break every-other-day.  

As a general rule of thumb, a good training frequency for someone who is new to the gym, or returning after a lengthy break, is three resistance workouts a week lasting between 45 and 60 minutes. This will allow you to work each major muscle group with at least one exercise and give yourself 48 hours for recovery between workouts.

This full-body workout is ideal because it helps build a solid foundation for later, more advanced training; encourages overall core development; discourages the development of muscle imbalances that can accompany “split routines”; and may burn more calories after training.

And by the way, this is actually also an excellent workout for an advanced trainee. The difference is they will work with heavier weights and may do more total sets for each exercise than a person who is less-experienced in the gym.

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How to Choose A Gym That’s Right For You

Ask yourself these nine questions to make sure you’re choosing the perfect gym … before you sign the contract.

Whether you are looking to get in-shape and choosing a gym or fitness club for the first time or have a current gym membership and are looking to make a change, finding the right place to work out can be a confusing and intimidating process, especially for beginners.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. 

The International Health Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) estimates that in 2006 there were 29,000 commercial fitness centers in America. If you live in a major metropolitan area, you can expect to find between 10-25 fitness centers competing for your membership. In smaller towns, your choices may be more limited, but between local rec centers, nearby colleges, the YMCA and commercial gyms, it’s easier than ever to have access to a gym, regardless of your location.

So with so many options, how do can you be sure you’re making the right choice?

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