Sheep Treadmills

The term sheep treadmills refers nowadays to the exercise devices designed to keep a farmer’s sheep in good health. In 1990 inventor Victor Tribelhorn came up with the concept of sheep treadmills for conditioning and exercising a large number of sheep at the same time. The patent was published in 1992. With this device, the sheep are arranged side by side on these sheep treadmills with their front legs on a stationary stand and their back legs on the treadmill belt. The range of speed for these sheep treadmills is 14 to 22 inches for second.

Earlier sheep treadmills, however - those that existed in the nineteenth century - were not about offering exercise to the sheep. Instead, they were farming machines powered, in these pre-electricity days, by sheep and sometimes dogs or goats. Useful for threshing, these sheep treadmills were originally designed in 1834. For treadmills that required heftier weights to run them, horses provided the power. Most treadmills, however, ran just fine powered by the smaller farm animals.

J.A. and H.A. Pitts were the original animal treadmill inventors, designing their treadmills not as sheep treadmills but as horse-powered ones. They were designed with links made of iron and rollers made of hardwood, to power farmers’ groundhog threshing machines. The next year these treadmills were improved, by means of a wooden cog belt assembly.

Some years later the level tread design was introduced.

Dog, goat and sheep treadmills came into being for the running of smaller, lighter-weight machines - farming implements that could shell corn, churn butter, grind stone, separate cream and perform fanning tasks for milling.

Timothy Gorman is a successful Webmaster and publisher of Treadmill-Solutions.com Treadmill-Solutions.com. He provides more treadmill ratings, rankings and treadmill-solutions.com/Treadmill-Reviews.html treadmill reviews that you can research in your pajamas on his website.

Swimming - Exercise That’s Healthy And Fun

C.H.E.E.R.: Circulation Health Exercise Energy Routine
Circulation increases while swimming. Whether floating about, stroking through a set of laps or just playing around, swimming is fantastic exercise for your heart and circulatory system. That’s because the water constantly offers resistance no matter what the movement you make - movement that elevates your heart rate - all in an environment of buoyancy so there’s less stress on aching joints and muscles.

Health benefits of swimming are clear. Swimming regularly builds endurance, enhances muscle tone and increases cardio-vascular fitness. What’s more, swimming is an activity in which almost everyone, regardless of skill level, can participate. That means nearly everyone who owns a pool (or enjoys a pool) can benefit.

Exercise recommendations. No doubt you’ve heard or read that a healthy lifestyle should include at least three, half-hour periods of exercise per week for health, fitness and general well-being. Swimming regularly allows you to gradually increase the intensity of your workouts at your own pace. Or if you’re just getting back into an exercise program, a swimming pool offers you an opportunity to get much-needed exercise while simply having fun.

Energy to spare for swimmers. A healthy body is a happy body. A few hours a week in the pool can do wonders for your overall level of energy. Exercise helps the body produce natural chemicals that tend to stimulate both body and mind, giving you a natural and generally harmless way to boost your energy over time.

Routine is anything but for swimmers. The key to maximizing the benefits of swimming, or any form of exercise, is to develop a routine for participating in that exercise. What makes swimming so unique is that your exercises (strokes and activity) can change session to session, helping you develop a routine that’s easier to stick to. Swimming can even become exercise you look forward to, and reward yourself with, as the week goes on.

Obviously, anyone considering swimming or any other exercise program should consult with a physician prior to beginning a program. But once you’ve determined your level of readiness and overall general health, look out:

There’s plenty of C.H.E.E.R. waiting for you in the swimming pool!

Internet Marketing Specialist

Four Reasons Why You Should Learn To Meditate

I know, I can hear you saying it now, “Why would Meditation Help Me? Isn’t Meditation for the Great Eastern Gurus?” The categorical answer is NO! Every single person on this planet should learn to meditate to help you in your day-to-day growth, to help you cope with the world and to help you deal with your anxiety.

Let me explain …

The whole role of meditation is to help find your inner peace that is the art of putting all that chaos in your mind and you life into some sort of order. The first step of meditation is bringing you to a point of calm, a point of peace upon which you can build and manage control. Once you have achieved that you can further explore your own mind. Our mind today often swirls with information, facts, stress, worries and much more simply because of the way in which we live and the bombardment of information from commercial entities. The role of meditation is to help you find a way of managing that information and to reflect on your surroundings.

Meditation will help you to find that point at which you can cope and manage all the bombardments without feeling over whelmed but that is not the only reason we meditate. Let me outline four reasons why you should consider learning the art of meditation.

Reason 1 - Meditation Will Assist You In Calming

One of the core reasons why an individual might learn meditation is to help with their ability to cope with stress and to become calm. One of the roles of meditation is to help release the alpha waves in both our left and right side of our brains. These alpha waves will help bring about a sense of calm, similar to when you would whistle a happy tune or simply day dream.

Learning to meditate and bring you to a state of calm will help you cope with the daily stress of life. From personal experience I have found that if I do not meditate for 20 minutes a day minimum, I find that my ability to cope with the daily stress of work is far harder then when I have completed my meditation.

Reason 2 - Meditation Can Help You Lower Your Blood Pressure

I personally have experienced the effect meditation can have on your blood pressure. Many a time I have gone without meditating for a number of days and my blood pressure has slowly crept up. I have done many experiments with my blood pressure and meditation and this is one I encourage you to try. I simply bought an electronic blood pressure machine which you can buy from a pharmacist or chemist for about $200 Australian. I first checked my blood pressure to find out what it currently is. I then dd 20 minutes of meditation and checked it again. I found that both my blood pressure and my heart rate had dropped by up to 30%. I have also tried doing the same exercise but instead of meditating, I just sit for 20 minutes and relaxing but I have found I do not get anywhere near the same improvement. Generally I would only see about 5 to 10% improvements.

I have seen many research documentaries that have illustrated in a practical way how simply using basic meditation techniques can decrease your blood pressure and your heart rate. Visit your local library and check out the books and research they have on meditation. You will be surprised how many doctors now encourage their patients to learn meditation. My GP (General Practitioner) and his wife actually run guided courses on meditation.

Reason 3 - Meditation Can Help With Creativity

There is a lot of who do about meditation and a lot of people call themselves meditation experts. Honestly, I do not buy into that for one simple reason. Meditation is about you. When you are meditating there will be no one else in your head except for you, so in the end you are the expert of your own meditation techniques. However, I will say that there are many people who can help you in learning meditation but ultimately, if you are listening to them while you are meditating you are not focusing on your inner self but on your outer self.

I have been told that I am one of the most prolific writers out there. It is normal for me to sit down in the morning and by the afternoon I will have belted out 5 to 10 articles of 1,000 to 2,000 words and my editors would not print my material if it was not of excellent quality. One of the reasons I believe I am able to achieve this, is because of my meditation regime. When I have completed my meditation, my mind is free of stress which really opens my creativity. I just like many writers suffer, what we like to call, “Writers block”. Often this is caused simply because of the chaos of the information in our head.

If I have a situation where writers block is really setting in, I simply stop, head to my meditation area for 20 minutes and once I am finished, I will always have a swirl of great ideas to complete my material. One thing to note though, I have found that Baroque Music at 60 beats a minute, works best for getting that creativity flowing. I prefer this style of meditation music, over tranquil water flowing or the sounds of the open bush simply because the 60 beats a minute, helps release far more alpha waves in my brain.

To give you an idea of how powerful Baroque Meditation music at 60 beat a minute can be, the Coca Cola Retail Research Council found that relaxed customers would in fact purchase 38% more than those who were not relaxed.

Reason 4 - Meditation Can Help With Learning

If meditation can help with creativity then it also stands to reason that mediation music can help with learning. In particular Baroque Meditation music makes the perfect background for all training and learning environments from pre-school to government “think tanks.” In fact it is used in schools all over Australia. A quote from the teacher of a remedial class here in Australia: “It seems to slow them down so they can think.”
Corporate trainers can improve the effectiveness of training sessions dramatically. A colleague uses the baroque meditation music as background for his memory. In fact I have been using Baroque Meditation Music in some of our computer sessions and I have seen dramatic improvements in the way people cope with our technical training.
Look, the days of meditation being only for the hippies or eastern religions like Buddhism are over. Anyone who has ever tried meditation will tell you that you certainly will feel a sense of calm and as you become more proficient you will find your ability to copy, be creative and learn more will be improved. The challenge that most people fear with meditation is that they will look foolish or their peers might think less of you but in all honesty, you maybe surprised to find out that the people you think will look on you as foolish are in fact the ones using meditation daily.

All I want to do is to encourage you to give meditation a try. What have you got to loose but just 20 minutes of your time and imagine what you might gain? To finish off I want to take a moment to simply reiterate the four reasons why you should consider learning to meditate:

Reason 1 - Meditation Will Assist You In Calming
Reason 2 - Meditation Can Help You Lower Your Blood Pressure
Reason 3 - Meditation Can Help With Creativity
Reason 4 - Meditation Can Help With Learning

Chris has a Six Step Meditation Program called

Creating A Walking Weight Loss Program Of Your Own

It seems like every other magazine at the supermarket checkout has some sort of walking weight loss program.

You open up the magazine, and here’s somebody who lost 50 pounds, or 150 pounds, just by walking. Not only that, but on one of the pages, there’s a box of their walking schedule. A lot of times, a glance at the box shows that their schedule just won’t work for you. Either you don’t have the time they seem to have, or you KNOW you can’t walk that far, that fast without creating more business for the local coroner or heart surgeon.

You also ask yourself: “I hear so much about exercise AND nutrition being the key to weight loss, can I really lose that kind of weight just by walking?”

Let’s start with that question and move on to how to start your own walking weight loss program…if you still think it’s worth it, that is.

Alright, the first thing you are wondering about is whether you can really lose a bundle of weight just by walking.

There’s a short answer and a long answer. “Yes” and “Yes, but….”!

Walking is a wonderful exercise for health in general and weight loss in particular. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

A couple of great things about walking are that you have been doing it all your life, hence, little or no training is required, it requires little in the way of equipment, and you can work it into almost any schedule.

Walking for health, fitness, and/or weight loss in any combination is easy to get into. You put on your shoes, head out the door and then you…walk! Oh sure, there are some more complicated instructions if you really want to get into walking as a big deal, but most people just want to know how to get started and what it will do for them.

Well, walking regularly, in addition to helping you lose weight, will help improve your posture, strengthen your cardiovascular system, tune up your immune system, elevate your mood, and, as any good exercise program will, help decrease your risk for various cancers, high blood pressure, strokes, type II diabetes, and help ward off many of the events and changes associated with aging.

Now, that “walking for weight loss” program you read in the magazine might or might not work for you for several reasons. The good news, however, is that you can easily come up with your own tailor-made walking program which should work just as well.

Many times, the program, as you read about it in the magazine, is essentially the finished product. Whoever the article is about arrived at that program after some personal trial and error. It is also a program that fits into their schedule, and probably also fits into their personal state of fitness and fitness training choices. It’s not that this is bad, but it may make the program misleading or counterproductive for you.

The basic rule to begin tailoring any exercise program to your own needs is to start small or easy and build up. The magazine may be showing you a walking program that is too advanced for you. If this is so, it is not a problem. All you have to do is walk the distance and pace that is comfortable for you. As you reach levels where you are sure that you are comfortable with what you are doing, increase the distance slightly. You will also notice over time that your walks, while the same distance, are taking less time to complete. If this is happening regularly over a few days, increase the distance.

There is no set starting distance or duration of exercise that you should worry about if you are starting or building up. I know of many people who began their walking programs by only going a few feet. That was all they could do, but they did it. Eventually, walking for weight loss should last about 45 minutes, and you should do it between three and five days a week, although obviously five days would be best.

While the walking will produce the most benefits if done in one 45 minute session, you can do 15 minutes on your morning and afternoon break and 15 minutes at lunch (or 10, 10, and 25 - be creative) if you cannot find time to work it in any other way. At any level, you can make your walking more interesting by walking in different places, taking different routes, or walking with a group.

Once you are regularly walking 45 minutes a day, five days a week, you will want to challenge yourself a little more and try to cut your time. Don’t worry if you can’t bring it down much…or at all. The very effort will repay you. At this time, you may find yourself becoming interested in other walking related activities such as hiking or even other fitness activities.

This is good, because not only can you make your walking for weight loss program more interesting by substituting other activities such as swimming, rowing, biking or kayaking for the walking itself, but you will begin to feel capable of adding other fitness activities to your repertoire.

This is a valuable step because walking will only take you so far, and adding a strength and muscle training activity such as weight lifting could be an important addition to your exercise program. Walking, as great an overall exercise as it is for health, fitness, and weight loss, does not help much with upper body strength (what you use to carry the grandkids or a sack of groceries). Weight lifting, or other resistance training, will also help build lean muscle mass which will help boost your resting metabolic rate, allowing your body to burn more calories even when at rest.

A quick note on the term “weight lifting”. Many people will be worried about becoming “muscle bound” or “bulky”, and ladies especially may be concerned about becoming in some way less feminine if they train with weights. If the training is done properly, most people, ladies and gentlemen should mainly notice better health and increased strength and stamina as well as weight loss. The body builders, both male and female, seen in the magazines have chosen specific training routines and dedicated themselves to rigorous dietary practices and supplementation to achieve those particular results.

Finally, any exercise as part of a weight loss program is less about what exercise is chosen or how well it is performed and more about how regularly it is performed.

As always, regular moderate exercise, be it walking for weight loss or some other program, coupled with healthy eating practices will produce a trimmer, healthier body and open new doors to the enjoyment of life.

Donovan Baldwin is a freelance writer residing in Copperas Cove, Texas, and a University of West Florida alumnus. He is a member of Mensa and is retired from the U. S. Army after 21 years of service. In his career, he has held many managerial and supervisory positions. However, his main pleasures have long been writing, nature, health, and fitness. In the last few years, he has been able to combine these pleasures by writing poetry and articles on subjects such as health, fitness, nodiet4me.com/weightlifting/ weight lifting, yoga, weight loss, the environment, global warming, happiness, self improvement, and life. You can find a collection of his articles on nodiet4me.com/articledirectory health, fitness, diet, and weight loss at nodiet4me.com/articledirectory nodiet4me.com/articledirectory.

Finding Reliable Health Information Online

The Internet is the source of a wealth of information, and it’s getting easier and easier to by-pass the usual authorities and locate information on your own. But if you want to find reliable health information online, how much of this information can you trust? And when what you need to know is as important as your health how do you know which information is reliable and which information is best ignored?

The problems of self-diagnosis
The answer is not simple. Anyone using the Internet to get information about health is taking a risk, because self-diagnosis is dangerous. It is always best to see a professional when it comes to your health. But, if you want some background information, then by all means search the Internet but learn how to decipher the good and reliable from the bad and unreliable.

You can’t believe everything you see
Anyone can post information on the Internet. The people behind the information can be a serious expert or a wacky profiteer. How can you tell the difference?

Always start by being sceptical. If you come across someone who is suggesting you stop taking your prescribed medication and start taking his very expensive cure, then think twice before you buy. Read through the website carefully. Ask the opinions of friends and professionals. Search the Internet for similar suggestions. Search the Internet for stories of other sufferers who may be using the same “miracle cure.” If you can, contact some other people who have tried the “miracle cure.”

Start with government agencies
When you come across a health site try to understand who is behind it. If you don’t recognize the URL, then try to find the “About” or “Contact” page. If you still aren’t sure, try to make contact with them and ask them who they are.

In all cases it is recommended to begin with the most legitimate providers of reliable health and medical information, such as government agencies or university bodies. Most of these offer informational pamphlets and brochures.

Here is a list of legitimate American health sites:

American Cancer Society: cancer.org/

American Heart Association: americanheart.org/
American Medical Association: ama-assn.org/
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: cdc.gov/
Department of Health and Human Services: hhs.gov/
Food and Drug Administration: fda.gov/
Healthfinder: healthfinder.gov/
National Cancer Institute: nci.nih.gov/
National Institutes of Health: nih.gov/

Dylan Miles, journalist, and website builder, lives in Texas. He is the owner and co-editor of healthcenterpoint.com healthcenterpoint.com on which you will find a longer, more detailed version of this article.

Blood Pressure Cuffs

Inflatable cuffs, otherwise known as blood pressure cuffs are usually wrapped around a person’s upper left arm at about the same vertical height as the heart. The blood pressure cuff is manually inflated by squeezing a rubber bulb repeatedly until the body’s large artery is totally occluded, which causes a momentary stopping of the blood flow.

Blood pressure cuff and manometer are components making up a blood pressure meter, also known as sphygmomanometer. The inflatable cuff restricts the blood flow and the manometer measures the blood pressure.

Listening with the stethoscope placed near the brachial artery, the person measuring your blood pressure will slowly release the air in the cuff. As the blood in the artery begins to pulse, it creates a pounding or whooshing sound. The pressure the pressure at which the said sound started or is first heard is your systolic blood pressure. Then, the cuff pressure is will be released until the sound stops. The pressure where the sound was last heard is recorded as your diastolic blood pressure.

Children and adults having smaller-or-larger-than-average-sized arms may require special-sized cuff. They can be obtained on some pharmacies or from medical supplies company. Also, there are some adult-sized inflatable cuffs and none of the said sizes is considered as standard. Mis-cuffing or using blood pressure cuff with a wrong size can significantly cause inaccurate BP readings. Hence, it is important to measure your upper arm’s circumference in order for you to know the size of the cuff you need.

Adult or regular cuff are designed for average-sized persons while large adult cuff fits individuals that are plus-sized. For the super-sized persons or mid-sized individuals having big and heavy arms, adult thigh cuff is typically used. Even if the cuff rightly fits your arms, it doesn’t mean that it is the right cuff size for you. It is actually not the cuff size that matters but the length and the width of the bladder inside the cuff. You can only say that the cuff is perfect for you if the inflatable bladder found inside it has the right length and width for the size of your arm.

i-bloodpressure.com Blood Pressure provides detailed information on Blood Pressure, High Blood Pressure, Low Blood Pressure, Normal Blood Pressure and more. Blood Pressure is affiliated with e-BloodPressureMonitors.com Reliability of Blood Pressure Monitors.

Adult Dyslexia Testing- Why You Need to Get an Adult Dyslexia Testing

Dyslexia is now a recognized condition and people who suffered reading and learning disability can now put a name to it. If adult dyslexia testing was available years ago, proper treatment will be put in place to help sufferers cope with the disorder as early as possible and they can learn skills needed for them to realize their potential.

In the past, people don’t know about dyslexia. There are adults now with dyslexia who could have been taught how to cope with reading and learning disability when they were younger. But it is not too late to get help, undergo an adult dyslexia testing and get the necessary treatment to overcome the disabling effects of dyslexia.

There are two type of adult dyslexia testing, one is screening tests and the other is comprehensive tests. Screening tests are usually done in a group of patients or students to determine if they have reading disability. Collecting preliminary information on the nature of reading problem and determine if a complete diagnostic is needed. Comprehensive dyslexia text on the other hand is a thorough evaluation of the severity of the symptoms and the causes of dyslexia.

If you suspected that you have dyslexia it is important that you undergo a series of adult dyslexia testing to know the severity of your symptoms. Dyslexia is a genetic condition that needs to be tested for you to know the best way to treat and cope with your condition. Dyslexia if ignored may lead to the destructive effects of losing self confidence and low self-esteem. The disabling effects of dyslexia can be corrected and can be overcome if given the necessary treatment, thus adult dyslexia testing is important.

Did you know that you can conduct an adult dyslexia testing at home if you suspect that you have dyslexia? The first internet performance-based dyslexia test for adults is now available. Find out right now if you are showing any signs of dyslexia! This is the only dyslexia test that simply runs within your web-browser - no CD or delivery required. Visit squidoo.com/dyslexia-screening/ Adult Dyslexia Screening Online

To know more about health and beauty remedies visit great-discovery-beauty.blogspot.com/ Great Discovery-Health and Beauty

Gerry Restrivera writes informative articles on various subjects including Adult Dyslexia Testing: Why You Need to Get an Adult Dyslexia Testing. You are allowed to publish this article in its entirety provided that author’s name, bio and website links must remain intact and included with every reproduction.

How Diet Can Relieve IBS Symptoms

I meet a broad range of people seeking help with an equally wide range of disorders. Not surprisingly, many of them are suffering from what are termed ‘common’ disorders. These are conditions which seem particularly prevalent within the population, and are frequently chronic in nature. High on the list are Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), migraine, eczema and Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS).

By the time I see a client for the first time they have usually been told that nothing can be done to help them. Nutritional therapy offers an alternative approach.

Let us take IBS as an example.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome is the official name given to inflammation within the colon, when all other serious colon conditions have been ruled out. Patients may feel reassured, but debilitating discomfort can still seriously impede their lives. Symptoms can include severe diarrhoea, constipation, cramps, bloating or all of these

IBS symptoms can include severe diarrhoea, constipation, cramps, bloating or all of these. An inflamed colon often manifests in other ways too, such as fatigue and skin problems. Of course, every client must be treated individually, but a typical treatment would begin with drinking plenty of pure water every day, to help re-hydrate the colon.

Golden linseeds, soaked in water overnight could be taken each morning to help soothe inflammation of the Gastrointestinal Tract as well as adding bulk and aiding peristalsis. This is the term used to describe the natural rippling, wave-like movement of the colon.

Irregular movements may be felt as abdominal cramps, a common feature of IBS. Aloe Vera juice is an excellent internal anti-inflammatory and can be taken daily in water or juice.

Herbal teas such as peppermint, camomile and Irish Moss can also be very soothing.

Whilst diets are prepared in consultation with each client, I would normally recommend avoiding high concentrations of meat, dairy and wheat products, and any food or drink which noticeably worsens the symptoms.

Elizabeth Harfleet is a Manchester based nutritionist offering specialist advice about wellbeing-nutrition.com/treatment-for-ibs.htm” >how to relieve IBS symptoms through diet. Elizabeth also runs a wellbeing-nutrition.com/blog blog about IBS treatment.

Autism - The Range Of Function

Autism is a syndrome that comes from exhibiting certain combinations or patterns of behavior. Low functioning autism is the term used to describe autistic individuals that are not able to function or deal with every day life. Normal to high functioning autism is used to describe people that exhibit autistic behaviors that are in fact able to deal with real world activities and normal day to day life. Many people diagnosed with autism end up living in less then ideal conditions. Autism is a developmental disorder, that affects many areas of human function such as language, and the ability to communicate. It affects self-help skills, coordination, and the ability of an individual to learn.

Common Behaviors

There are several common traits that will aid in the diagnosis of autism. These traits include, the tendency to stay in isolation or be away from others. Autistic individuals will have a hard time making friends and will seem very awkward in social situations. An autistic person will very rarely look some else in the eye. They will be very naive and easily swayed or manipulated. They are often quite gullible. When an autistic person speaks they will often so so using very formal language. They may speak in a monotone and their use of body language may be very poor. (such as nodding “no” while saying “yes”. Autistic people will generally prefer common routines, they may be very literal in their use of language and may remember and recite a lot of detail without having a lot of understanding. They may also exhibit hyper- or hypo- sensitivity of the senses, have odd tastes in food and clothing as well as very fine or very grossly exaggerated motor coordination.
The more of the above traits an individual exhibits the more severe the case of autism is said to be. In some cases the above symptoms may become helpfully in certain disciplines like science, math, and engineering. These disciplines require a lot of memorization and many autistic’s are quite proficient in these subjects as a result.

Autism and ADHD?

There has been some discussion on about a genetic as well as behavioral link between ADHD and autism. Some experts believe that ADHD should be put considered as a form of autistic spectrum disorder. It is quite common to have children diagnosed with both ADHD and autism together. In children, the two disorders seem very much alike. As the individuals age, the disorders grow and become more apparent. Children with ADHD will often develop normal social skills and be able to communicate with their peers and with others. Autistic children however will continue to show symptoms even as they age. there is still much to learn about the autism spectrum. Even with current advances in technology and medical science, a cure for this condition remains a mystery. The more we study the sooner we will understand the disorder and be able to help those who are diagnosed with this condition.

Kerry Ng is a successful Webmaster and publisher of The Autism Info Blog. Click here for more helpful information on Autism: autisminfoblog.com autisminfoblog.com

The Keys to Ultimate Beach Fitness

Everyone’s talking about beach fitness. From women to men, everyone wants to look good when they’re lying out or hanging out in the water. But to get your body in bikini or swim trunk shape, you need to find exercises that really work and help you with getting in shape. Even if you don’t have a lot of time, however, you can succeed at beach fitness. Here are the toning tools and fitness tips you need.

The first thing you need to do for beach fitness is to figure out what your goals are. If you’re looking to lose weight, you may want to weight yourself and create a weight loss target for your body. You might also want to measure specific parts of your body – arms, waist, chest, thighs, hips, etc. – to keep a record of where you are losing weight even when the scale doesn’t say that you are. By creating clear goals, you will be able to assess your progress as you move along and motivate yourself when your willpower if flagging.

Next, you should start looking into exercises that will really target the areas that will be seen when you’re on the beach. Here are a few beach fitness exercises that you can use – no matter if you’re a man or a woman:

* Squats

* Calf raises or dips

* Crunches

* Bench presses

* Push-ups

While this list seems short, it targets all of the major muscle groups in the body. And if you’re pressed for time, it’s the perfect way to still tone your body.

But beach fitness doesn’t stop there. You also need to add a cardiovascular component that will help your body burn any excess fat and inches you might have. Try to include at least thirty minutes of heart pumping exercise three days a week. The national recommendation for weight loss is 45 to 60 minutes of cardio 5 to 6 times per week, but if you’re not ready for that kind of time commitment, slowly work your way up. When you do cardio exercise, you should be working hard enough that you are breathing heavily, but not so hard that you can not talk at all.

When it comes to beach fitness, you need to make sure that you’re eating a balanced diet that’s low in calories in addition to your workouts. While it might seem like you could eat more, you need to create a calorie deficit in order to lose the inches that you don’t want to show off on the beach.

Machelle Lee owns and operates The Invisible Gym in Santa Cruz, CA. Her mission is to inspire people to become physically active and enjoy the benefits of a balanced, healthy lifestyle. For more information and questions you can visit her website.