The goal is to engage different muscle groups and provide the body with more oxygen. Glucose is the main source of energy in the human body. During exercise, glucose is oxidized by oxygen and creates an additional supply of energy. The main benefit of cardio training is in maintaining the health of the cardiovascular system. With these exercises:

• the heart rate increases;
• blood circulation increases under the influence of physical exercises;
• improves ventilation of the lungs;
• the circulatory system is saturated with oxygen, which helps to burn fat.

By doing cardio, you train your main muscle – the heart, forcing it to work at an increased speed. By exercising regularly, you increase the endurance of your heart.

Important: the effect is achieved only with regular exercises with a large number of repetitions, which should be performed at low or medium intensity.

Strength training is a type of high-intensity physical activity in which exercises are performed with weights: dumbbells, kettlebells, barbells, expanders and other sports equipment. Movement occurs due to the oxidation of glucose in the absence of oxygen. During the strength training itself, not many calories are burned, but anabolic processes are stimulated – the synthesis of new muscle cells and tissues. Benefits of strength training:

• high energy consumption in a short period of time;
• the ability to not only burn fat, but also build muscle mass;
• the ability to increase muscle volume without increasing adipose tissue;
• increased explosive strength and muscle endurance.

Cardio training helps to lose weight and get rid of body fat, while strength training helps to increase muscle mass. If you want to stay in good physical shape, you need to combine both training processes. They can be combined in one workout or alternate cardio with strength during the week.

Cardio: before or after strength training

Cardio can be combined with strength training, carried out before or after strength exercises. It depends on your fitness level and your goal. It is important to consider that doing cardio before strength training can lead to fatigue, which will negatively affect strength training.

There are also restrictions on the duration of the cardio load at a time. When combining strength training with cardio, it is recommended to choose a scheme that matches the level of physical fitness.

• beginner: two workouts per week. Try to combine 30 minutes of strength and 30 minutes of cardio + one full-fledged cardio workout for 30 minutes;
• moderately trained athlete: three workouts per week (combine 30 minutes of strength and 30 minutes of cardio) + one full cardio workout for 30 minutes;
• well-conditioned athlete: six workouts per week (combine 40 minutes of strength training and 30 minutes of cardio).

You don’t have to stick to one single sport or limit yourself to working out in the gym. Muscles quickly adapt to a monotonous load, and progress is inhibited. Try different sports: squash can be used as cardio, Bikram yoga can replace boring stretching, and CrossFit can be used for strength training.

Trampolining is a recreational activity as well as a competitive Olympic sport in which athletes perform acrobatic exercises while jumping on a trampoline. Competitions may include simple jumps or more complex combinations. (more…)

Prolonged cough, regular constipation, pregnancy, rapid weight gain, dramatic weight loss – what do these completely different conditions have in common?

What unites them is that all of them can cause diastasis of the rectus abdominis muscles.  

What is this disease, what is its danger? How to determine if there is diastasis and if so, what stage of the disease? And when do you need to urgently make an appointment with a doctor, and when can you correct the situation on your own, with the help of special exercises to train the muscles of the pelvic floor? 

Diastasis – briefly about the essence of the problem and risk groups

Diastasis of the anterior abdominal muscles (ADM) is a divergence of the connective tissue in the front of the abdomen – the white line. The process is similar to a seam on a garment – when it diverges, the pieces do not fit together. When the collagen stretches, the same thing happens with the white line – it diverges. 

The development of abdominal diastasis is associated with the peculiarities of the muscular-ligamentous apparatus in the abdomen. On the right and left sides of the navel are two vertical muscles. Between themselves, they are connected by a white line – a strip of tendon tissue. The white color is due to the absence of muscle fibers and a large amount of strong collagen protein.

Under the influence of various factors, the connective tissue is stretched and thinned, and the tendon strip is not able to keep the vertical muscles in the correct position, due to which the distance between them increases. 

Normally, the width of the white line is 0.5-2.2 cm. If the distance between the left and right rectus muscles is greater, this is classified as diastasis. 

PDM is submissive to all ages and both sexes. In women, the risk of developing diastasis is associated mainly with pregnancy and childbirth. In men, DPM develops with sharp fluctuations in weight due to a decrease in the elasticity of muscle tissues. Another cause of rectus diastasis in men is excessive stress during exercises to strengthen the anterior abdominal wall, which causes increased pressure in the abdominal region. In addition to the above reasons, diastasis can be the result of dysplasia – a congenital weakness of the connective tissue. 

What is dangerous diastasis

DPM is not a fatal disease, but its consequences can be extremely unpleasant – from urinary incontinence and back pain to discomfort during sexual activity. 

Of particular concern are cases when a hernia of the abdomen joins the diastasis of the rectus abdominis muscles and there is a risk of infringement and necrosis of the intestine or adipose tissue. This condition requires emergency surgery. And if a small part of the intestine comes out between the stretched fibers of the white line, the removal of the strangulated area entails lifelong problems. 

How to determine if there is diastasis

In order to palpate to determine whether the distance between the two sections of the rectus abdominis has increased, lie on your back and bend your knees. Tightening the press, raise your head and evaluate the distance of the divergence of the connective tissue. Usually, with diastasis of the abdomen, the fingers seem to “fall through” into the hollow between the rectus muscles.

Diastasis of the 2nd and 3rd stages is a reason to consult a doctor. Given the progressive nature of the disease, one should not hope that it will disappear on its own. For those who have the 1st stage of diastasis of the rectus abdominis muscles, it is enough to follow the simple recommendations of specialists: 

• stabilize weight;
• eat rationally;
• observe the water regime;
• strengthen the muscles of the pelvic floor with special exercises.

The best and safest exercises for diastasis

Vacuum or abdominal retraction

Inhale deeply (try to bring the anterior abdominal wall as close to the spine as possible), hold your breath for 30 seconds. Take a few short breaths and return to the starting position. Perform first lying down, a few days later – from a position on all fours, and only then – standing. 

One of the simplest and most effective pelvic floor exercises to strengthen the abdominals and improve the recovery of deformed tissues.

Glute Bridge

It is performed from a supine position, legs hip-width apart, rest their feet on the floor. Raise the pelvis, squeeze the buttocks at the top, lower the pelvis. Exercise for training the muscles of the pelvic floor is performed at a calm, measured pace, without jerks and sudden movements. It tones the pelvic and gluteal muscles.

“Cat”

Standing on all fours, lean on the palms of outstretched hands. Exhale, pulling in the stomach so that it approaches the spinal column while tilting the head and rounding the back. Inhale as you continue to draw in your belly. 

Exercise is not only effective for diastasis of the abdomen, but also improves posture, tones the abdominal muscles.

Effective workouts to strengthen the muscles of the pelvic floor

Like any other muscle tissue, the pelvic floor muscles respond well to proper physical activity. But if you perform exercises with diastasis haphazardly, the effect of such exercises will, at best, be barely noticeable. You need a training program specifically designed for a specific task.

Pain is one of the common symptoms that accompany menstruation. It is so common that many consider its appearance inevitable and dutifully endure discomfort without seeking medical help, even if it prevents them from working normally, spending time with friends, or doing what they love.

Why can menstruation be painful?

Pain during menstruation can be very strong: to assess the intensity of pain, doctors came up with a special scale, according to which 0 means no pain at all, and 4 means very severe pain.

Describing the pain experienced by women is quite difficult. In one of the publications that became the subject of active discussion, a male doctor mentioned that “this pain is almost the same as that experienced by patients with a heart attack.” Such a comparison caused a lot of comments and discussions in social networks and on the pages of various media: for example, gynecologist Jen Gunter wrote that in most cases, menstruation is much more painful than the sensations of a heart attack, and besides, she recalled that up to 40% of women and completely suffer a heart attack asymptomatically.

Pain during menstruation – dysmenorrhea – may be associated with the peculiarities of physiology, the specific structure and location of the pelvic organs. However, they can often be caused by inflammatory diseases affecting the reproductive or urinary system, disorders of the gastrointestinal tract.

Women’s educational program: the most important thing about menopause