Almost everyone feels a little&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/back-pain/article/signs-back-pain-more-serious" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">back pain</a>&nbsp;every now and then. Sometimes it&rsquo;s just a nuisance, but often, the ache can impact your day-to-day activities. The good news is that by doing conditioning exercises that strengthen your core muscles, you can minimize the severity of that pain.

Your core muscles are those that make up your abdominal midsection and include your abs, glutes,&nbsp;obliques, and lower back. In addition to helping prevent back pain, building a solid core can encourage weight loss, improve posture, and increase flexibility.&nbsp;

There are many ways to achieve a strong core, including doing popular abdominal exercises like crunches, reverse crunches, and leg raises. But one of the most beneficial moves that engages many parts of the body, as well as your core, is also one of the easiest to do: the plank.

How planking helps your back&hellip; 
Not only does planking strengthen your core and back muscles, it can also help you reach and maintain certain&nbsp;yoga poses&nbsp;that further strengthen your body. In fact, the exercise is used in many spine conditioning programs because it helps keep back muscles stable, thereby preventing pain and strain.

This simple workout also strengthens and helps pull your shoulder blades up and back, improving your posture. Ultimately, engaging the shoulder muscles also improves your flexibility and range of motion.

&hellip;And the rest of your body 
Since the diaphragm is activated while doing exercises that work the abdominal muscles, planking can improve your respiratory system and breathing patterns, as well. Additionally, this exercise, as with almost any <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/types-exercise/article/health-experts-urge-move-more-sit-less" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">physical activity</a>, can reduce fatigue, anxiety, and stress, all while improving alertness and concentration.&nbsp;

Proper planking form 
The simple plank does not require any fancy equipment, and it&rsquo;s easy to do.

Start by lying face down on a mat. Keeping your back straight, lift your body off the mat into a position similar to the &ldquo;up&rdquo; part of a pushup, supporting your weight on your toes and your forearms (instead of your hands). The key is to keep your body in a straight line from your head to your toes. Maintain this position without movement&mdash;and without your butt and hips sagging to the mat&mdash;for 30 seconds. Then rest for another minute. Repeat this up to 5 times throughout the course of the day.

As with any exercise, sometimes you need to make your repetitions less intense, particularly when you&rsquo;re starting out. So if 30 seconds isn&#39;t sustainable, don&#39;t strain yourself. Instead, try holding a plank for 15 seconds. When you&#39;re comfortable with that, gradually increase the time you hold the position. In this way, you can build the strength and endurance you need to handle tougher sessions down the road.

You may see challenges or contests on social media calling for people to hold their plank pose for as long as they possibly can. A word to the wise: Holding a plank longer isn&rsquo;t always better.

Planking for an extended period could cause your form to deteriorate, which can put pressure on your back instead of strengthening it. Stick with intervals that are 30 seconds long. For an added challenge, try lifting your legs, one at a time, off the ground and holding them suspended for a few seconds each.

This 30-Second Exercise Could Save Your Back

In Rush Hour 3, Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker race&mdash;and stumble&mdash;across Paris trying to protect a French woman from the menace of The Triad (a criminal organization out of Hong Kong). But the danger they fear from The Triad is nothing compared to the dangers of what the Journal of the American College of Orthopedic Surgeons identifies as the <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/fitness-exercise/medical-conditions-make-up-female-athletic-triad">Female Athlete Triad</a>.

Symptoms include low energy availability or too few calories, menstrual cycle abnormalities (40% of female athletes have irregular periods) and low bone mineral density, setting up young female athletes for bone loss, stress injuries and fractures.&nbsp;

If you have one symptom, the likelihood that you&rsquo;ll sustain a bone injury rises 15-21%; two symptoms boost it to 21-30%; and with all three it&rsquo;s a whopping 29-50%. Girls and women participating in athletics that demand intense weight control, such as gymnastics and ice skating, are particularly vulnerable.

When Serena Williams trained her way to her sixth Wimbledon championship you can bet she didn&rsquo;t risk low energy or brittle bones! And neither should you.

<ul>
	<li>Eat sufficient calories so your body fat never goes below 22-12%.</li>
	<li>Get fuel from bone-building foods rich in calcium, magnesium and vitamin D: green, leafy veggies, D-enriched whole grain cereal, low-fat dairy, almonds, salmon and tuna.</li>
	<li>Have your vitamin D level checked and ask about taking a vitamin D3 supplement to help your body absorb calcium. Take half a multivitamin morning and night.</li>
</ul>

Now go play hard&mdash;try 40 jumps a day to build hip bone strength.&nbsp;

Medically reviewed in December 2019.

The Female Athlete Triad: Who Is At Risk?

What do football Hall-of-Fame running back Jim Brown, baseball Hall-of-Fame pitcher Sandy Kofax and NBA championship player and coach Pat Riley have in common? They all played multiple sports. Jim Brown played lacrosse, basketball and ran track at Syracuse University; Sandy Kofax played basketball and baseball at the University of Cincinnati; and basketballer Pat Riley was drafted as a wide receiver by the Dallas Cowboys. These elite athletes are living proof that playing multiple sports in your youth can keep you in your chosen game longer and in better health.

And that&rsquo;s confirmed by a study titled &ldquo;The Effects of Playing Multiple High School Sports on National Basketball Association Players&rsquo; Propensity for Injury and Athletic Performance&rdquo; that focused on 237 athletes. Researchers from UCSF found those players who participated in several sports before turning pro were <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/sports-injuries/can-kids-overuse-injuries-sport">less likely to have major injuries</a> (25 percent versus 43 percent) and were able to play more years than even the best of their single-sport peers.

For parents of high school athletes, the message is loud and clear:

<ul>
	<li>Encourage your child to play multiple sports.</li>
	<li>Follow the advice of the American Academy of Pediatrics and avoid single-sport specialization until your teen is 15 to 16.</li>
	<li>In addition, encourage your young athletes to take at least three one-month breaks from their sport during the year. They can remain active in other activities during this time.</li>
	<li>Encourage young athletes to take one to two days off per week to <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/sports-injuries/what-types-sports-injuries-children">decrease chances of injury</a>.</li>
</ul>

Medically reviewed in January 2020.

Ways to Prevent Sports Injuries in Kids and Teens

Sometimes it&#39;s hard to know how much weight is enough when you&#39;re a beginner trying to start a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/strength-training/article/reasons-why-women-weight-train">strength-training program</a>.&nbsp;

Rule of thumb: Don&#39;t start with anything higher than 5 lbs. But are 5-lb weights enough to make a difference? The answer is yes. Starting with lighter weights will help protect you from injury. Ultimately, you want a weight you can lift at least 8 times, but no more than 12. Adjust the weight as you get stronger.&nbsp;

Train to threshold&nbsp; 
Here&#39;s the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/static/realage">RealAge</a>&nbsp;approach to strength training: Do two sets of 8 to 12 repetitions, resting for about 45 seconds between sets. The muscles worked should feel pretty tired at the end of the set, as if they can&#39;t lift the weight one more time. This is called training to threshold, and it makes your&nbsp;RealAge&nbsp;younger!&nbsp;

Prime your posture&nbsp; 
Form, too, is important for beginners starting weight training. Your head should be in line with your spine, and you should have a natural arch in your lower back. Don&#39;t lock your knees. Keep your wrists straight and firm. Pull your shoulder blades slightly toward each other and down. Lift your chest up and out. You should be able to steadily lift the weight while keeping your form. And remember to breathe! This helps keep your blood pressure in check.&nbsp;

Medically reviewed in January 2020. Updated in February 2021.&nbsp;

Strength Training Tips for Beginners

With beach weather just around the corner, who isn&#39;t thinking about shedding a few pounds and tackling that muffin top?&nbsp;So we hit the floor and bang out some crunches, but our pants still fit a bit snugger than we would like. What gives?&nbsp;According to <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/user/obi-obadike">Obi Obadike</a>, a celebrity trainer named by Sharecare as one of the Top 10 Social Healthmakers in Fitness, it takes more than a few crunches to make a difference.&nbsp;

&quot;Interval training is a great way to slim down and build fitness,&quot; Obadike says. &quot;It gives you bursts of high-intensity exercise followed by a recovery period. And research shows that you continue burning calories for up to 48 hours after a workout.&quot; Obadike credits sprinting (going back to his days as a top sprinter at Cal State Fullerton, no less)&nbsp;as one of the exercises that&#39;s given him the six-pack abs for which he is famous, gracing the cover of many a fitness magazine. But even if you&#39;re not a sprinter (most of us aren&#39;t!) it doesn&#39;t mean you can&#39;t burn off some of that belly fat. Here are his top three must-dos for working those abs:

1. Cardio:&nbsp;Do a combination of fast walking/running outside or on a treadmill. First, do a fast walk at a speed of 3.0 mph for 30 seconds, then pick up the pace and run at a speed of 6.0 to 7.0 mph for 30 seconds. When you&#39;re walking for 30 seconds, that is your recovery and rest period.&nbsp;

Success secret:&nbsp;Do the walk/run combination for 20 to 25 minutes <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/fitness-exercise/is-minimum-exercise-remain-fit">four times per week</a> to see results.

2. Leg Lifts: Lie on your back with your arms next to you. Your head remains on the ground.&nbsp;Raise your legs about 6 to 12 inches off the ground. Your legs should be slightly bent to help keep your lower back from arching up. If your back still arches, bend your legs more. Hold this position for at least 30 seconds. Do three or four Leg Lifts twice a week. If this is too challenging, hold the position for 10 to 15 seconds and do two Leg Lifts per week. But remember, the only way to get stronger and <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/belly-fat/article/why-your-belly-fat-wont-budge">flatten your tummy</a> is to challenge yourself to increase the time and number.&nbsp;

Success secret: Keep breathing! Holding your breath while doing this exercise only makes it harder to maintain good form.

3. Sit-ups: Lie on the floor with knees bent, feet flat. Cross your arms over your chest so that each hand rests on the opposite shoulder. Slowly raise your torso off the ground until your elbows touch your thighs. Your back should be straight at a 90-degree angle to the floor; your head should be in line with your back (don&rsquo;t let it flop backward or forward). This is the end position of the sit-up. Slowly roll back to the starting position, arms still crossed. If you have trouble keeping your feet on the floor, try hooking them under something stable, like a couch, or ask a workout buddy to hold your feet down. Start with one to two sets of 10 reps each, twice a week, and work up to three to four sets of 20 reps twice a week. As your core muscles strengthen, you&#39;ll be able to increase your reps and keep your feet flat without assistance.&nbsp;

Success secret: When performing this exercise, be sure you pull your ab muscles in tightly and don&rsquo;t hold your breath. Exhale as you come up, inhale as you roll down.

&ldquo;Anybody can obtain the body they desire, they just need to be willing to put in the work and have the discipline to do what is necessary to reach their goal,&rdquo; says Obadike. &ldquo;Some people have to work harder than others due to body type, age and genetics, but it can be done.&rdquo;

3 Exercises for a Flatter Belly

Lace 'em up and enjoy the many benefits of walking, including less stress, a lower risk of heart problems and much more.

The Simple (and Free!) Way You Can Immediately Improve Your Health

Lose weight—and go easy on your joints—with these aerobic exercises.

7 Low-Impact Workouts That Torch Major Calories

Are you getting the nutrients you need to power through your exercise routine? Or do you sometimes feel like you&#39;re running on empty? Just like an automobile, your body will perform more smoothly and efficiently given the right type of fuel and the proper fluid levels.

So, if you find yourself huffing and puffing to make it through the final mile of your run, or if you simply want to feel better when you exercise, take a closer look at what you&#39;re offering your body as sustenance. Are you giving yourself the high-octane, performance-enhancing fuel it deserves?

The following quiz can clue you in to whether your diet is making exercise more difficult and, if so, what changes you need to make to power yourself up.

1. To help you maintain an active lifestyle, where should most of your daily calories come from? 
a. Carbohydrates 
b. Proteins 
c. Fats

The correct answer is: 
Carbohydrates. Carbs are the body&#39;s main source of energy and an important part of a healthful diet. They help keep you energized by maintaining blood sugar levels, and play a key role in helping your body recover after exercise. Try to get 50 to 65 percent of your calories from carbohydrates.

Most people get enough carbs from their regular diet, but they may not be the best kind. For healthy amounts of <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/diabetes/article/good-bad-carb-know-difference">beneficial carbohydrates</a>, choose fresh fruits, root vegetables (carrots, beets, sweet potatoes, etc.), and whole-grain products, such as brown rice, barley and whole wheat bread.

2. True or false? To stay healthy and physically fit, it&#39;s best to eat a strict low-fat diet. 
a. True 
b. False

The correct answer is: 
False. Your body needs fat. And research suggests there&#39;s no health or fitness benefit to restricting your fat intake to less than 15 percent of your daily calories.

In addition, fats provide essential fatty acids and vitamins. So, aim to get 25 percent to 35 percent of your calories from healthy fats&mdash;preferably the heart-healthy unsaturated fats that come from fish, olive oil, nuts and avocados.

3. It&#39;s the end of the workday and half an hour before your 45-minute circuit-training class. Which snack should you grab to help get you through? 
a. That&#39;s easy&mdash;a protein bar 
b. The candy bar I keep in the glove compartment for emergencies 
c. A handful of trail mix or a granola bar 
d. A meatball sub from the corner deli

The correct answer is: 
Trail mix or a granola bar. A good source of healthy, energy-boosting carbohydrates, trail mixes and granola bars also are typically easily digested. And they have a little bit of fat and <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/diet-nutrition/article/how-much-protein-you-need">protein for slow-release energy</a>, making them the perfect snack to sustain you through a medium-length, high-intensity workout.

The bottom line 
You know that what you eat affects your overall health, and that some foods are better for you than others. It&#39;s really no different when you&#39;re eating for exercise. In fact, if you focus on a balanced diet and keep your blood sugar levels steady by having healthful meals and nutritious snacks throughout the day, you probably already have a good energy store for your workout.

Your main goal is to get the right amount of energy&mdash;quick release, slow release or both&mdash;to power you through your routine. It&rsquo;s also important to get enough water to replace what you lose through sweating. And last but not least, you&rsquo;ll need to <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/healthy-recipes-healthy-meals/slideshow/fuel-for-fitness-recipe-center#slide-9">refuel after your workout</a>.

Medically reviewed in December 2019. Updated in August 2020.

Eat Your Way to a Better Workout

When we think of muscles, we think of Popeye, not twiggy Olive Oyl. But building and maintaining muscle mass is even more important for women. We all normally lose some muscle each year as we age. Aerobic exercise, yoga and dance help to increase strength, but they don&rsquo;t challenge the muscles enough to fight this natural muscle loss.

You might think that women need a different approach to strength training, but in fact, the same exercises work for both men and women, according to research at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, published in the July 2013 issue of the Journals of Gerontology: Biological Sciences. Following a small group of 70-year olds, who trained over six months, the team found that a standard program did just as much good for both men and women. You can build strength and improve your balance in as little as two 15-20 minute sessions a week.

There are six reasons to make strength-training part of your routine:

1. Strength training prevents falls 
Strength training can improve your balance, and therefore help you avoid slips and falls.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that one out-of-four older people fall each year, and one out-of-five of these falls causes a serious injury&mdash;including not just broken bones but head trauma.

A serious fall and its aftermath, which can include surgery and a stay in rehab, can often be a trigger for needing to move out of your home. Even if you&rsquo;re not hurt, a tumble may discourage you from being active, setting off a bad cycle in which your muscles get weaker and therefore put you at risk for another fall.

You may feel too young to worry about falling, but it&rsquo;s never too soon to rebuild or maintain your strength.

2. Builds your bones 
If you do fall, strength training will build up your muscles so that it will be less likely that you break a bone. As we age, our bones become more likely to break. Working out with resistance bands, weights or doing resistance exercises with your own bodyweight will make your bones denser and therefore stronger. A study from a Norwegian team published in the October 2013 issue of the Journal of Strength &amp; Conditioning Research found that squats built bone mass in a group of post-menopausal women with deteriorating bones.

3. Improves your overall health 
Strength training can reduce the symptoms of arthritis, diabetes, osteoporosis, back pain and depression, according to the CDC. Leaner, more muscular bodies are healthier all around.

4. Supports heart health 
The American Heart Association recommends strength training as therapy for patients who have had a heart attack or stroke. The Dutch study found that muscle-building improved blood sugar and cholesterol numbers dramatically. It can also reduce your resting heart rate and work off stress and tension.

5. Makes movement more enjoyable 
The stronger you are, the more fun and easier it is to move. As you grow stronger, you&rsquo;ll find that you can hike or swim longer or faster, or participate in activities that once seemed out of reach. Running around after grandkids is easier when you feel confident about your balance and know your legs can handle a variety of movements and activities because you did squats the day before.

6. Builds confidence 
You won&rsquo;t look like Popeye, but I bet strength-training will feel like a grand dose of spinach. It is one of the most foolproof efficient ways to build confidence. Stick with your program for at least four to six weeks and I predict you&rsquo;ll be surprised by how much better and stronger you feel.

Strength training important, but it doesn&rsquo;t have to be time-consuming.&nbsp;

This content was originally published on <a href="https://www.ornish.com/zine/women-six-reasons-why-weight-training-supports-your-health/" target="_blank">Ornish Living</a>.

Medically reviewed in January 2019.

6 Reasons Why Women Should Weight Train

Sure, strength training and aerobic exercise can help you work off those extra calories. But does being active and lifting weights increase hunger? Well, it might help you say no to those extra calories in the first place.&nbsp;

That&#39;s just what a small 2008 study showed. People who lifted weights for 90 minutes&mdash;or ran on a treadmill for 60&mdash;felt less hungry than those who didn&#39;t work out.&nbsp;

When your heart is pumping&nbsp; 
In fact, a good workout could suppress your appetite for as long as two&nbsp;hours afterward. Researchers speculate that the effect could have something to do with ghrelin&mdash;an appetite-stimulating hormone. Exercise seems to suppress it. But to see the benefits of strength training and appetite reduction you may have to do both strength training and cardio. &nbsp;

Other hunger hitters&nbsp; 
Give cravings the heave-ho with these two other I-feel-full, mind-over-matter tricks: &nbsp;

<ul>
	<li>Drink a glass of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/wellness-healthy-living/slideshow/ways-drink-more-water">water</a>. Really! Some people find it helps them eat less. &nbsp;</li>
	<li>Eat an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/nutrition-diet/article/news-eggs-risk-heart-disease-death">egg</a>&nbsp;for breakfast. It could help you bypass junk-food cravings later in the day. &nbsp;</li>
</ul>

Medically reviewed in December 2019. Updated in February 2021.&nbsp;

Is Weight Lifting a Natural Appetite Suppressant?

Is winter weather disrupting your walking or running routine? Try snowshoeing or cross-country skiing. Both offer all-body and aerobic workouts with many benefits.

Inexpensive and convenient 
Most communities that enjoy regular snow have ski and snowshoe trails. Once you know the sport well, you can take your own equipment to any nearby golf course or park&mdash;both snowshoes and cross-country skis are lightweight and inexpensive compared to downhill skis.

In many regions, you can drive to a cross-country ski and snowshoe center, or to downhill ski resorts or state parks. A full-service center, however, will offer lessons, groomed trails and equipment, all for much less than you would spend at a downhill resort.

Nature enhances your health 
Many snowshoe or cross-country trails are hiking trails that will bring you up close to trees, and frozen ponds and streams. Being outdoors in a natural setting enhances the mental lift you get from exercising, according to a&nbsp;study&nbsp;by Stanford researchers published in the June, 2015 issue of&nbsp;Landscape and Urban Planning.

Get a full-body workout 
Snowshoeing and cross-country skiing will help you work your muscles in a different way. Snowshoeing is easier to learn than cross-country skiing, but both are gentle on the knees, while strengthening your legs, and helping to improve your balance. Using your poles makes it a full body workout and increases your calorie burn per hour.

Follow these common sense principles to stay safe and comfortable:

Get a lesson. Both sports are relatively easy to learn, but do require that you move differently than you would on a city street. Downhill skiers, keep in mind: Cross-country skiing will require that your body unlearn some of its habits, so you might have a harder time on your first day than someone who has never skied before.

Get properly fitted. As a beginner, try different styles of boots when you rent and see what you prefer before you invest. Every time you go out, take the time to be sure your equipment is adjusted to your needs.

Start slow!&nbsp;Don&rsquo;t blaze your own path on a golf course until you really know what you&rsquo;re doing. Even if you&rsquo;re an ace hiker, don&rsquo;t assume you can spend as much time on snowshoes or skis as you would spend hiking in the summer. You&rsquo;ll be using your muscles differently.

Maintain your temperature. On cold days, always bring a buddy. You&rsquo;ll need a synthetic layer close to the skin to draw sweat away, then a layer of warm fleece or wool. Put a waterproof windbreaker on last. Stay away from cotton, even socks, because it can get wet.

If you have asthma, it might be triggered in cold weather. Wear a facemask, scarf or balaclava to cover your mouth; exhaling will moisten the air you breathe in.

While you&rsquo;re moving, notice if you&rsquo;re getting hot. Take off your hat first; a large percentage of body heat is lost through your scalp

Bring water and energy boosts.&nbsp;Drink before you&rsquo;re thirsty. Dehydration from sweat can cause fatigue. Nuts and dark chocolate are good choices for on-the-go snacks.

Keep track of the time and nightfall. Unlike downhill ski centers, most snowshoe and cross-country centers don&rsquo;t light the trails at night.

Want more? Have new articles from Ornish-certified clinical team members sent <a href="https://www.ornish.com/ornish-living/subscribe-to-ornish-living/" target="_blank">straight to your inbox</a>!

Medically reviewed in July 2018.

Winter Fitness Alternative for Walkers and Runners

The key to a longer, healthier life may be just a few steps away.

Walk Your Way to Better Health

If you enjoy jogging, walking, cycling or other warmer-weather activities, it can be difficult to keep up your regular fitness routine when a serious wind chill or snow storm makes it impossible to get outside for a good workout. Fortunately, there are many indoor activities from jumping rope to swimming, strength training, yoga, aerobics classes and using the treadmill, etc., that can take the place of exercising outdoors&mdash;keeping you fit, happy, looking good and getting healthier until spring breezes arrive!

To encourage you to embrace <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/types-exercise/exercise-winter-weather">exercise during winter</a> (inside or outside), here&rsquo;s some info that&rsquo;ll help you gain the body-and-soul benefits that come from daily physical activity. Psst! They&rsquo;ll give you a younger <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/static/realage">RealAge</a>, a better sex life, improved stress management, less wrinkles, a stronger ticker, plus you guard yourself against diabetes, some cancers, depression and a roster of maladies from constipation to insomnia.

Outdoor exercising benefits in winter 
One 2011 study found that &ldquo;compared with exercising indoors, exercising in natural environments was associated with greater feelings of revitalization and positive engagement, decreases in tension, confusion, anger and depression and increased energy.&rdquo; The researchers did caution there weren&rsquo;t a lot of high quality studies on the topic, but you know how great it makes you feel!

Outdoor exercising risks in winter 
To help you feel more positive about exercising indoors in the winter, here are some potential health <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/types-exercise/how-can-exercise-safely-winter">hazards associated with outdoor winter exercising</a>:

<ul>
	<li>Cold air can be hard on the lungs and cardiovascular system (not smart if you have asthma, heart disease, poor circulation or Reynaud&rsquo;s disease).</li>
	<li>Falling on icy patches can cause serious injury.</li>
	<li>If you get too cold, hypothermia is a 911 emergency. It happens when the body automatically starts shuttling blood from your skin to your vital organs to keep them warm. It&rsquo;s signaled by shivering, slurred speech, lack of coordination and fatigue.</li>
	<li>Frostbite is always a danger. Frostbite is a medical concern; tissue can be damaged permanently. A wind chill of minus 16.6 F can cause frostbite in less than 30 minutes.</li>
	<li>Cold air traps particulate matter and other pollutants close to the ground, so air quality can suffer (air pollution is worse in Denver and Beijing in the winter, for example). Check www.airnow.gov for air quality in your area before you head out.</li>
</ul>

Benefits of indoor exercise in winter 
Even if you&rsquo;re hesitant to try exercising indoors, you&rsquo;ll be impressed by the many benefits (and variety) doing so can bring. Some benefits include:

<ul>
	<li>Think about how much less time it takes if you&rsquo;re at home, where you&rsquo;re going to do that 45-minute yoga routine or sweat along with a Jillian Michaels video.</li>
	<li>At a gym, you get the reinforcement and socialization that comes with going to a designated place, for a specific committed workout.</li>
	<li>And at home or the gym, it&rsquo;s so easy to mix up your routines. One day you can jog or walk the treadmill or ride the stationary bike. The next, you&rsquo;re doing some aerobics or a stretch class, and after that there&rsquo;s strength training with bands or hand weights! Never boring&mdash;and great for avoiding overuse injuries. Outdoors, chances are you do the same thing, day after day.</li>
</ul>

Risks of indoor exercising in winter 
Exercising means you&rsquo;re breathing more often and more deeply than usual and taking more air into your lungs, so if air quality is poor, you may breathe in more harmful pollutants. Also breathing through your mouth (it&rsquo;s only natural when you exercise) doesn&rsquo;t filter air like breathing through your nose does. More pollutants enter your airways and smaller inhaled particles can get deeper into your lungs. The more pollutants you breathe in, the more likely you are to experience their negative effects.

So, make sure you work out in well-ventilated, low-pollution environments&mdash;whether at home or the gym. Everything from animal hairs to dust mites and particulate matter from a fireplace or wood-burning stove can provoke allergies and asthma. And remember, when heading outdoors, pay attention to air quality reports.

Medically reviewed in December 2019.

Winter Fitness: Indoor vs. Outdoor Exercising

Mark Wahlberg, Jennifer Aniston and The Rock all get up in the wee hours to do their daily exercise routine. And while plenty of research supports the added benefits of rising with or before the sun to sweat (it may lower blood pressure and it definitely provides an <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/stress-reduction/article/stop-morning-stress-with-healthy-habits">endorphin boost</a> that puts you in the right mood for the day), research suggests short, intense bursts of exercise in the evening are also beneficial.

A small study published in Experimental Physiology tracked 11 middle-aged men who tried out a 30-minute routine of six 1-minute, high-intensity cycling sprints with 4-minute periods of rest. They completed these exercises in the morning (6 to 7 a.m.), afternoon (2 to 4 p.m.) and evening (7 to 9 p.m.). The researchers wanted to see how the timing of exercise could impact sleep and appetite, so they measured these variables through hormone levels in blood and various sleep tests.

Due to its small and limited sample of participants, the study had some limitations. However, it does provide insight into the type of exercise that you can do if the only time you have to work out is in the evening.

Turns out high-intensity evening exercise didn&rsquo;t disrupt participants&rsquo; sleep and it reduced their hunger, measured by the level of ghrelin, the appetite-stimulating hormone. So if you&rsquo;re only able to find time late in the day to work out, you might try this kind of <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/types-of-exercise-programs/article/workout-tip-up-the-intensity">high-intensity interval training</a>. And remember&mdash;get at least 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week for cardiovascular benefits.

Medically reviewed in December 2019.

When Should You Exercise?

Have you ever found yourself driving mindlessly home and when you arrive home you can&rsquo;t recall how you got there? You were so wrapped up in your thoughts that one part of the mind acted out of habit to get you home safely without your awareness of what path you took. Our habits are pretty strong that way.

When the mind is left to itself, it will follow a habit like a groove that it keeps returning to. This can be really wonderful if the habit is a helpful one, but what happens when the habit is something that is not helpful &ndash; and maybe even hurtful? It&rsquo;s our habits that can both support and limit us. A good habit can ensure our health and well-being while a bad habit can turn us away from the things that help us thrive and grow.

Training the mind and body 
Yoga training can help us create new habits. Yoga is much more than just fitness. The practices of yoga help to train the mind. There has been a lot of research to show how yoga can <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28384004" target="_blank">reduce stress, lower blood pressure</a>&nbsp;and it can&nbsp;even <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4428135/" target="_blank">change the brain</a> and the grey matter in the brain. Yoga also teaches concentration and adaptability, which can help us to turn away from what isn&rsquo;t healthy and turn toward what is nourishing and helpful. With the help of yoga, we can create new habits and form new grooves in the mind. Changing the mind is similar to a making a path in the woods. The new path takes a while to take shape by repeatedly walking over the same area until the clearing emerges. It requires a reshaping and retraining of our habitual pathways to make changes.

Changing the repetitive path 
For a long time, I used to like to snack at night. When I realized that it was not helping me sleep, I made a conscious effort to change the habit. The minute I would sit down in the evenings, just the act of sitting on the couch would trigger my &ldquo;I want a snack&rdquo; response. If I wasn&rsquo;t mindful, I would unconsciously walk into the kitchen and get something. The mind is tricky. If we let it lead us without consciously shifting, it will take us down the same path over and over.

I had to remember my intention to want to sleep better and then enlist a new pathway by replacing the old pattern with something new. So instead I would add lemon and honey to some hot water and do a short breathing practice. In time my craving for a snack disappeared and was replaced with lemon/honey water and some breathing, a much more supportive way to move into sleep at night.

Training the mind to be able to shift off what is not good for us and turn on what is good for us takes a lot of practice. When we practice yoga and meditation, we are sharpening our ability to change our minds. We are also improving neuroplasticity which makes us more adaptable to the changes in our lives.

Three yoga practices to change habits and improve neuroplasticity 
1. Postures or gentle movements 
Practicing yoga movements helps us to both become aware of our movement patterns and to shift habits when needed. When you work with your yoga postures, start to notice which side you start the movement on. If you always start a movement on the right, try to start a movement on the left. If you always use a certain order, once in a while mix up the order. This will help you create new neural pathways in the brain.

2. Breathing 
Our breath rhythms can vary widely. Some of us use more of the lower lungs when we breathe and some use the upper range. Notice what your pattern is. See if you can practice the three-part breath to encourage the different areas of the lungs to expand and contract.

Here&rsquo;s how to practice three-part breathing:

<ul>
	<li>Place the left hand on the chest and the right hand on the abdomen</li>
	<li>Inhale completely through the nose and at the end of the exhalation, pull the abdomen in</li>
	<li>Inhale again slowly, expanding the abdomen, ribs and upper-chest</li>
	<li>Exhale slowly, contracting the upper-chest, ribs and abdomen</li>
	<li>Repeat for several breaths</li>
</ul>

3. Meditation 
In meditation, we bring the attention to rest on something like the breath or a beautiful flower, prayer or mantra. We hold our attention to that for as long as we can without struggling or trying too hard. When the mind wanders and we catch it wandering, we come back. Little by little we reshape our attention. As this ability to shift our awareness gets stronger, we are able to use this new superpower to our advantage. When there is something in our lives that isn&rsquo;t helping us, we can turn our attention somewhere else and begin to create a new pathway for the mind. This can be particularly powerful when we are anxious or angry or struggling with other difficult emotions that have become habits.

Want to try yoga for the first time, but not sure you&rsquo;re body or mind is up to the task? Read <a href="https://www.ornish.com/zine/why-theres-always-a-yoga-program-just-right-you/" target="_blank">Why There&rsquo;s Always a Yoga Program Just Right For You</a>.

This content originally appeared on <a href="https://www.ornish.com/zine/how-to-change-your-habits-with-yoga/" target="_blank">Ornish Living</a>.

Medically reviewed in February 2019.

Yoga to Change Your Habits

Skipping a regular workout can put you at risk for serious health problems, including cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. Learn how exercise protects your health.

Your Exercise Wake-Up Call

Around the time Alan Menken&nbsp;won an Oscar for the sound track to Beauty and The Beast&nbsp;(1991), you and millions of others found yourselves repeatedly humming the melody to &ldquo;Belle.&rdquo; And in 2009, Lady Gaga&rsquo;s Bad Romance may have bounced around inside your brain for a while. These persistent tunes, which researches call earworms, drill their way into your mind because they&rsquo;re simple, upbeat and catchy.

Well, while those earworms can be darn irksome, the power of music can put a smile on your face. Researchers from McMaster University have found that if you use <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/music-therapy/is-music-good-for-me">music</a> to power your workout during intense intervals, you&rsquo;ll end up more likely to stick with it and enjoy it!

<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/types-of-exercise-programs/what-is-interval-training">Interval training</a> (whether it&rsquo;s during a spin class or your daily walking routine) increases endurance and aerobic capacity&mdash;great for the heart and self-esteem&mdash;and it can help increase calorie burn and decrease your risk for obesity, type 2 diabetes and dementia. So, consider downloading your favorite, up-tempo music to power you through times of increased workout intensity.

We like listening to music during an <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/types-of-exercise-programs/article/want-to-lose-weight-interval-training-workouts">interval routine</a> on the treadmill: Start with a 2-minute warm-up at a pace that&rsquo;s right for your fitness level&mdash;say an intensity of 4-5 on a scale of 1-10. Then increase your intensity each minute so you hit 6, 7, maybe higher. With music cranking, hold your most intense pace (walking or jogging) for 1 minute. Then cool down to your warm-up level. You&rsquo;ll be singing a whole new tune about your health!

Medically reviewed in August 2018.

Exercise and Fitness