The Essential Elements of Exercise

Health and exercise go hand in hand. Exercise helps in weight management, in releasing endorphins that produce feelings of well being, increases lean muscle mass, helps keep your health insurance premiums down, and allows you to wear really cool clothes. But as our bodies are very complex and sophisticated organisms, our exercise programs need to address the various needs of our bodies. To stay healthy we need a program that includes some form of stretching, strength training, and cardiovascular or aerobic exercise. Attention to all three forms of exercise gives you stronger muscles, including your heart; flexible muscles; stronger bones; and burns fat.

THE ELEMENTS OF A WELL ROUNDED EXERCISE PROGRAM

• STRETCHING involves holding a muscle in a certain position and maintaining that for about 30 seconds.

• STRENGTH TRAINING involves using resistance to contract the muscle to build strength. 
• AEROBIC OR CARDIOVASCULAR EXERCISE involves using the large muscle groups to increase the work of the heart and lungs continuously for a long duration at a low intensity.

STRETCHING 
There are conflicting studies concerning stretching. But any serious runner or dancer will tell you that stretching is a very important component of exercise. Muscles that are too tight are not strong and create an imbalance in your body that inevitably leads to injury. Stretching maintains the flexibility of muscles and helps prevent injury. There are many ways to stretch and many good books that show different stretches for different muscles. Ballet, yoga and Pilates are excellent disciplines that employ a certain amount of stretching.

STRENGTH TRAINING 
To do this exercise one pulls or pushes something that is resisting. Not only does this produce strong muscles, but it helps to strengthen bones. Strength training develops dense muscles which require more calories to maintain. So the stronger you are the more calories you burn. Weight training is probably the most popular form of resistance training. Pilates and yoga are also strength training options. Pilates works with the resistance of spring tension and some yoga poses uses the person's body weight as resistance.

AEROBIC EXERCISE 
Running, biking, and walking are all popular forms of aerobic exercise. These exercises strengthen the heart and burn fat. Aerobic means "relating to, or involving oxygen." Aerobic exercise strengthens the heart, making it more efficient, pumping more blood, an effective circulation booster. The more blood pumped, the more oxygen taken from the blood is supplied to the muscles.

Now there is some argument and studies that talk about HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training). This training is considered to be anaerobic exercise. This means "relating to, or involving an absence of oxygen." Studies have shown that this kind of training can augment aerobic exercise. It burns the glycogen in the muscle to maintain high energy bursts of exercise. HIIT involves spurts of high intensity repetitions alternating with low intensity ones. A typical cycle would be 30 seconds of running at 80 % capacity and then running for 60 seconds at 30% capacity. Usually aiming at 6 or 8 repetitions. As with aerobic exercise this should be preceded with a warm up and a cool down. This would not be recommended for someone beginning an exercise program.

All this may seem like a lot of work that will also take a lot of time, but the benefits of health are enormous. There also seems to be a domino effect. People who exercise naturally want to make better food choices. They become more aware of what they eat and other life style choices. A well rounded exercise program can lead to a well rounded life style. That could lead to a very happy life.

Read another interesting article on circulation booster

Importance of Blood Circulation Booster

As we know blood circulation is vital for human body. Proper circulation is vital for good health as blood is the body's main internal transport system therefore it is necessary that it will circulate in a proper way. If you think of how the body works, the basic action of the blood moving from cell to cell is of great importance to your health and longevity.

It is quite common in middle age and you can new health problem such as Hypertension, Hardening of the Arteries and Varicose Veins. It is caused by cholesterol plaque deposits along the walls of the arteries, making them harden and constrict. Because the arteries are constricted, the blood exerts great force against the walls of the blood vessels, causing the blood pressure to rise. Another common is hardening of the arteries found in those people who smoke frequently.

Ginkgo Biloba is all-round circulation booster. Use it to treat poor circulation, thrombosis, varicose veins, cramp, and spontaneous bruising. It is most widely know for its ability to improve memory, due to its ability to increase blood flow through the brain. Gingko is used by physicians to treat varicose veins. Gingko is also anti-inflammatory, relaxes the lungs, improves blood flow to the heart and lessens coronary demand for oxygen -reducing shortness of breath and is helpful in asthma.

If you want to get your blood flowing and your face red with blood take Ginkgo Biloba. It will not only get the blood pumped around your body, but it will strengthen your heart, clear your arteries, and research has shown that hot herbs raise your metabolic rate by as much as 25%, so will assist in weight loss. Ginkgo Biloba is a wonderful herb for a healthy life.

Read another interesting article on circulation booster

What is a damp proof course and why do I need one?

A damp proof course or dpc is an essential part of the construction process in that its function is to prevent rising dampness.

Rising dampness is a result of dampness in the ground being drawn up through the capillary channels in any given building fabric.

Generally a dpc will be installed when the building is constructed. In new buildings the damp proof course is physical membrane. This will be laid into a mortar course at the base of the walls. In older buildings it is common for slate or bitumen to be used as the damp proof course and some older buildings will not have a damp proof course at all.

As said, all of the above provide a physical barrier against rising dampness but why is this necessary? In short it prevents spoiling of the internal wall finishes. When a wall suffers from rising dampness the associated affects to the internal finishes is staining, salting and peeling paint or paper, blown plaster, rotten skirting boards etc.

A damp proof course is designed to stop the dampness at low level before it has a chance to do any damage higher up the wall.

Sometimes an older dpc will fail. If it does or if there isn't one can be installed as a remedial or retrofit measure. Typically one of the following methods would be used:

• Chemical damp proof course

This involves drilling a series of holes 150mm above the external ground level along the base of the walls and injecting a silicone fluid or cream. The idea is that the silicone content in these products is designed to repel moisture rising up the wall.

My opinion is that this method is a little hit and miss in that the density and quality of the wall will have a big baring on whether it will be affective as will the application method in terms of drilling hole to the correct diameter and depth and volume of chemical installed which is often very hard to gauge. This is why you will often fins a chemical damp proof course is recommended along with the removal of internal plaster and re-plastering with a waterproofing additive. The idea is if one doesn't work hopefully the other will.

• Physical Damp proof course installation

Believe it or not is possible to retro fit a physical damp proof course. Mortar joints along the walls are cut out with an electric joint saw and a new physical damp proof course is inserted in sections. The wall is then made good around it.

My opinion is that long term effectiveness should be very good however it is likely to be expensive and externally disruptive because someone is literally cutting through the walls of your house. Imagine the dust!!

• Electro osmosis damp proof course

A titanium wire is passed around the walls to be treated and at regular intervals this wire is pushed into holes made in the brickwork, then it is earthed and a safe voltage is applied, this stops the dampness from rising up the masonry.

A pretty unusual method which has opinions divided as to its effectiveness. In my opinion has never really been proved to be an effective damp proof course and as such is very rarely seen or used these days.

• Cavity membranes

Not a damp proof course as such but more an alternative to one. These systems are becoming ever more popular as an effective solution to rising dampness in buildings.

Cavity membranes are high density polypropylene and polyethylene plastic membranes. The rolls of plastic are molded into a stud formation to give and "egg box" type appearance and for damp proofing purposes they usually have a mesh welded to the surface to provide a base to plaster or dab fix plasterboard onto.

They are described as cavity membranes because the stud profile creates an air gap between the membrane and the wall to which it is applied. Once applied to the wall (usually up to at least 1m) The membrane allows any moisture in the wall to evaporate into the air gap but because it is free to move unhindered it is not pushed to adjacent areas or higher up the wall and the membrane unlike any damp proof course will provide an impermeable separation barrier between the damp wall and the new wall finished which is permanently affective against damp, salts, staining etc. The membranes are attached using special sealed mushroom fixings and despite some concerns the membranes can be easily fixed through retrospectively if required. Plastered finish and dab fixed plasterboard and skim provide the rooms usual aesthetic appearance with the peace of mind that the membrane will prolong their longevity. In my opinion this is a good and cost effective method of treatment which can be used in conjunction with or instead of any of the above.

Read an interesting article of Damp proof membrane

Damp proof membrane - A Recommended Solution to Damp Walls

Hundreds Of Damp Proofing Products Available 


There are a huge amount of damp proofing products available, and sometimes it can be very confusing to ascertain which is the best solution for damp problems. As a damp specialist I am often asked about which technique I recommend. In most cases, damp proofs membranes are a good solution as they can be installed on almost any wall surface are are relatively quick and easy to install. They can be applied to a damp wall quickly, and have natural ventilation meaning that the damp wall can dry out. In addition, many Damp proof membrane on the market are meshed, which means that plaster can be applied directly to them, making installation very fast. 

How Do Damp proof membrane Work? 

Damp proof membrane are applied to the damp wall and then plastered, forming a new wall surface. The space between the membrane and the old wall allows dampness to dry out. The Damp proof membrane has the added advantage of acting as an impermeable barrier between the old damp wall surface and the new plastered surface. Damp proof membrane also have the additional advantage of acting as an impermeable barrier to salt and other contaminants. Damp proof membrane are constructed in a stud formation and work by allowing any moisture and moisture vapor to evaporate as the studs create an air gap between the membrane and the damp wall. 

Can Damp proof membrane Be Installed By A Builder? 

A skilled DIY or builder could install the Damp proof membrane to the walls, and all products would come with detailed fusing instructions. However, if in doubt about which Damp proof membrane to use, I would always recommend a visit from a trained damp specialist about your specific project as they can advise on the best solution. The additional advantage of using a professional damp proofing company is that they can offer you a guarantee for their work. 

Is A Damp Proof Course Necessary With Damp proof membrane? 

Installation of a damp proof course is not necessary when using Damp proof membrane. Failure of damp proof courses is, in fact, a leading cause of damp problems in properties. Many older properties were built with no damp proof course installed. The installation of a Damp proof membrane negates the need for a damp proof course or damp injection, are less likely to result in problems like other diy damp attempts (black jack, waterproofing paint). Damp proof membrane are ideal for treating condensation damp, penetrating damp and rising damp problems on walls. 

Can Damp proof membrane Be Used In Damp Basements? 

Below ground use of Damp proof membrane - for example in a damp basement or damp cellar - requires specialist advice as you might not just be dealing with dampness but running water penetrating the external walls. Tanking membranes require careful installation and really should be installed by a professional. 

For below ground damp problems, a full waterproofing membrane system would be recommended consisting of waterproof membranes, pumping and drainage provision and I would recommend consulting an expert basement waterproofing company. 

For dealing with damp walls above ground, I would always recommend Damp proof membrane products as a solution for rising damp, flood damage, penetrating damp and other damp problems 

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