AIMC Health Solutions - #Fitness Tip - The Use of Resistance Bands to Exercise

With the recent pandemic, we all had to adjust our lives as well with the way we worked out to maintain our fitness health.  Gyms were closed all across the country and we had to think of creative ways to stay in shape.  I have personally been working out for many years consistently going to the gym four days a week for strength training and then do cardio another day in the week, so it was definitely an adjustment.   

Despite my local gym closing back in March, I transitioned pretty seamlessly to doing body weight and resistance band workouts and I have actually gotten more cut and focused during this time.

I got my resistance bands on this amazing online shopping site and has put them to great use for the past three months.

I wanted to provide some great tips/reasons why I think you should continue to use resistance bands as part of your routine even as we start returning to normal and going to the gym.    Here they are.

1. ADAPT EASILY FOR MULTIPLE FITNESS LEVELS... Resistance bands come in multiple resistance levels, usually light, medium or heavy. You can further adjust the amount of resistance during exercise just by giving more or less slack on the band, as well as by combining multiple resistance bands to increase the challenge.

2. MODIFY FAMILIAR EXERCISES... Resistance band exercises are often based on familiar strength-training moves. For example, if you stand on one end of the cord and curl your arm up while holding the other end, you've replaced your standard dumbbell bicep curl.

3. EXERCISE YOUR WHOLE BODY... Many resistance band kits come with suggested exercises for nearly every major muscle group in your body. Stepping on one end of a resistance band or looping it around a stationary object, for example, opens up many exercise possibilities.

4. SAVE ON STORAGE SPACE... When you don't have a lot of room for a home gym, resistance bands are a great option that store in very little space. You can hang them on a hook after you exercise, or coil them up to store in a box or drawer.

5. EXERCISE ON THE ROAD... Because they are so small and portable, resistance bands are a great way to take your workout with you when you travel. There are many resistance band exercises that can easily be done in the small space of a hotel room.

7. ADD VARIETY TO YOUR WORKOUTS... Over time, your muscles adapt to any new exercise routine. It's a good idea to mix it up by cross-training with free weights, machines and resistance band exercises. Each will work your muscles in a slightly different way. 

8. EXERCISE SAFELY, EVEN WHEN ALONE... Resistance bands offer strength-training without the risk of dropping a heavy weight on your foot or crushing your fingers between weight plates. That makes them ideal for working out when you don't have a personal trainer or exercise partner to spot you.

9. COMBINE WITH OTHER EXERCISE EQUIPMENT... While resistance bands work great on their own, they can also be combined with other exercise equipment. Performing bicep curls with both a resistance band and a dumbbell will give you the combined benefits of each type of equipment. 

10. GET AN EFFECTIVE WORKOUT... Although there are differences between free weight and resistance band exercises, both are effective. Picture the arc motion your arm makes while doing a bicep curl. Free weights will feel heaviest at the beginning of that arc, while resistance bands make your muscles work harder at the end of the arc (when the band is most taut). Either way, your body is moving against resistance, and that will give your muscles an effective workout.

There you go.  If you like to chat about fitness, please let us know and join our Facebook Page for AIMC Health Solutions.

Health/Wellness - What Can You With a Couple of Dumbbells?

When people think of starting an exercise program, they normally stress out about selecting a gym, selecting what exercises to do and most of all consistently going to gym and seeing results.   

We are all busy, so how about I demonstrate a few easy exercises that you can simply do with a couple of dumbbells?    

Chances are, you can find a couple of dumbbells at your local sports store, your basement or at a hotel.  No excuses so let's get started!

First you can start with a nice Vitamin B shot of Awake Energy, then move onto some great exercises for your Shoulders, Arms, Back and Legs.   

For each exercise, do 3 sets of 10 reps and always have control of the weight and with consistent form.  When you are done with your full body workout, end off your program with a healthy TLS Protein Shake!   

Do this three or four days a week and see results!

Here is a detailed description on how to do each exercise, which is the picture diagram and a step-by-step tip how to do each exercise.

Bicep Curls Using Dumbbells:

1. Stand up straight with a dumbbell in each hand at arm's length. Keep your elbows close to your torso and rotate the palms of your hands until they are facing forward. This will be your starting position.
2. Now, keeping the upper arms stationary, exhale and curl the weights while contracting your biceps. Continue to raise the weights until your biceps are fully contracted and the dumbbells are at shoulder level. Hold the contracted position for a brief pause as you squeeze your biceps.
3. Then, inhale and slowly begin to lower the dumbbells back to the starting position.
4. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

Two-Arm Dumbbells Rows:

1. Grab a dumbbell securely in each hand. 
2. Slowly bend forward at your waist so that your chest is leaning forward over your feet. Keep a slight bend in your knees while keeping your feet at about shoulder width apart. 
3. Start with your arms fully extended, allowing the dumbbells to naturally hang down at about mid-shin level. 
4. Hold the dumbbells so that your thumbs point in toward one another and your palms face your body. Next, lift or “row” the dumbbells up to the top and close to your stomach.
5. Slowly return to the starting position and repeat. 
6. Be sure to keep your head up, back straight and your shoulders back throughout this exercise to keep your back secure and stable at all times.

Shoulder Press:

1. 1. Hold a dumbbell in each hand and sit on a bench with back support.Plant your feet firmly on the floor about hip-width apart.
2. 2. Bend your elbows and raise your upper arms to shoulder height so the dumbbells are at ear level.
3. 3. Pull your abdomens in so there is a slight gap between the small of your back and the bench.
4. 4. Place the back of your head against the pad.
5. 5. Push the dumbbells up and in until the ends of the dumbbells touch lightly, directly over your head, and then lower the dumbbells back to ear level.

Chest Fly:

1. Raise the dumbbells up like you're pressing them, but stop and hold just before you lock out. This will be your starting position. 

2. With a slight bend on your elbows in order to prevent stress at the biceps tendon, lower your arms out at both sides in a wide arc until you feel a stretch on your chest.

Leg Squats:

1. Stand up straight while holding a dumbbell on each hand (palms facing the side of your legs).
2. Position your legs using a shoulder width medium stance with the toes slightly pointed out. Keep your head up at all times as looking down will get you off balance and also maintain a straight back. This will be your starting position. 
3. Begin to slowly lower your torso by bending the knees as you maintain a straight posture with the head up. Continue down until your thighs are parallel to the floor. 
4. Begin to raise your torso as you exhale by pushing the floor with the heel of your foot mainly as you straighten the legs again and go back to the starting position.
5. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

So, there you go!   With a couple of dumbbells, you will have no excuses to get in shape this summer season and look great on the beach!!

A Tip for the Aspiring Entrepreneur - It is What You Do In Between The Lines That Counts

I love this time of year in my hometown of Boston, MA.   Of course, the weather goes from those chilly rainy days to that perfect sunny 70-degree day in a flash.   Boston's most famous sporting event The Boston Marathon happens.   Opening Day for our beloved Red Sox is here.  April is truly a great month to be in the Hub.

From a business and entrepreneur's perspective, spring is also a time of new beginnings, a time for reflection and a time for action.     The business plan you did right before the holidays is falling into place, and you are assessing the first quarter of the year, adjusting your goals along the way, so you can march your way toward amazing success.

If you are an entrepreneur, you probably have also read aspiring books and attended sold-out celebrity events and training sessions, in order to learn about positive mindset, business planning and successful strategies.   Some of my personal favorite books are from Gary Vandychuk, T. Harv Eker, Grant Cardone and Daymond John, to name a few.    Amazing amazing entrepreneurs and they don't fool around.  They know what that are doing.

Likewise each uber-successful entrepreneur may hold free training sessions via their own rock star tour that can move into more detailed multi-day trainings at a hotel or conference center in a great location like Las Vegas or Florida.    Robert Kiyosaki, Kevin Harrington of Shark Tank and Grant Cardone are well-known for their training companies and invaluable ways to take your positive mindset and focus and ultimately your business to the next level.

Books are a very small investment of your money and time but can be life-changing.   The multi-day entrepreneur/ business training is much more of a monetary and time investment.  Some cost thousands of dollars which for that budding entrepreneur can clean out their life savings!

I am personally an entrepreneur and have had my own business ventures for the past nine years in addition to a full-time career as an IT Executive.  I have been to celebrity trainings and have read probably a hundred books.  

What I have learned is that you can read all the great books, go to the best trainings that teach you how to be laser-focused and give you all the tools to succeed,  but if you go back to your old routine and don't take action on what you learn, it all goes to waste and you don't grow.

I have seen this happen time and time again.   We all go to this amazing Business Conference in Miami in February.  Everyone is all pumped up to take their business to the next level.  They can't wait to get home and get started.  Right?    By March, they are still saying they will get started next week and another week goes by and nothing.  Back to the same old song and dance.

The biggest tip of all is, it is what you do every single day is the difference between a business stuck in the mud or a business that is accelerating down the highway of success.

This tip does not cost you thousands of dollars or thousands of hours.   Once you learn the skills taught by uber-successful business professionals, make a DAILY action plan and track your progress every single day.    It is what you do between the line that counts, not the number of events you attend or the books you read.

Finally, I encourage you to join entrepreneur groups, go to a celebrity training event an pick up a great book.   Once you complete the training.book, make a daily task list and put it next to your goals and track them every single day.    You will start to notice that every day is like spring in Boston versus fall, and you will be onto that highway to personal success on your own terms.