I go to the gym fairly frequently where I work. I love the fact that, if I have the time and don’t have to run errands on my lunch, my workplace offers me the option of getting may workout in. I sometimes will make it there twice a week out of my four day work week, and sometimes I make it there three.

One of the rules that I’ve always followed, unless I really do have a lot of pent up energy and need to work out to get that energy out, is to not work out at least two to three hours before bed time. For me, I follow this rule because exercising gets my endorphins going, and my adrenaline usually stays higher for a few hours after I work out.

If I work out a couple hours before bed, I’m likely going to still be in this “jazzed” state before I hit the hay, and I’ll probably lay there forever before I can actually get relaxed enough to sleep.

I recently did something to my poor hammies (affectionate term for hamstrings, although it’s kind of cringe worthy I admit).  I ran for a long time the other day at the track, and I’m thinking that the distances and the fact that I’m not used to running for so long may have been the culprit.

At any rate, I can only really feel the super tightness when I bend over or utilize my hamstrings in small ways, so it’s not a contstant pain or discomfort. You will find this a lot with hamstring pulls. You don’t actually feel the discomfort until you go to utilize this particular part of the leg agin.

An important objective to keep in mind when starting on a fitness campaign is different ways to achieve and preserve your flexibility.  Flexibility isn’t just a concern for the fitness gurus as it is absolutely necessary to maintain your flexibility for everyday functioning.

It’s especially imperative as adults age to maintain flexibility.  Normal activities of daily living such as bending down to tie your shoes or reaching for items on high shelves involve a reasonable preservation of flexibility.

When flexibility is severely limited, even simple tasks like dressing yourself become either challenging or no longer possible.  Another very good incentive to maintain or improve flexibility is to decrease the possibility of injuries.

Many of us suffer from back pain. Whether it is from an injury we had, or from simple stress and genetics, back pain can be an all encompassing pain that really is life interrupting if you don’t know how to manage it.

Many people think, intuitively, that when you are in pain, you should stay still and this will help. That is exactly opposite of what is true. Staying still, and leading a sedentary lifestyle where you get little movement and sit in a chair a lot is the WORST thing you can do for  back pain.

One of the best ways to make sure you keep a lean, sleek physique that’s not bulky or overly manly and “muscular” if you are a woman, is to combine a lot of stretching types of exercises with any weight lifting and cardio that you do.

Cardio is a must if you are going to get that lean look, since it is still the most effective way to get the heart rate up and strip fat from the body quickly and efficiently.  I have found that one of the best combinations for me personally to get lean and sleek looking (and I’m only 5′ 4″, so it’s tough for me to look this way), is to combine running and yoga.

Wimbledon is in full swing, and there have already been numerous victories at this point (Maria Sharipova lost in a close match). Some dreams have been extinguished, while others have been fulfilled for some of the talented tennis stars from across the globe.  I’ll admit, I’m definitely not someone who would sit and watch tennis.

To me, it’s not the most exciting sport to spectate.  However, having played the sport when I was younger, I can certainly attest to the fact that tennis is one of the best sports to play for pure, cardiovascular, toning and ripping exercise.