John Is Fit

Physical and Mental Benefits of Playing Paintball

Posted: 29 Oct 2011 04:11 AM PDT

This is a guest post by Annabelle.

Paintball has been a popular sport for a long time. Even though it is called an extreme sport, paintball is one activity that can be enjoyed with friends and family. This sport has a plethora of benefits that bring about an all-round development in players. Apart from the physical exercise, paintball also offers mental health benefits. Paintball's popularity also lies in the simplicity of the game. All you need is the required protective gear and a paintball gun and you are ready to go.

Spicing up your exercise regime

Paintball is a great activity for those who do not have time to hit the gym or are simply lazy. Regular exercisers can also benefits from paintball as it adds variety to their workout routine. It is believed that following the same workout routine for a long time can become less effective over time. Paintball is a great way to shake things up and get an intense exercise routine. This sport does not include monotonous motions like a treadmill, and allows the players to experience a whole range of movements like running, climbing, ducking and tip toeing behind enemies.

Weight loss and immunity

Needless to say, paintball also aids in weight loss. The intense exercise gained from a session of paintball can improve sleep cycles and boost metabolism. Intense workouts also result in the release of endorphins that elevates the mood of the player. Apart from burning more calories, regular exercise through paintball also reduces risk of heart diseases, blood pressure and depression.

Stress relief

Working professionals have more and more to worry about in this fast paced world. Sometimes the stress can deeply affect the mental state of the person and resurface at inappropriate times. Playing a rough game of paintball is one of the best ways to vent out your frustration without risking hurting others. Sometimes, venting your anger in the game can also help you improve your skills as a paintballer. The endorphins released during intense exercise also eliminate mental stress brings a sense of calm.

Teamwork and leadership

Paintball is primarily a team sport with a goal. In order to win the game, one team should defeat other teams and fulfill the objective. This requires some amount of strategizing and execution which can be done only when all the players work together as a team. It is this aspect of paintballing that promotes team spirit. You could also use paintball to improve your leadership skills. Tense situations in the game often bring out the best in many players and boost their self confidence.

Absolute entertainment

Paintball is becoming increasingly popular not because it aids weight loss or improves team building skills, but simply because it is so entertaining. The rush of adrenaline gained from simply running around a field and shooting opponents with dye pellets makes stressed out adults feel like a child again. A game of paintball always includes a fair amount of laughter and excitement which makes it the perfect group activity on a lazy Sunday morning.

Annabelle is a writer by profession and likes to blog about her varied interests. She represents BB Gun and Airsoft Gun online store.

Visit my sponsors:

1) DreamHost – Web Hosting used by johnisfit.com
2) Go Daddy – Domain registration
3) Intellilinks – Earn money publishing links on your website

Post from: John Is Fit - Personal Weight Loss Blog

Physical and Mental Benefits of Playing Paintball

Use Interval Training To Burn Off Winter Fat

Posted: 29 Oct 2011 03:22 AM PDT

This is a guest post by Dr. Ron Fritzke.

Some of us sun-loving people who live in an area of the country that gets four distinct seasons are getting a little edgy about now. Fall is in the air and there's no denying what comes next.

The short days and cold winds of winter will be here before we know it.

For me that means not being able to get outside to do the types of exercise I prefer, and therefore a lot more exercise indoors on my bicycle stationary trainer. Even more disturbing…winter holidays get me started eating too many sweets.

All of this results in regaining some of the body fat I worked so hard to shed over the summer.

A Tool In The Arsenal…HIIT

There's been quite a buzz in the fitness world lately about a type of exercise called High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT for short). This concept of exercising in a 'hard-easy-hard-easy' pattern isn't new. It's just been appreciated lately by those outside of the hardcore track and field, swimming, and cycling worlds.

Interval training was essential to getting into peak conditioning as far back as the 1950's.

Now you can use these same concepts to more effectively utilize exercise in your efforts to keep the weight off during the winter.

A Personal Story, Intervals, and Shedding Weight

After my last race in 1984, I hung up my racing shoes and restricted my fitness running to cardio workouts. That's the type of exercise that can be sustained for long periods of time without going into 'oxygen debt'. For me, it was a series of runs between 5 and 10 miles, done approximately 5 times weekly.

Sounds like something that should be adequate to combat weight loss, doesn't it?

But over the years my weight was inching upward, and it wasn't until my kids got old enough to start running competitively that I rediscovered a secret weapon of the fitness world. I began running intervals with them.

Then I noticed a few things.

First off, my heart rate remained relatively elevated for hours after the workout. Of course it wasn't beating as hard as during the workout. But it was certainly tapping along at 15 to 20 beats above my normal resting heart rate.

And that was when I was sitting on the couch…sitting on the couch burning off fat while I watched the 49ers get whipped by any number of better football teams.

How do you like that…free fat burning time!

Which brings me to my second observation…you guessed it, my weight started to drop.

Serving Up A Couple Of Interval Workouts

Have you ever noticed the little disclaimers advising you to check with your doctor before initiating a new exercise protocol? Well, in the case of interval training the disclaimer is even more appropriate since this form of exercise can be very strenuous.

Without further ado, here's a couple of interval workouts I do on my Kurt Kinetic Road Machine trainer.

This first example is a classic HIIT workout (very short and very intense on the hard parts):

5 minute warm-up.
10 minutes alternating ten seconds of 'all out' pedaling with easy pedaling.
5 minute warm-down.

This second interval workout is the type that would be done by an athlete getting ready to optimize conditioning for their sport:

10 minute warm-up.
2 minutes hard, followed by one minute easy pedaling.
3 minutes hard, followed by one and a half minutes easy pedaling.
4 minutes hard, followed by two minutes easy pedaling.
5 minutes hard, followed by two and a half minutes easy pedaling.
6 minutes hard, followed by three minutes easy pedaling.
5 minutes hard, followed by two and a half minutes easy pedaling.
4 minutes hard, followed by two minutes easy pedaling.
3 minutes hard, followed by one and a half minutes easy pedaling.
2 minutes hard.
10 minute warm-down.

This second workout is most likely not appropriate for a 'casual' fitness buff, but I've included it as an insight into the kinds of interval training that professional- and Olympic-level athletes have been doing for years.

Give Interval Training A Try

There's nothing very magical about the formulas of interval training. If your intention is to restrict yourself to HIIT, there are some guidelines outlined in this Wikipedia article.

But if you'd like to lose some weight using a looser form of interval training, just throw in a series of efforts that you can't sustain for more than a few minutes…follow them up with a 'rest' interval…and repeat the cycle.

Whatever style of intervals you choose, they'll add variety to your workouts…and no doubt allow you to drop those few stubborn pounds.

Dr. Ron Fritzke reviews cycling gear such as the CycleOps Trainer Fluid 2, on his site, Cycling-Review.com. Besides being a Chiropractor in Mount Shasta, California, he's on the Sports Medicine team at the College of the Siskiyous. A former 2:17 marathon runner, he now races his bike in Northern California.

Visit my sponsors:

1) DreamHost – Web Hosting used by johnisfit.com
2) Go Daddy – Domain registration
3) Intellilinks – Earn money publishing links on your website