Healthy food and exercise tips for great health

Honey is good for you.

This article is written by Nikola, a freelancer and 3D modeler. Follow him on Twitter.

Welcome to my daily healthy activities

Hello. My name is Nikola.

I am going to share some healthy lifestyle routines which helped me to stay in shape, be healthy and look younger.

It works for my mental and physical health since I started with it 4 years ago. Before that I was in a very bad health situation for about a year.

I got good health advice from many people. They include my brother and polite ladies at the health foods grocery store. I've also picked up a few tips from my own observations, experiences and experiments.

Healthy morning routine

Hydrate yourself

The first thing that I do when I wake up is drink a glass of water. I drink warm water because I have a sensitive throat. Water is good because it cleans your body and gets rid of toxins.

Some people add a few drops of lemon juice to their water. It helps them to lose weight. I don't add lemon juice to my water personally because I don't need to lose weight at all.

You need water.

Have some honey

Once I've had a glass of water, I put 10-15 drops of bee glue in a small amount of water (one finger of water) and drink it. Bee glue is great for immunity. Bee products like honey are very good for your health.

Use cold water to wake up

I then splash my face with mildly cold water - depending on the season. I splash my eyes, face and forehead and make sure to get some water behind the ears as well. I pat dry with a towel afterwards.

This will help you to wake up instantly and helps to refresh you. You will notice that your energy levels rise quicker when you do this in the morning. Cold exposure is good for your health.

Stretch in the morning

After that, I do my morning stretching exercises. Stretching activities like yoga is good for you.

I spin both hands while standing upright backwards and forwards. When you spin it forwards, it's like swimming in butterfly style.

I then spin my right hand 10 times and then the left hand 10 times. Still in a standing position, I bend down with my body and touch my toes with my fingers twice. I straighten upright and bend slightly backwards twice. I do this for 20 reps.

This stretching routine works miracles for my metabolism, immune system and digestive system.

At the beginning you could do 10 reps for every exercise.

Practice breathing through your nose

Good breathing during exercise is essential. I learned to breathe in with my nose and to breathe out with my nose as well. Nose breathing keeps you calm and helps you to sleep better at night.

Yoga helped my recovery

I started my recovery 4 years ago by practicing Yoga every morning. My brother told my about The 5 Tibetan Rites. 

At first, I followed everything perfectly. Then I took parts which worked for me and left the other parts. I don't do the parts that have you lying down on the floor for 10 minutes.

There is nothing wrong with taking a good exercise program that you like and making it your own by adding or subtracting exercises. Rather do a routine that you like than avoid an exercise routine that you don't like.

Do health your way.

Do some cardio

These days I run in place for 30-50 seconds. It helps to speed up my heart rate and gets the blood flowing. I also do jumping jacks - about 20 reps.

After that I go to the bathroom which is good to empty my stomach before breakfast.

Exercise helps you to go to the bathroom.

Eat a healthy breakfast

It is important to eat healthy food to get the right nutrients in your body.

Before I had my own healthy diet, my doctor prescribed soy bean products to help with my digestion. I did some research online and found that it produces estrogen hormones.

This is not good for us - especially men in particular. I can feel the negative hormonal effects of eating too much soy in my own experience.

After this saga, I had to find foods which helped with my testosterone levels. The new foods needed to support my gut health as well. I had acid reflux issues in top of everything, so it was not an easy task.

I now have boiled bacon and a boiled egg for breakfast. I actually have this for dinner as well. I add a red bell pepper or a tomato. Home grown is the healthiest form of tomato or bell peppers if you are able to do that.

Eggs have almost all of the vitamins that you need except for Vitamin C.

The boiled bacon proteins are easy for my gut to digest.

So my daily breakfast usually looks like this:

1. Boiled bacon
2. Tomato or red bell pepper
3. Sour cream
4. Bread with bran
5. Himalayan salt
6. Vitamin C

The only supplement that I take with my breakfast is 500 mg of Vitamin C.

I used to have my Vitamin C supplement before breakfast, but I found that it didn't work so well before a meal. It causes acid in the gut when there isn't any food. Now I have it after a large breakfast.

Do good things.

Avoid physically intensive activity after a large breakfast

If you can, try not to do anything too physically demanding after a large breakfast. Give your body time to digest its food. It is good to wait at least half an hour, or even 1 hour, depending on how large your meal was.

Healthy afternoon routine

Exercise

At noon I do push-ups. At first I did only 10 push-ups. Now I do about 17. Do each push up slowly. Get yourself all the way to the ground. Do as many as what feel comfortable to you. You don't need to push yourself too far.

Focus on breathing during exercise

Breathing is very important - especially during exercise. 

When I finish with my push-ups, I stand up and breathe in deeply. I raise both my hands above my head to exhale forcefully out of my mouth. I swing my hands around to bring blood to the muscles that I've just worked.

Focus on posture

Since I've had a problem with acid reflux, I've looked to as many ways as possible improve it. Healthy foods helped a lot, but bad posture has a lot to do about it as well.

When I was in bad health condition I noticed how the older, sicker and weaker people sat and had their shoulders slouched forward. I noticed that most people in the doctor's waiting room sat with this kind of posture.

When I went for a walk, on the other hand, I noticed how teenagers held themselves more upright. The healthier or stronger the person, the better their posture seemed to be.

I wondered if our posture has a direct correlation with things like acid reflux and our immune system. A bent spine puts pressure on the gut and other internal organs.

This is one of the major reasons why I started doing push-ups. They are great for your posture if you do them right. Pull ups are just as important for your posture.

Good posture and healthy food reduced my acid reflux substantially

Fortunately for me, my observations were right. I don't have acid reflux nearly as often as I used to.

This is thanks to the food that I eat, the exercises that I do and my focus on posture. Along with a younger appearance and better health, I must say that my confidence has improved tremendously as well.

Posture affects your health.

Pull ups aren't easy in the beginning

As good as pull ups are for you, I must say that pull ups were much harder to do in the beginning.

At the start of it all, I could do only 2 pull ups. Now I can do 8-9 pull ups - but I do them slowly according to how much my body can handle.

Results of doing pull ups daily

With time my shoulders became wider and I got a lot more strength in many of my muscles - especially my biceps.

Focus on dental hygiene

Another thing that you need to pay attention to is your dental hygiene. Dental hygiene determines your overall health. Teeth are not just good for your confidence or your smile. They can also cause many illnesses if they become unhealthy.

You can't chew good food without good teeth. Your mouth is essential to digest food properly.

Use weights to increase vein visibility

Another health problem that I had was very small veins that were hard to see on the surface of my skin. When I struggled with my health, this was difficult because nurses had a hard time finding a vein to draw blood.

I thought that weight training could make my veins more visible. I hoped that it would make the veins thicker and easier to find. I got a 5 kg weight which I built myself at home. I did 10-20 reps regularly with each hand.

Thankfully, my guess was right! Drawing blood is now less painful for me (less pricking around to find) and much easier for the nurses (they can find a good vein immediately).

Look for solutions.

Walk when you can instead of driving or taking the bus

I decided to take a quick walk from my house to downtown and back instead of using other forms of transport. The round trip is about 7 km. I do this at least once a week.

When I reach downtown, I visit a grocery store and buy a banana as a reward. It tastes nice and gives my body a little nutritional reward for the effort. Choose organic if you can.

Bananas are really good for you

Small choices like a banana as a reward will have a great impact on your health. Bananas have many health benefits.

Bananas for energy

I have noticed that bananas are amazing fruit when it comes to energy. They help me with a quick energy supply after playing sports.

Bananas are great after playing sports like basketball and swimming

I eat bananas after playing an extensive basketball game with teenagers (keep in mind that I am 44 years old).

I also bring 2 bananas and water whenever I go swimming. I am amazed at how well bananas replenish my energy levels.

If I play 2-4 games of basketball in a row, I bring 3 bananas instead of 2.

If I ever do very physically intensive work that causes me to sweat a lot, I eat 4 bananas and salty food. It is important to replace the salt that you lose through sweat.

Bananas can make you sleepy

When I don't do anything physically intensive after eating a banana, I feel sleepy. It's a good kind of sleepy, if that makes sense. I feel happy, unlike other foods that make you feel sleepy and drained at the same time.

Bananas are good for your skin

Bananas are great for your skin. 

During the summer months I occasionally smudge a banana over my face to cool down quickly. I have noticed that my skin looks really good afterwards.

Indulge in goodness.

Avoid unhealthy habits

I don't drink coffee (although it seems that coffee can be healthy) or alcohol. I avoid eating cakes and sweets - especially during the holidays.

I am thankful for the fact that I have never smoked cigarettes. It is also good to avoid soda drinks and artificial sweeteners.

I used to drink an energy drink, which isn't good for your gut. It is particularly unhealthy to have energy drinks at night - even more so if you live a sedentary lifestyle.

You don't need energy drinks to have energy at social gatherings

When I was younger, I liked going to dance parties. I thought that I had the energy to jump and dance all night because of the energy drink. I was wrong.

I have lots of energy at night. There are some people who have higher energy levels at night naturally.

Two years ago I was at some open party and I simply drank lemon juice to stay hydrated. It worked.

By the end of the night, I lost more than 600 calories. The total calories lost for the entire day was over 900 calories.

I'm not trying to lose weight. I actually need to make sure that I don't lose too much weight. Trust me; when you lose that many calories in such a short period of time, you have to eat every 2 hours to regain that lost energy.

If you want to lose weight, on the other hand, just go to dance parties and drink a low calorie and non-alcoholic drink like lemon juice to stay hydrated. Just dance and move according to your body's abilities. Be moderate - like with everything in life. A balance is always the best.

Use every opportunity.

Healthy lunch tips

• Don't be scared of a big lunch
• Include a vegetable salad with every lunch
• Eat more soups
• Add carrots
• Use turmeric for spice and flavor
• Pepper is a healthy flavor enhancer as well
• Add broccoli often
• Lemon juice will help with digestion

Use exercise to increase your energy levels immediately

Whenever I feel like I have brain fog or feel like my metabolism is slowing down, I go for a walk outside in the fresh air. This perks me up quickly.

Walking is good if food is making you feel sluggish. The fresh air and sunlight will help you to increase your metabolism - and therefore your energy levels.

Take a walk before dinner

I take a walk around the block before dinner. It helps me to clear my mind. The walking also makes you sleep better at night. We need fresh, circulated air regularly.

Grab some nuts before dinner time

After I come back from my short night walk, I eat healthy snacks before dinner in moderate amounts. It helps to give your body some important nut nutrients and stops you from over eating at dinner. Eating too much food at dinner time can negatively affect your sleep.

A have apricot seeds, cashews and almonds. Nuts are super foods.

Conclusion

I hope that these tips will help you to improve your health in one way or another. There are a lot of different tips here. Try one or two at a time until you find what works best for you.

About Nikola

My name is Nikola. I'm a 44 year old man. I am 185 cm tall and 78 kg of weight. I work from home, doing freelancing work. This is sometimes very stressful, with less fresh air (like with most office or computer based job where we are in a sedentary position). I do exercises and play sports activities like basketball, swimming and running. This gives me a perfect healthy balance for my mental and physical health. Check me out on Twitter.

Check your Posture: Kyphosis, Lordosis and Scoliosis

Rolandas Malinausakas, a personal training expert and bodybuilding champion (featured on BBC) shares his knowledge on the importance, effects, types and corrections for postural issues. To get in touch with him, find his contact details at the end of this post.

The basics: What you need to know about posture

Weight training increases physical performance. It also requires a high level of body performance. This is needed to be able to train for harder, longer and avoid serious injuries that may occur at the gym.

Depending on how you train or who you train with and what you have learnt up to now; you may or may not be aware of how important having the right posture really is. It's not so unusual for some people to be relatively unaware of the negative effects that a poor posture can have on their bodies. Apart from the long-term health issues and setbacks, bad posture can soon destroy the progression of your weight training endeavors.

What is posture?

Can you picture a powerful athlete? How does he look? How does he walk and move? What about how he sits? Think of how he positions his shoulders and neck. What about his chest? Does his body seem fluid and balanced - as well as sleek and powerful? If you can answer yes to these questions, the athlete that you are visualizing most likely has a good posture.

Posture is the way that your body acts, holds itself, and moves when in motion. It is an expression of the apparent physical composition of your body and the actions of your muscles in different positions such as lifting, running, sitting, standing up and walking.

How do muscles work?

Muscles are very important tissues that are vital to our daily function and ability to do tasks. They are not only responsible for the strength of our bodies but also regulate body movements through controlling the skeleton. They allow us to keep our bodies fixed in certain positions as and when we need to do so.

According to signals sent from the brain to our muscles, they act as rigid or flexible structures which enable us to perform daily activities and exercise rapidly with highly coordinated movements.

How do most postural issues arise?

In children and teenagers, muscles depend on the sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve signals sent from the brain. However, busy parents often don't know a lot about good posture and the negative effects that a bad posture can have on health. As a result, they don't teach their children about the importance of a healthy posture, or don't notice when things start to go astray.

With age, certain deformities can occur in bone mass because of long term bad posture. Muscles still respond to brain signals but in consideration to these bone deviations. Imbalance will therefore occur in the muscles. Some are strengthened while others are weakened. Naturally, the more you push your body; the more exaggerated these issues can become. This means that those of us who are into weight training (or any type of physical training) have on one hand a great chance to have a strong and fit body but on the other hand can have a body that is compensating for postural issues instead of improving overall posture. This can be disastrous over time.

So in order to avoid all potentially harmful postural issues and train successfully, let's check out some of the most common ones, and touch on how they can be corrected with weight training.

Kyphosis

Medically, kyphosis exhibits the following symptoms:

• The head being in a forward position
• The back being exaggeratedly rounded
• The shoulder internally rotating forward
• The upper back (thoracic vertebrae) being rounded or hunched.

It may even be caused by some tumors, congenital spinal deformities or arthritis. You must seek a medical help immediately in these cases.

Kyphosis can also be a common and severe problem which accompanies weight training because of the poor lifting postures. It mostly arises from an imbalance between the chest and back muscles.

Do you have kyphosis? 

Here's how to find out if you possibly have kyphosis: 

Look at the mirror. Stand in front of it and hold yourself naturally. Look at your chest. Do you see it curved forward? Now let's check your hands. Can you see the back of them? If you say yes, you may have kyphosis.

These are the effects that kyphosis can have on weight training.

• It decreases your physical performance of certain muscle groups.
• It also decreases your ability to exercise in general.
• It makes you feel tired quickly (since some muscles are naturally absorbing a higher workload than others).
• It increases the risk of injuries during weight lifting (as form is almost always compromised as a result).
• It causes shoulder pain and chronic back pain in the vertebral column.
• It causes muscle stiffness - especially in the neck and hip.
• It affects the digestive system negatively. The upper parts of your body can press on the abdomen, which makes your stomach and intestine unable able to work as well as it should.
• It causes difficulty in breathing and inefficient respiration, since shoulders and head press on the thoracic region and prevent lungs from expanding. As a result, your physical performance decreases. If you have had this problem for a while, you might not even notice the effects of physical performance anymore.
• It causes poor blood circulation, which makes you less active.
• Almost all of your movements will be negatively affected, such as the squat, dead lift, bench press and pull up.

Correcting Kyphosis

How to correct kyphosis

The exercises can help to correct kyphosis are the ones that pull the shoulder blades toward each other and extend the neck.

Examples of these exercises are:

• Bridging
• Seated rows in a gym (or pull-ups)
• Chest stretches

Lordosis

Lordosis is also a common complaint that arises from extensive weight training, which depends on sitting for a long time. It also arises during pregnancy. Lordosis means that the vertebrae at your bottom tends to stick out and you have an exaggerated inward curve in the lower back - creating posture which is commonly called "Donald Duck".

Lordosis has the following manifestations:

Tight hamstrings - you will have mild to severe contraction in your hamstring muscles. Your muscles won't be as flexible as normal muscles should be. As a result, you won't be able to exercise well and the risk of injury will increase.

Lower back pain

You will experience a significant decrease in physical efficiency during exercise because you won't be able to use the gluts (which are the strongest muscles in your body).

You will only use the lower back and hamstrings, which are not efficient enough to lift the weight. That also increases the risk of injuries.

Do you have lordosis?

Do you have a frequent lower back pain which increases when standing for extended periods? Does it decrease when sitting? Do you feel a general contraction or tightening in your hamstrings when playing sports or exercising? Stand aside in front of the mirror and look at your buttocks. Do they stick out? Your abdomen protrudes, doesn't it? If so, you might have Lordosis.

Exercises that help to alleviate lordosis

These are exercises which can help you strengthen the glutes and hamstring muscles:

• Core exercises (like planks)
• Bridges (which strengthen both glutes and hamstrings)
• Single leg hamstring flexion with ball (to strengthen hamstrings and glutes)
• And: don't forget to sit less often. This can make the muscles even lazier.

Other exercises which relieve pain arising from severe tightening (or contraction) of the hip are the following stretches:

• Standing quad stretch
• Kneeling quad and hip stretch

Squats also help to improve the strength of the hamstrings and glutes. Just make sure that you use the right from.

Scoliosis

It also is common case in which the vertebral column laterally deviates (toward the side). It causes one shoulder to be slightly lower or higher than the other one. This can greatly affect weight training negatively. If you do traditional weight training frequently, muscle asymmetry (imbalance) will be a strong possibility and the severity of scoliosis will significantly increase. You also will be at higher risk of injuries during lifting heavy weights because of the imbalance in your muscles.

Exercises to help correct scoliosis

It is preferred to do your traditional exercises but with lighter weights and more reps. 

Don't worry about dropping the weight for now - higher reps can still build a lot of muscle. 

Adjust your shoulders manually before lifting and keep them balanced.

Apart from implementing these exercises with absolute balance, as we all know when our body feels good, we feel good. In a way, your posture is a mirror which reflects your thoughts and presence. Think about the first impression of a person who enters a room slouching. You may perceive this person to lack energy, be lazy or feel unwell in some way or another.

Your body and your thoughts are directly proportional to each other (or are at least or perceived to be so by everyone around you). One of these things can improve the other one. Think about positive things, be self-confident, become motivated and hopeful, know more about body language, and you will see good results.

Be sure to correct any postural issues before training more and keep well aware of your posture. This way you can continue to lift harder and become stronger and build muscle.

More about Rolandas

Rolandas Malinausakas is a fully qualified, highly experienced London personal trainer (PT) and a British Natural Bodybuilding Vice-Champion.

The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) chose Rolandas as an expert voice in 2015; in a documentary investigation about the dangers of anabolic steroids. Rolandas brings a wealth of experience and in-depth knowledge to his work and he loves helping his clients to achieve the bodies that they desire.

If you wish to work with a great personal trainer, be sure to contact Rolandas for a free consultation at http://www.personaltraining4u.net

You can also connect with Rolandas and get social on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rolandaspt4u

And

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/personaltraining4u.net

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