Health and Fitness – Fitness Made Easy

When you stand in front of the mirror, what do you see?

The first thing that many men tend to focus on is their bellies. After that, the areas of most concern are the biceps, shoulders, and chest.

While vanity fuels much of the attention that we give our bodies, there are other reasons for keeping them strong. We don’t think of needing upper-body strength in a lot of things we do, especially if we have desk jobs. But once we get outside or start doing sports or hobbies, having it contributes immensely. Also, the more efficient we can make our upper bodies, the less energy we will expend. We’ll have a greater quality of life.

In a study, people in their sixties and seventies walked on a treadmill while holding a box of containers filled with water. The amount of water varied; the idea was to make it heavy enough that people were carrying about 40 percent of their maximum capacity, the same load they would move by carrying a heavy bag of groceries.

These same people then embarked on a strength-training program that included bench presses, overhead presses, and arm curls. After 16 weeks, the amount of effort needed to hold the containers of water was reduced by about half. What’s more, their blood pressures and heart rates declined dramatically.

What this study shows is that having a fit upper body allows you to complete everyday tasks with less stress, both on your muscles and on your cardiovascular system. A younger man might not have any problem lifting a bag of groceries, but a 50-pound bag of fertilizer is a different story. If you can do these sort of jobs more easily, it will reduce wear and tear on your heart.

Preventing Pain

An important benefit of upper-body strength is that it helps you avoid some particularly troublesome injuries. Repetitive stress injuries result from any kind of activity, from word processing to tennis, that subjects muscles, tendons, and ligaments to constant stress. Joints especially shoulders, are particularly vulnerable.

Not surprisingly, arms, shoulders, necks, and backs are more resilient and resistant to injury when they’re strong and in good condition. If you have a good upper-body strength, you’ll be able to prevent these problems, and that means preventing time lost from your job.

There is no question that keeping your upper body strong can go a long way towards saving your lower back . Even if you make a conscious effort to lift heavy objects carefully, no one does it correctly every time. Having a good upper-body strength will help you weather those lapses because it will compensate for the extra strain that you’re putting on your lower back.

Appearances Count

Most of us feel a little guilty when it comes to worrying about our appearance. Feeling good about how we look can vastly improve your self-confidence, and self-confidence in toda’s competitive world is nothing to take lightly. We need to be realistic and acknowledge that a fit appearance is important. Upper-body strength has a lot to do with that, especially for men.

There are many ways in which a strong upper body can give your self-image a little shot of adrenaline. For starters, research shows that people make a better impression when they stand straight and tall without slouching. Having strong shoulder and upper back muscles makes it easier to maintain that upright bearing.

For those with a little extra weight around their middles, a strong upper body can provide a valuable optical illusion: When men with well-developed chests and shoulders stand up straight, the stomach seems to shrink.

Why do you think women like to wear puffy shoulder pads? If your shoulders are wider, it makes your stomach look trimmer.

Men’s suits are padded in the shoulders, just as women’s are. It’s not as obvious, usually, but there’s enough filler in there to create the illusion of a fuller upper body.

In particular, tailored clothing is designed with proper posture in mind. It will be easier for you to get a good fit if you’re in good condition.

What Women Want

In pursuit of love, men spend untold amounts of time building their biceps, broadening their chests, and straightening their backs. The general feeling is that a buff upper body is what attracts the female of the species.

Research suggests, however, that women aren’t as interested in the shape of men’s bodies as men are in theirs. While women may admire a buffed rhomboid from afar, what turns them on up close is more likely to be the look in a man’s eyes, the sound of his voice, or the feel of his handshake.

Women have many different ideas about what makes men attractive, and these ideas have little to do with bulging pecs.

Roberto Garcia (Health & Fitness Specialist) 
http://www.newhealthandfitnessdvds.co.uk

Specialist provider of Health and Fitness information and products including Fitness DVDs, Health & Fitness Books and Specialist Health & Fitness Supplements.

Tags: body strength, easy fitness, health and fitness, upper body, upper body strength

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 5th, 2009 at 5:53 pm and is filed under Fitness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.