Melissa Allen
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Articles by this expert
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Article
Take Safety Precautions When Exercising
With the weather getting warmer, and more people exercising outdoors, it is important to remember to take safety precautions. Just this afternoon as we were skating around Lake Murray, a man on either inline skates or a bicycle, wrecked and fractured his arm. I wasnât present when the accident actually happened, so I canât say whether it could have been prevented, but my point is to stress to you the importance of taking safety precautions so that when the unavoidable hap
September 21, 2009
Article
Getting Started
The other day someone approached me asking how to get started with a fitness program, and so I thought I would cover some of the basics in this weekâs column. I highly recommend seeking the help of a qualified fitness professional to get you going if your budget allows it, even if itâs just a single session to get you on the right track, after which you can then carry on independently. The program should incorporate some form of resistance training, cardiovascular conditi
February 16, 2009
Article
The Psychology of Fitness
Itâs become more apparent to me lately just how many people have difficulty either getting started with a fitness program or simply adhering to one. Iâm coming to believe that there is a certain mind set, or psychology letâs call it, behind the problem. For most athletes, fitness and sports have simply been part of their lives for as long as they remember. And because of this, workouts are something they just do, and donât analyze. nnSomewhere along the way, they bega
December 23, 2008
Article
Breathe Some Life Into Your Workout
When meeting new clients for the first time, they often tell me that they have tried working out on their own in the past, but find it very difficult to adhere to a regular program. Although I have always been an advocate of scheduled workouts until you are at least past the initial dropout phase (the first 6 months), I am going to change my philosophy. I am recommending that you incorporate some flexibility into your training regime by going beyond your current perspective o
July 23, 2008
Article
Activating Your Office Job
Many long hours in front of my laptop, along with some advice from my best friend, inspired this articleâhow to incorporate fitness into your office job and break up the hours spent on your computer. Lately it seems that time jumps leaps and bounds ahead whenever I sit down in front of my own computer. I think it possesses some type of special powers that lure me to log onto it and then keeps me there for hours on end. That got me started thinking about how many people out
April 2, 2008
Article
What You May Not Know Could Hurt You
While the obvious benefits of exercise are well known by most, many people are still unaware of the not so obvious. Letâs start with the heartâour bodyâs greatest muscle. According to the surgeon general, aerobic exercise, also known as cardiovascular exercise, must be done on a regular basis in order to maintain a healthy heart and lungs. Doing so will strengthen the heart, as lifting weights does for the body, thus making it easier for you to breath while increasing y
January 5, 2008
Article
Exercising The Buddy System
How many of you reading this finds it difficult to adhere to a fitness regime? If youâre like most Americans, you probably find it at least challenging, some may even go so far as to say impossible. From my experience, I find that you must adhere to a program for at least six months before it becomes routine, and several years before it becomes a lifestyle. For most people, this is challenging to say the least. If youâre lucky, you may have a circle of friends or an activ
November 7, 2007
Article
Child Obesity
Have you noticed more children with weight problems today than ten or twenty years ago? If so, itâs not your imagination, child obesity is a bigger problem now more than ever before. Some of you may know a child with a serious weight disorder, or maybe you even have a child of your own with a weight problem. Just the other day I read a couple articles focusing on this very subject, and thought to myself that it is definitely well worthy of addressing in my column.nnTo give
September 25, 2007
Article
Keeping Exercise Fun
As you may have discovered for yourself, sticking with an exercise program long enough to make it an actual habit can be difficult, to say the least. While hopefully most of you reading this are either currently exercising or planning to start doing so in the near future, almost all of you will at one time or another grow tired of your current fitness program. That is the point that will either make or break you. In order to make fitness a lifestyle and develop a new and last
July 26, 2007
Article
Women's Weight Lifting Phobia
I've noticed that a lot of the women I've trained with over the years suffer from weight lifting phobia. By that I mean that they tend to be overly concerned with developing muscularity, as if itÃs a bad thing. I guess a lot of women are under the misconception that the development of muscle is simple and happens overnight. The truth is that muscular development takes a combination of discipline, proper food intake, and training, and to develop huge muscles takes genetics or
May 17, 2007
Article
Get in Shape for Under $30!
While you can find plenty of expensive fitness equipment to spend your money on, it may surprise you to know that you can get started with a few choice items, each for under $30. Many people think that you need to spend a lot of money on equipment in order to get in shape, but in reality, you can do a lot with very little. While training in a gym environment can be motivating, there is plenty you can do on your own with just a little self-discipline and some creativity to hel
May 7, 2007
Article
It's Easy to Burn Fat!
Cardiovascular exercise is any exercise that involves an elevated heart rate. Walking, running, swimming, and boxing are all examples of this. This is only one part of a balanced fitness program, however, with the other three parts being flexibility, resistance training, and nutrition. Cardio is what is responsible for burning the fat off of our bodies. Our bodies' first choice for fuel is carbohydrates, then followed by fat. That means you are more likely to burn stored body
April 10, 2007
Websites & resources
SelfGrowth-published websites, downloads, and contributor profile websites connected to this expert.
Website
Optimum Condition
"nutrition & fitness consultation, personal training, eating disorder and exercise addiction recovery, body image, weight management, support groups, in office, on line, and phone consults"
September 23, 2007
Website
Optimum Condition
Custom online fitness, weight loss programs, sports conditioning, and athletic training programs. We also carry nutrition supplements for weight loss and muscle building.
September 23, 2007
Website
Optimum Condition
Custom fitness services--nationwide Cyber fitness and nutrition programs, and mobile personal fitness training in the San Diego area.
September 23, 2007