INVESTMENT

 

What's Investing?

Investing is the act of putting your money to work to generate more money. It is a way to grow your wealth over time and achieve your financial goals. There are many different types of investments, each with its own risks and potential rewards.

Some common types of investments include:

Stocks: Stocks are shares of ownership in a company. When you buy a stock, you are buying a piece of that company. Stocks can be risky, but they have the potential to generate high returns over time.

Bonds: Bonds are loans that you make to a company or government. When you buy a bond, you are lending money to the issuer of the bond in exchange for regular interest payments and the return of your principal investment at a set date. Bonds are generally less risky than stocks, but they also offer lower potential returns.

Mutual funds: Mutual funds are baskets of stocks, bonds, and other investments. They are managed by professional investment managers who make decisions about what to buy and sell on behalf of the fund's shareholders. Mutual funds are a good way to diversify your investments and reduce your risk.

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs): ETFs are similar to mutual funds, but they trade on stock exchanges like stocks. ETFs offer a variety of advantages over mutual funds, including lower fees and greater liquidity.

Why is Investing Important?

Investing is important because it can help you achieve your financial goals. Whether you are saving for retirement, buying a house, or starting a business, investing can help you reach your goals faster.

Here are some of the benefits of investing:

Grow your wealth over time: Investing can help you grow your wealth over time. The power of compounding means that your earnings can start to earn their own earnings, which can lead to significant growth over the long term.

Achieve your financial goals: Investing can help you achieve your financial goals, such as saving for retirement, buying a house, or starting a business.

Beat inflation: Inflation is the erosion of your purchasing power over time. By investing, you can earn returns that can help you beat inflation and maintain your purchasing power.

Protect your assets: Investing can help you protect your assets from unexpected events, such as job loss or medical emergencies.

How to Get Started with Investing

If you are new to investing, there are a few things you need to do to get started:

Educate yourself: The best way to start investing is to educate yourself about the different types of investments and the risks and rewards involved. There are many resources available online and in libraries to help you learn about investing.

Set financial goals: Once you have a basic understanding of investing, you need to set financial goals. What do you want to achieve with your investments? Are you saving for retirement? Buying a house? Starting a business? Once you know your goals, you can start to develop an investment plan.

Choose your investments: There are many different types of investments to choose from. When choosing investments, you need to consider your risk tolerance, time horizon, and financial goals.

Open an investment account: Once you have chosen your investments, you need to open an investment account. There are many different types of investment accounts available, so you need to choose one that is right for you.

Start investing: Once you have opened an investment account, you can start investing. You can invest a lump sum or invest on a regular basis.

Tips for Successful Investing

Here are some tips for successful investing:

Start early: The earlier you start investing, the more time your money has to grow.

Invest regularly: Investing regularly is a great way to build wealth over time. Even if you can only invest a small amount each month, it will add up over time.

Reinvest your earnings: Reinvesting your earnings is a great way to accelerate the growth of your wealth. When you reinvest your earnings, you are essentially buying more investments with your investment returns.

Diversify your portfolio: Diversifying your portfolio is one of the best ways to reduce your risk. When you diversify your portfolio, you are investing in a variety of different asset classes, such as stocks, bonds, and real estate.

Don't panic sell: When the stock market takes a downturn, it is important to stay calm and don't panic sell. Selling when the market is down can lock in your losses. Instead, focus on your long-term investment goals and stay invested.

Investing can be a great way to grow your wealth over time and achieve your financial goals. However, it is important to understand the risks involved and to invest wisely. By following the tips above, you can increase your chances of success as an investor.

EXERCISE AND FITNESS

Arnold 

Exercisingregularly, every day if possible, is the single most important thing you can do for your health. In the short term, exercise helps to control appetite, boost mood, and improve sleep. In the long term, it reduces the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, dementia, depression, and many cancers.

 

WHAT ARE THE BEST TYPE OF EXERCISE

 While there are endless forms of exercise, experts categorize physical activity into four broad types based on what each calls upon your body to do and how the movement benefits you.

Aerobic exercise is marked by an increased heart rate. Although most aerobic exercises require you to move your whole body, the main focus is on your heart and lungs (Aerobic exercise is often called “cardio” because it challenges and benefits your cardiovascular system). Activities like walking, swimming, dancing and cycling, if done at sufficient intensity, get you breathing faster and your heart working harder. Aerobic exercises burn fat, improve your mood, reduce inflammation and lower blood sugar.

Strength training, sometimes called resistance training, should be performed two to three times a week. Squats, lunges, push-ups and the exercises performed on resistance machines or using weights or bands help maintain and even build muscle mass and strength. Strength training also helps prevent falls, keep bones strong, lower blood sugar levels, and improve balance. Do a combination of both isometric and isotonic exercises. Isometric exercises, such as doing planks and holding leg lifts, are done without movement. They are great for maintaining strength and improving stability. Isotonic exercises require you to bear weight throughout a range of motion. Bicep curls, bench presses and sit-ups are all forms of isotonic exercise.

Stretching exercises keep your muscles and tendons flexible, preserve your posture, and improve mobility, especially as you age. Stretching can be done every day.

Balance exercises call on the various systems that help you stay upright and oriented, such as those of the inner ear, vision and muscles and joints. Tai chi and yoga are great forms of balance exercises that can help you avoid falls and stay independent well into your senior years.

WHY IS EXERCISE SO IMPORTANT FOR SENIOR

 Whether you were once much more physically active or have never been one to exercise regularly, now is a great time to start an exercise and fitness regimen. Getting and staying in shape is just as important for seniors as it is for younger people.

Why is exercise important for older people? Getting your heart rate up and challenging your muscles benefits virtually every system in your body and improves your physical and mental health in myriad ways. Physical activity helps maintain a healthy blood pressure, keeps harmful plaque from building up in your arteries, reduces inflammation, improves blood sugar levels, strengthens bones, and helps stave off depression. In addition, a regular exercise program can make your sex life better, lead to better quality sleep, reduce your risk of some cancers, and is linked to longer life.

Many older adults hesitate to get moving because they’re unfamiliar with the types of exercise and fitness that are effective and safe, and aren’t sure how much exercise they need to do. The good news is that any kind of movement is better than being sedentary, so there’s nothing wrong with starting small and working your way up to longer workouts. Your goal should be no less than 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity per week, but if you can’t start at that level, work up to it (and then past it). While there are many dedicated forms of exercise and fitness for adults, you also want to stay physically active throughout the day by taking the stairs, doing yard work, and playing with your grandkids.

When it comes to exercise and fitness for seniors, most can begin without consulting a doctor—but there are exceptions. If you have a major health condition like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart or lung disease, osteoprosis or a neurological disease, definitely talk to your doctor first. People with mobility issues such as poor balance or arthritis should also get advice from their doctor.

HOW MUCH EXERCISE DO I NEED

 How much exercise you should be getting depends on several factors, including your current level of fitness, your fitness goals, the types of exercise you’re planning to do, and whether you have deficits in such areas as strength, flexibility or balance.

As a general rule, 150 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic activity (or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise) is recommended as a weekly minimum. As you become more fit, you’ll want to exceed that in order to reap maximum benefit. A natural way of splitting up the 150 minutes might be to do a 30-minute session five times per week, or you can break it up and do two 15-minute sessions during a single day. Adopt whatever schedule fits your lifestyle.

For strength exercises, aim to work all your major muscle groups twice to three times each week, leaving 48 hours between each workout for recovery. If you do “total-body” workouts, that’s two sessions per week. If you choose to split your workouts to target a specific muscle group (e.g., “leg day”), that will require more frequent workouts. Just make sure you’re leaving 48 hours of rest before you re-work a major muscle.

If you have noticed problems with your balance, such as unsteadiness, dizziness, or vertigo, talk to a healthcare provider for recommendations about balance-specific exercises. Get in three half-hour workouts each week in addition to a 30-minute walk at least twice weekly.

It’s best to stretch after you have warmed up for a few minutes, or perform  stretching exercises after you completed your workout. When stretching each muscle group, take it slow and steady, release, repeat again.

But how much exercise is too much? You should expect a little muscle soreness after workouts, especially in the beginning. But if you find that your body is simply not recovering between workouts, you may be overtraining. Remember that seniors need more recovery time than younger people. With the exception of “welcome” muscle soreness, an exercise program should make you feel good. If it doesn’t, you’re probably overdoing it. That doesn’t mean you should quit, only that you should dial back the intensity or frequency of your workouts until you hit the “sweet spot” in which you’ve “tired out” your body but then recovered enough to tackle your next session with enthusiasm.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF EXERCISE

A smartly designed exercise program will benefit your body and mind in innumerable ways.

The benefits of exercise on mental health are well documented. For example, one major study found that sedentary people are 44% more likely to be depressed. Another found that those with mild to moderate depression could get similar results to those obtained through antidepressants just by exercising for 90 minutes each week. The key appears to be the release of brain chemicals such as serotonin and dopamine, which help lift mood and combat stress.

We’re all familiar with exercise’s ability to improve cardiovascular health. But how does exercise lower blood pressure? Interestingly, when you stimulate your circulatory system through aerobic exercise, you’re temporarily increasing your blood pressure by forcing the system to work harder—but when you’ve finished exercising, your blood pressure drops to a lower level than it was before you began.

Many people think of exercise as an integral part of weight loss—and, although diet is also extremely important, they’re not wrong. But what exercise burns the most calories? Generally, aerobic exercises (cardio) are great for expending calories and reducing fat. But don’t overlook the effectiveness of strength training, which optimizes your body’s ratio of lean muscle to fat (It’s also the best exercise for bone strength). There’s no Holy Grail when it comes to a single best weight-loss exercise. The best exercise to lose weight is the one you’ll do consistently. Whatever gets your heart rate up and gets your body moving—while having fun and staying motivated—is the exercise that will help you shed pounds.

WALKING FOR HEALTH

The simple activity of walking has so many powerful health benefits. Done correctly, it can be the key to losing weight, lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, and boosting your memory, as well as reducing your risk for heart disease, diabetes, cancer and more. Walking for Health, created by the experts at Harvard Medical School, takes you step-by-step from why walking may be the most perfect exercise, to how to get started on a walking program, to specific walking workouts. It even has a special section on walking for weight loss.

WHAT IF MY EXERCISE ABILITY IS LIMITED

 Everyone can and should do some form of exercise, even if they face severe limitations. Experts have designed specific exercises for seniors that are low-impact, safe and able to be done even from a sitting position if necessary.

If you’re concerned about fall risk, balance exercises for seniors can be done holding onto a chair or doorframe. For example, standing behind a chair, you can hold its back and lift one leg to about the height of the middle of the calf of the other leg while tightening your abdominal muscles. As you progress, you might try holding the chair with just one hand and eventually letting go of the chair.

Even core-strengthening exercises for seniors can be adapted to those with limited abilities. For example, a standard plank is done by holding yourself parallel to the floor with only your forearms and toes touching the mat. An easier version allows you to also place your knees on the mat. But a still easier method is to do the plank while standing and leaning forward. You put your elbows and forearms on a desk, table or wall while resting on the balls of your feet and keeping your back straight.

There are a variety of stretching exercises for seniors to suit people of different abilities. If holding poses on your hands and knees is out of the question, you could try a full-body stretch in which you lie on your back, straighten your legs and extend your hands along the floor past your head. Some stretches can be done while seated, such as overhead stretches and neck rotations.

In fact, other types of exercise also can be done from a seated position. Other chair exercises for seniors include bicep curls (with dumbbells or elastic bands), overhead dumbbell presses, shoulder blade squeezes, calf raises, sit-to-stands (chair squats) and knee extensions.

WHAT EXERCISE ARE BEST HEART health?

The best exercise program will incorporate both aerobic and strength training, since that’s the best way to strengthen your entire body, improve your endurance and ensure your long-term health. But if your main concern is how to improve cardiovascular health, then you should put a premium on cardiovascular exercises that force your heart and lungs to work harder, sending oxygen to your cells. While strength training certainly does have cardiovascular benefits, cardio workouts excel when it comes to reducing blood pressure, maintaining the health of the inner walls of your arteries, releasing enzymes that break down blood clots, and even promoting the growth of new arteries feeding the heart.

Regular aerobic exercise also significantly lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes. Although diabetes usually isn’t thought of as a heart problem, a lower risk of diabetes also lowers the risk of heart disease, since high blood sugar takes a toll on blood vessels and the nerves that control the heart. When you exercise, you call on your body’s cells to take glucose (sugar) out of the blood, which they do by becoming more sensitive to insulin, the hormone crucial to glucose metabolism. That means your cells remain insulin-sensitive long after you’re finished exercising. And since obesity is a significant risk for diabetes, exercises that help you shed fat—especially around your middle—will help you keep diabetes at bay.

You might also be

20 FITNESS MOTIVATION QUOTES

 20 motivational quotes to inspire greatness in the gym.

Lacking motivation to get back into the gym? Back in the gym already but feel stagnated? Or maybe you’re just looking for new inspiration for a the new year. Whatever your situation, reading words of wisdom from successful people can be super-inspiring.

With that in mind, here are  20 amazing  motivational quotes from notable figures to help you kick start your new year — and your fitness goals.

Some are from sports people, some entrepreneurs, world leaders and famous thinkers, but in each of these quotes is something to inspire you in your fitness pursuits.

1. ‘The last three or four reps is what makes the muscle grow. This area of pain divides a champion from someone who is not a champion.’

— Arnold Schwarzenegger, seven-time Mr. Olympia

2. ‘Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.’

— Henry David Thoreau, poet and philosopher

3. ‘All progress takes place outside the comfort zone.’

— Michael John Bobak, digital artist

4. ‘If you think lifting is dangerous, try being weak. Being weak is dangerous.’

— Bret Contreras, sports scientist

5. ‘The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.’

— Vidal Sassoon, hairstylist and businessman

6. ‘The clock is ticking. Are you becoming the person you want to be?’

— Greg Plitt, fitness model

7. ‘Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.’

— Henry Ford, industrialist

8. ‘The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus.’

— Bruce Lee, actor and martial artist

9. ‘You must expect great things of yourself before you can do them.’

— Michael Jordan, basketball player

10. ‘Action is the foundational key to all success.’

— Pablo Picasso, visual artist

11. ‘Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.’

– Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States

12. ‘Well done is better than well said.’

— Benjamin Franklin, American Founding Father and inventor

13. ‘All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.’

— Walt Disney, film producer and entrepreneur

14. ‘A champion is someone who gets up when they can’t.’

— Jack Dempsey, professional boxer

15. ‘What hurts today makes you stronger tomorrow.’

— Jay Cutler, pro bodybuilder and four-time Mr. Olympia

16. ‘If something stands between you and your success, move it. Never be denied.’

— Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, actor and pro wrestler

17. ‘If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done.’

— Thomas Jefferson, Third President of the United States

18. ‘You have to think it before you can do it. The mind is what makes it all possible.’

— Kai Greene, pro bodybuilder and artist

19. ‘Things work out best for those who make the best of how things work out.’

— John Wooden, basketball player and coach

20. ‘Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.’

— Winston Churchill, British statesman and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

THE ULTIMATE ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER TRAINING GUIDE

 

It’s been more than four decades since Arnold Schwarzenegger won the last of his seven Mr. Olympia titles in 1980, yet the workouts that helped mold him into arguably the greatest bodybuilder ever are as valid today as they were then. From the time he migrated from Munich to Southern California in 1969, right through to his first retirement from professional bodybuilding in 1975 (1980 represented his brief competitive comeback), everything Arnold did revolved around training. He would train twice a day at Gold’s Gym in Venice, joined by all of his closest friends—bodybuilding icons like the late-Franco Columbu, Frank Zane, and Dave Draper. His workouts lasted hours, with a seemingly endless number of exercises and sets. It was the epitome of high-volume training, a style of working out criticized by most training experts today as not allowing adequate muscle recovery. But there was a method to Arnold’s madness. In the following slides, you’ll see—body part by body part—the actual workouts the Austrian Oak performed while in the prime of his career, when he was the undisputed king of bodybuilding.