Obese people around the world waste billions of pounds a year on food products that imply they aid weight loss, but are totally ineffective, it has been claimed.
Professor Mike Lean, a nutritional expert from the University of Glasgow, says new regulations designed to protect consumers should be "enforced proactively" to help direct them towards evidence based management of diseases, including obesity.
In an editorial published on bmj.com he says the EU Directive on Unfair Commercial Practices, enforced in the UK in May, was designed to plug gaps in existing consumer protection legislation and to protect vulnerable people who are often the target of unscrupulous traders, and obliges businesses not to mislead consumers.
"The distinction between medicines and foods is sometimes unclear when they are marketed for health reasons, and consumers can be misled," he writes.
"Medicines are licensed in Europe only after stringent experimental research to establish safety and efficacy. In the UK, this process is regulated by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. Food products marketed for health have largely escaped these controls.
"The Joint Health Claims Initiative, which was set up in the UK to establish a code of practice for health claims on food, established a process for their evaluation on the basis that similar systematic evidence bases should be required to those for drugs.
"The EU regulation on nutrition and health claims for foods was adopted in 2006. All claims - such as "low fat", "high fibre", or "helps lower cholesterol" - are required to be clear, accurate, and substantiated, so that only products offering genuine health or nutritional benefits could refer to these claims on their labels."
Professor Lean says it is already illegal under food labelling regulations (1996) to claim that food products can treat or prevent disease.
"However, huge numbers of such claims are still made, particularly for obesity. Many such claims are not overt or verbal. Using 'implied claims' in brand names, and images on packaging, they are positioned and promoted, by staff or 'testimonials' on vendors' websites, in such a way that consumers are likely to be misled.
"Under the new regulations, products or services that falsely (without substantiation) claim or imply that they can improve health are now clearly illegal."
channel4
Fat Loss And Bodybuilding News! Even a modest amount of fat loss can reduce your risk of a serious illness and means you will enjoy a better, heathier and longer life expectancy.
Friday 28 November 2008
Wednesday 19 November 2008
Hoodia - Does Hoodia Really Work For Fat Loss?
If you are anxious to get fat loss going, you've likely looked into the diet supplement, hoodia. Hoodia gordonii is a plant that was used in South African many years ago by hunters who would need to go for long durations of time without food and grows very slowly in harsh conditions and needs to be harvested for four to five years before it's ready.
But how well does Hoodia really work for fat loss? Many people turn to hoodia thinking it is the answer to all their prayers. Never hungry? Sounds like a dietary dream. After all, following a diet should be easy if you never have any feelings of hunger, shouldn't it?
Unfortunately, it isn't so simple.
First off, if you are a trying to get a lean, sexy midsection, not eating is the last thing you want to be doing. Sure, you definitely will need to eat less in order to lose body fat, but if you aren't eating enough, you'll actually just lose muscle rather than body fat. Since muscle tissue is your calorie burning engine, destroying it would be counterproductive to getting the results you want.
Who wants a slower metabolism at the end of the day? That'll just make further fat loss next to impossible.
If hoodia is affecting your natural hunger signals, it will be hard to get in the foods that you do need - the foods that will work with your body to lose the body fat while still keeping muscle tissue intact.
Secondly, you must understand that hoodia is not a thoroughly tested product and cannot be deemed safe. If you take enough of it, it can actually damage your metabolism, causing a variety of thyroid issues that will be stuck with you into the future. While fat loss and getting abs is important, you must do it a healthy way so that you don't do anything disrupting to your health.
Finally, hoodia diet pills are by no means a proper method to losing abdominal fat. In order to lose abdominal fat, you're going to have to find a method that will be sustainable over the long term. If you think that you're just going to skip eating for the years to come, you are very mistaken. You will not get the proper nutrients you need to sustain life, therefore, to put it bluntly, using hoodia as a means to help you maintain fat loss could very well put you in the hospital with severe malnutrition.
What you need is a diet that supplies all the nutrients you need, while still being affective with stomach fat loss. Then, you'll also need to make sure this diet is something you can work into your lifestyle so that your abs aren't going to be just covered up by more body fat again once you move off the diet.
The more time you waste chasing after gimmicky supplements that only hurt you in the long run, the more time you spend without the results you are after.
But how well does Hoodia really work for fat loss? Many people turn to hoodia thinking it is the answer to all their prayers. Never hungry? Sounds like a dietary dream. After all, following a diet should be easy if you never have any feelings of hunger, shouldn't it?
Unfortunately, it isn't so simple.
First off, if you are a trying to get a lean, sexy midsection, not eating is the last thing you want to be doing. Sure, you definitely will need to eat less in order to lose body fat, but if you aren't eating enough, you'll actually just lose muscle rather than body fat. Since muscle tissue is your calorie burning engine, destroying it would be counterproductive to getting the results you want.
Who wants a slower metabolism at the end of the day? That'll just make further fat loss next to impossible.
If hoodia is affecting your natural hunger signals, it will be hard to get in the foods that you do need - the foods that will work with your body to lose the body fat while still keeping muscle tissue intact.
Secondly, you must understand that hoodia is not a thoroughly tested product and cannot be deemed safe. If you take enough of it, it can actually damage your metabolism, causing a variety of thyroid issues that will be stuck with you into the future. While fat loss and getting abs is important, you must do it a healthy way so that you don't do anything disrupting to your health.
Finally, hoodia diet pills are by no means a proper method to losing abdominal fat. In order to lose abdominal fat, you're going to have to find a method that will be sustainable over the long term. If you think that you're just going to skip eating for the years to come, you are very mistaken. You will not get the proper nutrients you need to sustain life, therefore, to put it bluntly, using hoodia as a means to help you maintain fat loss could very well put you in the hospital with severe malnutrition.
What you need is a diet that supplies all the nutrients you need, while still being affective with stomach fat loss. Then, you'll also need to make sure this diet is something you can work into your lifestyle so that your abs aren't going to be just covered up by more body fat again once you move off the diet.
The more time you waste chasing after gimmicky supplements that only hurt you in the long run, the more time you spend without the results you are after.
6 Pack Abs - The Secret To 6 Pack Abs
Everywhere you turn, someone's promising the next secret to getting 6 pack abs. Some of these so called 'secrets' have some degree of accuracy, while others, not so much. Deciphering which are the best methods to getting 6 pack abs is going to be critical to your having success with this goal.
The biggest area you need to focus on when trying to obtain 6 pack abs is going to be on your diet. Like it or not, the old saying that 'abs are made in the kitchen', is probably one of the most truthful statements in the fitness industry. If your diet isn't in line, your stomach is going to show it.
So, what should you be doing with your diet?
First, ensure you are getting enough protein. Not only is protein going to form the key building blocks you need to build muscle tissue, but it's also going to provide you with a better feeling of fullness than eating just carbohydrates alone would for example. Protein is more "expensive" than any other macronutrient meaning that your body will burn more calories breaking down protein compared to carbs and fats.
Next, don't be afraid of dietary fat that comes from primarily monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats such as olive oils, fish oils, a mix of nuts, natural peanut butter and avocado. While it's true that eating fat will increase your calories fast, as long as you keep it between 20-30% it can be one of the best things to get 6 pack abs fast. The important point here is that dietary fat helps keep your insulin level stable, which, when high enough can actually cause fat gain itself.
Furthermore, dietary fat will keep you feeling the fullest for the longest duration in time; longer than both protein or carbohydrates would. Interestingly, some diets high in fat can get you 6 pack abs fast because your body learn to metabolize fat for energy.
So, while you do need to watch it, be sure you are getting some in your diet.
Finally, when it comes to carbohydrate intake and getting 6 pack abs, you want to focus most of your carbohydrate intake around the post workout period.
Why?
The biggest reason for this is because this is when your body is going to need those carbohydrates the most and will really suck them up into the muscle tissue. When you eat them at this time, it is least likely that they will turn into body fat.
Additionally, consuming carbohydrates during this period will also help to aid with muscle recovery and repair, so that means less down time from the gym for you.
If getting 6 pack abs fast is your goal than each meal you should consist of 1-2 cups of raw vegetables to control insulin levels, improve absorption of your protein and flood your body with vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants.
So, if you are aiming to get 6 pack abs in the coming months, have a good hard look at your diet. That is the big secret that must not be overlooked if you are to succeed.
The biggest area you need to focus on when trying to obtain 6 pack abs is going to be on your diet. Like it or not, the old saying that 'abs are made in the kitchen', is probably one of the most truthful statements in the fitness industry. If your diet isn't in line, your stomach is going to show it.
So, what should you be doing with your diet?
First, ensure you are getting enough protein. Not only is protein going to form the key building blocks you need to build muscle tissue, but it's also going to provide you with a better feeling of fullness than eating just carbohydrates alone would for example. Protein is more "expensive" than any other macronutrient meaning that your body will burn more calories breaking down protein compared to carbs and fats.
Next, don't be afraid of dietary fat that comes from primarily monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats such as olive oils, fish oils, a mix of nuts, natural peanut butter and avocado. While it's true that eating fat will increase your calories fast, as long as you keep it between 20-30% it can be one of the best things to get 6 pack abs fast. The important point here is that dietary fat helps keep your insulin level stable, which, when high enough can actually cause fat gain itself.
Furthermore, dietary fat will keep you feeling the fullest for the longest duration in time; longer than both protein or carbohydrates would. Interestingly, some diets high in fat can get you 6 pack abs fast because your body learn to metabolize fat for energy.
So, while you do need to watch it, be sure you are getting some in your diet.
Finally, when it comes to carbohydrate intake and getting 6 pack abs, you want to focus most of your carbohydrate intake around the post workout period.
Why?
The biggest reason for this is because this is when your body is going to need those carbohydrates the most and will really suck them up into the muscle tissue. When you eat them at this time, it is least likely that they will turn into body fat.
Additionally, consuming carbohydrates during this period will also help to aid with muscle recovery and repair, so that means less down time from the gym for you.
If getting 6 pack abs fast is your goal than each meal you should consist of 1-2 cups of raw vegetables to control insulin levels, improve absorption of your protein and flood your body with vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants.
So, if you are aiming to get 6 pack abs in the coming months, have a good hard look at your diet. That is the big secret that must not be overlooked if you are to succeed.
Why Weight Lifting Is An Exercise That Delivers Top Health Benefits
While some individuals are strictly interested in obtaining muscle for aesthetics, for most people, this isn’t an interest. Instead, you’re more interested in knowing what health benefits weight lifting will have for you…
Far too many people overlook the many health and fitness benefits that weight training has to offer, and because of this, experience problems down the road with their body such as decreased bone density, a slowed metabolic rate, increased stress levels and other negative consequences that are associated with constant stress.
Increased Bone Density
Weight lifting, being one of the best weight bearing exercises you can do, will increase your bone density and help ward off osteoporosis or stress fractures in the future.
Many people think running is the best exercise for increasing bone density, but this isn’t necessarily true. If the truth is told, running actually promotes muscle breakdown in the body, while weight lifting, being an anabolic process, helps to promote the building of tissues.
Therefore, weight lifting is going to be much better at preserving your bone mass, not to mention it’s far less impact than going for an hour run.
Decreased Frequency of Injuries
When you strength train, not only are your muscles going to get stronger, but you’ll also work the ligaments and tendons that are connecting bones, muscles, and other tissues, thus reducing the chance they become injured when participating in other physical activities.
If you’ve ever been injured, you know just how frustrating this can be. In about 80% of all injury cases, the injury is a direct result of a tendon, ligament, or muscle not being strong enough when a stressful force is applied.
Since weight training will really hit all those deep tendons and ligaments, it’s the best injury prevention out there.
Reduction of Health Related Risks
Numerous studies have demonstrated that regular weight training can have a positive effect on health by showing reductions in the rate of insulin resistance, blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer.
If you couple a solid weight training program then with a well-thought out diet, you’ll be putting your best foot forward at warding off these chronic problems
Prevention of Fat Gain
The more you weight lift, the higher your metabolism will be, thus the more food you can eat while maintaining your weight. If that isn’t good news for your future and the fight against body fat, I’m not sure what is.
Now, with all of this said, one big problem many people run into is the thinking pattern that using a muscle building program will make you big and bulky.
This is most certainly not the case.
Let’s look at an analogy to gain an understanding of this.
Pretend you have two teams and each are going to try and build a house using the exact same building technique.
One team is given 10,000 bricks to construct this house, and the second team is given only 1,000 bricks.
Who’s going to build the bigger house?
The choice should be obvious – team one since they have more bricks to build it with.
Now, think of those bricks as being the calories you put into your body. Unless you’re supplying enough calories, you aren’t going to build really big muscles. This is precisely what makes bodybuilders look like bodybuilders.
It’s not just about the way they train, but more about the way they eat (if you’ve ever had a teenage son in the growing process in your house, you likely know just how much food must be consumed when growing at rapid rates).
Whether it’s growing in height during puberty or trying to build bigger muscles later on, calories must be supplied for this growth process to take place.
You can’t build a house out of nothing. Likewise, you can workout all you want, but if those building blocks – in the form of amino acids, carbohydrates, and dietary fats are not there, you aren’t going to see too much muscle growth.
So, don’t get caught thinking that just because you add weight lifting to your workouts, you’re going to develop large bulky muscles. If you control your diet, this simply will not happen.
So, hopefully it is clear now that just because you’re weight lifting, it does not mean you will end up with bulky muscles as a result. Many people make this incorrect assumption – but it really is the diet that makes all the difference in how this weight lifting will shape your body.
When you make the decision to work with me using my 6-Pack Ab Quest program, I’ll take you through the weight lifting and ab techniques that will provide maximum results with minimal effort on your part (why spend more time in the gym than you have to?), as well as provide you with meal plans that are custom designed to ensure you get the best results from your training without the muscle bulk – in fact, the plans are formulated to help you shed the fat so you look leaner and more defined.
Not choosing to include weight training as part of your current workout program is without-a-doubt the biggest mistake you could make as far as your long-term health and fitness level is concerned. Don’t let this exercise pass you by any longer.
Far too many people overlook the many health and fitness benefits that weight training has to offer, and because of this, experience problems down the road with their body such as decreased bone density, a slowed metabolic rate, increased stress levels and other negative consequences that are associated with constant stress.
Increased Bone Density
Weight lifting, being one of the best weight bearing exercises you can do, will increase your bone density and help ward off osteoporosis or stress fractures in the future.
Many people think running is the best exercise for increasing bone density, but this isn’t necessarily true. If the truth is told, running actually promotes muscle breakdown in the body, while weight lifting, being an anabolic process, helps to promote the building of tissues.
Therefore, weight lifting is going to be much better at preserving your bone mass, not to mention it’s far less impact than going for an hour run.
Decreased Frequency of Injuries
When you strength train, not only are your muscles going to get stronger, but you’ll also work the ligaments and tendons that are connecting bones, muscles, and other tissues, thus reducing the chance they become injured when participating in other physical activities.
If you’ve ever been injured, you know just how frustrating this can be. In about 80% of all injury cases, the injury is a direct result of a tendon, ligament, or muscle not being strong enough when a stressful force is applied.
Since weight training will really hit all those deep tendons and ligaments, it’s the best injury prevention out there.
Reduction of Health Related Risks
Numerous studies have demonstrated that regular weight training can have a positive effect on health by showing reductions in the rate of insulin resistance, blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer.
If you couple a solid weight training program then with a well-thought out diet, you’ll be putting your best foot forward at warding off these chronic problems
Prevention of Fat Gain
The more you weight lift, the higher your metabolism will be, thus the more food you can eat while maintaining your weight. If that isn’t good news for your future and the fight against body fat, I’m not sure what is.
Now, with all of this said, one big problem many people run into is the thinking pattern that using a muscle building program will make you big and bulky.
This is most certainly not the case.
Let’s look at an analogy to gain an understanding of this.
Pretend you have two teams and each are going to try and build a house using the exact same building technique.
One team is given 10,000 bricks to construct this house, and the second team is given only 1,000 bricks.
Who’s going to build the bigger house?
The choice should be obvious – team one since they have more bricks to build it with.
Now, think of those bricks as being the calories you put into your body. Unless you’re supplying enough calories, you aren’t going to build really big muscles. This is precisely what makes bodybuilders look like bodybuilders.
It’s not just about the way they train, but more about the way they eat (if you’ve ever had a teenage son in the growing process in your house, you likely know just how much food must be consumed when growing at rapid rates).
Whether it’s growing in height during puberty or trying to build bigger muscles later on, calories must be supplied for this growth process to take place.
You can’t build a house out of nothing. Likewise, you can workout all you want, but if those building blocks – in the form of amino acids, carbohydrates, and dietary fats are not there, you aren’t going to see too much muscle growth.
So, don’t get caught thinking that just because you add weight lifting to your workouts, you’re going to develop large bulky muscles. If you control your diet, this simply will not happen.
So, hopefully it is clear now that just because you’re weight lifting, it does not mean you will end up with bulky muscles as a result. Many people make this incorrect assumption – but it really is the diet that makes all the difference in how this weight lifting will shape your body.
When you make the decision to work with me using my 6-Pack Ab Quest program, I’ll take you through the weight lifting and ab techniques that will provide maximum results with minimal effort on your part (why spend more time in the gym than you have to?), as well as provide you with meal plans that are custom designed to ensure you get the best results from your training without the muscle bulk – in fact, the plans are formulated to help you shed the fat so you look leaner and more defined.
Not choosing to include weight training as part of your current workout program is without-a-doubt the biggest mistake you could make as far as your long-term health and fitness level is concerned. Don’t let this exercise pass you by any longer.
Sunday 16 November 2008
5 Cardio Workouts to Burn Fat
Everything you know about cardio is about to change. You're about to discover the truth about 5 cardio workouts to burn fat and lose more belly fat in less workout time. Let's start by looking at the old, outdated way of burning fat.
Cardio Workout #1 to burn fat: Slow cardio
The first cardio workout to burn fat is "Old School Cardio". For years, we've been fooled into thinking that we need long, slow, boring cardio workouts to burn fat. However, too many men and women slave away on the cardio machines for 40, 60 and even 90 minutes per workout without burning fat. How is this possible?
To be honest, I don't know exactly why it doesn't work, but two recent research studies found that women doing 40-60 minutes of low intensity cardio, 3-5 days per week, did not lose belly fat after at least 12 weeks of cardio. Based on those results, slow cardio is not one of the best cardio workouts to burn fat.
In fact, in one of those studies, researchers tested high-intensity cardio, and found that high-intensity cardio was able to burn fat.
Cardio Workout #2 to burn fat: High-intensity cardio
The only problem is that high-intensity cardio requires you to work as hard as you can until you burn at least 400 calories in a workout. That will take you at least 40 minutes - so while this is one of the better cardio workouts to burn fat, it's still not the best.
A better approach is to use interval training. This is the third cardio workout to burn fat.
Cardio Workout #3 to burn fat: Interval training cardio
In a study from Australia that compared 2 cardio workouts to burn fat, subjects doing 3 interval training workouts per week lost a significant amount of belly fat while another group doing 40 minutes of slow cardio per week did not burn belly fat.
So interval training is a much better workout choice for fat loss. To do interval training, you do a normal warm-up, and then you alternate between hard exercise and easy exercise, then you follow with a cool down. This routine only takes twenty minutes.
Here's a sample of the interval cardio workouts to burn fat. Do a 5 minute warm-up, and then exercise for 1 minute at a pace that is 10-20% harder than your normal cardio intensity. After that 1 minute, decrease your exercise pace all the way down to cool-down level. Repeat that hard-easy cycle 5 more times. Finish with 3 minutes of cool-down.
Cardio Workout #4 to burn fat: Tabata Interval cardio
Since interval training became popular, personal trainers have been looking for other short cardio workouts to burn fat. A study from Japan used something that is known as the "Tabata Protocol", and many trainers believe this is even better than cardio and regular intervals. The fourth cardio workout to burn fat is the Tabata Interval program.
I'm not convinced it is better than regular intervals, but it is a heck of a hard way to do a fat burning workout. After a warm-up, you 20 seconds of hard work followed by 10 seconds of recovery. Repeat that 8 times. This fat burning workout takes only 4 minutes!
Cardio Workout #5 to burn fat: Bodyweight circuit cardio
Finally, the fifth cardio workout for fat burning is bodyweight circuit training. Like intervals and the Tabata workouts, bodyweight circuit training is not really "cardio", however, these are the three better cardio workouts to burn fat.
Whatever you want to call bodyweight cardio, here's how it works.
First, you start with a quick, easy bodyweight exercise, such as Jumping Jacks.
After that, alternate between 3 lower-body and 3 upper-body bodyweight exercises, using squats, pushups, lunges, pulling exercises like rows or chinups, split squats, and total body ab exercises like mountain climbers.
Finally, finish off the 8 exercise circuit with a tough total body exercise like jumps, burpees, or running in place. Now that's fat burning cardio!
Those are 5 cardio workouts to burn fat. Only two are "traditional", but those 2 are the longest, and least effective. The shorter fat burning cardio workouts are the best way to burn belly fat fast.
Click here for a sample interval cardio fat burning program that has helped thousands of men and women with weight loss and fat burning.
The Turbulence Training fat burning workouts help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment.
Craig Ballantyne is an expert trainer for Men's Health magazine and Oxygen magazine, and his fat burning bodyweight workouts help you lose fat without any equipment at all.
You have permission to publish this article in your web sites, ezines or electronic publication, as long as the piece is used in its entirety including the resource box, all hyperlinks (HTML clickable) and references and copyright info.
Cardio Workout #1 to burn fat: Slow cardio
The first cardio workout to burn fat is "Old School Cardio". For years, we've been fooled into thinking that we need long, slow, boring cardio workouts to burn fat. However, too many men and women slave away on the cardio machines for 40, 60 and even 90 minutes per workout without burning fat. How is this possible?
To be honest, I don't know exactly why it doesn't work, but two recent research studies found that women doing 40-60 minutes of low intensity cardio, 3-5 days per week, did not lose belly fat after at least 12 weeks of cardio. Based on those results, slow cardio is not one of the best cardio workouts to burn fat.
In fact, in one of those studies, researchers tested high-intensity cardio, and found that high-intensity cardio was able to burn fat.
Cardio Workout #2 to burn fat: High-intensity cardio
The only problem is that high-intensity cardio requires you to work as hard as you can until you burn at least 400 calories in a workout. That will take you at least 40 minutes - so while this is one of the better cardio workouts to burn fat, it's still not the best.
A better approach is to use interval training. This is the third cardio workout to burn fat.
Cardio Workout #3 to burn fat: Interval training cardio
In a study from Australia that compared 2 cardio workouts to burn fat, subjects doing 3 interval training workouts per week lost a significant amount of belly fat while another group doing 40 minutes of slow cardio per week did not burn belly fat.
So interval training is a much better workout choice for fat loss. To do interval training, you do a normal warm-up, and then you alternate between hard exercise and easy exercise, then you follow with a cool down. This routine only takes twenty minutes.
Here's a sample of the interval cardio workouts to burn fat. Do a 5 minute warm-up, and then exercise for 1 minute at a pace that is 10-20% harder than your normal cardio intensity. After that 1 minute, decrease your exercise pace all the way down to cool-down level. Repeat that hard-easy cycle 5 more times. Finish with 3 minutes of cool-down.
Cardio Workout #4 to burn fat: Tabata Interval cardio
Since interval training became popular, personal trainers have been looking for other short cardio workouts to burn fat. A study from Japan used something that is known as the "Tabata Protocol", and many trainers believe this is even better than cardio and regular intervals. The fourth cardio workout to burn fat is the Tabata Interval program.
I'm not convinced it is better than regular intervals, but it is a heck of a hard way to do a fat burning workout. After a warm-up, you 20 seconds of hard work followed by 10 seconds of recovery. Repeat that 8 times. This fat burning workout takes only 4 minutes!
Cardio Workout #5 to burn fat: Bodyweight circuit cardio
Finally, the fifth cardio workout for fat burning is bodyweight circuit training. Like intervals and the Tabata workouts, bodyweight circuit training is not really "cardio", however, these are the three better cardio workouts to burn fat.
Whatever you want to call bodyweight cardio, here's how it works.
First, you start with a quick, easy bodyweight exercise, such as Jumping Jacks.
After that, alternate between 3 lower-body and 3 upper-body bodyweight exercises, using squats, pushups, lunges, pulling exercises like rows or chinups, split squats, and total body ab exercises like mountain climbers.
Finally, finish off the 8 exercise circuit with a tough total body exercise like jumps, burpees, or running in place. Now that's fat burning cardio!
Those are 5 cardio workouts to burn fat. Only two are "traditional", but those 2 are the longest, and least effective. The shorter fat burning cardio workouts are the best way to burn belly fat fast.
Click here for a sample interval cardio fat burning program that has helped thousands of men and women with weight loss and fat burning.
The Turbulence Training fat burning workouts help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment.
Craig Ballantyne is an expert trainer for Men's Health magazine and Oxygen magazine, and his fat burning bodyweight workouts help you lose fat without any equipment at all.
You have permission to publish this article in your web sites, ezines or electronic publication, as long as the piece is used in its entirety including the resource box, all hyperlinks (HTML clickable) and references and copyright info.
Aerobic and Anaerobic Exercises
Aerobic exercise does not necessarily mean all heavy exercises. In fact, some forms of strenuous exercise is anaerobic and affects the body in a different way. If you are starting out on a new exercise regimen, it would be a good idea to find out the difference between aerobic exercise and what is anaerobic. Such knowledge will help you with what exercises to do and how to do them properly. By aerobic exercise, it means "with oxygen", whereas anaerobic means otherwise-"without oxygen". With anaerobic exercise, cellular tissues generate energy without relying on oxygen availability. The distinction between aerobic exercise and anaerobic is that aerobic exercise needs significant production of oxygen supply while anaerobic does not.
Aerobic exercise is more prolonged that's why it requires considerable amounts of oxygen. Oxygen is utilized by the muscles to burn fat and glucose is necessary for the manufacturing of adenosine triphosphate or ATP. ATP is the fundamental transport of all body cells. Initially during aerobic exercise, glycogen is changed into glucose, and as glucose is diminished, fat is metabolized as fuel. Endorphins are released in the brain during the "runner's high" which happens when the muscles depend only on oxygen as the glycogen in the muscles have been used up. Anaerobic exercise doesn't have time to depend on oxygen, that's why it is brief and quick.
The muscles being used rely on energy- producing means that don't significantly need oxygen in anaerobic activities. To produce stamina, the body metabolizes glycogen in the muscles instead. Blood sugar in the body provides glycogen. Aerobic exercise tones body muscle and eliminates fat. Aerobic exercise doesn't merely make you look trim and toned, but would also give you several health benefits:
- strengthening of the heart, thereby increasing pumping efficiency and lowering heart rate resting
- improving circulation and decreasing blood pressure
- strengthening respiratory muscles thereby boosting lung capacity
- increasing red blood cell count making them deliver oxygen more effectively all throughout the body
- reducing the risk of heart diseases Anaerobic exercise, however, gives the body more power and stamina.
This may be helpful in sports like sprint, football or basketball. Anaerobically conditioned muscles develop in another way, boosting power in sudden, high-intensity moments. Other benefits are:
- strengthening of the the bones
- increasing muscle strength and mass
- reducing muscle atrophy that goes with age
- increasing speed and power
Exercises like cycling, swimming, running, walking, rowing and cross-country skiing are some forms of aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise requires a sustained heart rate and moderate effort.Other home exercises such as using the treadmill and exercise bike or going with a home video are also aerobic. For the outdoors, you may do snow-shoeing, hiking or kayaking.
Tennis, weight lifting, sprinting and jumping, on the other hand are anaerobic in nature. To achieve a total balanced fitness, it is best to combine doing both anaerobic and aerobic exercise. Anaerobic activities is a good complement to aerobic exercise as it will add definition and tone to the physical result of aerobic exercise. It is wise to check with your physician before starting an exercise program. Do your exercises gradually over time with increasing intensity. Don't overdo it as you might injure yourself. Most importantly, a daily exercise routine must be coupled with a balanced diet and sufficient amounts of sleep for optimum health.
The author of this article Rose Windale is a Health and Wellness Coach who has been successful with several natural health programs for many years. Rose decided to share her knowledge and tips through her website http://www.healthzine.org You can sign up for her free newsletter and enjoy a healthy and happy life.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rose_Windale
Aerobic exercise is more prolonged that's why it requires considerable amounts of oxygen. Oxygen is utilized by the muscles to burn fat and glucose is necessary for the manufacturing of adenosine triphosphate or ATP. ATP is the fundamental transport of all body cells. Initially during aerobic exercise, glycogen is changed into glucose, and as glucose is diminished, fat is metabolized as fuel. Endorphins are released in the brain during the "runner's high" which happens when the muscles depend only on oxygen as the glycogen in the muscles have been used up. Anaerobic exercise doesn't have time to depend on oxygen, that's why it is brief and quick.
The muscles being used rely on energy- producing means that don't significantly need oxygen in anaerobic activities. To produce stamina, the body metabolizes glycogen in the muscles instead. Blood sugar in the body provides glycogen. Aerobic exercise tones body muscle and eliminates fat. Aerobic exercise doesn't merely make you look trim and toned, but would also give you several health benefits:
- strengthening of the heart, thereby increasing pumping efficiency and lowering heart rate resting
- improving circulation and decreasing blood pressure
- strengthening respiratory muscles thereby boosting lung capacity
- increasing red blood cell count making them deliver oxygen more effectively all throughout the body
- reducing the risk of heart diseases Anaerobic exercise, however, gives the body more power and stamina.
This may be helpful in sports like sprint, football or basketball. Anaerobically conditioned muscles develop in another way, boosting power in sudden, high-intensity moments. Other benefits are:
- strengthening of the the bones
- increasing muscle strength and mass
- reducing muscle atrophy that goes with age
- increasing speed and power
Exercises like cycling, swimming, running, walking, rowing and cross-country skiing are some forms of aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise requires a sustained heart rate and moderate effort.Other home exercises such as using the treadmill and exercise bike or going with a home video are also aerobic. For the outdoors, you may do snow-shoeing, hiking or kayaking.
Tennis, weight lifting, sprinting and jumping, on the other hand are anaerobic in nature. To achieve a total balanced fitness, it is best to combine doing both anaerobic and aerobic exercise. Anaerobic activities is a good complement to aerobic exercise as it will add definition and tone to the physical result of aerobic exercise. It is wise to check with your physician before starting an exercise program. Do your exercises gradually over time with increasing intensity. Don't overdo it as you might injure yourself. Most importantly, a daily exercise routine must be coupled with a balanced diet and sufficient amounts of sleep for optimum health.
The author of this article Rose Windale is a Health and Wellness Coach who has been successful with several natural health programs for many years. Rose decided to share her knowledge and tips through her website http://www.healthzine.org You can sign up for her free newsletter and enjoy a healthy and happy life.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rose_Windale
Monday 10 November 2008
Children and Vitamins - An Unnecessary Combination
With all the talk about vitamins, deficiencies, and malnutrition, many parents have become worried about the required amounts of vitamins, and children not getting enough. Ideally, though, if your child is following a healthy, balanced diet, there should be no need for any supplemental vitamins.
There are, however, exceptions to every rule. Some children simply refuse to eat certain foods containing essential vitamins and minerals, leaving themselves vulnerable to deficiencies. If you cannot find an "acceptable" replacement food substance containing the required vitamin, the shortage will have to be addressed. There are also some cases where illness causes temporary loss of appetite in children, and vitamins have to be supplemented temporarily, to keep the body functioning optimally, and keep recovery on track.
Another, very real threat, is the over-indulgence in junk food. Because it was meant to appeal to the senses, most children would prefer it to normal food if given a choice. The result is a trend towards obesity and vitamin deficiencies.
Fortunately, the marketing efforts of manufacturers, even incorporating cartoon characters into the packaging, has made it more appealing to children, and vitamins can now be associated with "fun". As a precaution to children who may be taking extra dosages unnoticed, or as part of a game, care has been taken to develop supplements that cannot easily be overdosed.
On the whole, children should not need to take vitamin supplements. As a parent, you are advised to simply provide a balanced diet to your children, and vitamins contained in the fruits and vegetables consumed should be enough.
Are you becoming confused among all the vitamin supplements being promoted? You can make sense of it all by visiting our website on Vitamin Benefits.
Contrary to what manufacturers would like you to believe, taking vitamins in unbalanced combinations may be detrimental, as you will see by reading this article on Combination Vitamins A and D.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Amy_Doynes
There are, however, exceptions to every rule. Some children simply refuse to eat certain foods containing essential vitamins and minerals, leaving themselves vulnerable to deficiencies. If you cannot find an "acceptable" replacement food substance containing the required vitamin, the shortage will have to be addressed. There are also some cases where illness causes temporary loss of appetite in children, and vitamins have to be supplemented temporarily, to keep the body functioning optimally, and keep recovery on track.
Another, very real threat, is the over-indulgence in junk food. Because it was meant to appeal to the senses, most children would prefer it to normal food if given a choice. The result is a trend towards obesity and vitamin deficiencies.
Fortunately, the marketing efforts of manufacturers, even incorporating cartoon characters into the packaging, has made it more appealing to children, and vitamins can now be associated with "fun". As a precaution to children who may be taking extra dosages unnoticed, or as part of a game, care has been taken to develop supplements that cannot easily be overdosed.
On the whole, children should not need to take vitamin supplements. As a parent, you are advised to simply provide a balanced diet to your children, and vitamins contained in the fruits and vegetables consumed should be enough.
Are you becoming confused among all the vitamin supplements being promoted? You can make sense of it all by visiting our website on Vitamin Benefits.
Contrary to what manufacturers would like you to believe, taking vitamins in unbalanced combinations may be detrimental, as you will see by reading this article on Combination Vitamins A and D.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Amy_Doynes
Wider Cholesterol Drug Use May Save Lives
Cholesterol drug Crestor cuts deaths, heart attacks in healthy people; could see wider use
People with low cholesterol and no big risk for heart disease had dramatically lower rates of heart attacks, death and stroke if they took the cholesterol pill Crestor, a large study found.
The results, reported Sunday at an American Heart Association conference, were hailed as a watershed event in heart disease prevention. Doctors said the study might lead as many as 7 million more Americans to consider taking cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, sold as Crestor, Lipitor, Zocor or in generic form.
"This takes prevention to a whole new level, because it applies to patients who we now wouldn't have any evidence to treat," said Dr. W. Douglas Weaver, a Detroit cardiologist and president of the American College of Cardiology.
The study also gives the best evidence yet for using a new test to identify people who may need treatment, according to a statement from Dr. Elizabeth Nabel, director of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. The new research will be considered by experts reviewing current guidelines.
However, some doctors urged caution. Crestor gave clear benefit in the study, but so few heart attacks and deaths occurred among these low-risk people that treating everyone like them in the United States could cost up to $9 billion a year — "a difficult sell," one expert said.
About 120 people would have to take Crestor for two years to prevent a single heart attack, stroke or death, said Stanford University cardiologist Dr. Mark Hlatky. He wrote an editorial accompanying the study published online by the New England Journal of Medicine.
"Everybody likes the idea of prevention. We need to slow down and ask how many people are we going to be treating with drugs for the rest of their lives to prevent heart disease, versus a lot of other things we're not doing" to improve health, Hlatky said.
Statins are the world's top-selling drugs. Until this study, all but Crestor have already been shown to cut the risk of heart attacks and death in people with high LDL, or bad cholesterol.
Learn More.
People with low cholesterol and no big risk for heart disease had dramatically lower rates of heart attacks, death and stroke if they took the cholesterol pill Crestor, a large study found.
The results, reported Sunday at an American Heart Association conference, were hailed as a watershed event in heart disease prevention. Doctors said the study might lead as many as 7 million more Americans to consider taking cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, sold as Crestor, Lipitor, Zocor or in generic form.
"This takes prevention to a whole new level, because it applies to patients who we now wouldn't have any evidence to treat," said Dr. W. Douglas Weaver, a Detroit cardiologist and president of the American College of Cardiology.
The study also gives the best evidence yet for using a new test to identify people who may need treatment, according to a statement from Dr. Elizabeth Nabel, director of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. The new research will be considered by experts reviewing current guidelines.
However, some doctors urged caution. Crestor gave clear benefit in the study, but so few heart attacks and deaths occurred among these low-risk people that treating everyone like them in the United States could cost up to $9 billion a year — "a difficult sell," one expert said.
About 120 people would have to take Crestor for two years to prevent a single heart attack, stroke or death, said Stanford University cardiologist Dr. Mark Hlatky. He wrote an editorial accompanying the study published online by the New England Journal of Medicine.
"Everybody likes the idea of prevention. We need to slow down and ask how many people are we going to be treating with drugs for the rest of their lives to prevent heart disease, versus a lot of other things we're not doing" to improve health, Hlatky said.
Statins are the world's top-selling drugs. Until this study, all but Crestor have already been shown to cut the risk of heart attacks and death in people with high LDL, or bad cholesterol.
Learn More.
Sunday 9 November 2008
Lose Belly Fat, Gain Life - 4 Easy Ways to Start Doing it at Home This Week
Beer belly, spare tire, and pot belly are some of the terms associated with unsightly fats store around the midsection of the human body. All lot of people nowadays wants to lose belly fat for obvious reason like looking better and living longer. It is a constant battle to lose the bulge since most us today are in a stressful work environment, living a sedentary lifestyle and having bad eating habit. This article will explore some of the easy ways that can be done to lose belly fat and to gain a healthy life.
If you are an avid drinker then reduce or stop alcohol consumption is one of the ways to start lose belly fat. Beer and wine and other hard liquor are packed with as much calories as their soft drinks brother. On average there are 100 calories per 12oz can and 6 cans of beers and you will need to run 5.5 miles to burn of those 600 calories. Replace your alcohol consumption with fruit juices or just plain clean water. It helps to flush out body toxin and keep your body hydrated throughout the day while reducing the stress on the body.
Stress is quite well known at work or at home and it is necessary that it be dealt in proper way and not thru emotional eating which will aggravate the condition. Stress is good in certain situation as it lead to an alert state of mind and body. However, constant stress needs to be reduced in order for the body to recuperate from the effect of cortisol hormone release during stress. High level of cortisol can lead to higher level insulin and subsequently food cravings. Expert have recommended to include active activity into our daily life such as exercises, meditation and relaxation technique which are some of the best ways to reduce stress and eventually to lose belly fat. Other than keeping cortisol level check it is also helps in burning off those excess calories.
Well some might think that spot exercises such as crunches or abs workout may to lose belly fat but in fact these exercises only strengthen the abs muscle and the core body only. In truth it is recommended to do a whole body workout which includes major muscle group like chest, backs and legs and doing it 2-3 times a week. Once this is done properly and complemented by a proper diet, the fats will start to melt easily.
Eating correctly or having the proper diet will supplement the body with proper nutrition and increase metabolism. Proper diet does not mean starving because it actually stimulates fat accumulation as it tells the body that it is lacking of energy source. The trick is to eat small portions and eating frequently throughout the days. Do consider the choice of foods that will help as well such as fruits, vegetables and whole grain meals. It is suggested that choosing healthy foods that are preferred and adding variety helps to keep the diet on track and helps to lose belly fat.
Conclusively, these are some of easy areas that most of us can start engaging in the quest to rid the bulge. While source of stress may not be controllable, eating habits and active lifestyle can be easily cultivated and inculcated into our life. All this can be thought out carefully and initiated with detailed planning and a positive mindset. This will certainly in the end leads to belly fat loss and a healthy body.
Click Here to Learn How You Can Lose 2+ Pounds of Pure Fat Each Week!
Does gain weight make you want to pull your hair out? It is it making you insane? Well, here is the definition of insanity... Trying the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Isn't it time to try something different and really get different results? Discover how at http://www.desperate2losefat.com/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Eddie_Liong
If you are an avid drinker then reduce or stop alcohol consumption is one of the ways to start lose belly fat. Beer and wine and other hard liquor are packed with as much calories as their soft drinks brother. On average there are 100 calories per 12oz can and 6 cans of beers and you will need to run 5.5 miles to burn of those 600 calories. Replace your alcohol consumption with fruit juices or just plain clean water. It helps to flush out body toxin and keep your body hydrated throughout the day while reducing the stress on the body.
Stress is quite well known at work or at home and it is necessary that it be dealt in proper way and not thru emotional eating which will aggravate the condition. Stress is good in certain situation as it lead to an alert state of mind and body. However, constant stress needs to be reduced in order for the body to recuperate from the effect of cortisol hormone release during stress. High level of cortisol can lead to higher level insulin and subsequently food cravings. Expert have recommended to include active activity into our daily life such as exercises, meditation and relaxation technique which are some of the best ways to reduce stress and eventually to lose belly fat. Other than keeping cortisol level check it is also helps in burning off those excess calories.
Well some might think that spot exercises such as crunches or abs workout may to lose belly fat but in fact these exercises only strengthen the abs muscle and the core body only. In truth it is recommended to do a whole body workout which includes major muscle group like chest, backs and legs and doing it 2-3 times a week. Once this is done properly and complemented by a proper diet, the fats will start to melt easily.
Eating correctly or having the proper diet will supplement the body with proper nutrition and increase metabolism. Proper diet does not mean starving because it actually stimulates fat accumulation as it tells the body that it is lacking of energy source. The trick is to eat small portions and eating frequently throughout the days. Do consider the choice of foods that will help as well such as fruits, vegetables and whole grain meals. It is suggested that choosing healthy foods that are preferred and adding variety helps to keep the diet on track and helps to lose belly fat.
Conclusively, these are some of easy areas that most of us can start engaging in the quest to rid the bulge. While source of stress may not be controllable, eating habits and active lifestyle can be easily cultivated and inculcated into our life. All this can be thought out carefully and initiated with detailed planning and a positive mindset. This will certainly in the end leads to belly fat loss and a healthy body.
Click Here to Learn How You Can Lose 2+ Pounds of Pure Fat Each Week!
Does gain weight make you want to pull your hair out? It is it making you insane? Well, here is the definition of insanity... Trying the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Isn't it time to try something different and really get different results? Discover how at http://www.desperate2losefat.com/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Eddie_Liong
How to Lose Belly Fat - Make it Easy For Yourself With an Easy System
Are you wondering how to lose belly fat? You've probably heard that sit-ups and crunches are the way to go. After all, these are the exercises work the abdominal muscles. While it is correct that sit-ups will strengthen the abdominal muscles and make them stronger, they're better able to hold in the fat. Sit ups do nothing to help you lose belly fat.
For the best way to lose belly fat, think of this. To burn fat from any part of your body, you will need to exercise. When you don't get enough exercise or overeat frequently, the body stores fat around the midsection for later use. So as soon as you begin to exercise regularly, you will quickly lose belly fat.
The good news is, no special belly exercises are needed. Only regular exercise is required. Squats, dumb-bell arm raises, push-ups, and a brisk daily wlk will work magic to help lose belly fat.
Diet is important too. You can exercise every day and still gain weight if you are eating too much of the wrong foods. All you need to do is adjust your eating so your burning more calories then your consuming. This way your body will consume the calories stored around your midsection.
There's no big mystery to losing belly fat. Exercise more, eat less, and eat foods that make you strong. Try eating several smaller meals throughout the day, eat nutritionally dense foods, and take some physical activity. Do this and lose belly fat quick and easy.
I know the secret to Lose Belly Fat. You see, I used to be a big fat tub of guts. Basically I had given up hope of ever looking and feeling good again.
One evening at the mall, I ran into a friend of mine. He used to be fat too, but now he looked great. He said he lost almost 70 pounds and had more energy then ever before.
He truly is a friend, as he showed me exactly how lose belly fat right with almost no effort. At first I thought It would be too hard. You see, I like to eat, and knew that strenuous exercise wasn't for me. Believe it or not, I was able to eat all I wanted (even more then before I began to lose the fat off my belly). No sit-ups, no crunches, no jogging. I do jog now, because I like it and am fit.
Well anyway, I put together a lot of FREE information on How to Lose Belly Fat - Quick and Easy. Click the Link NOW!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jason_Fisher
For the best way to lose belly fat, think of this. To burn fat from any part of your body, you will need to exercise. When you don't get enough exercise or overeat frequently, the body stores fat around the midsection for later use. So as soon as you begin to exercise regularly, you will quickly lose belly fat.
The good news is, no special belly exercises are needed. Only regular exercise is required. Squats, dumb-bell arm raises, push-ups, and a brisk daily wlk will work magic to help lose belly fat.
Diet is important too. You can exercise every day and still gain weight if you are eating too much of the wrong foods. All you need to do is adjust your eating so your burning more calories then your consuming. This way your body will consume the calories stored around your midsection.
There's no big mystery to losing belly fat. Exercise more, eat less, and eat foods that make you strong. Try eating several smaller meals throughout the day, eat nutritionally dense foods, and take some physical activity. Do this and lose belly fat quick and easy.
I know the secret to Lose Belly Fat. You see, I used to be a big fat tub of guts. Basically I had given up hope of ever looking and feeling good again.
One evening at the mall, I ran into a friend of mine. He used to be fat too, but now he looked great. He said he lost almost 70 pounds and had more energy then ever before.
He truly is a friend, as he showed me exactly how lose belly fat right with almost no effort. At first I thought It would be too hard. You see, I like to eat, and knew that strenuous exercise wasn't for me. Believe it or not, I was able to eat all I wanted (even more then before I began to lose the fat off my belly). No sit-ups, no crunches, no jogging. I do jog now, because I like it and am fit.
Well anyway, I put together a lot of FREE information on How to Lose Belly Fat - Quick and Easy. Click the Link NOW!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jason_Fisher
Saturday 8 November 2008
Diet Help For Overweight Women
I'm going to give some diet help for overweight women here. These pointers and tips will help you to organize your weight loss to make it much more effective than it currently is. I can't guarantee you 100% success, but I can promise you that these tips I'm about to share with you will move you closer to your weight loss goals. Take your first step to true weight loss, read this now.
Diet Help for Overweight Women
1. Eat with your NON-dominant hand
So if you are right-handed, eat with your left hand. And vice-versa. So why does this help you with weight loss? Well, because you're forced to eat slower. And why does that help? Well, because your body kinda has a timer when it's eating. It doesn't sense it's full when it truly is full. It's a delayed timer. So if you eat slower, you in effect eat less when that timer finally does go off and signals you that you're full. Basically, this is a strange, BUT PROVEN, way to eat slower.
2. Eat on a smaller plate
Eat on a salad plate if necessary. Fill up the plate with your side dish vegetables. Make the vegetables the star of the plate. We as humans are kinda weird. If you fill up a smaller plate, you're subconscious mind will usually accept that as the full meal... even if it's less than you normally eat. It's a visual thing since a lot of overweight women eat food to comfort themselves without even realizing it. Try this out for a week or 2, you'll see how effective it is.
This diet help for overweight is incomplete and basic, but I seriously hope you give it a try because these 2 small things will make a BIG BIG difference and you'll see that within 1 month.
If you're SICK and TIRED of getting the same old boring weight loss advice... you know, like "Eat more fruits and vegetables, drink 8 glasses of water, jog, and Blah Blah Blah", then...
Click http://www.weightlossguide4women.com to get your FREE EBOOK "How SPINNING Around Like a Child TRIPLES your Weight Loss". A strange, but true, way to LOSE 10 Pounds in 2 Weeks. I'm giving away this ebook today and tomorrow ONLY to anyone who visits my website! So get it before tomorrow night.
If you're truly serious about losing weight, then go to the link below to get your free ebook now. If you don't Lose 10 Pounds... I'd be QUITE surprised! http://www.weightlossguide4women.com
Jennifer Jolan
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jennifer_Jolan
Diet Help for Overweight Women
1. Eat with your NON-dominant hand
So if you are right-handed, eat with your left hand. And vice-versa. So why does this help you with weight loss? Well, because you're forced to eat slower. And why does that help? Well, because your body kinda has a timer when it's eating. It doesn't sense it's full when it truly is full. It's a delayed timer. So if you eat slower, you in effect eat less when that timer finally does go off and signals you that you're full. Basically, this is a strange, BUT PROVEN, way to eat slower.
2. Eat on a smaller plate
Eat on a salad plate if necessary. Fill up the plate with your side dish vegetables. Make the vegetables the star of the plate. We as humans are kinda weird. If you fill up a smaller plate, you're subconscious mind will usually accept that as the full meal... even if it's less than you normally eat. It's a visual thing since a lot of overweight women eat food to comfort themselves without even realizing it. Try this out for a week or 2, you'll see how effective it is.
This diet help for overweight is incomplete and basic, but I seriously hope you give it a try because these 2 small things will make a BIG BIG difference and you'll see that within 1 month.
If you're SICK and TIRED of getting the same old boring weight loss advice... you know, like "Eat more fruits and vegetables, drink 8 glasses of water, jog, and Blah Blah Blah", then...
Click http://www.weightlossguide4women.com to get your FREE EBOOK "How SPINNING Around Like a Child TRIPLES your Weight Loss". A strange, but true, way to LOSE 10 Pounds in 2 Weeks. I'm giving away this ebook today and tomorrow ONLY to anyone who visits my website! So get it before tomorrow night.
If you're truly serious about losing weight, then go to the link below to get your free ebook now. If you don't Lose 10 Pounds... I'd be QUITE surprised! http://www.weightlossguide4women.com
Jennifer Jolan
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jennifer_Jolan
How to Build Muscle Fast - A Smoking Hot Way to Boost Your Muscle Growth Through the Roof
Not many out there really know how to gain muscle fast and this may well be the major reason why not everyone out there is walking around with a stunning body. You see the reason why a lot of people don't see many results even when they put in the right amount of work is because they are lacking some key ingredients which would eventually spell success or failure for them. Read on to discover what these key components are and achieve the desired results fast........
Go heavy- Well this is one of the main key most guys do not understand. Your workouts don't have to be long but short as long as you keep it high intensity. You must lift a bit extra than you can handle every time as that would make your muscles explode like anything. A lot of people never bother to raise the bar and keep lifting the same amount of weight they always have. And this is the reason why they don't see the type of growth they need.
Get the right supplements- There are not many body builders out there who achieved a massive body without any supplements. You see by supplements it does not mean take steroids. There are several supplements in the market which are completely safe for your consumption and you should get proper professional help on this subject.
Hold at the peak- Now this will burst your muscles out like anything. Instead of pushing through your reps you must hold the weight at the peak. This actually means that holding your arm still at the peak of the rep for a few seconds. This would push heavy amounts of blood into your muscle tissue which will make it explode with muscle mass faster than you can ever imagine.
An absolute must know for you- But there are secrets about body building you don't know yet. So...don't sit back and relax. Get on the edge of your seat because you are about to be introduced to the dirty little secrets of body building you were never told. These secrets are so effective that they would get you the body you desire within a matter of a few months without any hard supplements or steroids. This is only known to a few and you are one of the lucky one's who is being introduced to this shocking secret click here- Tell me the Secret
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Pushpa_Pal_Singh
Go heavy- Well this is one of the main key most guys do not understand. Your workouts don't have to be long but short as long as you keep it high intensity. You must lift a bit extra than you can handle every time as that would make your muscles explode like anything. A lot of people never bother to raise the bar and keep lifting the same amount of weight they always have. And this is the reason why they don't see the type of growth they need.
Get the right supplements- There are not many body builders out there who achieved a massive body without any supplements. You see by supplements it does not mean take steroids. There are several supplements in the market which are completely safe for your consumption and you should get proper professional help on this subject.
Hold at the peak- Now this will burst your muscles out like anything. Instead of pushing through your reps you must hold the weight at the peak. This actually means that holding your arm still at the peak of the rep for a few seconds. This would push heavy amounts of blood into your muscle tissue which will make it explode with muscle mass faster than you can ever imagine.
An absolute must know for you- But there are secrets about body building you don't know yet. So...don't sit back and relax. Get on the edge of your seat because you are about to be introduced to the dirty little secrets of body building you were never told. These secrets are so effective that they would get you the body you desire within a matter of a few months without any hard supplements or steroids. This is only known to a few and you are one of the lucky one's who is being introduced to this shocking secret click here- Tell me the Secret
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Pushpa_Pal_Singh
Building Muscle to Give You 6-pack Abs
Many people when they want to build muscle or to get six pack look,what comes to their mind is weight lifting or using abs machine and equipment such as roller, sit ups, captain chair among others. In case you have this equipment at home make sure you follow my instruction below before you lift any weight to avoid injury.
A simple quality warm up of 5-10 minutes will help,this may include jogging, skipping, aerobics or even dancing.after workout stretching will give your body flexibility that you require before lifting weight to build muscle.
It's time now to build muscle,if its your first time have a trainer to show you how to use weight properly, and also to help you support the weight when you get fatigue.other sources of help can be fitness magazines or manual. For those who has trained for long it's advisable to get a partner who you can train together to give each other necessary support and morale as you continue.remember mis-handling weight can be fatal.
Having a schedule can be of great help and if possible have the same with your partner.such that everyday you are training on something different so as to give you body balance, you agree with me it will be so uncomfortable to always build muscle on your shoulder and arms then leave out your legs or even abdominal muscles.Then watch what you eat, more so after workout don't eat junk food or too much carbohydrates.
Tabitha G Kimani Has Been Researching and Reporting on Abs for Years. For More Information on Ab Exercise, Visit Her Site at Building Muscle.
Post your Views About Ab Exercise On My Blog Here Building Muscle.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tabitha_Kimani
A simple quality warm up of 5-10 minutes will help,this may include jogging, skipping, aerobics or even dancing.after workout stretching will give your body flexibility that you require before lifting weight to build muscle.
It's time now to build muscle,if its your first time have a trainer to show you how to use weight properly, and also to help you support the weight when you get fatigue.other sources of help can be fitness magazines or manual. For those who has trained for long it's advisable to get a partner who you can train together to give each other necessary support and morale as you continue.remember mis-handling weight can be fatal.
Having a schedule can be of great help and if possible have the same with your partner.such that everyday you are training on something different so as to give you body balance, you agree with me it will be so uncomfortable to always build muscle on your shoulder and arms then leave out your legs or even abdominal muscles.Then watch what you eat, more so after workout don't eat junk food or too much carbohydrates.
Tabitha G Kimani Has Been Researching and Reporting on Abs for Years. For More Information on Ab Exercise, Visit Her Site at Building Muscle.
Post your Views About Ab Exercise On My Blog Here Building Muscle.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tabitha_Kimani
Secrets to Natural Bodybuilding - 7 Secrets You Must Know
Natural bodybuilding is the work usually performed through mind-numbing ability either in the gym or else where. It has plenty of benefits for the muscle builders. The major advantages of natural bodybuilding are: improved metabolic system, better cardiovascular function, good kidney function, and psychological development, etc. Today, I am going to discuss some top secrets to natural bodybuilding. These are as follow:
• Lifting heavy weight with mind-numbing ability is one of the top secrets to natural bodybuilding. This is usually done by performing various kinds of muscle building exercises like, squats, dead-lifts, military presses, lunges, push ups, push down, stretching, dumbbell flyes and bench presses, etc. in the gym.
• Self motivation and dedication are the main pillars of bodybuilding. If you don't have self-motivation as well as dedication, you will be flopped in doing the art of natural muscle-building. So try to be always self-motivated while performing muscle building workouts in the gym.
• One of the secrets to natural bodybuilding is to eat plenty of muscle building foods like carbohydrates and protein. The major bodybuilding diets include: eggs, beef, chicken, fish, cottage cheese, fruits, nuts, whey, and creatine, etc. The more you eat carbohydrates and protein the larger will be the chances of gaining quick muscle mass!
• Brisk walking is the best activity which can build your muscle mass quickly. Besides, a bit jogging, sprinting, and stretching could do wonder in your muscle building.
• Swimming is also a fine muscle building activity. The major advantage of swimming is that it provides you unique cardio fitness.
• Yoga is the most recommended exercise. The reason is that it builds your muscle mass quickly, and makes you psychologically fit and strong!
• Last but not least is the rest which you really need during the muscle building routines? You will have to take at least 10 hours sleeping by all means. After all, you are lifting heavy weights, and exerting lots of energy in the gym.
In a nutshell, we will have to say all those methods are phenomenally known the best secrets to natural bodybuilding, and they provide you ultimate fitness!
Bottom line is this. If you keep trying to build muscle the way you are today, you will continue to get the results that you're getting, which I know for a fact are HORRIBLE. So, if you want to FINALLY see some results, then you MUST go to http://www.goldenreviews.net/no-nonsense-muscle-building-review
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Zamora
• Lifting heavy weight with mind-numbing ability is one of the top secrets to natural bodybuilding. This is usually done by performing various kinds of muscle building exercises like, squats, dead-lifts, military presses, lunges, push ups, push down, stretching, dumbbell flyes and bench presses, etc. in the gym.
• Self motivation and dedication are the main pillars of bodybuilding. If you don't have self-motivation as well as dedication, you will be flopped in doing the art of natural muscle-building. So try to be always self-motivated while performing muscle building workouts in the gym.
• One of the secrets to natural bodybuilding is to eat plenty of muscle building foods like carbohydrates and protein. The major bodybuilding diets include: eggs, beef, chicken, fish, cottage cheese, fruits, nuts, whey, and creatine, etc. The more you eat carbohydrates and protein the larger will be the chances of gaining quick muscle mass!
• Brisk walking is the best activity which can build your muscle mass quickly. Besides, a bit jogging, sprinting, and stretching could do wonder in your muscle building.
• Swimming is also a fine muscle building activity. The major advantage of swimming is that it provides you unique cardio fitness.
• Yoga is the most recommended exercise. The reason is that it builds your muscle mass quickly, and makes you psychologically fit and strong!
• Last but not least is the rest which you really need during the muscle building routines? You will have to take at least 10 hours sleeping by all means. After all, you are lifting heavy weights, and exerting lots of energy in the gym.
In a nutshell, we will have to say all those methods are phenomenally known the best secrets to natural bodybuilding, and they provide you ultimate fitness!
Bottom line is this. If you keep trying to build muscle the way you are today, you will continue to get the results that you're getting, which I know for a fact are HORRIBLE. So, if you want to FINALLY see some results, then you MUST go to http://www.goldenreviews.net/no-nonsense-muscle-building-review
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Zamora
Friday 7 November 2008
Diet Meal Plans!
Here are some diet meal plans you can use as a guide to what will best help you to lose weight. Look, the fastest way to lose fat is to do it through a diet. Once you accept that fact and you've said enough is enough, you'll be on your way to losing a lot of weight. I don't know you and this isn't a one-size-fits-all type of thing.
However, if you take a couple moments to read this article, I think you'll find that you learned something new on how to lose weight a little bit faster.
Diet Meal Plans
1. The high protein and natural carbs route
The Atkins diet is just too extreme for most people. So don't even bother with it. Instead, go with a high protein diet and use fruits and vegetables to get natural carbs instead of processed sugar carbs into your diet. Processed carbs act differently than the carbs in natural foods. They're a lot worse for your blood sugar. Sugars in fruits and vegetables are often "tempered" by the fiber that they naturally have.
So don't worry about how many carbs you get, just make sure they're natural sources of carbs that don't come out of boxes.
2. The liquid diet plan
Often, people fail on this as well. Reason... you need foods and their bulk to help fill you up. Liquid diet plans are great for weight loss, but don't use the protein shakes as your main meals. They simply don't have enough calories to fill you up usually. But what you can do is something like this. Eat 2 normal to small meals and also have 2 protein shakes as your other 2 meals. That spreads things out a bit and helps control your cravings and hunger. If that's not enough, have an extra protein shake.
Use these 2 diet meal plans as a guide and you're sure to start dropping the pounds quickly.
If you're SICK and TIRED of getting the same old boring weight loss advice... you know, like "Eat more fruits and vegetables, drink 8 glasses of water, jog, and Blah Blah Blah", then...
Click http://www.weightlossguide4women.com to get your FREE EBOOK "How SPINNING Around Like a Child TRIPLES your Weight Loss". A strange, but true, way to LOSE 10 Pounds in 2 Weeks. I'm giving away this ebook today and tomorrow ONLY to anyone who visits my website! So get it before tomorrow night.
If you're truly serious about losing weight, then go to the link below to get your free ebook now. If you don't Lose 10 Pounds... I'd be QUITE surprised! http://www.weightlossguide4women.com
Jennifer Jolan
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jennifer_Jolan
However, if you take a couple moments to read this article, I think you'll find that you learned something new on how to lose weight a little bit faster.
Diet Meal Plans
1. The high protein and natural carbs route
The Atkins diet is just too extreme for most people. So don't even bother with it. Instead, go with a high protein diet and use fruits and vegetables to get natural carbs instead of processed sugar carbs into your diet. Processed carbs act differently than the carbs in natural foods. They're a lot worse for your blood sugar. Sugars in fruits and vegetables are often "tempered" by the fiber that they naturally have.
So don't worry about how many carbs you get, just make sure they're natural sources of carbs that don't come out of boxes.
2. The liquid diet plan
Often, people fail on this as well. Reason... you need foods and their bulk to help fill you up. Liquid diet plans are great for weight loss, but don't use the protein shakes as your main meals. They simply don't have enough calories to fill you up usually. But what you can do is something like this. Eat 2 normal to small meals and also have 2 protein shakes as your other 2 meals. That spreads things out a bit and helps control your cravings and hunger. If that's not enough, have an extra protein shake.
Use these 2 diet meal plans as a guide and you're sure to start dropping the pounds quickly.
If you're SICK and TIRED of getting the same old boring weight loss advice... you know, like "Eat more fruits and vegetables, drink 8 glasses of water, jog, and Blah Blah Blah", then...
Click http://www.weightlossguide4women.com to get your FREE EBOOK "How SPINNING Around Like a Child TRIPLES your Weight Loss". A strange, but true, way to LOSE 10 Pounds in 2 Weeks. I'm giving away this ebook today and tomorrow ONLY to anyone who visits my website! So get it before tomorrow night.
If you're truly serious about losing weight, then go to the link below to get your free ebook now. If you don't Lose 10 Pounds... I'd be QUITE surprised! http://www.weightlossguide4women.com
Jennifer Jolan
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jennifer_Jolan
Best Way to Lose Belly Fat - A 3 Step Guide
Below you'll find step by step tips for the best way to lose belly fat. The belly is the hardest part to lose fat, so be prepared.
Your typical full size hamburger, small fries and Coke equals out to be around 1000 calories. The average woman only requires 1800-2500 calories per day, this meal will exceed both fat and sodium requirements by a large margin. That 1000 calorie feast is usually consumed in half an hour or less. It took half an hour to consume, and depending on the activity it could take two hours on up to about six to burn that fat off. So this is not the best way to lose belly fat.
-Resistance training, like sit ups, crunches and intense sports.
Exercising doesn't have to be a chore. If you see it like that then you are not going to lose that belly fat. The best way to lose belly fat is to find exercises that you can enjoy. Maybe you enjoy tennis, or soccer, or swimming. Change your diet, find something you enjoy and you will have a flat belly before you realize it.
Need an effective diet plan? View the best diet for weight loss - an in depth review.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Titan_Phoenix
Your typical full size hamburger, small fries and Coke equals out to be around 1000 calories. The average woman only requires 1800-2500 calories per day, this meal will exceed both fat and sodium requirements by a large margin. That 1000 calorie feast is usually consumed in half an hour or less. It took half an hour to consume, and depending on the activity it could take two hours on up to about six to burn that fat off. So this is not the best way to lose belly fat.
- The first step is to change your diet. This is an absolute must, unless you like the size of your belly and I'm guessing you don't. Which diet you change to is also really important. Do not, I repeat, do not follow diets like the Atkins Diet, the South Beach Diet, the Hollywood Diet and many other misleading diet plans. They damage your health and make the next steps almost impossible.
- The next step is to exercise. Again this step is unavoidable. You are searching for the best way to lose belly fat and I am showing you, so try not to be lazy and find easy ways out. There is no easy way out, you'll only find yourself back where you started.
- There are two types of exercise that you need to do to lose that belly fat:
-Resistance training, like sit ups, crunches and intense sports.
Exercising doesn't have to be a chore. If you see it like that then you are not going to lose that belly fat. The best way to lose belly fat is to find exercises that you can enjoy. Maybe you enjoy tennis, or soccer, or swimming. Change your diet, find something you enjoy and you will have a flat belly before you realize it.
Need an effective diet plan? View the best diet for weight loss - an in depth review.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Titan_Phoenix
How to Lose Love Handles With Smart Aerobic Exercise
If you want to know how to lose love handles, you only need to practice a smart combination of diet, portion control, aerobic exercise, and toning exercise to get results. In this article, you will learn about aerobic exercises. You have got to burn that fat, baby! Smart exercise is just the ticket to do it.
The only reason that you have love handles now is that, sometime in the past, you consistently ate more calories than your body was able to use. So your body stored those extra calories in your fat cells for future use. Guess what? The future is now!
So to get rid of your love handles, you need some cardiovascular (aerobic exercise). This exercise gets you breathing deeply and your heart pumping. The good news is that you don't need to kill yourself. You want to exercise hard enough so that you can still talk, just not sing.
Good aerobic exercises are brisk walking, jogging, biking, steppers, elliptical machines, and the best fat burning exercise of all, jump roping. Did you know that if you weigh 150 pounds, you can burn nearly 700 calories per hour jump roping? Incredible. And if you weigh more than that, you would burn more calories than that.
Now few of us can jump rope for an hour. And I would not recommend it if you are in poor shape, have prior health conditions, such as back or knee problems. But if you are already exercising regularly and have no health problems, then you might want to give jump roping a try.
To lose significant fat fast, which is what love handles are made of, then you need to do 45 minutes to 1 hour at least 5 days a week. The good news is that you don't need to do your 45 minutes to 1 hour at once. In fact, I recommend that you break it up into two sessions if you can. Do 20-30 minutes in the morning and 20-30 minutes in the evening.
That way, you fire up your fat burning furnace twice during the day instead of just once. Also, for extra help to get rid of love handles, then include more movement to your day in general.
The more smart aerobic exercise you add to your life, then faster you will lose your love handles and reveal some incredible abs.
Kimberly Floyd is an author, certified wellness coach, and the CEO of Take Back Your Temple, which offers books, multimedia, seminars and wellness coaching to help others reach their perfect weight using Christian weight loss principles. Once 240 pounds and a size 22, Kim lost 85 pounds and went from a size 22 to an 8 so she knows about weight issues from the inside out. Her story has been featured in Prevention Magazine, Essence Magazine, and on CBN's The 700 Club. She is the author of the eBook 'Take Back Your Temple: How to Achieve Healthy Weight Loss God's Way' and 'MoneyWise Weight Loss: The Faith-based Plan for Building a Better Body on a Budget'.
Go to http://www.takebackyourtemple.com now to get your FREE Report - 7 Steps to Overcoming Emotional Eating.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kimberly_Floyd
The only reason that you have love handles now is that, sometime in the past, you consistently ate more calories than your body was able to use. So your body stored those extra calories in your fat cells for future use. Guess what? The future is now!
So to get rid of your love handles, you need some cardiovascular (aerobic exercise). This exercise gets you breathing deeply and your heart pumping. The good news is that you don't need to kill yourself. You want to exercise hard enough so that you can still talk, just not sing.
Good aerobic exercises are brisk walking, jogging, biking, steppers, elliptical machines, and the best fat burning exercise of all, jump roping. Did you know that if you weigh 150 pounds, you can burn nearly 700 calories per hour jump roping? Incredible. And if you weigh more than that, you would burn more calories than that.
Now few of us can jump rope for an hour. And I would not recommend it if you are in poor shape, have prior health conditions, such as back or knee problems. But if you are already exercising regularly and have no health problems, then you might want to give jump roping a try.
To lose significant fat fast, which is what love handles are made of, then you need to do 45 minutes to 1 hour at least 5 days a week. The good news is that you don't need to do your 45 minutes to 1 hour at once. In fact, I recommend that you break it up into two sessions if you can. Do 20-30 minutes in the morning and 20-30 minutes in the evening.
That way, you fire up your fat burning furnace twice during the day instead of just once. Also, for extra help to get rid of love handles, then include more movement to your day in general.
- Park further away when you go to the store so you can walk a little extra. Don't go for a Sunday stroll. Turn and burn like you are in the Indy 500!
- Take the stairs instead of the elevator. If you are in a tall building and can't climb the entire way, then just get off a couple of floors early and walk the rest
- Walk around when you are talking on the phone at home
- March in place and pump your arms during television commercials
- Play with your kids - catch a ball, throw a Frisbee, challenge them to a water gun battle. Have fun!
The more smart aerobic exercise you add to your life, then faster you will lose your love handles and reveal some incredible abs.
Kimberly Floyd is an author, certified wellness coach, and the CEO of Take Back Your Temple, which offers books, multimedia, seminars and wellness coaching to help others reach their perfect weight using Christian weight loss principles. Once 240 pounds and a size 22, Kim lost 85 pounds and went from a size 22 to an 8 so she knows about weight issues from the inside out. Her story has been featured in Prevention Magazine, Essence Magazine, and on CBN's The 700 Club. She is the author of the eBook 'Take Back Your Temple: How to Achieve Healthy Weight Loss God's Way' and 'MoneyWise Weight Loss: The Faith-based Plan for Building a Better Body on a Budget'.
Go to http://www.takebackyourtemple.com now to get your FREE Report - 7 Steps to Overcoming Emotional Eating.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kimberly_Floyd
Add a Basic Cardio Blast to Your Workout
Get more out of your cardio workout by adding a cardio blast. Whether you use a treadmill, stationary bike, stair-climber or elliptical machine you can add increased benefits (results) without having to add extra time spent in the gym.
Adding a cardio blast is simple, keeps the workout more interesting and makes it way more challenging.
Let's discuss "challenging" for a moment. First off, if you can read a newspaper, book or magazine, talk or send text messages on your cell phone during your cardio workout, sorry you're not working hard enough! I see way too many people at the gym every day doing all of the above.
Simply put, if you can do any of these things during your cardio workout, you are really fooling yourself by basically just going through the motions, for example: it's like the difference between a relaxing stroll in the park and a brisk energetic walk. It can be said that any movement can be called exercise, maybe there is some truth to that, better than nothing I guess; however, you can't really call this "cardio" exercise in the sense of a workout. Cardio exercise (in layman terms) involves raising your heart-rate significantly, breathing hard and sweating. It's my belief as a certified personal trainer, to always put in "your best" effort into your workout, so you can get the payback and rewards from your efforts. Why waste your precious time? Why cheat yourself the benefits of fitness and good health?
So, leave the reading material and cell phone at home so you can bust the move! FYI: I totally support the use of a music player. The use of an MP3 or CD player will help keep you in the cardio groove by helping you keep the workout pace up and help you stay focused and motivated. A few quick tips on combating cardio boredom, change up your music every workout. On my iPod, I store several cardio workout music mixes.
One day it might be old school funk, the next day club disco grooves, then some rock. In regards to the music you choose, keep the beat driving (The American Council of Exercise suggests a 120 to 132 beats per minute, but I don't think you really have to get that technical, just keep the beat pumping). Another way to fight cardio boredom is to keep your head into it. Most machines have heart-rate monitors, use them, keep track of your heart-rate throughout your workout. Getting to know your warm-up, maintained and cool down heart rate is valuable information.
Here's how to add a worthwhile cardio blast to your workout. To keep it simple, I will talk about doing your cardio blast workout on a treadmill, but it can be easily applied to just about any piece of cardio equipment in the home or gym. It will also translate from treadmill to an outside run. Let's base the workout on a thirty-five minute workout. Jump on the treadmill with music player, towel and a bottle of water handy. Set the treadmill to "Manual" workout mode, workout time set to thirty-five minutes.
Begin by warming up, do a slow walk for the first five minutes. This will give your body a chance to adapt to the workout, stretching out the muscles, raising the heart-rate a bit. After your five minute warm up increase the speed of the treadmill whether power walking or running and settle into your workout (at this point you should be working between 55-65 % of your target heart rate). Note the change in your heart rate from the warm up to your workout pace.
If you are doing a power walk workout you will be walking a brisk pace, if you are doing a running workout you will going from walk to run. Walk or run at your normal pace for ten minutes. At the 15-minute mark is where we add the cardio blast.
For the next two minutes (15 to 17 minute mark) increase the speed or incline of the treadmill (you should now be working at 85% of your target heart rate). At the 17-minute mark decrease the speed or incline and settle back into your normal run or power walk pace. Hold this for the next five minutes (17-22 minute mark). At 22 minutes pick the pace back up and hold it for the next three minutes, feel the burn, your heart beating faster and the noticeable increase in your breathing. Hang in there.
At the 25-minute mark, settle back into your normal pace for the next five minutes. (*As your fitness level increases you will notice that your recovery time will shorten, your heart rate lowers quickly and you will catch your breathe faster). At the 30-minute mark, rev it back up for your last cardio blast. Keep this high pace for the next two minutes bringing you to the 32-minute mark. At the 32-minute mark decrease the pace and really slow it back down to your warm up pace. Hold this warm up pace from 32 to 35 minutes. Wow, great job at 35 minutes you are done and have successfully completed your cardio blast session.
It's amazing how these brief increases (intervals) will make such a huge difference in your cardio workouts. Many high level athletes incorporate this training method (often referred to as Interval Training) into their conditioning programs. The problem with doing the same workout over and over again is that our bodies adapt and progress suffers greatly. Shocking or tricking the body, keeping it guessing, will promote gains quickly and more often. Mixing things up is really a smart concept to incorporate in all your workouts whether it weight or cardio training.
So as you see, we didn't need in increase the length of our workout in regards to time spent working out, we just increased the intensity. It's all part of working out smarter!
Age Target HR Zone 50-85% Average Max HR 100%
20 years 100-170 beats per minute 200 beats per minute
25 years 98-166 beats per minute 195 beats per minute
30 years 95-162 beats per minute 190 beats per minute
35 years 93-157 beats per minute 185 beats per minute
40 years 90-153 beats per minute 180 beats per minute
45 years 88-149 beats per minute 175 beats per minute
50 years 85-145 beats per minute 170 beats per minute
55 years 83-140 beats per minute 165 beats per minute
60 years 80-136 beats per minute 160 beats per minute
65 years 78-132 beats per minute 155 beats per minute
70 years 75-128 beats per minute 150 beats per minute
* Talk with your doctor before beginning any exercise program
Markus B. is the Co-Founder of The Fitness Underground-Los Angeles. He has drawn off his years of experience as a Certified Personal Trainer, A Professional Athlete and an accomplished Martial Artist to help create with his partner Texas (an elite Yoga Instructor & Certified Personal Trainer) a "New and Innovative" approach to Health, Fitness and Well Being that not only Enhances the Body but also Enriches the Mind. With an increasing following in the Los Angeles area his powerful message of Good Health, Clean Living and the importance of Exercise, Markus is changing people's lives. Helping people achieve and experience "enlightenment" of good health and a higher level of fitness. Fitness and Well-Being is his passion, his life's work and his personal goal of educating people about this "new way" of living, is one that he takes very seriously. His strong belief is that health, fitness and well-being is the greatest gift we are given in life. One we should remain mindful of, always be grateful for and never take for granted. Markus is often heard saying that having the opportunity to help people make important changes in their lives, and in some cases "life saving" changes is an awesome feeling as well as extremely rewarding. Come join Markus at The Fitness Underground-Los Angeles and experience the difference first hand. Start enjoying and living a healthier, happier and more active life. Life is too short not to listen to his message!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Markus_Boesch
Adding a cardio blast is simple, keeps the workout more interesting and makes it way more challenging.
Let's discuss "challenging" for a moment. First off, if you can read a newspaper, book or magazine, talk or send text messages on your cell phone during your cardio workout, sorry you're not working hard enough! I see way too many people at the gym every day doing all of the above.
Simply put, if you can do any of these things during your cardio workout, you are really fooling yourself by basically just going through the motions, for example: it's like the difference between a relaxing stroll in the park and a brisk energetic walk. It can be said that any movement can be called exercise, maybe there is some truth to that, better than nothing I guess; however, you can't really call this "cardio" exercise in the sense of a workout. Cardio exercise (in layman terms) involves raising your heart-rate significantly, breathing hard and sweating. It's my belief as a certified personal trainer, to always put in "your best" effort into your workout, so you can get the payback and rewards from your efforts. Why waste your precious time? Why cheat yourself the benefits of fitness and good health?
So, leave the reading material and cell phone at home so you can bust the move! FYI: I totally support the use of a music player. The use of an MP3 or CD player will help keep you in the cardio groove by helping you keep the workout pace up and help you stay focused and motivated. A few quick tips on combating cardio boredom, change up your music every workout. On my iPod, I store several cardio workout music mixes.
One day it might be old school funk, the next day club disco grooves, then some rock. In regards to the music you choose, keep the beat driving (The American Council of Exercise suggests a 120 to 132 beats per minute, but I don't think you really have to get that technical, just keep the beat pumping). Another way to fight cardio boredom is to keep your head into it. Most machines have heart-rate monitors, use them, keep track of your heart-rate throughout your workout. Getting to know your warm-up, maintained and cool down heart rate is valuable information.
Here's how to add a worthwhile cardio blast to your workout. To keep it simple, I will talk about doing your cardio blast workout on a treadmill, but it can be easily applied to just about any piece of cardio equipment in the home or gym. It will also translate from treadmill to an outside run. Let's base the workout on a thirty-five minute workout. Jump on the treadmill with music player, towel and a bottle of water handy. Set the treadmill to "Manual" workout mode, workout time set to thirty-five minutes.
Begin by warming up, do a slow walk for the first five minutes. This will give your body a chance to adapt to the workout, stretching out the muscles, raising the heart-rate a bit. After your five minute warm up increase the speed of the treadmill whether power walking or running and settle into your workout (at this point you should be working between 55-65 % of your target heart rate). Note the change in your heart rate from the warm up to your workout pace.
If you are doing a power walk workout you will be walking a brisk pace, if you are doing a running workout you will going from walk to run. Walk or run at your normal pace for ten minutes. At the 15-minute mark is where we add the cardio blast.
For the next two minutes (15 to 17 minute mark) increase the speed or incline of the treadmill (you should now be working at 85% of your target heart rate). At the 17-minute mark decrease the speed or incline and settle back into your normal run or power walk pace. Hold this for the next five minutes (17-22 minute mark). At 22 minutes pick the pace back up and hold it for the next three minutes, feel the burn, your heart beating faster and the noticeable increase in your breathing. Hang in there.
At the 25-minute mark, settle back into your normal pace for the next five minutes. (*As your fitness level increases you will notice that your recovery time will shorten, your heart rate lowers quickly and you will catch your breathe faster). At the 30-minute mark, rev it back up for your last cardio blast. Keep this high pace for the next two minutes bringing you to the 32-minute mark. At the 32-minute mark decrease the pace and really slow it back down to your warm up pace. Hold this warm up pace from 32 to 35 minutes. Wow, great job at 35 minutes you are done and have successfully completed your cardio blast session.
It's amazing how these brief increases (intervals) will make such a huge difference in your cardio workouts. Many high level athletes incorporate this training method (often referred to as Interval Training) into their conditioning programs. The problem with doing the same workout over and over again is that our bodies adapt and progress suffers greatly. Shocking or tricking the body, keeping it guessing, will promote gains quickly and more often. Mixing things up is really a smart concept to incorporate in all your workouts whether it weight or cardio training.
So as you see, we didn't need in increase the length of our workout in regards to time spent working out, we just increased the intensity. It's all part of working out smarter!
Age Target HR Zone 50-85% Average Max HR 100%
20 years 100-170 beats per minute 200 beats per minute
25 years 98-166 beats per minute 195 beats per minute
30 years 95-162 beats per minute 190 beats per minute
35 years 93-157 beats per minute 185 beats per minute
40 years 90-153 beats per minute 180 beats per minute
45 years 88-149 beats per minute 175 beats per minute
50 years 85-145 beats per minute 170 beats per minute
55 years 83-140 beats per minute 165 beats per minute
60 years 80-136 beats per minute 160 beats per minute
65 years 78-132 beats per minute 155 beats per minute
70 years 75-128 beats per minute 150 beats per minute
* Talk with your doctor before beginning any exercise program
Markus B. is the Co-Founder of The Fitness Underground-Los Angeles. He has drawn off his years of experience as a Certified Personal Trainer, A Professional Athlete and an accomplished Martial Artist to help create with his partner Texas (an elite Yoga Instructor & Certified Personal Trainer) a "New and Innovative" approach to Health, Fitness and Well Being that not only Enhances the Body but also Enriches the Mind. With an increasing following in the Los Angeles area his powerful message of Good Health, Clean Living and the importance of Exercise, Markus is changing people's lives. Helping people achieve and experience "enlightenment" of good health and a higher level of fitness. Fitness and Well-Being is his passion, his life's work and his personal goal of educating people about this "new way" of living, is one that he takes very seriously. His strong belief is that health, fitness and well-being is the greatest gift we are given in life. One we should remain mindful of, always be grateful for and never take for granted. Markus is often heard saying that having the opportunity to help people make important changes in their lives, and in some cases "life saving" changes is an awesome feeling as well as extremely rewarding. Come join Markus at The Fitness Underground-Los Angeles and experience the difference first hand. Start enjoying and living a healthier, happier and more active life. Life is too short not to listen to his message!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Markus_Boesch
Wednesday 5 November 2008
Low Carb Diets - Can They Help You Lose Weight Safely?
Low carb diets
Do low-carb diets give you an edge in losing weight? Can they help you lose weight safely and permanently? Here's what you need to know about low-carb diets.
Definition
Low-carb diets limit carbohydrates — for example, bread, grains, rice, starchy vegetables and fruit — and emphasize sources of protein and fat. Many types of low-carb diets exist, each with varying restrictions on the types and amounts of carbohydrates. Examples of low-carb diets include Atkins diet, Zone diet and Protein Power.
Purpose
Low-carb diets are generally used to lose weight. You might choose this type of diet because you enjoy the types and amounts of food featured in the diet. Or, you may believe that a low-carb diet will help you lose weight quickly and easily.
Diet details
Premise
Carbohydrates raise blood sugar levels, which then kicks in insulin. The theory behind low-carb diets is that insulin drives blood sugar into the cells and prevents fat breakdown in the body. This means you won't burn excess fat and lose weight.
Proponents of low-carb diets take this one step further. They say that if carbohydrates raise blood sugar and insulin levels and cause weight gain, a decrease in carbs will result in lower blood sugar and insulin levels, leading to weight loss. And because you're not eating the carbs, your body breaks down fat to provide needed energy. Some people do lose weight on low-carb diets, but the weight loss probably isn't related to blood sugar and insulin levels.
Typical menu
In general, low-carb diets focus on meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, eggs and some nonstarchy vegetables. The diet excludes or limits most grains, beans, fruits, breads, sweets, pastas and starchy vegetables. Some low-carb diet plans allow fruits, vegetables and whole-grains.
Results
Initially, when you follow a low-carb diet you may lose more weight than if you followed a low-fat, low-calorie diet. This increased weight loss may or may not continue long term depending on your commitment to following the eating plan.
A low-carb diet may provide some health benefits, such as possibly lowering blood cholesterol levels. However, the benefits depend on what foods you eat as part of the diet. Foods high in saturated fat, which technically fit the criteria of a low-carb diet, reduce the health-benefit potential.
Four factors contribute to weight loss with low-carb diets:
Theoretically, in order to maintain weight loss if you do lose weight, you need to continue the program. But a low-carb diet doesn't appear to be easier to maintain than any other diet. Studies comparing low-carb diets and low-fat diets found that after a year, people dropped out of both diets at similar rates. This suggests that the low-carb diet, like so many diets, is no easier to stick to long term.
Risks
No one knows the long-term health effects of low-carb diets. Though some studies have looked at the benefits and risks, none has been conducted over a long enough period to show whether these diets increase the risk of health conditions that develop over many years, such as heart disease, cancer, and kidney or bone problems.
(mayoclinic.com)
Do low-carb diets give you an edge in losing weight? Can they help you lose weight safely and permanently? Here's what you need to know about low-carb diets.
Definition
Low-carb diets limit carbohydrates — for example, bread, grains, rice, starchy vegetables and fruit — and emphasize sources of protein and fat. Many types of low-carb diets exist, each with varying restrictions on the types and amounts of carbohydrates. Examples of low-carb diets include Atkins diet, Zone diet and Protein Power.
Purpose
Low-carb diets are generally used to lose weight. You might choose this type of diet because you enjoy the types and amounts of food featured in the diet. Or, you may believe that a low-carb diet will help you lose weight quickly and easily.
Diet details
Premise
Carbohydrates raise blood sugar levels, which then kicks in insulin. The theory behind low-carb diets is that insulin drives blood sugar into the cells and prevents fat breakdown in the body. This means you won't burn excess fat and lose weight.
Proponents of low-carb diets take this one step further. They say that if carbohydrates raise blood sugar and insulin levels and cause weight gain, a decrease in carbs will result in lower blood sugar and insulin levels, leading to weight loss. And because you're not eating the carbs, your body breaks down fat to provide needed energy. Some people do lose weight on low-carb diets, but the weight loss probably isn't related to blood sugar and insulin levels.
Typical menu
In general, low-carb diets focus on meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, eggs and some nonstarchy vegetables. The diet excludes or limits most grains, beans, fruits, breads, sweets, pastas and starchy vegetables. Some low-carb diet plans allow fruits, vegetables and whole-grains.
Results
Initially, when you follow a low-carb diet you may lose more weight than if you followed a low-fat, low-calorie diet. This increased weight loss may or may not continue long term depending on your commitment to following the eating plan.
A low-carb diet may provide some health benefits, such as possibly lowering blood cholesterol levels. However, the benefits depend on what foods you eat as part of the diet. Foods high in saturated fat, which technically fit the criteria of a low-carb diet, reduce the health-benefit potential.
Four factors contribute to weight loss with low-carb diets:
- Loss of water weight. When you initially decrease your carbohydrate intake, your body burns glycogen. Glycogen contains large amounts of water, so burning glycogen leads to the release of water and increased urination, causing weight loss.
- Decreased appetite. Studies suggest that a low-carb diet decreases appetite, but why this occurs isn't clear.
- Increased feeling of fullness. Low-carb diets are higher in fat and protein. Fat and protein take longer to digest, which makes you feel fuller longer.
- Reduced calories. Most low-carb diets reduce your overall calorie intake because they strictly limit the variety of foods you can eat. Carbohydrates — including bread, pasta, rice, cereals, milk, most fruit and any sweets — usually provide over half of people's daily calories. On a low-carb diet, however, carbohydrates are limited or avoided, thus leading to a significant reduction in calorie intake.
Theoretically, in order to maintain weight loss if you do lose weight, you need to continue the program. But a low-carb diet doesn't appear to be easier to maintain than any other diet. Studies comparing low-carb diets and low-fat diets found that after a year, people dropped out of both diets at similar rates. This suggests that the low-carb diet, like so many diets, is no easier to stick to long term.
Risks
No one knows the long-term health effects of low-carb diets. Though some studies have looked at the benefits and risks, none has been conducted over a long enough period to show whether these diets increase the risk of health conditions that develop over many years, such as heart disease, cancer, and kidney or bone problems.
(mayoclinic.com)
How to Have a Successful Diet Plan
A study shows that women spend a decade of their life being on diet, however, a quarter of all women lose nothing at all. We are constantly on diet. But how many of us actually succeed the diet. For most women, including myself, everytime we begin our diet, we are so motivated and determined that it will succeed this time. We go to the gym and fill our fridges with fruits, vegetables and all the low fat food. But how many of us could last until we reach our goals or some might even gain more.
Determined to make changes to myself, I read a lot of articles on how to have a successful diet plan and to share it with u guys, I summarise all of them into a few points which I think will really help.
First of all, choose a weight loss program that is appropriate and suitable to us.
There are lots and lots of weight loss program out there. Low fat diet, low GI diet, atkins, southbeach diet, just name it. All with promises that their programs will work and I do believe they all will. We just have to find one that could fit our daily routines or our lifestyles and one that we could enjoy while doing it. For example, if you can't live without bread, rice or carbs, don't choose a low carb high protein diet, as you know it wouldn't last long for you.
Tomorrow never dies
After you find the right plan for you, start straight away and don't make it as an excuse to eat more before you start. In my case, there's always tomorrow . I'll say to myself "I'll start my diet Tomorrow !!" and since Tomorrow I can't have my chocolates anymore, I'll indulge myself in all sort of chocolates and ice creams and snacks even when I'm still full. But tomorrow never dies and there's always gonna be another "Tomorrow " and that's when we put on more weight. Therefore, try not to compromise, start the diet as soon as you can, be confidence and believe in yourself.
It doesn't mean fail when we cheat
There's always a time when we cheat during our diet plan. But it doesn't mean that we are already fail and for some people, they will think that all diets are useless and eat even more. When we are eating out or going to a party, try to eat food that can accommodate with our diet plans but if we can't and we have to cheat then it's also find. But don't eat the whole lot of it. Cheat a little bit and continue with your diet again the next day
Don't forget to be active
to lose weight more effectively, we have to exercise. I know for some people, this could be a turn off, but in order to maintain a healthy weight, exercise is necessary. Be more active in our daily routines is also another way of exercising. We could also join the gym but don't go too extreme too early. In the beginning of diet, people tend to overwork themselves in their exercise and this will make them get tired easily. Get tired of exercising and get tired by losing their energy. Another good option is try to have fun while being active. For example, join dancing classes, play some sports or even window shopping.
Don't weight yourself too often
Try not to weight yourself everyday. At least once a week. We always feel anxious when we weight ourself and of course, after we work so hard to stay on diet, daily weigh-ins are tempting. But we could easily get discouraged if no weight loss is recorded and after a week, it is more possible to see a result. Another reason is our weight on the scale can go up and down daily due to fluctuations of water in our body, so we can't really based it as the result of our diet.
Make a weight loss diary
Research shows that dieters that write down everything that they eat, lose down twice as much weights as those people who don't. Make your own weight loss diary. Write down your progress every day and even your temptations and your guilts. This will keep track of your diet plan, make you more focus and more food concious.
check out http://www.insidehazel.com for more free weight loss tips.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hazel_Lai
Determined to make changes to myself, I read a lot of articles on how to have a successful diet plan and to share it with u guys, I summarise all of them into a few points which I think will really help.
First of all, choose a weight loss program that is appropriate and suitable to us.
There are lots and lots of weight loss program out there. Low fat diet, low GI diet, atkins, southbeach diet, just name it. All with promises that their programs will work and I do believe they all will. We just have to find one that could fit our daily routines or our lifestyles and one that we could enjoy while doing it. For example, if you can't live without bread, rice or carbs, don't choose a low carb high protein diet, as you know it wouldn't last long for you.
Tomorrow never dies
After you find the right plan for you, start straight away and don't make it as an excuse to eat more before you start. In my case, there's always tomorrow . I'll say to myself "I'll start my diet Tomorrow !!" and since Tomorrow I can't have my chocolates anymore, I'll indulge myself in all sort of chocolates and ice creams and snacks even when I'm still full. But tomorrow never dies and there's always gonna be another "Tomorrow " and that's when we put on more weight. Therefore, try not to compromise, start the diet as soon as you can, be confidence and believe in yourself.
It doesn't mean fail when we cheat
There's always a time when we cheat during our diet plan. But it doesn't mean that we are already fail and for some people, they will think that all diets are useless and eat even more. When we are eating out or going to a party, try to eat food that can accommodate with our diet plans but if we can't and we have to cheat then it's also find. But don't eat the whole lot of it. Cheat a little bit and continue with your diet again the next day
Don't forget to be active
to lose weight more effectively, we have to exercise. I know for some people, this could be a turn off, but in order to maintain a healthy weight, exercise is necessary. Be more active in our daily routines is also another way of exercising. We could also join the gym but don't go too extreme too early. In the beginning of diet, people tend to overwork themselves in their exercise and this will make them get tired easily. Get tired of exercising and get tired by losing their energy. Another good option is try to have fun while being active. For example, join dancing classes, play some sports or even window shopping.
Don't weight yourself too often
Try not to weight yourself everyday. At least once a week. We always feel anxious when we weight ourself and of course, after we work so hard to stay on diet, daily weigh-ins are tempting. But we could easily get discouraged if no weight loss is recorded and after a week, it is more possible to see a result. Another reason is our weight on the scale can go up and down daily due to fluctuations of water in our body, so we can't really based it as the result of our diet.
Make a weight loss diary
Research shows that dieters that write down everything that they eat, lose down twice as much weights as those people who don't. Make your own weight loss diary. Write down your progress every day and even your temptations and your guilts. This will keep track of your diet plan, make you more focus and more food concious.
check out http://www.insidehazel.com for more free weight loss tips.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hazel_Lai
Killer Home Ab Workouts For Sexy Six Pack Abs
When most people attempt to perform ab workouts at home, they usually just lie on the floor and engage in a marathon of crunch repetitions. This all too common approach will never lead to a well-balanced set of six pack abs.
First of all, the basic crunch will only provide a marginally positive training effect for beginners. Once you get strong enough to crank out sets of 50-100 or more, the resistance the crunch provides is simply too little to provide a training effect.
And secondly, the crunch only works the abs in one movement pattern: trunk flexion. Trunk flexion is just one of the many different abdominal functions that must be developed in a good ab routine. Therefore, you can't achieve a complete ab workout by using a single exercise, like the crunch, in isolation.
Instead, you need to perform several different ab exercises, each targeting a different abdominal function and/or region. This may sound confusing, but once you understand the anatomy and function of your abdominals, designing an effective ab workout is quite simple.
Don't worry, I'm not going to bore you with a lesson in anatomy. Instead, I'm going to lay out a complete, ready to use ab workout for you. The following workout contains only exercises that require no equipment whatsoever, making them ideal for a home training session. Here it is:
1a) Reverse Crunch On Floor 3x20-25 30 sec rest
1b) Straight Body Side Crunch On Floor 3x12 (5sec hold) 30 sec rest
2a) Plank 3x60 sec 30 sec rest
2b) Seated Russian Twists With Leg Cycle 3x20-25 30 sec rest
Now I will give you a detailed description on how to properly execute each exercise:
Reverse Crunch On Floor- Lie on your back on a mat. Flex both knees and hips to 90 degree angles. Bring knees toward chest by flexing abdominal muscles, raising butt from floor while maintaining a constant knee angle. Return until hips and knees are again extended to 90 degree angles. Repeat for the prescribed number of reps.
Straight Body Side Crunch On Floor- Lie on your side on the floor. Keep your hands straight out above your head, in line with your body. Keep legs straight. Lock your hands together. Simultaneously raise your arms and legs up so that neither are in contact with the floor. Hold this position for the prescribed number of seconds.
Plank- Get on the floor in a push up position. Support your body on your forearms and your toes. Be sure to keep the abs tight and hold your body in a straight line. Do not let hips sag or hike them up too high. Hold for the prescribed number of seconds.
Seated Russian Twists With Leg Cycle- Sit on floor and cross your arms across your chest, grabbing the opposite shoulders. Lean back until your upper body makes a 45 degree angle to the floor. Rotate trunk to the right while simultaneously bringing your right knee towards your chest. At this point your left elbow will be touching your right knee. In a smooth motion rotate to the left and repeat this on the other side. Continue to alternate until you finish the prescribed number of reps. One full rotation equals one rep.
And there you have it! A simple ab workout you can perform anywhere with no equipment necessary. Do this workout 2-3 times per week for up to a month. After a month, it will be time to progress to a more advanced routine.
A nice set of abs is in YOUR future! Begin this routine and start getting results today!
Click here to learn how to get a six pack as fast as possible with the most effective ab workouts
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Alvino
First of all, the basic crunch will only provide a marginally positive training effect for beginners. Once you get strong enough to crank out sets of 50-100 or more, the resistance the crunch provides is simply too little to provide a training effect.
And secondly, the crunch only works the abs in one movement pattern: trunk flexion. Trunk flexion is just one of the many different abdominal functions that must be developed in a good ab routine. Therefore, you can't achieve a complete ab workout by using a single exercise, like the crunch, in isolation.
Instead, you need to perform several different ab exercises, each targeting a different abdominal function and/or region. This may sound confusing, but once you understand the anatomy and function of your abdominals, designing an effective ab workout is quite simple.
Don't worry, I'm not going to bore you with a lesson in anatomy. Instead, I'm going to lay out a complete, ready to use ab workout for you. The following workout contains only exercises that require no equipment whatsoever, making them ideal for a home training session. Here it is:
1a) Reverse Crunch On Floor 3x20-25 30 sec rest
1b) Straight Body Side Crunch On Floor 3x12 (5sec hold) 30 sec rest
2a) Plank 3x60 sec 30 sec rest
2b) Seated Russian Twists With Leg Cycle 3x20-25 30 sec rest
Now I will give you a detailed description on how to properly execute each exercise:
Reverse Crunch On Floor- Lie on your back on a mat. Flex both knees and hips to 90 degree angles. Bring knees toward chest by flexing abdominal muscles, raising butt from floor while maintaining a constant knee angle. Return until hips and knees are again extended to 90 degree angles. Repeat for the prescribed number of reps.
Straight Body Side Crunch On Floor- Lie on your side on the floor. Keep your hands straight out above your head, in line with your body. Keep legs straight. Lock your hands together. Simultaneously raise your arms and legs up so that neither are in contact with the floor. Hold this position for the prescribed number of seconds.
Plank- Get on the floor in a push up position. Support your body on your forearms and your toes. Be sure to keep the abs tight and hold your body in a straight line. Do not let hips sag or hike them up too high. Hold for the prescribed number of seconds.
Seated Russian Twists With Leg Cycle- Sit on floor and cross your arms across your chest, grabbing the opposite shoulders. Lean back until your upper body makes a 45 degree angle to the floor. Rotate trunk to the right while simultaneously bringing your right knee towards your chest. At this point your left elbow will be touching your right knee. In a smooth motion rotate to the left and repeat this on the other side. Continue to alternate until you finish the prescribed number of reps. One full rotation equals one rep.
And there you have it! A simple ab workout you can perform anywhere with no equipment necessary. Do this workout 2-3 times per week for up to a month. After a month, it will be time to progress to a more advanced routine.
A nice set of abs is in YOUR future! Begin this routine and start getting results today!
Click here to learn how to get a six pack as fast as possible with the most effective ab workouts
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Alvino
4 Important Fitness Tips to Keep in Mind
Keeping fit is not really complicated. All you need to do is two basic things: watch what you eat and workout. Individual response to these strategies may vary, so it's important to keep the following tips in mind.
Fitness Tip 1: Pay Attention
This is a fitness tip that even veteran exercise enthusiasts can apply: pay attention to what your body is saying. Your body will manifest signs such as pain, dizziness, or difficulty in breathing if you push it past its limits. Health professionals do not recommend that you push yourself to exhaustion as this may cause permanent injury. If you feel anything unusual or unpleasant while working out, stop and consult with a specialist. You may need to modify either your form, level of intensity, or type of exercise.
Fitness Tip 2: Choose the Best for You
There is a good reason why there are so many types of workout to choose from. This is so that you can choose the appropriate workout for your age, health level and body weight. If you are a beginner, try a less technically challenging workout to start with. This will ensure that you get the maximum benefits for your efforts, while minimizing risk of injury.
Fitness Tip 3: Consistency is Key
The fruits of healthful living are not instantaneous, but develop over time. It is important to manage your expectations in order to minimize frustration when the going gets tough. Do not expect to look like a supermodel the day after your first workout. Results will usually begin to appear in 15 to 30 days, so stick to the plan and don't throw in the towel prematurely.
Once you start seeing results, don't stop and rest on your laurels. People who suddenly stop end up even worse that before, gaining more weight than what they lost. Maintain a healthy lifestyle and you will maintain a great figure.
Fitness Tip 4: Don't Overdo It
Try to incorporate some exercise into your daily routine, rather than just working out heavily during the weekends. An erratic schedule will only create unattractive bulky muscles, instead of giving you a healthy toned physique. If you keep a regular workout and maintain healthy eating habits, your body will reward you with health, less disease and a longer life.
The benefits of working out are not limited to looking great, but extend inwards. It is a great stress buster and creates a harmonious relationship between your physical, intellectual, and spiritual aspects.
If you want to become fit you will also have to pay attention to what you eat. We have a great solution for that. Click Here for more information.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gary_Holdon
Fitness Tip 1: Pay Attention
This is a fitness tip that even veteran exercise enthusiasts can apply: pay attention to what your body is saying. Your body will manifest signs such as pain, dizziness, or difficulty in breathing if you push it past its limits. Health professionals do not recommend that you push yourself to exhaustion as this may cause permanent injury. If you feel anything unusual or unpleasant while working out, stop and consult with a specialist. You may need to modify either your form, level of intensity, or type of exercise.
Fitness Tip 2: Choose the Best for You
There is a good reason why there are so many types of workout to choose from. This is so that you can choose the appropriate workout for your age, health level and body weight. If you are a beginner, try a less technically challenging workout to start with. This will ensure that you get the maximum benefits for your efforts, while minimizing risk of injury.
Fitness Tip 3: Consistency is Key
The fruits of healthful living are not instantaneous, but develop over time. It is important to manage your expectations in order to minimize frustration when the going gets tough. Do not expect to look like a supermodel the day after your first workout. Results will usually begin to appear in 15 to 30 days, so stick to the plan and don't throw in the towel prematurely.
Once you start seeing results, don't stop and rest on your laurels. People who suddenly stop end up even worse that before, gaining more weight than what they lost. Maintain a healthy lifestyle and you will maintain a great figure.
Fitness Tip 4: Don't Overdo It
Try to incorporate some exercise into your daily routine, rather than just working out heavily during the weekends. An erratic schedule will only create unattractive bulky muscles, instead of giving you a healthy toned physique. If you keep a regular workout and maintain healthy eating habits, your body will reward you with health, less disease and a longer life.
The benefits of working out are not limited to looking great, but extend inwards. It is a great stress buster and creates a harmonious relationship between your physical, intellectual, and spiritual aspects.
If you want to become fit you will also have to pay attention to what you eat. We have a great solution for that. Click Here for more information.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gary_Holdon
Tuesday 4 November 2008
Supplement Your Nutrition and Increase Your Chromium in Food
Some studies have noted that chromium has a benefit on lowering heart attack risk, and may help boost HDL levels. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has stated that an Adequate Intake (AI) for chromium is 25-35mcg per day, which was concluded by estimating the average amount of chromium a healthy American obtains from the foods they ingest. The AI for chromium is substantially lower than the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) of 120mcg.
The Harvard Health Publications states that the best ways to boost HDL levels are lifestyle habits of exercise and diet. But if those don't help, supplementing with chromium may improve HDL levels. Some clinical trials have reported a benefit.
Dietary chromium is found in whole grains, nuts, broccoli, and green beans, which are all high nutrition foods. Most people do not eat whole grains, ever, do not choose nuts as a snack, and can't stand green vegetables. Green vegetables that are overcooked are particularly repulsive to many.
Chromium has also been associated with the management of blood sugar. It has shown to assist the receptor sites in cells utilize insulin. Insulin resistance is the condition where you cells do not assimilate insulin, and can lead to Diabetes.
A whole food supplement containing unprocessed, unfragmented green vegetable compounds will increase your chromium intake in a natural way. It will be ingested with the nature-born co-factors and enzymes needed for proper digestion.
So yes, you can just take a pill and know that you are doing something good for health and future every day. Of course if you have disease symptoms you should see a health practitioner and get a proper diagnosis followed up with specific treatments. Most medical doctors would not object to your taking a whole food supplement along with other treatment, just ask if there is any reason not to.
Start with your diet and do the best you can to eat good fresh foods. Add to your natural health plan with a whole food supplement to feed your immune system well.
Since studies have shown that chromium in food brings benefits to your health that extracted, isolated chromium in supplements does not show, to date, opt for a supplement that also includes anti-oxidants, other whole food derived vitamins and minerals, and berry extracts.
Harvard Health Publications provides more details at www.health.harvard.edu.
A natural whole food supplement, preferably made from organic and wild harvested foods, will help you to avoid heart disease, cancer, high cholesterol, diabetes, ulcerative colitis, Alzheimers and other conditions of aging. That is the stuff we are made of.
Click here for more info about a natural whole food supplement, and get your purified fish oil here, to prevent or help manage high blood pressure, arthritis, add, diabetes, menopause, heart health,depression, joint pain and more. Dianne M. Buxton is a mother, writer, and a ballet teacher, interested in anti-aging nutrition and lifestyles.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dianne_M._Buxton
The Harvard Health Publications states that the best ways to boost HDL levels are lifestyle habits of exercise and diet. But if those don't help, supplementing with chromium may improve HDL levels. Some clinical trials have reported a benefit.
Dietary chromium is found in whole grains, nuts, broccoli, and green beans, which are all high nutrition foods. Most people do not eat whole grains, ever, do not choose nuts as a snack, and can't stand green vegetables. Green vegetables that are overcooked are particularly repulsive to many.
Chromium has also been associated with the management of blood sugar. It has shown to assist the receptor sites in cells utilize insulin. Insulin resistance is the condition where you cells do not assimilate insulin, and can lead to Diabetes.
A whole food supplement containing unprocessed, unfragmented green vegetable compounds will increase your chromium intake in a natural way. It will be ingested with the nature-born co-factors and enzymes needed for proper digestion.
So yes, you can just take a pill and know that you are doing something good for health and future every day. Of course if you have disease symptoms you should see a health practitioner and get a proper diagnosis followed up with specific treatments. Most medical doctors would not object to your taking a whole food supplement along with other treatment, just ask if there is any reason not to.
Start with your diet and do the best you can to eat good fresh foods. Add to your natural health plan with a whole food supplement to feed your immune system well.
Since studies have shown that chromium in food brings benefits to your health that extracted, isolated chromium in supplements does not show, to date, opt for a supplement that also includes anti-oxidants, other whole food derived vitamins and minerals, and berry extracts.
Harvard Health Publications provides more details at www.health.harvard.edu.
A natural whole food supplement, preferably made from organic and wild harvested foods, will help you to avoid heart disease, cancer, high cholesterol, diabetes, ulcerative colitis, Alzheimers and other conditions of aging. That is the stuff we are made of.
Click here for more info about a natural whole food supplement, and get your purified fish oil here, to prevent or help manage high blood pressure, arthritis, add, diabetes, menopause, heart health,depression, joint pain and more. Dianne M. Buxton is a mother, writer, and a ballet teacher, interested in anti-aging nutrition and lifestyles.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dianne_M._Buxton
Popular fish oil supplements fail ingredient tests
More than half the brands of popular cod liver oil and omega 3 supplements do not contain the amount of active ingredients they claim on the label, according to the results of new tests.Fish oil capsules are one of the UK's most popular nutritional supplements and have been shown by a number of studies to help maintain joint flexibility, keep the heart healthy and aid brain development.
But scientists from the new review website whatsinit.com tested 27 brands of the widely sold supplements - and found that more than half did not meet trading standards guidelines.
The organisation, which claims to be the only independent website providing unbiased analysis of UK health supplements, says that one of the worst offenders was Tesco's High Strength Cod Liver Oil, which had just 79 per cent of active ingredient, EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid), claimed on the bottle.
Meanwhile, the report found Boots Brain and Heart Health Omega 3 supplements contained only 84 per cent DHA and 87per cent EPA stated on the label. Seven Seas Pure Cod Liver Oil had 87per cent of active ingredient it was said to contain.
At the other end of the scale, Numark's Omega 3, Healthspan's Concentrated Omega 3 and Asda's Omega 3 contained higher levels of the active ingredient than claimed.
Whatsinit.com say the test results were analysed by independent laboratories and reviewed by experts. Products were considered to have failed if they contained less than 95 per cent of the active ingredients they claimed to have.
Technical Director Dr Heidi Normanton, said: 'It is well known within the industry that there is no strict regulation. We are not aiming to damage any reputations through this site but are here to provide an essential service for consumers who have no idea what their expensive supplements contain.
'We are providing manufacturers with every chance to improve their products and the consistency of the supplements and ensure that the next time they are tested they meet the label claim.'
However, the test methods and results were disputed by Boots and Tesco, whose products were failed by the website.
'We believe their results to be fundamentally flawed as Boots supplements undergo rigorous internal and external product testing,' a Boots spokesman said.
'We would like to take this opportunity to reassure our customers that our products are manufactured to the highest standards in the industry and we have all relevant documentation to demonstrate this.'
A spokesman for Tesco said: 'We are investigating these claims, however we obtain a certificate of analysis from our supplier for each batch of capsules to verify the content.'
dailymail
Thousands of cancer patients who pay privately for drugs WILL get free NHS care, say ministers
The ban on patients paying extra for 'top-up' drugs on the NHS will be lifted, health secretary Alan Johnson has announced.He told MPs this afternoon that patients who pay privately for life-extending drugs will no longer lose their right to free NHS care.
It is thought up to 15,000 patients a year might choose to pay for drugs the NHS will not fund because they are too expensive or are awaiting approval.
Mr Johnson said reforms by the rationing watchdog NICE, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, would make more drugs available without patients having to foot the bill.
A new system will change the way NICE calculates whether a drug is cost effective, giving greater weight to the value of a few extra months for a terminally-ill patient, and will speed up the process.
It is hoped the system will increase the availability on the NHS of expensive drugs for rarer cancers, which cost more for pharmaceutical firms to develop because their potential market is smaller.
The Department of Health will also enter into 'risk sharing' deals with drugs firms, under which new drugs are initially sold more cheaply to get under the cost effectiveness threshold. If they prove more worthwhile in practice than was expected, their price can be raised.
It costs an average of £21,000 a year to buy cancer drugs privately, and the reforms have raised fears of a 'two-tier' NHS because they will mean a rich patient will be able to afford treatment denied to someone less well-off.
There are also concerns that the change could make primary care trusts reluctant to fund expensive drugs under the 'exceptional cases' system, relying on patients to buy the drugs themselves.
Mr Johnson said those paying for top-ups should receive 'separate' care, with the drugs being administered outside NHS grounds or in a private wing of a hospital.
(dailymail)
Vitamin D Activated And Immune Response Increased By Lung Airway Cells
Vitamin D is essential to good health but needs to be activated to function properly in the human body. Until recently, this activation was thought to happen primarily in the kidneys, but a new University of Iowa study finds that the activation step can also occur in lung airway cells.
The study also links the vitamin D locally produced in the lung airway cells to activation of two genes that help fight infection. The study results appear in the Nov. 15 issue of the Journal of Immunology, now online.
In addition to contributing to calcium absorption and bone health, vitamin D is increasingly recognized for its beneficial effects on the immune system. Vitamin D deficiency has been recently linked to increased risk of some infections, autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes, and some cancers.
"The more scientists have been studying vitamin D, the more we learn about new roles it plays in the human body," said the study's lead author Sif Hansdottir, M.D., fellow in internal medicine in the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. "The active form of vitamin D is known to affect the expression of more than 200 genes, so we were interested both in the possible lung-specific production of active vitamin D and in vitamin D-dependent production of proteins that fight infections."
The first step in vitamin D activation takes place in the liver, where an enzyme called 25-hydroxylase converts vitamin D into a "storage" form. The next step takes place typically in the kidneys, but in recent years, tissue and organs such as skin, intestines, breast and prostate have been found also to express the enzyme that completes vitamin D conversion.
The University of Iowa team, based in the laboratory of Gary Hunninghake, M.D., professor of internal medicine and the study's senior author, used cells from deceased human donors to demonstrate that the presence of the enzyme 1 alpha-hydroxylase in the airway cells helps convert the storage form of vitamin D into its active form.
"When we put the storage form of vitamin D on the lung airway cells, we saw them convert it to the active form," Hansdottir said. "The next step was to investigate whether this active form could affect the expression of genes."
The team then showed that vitamin D activated by airway cells affects two genes involved in immune defense. One gene expresses a protein called cathelicidin that can kill bacteria. The second gene, called CD14, produces a protein that helps cells recognize different kinds of pathogens that could be a threat.
"Vitamin D converted by the kidneys circulates in the bloodstream, but vitamin D converted by other organs appears to stay within those organs and protect them from infection," Hansdottir said. "We were able to see this happen in cells lining the trachea and main bronchi."
The team also found that when lung airway cells are infected by a virus, they express more of the enzyme that activates vitamin D. Hansdottir said the team is very interested in pursuing studies on the role of viral infections in vitamin D production and subsequent effects on lung infections.
"Vitamin D not only increases proteins involved in bacterial killing but also can dampen inflammation," Hansdottir said. "Controlling inflammation through vitamin D is good because too much inflammation can cause problems such as sepsis and seems to contribute to autoimmune disease."
Hansdottir noted that vitamin D insufficiencies and deficiencies (which are more severe) are fairly common, particularly for people living in northern latitudes. While vitamin D can be generated through sun exposure, such exposure is generally not recommended as a remedy because of skin cancer risks. Instead, supplements can be used.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recently recommended that the vitamin D dosage for children be increased to 400 IU (international units) per day. Optimal daily intake for adults is still being studied but may be as high as 800 to 1,000 IU.
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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
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Source: Becky Soglin
University of Iowa
The study also links the vitamin D locally produced in the lung airway cells to activation of two genes that help fight infection. The study results appear in the Nov. 15 issue of the Journal of Immunology, now online.
In addition to contributing to calcium absorption and bone health, vitamin D is increasingly recognized for its beneficial effects on the immune system. Vitamin D deficiency has been recently linked to increased risk of some infections, autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes, and some cancers.
"The more scientists have been studying vitamin D, the more we learn about new roles it plays in the human body," said the study's lead author Sif Hansdottir, M.D., fellow in internal medicine in the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. "The active form of vitamin D is known to affect the expression of more than 200 genes, so we were interested both in the possible lung-specific production of active vitamin D and in vitamin D-dependent production of proteins that fight infections."
The first step in vitamin D activation takes place in the liver, where an enzyme called 25-hydroxylase converts vitamin D into a "storage" form. The next step takes place typically in the kidneys, but in recent years, tissue and organs such as skin, intestines, breast and prostate have been found also to express the enzyme that completes vitamin D conversion.
The University of Iowa team, based in the laboratory of Gary Hunninghake, M.D., professor of internal medicine and the study's senior author, used cells from deceased human donors to demonstrate that the presence of the enzyme 1 alpha-hydroxylase in the airway cells helps convert the storage form of vitamin D into its active form.
"When we put the storage form of vitamin D on the lung airway cells, we saw them convert it to the active form," Hansdottir said. "The next step was to investigate whether this active form could affect the expression of genes."
The team then showed that vitamin D activated by airway cells affects two genes involved in immune defense. One gene expresses a protein called cathelicidin that can kill bacteria. The second gene, called CD14, produces a protein that helps cells recognize different kinds of pathogens that could be a threat.
"Vitamin D converted by the kidneys circulates in the bloodstream, but vitamin D converted by other organs appears to stay within those organs and protect them from infection," Hansdottir said. "We were able to see this happen in cells lining the trachea and main bronchi."
The team also found that when lung airway cells are infected by a virus, they express more of the enzyme that activates vitamin D. Hansdottir said the team is very interested in pursuing studies on the role of viral infections in vitamin D production and subsequent effects on lung infections.
"Vitamin D not only increases proteins involved in bacterial killing but also can dampen inflammation," Hansdottir said. "Controlling inflammation through vitamin D is good because too much inflammation can cause problems such as sepsis and seems to contribute to autoimmune disease."
Hansdottir noted that vitamin D insufficiencies and deficiencies (which are more severe) are fairly common, particularly for people living in northern latitudes. While vitamin D can be generated through sun exposure, such exposure is generally not recommended as a remedy because of skin cancer risks. Instead, supplements can be used.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recently recommended that the vitamin D dosage for children be increased to 400 IU (international units) per day. Optimal daily intake for adults is still being studied but may be as high as 800 to 1,000 IU.
----------------------------
Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
----------------------------
Source: Becky Soglin
University of Iowa
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