iTrainer Blog - Fitness Advice, Personal Training, Weight Loss, MP3 Fitness - The MP3 Personal Trainer on Your iPod - Sunday, November 12, 2006

Forget so-called “energy drinks.” A new analysis by University of Georgia researchers finds overwhelming evidence that regular exercise plays a significant role in increasing energy levels and reducing fatigue.

“A lot of times when people are fatigued the last thing they want to do is exercise,” said professor Patrick O’Connor, co-director of the UGA exercise psychology laboratory. “But if you’re physically inactive and fatigued, being just a bit more active will help.”

Health professionals encourage regular exercise to prevent or improve symptoms of conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity, but the scientific evidence on whether exercise increases or reduces fatigue had never been reviewed quantitatively. O’Connor, kinesiology professor Rod Dishman and lead author Tim Puetz, who recently completed his doctoral work at UGA, analyzed 70 randomized, controlled trials that enrolled a total of 6,807 subjects. They found strong support for the role of exercise in reducing fatigue.

“More than 90 percent of the studies showed the same thing: Sedentary people who completed a regular exercise program reported improved fatigue compared to groups that did not exercise” O’Connor said. “It’s a very consistent effect.”

The study, published in the November issue of the journal Psychological Bulletin, quantified the magnitude of the effect of exercise and found that it was stronger than the treatment of fatigued people with drugs such as the narcolepsy drug modafinil. Specifically, the researchers found that exercise increased energy and reduced fatigue by 0.37 standard deviations when compared to control groups, whereas participants in a previous study taking modafinil had an improvement of 0.23 standard deviations.

Puetz notes that their analysis found that nearly every group studied – from healthy adults to cancer patients to those with chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease – benefited from exercise. He acknowledges that it may seem counterintuitive that expending energy through exercise would increase feelings of energy and reduce fatigue, but he points out that previous studies have shown marked increases in the levels of energy-promoting and mood-enhancing neurotransmitters such as dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin in the brains of animals that are placed in regular exercise conditions.

“We live in a society where people are always looking for the next sports drink, energy bar or cup of coffee that will give them the extra edge to get through the day,” Puetz said. “But it may be that lacing up your tennis shoes and getting out and doing some physical activity every morning can provide that spark of energy that people are looking for.”

 

We’re all looking for that magic pill. You know - the one that we can take and lose weight without really trying!

What would you give up to be skinny? How about your health? Well, some of the methods of weight loss may cost you exactly that. Before you decide that the way to lose weight is to follow one of the below regimens, take a second look. Do your research and be sure that you understand the risks
Are you considering one of these dangerous weight loss methods?

*Prescription diet pills

Amphetamines are available only by prescription, and most doctors are leery of handing them out these days. While they do suppress appetite, you learn nothing about healthy eating, you don’t change your eating habits, and you are likely to gain the weight back the moment you stop taking them. In addition, they can be habit forming. The side effects include high blood pressure, heart arrhythmia, sleeplessness, hallucinations and delusions.

*Ephedra

This all natural Asian herb is found in many herbal remedies and weight loss powders. It has a powerful appetite suppressant effect, but has been implicated in over 70 deaths.

*Phentermine Fenfluramine-phentermine (fen-phen)

Fen-phen was a popular weight loss supplement in the 90’s until it was implicated in deaths due to heart-valve damage. Phentermine alone is still sold in many weight loss aids. The side effects include headaches, dizziness, heart arrhythmia, high blood pressure and insomnia.

*Laxatives

One of the popular home remedies, used for purging. Regular use and abuse of laxatives can result in low potassium, arrhythmia, and pancreatic damage.

*Artificial Sweeteners

Aspartame, the most commonly used artificial sweetener, has been implicated in multiple lawsuits alleging damages that include blindness, seizures and brain damage.

*Smoking

Afraid you’ll gain weight if you quit smoking? The National Institute of Diabetes says that you’d have to gain 100-150 pounds to match the health risks you invoke by smoking. Instead, set up healthy strategies to help you deal with food cravings and put down the cigarettes.

*Purging

Like laxatives, purging by forcing oneself to vomit or taking emetics can have very damaging effects on health. Depletion of nutrients like potassium and vitamins, damage to the esophagus from stomach acids, and esophageal rupture are all possible side effects.

*Diuretics

Taking diuretics encourages your body to rid itself of fluids - including vital electrolytes. The depletion can lead to dehydration, and cause your body to start retaining water, starting a vicious cycle. Repeated or prolonged use of diuretics can lead to kidney damage and serious electrolyte imbalances, which may result in kidney or heart failure.

*Herbal Remedies

We have a tendency to equate ‘herbal’ with ‘harmless’, but say nutritionists, this isn’t always the case. Remember that many medications are derived from herbs, and because of the lack of regulation, dosages of active ingredients can vary widely from one manufacturer to another. Below is a list of some of the most common ingredients found in herbal weight loss powders, along with cautions about their effects in certain conditions.

Ephedra (ma huang, ephedrine, ephedra extract, epitonin, ephdra sinica and sida cordifolia) should not be taken by people with heart, thyroid or kidney disease, or with hypertension

Cascara and Senna should not be taken by people taking diuretics (both are often found in herbal weight loss teas)

Selenium and Capsaicin should not be taken by people with bowel or digestive disorders

Kava should be avoided by people with mood disorders who are taking mood altering medication, and people with Parkinson’s disease.

Gingko biloba, licorice root, and dong quay should not be taken by people who are taking blood thinners or anti-coagulants.

While weight loss is a worthwhile goal, guarding your health is an even more important one. Be sure that whatever weight loss method you choose it won’t lead to other serious medical conditions.

Your Personal Trainer home.

Your pants are a bit tight, you can't seem to stop eating junk, and you're tired all of the time. It's time to get healthy and lose weight. Combined with a more sensible diet, an exercise bike can help you achieve the results you want.

Ugh, the Diet.

So many people go wrong here. Forget fad diets, forget starvation. Slow and steady wins the race. Try changing one thing about your diet. Limit yourself to one soda a day. Stop skipping meals. If you always clean your plate, start leaving one or two bites. A total change in diet is work. If you go for a radical change, you are setting yourself up for failure. You'll be surprised how well small changes work.

The Right Bike Determines Your Success

This is a critically important part. There are literally hundreds of exercise bikes available. You have to be honest with yourself to discover the one that will work best for you. If you talk yourself into some fantasy world where your exercise plan is going to work this time even though there's nothing different, you're going to be disappointed. If you think ahead, you will buy the right bike for your needs. You will end up with a successful long-term exercise routine.

Think back to your last exercise routine attempt. Why did you stop? Did you suffer an injury? Did you get bored? Was it just too hard to do every day? Was it hard to find the time? Answer these questions truthfully. If you don't figure out where you went wrong, you won't be able to come up with a solution.

Avoiding and Working Through Injuries

If an injury caused you to stop working out, how did you sustain your injury? Becoming physically fit is supposed to help you prevent injuries, not cause them. There is an exercise bike for someone who has been injured working out. It's called a recumbent exercise bike. It's the kind found in a lot of health clubs. It has a large, bucket seat, and you sit back and low to the ground. It is perfect for people beginning a new exercise routine. It's also very good for back problems as it forces you to keep good posture. It puts no pressure on your joints, and you can keep working out even if you have minor injuries.

Overcoming Boredom

Did you get bored the last time you tried to workout on a regular basis? If you did, you are likely to get bored again. With exercise bikes, the solution is usually a bike with several different levels and riding programs. You can get bikes with different difficulty levels. This means that when it becomes too easy for you to pedal, you simply move up to the next level instead of having to ride longer (which just isn't likely to happen for the person who is easily bored). You can also get different programs. Programs give you variety and goals. They make you pedal harder, simulate conquering hills, and even sprinting for short periods.

Riding programs might not be enough for you. You might need a bike that you can hook up to your television that simulates riding through different courses. You can take a leisurely ride through a park or compete with other computer riders on a difficult obstacle course. These bikes might cost more up front, but if you don't invest in a bike that will let you sustain your workout, you're wasting money on anything less.

The coolest thing for game addicts who get bored is an interactive bike that plugs into a Sony Playstation or Playstation 2. It makes over 50 games interactive. Whatever is happening on your bike happens on the screen in bike, car, and similar games. There are all types of similar bikes available.

If you plan on listening to music or watching TV while you cycle, be sure to pay attention to features that will make the exercise bike quieter. It's also a good idea to get a quieter bike if you live with other people. For all you know, your workout time is going to be 5AM or midnight. A quieter bike won't disturb other people in your home.

Don't Try to Be Lance Armstrong Yet…

People beginning exercise programs are sometimes too ambitious. It's good to be excited, but you have to remain realistic. If your last exercise program failed because it was just too much work, don't make the same mistake again. Fight the urge to overdo your first workouts. It is critical to your long-term success that you start out slow. If you go from no exercise at all to 5 to 10 minute exercise bike workouts with little resistance, you are much more likely to avoid injury, soreness, and most of all, early feelings of defeat. If you aim too high - expecting to go from a sedentary lifestyle to 45 minute workouts immediately, for example - you are setting yourself up for failure. When you don't reach your unattainable goal, it is more likely you'll quit altogether to alleviate the feeling of failure that much sooner.

The perfect bikes for people who get a bit over-excited are exercise bikes with built in riding programs. You simply start out at the lowest level, and the bike determines your workout. You program in a small goal (10 minutes, 50 calories, or .25 mile) and when you reach that goal, your workout is over.

Finding the Time

You do have time to burn fat and calories on an exercise bike. No matter how intense your schedule is, there are people busier than you who find time to make an exercise routine work. They are not better than you. They don't have more than 24 hours in a day. They simply figured out how to make it work. You can, too.

It can be as simple as the time of day you chose to workout in the past. There is scientific evidence that people who are "morning people" or "night owls" are physically different. Different people have energy at different times. Think about when you work best. If you wake up without an alarm clock ready to go, you should exercise first thing in the morning. If you are a night owl, you should consider working out at night. You might find that you are one of the people who tire yourself out enough with a night workout to sleep like a baby.

You Can Do This!

Losing weight is not a punishment. You are smart enough to know how to eat a little better and become more active. If you are honest with yourself, you will choose the proper bike. You want to look forward to the workout itself. Don't get caught up in which bike burns more calories. Find an exercise bike you will enjoy riding. Figure out the time of day that's best for you to exercise. Make it like getting dressed or bathing - it's just something you do every day. You don't have to train for the Tour de France. You just have to get on and do something every day. Ten minutes a day will yield results. Bookmark this article for future motivation, find your exercise bike, and get busy!

Your Personal Trainer home.

Yes, it’s always the same… You look in the mirror and you say to yourself “Oh yeah, it’s OK! Could be worse…” and then a tiny little voice in your head starts whispering “C’mon… Darn it! That’s awful! There’s at least the weight of one big, juicy watermelon too much!” And then, maybe you say to yourself “Yes, I know… but, after all, it isn’t so bad…” and maybe you plan to change your eating habits and to exercise more… or to begin with. And the best is, you are really willing to do it but then this great meal crossed your way and besides, no one who would be in his right mind would have rejected this little, yes almost tiny piece of delicious chocolate cake in the afternoon… and so, days go by and nothing really changed, except your weight but not in the way you wanted…

After some time you think maybe you would be too weak to lose weight or that being overweight might be your destiny, that the weight would be a part of you and that you would never be able to lose it forever. You even proof this to yourself. Maybe you followed countless diets, tried to exercise but, either you stopped after a short period of time or you lost some weight, only to put it on again later.

Now, here’s the good news: This can change! You can change your weight! You already proved it in increasing it. Now, let’s do the opposite and decrease it. Yes, it works. It’s all about your mindset. “OK” you may say, “sounds good, but please tell me how to do it! And, however, increasing it is much easier than decreasing it…”

Well, I don’t think so… There might be a reason why you keep your weight or constantly increase it. This reason why you need your weight is located in your subconscious mind. If you are overweight, and I mean any weight that you don’t want for yourself (regardless what other people might say), then there is a purpose for this weight. When diets not work then there is a reason for this. And this reason is mostly located at a much deeper level than diets are able to go. That means, when you find the reason why you keep yourself at this weight or why you increase your weight then you have the key to your ideal weight. And then, changing your weight becomes much easier because you don’t work against yourself anymore. You may not know this reason on a conscious level and it even is not necessary to know it. But when losing weight is endless difficult and becomes a struggle, then you are on a battlefield – you against yourself.

All this does not happen on a conscious level. There are many subconscious programs running all at the same time and some may produce results that you want, others don't. The key is to change the programs that produce results you don't want.

That’s the reason why diets may work for others. These people resolved the root cause for their weight without knowing it. This is possible, because all this is a natural ability anyone possesses. Once the root cause is dissolved, losing weight becomes very easy.

But what about you? Why diets did not work for you? Maybe because in your subconscious mind there is still a program running that wants to keep you overweight for a certain reason, a certain purpose. Once you dissolved this reason, your subconscious mind does not have a reason anymore to keep you overweight and losing weight becomes easy and your new body image allows you to keep the lost weight off – forever!

Here is what you might help you: changing the undercover running programs by dissolving the root cause for your overweight. How? Very easily: with Hypnosis.

“What? Hypnosis?” you might say. “Isn’t it dangerous? I don’t want give someone else power over me…” Be assured, these reactions are normal. Very few people know what hypnosis is all about. But one thing is sure: it can help you not only to lose weight on a natural and healthy way but to keep the weight off, and this for your lifetime!

If you would like to have more information about how hypnosis can help you to get your dream weight and keep it forever, visit my website.

Phil Brull lives in Belgium and works in the field of personal development and spiritual growth. As a former EMT he has seen many times people with cruel strokes of fate. Very often those people had the same underlying limiting believes which made them sick and unhappy. Phil strongly believes that anyone has the internal power to achieve every single dream. He is involved for quite some time in the ancient Polynesian Wisdom known as Huna as well as in many powerful life changing techniques.

Your Personal Trainer home.

Weight training is an important element in fighting flab; maybe it is the most important.  If you do aerobic exercise you only burn fat during the exercise but with weight training you burn fat even when you have finished.  The body is still burning fat for up to as much as twelve hours after finishing the exercise whilst it is building the muscles worked, so you can still be burning fat while you are resting.  But that is not the end of the story.

A body full of muscle uses far more calories than a body full of fat, so you will find that you will need to eat more to maintain your weight and your muscle.   You do not need to worry that you will bulk up like a body builder, as you do not have the right makeup to do this, as a woman you will only elongate and define your muscles, and build lean muscles.

When you first start to weight train you might find that your weight will actually increase. This is because muscle is heavier than fat but as muscle is smaller so you should notice the body getting smaller even if the scales do not show an decrease in weight.

The additional benefits from weight training are:-

1. It helps to strengthen and increase the density of your bones because the act of the muscles pulling and flexing the bones helps to lay down more bone fibre.

2.  Stronger muscles helps your body to be more steady and so helps to prevent falls.

3.  It has also been found that it can fight the build up of abdominal fat by lifting weights at least twice a week. 

Finally when weight training make sure that you change your routine around so that the body can not get use to the routine.  It only takes the body about six weeks for it to learn how to work efficiently if keeping to the same routine and therefore you will stop seeing any weight or body changes.

So have fun and start weight training to lose weight and tone your body.- Weight Training To Lose Weight.

Your Personal Trainer home.

It is now known that stress can actually stop you losing weight especially around your middle.  Stress can cause your body to secrete high levels of cortisol hormone into your bloodstream, because of your body's "flight or fight" response to stress.  Stress can be either psychological (mental and emotional) or physical.

Cortisol is secreted by the adrenal glands and is actually important for the regulation of blood pressure, the immune system and many other functions.  Cortisol can be good in small amounts but high levels can lead to an increase of abdominal fat, which can lead to heart attacks, strokes and can also increase your bad cholesterol levels and decrease your good cholesterol levels. 

High levels of cortisol can also decrease your bone density, leading to osteoporosis and loss of muscle tissue, which will also slow down your metabolic rate, and it can also increase your blood pressure along with other problems.

Each of you will react differently to stress; some of you will produce more cortisol to a particular stress while others will produce less.  It has been found that those of you that produce more cortisol will actually eat more food as well, in particular carbohydrates.

What you need to do to combat producing too much cortisol is to learn ways to relax and also to maybe change your lifestyle.

Relaxation can be achieved in a number of ways either by exercising, mediation, yoga or breathing to start with.

Maybe one of the easiest and simplest ways is breathing.  This is done by gently breathing in through the nose, gently expanding your abdomen and then gently expelling the air through your nose pulling in your abdomen at the same time.  Whilst breathing out the air you need to focus on that breath.   After several breaths in and out you should start to feel yourself relax.  You need to practice doing this exercise a few minutes a day to start with building up to five minutes in the end.  You can also practice this when you are feeling stressed or when things are getting on top of you.  Just a few minutes can slow your body down and help it to feel relax.

Life style changes can be like changing your eating habits for a healthier diet, getting enough sleep, or even organizing your time more efficiently so that you do not feel so stressed.  Also looking after your body will help your body to cope with stresses that you come across during your day.

So if you are exercising frequently and eating properly but still not losing any weight especially from around the middle then maybe you are suffering from high levels of cortisol caused by stress.  Look at ways to solve the problem and hopefully then you should see a difference in your weight and around your middle.  

Your Personal Trainer home.

Upper arm exercises are, and should be, an important area of your exercise program. Upper arm exercises will help to improve other areas of your upper body and will give you an over-all strong, fit appearance.

If you have weak or under developed arms you will have a very difficult time with any other upper body exercises.

Your upper arms, more than almost any other muscle group, will get the most positive or negative comments from people, depending of course on the over-all development of your upper arms.

For most people, both men and women, upper arm development can really draw attention to your over-all physique and can have either a positive or negative affect on your self-confidence.

If your upper arms are thin and weak, or just plain flabby you won't feel as comfortable as you could if your upper arms were firm, toned & lean.

For any upper arm exercises to work, whether it's biceps exercises or triceps exercises, you have to use a variety of upper arm exercises in different combinations in order for your upper arms to develop - regardless of what goals you have with your upper arm exercises.

For most people, both men and women, the main reason for a lack of good upper arm development is due to a lack of variation and periodization.

By incorporating specific upper arm exercises at specific times over the duration of your exercise program you will be able to not only prevent over-training but you will be affecting all the different parts of your upper arm muscles.

This leads to a much greater level of success.

The list of exercises for your upper arm muscles that you can do is almost endless. You can do dozens of different upper arm exercises with free weights, different exercises for your upper arm muscles with numerous types of machines, different upper arm exercises with body weight, and on-and-on.

You can also perform almost any exercises for your upper arm muscles in a seated, standing, incline bench or lying down position.

Unfortunately most people don't realize that a lot of upper arm exercises stress your arms in the same manner and as such, upper arm exercises that do this should not be used in the same arm workout.

A good example of a mistake a lot of people seem to make is performing seated dumbbell curls and standing barbell curls in the same workout. Both of these upper arm exercises for your biceps work your arms in the identical way.

For proper upper arm development you need to use certain upper arm exercises that hit your arms from every possible angle for full muscle fiber recruitment.

Here is a short list of the more productive upper arm exercises. There are many more than this but this will help you get started.

• Barbell Curl: Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and your knees slightly bent. Grip the bar with an underhand grip (palms facing forward) approximately hip width apart and let your arms hang down at your sides.

  Always keep your elbows close to your sides.

  Flex at the elbows and curl bar up to approximately shoulder level. Return slowly and under control to the starting position.

• Close Grip Chinup: Start by positioning your hands shoulder width to slightly narrower than shoulder width apart with an underhand grip. Hang with your arms fully extended and elbows forward.

  Pull your body up until the bar is below chin level. Return slowly and under control to the starting position.

• Bottoms Up Clean from Hang Position
• Cable Preacher Curls
• Supine Bicep Curl
• Barbell Reverse Preacher Curl
• Bench Dip
• Tricep Extensions
• Bent Over Cable Extension
• Dumbbell Incline Tricep Extension
• Seated Dip
• Tricep Rope Pulldown
• Two Arm Cable Pushdown (heavy stance)

If you've ever had trouble with exercises for your upper arm muscles or any type of exercises or fitness program, there is a system for you that has been described as the most complete road map to physical success for women.

This system will not only ensure you develop the best set of arms you could ever hope to, but it will also do the same for your entire body. If you've always been an inconsistent exerciser, you may be wondering how you can change that and reach your goals.

Well this system will guarantee that you will overcome your failures forever. You will have all the information you'll ever need to give you the results you've always wanted.

If you have been exercising consistently but are not getting maximum results you will be able to finally maximize your results, immediately!

This system can bring your body to it's potential within one year. Why waste more time? Why not become a results oriented exerciser and capture the extraordinary hidden benefits too?

Womens Fitness Home.

Inner thigh exercises are used mostly by women and are very popular.

The main reason women are so interested in using inner thigh exercises is that they are under the false impression that isolating the inner thigh muscles will help to reduce fat and tone up their legs.

Most people, if not all, become very frustrated because they simply do not get the results they want from exercises for the inner thigh muscles and believe they are doing everything right.

Inaccurate articles in magazines about inner thigh exercises create a lot of confusion. Using any inner thigh exercises that isolate this muscle group will not burn any noticeable fat off your body and will certainly not burn any fat directly off your inner thigh muscles.

Spot reduction does not work - it never has - and it never will! This myth of spot reduction makes no sense; I'll show you why.

You don't have any control over where you on your body the fat will come off. When you do exercises for your inner thigh muscles the fat is burned off evenly over your entire body - this is a long-time proven fact.

In order to effectively lose fat, "tone up" and change your body, you must increase your metabolism. You do this by using effective exercises for your inner thigh muscles that build muscle.

Isolating, inner thigh exercises will not build up enough muscle to increase your metabolism. There are numerous different muscles in your legs that need to be worked at different angles and in most cases need to be worked synergistically.

If you want to shape your legs, any part of your legs, then you must do proper muscle building, fat burning leg exercises.

You can find more information elsewhere on this site about effective thigh exercises that are a hundred times better than any inner thigh exercises that isolate your inner thigh muscles.

Now, the attempt to spot reduce has taken many potential results away from consistent exercisers. You cannot burn fat by doing any isolation exercise or tons of cardio. You have a better chance of washing your car and then miraculously finding that your house is clean also.

Body fat burns systematically, from everywhere at once. Generally, this process starts when you lower your calories and increase your activity level.

Some people still do hundreds of sit ups, waist bends, inner thigh exercises and leg lifts thinking these areas will tighten up because of the constant burning.

I sympathize for people when they tell me, I'm really trying to trim up this waist, I m doing a hundred million sit ups a day. Or the famous girl from a popular TV show when she responded to a question some talk show host asked her.

He wanted to know her secret to a great stomach. Oh, I do a hundred sit-ups a day! - She responded. Get a clue! .

Please remember, to effectively burn fat and drastically change your body you need weights, proper nutrition and some cardio.

When you do a weight training exercise and feel a burn in a certain muscle group, what your feeling is the muscle burning not the fat burning.

Some of the popular ways people try this type of "spot reducing" magic are doing butt exercises to make the butt smaller (wrong)! Doing arm exercises to lose the fat in the back of the arm (never)!

Doing inner thigh exercises to get rid of the soft spots on the inside of the leg (impossible)! You have a much better chance of building those areas bigger than you do of making them smaller.

Now, there is a very effective womens fitness system for you that was designed to help you lose weight, gain muscle, tone, firm, get energized, maintain great health, and literally give you every physical attribute exercise has to offer!

It will show you how to avoid useless exercises such as isolation inner thigh exercises, and teach you how to really change your physical appearance. It's well worth your while to take a few minutes right now and check it out.

womens fitness home

Unfortunately, spending time sitting in a chair and hunched over a computer is no way to keep yourself in shape. The same goes for an office. Here’s a few discreet ways around this problem which faces lots an’ lots of us daily. They’re quiet and will have a very small impact on your time at work.

1) Push-ups: Pushups are one of the best ways to strengthen your chest, shoulders, arms, abdomen and lower back. That’s half of your body. I’ve been told many times that if you only have time to do one thing and you want a workout, then do push-ups.
- Lie face down.
- Place your hands on either side of your shoulders, with your thumbs at the middle of your chest with you feet about shoulder width apart.
- Push yourself up off of the floor. Pause for a moment at the top and then exhale as you lower your body back down.
- Bring your chest about two inches from the floor, not all the way back down.
- Repeat.

2) Stretch: The benefits of a good stretch are many. It can improv your posture and help promote muscle symmetry. Basically, if you sit slumped in an office chair all day working at a computer you can significantly add to the natural slumping fo the shoulders that occurs with age. This is just one example of many, but you get the idea. Stretching also feels good and promotes a short term increase in circulation and alertness simpley because you are moving. There’s a great primer here on how to stretch effectively and safely in your cube or office.

3) Drink Some Water: Try and always have water near you to drink. Most people don’t know what they’re missing because they walk around dehydrated all the time and they become normalized to operating in this condition. If you’re hydrated you can think clearer, your skin will look and feel better and your mood will generally improve. Skip the soda machine and bring a water bottle to work.

4) Sit on an Exercise Ball Instead of a Chair: This will look silly, but it will also provide your core with a great “passive” sort of workout throughout the day. You see, lots of little muscles we rarely use will get used in order to keep you balanced while you work. It’s not even something you’d notice if you weren’t looking for it, but it’s there. Improved core strength is great for many reasons. It improves your balance as well as helps protect all your important bits in your torso when you’re doing strenuous activities like playing a sport.

5) Sit-ups: Oh, man doing sit-ups sucks. The reason it sucks is because you’re working a part of your body that rarely gets attention. Doing Sit-ups will help strengthen your abs which can ease back pain. Having nice abs or maybe, just not having that beer gut, can go a long way to help getting you laid as well. (And the health bennies of that are numerous.)

Womens Fitness Home

Here are the cold, hard facts – whether we like them or not. The findings of 47 separate clinical weight loss research studies involving more than 14,700 people boil down to these 12 statements:

1. The reason we are overweight has virtually nothing to do with diet or exercise, and everything to do with our own unconscious motivations – which are created by our own unique beliefs and attitudes.

2. You are, by definition, not aware of your unconscious motivations. But even so, they greatly influence everything you do, and are much more powerful than your unconscious motivations.

3. So everything in your life that's working (and everything that isn't) has its origins in your own unconscious mind. This is not theory. It has been known and accepted for more than 100 years.

4. What does this mean to you in terms of weight loss? It means that no matter how strong your conscious desire to be fit and healthy may be, if this desire isn't supported by your own unconscious beliefs and attitudes, you are destined to struggle and fail.

5. Trying to overpower your own unconscious motivations with your conscious desires is called "will power." Will power is not only ineffective, it's actually counterproductive. Here's why.

6. Trying to overpower your own unconscious motivations with your conscious desires puts you into a battle against your own deepest motivations. It's like declaring war on yourself.

7. And as you may already have discovered, it's a war you can't win. It's like having your own personal Vietnam conflict going on inside you.

8. So if you have a history of struggling and failing at weight loss, you can be sure that you have some beliefs and attitudes that are silently, invisibly, and powerfully sabotaging your success.

9. Unfortunately, as long as your self-sabotaging beliefs and attitudes remain intact and unchanged, there is no way you can achieve lasting weight loss success – or perhaps any success at all.

10. Obviously, since the root cause of your weight problem is not physical, no amount of trying to lose weight through physical means such as diet, exercise, or even surgery will bring you success.

11. Instead, your constant inner war will only create more stress, struggle, and failure until your unconscious and conscious beliefs are both aligned toward success. No other outcome is possible.

12. Bottom Line: If your present self-sabotaging but unconscious beliefs and attitudes remain unchanged, your chances of enjoying real and lasting weight loss success are essentially zero.

We may not like it, but this is the reality we need to know about and deal with. If you've every wondered why your past weight loss efforts failed, or why it all felt like such a struggle, now you know.

You can try every diet plan on the planet, count carbs and calories until your eyes are bloodshot, and buy every ab flattener and butt trimmer on the planet.

But if you don't do something about fixing your own self-sabotaging beliefs and attitudes, your future will be just endless reruns of your past.

I would much rather my clients know the truth – whether they like it or not – because life is simply too short to waste precious time doing things than can't possibly get you where you want to be.

Wouldn't your time be much better invested in doing what actually works, even is it means learning a new skill or two?

I certainly think so. And you know what? So do my success stories!

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FISH oil can help people to lose weight without dieting, according to new research.

Scientists said that fish oil containing Omega 3 fatty acids, plus a little exercise, helped overweight people to shed pounds - even if their diet remained unchanged.

Researcher Alison Hill said: "We were very surprised to see it was so effective, especially since these people were still eating whatever they wanted."

The Australian team fed daily fish-oil doses to obese people and told them to take moderate exercise.

Another group was given sunflower oil and told to take the same 45-minute walk or run three times a week. Other test subjects received either fish oil or sunflower oil, but took no exercise.

The study found that those who took the doses of fish oil and exercised lost an average of 2kg (4.5lb) over a three- month period. The other groups, including the one which took sunflower oil, which does not contain Omega 3, lost no weight.

Ms Hill said: "The Omega 3 increases fat-burning ability by improving the flow of blood to muscles."

Source: The Scotsman

Do you have trouble getting a good night's sleep?

What you are about to read may make a huge difference to your future health! Being well rested is essential to our wellbeing and is a major key in living an energetic lifestyle. Here are some of the benefits of a good night's sleep: You will look and feel your best; Relating to others will come easier with enough rest. You'll be a safer driver and be less likely to fall asleep at the wheel.; More alertness on the job will be a major benefit.; You'll feel less stressed.; There'll be an increased ability to fight off illness.; You'll enjoy life more.

Here are some keys to getting a better night's sleep:

1. Set your body clock.

Choose a bedtime schedule by deciding how many hours of shut-eye you need and try to stick with it. That's because we are all creatures of habit.

Try not to oversleep too often because this tends to throw your body clock off. If you are tired, try taking a short nap. However, it should not be longer than about one half an hour because more time than that and you will wind up not being able to fall asleep that night.

2. Be wise about eating and drinking.

Drinking too much fluid in the late afternoon and evening can cause you to wake up in the middle of the night to trot off to the bathroom. Also consuming food and beverages that contain caffeine before bedtime can cause you to toss and turn for hours. So it would be wise to avoid coffee, tea, soft drinks and chocolate before going to bed. However, a hot non-caffeinated drink can relax you.

3. Prepare your sleeping environment.

You have control over a number of factors in your sleeping environment that will make or break a good night's sleep.

One of them is the temperature of your bedroom. Adjust the temperature of your bedroom so it's conducive to sleeping. It's usually best to have your room a little on the cool side, but be sure you have enough blankets on your bed.

Another environmental issue is the darkness of our bedrooms. Many people prefer sleeping when it's totally dark, so turn off the lights except for night lights.

A key bedroom environment factor is your bed. Purchase the best mattress you can afford since you'll spend a good proportion of your life on it.

Quietness is very important to our rest. Try to keep the noise down. If that's impossible, consider using ear plugs. Play calming music and avoid watching television just before bedtime. Violent scenes can lead to sleeplessness and violent dreams!

Design your bedroom to be a peaceful sanctuary in your home. Separate your work from the bedroom area so your body knows the bedroom is a place to rest - not work.

4. Prepare yourself physically, emotionally and spiritually for bedtime.

There are a number of steps you can take before going to bed to prepare yourself physically. Slowly stretching before hitting the sack can help you relax. Regular exercise during the day will enhance your ability to fall asleep. Taking a warm bath - not a shower - can be helpful too. If you are still tense, a back massage can help you relax. Wear comfortable nonbinding clothing.

Here's the most important thing you can do once you've hit the sack - let go of the day's worries. Bedtime is a bad time to dwell on problems since worry can keep you tossing and turning for hours! I've found that reading the Bible and praying before going to bed is a wonderful way to end the day. Then I can truly relax and lay down my problems. My sleep is much sweeter and so are my dreams!

5. Seek specialized help if needed.

A medical condition could be preventing you from getting your full rest at night. See your doctor if you have continuing difficulty with falling asleep. Usually it's not wise to take sleeping pills since they can become addictive. They also interfere with the body's own inner sleeping rhythm.

Here are three organizations that offer specialized help:

National Sleep Foundation

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine

National Center on Sleep Disorders Research

The suggestions in this article have been listed to help you get a better night's sleep. Now try putting them into practice and enjoy a more rested and energetic lifestyle.

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Many people, including yours truly, often lack the motivation to get off the couch.  How many times have you put on your workout clothes, sat down to tie your shoes, then suddenly said to yourself, “the producers of The Bachelor are counting on me to watch”    Oh, ok I guess I’m the only one J . We mean well, we just lack that extra push, not only to get you to the gym, but to push you through a challenging, productive workout.  My suggestion to you is to find motivation in music. Music can be one of the most powerful means of stirring up emotion, all types of emotions.  Music enables the body to release these emotions which we can translate into energy. Even if it is short term energy, it might just drive that extra rep on the bench press or that extra 10 minutes on that elliptical machine.  Find music that moves you. Preferably music that reminds you of a great accomplishment, a great scene from a movie, or anything that gets your heart pumping and your blood flowing. Put together a play list, maybe even a few play lists, designed for different types of workouts.  If you’re not sure which songs to use, leave a pad and pencil in the car.  The next time you find yourself playing the air guitar and singing like a first round American Idol contestant, write it down. Its probably a good song to add to your play list.  Please wait till you stop driving, to write it down, you’re scaring me. You know who you are.  :) 

You don’t need to spend your hard earned cash on the latest mp3 player, a simple walkman or portable cd player will do. Yes, I said walkman…. For those who aren’t sure about costs, a basic mp3 player holds about 40 songs and costs about $80, a portable cd player costs around 25-50$. 

A few things to remember, change your play list of songs every once in a while. If you listen to those songs too often, it may diminish the moving effect it has on you.  Also, you can repeat the best song during the most intense part of your workout. Sometimes I will listen to it at both the start and finish of my workout. Listening to music will also keep you focused on the task at hand and block out most distractions at the gym, including those cheesy pick up lines by the water fountain.  Do not play your music too loud, it is not the volume that moves you, it’s the music.  One last thing to remember people tend to talk louder than they realize when they are wearing headphones… Try not to sing out loud in the gym, just because you love “Eye of the Tiger” doesn’t mean everyone else wants to hear your rendition. All jokes aside, get started on your play list today, it works!

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Are you happy with your body?  Do you feel good about yourself?  Do you wish you had more energy?

These are great questions you should be asking yourself.  I’ve been a personal fitness professional for over 7 years now and the one thing that I hear the most from women is, “Between work and my family I just can’t find time.”  Unfortunately, women often put everyone in their lives first and don’t leave enough time for them selves.  This can often times be very damaging to a woman both mentally and physically.

When you’re not feeling great it makes very hard for you to give 100% to your family or work.  One thing to remember is the better you feel, the better you will do at work, at home, and in all of your relationships.  Everything in your life improves when you feel better about yourself.

My wife and I have 4 children and another one on the way and we both know how hard it can be.  The good news is it can be done, and it takes less time then most people think.

Many people feel they need to exercise 4-5 times a week to meet their health and fitness goals.  Well, guess what… you can burn off excess body fat, increase energy levels, and start feeling great with just 2-3 workouts a week, lasting only 20-30 minutes!

The keys to being successful with fitness are:

Having a well thought out and detailed plan
  
Making time for you and being consistent

If you fail to plan you plan to fail!

I’m sure many of you have heard that saying before.  Well, it applies to everything in life… including exercise.  If you want to be successful you need to map out a plan that includes steps or strategies that will take you closer and closer to your goals.

When it comes to goal setting and planning it is very important that you be specific.  The more specific your goals and planning the easier it is to monitor your progress and make adjustments to your plan if necessary.

When it comes to making time for fitness, what I’ve found to be the most effective is actually scheduling your self an exercise appointment.  Pull out your calendar right now and block out at least 1 or 2 times a week when you can spend 20-30 minutes exercising.  Take this appointment very seriously… just like you would any other.

One of the main reasons having a personal fitness trainer is so effective is because it keeps you accountable.  It’s a lot harder to skip an exercise appointment with a trainer because you’re paying for that time and because you would most likely feel like your letting them down.

Having a qualified personal fitness trainer can be the difference between exercising for months and seeing no progress and being able to see progress in a matter of weeks… maybe even days!


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 Do you want a flat stomach?  I don't know a person who doesn't!

People spend millions, if not billions of dollars, each year in the quest for a flat stomach.  Right now there are about 200 or more ab exercise devices out there.  There's the ab do-it, the ab rock-it, the ab roller, the ab dolly, fast abs, 8 minute abs, and so many more.

You would think that with all of these amazing new products that most people would be walking around with that nice, lean mid-section they've always wanted.  Unfortunately, that's not the case.

Most, if not all of these products, will do little or nothing to flatten your stomach.  And that's because these exercise contraptions cannot eliminate the layer of fat that lies on top of your abs.

In order to be successful at thinning your waistline you must have a basic under standing of how the ab muscles function and how your body burns fat.  The first thing that needs to be understood is the difference between fat and muscle.  Fat is excess calories and is primarily stored in layers on top of muscle tissue.  Muscle is made up of fibers that contract or shorten to produce movement.  Fat cannot turn into muscle and muscle cannot turn into fat!  However, you can lose muscle and you can gain fat.  That's what happens to most people.

So if your goal is to thin your waist line and have a nice flat stomach, the first thing you need to do is decrease / eliminate the layers of fat that are on top of your abs. We all have a flat stomach; it's just some of oar’s are covered by excess fat.

The most effective way of flattening your stomach is a combination of strength training (with a extra focus on mid-section), cardiovascular exercise (short, hard workouts), and stable blood sugar (keeps you from adding additional fat and makes it easier for the body to use body fat for fuel).

I should also mention that a flat stomach not only looks good but it also prevents muscle imbalances between the hips and abs which cause more than 80% of all lower back pain! So remember, a strong flat stomach means a strong, healthy lower back!

1. You must do some form of progressive strength training

The primary function of the abdominal muscle is to flex your torso forward.  However, there are also muscles that flex your torso to the side and muscles that rotate your torso.  Often times you see people on their ab roller every day doing hundreds of crunches or sit-ups.

If you want to effectively strengthen your stomach you need to incorporate the following types of exercises:

•1-2 forward flexion exercises (reverse crunch, knee raises, crunch, sit-up, etc.)

•1-2 side flexion exercises (side bends, side crunches, etc.)

•1-2 rotational exercises (trunk rotations, standing twists, etc.)

Choose at least 1-2 exercises that target the lower abs , 1-2 for the obliques (love handles), and 1-2 for the upper abs. There are thousands of ab exercises to choose from - way too many for me to list here, however, I will give you a list of some of the better ones.

Great Ab Exercises

      Reverse crunch

      Hanging knee raise

      Torso rotation (twist)

      Leg lowering

      Side bends

      Total crunch

      Exercise ball crunches

Again, there are tons of choices... just make sure you work them hard and progressively!

The abs, are muscles just like any other and should be worked at most 3 times per week.  You also want to make sure you are training them progressively, working them harder each time.

2. Use short, hard cardio workouts to increase metabolism

Cardio workouts are important because they CAN, if done correctly, increase your metabolism for 4-24 hours or more!  This means you are less likely to store any excess calories as body fat because they are more likely to be used by your elevated metabolism.  Plus, you are more likely to burn off some excess body fat.

Below is a sample interval workout that can be done with just about any activity (walking, bicycling, swimming, stair climbing, etc.).

Warm up at easy pace 2-5 minutes... Perform 30 seconds of hard work (almost as hard as possible)... perform 1 minute of moderate work (recovery time-catch breath)... Repeat this process 6-10 times... Cool down at an easy pace for 2-5 minutes

3. Stable blood sugar is the key

And most importantly, you must stabilize your blood sugar!  This is by far the most important factor when it comes to burning away that excess body fat and keeping it off!  To effectively stabilize your blood sugar you must feed your body frequently; like every 2-3 hours.  The key is to give your body only what it needs at that time.  Your body burns calories 24 hours a day, so, why would you only feed it once or twice a day?  Give your body the fuel it needs: vegetables, fruits, nuts, berries, whole grains, and lean proteins (chicken, fish, lean beef, eggs, etc.).

Many people are too hung up on how much fat is in food, or how healthy of a choice it is.  Calories are calories and it doesn’t matter where they come from.  If there’s extra… where’s it going?  Yup, you guessed it… body fat!

This is not to say that what you eat is not important because it is, it just doesn’t have that much of an affect when it comes to fat loss.  Try to make healthy choices whenever possible, but don’t feel like if you eat a cheeseburger it is guaranteed to be stored as fat

4. Get the help of a professional

Unfortunately, most people don’t know enough about the human body, nutrition, or effective exercise to meet their health and fitness goals.  Ask yourself this one question, “Am I happy with my current progress or condition?”  If you’re not, you should consider getting the help of a qualified personal fitness professional.  Don’t depend on the information you get from magazines or from your local gym/ health club.  A qualified fitness professional can help you achieve your health and fitness goals, and in less time than you would imagine.

If you are serious about your health and fitness goals, and you are ready for that flat stomach, I recommend you start implementing the 4 strategies listed in this article.  

These 4 strategies can help you take control of your metabolism and burn off that excess body fat and having you looking and feeling great!

Be sure to check out my friend David's new ebook below on ab training - it's a great resource and it's full of dozens of ab exercises that not only work but are far more effective than traditional exercises.


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Unfortunately, many people are misinformed and are also misled by the many promises of the weight loss industry.  Everywhere you look, you see or hear of people promising “Dramatic Weight Loss” with products such as “The Fat Trapper”, or “Exercise in a Bottle”.

Then you also have the hundreds of diets out there such as “The Zone”, “Sugar Busters” or “The Atkins Diet”.   I’m sure you have heard of many of these yourself.  You might have even tried some of them.  Unfortunately, these products and diets are not the quick fix, or the miracles they are portrayed as.  They are also usually very dangerous.

Below are some common misconceptions among people with regard to exercise and nutrition.

1.    You need to exercise to burn fat.

The truth is you don’t gain body fat because of a lack of exercise.  You gain it because your blood sugar levels exceed what you are using.  Basically, you are eating too many calories at one time.

2.    Your metabolism slows down once you hit 30.

WRONG!  Actually, hundreds of research studies have shown that the slow down in metabolism is due to a loss of muscle tissue.  And the loss of muscle tissue is directly related to a lack of hard physical activity!

3.  Pasta and bread are fattening.

Anything is fattening!  Lettuce can be stored as fat!  Any food or drink, which contains calories, can be stored as body fat if it causes your blood sugar levels to exceed what the body needs at that time.  Bread and pasta are actually great sources of complex carbohydrate!  The key is how much you eat and when you eat it.

4.  Eating after 7pm will make you fat.

Absolutely false!  It all depends on whether or not the body needs that amount of calories at that time.  Keep in mind your body is constantly burning calories, 24 hours per day, just the amount varies.

5.  Strength training will make you bulk up.  

Another NO!  It seems as if mostly women are concerned with this one.  Muscle size is primarily affected by genetics and hormone production; therefore, most women don’t have the potential to build very large muscles.

Muscle burns calories, so the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn which makes easier to burn fat and harder to gain it!

By no means is this a complete list!  There are so many I could write a whole book just about them.  The key is in education, but not by reading fitness magazines!

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Spring is here and summer is right around the corner and I know that if you are like most people, you are thinking about what you can do to get in shape quickly for that beach weather.

Are you going to be beach ready? You will after you read this article...

Tip # 1  - STOP storing new body fat!

It amazes me how many people start an exercise program to lose weight yet end up just packing on some more new fat later that day or the next. So the number one goal should be to first stop storing new body fat. You can do this very easily by eating small, balanced meals or snacks every two to three hours. There are multiple reasons why frequent feedings not only boost metabolism but also prevent storing new fat. Here are just a few:  

Frequent eating conditions the body to use fat for energy because the body used to getting fuel and doesn't need to or tend to store is much fat. Part of it is because it doesn't worry about when the next feeding will be. I’m sure you’ve probably heard of the starvation mechanism and know what it is - basically the longer you go between feedings to worse it is as your body slows down the rate at which it is burning fuel to conserve energy.  The body is then more likely to hold onto the food as body fat just in case it has to go another long extended period of time without food.

By eating smaller and more frequent meals/snacks you lessen the likely hood of providing too many calories at one time and therefore make it much less likely that you’ll store any new fat.

Tip # 2 – short mini-workouts

I know you’re busy as most people are and you don’t have time for marathon-style workout sessions 3 to five times a week.  Most people don't need to exercise that much or that often and nor do you.

Short bouts of exercise are as effective and sometimes even more effective if done progressively than traditional exercise routines. The reason is that these short mini-workouts can be done daily (even multiple times per day) and this gives your metabolism a boost more frequently.

Just 10 to 15 minutes of moderate to high-intensity cardiovascular or aerobic exercise every day will increase blood flow and circulation, burn some extra calories, and most importantly give you that little boost.

Another reason is short mini-workouts are more convenient and practical for most people. Even if you have no equipment at home you can still get that all so important boost in metabolism. Here are just a few ideas:

1. run upstairs and walk back down run – repeat that for five or so minutes and you'll be exhausted. Plus, you'll totally elevate your metabolism and increase blood flow and circulation and have you feeling great!

2. perform 10 minutes of calisthenics (jumping jacks, kick butts, high knees, jog in place, mountain climbers, etc)

3. take a quick 10 minute power walk. Walk nearly as fast as you can and over time try to increase your distance and/or speed

Mini-workouts can work extremely well so don’t be afraid to experiment.

Tip # 3 – Stay hydrated!

Fat metabolism IS affected by how well hydrated your body is. People totally underestimate the effective that water has when it comes a fat loss and also on overall health. Over 70 percent of the processes that the place your body take place in water and things like organs can’t function optimally without enough water.

There’s still a debate on how much you need and I don’t think anyone will ever know for sure but to play it safe I would recommend you strive to drink at least 4 cups or more each day – and NO, tea and juice don’t count. Yes, they have water but they also often have sugar and other ingredients that actually limit the amount that is absorbed and used.

Tip # 4 – Exercise MUST be Progressive!

Training progressively with strength training is probably one of the most important forms of exercise you can do. Plus, this principle applies to all forms of exercise and fitness. So when you're talking about reshaping the body, boosting metabolism, and burning off that excess body fat, you have to ensure that nearly all of your workouts are progressive in nature.

Give the body a reason to change! Just because you go to the gym and do strength training a few times a week doesn’t mean anything – you have to provide a stimulus or reason for the body to make improvements.
The number of sets and reps doesn't matter, what matters is that the muscles and systems are subjected to a greater than stress than what the muscles are used to. Here are some general guidelines: one to three sets per exercise, as many reps as possible in good form on each set, perform slow controlled reps to maximize muscle involvement, change exercises frequently, etc.

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Flexibility is a joint's ability to move through a full range of motion. Flexibility training (stretching) helps balance muscle groups that might be overused during exercise or physical activity or as a result of bad posture. It's important to clearly understand the many benefits that result from a good flexibility program.

Improved Physical Performance and Decreased Risk of Injury
First, a safe and effective flexibility training program increases physical performance. A flexible joint has the ability to move through a greater range of motion and requires less energy to do so, while greatly decreasing your risk of injury. Most professionals agree that stretching decreases resistance in tissue structures; you are, therefore, less likely to become injured by exceeding tissue extensibility (maximum range of tissues) during activity.

Reduced Muscle Soreness and Improved Posture
Recent studies show that slow, static stretching helps reduce muscle soreness after exercise. Static stretching involves a slow, gradual and controlled elongation of the muscle through the full range of motion and held for 15-30 seconds in the furthest comfortable position (without pain). Stretching also improves muscular balance and posture. Many people's soft-tissue structures has adapted poorly to either the effects of gravity or poor postural habits. Stretching can help realign soft tissue structures, thus reducing the effort it takes to achieve and maintain good posture in the activities of daily living.

Reduced Risk of Low Back Pain
A key benefit, and one I wish more people would realize, is that stretching reduces the risk of low back pain. Stretching promotes muscular relaxation. A muscle in constant contraction requires more energy to accomplish activities. Flexibility in the hamstrings, hip flexors, quadriceps, and other muscles attaching to the pelvis reduces stress to the low back. Stretching causes muscular relaxation, which encourages healthy nutrition directly to muscles; the resulting reduction in accumulated toxins reduces the potential for muscle shortening or tightening and thus reduces fatigue.

Increased Blood and Nutrients to Tissues
Another great benefit is that stretching increases blood supply and nutrients to joint structures. Stretching increases tissue temperature, which in turn increases circulation and nutrient transport. This allows greater elasticity of surrounding tissues and increases performance. Stretching also increases joint synovial fluid, which is a lubricating fluid that promotes the transport of more nutrients to the joints' atricular cartilage. This allows a greater range of motion and reduces joint degeneration.

Improved Muscle Coordination
Another little-known benefit is increased neuromuscular coordination. Studies show that nerve-impulse velocity (the time it takes an impulse to travel to the brain and back) is improved with stretching. This helps opposing muscle groups work in a more synergistic, coordinated fashion.

Enhanced Enjoyment of Physical Activities
Flexibility training also means enhanced enjoyment, and a fitness program should be fun if you want to stick with it. Not only does stretching decrease muscle soreness and increase performance, it also helps relax both mind and body and brings a heightened sense of well-being and personal gratification during exercise.

As you can see, flexibility training is one of the key components of a balanced fitness program and should be a part of your exercise routine. Without flexibility training, you are missing an important part of overall health. Flexibility training provides many important benefits that cannot be achieved by any other exercise or activity. Good luck: I hope you enjoy all the wonderful benefits of an effective flexibility training program.

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Weight loss is a billion-dollar industry because everyone is looking for the quick fix when it comes to losing weight. The problem is losing weight takes time, unless of course you go on The Atkins Diet and lose a lot of muscle and water! Everyone wants to burn body fat yet few people understand how the human body uses fat for fuel! Stored body fat is the last thing your body will use as fuel. The whole reason we store extra calories (that can come from anything) is to have a back up or reserve. The only way body fat can be effectively used as fuel Is If blood sugar is stable, and the body is using more fuel than is being supplied!

This is what keeps most people from burning fat.

often have people tell me " I run all the time", or " I hardly eat anything, but I'm still not losing fat." The reason is because they have unstable blood sugar, and/or they exercise at the same level of intensity all the time (usually a moderate level). Remember that the two most important factors when it comes to burning fat are stable blood sugar and lack of hard physical activity. Let's look at these two factors more closely. Blood sugar levels are directly affected by meal frequency and food choices. Eating small, balanced meals/snacks every 2-3 hours is one way to help stabilize blood sugar. Small frequent feedings (provided they contain only enough calories necessary for the level of activity at that time) force your body to adapt or get used to having food, which will keep blood sugar fairly stable. This makes it less likely for your meals to be stored as fat.

What you eat also plays a big part in blood sugar. For example, juice increases blood sugar quickly forcing it to skyrocket as opposed to vegetables, which burn at a much slower rate. Avoid foods containing large amounts of sugar such as soda, juice, candy, ice cream, table sugar, and other refined foods. Focus on whole grains, vegetables/fruits, lean proteins, and un-saturated fats (for more info on nutrition see my Healthy Eating Guidelines Packet).

Unstable blood sugar is something that can do serious damage to your body in addition to increasing body fat levels, such as hormonal discrepancies and Type II Diabetes. Most people are totally unaware as to what blood sugar is or what it does in your body.

Activity level is the other major factor, which prevents a lot of people from making any progress! Most people are misinformed and still think they need to sweat to burn fat. This is totally not the case! I have had great success with clients losing fat with out even going to the gym! Again, all that is necessary is that blood sugar is stable and that the individual is burning more calories than they are supplying. So what does that mean? Eat small, balanced meals or snacks every 2.3 hours, increase muscle tissue with progressive strength training, and stay active (for more info on progressive strength trainings see my article entitled Success with Strength Training)!

An easy way to stay on track is to ask your self before every meal or snack "what will I be doing for the next few hours?" If you are going to be at work and not that active then your body doesn't need a lot of calories. Don't forget that any extra calories (whether from vegetables or pizza) that don't get used will be stored as fat! >MATCH YOUR EATING TO YOUR ACTIVITY LEVEL! Another major problem is the common misconception that your metabolism slows down as you age. This has been proven to be incorrect with hundreds of studies! Your metabolism slows down due to a loss of muscle tissue, and that is a direct result of a lack of strenuous physical activity. That is why it is so important to due some form of strength training.I also recommend performing 2-3 high intensity cardiovascular workouts per week on non-consecutive days. These workouts should be an 11 on a scale of 1-10 (level of effort or intensity)! These hard cardiovascular workouts are great for increasing metabolism for 4-12 hours or more! Both strength training and hard cardiovascular workouts deplete glycogen (stored muscular energy). A large portion of your meals following that workout will be used to replenish the glycogen (muscular energy) that was used to fuel that workout. This also means you are a lot less likely to store any excess calories as fat! Plus, if you eat well following that workout, your body will start to metabolize fat for fuel. I have used this basic information to change people's lives! By making just a few small changes I've had people burn on average 1-2 pounds of fat per week! Just imagine what that means over the course of a few weeks or months! The human body is only capable of metabolizing 2-3 pounds of fat per week with a miracle. So a more realistic goal would be 2-6 pounds in a month. Not exactly what people want, but it's better than not making any progress at all! This information is what stands between most people and their goals.

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With obesity and disease increasing dramatically, many fitness experts are recommending walking for weight loss and fitness. Some are even going so far as saying that walking is the best way to burn fat and lose weight. I strongly disagree with this and am going to show you why walking is NOT effective at burning off body fat.

Yes, you read that correctly...

Walking is NOT effective at burning body fat and if your goal is fat loss you might be wasting your time. I am not saying that walking is not beneficial, I am saying that if fat loss is the primary goal, there are far better choices that will deliver far better results.

The primary benefits of walking are increased blood flow and circulation, improved recovery, and a strengthened immune system. There are several reasons why walking in not the best choice when it comes to fat loss. Here are just a few:

1. Walking does NOT burn a lot of calories

The lower the intensity of the activity or exercise the smaller the number of calorie s burned per unit of time. For example, you can burn more calories in 15 minutes of bicycling at a high intensity level than you can in 45 minutes of easy walking.

2. Walking does NOT result in a large increase in metabolism

Another downside to walking is that because it’s generally low intensity it results in only a small increase in metabolism that will only last approximately 1-2 hours after the walk. On the other hand, metabolism increases are larger and last longer (4-24 hrs or more) when you perform high intensity cardio workouts.

3. Walking does NOT deplete muscle glycogen

Low intensity exercise like walking does not deplete muscle glycogen levels and therefore, later that day if you have excess calories they will likely be stored a s body fat whereas if you deplete the glycogen the excess calories will primarily be stored in the muscles.

So why then do so many fitness and health experts recommend walking for weight loss? One reason is that people don’t want to hear that they have to work hard so they figure some activity is better than none. Another reason is that the body burns more fat for fuel when exercising at an easy pace, however, the total amount of energy used is so small that you end up burning off little body fat. That’s also why when you choose the “fat burning” program on your treadmill or bike it has you exercise at any easy level. Yes, you’re burning fat, but so little that you’d have to exercise at that easy pace for hours and hours each day.

High intensity cardiovascular/aerobic exercise is much more effective in burning off the excess  body fat. In fact, several studies have been done to prove this. In one study they compared one group who did moderate level aerobics for 45 minutes with another group who performed high intensity workouts for 15 minutes. They did before and after fitness testing including body fat analysis and found that the group who performed the high intensity aerobics lost nine times as much body fat!

Want more proof?

Compare the bodies of a walker, marathon runner, and sprinter. If you are not familiar with what a sprinter s body looks like, it is very muscular and has little body fat while on the other hand the body of a walker will likely have the opposite, little muscle and more fat. The sprinter does little or no low intensity exercise and does primarily short hard bursts of work while the marathoner overtrains so much they burn off both the body fat and the muscle and that’s why they tend to look almost sickly thin.