Category : Article
Posted in Article on April 23, 2012
You can strengthen your abdominal muscles and also lose body fat with press sit-up exercises. The concept of this exercise is quite simple, all you will need is a lot of dedication, time and of course, patience in order to get the six packs that you have always wanted ? you will definitely be proud and pleased with the amount of time, hard work and dedication that you put into performing this exercise.
In order to get a washboard looking abs, you will need to do two things which are:
Build muscle
lose fat
Yes, you can achieve this by going on a diet and exercising every day. You need to understand that you can have the most muscular and well toned abdomen, but it will not show if you have a ?nice beefy? layer of fat over them. You can do it, you can get rid of the fat and build your abdominal muscles.
What You Will Need To Perform The Press Sit-up
You will need a barbell ? it is advisable to start with a light weight barbell and then move on to using a heavier one when you get used to the exercise. You will also need an abdominal bench as well.
How to Perform the Press Sit-up Exercise
To begin this exercise, you will need to lie down on the abdominal bench with a barbell on your chest. Then, position your legs in such a way that they are firmly secure on the abdominal bench extension. This is known as the starting position.
While you are inhaling, make sure that your tighten your abdominal muscles and glutes, and at the same time, curl your torso as you do when you are performing a sit-up and then press the barbell to an overhead position while you are exhaling.
Important Note: You should make use of your arms to push out the barbell as you carryout this exercise while still remaining focussed on the abdominal muscles.
You should lower the upper part of your body back down to the starting position while you bring the barbell back down to your torso. And do not forget to breathe in while lowering the body.
You should repeat according to the recommended amount of repetitions.
Important Note
You need to understand that it is best for you to have a spotter while doing this exercise ? this way, it would be a lot easier to get the barbell away from you if you are feeling a little overwhelmed. You should also make sure that you start with an empty bar and you should not use jerking motions while performing this exercise ? never! When you are much more advanced, you can use a ?decline bench?.
With a lot of dedication and hard work, you can get a washboard stomach in no time. Remember to drink lots of water and eat healthy and nutritious meals. You should remember that you need to be patient in order to achieve your goal ? six packs don?t happen overnight.
Posted in Article on April 21, 2012
There are methods to help prevent heart disease other than leading a healthy life style. Heart disease is the leading cause of death yet it does not have to be a factor in your life. Here are five strategies to help protect the heart from heart disease.
1. Smoking or other tobacco products are one of the most significant risks for developing heart complications. No amount of smoking is safe for the heart. Medical studies have shown any form of tobacco products including smokeless tobacco and low tar or low nicotine
cigarettes are also very risky as well as second hand smoke. Tobacco smoke contains over 4,800 chemicals that are dangerous and harmful to the heart and body.
The chemicals hurt the blood vessels, making them narrow resulting in heart attacks. Smoking also makes the heart work harder when the vessels narrow, which then increases the blood pressure and heart rate.
Carbon monoxide is in cigarette smoke. It replaces the oxygen in the blood stream resulting in the higher blood pressure. Women that smoke and use birth control pills are at greater risks for having a heart attack of stroke compared to the women who do not smoke that use birth control. The risks increase for the smokers taking the birth controls when they are over the age of 35.
2. Regular activity reduces the risks of fatal heart disease. Combining the activity with a healthy diet decreases the risks even more. Physical activity helps to keep in control of weight that also reduces the risks of heart disease by avoiding becoming obese. The physical activity also reduces the risks of other health issues such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes as well as reducing the stress levels. Health guidelines recommend that the amount of physical activity for adults is 30-60 minutes at least four times a week. Simple acts of walking are one of the best ways to include physical activity daily to help reduce the risks of heart disease.
3. Eating a healthy diet helps to reduce the risks of heart disease. Limiting the fats in the diet while adding fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and low dairy products protects the heart. Learning to eat a healthy diet is more about the types of foods consumed compared to the amounts of foods consumed. Omega-3 fatty acids help in the prevention of heart disease and lower the blood pressure. Some fish are natural sources of the Omega-3 that are great for the body and heart. It can be found in flaxseed oil, walnut oil, soybean oil, and canola oil. Reduce the alcohol consumption to lower the risks as well.
4. Maintain a healthy weight with a Body Mass Index or BMI within the limits of the healthy range. Any BMI rate over 25 is considered unhealthy and increases the chances of heart disease and other health related problems. When using the BMI chart, remember that fat weighs threes time more than fat so you will have a higher rate even when muscular.
Get regular health screenings for high blood pressure and cholesterol. They can cause severe damage to the heart and lead to heart disease. The blood pressure rate should not be over 120/80 millimetres of mercury and the cholesterol should be within the range of 130.
Prevention pays off when wanting to avoid heart disease. Learning to live a healthy life style is one of the best methods to use to combat heart disease.
Posted in Article on April 20, 2012
Want to work out in a gym-like atmosphere but don’t want to fork out the hundreds of dollars required for a membership? For those of us who either don’t like to or can’t run outside, and can’t find a way into the local fitness center, we’ve compiled some tips for you when it comes to creating your own home gym.
Check it out at the library. A staple of any home gym is exercise videos. These are a great way to get sweating with minimal cost involved, but when the minimal cost drops to “zero” it’s as budget friendly as you can get! Most libraries carry work out tapes and videos in their media sections, and the larger ones are likely to have DVDs as well. This is a great way to get some serious variety into your workout video regimen, as well, since you can bring back the old tapes and pick up new ones every week without spending a dime!
Work out with a buddy. Instead of spending 50 dollars or more on a personal trainer, why not try working out with a friend in the comfort of your own homes? This is a great way to get you both motivated to work out, as you’ll have to deal with the sense of “letting the other person down” if you cop out for a day. You can either encourage each other or compete against each other as you desire and it’s all free!
Used gym equipment is cheaper. If you’ve always wanted a stationary bike but just can’t justify spending the hundreds if not thousands of dollars required to get one into your home, try Craigslist for used equipment. You might balk a little bit at first, but think about it, people pay hundreds of dollars to share gym equipment with total strangers at gyms. What’s so different about purchasing an item that’s been in somebody else’s home? Give it a chance and you’ll save big.
Make your own weights. This will depend on how strong you are and how much resistance you need, but you can often create a reasonable exercise plan for yourself by either using your own body as weight – push up, sit ups, lunges – or by filling jars and cans with rocks, sand, or other heavy materials and using that in lieu of expensive dumbbells.
Use cables instead of weights. If you need more resistance but don’t want to buy traditional weights, try cables. These can be used in many ways to give even the strongest individual a great workout, but are much smaller, easier to store, and less expensive than dumbbells.
Posted in Article on April 19, 2012
How do you find the best lose weight recipes? Where do you turn to find good food to prepare on a diet? And, what ingredients should you look for – and avoid – when choosing a meal. This article will look at weight loss recipes.
First of all, let’s look at sources for lose weight recipes. The internet is full of recipes. WebMd, Epicurious, iVillage, and even BeliefNet all have low calorie recipes on them. You can also find recipes for just about any specific dish by typing “dish low calorie” into a search engine like Google.
You also have traditional sources such as low calorie cookbooks to find lose weight recipes. You can find lose weight recipes tied to specific diets such as Adkins or Mediterranean in these books.
Cooking shows on television often feature low calorie recipes. Food network provides details of their low calorie recipes online.
Another thing you can do is use a recipe you love, but swap out some of the ingredients for things that don’t change the texture or taste of the food but lower the calories. For instance, with pancakes, cut the oil and butter, switch to whole-wheat flour, use raspberry sauce instead of syrup, then add more fresh fruit on top. For pasta with red sauce, puree cauliflower and broccoli to mix into the sauce, and add whole vegetables as well to make it more filling and healthier.
But, it’s not enough to know how to make an individual recipe low calorie, you need to have a good idea of what ingredients make a dish off limits. That way, you can plan substitutes.
For instance, whole wheat bread (not reduced calorie) has 70 calories but a low fat bagel has 150. So, eating a “diet” brand isn’t necessarily a cure-all for dieting.
You should also start incorporating the so called “superfoods” into as many lose weight recipes as you can. The superfoods are: blueberries, black beans, spinach, yogurt, tomatoes, carrots, oats, and walnuts.
When a recipe for a baked product such as cake requires oil, substitute apple sauce. It will have no impact on the baking process or the taste, but save a whopping 15/16 of the calories! (1 tablespoon of oil is 120 calories. 1 tablespoon of apple sauce is 6.5 calories).
Other recipe substitutes include:
- Turkey bacon for bacon
- Cooking spray for butter
- Rolled oats for bread crumbs
- Ground turkey breast for ground beef
- Wine or fruit juice for oil based marinades
If you are looking for lose weight recipes, the good news is that you are not alone. There is a wealth of information out there for people wanting to cook healthy at home.
Posted in Article on April 15, 2012
For many people trying to eat healthy can be a challenge. Who doesn?t have a busy life, going to work and then coming home to take your children to various after school activities? No wonder people just eat and run and don?t pay that much attention to what they are eating.
Eventually though, your busy lifestyle will catch up with you. You will start to feel tired and maybe begin to get sick more often. But there is something that you can do about this. You can add a few natural supplements to your diet.
This could be in the form of a natural vitamin or as a natural breakfast or lunch type of supplement. These supplements can provide you with more energy and nutrients and give you enough fuel to get through the day.
You may even be using supplements and vitamins but are not getting enough benefits from them. This could be due to the ingredients in the products. Natural or organic supplements will have less chemicals and preservatives in them. The result is that they will provide your body with more valuable nutrition and your body will respond accordingly.
It is very true that the quality of your supplements matter, you wouldn?t run your car with low grade oil or bad gas would you? When purchasing a natural supplement whether in pill or powder form look at the list of ingredients and the instructions on how to take it. You can buy the best supplement in the world but if you don?t take it correctly you won?t receive the best benefits.
Some natural supplements are best taken on an empty stomach while others suggest that you eat a piece of fruit before taking them. Make sure you know how to take it, the proper serving size and how often the supplement can be safely used.
There are literally tons of natural supplements available on the market today. Some are meal replacements while others give you added calcium or protein. Body builders for example use natural supplements with added protein as this helps them build muscles more effectively.
Then of course there are natural supplements for weight loss. If you are not sure which supplements to choose think about the reason to wish to start using one? Is it to lose weight or maybe to just get better nutrition? If you have any major concerns then it is best to check with your family doctor before taking any natural supplements.
Posted in Article on April 14, 2012
Obesity is defined as having too much body fat. The body consists of water, fat, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. When there is too much fat, you are at higher risks for health problems such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
When you are obese, you magnify your risk for heart disease. When there is excess body fat it raises your cholesterol and triglyceride levels. It raises your blood pressure and can lead to diabetes. In some cases for people with diabetes, they have doubled their risks for a major heart attack or stroke.
Obesity is caused by having more calories consumed, than are burned with physical activity, whether from daily activity or exercise. When there is a great deal of calories consumed, with too much saturated fat and cholesterol, the levels of cholesterol in the blood rises. This increases the risks for heart disease.
Determine If You Are Obese:
Body fat is measured by waist circumference and by body mass index. The high-risk waistline is more than 35 inches for women and more than 40 inches for men.
The body mass index assesses the body weight in comparison to the height. It is a method to measure the body’s composition in correlation to the body fat. It is calculated by taking the body weight in pounds divided by the height in inches squared then multiplying it by 703.
The National Center for Health Statistics has the following levels for mass body index calculations:
18.5 is considered underweight.
18.5 – 24.9 is considered healthy.
25.0 to 29.9 is considered overweight. This is generally 10over the ideal body weight.
30.0 or greater is considered obese.
Extreme obesity is defined as a body mass index of 40 or greater.
Here are some suggestions to reduce or prevent obesity:
1. Add physical activity to your daily routine. Adults need to have at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity three or four times a week. Children need to have at least 60 minutes the same amount of times a week.
2. Reduce time watching television or sedentary activities including time on the computer or playing video games.
3. Create opportunities for physical activity at work as well as home.
4. Promote healthier choices of food serving five to nine servings of fruit and vegetables every day.
5. Reduce the portions of the food consumed. Avoid “supersized” meals and value meals with larger portions.
Taking steps to avoid or reduce the chances of obesity has many benefits for everyone. The fact of living a healthy longer life is incentive to work on the weight issues leading to heart disease and other health related issues. Americans have the highest rate in the world for heart disease based on the amounts of people that are overweight.
Posted in Article on April 13, 2012
Overweight is the amount of body weight including muscles, bone, fat, and water that are in excess. Obesity is the excess of accumulated body fat. It is possible to be overweight based on factors of muscle, such as the case of body builders, which have muscle that weighs three times the amount as fat. Most people that are overweight are also considered obese.
One in three adults age 20-74 is overweight. This equals 58 million Americans based on the studies from 1980 to 1991, with the numbers growing every day. Overweight and obesity are known risk factors for heart disease, high blood pressure, gallbladder disease, diabetes, some forms of cancer, breathing problems, and arthritis.
Women with more than 25body fat and men with 30of body fat are considered obese. It is hard to really measure body fat based on the fact muscle weighs more than fat and the calculations used to measure body mass index (BMI) does not take into consideration the factor of the amounts of muscle on the person’s body. The most accepted method of calculating body fat is the underwater method, which is limited to laboratories with special equipment and not as widely used.
There are two simpler methods for measuring the body fat. One is the skinfold thickness measurement. This test measures the thickness of the skin on different areas such as the triceps. The measurements vary based on the skill of the person taking the measurements. The other test is bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA). BIA sends a small amount of electrical current through the body to estimate the total body water levels. The higher amounts of water levels indicate the amounts of muscle matter. Yet this procedure may not be accurate for people that are severely obese.
The numbers of overweight adults in America in the age range 20 to 74 years old for females are 32 million and men are 26 million. The numbers of overweight youth ages 6 to 17 years old is about 4.7 million or 11of the children in that age group.
Some of the primary reason for people being overweight can be seen in the foods consumed and the exercise levels practiced. The percentage of dietary fat in adults is 34 Saturated fat is 12
Extra calories consumed to gain a pound or to burn a pound is 3,500 calories. The number of women trying to lose weight is 33 to 40 The number of men trying to lose weight is 20 to 24 The average calories burnt while eating is .023 kcal per minute. The annual number of deaths related to poor diet and inactivity is over 300,000.
The costs economically related to overweight and obesity is estimated at $11.3 billion on treatment, diagnosis, and management. This includes treatment for diabetic kentoacidosis, diabetic coma, diabetic eye disease, and diabetic kidney disease all contributed to obesity. The cost related to gallbladder disease is $2.4 billion.
Obesity is $22.2 billion of medical treatment for the heart disease patients.
High blood pressure in obese people costs $1.5 billion with breast and colon cancer costing $1.9 billion. The indirect costs related to obesity in weight reduction products and a service that includes diet foods, products, and programs is $33 billion a year.
These are just a sample of the many facts that are available about being overweight and/or obese.
Posted in Article on April 12, 2012
The one arm dumbbell rows will concentrate on the middle of your back. This is the best exercise for last when working your back out. It will give your back one last stretch for building the strength and the muscles. It will also work the muscles in your shoulders, biceps and your lats.
When doing the one arm dumbbell rows, you will need a flat bench and a dumbbell for each hand. Use dumbbells that are on the lighter side to begin with. Put one dumbbell on the floor on each side of the bench.
Place your left foot flat on the ground and slightly bend your knee. Lift your right leg up and place your knee towards the end of the bench. Place your right palm face down on the bench towards the top. This is going to give you extra support. You want your torso parallel to the ground while bending at your waist.
Slowly lower your body down and with your left hand grab the dumbbell. The palm of your hand will be facing under the bench. Straighten your body and back out so it is parallel with the ground. Your arm will be extended straight down while holding the weight. Keeping your back straight you are now in the starting position for the one arm dumbbell rows.
Start exhaling as you bring the weight up to your chest side. Make sure you keep your arm close to your side. Concentrate on lifting the weight with your shoulder, lat and back muscles. Do not use your forearm for lifting the weight. When your weight is level with the side of your chest hold the position for a few seconds. While you are holding the position now is the time to squeeze those back muscles.
Start inhaling and lower the dumbbell back to the starting position. Keep your back and torso straight during the lowering of the weight. Keep repeating the motions until you have completed the recommended repetitions.
When you are done with the repetitions it is time to switch arms. Place your right foot flat on the ground with a slight bend in the knee. Lift your left leg onto the bench with your knee located toward the end. Place your left hand toward the top of the bench with your palm down. Make sure your torso is parallel with the ground and grab your dumbbell with your right hand. You are now ready to repeat the steps for the repetitions.
If you do not feel comfortable using the dumbbells you can still perform the exercise. Go to the high or low pulley machine for doing your one arm rows on. Adjust the weight so it is not too heavy and take your position on the bench. The pulley will give you the same kind of workout as the dumbbells would.
These exercises targeted your lower and middle back. If done properly then will build the strength along with the muscles in your back.
Posted in Article on April 11, 2012
When you have hit a plateau and your triceps just do not seem to be gaining anymore muscle, grab the cables. Working out the triceps with cables will get you over the hump so you can still build your muscles. There is a difference when working with cables versus working with weights. The cables are going to keep the tension on the triceps the entire time you do the extensions. By keeping the tension on the triceps they will not get to rest so the muscles will start building up again.
There are many different cable tricep extension exercises that can be done when working out. Always make sure when doing the tricep extensions that you are doing the exercise correctly.
When doing the one arm tricep extension select the amount of weight you will work with. Then stand straight with one foot in front of your body and the other behind your body. It will look like you are walking just in smaller steps. Make sure you are standing right in front of the stack of weights. With your palm facing the ceiling grab the handle of the pulley. Slowly pull the handle until your arm is bent just a little under 90 degrees. Your forearm will be next to your body almost at waist level.
Once you are in position pull the handle all the way down until your arm is straight. If you are moving the upper part of your arm then you are doing the exercise incorrectly. The only part that will be moving in this motion is the forearm. Exhale as you are bringing your forearm down.
While your arm is straight down tighten your triceps. Hold the triceps tight for just a second. Then inhale and bring the forearm back up into your starting position. Continue performing this until all the repetitions are done then switch hands and start the whole procedure again.
For the low cable tricep extension select your weight then lay on your back on the bench. With knees bent place each foot flat on the ground on each side of the bench. Make sure your head is laying flat and pointing at the weights. With your palms facing towards each other grab the ends of the rope. Your elbows will point toward the sky and your hands will point at the machine.
While exhaling pull your forearms straight up so they are pointing at the sky. Once again only move your forearms and not your upper arm. While the forearms are pointing straight up tighten the triceps. Hold them tight for a few seconds then start inhaling as you go back to the starting position. Continue through all the motions until you have completed all your repetitions.
Both of these cable tricep extension exercises will help build the muscles again when you have hit a plateau with free weights.
While still concentrating on the triceps, get ready to work them out some more with the weighted bench dips.
When someone says they want some quick weight loss tips, then no doubt some think that it is impossible to lose weight quickly and more importantly, keep that weight off! Well they would be wrong because it is very possible to lose weight quickly and keep it off, and it starts by employing some of the basics that we pretty much all know.
First of all make sure breakfast is eaten every day and a healthy breakfast at that. Skipping breakfast is not what anyone looking for quick weight loss tips should be doing. Eating a healthy breakfast will kick start the metabolism when you wake, after it has slowed down during the night. Think of it this way, your metabolism is like a furnace, it needs to be fed with fuel in order for it to work at its optimum best. So get your metabolism working as soon as you wake with some fruit, cereals and a glass of water and it will begin burning fat straight away.
Drinking approximately two litres of water per day is also a great one of the quick weight loss tips that work. Water keeps the body hydrated and stops it holding onto fluid which will make you feel bloated and increase your weight. Sometimes tricky to understand, but the more water we drink, the more water our bodies naturally let go of. Not only that, drinking plenty of water helps to lower the amount of fats that the body stores. So add water to your diet and you’re bound to lose weight.
On the same note, salt is no friend to anyone looking to lose weight. Salt will make your body want to retain water which will give you that bloated feeling, so the more salt that can be cut out of the diet, the more weight will be lost.
What’s also good to know when looking for tips to lose weight quickly, is that some foods require the body to work that much harder to break them down. The results of which are that your body will use up far more calories as it digests them. That means you can lose weight by simply eating these foods that include raw fruits and vegetables and also anything that is made out of wholegrain.
Furthermore, wholegrain also falls into the fiber groups of food and anytime we eat more fiber our bodies feel fuller than they actually are. So as quick weight loss tips goes, making sure that you are eating sufficient fiber, such as brown rice, wholegrain breads and also leafy vegetables is a great way to lose weight.
Without a doubt, including some physical exercise in your weekly routine will be of benefit. Not only will it help to lose weight, but you will begin to strengthen your bones and muscles and your stamina and mental abilities will also increase.
