Weight loss really does begin in your head. Every successful athlete understands that his thinking process is either working for him or against him. The same holds true with weight loss. If your internal dialogue is negative, your results will eventually manifest the same result! You can’t degrade yourself to a healthy new you! You must change your thinking to work for you, to build your resolve, and to maintain that all important motivational factor.

Writing is an exercise that will help your mind change its thinking! It allows you to process the negative emotions and helps to instill the positive changes. Start with these simple exercises:

1. The Negative Emotions Daily Dump: Many success coaches advocate writing out your negative thinking on a daily basis. Simply spend approximately 15 minutes writing out all the frustrations, bad feelings, and discouragement. This helps you to process these bad feelings out of your system so that you can make room for positive affirmations. Do not reread the entries and do not keep them. Write it out, and then throw it out. We call this the Negative Emotions Daily Dump.

2. Affirm Your Goals: Prepare a list of affirmations that will help your subconscious work with your conscious brain to make those all important behavioral changes. Then write your affirmations at least twice a day. Write them once after you have written your Negative Emotions Daily Dump. Don’t do the Negative Dump without filling it with the positive affirmations. You should always end with this. Write the second set of affirmations either right before you go to bed or first thing in the morning. Read your affirmations several times a day.

3. Understand your Motivations: In order to stay motivated you must understand your real reasons for losing weight. In other words, understand why YOU want to lose weight. Not why your spouse or friends want you to lose weight but why losing the weight is important to you. Do you really want more energy? Do you just love skinny clothes? Do you want to participate in an activity that would be easier if you were slim and healthy? Write these motivations out in detail so that you can solidify them in your head and they can continue to motivate you through the entire weight loss journey.

4. Accountability: Keep a food diary. Keeping a food diary has been proven time and time again to increase your weight loss success by as much as 50%! A food log is your accountability factor. It keeps you honest with yourself.

5. Visualize: Visualize yourself enjoying the portions of your weight loss program that you are currently struggling to do. For instance if you hate the cardio portion of your day, start seeing yourself loving it. See it as “”your time”. It can be your time to read while you’re on the stationary bike. Or your time to watch all those movies you feel guilty watching any other time. Once you begin to visualize positive feelings about a certain activity the easier that activity will become.

6. The Pat-On-The-Back: Keep a written log of your weight loss success. By writing down your weight loss on a weekly basis you are validating your efforts and giving yourself a pat-on-the-back. This will go a long way to keeping you on track.

Keep in mind that if you are utilizing the assistance of a personal fitness trainer or weight loss professional that they may use techniques to help you face your self-defeating habits. This might feel harsh and negative, however it isn’t. Honesty is necessary to motivate change and this is different than running yourself down! Sometimes we have to hear the hard words to make the hard changes. Keep in mind that these professionals are seeking your ultimate success. Your success is their success. Let’s face it, the weight gain started with you and to change that behavior you may have to deal with some uncomfortable feelings. A good trainer will help you feel cared about while still insisting that you deal with your bad habits. It’s a good thing to be pushed past your comfort zone to becoming a better you!

Writing is the new “exercise” that can make all the rest of your weight loss efforts including good nutrition, exercise, and resistance training work for you because you will be working with these principles instead of against them. You will start seeing these weight loss techniques as a positive and permanent part of your life, instead of a temporary device. That will result in faster results that last forever!

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How Overweight Is America?

How serious is obesity in America? According to Kathleen Donnelly for MSN Health & Fitness, statistics show that “…60 percent of adult Americans weigh too much, and 17 percent of American children and teens are overweight.”
And the problem continues to escalate. In the past thirty years, children in the USA are increasingly tipping the scales. The rise of obesity among children between the ages of 6 and 11 has gone from 4% to 13 % in three decades. Obesity in US children ages 12 to 19 has gone from 5% to 14%. And if a child is obese at the age of 6, it has a 50/50 chance of being obese for life. Obese thirteen year olds have a 75% likelihood of being obese for the rest of their lives. This problem is even more severe among blacks and Hispanics.

To remedy their plight, 103,000 morbidly obese Americans living in the United States had gastric bypass surgery in 2003. The complication rate was 7%.

What causes obesity?

Several causes for obesity have been suggested, including heredity, social-economic conditions, diet, and exercise. Since we can’t control who our parents are, let’s focus on social-economic conditions, diet, and exercise.
Obesity & Social-economic conditions
Numerous studies have concluded that there is a direct cause and effect relationship between a person’s level of education and their odds of being overweight. The greater their level of learning is, the slimmer their odds of obesity are.

Dysfunctional Diets, Inadequate Exercise, and Bulging Belt-lines

Of course, two obvious causes of obesity are dysfunctional diets and a lack of proper exercise. Americans are exercising less and less while simultaneously consuming too much junk food. The average US woman is now consuming 335 more calories per day than the average woman in 1971. Calorie intake among men has increased to an additional 168 calories per day. Is it any wonder that America is increasingly becoming an obese nation?

Health Risks Associated with Obesity

Discomfort about one’s appearance, however, is not the only downside to obesity. There are numerous health risks associated with being overweight. Obese individuals have a higher-than-normal rate of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, high lipids, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, strokes, respiratory disease, some types of cancers, heart disease, and other chronic and deadly conditions. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicts obesity will soon be America’s number one killer. In 2000, tobacco was linked to 435,000 deaths while obesity was close behind at 400,000 deaths.

What to Do About Obesity

There are primarily three things that most experts recommend to help maintain a healthy weight level: 1) Getting the proper amount of exercise, 2) eating a healthy, well-balanced diet, and 3) supplementing one’s diet with nutritional products.

The Value of Exercise

If you’re considering going on a diet to lose weight, remember that the important thing is not just to lose weight, but to keep it off. In order to lose weight and keep it off, there is no substitute for exercise. One study reported by The National Weight Control Registry shows that out of 3,000 individuals who lost a minimum of 30 pounds and kept it off for more than a year, only 9 percent lost weight without exercising.

How much exercise should an individual get?

The proper amount of exercise that an individual should get of course varies from individual to individual. To make certain you are getting the proper amount of exercise, consult your family physician.

Melissa Tennen, HealthAtoZ writer, says: “Get at least 30 minutes of activity on most days. To prevent weight gain, 60 minutes a day may be necessary.”

What is a Healthy Diet?

The short answer to the question, “What is a healthy diet?” is to eat a well-balanced diet that is as close as possible to the way nature intended. Fast foods and highly-processed foodless foods have been proven to have ill-effects on one’s health. Many are high in calories and low in nutritional value.
Yet not everyone has the time, the money, or the ability to eat “The Perfect Diet.” So what’s the solution?

The Importance of Supplementing Your Diet

No doubt, in a perfect world, we would not need vitamin pills, diet pills, and other nutritional supplements. We’d simply get everything our body needs from our food. But let’s get a reality check: This is not Eden. And getting everything your body needs from your diet alone is almost impossible. Plus, if you are overweight, you need extra help.

What to look for in a Weight-Loss Pill

If you’re looking for “The Perfect Weight Loss Pill,” there are a number of things to consider. Here are just a few:

Does the product’s formula utilize nutrients in the most absorbable and potent form available?

Most companies compromise on their nutrients. They use poorly absorbed forms or synthetically derived fractions of nutrients.

Does the product use ephedra stimulants or dangerous fat blockers?

For accelerated fat-loss support and increased performance, you need help with reducing hunger, utilizing fat, enhancing metabolism, and increasing true energy levels. Insist on a weight loss product that delivers all natural support for healthy weight loss, without using ephedra stimulants.
Also, avoid dangerous fat blockers. The perfect solution is to find a weight loss pill that works by helping support healthy digestion of stored fat and a healthy metabolism. Lipase is the enzyme responsible for breaking down fat, making it available for utilization as energy. Without lipase, fat is stored as excess body fat.

Does the product contain Citrin K™ and CLA?

Research shows Citrin K™ and CLA as two powerful ingredients in helping maintain healthy fat burning. Also important are Guggul lipids and chelated minerals. They help maintain a healthy thyroid and will reduce cravings. Weight loss pills containing these ingredients make for a healthier, safer and more effective body fat reduction formula.
Don’t forget the importance of fiber

Special types of fiber will expand in your stomach and will reduce your hunger without stimulation and drug-like effects. This, in turn, will help to nutritionally support healthy body fat levels.

Your body needs energy to burn fat

Finally, the most needed factor in losing body fat is keeping your energy levels up so you have the energy burn more fat.

Are there really any nutrients available today that help promote healthy and safe fat reduction? YES! Although there are many supplements today containing herbs like Guarana, MaHuang and Ephedra that can have potentially harmful side effects, there are still many that safely help the body reduce its fat stores.

Here are just a few of the most powerful nutrients which have been well-documented:

CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid)

A study published in The Journal of Nutrition (December 2000, V12) established that the natural dietary supplement conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) reduces body fat. Jan Wadstein, MD, PhD, associate professor at Lund University in Sweden states, “CLA may be a valuable weight management supplement to any diet regimen. Keeping lean body mass and speeding up fat loss are the keys to a successful weight program.”

Garcinia Cambogia

Another supplement essential for weight loss is natural organic acid extract from the rind of the Malabar tamarind called Garcinia Cambogia. This compound has been associated with gradual decrease in body fat, nutritionally supporting healthy cholesterol levels, and suppressing hunger cravings frequently. A study performed by Katts, et al, concluded the administration of Garcinia Cambogia reduced deposition of body fat and promoted increased weight loss in human subjects. Citrin K is a proprietary formula proven to suppress appetite. The best and most researched form of Garcinia Cambogia can be found in our proprietary blend called Citrin K. Citrin K also supplies potassium, which plays a major role in maintaining the body’s fluid balance. There are other forms of Garcinia Cambogia on the market, but they don’t have the potency guarantee that Citrin K does.

Other micronutrients needed to support body fat metabolism include vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin C and Zinc and Chromium. Look for a weight-loss supplement that will supply you with the highest quality of whole food vitamins and amino acid chelated minerals. This will help to nutritionally support a healthy metabolism, further enhancing your results.

Theobromine

Theobromine is an extraordinary nutrient found in chocolate. It helps maintain healthy levels of stress, giving you a confident and powerful feeling of health. This is a vital component to look for in a weight control product because it nutritiously supports the body in appetite suppression and provides an energetic, euphoric effect. This is very important, as many people scrap weight loss programs because of irritability and their inability to curb cravings.

So if you want to lose weight and keep it off, get the proper amount of exercise, eat a healthy, well-balanced diet, and supplement your diet with a weigh loss pill that meets the aforementioned criteria. The final word on diet pills is this: “The Perfect Weight Loss Pill” should contain the most powerful and safest nutrients available to help you nutritionally support healthy fat burning metabolism without harmful stimulants.

NOTES:

1. OBESITY in America. http://health.msn.com/reports/obesity/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100133520 .

2. National Center for Health Statistics. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Hyattsville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 1999.

3. Moran R. Evaluation and treatment of childhood obesity. Am Fam Physician. 1999;59:758, 761-762.

4. Hedley AA, Ogden CL, Johnson CL, Carroll MD, Curtin LR, Flegal KF. Prevalence of overweight and obesity among US children, adolescents, and adults, 1999-2002. JAMA. 2004;291:2847-2850.

5. Newman C. Why Are We So Fat? National Geographic. August 2004.

6. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Surgeon General’s call to action to prevent and decrease overweight and obesity: what you can do; 2001.

7. Newman C. Why Are We So Fat? National Geographic. August 2004.

8. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Surgeon General’s call to action to prevent and decrease overweight and obesity: what you can do; 2001.

9. Obesity Swallowing America http://www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz/Atoz/dc/caz/nutr/obes/alert08032004.jsp

10. The Journal of Nutrition. Vol 130, No 12, Dec 2000.

11. Kaats GR. Reduction of body fat as a function of taking a dietary supplement containing garcinia cambogia extract, chromium picolinate and L-carnitine: A randomized double blind placebo controlled study. 3rd International Conference on Anti-aging Medicine and Bio-medical Technology. Las Vegas, NV., Dec. 7-11, 1995.

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Genes do influence our size and shape, but studies clearly show that if you change your diet and lifestyle, you can override hereditary effects to a great degree. Contrary to popular understanding, genes are not dictators, they are committees. They do not give orders; they make suggestions. You can counteract your fat genes and boost your thin genes.

We often think of genes as unchangeable because, when it comes to eye color or hair color, they really are decisive. If they call for blue eyes or brown hair, that’s it. But the genes that establish your size and shape are much more flexible. They need to be able to adjust your appetite and your calorie burning, depending on whether food is plentiful or not, and whether you are working hard or resting. Unlike eye or hair color, your body has to be able to change its composition from minute to minute, from day to day.

Although your chromosomes are extraordinarily complex, there are just five key gene groups you need to know about:

* Taste genes determine the foods you crave. In taste experiments, scientists use a test substance called PROP (6-N-propylthiouracil). About one in four people can taste its bitterness very strongly. These people avoid grapefruits and never go near black coffee. Although their acute taste sense is generally an advantage, the downside is they may avoid healthy vegetables, such as broccoli or cabbage, that have a hint of bitterness. If this group includes you, you’ll want to find ways to flavor these healthy vegetables so you will include them in your routine.

Another one in four people cannot taste PROP and are called “taste blind.” Their problem is they may tend to overeat, making up in quantity what they are missing in taste. If this includes you, and you tend to be indiscriminate in what you’re eating, you’ll want to take care to emphasize fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and beans, and to be very cautious about fatty foods and their hidden calories.

* A gene on chromosome 7 makes leptin, the appetite-taming hormone. In 1997, English researchers reported the case of two cousins who became extremely obese very early in life. They demanded food continuously and ate much more than their siblings. At age 8, one weighed 189 pounds. She had so much trouble walking she had to have liposuction of her legs. Her cousin was only two years old but already weighed 64 pounds. It turned out they shared a rare mutation blocking the leptin gene. With no leptin to curb hunger, their appetites were voracious.

You are not likely to have this same gene abnormality. However, your leptin may not be working perfectly either. Very-low-calorie diets disrupt its appetite-taming effect, causing your appetite to run out of control. The key to keeping leptin working right is to avoid severe calorie restrictions. If you eat at least 10 calories per day per pound of your ideal weight, you are unlikely to run into serious problems.

* A gene on chromosome 8 builds LPL, the key enzyme that stores fat in your cells. It waits along the walls of the tiny blood vessels that course through your body fat, and its job is to extract fat from your bloodstream and pass it into your fat cells for storage. If your LPL is doing its job a little too well, you can change this genetic tendency by choosing foods that have little or no fat in them. Once again, vegetables, fruits, legumes, and whole grains are your best friends.

* The hormone insulin, coded on chromosome 11, is part of your body’s system for increasing your metabolism after meals. Depending on the type of foods you choose, you can help insulin spark a pronounced after-meal burn that releases calories as body heat rather than storing them as fat. Low-fat, vegan diets, along with regular exercise, make insulin more efficient.

* Believe it or not, exercise aptitude is largely biological, too. People who love to go for a five-mile run at the crack of dawn are genetically different from other people. They are endowed with a better capillary network that brings oxygen to working muscles and a more efficient fuel-burning mechanism. If you did not get these genetic advantages, you can do the next best thing. If you begin a regular exercise program and stick with it, your muscle cells begin to look more and more like those of natural athletes.

There is no need to be daunted by your family heritage. Yes, some of us will always be bigger and others smaller. But with a healthy, low-fat diet and regular physical activity, your genes can stop working against you and start working for you.

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Never underestimated the power of a food diary. Using it daily will ensure you become much more conscious of your current bad eating habits. Through its use you can identify the cause of your weight problems.

So what is a food diary?

Well it is simply a small book you carry with you everywhere you go for at least two weeks. After this you can store it some place safe and refer to it three times a day.

So here is a quick explanation of a food diary:

Week 1.
In your diary on the first page note your current weight. Now for the rest of the week you must make a note of everything you eat during the day. This is why it is so important to carry the small book with you at all times. You must be disciplined in this. Every time you eat anything, even a small piece of meat or a nibble you must enter exactly what you ate and the time at which it was eaten. Then describe your motivations for eating it. Where you really hungry? Was the temptation of it being there too much? Where you feeling lonely or stressed? Take a note of all the feelings that lead you to eat the food.

At breakfast, lunch and dinner list all the foods you ate, why you ate them and how you felt before, during and after you ate them. Also note every bit of exercise to take during the day. It doesn’t matter how small it is just jot it down anyway. Also note when you went to the shops or to pick up the kids or just to get a message. Did you take the car or bus? Describe how you were feeling prior to taking the car or bus. Why didn’t you walk? Was it too far? Did you not have enough time?

Week 2.
Write down your current weight and follow the plan outlined for week 1. In addition, you can now start to analyse your diary.

Look over your entries for the previous week and the amount of food you ate. What type of food where you eating. Why were you eating it? For example you may have noted that you ate a chocolate bar at 1pm because you were feeling bored. You notice that this is a recurring theme almost everyday. So, go to your empty diary entries for week three and pencil in at the same time of day an activity that will relieve your boredom. If you can’t think of one then pencil in that you will go for a walk or start to do that odd job you have been putting off for months!

Perhaps you ate the chocolate because it gave you a certain feeling you enjoyed. Look at the feeling. Is there anything else you could do that would make you feel the same or a similar way? There are always alternatives. Jot one down in your diary!

Maybe you notice that the temptation to eat the chocolate was too strong to resist because it was just there. Pencil into your diary, on your shopping day, that you are to buy no chocolate!

Now look at your exercise activities for the previous week. When did you take the car when you could have walked? Could you pencil in an extra 15 minutes walking a day. Divide the 15 minutes into three 5 minute exercises, this way it will not seem like that much of a change. Park the car 5 minutes away from the shop. Walk to a bus stop that is 5 minutes further away. Did you not have enough time? Structure your diary to compensate, even if it means getting up 15 minutes earlier.

In this way you can use your diary to set out a plan for the coming week. Be strict with yourself and follow your plan. Tick off the things on your diary one by one as you complete them. Pencil in activities that you have always wanted to do. You will find that organising your food intake and exercise routine in this way will have a major knock-on effect on the rest of your life. You are getting organised!

Your food diary is a also great way of tracking your progress. Make sure you note in it all your accomplishments and list all your weight loss achievements. When you reach week 3 you can begin using your diary only 3 times a day – once in the morning to check your schedule for the day. Once after dinner to note your activities during the day and once at night to review your progress that day and structure the same day for the following week.

It is important to reward yourself every time you succeed at a task that you have put in your diary. Pencil in that at the end of a certain week you will buy yourself new clothes. Constantly review your achievements and give yourself credit for having done so well. This will keep you motivated and ensure you keep to your plan, continue using your diary and of course keep your weight healthy.

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Here’s an example of just one of those laws…I once heard it said that nearly 70% of all the energy a person uses during the course of a single day (70%) is used simply to digest the foods they eat. Therefore, if it takes 100 grams of energy (bear with me for using such basic terminology here) to digest each and every meal you eat during the day, but by improving the efficiency of your metabolism, we can get your body to digest each meal using only 50 grams of energy, then you could have nearly double the energy to put toward all your normal daily activities.

So if one of your main life goals is to make more money, would it beneficial to you if you had more physical energy to do the daily tasks necessary to build your financial streams? What about all the added mental energy that you would have to put towardcreatively designing new ways to handle all the daily challenges that every entrepreneur faces today?

Personally, I never had success in my life until I took control of my body. I remember feeling like a failure in everything I did. I remember not even wanting to go out of the house because I didn’t like the way I looked, in fact, I specifically remember not wanting to leave the house even to go to the store to buy food because I hated the way I looked in all of my clothes.  

Today, I rarely think about the clothes I’m going to put on each day because I feel confident that, no matter what I wear, my body will make those clothes look good. All clothes just hang better on a body that’s in shape. That means that guys who wear their shirts ‘untucked’ no longer HAVE to do that (unless they truly like that style) – and women who wear black because it’s ‘slimming’ can now wear any color they like – because their BODY will make that color look good on them.  

This is the way everyone should feel! When I finally took charge of my physique, everything in my life got better – my social life improved, my health improved, my family life improved, my spiritual life improved, and my financial life skyrocketed. I went from feeling like nobody noticed me to being picked out in a crowd of people (the right people).

Here’s a horrible fact that I regularly speak about in my teleseminars and live events; in today’s society, without a nice body, people subconsciously make life a bit harder for you. You see it all the time. People who are in good shape almost always get treated differently by others. Now I’m not saying that’s fair it’s absolutely not – but it’s a fact of life, so why not take advantage of it? You see, you can’t change the fact that most everybody else in the world seems to treat good-looking people better, but you can change the one person who really matters, and that’s you. You can make yourself as strong and healthy-looking as possible, making life easier for you and setting a good example for your family so that they can also live a more successful and healthy life.

Good looking people climb the corporate ladder faster, they portray more authority when they stand in front of their staff, they get more preferential treatment, and they have far more stamina to take on all the work that’s necessary in order to build a powerful company or business.

There are eight people in my inner circle of friends, all of which own businesses which gross from $5 million to $700 million annually – the bigger the business, the more focus that owner puts on staying in top shape. These people aren’t stupid, they don’t want to grow a huge company then not be in good enough health to enjoy the rewards — and the secret that all of these folks have is that being in good shape didn’t start when they became successful – it started way before that – and probably had a lot to do with their success.

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The answer is that there is no best way to do it. There is
no best book, and there is no right way or wrong way to do it.

The 5 Critical things you must do to achieve your health are
these

1. Continue to learn about health, fitness, nutrition and
weight loss from a wide variety of sources

The single most important thing to do right from the start is
to take action and begin learning about health, followed very
closely by putting what you learn into practice. We are a
very diversified bunch of people and what works for you may
not work for the next person. You have to find what works for
you from a wide variety of sources, expand your knowledge and
accept no one thing as being the best for your health. Keep
reading, keep learning and keep what works for you and discard
what doesn’t.

Knowledge isn’t power, but “knowledge in action is power!”

Some very simple things to keep in mind is that the body runs
on food and if you give it the best quality food, in whatever
manor that happens to be, then you’ll probably get some good
results in general. Keep the nutrition to a maximum by eating
as close to nature as possible, organic where possible and
eliminating processed foods and trans fats.

2. Find a mentor.

Someone who’s been there, done that and that you can model .

I realized at quite an early age that if we can model someone
who’s been there and done that and gotten results, then you
can “cut to the chase” as it were to find out what works for
your health and weight loss – what doesn’t and in doing so get
results faster.

Find a mentor, a role model for the things that you’re looking
for. If it’s weight loss or to improve your health, find
someone who’s walked in your footsteps and knows what you’re
going through. Model them. Do what they did, repeat their
process and contact them to ask what worked and what didn’t.
You can save yourself a lot of time and effort by doing what
works and skipping what doesn’t.

3. Apply the knowledge you learn about health on a daily
basis

This is where the taking action part comes in. You must begin
to apply the knowledge you’ve gained from what you’ve read
about health or watched and by talking with people who’ve been
there before you. If you do not put it into practice then
you’ve become an information junkie and not someone who
follows through on their knowledge. You must begin to work
the principles you’ve learned on a daily basis and keep at it.
Without the trial and error, you get nowhere fast and won’t
truly know what works and what doesn’t.

4. Repeat steps one, two and three

Remember, there is no right way or wrong way to lose weight,
improve your health or get what you want. You must continue
to learn and challenge what you’ve read. I’m told that what I
teach is wrong and I ask what were your results when you tried
it? Well, they didn’t try it and so I then ask “what right do
you have to tell me what I teach is wrong”. It may have
worked for me or for many people I coach including yourself,
but without trying it and challenging it, you won’t ever know.

Keep learning about health, keep reading, keep applying what
you’ve read and this new knowledge. Begin the process of
filtering for yourself what will and won’t work for you.
Remember this is about you, not me or the other guy, but what
will help you achieve your weight loss goals or your health.
This may very well be about applying certain fitness
principles that sound so controversy that you figure they
can’t possibly work. One of my favorite sayings is “believe
nothing I say, but I challenge you to prove me wrong”. My
intent is to have you try it.

When I first begun my journey to lose 300 pounds, I read one
book and I preached the principles like they were the gospel.
I was finally told to “shut up” and read something else, so I
took it upon myself to learn whatever I could about health and
weight loss. I began to apply my new knowledge daily, found
people who had used the info before and what they believed
about it, what worked for them for their health and then
discovered for myself what worked.

Finally, I discovered the ultimate secret to health and weight
loss.

5. Never give up.

It never ends. In the large scope of your life, the next 30,
40, 50 or more years, what is a few days if you happen to get
off track. Get right back on doing what you were doing, keep
learning, keep trying new things, go back to what worked when
it was working and keep up with your daily fitness routine.
Probably the single most important fact about exercise or
fitness is that our body is designed to move and we’ve gotten
away from that. We must do something on a daily basis to
exercise our body.

Never give up. Never lose sight of the health you want and
keep working towards your goal.

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Can you imagine walking along the beach in you swimsuit with everyone looking at your rippling six pack. All eyes jealously admiring your suntanned, muscular physique.

Ok here’s the truth, “there are no easy ways to build washboard abs”!

But there are some ways that will give you fantastic results (and some that will waste your time).

It seems as if there is a new “Super Fast Power Abdominals” gadget on the market every week. Most of them are totally useless and may do more harm than good. The only thing that will get a workout is your wallet.

Some of them may work for a while but when the novelty wears off, it’s packed in the back of a cupboard, never to be seen again.

They are all limited in what they can do. They only allow you to do a limited number of movements. And then you get the next gadget out! You would need to exercise in a warehouse to get everything in. And that’s just for the abs!

I have even seen for sale, on eBay, with bids, a sun mask to place on your abs so that you will get sun tan where the muscle separation would be. I can imagine all the couch potatoes queuing up for this one.

If you do regular “Sit Up’s” for millions of reps you are very unlikely to build rippling muscles but you will have great endurance. If you do “straight leg sit ups” it is possible that you may damage your lower back due to the strain placed upon it. It may be better to avoid sit ups at all costs. The same with “lying straight leg lifts”.

One of the best exercises for abs is crunches. Lay on your back with your feet on a chair or bench. Curl up your upper body towards your knees. At the top position, hold for a few seconds, while flexing your abs. You will only get a short range of motion with this exercise but it will work wonders.

There are many variations of the crunch. Try doing them with a twist to work the side oblique muscles. Lying on the floor, try doing Jacknife crunches, raising your legs as you crunch, and try to reach past your toes with your hands.

For best results you need to do between 8-15 reps to build abs that will be admired be everyone. And take all sets to total failure and some more.

Some trainers say that in a set of 10 reps the first nine are the warm up and the tenth produces the muscle. I think this can be improved if you think that the one that produces the results is actually number 11!

If you are carrying a layer of extra body fat you will never be able to display a set of washboard abs. Losing that extra few pounds can make all the difference.

Counting every calorie that you eat is not my idea of fun. I like to eat a high protein diet and find it works for me. I enjoy lots of chicken, turkey, beef, milk, and cheese etc, eaten with plenty of healthy salads.

Avoid all processed food and cut down on the carbonated drinks, even the “low cal” ones. You do not need the artificial sweeteners and chemicals.

If you have a sweet tooth and are sometimes tempted to have chocolate it may be better to have a small bar occasionally instead of obsessing about it and then pigging out with dozens of candy bars. Buy fresh fruit and each time you have cravings eat some fruit.

As with any new program it is recommended that you start slowly and build up gradually as you gain experience. Even Arnold had to start with low weights and learn from more experienced bodybuilders.

This article is provided as entertainment and no responsibility can be taken for loss or injuries incurred during physical exercise. If you have not undertaken any form of exercise for a while, please consult your doctor before starting any new exercise program.

Above all, Have fun and be safe.

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But travel from home doesn’t have to result in an interruption or complete abandonment of your healthy habits. You can still fit in exercise time when away from home, regardless of whether you find yourself in a warm or a cold climate. Even if bad weather forces you into seclusion in your hotel room, there are exercises you can complete without a single piece of equipment.

Below are some tips to help you stay fit while traveling and avoid coming home with unwanted extra baggage.

. Be realistic. You probably won’t be able to fit in your normal weekly workouts and that’s okay. Shoot for completing at least 50% of your normal regimen.
. Plan ahead. Before leaving town, find out what type of workout facilities your accommodations will have or if there is a nearby park or jogging track (weather permitting, of course).
. Scope out local gyms. If you are staying somewhere that doesn’t provide a workout area then inquire at the nearby local fitness centers for their rates. Often they offer day passes for minimal fees.
. Pack a resistance band in your suitcase. The band takes up very little space, yet can provide you with an entire upper and lower body workout routine.
. Don’t deprive yourself of all local delicacies. You can enjoy some special meals without going overboard. Ask the restaurants to prepare your favorite dishes with a few lower fat ingredients.
. Be creative. Find unique, fun ways to exercise instead of doing the same routine you do when you are at home. Try biking, hiking, a pedal boat excursion, water-skiing, beach volleyball, etc. Effective workouts aren’t limited to the standard fares of walking, jogging and fitness machines.
. Try out your travel routine at least once at home. A new workout that you’ve never done before will require more time and preparation. This type of frustration just makes for an easy excuse to skip the workout.
. Prepare snacks. If your journey includes a lot of time in the car, be sure to pack some healthy snacks so you aren’t forced to eat at all the fast food and convenience shops along the way.
. Play in the pool. If lounging poolside is part of your vacation plans, then hop in the pool every 20 minutes for 5-10 minutes of pool walking (try it in waist-deep or higher water for a really challenging workout).
. Get comfortable. Don’t forget to pack comfortable workout attire that fits your destination’s climate.

Here is a quick, simple circuit workout that only requires a resistance band and can be done anywhere. Complete at least one set of 8-12 reps of each exercise.

. Bicep Curl
. Tricep Dip
. Lat Pull Down
. Front Raise
. Push-Up
. Squat
. Abductor lifts
. Adductor splits
. Hamstring Kicks

For detailed instructions for each of the above exercises, visit www.workoutsforyou.com/travel_plan.htm

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Placed under pressure, my physical body responded by ‘heating up’ – my breathing became shallower and faster, my legs began to ache, and beads of sweat erupted over my body, slowing dripping off my face in steady drops onto the floor below. As I reached for a towel to wipe my face and momentarily recover, I realized that I was now experiencing emotional discomfort as well.

As my physical discomfort intensified, so did my emotional discomfort. I experienced feelings of doubt as to whether I could continue with the level of intensity, and feelings of wanting to disconnect and/or quit from the physical discomfort I was experiencing.

In response to being pushed outside of my comfort zone, my two choices or responses to this situation became immediately apparent.

One choice was to ‘back off’ or slow down, and thereby reduce and/or minimize my discomfort. If I took this choice, I knew I could experience returning to a place of physical comfort, where my body ‘cooled’ down and relaxed, and also to a place where my emotions would return to a calmer state.

The other choice I faced was to notice and accept my discomfort, but to decide that I would continue regardless. In this decision I understood I could continue to experience discomfort (for a temporary period), and perhaps even face the possibility that the intensity of discomfort would increase.

To determine my choice, I asked the question: “What is my intent in taking this class? What are the results I’m looking to achieve?”

Is it to experience exercising comfortably – knowing that by not extending or pushing my limits, there was a good possibility that my level of fitness and physical shape would remain unchanged (or be very minimal)?
OR
Is my intention to experience change and growth in terms of my physical fitness and shape, knowing that in order to achieve this I would likely need to push my current physical comfort boundaries?

Relative to my short and long-term goals for the class, (which in this instance was to increase my fitness), making the choice to ‘push’ through my discomfort and persist with that temporarily, was more likely to produce the result I was after.

I decided the ‘uncomfortable’ choice was more in alignment with my intention, so I chose this in preference to remaining ‘comfortable’ throughout the class.

In my opinion, there was no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer faced with the above choices. Rather, simply an awareness of whether the choice made was in alignment with the end result I wished to experience.

So why would you want to step out of your own comfort zone?

When you’re next exercising – be it walking the dog, exercising at home or at the gym – why not ask yourself this question to provide you with the answer.

‘What is my intention by participating in this particular exercise?’

If your own intention is purely for pleasure or recreation, then you may be quite willing to create the experience where your exercise is comfortable and painless.

If however you are looking to produce change at a physical or fitness level, consider the possibility that experiencing some discomfort may be necessary in order for you to achieve these results.

Choosing a state of ‘discomfort’ or ‘comfort’ is not a judgment exercise, simply a choice you make relative to creating an outcome more in alignment with your desired result.

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Added to the proliferation of tempting food outlets is the busy schedules of people who barely have enough time to meet their family, much more to exercise. There are those who make an effort to lose a few pounds but are hampered by their busy schedules.

One strategy to keep up with a regular exercise despite one’s busy schedule is to buy exercise machines that can be used for a few minutes during one’s free time, anywhere. If you have a busy schedule, what you need is a machine that you can keep in the office or in the house, and which can be easily stored in a small space.

One of the most practical exercise machines is the treadmill. It may cost more than the other exercise machines but it has proven effective to most people who look at exercise with disdain.

Most people dread the times when they have to use their exercise machines because these are either too complicated or a tad difficult to operate. Using treadmills can come naturally for most people because what it requires is the basic walking and running skills, two skills that come naturally among humans.

If you have a tight budget, there are manual treadmills which operate simply by treading or walking on the rubber. For those who have more money to spare, there are electronic treadmills that measure the calories lost, miles traveled and other exercise data. No matter what treadmill you choose, you will definitely be able to recoup such investment in a short time as you will be able to stay on the machine longer than any other exercise machines.
Experts said that high-end treadmills with a motor horsepower of 1.5 or 2.5 continuous duty should be preferred. Also choose treadmills with a longer warranty period for their motor.

You can avoid getting injuries by doing some stretching first before starting out on the treadmill. Begin your treadmill exercise by walking and getting the hang of the machine. Do not try any antics as you can fall off the treadmill if you try running without getting too familiar with the machine. You may be excited when you first get hold of the machine but a 20 minute walk using the treadmill two to three times a week would be a good start. Gradually increase your speed and frequency as you get more comfortable with the machine.

Walking on the treadmill for at least 30 minutes every session will help you lose fat. However, always check with your doctor before doing any exercise routine to make sure you are not aggravating any physical illness.

Other people use their treadmills while watching television or listening to their favorite music. The secret of a successful exercise routine is not just a good exercise machine; you also have to enjoy what you are doing.

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It begins by creating healthy choices without being too obvious about it. After all, for many kids if you say the word healthy, they’ll turn up their nose in disgust! It isn’t uncommon for kids to push aside healthy options for the “fun” food, which is heavily promoted through television.

“If I don’t buy the food they like, they won’t eat anything!” is a common myth among parents. The reality is if they get hungry enough, they will eat. You have never heard of a child starving to death because his mother refused to feed him “junk food”, have you?

Children will choose to eat healthy food. It’s a process that takes time and creativity. There are plenty of healthy foods that your kids can learn to enjoy. It’s simply a matter of making gradual changes and allowing their taste buds to adjust to the changes. Kids are used to eating foods high sodium and fat, and need to adjust to eating new healthier foods. This process takes awhile. Making small changes to the normal routine is key.

Follow these tips to help your child make healthy choices that will last a lifetime.

1) Have healthy foods ready and easy to grab in the kitchen.
Stock your kitchen with fruits, vegetables, complex starches, yogurt and lean protein. By default you are changing your child’s food choices simply because your are limiting the availability of “junk food” and increasing the availability of “healthy foods”.

Kids need an after school snack. I remember my Mom always having pre-portioned snacks ready for us and as kids my sister and I always looked forward to our after school snack of the day, it was a treat and a way for our family to bond. Try having these healthy and easy snacks ready for your kids. A smoothie with yogurt and fruit, baked tortilla chips and salsa, sliced apple with peanut butter, string cheese and crackers, yogurt with granola or salt-less pretzels with peanuts.

2) Put your kids in charge of packing their own lunch.
Make a rule that when your kid enters 5th grade they are responsible for making their own lunch and can pack anything they want as long as they pack food from all of the food groups.

This was the strategy that my Mother used. By the time my sister and I were in the 5th grade the anticipation of “being in charge” of our own lunch made us really want to do it. It was a win-win because we felt grown-up and Mom didn’t have to pack lunch!

3) Involve your children in making the grocery-shopping list.
Explain that they are allowed to choose one “treat” and beside that they have to choose their fruit, yogurt, bread, cereal and type of lunchmeat they want. And they can use these foods to pack their own lunch!

On the refrigerator we always had a pad of paper with the grocery list. I remember being able to write down one treat I wanted every week as well as what flavored yogurt, lunchmeat and fruit that I wanted for my school lunch. I was given the responsibility of making food decisions for myself, which definitely helped me develop into a responsible adult.

4) Make physical activity a part of your family’s routine
Be active yourself and share your activity with your kids. You can play with them, such as football, cycling, skating, and swimming or take family walks and hikes. Being more active as a family will improve physical and emotional health. Help your kids to find activities that they enjoy by showing them different possibilities.

During the summer it was a tradition for my family to go for a bike ride every Friday night after dinner. We would sing songs and plan games together; sometimes we would be having so much fun that we would be out riding until 11pm. I also remember my parents using it as a disciplinary tactic, if we didn’t clean our rooms that week we would not be able to ride out bike in the street with them.

5) Have your entire family take part in preparing/planning family meals.
The more your kids can participate in family meals, the better choices they will be willing to make. Healthy eating is a family project and everyone should get involved. You can begin by choosing one night a week where the entire family can come together and prepare and eat together.

Before our bike rides on Friday we would have a family dinner night. Often the meal of choice was pizza. Together we would make a homemade pizza with pepperoni and vegetables that we would strategically place on the pizza. Sometimes we would create a model of our house, we each were able to make our bedrooms and come together as a family to the living room and kitchen.

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Whatever happens, DON’T do it!

People talk about the many benefits of exercise, and indeed, the list seems very long, and it seems to touch pretty much every aspect of our lives. Let’s examine this:

• Increases Energy: I can’t imagine why anyone would want to increase their energy level. As if the world isn’t already too full of caffeinated coffee and energy drink junkies, now we’re being told to try to get MORE energy from exercise.

Don’t do it people! Just try to make it through your long and boring lives with barely enough pep to get from point A to point B, and then drag yourself home every night and plop down on the couch for another brain-draining evening in front of the TV.

• Lowers Your Risk for Heart Disease: Heart Disease?!? Yeah right – this sounds like too many doctors weren’t making enough money, so they came up with a general term that would cover everything from indigestion to breathing hard.

The fact that it kills more people in the United States than any other disease or condition combined is irrelevant. Your heart is in great shape! Keep eating potato chips, hamburgers, and fried shrimp. You’ll be just fine.

• Cranks up Your Metabolism: What IS metabolism anyway? Everyone is talking about it, but I don’t see it around anywhere. If it’s so important to have a fast metabolism in order to burn off bodyfat, wouldn’t someone have come up with a magic pill or special sauce that took care of this issue?

Stay up really late eating ice cream and washing it down with root beer. While your body turns every one of those calories into bodyfat, you can catch an infommercial that is sure to be selling “The Metabolism Master Blaster”!

• Helps You Lose Weight: Oh sure – here is another example of mass hysteria. If exercise is so good at making people lose weight, why is it that America is fatter today than it has ever been, even though there is a gym on every corner?

Seriously, being fat HAS to be healthy, or else everyone wouldn’t be doing it! Go ask the owner of any fast food restaurant if they think that people are truly concerned about losing weight.

• Increases Self-Esteem: This must be why anti-depressant drugs are so rampant in our society today. Half of our teenagers are on Valium, and the other half have ADD. Marriages are breaking up left and right over emotional conflicts, and psychologists get paid big dollars to assure people that they are “OK”.

Besides, overweight people must already have great self-esteem, because they are able to hide in their homes dying of bad health instead of feeling the need to go “be healthy” with the rest of the world.

So, in conclusion, I think we have demonstrated that there is a perfectly acceptable way to use logic to convince ourselves that we don’t need to exercise. Let the members of the Health and Fitness industry keep selling their wares, putting together new products and facilities, and generally wasting their lives away.

The rest of us are smart and we will boycott this thing called “Exercise”. As our stomachs grow larger, our backsides get bigger, and our clothes get smaller, we can take solace in the fact that we didn’t get swept up by that whole “Health Craze”!

Hey – pass the chocolate cake covered in caramel and whip cream! I want a third piece of that while my french fries deep-fry for another five minutes and I catch the end of some completely unrealistic reality show!

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First and foremost, you need to make sure that the trainer you choose holds a current, nationally accredited certification in the fitness field. Some of the certification organizations that require a good, solid minimum knowledge base to earn their certification are the “ISSA” (International Sports Sciences Association), the “ACSM” (American Collage of Sports Medicine), the “NSCA” (National Strength and Conditioning Association), and on a somewhat lesser level, but still an acceptable certification is the “ACE” (American Council on Exercise). Some others like the “NAFC” (National Association for Fitness Certification) or the “NFPT” (National Federation of Professional Trainers) are a lot less strict for their certification requirements.

While it is very important that the fitness trainer you choose holds one of the better certifications, it is certainly not the only thing to look for when choosing a trainer. There are a few other things you will want to be sure of to ensure your satisfaction.

One thing to look for is whether or not your fitness trainer has a plan to suit your individual needs. Some trainers get caught in a rut and train their clients with a “one size fits all” approach to exercise and while this may be alright for the raw beginner for the purpose of general muscle and connective tissue adaptation, they need to be able to branch out and have a vision of how to customize exercise routines that are best for your needs. In other words, what do they see possible for you. You might ask the trainer; what kind of a plan do you see for me and how will it benefit me?

Another point to consider is whether your fitness trainer can be objective about your training. Your trainer should always consider your needs during each training session. Sometimes the trainer may need to alter your exercise routine due to an injury or simply because you’ve had a hard day and do not have the energy you usually have. You might ask the trainer; how do you assess me each day before my session.

One of the most important things, of course, is whether you and your fitness trainer have matching personality’s or simply put, you must get along with each other and you must feel comfortable with your trainer or it will be hard to work with him/her. You need to understand what your trainer is trying to do and so your trainer needs to give clear, detailed instructions. Your fitness trainer should be open to what you have to say and be able to listen to and respond to your concerns.

If you have made the decision to invest your time and money into an exercise lifestyle, and you are enlisting the help of a fitness professional, make sure you choose one who you know will give you everything you need to give you the results you want in a safe, enjoyable way.

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Okay, now that you’ve answered the question of why you are exercising to begin with, you are now ready to ask yourself what type of exercise program you will need to get involved with in order to accomplish that goal.

If you answered “aerobics”, “weight training”, “yoga”, “flexibility exercises”, “martial arts”, or pretty much any other form of exercise that you can imagine, then congratulations are in order! You’ve just answered the question, “What the heck is an exercise modality”?

Simply put, an exercise modality is a system or form of exercise that is designed to elicit a very specific response from the body of the individual who is engaging in the exercise. In the case of aerobics, most people are trying to get their body to shed excess bodyfat and to increase their level of cardiovascular endurance. Weight or resistance training exercisers are usually trying to grow or tone their muscles to make them stronger, bigger, or more attractive. People who practice Yoga are usually after a stronger mind/body connection in order to gain more energy or awareness.

The possibilities are endless. There are so many exercise modalities out there that even trying to name them all would be a waste of time. Even as this article is written, and even as you – the reader – take in its information, someone somewhere is probably coming up with a new “exercise modality”.

So why even try to learn them? Why should you care about exercise modalities? Simply put, because you need to practice them!

No, that doesn’t mean that you have to be able to run a marathon, bench press 400 lbs, balance on your pinky toe, and dance a jig all at the same time…

The point is not that you have to become proficient in any specific exercise modality. You do need to learn about different types of training, though. No matter how effective your present exercise program is, one of two things is either already happening, or is going to happen eventually:

1) Your body is adapting to the stimulus provided by your chosen exercise modality, and you are not seeing the same results from it that you saw in the beginning.

2) The exercise modality that you have chosen is lacking in one or more of the measurements of good health: strength, cardiovascular conditioning, flexibility, agility, balance, tensile strength of bones, tendons, and ligaments, basic survival skills such as starting and limit strength, swimming capabilities, or a heightened level of neuromuscular coordination.

As you can see, simply being able to run through a circuit of weight machines at the gym and then jumping into an aerobics class is not sufficient for a level of health and fitness that is both complete, as well as sustainable over the long-term.

Despite what you may think, there will never be a time in your life when it is appropriate or healthy for you to “back off” and give up on exercise or proper nutrition. From today until the day when you leave this Earth, you will need the high quality of life that is provided by the proper level of health and fitness.

In order to ensure that your health and fitness program does not allow your body to adapt to a certain stimulus, as well as to ensure that your program includes activity in each of the measurable levels of health and fitness, you must practice different exercise modalities on a regular basis.

Don’t scoff at Pilates because you think it is for wimps. Those of you in the aerobics room don’t look at the weight lifters as if they are a bunch of cavemen who know nothing about true fitness. Those of you in the Yoga frame of mind, open up your mind to the fact that Yoga alone is not going to maintain your level of health and your quality of life from now until the end. Martial artists – step out of the Dojo and pick up some dumbbells or balance on an exercise ball once in awhile.

There is no single exercise modality that is perfect for everyone, all the time. Yes, there are certain modalities that work better for certain people, but that doesn’t mean that you should never check out new activities and experiences.

Close-mindedness has never resulted in positive results in the entire history of our planet. It’s not going to start now. Open your mind to new possibilities and you will open yourself to new experiences and a higher quality of life itself.

Who knows? You might even enjoy it!

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We have learned from exercise research that the number one reason a long-term exerciser continues with an active lifestyle is to achieve fitness and maintain health. This is an expected response because health and fitness have always been the most frequently sighted response to exercise. Here are the ten motivating factors that keep people exercising for the long-term and not just short-term goals: 1) feelings of well being, 2) increased energy and vitality, 3) enjoyment of activity, 4) better sleep, 5) being more alert 6) look good, 7) stress reduction, maintain body weight 9) maintain health 10) fear of being over-weight. Now who wouldn’t want to experience any of these benefits? One thing I want to point out is that appearance or feeling better and weight management were not the most important motivators for long-term exercisers.

Long-term exercisers make exercise a priority. This characteristic is very important to appreciate if you are going to be successful in adopting and maintaining a fitness routine. Priority was the only influential strategy long-term exercisers acknowledged. If you make exercise a priority in your life, you will have a better chance of staying with your program for the long-term.

How do you go from being unmotivated and too busy, to being physically active? We’ve seen from long-term exercisers they have empowered themselves to examine their daily and weekly schedules in an effort to make time for exercise. Physical activity is a priority to them. For you to be successful you must make exercise a priority.

Get started by choosing an activity that you enjoy. Focus on being physically fit instead of focusing on your physical appearance. Do not make your focus physical appearance, but rather on being physically fit. Think in terms of long-term goals of being healthy and fit instead of short-term results of needing to lose 10 pounds before summer arrives. You can start with moderate activity but aspire to achieve greater fitness through vigorous activities.

Remember, nothing was more powerful for long-term exercisers than the positive feelings they got from being physically fit. These feelings were not immediate, but after several weeks they were worth waiting for. The positive feelings created a strong incentive to keep exercising. Positive feelings to anticipate and appreciate are increased energy, overall feeling of well-being, feeling of accomplishment because you committed to exercise, and sleeping better. There is also a feeling of confidence when you make a goal, schedule it as priority, take the actions and follow through to that goal.

Resolve to be physically fit, making physical activity a priority. Develop a goal of exercise, make it a priority and be committed to your goal. This will help exercise become a lifestyle in your life. Persist long-term and reap all the positive feelings that come from being regularly active. You will enjoy it. Get started now! For more information and tips on keeping exercise a priority in your life, go to http://www.easyexercisetips.com

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For fitness minded folks, we could do worse than to follow the “hour-a-day” prescription outlined by the Surgeon General’s Healthy People Report. It’s just a guideline, of course and, as you already know, any amount of activity packed into your busy schedule is going to earn you healthy rewards. But there are plenty of other reasons to exercise.

“If people exercised only moderately,” says Janet Kneiss, Physical Therapist, “there would be far less incidence of injury. The 15 or so people I see daily, who come in with back and neck problems, usually don’t want to exercise, they want a quick fix.”

The solution as she sees it?

“I think, if people could just reframe the idea of it [exercise] being so much work and focus more on the enjoyment of doing it, they would find the experience more positive.”

So, if exercise alone can keep you injury and disease free, how do you keep it from being just another thing “to-do?” Here are a couple ideas:

Do something you enjoy: This sounds incredibly simple, but it’s worth mentioning. As we’ve already said, most seasoned fitness fanatics as well as neophytes will be the first to tell you: if you do something you enjoy, you will stick to it. What do you like to do? Walk? Run? Spin the treadmill while watching the tube? Or how about branching out and trying something unique and different like kick-boxing or martial arts? It’s a great idea to add variety; it will keep your exercise fresh and interesting.

Mix it up! Speaking of variety, you can also mix up your routine. For example: try splitting up your exercise sessions. If you take a half-hour walk in the morning, take a half-hour to stretch or resistance train in the afternoon. Just adding a bit of variety could spice things up and keep you motivated.

Make an appointment with yourself. Make the commitment to exercise by making an appointment with yourself. Write it on your calendar. If you’ve never exercised before, start slow [10-15 minutes] then build up. Begin exercising three times a week, then slowly build up your time and your frequency. If you love to exercise, try listening to your bio-rhythms. If you can, schedule exercise during peak energy periods.

Strive for your personal best. A friend e-mailed to tell me he was gearing up for another 5K relay race. I wasn’t surprised. When he was 40, never having run before and not having “runners genetics” as he puts it, he decided at 15 pounds overweight and asthmatic, he was going to run. He made up his mind. For a year he trained, dropped the weight and signed up. His first goal was simply to finish. Did he do it: you bet. Did he work through an asthma attack to get across the finish line? He did, but he kept going. Now, he continues to train and improve his time with each race. His secret, he tells me: enjoy the journey, live in the moment, and focus on your personal best.

“So, Laura, what’s the take home message?” you ask. Never mind what everyone else is doing. Stay focused on you, doing what you enjoy and what is fun and exciting for you. Learn everything you can about health and fitness. Then, do the best you can. In so doing, you will be an inspiration for others. To summarize: A quote from one of my favorite inspirational writers Dr. Wayne Dyer, who says: “I don’t want to be better than anybody, I just want to be better than I was yesterday.”

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I’m one of those people who sweat profusely. By the time I am done my body and my gym clothes are soaked. This means I am draining some serious fluids, which is not a problem as long as I adequately replace them, and I monitor any abnormal physical symptoms.

Heat related illnesses are usually due to people ignoring the warning symptoms. They include weakness, dizziness, headaches, muscle cramps and nausea. This means you need to be aware of your mental state. What appears to be fatigue can progress to unconsciousness.

So I have been doing my research and have come up with a list of valuable suggestions to make certain you summer outdoor workouts are healthy and rewarding:

Stay Hydrated

Even in cooler temperatures, there is a tendency not to adequately replace expended body fluids. In the summer it is an absolute necessity. It is important to drink water or sports beverages before and after your workout. If you are engaging in extended outdoor exercise (running, walking, bicycling), replace fluids periodically. For runners, consider a hydration pack. If you do not maintain your fluid levels you risk circulatory failure.

If you are exercising for an hour or less, water is sufficient. Longer than an hour and you need to replace carbohydrates. Warmer weather metabolizes these substances faster. Consider one of the popular sports drinks that contain carbs.

Time of Day

When they are predicting some scourging weather, schedule your workout early in the morning or later in the evening. Avoid the mid-day heat and humidity. Workout indoors if that is the only time you have to exercise

Humidity

Be aware of the relative humidity. The body responds to overheating by the evaporation of moisture through perspiration. When the humidity is high, the air is less capable of evaporating excess moisture. Consequently your natural cooling mechanism is compromised. Monitor your vitals. If you start to feel light headed, or you feel completely drain, immediately stop, find a place to cool off and once again replace those vital fluids.

Cool Clothing

No, I am not talking about the latest fashions. When exercising in heat you do not want clothing that will retain heat. That includes cotton apparel. Go for synthetic breathable fabrics that release moisture from your body and allow efficient airflow. Hats are good for preventing the sun from heating up the blood vessels lining your scalp. But remove the hat occasionally to let the heat escape.
Problems of Pollution

Due to some misguided political policies and our desire to drive gas-guzzling vehicles, the air quality in urban environments in the summer often sucks. During days when there are orange, red or even purple alerts it is best to limit your outdoor activities. And air pollution is not limited to just cities. For example, the air quality in the mountains of North Carolina during the summer can be equivalent to the air in Los Angeles. The trees are actually dying in the high altitudes. Furthermore, the air quality in a number of our national parks and beaches can be potentially hazardous during the summer months. Excessive physical exertion in areas of poor air quality can be detrimental to your health.

The summer offers an incredible opportunity to enjoy the beauty of nature while you exercise. A walk or run on a tree-lined trail or sandy beach surely beats the congestion of a health club. But when it heats up outside use common sense and caution. And if those dog days of summer start barking consider heading indoors.

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The first time I heard about this was an in article about Clive (Iron Fist) Myers. It was one of his favourite routines.

The idea is very easy to put into practise and will help build stamina, strength and energy. All you need is a deck of cards and some space to exercise. You could do this routine while on vacation if you want to maintain peak fitness.

First you need to decide on 3 exercises to do 1. Chest 2. Legs 3. Abdominals.
1. push ups.
2. Free standing squats.
3. Crunches.

Each exercise will be done in strict form with no cheating.

For the push ups, start in the low position and push up with slow steady motion until the top of the movement and then slowly lower back down under control. Breathe in as you go down and in as you push back up. This is one rep.

Free standing squats, fold your arms across your chest and perform deep knee bends slowly, under full control. At the bottom of the movement push with your thighs and come back to the top position. Breathe in as you go down and out as you come up.

Crunches, start by lying on your back on the floor with your feet on a bench or chair. Hold your hands beside your head (NOT BEHIND). Raise your upper body from the floor as high as you can. Breathe out as you raise and in as you lower your upper body. Do not hold you hands behind your head and pull as this will put excessive strain on your neck.

Now take the deck of cards including the jokers. Give it a good shuffle and turn over the top card. Whatever the value of this card is the number of reps for the exercise. Face card values
Jack 11
Queen 12
King 13
Ace 14
Joker 15
With each card you turn over, do that amount of reps for the exercise, and then turn the next card over and move onto the next exercise.

When you are starting you may be unable to do a full deck of cards. No problem. Start with the number cards up to the eight. Add one more card at the beginning of each workout until you can use the full deck.

Make sure to breathe regularly as you perform these exercises and do not hold your breath at any time.

Shuffle the deck of cards each time you work out as the will randomize the number of each exercise.
You can change the exercises if you are unable to do the ones recommended. There are a multitude of variations on free standing exercises that can be performed with little or no equipment. If you do change the exercises try to do one upper, one middle and one lower body exercise.

The main idea is that you move from one exercise to the next as quickly as possible to keep up your heart rate and build up aerobic endurance.

When you have done this routine for a while you will be able to complete this workout in 20 minutes. If you want to you could add another deck of cards or two.

I recommend that you do this routine every other day to improve your health. There is no reason why it could not be done daily if you wanted to.

The purpose of this workout or any other fitness program you undertake is to make you fitter and healthier. If you start to feel unwell or have any pain while working out, slow down and listen to your body.

As with any new program it is recommended that you start slowly and build up gradually as you gain experience. Even Arnold had to start with low weights and learn from more experienced bodybuilders.

This article is provided as entertainment and no responsibility can be taken for loss or injuries incurred during physical exercise. If you have not undertaken any form of exercise for a while, please consult your doctor before starting any new exercise program.

Fitness is not a competition with anyone else. It is just for you, so find what you enjoy and go have some fun.

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One of them is monotony – the exercises get to be really boring for the practitioners. On the other hand, at least 4-6 weeks are necessary for checking and proving the potential of training, developing, losing weight, etc. that a program might have. A shorter period of time will not be enough for drawing relevant conclusions on the effectiveness of the program. Thus, a certain psychological resistance to monotony is necessary from the very beginning.

Another disadvantage of routine is the fact that the muscles act under the principle of economy of effort. This means that, soon after starting the program, they do not react to the stimulus with the same effectiveness as in the beginning. A state of limitation intervenes, when, in spite of the same efforts, the sportsman will not progress any more. Stagnation of good results might be very frustrating for the sportsman, who could, finally, abandon training completely. For avoiding this, it is advisable to change the program periodically, so that the muscles will have time to ‘forget’ the first exercises; the sportsman can come back to them after getting through a few different programs.

A completely new program can have disadvantages, for example the fact that learning it demands an increased effort of attention, of focusing, and sometimes even involve mental stress, determined by the degree of difficulty of the program. However, some practitioners can see a positive aspect in this, considering the new program as a challenge, which will ‘refresh’ them psychologically.

On the other hand, a too frequent change of programs can be as ineffective as maintaining them for too long. Changing the program before benefiting of all its potential of progress is like giving up antibiotics treatment after you have the impression that the symptoms disappeared.

It is important for the sportsman to observe carefully his own reactions from one training to the next; this way he will be able to choose the best moment for taking up new routine. It is very easy to consider some temporary states of indisposition, irritability or tiredness as limitation or overtraining and to abandon, in consequence, a program which would still have a lot to offer.

This is another case in which the experience accumulated by the practitioner in months or years of training will help him take the right decision and change the program when it is best for the body. If the sportsman makes the right choice, he will feel progress even in the first sessions of training and he will not need a long period of adaptation.

In time, the sportsman can develop a conditioned reflex, meaning that the body will ask regularly, at certain intervals, for a change in the routine of the training. This way, new solutions can be anticipated for getting over the critical fazes of stagnation. Moreover, the interest for the training will remain constant.

The active breaks (active recovery), which must be initiated once a trimester, a semester or a year, can submit to this rhythmic conditioning. They intrinsically belong to the training and their importance must not be underestimated.

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Scenario: I really want to get in shape, but I work all day and attend multimedia classes until 8:30. How do I find the time to exercise, and what are a few good exercises for beginners like me? Solution: Finding time to exercise is certainly a challenge. Even the most motivated among us suffer setbacks during our business’s busy season or when a new project is on the horizon. The key to fitting fitness into your busy day is to recognize that finding time isn’t the issue–it’s making time.

You may be surprised to hear that you can enjoy the benefits of a regular exercise program in as little as three hours per week.

The following routine shows you how:

Monday: Half-hour of jogging, biking (on hills) or other intense aerobic exercise you enjoy
Tuesday: Half-hour of strength training (squats, sit-ups and push-ups for beginners; weight training with machines or dumbbells for the more experienced)
Wednesday: Rest day
Thursday: Repeat Monday
Friday: Repeat Tuesday
Saturday: One hour of exercise–any type of exercise. Go rollerblading with a friend, take the family to the hills for a hike or swim laps at the pool.
Sunday: Rest day

Make your workouts more time-efficient by exercising harder. For example, you can walk two miles in a half-hour, or you can run four miles in a half-hour. You can spend an hour in step aerobics class, or you can spend 20 minutes rowing at the highest resistance level on the rowing machine. When you perform strength-training exercises, use a challenging resistance and move quickly through your exercises to get an aerobic benefit.

If you want to commit to getting fit, exercise must become a part of your life–a habit as regular as brushing your teeth. Try these ideas to help you stay on track:

*Make a log of everything you do for a week, and identify the time slots where you can fit in exercise. Did you spend a Saturday afternoon watching the Back to the Future trilogy for the fifth time? Could you manage to get up a half-hour earlier on the weekdays? Just skip an hour of television time and go to bed earlier.

*Make exercise convenient. Find a place to work out that’s close to your home or office. If you’re disciplined and have the space, work out at home.

*Develop relationships with supportive people. Join an exercise class or go to the gym with friends. If you skip a class, your friends will hold you accountable.

*Exercise at the right time. The “right time” is when you’re most likely to do it. If you know your day often ends late or meetings come up suddenly, it’s best to schedule your workout for first thing in the morning when nothing can interfere. If you’re a night owl, fit your workout in before dinner. If you can only manage a 10-minute walk on your lunch hour–do it. Some exercise is better than none.

Benefits Of Exercise

Need more motivation to get fit? Consider the following benefits of exercise:
*Exercise increases your stamina and strength.
*Exercise improves your heart and lung efficiency.
*Exercise gives your body greater resistance to disease, stress, anxiety and fatigue.
*Exercise gives you more energy and enhances your capacity for work and leisure activities.
*Exercise releases hormones that stimulate the brain, helping to clear your mind, see things from a new perspective, and come up with fresh ideas.

So make an appointment with yourself to get some exercise. Your body–and your business–will thank you for it.

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You may try only cutting down on all the high-calorie foods and skip the exercise. You may cut down on your portion sizes. And, the weight will eventually come off. However, if you also include exercise in your weight loss program, you’ll discover that not only will the weight come off, but your metabolism will improve, your fat will be replaced by lean, muscle tissue (rather than loose, jiggly flab), you’ll feel more energetic and mentally alert, and you’ll be better able to keep the fat off.

The human body was created to be active. It wasn’t meant to live a sedentary lifestyle. Unless your health prohibits you from getting some sort of exercise each day, you should make an attempt to focus on the amount of physical activity you engage in. After all, most Americans don’t get nearly enough physical exercise during the course of a day! We’re all too busy sitting at our desks or in front of our televisions.

By the same token, if you’re like the average American, who thrives on fast food or other high-fat, high-calorie meals, a change in eating habits is advised. You can still enjoy eating! But, if you’re serious about losing those extra pounds and keeping them off, you’re going to have to replace the greasy french fries with some healthy, fresh veggies. Instead of that 44 ounce Coke, drink more water. Try to include more fish in your diet, rather than a big, fat hamburger. You’ll be surprised at how much better you look and feel, when you replace those heart-clogging, fat-producing calories with healthier food choices.

And, don’t skip meals! If you regularly skip meals, your metabolism is going to slow down, you’ll feel sluggish, and your body is going to hang onto those extra pounds as protection against starvation. By eating regularly, your metabolism works better, and you’re better able to lose weight!

Yes, diet and exercise are important ingredients for successful weight loss! You don’t have to be miserable in the process of losing weight. Just remember the following points, if you want to shed those pounds and keep them off:

A few healthy lifestyle changes can make all the difference in your physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

Note: Before beginning any diet or exercise program, consult your medical professional.

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Despite it all though, the one thing that has become almost an obsession today is the way our abs look. It seems that everyone is looking for those ever elusive “six pack abs”, but much like Ponce De Leon’s search for the fountain of youth, it seems like it is impossible to find.

Now, while there is no “magical formula” for attaining a flat, firm, and toned stomach, there is something you can do that if done regularly, will get you the results that you are looking for. To get these results, stomach crunches need to be done daily but keep in mind that stomach exercises alone will not burn the fat off of your midsection.

Keeping your calories in check along with doing your crunches everyday will be the way for you to see that flat, chiseled, sexy stomach. Crunches are easy to do, and if done properly, are very effective for toning those abs. Here is a step by step breakdown of the proper way to get the most out of your crunches.

Lie flat on your back on the floor with your legs bent to about a 90-degree angle with both your rear and your feet flat on the floor. Place your hands behind your head making sure not to interlock your fingers. You can make your hands into fists so you do not pull up on the back of your neck.

The next thing to do is to pick a spot on the ceiling directly above you. This should be done in order to ensure that you do not bend your neck during the duration of the movement. Do not take your eyes off this spot! The most common mistake while performing a crunch is too much stress on the neck as a result of pulling on it with the hands.

The next step is to stabilize the low back. This can be done by tightening the muscles in the abdomen. Slowly curl forward and up using your abdominal muscles only. There should be no bending at the waist. Keep your abdominal muscles firm for the entire duration to ensure low back stabilization. Keep your focus on that spot on the ceiling to prevent neck pain as a result of stress.

At the top position your shoulder blades should only be between 4-8 inches off the ground. There is no need to go any further. Pause at this top position. This whole movement should be performed slowly and take about 2 seconds to perform. Pause at the top position for 1-2 seconds to ensure full contraction of the abdominal muscles.

Slowly return to the starting position keeping your abs contracted.

That is all there is to it. The crunch is not a very big movement because you are working your abs only. A full sit-up does not work your abs better than the crunch because once you are past the crunch position, your abs are fully contracted and it is your hip muscles that are straining to lift you up, not your abs.

Doing a hundred of these a day is not the key here. Doing two to three sets of 15 to 20 of these at a slow and deliberate pace with good form is what is recommended for maximum benefits and minimum risk of injury.

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The major benefits of a strength program include looking trimmer and more youthful as one ages; increased metabolism and weight management; reduced stress and depression; prevention of the onset of diseases such as arthritis, osteoporosis, diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol.

Many people have the notion that lifting weight is only for athletes or people who want to look good at the beach. But, what about the person who would like to pick up a 25 pound bag of dog food or the grandparent who would like to be able to carry his or her grandchild?

One of the greatest myths of weight training is the fear of bulking up or developing large, masculine-looking muscles. Muscles don’t just happen. It’s incredibly difficult for men who want to develop large muscles to do so, let alone for women who have 1/10th the testosterone of a man. If, by exercising hard, a woman develops some muscle size, it will be minimal and will improve her figure. Your level of testosterone, body/muscle type and hard work at the gym is the only way muscle can be increased.

Weight training isn’t only about the results that you can see in the mirror. Muscles support the skeleton, protect internal organs, move the body, help to maintain balance and help control metabolism. The stronger the muscles the better the body performs. Strength is important for the body from aesthetics to function. Resistance training is really about training hard, building strength and enhancing the body’s structural integrity.

The key to getting stronger is intensity and quality, not quantity. The idea is to break down the muscle fibers so they can rebuild. When muscle rebuilds, it becomes stronger and firmer. Rest the muscles for 24 – 48 hours after a workout is important for the rebuilding process. Eating protein within one hour after working out is the building block to muscle repair.

Be careful that safety is used in weight training so injury does not occur. Start slowly, but with progression. Proper form and technique is essential for safety as well.

Too many people stay stuck at a lower resistance when they could be lifting heavier weight and enjoying more benefits. A good question for a person to ask is, “Could I have lifted more weight, and could I have done it with good form?” On an intensity scale of one to ten, a beginner should be at a five. A seasoned weight trainer should be able to reach an eight and sometimes a ten. A ten is to failure. You won’t reach failure on every workout, but you should try to be comfortable to eventually get to a level ten. Don’t compromise form.

Feeble efforts produce little results, but challenging, progressive resistance training programs increase strength. For more information and tips on exercise, go to http://www.easyexercisetips.com

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In this type of training there is a kind of classic set of exercises, which the sportsman needs to master from the beginning. This set includes exercises with free weights (dumbbells and barbells). While training with these, the movement is not imposed by any machine. When executed without the supervision of a fitness instructor, it is possible that these movements are done in a wrong way, a situation which increases the risk of accidents a lot.

One of the most frequent mistakes is an incorrect position of the spine. Some exercises (bench press, barbell curls) could involve exaggerated arching, while others (sit up bend, dead lift, squats, etc.) involve unjustified flexing (hunching).

These wrong positions can lead to unfavourable stress exerted over the spine, knees or shoulders. Besides, they can direct the effort to other groups of muscles than the ones intended. The result is that none of these are properly trained, because no exercises specific to the muscles are performed correctly. In such situations, the sportsman will only feel exhaustion in all his body and will not be able to direct and localize the effort in the zone which a particular exercise should mobilize.

Another example of wrong technique is exaggerated swinging for exercises which do not need impetus. This happens most often while raising the weights laterally for working on the deltoid muscles, when the sportsman wrongly flexes the knees and uses the lumbar muscles, arching his back too much.

Other mistakes are made when catching the bars. In the case of pull up, for example, and of pushing from behind the neck (for the shoulders), a too narrow catch will place the scapular-humeral circulation into a non-physiological, stressing position. Exaggerated bending forward during squat will force the spine, while lowering the thighs below horizontal position will stress the menisci.

Rowing from bending position and stretching back must be done with the back in extension; otherwise the risk of slipped disc might appear. Not using a belt when lifting very heavy weights can determine slipped disc, but also inguinal hernia or rupture of abdominal muscles.

The technique of breathing must be understood correctly. Breathing in instead of breathing out, blocking the thorax or not can affect the sportsman a lot. Generally, the sportsman must breathe out during the most difficult part of the movement and must breathe in during controlled coming back in position. Apnoea (blocking of the thorax) must be used only in the case of lifting heavy and very heavy weights; otherwise it is not justified. While making aerobic effort, it is necessary to have a particular breathing rhythm, a pace which can vary according to the cardiac frequency and lung ventilation.

All these examples support the idea that the presence of the fitness instructor during training is absolutely necessary.

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Most people are stronger in their upper to middle abdominals compared to their lower abdominal muscles. It is recommended that you work your lower abs first since you are freshest and have the most energy to get the most out of your stomach. The abdominal muscles react and provide optimal results visually when performed to failure. Failure occurs when the muscle is thoroughly exhausted and the exercise can no longer be executed. This means you can not do one more painful repetition. Your mid-section should be worked in this manner all the time.

Some examples for lower abs are as follows:

The reverse crunch (using the slant board) – with your hand holding the bars and your legs straight on the floor, raise your knees to your face, while bending your knees, until the fetal position. Then slowly drop your rear end until you touch the board and repeat the exercise.

Leg lifts (performed on the Roman Chair) – Start with your back on the back support and lift your knees/legs to its highest point. Feet should not be allowed to swing behind your rear end at its lowest point for safety and momentum purposes.

Hanging leg raises (performed on the cable machines) – Start by hanging from the middle pull up bar on the cable machines. The hanging leg raise is probably the most result producing stomach exercise since it is generated from the lower abs and then incorporated the upper abs at its peak. It begins by having your feet lift over and above your waist until it reached approximately where your hands are holding on. Remember to keep you body from swinging back and forth. This will cause you to use more stomach muscles and less momentum.

Then proceed to your upper/middle abs to get that desired burn.

The Ab Roller, which is great for upper abdominals and obliques, is great to start with since it promotes safety and immediate results. Exercises utilizing the ball and floor mats are great ways to end a stomach workout. The utility ball allows for maximum stretching to hit all areas of the mid-section.

Since your stomach is considered your smallest muscle, you are able – and recommended to – train them up to 6 days per week. A cardiovascular work out which consist of constant aerobic activity which last for more than 30 minutes at your 80% target heart rate is extremely beneficial and necessary to achieve that ever desired six pack.

Great abs are only obtained through hard work, perseverance and proper form. They are the central point in which your motion begins and ends. In the end, great abs will give you the needed support for your workout and your life.

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