Fat Loss Formula » Exercise

The Truth about Abdominal Exercises

amassc — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 14:09:14 +0000

Anyone interested in fitness wants to have great looking abs – firm, rippled and well-toned, along with a trim waist. Just beware of all the myths around achieving your well-toned abs and flattening your stomach.

Calories (the measurement of energy) are consumed during exercise. Once the available energy in your body is depleted your body will start using stored energy to function. This energy is mostly fat deposits in adipose tissue.

That process is not selective, unfortunately. There is no way to choose which deposits your body will convert. By this I mean that you cannot choose to only burn fat on your abs. It is possible to get the desired outcome – ie reducing fat around the abs – but the exercises does not spesifically target that fat.

By doing ab-specific exercises, you will build strength in that area, by increasing the muscle mass in those muscles. There are a number of reasons why that is helpful. Your internal organs will be better protected by the new, stronger layer of muscles in that area. You also get a nice trim, flat look.

There are other benefits to ab exercises too. Because of the larger size of the abdominal muscles they also consume a much larger percentage of energy than for example your jaw muscles. That means that as you work them, they have to be supplied with more energy to move through the range of the exercise. This results in buring more calories, which again causes a reduction in fat and weight loss.

There is no gadget, supplement or drug currently on the market that will do that safely and effectively as a substitute. Only moderate to heavy exercise on a regular schedule can achieve this. Currently there is not shortcut if you want a trim waist.

Age and genetics also limit the effect. Some people store more fat around the middle more readily than others. Obviously your gender also makes a difference.

Hormone changes in many women in their 40s casues them to naturally develop a pouch in the lower abdomen. Many men will naturally develop ‘love handles’ at the side, since they store fat in adipose tissue there more readily in their 40s than they did in their 20s.

In order to achieve the desired effect you have to approach muscle fatigue. There’s no need to perform a hundred crunches to accomplish that. Done correctly, 20 reps is enough. Going to the gym does not have to be the only option. You can do pelvic tilts while sitting in a chair in the office.

But for best effect, warm up and try the following:

Lie on your back, with your knees raised and cross your arms across your chest.

Then lift your shoulders off the floor and hold for thirty seconds.

You can feel the effect on your abs already.

Put your hands beside your head to make this more challenging.

Don’t use your hands to lift your head, just keep them still.
Your hands should remain still and must not be used to lift your head.

For maximum effort, put your hands above your head, then perform the same shoulder lift and hold, focusing on the abs.

Feel the burn. Repeat daily for 10 minutes or twenty repititions. In a couple of weeks, you’ll see definite results.

Polar S725X Heart Rate Monitor

amassc — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 00:53:19 +0000

Todays ever increasing technologies and advancements in research have pushed heart rate monitors to a totally different level. One company that has stayed ahead of the rest is the Polar Company. Their long association in this market has allowed them to gain a lot of customers. Users look at them as trusted and proven. They have been producing heart rate monitors since the year 1977. Their extensive range of heart monitors cater for just about every sport from running and multisport to cycling, fitness and cross training. Many other producers of heart monitors have used Polar products as a benchmark for their own. They try to follow the ideas and innovations set out by the Polar Company who have been successful for so long. Polar heart monitors do everything from improving an elite athletes endurance and performance to monitoring and helping ordinary people with their weight loss goals. This means that it is ideal for anyone and everyone.

Do You Desire to Achieve your Goals?

Look no further, because for those looking to take their fitness goals to another level, there is no better choice than the Polar S725X heart rate monitor. This heart rate monitor is packed with many great features for anyone and everyone. It is made specifically for cycling and multisport training and is one of the better Polar heart monitors out there.

The Polar S725X is also ideal for those desiring to be the best at whatever sport they are in. Elite athletes find this Polar watch appropriate to help them achieve results. Apart from the primary goal of heart rate monitors to give heart rate readings, this device is also packed with loads of great features.

Pros

In simple terms, it is a powerful cycling computer on your wrists. Combining the highest level of personal performance data, training conditions like altitude and temperature, and cycling functions are what set this device apart. Also included with it is the WearLink Coded Transmitter, a handy tool that prevents cross-talk with other monitors. It is made from soft fabric so it contours to every curve on your body.

The Polar S275X has a variety of cycling performance measurements including trip, distance based on intervals and speed. This heart monitor also gives you the option to enter two different bike wheels to it so that you will be able to train or workout on two separate cycles. However, this device is not only confined to use by cyclists alone. Runners use it to track measure and do analysis on their performances.

Cons

There are only a few minor problems that are associated with this Polar watch. The first is that users have found that this heart monitor is not compatible with Mac computers. There have also been poor battery replacement issues with this particular model. The third problem is the price. Polar heart monitors tend to cost quite a bit and this is no different with this model.

Aside from these small issues, the features and advantages of the Polar Watch S725X outweigh all in its way. Do not settle for anything less because there is no substitute for quality.

For the latest Polar Watch and Heart Monitors, check out the wider range of Polar Heart Monitors.

Are Resistance Bands The Way To Go?

amassc — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 17:52:30 +0000

Over the past decade there have been a lot of options to choose from when it comes to workout equipment for the home. There seems to be a new infomercial on every week or two talking about the latest and greatest piece of fitness equipment. The one thing that is becoming a must have is a set of resistance bands.

A resistance band is made out of different thicknesses of rubber. The thicker the band the harder it is to stretch causing tension. Some bands being made right now have the same effect of lifting fifty pounds. What is unique about them is that even just one band can be used for so many different workouts.

What is common nowadays is people buying a set of resistance bands instead of free weights. Now people can do a bunch of different workouts without having to use a ton of equipment. Not everybody can do a bicep curl with a 50 pound dumbbell so they do not want to pay for it. It can be pretty tough. Most people like starting out with the bands because it gives them the chance to start building on their muscles and then they switch over to free weights. Free weights do work your muscles from top to bottom and the bands only work it at the top of the rep. You are only going to feel it when you are pulling with a band while a free weight has tension on the up and down part of the rep.

As you get stronger with the bands you will want to switch it up to use a heavier one. This will create more range of motion when you do workouts like bicep curls, tricep extensions, and shoulder shrugs. You will only be able to get the results you want by using more tension. Using resistance bands is very popular with the X90P workout crowd.

There is a lot to be said about resistance bands. The advantages they have over free weights is that they take up a lot less space, are usually cheaper, and will give you a great workout without having to buy a lot of equipment. Most companies will give you three of them like the P90X exercise bands in a bag for you to be able to take with you on trips. Exercise bands are the most cost effective way for you to get a great arm workout while working on a lean upper body.

Turbulence Training for Fitness

amassc — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 17:52:29 +0000

Maximum Fat Loss in Minimum Exercise Time?

Like most fitness training programs The Turbulence Training system promises fast fat loss results for both men and women who are in a hurry and don’t have a lot of time for working out. It is a bold promise for any system to make but particlarly when it promises it in only three workouts per week!

Who is Craig Ballantyne?

Craig Ballantyne is the professional behing the program. He has appeared in many fitness magazines such as Men’s Fitness and has led research into strength training, dietary supplements and cardio training and worked with hundreds of clients in thousands of training sessions, so its not surprising he’s come up with a new training system for fat loss. Click here if you would like to read the full article: Craig Ballantyne Review.

Lets have a closer look.

What most of you will be wondering is what is Turbulence Training? Well according to Craig, its the combination of resistance training and interval training used to boost your metabolism so that your body burns calories and fat between workouts! Cardiovascular exercise doesn’t fire up your metabolism after workouts its strength and interval training that’s responsible, so when you are working, eating and sleeping you will be shedding calories. So the Turbulence Training system is best for burning fat without sacrificing muscle – so you end up defined and chiselled.

One of the first surprises of this system is that if you’re looking for new ways to spend 30 or 60-minutes doing cardio, then this program is not for you! If you only have 45 minutes to workout, a couple of times per week, and you have access to only a bench, dumbells, and an exercise ball, then you’ll like what Craig has for you here! Click here if you would like to read the full article: Craig Ballantyne Review.

There is a six week introductory program, four week intermediate and 16 week advanced training phase all with a massive amount of bonuses to build muscle.

Here’s some of what you get:

•   Three short workouts a week-no long cardio’s
•   No need for the gym
•   Only basic equipment needed
•   Male and Female specific bonuses
•   Multimedia format
•   -No restrictive diet plan

Craig Ballantyne’s Turbulence Training is backed by a 8-week money back guarantee. And this is a real guarantee… if you are not completely satisfied, you will receive your money back, no “ifs,” or “buts. And the current trial offer of $4.95 makes it unbeatalbe!…
If you would like further information please click here: Fitness training programs.

Why Is Physical Fitness So Important To a Long Life?

amassc — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 17:52:28 +0000

Our fitness often takes a backseat to our work and other committments even though we know it is important. We rarely ask the question: Why is physical fitness so important in our lives? Our physical well being can bring us a more positive outlook on life, increase our daily confidence and even reduce long term health risks.

Our bodies are invaluable to us, so keeping healthy with regular physical exercise should be absoloutely essential. It will help give us a longer and more fulfilling life, and improve our mental attitude and clarity.

Physical fitness isn’t s not just gained through exercise as most people assume. For true fitness in mind and body you need a balanced, healthy diet with the right mix of nutrition too. Here follows just a few of the benefits you will gain from physical fitness, and why it is so important to do regularly:

It can help prevent all sorts of health problems, such as high cholesterol, diabetes, and of course excess fat reserves stagnating and the problems that will lead to.
Youre self-esteem will increase.You will have more confidence in yourself and not just because you look better, but also because you will feel better within yourself.
The heart muscles will grow stronger, pumping more blood per minute and speeding up the healing process. When you exercise your heartrate increases, and this increasing and decreasing strengthens this vital muscle in your body. This will lessen your future chance or heart disease or even a full on heart attack.
Good physical fitness will help keep you in a good state of mind. The increase in blood flow will help your concentration levels and keep your mentally aware and focussed. Not only will your body be in better condition but your mind will be too! All from exercising just a little bit a few days a week!
The extra energy and you gain from improving your fitness levels will lead to a greater level of relaxation, and an increased sense of happiness.

We have all struggled with exercise motivation at some time or other in our lives. This is especially so if you don’t have much knowledge of healthy food, you may find yourself still asking why is physical fitness so important to us?

However, with correct knowledge and the help of a balanced diet you can improve both your general health and your fitness.

This article was brought to you in partnership with Real Subliminal. To find out how subliminals can help you to get fit, try the motivation to exercise subliminal messages. It contains powerful subliminal messages to boost your motivation and make you enjoy your exercise.

Home Fitness Workout: Keeping Yourself Fit While Dealing With Stress

amassc — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 17:52:26 +0000

Studies show that stress is connected with weight problems. A lot of people find comforts in food and eat too much when they are stressed out. If you are one of those people who eat when they are stressed out, you should cut that habit right away. Instead of eating to calm yourself, try getting into a home fitness workout program to relieve stress. According to experts, a simple home fitness workout program can do wonders for you. Pumping up a sweat when you get home after a very busy day will not only help calm your nerves and loosen up your muscles, it can also help you shed off those extra pounds!

Things To Consider Before Starting Your Home Fitness Workout Program

Before you start a home fitness workout program, you need to set a goal for yourself and stick to that goal. Having a goal is very important to keep you on tract. Make your goals reasonable and achievable. You may also set short term and long term goals for yourself. Your short term goals will help you small victories along the way and help you achieve your long term goals. For instance, you may set your short term goals on doing home fitness workout at least four times a week and your long term goals to doing home fitness exercise routine for six months.

Aside from setting goals for your home fitness workout, you need to set up a reward system for yourself for sticking with your home fitness workout program. Rewarding yourself for a job well done is very important. Just make sure that you do not reward yourself with food. Rewarding yourself with a piece of chocolate cake for sticking to your home fitness workout program for a week is an absolute "no-no". Instead of treating yourself to some food, try buying yourself a new blouse, shoes or anything in that direction.

Another thing that you need to consider before starting out on a home fitness workout program is to set your priorities. You need to put fitness as part of your top priorities always. Do not take things for granted. If your work schedule is tight, squeeze out a few minutes from that tight schedule to do some physical exercises. You need to keep your life balanced most of the time if you want to stay healthy and fit. Always remember that a sedentary life can get you into a lot of medical troubles later on.

Go here for more about home gym ideas and fitness training tips.

Home Fitness Exercise: Keeping Off Those Extra Pounds

amassc — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 17:52:25 +0000

Our diet and our lifestyle have made us vulnerable to weight problems these days. Our busy schedules often leave us no time to cook healthy food at home or take a few minutes to exercise daily. Unfortunately, the combination of bad food and less exercise can have some really serious effects in our bodies. After a few months of eating fast foods, most of us put on a lot of extra pounds that are hard to shake off. Fortunately, a home fitness exercise program and some high fiber food taken regularly can help us shed off a few extra pounds within just a short period of time. What is more interesting about the whole thing is that if we stick to our home fitness workout program and our high fiber diet, we may be able to keep the extra pounds from coming back.

Getting Into A Home Fitness Exercise Program

A simple home fitness exercise program will only take a few minutes to perform. According to experts, 15-20 minutes exercise daily will already make a lot of difference. If you are really serious about shedding off those extra pounds, you need to make little adjustments in your daily schedule. For instance, if you want to exercise before you leave for work, just set your alarm clock about 20 minutes earlier than your usual wake up time. With that 20 minutes head start, you can already do a lot of things. Besides, doing exercise in the morning can help you stay awake and active for most parts of the day. Moreover, according to experts, doing some exercises early in the morning will help improve your blood circulation to your brain so you will most likely be in top mental condition when you get to the office.

On the other hand, if you are not a morning person and you do not like the idea of starting your day with a home fitness exercise routine, you can do your workout after you get home from work. No, you are not too tired to workout after office hours. Unless your work involves manual activities, you will still have a lot of energies to spare for a home fitness exercise routine when you get home. Besides, doing some home fitness exercise routine a couple of hours before bed time will help you sleep better later on. Exercise is a very good stress buster and it helps you unwind after a very busy day at the office.

Go here for more about home gym ideas and fitness training tips.

Home Fitness Gym: Work Out At Home And Stay Fit

amassc — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 17:52:24 +0000

Are you one of those people who tend to gain weight easily? If you are one of those people who have weight problems, consider investing some money into a home fitness gym. No, those diet pills are not the answer to your weight problems. Although some diet pills will help you shed off a few pounds, it will not really give you that trim and fit look for long. After you stop taking the diet pills, you will most likely gain whatever pounds you have shed off and more. To stay healthy and fit most of the time, you need to exercise daily. Having a home fitness gym and a home fitness exercise program can greatly help you in that area.

Setting Up Your Home Fitness Gym

Setting up your own home fitness gym can be quite a challenge especially if you have limited space at home and you have limited budget. However, the good news is that with proper planning, you can get things organized at home in no time. For starters, take a closer look into your home. Take note of the amount of space that you can spare for your home fitness gym. No, you do not have to devote an entire room for your home fitness gym. You can just set aside a small space in the living room or somewhere else in the house as for your home fitness gym equipments.

To save space, buy home fitness equipments that are easy to store. There are plenty of exercise equipments that can be folded and stowed inside closets when not in use. These portable exercise equipments are very handy especially if you have limited space at home. These easy to store home fitness gym equipments are also idea if you have kids at home. Kids are naturally curious and they have the tendency to try new things. If you kids see some new gym equipment around the house, they may be tempted to give these things a try on their own. Storing your fitness equipments inside the closet after use can reduce the likelihood of accidents involving children and gym equipments at home.

How Much Money Should You Invest In Your Home Fitness Gym?

There are really no clear cut rules as to how much money you should spend on your home fitness gym equipments. Just remember to spend only what you can afford to. Set a budget, stick to that budget and things will be just fine.

Go here for more about home gym ideas and fitness training tips.

Home Fitness Exercise: How To Lose Weight Without Starving Yourself

amassc — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 17:52:24 +0000

Studies show that more and more women suffer from eating disorders these days. Experts believe that the rise in cases of eating disorders among women can be traced to media influence. Being thin is considered a standard for beauty and women are supposed to look at thin as those models strutting on the runaway to be considered as stunningly beautiful. Unfortunately, the whole idea of being thin and beautiful has sent thousands of women all over the country on a starvation diet. This really sad considering the fact that simple home fitness exercise programs and balanced diet are enough to keep a woman’s weight in check.

If you are one of those women who are desperately trying to lose weight, forget about starving yourself to lose a few pounds. Instead of going into that infamous starvation diet, try getting into a home fitness exercise program and stick with that program. To get you started in the right direction, here are some tips for you.

Drawing Up Your Home Fitness Exercise Program

You need to be scientific in your approach to a home fitness exercise program. You cannot just do some exercise at random. Although most types of home fitness exercises are good for the body, not all of them can really give you that nice shapely look. To get that nice shapely look, you need to target areas in your body when you do some exercise. This means that you need to know which parts of your body desperate need to shed off a few extra pounds and concentrate in that area. For instance, if you are packing a lot of extra weight around your tummy and hips, you need to come up with a home fitness exercise program that targets those areas.

Stick To Your Program

You need to stick your home fitness exercise program if you want to see some results. No, you cannot stop after doing exercises for a couple of weeks. Giving up too soon will only make matters worst for you. To help you stick to your exercise program, find an exercise buddy who can workout with you. Your spouse or you best friend will fit into this category. Working out with someone can be a lot of fun and you get to do some socializing while you try to shed off a few pounds. Just make sure that that person is also committed to the home fitness exercise program that you have or else that person will be the first to quite when the going gets rough.

Go here for more about home gym ideas and fitness training tips.

Home Fitness Machine: Staying Healthy And Fit Despite Your Busy Schedule

amassc — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 17:52:23 +0000

Just because you keep a very busy work schedule, that does not give you an excuse not to eat well and exercise everyday. Staying healthy and fit all the time should always be in your agenda. Always remember that if you are sick or if you energy levels are low, you will not function well at work. To stay healthy and fit all the time, you need to eat a balanced diet and exercise at least 30 minutes daily. No, you do not have to go to the gym to workout. If you invest in a home fitness machine, you can already do some exercises at home when you wake up in the morning or when you get home from work in the evening.

Things To Consider Before Getting Your Home Fitness Machine

Before you get some home fitness machines and set up your own home fitness gym, you need to ask a fitness instructor to create a program for you. No, it is not a good idea to just buy any home fitness machine. Forget about those advertisements that see on TV about certain types of home fitness machines. Although those home fitness machines that are being advertised on TV are useful to some people, they may not really be useful to you. Note that different people need different fitness programs so you need a program that suits your physical needs. Your exercise program should give you an idea as to how many minutes you need to exercise each day and what kind of home fitness machines you will use for that purpose. Moreover, it would be a good idea to have your fitness instructor with you during your first few exercise sessions just to make sure that you are doing everything right and to prevent some injuries.

Aside from asking a fitness instructor to come up with a fitness program for you, you also need to take to your doctor about your fitness plan especially if you have some pre-existing medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, heart ailments and the likes. Studies show that some types of exercises are not suitable for people who have pre-existing medical conditions so you have to be extra careful in this area. If you are planning have a diet that matches your exercise program, you should discuss your diet plan with your doctor too. Changes in your diet can have some serious effects on your body so make sure that you know what you are getting into.

Go here for more about home gym Ideas and fitness training tips.