Fit and Youthful Life

Guest Author: Eddie Lomax


Cardio Interval Training can help you reach new cardiorespiratory endurance levels, burn more calories, increase speed, improve power and generally improve over-all fitness performance.

Cardio Interval Training is a series, or repeated segments, of intense activity, alternated with periods of recovery that can be either reduced activity or complete inactivity.

For example… you could run at a fast pace for a short distance and then rest for a certain time period before repeating, or you could run at a fast pace for a short distance and then reduce the intensity to a jog for a certain time period before repeating.

Dividing your workout into short, intense efforts permits you to perform a greater volume of work at high intensity.

For example… you could perform 10 sprints of 30 seconds at near maximum speed, whereas it would be impossible to maintain the same high speed continuously for 5 minutes.

As you can see Cardio Interval Training allows you to repeatedly reach and sustain a high level of intensity for a cumulative time that is greater than what you could achieve during continuous training with the same intensity.

Running was used above as an example only… You can use any method of metabolic conditioning training in the Cardio Interval Training format.

Other examples besides running are biking, swimming, jumping rope, calisthenics exercises, etc… even circuit weight training is a form of Cardio Interval Training.

Cardio Interval Training is an excellent training method to reap the benefits of anaerobic training… but Cardio Interval Training does not have to be exclusively high intensity, short duration.

The truth is… You should perform you Cardio Interval Training for high intensity, short duration, medium intensity, medium duration and low intensity, long duration.

Vary your Cardio Interval Training for the best results.

You can manipulate your Cardio Interval Training in 7 ways to effectively overload the aerobic and anaerobic energy pathways and promote improvement.

The 7 Ways to manipulate your Cardio Interval Training are…

The number of repetitions… How many intervals you perform.

The distance… Short, medium or long interval distances.

The active interval… How long you perform the interval.

The rest interval… How long you completely rest or reduce intensity between intervals.

The active – rest ratio… How long the active interval period is compared to the rest interval.

The overall workout distance… The total distance of all the interval series.

The frequency of workouts… How often you perform Cardio Interval Training.

Vary the methods, stresses and intensities of your Cardio Interval Training to get the best results.



Become Wrinkle Free NOW

Guest Author: Bertil Hjert


Yoga supplies are really important when it comes to practicing yoga. Yoga supplies help in focusing on your art well and also protect you from getting injured while practicing yoga.

Yoga is a specialized form of meditation. It works towards providing you the serenity that you actually require in order to keep stress away in this chaotic world.

When practicing yoga, it is important to relax as well as meditate with absolute comfort. No distraction should come your way if you want to enjoy the real benefits of this unique form of exercise. Hence, you need to follow certain guidelines when practicing yoga.

First and foremost, you should feel extremely comfortable in the position you are, in the clothes you are wearing and the place you are in at present. Second matter to take into consideration is sweat absorbance. Keep your body away from too much of sweat. You should have something that lets you absorb your sweat.

For fulfilling the above mentioned conditions, you must purchase some of the important yoga supplies. These supplies are widely available these days and extremely affordable.

You need to know the kind of yoga supplies you should purchase prior to setting out for accomplishing the task.

Here are certain yoga supplies you should focus on purchasing:

- Yoga mat

- Yoga footwear

- Sports Bra

- Yoga clothes

- Yoga music

- Yoga DVDs

Once you have a list of yoga supplies you need to purchase, it is time to choose the best of skippers that’s available. You should consider your own comfort level when purchasing yoga supplies.

When purchasing yoga supplies, you need to understand that comfort is the main consideration here. When choosing yoga clothes or yoga shoes, make sure that these are comfortable to wear.

The yoga clothes you purchase should let you move every joint of your body freely. Remember that while moving your body, you should not have any fear of hindering blood flow.

Loose clothing is a good option. However, it has a tendency to slide down when performing certain bending positions.

A good yoga clothing is one that provides you easy motion and capability to leave parts of the human body lift and move in varied positions and postures.

Remember that when performing yoga, you need to perform a lot of twisting and strengthening. Unfit clothes will prove to be a problem to you. The best choice would be elastic materials such as spandex. Pure cotton is also a great option.

Another thing that you need to consider when purchasing yoga supplies clothes is sweat absorbance factor. Make sure that you choose fabrics made of cotton that breathes and absorbs sweat easily.

Make sure that the clothes you purchase are of the right fit. This will ensure the best yoga experience to you.

Remember that in order to practice the best and benefit to a great degree, you must focus on purchasing the best of supply.

Keep all the above mentioned points in mind when purchasing yoga supplies.

Guest Author: Paul M. Jerard Jr.


Truthfully, there are no reasons why any of us cannot be, or do, what we want, as long as you are not hurting anyone. You should always strive to be the best you can be. However, you may find that many people create obstacles, in front of themselves, to avoid success.

This is truly ironic that we hold ourselves back from making achievements, and teaching Yoga is just one of many goals that are not fully realized. Below is a list of common reasons why many good Yoga practitioners do not pursue their goal of becoming a Yoga instructor.

“I am too old to teach Yoga.”

Actually, age is not a factor. There are many styles of Yoga; and the most common, outside of India, is Hatha Yoga and its many sub-styles. Although Hatha Yoga is the Union of physical mastery, it has many gentle and vigorous styles.

There is a need for mature, passionate, safety conscious, and gentle Yoga teachers. The world’s population is aging and Yoga students are living longer. Who would have thought that hospitals and religious centers would seek out Yoga teachers ten or twenty years ago?

Therefore, Yoga is becoming readily accepted by mainstream society and does not have to apply to any one particular religious group. Some of the old barriers that prevented the masses from being exposed to Yoga are gone.

“Dancers, Martial Artists, and Gymnasts perform better Yoga asanas than I can.”

Yoga is not dance, martial arts, or gymnastics. This is not to take away the importance of any of the above-mentioned arts. After all, I am a martial artist, and I was originally introduced to Yoga in a martial arts setting.

Being a little more flexible than the average person is a gift. However, it doesn’t serve as a top priority for teaching Yoga. The best Yoga teachers are those who can communicate, and those teachers usually have to struggle to excel at Yoga.

Yoga teachers who are naturally flexible think that everyone else should be, as well. This is not always the case, as there are skeletal limitations within some Yoga students. This is not to say that they cannot increase, or improve, their flexibility, but each person’s body is unique.

“Teaching Yoga costs too much money.”

This is true in some cases; however, you can shop around for the best course at the most affordable price. Some onsite Yoga training facilities have Seva Programs, where you can work for partial tuition. This is much like a college, where there are scholarships for students who perform tasks around the campus. There are also a variety of Yoga correspondence courses, which allow flexible study hours, little or no travel, and no extra expenses. My wellness center offers such a Yoga course, and we have interns and graduates worldwide.

“I only want to teach Yoga to a few students and I don’t want to go into the Yoga business.”

Many Yoga practitioners feel this way and that’s fine. This is not a problem because if you are teaching a few friends, as a hobby, it is not necessary to go through the certification process.

If your circle of friends starts to expand, it would be wise to get some type of liability coverage. There are a number of liability insurance programs to choose. You could purchase a sports, Yoga, or home liability policy to cover your specific needs.

You should also learn as much as you can about safety, anatomy, physiology, and kinesiology. The reason I mention this is so that you do not hurt your Yoga students. The compassion and knowledge to become a safe Yoga instructor is very important.

“I have a good paying job and teaching Yoga may not support my family.”

Like all start up small businesses Yoga cannot offer “instant bundles of cash.” You would want to build your business as an independent contractor first. In our Yoga teacher course, you will find 16 ways to grow your business, with little or no overhead. When you build up enough accounts, the decision, as to whether or not to open your own independent Yoga studio, will be clear.

This has been a radical job change for all of us, who go into teaching Yoga full time, but you do not have to take any sudden or financial risks. Growing your own Yoga business can start on a part time basis and later develop into full time, if you get the right guidance and take the proper steps.

Bear in mind that the business and marketing information in our Yoga course is current and “field tested.” This information is specific to Yoga instructors and contains successful methods used, with regard to return on investment.

Right now, there are a lot of Yoga studios that “flounder” economically, because the owners have insufficient business or marketing skills. Within this kind of climate, it is not hard to get your market share of Yoga students within your geographic area.

Lastly, there are so many reasons to avoid progress, you could create a book of excuses, but the reason to succeed at anything is your passion. If you are passionate, safe, and knowledgeable about Yoga, this is an excellent starting point for anyone who wants to become a Yoga teacher.

© Copyright 2005 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Guest Author: Alien


Yoga – Frequently Asked Questions and Answers



Today, everywhere, most of the young folks are practicing yoga to learn the ways to get relax from their everyday stress and depressions. They are gaining personal independence and developing their bodies’ flexibility. However, there are many questions that rise about yoga among yoga practitioners and others.

Question And Answers About Yoga and Health Benefits Of Yoga

What is yoga?

Yoga is an ancient philosophy that came from India that promotes personal health, grown and wellness and is also based on a harmonizing system of development for the body, mind, and spirit. So, yoga is an art that combines the body, the mind and the spirit.

The regular yoga practice will provide a sense of peace and healthy. The yoga practice will make your body strong and flexible. It also develops the functioning of the respiratory, circulatory, digestive, and hormonal systems. Yoga is about balance. It brings an emotional stability and calmness in the mind.

Yoga is not only for young people who are thin and flexible but also for all age groups. It is also not lying around a religion, relaxing, staring at a candle and breathing incense. Yoga needs a full concentration over the body and mind, focused breathing, regulation and discipline.

As a result of practicing yoga, there will be a greater unification of mind, body, and spirit and for yoga practice there will be no age limit. Anyone regardless of age, body type, experience, or physical capabilities can practice yoga.

Yoga poses increases suppleness, and keeps you fit through yoga exercises, stretches, and breathing techniques. Yoga also promotes mental intensification through individual’s patience, attentiveness, and dedication.

There are many types of yoga such as hatha based or alignment yoga that has been around for over 5000 years and gradually becoming popular, with several medical practitioners and therapists, as a treatment for a huge varieties of diseases.

The health benefits of yoga practice are numerous and it includes more suppleness and strength, improves cardiovascular health, overcomes and helps in healing several injuries, produces mental calmness and clarity, and also generates emotional balance in your body.

Yoga Practice for Enhancing Body and Mind

More significantly, yoga is considered as an all in one practice. There are many different types of yoga exercises and a variety of exercises with different health benefits of yoga.

These exercise choices can be stopped whenever you start practicing yoga.

* Weight training for strength

* Cardiovascular health through jogging or aerobics

* Tai Chi for increasing a sense of balance and synchronization

* Flexibility and strength can be increased with stretching exercises

* Meditation for peace of mind and relaxation

Yoga is above stretching and relaxation techniques, it’s the ideal challenge for body and mind.

Who should practice yoga?

Yoga can be practiced by anyone from the range of people who presently find no physical exercise at all to the range of Olympic athletes. People of all age groups can practice yoga. Knowing the effects of yoga on physical, mental and spiritual aspects, yoga is being practiced by millions of people all over the world.

Purna yoga also called integral yoga, is a careful alignment of your body while you hold poses, and directs to growth physically, emotionally, and mentally. In particular, yoga needs concentration, determination, and practice.

If your aim is to recuperate vigor, health, and feel stronger and younger, then assumes yoga as your exercise of choice. However, if you are in search of a quick fix or just temporary relief of the symptoms, then it is better to look at another form of exercise.

If you desire for a program that acquires more challenging as you move forward, that can begin despite of the condition your body is in, and if you are in search of a type of exercise that is balanced, then yoga may be the best for you.

After making yoga as a choice of exercise, you can start on the lookout for yoga classes, but it is more important for you to become familiar with the different types of yoga, so as to ask about the types of yoga you are interested in when you consult a yoga instructor.

Consider that there are numerous different types and styles of yoga that have been developed over the years. So, you can select your yoga practice according to your fitness level. Thus, the practice of yoga can assure you all the benefit from the discipline, breathing techniques and the physical exercise you get in yoga practices.

Guest Author: Lana Hawkins


The fastest way to build muscle is to have a weight training program that is designed exactly for your goals. If you are trying to build strength then high loads and small reps are best for a strength training routine. To advance your fitness and endurance, use smaller weights and many repetitions. Increasing muscle size is accomplished by using a weight that allows for about 7-12 reps. Know what you want to achieve before you begin a weight training program.

If you are just starting out it may take a gym session to evaluate your starting weights. The point is to be careful at the start so injuries don’t thwart your progress.

Your current fitness level will be a large factor in determining what weight you will start with. You’ll need to be able to just barely complete the repetition target at the weight you’ve chosen. For example, say your goal is to build muscle fast or body build. You have not worked out in decades and it is hard to lift a gallon of milk ten times. Start with fifteen pound weights. Can you make twelve reps easy? If you can’t do more than 5, you will need to choose a smaller weight. You want to totally fatigue your muscle so there’s nothing left at your specified rep count.

This is what happens. Your body is very adaptable and it has its current limits. You can only do what you do. Give your body a challenge and it will adapt. It will not build more muscle if it does not need to. Do more than you do now and you will improve. Your amazing body will adapt quickly and build muscle. It needs more muscle to lift the weight. Your weight training program allows your body to meet the new demands. If you can bump up the weight with your weight training program at a fairly fast pace and you’ll be able to build muscle fast. Do over do it or you will be sitting out and not build muscle at all.

Know your goals to establish the correct weight training program for you. Your weight training strategy will depend on if you want sheer strength, fitness and endurance, or well defined muscles. A weight training program to build muscle fast will have you tanking out after about seven to ten reps. Increase the weight when you can finish the set without fatigue.

Guest Author: Jay Franco


The history of yoga is believed to be as old as civilization. The prehistoric roots and its gradual evolution and development are testimony to this fact. Ancient yoga derived from Indian asceticism to uniting in the “cosmic one.” Yoga history could be traced in the Upanishads, Vedas and even in Brahmanas. The yoga history was also illustrated in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

 

How yoga derived its name?

The history of yoga is recorded in our scriptures and it’s continuously evolving in recent times. Though yoga has evolved with changes in techniques and methods but the essence and goal remains the same. The word yoga derived from Sanskrit word “Yuj”, meaning to “unite”.

 

History of yoga in Indus valley civilization-

The archeological excavations of ancient civilization shows that even before 3000 BC yoga had evolved. The artifacts and the “Yogi glyptic” are testimony to the fact. The various yoga postured relic’s depicts, some of the noteworthy yoga postures in them. 

 

History of yoga in Vedic period –

With evolution of Vedas the foundation of Hinduism was laid. The Vedas hold the ancient yogic teachings and hence is known as Vedic yoga. While some vague references of history of yoga could be found in the Vedas but practices could be found in the Brahmanas. The Rig Veda mentions yoga’s practice as yoga was essential with Vedic ritual. This dates back to 900 BC.

 

History of yoga in the Upanishads-

This period is also knows as pre-classical yoga period. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad makes the reference of yoga meditation and is clearly reflected in 900 BC to 400 BC. The Mahabharata and the Bhagavad-Gita (oldest Yoga scripture) shows the yoga history in 500 BC and 200 BC resp. Even in Buddhism, the importance of yoga meditation and various yoga postures have been mentioned. 

 

History of yoga in the Patanjali “Yoga Sutra’s”-

This period is also known as the Classical period of yoga. The main attempt of Patanjali was to define and normalize classical yoga form and is known as Patanjali eight fold path of yoga (Eight Limbs of Classical Yoga).

 

Post classical yoga-

Numerous sovereign yoga schools were developed during this period after the Yoga sutra period, hence the name Post classical yoga. The human body became filed of study along with the meditation which was missing is the previous years. A new system with numerous yoga exercises was developed. And thus Hatha yoga, Raj yoga and other branches emerged. 

 

Modern yoga and its history-

The Chicago summit and the famous lecture of Swami Vivekananda became a turning point with the introduction of Yoga to the Western world. Thus various yoga schools emerged and more and more people learnt this yogic form of exercise. 

 

Yoga today in modern world-

Yoga has gained immense popularity in recent years. Yoga has become a health movement. The westerner’s views and spirituality has changed a lot. Yoga’s has become a mandatory fitness regime. Yoga has evolved into more modern form like power yoga or Zen yoga.

Yoga has revealed through its long history. The vast oceans of Yogic literature and the motivation and drive makes all follow the true Yogic path.

Guest Author: Eddie Lomax


If you are one of the people who believe steady-state aerobic exercise is the only way to improve cardiorespiratory endurance and burn fat, you’re in for a treat. Bodyweight calisthenics are an excellent way to get a full body workout that includes the heart and lungs. I’ll show you how to use bodyweight exercise in a second, but first let’s talk a little about cardiorespiratory endurance.

Cardiorespiratory endurance is the level of ability your body has to gather, process, deliver and sustain oxygen to produce energy for use in physical activity. Basically, the respiratory system gathers and starts to process the oxygen. The cardiovascular system continues to process and distributes the oxygen. So, your cardiorespiratory endurance is the level of efficiency your heart and lungs have to sustain and deliver oxygen for energy.

So, when most people want to improve their endurance they do cardiorespiratory conditioning exercises (cardio) to improve endurance by “conditioning” the heart and lungs. Unfortunately, the form of cardiorespiratory conditioning usually takes the form of aerobic exercise. And bodyweight calisthenics are completely ignored! But the fact is, any activity can improve cardiorespiratory endurance if they are done properly, and bodyweight exercises and calisthenics are an excellent choice.

There is something important I should mention. The type of cardio conditioning you do improves over-all endurance. But, the increased endurance is most closely related to the activity used. This means if you ride an exercise bike, your cardiorespiratory endurance will primarily be improved for bike riding. This is fine if you ride a bike in your normal, everyday life. But this has limited application for most people who are involved in a wide variety of activities both in and out of the gym.

If, on the other hand, you use bodyweight calisthenics for your cardio conditioning, you are using a wide variety of movements and muscles. Bodyweight exercises and calisthenics more closely represent the movements of highly random movements encountered in sport, work and life. So, you could make a case that cardiorespiratory conditioning using bodyweight calisthenics is better for endurance improvement that can be used in and out of the gym.

Plus, bodyweight calisthenics use all the muscles in your body. Compare this to the predominately lower body exercises of jogging or riding a bike. So, using bodyweight exercises allow you to build a strong, lean physique while improving cardiorespiratory endurance and burning fat!

Just think about it. Let’s say you do a fast paced bodyweight workout consisting of a circuit of bodyweight exercises and calisthenics. You’ll simultaneously build strong muscles and burn fat while improving heart and lung function. You wouldn’t even have to do a long, slow aerobic workout to supplement your training.

I hope this article has opened you eyes to the wide variety of possibilities available to improve cardiorespiratory endurance. You don’t always have to do long-slow aerobic exercise. And the truth is, using other forms of training to simultaneously improve heart and lung power can prepare you better for the challenges of sport, work and life. Bodyweight calisthenics are an excellent choice for both building a strong, lean, athletic physique and building a strong heart and lungs.



Secret of Youth

Guest Author: Kyle Oxenham


Weight training is vital to your sports performance, because if you are matched with someone in skill, then it will take speed, power, and strength to defeat your opponent on the court, field or in the ring.

Some athletes even coaches and trainers get confused with the deference between,bodybuilding or muscle building vs. weight training for strength and power for specific sports.

For example having huge muscular legs does NOT mean you can jump very high, or run very fast; increased jumping ability comes from being able to lift with speed.

If the weight continues to increase and the speed stays the same, power and vertical jumping ability will increase only if you maintain your body weight.

When using weight lifting for sports the main goal is to improve and strengthen movements in your sport.

For example: If you want to run faster or jump higher, you need to perform compound exercises under resistance to mimic the same movement.

So if you do dead lifts, squats, power cleans,

snatches, clean and jerk, vertical jumps, depth jumps, lunges, calve raises, you will help target and strengthen the jumping muscles in you legs and some in your upper body.

Also when doing the specific movement or exercise don’t go past to point where the speed and power of the lift is reduced, wait till you are fully rested, and increase the weight and do the same, on your last set you can do multiple sets with minimal rest in between with the heaviest weight for at least 3-5 reps, or do an all out total reps for more muscles growth and absolute power or strength.

Next time you do these exercises try for an extra rep or 2 on you all out max set(s) or multiple power sets.

Record your workouts for total weight lifted and the amount of time you take to rest and complete a series of exercises or sets.

Specific Compound Exercises for Sports in General:

1. Bench Press: You may think this exercise targets only the chest, but when done correctly should be using you whole body to help stabilize and lift the weight, this includes feet position, should position, is your back arched or not?, and your elbow alignment, as well as grip placement, and path of your movement, and if you are bringing the bar to you nipple line or not, all these small things can make the difference of you benching 300lbs or not.

2. Squat: Again the squat targets most of your body, not just your legs. There are many variations of the squat.

For example, there is the traditional low or high squats, hack squats or 1/4 squats, scissor squats, sumo squats, squats with the weight extended above your head with increase you back strength and power, but use less weight to start.

NOTE: Technique is also vital to increased power and strength to the reach the very max!



How French Women Stay Young

Guest Author: Alien


Everyone have misconceptions about weight training programs that we all would end up having muscular bodies, especially women. They think that they would look bulky and lose smartness from their personality. But the fact is that weight training does not at all make the body muscular. It makes the person to burn the extra fat present in the body and makes the body fit and healthy. Weight training can be done by anyone irrespective of what age the person belongs to. People from all age groups, children, teenagers, adults and aged, everyone can do weight training. Weight training is equally beneficial for persons of all age groups equally if practiced with proper guidelines and a healthy diet.

A weight training diet plays a very important role in the maintenance of our body’s health during the training. People generally ask about what foods to eat for weight training so that they could keep the body’s health up to a maximum level. Mostly foods which help in burning fat are consumed during a weight training program. Some people avoid fat burning foods as they do not suit their body. Instead they prefer those foods which burn more calories than they produce. They’re often called negative calorie foods as they provide a negative value of calories to the body.

These foods require more number of calories from the body to get digested than the number of calories they produce to provide weight to our body. This eventually lowers the amount of calories present in the body with time and makes the person to lose weight effectively. The best part about these foods is that they do not different from all the other foods available. Some of these foods just taste great. They even taste better than the normal foods. These mainly comprise of various fruits and vegetables. A vast mixture of various vegetables and fruits comprise the weight training diet. Some of the fruits and vegetables included in the mixture are tomatoes, cucumbers, turnips, cress, spinach, fennels, carrots, gourd, broccoli, lettuce, radish, cabbage, chicory, hot peppers, cauliflower, celery, leek and asparagus. All these foods are eaten in their natural form and no cooking should be done to them at all. Cooking methods like boiling, frying, baking etc. would make them to lose the negative calorie effect present in them. They would not be able to help the body to lose weight in a natural way. Weight training diet are very important for weight losers.



How French Women Stay Young

Guest Author: prabakar


Normal 0

A resistance workout usually involves a number of different exercises often on weight machines that are designed for this purpose that focus on different muscle groups. Normally the exerciser does one to three sets of each exercise a set can be anywhere from eight to 15 repetitions and takes about one minute to complete. A typical session lasts about 30 minutes.

If you do two or three resistance workouts per week, you may notice an increase in the strength and size of the exercised muscles. These increases come from the enhancement of various chemical processes in the muscle cells. The greatest improvement will come in the first several months of regular training.

Regular weight training exercises can boost your cardiovascular health by improving your levels of high-density lipoprotein, or HDL good cholesterol. Resistance training can also have a beneficial effect on your body composition. Because muscles burn more calories than fat, a greater muscle mass will increase your metabolic rate, burn more calories and reduce fat tissue.

Resistance training stresses bones as well as muscles and helps increase bone mineral content and prevent osteoporosis. Most important for older people, resistance exercise is the best way to combat the gradual loss of muscle mass that occurs as we age beginning at age 35 or so. Studies have found that men and women in their 70s and 80s can dramatically improve their strength, mobility and agility with just 10 weeks of strength training. Many doctors now routinely prescribe two or three sessions of resistance exercise per week for their elderly patients.

Researchers have developed some evidence that indicates resistance training may be better than aerobic exercise alone for improving self-esteem and body image. One explanation for this improvement may be that the feedback from weight training is immediate. You can easily detect progress in muscle growth and improved muscle tone. For more details visit http://www.soundbodytrainer.com/



Longevity and Health Now