Fit and Youthful Life

Guest Author: Dane Fletcher


As advanced bodybuilders approach a bodybuilding competition, cardio becomes more and more important. While there are always those blessed with spectacular genetics that don’t need to do any cardio, they are few and far between. The rest of us require 30 to 90 minutes, 5 or 6 days per week, in order to shed enough body fat for our muscles to look their best onstage. Calories can only be dropped so far if you wish to retain muscle mass. Supplements such as ECA (ephedrine/caffeine/aspirin stacks) help as well. But when it comes down to it, cardio is what sheds the body fat.

Cardio should be completed first thing in the morning, for up to 45 minutes. Doing it BEFORE eating any food will ensure the body uses stored body fat, not food in the body, for energy. Cardio should be performed at a moderate rate, limited to 70% heart rate capacity at the very highest. The bodybuilders should do up to 45 minutes of cardio maximum. After that, the body begins using muscle stores for energy, and the exercise quickly becomes very counterproductive. Remember – when the clock hits 45 minutes, walk away from the machine!

For those with slower metabolisms and higher bodyweights, a second round of cardio training might be required in the afternoon or evening, directly following training. This cardio session can last up to one hour. As it is done upon the completion of weight training, the body has likely utilized any food present during the weight training session. At this point, as no food is available, the body will use stored body fat for energy during this cardio session.

Advanced bodybuilders often engage in split weight training session as well. For example, the bodybuilder will train chest in the AM, then triceps in the PM. This kind of training allows the athlete to better isolate body parts and give each body part a better workout. At the same time, however, it does interfere with multiple cardio sessions. It’s very hard for the body to recover from two weight sessions and two cardio sessions in the same day. Bodybuilders in pre-contest mode would be best served by limiting weight-training sessions to one daily, when engaging in multiple daily cardio sessions.



Become Wrinkle Free NOW

Guest Author: Conor Kelly


There is no question that moderate aerobic exercise has a role to play in fat loss.  But as you progress into your program, cardio workouts can become a bit stale and time-consuming.  Heck, I know some regular exercisers who probably wouldn’t do cardio if they couldn’t watch “American Idol” while on the treadmill.  Now that’s fine, but if you want ongoing change you need to keep finding new ways to challenge your body.  A great way to do that is to use Interval Training in your fitness routine.

 

Interval training involves alternating periods of high intensity work with periods of  lower intensity “active recovery” (e.g. alternating running with walking).  This has several advantages.  First, the short duration “burst” during the high intensity phase stimulates muscle in a way which moderate, steady-pace cardio does not.  And, if you remember, last month we learned that the key to being able to burn more calories and fat around the clock, 24 hours a day, is to increase muscle.  Now if you’re thinking, “yeah, but didn’t he also say that high intensity cardio burns muscle tissue?” then you’re correct.  The key is short duration, explosive spurts.  Think of the physique of an elite sprinter vs. that of the marathon runner, and you’ll start to get the picture.

 

Aside from being muscle-producing, interval training also burns more total calories.  In fact, there is evidence to suggest that this effect continues up to 24 hours after an intense interval training workout.  This is most likely because your body expends more calories in recovering and repairing than it would for a less intense workout.  Thus, it is possible for you to get a very effective cardio session in a lot less time.  Great for those of us with hectic schedules!

 

Training with intervals is dynamic and challenging, which makes it a great deal more interesting than regular cardio.  You can alternate a minute of skipping rope with pedaling a stationary bike, weighted step-ups with walking on the treadmill, even jogging up and down the stairs of your house or building, alternated with periods of walking circles around your dining-room table!  There are so many possible variations. 

 

Alright, so know that you know why it works, you’re probably wondering, “how can I start incorporating interval training into my workouts?”  Well, I usually like to start clients off by doing intervals on a stationary or recumbent bike, because it’s simpler and there is less chance of injury.  At first, each interval should be a bit longer, and the “active recovery” phase should be longer than the “sprint,” say 3 minutes compared to 2 minutes of high intensity.  Try to use a perceived 80% effort for those two minutes, by the end of which your legs should be burning and you should have the feeling that you couldn’t keep going for very long.  Do this by increasing the resistance and the speed of pedaling.  Then, to get the most out your intervals, it’s important that you slow right down to a comfortable 30% output for the recovery phase.  Repeat this process 3-6 times initially, but don’t forget to warm-up 5-10 minutes first, and cool down for about 5 minutes afterwards.  The overall duration of your session should be between 15 and 35 minutes.

 

As you become more advanced, try to challenge yourself with shorter, more intense intervals, and equal periods of recovery.  Try 4-10 intervals of 45 seconds at 90% effort, alternated with 45 seconds at 30%, and vary the type of cardio as well.  As with anything type exercise, you will get maximum results if you start gradually and push yourself more and more as your strength and stamina improves. 

 

Also, the best time for you to interval train is probably immediately after your resistance training workout, but because it is relatively brief, you may find it quite suitable to perform this workout as your AM cardio, as long as you properly warm up first.

 

So here it is in a nutshell.  To make best use of interval training:

 

1.       Warm up for 5-10 minutes

2.       Alternate periods of 80% to 90% effort with periods of 30% effort, depending on your level

3.       Cool down for 5 minutes after

4.       Start with longer periods and progress to shorter ones

5.       As your strength and endurance improves, challenge yourself with different combinations, and more intense “bursts,” while simultaneously reducing rest periods

 

 

In recent years, a lot has been said for the effectiveness of interval training, and some even tout it as the fat loss solution.  But that is misleading, and while I do believe interval training has it’s place in your fitness program, it’s just one piece of the puzzle.  A puzzle which, I hope, is beginning to make more sense to you with each successive issue of this newsletter!  Together with cardiovascular exercise, the right nutrition and resistance training are the three synergistic elements that will allow to achieve all your fat loss and fitness goals. Good luck!

 

 



Health and Vitality Now

Guest Author: Ric Hawkins


You may have read about this recently, how resveratrol and weight loss are connected, and many companies are now touting it as the next big weight loss supplement, but is it true?

From my research I would have to say no, especially as no tests have been done on humans, only mice. However, even if it is not the next big thing, resveratrol and weight loss are connected it seems.

It appears that it can be an appetite suppresser, due to its high antioxidant content, and help to speed up your metabolism, burning off more calories. So it will go a little way to helping as part of a good dieting regime.

 How much resveratrol do you need to lose weight is what I see many people on the internet asking, and why there are many unscrupulous companies telling them they need 300mg or 500mg a day, just to sell them something.

It would be a shame if this amazing nutrient was given the wrong image, as it is currently being thought of as the most promising anti-aging compound ever found. Although relatively new on the scene, high hopes for cancer prevention, diabetes and even Alzheimer\’s are seen as its potential. So don\’t just think of resveratrol and weight loss, think instead of a longer healthier life.

So when people ask how much resveratrol do you need to lose weight, I say instead ask what else can this nutrient do for you!

The most beneficial way to take it is in the form of a multi supplement, combining it with other synergetic ingredients, as so greatly enhancing its powers.

For example resveratrol combines well with green tea extract, which is also known and proven to aid weight loss and also a powerful antioxidant itself. Taking these together with other nutrients would give you better results.

As I said earlier to the question how much resveratrol do you need to lose weight, it is not possible to answer and there really are no quick fixes. Changing your eating habits for the long term and regular exercise is the way most people are successful, resveratrol and weight loss are only a small part of the puzzle.

For example, more than 80% of people who go on a diet, after initially losing weight, end up putting back on more than they originally lost.

In conclusion then it seems that resveratrol and weight loss are connected, but only to a small extent, but that taking it as a multi-supplement can bring you many health benefits, and hopefully help you live a longer and healthier life than you otherwise would have.

If you would like to learn more about the synergistic products which I personally take, including resveratrol, why not visit my website.   

 

 

Guest Author: Terry Sandhu


ercise is always the first thing that omes to mind whenever anyone wants to lose weight.There is no doubt that by doing cardio,along with changes to your diet,you will get results.

Cardio exercise is basically any exercise that is going to raise your heart rate and force you to breathe harder for an extended period of time. Cardio exercise has many benefits apart from weight loss. Cardio will give you more stamina and more endurance. It will improve the health of your heart, and it will improve the ability of your lungs to the point where your body can receive more oxygen more easily.

The more oxygen you can get into your body, the more energy you will have. Cardio will also have a positive effect on your body’s abilities to cope with stress. Cardio exercise can be performed through various methods such as brisk walking, jogging, running, cycling, swimming, using a stepper and so on. The method will depend on your preference. While engaged in cardio exercise you will without doubt burn calories.However this will come to a halt shortly after finshing cardio.

There is another method of exercising that you should do along with cardio in your weight loss program, which will substantially increase your results. This method is to start weight training. Most of the population is unaware of how valuable training with weights can be when it comes to losing weight successfully. When you are weight training, your metabolism gets a huge boost. Not only does it burn calories while you are training, it continues to burn calories for many hours after you have stopped training.

As we get older we naturally start losing muscle and in later life this can cause problems with joints, bones and our abilities to lose weight. So it’s important that we do what we can not only to keep muscle but to increase it where we can. Weight training is not just about bodybuilding or power lifting. All types of athletes and sports people use weight training in their routines, and they are not all body builders and power lifters.

When you only do cardio, you will lose weight. Keep in mind that some of the weight that you lose will be muscle and not just fat. This is something that really needs to be avoided. The fact is that the more muscle you have on your body, the more calories you will burn. Your body requires many more calories to keep muscle on your body compared to what it takes to keep fat on your body. When you cut back on calories and start cardio, your body will try to get rid of muscle because it is calorie expensive. This will have a negative effect on your body when it comes to weight loss.

Weight training has many benefits and should be an important part of a weight loss program.

Weight training will make you stronger. It will allow your body to burn more calories. It will offset the natural muscle loss that comes with age. It will make you look better. It will protect your bones and joints. It will keep your body firm and toned. You will feel more confident within yourself.

Throughout time a strong physique has received respect.

As you can see weight loss is only one benefit you will receive from weight training. Everyone should have some sort of weight training routine in their exercise program because the benefits of it are too numerous to ignore.

Weight training doesn’t have to mean grunting and groaning in a gym. If you have not trained with weights before or haven’t trained for a long time then you can start with bodyweight exercise. Weight training is about pushing or pulling at a weight. Your body can act as this weight through exercises like push ups, free squats, crunches and pull ups. When you think you are ready for the next step,you can join a gym or buy your own weights,which are pretty cheap if you buy used ones. This will save you the time and membership fees of going to a gym. You can substantially increase your results with cardio and weight training.

Guest Author: Taylor Ryan


If you are doing the recommended 20 minutes of cardio a day then congratulations, but are you really getting the maximal results?

It is great if you can run straight for 20 minutes but this alone is not the best cardio workout you can get. It has been shown that interval training is key to increase cardiovascular workouts.

Interval training is a really easy concept but yet few serious workout ladies take advantage of it. The key is to increase and decrease intensity throughout the workouts. Hard to believe this is going to have your burning more calories?

Well believe it. The stress that going up and down puts on your body is really going to jump your cardio results up! The sudden burst your heart goes through when changing from a moderate intensity to a high intensity is really where the benefit of cardio interval workouts come from.

This sudden surge requires a ton of energy, so each time to decrease down a level and burst back up really revs up your workout.

So with that what is a great interval workout? Even though I mentioned running above that does not mean you have to interval train with running, chose what you like from biking, hiking, swimming, stair step, you name it.

When you first start the workout start at an easy level to start to get your heart rate up but where you are not uncomfortable.

After 3 minutes increase to a moderate level (it should be around a 5-7 on a scale of 1-10). You will feel the heart beating faster and your breathing picking up, but you are still feeling good about yourself.

After an additional 3-5 minutes rev it up to a level 8-10, where you are sprinting or going at it as best you can. Keep

This up for only 1-2 minutes before lowering back down to moderate level then easy level and work your way back up!

Keep going for a grand total of 20 minutes!

Remember not to exceed 20 minutes, there is no need this is all the time your body needs to give you heart healthy calorie burning benefits. After this time the body switches over its energy source from fat to protein (muscle).

And I know that there is no way you want to have your muscle stolen from you.

I find interval training to pass by much quicker than if I were just cruising at a nice 7 miles per hour. The change in pace keeps me from getting bored and I have a few great playlists just for my cardio workouts.

I also recommend have a workout partner. This training is not a breeze and it helps to have someone going through the same routine with you to keep you motivated throughout. I think staying at one pace is often the easiest choice for women and having someone with you keeps you from choosing the easiest way out.

So now is the time to get out there and get your heart pumping.

If you have hills where you live I promote hill intervals for an even more heart pumping workout.

Guest Author: The_Trainer


1. When you do weight training first, you have more energy and strength for that weight training.

I know cardio junkies won’t want to hear this, but intense, QUALITY weight training is actually MORE effective for fat loss than cardio training. Why the emphasis on quality? Well, if you go to the gym and just flail around with light weights for 30 minutes, it’s not really going to be very effective for fat loss.

However, if you really put some effort into it and train hard, the metabolic boost you get from weight training (in terms of not only calories burned while doing it but the increase in metabolism after AND the increase in muscle mass you get from weight training) is greater than the boost you get from cardio training. And, when compared to slow, long-duration cardio training, that boost is MUCH greater.

So by performing your weight training FIRST, while you’re fresh, you’re going to have more energy to put into it and you’re going to be stronger. This will increase metabolic and muscle mass stimulation and therefore overall fat loss. It’s a win-win situation!

That’s not to say you can’t do a couple of minutes of cardio as a general warm-up before starting into the weights…just don’t do an entire cardio session before weight training. Always keep in mind that the weight training is the REAL engine behind your fat loss efforts.

And if THAT isn’t enough to convince you to do cardio after weights, I’ve got another reason for you…

2. Performing weight training first decreases available blood sugar and puts the body in “fat burning” mode.

When you train with weights, you’re performing short, intense muscle contractions. Glucose (blood sugar) is the preferred fuel for driving these intense contractions. As you go through your workout, your body gradually uses up its readily-available supply of sugars and starts mobilizing fat for energy.

Here’s the key…mobilizing bodyfat for energy is a process that takes time. If you do your cardio first, your body will be initially working on that blood sugar before getting started on the bodyfat. By the time you’re done with cardio and move to weights, THAT is when you’re in the optimal fat-burning mode.

But the problem is, fat is NOT an efficient fuel for weight training. By doing cardio first, you use up all the “good” stuff for weight training and force your body to make do with a less powerful fuel source. Your weight training workouts will decrease in quality and your cardio efforts won’t be as effective for achieving fat-burning, which is your primary goal!

So basically, you’re shooting yourself in the foot TWICE!

Think of your body as a hybrid gas-electric car. This car uses gas to provide more power for acceleration and electricity to provide long-term power for maintaining speed.

Now think of blood sugar as gas and weight training as powerful acceleration. When you press the pedal (performing weight training), you’re going to get much better acceleration when you’re using the proper fuel (i.e. gas).

If you try and power the acceleration with electricity, you’ll go forward but not nearly as quickly as if you were using gas.

The bottom line is this…perform your weight training first so you use up the “fast” energy first. Then, by the time you hit the cardio, you’re ALREADY in fat-burning mode and every single second you’re doing that cardio is going to be burning more fat than if you did it first.

—

These two reasons apply no matter if you’re doing slower, long-duration cardio or high-intensity interval training (which I recommend). The key thing to keep in mind is that WEIGHT TRAINING is what’s going to help you change your body FAST…cardio is a useful tool for improving your results but it’s NOT what drives your fat-loss results.

And that being said, if you absolutely feel you MUST do your cardio first, I’m NOT going to tell you it’s the worst thing in the world…the fact that you’re doing SOMETHING trumps doing nothing ANY day of the week!

But if you’re looking for maximum impact for the time and effort you’re putting your training, DEFINITELY hit the weights first and cardio after.

If you’re interested in more articles and information on fat-loss, interval training and programs, check out the following links:

How To Lose Fat NOW

Gain Muscle & Loss Fat





Look 10 Years Younger

Guest Author: Gray Rollins


Regardless of your reasons for working out, you should add weight-training to your regimen as soon as you can. Too many people avoid weight training because they seem to believe that it’s only for bodybuilders, but nothing could be further from the truth.

The misperception that gaining muscular bulk is an automatic result of weight training makes most true bodybuilders laugh. In reality, bulking up takes a very specific method of weight training combined with a specific diet. Oh…and it takes an incredible amount of work.

If you don’t intentionally bust your butt with the intention of getting bulky, you’re not going to get bulky. That being said, why should weight training be added to your regimen? It doesn’t matter if you’re trying to slim down, tone up, or just get increase overall health, weight training will help you. Here’s how:

1. It Increases Your Metabolism

Increased metabolism gives you more energy on a daily basis, helps prevent you from getting fat, and helps boost your immune system. Weight training increases your metabolism by toning and building your muscles. Muscle is an extremely active bodily tissue and it burns through calories even when you sleep. A pound of muscle burns an average of 35 calories simply sustaining its own existence.

2. It Will Help Prevent Injuries

The majority of the most common injuries people sustain, outside of car accidents and other serious trauma, are caused by weak muscles. Weight training builds the strength of your muscles, which will help you keep from suffering injuries due to everyday activities. Back injuries, the most common serious non-trauma related injury in adults, are almost exclusively caused by weak back muscles.

3. It Helps Stave Of Aging Effects

A well-rounded weight training program helps maintain your flexibility, stamina and balance as well as lowering blood pressure and cholesterol. Studies are increasingly demonstrating that many of the things we have considered “part of the aging process” are, in fact, due to the decreased activity we tend to experience as we age. Weight training is extremely effective in helping to combat these effects.

4. It Makes You Sexier

While I’d like to imagine that everyone who works out is doing it to be healthier for themselves, the reality is that most people work out to maintain their attractiveness. Like it or not, we live in a society where having a toned body is sexier than either a fat body or a skinny body. Without weight-training, your exercise regimen will eliminate the fat, but you’ll also burn muscle and end up being skinny. If you’re looking to increase your appearance, weight training is really a must.

5. It Will Give You The Body You Want

I’m operating under the assumption that you’re not interested in having a fat and squishy body or you wouldn’t be reading this article. Regardless of the physique you’re striving for, weight training will help you get there. If you want to get big, using very heavy weights and doing short sets will build big and bulky muscles. If you want a toned body, lifting medium-to-heavy weights in longer sets will build longer and leaner muscles. Ladies, weight training will also help you get near-perfect symmetry and emphasize your natural curves.

Hopefully, I’ve helped eradicate whichever myths of weight training have been preventing you from taking up the practice. There really is no reason to exercise without a weight training regimen and, in many cases, you’re making it harder for you to reach whatever goal you have by avoiding it.

Guest Author: Dennis Carter


You will not get toned muscles only by lifting weights! Weight training fat loss is the thing which comes only after the time till you are eating lots of calories (and generally excess of calories). And even then the average women (for example) are not predisposed to have physically large toned muscles.

Today in this generation many body-builders are using much type of steroids, supplements, and pills. And many female bodybuilders take large units of male hormone. It is not true that you will get nice body from a typical steroids and pills you have to go for proper weight training and fat loss program.

Change your diet

When you decide to take weight loss training you choose to lose weight, many people only change their diet. Maybe some will know that with diet they should also go with good aerobic exercise. But too many people don’t know is that weight training also useful to fat loss. Muscle tissue burns fat, and the process of increasing muscle, large the rate at which the body can metabolize energy, and finally burn fat.

It is 100% true that just lifting a few weights by themselves will not give fat loss – but the combination of the right diet, exercise and weight training will give you the fantastic chance of getting your weight loss target .by proper weight training and fat loss program

Simple exercises will do!

Weight lifting and fat loss does not mean you have to go and join a gym! You need to understand what is nice and works for you. Weight lifting and fat loss can be done just by buying a few barbells and dumbbells and a bench. So simple it is no huge expenses of gym. There are, of course, gym machines there which will let you to perform another range of exercises.

You should aim to do your weight training and fat loss program 2-3 times per week. More than this is not suggested for beginners. There are a many types of books in market describing various weight routines – including tom venuto’s excellent e-book burn the fat. His program is all about diet and exercise for fat loss.

Tv- gives you lot of information

I’m sure each and everyone have seen that adds shown on tv exciting infomercials selling the latest abs machine. With a single machine, it shown that we can turn into a muscle-bound hunk (if you’re a man), or have a wonderfully sculpted and tanned body (if you’re a women). It feels like wonderful your dream come true. Well it is.

Abdominal exercises

But doing abdominal exercises will strengthen your stomach muscles, and can even build some small muscles. But if it is covered with fat, who will see that fabulous six-pack? So weight training fat loss program is necessary.

Abdominal machines cannot strengthen your thighs, give you big biceps, or burn all your excess tummy fat. However, increased lean muscle mass – leading to a fat-burning metabolism, healthy eating, aerobic exercise, and a variety of weight training fat loss – will help you lose.

Guest Author: Gen Wright


e like many people you are totally confused by all the exercise information and misinformation, fat loss hype, and supplement ads and fads you come across everyday both on the internet and in magazines. Or you could be following exercise or weight loss programs that give you little, if any results, and take up too much time from your busy schedule.

Well, you are not alone as there are millions of people around the world that are ready to give up on finding the right exercise and nutrition program for their goals and schedules (if they haven’t given up already). After being mislead by so called fitness experts that all they need to do is find “something they enjoy” and that will get them strong, fit and be able to lose weight. Yea right!

Let us take a look at the biggest time-robbing, money-wasting, ineffective exercise method that is supposed to help you lose fat although the awful truth is, it does not do this. Did you know that using long, slow, mind numbing; boring, steady-state cardio (walking, jogging, cycling etc) for fat burning might be the biggest weight loss scam of all time?

When asked to picture a typical “fat loss” workout, can you see yourself on the treadmill or “doing 20 minutes on the bike” and hating every second of it. That is why so many people give up so quickly, or don’t even bother to start in the first place. And did you know launching into a program of cardio type activity is the last place a beginner should start?

Because many beginners to fitness are often overweight, unconditioned and unprepared, excessive cardio only predisposes them to muscle and joint injuries, especially when doing repetitive activity on a daily basis. The problem is this type of activity only burns fuel (calories) during the exercise session and what is needed for fat loss is an increase in the fuel burnt every minute of the day 24/7. What happens after the exercise session is over is much more important than what happens during the session.

So, you may be asking, “What does work for fast and efficient fat loss”?

To lose fat, the first thing you need to do is speed up your metabolism (your body’s engine). If you have been living a no exercise lifestyle for some time it is likely you have lost some lean muscle mass. From the mid 20’s on this will happen if you are not strength training to keep your muscles in good working order.

To crank up your metabolic rate you will need to rebuild and tone up your muscles. Muscle is where the fat is burnt so this is the number one sure fire way to lose that body fat. Seek the help of a fitness professional to set up your program and teach you correct exercise technique.

You need to use the right exercises, perform them at the right intensity (degree of difficulty) and the right frequency. To get the best results you also need to have your program updated often and your progress monitored.

Instead of the long, slow, cardio type activity, perform 1-2 sessions of interval training each week. These are short bursts of activity alternated with longer rest periods. An example of this would be 10 seconds of all out sprinting followed by 30 seconds to one minute of walking. Repeat these intervals 8-12 times depending on current fitness level.

This type of metabolism boosting training means you can cut down on your workout time and get way better results.

So, if you have been spending precious time each week doing endless boring cardio type activity and are not getting the result you feel you should be getting for your time and effort try saying goodbye (and good riddance) to this type of activity altogether. Say hello to exercise that works which is strength/interval training and you can look forward to getting the results you wish for.