Fit and Youthful Life

Guest Author: Bishal Boro


The Weight training is a form of exercise where one is able to develop the skeletal muscle as well as the physical strength of his or her body. Millions of people all over the world choose to take care of their health and therefore, the weight training program is in immense height at the present time. The weight training program is the common sort of resistance exercise and can also be called as the strength or the power training. When it is accurately performed, weight training mainly provides up significant useful profit results and improvement in ones general health and well-being.

If one wants to lose and decrease fat or alter our body, the majority important things one can do is lifting the weights. The referred Diet and cardio given by the trainer and consultants are equally important for the weight training program, but while it comes to altering how ones body looks, the weight training wins hands along. If one hesitates to create a strength or power training program, it might motivate one to know that the lifting up of the weights can do that:

It is not that the weight training program are used for the weigh gain only, it is rather used as the weight loss program too also giving and providing strength to the body.

Well when Getting started with the strength training one may be very confusing—as of what exercises be supposed to do? What and How many reps and sets to be done? How a large amount weight should be put on? The schedule one chooses resolve to be based on ones fitness goal as well as the apparatus you have obtained and the point one have for workouts.

Some of the common weight training technique includes the method involving the lifting progressively elevating the quantity of weight. The Weight training uses a selection of exercises and diverse types of apparatus to aim the specific muscle group. The reimbursement of the weight training are much greater muscular strength, it helps in the increased endurance enhanced muscle tone and look, also improves cardiovascular fitness and mostly enhanced bone density.

The Weight training is mostly an anaerobic action, though some of the proponents have customized it to provide the recompense of the aerobic workout. The Weight training differs from the various weightlifting, power lifting, and bodybuilding; these are the sports rather than the form of work out. However, the Weight training is frequently a branch of those training regimen.

Guest Author: Gary Matthews


Ever wondered why most sports scientists agree that cardio-boxing is one of the best forms of exercise, well it is because it conditions the total body and provides a complete workout for your cardiovascular and endurance systems. Lets have a look at the benefits:

The major benefits of cardio-boxing include:

* Increased Stamina

* Increased Strength

* Increased Speed

* Increased Coordination

Cardio-boxing also promotes a person’s well being by strengthening their self-discipline and combined with strength training it’s well and truly the total package for self-defence and fitness and usually consists of:

* Adjusted heart rate work

* Actual boxing techniques

The usual workout consists of the age-adjusted heart rate work starting with 10 minutes for beginners and leading up to 20 minutes for the more advanced. For the second part of the workout, you’ll need to perform and practice 20 minutes of actual boxing techniques.

Cardio

The best way to measure the effects of an exercise program on your body is to check your pulse.

The easiest way to check the pulse is to place your index and middle fingers on your carotid artery or the wrist. Immediately after the exercise, count your pulse for 15 seconds and multiply by 4.

You can also check your pulse during the exercise but with safety as a first priority. To get a more precise reading of your pulse rate, purchase an electronic device from any sports store.

Now you have your exercising pulse rate or heartbeats per minute. We’ll be concentrating at the upper end of your pulse region: the 50% – 70% ranges.

To figure this out, deduct your age from 220. Suppose your age is 40, deduct this from 220 and you get 180.

50% of 180 is 90 beats a minute,

60% of 180 is 108 beats a minute,

70% of 180 is 126 beats a minute and so on.

Don’t jump into 70% work straight away. Start with 50% and slowly work your way up to the 70% upper limit.

Start with no more than 10 minutes, and work up to 20 minutes. Once you’re comfortable with working out for 20 minutes at 70% then try to increase the heart rate up to 80%.

Mix up your cardiovascular activities in the gym. Use the treadmill, skipping, rower, climber, and bike and other equipment that might be available to you.

Boxing

The boxing stance is the posture a boxer takes before and after every action depending on whether you are left or right handed. We’ll be dealing with the most common; right-handed. For left-handed people, just reverse the instructions.

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, with your left foot in front of your right foot. Your right heel should be slightly raised with your left foot flat on the floor and toes pointing ahead.

Bend your knees a little and balance your weight comfortably and evenly.

Place your elbows close to your body with your left fist held at head height and in a position that corresponds to your left foot.

The right fist should be at head height also and guarding the chin, with both elbows protecting your body and both fists protecting your chin.

This is your defensive and offensive position after throwing punches, so please practice this before going any further. When moving forward in this boxing stance the left foot moves forward first and then the right follows.

When moving back, the right moves back and then the left follows. When moving sideward to the right, the right foot moves first followed by the left. When moving sideward to the left, the left foot moves first followed by the right.

Practice this moving forward, back and sideward in the boxer’s stance until it is done smoothly and quickly. Remember to keep your guard up and elbows tucked in to your sides.

Keep your head at eye level with your upper body leaning forward slightly. In boxing it is important that punches are thrown quickly and then bought back quickly to assume a defensive posture.

Punching

A left jab has many uses, it can be used for both offensive and Defensive actions. From the set stance the left arm is pushed quickly and forcefully forward, the weight is shifted to the front foot. The fist moves in a straight line and straight back again for defence.

At the moment of impact the back of the hand and the lower arm are in a straight line. Keep the right fist in the defensive position and elbow tucked into the body during the movement.

The straight right is also known as the punching hand and can be thrown with considerable force. The arm moves straightforward from the chin, the body weight is shifted to the front foot with the ball of the foot of the back leg pushing into the floor for more power.

The back of the hand is straight and pointing up at the moment of impact. The arm is then immediately pulled back for protection after the hit.

The left hook to the head and body is an effective punch for closer range work. From the set stance turn your left shoulder quickly and move your elbow up to shoulder height. The fist moves in a circular motion to the target, with the elbow bent.

Rotate your hip and body whilst pressing your front left down keeping the back of your fist pointing up and in a straight line with the lower arm. The left hook to the body is similar to the above but increases the rotation of the body

The right uppercut is also carried out at close range. Drop the lower part of your punching arm until the lower and upper arm is at right angles to each other. The back of your hand should be pointing away from you, now thrust your arm forward and upward to your target.

Shift your body weight to your front leg and rotate your hip and shoulder on the same side. Remember to keep your left fist guarding your chin during the entire movement. Now practice all your punches until they are done quickly and smoothly.

To develop speed and endurance, try punching straight left and right combinations into the heavy bag.

The duration of the exercise period is the same as the rest period i.e. 10 seconds exercise, 10 seconds rest, 20 seconds exercise, 20 seconds rest, and so on. Move up higher as your condition improves.

Believe me after you start applying Cardio-Boxing to your regular fitness workouts your cardiovascular and endurance systems will thank you for it.

Guest Author: Robert Harden


xercisers know that there are two vital components to a successful fitness program. Number one, you want to build muscle by participating in weight training. Number two, you must keep your heart healthy with cardiovascular fitness activities, usually called “cardio.” Unfortunately, many people find cardio, specifically running, to be a difficult challenge. The solution to this is, quite simple; pick a new activity! Let us give you a few ideas on some good cardio workouts.

There are a lot more cardio activities than one might imagine. However, many people get trapped by the idea that a good cardio workout must include running. This is simply not true. There are literally hundreds of activities that can get your heart rate up and produce the unbelievable benefits that come with consistent cardio activity.

Guest Author: Greg Brookes


Copyright (c) 2007 Greg Brookes

Did you know that long steady cardio exercise, like running, has now been scientifically proven to be detrimental to your health? According to research by Dr. Al Sears all those long jogs can result in cardiac distress, a shrinking of the heart, a reduction in bone density (causing osteoporosis) and a general gain in fat once exercise ceases.

First, lets look at the distress that long steady distance running puts on your heart. Evolving from our hunter gatherer days we had no real necessity to run long distances, in fact the only running we ever did was in short bursts to avoid predators or to catch food. Our body simply isnt designed to run long distances and the stress you put your heart under during this time can set you up for a heart attack. Its a fact that many marathon runners do die of heart attacks.

Second, this type of cardio reduces the size of our heart rather than strengthening and increasing its size. Our body is a fantastic machine capable of adapting to anything with time; if we run long distances our body adapts to be more efficient at this activity. Fat is the preferred energy source from our body and so the more you train long distance the more efficient the heart becomes at using less fat. To be more efficient the heart will shrink in size, just like the engine in a scooter is more efficient than a 4×4.

Third, repetitive forces that are put through your joints like the ankles, knees, hips and back not only create repetitive injury but also reduce the bone density. Strength training is the key to improving bone density, keep the exercises short and with plenty of resistance. This type of training forces the bones to grow stronger, remember the body is a master adapter, so that next time you perform your strength exercises your bones are more capable of dealing with the strain. Long steady cardio puts your bones under undue distress and causes them to prematurely break down.

Finally, losing fat is about becoming less efficient with your fat energy supply so you use up more and produce less. Long steady cardio does use more fat than any other type of training during the exercise itself. However, as the body uses a lot of fat as energy it then turns all further calories into fat ready for the next long cardio session. This is fine when you are training regularly because you are burning the fat during exercise but as soon as you stop that extra fat is going to keep on being produced. Back to square one! So long cardio sessions are not good for fat loss in the long term.

So what is the answer? You must start training your heart like any other muscle in your body and in a way that it was designed to be used  short bouts of quick exercise with high exertion. This type of activity is exactly what we evolved to do, think back to our hunter gatherer days. As I said earlier, our body is a master adapter and hard short bouts of exercise will induce an increase in heart strength and size. Also, as our body no longer requires the excess body fat to fuel our runs it will be used as energy for long term body maintenance. Combine this type of quick activity with some strength training and you are well on your way to better health and fitness.

Guest Author: peterhutch


Cardio exercises are the best way to increase your heart rate and metabolism and if you train using intervals, you can keep your body burning fat even hours after finishing your workout. These exercises are one third of the factors to have a flat stomach (the others being strength training with stomach exercises and dieting).

The reality is, there actually is no number 1 cardio exercise. The most beneficial activity is the one you will do regularly. Therefore, finding out something you like is vital to accomplishing your weight loss dreams. That said, some workouts offer more intensity than others.

Cardio exercises are most important for anyone who is looking to pick up an exercise routine. Especially for a beginner exercises are most important as it will help to develop the stamina and the resistance that are required for other exercisers. The cardio exercises strengthen the muscles of the heart and of the lungs and make them more beneficial.

Cardio exercises may seem tough and boring. Some treadmills and stair climbers may claim to help you burn 1000 calories per hour, but you may not survive more than 30 seconds on them. Start with the activity which you can continue for a longer time period. Number of calories depends on your heart rate and fitness. A beginner will be able to burn 4-5 calories per minute but a fit person will burn 10-12 calories per minute. There are slow cardio exercises and high intensity cardio exercises and both burn your calories effectively.

It depends upon how fast you want results- Some cardio exercises are high intensity which would bring you faster results as compared to other cardio exercises. For example cardio dancing would provide you with a high intensity strong workout as compared to plain jogging. Therefore if you want fast results and are willing to put in the energy you must go for high intensity workouts.

There are a number of cardio exercises that are meant for the beginners. It depends on the person that which ones he want to perform and which ones are suitable for him. Cycling, running, swimming, aerobics, rowing, stair climbing and walking can be good examples of cardio exercises.

Those who spend longer hours will likely to burn more fat than those who stay for only 30 minutes of cardio exercises. The 10 common fat burning cardio exercises stated in this item have one common goal: to break down body fat and strengthen heart. Pick one that suits your capacity and body type.

A great way to get the best of both worlds, is to add some high-intensity interval training to your cardio workout. For example, do your low-intensity walking for about five minutes, next go into a higher-intensity jog for the next five minutes. Then return to walking until you catch your breath. Now break into a sprint for about a minutes and then walk again. Continue alternating between walking and running until the end of your workout, or for about 15 minutes.

Guest Author: Alien


Weight training is a type of strength training that enable the person to develop good muscles. This is regarded as the number one athletic activity that is used too build muscle, lose fat and also get a fit body. There are various equipments that are used in the process of weight lifting and this includes bars and collars, weight racks, dumbbells and other weight lifting accessories as well. Different types of equipments are used to build up different muscles. Weight training is helpful in both the ways as for example the skinny persons can get muscles while the fatty people can loose fat and get a fit body.

Difference between weight training and strength training

Weight training has no resemblances with bodybuilding, power lifting or weight lifting. These are all different types of exercises but weight training is the part of training, which is usually recommended for athletes. But weight training has the remarkable similarities with strength training where in both the cases same exercise steps are followed as tempo, reps or sets, etc. Both of them help in increasing strength but these two also differs a lot. Strength training actually includes all types of exercises that involves in increasing muscle strength while weight training is only one type of strength training.

The movement in weight training takes an important part. If the movement is slow while doing weight training, it can be considered as the most dependable types of exercise. But if it is done in a wrong or improper way it can cause injury to the person. So it is advisable that the beginners should always take care about the speed and only concentrates on slow movement. The individual should also take care that they are getting any professional’s assistance to avoid the mishaps or accidents. Before starting any weight training the person should consult a doctor to know that whether he or she is able to do the exercise or not. If the person were unable, the doctor would prescribe any strength training as ideal for the situation.

Weight training is preceded by twenty minutes aerobic exercises, after which the muscle of the person gets stretched and he is ready for the weight training. The exercise should continue in the same pace and that too in a controlled manner otherwise some disaster will happen and it can be resulted into damaged muscle. There should also be rest period between each ad every weight trainings as well.



Mother Nature’s Magic Pill

Guest Author: Mike Geary


Below is an interview about cardio workouts done by Craig Ballantyne. This presents a great example of how cardio workouts are typically misused by exercise enthusiasts in their attempts to lose body fat. You’ll never get those six pack abs if all you keep doing are the same boring cardio routines over and over. Expand your thinking, and shrink your waistline!

Everybody assumes that you must do endless hours of cardio workouts to get ripped six pack abs. But this is simply not true. In fact, if you quit wasting so much time with boring slow cardio routines and change your workouts much more strategically, you will get those six pack abs much faster than you thought was possible!

Let’s look into how one female cardio workout fanatic finally lost her excess belly fat and revealed her six pack abs with the help of the innovative Turbulence-Training workouts!

Craig: C-J, let’s start with a bit of background on yourself and what your goals were when you discovered interval-training and strength training.

C-J:

Ok, I’m a female in my middle 30’s and your typical office professional who spends many long hours in front of the computer.

With regards to fitness and nutrition, I grew up realizing the importance of being active and staying healthy. So while I’ve stayed active for most of my life, I recently realized that I still had a lot to learn about both training and nutrition.

When I first discovered the Turbulence-Training Workouts, I was looking for an improvement in body composition. I had been introduced to weight training a year or so earlier and had made some really good progress, but had gone past that “new stimulus” effect, and really needed something different to kick my results up again and break the plateau.

Craig: How were you doing before?

C-J:

Well, during grad school and working full-time I let my fitness slip for the days and evenings tied to a computer, and the joys of eating at restaurants once or twice a day. I had gained about twenty pounds and was at my heaviest weight ever at about 160 pounds. Once I finished night school, I added exercise and nutrition back to my priority list and lost those twenty pounds, mostly from running five days a week.

The 2nd stage started when I discovered weight training. I was at about 142 pounds at the time and about 28% body fat. After about six months I lost another 8-10 pounds and 7% body fat.

So when I started the Turbulence-Training program, I had already made decent progress as I was down to about 133 pounds and 21-22% bodyfat.

Craig: What were your workouts like before Turbulence Training? Why did they not work as well? How have you since improved upon those workouts?

C-J:

Before Turbulence Training, I was a “same-pace” cardio fanatic, and I ran 3-5 miles three times a week and strength trained using a four day body part split routine. This plan worked ok for about six months or so, but then I just stalled out and the plateau set in. I’m not exactly sure what the culprit was, but I just knew that I needed a different type of workout program to try.

So when I first started strength training and interval workouts I was skeptical that such a short workout only three times per week would be good enough. I soon realized that strength training and intervals kept the intensity levels higher during EVERY workout, so the 3 days and 2 super sets were actually much more efficient than my four day body part split and three days of running. I also got on an interval training program and reduced my slower “same pace” cardio runs to about one day a week.

Craig: How have the interval workouts and strength training helped you improve your shape? What benefits and results have you achieved? What are your improvements compared to your before stats?

C-J:

I am definitely stronger, leaner, and faster than before.

Strength wise, I can finally do chin-ups and pull-ups, something I’ve always wanted to be able to achieve. I have also improved my 5k time by two minutes. I also finally have the muscle tone and athletic body shape that I have always wanted.

When compared to my before stats, I have had to throw the scales out the window and use the mirror and compliments I’ve received as my guide since I have gained a few pounds of lean (but sexy) muscle so the scale weight hasn’t changed much even though my body composition has improved. Also, my clothes have gotten looser and smaller and I’m also making fairly significant strength and speed gains. I can also actually see a visible six pack of abs now, which has always eluded me!

Craig: How do you feel in terms of energy and strength?

C-J:

My strength gains are most exciting to me, since I typically have high energy/endurance. I particularly like how my strength gains have transferred to improved running and biking.

The amount I can lift in the gym just sort of evolves, but when I can climb hills on my bike that I used to be foreced to walk, and finish 5k runs in times that were once way out of my reach, it feels pretty damn good!

Craig: What features do you like about TT-style strength and intervals?

C-J:

It is fun, time efficient, and intense. Plus it works like crazy! When I am in the gym, I know that I am making the most efficient use of my time.

Craig: Did you change your eating plan with the guidelines?

C-J:

Not a whole lot, but some. I was on a pretty good eating plan when I started TT strength and intervals, but I am constantly learning about making better food choices and looking to change things slightly here and there. Incorporating a post-workout recovery shake and getting as much variety as possible have been the biggest changes in my nutrition habits since I started the program.

Craig: What would you say to others that ask you about your workouts? Do you get a lot of comments from people?

C-J:

When people ask me about my workouts, I try to hold back some excitement so I don’t come off as a wild fanatic and overwhelm them.

I have had quite a few comments from others in my gym, either noticing how hard and smart that I am working out, or complimenting me on my progress. One woman even pointed me out and said “I want thighs like that!” to her friend. How cool is that!

It is always enjoyable to see friends or family or even co-workers that I haven’t seen in a while because they always remind me of the great progress I have made. It’s also exciting that I can show off my flat stomach now too with the sexy little six pack!

The best compliment I get now is in the form of imitation. Others want to know exactly what I do and ask me for tips to help them. They see that it works, want to know how I have done it, so they can try to apply it to themselves.

Craig: Thanks C-J! Keep up the great work with your time-saving Turbulence Training fat-loss workouts.

See below for a special free report on more effective cardio workout alternatives that will have you losing body fat much faster from now on.



Instant Skin Tightener

Guest Author: Mike Parker


Basic weight training is a common type of strength training used for developing the strength and size of your skeletal muscles. A point to remember is that weight training differs from bodybuilding, weightlifting, powerlifting and strongman, which are sports rather than forms of exercise. It is often part of the all the above and many other sports training programs.

If you want to lose fat or change your body shape and size basic weight training can do the trick for you. Aerobic exercises, diet are all important but they don’t really help you lose weight like basic weight training can. When you lift weight you build muscles. Muscles need a lot of energy and so they burn a lot more calories helping you lose the weight.

Diet and cardio are equally important, but when it comes to changing how your body looks, basic weight training can do wonders. It won’t build huge muscles that they show in ads and bodybuilding magazines.

Those kinds of muscles require dedicated workout lasting hours with special diets and supplements. It will build enough muscle to help you burn off the excess calories and keep you toned and fit. Many people fear training with weights believing they will turn into the monstrous muscled men and women shown on TV and magazine ads.

There are many advantages to basic weight training. It helps increase your metabolism as muscles burn more calories than fat. So, the more muscle you have, the more calories you’ll burn all day long and lose weight faster.

It makes bones strong which is especially important for women, as they are more prone to osteoporosis in the later stages of their life. It makes your muscles stronger and helps build muscle endurance so you can do heavier work longer.

Also, you can avoid injuries to your muscles when you lift weights. It strengthens your muscles and makes your muscles supple and flexible which helps avoid injuries during day-to-day activities.

Well-toned and muscled body adds to your confidence and self-esteem. Your body posture, balance and coordination will improve.

Before you start learn the essentials from a well-trained teacher, get advice and tips from others doing similar programs. Set goals for your training program. Do not over train as it can cause injury and damage to your body. Adequate rest and diet are important to help your muscles grow.

Follow the principles outlined by your fitness instructor and you should do just fine in your basic weight training program.