Fit and Youthful Life

Guest Author: Tony Schwartz


Everything that is done repeatedly causes adaptations in the body. This is why we exercise with weights. After performing a sufficient amount of strength training our body adapts in several ways, one of which is bigger and stronger muscles. However, some of the potentially negative adaptations that occur in the body have not been addressed in the mainstream bodybuilding publications. Below you will find out just what negative things strength training is doing to your body, and how a simple cardiovascular training protocol can help to mitigate these effects.

When you lift weights blood is pumped to your muscles to bring nutrients and flush out waste products. This helps to improve endurance during your sets. Over time your body gets better and better at pumping blood to your muscles. One of the main adaptations in your body that occurs to facilitate better blood flow is a thickening of the left ventricular wall of your heart. This thickening allows for more blood flow during those heavy sets, but it also has negative affects on your health. Thickening of the left ventricular wall causes blood to be pumped from the heart more forcefully. The blood vessels respond by becoming more rigid to withstand this pressure. The blood vessels can also develop small tears which become inflamed. This is where atherosclerotic plaque can begin to build up. All of these things lead to an unhealthy cardiovascular system that is at risk for a heart attack.

One of the other things that happens during weight training is the activation of the sympathetic branch of the nervous system. This is typically known as the “fight or flight” branch. When the sympathetic branch is activated it causes a release of the chemicals epinephrine and nor-epinephrine, which are commonly referred to as adrenaline. These chemicals can greatly enhance your strength. However, if you are constantly calling on the sympathetic branch of your nervous system it adapts by becoming more easily activated or by staying activated. This leads to what is known as “sympathetic dominance.” This essentially puts your body into “fight or flight” mode all of the time. As you may guess, this is very stressful on all of the body’s systems and not conducive to recovery from exercise.

So how do we correct these two issues? Well, there are many different corrective methods out there, and not all people will respond the same to any one method. However, in my work with professional athletes I found that one of the simplest methods is also one of the most effective. This method is simple cardiovascular exercise.

Everyone has heard about the health benefits of cardiovascular exercise. Many people also use cardiovascular exercise for fat loss (even though this is not the quickest method for fat loss).

However, most of us who are serious about weight training have heard at one time or another that cardiovascular exercise is actually detrimental to muscle and strength gains. While this is true with certain types of cardiovascular exercise, it is completely incorrect for other types. However, many lifters have adopted a negative view of cardio and hence neglect to incorporate it into their programs for fear of losing muscle. With this in mind, let’s look at how performing cardio can actually increase your strength and muscle gains, much more than weight training alone.

As mentioned above, two of the unhealthy adaptations that occur from prolonged strength training are:

1. Thickening of the left ventricular wall of the heart

2. Sympathetic dominance in the nervous system

Low-intensity cardiovascular exercise can correct both of these issues. By activating the parasympathetic branch (the rest and relaxation branch) of the nervous system, the sympathetic branch’s influence is diminished and the body is shifted to a state in which it can begin recovery. Low-intensity cardio also helps to stretch the left ventricular wall of the heart which makes the wall more pliable over time. This allows better blood flow to all of the body while at rest. Blood flow to the muscles is a huge component of recovery, and this is an easy way to promote it. To receive these benefits the key is the intensity and duration of the cardiovascular exercise.

The protocol is simple:

2-3 times per week, 45-60 minutes, heart rate of 120-130 bpm

This means that you can pick any exercise you want: treadmill, bike, elliptical, stairs, etc. Most people find all of these options boring, so I would recommend some other activity (walking outside, shooting hoops, playing with your kids, etc.). The only requirement is that you do it for at least 45 minutes and that your heart rate stays between 120 and 130 beats per minute (bpm) the whole time. What you don’t want is an activity where you have to sprint hard and then rest. This causes the heart rate to increase quickly and then slow down again. This type of training is similar to weight training and will only make recovery more difficult.

What you want is very low intensity cardio. This will not eat up muscle glycogen or harm your ability to gain muscle mass. To the contrary, it will stimulate the parasympathetic branch of the nervous system and improve blood flow to your damaged muscle fibers. This helps you to not only recover more quickly between training sessions, but between sets as well.

Remember that training hard is only half the battle. The limiting factor for muscle growth is the ability to recover between training sessions. Using effective strategies like low-intensity cardio to enhance your recovery will help your muscle gains skyrocket!



Health and Vitality Now

Guest Author: Liam Murphy


Now before anyone gets any misconceptions about this article, light weight training here refers to natural resistance training or adding impact training to various cardio vascular and aerobic exercises. There is no true definition for the term ‘light weight’ in the realm of fitness, and the weights for you to use should be directly proportional to your body weight, and also dependant on what you wish to achieve. Light weight training is not for people who wish to bulk up and build muscle mass like a bodybuilder. It is for the man or woman who’s looking to stay toned, burn fat, build lean muscle and to basically stay in shape. Light weight training is also great for people who wish to work on improving their blood circulation and enhancing their cardiovascular capabilities.

Now, the most important thing anyone needs to know is how to effectively use light weight training in the time that they have, and people would be surprised to know that the internet has many depositories of information that can help anyone get better gains and maximise their workout gains.

Online videos are free and there is a factor of replay-ability in the mix. With more than a thousand fitness topics catered to online, light weight training and low impact aerobics workout and how to do them at home. While on one side of the fence are those who advocate heavy reps for muscle building, we have to cater to women and men who want to define another look for themselves. The home can be a gym as well and an online video can be the perfect instructor. Look out for videos that have tagged on them low impact cardio workouts using resistance, because this is what you are looking for.

The equipment that you need is pretty minimal. If you are not a gym user and prefer to workout in the comfort of your home, then all you need is some resistance bands, some light weight dumbbells and some proper loose attire. More than likely you will be shown videos of the new age type of workouts, combining martial arts, dance, aerobics and resistance training to give an entire package of lean muscle building, calorie-destroying, body-chiseling workout. I highly recommend these videos, especially those which are credible and can be trusted because there is so much innovation all over the world and they are on the cutting edge of physical training.

They will point out common mistakes and ease you into a customised journey depending on your level of experience. Find out why your progress has halted and find out how to jump start a lagging body part or why the fat around your stomach hasn’t budged since Christmas last year. Find out the right time of when you should be having your workouts and how to effectively use light weight training techniques as a complement to an aerobic approach. Online training videos are the salvation to the busy and those who cannot afford expensive gym memberships. Light weight training can build a chiseled physique – you just have to know how.



The French Women’s Beauty Secret

Guest Author: Francesco Castano


Bodybuilders seeking maximum muscle building frequently focus upon range of motion when aiming to intensify a workout, with some reducing the distance between reps in order to use more weight, while other bodybuilders focus upon the widest range of motion in order to recruit the greatest number of muscle fibers for each weight lifting workout set. Obviously, the disparity between these two philosophies leaves most bodybuilders wondering which technique is more effective, and many, due to articles espousing the virtues of full range bodybuilding form, gravitate towards a full range of motion, believing that they will produce superior muscle gain.

This concept is perfectly acceptable when using lighter weights and higher reps for muscle stimulation, as the joint and tendon stress is minimal, and therefore bringing a muscle through a longer distance each rep will not result in adverse consequences. Yet, for bodybuilders who are aiming for maximum muscle gain, and decide to cycle low reps and heavy weight with higher rep workout sessions, full range of motion for certain exercises can actually increase the risk for injury and discomfort, especially in relation to joints, which experience greater strain when they are placed under heavy stress in a full range of motion environment.

During low rep, high weight lifting sessions, range of motion is best reduced, but not to the point where many bodybuilders gravitate towards, as for example, a 50% decline in range of motion will bring about far less muscle gain, and actually cause instability in muscles which can result in future serious injuries, including muscle tears. The best method at reducing the risk of joint discomfort when performing heavier, lower rep weight lifting workout sessions is to trim range of motion slightly at the point of complete muscle contraction, which means, for example, avoiding full lock out of the knees during squat, and the elbows during the triceps pushdown, as to reduce the impact on joints when using extremely heavy weights. This leads to a slight decline in standard range of motion of about 10%, while still offering complete muscle stimulation.

Many bodybuilders are under the impression that altering squat range of motion at the bottom of each rep will reduce the impact of knee injuries, but this is a misconception, as full form squat, where you lower the weight as far as possible, is more effective at building lower body muscle mass, and brings about stability in the legs that will not occur when significantly reducing range of motion. The reason many experience knee pain during squatting is not because of excessive range of motion, but rather poor form which places unnecessary stress upon the knee joint, as the squat and deadlift are two weight training exercises where form is especially difficult and crucial to the safety of each rep, and far too many bodybuilders aim to reduce rep range during squats as opposed to solving the true cause of knee discomfort, which is incorrect form.

The same concept applies to elbow pain during bench pressing, as muscles have been designed to work together in systematic fashion, and when a link in the chain begins to function in a way that was not intended, other muscles attempt to compensate in an unnatural way, and before long, joints are inflamed, and muscles begin to experience frequent injury. Therefore, in addition to avoiding complete lockout on weight lifting exercises such as bench press and squat, if you are suffering from joint discomfort, you should make an effort to analyze weight lifting workout form on all exercises to determine whether your body is performing each rep correctly, making any adjustments as necessary.

Those bodybuilders who attempt to rectify joint discomfort by greatly reducing weight lifting exercise range of motion are simply mortgaging their long term well being, as muscles that are not conditioned to perform in their natural strength curve will eventually create instability in the tendon and joint regions, which will increase the risk for serious future muscle injuries and prolonged discomfort. Although reducing exercise range of motion increases the amount of weight used in each lifting movement dramatically, such artificial improvements do not lead to extra muscle gains, but rather reduce the necessary stimulation for long term muscle growth.

Guest Author: Mike Schlacter


Golf weight training is not the same as the weight training that body builders undertake. Fitness and weight training in golf is designed to increase flexibility in your muscles.

A golf swing uses all of the muscles in your arms, shoulders and neck and when these are strengthened it is much easier to improve your swing and your game in general. When you talk about weight training in connection with golf training you are really talking about improving your strength and flexibility, not your body mass. Golf weight training involves certain exercises and routines that specially designed to help improve your fitness and your game.

Not all routines will suit every golfer as everyone is an individual, however each individual will need to incorporate exercises that include all of their muscles. A golf swing is a full body movement and this means that golf weight training needs to incorporate exercises that take account of this. Many golf fitness programs are designed with the golf swing in mind and this demands a specific set of muscle strengthening exercises, which are quite different from some of the exercises that body builders use.

Although heavy weights and weight lifting are not designed for golfing exercises a set of light dumb bells can be very useful. These can be used to help strengthen the muscles in your arms and your legs. Holding a dumbbell in each hand while flexing your knees can be a very useful aspect of golf weight training and there is a big difference in this type of exercise and the exercises that body builders might engage in. Dumbells can also be used in an up and down movement as this helps to strengthen the muscles in your arms – they are also useful as a form of resistance when you are doing your golf stretching exercises.

When golfers use both weight training and stretching exercises as part of their golf fitness regime then there is soon a noticeable improvement in their game, particularly their golf swing and their drive. The whole idea of a golf weight training program is for golfers to get themselves in shape so that they play a better game. If you want a longer drive each time that you hit the ball then you need more power, this power comes from the training and stretching exercises that you do to make yourself fit for playing golf. When you undertake golf fitness training it means that you are working on specific groups of muscles to increase their strength and their flexibility.

If your wrists are one of the weaker areas of your body then you need to concentrate on exercises that are designed to increase the flexibility in those joints and strengthen the muscles. Golfers who want to improve the distance of their drive need defined muscles and a well toned body, one way of achieving this is by getting involved in specific weight training exercises that are designed for golfers. When you work regularly on these specific exercises you will soon see the results in your golf swing and the length of your drive.



Mother Nature’s Magic Pill

Guest Author: Isabel Curini


Technique in weight training is very important for achieving the expected progress, but also for protecting the body of the sportsman. The first important thing is to learn correctly the basic movements.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Guest Author: John Howard


Body building is without a shadow of a doubt one of the most common interests among men these days. Body building is not just about building your body so that it looks good with well toned muscles, but also keeping you very healthy through the kind of work-outs that you do day in and day out. Weight training plays the most important role in body building.

Weight training is something which is very essential to build your muscles and make you look good. When you train with weights, it will be a unique experience for the first time as your body will be forced to cope with the pressure that you put on it. Also, for the first few weeks, bodybuilding weight training can take a heavy toll on you, as it takes that much of time at least for a healthy human body to cope with heavy training.

One of the most important things you need to know about weight training is that you cannot start off right away with heavy weights and strenuous work out schedules. Everything needs to have a proper schedule and especially in this case, you need to follow a certain pattern in order to achieve the best results in the shortest possible period of time.

First of all, you need to get in touch with an experienced bodybuilding trainer. A trainer is a professional who will be able to guide you in terms of training, nutrition, work out schedule, and many other things related to body building. Once you’ve got yourself a trainer, make sure you listen to him properly and do whatever he asks you to do so.

Bodybuilding weight training should be done with the right mindset and for this purpose a trainer’s assistance becomes very much important. Also, you need to give enough rest to your muscles and nourish them with the proper kind of diet, as those two things are very important as far as building your muscles are concerned. Body building weight training makes your muscles bigger, stronger, and agile. For this reason, a lot of people are interested in weight training and even though not all of them may end up body building professionals, they love the aspect of weight training and the kind of impact it has on their lives and this is the reason why you see a lot of people are into weight training these days.



Fountain Of Youth

Guest Author: Walter Zinsmeister Iii


There is a common belief in the mainstream, that for maximum (or even effective fat loss) you need to do some form of regular cardio to lose fat. This is simply wrong of course because many people have just dieted to lose fat, without any form of excercise. Of course this is a bodybuilding site, therefore dieting only is not ideal, since it doesn’t preserve muscle that well.

The next decision when going on a cutting phase, is whether or not cardio is even necessary? Weight training is actually more effective than low intensity cardio. Then there is HIIT cardio, which is much tougher to do, but isextremely moreeffective for bothfat loss and muscle preservation. You would still have to do weight training for either form of cardio, to help preserve lean muscle preservation and strength.

So who should do cardio and when?

Most bodybuilders would agree that cardio is a pain. It is a nuisance and most would just rather stick to weight training only for their excercise. It is perfectly O.K no matter if you’re a newbie, or a veteran to start your cutting phase without any cardio. When you first start dieting, the act of restricting calories will be enough to start causing fat loss, even without cardio.

Eventually everyone will hit a fat loss plateau, which is when cardio will be a necessity. You can only restrict your calories so much, before you cause your metabolism to crawl to a halt. The cardio will allow a phenomenon called energy flux. Basically what that means is, you will lose fat more effectively if you eat more, but also burn more calories simulatenously. In other words, it is better for fat loss if you eat more calories and burn more, than to eat less calories and burn less simulatenously.

If you don’t want to do cardio while cutting, your fat loss will be slower. But bodybuilders often don’t want to hassle with the time and effort cardio takes and wouldn’t mind, even if the cutting phase took a little longer. You shouldn’t increase weight training to overcompensate for lack of cardio, that would cause more harm than good. You would wind up overtaxing the body putting you into overtraining state.

The Stubborn Fat Protocol is a cardio routine developed by Lyle McDonald, a respected author of multiple excercise and diet books. The routine is innovative, but it is based on scientific research.

You will break up your cardio into 2 separate sessions. The first session will be high intensity interval training, or HIIT, cardio for 10 minutes. The purpose of this first session is to manipulate the adrenaline / noradrenaline levels to mobilize the fat out of your fat cells. You then take a 5 minute rest after the first session.

Next you do 45 minutes of low intensity cardio. Afterwards you wait one hour before having a protein only meal. Then 2 or 3 hours later you can go back to normal diet, with carbs and fat included in the meals.

The reason why Lyle McDonald says it has to be done this way is because the HIIT portion gets the fat out of the cells, but there is a reduced burning effect at the muscle. It is then that you do the low intensity to finally be able to burn the mobilized fat in the muscle. Mcdonald recommends this workout 3 times a week.

Who should do the stubborn fat protocol?

The routine will be highly catabolic (muscle wasting). Ideally it should be for those who are at a plateau and low bodyfat percent trying to get that last bit of fat off. Overweight people should just stick to traditional routines as they are easier to stick to, require less time, and work well anyways. Only when you start to plateau, will a more aggressive cardio plan make sense.



Banish Wrinkles Instantly

Guest Author: Karen Sessions


Copyright (c) 2008 Karen Sessions

Guys…your wife is watching your biceps getting bigger! Is she jealous? Does she want to start “bodybuilding” but is afraid of getting TOO big? She secretly wants that finely chiseled body, too!

Here’s how she can build muscle for a lean, sexy physique without the fear of embarrassing you with bigger arms as you walk down the beach…

There are a lot of myths around women and bodybuilding and they just don’t seem to die. I’d like to share with you an article that sheds light on women and weight training that will pave the path for your wife or girlfriend to adopt the bodybuilding lifestyle with you.

That’s right. We’re going to bust the women and weight training myths right NOW!

Who better to do that than a woman who weight trains and understands your wife’s fears regarding women and weights?

Women and Weight Training Myth #1 – Weight training will make woman huge and manly.

BUSTED – Like most people, when you think of women and weight training you automatically relate that image to the professional female bodybuilder strutting her oiled-up mammoth physique across stage and striking a pose.

What’s NOT mentioned is that 99.9% of the professional female bodybuilders supplement with steroids to develop superhuman muscles.

By the law of nature, women do not produce near the amount of muscle building hormone, testosterone, necessary to build huge swollen, vein-popping muscles. A woman is just not capable of building that type of massive muscle simply by lifting weights.

Bottom line: Weight training will NOT make a woman big and overly muscular.

Women and Weight Training Myth #2 – Women who weight train will lose their breast size.

BUSTED – (pardon the pun) Breast tissue is made up of primarily fat tissue. A loss of body fat will results in smaller breast size.

Weight training develops muscle tissue. Adding strength training will develop the underlying chest muscle on a woman and can add more shape to her upper body, creating those eye-pleasing and sexy curves. In addition, a good chest training program will add stunning high cleavage for that perfect fit in a dress or bikini.

To put it bluntly, the only way for a woman to lose her breast size is if she loses a lot of body fat.

Women and Weight Training Myth #3 – A woman’s muscle will turn into fat if she stops weight training.

BUSTED – There is an astronomical amount of women who won’t weight train for fear their muscle will somehow magically turn into fat if they stop weight training.

Again, muscle and fat are two completely different tissues responsible for their own functions. Muscle is metabolically active (calorie burning) and fat is metabolically inactive (fat storing).

Muscle CANNOT Ever, In Any Case, turn into fat any more than fat can turn into muscle. One can only build or lose muscle OR gain or lose fat. The two separate tissues are not interchangeable.

Women and Weight Training Myth #4 – Muscle weighs more than fat.

BUSTED – It’s no wonder women believe this ridicules statement. Dr. Phil has been known to say it in his highly publicized weight-loss book.

It’s a fact that a pound of muscle and a pound of fat weigh the same, a pound. What most women don’t realize is that a pound of muscle is denser and takes up less space than a pound of fat.

Therefore, having more developed muscle on the female frame with less body fat will make her leaner, tighter, and give off that “toned” look they are after.

Bottom line: Adding natural muscle mass through weight training accentuates a lady’s femininity.

Endless Benefits for Women Who Weight Train:

Has training partner by default

Improves stamina

Improves sex life

Lifts and shapes the booty

Relieves depression

Builds a shapely physique

Improves posture Controls weight

Builds positive self-image

Creates a positive attitude

Builds character

Boosts immune system

Clears the mind

Creates more energy

Benefits other sports

Raises resting metabolic rate

Slows the aging process

Decreases chance of injury

Builds a stronger heart

Creates an anti-aging effect

Improves digestion

Relieves chronic pain

Builds stronger bones

Improves circulation

Improves flexibility

Lowers LDL (bad)

Increases HDL (good)

Lowers hypertension

Lowers risk for cancers

Lowers risk of heart disease

Lowers the risk of diabetes

Makes you a happy partner

A woman with a well-shaped body through weight training will feel better about herself. In addition, she’ll better understand the process you go through to develop your physique, and have a better appreciation for weight training.

There’s a special bond with a couple that trains together.

Guest Author: Dane Fletcher


Many bodybuilders do cardio only by the clock. They know they have to hop on the treadmill and knock out 30 or 45 minutes’ worth of plugging away, and they’re done. Some more educated bodybuilders will occasionally attempt to tailor their program, opting for custom incline/intensity levels or perhaps keeping an eye on calories burned. The most intelligent bodybuilders will take heart rate into consideration when completing their cardio, in order to garner the most effective results.

Bodybuilders should be training at their optimal heart rate, which is 50 to 60 percent of their maximum heart rate. There are several steps to calculating this number.

- First, find your maximum heart rate (MHR). This is easy. Subtract your age from the number 220. If you are 30 years old, then your maximum heart rate is 220 minus 30, or 190

- Next, multiply your MHR by .50, and write down this number. This is you’re your optimal minimum.

- Next, multiply your MHR by .60, and write down this number. This number is your optimal maximum.

Now, as you complete your cardio, try to keep your heart rate between your optimal minimum and optimal maximum. It’s that easy!

In bodybuilding, “the more the better!” axiom often rings true. The more weight you lift, the bigger your muscles become. The more food you eat, the bigger you get. The more sleep you get, the better rested you become. However, in the case of cardio training intensity, more is not necessarily better. Training at heart rates of 70% or more will lead to the body consuming muscle to keep up with such an intense workload, instead of utilizing carbohydrates in the body or fat stores.

Training at levels of 50 to 60 percent is perfect for bodybuilders. If you find that 30 minutes at 50-60% is not leading to desired loss of body fat, raise the duration to 45 minutes, or use a split session (one in the morning and one following your weight training). If this additional cardio training does not help, it’s time to re-evaluate your current diet and supplementation program. Cut daily calories by 300-500, add ECA or Tridenosen, and you should be on your way to a leaner physique.



Look Young Again

Guest Author: Joseph Reimu


It is no secret that exercise is a key component to leading a healthy and vital life. There are basically two kinds of exercises that one can do and they are aerobics or cardiovascular training and weight training. Both are very important in order to stay strong and healthy. Aerobic exercise can be done in many different ways.

In fact, if you work at a job where you are on your feet and moving around a lot then you may not even need to do any additional exercise since your job provides you with the aerobic benefit. It is important to not exercise too much, even though this is not a common problem, exercise does put a certain level of stress on your body and if you overdo it you can easily become over trained which can lead to a depressed immune system which can lead to you becoming more likely to get sick.

It is not necessary to sweat significantly during your aerobic exercise sessions. A simple one hour walk outside if the weather permits or on a treadmill indoors can be sufficient. Running too much can put a lot of stress on your joints such as the knees and can lead to future joint problems so if you have to run do it only for short periods and take appropriate rest levels. Aerobic exercise helps to stimulate the lymphatic system which is partly responsible for the removal of toxins from inside your body thus this kind of exercise has is a great way to internally cleanse your body naturally.

If you find doing aerobic exercise to be very physically difficult then consider something like a recumbent exercise bike which is probably the most comfortable piece of aerobic exercise equipment you can purchase. It has very good back support and is gentle on the knees so you can start slow and work your way up as you get fitter and stronger. Also try to keep your heart rate around the 120 beats per minute range during your aerobic sessions.

Weight training is also a very important aspect of exercise that both males and females should perform regularly. Many females are concerned that if they train with weights they will become bulky and unattractive which is not true as long as you stick with lighter weights and do not take growth hormones. In fact, adding a little muscle will make you look firmer, sculpted and more attractive instead of being flabby. Weight training stimulates the growth and maintenance of muscle tissue which is critical for maintaining strength. Weight lifting also promotes greater bone density which can help to fight osteoporosis and it can also make you look and feel younger.

If you have never trained with weights before then it is a good idea to join a local gym and take a few personal training sessions to learn the basic exercises. The bench press is a great exercise for the upper body and the squat or leg press is ideal to train the lower body. If your time is really limited then just doing these two exercises once a week or even once every month depending on how much weight you lift (the more weight you lift the more rest you need) can be sufficient. Become stronger and healthier by doing these exercises regularly.