Fit and Youthful Life

Guest Author: David Taggart


These days many people are looking for ways they can exercise at home and get the benefit of weight training exercise without using weights. Of course it is very easy to understand why this is true with all the busy life styles that we all lead. With a few simple tools like some free weights or dumbbells an exercise matt and some exercise tubing, there are several exercises you can do while staying right in your house. There are many things you can do by using your own body weight as a resistance that will give you the same benefit that you would get from weight training. The key to your success will be doing these exercises correctly in order to avoid injury.

The great thing about training at home is that you can do it on your own schedule and not be bound to the appointment schedule of a personal trainer or the time restraints of a gym. For those of us that have inconsistent work schedules or we work from home and for stay-at-home moms, this is an excellent solution. Not having to buy a gym membership also makes home exercise more appealing to a lot of people.

For me, working out at home is the only way to go because of the convenience. I can multi-task while I workout. For instance I can watch the television program that I want while running on my own treadmill, or I can listen to my MP3 player or even read a book. For me it is just a much more enjoyable and convenient way to exercise. In order for home exercise to work a person needs to have self motivation and discipline. Of course this is true of all exercise programs, however paying for a program can be a motivator in itself.

There are many reasons why many people would find exercising at home more beneficial. Maybe the commute is to long getting to the gym after a long day at work. After you get to the gym you are looking forward to getting your workout completed and getting home but you find that you are waiting in line for a piece of exercise equipment and that many people there seem to be more interested in socializing rather than getting a workout. You may feel intimidated by those who you may perceive as being further in their workout skills than you. Although some of these things may be important to you, it is not what you should be paying for when you join a health club.

Here are just a few exercises that you can do with no more equipment than to have a couple of dumbbells: Push-ups, abdominal crunches, dips, shoulder raises, curls, shoulder presses and trunk twists.



Look 10 Years Younger

Guest Author: Scott White


Weight training, also known as strength training, is not just for the aspiring body builder, everyone can benefit from weight training. After all it is with weight training that we build muscles and muscles keep our metabolism strong and a healthy metabolism means more energy. So it shouldn’t surprise you to learn that weight training is actually an appropriate and beneficial form of exercising for older adults.

As we age, our bodies experience physical and physiological changes. Weight training for senior citizens can improve those changes so that older adults can remain active and mentally sharp well into their aging years.

With age, muscles lose mass and strength, joints become stiffer and can even develop arthritis, making it difficult and even painful to move. One’s sense of balance can be thrown off kilter causing falls, that may lead to broken hips and many times the need for long stays at the hospital. Strength training puts back muscle mass, as well as muscle strength that has been lost.

Muscle strength not only aids with movement but also aids with balance, so strong muscles will prevent many of the falls and injuries that cause the elderly to be hospitalized and immobile for long periods, if not permanently. Weight training will keep joints limber which reduces the stiffness and pain that causes many people to become inactive.

Immune systems become weaker making the elderly more susceptible to serious illnesses. Concentration and memory also become harder as we get older. Elderly people who do not exercise at all are at a much higher risk for becoming immobile and requiring long term care such as in a nursing facility, than elderly people who do exercise.

Weight training strengthens the immune system helping senior citizens to avoid illness and the expensive doctor visits and prescription medications needed to treat various illnesses. It is well known that after the age of 50 many of the diseases that can cut a life short develop within inactive bodies. By strengthening the immune system through weight training, one can build their resistance to different illnesses, as well as developing the internal strength the body needs to battle more serious diseases.

As we age, our skin loses much of its suppleness which results in skin that just hangs, usually downwards, on the body. Weight training for the elderly renews much of the suppleness to the skin that aging can take away. Skin will be tighter with less hanging on the body which can also help the elderly to feel more comfortable with their bodies.

Studies have shown that the elderly are at a higher risk for the development of depression and other mental disorders than younger adults. So from a physiological perspective strength training helps the body to manufacture greater amounts of hormones which are naturally made by the body.

These hormones help the organs and systems of the body including the brain to do the work they do. Hormones help the brain with processes such as cognitive thought and memory, and hormones hugely contribute to how we feel and respond to different things. Senior citizens who participate in weight training programs report fewer instances of feeling depressed than those who do not exercise.

Weight training has also been proven to slow the progression of the natural effects of aging, and even thwart the development of such conditions as dementia. Exercise programs brought to senior citizen residents in nursing homes has also been shown to help those who have lost mobility to regain some movement and even improve mental functioning. If you work with the elderly in a nursing home setting, consider bringing the benefits of weight training to them.

It is recommended that a weight training program for the elderly be guided by the expertise of a certified personal trainer.

Guest Author: Dane Fletcher


If you’re a bodybuilder who enjoys the soreness and limp you experience following an incredible leg workout, then you probably already know the woes of trying to do intense cardio with sore legs.  Many bodybuilders consider weight training and cardio training to be two separate things.  In reality, since both utilize the legs, careful planning should take place to ensure your cardio doesn’t interfere with your weight training, and vice versa.

The first key to remember is that you cannot do cardio the day before you train the legs with weights.  Your leg muscles and glycogen stores need to be replenished.  You can’t expect a good performance on the squat rack if you went all-out just 12-24 hours earlier.  Give then a rest before pushing them to the limit.

Second, you must ramp down the cardio intensity and angles in those two days following leg day.  After all, DOMS, or delayed onset muscle soreness, is at its worst in the 48 hours following a workout.  So after you destroy your legs on leg day, the two following days will be slow, relaxed cardio, which gives the lungs a workout, yet works around the well-worn legs.

Finally, you should take advantage of the numbness you are feeling at the conclusion of your leg weight training session, and complete a very intense cardio session directly after completing your leg routine.  Same day, same session.  Climb off of the calf machine and get on the stair stepper.  Your legs will already be torched, so you won’t feel much of the pain.  You might as well get the most possible gains out of the day’s workout by torching them at this moment.

Day 1 – Rest (no cardio)

Day 2 – Full leg workout (quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves) followed by 30 minutes interval cardio on the stepper machine.

Day 3 – Full Chest/Triceps workout, followed by 30 minutes walking on treadmill

Day 4 – Full Back/Biceps workout, followed by 30 minutes elliptical machine at low intensity

Day 5 – 30 minutes medium- to high-intensity cardio

Day 6 – Full shoulder workout, followed by 30 minutes very intense cardio

Day 7 – Rest day (no cardio)

Listen to your body.  After day 7, (a full rest day), you might want another rest day.  If so, keep day 1 as listed.  However, if you are feeling your legs have fully recovered, then skip day 1 and go right into day 2 and train legs that day.  The most important rule is to listen to your body and train legs and complete cardio with as much intensity as possible, while still giving them required rest for maximum recovery.

Guest Author: Francesco Castano


Bodybuilding is a hobby that takes dedication and consistency in order to produce dramatic muscle building results, with weight lifters committing themselves to regular workout sessions, consuming strict meal plans, and aiming for sufficient rest each evening. For those who have the time to conveniently perform a weight training session each day, and who are able to easily observe the proper meal plan, bodybuilding does not become a major chore, but certain bodybuilders haphazardly organize their lives, and find themselves struggling to balance life with proper weight training and diet variables, yet they feel so attracted to achieving muscle gain or fat loss that they begin abdicating responsibilities in other, far more important areas of life in favor of their bodybuilding pursuits.

This is why scheduling is of paramount importance to bodybuilding success, as having a specific time devoted to weight training, as well as portions of the day where meals are consumed, will ensure that there is no daily struggle to choose between bodybuilding workouts and family or work. Yet, even those who structure weight training and diet around a daily, specific regimen many times will encounter unexpected scenarios that cause them to rearrange their day, and for those who become obsessive over muscle building, this can create intense internal stress, to the point where other far more vital aspects of life are set aside in favor of a workout session. For most, careful scheduling is sufficient to avoid any regular occurrences that encourage skipped meals or abandoned weight lifting workouts, but life has a way of offering unexpected inconveniences, and when bodybuilding begins to take on a far more important meaning in life than that of its true classification (a hobby), relationships and our commitment to helping others can suffer greatly, leading to a loss of proper perspective on the meaning of our very existence.

Bodybuilding, as a hobby, in and of itself is innocent, and does not need to become a narcissistic pursuit used to base every aspect of confidence and self worth upon, yet for some, this is exactly what transpires, and bodybuilders begin valuing themselves based upon the type of attention they receive from others, which is linked directly with the amount of muscle mass that they carry on a given day. Steroids complicate this matter further, as a bodybuilder establishes a standard that is based on drug abuse, and to continue receiving the same type of superficial support and attention from others, steroids need to remain a constant, and this leads to a strong psychological addiction, both to drugs and the bodybuilding lifestyle.

Many families are ruined by addictions of all types, including alcohol, drugs, and pornography, but while few view physical fitness as a dangerous pursuit, bodybuilding is a hobby that can generate obsessive feelings that will alienate a weight lifter from others, to the point where life begins to revolve around a mere workout and diet regimen, with all else occupying a lower priority. This skewed psychological framework destroys marriages, causes a level of obsession with self that inevitably leads to infidelity, and will result in a level of sadness and grief that can lead to severe depression and a wide range of addictions, such as those mentioned.

To avoid such one dimensional thinking, a bodybuilder must make sure that he or she can place the hobby in proper perspective, knowing that a meaningful life is based upon how we love God and others, with making those around us feel special and wanted ranking far above whether we have a certain sized biceps muscle or ripped abs; giving of ourselves is what fuels true happiness. Yet, this does not in any way suggest that bodybuilding is incompatible with a well adjusted, selfless existence, as the vast majority, with proper scheduling, can easily integrate an effective bodybuilding routine into their lifestyle without negatively impacting relationships or daily obligations, yet for this to occur, organization is of paramount importance. Those who do not follow a structured timetable towards daily activities feel overwhelmed with what they must accomplish, but if carefully analyzing their day, will find that much time was squandered specifically due to haphazard living.

Therefore, to reduce the chance that bodybuilding will conflict with life’s more pressing concerns, choose specific weight lifting workout and diet times that do not adversely impact family, friends or work, and do so with the mindset that if unexpected scenarios surface, you will rearrange your schedule to address the most important concerns first, so that bodybuilding compliments a happy, well adjusted life, as opposed to destroying the peace and harmony that we all strive for.



How French Women Stay Young

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: Roger Leblanc




Many people who are seriously into weight training shy away from doing cardio exercise because they think that it will eat away at their hard won muscle mass. While there is a valid concern for those thinking of running a long distance marathon, most of these fears are unwarranted. Basically, the concern is that as you are running, the body may run short of fuel in the bloodstream for immediate use. Although the body has a mechanism for replenishing energy by breaking down fat deposits, this doesn’t always happen quickly enough. The body compensates by breaking down proteins to use some of the amino acids for fuel. Therefore muscle is wasted.

While this basic analysis is correct, the body builder’s fears are exaggerated. A short run of say twenty to thirty minutes, especially before lifting, will not break down hardly any muscle mass. Almost al the fuel used will come from what is already present in the blood stream and the energy stored in the liver. This is especially true if you ate at least a moderate high carb meals a few hours before. Actually, a good meal of complex carbs fully digested followed by a 20 minute run is an excellent warm up for a good hour of lifting in the weight room. This is a prime reason to run. It warms the cardiovascular system up for your lifting routine. You will get better workouts and with better workouts, better gains. Following this logic, a light to moderate run will actually help you to gain muscle rather than lose it! But the warm up should not be the only motivation for cardio exercise.

There are several outstanding reasons for adding cardio to your regimen. Cardio is the best way to exercise your heart and lungs, it is the most efficient way to cut fat, and it will boost your metabolic rate more naturally and efficiently than any pill on the market. So how much cardio should you do? That is a hard question to answer. Some suggest that you could start to lose muscle after about a half hour of running. Though they may be literally correct, you should take this with a very large grain of salt. The muscle that you lose even after an hour run is miniscule. Furthermore, since you train with weights on a regular basis, you are continually sending signals to your body to save and to build more muscle. Lifting and running done on a regular basis will condition your body to efficiently handle both the running and the body building. Essentially, when your body is conditioned, what is likely to happen is you still lose a miniscule amount of protein after a run of an hour or so, but your body adds that protein back in a short time. A hardcore professional body builder trying to bulk up for the next Mr. Olympiad may think twice about running that much, but you and I could do it without any net loss over the long run. The only real issue is whether your gains could slow by a margin of 2 – 3% or so. The benefits of cardio to your overall health to your energy level is well worth a theoretical miniscule slowdown, and it is the best and most natural way to get cut.

Cardio exercise has significant health benefits and should not be avoided for those overly concerned with a muscular physic. The truth is cardio actually improves physic because it cuts fat from your body and enhances definition of your muscular build. The substantial benefits gained by cardio are more than worth any small decrease in muscle building. Anything up to one hour of cardio training when combined with a regular lifting program will provide a well balanced program for both physic and health.



Smooth Away Wrinkles Instantly

Guest Author: Chuck Smalley


In my early adult years, I was a reasonably fit guy. I paid some attention to my fitness level, but I wasn’t fanatical about it. Not surprisingly, things changed in my forties. I was no longer able to maintain a reasonable fitness level without concentrated effort. In fact, by the time I was 44, I was out of shape and overweight. I had little energy and many outdoor activities were not fun anymore. I was not getting sufficient exercise.

It is a simple fact that as we age, if we do not exercise, we will begin to lose muscle mass and gain body fat. Our metabolism slows, and this slow but steady downward spiral will catch up to us eventually. Our fitness level will degrade unless we counteract this with a physical fitness exercise program that includes a muscle building component.

I knew that I wanted, and needed, to regain a healthy fitness level. I tried various forms of exercise including jogging, hiking, walking and working out with light weights. I also made changes to my diet. And I had various levels of success with each.

What really turned the corner for me was finding the right combination of a weight training – muscle building exercise routine, with aerobic exercise and a proper nutrition diet. While it is always important to begin gradually when initiating a new exercise and fitness routine, it was not until I started pushing myself with weights that I began to notice significant progress. My wife noticed too. Initially, I had been doing 3-4 sets of 4-5 different exercises, 2-3 times per week. That is not bad. However, I was not really challenging myself. I was typically doing 15 reps of each exercise, which meant that the weight that I was using was fairly low. Again, this is not a bad thing. But what I did not realize is that rather than building new muscle tissue, I was mainly building muscle endurance instead.

But building muscle endurance, instead of building new muscle, is not going to transform your body like intense weight training exercise will. Weight training, also known as resistance training, builds muscle, which in turn increases your metabolic rate. And that change in metabolic rate is sustained throughout the day, not just while you are working out. It takes energy, and burns calories, to maintain and build new muscle. It is the exercising of muscle during a workout, followed by muscle rebuilding after a workout, that provides the desired transformation. This applies to both men’s fitness and women’s fitness. And an effective muscle building fitness workout does not require extensive home exercise equipment or an expensive gym membership. Satisfying results can be achieved with a few dumbbells and a small bench.

So, what changed for me? I changed my weight lifting workouts from usually doing 12 to 15 reps of each exercise, to a more intensive routine that provides more muscle resistance. For each exercise, I start with 12 reps and a moderate warm-up weight. On each successive set, I increase the weight and reduce the number of reps. I increase the weight on the second set and do 10 reps. For set 3, I increase the weight again, performing 8 reps. On set 4, the weight is increased again, and I do 6 reps. On the final set I change things up and decrease the weight to the amount used in set 3 and do 12 reps. This is known as an exhaustion set.

On each weight training workout, I keep written notes of my workout and progress. I then adjust the weight used for each exercise based upon how I perform on set 4. If set 4 was too easy, then I know I need to increase the weights used, starting with sets 1 or 2. The process is iterative but this is an important key. I want to keep increasing my weights until the last 1 or 2 reps on set 4 are difficult. I really push myself on this set. If I can actually perform 8 reps on this set when my target was only 6 reps, then I need to increase the weight.

The point of all this, is that I am now lifting heavier and with greater intensity than when I first started. As a result, I am building muscle and this has made a significant difference in my results. My fitness level is up. My body fat is down. I feel better and have more energy. Fitness over 40 is attainable, but consider weight training exercise as a component to build and tone healthy muscle for better fitness. It is important to combine this with proper nutrition, vitamins, aerobic activity, and sufficient rest. Good luck on your journey!

Guest Author: Kyle Oxenham


The common concept of weight training is that it is done to get really big muscles. What can people possibly get if they allow weight training classes for high school? Will they end up with high school kids that look like wrestlers? Or worse, end up with super buff high school kids that might wrestle their teachers if they fail an exam? How creepy!

Getting extra large muscles is not the only thing about weight training. You can use weight training to have larger muscles. You can stop or stick to your regimen without increasing your repetitions or weights if you are satisfied with your size. Weight training for high school can easily become part of the curriculum such as swimming and wrestling. These sports are equally as dangerous as the others.

But mind you, weight training can be one of the safest exercises around. Weight trainers just need to carefully follow instructions to avoid any injuries. This will not be a problem to highschool students since coaches will be around to observe the students progress. Speaking of progress, weight training in highschool will stick to easier routines and lesser weights. For short, beginners! It will be foolish to let highschool students jump into an advanced class because weight training is like climbing a ladder, you have to be at the bottom before you finally reach the top.

Aside from getting toned muscles, weight training will teach students more about self discipline, endurance and patience. Why these three? Self discipline because the exercise has to be done properly. Students have to follow the correct body posture. Even spreading the weight all over your body can be called cheating. So, if an exercise is for a particular muscle that should be the only muscle thats worked on and nothing else. The exercise is designed to tests your strengths and limits. Sometimes it is near impossible to complete the exercise as you reach the end. Students endurance will be tested. Weight training will also teach them patience because larger muscles do not just grow overnight.

Can weight training in high school teach them more? Yes! Weight training will inculcate these three values in students but there are more that they will find out for themselves. Once classes are done or the students have graduated, they will find out that, not only did they undergo physical changes because of weight training but they also had changes in the inside that they can bring with them and use it in life.



Turn Back The Clock

Guest Author: Tze Khit


Read On To Learn About The

Most POWERFUL Way To

Lose Fat Effectively..

I know. You don’t want to look bulky. But you won’t, unless you use steroids or just have superior muscle building genetics that most guys will be envious of. I mean, how often do you see a muscular woman? To those who are ‘bulky’ and think they have ‘big bones’ or have too much muscle, please, stop cheating yourself. It’s fats you need to lose to achieve your ideal figure. This will be a long article but if you finish reading it I’m sure you will benefit from it

I’ll first touch a bit on nutrition and dieting since I feel it’s the most important aspect to fat loss. It sounds simple enough- eat less than you expend and you lose weight, eat more than you expend and you gain weight. This is true till a certain point where further decrease in food intake does not result in a decrease in weight anymore. This happens due to a decrease in metabolic rate. The body tries hard to preserve whatever it has, so it essentially shuts the body down. Hormonal levels are also affected. You feel weak, restless and lethargic. Frustrated too, due to lack of progress. You overeat and the weight piles back on. What you need is strength training which helps build muscle, or at least allows you to preserve whatever muscle you have during dieting (harsh dieting causes quick muscle loss). It does so by placing stress on your muscles, constantly challenging them for the body to feel a need to keep them or even build them.

A note about cardio or aerobic work. Believe it or not, doing cardio (running swimming etc) is not essential for fat loss, at least not for individuals with high bodyfat levels. It is because cardio only expends calories during the period you’re doing them. This can be easily achieved by eating less. It does nothing to help increase metabolic rate after exercise. On the other hand, weight training builds muscle, thus having an indirect effect on increasing metabolism. In addition, studies have shown that metabolic rate can be elevated for 24 hours after a weight training session! Clearly it is the superior choice for people seeking fat loss. However, cardio is recommended for cardiovascular health, duh

I’m gonna bet that 99% of you reading this wants a better figure. I’ll elaborate on how weight training will accomplish this. One huge benefit of weight training is its effect on raising metabolism and keeping it elevated for extended periods. This effect is more profound in weight training than aerobic type workouts like running. Your metabolism drops back to normal after you complete such activities, unlike weight training. An elevated metabolism causes a greater amount of fat loss due to a greater calorie deficit. So you achieve your goals faster. Imagine this – You diet for extended periods of time without weight training and you lose WEIGHT – muscle plus fat. As you continue your metabolism becomes lower and lower and you take more time to lose the same amount of weight. Besides that, you feel flabby all over due to muscle loss, not to mention decreases in strength, which may even affect daily activities. So in the end you get a smaller version of your overweight self before, only weaker and hungrier.

Just a short note. You might think I’m bullshitting cause I said eat less than you expend and you lose weight. Common sense tells you to eat less during a fat loss phase. How then is it possible to gain muscle? Well, here’s the good news for beginners. Since weight training is new to them, this new stimulus (stress by weights on body) builds muscle effectively, sometimes even on a negative caloric diet. I should add that this applies to beginners with higher levels of bodyfat only. Meal timings especially around workouts help in muscle building too. That is why it’s common to hear beginners gain muscle and lose fat simultaneously while it’s very hard for experienced trainees to do that, unless they’re on drugs or have laid off training for an extended period.

Bone mineral loss and osteoporosis are major problems for women and steps should be taken to build strong bones from young. Strength training is the only activity that can continually place stress on your bones for them to maintain strength and slow bone loss. It can be taken up by anyone young or old. Hip fractures are not fun at all really.

Another little benefit : Increased chest size. This is not due to an increase in the amount of fatty tissue in your breasts (although we hope so) but the hypertrophy or growth of muscle tissues in the chest and back area. This gives the illusion of a bigger bust line. In addition, some flesh in the hip area helps too. Combined with a small waistline, this gives you the hourglass figure everyone is talking about.

While we’re on this I also want to talk about this huge misconception we have of weight training. High repetition work does not burn fat and tone muscle, at least not to that specific area of your body. Doing high repetition with light weight may increase muscle glycogen depletion and may increase rate of fat loss but that is done in conjunction to a negative caloric intake. Your main training should still focus on moving heavy weights since that’s the only way to provide stimulus for the body. So doing 500 situps per day will not give you a six pack, not when your tummy is covered by a thick layer of fats. Similarly, working your biceps with pink baby weights for 5 minutes a piece won’t ‘tone’ it up. Training with light weights and high reps will not help much in strength gains too (except endurance strength, which isn’t really important in real life unless you require it in your activity).

Another popular dogma is that muscle will turn into fats when you stop training them. I shake my head when I hear this. How ignorant can people be? Muscle tissues and fat tissues are different altogether, just as skin is to bones. You can’t simply turn your skin into bones can you? Some people do get fat when they stop training, as with many bodybuilders. They lose muscle without training, causing a drop in metabolism rate. Yet, they continue to eat equally large amounts of food like when they’re training. Hence, the excess calories consumed results in fat gain. The loss of muscle coupled with the fat gain makes people think that muscles turned into fats.

So,

Dieting without weight training = loss of fats and muscle = smaller version of yourself, but flabby and weak

Dieting with weight training = loss of fats and maintaining muscle mass = toned and strong

Its clear who is the winner.

To recap:

Dieting breaks down muscles, weight training builds them back

Muscles are crucial in boosting metabolism.

Strength training is more beneficial than cardio workouts

Strength train for bone health

High repetition work is quite useless

Other benefits of strength training:

Weight training energizes you

Weight training makes you strong. Strength gives you confidence and makes daily activities easier.

Weight training makes you less prone to low-back injuries

Weight training decreases your resting blood pressure

Weight training decreases your risk of developing adult onset diabetes

Weight training decreases your gastrointestinal transit time, reducing your risk for developing colon cancer

Weight training increases your blood level of HDL cholesterol (the good type)

Weight training improves your posture

Weight training improves the functioning of your immune system

Weight training lowers your resting heart rate, a sign of a more efficient heart

Weight training improves your balance and coordination

Weight training elevates your mood

Supercharge your fat burning capabilities today with strength training!

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What Are You Waiting For?

Take Your Butt Off The Computer Chair Right Now & Head Straight To The Gym!



Turn Back The Clock

Guest Author: Mike Carter


If you are bodybuilding or weight training and are not taking any nutritional supplements, you absolutely will not even come close to reaching your full potential. You do not need any type of steroid or pro hormones or anything like that, but natural health supplements are needed to help your body recover and build muscle efficiently and healthily.

It is a well known fact that working out, whether it is aerobic or resistance, is very healthy and beneficial to our bodies. However, vigorous workouts also put stress on our bodies and can take a toll, particularly if we do not have the proper nutrients and vitamins in our bodies. We need the proper nutrients to even begin building muscle, and we also need nutrients and antioxidants to help our bodies recover from our workouts before we can even begin to try building muscle. So what dietary supplements are absolutely essential for our workouts?

The most basic nutritional supplement is also the absolute most important: protein. Protein is a basic nutrient found in many foods, and it is absolutely critical to building muscle. Although it is found in many food sources, it is difficult to ingest enough protein from our diets alone. If you are weight training and trying to add muscle, you should ingest about 1.5 grams of protein for every pound that you weigh. So, for example, a person who weighs 100 lbs. should ingest about 150 grams of protein per day! In general, whey protein is the best. It is absorbed easily and quickly by the body, and is the perfect post workout protein supplement. However, if you cannot take whey protein, there are other options.

Another highly effective nutritional supplement is also one of the most popular supplements today: creatine. Creatine occurs naturally in the body, but in very low doses. Supplementing creatine has been proven to help add muscle mass quickly, but that is not all. Creatine supplements also have been shown to help increase strength, energy, and recovery time from workouts. After protein, creatine is the best nutritional supplement to add to your regimen. Taking both protein and creatine with an effective workout regimen is sure help you gain strength and muscle very quickly.

Another incredibly popular bodybuilding supplement is Nitric Oxide, or NO. While I wouldn’t quite put this in the category of protein and creatine, if you are looking to take that next step and really increase your gains in the weight room, I would definitely recommend taking Nitric Oxide. NO basically increases blood flow throughout your body, helping you to workout longer with less fatigue, and helping your body stay in the muscle building phase for much longer.

By adding these supplements to your workout regimen (along with a multi-vitamin), you will be sure to see significant gains in strength and muscle. You will also recover from your workouts much faster. If you are not taking supplements already, this is a no-brainer: start taking these nutritional supplements immediately.



Secret of Youth