Hello all! I came across this article and wanted to share it with you all. I think it is very important to know how alcohol effects your body and your weight loss goals.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Circuit Training
What is Circuit Training
Circuit training is a combination of strength training and endurance training. In a circuit-training workout you complete a group, or circuit, of exercises with little or no rest in-between. Usually, one circuit consists of 6 to 10 exercises. Each exercise is performed for a set number of repetitions or period of time before moving to the next exercise. For example, you might do squats for 15 seconds, rest 15 seconds, and then do bench presses for another 15 seconds followed by a series of additional exercises. Depending on your fitness level, you might complete one circuit or several circuits during each workout.
What are the benefits of circuit training?
1. You can exercise different muscle groups to get a total-body workout.
2. You can build strength and aerobic endurance.
3. You can burn calories and lose weight.
4. It is good for people who have little time to exercise. Workouts can be completed in as little as 10 minutes.
5. You can do circuit training at home or at a gym.
6. You are less likely to become bored with your workout routine since you are doing a variety of exercises.
7. You can make your workouts as hard or as easy as you like by modifying the amount of resistance and the length of the rest interval.
Tips and precautions?
1. See your health care provider before getting started.
2. Begin each workout with a 5 minute warm-up of light calisthenics such as jogging in place or jumping jacks.
3. After your workout, cool down with 5 to 10 minutes of stretching.
4. Listen to your body and stop if you develop any joint or muscle pain that does not go away after finishing an exercise.
5. Give your body a rest. Because circuit training can be intense, avoid working out 2 days in a row.
6. Start slowly. Initially you might need a 30 second rest between each exercise. After you begin to get in better shape you can reduce the length of your rest periods.
7. For a more difficult workout, you can replace your rest interval with aerobic exercise, such as jogging in place.
8. Every several weeks modify the exercises in your circuit, or complete different circuits in one workout.
What are some examples of circuit training workouts?
Here are two examples of circuit training workouts, the first workout can be performed at home, and the other can be performed at the gym:
Circuit-training workout #1 (Home based)
Warm-up (fast walking) - 5 minutes
1. Jumping jacks - 2 minutes
2. Push ups - 1 minute
3. Jogging - 5 minutes
4. Abdominal crunches- 2 minutes
5. Squats - 1 minute
6. Pull-ups - 1 minute
7. Lunges - 30 seconds each leg
Circuit-training workout #2 (Gym based)
Warm-up (treadmill walking) 5 minutes
1. Leg press machine - 15 reps
2. Lat pull down machine - 15 reps
3. Jogging on treadmill - 5 minutes
4. Squats with dumbbells - 15 reps
5. Military press - 15 reps
6. Bicep curls - 15 reps
7. Hamstring curls - 15 reps
8. Abdominal crunches - 30 reps
9. Cycling on stationary bike - 5 minutes
Circuit training is a combination of strength training and endurance training. In a circuit-training workout you complete a group, or circuit, of exercises with little or no rest in-between. Usually, one circuit consists of 6 to 10 exercises. Each exercise is performed for a set number of repetitions or period of time before moving to the next exercise. For example, you might do squats for 15 seconds, rest 15 seconds, and then do bench presses for another 15 seconds followed by a series of additional exercises. Depending on your fitness level, you might complete one circuit or several circuits during each workout.
What are the benefits of circuit training?
1. You can exercise different muscle groups to get a total-body workout.
2. You can build strength and aerobic endurance.
3. You can burn calories and lose weight.
4. It is good for people who have little time to exercise. Workouts can be completed in as little as 10 minutes.
5. You can do circuit training at home or at a gym.
6. You are less likely to become bored with your workout routine since you are doing a variety of exercises.
7. You can make your workouts as hard or as easy as you like by modifying the amount of resistance and the length of the rest interval.
Tips and precautions?
1. See your health care provider before getting started.
2. Begin each workout with a 5 minute warm-up of light calisthenics such as jogging in place or jumping jacks.
3. After your workout, cool down with 5 to 10 minutes of stretching.
4. Listen to your body and stop if you develop any joint or muscle pain that does not go away after finishing an exercise.
5. Give your body a rest. Because circuit training can be intense, avoid working out 2 days in a row.
6. Start slowly. Initially you might need a 30 second rest between each exercise. After you begin to get in better shape you can reduce the length of your rest periods.
7. For a more difficult workout, you can replace your rest interval with aerobic exercise, such as jogging in place.
8. Every several weeks modify the exercises in your circuit, or complete different circuits in one workout.
What are some examples of circuit training workouts?
Here are two examples of circuit training workouts, the first workout can be performed at home, and the other can be performed at the gym:
Circuit-training workout #1 (Home based)
Warm-up (fast walking) - 5 minutes
1. Jumping jacks - 2 minutes
2. Push ups - 1 minute
3. Jogging - 5 minutes
4. Abdominal crunches- 2 minutes
5. Squats - 1 minute
6. Pull-ups - 1 minute
7. Lunges - 30 seconds each leg
Circuit-training workout #2 (Gym based)
Warm-up (treadmill walking) 5 minutes
1. Leg press machine - 15 reps
2. Lat pull down machine - 15 reps
3. Jogging on treadmill - 5 minutes
4. Squats with dumbbells - 15 reps
5. Military press - 15 reps
6. Bicep curls - 15 reps
7. Hamstring curls - 15 reps
8. Abdominal crunches - 30 reps
9. Cycling on stationary bike - 5 minutes
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Strong To The Core
If you were to ask me which muscle group in your entire body you could work to get the greatest benefits in the shortest amount of time, I would tell you without hesitation, "the core." Strengthening the core can realize tremendous benefits to anyone regardless of his or her training experience and can do so very quickly.
What Is The Core?
The core, as it's known in strength training circles, consists of all the muscles in your abdominal and lower back areas. This includes all the abdominal muscles (rectus abdominus, internal and external obliques, transverse abdominus and intercostals) as well as the muscles associated with the spine (the erector spinae group) and the hip flexors (iliacus and psoas, collectively known as the iliopsoas).
Why Is The Core So Important?
Weak core muscles contribute to all kinds of problems in the body, the most prevalent of which is lower back pain. By strengthening the muscles that help support the spine and improve posture, you can dramatically decrease the symptoms of lower back pain.
Picture your spine as a column of soda cans stacked one on top of the other. If you wanted to keep that column standing up under stress, what do you think would work better: a "tenser" bandage (as is used for wrapping injured ankles) or Scotch tape? Sure the tape would keep the cans together but the cans wouldn't receive a whole lot of support, would they?
When you strengthen the muscles of the core, you are in effect turning that Scotch tape into a nice, tight "tenser" bandage, increasing the amount of support that your spine gets.
Core training also has the potential to greatly improve sports performance. Watch a baseball pitcher throw a pitch in slow motion. The power of the throw starts at the legs, gets transferred through the abdominal area (a.k.a. the core) then ends up in the arm where the ball is released.
Imagine how much speed and power would be lost from that throw if the core muscles couldn't efficiently transfer the force from the legs to the throwing arm.
How Do I Train My Core?
Exercises that work the abdominals and the lower back are the staples of core training. Also, exercises that target the stabilization and power-transfer duties of the core muscles are very effective
The most basic abdominal training exercise is the standard crunch.
But I've got an exercise for you that blows the standard crunch right out of the water. The equipment required for this exercise: one rolled-up towel.
The exercise is known as the Abdominal Sit-Up. It uses a sit-up-like movement but focuses directly on the abdominal muscles rather than the hip flexors (which a regular sit-up does).
It is also very safe for your lower back. Another advantage it has over the standard crunch is that it targets the stretched (arched back) range of motion of the abs, which is totally missed in standard floor crunch.
Abdominal Sit-Ups:
Lie on your back on the floor. Roll up a towel or mat and slip it underneath your lower back, just above the waistband (the size of the towel affects your body position during this movement - use a fairly large towel).
Your knees should be bent about 90 degrees. Keep your feet close together and knees fairly wide apart. This prevents the hip flexors from having a direct line of pull, helping to minimize their involvement.
Do not anchor your feet or have someone hold them down. This automatically activates the hip flexors. You will get the most out of this exercise by minimizing their involvement.
The difficulty of this exercise depends on where you hold your hands. The hardest position is above your head at arms-length, then beside your head, then across your chest, then straight down between your legs or at your sides. Start with the easiest first then progress to the other positions as you get stronger.
You are now ready to begin.
Keeping your torso straight and stiff, start the sit-up by tightening your lower abs then lifting your upper body off the floor.
As you continue up, imagine trying to push your face up against the ceiling (think up, not around).
When you reach about 25 to 30 degrees above horizontal, hold there for a second or two and squeeze your abs hard.
Keep your lower back in contact with the towel at all times and always maintain tension in the abs.
Lower yourself down slowly and under control. Do not just drop back to the ground. The negative portion of this exercise is extremely effective.
Remember to adjust your arm position depending on the strength of your abs
Incline Sit-Ups:
If you are a beginning trainer, this is a good starting variation of the Abdominal Sit-up. How To Do It:
Set an incline sit-up board to a slight incline. If you don't have an incline sit-up board, you can use an adjustable incline bench, a decline bench, a Step platform with a riser under one of the ends or a flat bench with something under one end. You can even use a propped-up 2 x 6 board!
Your head should be on the higher end with your feet placed on the floor.
The execution is exactly the same. The only difference is that the tension on the abs is much less due to the greatly improved leverage in this position, allowing even people feel that their abs aren't strong enough to do the exercise.
Lying Superman Raises:
Though this exercise has a rather unique name, it is an excellent strengthening exercise for the lower back that you can do almost anywhere.
How To Do It:
Lie face down on the floor with your arms stretched out directly overhead (like Superman flying, hence the name).
Raise your left arm and right leg into the air at the same time, also raising your chest slightly off the floor. Hold there for a second and squeeze the muscles of your lower back. Lower your limbs back to the ground then raise your right arm and left leg and hold for a second.
You can push down with the hand that is on the ground to help raise your other arm and chest higher off the ground. This exercise, even though it only uses your limbs as resistance, provides an excellent way to strengthen the lower back muscles.
Conclusion
These three exercises will give you a good place to start with core training. You can begin improving your core strength by doing these exercises 3 times a week for 2 to 3 sets each.
Make core training a priority in your exercise routine and you will rapidly reap the benefits of having a stronger, more injury-proof midsection and back.
What Is The Core?
The core, as it's known in strength training circles, consists of all the muscles in your abdominal and lower back areas. This includes all the abdominal muscles (rectus abdominus, internal and external obliques, transverse abdominus and intercostals) as well as the muscles associated with the spine (the erector spinae group) and the hip flexors (iliacus and psoas, collectively known as the iliopsoas).
Why Is The Core So Important?
Weak core muscles contribute to all kinds of problems in the body, the most prevalent of which is lower back pain. By strengthening the muscles that help support the spine and improve posture, you can dramatically decrease the symptoms of lower back pain.
Picture your spine as a column of soda cans stacked one on top of the other. If you wanted to keep that column standing up under stress, what do you think would work better: a "tenser" bandage (as is used for wrapping injured ankles) or Scotch tape? Sure the tape would keep the cans together but the cans wouldn't receive a whole lot of support, would they?
When you strengthen the muscles of the core, you are in effect turning that Scotch tape into a nice, tight "tenser" bandage, increasing the amount of support that your spine gets.
Core training also has the potential to greatly improve sports performance. Watch a baseball pitcher throw a pitch in slow motion. The power of the throw starts at the legs, gets transferred through the abdominal area (a.k.a. the core) then ends up in the arm where the ball is released.
Imagine how much speed and power would be lost from that throw if the core muscles couldn't efficiently transfer the force from the legs to the throwing arm.
How Do I Train My Core?
Exercises that work the abdominals and the lower back are the staples of core training. Also, exercises that target the stabilization and power-transfer duties of the core muscles are very effective
The most basic abdominal training exercise is the standard crunch.
But I've got an exercise for you that blows the standard crunch right out of the water. The equipment required for this exercise: one rolled-up towel.
The exercise is known as the Abdominal Sit-Up. It uses a sit-up-like movement but focuses directly on the abdominal muscles rather than the hip flexors (which a regular sit-up does).
It is also very safe for your lower back. Another advantage it has over the standard crunch is that it targets the stretched (arched back) range of motion of the abs, which is totally missed in standard floor crunch.
Abdominal Sit-Ups:
Lie on your back on the floor. Roll up a towel or mat and slip it underneath your lower back, just above the waistband (the size of the towel affects your body position during this movement - use a fairly large towel).
Your knees should be bent about 90 degrees. Keep your feet close together and knees fairly wide apart. This prevents the hip flexors from having a direct line of pull, helping to minimize their involvement.
Do not anchor your feet or have someone hold them down. This automatically activates the hip flexors. You will get the most out of this exercise by minimizing their involvement.
The difficulty of this exercise depends on where you hold your hands. The hardest position is above your head at arms-length, then beside your head, then across your chest, then straight down between your legs or at your sides. Start with the easiest first then progress to the other positions as you get stronger.
You are now ready to begin.
Keeping your torso straight and stiff, start the sit-up by tightening your lower abs then lifting your upper body off the floor.
As you continue up, imagine trying to push your face up against the ceiling (think up, not around).
When you reach about 25 to 30 degrees above horizontal, hold there for a second or two and squeeze your abs hard.
Keep your lower back in contact with the towel at all times and always maintain tension in the abs.
Lower yourself down slowly and under control. Do not just drop back to the ground. The negative portion of this exercise is extremely effective.
Remember to adjust your arm position depending on the strength of your abs
Incline Sit-Ups:
If you are a beginning trainer, this is a good starting variation of the Abdominal Sit-up. How To Do It:
Set an incline sit-up board to a slight incline. If you don't have an incline sit-up board, you can use an adjustable incline bench, a decline bench, a Step platform with a riser under one of the ends or a flat bench with something under one end. You can even use a propped-up 2 x 6 board!
Your head should be on the higher end with your feet placed on the floor.
The execution is exactly the same. The only difference is that the tension on the abs is much less due to the greatly improved leverage in this position, allowing even people feel that their abs aren't strong enough to do the exercise.
Lying Superman Raises:
Though this exercise has a rather unique name, it is an excellent strengthening exercise for the lower back that you can do almost anywhere.
How To Do It:
Lie face down on the floor with your arms stretched out directly overhead (like Superman flying, hence the name).
Raise your left arm and right leg into the air at the same time, also raising your chest slightly off the floor. Hold there for a second and squeeze the muscles of your lower back. Lower your limbs back to the ground then raise your right arm and left leg and hold for a second.
You can push down with the hand that is on the ground to help raise your other arm and chest higher off the ground. This exercise, even though it only uses your limbs as resistance, provides an excellent way to strengthen the lower back muscles.
Conclusion
These three exercises will give you a good place to start with core training. You can begin improving your core strength by doing these exercises 3 times a week for 2 to 3 sets each.
Make core training a priority in your exercise routine and you will rapidly reap the benefits of having a stronger, more injury-proof midsection and back.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Calorie Cutting Tips!!!
When you feel that urge to go to the refrigerator instead, find something active to do. If it is not the middle of the night, take a walk around the block. Do some housework or yardwork. The idea is to distract yourself, especially when you feel the urge to snack when it is not time to eat and really not hungry. By choosing something that gets you moving, you burn additional calories.
Whenever you feel a need to pick up that piece of candy- instead, brush your teeth. When your mouth feels clean and fresh, you will be less tempted to put something in it.
Drink water- and lots of it. Drinking plenty of water is not only a healthy habit, it can help you with your weight loss efforts. Keeping yourself well hydrated helps cut down on water retention. When you drink a glass of water before eating, it can actually help dull your appetite, so helping you eat less!
If you have decided to go on a "diet", do it with a friend. You can help each other succeed. Be sure to provide support for one another- and, if you want to get alittle competitive in your weight loss efforts, go for it. It is important to note here that setting attainable goals is the only way you will be successful in the long-run. Do not aim to lose 50 pounds. Set your goal at 5 pounds a month, until you reach your goal.
If you tend to "reward" yourself with food, establish a new system for rewarding yourself. Buy a new piece of clothing, book, plant, flowers, or something for the house. The key is to stop finding an excuse to eat when you are not hungry.
If you are someone who likes to snack in the evening, choose foods that are relatively low in calories. Good choices would include air-popped popcorn, crunchy vegetables, rice cakes. By choosing foods that are not high in calories, you will not do as much "damage" if you eat too much.
Do not weigh yourself everyday! Your weight fluctuates constantly. You should only weigh yourself once a week or every other week. Be sure to do it at the same time of day. You typically weigh more in the evening than you do in the morning.
Do not drink your calories! It is simply too easy to lose track of how much you are taking in.Weight loss is about consuming less calories than you burn.
Finally, do not feel like you have to clean your plate. Stop eating when you feel full. Slowly eating your food will help you to eat less. If you eat too fast, your brain is unable to tell you are full in time and you end up eating too
Whenever you feel a need to pick up that piece of candy- instead, brush your teeth. When your mouth feels clean and fresh, you will be less tempted to put something in it.
Drink water- and lots of it. Drinking plenty of water is not only a healthy habit, it can help you with your weight loss efforts. Keeping yourself well hydrated helps cut down on water retention. When you drink a glass of water before eating, it can actually help dull your appetite, so helping you eat less!
If you have decided to go on a "diet", do it with a friend. You can help each other succeed. Be sure to provide support for one another- and, if you want to get alittle competitive in your weight loss efforts, go for it. It is important to note here that setting attainable goals is the only way you will be successful in the long-run. Do not aim to lose 50 pounds. Set your goal at 5 pounds a month, until you reach your goal.
If you tend to "reward" yourself with food, establish a new system for rewarding yourself. Buy a new piece of clothing, book, plant, flowers, or something for the house. The key is to stop finding an excuse to eat when you are not hungry.
If you are someone who likes to snack in the evening, choose foods that are relatively low in calories. Good choices would include air-popped popcorn, crunchy vegetables, rice cakes. By choosing foods that are not high in calories, you will not do as much "damage" if you eat too much.
Do not weigh yourself everyday! Your weight fluctuates constantly. You should only weigh yourself once a week or every other week. Be sure to do it at the same time of day. You typically weigh more in the evening than you do in the morning.
Do not drink your calories! It is simply too easy to lose track of how much you are taking in.Weight loss is about consuming less calories than you burn.
Finally, do not feel like you have to clean your plate. Stop eating when you feel full. Slowly eating your food will help you to eat less. If you eat too fast, your brain is unable to tell you are full in time and you end up eating too
Nibblers
I hear a lot of people say that, even when they watch what they eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner, they just can't seem to lose any weight. Many of them add that they nibble on the things they miss eating, figuring that one bite won't really make a difference.
Chronic nibblers, on the other hand, eat a lot more than they realize, and are often in denial about it.They consume excess calories several times each day without even realizing it, assuming that tiny amounts of this and that don't count. They DO count!
Here are a few examples of what you're consuming when you sample some of the most tempting items you encounter throughout the day, and the number of calories they contain. Keep in mind that most of these are high in fat and sparse in nutrients:
one fried chicken wing: 200
one teaspoon of cookie dough: 170
one fried spring roll: 104
mayo on your sandwich: 100
one square of cheese: 100
one tablespoon of either peanuts or peanut butter: 90
one cocktail meatball: 85
one pig in a blanket: 85
one spoonful of icing: 80
one lollipop: 50
one crab puff: 42
five m&m;s: 40
one potato chip with onion dip: 40
one potato chip plain: 40
Be mindful of every bite you eat. Keep a food diary. You'll be surprised at how these little things add up.
Chronic nibblers, on the other hand, eat a lot more than they realize, and are often in denial about it.They consume excess calories several times each day without even realizing it, assuming that tiny amounts of this and that don't count. They DO count!
Here are a few examples of what you're consuming when you sample some of the most tempting items you encounter throughout the day, and the number of calories they contain. Keep in mind that most of these are high in fat and sparse in nutrients:
one fried chicken wing: 200
one teaspoon of cookie dough: 170
one fried spring roll: 104
mayo on your sandwich: 100
one square of cheese: 100
one tablespoon of either peanuts or peanut butter: 90
one cocktail meatball: 85
one pig in a blanket: 85
one spoonful of icing: 80
one lollipop: 50
one crab puff: 42
five m&m;s: 40
one potato chip with onion dip: 40
one potato chip plain: 40
Be mindful of every bite you eat. Keep a food diary. You'll be surprised at how these little things add up.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
