Monday, December 31, 2007

Body Building Products - What is best for you?

So you want to be a bodybuilder? You fantasize of ripped muscles and a well defined six pack. While many dream of aspiring to the bodybuilding realm, few actually reach that pinnacle. In order to build the muscle required to become a competitive bodybuilder, one must endure a rigorous fitness routine, which include hours of weightlifting. In addition bodybuilders are required to adhere to a special diet and require a considerable amount of rest to allow their muscles to recover from the strenuous workouts.

As a sport, body builders take part in competitions worldwide. Participants are judged on their muscle tone, symmetry and overall routine. There are several levels of competition from amateur to the highly respected Mr. or Mrs. Universe competition, which has spawned the successes of such figures as the Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In order to increase muscle mass, one must first decrease body fat content. One way to increase this mass in to increase the intake of protein, which is the main component of muscle. Foods such as eggs, meats, beans and legumes are high in protein content and are a staple of a body builder’s diet. Not only do these foods help to build muscle, but they also aid in repairs.

An additional way to maintain a protein rich diet is by the use of Body Building Products. There are a plethora of such Body Building Products, powders and shakes readily available on the market today. They are normally an added component of a healthy body builder’s diet. Often times, given their hectic workout schedule, Body Building Products are used in the place of a regular meal. Meal replacement products are not only high in protein and low in fat; they also contain appropriate amounts of carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals in order to help sustain the athlete until their next meal. While Body Building Products were made popular by professional athletes, they are starting to find their way into the mainstream fitness market as well.

Bodybuilding shakes and supplements are available in two forms. Some are ready to eat, or drink, while others require the addition of juice, water or some other liquid before they can be consumed. Some of the more common products used in the bodybuilding arena include amino acids, glucosamine, chondroitin, creatine, and thermagenics. Body Building Products can be purchased in a variety of venues such as health food stores, pharmacies and from online vendors; however, some require a doctor’s prescription before they can be acquired.

The science and technology of fitness are constantly evolving. Manufacturers are creating Body Building Products that will not only provide all the necessary nutrition an athlete requires, they are also making them in formulations that taste good. It is important to remember that while these products provide the essential nutrients a body needs, they are not a replacement for a well balanced, healthy diet filled with appropriate amount fruits, vegetables, protein, grain and dairy products. Furthermore, supplements will not produce muscle mass without proper exercise. When in doubt, remember, the surest way to a healthy fit body is proper diet and exercise.

Thomas H. Lindblom is a freelance journalist that is always lookig for interesting topics to write about. There are a wide array of bodybuilding products available on the net, some of which can be of great help for professional bodybuilders. However, it's always good to be careful when buying these products. http://Sledge-Hammer.us is an excellent new online bodybuilding store with some products already popular in Europe.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Choosing a Personal Fitness and Nutrition Trainer

A personal fitness and nutrition trainer can help you enter a race where there's no engraved cup or money award at the finish line. Unlike the Thoroughbreds racing at the local park, you will be running for your very life instead. Fitness and nutrition are the keys to a quality long life.

Racing for Fitness

Almost 60% of people in the United States are overweight or obese. The consequences of having too much fat on your body can be severe. Obesity is a major cause of many serious illnesses including Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure and even certain forms of cancer.

It's hard to maintain a fitness routine on your own. On top of that you are bombarded with advertisements selling unhealthy food and gadgets and inventions that actually result in less physical activity. The perfect examples are kids playing electronic games for hours instead of baseball or soccer. There are bigger and better computers and TVs promoting lifestyles with little exercise time included.

Sedentary lifestyles are not good for the body, and neither is junk food. But everyone lives extremely busy lives and fitness and nutrition often take a low priority. A personal fitness and nutrition trainer can help you rearrange your priorities so you place your health top of the list.

When you are young, it's easy to believe good health is forever. But as you age, the truth is slowly revealed. Metabolisms slow naturally. Fat accumulates after years of eating meals with little nutritional value.

Free radicals form unimpeded because the diet has consistently lack antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables. Other diseases eventually take root. For example, lack of exercise increases the chances of developing osteoporosis.

Finding Your Stride

A personal fitness and nutrition trainer can assist you in a number of ways beginning with an assessment of your current fitness level. A personal trainer will work with to establish mutual goals including measures of progress such as weight loss or inches loss.

Personal fitness and nutrition includes the following:

Evaluating current dietary habits and making necessary changes

Calculating the body mass index (BMI)

Establishing an exercise routine that fits your lifestyle

Develop a strength training program

Tracking progress and making necessary adjustments as you progress

Using a personal fitness and nutrition trainer can help you stay motivated as you begin the race for your life. The quality of your life in your senior years is directly related to the level of fitness you maintain in your younger years. It becomes clearer with each medical study that problems associated with aging are as much a consequence of poor nutrition as they are of the aging process itself.

Utilizing the services of a personal fitness and nutrition trainer only makes sense if you're ready to get serious about your health. Racing for the grand prize of good health means finding your "fitness stride".

You don't have to work out 8 hours a day to stay fit and healthy. You do have to exercise regularly and watch what you eat. A personal fitness and nutrition trainer can be the key to your success.

You Just Don’t Need Fitness Equipment in the Office

When you want to add fitness equipment in the office, you need a way to fit it into your space. Many offices seem smaller due to more employees, while other companies just don't own a large enough space. If you want to continue to add fitness to your life, you need to be creative about what kinds of fitness equipment you can bring, but you also need to learn about ways to forgo fitness equipment in the office altogether. Sometimes, all you need is your own body weight and fitness goal.

If you like to have actual fitness equipment in the office, you can do a few things. One, you might want to replace your office chair with a balance ball. This will help you work your core muscles all day as well as take any additional pressure off your back and neck. You can also use it during your lunch hour for exercise or as a stress reliever when you're under a lot of pressure. You can also fit resistance bands into your desk quite easily and pull them out whenever you need the extra exercise boost.

If you don't want to have fitness equipment in the office, but still want to exercise, you need to look at your surrounding for inspiration. A normal chair is a great supporting point for leg lifts and glute lifts. You can also do squats into your chair, quickly coming up as soon as you touch the seat. You can find heavy office supplies and equipment to lift for resistance or you can flex your muscles in order to increase your tone. Right now, you can pull your abdominal muscles in tightly and see how long you can leave them in that position. Try to repeat this as often as you can.

In order to get a good workout without fitness equipment in the office, you need to look for opportunities to move. This might mean taking the stairs instead of the elevator, volunteering to walk places when you need to run errands, and parking your car as far away as you can. While each of these steps seems insignificant, they add up to more calories burned over the course of the day. Your body can reap benefits in these shorter exercise stints – you really don't have to run five miles a day to be in shape.

If you don't have fitness equipment in the office, that doesn't mean that you're doomed to a life of being out of shape.

Friday, December 21, 2007

Pointers on Losing Weight Safely

People who want to lose weight commonly, and first of all, think about reducing the amount of food they eat. This may be quite a solution but not exactly the best there is. In fact, depending on the amount you reduce in your food intake, it may even be dangerous to one's health. So how does one lose weight effectively and safely? Here are some points one should consider when trying to lose weight:

Beware of the Crash Diets

Most people think that trimming down the calories can alone shed off their unwanted excess. Probably this is because of the fad there is in advertising about low-calorie food products and beverages. What people don't know is that this could be dangerous because when they decrease their calorie intake way to below the required levels, the body begins to digest the fats. Sounds good but it doesn't actually. Burning fat requires a lot of energy. Since there is not much energy in the body to facilitate metabolism of fat, it will run at a very slow pace resulting to fatigue, illness and weak immune system.

Low-calorie diet is also compensated for by the body by burning muscle. People on this type of diet who revert back to their old eating habits end up gaining back some, if not all the weight they have shed off. This would consist mainly of fats. And since fats have more volume per mass than muscle, they end up having the same weight as before but more bulkier. In losing weight, one should keep in mind that they should lose excess body fats only.

However, one can try out eating small meals at more frequent intervals. This way the body will not think that it is being starved and will not store food as fat.

Eat Properly

One may have considered junking the crash diet option but he should also not forget to watch what he is eating. Variety must always be considered so that one may be able to get the necessary nutrients from his diet.It is also healthier to eat food which are roasted, steamed or broiled rather than fried. It is also important to include a lot of fiber in the diet. Frequent rehydration is also necessary.

Pump Up lean Muscle Mass

Muscles burn calories when they work; they even do so at rest. Unlike fats which just lie around, bulge around the pants and dangle beneath the sleeves, muscles burn calories all-day round. With this fact, one can start Weight Loss by increasing muscle mass. The more muscles, the less fat will be left. This is attainable starting with working out with resistance exercises.

Engaging in Aerobics

Aerobics are not only good for the heart by increasing cardio-vascular endurance. Aerobics also help in increasing lean muscle mass while simultaneously decreasing excess body fat. Aside from these, aerobics make the metebolic process more efficient and its rate high, even after a long while. Imagine burning fat efficiently while driving along the freeway or even while watching television.

Extra "Push"

Some people believe that smoking and caffeine can actually help in losing weight. This can perhaps be true; however, they do the body more harm than good because of their side-effects. For that extra "push", one can try out taking food supplements. Afterall, 95% of these products out in the market actually does good.

On Taking Diet Pills

Over-the-counter diet pills affect the amount of weight one loses as well as how long one keeps that amount of weight off. However, one must be wary of the side-effects of these diet pills. As such, one must faithfully follow the instructions provided for in the packaging. It is also prudent to consult the physician anyway before trying out these drugs and also to find out which type would be best for the individual.

Losing weight does not have to mean sacrifice and suffering. It actually means opening up to a more full and healthy life where one may not have to feel bad about himself having to look the way he does or not being able to do what he wants to do. Losing weight might entail a little adjustments plus the discomforts, but as the old saying goes, "no pain, no gain." Besides fat, what has one got to lose anyway?

Monday, December 17, 2007

"Losing Weight the Healthy Way"

Almost 108 million Americans were overweight or obese in 1999. Until now, obesity continues to be a serious problem and is predicted to reach epidemic levels by the year 2020.

One way to prevent this scenario is to make people aware of the risks of being overweight or obese.

Here are some diseases that you are putting yourself in risk of if you are carrying a lot of extra pounds:

1. heart disease
2. stroke
3. diabetes
4. cancer
5. arthritis
6. hypertension

Losing weight helps to prevent and control these diseases.

The quick Weight Loss methods which have spread like fire these days do not provide lasting results. More often than not, dieting methods which involve dietary drinks, foods and supplement or pills do not work. If they do, the results are just temporary.

It is better to rely on a healthy Weight Loss option which will provide lifetime results. You have to set realistic goals and not expect to lose a lot of pounds in a short span of time.

Here are some tips on how you can lose those unwanted pounds the healthy way:

1. Do not starve your self.

The key to a healthier way of losing weight is: Do not diet.

You may seem happy and feel that you are losing those unwanted flabs on your belly and thighs by skipping meals. But remember that this would not last long. Your body cannot tolerate having insufficient food to fuel the energy that you use up everyday.

If you get used to skipping one or two meals a day, your stored calories will be used up instead of the energy that should have been provided by your meals. So if you just eat one huge sandwich in one day, it will end up straight to your problem area (i.e. highs, buttocks, hips).

2. Start your day right.

Mothers always say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Have a healthy meal in the morning to jump-start your metabolism.

Your food intake after you wake up will be used to burn fat all day long.

3. Eat small, healthy meals frequently.

Five small-serving snacks per day is better than three hearty meals. Eating more frequently, and in small servings, can prevent over-eating. This will also increase your metabolism and make calories burn faster.

4. Decide on how much weight you want to lose.

Keep your goals realistic. In the long run, it is virtually impossible for you to lose 40 pounds in 2 weeks. Have a mindset that you want to eat healthy to stay healthy for the rest of your life.

Once you have decided on a Weight Loss plan or program, stick to it and make sure that you follow your own set of dieting rules.

5. Drink lots of water.

Your body needs sufficient water to burn fat and keep your cells hydrated and healthy.

6. Avoid too much sugar.

Plan your meals around lots of fruits and vegetables, some bread, rice or pasta for that carbo fix that you need, plus lean meat and protein rich-foods. Sweets, sodas and pastries should be once-in-a-while indulgences only.

7. Watch your fat intake.

Fat is not the culprit to being overweight. You need this to keep your weight at the proper level.

There is such a thing as healthy fats. Olive, peanuts and canola oil have them. Tuna, salmon and mackerel have omega-3 fats which is good for the heart.

8. Exercise.

Leave your car if you are only going a few blocks from home, take the stairs instead of the elevator, jog, cycle or skate. Use these activites and other home chores if you are too lazy to go to the gym and take exercise classes. Make sure that you do this regularly and you will not even notice that you are already shedding pounds with these mundane activities.

It does not matter how much weight you plan or need to lose. What is important is that you set realistic goals for yourself.

Go slow. If you have already lost 5 or 6 pounds, give yourself a break then try to lose the next 5 pounds.

Eat healthy, drink lots of water, have enough sleep and exercise. This will give you a higher chance of losing weight and improving your health, which would result to a new, healthier you.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Health Pointers for the Fitness Babes

Exercise is an essential in life. Most people will certainly nod their heads to this. Exercise is not only perfect for losing weight, it is also good for keeping a reasonable body weight, for giving a boost on the metabolic rate and also for burning those unwanted excess calories. Exercise also revs up the heart and the lungs' machinery making them more efficient in doing their natural functions.

Aside from these, exercise also works for strengthening the bones and keeps people looking good and feeling good about themselves. Exercise also gives people the stamina to enable them to keep up with the pace of their lifestyles. Unfortunately, not many people chose to do what is good for them. Most people could not decide exactly what to do when waking up in the morning; whether to exercise or to press the snooze button one more time.

The following tips are very helpful in reaching and maintaining the ideal body weight. This is especially great for women since they get through a lot of things going on in their bodies and are more susceptible to osteoporosis. Not to mention that many women are under the pressure of keeping themselves beautiful. It is recommended that one or two of these tips at a time are incorporated to the work out routine.

Worry not that the exercise routine is not enough. It is important to keep the commitments one makes. Ideally, it is advised to exercise three to five times a week for 20-60 minutes. However, this is not exactly the case in the real world. One should not frustrate herself by aiming for the ideal when she knows for herself that it is utterly impossible. If she an manage it two times a week for twenty minutes per session, that will do just great.

It is best to focus on doing what one knows she can do than to reproach herself for having not done enough. She can start from this point and then progress on afterwards. This should make her feel successful for having kept her commitment to herself.

Weight lifting should always come first. Many women always do cardio exercises first before weight lifting. A disadvantage of this is that it is possible to miss a critical component of the routine and spend all of it on cardio training. A women may notice this by not being able to see results even after devoting long hours at the gym. This can be avoided by reversing the order. This will guarantee visible positive outcome.

Remember to monitor heart rate. It is recommended to exercise at 75-85% of the maximum heart rate. Many people stick with just pumping up only 50% of their maximum heart rate. To ensure that one is working out at the prescribed target heart rate, she should use a heart rate monitor or any exercise equipment with this feature.

Work out for only an hour or less. Doing this will keep one from dreading the gym. Focusing on the exercise and the aim to be accomplished will make each work out session more and more efficient.

Have some sort of Fitness social support. Being in a Fitness community maybe the important element lacking in your training program. A social support can do amazing wonders and therefore should not be underestimated. It would be helpful to work out in a gym once in while if one customarily does her work outs at home. One can also try classes in activities that have always been interesting such as yoga, pilates or sailing perhaps. One can also join clubs such as a walking club or a running club for instance.

Pep talk yourself. One should not pressure herself too much; rather, it is best to congratulate one's self and give out words of encouragement in between exercises. One should never forget to say some positive feedback for herself.

Monday, December 3, 2007

A Guide to the E Vitamin

The e vitamin is extremely important for a variety of functions in the body. A healthy heart needs plenty of the e vitamin as it has been shown to actually prevent heart disease. The e vitamin can also help contain any existing heart disease and stop it from getting worse.

E vitamin is also vital in protecting the cell membranes from the harmful free radicals that are present in the body. Without e vitamin, amongst others, the cell membranes would be damaged and this could lead to serious health problems, including cancer. The reason that the e vitamin is so effective against free radicals is that it is fat soluble so it can be absorbed into the cell membranes. The e vitamin is therefore essential for the immune system.

The recommended daily amount of the e vitamin that a person requires depends on their body weight. This is connected to the fact that the more fat a diet contains then the more of the e vitamin that is needed. However, the only foods that really contain any reasonable amount of the e vitamin are vegetable oils, seeds, wheat germ, and nuts. It is for this reason that most people should take some form of e vitamin supplement.

A deficiency of the e vitamin does not affect a person immediately. In fact, it can take months for the effects of insufficient e vitamin to be detected. After years of e vitamin deficiency there may e some detectable damage to the nerves of the spinal cord or retina of the eye but this is very rare. Most people obtain enough e vitamin from a normal diet but it is essential that the food that a person eats contains a little fat to help with the absorption of the e vitamin.

There are a few medical conditions that may lead to a deficiency of the e vitamin and may require the person to take e vitamin supplements. Cystic fibrosis causes a person to be unable to digest fats well which leads to less of the e vitamin being absorbed. Crohn’s disease causes to lower absorption rates of the e vitamin and a supplement may be necessary. Some forms of liver disease can also lead to problems absorbing the e vitamin, especially through the intestine. Of course, as fat is required to help absorb sufficient amounts of the e vitamin, anyone on an extremely low-fat diet will need to discuss their options for increasing the amount of e vitamin that their body needs.

Until next time, keep living your best life!

Hypnosis Weight Loss: Some Ways to Stop the Weighting

Controlling your weight and avoiding weight gain as you get older are important ways to prevent a host of weight-related health problems.

Indeed, if you are more than 20 pounds over your ideal weight, you are at greater risk for a rogues’ gallery of potentially deadly conditions, including diabetes, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, endometrial cancer, obstructive sleep apnea, and breast cancer.

What’s more, most people who are overweight tend to avoid exercise, and that avoidance just adds to the toll paid for extra pounds.

If you have a sedentary lifestyle and are overweight, you are at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and other health problems. And, if you already have a medical condition such as high cholesterol, being overweight puts you at higher risk for complications.

The good news is that even modest amounts of weight loss can improve your health significantly. Loss of 10% of body weight can reduce blood pressure, high cholesterol, triglyceride, and high blood sugar levels.

Today, there are many procedures that can contribute and help people loss weight effectively. One of the known procedure in losing weight is through hypnosis.

However, many misconceptions have come up with regards to the application of hypnosis in losing eight. And because it does not involve drugs or any kinds of medications and surgery, many people tend to think that losing weight through hypnosis seems to be one of the safest weight loss program.

To know more about hypnosis and its effects on losing weight, here is a list of some facts that will give you an insight about what it can do to your body weight.

1. Hypnosis can be an imminently risky if not done properly and not utilize by people who are highly trained with the real concept of hypnosis.

Even if many people tend to think that hypnosis will not pose imminent danger to their health, still, it is important to know that the person who will do the procedure is skilled enough and that he or she knows what factors to consider before doing the procedures.

2. Hypnosis alone cannot eliminate excess fat from the body and, therefore, make somebody lose weight.

Most health experts contend that hypnosis should only be a part of a whole assimilated process. It should never be used as the sole weight loss procedure.

Moreover, one session of hypnosis will only have very minimal results on an individual’s weight. When losing weight, hypnosis matched with psychotherapy will be more effective than hypnosis alone. This is because hypnosis is only a state of deeply relaxing the mind, in which one can still be in control of his or her own body.

3. Hypnosis is one way of getting into the subliminal state of a person. When a person is on the “hypnotic stage,” the body is more responsive to suggestibility because of its intensified state of concentration.

However, this does not necessarily mean that through hypnosis, one can already “reprogram” the mind of an individual.

In reality, hypnosis can only run the range from trouble-free relaxation condition to proper initiation managed by a professional hypnotists. Hence, it should not be considered paranormal and magical in its upshots.

Boiled down, people should be more aware that hypnosis is not a sole effective process in losing weight. It is more of a facilitator of various treatment techniques.

Therefore, it should be combined with other weight loss management program to be effective in making people lose excess weight. In this manner, people will be able to lose more weight with a more relaxed and refreshed state of mind.

As they say, a healthy mind is a healthy body.

Until next time, keep living your best life!