Many people believe that you need certain machines or diets in order to lose weight. Yes every person is different and has different needs but that doesn’t mean that every machine or diet will work for you. The fundamental reason they fail is because they are sustainable whereas diet and proper exercise are.


Personal trainers are always trying to push different workout equipment on their clients and this shows they are traitors. Truth be told, proper daily exercise is the key to success, no one piece of equipment can help make you achieve every single weight loss goal. The body is a machine and every single part of it needs to be moved, that’s the way we were designed, to be in constant motion. This is why it is so hard to lose weight because the body is extremely efficient when using energy, and when this energy isn’t used it’s stored on the body as fat. Understanding this concept can help you see why controlling portions and maintaining a proper exercise routine is vital.


Please remember how you go into the shape you were in. It wasn’t from being responsible for the food you were eating or thinking of how to include more exercise into your daily routine. So you will need to make changes that affect your daily habits. Remember you didn’t get out of shape overweight, and the same for getting back into shape, it will take time. Stay motivated and keep on track, what you know about basic health such as diet and exercise are the most essentials parts to changing your lifestyle.


The three basics are:


1. Eating foods from all the food groups and watching portions
2. Getting some sort of physical activity for 30 minutes three times a week
3. Getting between 7 to 8 hours of sleep or to the point you feel rested


These basics will help you stay on track and avoid trying some fade diet or workout machine. As well in the next 4 to 6 months you will see drastic changes to your body, inches lost, pounds dropped, and explosive energy levels, all the benefits of a regular fitness routine.

1. Watch the Sugar

Sugar from such things as fruit juices and fruit snacks may seem low in fat but once ingested the sugar turns to extra calories and finally more body fat. These fruit juices and fruit juice snacks can have more sugar then a typical soda.
Reduction of sugar is important to good health; therefore always check out the sugar content of anything you put in your mouth, even if it appears to be healthy.

2. Throw out the Scales

People often get obsessed with their weight and not losing weight, when in reality you should be more concerned with the loss of body fat. This is because weight doesn’t accurately reflect the level of your fitness, so make sure your losing inches, the weight will come later.

3. Tight Muscles

Just like aerobic exercise is necessary to get back into shape, strength training can be to. It’s essential for people in any age group to add extra muscle to their bodies, this muscle burns calories and is necessary for overall good health. As well
Strength training should help you achieve your fitness goals faster and help you to maintain them.

4. Increased Protein

So many diets today stress the fact to eat more or less protein, in reality though the body needs protein to rebuild muscle and tissues that it broken down during exercise. If you are exerting yourself more then you once did adding protein to your diet will only help to build that lean muscle you will need to burn calories.

You will need at least 30% to 50% of your diet dedicated to carbohydrates, 20% to 30%protein and 20% or 30% from fat. If you stick with this equation, you will benefit.

5. Be Realistic

Wouldn’t it be nice to just run a mile and not feel tired or be in pain days later and see instant results.

However, it is important to be realistic about several things. First, you need to understand that you more than likely will not (or should not) start out with a hard work out if you have not been in a regular exercise routine. Start out slow and do not set yourself up for failure by expecting miracles overnight.

Getting fit takes time and with commitment, you will reach your goals.

6. Track Progress

Sometimes when trying to get in shape, you will be sweating and out of breath and not seeing any results. This isn’t true, a lot is going on within the body, sometimes it takes time for the body to begin to use fat for energy and this switch takes some time.

Keep track of two things in particular. First, track your measurements, this is important by knowing where you began, you can then begin to gauge your success. It’s like anything without measurements change may not always be visible even though a change has been made, remember you do see yourself every day; it’s hard to see a difference sometimes. Second, track your routines so you can determine what is working for you and what is not. This is key in adjusting your routines accordingly; with a few simple changes a lot of progress can be achieved.

Write it down! it doesn’t matter where just keep track and in no time you will begin to see results.

Most exercises are safe to perform during pregnancy, as long as you exercise with caution and do not overdo it.

The safest and most productive activities are swimming, brisk walking, indoor stationary cycling, step or elliptical machines, and low-impact aerobics (taught by a certified aerobics instructor). These activities carry little risk of injury, benefit your entire body, and can be continued until birth.

Tennis and racquetball are generally safe activities, but changes in balance during pregnancy may affect rapid movements. Other activities such as jogging can be done in moderation, especially if you were doing them before your pregnancy. You may want to choose exercises or activities that do not require great balance or coordination, especially later in pregnancy.

What Exercises Should Be Avoided During Pregnancy?

There are certain exercises and activities that can be harmful if performed during pregnancy. They include:

Holding your breath during any activity.
Activities where falling is likely (such as skiing and horseback riding).
Contact sports such as softball, football, basketball, and volleyball.
Any exercise that may cause even mild abdominal trauma such as activities that include jarring motions or rapid changes in direction.
Activities that require extensive jumping, hopping, skipping, bouncing, or running.
Deep knee bends, full sit-ups, double leg raises, and straight-leg toe touches.
Bouncing while stretching.
Waist-twisting movements while standing.
Heavy exercise spurts followed by long periods of no activity.
Exercise in hot, humid weather.

Pregnancy is a great time in a womens life and she should not have to stop everything she is doing just because she is pregnant, all she has to do is be more careful.

Creatine is a naturally occurring compound derived from glycine and arginine and found primarily in the heart, brain, and skeletal muscle. It plays a key role in the body's energy system, and has many secondary roles. The average American gets about one gram of creatine per day from their diet, and one gram is produced in the body. Herring, salmon, tuna, and beef are all high in creatine, but you would have to eat very large amounts of these foods to get the benefits achieved through supplementation. Creatine is used primarily to increase athletic performance, but may also be useful in preventing various conditions affecting the brain, heart, and musculature.


Creatine is used mainly in strength training in athletes. Supplementing with 5 grams a day is recommended as the safe amount to take it. This would be done once a day for 30 days and then a month off would be required which then one can supplement again for a full month. Professional weight lifters have been known to supplement with upwards of 15 to 30 grams of creatine a day for 30 days. This is very hard on the bodies organs especially the liver and kidneys.


After being ingested, creatine is absorbed into the bloodstream, most likely by the amino acid transporter , and usually reaches a maximum plasma concentration in less than two hours . While blood levels are elevated, the creatine transporter (CreaT) actively transports creatine into skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, and the brain . At this point, there are a variety of mechanisms by which creatine may exert its ergogenic effects.


• Modulation of energy metabolism - Creatine operates as an energy and pH buffer during exercise. Creatine kinase catalyzes a reaction between free creatine and phosphor ions (from the breakdown of ATP to ADP), resulting in phosphocreatine (PCr), which is locked into the muscle cell due to its strong negative charge. The PCr can then react with ADP to form ATP during exercise, and during rest periods more PCr is generated. All of this equates to more energy during sets and faster recovery between sets .


• Increased protein synthesis - Supplementing with creatine has been shown to increase intracellular water retention . Not only does this have the benefit of making the muscles appear larger, it may have an anabolic effect as well. Hyperhydration stimulates protein synthesis and inhibits protein breakdown, and cell volume has a correlation with catabolism in a variety of ailments . Numerous studies have confirmed that creatine supplementation prevents protein catabolism . There is also evidence that creatine increases satellite cell mitotic activity .


• Reduced oxidative stress - In addition to direct effects on energy metabolism and protein synthesis, creatine also has indirect effects on them because it protects against tissue damage, thus increasing the body's ability to regenerate ATP and synthesize protein and protecting against a variety of other harms caused by exercise-induced oxidation. Creatine primarily protects against the peroxynitrite and superoxide free radicals .


There are very few side effects associated with creatine use . Gastrointestinal discomfort is experienced by some, but generally goes away when dosage is lowered. Weight gain is also a common side effect, however this is mostly water weight (from muscle cell volumization). There are two case reports in the literature of creatine exacerbating renal dysfunction, but multiple studies have shown it to have no impact on healthy individuals. You should consult a doctor before using creatine if you have a kidney disorder.


Creatine can help repair tissues faster and allow for beginners to work out regularly without a lot of time off due to pain and recovery. I would suggest trying to supplement some into a regular strength training routine because the benefits due of creatine are great.

Adding a dash of sauce of dark soy sauce to your daily diet could improve antioxidant levels and decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease, say scientists from Singapore.

The researchers, led by Professor Barry Halliwell from the National University of Singapore, have previously reported that dark soy sauce (DSS) has an antioxidant activity 150 times that of vitamins C and E, and ten times that of wine.

The study found that the positive results from the intake of high levels of antioxidants and the reduction in cardiovascular disease.
CVD causes almost 50 per cent of deaths in Europe, and is reported to cost the EU economy an estimated €169bn ($202bn) per year. According to the American Heart

Association, 34.2 per cent of Americans (70.1m people) suffered from some form of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in 2002.

The observer-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study, randomly assigned 24 young healthy volunteers (average age of 22.8, BMI of 21.6 kg per sq. metre, and blood pressure of 109/65 mmHg) to eat a single dose (30 mL) of dark soy sauce (Tiger Brand, Cheun Chong Food Industries, Singapore) with a 200 gram serving of plain boiled rice, or the rice plus food colouring (placebo).

A three-day washout period followed and then the volunteers were crossed-over to receive the other meal. Measurements were taken every hour for four hours after eating, including blood and urine samples, blood pressure, and heart rates.

The researchers found that levels of compounds called F2-isoprostanes, a product of free radical oxidation of arachidonic acid and related to oxidative stress from smoking, CVD, obesity and diabetes, were lower in the plasma of the DSS group than placebo. After three hours, the DSS group had a 13 per cent lower level of F2-isoprostanes. The difference grew to 16 per cent after four hours.

This just proves that the overall benefits of soy sauce and antioxidents are very important for your cardiovascular health

Glutamine Rebound

Many everyday people, especially athletes and bodybuilders are concerned about the affect alcohol use will have on their health. Will there be any serious consequences? What will it do the body?

After a night of alcohol consumption, a drinker will not fall into the deepest kind of sleep because the body is trying to recover from the depressing effect it has on the system. When someone is drinking, alcohol inhibits glutamine, one of the body’s natural stimulants. Once the person stops drinking, the body tries to make more glutamine then it needs in order to bring balance back to the body.

The higher level of glutamine stimulates the brain and stops the drinker from getting to sleep, once asleep the drinker can’t reach the deepest levels of sleep because of the increase in glutamine. This is the reason the next morning the onset of fatigue is felt with a hangover. Severe glutamine rebound during a hangover also may be responsible for tremors, anxiety, restlessness and increased blood pressure.

Although glutamine may increase the severity of a hangover, it actually is used in the body to speed up recovery by removing toxins from the body. This is why it is important and helps to insure the body’s normal daily function.

Congeners

Depending on the different alcohol you drink you may find different hangover symptoms. This is all due to the amount of congeners, byproducts of fermentation in certain types of alcohol. By combining different alcoholic drinks together you can actually change how serve your hangover may possible be.

The largest amounts of these toxins are found in red wine and dark liquors such as:

• bourbon

• brandy

• whiskey

• tequila

White wine and clear liquors such as:

• rum

• vodka

• and gin

These have fewer congeners and therefore cause less frequent and less severe hangovers. In one study, 33 percent of those who drank an amount of bourbon relative to their body weight reported severe hangover, compared to 3 percent of those who drank the same amount of vodka.

By combining different kinds of alcohol together you increase their potency and increase symptoms of a hangover. As well because beer is carbonated this speeds up the absorption of alcohol in the body making those drinkers feel more intoxicated and when combined with other forms of alcohol can give the body less time to recover, causing higher levels of toxins to be present, thus making hangover’s worse.

For some weight loss can be very difficult because it takes a lot of will and determination to not fall back into old habits. Some people just need help in order to reach their goals and this can be done with Lap Band Surgery. Although this surgery isn’t for everyone especially if the patient has preexisting medical condition that may be complicated by this surgery so it does require a physicians to look into your medical history to determine if you are the right candidate for such a surgery.

Lap Band surgery is becoming increasingly common procedure. This may be due to the fact of how many celebrities and talk shows have had widely publicized surgeries or covered the topic on their show. This surgery does give hope to those who do feel helpless about losing that extra weight because they have tried everything.

The surgery consists of a series of small incisions, your surgeon would use a small camera, called a laparoscope, to visualize placement of the Lap-Band. The Lap-Band is placed around the top of the stomach and secured in place with sutures. The port is then placed underneath the skin on the top part of the abdomen. Surgery should take only about an hour, and an overnight stay in the hospital may or may not be required. The benefits of this procedure over others:

• The tightness of the gastric-band can be adjusted.

• The gastric-band is placed using key-hole surgery which doesn’t leave large scars and minimizes post-surgery recovery time.

• Gastric-band surgery is reversible and because nothing permanent has been done to the stomach, it can return to its normal shape.

• Patients typically lose 50% to 60% of their excess body weight within two years after the procedure. Additional plastic surgery may be indicated, depending on how much weight is lost.

This surgery isn’t always going to be the first thing your doctor will recommend you once you tell them you want to lose weight. It’s actually used in most cases as last resorts to help those extremely overweight lose the weight they need to return to a normal life.

A good candidate for this surgery would have a BMI, or body mass index, is between 35 and 39, then you must also have associated severe medical problems, or co-morbid conditions, in order to be a candidate for the Lap-Band. These conditions usually include diabetes, hypertension, or high cholesterol. But if your BMI is greater than 40, then it is not required that there be any associated medical problems.

Most insurance companies also require a history of previous attempts at weight loss. How stringent these requirements are can differ from one insurance company to another.

Many people do not meet the NIH (National Institutes of Health) requirements or do not have the insurance benefit for weight loss surgery, but they may still be able to pursue the procedure by paying for it themselves. Surgery typically cost between $17,000 to $30,000, depending on where you live, and the experience of the surgeon.

Source: http://www.yourbariatricsurgeryguide.com/lap-banding/#candidate

Cardio is a necessary fitness component everyone must take part in. It’s a love for many but others may hate everything about it. If cardio isn’t being included in your fitness plan, add to see the new benefits you can see and feel.

Cardio, short for cardiovascular exercise, is any movement that gets your heart rate up and increases blood circulation throughout the body. There are various forms and methods of performing cardio exercise - all which will have specific benefits and guidelines.

The whole concept of cardio is that by performing a movement you must use more energy resulting in calories being burned, thus losing weight and excess body fat. Depending on what kinds of fitness goals you have different cardio workouts may benefit you more, especially if you are targeting to lose weight in certain areas of your body.

Cardio workouts don’t just help you lose weight there are many different benefits of cardio workouts which should just give you definite reasons as why you must include them:

Benefits
• Stronger heart and lungs
• Increased bone density
• Reduced stress
• Reduced risk of heart disease and some types of cancer
• Temporary relief from depression and anxiety
• More confidence about how you feel and how you look
• Better sleep
• More energy
• Setting a good example for your kids to stay active as they get older

Looking for tips to help you get on track? Want to know how you can stay motivated? In this next section are some tips and ideas about cardio and ways that you can start, continue, and maintain your workout.

• Quick and efficient. Try to get at least 30 minutes of cardio exercise 3 days a week. You need to either split this up into two 15 minutes intervals or all at once. This is just so you will see the listed benefits above. Try something easy that you think you can do that way you can build a positive outlook on your cardio workout and not get discouraged--walking, running, going to the gym, vigorous yard work--whatever you want.

• Make it a habit. Make sure you continue with your workout. Measure your goals and keep track of the progress you have made, this will further your success and give you an idea of what you can achieve and how you did it.

• Be Enduring. Start slow, change comes with time and that’s why patience is necessary, weight lose may not be obvious after your first few workout but stay positive if you have changed your eating, included a working routine than results will come. Make your goals long term, and then put your focus on daily changes you are making this will allow for changes in intensity and duration of your workouts later on.

• Put your Body First. Learn more about how your body responds, try to forget about your workouts intensity, duration and try things like speeding up and slowing down during a workout. Track how your body responds to these changes, do you feel tired or can you speed up more? This is so you can base your workout on how you feel not on what someone else told you that you have to do. These customized workouts allow you to feel confident about how you are working with what feels right for your body.

• Get Outside!. I know the weather can be bad sometimes, but not every day, try to take your workouts outside. This will allow you to switch up the environment and decrease boredom. As well you get to explore your area. Think about it, when was the last time you went exploring in your own neighbourhood parks, bike trails and walkways. This will take your mind off the workout and connect you back with your body and environment.

• Switch it up. Change up your workout. You can pretty much do any kind of workout just as long as it gets your heart rate up. By switching your workout week to week your body doesn’t have a chance to get use to it and you will continue to see results. Discover new workouts you like or things you like to do this can only help you.

• Be Happy with your Body. Your body is an amazing machine. It can repair itself, become stronger, and grow. You have the ability to change your health and help live longer and feel better. It has many abilities, so take advantage of it and improve it.


Conclusion

Now with the benefits and some tips to help you appreciate cardio and its ability to help you, go out there and use these tips and change your body. The time is now! so seize the day and make a difference for yourself. Your deserve it!

As all people do who are looking to get back into shape, both men and women know that the only way this can be accomplished is through fitness and exercise. Exercise can improve your health, increase your energy level, relieve stress, and help you to sleep better. A fit man or woman will remain stronger and more independent as he or she ages.

As anything in life fitness is a difficult path to initiate when one is use to a certain lifestyle. Trying to get out of old habits and begin new is by far one of the hardest things to do. It takes a lot of will power and perseverance. In this day in age with things being very fast paced, men and women must find ways to make a fitness goal and stick with it.

Being a fit man or woman does not have to mean doing it on your own. If you’re like anyone who has tried to begin a fitness routine and found it hard to stick to because of boredom or lack of motivation than a fitness partner may be the solution you have been looking for. This fitness partner will help you through the rough parts of any fitness routine and it should be someone you can count on. Firstly through accountability by being responsible to someone you are more likely to continue with your fitness goals.

The right fitness partner should be motivating you to achieve your goals. They should be supportive and positive. Who needs a partner that won’t help you to achieve your goals? This is the most important aspect of having a partner and is necessary for both of your success. Your fitness partner should be someone close to your fitness level that way you can progress at similar pace, and encourage each other to climb to new levels of fitness. Having similar goals and maintaining a similar routine can help keep you and your partner confident and motivated to continue.

Sensitivity is also necessary attribute of a fitness partner they should be honest and looking out for your best interest. Avoid being critical of one another and try to help continue trying to seek out better results. Weight loss goals should be realistic, trying to achieve outrageous goals will only discourage you, normal weight loss is about 1 to 2lbs a week, and anything more isn’t healthy and could pose a risk to your overall health. Maintaining a routine for workouts with your partner may be difficult if you both live very busy lives (family, children, work), trying to work around these activities such as mornings, evenings, weekends, or on a lunch hour are great times to workout. Remember it’s recommended to work out 3 times a week for 30 minutes which shows you don’t need to be spending countless hours working out to achieve your goals.

Fitness partners are a great way to boost your success rate with a fitness plan. By helping you stick to the plan the two of you should be able to achieve your goals and help each other through the good and the bad parts of fitness regimen.

To answer this age old question if drinking water helps you lose weight or burn more calories and the answer is... YES it does!. In a small study participants drank 500ml all at once and researchers found that they burned 25 calories more during a half hour period. The reason for this increase in metabolism had to do with warming the water up to body temperature. Yes I know that isn’t very much but over the course of a day it can account for a decent amount of calories burned from doing absolutely nothing. If you think 25 calories for every 2 cups of water, a normal person should be drinking 8 cups a day results in 100 calories burned from just drinking water. Not bad I think, considering it isn’t that hard to do if you space out the time between drinking water.

Some other interesting facts about drinking water:

• Drinking a 250 ml of water or more whenever you feel hungry and before a meal fills the stomach temporarily and makes you feel fuller and stop eating sooner.
• Breaking down body fat and body muscle during weight loss produces wastes that must be eliminated through the kidneys. Drinking enough water is important to keep the kidneys functioning to remove these wastes.
• Popular high-protein diets produce more waste products from digestion, let alone from breaking down stored fat. Kidney function is even more important when on a high-protein diet.
• Drinking more water does not "flush fat."

The study did find that it was important for an average adult to drink 8 glasses of water a day and that it helped with every single bodily function:

• regulate body temperature
• lubricates joints
• helps kidneys and liver flush out waste
• carries oxygen and nutrients to all parts of the body
• Moistens tissues such as the eyes, mouth, nose
• Protects body organs and tissue
• Helps prevent constipation
• Helps dissolve minerals and other nutrients

Some effects of water deficiency are:

• Low blood pressure
• Clotting of blood
• Kidney malfunction
• Severe constipation

Water is necessary to life and its and easy way to help improve each and every day. Everyone should try to include more water in their diets to see the real benefits and maybe even lose some weight.

Swimming is a great way to include a different kind of work out in your cardiovascular exercise routine. If you’re a runner or like aerobics but it’s the dead of summer then you would probably like an exercise that you don’t have to sweat as much. Or maybe you would like to try and take a load off your joints and hit the pool. Swimming has long been known for its therapeutic and claiming atmosphere.

Swimming is a great overall exercise. It works every major muscle group in one constant motion that is easy on your joints (knee, hips, and shoulders). Swimming has many health benefits as well such as lowering blood pressure, increasing your cardio vascular endurance, and strengthening muscles.

Swimming can also be used as either a warm up or a cool down after an exercise. As a warm up, swim vigorously to increase heart rate and get blood moving throughout the body. As a cool down swimming laps in a very slow pace will help to lower your heart rate, bring oxygen to every part of your body, and help bring nutrients to begin to repair your torn muscles.

Swimming does burn calories at a rate of about 3 calories a mile per pound of bodyweight. If you weigh 150 lbs. and it takes you 30 minutes to swim one mile (1,760 yards or 1,609 meters), then you will be using about 900 calories in one hour. However, many swimmers do not swim that quickly, and many cannot swim for that distance or duration. So try to split the workout into a bunch of small increments in order to reach your calories burn rate.

Swimming is a great exercise but doesn’t give you the same payback that land exercise does only because you can’t increase your body temperature. Which is less work for the body because it doesn’t have to lower the body’s temperature, on land however sweating exercise increases calorie use for up to 18 hours after the workout has been completed. This is a major benefit of sweating is the amount of calories the body has to use in order to sweat. Swimming though does exercise almost the entire body - heart, lungs, and muscles - with very little joint strain. It is great for general fitness, just not a great way to drop excess pounds.

Has it been a while since you have worked out and you would like to get back in shape? Have you noticed that you don’t have time to work out regularly because it takes a lot of time out of your daily routine? Well I have put together a workout routine that any beginner could try that helps work the entire body.

Firstly, I like to warm up with about 5 to 7 minutes of light to moderate cardio this can be jumping jacks, walking on treadmill, or skipping rope. Any exercise will do just as long as it gets your heart rate up.

Secondly, I like to begin with 5 to 10 push ups. Now if you aren’t able to lift your full weight then have your knees touch the ground as you lift just your upper body off the ground. This would be called a half push up and this will help you build muscle to finally being able to do the regular push ups. Now if you are able to do the regular ones 5 to 10 reps of 2 to 3 sets. Push ups work your back, chest, triceps, and bicep. Here is the proper way to complete a knee push up:

1. Lie with your stomach flat against the floor.
2. Lift feet off floor, bringing heels towards your buttocks. Bend knees to form a 45-degree angle or L-shape.
3. Extend hands next to your body at shoulder height, keeping elbows bent.
4. Exhale (breathe out) as you push your body weight off the floor by extending arms from a bent elbow to straight elbow. Be sure to have proper alignment: a straight back, with ears, shoulders and hips in a straight line. Hold abdominal muscles in tightly (pretend you are squeezing your belly button into your spine).
5. Inhale (breathe in) as you bend elbows and allow your body to lower to floor level. Lower your body until your face is about 2-3 inches from the floor.
6. repeat

Thirdly, I like to do normal crunches. These crunches may be hard for a beginner to do especially if you aren’t use to the motion. This is when I recommend the half sit up. The half sit up is like a normal crunch but you don’t lift your upper body fully off the ground, about half way should work. You will really start to feel even the half sit ups because the abdominal muscle contract all together when the exercise is being completed. Now 5 to 7 half sit ups or crunches can be completed with 2 to 3 sets. Proper way of doing a normal crunch.

1. Lie down on the floor on your back and bend your knees, placing your hands behind your head or across your chest.
2. Pull your belly button towards your spine, and flatten your lower back against the floor.
3. Slowly contract your abdominals, bringing your shoulder blades about one or two inches off the floor.
4. Exhale as you come up and keep your neck straight, chin up.
5. Hold at the top of the movement for a few seconds, breathing continuously.
6. Slowly lower back down, but don't relax all the way.

Fourthly, I like to do basic lunges. The lunges are when you are standing up and take one step forward, with that very same foot that took the step that leg should be bent in a 90 angle. You should be able to do 5 to 7 lunges and do 3 sets. The lunges work your butt, hips and thighs. Here is the proper way to do a lunge.

1. Stand in a split stance, with feet about 3 feet apart. You want both knees to be at about 90-degree angles at the bottom of the movement, so adjust accordingly.
2. Hold weights in each hand (or place a barbell behind the neck) for added intensity.
3. Bend the knees and lower the back knee toward the floor, keeping the front heel down and the knee directly over the center of the foot.
4. Keep the torso straight and abs in as you push through the front heel and back to starting position.
5. Don't lock the knees at the top of the movement.

Fifth, squats should be performed either the same day or a different day depending on how you feel after the lunges. This is the proper way to do a squat:
There are many different types of squats, including the free standing squat. Stand with feet hip-width apart and squat, keeping back straight, abs in and knees behind your toes. Let your butt lower down and squeeze butt to stand up

This exercise also works your butt, hips and thighs but in a different way than the lunges. You should be doing 5 to 7 reps and 3 sets I focused on the lower body exercise as a beginner because they are the largest muscle groups which burn the most calories and will also be a lot easier to complete.

This workout may be hard at first that’s why I recommend you don’t over exert yourself and only do as many reps and sets you can handle. As time goes on and you keep up with this routine then you can build up reps and sets. This routine should take about 20 to 25 minutes to do and you should be taking a break between sets of 2 to 3 minutes. I also suggest doing this routine twice a week taking a day off in between to rest and adding a third day when comfortable.

A rep is one reputation of the exercise
A set is a group of reputations.

Both of these fatty acids have been getting a lot of press lately. They have been added to our food put on both the Canadian and American food guides to healthy eating but have you ever wondered what purpose they serve? Well they are actually very important to overall health in many ways. Firstly are not produced by the body, Secondly help conditions such as: They normalize lipid levels, lower blood pressure and improve glucose metabolism, and help lessen the effects of: Rheumatoid arthritis, depression, and autism. Thirdly: Omega 6 is known to have an anti inflammatory benefit: bloating and pain associated with PMS, also maintains healthy skin, hair and nails and generally helps to bring about hormonal and emotional balance. These new findings prove that they should be a very important addition to a healthy diet. Here are some other facts about Omega 3 & 6:

Omega 3

The most important 2 fatty acids in the Omega 3 family are EPA and DHA as these are in limited supply and only found in any real quantities in oily fish and fish oil supplements. Although DHA is important for pregnant and nursing mothers and for young children for healthy development of the brain and vision, EPA can be considered the most important for everyone else as it is necessary for the efficient functioning of the brain and the body at a cellular level.

The Omega 3's have anti-inflammatory and anti-coagulant properties as well as many other important health benefits. They reduce inflammation and can provide protection against cardiovascular disease, arthritis, skin conditions, depression and other mood-related disorders.

Omega 6

Although Omega 6 is generally classed as pro-inflammatory, paradoxically, GLA, when sourced dietetically, has anti-inflammatory properties. It can help the bloating and pain associated with PMS. It also maintains healthy skin, hair and nails and generally helps to bring about hormonal and emotional balance.

Omega 3 and Omega 6 interact with each other so the balance between them is crucial for good health. Together they affect the production of hormonal type messengers called eicosanoids, which has an impact on inflammation in the body and all functions at a cellular level.

Benefits of Omega 3 & 6

Omega fatty acids are polyunsaturated fats. They are healthier than saturated fats and have many metabolic functions. There are many benefits of omega 3 & 6 supplementation.

Omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids are essential fatty acids (EFA’s). Our bodies cannot manufacture them, and we must consume them in our diets.

Omega 3 fatty acids prevent heart disease and the complications of heart attack. People who take omega 3 fatty acids have a lower mortality rate after heart attack than those who do not.

Omega 3 EFA’s improve cardiac risk factors, and help prevent CHD. They normalize lipid levels, lower blood pressure and improve glucose metabolism.

Omega 3’s may be helpful in a number of other conditions, Rheumatoid arthritis, depression, autism, and many other conditions may be improved by taking omega 3 EFA’s. They are necessary for growth and development, especially in the development of nervous tissue, and may improve cognitive function and emotional health.

Omega 6 fatty acids compete for enzymes with omega 3 EFA’s, so the amounts of the two need to be properly balanced. Less research has been done on omega 6 EFA’s than on omega 3’s. Most omega 6 fatty acids produce an inflammatory response that may be necessary for healthy immune system function. Research is beginning to indicate that one omega 6 EFA is, however, a powerful anti-inflammatory agent, and may be even more important for healthy hearts than omega 3 oils.

The ongoing information proves that these fatty acids are essential to good health and may ever help to reverse and lessen the effects of certain conditions and disorders. So make sure you are getting enough Omega 3 & 6 and if you aren’t in your normal diet supplement them in pill form or through Omega 3 & 6 enriched food.

Cranberries and cranberry products offer many important health benefits. Historically, Native Americans used cranberries to relieve a variety of ailments. Today's health research points to promising new evidence that cranberries are not only a healthy, low-calorie fruit, they may also help prevent urinary tract infections and reduce the risk of gum disease, ulcers, heart disease and cancer. Research on these areas and on additional health benefits is ongoing.Here's a look at some of the health benefits of adding cranberries to your everyday diet.


Urinary Tract Health
Just 300ml of cranberry juice daily could help prevent urinary tract infections. In the last six years, medical research has indicated that cranberries may play an important role in maintaining urinary tract health. In a study conducted in 1994, elderly women who drank 300ml. of cranberry juice daily reduced their odds of having infection by 58 percent.

A follow-up study published in October 1998, identified a compound in cranberries that prevents micro-organisms and bacteria such as E. coli from sticking to cells of the urinary tract. Researchers call this property "anti-adhesion" and think this is what helps reduce the risk of urinary tract infections.


Dental Health
In December 1998, a team of researchers determined that the same "anti-adhesion" properties that prevent bacteria from forming in the urinary tract, prevent bacteria from forming in the mouth. In this way, cranberries might reduce the formation of harmful plaque that leads to gum disease.


Heart Health
An ongoing study is researching the cranberry's ability to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Scientists have found that cranberry extract contains compounds called flavonoids, which may help maintain heart health. In fact, one study has already shown that the properties of cranberry juice that could contribute to inhibiting blood clotting, promoting blood vessel diameter and preventing clogged arteries are equivalent to those found in red wine.


Anti-Cancer
The flavonoid contents of cranberries make cranberries an important cancer fighter. Compared with 20 common fruits tested, cranberries demonstrated the highest fresh-weight content of flavonoids and related phenolic acids, making this berry a powerful source of potentially cancer-preventative phytonutrients and antioxidants. Findings linking the cranberry's components to a decreased risk of cancer are preliminary, but studies are ongoing.


Anti-Ulcer
Research suggests that tannins found in cranberries may help in inhibiting the adhesion of bacteria in the stomach, including the Helicobacter pylori bacterium, which is the bacteria responsible for gastrointestinal diseases, including gastric, duodenal and peptide ulcers as well as gastric cancer.

Source:
http://www.cranberries.com.au/healthyliving.html

Skipping rope is one of the most effective exercise out there it burns just as many calories as 10 minutes of jogging (131 calories/10 mins) and 10 minutes of aerobics (120 calories/10 mins) .All these activities vary in intensity but burn similar amounts of calories, so if you can’t go for a jog or aerobics isnt your favourite activity than jumping rope is the next best thing. Here are some techniques to jumping rope:

Basic jump - This is when both feet are slightly apart and jump at the same time over the rope. Beginners should master this technique first before moving onto more advanced techniques.

Alternate foot jump (speed step) -This style consists of using alternate feet to jump off the ground. This technique can be used to effectively double the number of skips per minute as compared to the above technique.

Criss-cross-This method is similar to the basic jump with the only difference being that while jumping, the left hand goes to the right part of the body and vice versa for the right hand.
Double under-To perform a double under, the participant needs to jump up a bit higher than usual while swinging the rope twice under his feet. It is possible to have the rope swing three times under the feet (triple under). In fact, in competitive jump rope, triples, quadruples (”quads”), and quintuples (”quins”) are not uncommon.

Combination jumps-There are many more difficult jump roping tricks that combine two or more of these techniques to make a single trick. These combinations can also be used in Chinese Wheel, Double Dutch, and Long Rope.
Leg under x- The leg under x is a complicated trick where the jumper puts the left hand under the right leg and the right hand over the left leg.

Other-Many other variations are possible, including: “skier”, a side-to-side jump keeping the feet together; “bell”, a front-and-back jump keeping the feet together; “scissors”, a jump putting one foot forward and the other back, then switching back-and-forth; “jumping jack”, a jump putting the feet apart and then together; and “can-can” a jump with one leg up and bent, followed by a jump with both feet on ground, followed by a jump kicking the foot out.

Jumping rope can be one of the best additions to a fitness routine someone can consider. Starting in small increments and moving up to the 10 minute marker is your best bet especially if you’re a beginner.

Fat by far is the hardest thing to lose for everyone regardless of your size and shape. One pound of fat has 3500 calories which can take a lot of activity in order to burn off. This is where muscle comes into play every pound of muscle burns 30 to 50 calories per day which may not sound like a lot but in the long run it can really add up with diet and exercise.

Fat burning can be difficult this is where adding cardio and weight training together to achieve further success. Keeping your metabolism up is the best way to stay in a fat burning zone even when you’re not working out. Cardio must be paired with weight training because during a cardio workout the majority of calories are being burned during the exercise while with weight lifting muscle is being built which can keep the body in a fat burning zone way after the workout has been completed.

Men and women can both benefit from weight lifting. Women must realize that they won’t become muscle heads if they start to lift weights. It’s not in your genetic make up to look such a way. The female body builders must spend countless hours’ weight lifting while taking huge amounts of protein to force their bodies out of their natural state. As for the men weight training is great because that is what our bodies were made for: to build muscle. Men’s bodies are full of testosterone which is the muscle building hormone and with that being said our bodies have an advantage when it comes to gaining muscle mass.


Although weight training is a great workout, cardio must be done as well to help slim down and lose those extra pounds of body fat. In conjunction both kinds of exercises will help you reach your goals far faster than just performing one exercise over the other.

For anyone looking to get in shape and build some muscle these are the supplements that some swear by from huge body builders, to celebrities to your everyday Joe. These supplements have been the most studied and have supported the health industry as the essentials to achieving any kind of success.

I have tired these supplements before and had put on about 15 lbs of muscle in a four month period. They do work but with the amount of supplements entering the market it’s hard to believe that they can all be safe and effective. Now i comprised a three that i found worked the best and were probably the most talked about.

There has been a lot of debate about their effectiveness and safety of each supplement and this can be said especially in the sporting community. These debates have been going on for years and no one athlete just uses one or the other in conjunction I have found personally that I had more energy and was better able to complete an exercise routine.

There are thousands of supplements available on the market these days but the big three are protein, creatine, and glutamine.


Protein-The building blocks of muscle. A high protein diet is a must. No matter how hard you train and how much you eat if you do not get enough protein in your diet you will get nowhere. I have used a whey powder protein drink for moderate success. Every bodybuilder on the planet would have a couple of these a day to maintain or build muscle mass. However I had most success when I swapped my protein shakes for a high protein diet. Eggs and chicken featured predominently and allowed for large muscle gains. Even if you do go the protein supplement path (which is totally fine) make sure you have plenty of meats, fish, nuts, eggs and milk products in your diet to keep your daily protein intake high.

Creatine-In simple terms creatine is a naturally occuring substance in the body that is used by the muscles to generate power. Its popularity has soared over the last decade and many people sware by it. Generally you take a creatine supplement before a workout so that you can push your muscles harder. I have used it in the past but did not notice much if any effect during my workouts. Creatine is still very much in the theory category we know that it is beneficial but its still debated the best way to introduce it into your body for maximum effects. Creatine can be found in very small amounts in meats (particularly red meat) but you will need a supplement version to get the benefits from creatine loading.

Glutamine-Glutamine is another naturally occuring substance in the body. Without being too technical Glutamine is vital in the recovery of muscles (as well as other body functions) after stress (exercise). Anyone and everyone will tell you how important glutamine is to the body and for muscle building it allows you to recover quicker and train more which is important. Glutamine can be found in most animal and plant products in the average diet but it is recommended even for non bodybuildrs to supplement your body with extra glutamine. From my experience I always felt better when supplementing glutamine especially the day after a heavy workout I did not feel as sore as I do without it.

So there you go folks the 3 most common and important supplements for building muscle mass. Its up to you what you use and how much but I strongly recommend a diet full of protein to help repair and grow muscles at the very least.

Eggs have had a lot of bad press from the health community mainly for their high levels of cholesterol and fat. But who would have know they have the highest levels of digestible protein when cooked which is about 97% . Which is amazing compared to many other foods. While raw eggs have about 50% digestible protein which you would have thought was the opposite. Well i sure did! Anyway some other interesting information that i just found out.Raw eggs may be kept refrigerated in their closed container for several weeks, cooked eggs in the shell will only keep up to 7 days refrigerated, and shelled, cooked eggs kept covered last only 5 days. Cooked eggs should never be kept at room temperature for more than 2 hours. This is why eggs need to be consumed fairly quickly after being consumed. Which is really good to know especially if you like to cook meals for the family in advance at least now you know how long your eggs will last. To continue here are some essential nutrients each egg contains:

· Choline is necessary for healthy cell membranes in all of your body, and will help your body keep homocysteine levels down. Choline is also good for your mental function and memory.
· Selenium is a mineral that your body needs for a strong immune system and it is a powerful antioxidant.
· B vitamins folate and riboflavin are necessary for your body to convert the foods you eat into energy. Folate also reduces homocysteine levels and is important for prevention of birth defects.
· Vitamin A is important for good night vision, general cell growth and for healthy skin.
· Vitamin E is an antioxidant that works well with vitamin C and selenium to prevent damage to your body from free radicals.
· Lutein and zeaxanthin are related to vitamin A and are found in the yellow pigment of the egg yolk. Lutein and zeaxanthin are concentrated in the retina of your eye and will help prevent macular degeneration.

As you can see eggs are stacked full of nutrients and minerals which are necessary to good overall health. Eggs would provide a great post workout meal because of the high nutrient value and high protein which would help to repair those torn tissues and help to build muscle for more calorie burning potential.

Resources:
http://nutrition.about.com/od/askyournutritionist/f/eggs_protein.htm http://www.davedraper.com/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/PmWiki/EggsAndDairy http://nutrition.about.com/od/askyournutritionist/f/eggs_protein.htm

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