How to exercise and lose weight is one the most popular question thrown at all personal trainers and fitness consultants around the world. The reason behind this is that there is many people out there that exercise vigorously almost daily and get zero results! It may sound funny if you are not the one that is not getting results. You can just stand and laugh and make fun of that guy who tried so hard and yet get no results.
In reality, it is very depressing for that person because that individual pours in all his hopes, his dreams, time and money into his or her exercise program and only to find out that he is going no where. This article is to address this issue. By reading this article, you would now know what it takes to lose body fat and look good. If you can satisfy all the principle in this article, you are guaranteed to achieve you fitness goal. For those who started already, it is not to late to apply these principles now.
The principle that I want to talk to you is this, the F.I.T.T principle. If this principle is followed exactly, you definitely can exercise and lose weight. But if it is not followed, you are just wasting your time. You can get some results, but not significant.
F.I.T.T is the ultimate guideline for all exercise programs. This concept stands for frequency, intensity, type and time.
Frequency
We always give excuses when it comes to something painful. Exercising for example. We can give all sorts of excuses like work, traveling, studying and many others but the fact is, you have to ask yourself why are you reading this article is the first place? If you want to lose weight and it is really something you want, be prepared to invest 3 to 5 hours of exercise session per week. Yes, there is no way around it and your body will not be sympathetic to your excuses.
According to the American Council on Exercise, you need to exercise at least 3 times a week to get minimum results and 5 times a week to get optimum results. In order to lose 1 pound of body fat, you need to burn 3500 calories. Do you think you can achieve that with just 2 hours of exercising per week?
Intensity
There are people who go to the gym daily. It is like their second home. They will do cardio and weight training religiously but yet, they get no results. Why? They don't get results because their exercise intensity is not high enough to utilize the fat in the fat cells! This is especially important during your cardio session. You have to hit at least 75 percent of your maximum heart rate. You cannot get lean abs by just walking 5.0 km/h for 45 minutes!
Type
The type here means the type of training. In order to maximize your body fat loss, you need to combine weight training, cardio training and stretching. Weight training can help build muscle, which in return speeds up your metabolism. An additional 1-pound of pure muscle can burn extra 50 calories by doing nothing. The extra calories are there to keep the muscle alive. Cardio training will help by making the body to use the fat in the fat cells, thus burning body fat and preserving muscle!
Do not look down on stretching. With a better flexibility, you can run further and not only that, your muscle function better thus producing better results.
Time
Time here refers to the time you need to invest in your training per day. Regarding weight training, an intense weight training session should be around 45 minutes. We are talking about a rest period of 1 minute between sets. For the cardio sessions, in the beginning you should try to train for 30 minutes. When you are fitter, you need to build up to 45 minutes. In my experience, most people lose loads of body fat when they can run for 45 minutes at the heart rate of 80 per cent of max heart rate.
These principles of F.I.T.T are very important. These principles are not just simply developed. They are created by researches and observations. If you can follow these principles properly, you definitely can lose the body fat that you wanted in no time at all! Think about it, these principles are so easy to follow you just make exercising your priority. You have to really want it!
Tags: Exercise, Fat Loss, Fitness, Health, Weight Loss
All abdominal workouts are very popular as a part of fitness programmers. Many people join health clubs and gyms with a dream to get a trimmer waist line, but get frustrated and quit exercising before they see any results. The abdominal muscles are essential for maintaining good posture and core stability. Traditional abdominal exercises include crunches and curl-ups. In this article I will point out to you "Top Ten Abdominal Exercise Mistakes" that many people make in their training sessions.
(1) Most common mistake that many of us make is we do not go for traditional method and try to use modern equipments. Use of machine or contraption of any kind to exercise the abs will never work as a perfectly performed curl ups on the floor. I'm always amazed by how many people are wandering aimlessly, walking leisurely on a tread mill while reading a book or cup of tea in hand, lifting weights that are so light and doing many silly things. Hence this is the basic mistake, so go for traditional method instead of purchasing costly equipments that gives no results.
(2) Many people try to pull their neck with their hands when they perform curl ups, it may cause unnecessary strain on the muscles and vertebrae. Instead you could place finger tips on ears.
(3) Another common performance mistake is lifting the body upwards by throwing the arms and shoulders forward instead of peeling the back of the head, then neck and then upper back off the flour. One should always try to perform the curl up with hands on the floor by the side, pointing straight or folded across the chest.
(4) Another blunder is performing a double straight leg lowering exercise for lower abdominals, which can strain the lower back and stretch the abdominals by making them weaker. In this case the correct method is to perform double knees to the chest or scissor action with legs lying flat on the floor.
(5) I have seen many exercisers perform curl ups with straight back which can strain lower back and only focus on fleshy tissue of hip muscle. The proper way is to keep spine as much as possible round even in an upward or downward action.
(6) Many try to perform a curl up with a gap in the lower back which is supposed to give disastrous results such as; you can strain your back badly and stretch the abdominals making them weaker. So the correct trick is to tilt the pelvis posterior by pressing the lower back to the floor.
(7) One more error that one commits is that they perform curl ups with too much bent knees. If you have tight hip flexors and forward tilt of the pelvis then doing exercises in such manner can cause these muscles to tighten or even shorten them. For this bend your knee and hip only to allow the lower back to flatten on the floor.
(8) Exercising on a bulky, spongy or bouncy surface is one more mistake that many do and make it harder to level their lower back. So always exercise on flat surfaces.
(9) Now I would like to state one common mistake. Most people while performing multiple curl ups ask someone to hold their feet or fix them in some object. This will cause a gap to be formed in the lower back.
(10) Last but not least, many make a blunder of neglecting the external musculature. During an abdominal exercise routine the involvement of core muscles is vital which forms the internal musculature. This negligence leads to abdominal distension.
So the talk is never over, I just tried to suggest some "Mistakes in Abdominal Exercises" which I consider the "Top 10 Errors". Also I have tried to rectify them shortly, which will give you the kind of flat stomach that you see on magazine covers, can help you improve your performance in any sport, and your endurance. In short in constructing your abdominal program, you want to make certain you limit the exercise movements to those that are safe as well as effective.
Tags: Cardio, Exercise, Fat Loss, Fitness, Health, Weight Loss
A high fiber diet is a popular choice amongst health conscious individuals these days because of the possible benefits and advantages that it can give you. A high fiber diet usually contains food with high fiber. Fibers are undigested carbohydrates. Our enzymes are unable to break them down and therefore fibers are not absorbed into the bloodstream. Instead of being used for energy, fiber is excreted from our bodies. A good percentage of people still does not consume enough and are putting them in danger. In this topic let's see the "Benefits of High Fiber Diet" and involvement of high fiber in your daily routine to fight against many diseases.
Fiber falls into two general categories:
1. Water-soluble: Found mostly in oats, fruits and legumes.
2. Water insoluble: Found mostly in grains and vegetables.
As each type of fiber has different benefits, most people on high fiber diets are advised to increase their intake of foods that features both soluble and insoluble fiber.
BENEFITS:
According to recent research a high fiber diet benefits the heart. Grains like oatmeal, barley and brown rise help to lower the risk of blocked arteries, heart attacks and strokes. Fiber and other nutrients in whole grains help to lower cholesterol, blood sugar and insulin levels. They also improve blood vessel function and reduce circulatory system inflammation.
Recent findings also show that high fiber diets are also beneficial for certain gastrointestinal conditions. Fiber slows the movement of food and acidic fluid from the stomach to the intestines. This helps people with duodenal ulcers by reducing the exposure of stomach acids to small intestine.
A high fiber diet helps waste material to pass through your system. A huge concern for most individuals today is body wastes are not fully cleared. If this condition arises then chances of cancer cells to take hold and multiply increase. Shortly we can say high fiber diet benefits in the fight against colon cancer.
In addition to reducing the risk of certain chronic diseases high fiber diets have other benefits too. Fiber fills the stomach and there by reduces the appetite. Thus high fiber diets protect against obesity. So include more fiber in your diet to reduce the risk of obesity related diseases.
Whole wheat breads, wheat bran, rye, whole grains, cabbage, beets, carrots, Brussels sprouts, turnips, cauliflower and apple skin are fully loaded with fiber. By including these fiber foods you can prevent constipation. As fiber passes through the body largely intact, soaking up water like a sponge and adds bulk and softness to the stool. This not only prevents constipation but also speeds the rate at which the food goes through your system.
Oats, oat bran, beans, peas, rice bran, citrus fruits, strawberries and apple pulp are full of soluble fiber. As soluble fiber passes through the digestive system it binds to dietary cholesterol and helps the body to eliminate it.
Fiber diet benefits type 2 diabetes patients too. Vascular inflammation is common in type 2 diabetes. Hence these patients should eat more whole grain products and cereal fiber to reduce the risk of inflammation.
CONCLUSION:
Did you ever imagine the "Benefits of High Fiber Diet" can create wonders in your life? So if possible eat fiber filled whole fruits instead of drinking fiber less fruit juices. Eat more fiber; you have come to know why fiber diet is so good for your health? To receive the greatest health benefit, eat a wide variety of high fiber foods.
Tags: Diet, Fat Loss, Fiber, High Fiber Diet, Nutrition, Weight Loss
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