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Don’t underestimate the health benefits of weight training. The results of overall health improvement, metabolism and body toning are tremendous. More and more people are becoming aware of the benefits and finding their way into fitness centers lining up waiting for exercise machines. Lifting weights is no longer a bodybuilder’s hobby. Men, women and young adults alike lift weights and realize the advantages.

The major benefits of a strength program include looking trimmer and more youthful as one ages; increased metabolism and weight management; reduced stress and depression; prevention of the onset of diseases such as arthritis, osteoporosis, diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol.

Many people have the notion that lifting weight is only for athletes or people who want to look good at the beach. But, what about the person who would like to pick up a 25 pound bag of dog food or the grandparent who would like to be able to carry his or her grandchild?

One of the greatest myths of weight training is the fear of bulking up or developing large, masculine-looking muscles. Muscles don’t just happen. It’s incredibly difficult for men who want to develop large muscles to do so, let alone for women who have 1/10th the testosterone of a man. If, by exercising hard, a woman develops some muscle size, it will be minimal and will improve her figure. Your level of testosterone, body/muscle type and hard work at the gym is the only way muscle can be increased.

Weight training isn’t only about the results that you can see in the mirror. Muscles support the skeleton, protect internal organs, move the body, help to maintain balance and help control metabolism. The stronger the muscles the better the body performs. Strength is important for the body from aesthetics to function. Resistance training is really about training hard, building strength and enhancing the body’s structural integrity.

The key to getting stronger is intensity and quality, not quantity. The idea is to break down the muscle fibers so they can rebuild. When muscle rebuilds, it becomes stronger and firmer. Rest the muscles for 24 – 48 hours after a workout is important for the rebuilding process. Eating protein within one hour after working out is the building block to muscle repair.

Be careful that safety is used in weight training so injury does not occur. Start slowly, but with progression. Proper form and technique is essential for safety as well.

Too many people stay stuck at a lower resistance when they could be lifting heavier weight and enjoying more benefits. A good question for a person to ask is, “Could I have lifted more weight, and could I have done it with good form?” On an intensity scale of one to ten, a beginner should be at a five. A seasoned weight trainer should be able to reach an eight and sometimes a ten. A ten is to failure. You won’t reach failure on every workout, but you should try to be comfortable to eventually get to a level ten. Don’t compromise form.

Feeble efforts produce little results, but challenging, progressive resistance training programs increase strength. For more information and tips on exercise, go to http://www.easyexercisetips.com

Linda Geyer, entrepreneur, speaker and author has spent her entire career in health related businesses helping clients and audiences make health a priority. She is Founder and CEO of Vitality Management and owner of Peak Physique Fitness Training in Michigan. Linda inspires, motivates and educates on health prevention through exercise, healthy eating and positive attitude. For FREE tips go to www.easyexercisetips.com
To contact Linda, email linda@peakphysiquefitness.com

At some point in your exercise life, you’ll ask yourself whether you should be focusing more on a cardio-only program, or a weights-only program. Most likely this will be when you hit a plateau in one of them, and feel that the time could be spent in the other type of exercise.

Does it really matter if you only do one type?

Yes, it does.

Let’s take a look at the aims of the two types of exercise:

Cardio Workouts

Cardiovascular exercise mainly aims to develop and strengthen the cardiovascular system (which supplies your body with oxygen) through aerobic training. This means improving the ability of your heart, lungs, and blood vessels to do their job, working together more efficiently.

By improving your aerobic capacity, you increase the efficacy of your cardiovascular system. And research has shown, over and over again, the people who maintain a high level of fitness throughout their life have fuller, more productive lives as they get older. Plus.. they also live longer than non-exercisers.

We could be here all day listing the benefits of cardio exercise: lower blood pressure, lower ‘bad’ cholesterol and higher ‘good’, lower incidence of heart attack and stroke, lower risk of osteoporosis, overall decreased risk of most cancers, increased life span, and much much more.

Weight Training:

As you are aware, weight training strengthens the muscles, and by increasing our muscular strength, your body becomes more able to deal with everyday life, by being stronger, more agile, more flexible, and more able to recover from injuries.

Research has shown that people who do some weight training have many of the same benefits as people who do cardiovascular exercise. Weight training also decreases risk of bone fractures, as the weights help to build bone as well as muscle.

So Which Is Best?

As with many of these “either/or” discussions, the best thing to do is to combine both approaches. By having an exercise routine that uses both components, all aspects of your body will be enhanced and developed to make the most of what you are capable of. Cardio workouts strengthen the lungs and increase stamina. Increased stamina allows you to work longer on weight training. Increase muscle mass from weight training provides better support for your skeleton. A stronger skeleton and better aerobic capacity means that you can go on to do more exercise, and so it continues.

Find out more about different exercise routines and advice at http://www.fitnessequipmentlinks.com.

As I was contemplating what to write about for the March/April Issue of The Alaska Wellness Magazine the idea of the “weekend athlete” came to mind. Do you know who I’m talking about? Is it your spouse? Is it you?

You know the scenario: all week you work at your job, family obligations, and wind-down time. There seems to be no time for fitness activities. On Monday morning you see an announcement on the bulletin board at work. It states that a new softball team is being formed and everyone is encouraged to sign up!! You think to yourself….. “Well, I played competitive ball in high-school so it shouldn’t be a problem now”. Of course, it’s been 16 years since graduation, but who’s counting?

You sign up with all the enthusiasm of a child opening her Christmas presents. You are so excited that when you get home you announce to the family that you will be practicing softball on Tuesday evenings and you will be participating in the games on Saturday mornings. Everybody is cool with it and they are excited because they want to watch the games each week.

You go to bed that night and dream of the way you threw that last out in the final game of your final season some 16 years ago.

The next morning you get up early and go out to the storage room to look for your old ball and glove…..surprise, it still fits!! Now you are figuring that you’ll need to buy new shoes. The team will be provided with shirts and hats. You are imagining your self in your new duds and envisioning your first time at bat.

H-e-l-l-o!! Aren’t you forgetting something? Shouldn’t you get into some kind of physical conditioning course? Why is it that that is the last thing that you think of? Just because you were a great or even fairly good softball player 16 years ago it doesn’t mean that you can just pickup where you left off.

In my entire career, I’ve never heard of anyone having the ability to store fitness. Without proper conditioning, a wannabe athlete is setting himself up for injury!!

I digress. On Tuesday, you get your new shoes, your old glove, an old hat and sunglasses and you head down to the field. When you get there you see all your team mates and they are all just as excited as you! You talk about some strategies for this practice and then you all take the field.

You are all going to have a chance to bat, pitch and field some balls. You can’t wait until it’s your turn to bat……it’s time. WOW!

Your heart is racing, your body’s tingling, and your mouth is dry. The pitch is slow and low; but you swing anyway. You gave it all you had and you think you ripped something. OOPS! You can’t straighten up. “What have I done”, you’re thinking. Why didn’t I get some physical conditioning? Who’s going to drive me home? Should I go to the emergency room? Should I call home?

Next day you barely make it into the office. Everyone is quite concerned about your health and wellbeing. You made the decision last night to just sleep it off and see what happened by morning. Well, it might be a little bit better; but it’s not going away. You make a decision to go to the doctor and get a medical opinion (wise choice) and low and behold you tore a few muscles in your back and maybe even some in the shoulder.

When you told the doctor how you had injured yourself he wasn’t too sympathetic, was he? Maybe he’s seen this too often. These weekend warrior types are what keep our emergency rooms in business.

Reminder: If you decide to take up a summer or winter sport and you’ve been inactive for quite a few years….plan ahead. Get some expert advice about conditioning your body for the particular movements that you are going to be involved in and this will help to alleviate any debilitating injuries. How does the saying go…. an ounce of prevention in worth a pound of cure?

Bonnie Murphy could have helped this person by putting her on an exercise program that would strengthen & stretch the muscles that she would be using during her physical activities. Prevent injuries by planning ahead for any increase in activity.

http://www.bfitandwell.com
907.646.4076
bonnie@bfitandwell.com

Have you ever wondered if what you know about lose fat in the abs is accurate? Consider the following paragraphs and weigh against what you know to the latest information on lose fat in the abs.

Everybody wants a tight, firm midsection. You can tone your abs and get rid of that pot belly but there is one vital point you first need to understand.

You cannot spot reduce anywhere on your body. You can spot tone your muscles in the area you are targeting, but you cannot spot reduce.

Here’s an example. Look at your belly in a relaxed mode. Now suck in your stomach muscles.

Your pot belly is pretty much gone. Did you suddenly lose weight in that area?

Of course not! The same thing happens when you begin to properly exercise your ab muscles. The muscles become stronger and pull in the unsightly girth. Your abs look tighter and you look better, but unless you have actually lost weight overall, you have not actually lost any fat in that area.

To lose fat in the abs, you must lose weight overall. To make your abs look slimmer and sexier, you must build up the ab muscles.

One of the best pieces of exercise equipment you can acquire is an exercise ball, also called a swiss ball. Every time you do exercises on this ball, your ab muscles come into play. The abs are working to keep the ball steady and to keep you from falling off.

You can easily do two of the following exercises on the ball and boost the effectiveness.

1. The Bicycle

This has been proven to be one of the most effective ab exercises you can do. You cannot do this one on the ball.

Lie on your back with your hands behind your head. Lift your legs off the ground and raise your shoulders a couple inches off the floor.

Do not pull your neck with your hands. Push your lower back tight to the floor. Bring your left leg towards your chest while rotating your right elbow to touch your left knee.

Don’t strain. As you return to the starting position, begin bringing your right knee in and rotate your left elbow to touch your right knee.

Work up to twenty repetitions each leg. Do them slowly.

2. Crunch

You are probably familiar with this one. Lay on your back with either your hands behind your head or on your chest. Legs are in a V-shape with your feet flat on the floor.

Once again push your lower back tight to the floor. Begin to raise your head and shoulders off the floor, tightening your ab muscles. Do not pull on your neck. You are only raising your shoulders a few inches off the ground.

At the top of the movement, hold for about one second, then return and repeat. Work to twenty repetitions. This is excellent on the exercise ball!

3. The Plank

Lie on your stomach. Feet are straight and close together. Push off the floor, raising up on your toes and your elbows. Keep your back straight and tighten your ab muscles. Hold for thirty seconds. Return and repeat for three to five repetitions.

Again, this exercise is excellent on the exercise ball.

Do these three exercises at least five days a week and the ab muscles will tighten up and you will look and feel great.

Now you can understand why there’s a growing interest in lose fat in the abs. When people start looking for more information about lose fat in the abs, you’ll be in a position to meet their needs.

Author: Stewart CCW
To read more latest articles on fitness, please visit my website at: www.health-beauty-care.com/hb_articles.htm
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Practically everyone is aware of the value of carbohydrates as a way to boost energy reserves and prevent leg and muscle cramps – but if you’ve tried this strategy before and cramped up during a race, what makes you think what you’re doing is right? In this article we’ll take a look at ‘alternative energy sources’ to turbo-charge your performance.

One strategy to prevent muscle cramps associated with fatigue that most people overlook is loading up on protein before an event.

There’s always such an emphasis on carbohydrates and sugar however the main problem with relying too much on carbohydrates is that you run the risk of having an energy ‘peak’ followed by a ‘low’ and at this point you’re more likely to get a cramp.

Instead, I recommend you try loading up on a spread of carbohydrate, protein and fat. I like it to be a more 40% carbohydrate, 30% fat, and 30% protein diet – making sure that

There’s an important thing to note here – you should make sure that the making sure the foods are from fresh sources. The carbohydrates shouldn’t be from refined or processed sources (cakes, biscuits, refined flour, sugar) and the fats need to be good fats and not trans fatty acids (these are fried foods, margarine, anything with hydrogenated vegetable oil on the package, heated vegetable oils).

The protein and fat energy sources will actually last longer - your peak won’t be as high in the first half of the event but you won’t have your down in the second half and you’ll be just as strong.

So if we’re looking at daily events I usually encourage the people to take a good strong protein meal 4-6 hours before the event then 2 hours before the event take a carb meal and with that combination you’ll get the instant sugar to your muscles and you’ll have the protein and fat in there to last you for the rest of the event.

A big side-effect of relying too much on junk food, bad fats and processed carbohydrates that most people aren’t aware of is that they lead to the body producing more of a particular hormone that has a stimulatory effect on muscle tone.

Put another way, poor nutrition choices may increase your chances of cramping. And aside from improved training techniques, becoming more flexible and getting your fluid and energy strategies right, I rate nutrition as the key means of preventing and eliminating muscle cramps.

If you value your sporting life and are looking for another piece of the ‘cramp-relief’ puzzle, then more protein and fat (only the good type) in your pre-race meal might just change things for you.

There’s a great quote that goes, “if you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always had” – and isn’t that the truth when it comes to regular muscle and leg cramps!

Paul Newland is a health and nutrition consultant, trainer, martial arts instructor, commercial helicopter pilot and author. His Running Cramp Relief website provides the definitive guide to preventing, treating and curing cramps associated with exercise. In the Ultimate Cramp Busting Guide Newland speaks with 6 health, sports, nutrition, medical and complimentary health care professionals and explains why you get cramps, the best ways to treat them and how to prevent them from happening again.

Exercise is a crucial part of improving your health, especially as an individual gets older. Some benefits of exercise include:

 Weight loss
 Sleep better
 Reduces risk of disease
 Increases aerobic capacity
 Makes your heart stronger by increasing the stroke volume.
 Increases high density lipoprotein (HDL) or the GOOD cholesterol.
 Lowers high blood pressure.
 Strengthens the bones
 Decreases levels of triglycerides (fat) in your blood.
 Increase immune strength
 Reduces stress and depression
 Increases the quality of circulation throughout your body making your skin look healthier.

There is no excuse for not getting your daily exercise in. The average person wouldn’t make excuses for no eating, so they shouldn’t make excuses for not exercising. If you would substitute a T.V show for your exercise time than that should be all you need. The common three excuses I hear about avoiding exercise include:

 Lack of Time. I heard this countless of times and people always say that they have prior commitments.
 Costly equipment and gym membership.
 Bad weather or inefficient lights at night-time.

The truth of the matter is if you were really desperate to find a way to exercise you would find a way, no doubt. If cost is an issue than just invest in a new pair of running shoes. You could run around your neighborhood and perform some calisthenics when you get home.

Tips to Remember when exercising

Start off slowly: If you have been sedentary for quite some time, do not try to run a marathon, your body won’t appreciate it and it could be dangerous for your health. Start off walking than pick up the pace as you progress. There is no need to go overboard when starting off, take your time and make gradual increases. If you’re overweight I would suggest starting off walking.

Be constant: Don’t exercise for an hour on Monday and wait till the next Monday to exercise again. That’s two long of a break if you’re trying to get in shape, or loss weight. It has been researched that 30 minutes of exercise a day is the minimum needed to reap any weight loss benefits. I personally would recommend 60 minutes if you want to lose weight more quickly. Of course, don’t do it all in one shot. Do one 30 minute session in the morning and the other in the afternoon.

Gradually increase your intensity: After you get use to a particular exercise your body won’t gain any benefits, its time to change the intensity. As again, give your body as long as it needs for it to get use to a program, than after it has plateau move on to something more challenging.

Have fun: If you’re doing exercise and are not having fun, than I would guess that you will not stick to it for long. Find something exciting to do, so that you can kill two birds with one stone. You will get your exercise in, and you will also have a good time.

Set goals: There is no point in doing something without a purpose or meaning to you. Always set goals for yourself, and never stop doing it. When you set goals you have something specific to aim for and you will be more determined during exercise.

For more free life saving information visit www.cardiacgym.com.

Doug Purcell
CPT
Fitness Consultant
Alternative Medicine Expert
Natural Bodybuilder
http://www.cardiacgym.com owner

Over the years, there have been countless numbers of people getting exercise with the use of weights and weight machines in an effort to increase strength and muscle size. They know that training with resistance is the only way to accomplish this goal.

All too often however, after a certain period of time, their progress seems to come to a halt. Suddenly they find that they can’t add any more weight to their exercises, even by 1 or 2 pounds without their repetitions going down.

Often when this plateau is reached, it is just assumed that they have reached their maximum ability in strength and from there on out they perpetually continue to do the same exercise routines using the same weights and the same amount of repetitions.

Well this plateau not only can be overcome, it can be shattered! The first step is to understand why this plateau occurs. When you exercise with resistance and progress by adding small amounts of weight each week to each exercise, at some point (usually between 3 to 6 weeks), you will reach a point of approaching overtraining.

At this point your muscles simply can not progress because they need a period of rest for full recovery. This is where intensity cycling comes in. Once that plateau is reached, you need to take one full week off and not exercise with weights at all. After your week off, reduce the weights used for each exercise, and keep the repetitions the same as you were using so you will not reach fatigue.

This workout should be done for around 2 weeks, then start progressing back to where you were when you hit your plateau. You should take about 1 to 2 weeks to get back to using the weights you were using for each exercise when you hit your plateau after the 2 weeks of light workouts.

If you take this 3 to 4 week cycle after your week off, the recovery time your muscles will have had will allow for you to progressively add more weight to each exercise than you were using before you hit your plateau.

Now keep in mind that this cycle will eventually come to another plateau, and you will once again have to take a week off, and then begin another 3 to 4 week recovery cycle. By using this method you can make good gains in your exercise routine that will really add up in the long run.

Now while this sounds like “periodization”, there is actually one difference with “intensity cycling”. Periodization is where you start with an exercise routine of light weights using high repetitions, then after 3 to 4 weeks you increase the weights used and reduce the amount of repetitions and even the rest periods between sets and the rest periods between exercise days. Essentially you continue to vary the weights, repetitions, routines, and rest periods every 3 to 4 weeks to prevent the muscles from adapting to one weight and repetition scheme.

With intensity cycling, whether you are on your all out cycle or your recovery cycle, you always stay with the same repetition schemes and also the same rest periods between sets and the same amount of rest days between exercise days. You also stay with the same type of routine throughout both cycles and the same routine for repeated cycles. Intensity cycling is excellent for muscle gains because if you exercise all out all the time, it will always end up in overtraining.

These days many people spend a significant part of their day slaving away over a hot computer and as a result, their posture is not what it should be. Bad posture can result in short-term discomfort such as neck stiffness and headaches and also lead to more serious problems in later life. It is therefore worth spending some time to counteract the damage we may be doing to ourselves every day. But how about this - did you know that some of the same exercises that you can do to maintain good posture are the very same exercises, which if done regularly, can help you to achieve a six-pack? I am totally serious – this is something I discovered recently while looking at different exercise routines because I wanted to do something about my own bad posture. As well as sitting and standing up straight, you will also look good on the beach next summer. Kill two birds with one stone!

The following exercises should be done a minimum of three times per week and although you will not see and feel significant results for approximately 6-8 weeks, you will start to feel the developing muscles encouraging you to sit and stand straighter, almost immediately.

Pelvic tilt – Lie on the floor with your knees bent. Your feet should be parallel and arms to the side. Tighten your lower abdominal muscles, pulling your navel and lower back towards the floor. You should do this without using your buttocks or leg muscles to help you. Do this five times, holding for five seconds each time.

Trunk Curls – Lie on your back on the floor, with knees bent. Place your hands lightly behind your head. Using your upper abdominal muscles, raise your trunk off the floor to about 20 degrees and hold for 5 seconds. Then lie down again slowly. Do not put any strain on the neck or lead with your head. Try to imagine touching the ceiling with your chest. Repeat five times.

Arm / Leg raises – Lie face-down on the floor, keeping your neck straight, with your legs extended and arms straight overhead. Then slowly raise your left arm and right leg about six inches off the ground. Hold for five seconds and lower. Repeat with the right arm and left leg. Repeat five times on each side.

As you should before starting all types of exercise, consult your doctor if you have a history of health problems.

Emmanuel Mendonca moved from London to Athens in 2004 and is getting to grips with life in Greece. Emmanuel publishes Greece travel and living articles at http://www.athensroom.com/greece_travel_guide.html

I was chatting with Joe about his healthy heart exercise program when he suddenly became very serious and quietly said, “I’ve got Dunlap disease.” Since I hadn’t heard of this malady before I was contemplating how to respond when he went on to say, “My belly done lapped over my belt”. Joe has a lot of company. It is estimated that 70 million Americans are fighting the battle of the bulge.

As we “mature” two truths become self evident—the ease of acquiring excess poundage and the difficulty of losing it. One of the most frequent questions we get from new exercisers as they affectionately caress their paunch is “How do I get rid of this?

If you are one of legions that live in hope that there is a secret formula or some abdominal exercise that will quickly melt away your potbelly I have some bad news for you. Spot reducing just doesn’t work. A low carb eating strategy and strengthening the right muscles can help a man (or a woman) turn a pot into more of a skillet but it won’t happen overnight.

Many people measure their weight loss success by what the bathroom scale reads. The problem is that the scale can’t tell you what you need to know.

Dr. Wayne Wescott, consultant for the YMCA, says that the average American loses an average of 5 pounds of muscle each decade while gaining 15 pounds of body fat. “On a bathroom scale, that would indicate a 10 pound weight gain problem (15 fat pounds minus 5 muscle pounds),” says Wescott. “But the reality is that it’s actually a 20 pound problem—15 pounds more fat plus 5 pounds less muscle.”

Since each pound of muscle burns up to 50 calories every day—even while you are sleeping—a 5-pound muscle loss adds up to a whopping 6,000 or 7000 calories per month that your metabolic fires no longer burn.

This slowdown in metabolism sends you on a “bullet train to Blobville“. How do you get this muscle back? Sorry, but walking won’t do it. You need to invest about 15 minutes two or three times per week to strengthen those neglected muscles.

Ladies who are new to strength training sometimes are concerned that they will develop bulging muscles. Not to worry. A pound of fat is about the size of a pound of butter but a pound of muscle takes up only 1/3 the space. Toning your muscles will actually make you look smaller.
Working with volunteers in their 60s and 70s, Samuel Klein at Washington University in St. Louis found that older people who seldom exercise are poor fat burners. Instead, most of the energy they burn consists of carbohydrates.

The fat stores of this study group were broken down but weren’t burned up by the muscles as energy; instead the fat got recycled through the liver and was redeposited in fat depots throughout the body. Dr. Klein found that regular exercise, which included strength training, restored their youthful fat-burning power.

“The good news is that if older people train, they can normalize their ability to oxidize fat,” he says. Switching to a low carb eating program will accelerate this fat burning process since the body will burn more fat for energy if carbohydrates are not readily available.

If you think that carrying some extra fat around is a minor problem think again. For every inch your waistline exceeds the size of your chest, you can deduct two years from your life.

Surplus abdominal fat increases risk for a heart attack, diabetes, and some forms of cancer. An estimated 80% of all lower back pain can be traced to lack of abdominal strength.

If an inactive body, an over active fork and gravity have taken their toll on your mid section you may want to heed the sage advice of Ziggy who says, “A waist is a terrible thing to mind.”

Gene Millen, a heart bypass survivor reviews new research on heart attack risks that are far more dangerous than high cholesterol…and how these natural supplements and heart vitamins can send them packing! Check out The Heart Health website at http://www.heart-health-for-life.com