A sexy looking stomach is the most sought after look for men and women. You hear so much talk about six pack abs and how to get them.
The truth is you have to be at a low body fat percentage to have a six pack. Six pack abs start with a strong core.
There are a number of core muscle exercises you can do to achieve a stunning body which includes getting ripped abs. So let's take a look.
1) Plank - There is no better way to build your core strength than using planks. Get in push up position and then hold it for as long as you can. I have heard of people being able to do planks for 10 minutes straight without stopping. That is crazy strong.
For newbies start doing planks for at least 1 minute, break for one minute, then do another. Rinse and repeat for as many reps as you can. Eventually you will be able to do 5+ minutes solid without stopping.
2) Hanging Leg Raise - Hang from a chin up bar. Bring your legs up to a 90 degree angle to your body. Remember not to swing your body to gain momentum and to keep your toes pointing up.
3) Twisting Crunch - Better than the regular traditional crunch since it hits all of your abdominal muscles in one exercise.
To do a twisting crunch, lie on the floor with your knees facing up with hands behind your head elbows facing out. Bring one elbow up toward the opposite knee to get a full abdominal and oblique contraction. Switch from left arm to right arm.
4) Superman - Lye down on your belly. Fully extend your body with only your stomach touching the ground. Flex your arms, core, and legs. If belly fat is your kryptonite then do supermans to rid yourself of it.
5) Side Plank - Lie on your side in a straight line. One elbow perpendicular to your body and at your shoulder, put opposite hand on your hip. Raise your body up, hold for a second then bring back down. Side planks help to target those hard to get obliques aka love handles.
When you have a strong core you will have less injuries, a stronger back, better balance and posture. But of course you will have a nice looking six pack. A stunning body awaits you if you do the core muscle exercises mentioned.
Showing posts with label Fitness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fitness. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
BodyBuilding 3 Mistakes
Building muscle is a timely process. It doesn't happen overnight. Rome was not built in a day, neither is a strong body.
Over training can slam the brakes on your muscle-building efforts. Don't let it. Over training is one of the most common bodybuilding mistakes made by newbies and experienced bodybuilders alike.
You need to train hard, but not to the point that you need to take a few weeks off because you got an injury from over training.
Mistake #1 - Don't Train The Same Muscle Group Every Day - Do you think you are going to get shredded abs doing crunches and other ab exercises every day? Nope. You should only work abs 2 or 3 times a week to see great results.
What to do instead: Work a muscle group then let it rest for 24 to 48 hours. If you worked chest and back today, then work triceps and biceps tomorrow, then work chest and back in a couple of days. Give your muscles time to heal and chill.
Mistake #2 - Have Training Sessions That Last TooLong - Are you in the gym more than an hour maybe even 2 hours a day?
What to do instead:Train 45 minutes to an hour. An hour in the gym is a good amount of time especially if you do it 4 to 5 times a week. You can accomplish a lot in 45 minutes to an hour in the gym. Don't live in the gym, get in there, do what you need to do then go enjoy yourself somewhere else.
Mistake #3 -Doing cardio and weight training together - If you feel extra tired when you get done working out it might be because you combined cardio along with weight training to make the workout a little too intense.
What to do instead: Do cardio and weight training on different days. Doing cardio a few minutes to get loose and warm up is okay, but doing it at a high intensity level and pumping some heavy iron together can be too much.
You can combine cardio and weight training together, but if you do, your workouts should be shorter. You should not go over 30 minutes if you are going to combine the two. If you must do cardio and weight training together then start the workout with weight training and end it with some cardio. Doing a workout that way will increase the burn.
You can get the body you want doing the right amount of exercise. But you won't get it with over training. Don't make these common bodybuilding mistakes, instead train at your fitness level. Keeping up with the Jones's is never good, it definitely won't work at the gym.
Exercise For Beginners
f you have decided to improve your health and fitness than you have made a very wise decision for a number of reasons. However, to be sure you get started off on the right foot, there are a few basic rules you will want to follow to be sure you do not injure yourself and that you get the full benefit from properly exercising. I would like to share with you three tips that will guarantee your success if followed correctly.
1 Start Slowly. There is a common mistake made by people that have either never exercised at all or haven't exercised in months or years. The mistake is trying to pick back up where they were before or starting out for the first time with high intensity exercises. This can be the number one reason people injure themselves initially and, become disillusioned physical exercise. Your body has to be brought along slowly when first starting to exercise and of course the older you are the more aware of this you have to become.
Start out slowly by starting an exercise program three times a week to begin with. As your body becomes accustomed to the exercises and gets stronger, you will be able to increase your intensity along with the frequency without injuring yourself.
2. Set Some Goals: If you want to be consistent with your exercise routine or any other endevaour in life you need to have a goal to strive for. In fact it would be a big benefit to get someone else involved with you in starting an exercise program to help keep you consistent and accountable to reach your goals that have been set. It can be a goals such as losing 10 pounds or more in the next two months or, being able to walk a mile each morning before work. The important thing is keep the goals simple and achievable at first then as you become stronger and build your stamina you increase those goals.
3. Learn As Much As You Can. I would recommend that you also get involved in a fitness club or with friends to help in your education about fitness and exercise. Learn things such as proper exercise techniques and tips on how to eat properly to get the most out of your exercises routines. Understand also how important it is to get the proper amount of sleep and to keep yourself hydrated during exercise.
If you want to reduce your learning curve and get sound expert advice when first starting to exercise, consider hiring a certified personal trainer who can show you how to become more efficient with exercise and, to help you with your motivation until exercise becomes a lifestyle.
By obtaining knowledge about exercise and how your body benefits from it, also gives you more incentive to keep up your exercise commitment and improve your health and quality of life.
Get Fit Just In 3 Steps
Today with medical technology and the advent of new medicines we are living longer than ever before. However, living longer does not necessarily mean you will be living a higher quality of life. To live and enjoy life you have to start with your level of fitness. There are many reasons to improve your fitness, some of you may have personal reasons however, for quality of life, let me cover three reasons why increasing your level of fitness is important.
1. You Reduce Your Levels of Bad Cholesterol. Cholesterol is a substance that is manufactured by the body. Depending on your genes your body may produce more than is recommended or it may produce less. The bottom line is as you age it is important to keep your cholesterol readings in line. There of course is medication that can be taken to help reduce bad cholesterol however the ideal way to cut your bad cholesterol or LDLs and raise the good cholesterol or HDLs is through diet and exercise. Do not rely on medication by itself.
Through exercise and proper diet, you increase the good cholesterol that helps in reducing cardiovascular disease and lowering your blood pressure. This is one of the biggest and most important areas you can improve on by working on your level of fitness.
2. You Increase Your Metabolic Rate. Through diet and more importantly exercise, you increase your metabolic rate which in burns more claories and helps you in reducing bodyweight and reducing the amount of body fat you carry. Increasing your meatbolic rate can be done by both cardiovasuclar exercise or weight training. Combining both however is very benficial and is highly recommended.
A higher metabolism keeps you tone and reduces the chances of developing chronic diseases by reducing the amount of excess body fat. As you age your metabolism begins to slow down causing an increase in body fat and just making it harder to lose weight overall. By improving your levels of fitness, you speed up your metabolism again.
3. You Increase Your Functional Strength. By working on your fitness you want to be sure you include weight training into your exercise routine. When you have developed a solid weight training routine, you begin to strengthen your muscles which not only will increase your metabolism and help in weight reduction as we discussed earlier but, it gives your more functional strength by being able to complete your daily activities without difficulty due to lack of strength. You increase your muscular endurance and you develop your bodies stamina to give you more energy and live your life with more energy and making your daily activities easier.
Keep Your Body Hot
We hear people all the time blame their weight-gain on their slow metabolism. Or we are told to eat several times per day to keep our metabolism moving, but if we already have weight to lose, isn't that counter-intuitive? Let's take a look into what exactly metabolism is, how is works, and what we can do to keep it working to our advantage.
I'm going to put my RN hat on for a moment so hang tight. Metabolism is the process that takes everything that we eat/drink and converts it into energy for our body to use. Our body uses this energy whether we are awake or asleep. It's a complex system that is different for everyone based on age, sex, and body composition (how much muscle and fat that you have.) When we say we've burned X amount of calories, we are talking about our metabolism and energy. Our basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the amount of calories that our body uses to survive in a healthy manner at rest. This includes things that we don't have to think about: circulation, breathing, repair of tissues, etc. We can thank our BMR for about 60-75% of the calories that we burn daily. The rest of the calories burned depends on our physical activity and how well our body processes food.
Fact. One pound of muscle burns approximately 10-60 calories per day. The number varies per person. One pound of fat burns approximately 1-3 calories per day.
Fact. People who have more muscle mass burn more calories per day even when at rest.
Fact. Metabolism can be altered regardless of age.
Fact. Physical activity is the one variable that is most easily changed.
Most weight gain occurs because we ingest more calories than we burn, so common sense would mean that if we simply eat fewer calories, we'd lose weight, right? Well, not so fast. When we go on low-calorie diets or skip meals and don't eat enough calories to maintain our BMR, we are actually slowing our metabolism down. Our body is smart. It automatically thinks STARVATION, CONSERVATION, MUST SURVIVE. To protect itself to survive, body processes (ie metabolism) slow down. Even worse, our body begins to burn our own muscle for the necessary calories (yes this will show as a weight-loss on the scale but at what expense?) When our metabolism slows down, it suddenly becomes easier to eat more calories than we burn. Result? Weight-gain over time, even though we didn't mean to, and the weight gain is fat, which burns less than muscle. In essence, we've just replaced muscle with fat.
As a quick side note, let me add that yes, there are medical conditions that will affect metabolism and must be dealt with under a physician's care. The vast majority of people, however, do not fall into this category.
OK, so now that we've had a quick one-minute anatomy & physiology lesson, what can we do to change our metabolism? I'm going to give you four simple steps that work.
1. Eat 5-6 small meals per day. Have you ever been camping and sat around a campfire? If so, you'll remember that you must continue to add kindling to the fire so it doesn't burn out. We need to think of our metabolism as a fire. Eating small, frequent meals keeps our metabolism burning. Note: we must choose healthy foods for these meals. If our frequent meals consist of fat and sodium-laden, nutritional-void items, we've missed the mark entirely. If you struggle with eating that often due to work, plan ahead for portable, healthy snack foods including protein bars & Shakeology.
2. Add in weight training 3 times per week. Remember the above fact? Muscle burns more than fat. Adding more muscle to our body via weight training means less fat, a tighter body, and smaller clothing sizes. Yea, I could live with that.
3. Do aerobic exercise 5-6 times per week. Although cardio doesn't really help us build our large muscle groups, it does rev up our metabolism potentially for hours afterwards! Faster metabolism means more calories burned.
4. Drink enough water. Even being mildly dehydrated can slow your metabolism. Our body needs water to process calories into energy. Drink up!
In short, don't allow yourself to fall into victim-mode, believe the fallacy that you have a slow metabolism, and think that you can't do something about it. Also don't sabotage yourself by unwittingly slowing your metabolism down by low-calorie diets. If you will commit to eating 5-6 nutritious, small meals per day, adding in weight training and cardio exercise, and drinking enough water, you CAN make positive changes. I know you can, and I believe in you.
Grow Urself Fast
s it a dream to grow taller when we have passed our growing age? What aspects should we consider to turn this impossibility to a reality? Many people would consider the foods we eat will affect our growth rate. Yes, this concern is on the right track.
One can turn to an appropriate workout in order to attain a desired height but doing that alone is boring. How can you get taller naturally? Similarly, it is vital in your effort to gain taller that it would be helpful to have an appropriate diet. Like people who desired to lose mass, proper food; though all the minerals and vitamins are essential for you to grow taller. Taking nutrients and having it supplemented to correct exercise and rest would help you grow taller effectively and faster.
Below are some tips about healthy nutrition that can aid you to get taller faster:
Look at your eating habits: Your eating patterns will aid you to grow taller. So, it is wise to follow a healthy eating pattern.
Never skip a meal. Eat a meal regularly so that your bones and spine gain sufficient nutrition to grow.
Breakfast is a significant meal, do not forget it.
Go easy on sweet food as well as avoid soda, sugars, and other forms of junk food. All those foods never aid you in getting taller; on the other hand, they only aid in growing your waist.
Eat plenty of fruits and green vegetables, wholemeal bread and whole grain cereals. Obviously! Broccoli, carrots, spinach, apricots and cantaloupe are decent fruits and rich in Vitamin A. Vegetables and Fruits deliver fiber, vitamins A, C, E, potassium and folate. Vitamin A is essential for the development of bones and the growth of soft tissues. Similarly, whole grain brown rice, wheat bread, popcorn and whole-grain pasta are whole grains that can aid you to maximize your nutrient intake. Grains and starches give energy, vitamins, fiber, iron, selenium and magnesium.
Don't forget your protein. It is composed of Amino acids, which creates blocks of cells in the body. Proteins are vital components of hormones, elements and substances inside the body, which could aid you in growing tall. Seafood, poultry, meat, nuts, legumes and seeds are decent sources of proteins. These nourishments provide iron, vitamin E, magnesium and zinc. Zinc is a vital nutrient for development and growth in adolescents and children. Not receiving sufficient zinc can lead to a growth delay. High quantities of zinc aids kids in getting taller; foods such as crab legs, oysters, beef, cashews and chickpeas are helpful too.
Dairy foods are significant too. Milk, ice cream, cheese and yogurt. Vitamin D and calcium are the most vital elements that have to be in your food for you to grow taller. This diet plays an important role in aiding kids in growing taller. Calcium is needed for bone development and is particularly important throughout younger years of growth. Low vitamin D leads to growing height slowly. Females with lower Vitamin D do not reach their full height potential.
You must get plenty of sleep for your body to recover its strength, and sufficient sleep will aid in recovering the energy you lose throughout the day.
Finally, avoid engaging in any corrupting habits, for example drinking and smoking. Those habits only produce a negative effect on your body's growth.
Chances always exist. The earlier to take action, the more the likelihood will be. Nobody considers growing taller when he/she turns 50 or higher. A chance will not come back if it passed. Take action, check your food diary, cross out unhealthy recipes and stay on a good one always.
Posts
