Wednesday, October 31, 2012

How To Get In Shape by Working Out

Getting in shape is a common goal, but what exactly does it mean and how do you do it? Getting in shape is a personal experience, that depends on your age, preferences, lifestyle and other factors. Take for instance, a mom with four kids may have different goals from a mountain climber. In simple terms, getting in shape simply means working your body more than you are doing. Your body grows stronger with you as you do more than what you're used to. Thus, getting you in better shape than you were before.

If your goal is to get in shape, some basics will need explanation: Cardio burns calories and helps your heart and lungs work efficiently. Strength training aids in building lean muscle tissue while strengthening your bones, muscles and joints, flexibility exercises to improve your range of motion, and rest so your body can recover and grow stronger.

Cardio is a great exercise to get in shape. Cardio exercise includes any rhythmic activity that gets you into your target heart rate zone. Other exercises, include walking, running, aerobics, cycling, swimming and dancing. You can even use daily chores such as raking leaves or shoveling snow as long as you're able to keep your movement consistent in order to raise your heart rate. How to get started:

Choose any cardio activity that's accessible and enjoyable. Schedule cardio workouts for at least 3 days a week. Begin your workout with a comfortable 5-10 minute warm up to raise your heart rate. Increase your intensity by increasing speed, adding hills, resistance or incline (or a combination) until you're just out of your comfort zone (Level 5 or 6 on the Perceived Exertion Scale).

Maintain that pace for 15-30 minutes or for as long as you can, adjusting your intensity as needed to stay at Level 5 or 6. End your workout and lower your heart rate with a cool down and light stretch. Each week, increase your workout time by a few minutes until you can work continuously for 30 minutes a session. Trying new activities and/or adding more intensity helps with progression.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

How To and How Not To Exercise For Teens

If you're a teen, you may not be sure how to exercise to get fit, stay healthy or, lose or gain weight. The good news is, there's a lot of variety to choose from that will work. That being said, it helps to learn about the different ways you can exercise so you can get results, reach your goals, and avoid getting hurt.

The best thing about exercise for teens is that just about anything that gets you moving around will burn calories. You should try to get intense workouts in for about 60 minutes a day at least 3-4 days a week and regular, more moderate activity during the rest of the week.

Cardiovascular exercise should always be included. This includes sports like football, soccer, basketball, baseball or softball, etc. It can even include fast walking, jogging, bike riding, swimming or running after the bus.

Strength training is another necessity to include in your teen workout program. This type of training helps you build strength. It can include structured weight training workouts with exercises like squats, bench press, or crunches using weights, machines, or even your own body weight. You may already weight train if you're in athletics but, if not, you can add this type of activity to your teenage exercise routine to enhance your results.

A big key is just to stay active. Aside from playing a sport or other activities like running or riding your bike, you should also include regular activity into your day. Some examples are active games (like Wii or DDR), taking walks, wrestling with your friends or throwing a ball at the park. This is something you can do every day just to keep moving.

Not all exercise is right for teens. Power lifting is not suggested. This type of training involves explosive lifting for a one rep max. This type of exercise isn't recommended for teens because it's difficult to use good form and can close your growth plates early.

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Are You Destroying Your Health To Build Your Muscles?

When it comes to nutritional supplements, no industry is as unregulated and full of questionable claims and practices.

It is not unusual for fly by night companies to appear out of nowhere with unsubstantiated claims about their products that re nothing more than multivitamins.

The worse part is that some of these companies use artificial additives and sweeteners that are damaging to the health of people who consume them, with very little study of the consequences of these substances which are usually toxic and detrimental to human health.

So why is this industry so unregulated?

There are many reasons, one being many companies sprout up from out of nowhere that claim to be selling food derivatives, when in fact there products are riddled with chemicals. These companies often don't stick around long enough to be discovered for what they are doing.

So are all supplement companies guilty of this?

Luckily no.

There are many reputable brands out there that have been in business for many years and are producing superior products that no only get results, they are also actually rich in nutrients.

There is an important point to consider here, the products should not just contain nutrients but those nutrients should be derived from quality sources. These sources should be natural as well.
Many people aren't aware but vitamins can come from natural and artificial sources.
The natural sources are more easily assimilated by the body and are healthier compared to their artificial counterparts.

When considering taking a nutritional supplement there are some things you should take into consideration.

Has the company been around for a while?
Are they clear about their ingredients?
Are there a lot of chemicals and artificial ingredients in the products.
Can you easily obtain a lab assay on the product? (The manufacturer should have no problem sending you one if they are reputable.)

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Tips For Teenage Weight Loss

I get a lot of messages from teens with a variety of questions about exercise and weight loss: Is it safe to workout? How many times a week should I exercise? How can I lose fat? There aren't always easy answers to these questions, but there's one thing working in your favor: The younger you are, the easier it is to lose belly fat. Weight loss often comes easier to young, strong bodies with faster metabolisms, and the earlier you start, the easier it is to keep going as you get older.

Here are some tips for teen weight loss:

Walk, bike, or skate anywhere you can including school. Ask your parents if you can go to a fitness center with them or if there's a local community club where you can exercise. Check online to see if you can find free workouts on YouTube. If you hang out at the mall, then walk around instead of staying in one spot or eating crap at the food court.

Create a new plan where you walk, skate or run every day when you get home from school or on the weekends. If you don't want to work out outside by yourself, ask your friends or a family member to go with you or use an exercise video in your own room. Do some chores. Raking leaves or sweeping the driveway can actually burn calories while getting you brownie points with your parents. You can take the dog for a walk or jog.

Do You Really Need to Lose Weight?

This may seem like a dumb question, but not everyone needs to lose weight. Too often, teens focus on getting their weight down to see their six pack. You need to remember that you don't have to have a ripped 6 pack to be healthy. It's easy to have a distorted view of what your body should look like, especially if your models tend to be, well, models, celebrities, or other people who are often known more for how they look than what they do.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Burn Fat With Green Coffee Bean Max

After being featured on various television shows worldwide, Green Coffee Bean Max has gained a lot of following among health buffs today, for a very good reason. Medical professionals have vouched for the product's safe and effective fat burning capability. This review intends to show you what the product is and what makes it tick.

The Green Coffee Bean

It is somewhat of yellowish brown color, and has very potent antioxidant qualities similar to green tea and grape seed extract. The beans contain polyphenols that help eliminate free radicals from the body as it facilitates easy and smooth bowel movements. On the other hand, the chlorogenic acid content helps the liver efficiently process fatty acids. This process is necessary for safe and effective weight loss.

The coffee bean's natural antioxidants make up for the loss of the free radicals. Most natural weight loss dietary supplements today contain antioxidants. The difference lies in how natural and how pure they are, and this is where "Max" has the advantage over similar diet supplements in the market.

Health Benefits of the Product

Although the supplement is popular for use as a weight loss alternative, it provides a lot of other health benefits, to wit:

· It speeds up your metabolism. - The product alters the body's glucose absorption process. The caffeic acid ingredient in the "Max" acts as the stimulant that boosts the body's energy levels. The fact that the beans were not boiled contributes to the absence of cafestol, a diterpene that is known to increase the levels of bad cholesterol. Bad cholesterol, in turn, is responsible for weight gain.

· It helps reduce blood pressure. - The chlorogenic acids in the product help prevent high blood pressure. This is according to recent studies made where hypertensive people were made to take the supplement. At the end of the testing period, the participants showed remarkable improvement in their blood pressure levels.

· It has anti-aging properties. - The chlorogenic acid in the "Max" is very effective as an antioxidant. It is responsible for fighting off free radicals. If left on their own, free radicals will attack the healthy cells, thereby accelerating the process of aging. By effectively eliminating free radicals before they can wreak havoc, the body is better able to distribute oxygen.