Sure, there are some complexities to weight loss; but the foundations are actually quite simple.

Food is fuel.

A healthy diet is an essential part of losing weight and building muscle; but it’s difficult for many Americans to break away from bad habits, including fast food, sugar and soda addictions.

Many people eat food to benefit their taste buds or emotions and not their bodies, which means changing your diet is more than changing your eating habits: it’s about changing your thinking habits.

Remember, food is fuel. Calories are little energy units that allow us to walk and talk and function. We need them! However, we also need vitamins and other nutrients to function at an optimal level. Often, the food that we eat quickly (fast food and frozen meals) has very little nutritional value and high sugar and fat content.

This is a bad combo. We have plenty of calories, but we can crash after a sugar high or just feel tired from not getting enough vitamins. By simply cutting out sodas, sugary foods and quick meals; you can begin to lose weight without counting calories.

However, you must also understand that losing weight is formulaic. Specifically, burning 3,500 calories over the course of a week will eliminate one pound. If that sounds scary, think again. That’s 500 calories a day. You could probably lose that just by cutting out a daily soda, candy or a trip to the drive-thru.

Replace processed foods with fresh foods, whole milk with skim and fatty meats with leaner cuts. Eliminate soda and drink water. Yea, it’s a really, really simple start!

Movement is exercise.

After eliminating unhealthy food from your diet, you’ll actually feel more energetic. Take a walk. Play catch. Go for a swim. Get out and enjoy life the way you did when you were a kid. You’ll be happier doing something you enjoy. Any increase in physical activity will help you lose weight when paired with a healthy diet.

For those who want to pursue a more aggressive weight loss plan, you will want to find something enjoyable that allows you to function at a sustainable intensity. If your goal is to live a healthier life, you will want to create lifelong habits.

If you combine weight lifting and cardio in one workout segment, begin with weights. This will increase your metabolism before your cardio routine.

Building muscle is more than just bulking up. For every one pound of muscle gained, your body will burn 30-40 more calories a day. There are already some great guidelines on this blog for weight lifters, so I’ll move on to cardio.

It takes time and oxygen to burn fat cells, so you will need to keep your heart rate up (130 beats per minute) for 22 minutes. Talking is a good way to measure your heart rate. If you have trouble squeezing out two or three words, slow down to a pace that allows you to express an entire sentence.

Liposuction is the only spot reduction.

You mean I can’t regain the washboard stomach I had in college by doing 50 sit-ups a night?

Well, it’s not guaranteed. Sure, you can lose that weight if your sit-ups burn enough calories, but you will be burning fat from all parts of your body, not just your tummy. When you target different areas of your body, you are actually building the muscle beneath the fat, not burning the fat.

Yes, there are ways to bulk up or tone different parts of your body, but weight loss is an overall measurement of body composition. You can’t target the fat on different areas of your body. I know, it’s disappointing, but it’s true.

Author Bio:

Lauren Bailey is a freelance blogger who loves writing about education, new technology, lifestyle and health. As an education writer, she works to provide helpful information on the best online colleges and courses and welcomes comments and questions via email at blauren 99 @gmail.com.

(photo credit Mason Masteka)

If you’re interested in increasing your muscle mass quickly then this article is definitely for you. No matter whether you want to build muscle to improve your sports performance, enhance your health and well-being, or to simply look good at the beach, then these principles will work for you!

The first point to understand is that building muscle is a process made up of 3 essential steps and each step must be taken. If you don’t take each step then your results will be compromised, meaning they will be slow at best or non-existent at worst. Each step in the muscle-building process is essential and plays a role in helping you build muscle fast.

Here are the steps you need to take:

1. Stimulate the muscles to grow.

2. Provide the nutrients for muscle growth.

3. Allow the muscles to grow.

Now, let’s cover each of these steps in more detail.

1. Stimulate the muscles to grow.

This involves forcing the muscles to adapt to the stress being placed upon them. In the case of building muscle this means lifting weights on a regular basis.

It is amazing how many people think they can simply take a protein powder or the latest ‘magical muscle-building supplement’ and get their muscles to grow without ever having to touch a weight! Nothing could be further from the truth! Stimulating the muscles to grow through weight training is the first essential step in the muscle-building process.

Of course, there are a countless number of weight-training programs available and they all tend to promote different training regimes (sets / reps), different exercises, and different workout structures. However, if you simply follow a few fundamental training principles, virtually any weight training program will get you results.

Here are the few principles you may want to follow:

• Train all of your body parts (including legs)
• Don’t train for longer than an hour per session
• Don’t train any muscle (group) more than twice a week
• Have 1-2 days of rest each week

Now let’s consider the second essential step in helping you build muscle fast!

2. Provide the nutrients for muscle growth.

In order to build muscle fast you must provide the body with an adequate amount of nutrients. This means you must have a slight calorie excess as well as enough protein. Lacking either of these criteria means that your body simply cannot build muscle.

Furthermore, it’s important not to have too many calories because then you’re likely to put on body fat.

Another effective nutritional strategy is to split up your daily food intake into 5 or 6 meals. This ensures that you supply your body with the nutrients it needs throughout the day and minimises the chance of your body entering a ‘catabolic state’, which means your body is likely to be breaking down muscle rather than building it.

In addition to providing your body with an adequate amount of nutrients from food, it is also a good idea to use a few supplements if you’re serious about building muscle fast.

There are only a few supplements that are really beneficial when it comes to building muscle fast so you can ignore all the marketing hype that tends to go along with most bodybuilding supplements these days.

The best supplements to use for muscle growth are: high-quality whey protein, creatine monohydrate and l-glutamine. The whey protein powder ensures you have an adequate amount of protein in your diet in order to re-build the actin and myosin filaments (contractile elements) after each training session and the creatine monohydrate and l-glutamine both have powerful ‘cell-volumising effects’.

Since muscle is approximately 70% water, increasing the water stored inside the muscle cells through cell volumisation goes a long way in helping you build muscle fast! It is best to take all of these supplements together immediately after your workouts.

Of course, these are very plain bodybuilding supplements compared to the ‘flashy’ supplements that you see lining supplement store shelves as well as being featured in the glossy magazines these days, but rest assured you can save yourself a lot of money by simply sticking with the basics that have been proven to work for years.

Don’t allow yourself to be convinced by the slick marketing tactics used by some supplement companies, especially if they’re using elite-level bodybuilders in their marketing. Who do you think is paying for that?

Let’s now examine the final step in the process of helping you build muscle fast.

3. Allow the muscles to grow.

The final step in the 3-step muscle-building process is all about recovery. Since a muscle grows when you’re resting it is essential that you make an effort to ensure adequate recuperation and recovery after each training session.

This means not training the same muscle group too soon after a workout, having 1-2 days of complete rest from the gym each week, and of course, having an adequate amount of quality sleep each night.

It is theorised that during a workout you cause microscopic tears in the muscle fibres, which then initiates a biochemical reaction in the body in order to repair the muscle fibres as well as make them thicker and stronger. This repair and re-building process occurs away from the gym when your body is resting.

Therefore, it simply makes sense not to train the same muscle group before it has had a chance to recover and re-build the tissues. As a result, it is recommended to only train a muscle group once or twice a week.

Training in a gym not only places stress on the muscular and skeletal systems but also places stress on your nervous system because the nerves are what innervates the muscles, stimulating them to contract during a workout. Therefore, it is best to allow your body 1-2 days of complete rest in order to allow the nervous system to recover completely from your workouts.

At night when you’re sleeping is when the majority of muscle growth occurs. Therefore, it is absolutely imperative that you get good quality sleep for approximately 6-8 hours each night. Here are some tips to help you get the best possible sleep each night and therefore build muscle fast:

• Ensure that your bedroom is as dark as possible at night
• Keep your body away from any electronic equipment (clock radios, mobile phones, etc.)
• Maintain a comfortable temperature whilst sleeping at night
• Have a high-protein, low-carb meal several hours before going to bed to maximise the release of growth hormone and other anabolic hormones in your body during the night
• Minimise any outside noises as much as possible whilst sleeping (perhaps use ear plugs if need be)
• Consider taking 2-3 grams of glycine before bed

There you have it! The 3 simple steps for building muscle fast. If you’re serious about getting the best possible results from your workouts, then make an effort to follow the steps here as closely as possible. You’ll be glad you did!

Author Bio:

Stephen Smith is part-owner of Body Concepts, an Australian supplement company and Focus On, a health and lifestyle magazine. His website, www.quick-weight-loss-principles.com has over 350 free articles on the topic of weight loss.

(photo credit Pasukaru76)

The male hormone, testosterone, goes through regular cycles of highs and lows. It is understandable that most men want to keep their hormone level at its peak, since it relates to male sexual desire as well as muscle mass. According to the experts, a few good workouts in the mornings can trigger the release of increased testosterone and raise the hormone level naturally.

Raising Testosterone Naturally

With a few ideas for boosting testosterone naturally you could be on your way to muscle – especially since you’ll be hitting the gym at the same time. Testosterone is the hormone that naturally builds muscle. As it synthesizes proteins, it rebuilds muscle fibers that have been damaged by weight training. If your testosterone count is low, it will also be harder to build muscle.

Research has shown that dieting in order to trim down quickly decreases testosterone levels. While trimming inches and body weight is important to increasing the hormone level, caloric intake should not be cut by more than 15 percent in order to build testosterone.

Develop a plan of compound exercises in your work-out in order to boost testosterone naturally. Involve muscle fibers in more than one joint or muscle group. Exercises such as weight-lifting, using an elliptical machine, cycling, and bench press work benefit multiple muscle groups.

Workouts That Raise Testosterone Levels

Exercising your lower body provides a healthier flow of hormones that could increase the level of testosterone. Mixing sets of exercises and repetitions while adding increased weights to power sets with lower reps will work better to naturally increase hormones.

• Dead lifts: Dead lifting weights should be in your exercise routine, especially if you are wanting to increase lean mass. Dead lifts will help to build overall strength and size while helping to release hormones.
• Squats: Much like dead lifts, squats work to increase overall size and help increase testosterone naturally.
• Olympic Lifts: These are the ultimate power movement exercises. Start with light weights and increase, paying careful attention to your form. Add more weight as you increase strength.
• Sprints: This exercise will truly expand your lungs, burn fat, maintain muscle and increase testosterone.
• Plyometrics: Works to increase power, add definition and inches to muscles.

Maintaining Testosterone Levels

Rest

According to findings published in the July 2010 issue of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, resting two minutes between sets during exercise showed increased levels of testosterone in research participants. Remember that exercising every day will not allow muscle fibers to heal and overworking them can compromise your goal of testosterone release. Researchers at Pennsylvania State University determined that using heavy weights, the elliptical machine or other muscle building machines three to five times per week should naturally accomplish a higher testosterone level.

Refrain

Don’t drink too much alcohol. For a healthy testosterone count, cutting yourself off after three drinks is the secret. Researchers say binge drinking causes testosterone levels to plummet and could permanently affect the endocrine system and the your levels of sexual desire.

Eat Sensibly

Eat sensibly with a steady intake of calories. Skipping meals can cause testosterone to decrease. Having a midnight snack is not a bad idea as long as it is healthy. Balance your diet with proper cardiovascular exercises to control excessive body fat that can inhibit testosterone. Run, swim, climb stairs, use the elliptical machine or other cardio active machines. Experts say about an hour three times a week is an ideal cardio workout.

Sleep

Get enough sleep. Testosterone is released as you sleep, so without the rest your body needs, an adequate amount of testosterone will likely not be released, and your numbers could remain low. Aim for about seven to nine hours of sleep each night. You will awake feeling refreshed and pumped for the day.

Author Bio: Russell Clark is a certified personal trainer who enjoys writing about health and wellness. When he’s not working out, he’s doing what he can to help others achieve their goals.

(photo credit MarcoGomes)

“What should I eat before a workout?” The answer depends on a number of things and is very individualized. Typically, if you are eating a healthy diet and getting enough calories to support your daily activity level, you can probably rely on your energy levels and your appetite as an indicator of what you will need for pre-workout fuel. Trial and error will also be the main way you figure out what works for you.

The size, timing, and content of your pre-exercise meal or snack can play an important role in your energy level during your workout and whether the calories you eat will be used as fuel or stored as fat. Eating too much before you exercise can leave you feeling horrible and unable to get your workout in. Eating too little may not give you enough energy to keep you feeling strong throughout your workout. Here are some tips for figuring out your plan for pre-workout fuel.

Hydration

To hydrate for exercise, the American College of Sports Medicine recommends that you:

Drink roughly 16-24 ounces of water two to three hours before your workout.

Drink about 4-8 ounces of water every 15 to 20 minutes during your workout. You may need more the larger your body is or the warmer the weather is.

Drink roughly 16-24 ounces of water after your workout for every pound of weight you lose during the workout.

Water is generally the best way to replace lost fluids. But if you’re exercising for more than 60 minutes, use a sports drink. Sports drinks can help maintain your body’s electrolyte balance and give you a bit more energy because they contain carbohydrates.

Timing of Your Snack or Meal

Exercising on a full stomach is not ideal. Food that remains in your stomach during a workout may cause stomach upset, nausea, and cramping. Allowing your meal to digest generally takes 1 to 4 hours, depending upon what and how much you’ve eaten. Everyone is different; you should experiment to determine what works best for you. The larger the meal and the more fat, protein, and fiber it contains, the longer you may need to wait before exercising.

Large meals – Eat these at least three to four hours before exercising.

Small meals – Eat these two to three hours before exercising.

Small snacks – Eat these an hour before exercising.

You need to figure out what works for your body. Many people feel that they need to eat something before a workout, then only workout for 30 minutes at an easy to moderate intensity, and find that they really didn’t need a snack. If you don’t need to eat before a workout, don’t. You don’t want to make the mistake of overeating.

Try a Snack (30-60 Minutes Before Exercise)

If it’s been a long time since your last meal, you may just need a little something to help boost your blood sugar. Your blood sugar has a tendency to dip 15-20 minutes into a workout. That drop in blood sugar can cause fatigue, mild dizziness, or even faintness, especially if your blood sugar was already low. Eat something beforehand to help prevent this. If you get very hungry during a workout and it interferes with your energy levels or focus, or you become so ravenous after an exercise session that you end up overeating, try eating before you hit the gym to avoid these problems.

Snack ideas:

Fruit juice

Low-fat smoothie

High-glycemic fruits like pineapple, apricots, banana, mango, and watermelon

Sports drinks

Pretzels

Snack bars (look for 3-5 grams of protein, at least 15 grams of carbs, and very little fat)

Energy gels

Low-fat yogurt

Low-fat milk

Eat a Small Meal (1-3 Hours Before Exercise)

Most of the fuel you use during your workout doesn’t come from the food you’ve recently consumed. It actually comes from the carbohydrates, glycogen, and fat that are stored in your muscles, liver, and fat cells. That’s enough to fuel 1-2 hours of very intense exercise or 3-4 hours of moderate intensity exercise.

If your overall diet is adequate, you may not need to eat anything before you exercise. However, for those of you who like to workout first thing in the morning, most of the energy you got from dinner the previous night is used up by morning, and your blood sugar may be low. If you don’t eat, you may feel sluggish or lightheaded when you exercise.

If you need more time between when you eat and when you exercise, you might want to include something with more lean protein.

Small meal ideas:

Fruit and yogurt

Cereal and low-fat milk

Trail mix with nuts and dried fruit

Hummus and raw veggies

Hard boiled eggs or egg whites

Low-fat cottage cheese and fruit

Half a peanut butter or turkey/chicken sandwich on whole grain bread

Whole grain crackers with nut butter

Whole grain Fig Newton cookies

Yogurt smoothie

Energy bars

Caffeine

It used to be thought that caffeine could boost endurance by stimulating a greater use of fat for energy, and thereby reserving glycogen in the muscles. However, when caffeine improves endurance, it does so by acting as a stimulant to the central nervous system. Those who are very sensitive to the effects of caffeine may experience nausea, muscle tremors, and headaches. Too much caffeine is a diuretic, and can result in dehydration, which decreases performance. Your normal routine of 1-2 cups of caffeine should be okay, but again, experience is the key. Be aware that caffeine can be found in energy drinks, energy bars, and certain supplements.

Let experience be your guide

When it comes to eating and exercise, everyone is different. So pay attention to how you feel during your workout and your overall performance. Let your experience guide you on which pre-exercise eating habits work best for you. Consider keeping a journal to monitor how your body reacts to meals and snacks so that you can tweak your diet for optimal performance.

Author Bio: Jennifer Bayliss, MSEd, ATC, CSCS, Manager of Fitness for Everyday Health, available at www.everydayhealth.com/calorie-counter.aspx

Sources:

Clark N. Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebook. 4th ed. Champaign, Ill.: Human Kinetics; 2008:167.

Position of the American Dietetic Association, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine: Nutrition and athletic performance. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 2000;100:1543.

(photo credit Dan Zen)

Vacation doesn’t have to be a time to stop exercising and to eat junk food every day. You can keep up your diet and exercise routine even when you’re away from home.

If you’re a true fitness fanatic, and you don’t think of exercise as “work” or something that you need to get away from on vacation, there are several vacation packages that offer a variety of physical activities to challenge you in new ways.

Here are 5 great vacations for fitness buffs:

Escape to Shape (http://escapetoshape.com/)

This “traveling fitness spa” goes to locations around the world, including Istanbul, Croatia, Marrakech, Cambodia and more. Activities include yoga, Pilates, circuit training, hiking, kayaking, and biking. In addition to the fitness activities offered, there are guided excursions, spa treatments, fun classes, and delicious foods.

Nile River Explorers (http://raftafrica.com/)

Explore Uganda and the White Nile with grade 5 white-water rafting, Nile cruises, safaris, and much more. There are also opportunities for horseback riding, mountain biking, quad biking, and a village walk. Fitness lovers of all kinds can find something to enjoy here!

Epic Self (http://epicself.com/)

Destinations vary for this intensive health retreat — ranging from overseas destinations like Thailand to home-based locales like San Francisco. Activities can include surfing, yoga, swimming, hiking, Pilates and more. Diet is also a focus during this retreat, and raw, whole foods are emphasized.

Body and Soul Adventures (http://www.bodysouladventures.com/)

This retreat in beautiful Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, features a “body and mind detox program” that includes hiking in the rainforest, kayaking in the ocean, yoga, massage, and more. There is also a focus on fresh, whole foods and learning to make conscious choices for diet and lifestyle.

Iron Crow Yoga (http://www.ironcrowyoga.com/)

Start each day early with Ashtanga yoga on this intensive retreat, which also incorporates other physical activities, such as hiking, surfing, and swimming. There are also activities for the mind, such as painting and healthy cooking classes. Destinations include Belize, Guatemala, and Costa Rica, so you have a beautiful backdrop for everything you do.

These vacations combine the best of both worlds for the fitness fanatic: The chance to really push your body while enjoying fun physical activities and beautiful backdrops that offer you cultural opportunities and the chance to lie poolside or beachside with a cocktail (or smoothie) in your hand.

Have you taken a fitness retreat that you enjoyed? Tell us about it in the comments!

Author Bio: Lisa Shoreland is currently a resident blogger at GoCollege.com, where recently she’s been researching federal grants for college and hispanic grants. In her spare time, she enjoys creative writing and hogging her boyfriend’s PlayStation 3. To keep her sanity she enjoys practicing martial arts and bringing home abandon animals.

(photo credit Powi)

Going from being sedentary to becoming a true runner can be a quite challenge especially if you’re overweight or totally out-of –shape. However, there some training approaches and strategies that can make this feat much easier and more enjoyable. Running should not be a hassle. In fact, running and other forms of exercise should make your life easier, not the other way around.

Therefore, if you’re an overweight person seeking the best approach, then you’ve come to the right place. Below are the 2 golden steps which can get you on the right path toward getting into a better shape and becoming a true runner.

1^st step: Change your mental patterns

The biggest change beginners should go through is the mental battle. Most overweight people find it hard to lose the extra weight or to keep it off afterward due to their mindset and inner beliefs. See, a mindset can make or break you. For instance, if you believe that you can’t lose the weight and be healthier, then the chances of that happening are either very slim or near-impossibilities. And vice versa.

Therefore, putting your mindset on the right track is mandatory. You can do this by changing your beliefs regarding exercise and health. And one of the best tools you can use is creative visualization. This tool is a mental technique that uses your imagination to turn your dreams into a concrete reality By changing your thoughts and mental images, you’ll change your “reality”.

Therefore, make sure to visualize success all the way through by making pictures in your mind AS IF the desired outcome has ALREADY happened. For instance, you could see yourself already running for 30-minutes with ease while enjoying a healthier and fitter body. This will not only help you build the positive mindset you need, it will also boost your motivation and desire, thus resulting in more consistency and action.

2^nd step Change your physical habits

No amount of visualization can make up for miles jogged on the track. The mind is just the first piece of the puzzle. You need to back it up with the actual exercise and proper physical training. However, you don’t need to change your physical habits overnight. In fact one of the biggest mistakes beginners make to trying to do too much too soon. Doing so only results in injuries and early setbacks.

Therefore, if you want to stay injury-free and keep your training program on the go, then you need to start small and build the intensity up gradually. And the best program to help you achieve that is the Walk-Run-Walk method. This program is simple and straightforward and will help you build your cardiovascular power without running the risk of injury or over-training.

Here is how it should look like:

• 1^st week: You only need to walk during this stage. No running yet. Go for 3-4 30-minute walks and get yourself in the habit of exercising with ease.
• 2^nd week: Add 40-45 seconds of running intervals interspersed with walking. The walking is there to help you recover and get your strength back. Repeat the pattern 4-5 times.
• 3^rd week: Now your running intervals should be longer than one full minute and your walk for less. Repeat the pattern as you see fit.

As the training progresses forward, you’ll get stronger and fitter. Keep alternating between the running and walking until you’re able to run straight for 30-minutes without much huffing and puffing.

Author Bio: David Dack is a runner and an established author on weight loss, motivation and fitness. If you want more free tips from David DACK, then go to RunnersBlueprint.com and for a limited time you can download his 35-Pages “Weight Loss By Running” eBook for FREE.

Many systems and trainers nowadays promote “secret” systems that will make you grow muscles quickly and with little work. Most of these systems don’t work and only get you to spend more time at the gym and more money on supplements. In this article I will describe 4 easy tricks that will speed up your muscle gains right from the first workout.

Go for High Intensity
High intensity training was first introduced by Arnold Jones (the inventor of the Nautilus workout machine), and was considered an extreme but highly efficient training method. It was then revised, improved and used by Mike Mentzer to win Mr Olympia, later to write several best-selling books about this system.

The idea is very simple: in order to trigger muscle growth, you must train in high intensity and reach the point of muscular failure in any exercise. The idea is to do only one set of each exercise, but to do the exercise slow and reach the point in which you can no longer move the weights at proper form – this is the point of muscular failure and this is where your muscles are triggered to grow and adapt to the huge effort.

Stay at this point for a few seconds, and then gradually release. This system requires very little time (because you do only one set), and brings results very quickly. Personally, I saw results even from my first workout when my biceps, which were my weakest link, expanded after a mere one workout and continue to do so in the course of a month.

Eat Protein and Carbs
It is important that you don’t skip carbs altogether and make sure they are still at least 50% of your daily intake of calories. Eat complex carbs like beans and whole grain bread, to make sure that your body gets stable energy and do not store those carbs as fat in your body. If you don’t want to trouble yourself with calculating calories you can use a mass gainer like BSN true mass to gain mass quicker.

Do Compound Exercises
Bicep curls are good but for serious mass growth, compound (multi-joint) exercises are much more recommended. Do pull-ups, dips, bench press and even squats (make sure to do it in perfect technique to prevent injuries). Multi-joint exercises lead to faster muscle growth as they trigger more muscles, and they will allow lead to more growth hormone being produced in the body. Your metabolism will also speed up much faster with compound exercises, so they are useful for losing fat as well.

Sleep at Least 8-10 Hours per Night
This is crucial: gym workouts are only the catalyst to muscle growth. To actually grow you must give your body time to recover, so it is recommended you sleep 8-10 hours per night, and if you have time take a nap at noon. This will allow your muscles to grow better and your nerve system to recover.

Author Bio: Dan Storren is a bodybuilding fanatic, who shares his insights about muscle growth and weight training in his site, Mass-gainer.net.

(photo credit pasukaru76)

The quest for rock hard abs isn’t as straightforward as you think. The most common myths aroundbuilding abs assumes that everything is about being on a straight line.

If you eat right (whatever that is supposed to mean), work out properly (again, very vague), and really just think about all of the supplements that you could possibly buy (a waste of money when you have no plan), you’ll not only burn fat, but you’ll have some rock hard abs that everyone will be excited about.

That’s just not the case at all. You’re going to need to make sure that you go beyond justthe “classics” if you want to really diagnose why you might have so many problems getting to your goals.

Time to Think About the Thyroid

A lot of people have heard of the thyroid, but they really don’t know what the thyroid really is, or its impact on overall health.

After all, if you want rock hard abs chances are good that you also want your body to be in proper sync. Good thyroid health is actually the key to a lot of different systems in the body working as they are supposed to.

So let’s cover the thyroid in greater detail, shall we? The thyroid is an endocrine gland, part of the Endocrine system.

Simply put, this gland controls how quickly your body is going to use energy, make proteins, and howsensitive the body is to other hormones. So if you’re worried about insulin, you need to make surethat you focus on this gland as much as you can.

Hormones of the thyroid include T3, T4, and TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone). The biggest thing that you want to avoid is an underactive thyroid gland, which can contribute to hypothyroidism, where you just don’t make enough T3 and T4 and TSH to move things along. More people are hypothyroid than hyperthyroid, where the body makes too much.

Iodine deficiency is one of the top reasons why hypothyroidism exists, but you can overturn this condition if you have it.

Diet, Thyroid, and Your Ripped Abs AgendaIf you want to get to a healthy thyroid, you’re going to need to make sure that you lower your intake of soy, which has been shown to block thyroid function.

In men, thyroid hormone doesn’t play as big of a role, but it is possible to still have hormone problems.

Diet plays a role because it’s not just soy that’s the big culprit, and you’re also going to have more sources of soy than you can even shake a stick at. You will have soy in everything from mayonnaise to salsa and then some.

But as we just said, it’s not just the soy that you have to watch out for. The consumption of vegetables that contain goitrogens can disrupt thyroid function. Broccoli, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts and cabbage are all plants that contain naturally occurring goitrogens.

Chemicals are going to have to be kept at a minimum, because studies show so many different interactions on the body. In fact, these chemicals found in foods as well as household items can disrupt thyroid function and even generate a stress response in the body.

It’s tough, finding out that so many things are actually stacked against you when it comes to not only building the abs that you want, but also making sure that you have the health that you want. Good rock hard abs are a sign of vitality, but do you want that sign to only be on the surface or do you want it to go deeper than that? That’s a decision that you’re going to have to make sooner or later.

Testing yourself for hormone deficiencies is a matter of visiting your doctor. They can order the blood work to be done, giving you a more intimate picture of your overall health. Even if you’re scared of needles, getting hard data is always a good thing.

Why not check it out for yourself today? It’s a tough step to make — especially when you’re used to looking into the common myths of building abs and thinking everything is just going to be straight forward and simple. It’s definitely not, but you can reach your goals by studying the hormone issues and going into a world of total health and vitality!

Author: H.M is the editor of Ab-Solutely-Fit.com where he shares his knowledge about how to sculpt your abs.

(image credit aeu04117)

There are probably just as many excuses to not get into shape, as there are reasons to get into shape. The difference is those excuses can lead to less mobility, more illnesses, and possibly an earlier death. The gain in overall health and fitness makes the effort to lose weight worth it. Please remember to visit a doctor before starting any exercise program.

Exercise Tips
There are different exercises and different exercise programs, and it seems that someone somewhere is promising that their program is the best. The truth is that the best exercise program, especially for the person who hasn’t been overly active for a while is the exercise they are willing to stick with. That is not to say they have to love the exercise they are doing, but if they won’t stick with a program over the long haul, then they need to find another exercise.

Another important factor is how hard the exerciser pushes himself or herself. A person who is very overweight can do a lot of good by walking one mile a day in the beginning. However, one month later they will need to have increased their pace and distance in order to do as much good. The more the exerciser pushes their limits, the better the exercise is for them.

Nutrition
One of the hardest parts of losing weight is using an appropriate diet. Just like sticking with exercise, the change in diet associated with weight loss must be a habit and a lifestyle change, not just something to do for a while, or else the fat will return and all of that hard work will have been wasted.

When considering how much to eat, it is important to understand how much is being eaten. One pound of fat is 3500 calories. Therefore, if a person wants to lose two pounds a week needs to consume 1000 fewer calories during that week. There are all kinds of faddish dietary foods available, but the best thing to do is learn how to eat smaller portions of healthy food.

The more difficult part of starting a diet for most people is portion size. People are used to eating too much. Learning how many calories are in a portion size makes knowing how much to eat much easier.

Losing weight is not easy. The payoff for those who are willing to stick with a healthy lifestyle change is looking better, and most of all feeling better.

(photo credit: MikeBaird)

Author Bio: Jackie joined the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance in 2009 as research assistant after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in English and a minor in fitness and nutrition. Jackie’s experience in technical and medical research has allowed her to assist in the development of medical content and outreach efforts, with specializations in alternative care, cancer support programs, and social media campaigns.

The grotesque, animated bodies of the recently dead are among the most horrifying creatures in all the world. However, were you aware that zombies also serve as fantastic fitness role models? While the slow shamble of the undead may strike a deep fear in your heart, try to learn as much as you can from them before they tear the flesh from your bones. Here are 4 quick lessons we can learn from reanimated corpses.

Be Persistent:

Think about it. A zombie stops at nothing. He will pursue you to the end of the world if it means one more bite of living meat in his mouth. His legs will break off long before his determination does. While, I sometimes feel determined to reach my fitness goals, I can honestly say that I’ve never been near as persistent as one of the walking dead. If you need help being consistent in your exercise routine, look to zombies… as they slowly saunter up behind you.

Be Single Minded:

Again, picture a movie like “Night of the Living Dead”. Think about how the zombies were so united in their attack on the old farm house. Were they bickering amongst each other or  debating whether or not they should give up? Absolutely not. They had one goal in mind. To reach the young people holed up in the house and sink their teeth into their brains. There was no debate, no internal struggle. The zombies simply knew what they wanted and were focused on achieving their goals.

Don’t Over Think It:

If you often have difficulty deciding upon a course of action, try to think about what a zombie would do. He takes the straightest path to his desired goal. He doesn’t debate whether he should sneak up behind a victim or cut them off at the pass. No, he simply takes a direct route toward his next meal. Similarly, try not to needlessly complicate your exercise or nutrition plan. Do some research, plan a simple course of action and stick with it… zombie style!

No Reservations:

When you get tired or think you can’t go a single step further, throw all caution to the wind and attack! Take hold of your goal no matter what stands in your way. Is it a finish line? A new personal lifting record? Is it the soft, tasty flesh of your next door neighbor? No matter what it is, pursue it without regard for your own comfort or dispositions. Zombies don’t care how hard something his. Zombies don’t care how good they look when they’re at the gym. Zombies simply work. Take their tenacity, determination, and recklessness as motivation! Break down the door of whatever is standing in between you and your fitness goals.

(photo credit Eric, Eh?)