Exercise-Fitness

Natural Body Building

mhanoy_8@hotmail.com (Exercise-Fitness) — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 03:50:00 +0000

In the sport of body building, there are many supplements that can be used to grow muscles quickly, but many of these substances are man-made like steroids. Natural body building is done without the benefit of artificial substances being put into the body. That doesn’t mean not using body building supplements as many of these are natural products. What it means is staying away from man-made hormones and steroids to aid in building body mass.
The body building industry has taken a very firm stance on the use of illegal and artificial substances – especially in competitions. There are even specific contests geared toward natural body builders. Most competitions will test participants prior to allowing them to compete, and if someone is found to have an illegal substance in their body, they are banned from participating.
While synthetic products will grow your body very quickly, they can have horrible side effects. The trend toward natural body building is about growing your body, maximizing your nutritional intake, as well as staying healthy while you are growing your muscles.
When you decide that natural body building is the route you want to go, it’s important that you get the right amount of nutrients and vitamins that will maximize your workout sessions. That means taking a multi-vitamin and eating properly in ways that will send muscle building proteins to the right parts of your body.
It is more than possible to grow your body naturally through an effective weight training program coupled with good nutrition. There is no reason why steroids or growth hormones need to be introduced into the body for ultimate muscle mass.
One of the key components of a natural body building program is to eat healthy and maintain a positive mindset when it comes to your workout program. Supplements are also important when you want toned, fit muscles. The ingredients in supplements like creatine and glutamine are naturally produced in the human body anyway. What the supplements do is increase or enhance those substances that are naturally there anyway.
Proponents of natural body building will agree that an effective workout program coupled with effective supplements and nutrition can make for a healthy, toned body. Natural body building is definitely the way to go if your goal in a body building program is to get healthy and feel good. Steroids and growth hormones should be avoided at all costs.
Body building the natural way is best for everyone. Steroids are not. Don’t take the chance that you will suffer ill effects from steroid use. Just know that a strong workout program and a commitment to your body building goals will grow your body in a natural way not an artificial way.This article was published using Article Submitter

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Build Muscle In 4 Simple Steps

Are you sick and tired of everyone telling you a different way to build muscle? Are you unhappy with how you look in the mirror? Are you frusturated with your slow progress in the gym? Are you ready to learn five simple steps that will teach you how to build muscle safely and effectively?
There is a good chance that you are not maximizing one of these four steps. Your problem and solution lies in correcting these essential steps before you have any chance of building a muscular and lean physique.
Get read to learn how to build muscle in four simple steps, in less time, without any drugs and without bogus supplements.
Step # 1
Committ to lifting weights at least three to four times per week. Your goal is to stimulate your muscles with resistance (stress) which results in your muscles growing bigger to avoid the stress from occuring again. Once you go home, let the muscle heal through nutrition and rest, it will grow bigger and you will repeat this process again. Ideally you should hit your muscles once every 72 hours so you could perform 2 upper body workouts per week and 2 lower body workouts per week.
Step # 2
Focus on eating at least 5-7x a day with balanced meals from carbohydrates, proteins and fats. If your goal is to build muscle than you should be eating at least 15-18 x your current body weight. Your carbohydrates should equate about 45% of your intake, your proteins should equate about 35% of your intake and your fat should be the remaining 20% of your intake. You should focus on over half of those meals being solid whole food meals and the remainder can be liquid meal replacment shakes.
Step # 3
You should focus on stretching at least half the amount that you lift weights. One of the biggest mistkakes I see is people training, training and training with out any stretching. Stretching helps restore normal length to the tissue and if you are constantly training, your muscle tissues will shorten and big to perform weaker and slower and have a higher incidence of injuries. So if you are lifting weights 4 hours in the week, at least an additional 2 hours should be dedicated to stretching. You must counteract the shortening of the muscle tissues that occurs with weights or else you are a injury screaming to happen.
Step # 4
Avoid supplements that have not been around for longer than 3 years. I learned this phisophy from an Australian strength coach who recommended not trying any supplement until it has been around at least 3 years to pass the test of time. This will make your life much easier and help you avoid all the marketing hoopla in the latest fitness and bodybuilding magazine. If you follow this rule, you will discover only a small handful of supplements still standing. Here are the ones you should not go with out: a high quality multi-vitamin, fish oil capsules, powdered creatine and a protein powder. These products will cover your nutritional basis for health, healthy body composition, strength and muscle mass.
Article Source: http://www.superfeature.com

Simple Tips to keep you fit for a lifetime.

mhanoy_8@hotmail.com (Exercise-Fitness) — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 07:04:00 +0000

It is very easy to plan a training program not quite so easy to see it through.
Why is this so? Well basically the traditional viewpoint is that if it's a quick fix it isn’t working. While it would be nice to actually lose some weight in just a few days like most miracle ads proclaim , managing weight and losing weight through physical fitness is a slow and steady process that takes time and commitment.
Setting weight management goals for you can be a good motivator. Gradual weight loss, for those people who wish to shed off some extra pounds, is usually the safest.
That is why health and fitness experts had come up with the idea of lifetime fitness in order to teach people set realistic goals. These lifetime fitness programs generates dietary regimens that cut your normal calorie consumption for your weight by 500 to 1,000 per day, so will burning the same amount with exercise. In turn, this will definitely encourage healthier weight loss.
Lifetime fitness teaches you how to maintain a physically fit body at the same time enjoy and live a happy, contented life. It gives you the chance to strike a balance between the two (exercise and diet), and make exercise, be it team sports, cycling, or walking, something you will truly enjoy.
That is why lifetime fitness embodies the concept that making a long-term healthy lifestyle change is essential to keeping the pounds off once they are gone.
To know more of the advantages and benefits that lifetime fitness can bring, here are some facts that you need to know:
1. Lifetime fitness programs offer you the most comprehensive and wide-ranging fitness and health encounter with quality services, in which the customers will feel gratified.
These fitness programs provide you the right method in maintaining health, build up and encourage your competence, and take care of your family’s physical fitness as well.
2. Because the goal of lifetime fitness is to provide you with long-term achievements as far as physical fitness is concerned, these programs utilizes numerous fitness equipments that will tone and manage your health and the different parts of your body.
There is a wide variety of equipment available that will help with all of your requirements.

3. Lifetime fitness programs and centres also provide nutritional products such as food supplements that will aid in the formation of good blood cells and tissues thereby making your body at its pink of health.
Lifetime fitness centres and programs also provide you with up-to-date fitness magazines that do not only give substantial information about fitness and health but inspirational stories as well. These articles will give you an insight on how to make you life balance and how to live a life that is healthy and fit.
Indeed, staying fit and healthy can be a long and winding road and there are instances wherein you may find your enthusiasm fading occasionally. Nevertheless, with the comprehensive programs provided by lifetime fitness plans, you can start heading back to the right tracks of a healthier you.
Article Source:
Stephen Morgan writes about a number of Internet based issues such as Nike Shoes . A keen proponent of all aspects of free and independent services available, he advises clients to look at the whole range of products available online at Cheap Nike Shoes

Exercise Tip

mhanoy_8@hotmail.com (Exercise-Fitness) — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 05:01:00 +0000

Exexcise
So you are finally ready to turn from your couch potato ways, and trade your T.V. remote in for a dumbbell! Congratulations, and welcome to the wonderful world of fitness! I commend you on your resolve to lose weight and get into shape! Now where do you begin? These days there sure is a lot of talk about diet and fitness, whether it is a new diet pill or piece of exercise equipment. It is enough to make your head spin, and certainly enough to confuse the beginner. Take a deep breath, and follow these simple tips to go from being a fitness beginn

TIP #1: GET MOVING

The first thing you need to do, as a fitness beginner, is to start moving! I mean this literally. Get up, and walk out your front door. Now walk down the street. Now turn the corner. Keep going! Do you get the picture? Start introducing your body to fitness by going on walks. These walks will probably start out slow and short, but before you know it they will be brisk and long. Try to work up a sweat as you tour the neighborhood. Make it a habit to wake up early to go on your walk, or consistently go on a walk before you go to bed. These walks will get you to start burning calories each day, and will also begin to build your cardiovascular endurance.

TIP #2: STRETCH

Once you become a pro at walking, you will need to add something new to your routine. Stretch before and after your walks. Start by reaching down to touch your toes and holding it for 30 seconds. You will feel tightness on the backs of your legs, in your hamstrings. Now place your palm against a wall at chest level and turn your body away from it. As you hold this for 30 seconds you will feel a stretch in your chest. Most inactive people have tight hamstring and chest muscles due to prolonged sitting, so it should be your priority to stretch these muscles out. You will be pleasantly surprised at what this will do for your posture!

TIP #3: CLEAN YOUR DIET

Fitness professionals like to claim that 80% of what your body looks like is directly related to what you eat. In other words, if you are eating burgers and fries and visiting the gym everyday, you are still going to look like you are eating burgers and fries! It is time to clean up your diet, so you can continue on your fast track to fitness.Rule #1: No more fast food. Fast food is cheap, available, and quick, but it is far from healthy. You are better off avoiding it completely.Rule #2: Eat 5 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables everyday. Your body needs the nutrients found in these foods, and they will fill you up without empty calories.Rule #3: Eat 4-5 small meals a day, rather than 2 large ones. This will keep your metabolism high all day, and turn you into acalorieburning machine!
TIP#4: JOIN A GYM

After you have mastered walking, stretching, and have started to clean up your diet, you are ready to join a gym. Don’t be intimidated or scared of this concept, the gym is a friendly place where people go to burn calories and build muscle! Find a local gym that has a convenient location near your home or work place. The key to making your gym membership worth its monthly dues is to use it consistently. Go to the gym no less than three times a week. While you are there begin a resistance training program as well as a cardiovascular program.

TIP #5: FIND A BUDDY

There is no better motivator to get you to the gym than knowing that someone is there waiting for you. If you find yourself slacking off in your workouts, or skipping the gym, a workout buddy might be just what you need. Find a friend with whom you share similar fitness goals, and become workout buddies. Agree to meet three times a week at the gym, and encourage each other throughout your workout. You will find that this makes workouts motivating and fun.There you have it, all you need to know to get yourself up off the coach and into a healthy, fit lifestyle! Making the decision to get into shape will be the best one you make in your life, and I wish you all the best. To your health!

Flexibility Stretching Exercises For Enhanced Fitness

mhanoy_8@hotmail.com (Exercise-Fitness) — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 04:59:00 +0000

Millions of people suffer from muscle tightness, lower back ache and general stiffness. A series of simple, full body, stretching exercises can cure a tight lower back, relieve physical and mental stress, loosen up stiff legs and improve full body flexibility.
Lower back stiffness and pain, tightness in the neck and shoulders, general muscle aches and tight leg muscles are conditions that affect millions of people, from sedentary couch potatoes to elite athletes. The National Center for Health Statistics reports that 14% of new patient visits to physician offices (approximately 13 million annually) are for complaints of low back pain and lower body stiffness. In fact, an estimated 18% of the population has debilitating back pain at any given time. Lack of a proper stretching exercise program is a primary factor in most of these cases
“When we estimate the number of people that don’t bother to go to the doctor or seek traditional treatment, such as physical therapy, the number is probably double and most likely higher. The amazing thing is most of these can be fixed with a series of simple stretching exercises for the whole body.” claims Exercise Physiologist, Joey Atlas.
Avoidance of stretching exercises, lack of knowledge regarding specific stretches and limited flexibility are three causes of the lower back pain epidemic and overall body stiffness and muscle tightness. The biggest complaint from many sufferers is the challenge of waking up to morning stiffness and backache on a daily basis, with some days being worse than others depending on previous day’s activities and overnight sleeping position. Improving range of motion with a well defined stretch program can go a long way in relieving most of these symptoms.
“Flexibility is the most underestimated and misunderstood element of health and fitness. The right stretches, done three times per week would literally wipe out the vast majority of lower back aches. It’s no surprise that so many people are clueless about this, most personal trainers don’t even know.” said Joey Atlas. “You don’t have to become a yoga nut or a Pilates addict. You can do your stretching while watching TV.”
These six stretching exercise strategies will help you get and stay flexible:
Ease into a stretching program whether you’ve been exercising regularly or not. Don’t force the stretches – stay in a comfortable range of motion.
Stay consistent. Three to five stretching exercise sessions per week is ideal. Every day is fine also – and you don’t always have to do the same stretch program
If you feel pain, stop! Slight discomfort is fine, but pain is not. Don’t do a stretch if it hurts. Consult with your physician if you are uncertain as to whether or not a certain stretch is appropriate for you.
The best stretching exercises do not require expensive equipment or elaborate devices. You can increase your flexibility with stretches that can de done on a mat with the assistance of a towel a belt of a piece of rope.
If you don’t know how to stretch, hire a fitness professional who is trained in flexibility conditioning or invest in a few good stretching exercise videos. You are investing in your health and fitness, don’t short-change your self.
Do your stretching exercises first thing in the morning and just before bed if you can – these seem to be the times that yield best results for people who need flexibility the most
Lack of full body flexibility can result in chronic symptoms, and even injury, for people in any age range. A safe stretching exercise program can be performed daily in as little as ten minutes or in an hour, if you have the time. The most effective and simple stretching exercises can be done by children as young as 3 and 4 years old – and the same flexibility exercises can also be safely performed by people in their seventies.
Have you done your stretches today?

Your Goal Should be Fitness For Life.

mhanoy_8@hotmail.com (Exercise-Fitness) — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 04:51:00 +0000

It is very easy to plan a training program, not quite so easy to see it through.
Why? Because in a world filled with fast food, instant messaging, and a five-second disease-tracking device, anything without a quick payoff goes against the grain of the typical American instant gratification ethic. It takes hard work and dedication to manage a long-standing fitness program.
Setting weight management goals for you can be a good motivator. Gradual weight loss, for those people who wish to shed off some extra pounds, is usually the safest.
Your Goal should be Fitness for Life.
Everybody starts out a training program with the best of intentions and the majority fail before they start.
Why is this so? Well basically the traditional viewpoint is that if it's a quick fix it isn’t working. While it would be nice to actually drop inches in just a few days like most miracle ads proclaim , managing weight and losing weight through physical fitness is a slow and steady process that takes time and commitment.
Setting weight management goals for you can be a good motivator. Gradual weight loss, for those people who wish to shed off some extra pounds, is usually the safest.
That is why health and fitness experts had come up with the idea of lifetime fitness in order to teach people set realistic goals. These lifetime fitness programs generates dietary regimens that cut your normal calorie consumption for your weight by 500 to 1,000 per day, so will burning the same amount with exercise. In turn, this will definitely encourage healthier weight loss.
Lifetime fitness teaches you how to maintain a physically fit body at the same time enjoy and live a happy, contented life. It gives you the chance to strike a balance between the two (exercise and diet), and make exercise, be it team sports, cycling, or walking, something you will truly enjoy.
That is why lifetime fitness embodies the concept that making a long-term healthy lifestyle change is essential to keeping the pounds off once they are gone.
It helps if you understand the long-term benefits and advantages that lifetime fitness can bring you.
1. Lifetime fitness programs offer you the most comprehensive and wide-ranging fitness and health encounter with quality services, in which the customers will feel gratified.
Programs like this can help you with the correct method in maintaining the build-up to a program and sustaining you'll health and competence.
2. Because the goal of lifetime fitness is to provide you with long-term achievements as far as physical fitness is concerned, these programs utilizes numerous fitness equipments that will tone and manage your health and the different parts of your body.
There is a variety of fitness equipment that will give your cardiovascular system a lift. You can also opt for some sports facilities that will provide you with an alternative way of being physically fit.

3. Lifetime fitness programs and centres also provide nutritional products such as food supplements that will aid in the formation of good blood cells and tissues thereby making your body at its pink of health.
Professional gyms and fitness centres or so provided you with up to date information such as magazines to help keep you motivated. These articles will give you an insight on how to make you life balance and how to live a life that is healthy and fit.
Indeed, staying fit and healthy can be a long and winding road and there are instances wherein you may find your enthusiasm fading occasionally. Nevertheless, with the comprehensive programs provided by lifetime fitness plans, you can start heading back to the right track of a healthier you.

How to exercise at home and advantages of it

mhanoy_8@hotmail.com (Exercise-Fitness) — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 04:48:00 +0000

When you exercise at home, you save money, time and work toward better health. Everyone needs to exercise at least three times a week for 20 to 30 minutes. Exercise to become healthier and happier for a richer life.
Watching yard sales, estate auctions, and department sales will save you when buying your own equipment. There are many guides for exercise now that a person can have their own professional gym in the basement or spare room for a little bit of nothing.
Get your walking in regardless of the weather by picking up a treadmill at the yard sale down the road. The newer treadmills will provide you with the distance, heart rate, and even calories burned. Treadmills are great for taking a walking on a rainy day.
Dumb Bells are cheap to provide you with weight resistance. These come in many sizes to help tone the upper arms and give you strength. Dumb Bells will help you get stronger right from your own home.
Aerobics are fun to do when you have a friend over. Get in a few laughs as the two of you learn new steps and movements of aerobic exercises. Learn to do aerobics’ and raise your heart rate by picking up an old CD or video from the Goodwill store. Enjoy your company and have fun doing aerobics in your living room in front to the TV.
Like the old time exercises; like lying on the floor and doing sit ups, push-ups. There are a couple of exercise programs on TV that have some great exercise shows for learning the older type of exercises. Just turn on the TV and lay down on the floor to workout with the instructor. This is a cheap way to becoming healthier and happier person.
Become healthier and happier to relieving stress with exercising at home. When you exercise from your own home, you’ll be saving money by not having to pay an instructor to be your guide. When one of the children are sick you can exercise anyway and not lose any money by having to skip a class you already paid in advance for. Don’t fret about having to go out in the nasty weather when you exercise at home.
Start today and exercise at home to become healthier hassle free.

Aim for Fitness and plan to stay there.

mhanoy_8@hotmail.com (Exercise-Fitness) — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 04:22:00 +0000

It is very easy to plan a training program not quite so easy to see it through.
Why is this so? Well basically the traditional viewpoint is that if it's a quick fix it isn’t working. While it would be nice to actually lose some weight in just a few days like most quick fixes, managing weight and losing weight through physical fitness is a slow and steady process that takes time and commitment.
Be sensible about what you can achieve and it will motivate you. Gradual weight loss, for those people who wish to shed off some extra pounds, is usually the safest.
That is why health and fitness experts had come up with the idea of lifetime fitness in order to teach people set realistic goals. These lifetime fitness programs generates dietary regimens that cut your normal calorie consumption for your weight by 500 to 1,000 per day, so will burning the same amount with exercise. In turn, this will definitely encourage healthier weight loss.
Lifetime fitness teaches you how to maintain a physically fit body at the same time enjoy and live a happy, contented life. It gives you the chance to strike a balance between the two (exercise and diet), and make exercise, be it team sports, cycling, or walking, something you will truly enjoy.
That is why lifetime fitness embodies the concept that making a long-term healthy lifestyle change is essential to keeping the pounds off once they are gone.
To know more of the advantages and benefits that lifetime fitness can bring, here are some facts that you need to know:
1. Lifetime fitness programs offer you the most comprehensive and wide-ranging fitness and health encounter with quality services, in which the customers will feel gratified.
Programs like this can help you with the correct method in maintaining the build-up to a program and sustaining you'll health and competence.
2. Because the goal of lifetime fitness is to provide you with long-term achievements as far as physical fitness is concerned, these programs utilizes numerous fitness equipments that will tone and manage your health and the different parts of your body.
There is a variety of fitness equipment that will give your cardiovascular system a lift. You can also opt for some sports facilities that will provide you with an alternative way of being physically fit.
3. Lifetime fitness programs and centres also provide nutritional products such asfood supplements that will aid in the formation of good blood cells and tissues thereby making your body at its pink of health.
Lifetime fitness centres and programs also provide you with up-to-date fitness magazines that do not only give substantial information about fitness and health but inspirational stories as well. These articles will give you an insight on how to make you life balance and how to live a life that is healthy and fit.
Indeed, staying fit and healthy can be a long and winding road and there are instances wherein you may find your enthusiasm fading occasionally. Nevertheless, with the comprehensive programs provided by lifetime fitness plans, you can start heading back to the right tracks of a healthier you.

Exercise-Fitness: Fitness Pitfall

mhanoy_8@hotmail.com (Exercise-Fitness) — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 04:16:00 +0000

While exercising isn’t complicated, it’s very easy to make mistakes. Often times the mistakes are made because of lack of proper technique training or simply due to rushing to get the workout completed. Regardless of the reason for the mistakes, they can lead to injuries or at the very least be counter-productive to your fitness goals.

Of course it’s important to know specifically what to do to be successful at meeting your health and fitness goals but it is also crucial to understand what not to do. So take note of the following common mistakes and how to avoid them. These tips will help ensure your workout time is effective and help prevent injuries.

Too Much, Too Soon

Many new exercisers try to lose weight or tone up too quickly, by exercising too frequently or trying exercise programs that are too difficult for their fitness level. Be sure to start with an exercise plan that takes your current fitness regimen (or lack of) into account.

Pie In The Sky Goals

Despite what many advertisers would like you to believe, it’s unrealistic to think you can lose 30 pounds in 30 days or that you can have Hollywood abs simply by doing 10 minutes of crunches a day. It’s good to set goals but be sure they aren’t too aggressive and realize it’s okay to periodically re-define them.

Ignoring Expert Advice

It’s always advisable to consult your physician before starting an exercise program. Working with a fitness professional is also a good idea so you can learn proper technique, the latest fitness information and learn how to avoid injuries.

Over-Exercising

If you start to feel overwhelmed, neglect important daily activities in order to workout or repeatedly get injured, then it might be due to exercising too frequently. Realize the importance of balance and that more is not always better. Consider reducing the frequency of your workouts or the intensity of some of them and periodically resting for a few days or a week.

Improper Breathing

Sure, breathing is an involuntary bodily function; something that most individuals tend to ignore. But, breathing correctly during fitness sessions is very important. Incorrect breathing can lead to lack of oxygen and even faintness. When working out ensure that you don’t breathe too shallowly and try to breathe through the nose and out the mouth.

Selecting The Wrong Size

Choosing the proper weight size when strength training is trickier then it sounds. Lifting weights that are too heavy for you can lead to improper form and ultimately to injuries. Use weights that are too light and the exercise session can be ineffective. If possible consult a fitness trainer to determine the correct amount of weight for your size, strength and goals. A trainer can also help you develop a plan for safely progressing forward on weight sizes.

Not Staying Hydrated

Drinking enough water on a daily basis is important. When you exercise you need to consume even more water. You should drink 16 ounces for every hour of exercise you complete. Plus you should try to consume 1-2 cups of water about 30 minutes before you begin working out.

Eating Too Little

No, that’s not a typo. Not eating enough can be as detrimental as eating too much. When the body is not fed consistently, it goes into a starvation mode. Five to six smaller meals evenly spaced throughout the day helps keep the metabolism running smoothly. Just be sure to control portion size.

Hanging Out Instead Of Working Out
Just showing up at the gym is not going to help you get more fit. Socializing while leaning on a weight machine won’t build muscles. It’s important to enjoy your exercise time but make sure that the focus remains on physical activity.

Fixating On The Scale

If you think the scale doesn’t lie, consider this. Many professional athletes would be considered obese based on their weight alone. Look at the bigger and more relevant picture. Monitor your body fat percentage, if possible. Otherwise track measurements. Also don’t underestimate the importance of improved physical and mental well-being.