Ideal Curve

By Becky Long

 By now, most people realize that adding lean muscle mass to your body does wonders for your metabolism and fat loss, as well as a multitude of other benefits that allow you to live out your life as healthy as possible.

Regrettably, most people I see performing weight training or resistance training at the gym are spending too much time with the exercise and not working tough enough. They are not going to burn very much fat this way.

The secret I have discovered is that training for lean muscle and strength needs the appropriate application of three vital essentials that are habitually ignored by those who attempt it. Those three elements are:

-Intensity

-Volume & Frequency

-Progression

The intensity is how difficult it is to perform for you, given your current condition. The volume and frequency are how much and how regularly you perform the exercise. The progression is related to how much the demands increase from workout to workout.

Most times, weight training, is carried on for too long and performed too many times every week. It is sadly treated much the equivalent way as so-called fat burning aerobic exercise. However they are extremely different forms of exercise. In reality, they are complete opposites.

Aerobic exercise typically is characterized by low to moderate intensity, high degree and frequency, and slight progression. Anaerobic exercise, or weight training, should be performed at a high intensity, lower degree and frequency, and with succession to be as effective as feasible.

No amount of weight training performed at a low or moderate concentration will offer substantial muscle or strength building benefit outside of the first few weeks. On a high level view, it is purely the combination of ample intensity, united with trying to increase moreover the number of repetitions of a weight training exercise or the total of weight used each and every workout that would keep your body evolving into the ultimate fat burning machine!

You in addition have to pay notice to other details when creating an effective and efficient routine to amplify your workout and minimize your time spent in the gym. Why? Because possibly even more vital that the workout itself is the rest time that follows. You’re not going to get stronger or more muscular if you do not break in between.

You see, while you strength train accurately, you are developing miniature injuries to your muscles. You then have to let the body restore itself, and then overcompensate and build upon the previously existing quantity of muscle mass you contain. If you workout another time before that procedure is finished, you will experience lackluster, if any, muscle building or fat burning results.

As a result make certain to get proper rest between workouts, which normally means a minimum of 1 to 3 full days of rest between suitably executed resistance workouts.

Now upon hearing the idea that you’ve got to add muscle to your body to make certain the maximum fat burning environment, a lot of people, women especially, start thinking, But I don’t want to get bigger, I want to lose weight! However this is such a shame, because it is very unlikely to take place, and countless women are losing out on these fat burning benefits because of it.

You see, most men and almost all women simply lack the essential genetic traits vital to create such muscle gains that would cause them to appear bulky or overly-developed to most people. These characteristics include testosterone levels, muscle fiber composition, muscle belly length, and others.

The competitive bodybuilders your have seen on TV and in the magazines are the genetic cream of the crop for muscle development and they are generally on heavy doses of anabolic steroids, growth hormone, and other bodybuilding drugs. Do not be fooled by these images, or those that scare you into thinking this way. Furthermore, lean muscle is more compressed then fat, as it takes up s smaller amount of space in your body, so you will in reality be getting smaller when replacing the fat on your body with lean muscle.

Please understand that you are putting yourself in the best position to succeed with your fat loss and fitness goals when you perform properly conducted intense resistance training, no matter who you are.

Nevertheless make sure you understand and apply the three critical principles I discussed above. If you don’t, you will ultimately be unhappy with your results, both in your ability to burn fat and grasp the lean, strong, and healthy body you deserve.

Learn how to stoke up your Fat Burning Furnace at HealthNutFitness.com.

Get The Curves That You Want With Your Body

Stretching - The Benefits Behind This Simple Exercise

By Simon Ma

 Benefits of Stretching

The body is flexible. It is supposed to be flexible. You must be able to bend and reach that something you dropped on the floor. You must be able to zip the back of your favorite dress on your own. You must be able to reach that book you need to read at the top shelf.

These are simple activities. Nothing grand about them, you merely stretched out a bit. However, if there are difficulties in doing such simple motions, then you have to stretch your limits. You already need a stretching program.

What Is Stretching?

Stretching is simply the act of extending to full length the body or simply a part of it. This activity involves straightening or stretching the structure or the limbs.

How Does One Do the Stretching?

Stretching is fairly easy. As mentioned in the introduction, it is involved in the normal activities. It can be done by any people, regardless of age.

However the extent of stretching and flexing differs. The muscles tighten as a person ages. The range of joint movements can be minimized. This can very well obstruct an on-the-go lifestyle. That is why as the person grows older, bending or flexing becomes more limited. This is why stretching regularly, as part of a routine is very important.

Simple stretches can be done everyday. It can be incorporated in the lifestyle and the daily activities. It does not require much of your time.

Stretching exercises can also be done while training. Actually, stretching is an essential part of any training or sport. It must be done first before anything else. Stretching the body and the limbs is a good preparation for a more rigorous activity.

Most athletes would do the sit and reach, wherein they position on the floor, extend their legs and reach the tip of their foot with the tip of their hand. Actually, most trainers actually require their athletes to really do the stretching before playing.

There is actually an ideal length of time in stretching. It is best to do it in 10 minutes. This will give the body enough opportunity to move and flex the muscles, thus preparing it for more complicated and strenuous movements.

Experts however would frown upon going way beyond 10 minutes. Stretching the exercise to 30 minutes or more will already wear out the body. This will not be favorable if one is preparing for a game.

What Are the Benefits of Stretching?

1. Increase the Range of Movement

As one constantly do the stretching exercises, the length of the muscles and the tendons are also increased. This will help in increasing the range of your movement. Thus, the limbs and joints will be able to move, way before an injury can take place. You are definitely physically fit.

2. Increased Ability to Perform Skills

When you have a wide range of movement, the more you will be able to do more things. For example, you can jump high without feeling any pain when you land back on the floor. This will also help you start a new sport or improve more if you are in one. Stretching in this aspect also allows you to have a more active lifestyle.

3. Injury Prevention

One can prevent injury to joints, tendons and muscles with stretching. When the muscles and tendons are well-flexed, they are considered in good working order. This will help in a faster recovery and decreased soreness. The muscles of the body will be able to take more exhausting and rigorous movements with less probability of being injured.

4. Reduce Muscle Tension

If the muscles are given their regular exercises and stretching, it is less likely that they will contract. This will definitely relieve you of any muscle pain or problems.

5. Enhance Energy

Being able to move more will also give you more energy. Stretching will also help enhance your awareness, like knowing that you have a body that is capable of doing many things. As such, you are going to be more driven to move rather than sulk in the corner.

6. Reduces Cholesterol

Research also shows that doing prolonged stretching exercises, like yoga, will help reduce the cholesterol in the body. This of course must be done with a healthy diet at hand. This could prevent and even reverse the hardening of the arteries, allowing you to avoid coronary diseases.

Incorporate stretching in your everyday lifestyle. It has benefits you can not say no to. It also does not require much. It can be your usual activities, bending and flexing every now and then. After all, your fitness is everything so do what it takes to keep the body healthy.

Brought to you by SweatLots: http://sweatlots.com See also How to Get Rid Of Sugar Cravings: http://sweatlots.com/how-to-get-rid-of-sugar-cravings.html

How To Combat Winter Weight Gain

By Simon Ma

 Winter Weight Gain - Why Does It Happen And What Can We Do?

Winter weight gain is a common complaint of many people. It seems that every winter we add a few pounds, and come summer we don’t lose them all again either. A few of them always stick around, making us a little heavier every year. They seem to be very hard to lose extra pounds! Why does this happen and what can we do?

There are many contributing factors. First, it seems likely that we have a genetic disposition to store more fat as winter approaches. Many animals do this and it was probably vital to survival for our ancestors. Extra layers of fat on the body protect us against the cold and then can be used as fuel in the late winter and early spring when food stocks would historically be very low. We probably have a tendency to eat more in the fall, when food is plentiful after harvest time, to help this process along. We may also unconsciously choose foods that are higher in fat content at this time.

Hormone levels can also influence our weight gain. The interaction of hormones and other chemicals in the brain can bring about variations in appetite and cravings. Some neurotransmitters can also influence the way we eat. People who are overweight often have low levels of these neurotransmitters and the results can include excessive appetite, depression and sleep disorders. At the same time, the lack of daylight caused by the shortening days during late fall and winter can bring on seasonally affected disorder or winter depression. One of the quickest ways to give a boost to the energy levels and emotions is to eat high carbohydrate foods including sugar treats, chips and cereals that give us a fast blood sugar ‘fix’. So people who feel low in the winter will tend to overeat or eat the wrong foods, leading to weight gain, more depression and a vicious cycle that is hard to break.

So altogether there are many reasons why we eat more high carbohydrate foods such as cookies, pies and chocolate in the winter, and of course most of these foods also contain high levels of fats. The best way to handle this is generally to substitute other foods that are also high in carbohydrate so that we get what our body craves, but which have low fat content and plenty of fiber. This means potatoes, wholegrain bread without butter, wholegrain rice, cereals, and fresh whole fruit.

It is also important to take more exercise. Often our physical activity levels drop in the winter and we have a tendency to want to stay home and rest. This is natural when it is cold outside. But we are not cavemen! We have heating in our homes and can be sure that there will still be plenty of food in the stores come February. We do not need to stow fat the way that they did. Sign up with a gym or get a stationary bicycle for the den. Transform those carbs into energy now instead of keeping it on the waistline until spring. Winter weight gain is easily avoidable this way.

Brought to you by SweatLots See also Increasing Metabolism

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