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When you have to fit an exercise routine into your already busy schedule, you might be tempted to simply skip the warm up routine, even though you’ve heard horror stories about people getting injured while working out. Three words: don’t do that. When you skip your warm up, you are not only putting your body as risk for personal injury, but you are also making the workout more difficult and less effective. For the best results, it is important to warm up every time you work out.

Warming up doesn’t have to eat up the time you allotted for exercise into your day. In fact, a decent workout only has to be 5 minutes long to do its job. It doesn’t have to be boring either—you can mix up a number of great moves to make your warm up as fun as the rest of your exercising. Remember that a good warm up gets all of your muscles moving, even if you don’t think that you’ll be intensely working out a set of muscles on any particular day. Warming up is also important regardless of if you’re doing cardiovascular exercises or lifting weights.

The moves you do for a warm up shouldn’t necessarily be difficult or make you break a sweat. The main goal of the warm up isn’t to become a part of your workout, but simply to slowly move muscles that you haven’t really thought about all day to wake them up. Good moves, therefore, include things like jogging in place, doing jumping jacks, lunging, and jumping rope.

A good warm-up can also including slowly stretching your muscles in a variety of ways, although this is usually more effective for a cool-down. Also consider exercises that work on balance and form in order to prepare you for the exercises you will be doing in the workout.

If you’re really short on time, why not try warming up before you even get to the gym. Slowly jog or power walk to the gym, park as far away as possible and lunge to the door, and take the stairs instead of the elevator. That way, when you get to the gym to workout your warm up routine is already half way done.

A good workout always builds in intensity. This is the best way to shed pounds and maintain a healthy weight. Weight loss workouts are only risky if you don’t warm up, because otherwise your body will respond to prevent injuries. Although you may be tempted to skip this step, that is never a good idea.

So if you eat your fruits and vegetables, expose yourself to adequate sunlight, get plenty of sleep, and stay well hydrated, your body shouldn’t really need a supplemental source of vitamins and minerals, right? Wrong. Here are 5 powerful reasons that you need to take a multi-vitamin, no matter how healthy your lifestyle may be (by the way, stay tuned towards the end of the article, where I tell you about a good way to read more on the best multi-vitamin sources).

1. Nutrient depletion in the soil. Modern farming techniques utilize fertilizers that actually deplete the soil of essential nutrients. Agriculture relies on the elements in the soil for absorption of proper amounts of minerals, and when this process is interrupted, the plant does not contain essential minerals and cannot form essential vitamins. And if the plant doesn’t have it then you’re not going to get it from eating the plant!

2. Your ability to absorb nutrients from food actually decreases as you age. So while growing children should absolutely be taking a multivitamin to support healthy tissue and bone formation, supplementation becomes equally important for the older population. Sure, you could just eat more food, but this introduces a problem with caloric balance. Beware that many medications also interfere with proper nutrient absorption.

3. Commercial harvesting, shipping processes, long term food storage, processing, and addition of preservatives degrades the nutrient content of food. Therefore, unless you’re eating a very fresh plant, it is a far different species at consumption than it was when initially harvested. In addition, compounds added to the food during many of these processes, such as MSG, saccharine, nutrasweet, splenda, colorings, and flavors will increase your body’s need for nutrients to deal with these damaging synthetic derivatives.

4. Pesticides, herbicides, and chemicals found in the modern food supply are combined with chemicals in water, environmental contamination from elements such as degraded plastic, air pollution from carbon monoxide, lead and mercury. These synergestic elements vastly increase our need for extra vitamins, minerals, and nutrients to combat formation of free radicals and the attack upon our metabolism and immune system.

5. Exercise increases nutrient needs. Are you an athlete or frequent exerciser? The vast amount of extra oxygen and energy used by active individuals will necessitate nutrient consumption that far exceeds the typical RDA of the average population. Consuming just the stated RDA can actually limit your athletic performance.

So what are you waiting for? Get your hands on a multi-vitamin and high quality dietary supplement today.

I’ve actually found a fantastic book that tells you exactly which types of multi-vitamins and dietary supplements will give you the most “bang for your buck” from a metabolic and health standpoint. It is called “100 Ways to Boost Your Metabolism” and you can get it by clicking here:

Think proper nutrition is complicated? It doesn’t have to be.
Follow these simple principles and you’ll never go wrong.

I would bet that without even thinking, you could name 4 or 5 diets or eating plans that are in the popular media…Weight Watchers, Nutrisystem, Atkins, South Beach, etc. Every time you turn around, there’s a fantastic “new” approach to eating. It’s enough to make your head spin!

But it doesn’t have to be that complicated. I’ve got some easy-to-follow nutritional principles that will help keep you on the right track. Beginner or advanced, these will work for you!

1. Focus your eating on natural, unprocessed foods as much as possible.

While I know it’s not always possible to get fresh fruit and veggies and other unprocessed foods everywhere you go, your body will always respond best when you feed it foods that are not altered through processing. Your body has evolved over thousands and thousands of years to process foods in their natural state – it’s only relatively recently that processed foods have appeared on the scene.

Your body has the digestive mechanisms for efficiently processing foods in their natural state. When you add in the fats, salt, sugar, additives, etc., your body starts having a hard time digesting and coping. Think of it like trying to put regular gas into a vehicle that runs on diesel. It may run, but it’s not going to be very efficient with the fuel and it could cause problems down the road (no pun intended!)

Bottom Line: Eating foods that are not processed allows your body to function more efficiently. You’ll lose fat without even trying.

2. Get plenty of good quality, lean protein sources in your diet

When you’re training, your body has a much greater need for protein. During weight training and endurance training especially, your body is constantly breaking down muscle tissue. Protein is required to rebuild it. By regularly feeding your body good protein sources, you’ll be able to hold onto and build muscle mass easier.

Good sources of lean protein include meats (look for leaner cuts like sirloin), poultry, eggs (while not lean, eggs will not shoot up your cholesterol as many worry), fish, low-fat dairy, soybeans, and various legumes (beans).

As far as how much protein your body needs, this will vary according to how much you weigh and your activity level. A level of around 1 gram per pound of lean bodyweight is a good guideline (we don’t count total bodyweight because fat is not metabolically active and doesn’t require protein to sustain it).

3. Don’t be afraid of “good” fats

Fats can be extremely beneficial, even when you’re trying to lose weight! Fats are important in a tremendous variety of bodily processes including hormone production, immunity, joint and organ protection, and even burning bodyfat. Without the “good” fats, your body will not function as well as it could.

“Good” fats include sources such as fish, nuts, flax oil, borage oil, and olive oil (there are many other good sources as well). Increasing your intake of these good fats can help keep you feeling good and burning your own bodyfat more efficiently.

Your total fat intake should be around 30% of your daily calories. A good way to go about getting this is to try and keep your focus primarily on low-fat foods while purposefully adding the “good” fats into your diet (like eating a few almonds every day or taking fish oil or flax oil capsules).

4. Carbs are fine

Despite all the talk about carbs being the enemy, it’s important to note that carbs and foods that contain carbs can actually be quite good for you! It’s generally the refined sugar added to foods that is the problem, not the carbohydrate as a nutrient on its own.

5. Non-nutritious foods should be minimized

This is an easy one. More than likely, you already know that you shouldn’t be eating Cheesy-Poofs or chocolate bars 3 meals a day. The calories you get from these foods don’t come with any actual nutrients. When your body is missing nutrients, it craves more food (not to mention the insulin response to the sugar in many of these foods) and you tend to eat more of the poor food that doesn’t have nutrients in it.

It’s ironic to think that many overweight people are actually malnourished! When you eat nutrient-dense foods, your body gets the nutrients it needs and functions much better.

5. Salads, fruits and vegetables will give you lots of fiber, roughage and nutrition

Eat plenty of salds, fruits and veggies every day. This is usually one that everybody already knows yet doesn’t normally focus on. The fiber in the foods helps keep you from getting too hungry and helps keep your digestive system clean.

6. Just do the best you can

It’s not always easy or convenient to follow good eating principles. There are plenty of tasty temptations to be found every time you turn around.

The REAL key to proper nutrition is to focus on trying to do well MOST of the time, not all of the time. It’s what you do most of the time that will give you the long-term results you’re looking for. Determining that you MUST be perfect all of the time is a sure way to set yourself up for disappointment when the time comes that you don’t eat a perfectly healthy food choice.

Sometimes, you just have to eat those Cheesy Poofs and not worry about it.

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Nick Nilsson is Vice-President of the online personal training company BetterU, Inc. He has a degree in Physical Education and Psychology and has been inventing new training techniques for more than 16 years. Nick is the author of a number of bodybuilding eBooks including “Metabolic Surge – Rapid Fat Loss,” “The Best Exercises You’ve Never Heard Of,” “Gluteus to the Maximus – Build a Bigger Butt NOW!” and “The Best Abdominal Exercises You’ve Never Heard Of” all available at (Betteru). He can be contacted at betteru@fitstep.com.

An essential element of good health is regular exercise. Aerobic exercises, such as walking and jogging, are excellent ways to bum calories. Always begin with a warm-up period of 3-5 minutes, gradually reaching your target heart rate. (Me is 60 to So percent of your maximal heart, which is estimated at 220-age. For example. if you are 60 yrs. old your target heart would be 96 beats per minute through 128 beats per minute.) Always start at the low end of your target heart rate. Exercising in this range for 15 through 20 minutes will allow for fat reduction to occur. A cool down of 3 to 5 minutes is recommended as this allow* for your heart rate to gradually return to normal.

In order to shape and tone our bodies we need to do body shaping exercises. This will add muscle and firmness to our physiques. Many women tend to deposit fat around their thighs and buttocks, while males tend to put fat around their stomachs. Here are a few exercises that can help tighten these areas.

Outer thigh lift: Lying on your right side with your hips and ankles in line with your shoulders, slowly lift your left leg as high as possible, hold, then return to the starting position. Do 10 repetitions and switch sides.

Inner thigh lift: Lying on your left side with your hips and ankles in line with your shoulder. right knee is bent to 90* angle. Slowly lift your left leg as high as possible. hold, then return to the starting position. Do 10 repetitions and switch sides.

Abdominal crunches: Lying on your back with knees bent and hand behind your head, slowly curl your shoulders up. pause, slowly lower to the starting position. Do 10 repetitions.

You will notice that you will be much more conscience of the foods you’re eating when you exercise. Since you’ll be taking care of your body you won’t want to fill it up with junk foods.

It is best to eat three well balanced meals and two nutritious snacks in between. This will help eliminate the binge eating that often happens when meals are skipped. Try to drink plenty of water and eat high fiber foods since this will give you a full feeling without adding extra calories.

The key to any exercise program is to get proper instruction. A competent personal trainer will make all the difference.

The Atkins Diet – Separating Fact From Fiction

By Nick Nilsson

Have you ever wished for a diet where you ate bacon, eggs,
red meat, butter and sausage all day? Surprise!
It’s not the Atkins Diet.

The Atkins Diet has been in existence for over 30 years and has enjoyed a surge in popularity over the last few years.

Pioneered by Dr. Robert Atkins, the theory behind the Atkins Diet is simple. Your body prefers to utilize carbohydrates (such as in grains, cereals, breads, etc.) for energy and will burn them first prior to body fat. By cutting down dramatically on carbohydrates in your diet, you force your body to burn fat for energy.

Reducing the carbohydrates in your diet puts your body into a state called “ketosis.” This word is derived from the “ketones” that are used by your body for energy when sugars/carbs aren’t available. When you are in this state of ketosis, your body is producing ketones from your fat that is being burned for energy. Ketones are essentially the leftovers from this process and are used in place of sugar in the body.

One of the major misconceptions about the Atkins Diet that has been widely reported is that you can or should eat extremely unhealthy, fatty foods all the time. This is not actually true. Dr. Atkins recommends that you limit your intake of these types of foods (e.g. butter, sausage, bacon, etc.) and instead focus on healthy fats such as olive oil, fish oil, nuts, etc.

The Atkins Diet has many positives and negatives that have been associated with it. Some of the positives include:

• Rapid Weight Loss – though the first couple of days the majority of weight lost is water, your body does become more efficient at fat burning and you do lose fat. 

• Reduced Mood or Energy Swings – eating carbohydrates (especially sugary ones) can lead to mood and energy swings. This is often seen as the post-lunchtime or afternoon energy crash. When you eliminate the carbs, you eliminate the source of this problem. 

• Reduced Consumption of Refined Foods – highly refined foods are the source of many health problems. The more processed a food is, the less nutrients are generally in it. The Atkins Diet encourages a focus on the consumption of more natural state foods such as vegetables, lean meats, fish, eggs and healthy oils.

Some of the negatives that have been associated with the Atkins Diet include:

• Rapid Regaining of Lost Weight – this can happen when a person comes off the Atkins Diet. They regain all the weight they lost. One of the major reasons for this is that when you eliminate the carbs from your diet for a long period of time, your body becomes more sensitive to them. When you go back to your regular eating habits (which may not have been great to begin with), your body reacts more strongly to the sugar and carbs in foods, leading to weight gain. This weight gain can be reduced by easing off the Atkins Diet gradually rather than by feasting on carbohydrates. 

• Lack of Food Choices – it can be difficult to find things to eat that are low carb. Most grocery stores are primarily stocked with carbohydrate-laden foods and it can get boring eating the same things over and over again. Luckily, with the popularity of the Atkins diet and other low carb diets, there are many delicious recipes available to help alleviate this boredom.

The Atkins Diet may not be for you but by incorporating some of the principles in it, such as lowering your carbohydrate intake and eating more natural-state foods, you may find that you can achieve great results without ever having to restrict yourself. It may take a little longer but the results will be more permanent as it is more of a lifestyle change than a diet.

——————

Nick Nilsson is Vice-President of the online personal training company BetterU, Inc. He has a degree in Physical Education and Psychology and has been inventing new training techniques for more than 16 years. Nick is the author of a number of bodybuilding eBooks including “Metabolic Surge – Rapid Fat Loss,” “The Best Exercises You’ve Never Heard Of,” “Gluteus to the Maximus – Build a Bigger Butt NOW!” and “The Best Abdominal Exercises You’ve Never Heard Of” all available at (BetterU). He can be contacted at betteru@fitstep.com.

Day Off Diet Plan

Who would not want to be a hundred percent healthy all the time? Of course, as much as you want to take care of your body, there are external factors that can affect your health. This is the reason why there are health supplements that you can take in order to protect your body from any illness. Just as experts say, it would be best to strengthen your immune system so that you can avoid getting sick.

Currently, there are so many health supplements in the market. You might be wondering which one would be best to purchase. Actually, it is not really easy to tell which one would work best for you. There are things that you need to consider so as to come up with the most appropriate decision. Take a peak at the 5 top tips that will help you choose your health supplements.

1. There are different types of health supplements and you should know which one you need the most. This will certainly depend on what you need to focus on. Take for example, an individual who wants to have a youthful skin all the time must purchase a supplement that would help her get the radiant and glowing skin that she wants. For people who want to increase their appetite, there are also booster supplements that they can purchase.
2. Once you have determined the right supplement that you need. It is time to look for the brand that can give you the benefits that you want to get. It is important to check the most outstanding products in the market so that you can be sure that you are getting the right brand. You can never really tell by merely looking at the label of the supplement. This is the reason why it would be best to search for product reviews and also consult your friends and family members for brands that they trust.
3. Price is never an indicator that the supplement is really effective. There are some people who base their decision on what brand that has the highest price. However, you can never be sure as to whether or not that brand is really effective. Although your health is a primary concern, you might just be paying a lot for the supplement when in fact; there is something more effective that is a lot cheaper.
4. Even though you already came across with the supplement that has superior quality and is reasonably priced, you still have to consider the ingredients especially if you have an allergy history. What worked for other people may not work for you simply because there might be components that you are restricted to take.
5. Natural supplements are better than other brands because they will provide high potency vitamins, minerals and herbs that are proven to be safe for the body.

The old saying, “Health is wealth”, would never fail to remind people of how important it is to take care of their body. Today, you can get all the help that you need in order to stay able-bodied and in good physical shape. You just have to choose the right health supplements that would match you needs so that you can get enough protection.

Losing excess weight is a great concern for people nowadays. And while various people have the idea of performing it in a tough way, that is, dieting and exercising on a standard basis, others consider it as a different thing. People who are weight conscious utilized those fad diet pills that claim best outcome. But most of the time, these fad pills can be harmful and fatal particularly if they are never established in an accurate way. So instead of comprehending more regarding the risks losing weight the accessible way, why not concentrate your awareness on how to lose overload weight at the safest and healthiest way?

Read through!

·         Perform Cardio Exercises. A lot of people frequently have this misapprehension that the exercise called cardio is not intended to get rid of those excess baggages. Absolutely, they are incorrect. The cardio exercises may in fact provide assistance in burning fats, particularly in the middle section portion of the human body.

When it comes to cardio exercises, you have a lot more of choices. The most standard methods are brisk walking and jogging. It is perfect that you walk or jog at approximately five times weekly. In spite of how much weight you want to lose, these kinds of exercises are ideal to be part of your morning habit. However, if you are not happy by means of jogging or walking around your vicinity, you can always decide for a substitute. A lot of women today have a preference in performing dance and aerobics. The great thing about cardio exercise is that you could achieve to lose excess pounds right at your own vicinity.

·         Foods Rich in Protein are Best for Losing Weight

Foods rich in high protein consider having carbohydrates in a low level, which happens to be perfect in losing weight. These foods comprise of fish, red meat, ostrich, turkey, eggs and chicken. Also, to break your intake of fat, make certain that you consume only lean cuts of meat and that you eradicate the chicken prior to eating them. Some foods that are rich in protein include tofu, soy milk, soy yogurt, soy burger, and soy powder.

·         Consumption of Green Leafy Vegetables.

Consumption of green and leafy vegetables provides assistance in reducing weight since they contain carbohydrates which are low in fiber, vitamins and minerals. Keep in mind that when ingesting vegetables which are raw, it’s merely composed of small index of glycemic, therefore, it offers more higher antioxidants and vitamins.

·         Pastas and Breads.

When ingesting pastas and breads; consider those with approximately six to eight grams of fiber contents for each serving. Also, make sure that it never contains honey, sugar and refined flour. Make sure also to avoid bagels, tortillas, white bread, and pita bread.

By Nick Nilsson

1. Train heavy and to muscular failure

In order to gain muscle mass, you need to give your muscles a REASON to grow. Training with heavy weights (relatively speaking, of course – what’s heavy for one person may be light for another) to muscular failure is the stimulus that starts the process.

And by muscular failure, I mean the point where you physically can’t perform another rep WITH GOOD FORM – reps done with terrible form don’t count!

The best rep range to train for muscle growth, in my experience, is between 6 to 10 repetitions per set. Training in the range below that (1 to 5 reps) will primarily lead to strength gains rather than muscle gains.

Training in the higher rep ranges (for the most part, unless you’re using specialized high-rep techniques) will primarily work on muscular endurance with minimal effects on muscle mass.

Training to muscular failure is VERY important for muscle gain.

Muscles will not grow unless they are pushed beyond what they’re used to. Doing your sets only up to a certain number of reps and stopping on that number regardless of whether the muscle has been worked or not is a very common mistake made by both men and women alike. Counting reps and stopping on an arbitrary number will NOT work the muscles fully and will hamper weight gain.

So to train for optimum muscle gain, select a weight that will cause you to reach muscular failure in the 6 to 10 rep range.

2. Utilize basic exercises for most of your training

Dumbell tricep kick-backs will NOT help you gain weight. The Pec Deck will NOT help you gain weight. Leg extensions will NOT help you gain weight.

These exercises are not bad exercises; they’re just NOT the exercises that are going to give you the results you want. In fact, doing exercises like these at the expense of the basic exercises can actually detract from weight gain, especially if you have a hard time gaining weight. They will use up your valuable time and energy!

Basic exercises are the exercises that use the most muscle mass. They are the HARDEST exercises…the ones you either love or hate. This “make or break” challenge is what makes them the most productive for building muscle.

Basic exercises include squats, deadlifts, bench press, shoulder press, barbell curls, barbell bent-over rows, dips, chin-ups, lunges, and calf raises. This is not a comprehensive list but it will give you an idea of what a basic exercise is. Essentially, a basic exercise is an exercise that you can use a lot of weight on and that requires the most effort.

Use these basic exercises consistently for the majority of your sets and you WILL gain muscle.

3. Eat good quality nutrition in sufficient quantities.

Now that you’ve stimulated your muscles with hard, heavy training, it’s time to feed them. Gaining weight, a.k.a. building muscle, requires a caloric intake in excess of what it takes to maintain your current bodyweight.

Basically, you need to eat more.

The amount of calories you require to gain weight will vary greatly depending on several factors, primarily your current amount of muscle mass, your daily activity level and your metabolic rate.

The more muscle you already have and the more active you are, the more calories you’re going to need to eat in order to gain weight. If you are already thin, you probably have a fast metabolism (i.e. you lose weight quickly and gain it slowly), and you’re going to need to eat even MORE.

In order to keep your muscles supplied with nutrients, you’re going to need to eat frequently throughout the day. It’s best if you can manage to eat 5 or 6 meals over the course of the day. Naturally, these meals will be smaller than your regular meals if you currently eat 3 per day.

The idea is to keep feeding your muscles so that they always have nutrients available to grow. If you go without food for long periods of time, your body will turn on its own resources (e.g. your muscles) to provide needed nutrients for repair and recovery.

And whatever you do, if you want to gain weight, DO NOT skip breakfast! If you do, it will kill your metabolism for the rest of the day.

Besides sufficient caloric intake, protein is also critical for muscle gain. Protein is the structural nutrient that your muscles are made of. You must feed your body protein in order to help your muscles rebuild.

Good protein sources include fish, poultry, dairy, meats, soy, legumes (beans), eggs, and whey. A typical recommended protein intake for a person looking to gain muscle would be around 0.8 to 1.0 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. For example, as a 136-pound person, this would have you eating 109 to 136 grams of protein per day.

Supplements can also be extremely useful for weight gain. Whey protein, creatine monohydrate, and the amino acid glutamine are among the most effective supplements.

And I’ll tell you right now, there’s no need to get crazy with your supplement purchases… manufacturers will often prey upon your strong desire to gain mass and try and sell you a TON of supplements you really don’t need.

Keep it simple and get your training and eating in order. THAT is what builds an impressive body – not a boatload of bizarre supplements.
So to sum it up: eat a lot, eat frequently and eat plenty of protein.

4. Get enough rest

Your muscles don’t grow while you’re training. Your muscles actually grow AFTER your training session is done. One of the best things you can do to help you reach your goal of gaining weight is to learn to relax. This is especially important both after a workout and at night.

Immediately following a workout, your body is in an emergency situation. You’ve just put a lot of stress on your body and your body needs time to recover from it.

If you immediately have to rush off to do errands or some other stressful chore, you’re not going to get optimal recovery and that means you’re not going to get optimal muscle growth. If you can manage it, try to schedule your workouts for when you have a little time to relax after. Heck, take a nap about an hour or so later if you can!

Getting some good, solid sleep at night is also very important. A large part of your growth process occurs at night. If you don’t get enough sleep or your sleep is restless, your body will not be able to take full advantage of the growth you’ve stimulated with your training.

Conclusion:
If you want to gain mass, you HAVE to do the basic things right…train hard with heavy, basic exercises, eat well and get plenty of rest. As I mentioned above, this ain’t rocket science, yet you’d be surprised at how many people miss more than one of these items!

Don’t stop yourself before you even get started – make sure you’re got these four “no fail” principles down pat!

Check out more articles related to these mass-building principles:

My Practical “Lazy Cook” Recipes For Building Muscle! So Easy Even a Caveman Can Make Them…

Training on the Edge – Learn How Overtraining on Purpose Can Get You Maximum Results FAST!

Rest-Pause Training
Eight Mistakes I’ve Made In My Training and How You Can Avoid Them