The Low Glycemic Index Diet

The Low Glycemic Index Diet

The Low Glycemic Index Diet has become quite popular because it provides numerous advantages. While the diet was first developed as a way for individuals who with diabetes to better manage their condition it quickly evolved into a weight to lose weight and even as a lifestyle change to effectively maintain weight loss.

One of the main reasons why people switch to a low GI diet is that they want to lose weight and this diet has proven to be effective in helping people to lose weight.

There are also many other advantages; however. For example, research indicates that diets that are based on low GI foods can also help to reduce the risk of developing many health conditions such as diabetes and cancer as well as heart disease.

Some research suggests that you can even cut the risk of developing these diseases in half by following the Low Glycemic Index Diet.

Another major benefit is the ability to lower blood pressure as well as lower cholesterol levels.
Additionally, individuals who have followed the diet have been found to have their body's ability to fight disease boosted. This is accomplished by strengthening the immune system, providing numerous other overall health benefits.

-Low GI diets help people lose and control weight
-Low GI diets increase the body's sensitivity to insulin
-Low GI carbs improve diabetes control
-Low GI carbs reduce the risk of heart disease
-Low GI carbs reduce blood cholesterol levels
-Low GI carbs can help you manage the symptoms of PCOS
-Low GI carbs reduce hunger and keep you fuller for longer
-Low GI carbs prolong physical endurance

The Low Glycemic Index Diet is able to bring about these benefits because it is based on consuming foods that are relatively low on the glycemic index and restriction consumption or avoiding foods that are high on the index.

The glycemic index itself ranks foods according to how fast the body is able to digest them. Those foods which are digest more slowly by the body and therefore do not raise the body's blood sugar levels as high rank low on the scale and are acceptable.

Other foods are digested slightly more quickly and dieters are therefore advised to proceed with caution regarding those foods; however, they are not restricted.

These foods rank from 56 to 69 on the glycemic index.

The final category consists of foods that are digested very quickly by the body, rapidly raising the body's blood sugar levels. These foods score between 70 and 110 on the glycemic index. For the most part, these foods consist of highly processed and refined foods such as sugary foods.

Most vegetables, as long as they are not starchy vegetables, are quite allowable on the Low Glycemic Index Diet. Fruits are also encouraged, unlike may other diets which warn against the consumption of too much fruit because they are considered to be high in natural sugars.

While the advantages of this diet are quite obvious it should be understood that this is not a diet which can be followed for a short period of time and then abandoned with the expectation of keeping the weight off. One of the important considerations of this diet is that it is more of a lifestyle change rather than a short term diet.

Moderate exercise is required in order to assure weight loss and continued weight loss maintenance.

Failure to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle can result in failure to lose weight or gaining weight back.
If you're ready to take advantage of a healthier lifestyle, reduce your chance of developing serious health conditions and lose weigh the Low Glycemic Index Diet may be just right for you.

More information in www.glycemicindex.com (University of Sydney)

Abs Routine: The Fantastic Three

Abs Routine: The Fantastic Three

You need to know three aspects that make your abs visible.

These three significant aspects will cause the coveted six pack condition.

#1 Fat Loss -- reveal your abs

#2 Build your ab muscles -- like biceps you build peaks to your six packs.

#3 Ab muscle tone -- the degree of involuntary flex of your abs when at rest.

Any of the above aspects when pursued vigorously will create a washboard waist. Now if you combine all three to a moderate level you will have outstanding abs.

Let us look at real life examples.

To illustrate fat loss, we can look at dancers, long distance runners, or fast growing teens. Each of these examples in many cases are extremely thin with body fat percentages around 2 or 3 percent.

To illustrate developed ab muscle we can look at heavily muscled body builders, strong men or power lifters. These athletes have built tremendously muscled abs with high peaks. Most of the above have considerable body fat when compared to the first group. They may have broad waists but when they flex for a pose or for a lift, magically the abs pop out! Even the smoothest body builder with no sign of ab separation can make them appear with a flex. Now pumping iron for 10 years and gaining 50 or 100 lbs. of muscle as many of these athletes have done is impractical for most.

To illustrate ab muscle tone we can look at athletes, gymnasts, martial arts, and boxers. These athletes spent countless hours flexing their abs with medicine ball work and absorbing punches. That muscle tone acts like a shield of armor for a fighter in the match. Have you ever watched a non title fight particularly in the heavier divisions. Many of these boxers may seem smooth and some are down right fat. Although this may be the case you can almost always see two or four blocks of abs.

This tone or partially flexed condition is a result of many hours of work. It is not uncommon for fighters to sequester themselves for months to train away from home and family.

So there we have the examples of three extremes. How do us regular people adopt these three aspects of ab development?

A moderate program of fat loss coupled with ab development and tone will yield fabulous results.

Here is the Fantastic Three program in capsule form:

Fat loss

3 mornings a week on an empty stomach except for a glass of water and a cup of coffee, do three 5 minute rounds of sprinting.

Between the 5 minute rounds stretch your calves and rotate your feet.

After sprinting put on a dry shirt and take a 20 minute walk.

After that its your six minute ab routine, half undressed and heading for the shower.

Fat loss analysis of above protocol:

#1 Highest fat burning in morning after eight hour fast.

#2 Water prevents dehydration and coffee aids in fat burning as well as acting as a stimulant for intense workout.

#3 Short intense aerobics followed by longer less intense aerobics promotes fat loss without losing muscle.

Ab Development:

Vacuum exercise performed in front of a mirror. It is three sets of vacuum exercise followed by three sets of squeeze exercise. Squeeze and vacuum and concentrate on your abs.

Ab Development, analysis of above protocol:

#1 Performing ab exercises that limit you rep range to under ten promotes muscle growth , more pronounced peaks and valleys.

#2 Flexing and visual feedback from mirror guarantee total ab involvement.

#3 Slowly squeezing your abs causes greater growth stimulation.

Muscle tone

During the 3 days of ab work and aerobics incorporate 3 forty five seconds of ab flexing in front of a mirror. These are done afternoon, evening or just before bed. The 45 second ab flexing looks like a posing routine for abs. Looking in the mirror as flex and try to show as much separation in your abs by twisting and flexing hard.

Ab Muscle tone, analysis of above protocol:

#1 Twice a day ab training is most effective for growth and recovery.

#2 Teaching your ab muscles to flex for 45 seconds develops the abs automatic responses to other body moves.

#3 Three 45 second intense ab squeezes stimulate and develop more ab muscle tone then 100 crunches.

There you have it. Efficient targeted routine to show off your abs.

Easy Effective Tips for Narrowing your Waist

Easy Effective tips for Narrowing your Waist.

#1 The Vacuum
This can be performed sitting, standing or walking. Performed 2 or 3 times a day for noticeable results. This is how it is done. First stand with your hands behind your head. Now exhale all the air from your lungs as you bend forward slightly. Without allowing any air back into your lungs suck your diaphragm up into your lungs as you’re straightened up. Hold for 2 seconds then breath. This sucking in technique takes some practice. After awhile you can perform the vacuum without the help of any bending or arm movement.

#2 The Squeeze
Flexing the abs as if posing for an ab photo. A mirror will help, so will placing one or both arms overhead. Static flexing is another do anywhere, anytime technique for firming and flattening the abdominal wall.

#3 Eat smaller more frequent meals
If the above two techniques narrow your waist then overeating will stretch your abdomen even if there is minimal fat on it. By eating small, frequent meals your waist remains narrow.

#4 Eat roughage
Small meals keep from stretching your abs while roughage eliminates the meals. Elimination (bowel movements) should occur 2 to 3 times a day. One big meal or 3 small meals that are not moved equal the same result, abdominal stretching. Roughage is found in whole grain, raw and cook vegetables.

The Ab flexing part of this routine
Now all of the above can easily be incorporated into your daily routine. Within 2 weeks you should see appreciable results. Small measures added together then multiplied equal large results.

Add techniques
#1 + #2 + #3 + #4 , 3 times a day, 7 days a week = narrow waist

How to Build Muscle and Burn Fat at the same time!

How to Build Muscle and Burn Fat at the same time!

Want to gain muscle, lose fat and get ripped? But don't know how to do it? Well, by the time you've read this article, you'll know how to get the most out of your training in a fraction of the time.

Now how do you cut fat and build muscle simultaneously?
Cutting your body fat requires you to reduce calories, especially starchy carbs along with fat, below maintenance levels.
Building muscle on the other hand you will need to consume an abundance of protein, complex carbs and body friendly fats above maintenance levels.
To add to the conflict, fat burning is best done by aerobics while muscle building requires resistance training.

Understand that it takes both a good workout, and a precise diet plan to achieve this goal of getting a ripped body real fast.
And you have to do it in a specific way.
Here's the scoop.

What has really worked is this 21-day routine. You will be 2 opposite people for 3 weeks. At the beginning of every week for 3 days you will train and eat for fat burning (lean & mean). Then for the next 3 days you will train and eat for muscle building.

The diets:

Lean & Mean – 1st (3 days of week)

- 5 to 6 evenly portioned meals
- Abundance of protein from eggs, skinless chicken & fish
- Abundance of fibrous carbohydrates from raw or steamed vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, spinach, carrots, lettuce
- No starchy carbohydrates - avoid pasta, potatoes, bread, cereal, rice, sweet potatoes, etc.
- No simple carbohydrates - avoid fruit, pop, pastry, candy, etc.
- Drink mainly water/1 gallon per day

Full & Happy— 2nd (3 days of week)

- 5 to 6 evenly portioned meals.
- Abundance of protein from eggs, skinless chicken, fish, lean red meat.
- Abundance of complex carbohydrates equally balanced between your fibrous carbohydrates (vegetables) and your starchy carbohydrates (cereal, rice, pasta, etc.)
- You may add simple carbohydrates in the form of fresh fruit if you split your carb intake into 3 equal portions (fruit, vegetables, starches).
- Drink mainly water/1 gallon per day.

What will this diet do? In very simple terms in the 1st 3 days you will be carbohydrate depleting through diet and aerobics. This combo kicks your fat burning into high gear! The 2nd 3 days you will be carb loading your muscles through diet and resistance training. Your muscles are primed for super compensation of carbohydrates and other nutrients promoting muscle growth.

Day #7 is an off day for rest and a favorite unauthorized food!

The routines:

Lean & Mean – 1st (3 days of week)

Aerobics: In the morning on an empty stomach perform some high intensity aerobics followed by some low intensity aerobics, e.g. 2 to 3 minutes warm-up-sprints or skipping. 10 to 15 minutes high intensity aerobics, 100 yard dash, walk back to start then repeat—all out effort or 3 timed rounds of skipping, 1 minute rest followed immediately by a 20 to 30 minute jog/walk. Drink plenty of water.
Eat an hour after the end of aerobic session.

Full Happy – 2nd ( 3 days of week)

Resistance training: Divide your workouts into 3 days. In each day perform 1 heavy basic compound exercise followed immediately by a moderate weight compound exercise followed immediately by a relatively light isolation exercise. Do not rest between the 3 different exercises. Only rest at the end of the 3 and that only enough to catch your breath then repeat. Do this as often as you can in 30 minutes.
Immediately after the workout consume a carb and high protein drink. Then 20 minutes after that consume your 1st meal.

For decades body builders have divided their efforts into bulking up for muscle and then dieting down to lose excess fat. This has produced some outstanding bodies but it has done so at the expense of health. They focused on one element of bodybuilding at a time for months.

A healthier approach is a shorter cycle of 3 weeks. In each of the 3 weeks you have a micro cycle of fat loss followed by a micro cycle of muscle building.
Typically look for 5 to 6 lbs. of fat loss and 2 to 3 lbs. of muscle gain.
Look in the mirror to judge your progress and adjust your diet and exercise intensity accordingly.

So there you go. You now have the top key secrets to getting a ripped body fast.
And as a bonus, you'll actually become healthier, and feel even more energized at the same time. So go for it!

The Super Vitamin C

The Super Vitamin C

There's been a lot of research concerning Vitamin C. Also known as ascorbic acid, this nutrient serves the body in a great variety of ways.

In addition to the long established means of helping maintain health, Vitamin C is proved in helping the body overcome illness and some disease.
What we certainly know about vitamin C is that it is an essential part of the creation of collagen in the body. Collagen is particularly important to the connective tissues of the body and is what the scar of healed wounds is made of. We also know Vitamin C helps keep the gums healthy and the teeth tight. It also promotes healthy cell growth and development, as well as helping the body to use the iron and calcium it takes in. Vitamin C plays an important role in the rebuilding of tissues, helps to keep tiny capillaries functioning properly, and also serves to prevent dangerous blood clots.

From the many scientific studies throughout the years, Vitamin C has come to be associated with many other health benefits. These include such things as helping to fight infection, strengthening the body's immune system, playing a role in the reduction of cholesterol and high blood pressure, and having a part in the prevention of arteriosclerosis. Moreover, Vitamin C has been associated with helping to prevent cataracts, cardiovascular diseases and possibly even certain types of cancer. Research continues into these intriguing areas of study so now definite conclusions are yet available.

A lack of Vitamin C has been known for many years to be the cause of the disease scurvy, which was a plague for pre-nineteenth century sailors. Early signs of scurvy include red bumps around hair follicles, easy bruising, joint pain and a general feeling of weakness and fatigue. As the disease advances, small open sores begin to appear on the body and in the mouth. The teeth loosen and gum tissue bleeds. Other ways in which a deficiency of Vitamin C can affect the health of the body include poor digestion, water retention, frequent colds, and low energy levels.
While the minimum standard of Vitamin C daily intake is 60 micrograms or mg, many nutritionists recommend consuming significantly more than that. The minimum requirement offers protection against the worst symptoms of Vitamin C deficiency, with most of the positive effects coming from intake levels of 200 to 500 mgs daily. Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin and therefore passes out of the body with urine. That means it must be replaced daily.

Natural Sources of Vitamin C are oranges and all the citrus fruits.

Isometrics: The Secret to Transform your Body 2

Isometrics: The Secret to Transform your Body 2

Here are some isometrics that you can do anywhere, anytime.

1- Begin by holding each contraction for five seconds. Two sets of 10 repetitions is a good start. You can work up to 10 and then 15 seconds per contraction and then three or more sets.

Read on and discover how you can tune into Isometrics.

2- Stand in a doorway , hold your hands at thigh level , and then press the backs of your hands outward against the door jambs. Hold sub-maximal force for 8 seconds and repeat. This works the deltoids and suprapinatus.

3- Stand in a doorway, raise your right arm above your head, and push your arm against the door frame. Change sides. This works the pectorals, obliques, and arms.

4- Stand in a doorway, bend your elbows, and press the palms of your hands-at chest level – outward against the door jambs. This works the pectorals and biceps.

5- Stand facing a wall about two feet away from it. Raise your hands to shoulder level and place your palms against the wall. Contract your abdominal muscles, straighten your elbows, put your body weight toward the wall, and push against it. This works your arms and shoulders

Remember, as long as you're flexing or applying force against something, you're engaged in an isometric exercise.

Bodyweight Exercises for Amazing Results

Bodyweight Exercises for Amazing Results.

This is exactly what to expect when you train using your bodyweight as resistance. Very few people will give bodyweight training a chance because of what is read or on the news... Big mistake.
You can become incredibly fit at home with nothing more then your own bodyweight-this is a fact.

The military uses bodyweight training to strip the fat from young recruits and to get them in fighting shape in a few short weeks. Why ? It works and it always has worked.
These men and woman are trained using their own bodyweight as resistance and do a fine job, they don't stand in the gym and do curls in front of the mirror or spend an hour bench pressing they run, jump, leap, crawl, climb, sprint to stay alive, this can not be duplicated in the gym.

Our law enforcement officers use bodyweight circuits in the police academy, bodyweight training always has and always will work.

The results you get from bodyweight training is strength and muscular endurance, aerobic and anaerobic will be built as well as flexibility, all in one workout. A great time saver and fitness builder.

A basic bodyweight circuit of pushups, leg raises, pullups and some short sprints will make a great intense workout. Nothing fancy just hard work and sweat.

In as little as 15 to 20 minutes a day is all you need to get a great workout in and burn a ton of fat too.

Try a little sample workout: You need about 10 yards to do this workout:

25 squats - 25 pushups - sprint 10 yards - 25 leg raises.

Continue as fast as you can non-stop for 15 to 20 minutes or until you have had enough.

Preserving the Beauty of your Face

Preserving the Beauty of your Face

As we advance in years certain lines appear on the face and neck, which we associate with age. But these marks of physical deterioration are more often due to neglect than to years. Some women, for instance who are twenty-five, may appear ten years older.

The preservation of the celebrated beauty of the sixteenth century, Ninon de L'Enclos, is a well-known instance of this theory. This woman was remarkable for her wonderful physical preservations.

At the age of eighty, creditable authorities state she retained the great beauty of her girlhood. Her face having the freshness of youth, and being as free from the lines of age as it had been at twenty and her white-powdered hair, then fashionable, added to her youthful appearance.

Her smoothness of skin and freedom from wrinkles was due solely to persistent daily friction of the skin of her face, combined with an exercise for the muscles of the neck and throat.

Little was known of the laws of scientific physical culture at that time, but as Madam de L'Enclos retained her elasticity of body and graceful figure to the last, it is evident that some system of exercises was systematically and persistently practiced. In that way alone could her youthful condition have been preserved.

Usually the first marks left by time on the human features -- and they are common to us all -- are the wrinkles extending from the nostrils to the corners of the mouth and beyond. As the years advance these are joined by parallel wrinkles, somewhat shorter, about half an inch distant on the cheek. Still later, another, and even shorter, wrinkle appears at a further distance of less than half an inch. Others are also formed, beginning at the corners of the mouth, and extending downward with a slight inward curve.

Wrinkles on the forehead with a slight downward bend at the ends which parallel the line of the eyebrows, appear. These are generally from three to five in number, according to one's age. The wrinkles commonly called "crow's feet" spread, fanwise, from the outer corners, of the eyes over the temples, and are also usually from three to five in number.

The skin below the eyes becomes loose and creased. These creased lines start from the corners of the eyes, slightly curving and overlapping each other. By this time one or two lines usually appear at the sides of the neck, commencing at a point back of the ears, extending below the jaw, and slanting downward to the throat. Immediately behind the ears, too, the skin becomes slightly loose; two short wrinkles form, and a line appears extending down to, and under, the neck. At the next stage a great number of very short, tiny lines begin to appear all over the face and neck -- some parallel, others intersecting. These lines give the skin a withered appearance. The freshness of youth has departed. Now, the skin under the chin becomes loose, too. All of the long lines meet and overlay and interweave, and combine with the short ones, just appearing to form a tangled web of crisscrossing that deepen as the years advance. This is the skein of life. This is the spinning of time. And the pattern is never beautiful!

The only sure method of erasing these lines is by friction. And this is best accomplished with the palms of the hands. This treatment, if began when the disfiguring lines first appear, and if methodically and daily practiced along with the exercises for the muscles of the face and neck, will surely result in a very marked and satisfactory improvement in the personal appearance.

Blowtorch your Fat: The Lemonade Diet

Blowtorch your Fat: The Lemonade Diet

This is also called the master cleanser lemonade fast, lemonade detox diet and lemonade cleansing diet.

It is very popular now. Beyonce lost 20 pounds in 10 days for Dream Girls with it and Robin Quivers (Howard Stern's assistant) heard about it from magician, David Blaine. She lost 73 pounds with the master cleanse.

There are many testimonials of people losing weight and getting other benefits so it is a great way to lose weight.

But there are complaints about it, too.

Many people have practiced fasting including Moses, Jesus, Aristotle, Mark Twain, Abraham Lincoln and many medical doctors. Because of this, it has been constantly improved on. But because the lemonade diet was created by one person, Stanley Burroughs, it has attracted many people who are afraid to improve on it or change anything about it.

So they follow it as a cult or a religion.

It is like fasting since they are not eating food and consuming water, which is the main ingredient in the lemonade. So they get many of the benefits of fasting like losing weight.

The lemonade diet recipe contains these ingredients: water, freshly squeezed lemon juice, maple syrup or honey and cayenne pepper. It is better to take the cayenne pepper in a shot glass with water so you can enjoy the lemonade fully.

People experienced with fasting know that you do not have to worry about the colon (large intestine). Fasting gives it a vacation and it becomes healthier than ever. With the lemomade fast people lose weight and get health benefits from not eating.

Already some who are followers of this lemonade diet have made minor improvements like replacing maple syrup with agave (a natural sweetener from a cactus) and taking the cayenne in a capsule or a shot glass instead of it being in their lemonade.

Dr Herbert Shelton (ND, DC) supervised fasts on 40,000 people. On the first 6,000 he had all of them take enemas. But then he learned that in most cases you do not need to worry about the colon and the rest were done without enemas or with anything to address the cleaning of the colon.

Rudolph Ballentine M.D. says not to do juice fasts for more than 3 days without supervision but many people do the above fast 21 days and sometimes 40 days without supervision. One guy gave a testimonial about how he fasted with only water and had a tough time from lots of cleansing symptoms. Then he tried the lemonade diet and had no problems so he says that it is much better than the water fast

Isometrics: The Secret to totally Transform your Body

Isometrics: The Secret to totally Transform your Body

It is a series of static (or at an advanced level “dynamic”) contractions that stimulate the development of lean muscle tissue. This means you burn more calories, blowtorch fat, build a firm athletic physique and develop incredible strength.

With Isometrics you can use the bodies own resistance, or you can use external tools like towels, door frames, weights and more.

Depending on the particular exercise, you contract the various muscles involved and hold them at a specific level of tension for a short period of time, (in fact as little as 10 SECONDS!) Coupled with this are special breathing routines.

Isometric Exercises can be divided into three main categories:

1-Muscle Control

2-Bodyweight

3-Weight Lifting

Muscle Control was the method used primarily by the old time physical culturists like Maxick and Maxalding as well as the late Great Charles Atlas. Muscle control was based on Isometrics without the aid of weights. They focused on the voluntary contraction of a specific muscle.

And they did it like this:

Select a muscle. Let’s say the Biceps at the front of the arm.

Isometric Bicep Contraction

-Bend you arm at the elbow at a forty five degree angle.

-From the shoulder to the elbow your arm should be straight along the side of your body.

-Imagine you are holding a large weight in your hand

-Now with you arm flexed tense your bicep as hard as you can – WITHOUT MOVING YOU ARM!

-You’ll feel the blood rushing to the muscle and feel it getting warm and tired.

-You’ve just completed an isometric exercise!

Let’s work a larger muscle!
How about the Quadriceps, the large muscles on the front of your legs.

Isometric Quadriceps Contraction

-Stand tall and straight

-Place one foot slightly forward

-Point the foot, neither pressing on the ground, nor pulling upwards

-Slowly tense the legs until the muscles are standing out in high relief.

-Slowly relax the muscles and repeat on the opposite leg.

Feel the blood rush and the deep sense of relaxation that accompanies each contraction and relaxation?

It’s like stretching the whole body first thing in the morning!

That is the way exercise is meant to feel – a pleasant, enjoyable experience that leaves you feeling invigorated and refreshed! This feeling is caused by the release of special chemicals called endorphins. These natural feel good vibes are you bodies way of encouraging you to do this!

Tips for Healthy Leg Veins

Tips for Healthy Leg Veins

Experts recommend the following self-care treatments for healthier leg veins.

1- Don't cross your legs when you sit.

2- Take warm, not hot, baths, and end by splashing cold water on the legs.

3- Avoid high heels. Low-heeled shoes work calf muscles more, which is better for veins.

4- Don't wear tight clothes around your calves or groin that can restrict circulation.

5- Take three or four 10- to 15-minute breaks daily to elevate your legs above the level of your heart (for example, by lying down with your legs resting on three or four pillows).

6- Avoid long periods of sitting or standing.

7- Make a point of changing your position, shifting from one leg to the other or walk gently back and forth, frequently to encourage blood flow.

8- Weight control - Shedding excess pounds takes unnecessary pressure off your veins.

9- Exercise. Get your legs moving. Walking is a great way to improve blood circulation in your legs.

Intense Cardio: Tremendous Loss in Body Fat

Intense Cardio: Tremendous Loss in Body Fat

For those people that consider themselves already in shape, but are having the problem of shedding those last few pounds to expose the six pack this is your solution.

A huge problem that most people have is, they go to the gym consistently and they build a lot muscle and at the same time acquire good mass gains. However while they do this and gain all this mass, they obviously are covering their abdominals up with fat.

The hard part comes when they want to expose their abs and drop the body fat because when you start to DIET, you will lose weight but you will also lose muscle along with it resulting in a loss of size in exchange for the six pack.

The solution to this problem is Intense Cardio.

The actual routine is extremely simple it is:
* 20 Second Sprint * 10 Sec Break * 20 Second Spring * 10 Sec Break

In total the runner will do 8 x 20 second sprints with 10 second breaks in between with a 4 minute warm up and warm down. It is imperative that the runner do the sprints at 100 percent effort.

If you do this simple routine for 2 months 3 times a week, you can be guaranteed to have a tremendous loss in body fat while still maintaining muscle mass resulting in a shredded body.

The science behind intense cardio is such that, when you run long distance you burn calories, and after a while you start to burn muscle tissue as well. With intense cardio you are doing just the right amount of cardio to spark a metabolic burn in your body, so when you are done with your routine even when you are sleeping your body is burning up to 200% more fat then it usually does however it sticks to only burning the fat and not the muscle since you did not do the sprints for an extended amount of time.

These are also known as Tabata intervals and can be applied to any exercise not only sprinting.

Certain myths about cardiovascular exercise

Certain myths about cardiovascular exercise

Cardio exercise, or aerobic exercise, is one of the most beneficial things you can do for your body.

It is known to strengthen the heart muscles, improve respiration, provide muscle tone, reduce the risk of heart disease, and increase bodily energy and endurance.

And there are many different ways to get cardio exercise, such as through aerobics, running, basketball, tennis, boxing, rope skipping, and dancing.

So it’s not surprising that a lot of people are into cardio exercise.

What is surprising is how even fitness buffs still believe in certain myths about cardiovascular exercise. In this article, I will examine some common myths about cardio exercise.

Myth #1: “You can burn off more fat if you don’t eat breakfast before doing your morning cardio exercise.”

In fact, it is a bad idea to forego eating before doing cardio exercise, especially in the morning. That is because your body temperature is at its lowest during the morning hours, and so it will take you longer than usual to warm up and get your muscles working.

And your body will not burn off more fat if you do your cardio exercise before eating breakfast. Your body actually works at burning off fat when you are sleeping. There are no significant benefits to going without your breakfast before doing your cardio exercise in the morning.

Myth #2: “You should do cardio exercise before doing weight training.”

This is a very common myth, and even some of my past gym instructors tended to structure my fitness program so that cardio exercise would come before strength training.

However, it is actually better to do the cardio exercise after a session of lifting weights.

This is because doing your cardio exercise can draw on the glycogen stored in your muscles. And so your cardio session will leave your muscles with less glycogen to use during strength training, which can make muscle building a lot less effective. However, it is all right to do a short amount--about 5 to 10 minutes--of moderately intense cardio exercise before doing your weight training.

Myth #3: “You have to sweat to get the most out of cardio exercise.”

Sweating is nothing more than the mechanism by which your body cools itself. By itself, sweating is not an indicator of how effective your workout is, and even light exercise such as walking that does not make you sweat can help you get rid of a substantial number of calories.

What is Visceral Fat?

What is Visceral Fat?

Visceral fat is fat that is deep inside the abdomen, around the organs.

Visceral fat, unfortunately, is nowadays thought to be much more significant for disease risk than subcutaneous fat.

Scientist have linked visceral fat to metabolic diseases like diabetes. For women, a waist size of more than 35 inches signals potential trouble.

What about liposuction to get rid of it? Actually, The New England Journal of Medicine did a study in 2004 about removing the visceral fat in women and they found out even though large amounts were removed it there were no health benefits—no changes in cholesterol, blood pressure or other risk factors for heart disease.

That is why it is crucial to be proactive and do something about it right now before it's too late.

How you get rid of it?

Eating fat-burning foods, which include lean proteins, and fibrous carbohydrates.

Another thing you can do is decrease the saturated fats (butter and high fatty foods)

You also want to take your EFA's (essential fatty acids) this will help in get rid of viseral fat (fish oil and flaxseed oil).

Also, weight training will help your body to build more lean muscle.

Make sure your workouts are fat-burning, don't make the mistake of just going through the motions during your workout, otherwise you will never get rid of the visceral fat.

What about walking?Walking isn't really going to do much to stimulate major fat loss, especially the viseral fat. You need to do interval training, if you are serious about improving your health and looking better.

Too many women just focuse on walking and not even paying attention to the resistance training.

Remember the more lean muscle you have, the leaner you will be.

If your not eating enough to support your lean muscle it will be hard to get rid of the visceral fat as well.

Visceral fat goes way beyond just looking better, commit to becoming healthy now.

Interval Training: Get In Shape Fast

Interval Training: Get In Shape Fast

Many times most people do the same type and intensity of their aerobic exercises over and over again. This can become boring and also non-productive after a certain period because you're not giving your body any new stimulus.

Let´s talk about a way to do aerobics that is very different than that you may be doing now.

It's called Interval Training. Basically, its comparable to shifting gears in a car. You actually burn more fuel when you' re constantly shifting gears.

The same is true with the human body. If you just stay with the same type and intensity of your aerobic component, you won't burn the calories and expend the energy as you would when you're constantly changing the stimulus.

Plus, the aerobic workout goes by faster, and it's more enjoyable.

Here's how it is. You would start out walking for about 5 minutes, not slow walk, but a moderate pace. Once you complete that, switch to a faster pace, 3 hard minutes where you're almost out of breath.

Once that is complete go to 5 minutes of medium pace. Use a moderate pace where your breathing heavy but not too intense.

Again, once that 5 minutes are up go back to fast pace for 3 hard minutes. Repeat one more time moderate pace for 5 minutes then 3 hard minutes again. Repeat over and over again.

Perform a cool down for 5 minutes by just slow walking to prevent the blood from pooling in one area. This whole workout should take 30 minutes.

For best results, I would recommend 3x's per week and then work up to 5x's per week if you have a slower metabolism and your goal is losing fat. And as far as timing goes, anytime is better than not doing it.

However, I stress that it should be done in the a.m. before you eat ANY carbohydrates. You will burn fat more easily by doing the workout at this time.

Another good time is to do it right after a weight training session. You will tap into the fat stores here as well, because the carbohydrates were used up during the weight training workout.

Just keep in mind that your INTENSITY is a key factor in getting results with this type of program. You must work those 3 minutes really hard, to the point where you're breathing very heavily to get into the fat stores. Don't be lazy during this component, really kick it up a notch and go for it.

If you do this you will get the results you want.

So now you have another weapon in your arsenal to burn stubborn body fat, have more energy, and just feel better overall. I challenge you to give Interval Training a shot for 6 weeks.

Another way to incorporate this into your workouts is do one day of normal, straight-intensity workout for 30-45 minutes then the next day switch to the interval method. Combining these two ways of aerobic workouts will greatly improve your current physical condition.

Natural Weight Loss Dieting Program

Natural Weight Loss Dieting Program

Have you ever wondered why you are fat and have considered going on a weight loss dieting program?

If you did, then you must know why certain food makes you fat.

Most if not all of us are somewhat carbohydrate addicts. We have pastas, pizzas, white rice, spaghettis, bread, refined flour food and confectionaries in almost if not all our meals.

Just look at the queues at the fast food joints on a regular day and you will know what I mean. Bread and sweet sugary drinks are the menu of the day, naturally.

Some of us are reluctant to embark on a weight loss dieting program to lose that excess baggage (body fat) because we think it is an exercise in sheer willpower and futility.

"You are asking me not to eat bread/rice/pizzas/hamburgers, chocolates and ice-creams my entire life? You must be nuts!" Sounds familiar?

For those who incessantly snack on biscuits and chocolates between meals to stave off hunger while working at the office, here is why.

You unwittingly and naturally reach for such snacks because of the food you chose to eat earlier at an earlier meal. If you start the day with three or four slices of white bread spread with fruit jam or margarine and then wash it down with coffee and sugar, you can be sure you will be craving for snacks by mid-morning even though your breakfast was a filling one.

When your food made up primarily of carbohydrate, especially refined carbohydrate like white bread and pizzas, with little protein or fat, not to mention high in sugar, your blood glucose surges crazily following that meal.

To counter the effect of extreme glucose surge in your blood stream, your pancreas will pump more insulin than usual to bring your blood glucose level down.

What happens then is that your blood glucose surges will then dip lower than your pre-meal level.

When this happens, you start to get hungry and crave for more sweet stuff and more carbohydrate. This is why you reach for sweet snacks and drinks instinctively. Thus the vicious cycle continues again and again and you are eating more and more calories. So choosing the food in your meal is important so that you will not get hungry fast and then consume more calories to satisfy that hunger upsetting your natural weight loss dieting program.When more carbohydrate is consumed than can be stored by your liver and muscles as glycogen, they are naturally converted to fat.

So what should you do? Well, you can start to limit your carbohydrate consumption (note that I said limit and not stop) and on top of that, choose slow digesting carbohydrates especially carbohydrate with fibers like fibrous vegetables, fruits, legumes, brown rice and brown bread, your insulin spike will not be so eccentric and therefore you will not get hungry or having your sweet tooth so often.

Now think about it, if you do not reach for your snacks and sugary drinks that often, it means that you are consuming fewer calories.

So if your caloric consumption is less than your caloric expenditure, you are right on a natural weight loss dieting program without even realizing it.

Better still, you are not going on a hunger and starvation diet because you will not get hungry that easily.

Just imagine now that you are losing weight naturally, what if you incorporate an exercise routine into your natural weight loss dieting program to burn off some more calories?

Your natural weight loss result will be amazing wouldn’t it?

Now that you know why you are fat, let’s get started on this natural weight loss dieting program.

Flexibility Training at your Desk

Flexibility Training at Your Desk

Do you have a desk job? I do, and many times sitting all day can really take a physical toll on the body, making us more tired, and less apt to working out or getting the physical activity that our body's naturally crave when you get home.

It seems counterintuitive, but sitting all day actually makes you more tired than if you had been up and about all day because you haven't gotten your blood pumping and the blood becomes oxygen deprived, which makes us feel fatigued, even though we haven't physically exerted ourselves all day.

Like I said, counterintuitive. You'd think you would be bursting with restless energy after sitting at a desk all day in front of a computer, but that is not usually the case.

How many times have you gotten home from your desk job, and felt exhausted, ready to fall into bed or on to the couch and call it a night?

Well, there are some little exercises that you can do right at your desk if you don't happen to have a workout facility at your place of employment, or somewhere near to go to get some physical activity in for the day.

One of my favorite moves, with also helps to relieve neck and back pain, and is sort of like a yoga move, is one that focuses on both tightening the tummy and making us sit taller in our chairs, bringing more oxygen to the blood, and rejuvenating the mind.
First, sit up straight in your chair. Be mindful to keep your stomach pressed in, but still keep breathing as smoothly and evenly as possible. Next, imagine your head is spiraling up toward the ceiling, while your shoulders are consciously down, far away from your ears.
As you exhale, expand the belly out. Repeat this several times, breathing smoothly. This should help get your blood circulating and serve as a refresher.

Another one, this one more for you lower body, is to increase circulation in the legs, as well as to enhance flexibility in this rarely used area.
It's a simple ankle roll. One foot at a time, imagine your toes are reaching out of their shoes. Rotate the entire foot in one continuous circle, first clockwise ten times, then counterclockwise ten times. At the end, flex your foot and extend it out for about five times to loosen up the arch of the foot as well.
You should notice, even doing this keeps the body warmer by enhancing your circulation.

The next stretch is for your lower back. Sitting up straight, imagine again your head is extending in to the sky. Gently twist to one side with your hand on your sacrum, which is the bony part between your back and buttocks.
Be sure to do this one very slowly, and don't kink or twist too hard. Keep the breath fluid, and go slow, and you will find that your body will relax and you can go further into this position. Do this to each side, and hold each pose for about thirty seconds for optimum benefit.

This next one may look a little more obvious, but you should be able to do it with no problems discreetly when no one is looking, and it feels really good because it releases a lot of hip tension, which many of us don't even realize we have.
Sit as if your were going to cross your legs over one another, but don't do it all the way, leaving your ankle on your knee. Next, elevate your bottom leg, which will lift the top leg resting on the bottom leg as well, toward your chest. You may need to back away from your desk for this one.
You should feel an excellent stretch in your outer hip flexor.

These definitely are not the only stretching for flexibility exercises you can do at your desk.
You can probably even create some of your own to target your most tense areas, but just be aware not to push to hard and to use your breath to go further into the pose.

Weight Loss: How to optimize your metabolism

Weight Loss: How to optimize your metabolism

These will also help to optimize your metabolic rate (metabolism) and the faster it works the better your body will use the food for energy rather than storing it as fat. They are provided below in order of importance.

1. Eat More It is important that you eat more meals and it is best to eat a small meal every 2-4 hours. They should be large enough so that you are not feeling hungry afterwards (rather than eating until you fill full up). Unfortunately eating 1 or 2 meals a day slows a person's metabolism rate down and therefore you should try for at least 4-6 meals each day. The ratio of carbs, proteins and fats that you should eat are as follows - 50% - Proteins, 25% Carbs and 25% Fats.

2. Drink More Water Many people just do not drink enough water and this means their bodies are dehydrated. There are two problems that a body has trouble doing when dehydrated the first being to release water and the body can not tone the muscles (building). So if your body is not building this means that it is losing muscle which results in your metabolism slowing and you end up looking flabby.

3. Have a balanced Workout Regime. Such a regime should consist of cardio and resistance (weight) exercises. Cardio exercises are good for burning fat and is easy to do. Whilst resistance exercises are a little as you do not often know what to do and suppose weights are not your thing then why not try Yoga or Pilates instead. Both Yoga and Pilates are good resistance exercises and can help maintain lean muscle and increase your metabolism.

4. Supplements in your Diet the smart way. This is the best solution to making sure that you get the right nutrients that your food can not provide you with. A daily multi-vitamin should be ample for most people and if you do not like taking it in pill form then try and liquid version instead. It also helps to cleanse and detox your body without you knowing it.

5. Sleep. This is a very important part of any healthy lifestyle regime and we sleep so that our bodies and minds can refresh themselves and this allows us to function at our optimum levels. Also sleep allows our muscles to rebuild themselves and this helps to increase a person's metabolism.

Abs Diet For Women

Abs Diet For Women

If you want to build muscles, particularly abdominal muscles or what we commonly refer to as a "six pack", your diet (which we'll call an abs diet) needs to be rich in protein.

However, you may wonder exactly how much protein should be in your food in order for you to reap the maximum benefits.

You may also wonder if you should cut down on or leave out the other food groups. You also need to know that in terms of content, the abs diet for women is very much different from the abs diet for men.

And depending on a woman's body size, the quantity of food in each abs diet service can vary.

Foods that are high in protein are the main requirements in an abs diet for women. If you want to have an attractive six pack, eating high protein foods is a must.

While you won't be eating as much protein foods as men who are on an abs diet, the foods on your abs diet menu are going to be similar overall.

For instance, your abs diet will consist of several lean meats like chicken and turkey. Your abs diet will also include plenty of fish, eggs, milk, and protein drinks and bars. Be careful eating the latter, though, because many protein drinks and bars have high sugar content. Make sure that you read the label first.

Aside from the protein-rich foods, your abs diet will also include fresh vegetables.

And if you really want to have attractive flat abs, you will have to refrain from eating fatty foods, junk foods and high sugar foods. Needless to say, you will need to avoid eating fast foods and greasy take out foods.

Just because you are on a high protein abs diet does not mean that you have to avoid carbohydrates altogether. You also need to eat carb foods.

For best results, eat foods that are high in fiber and are of the wholemeal varieties.

Avoid consuming white bread and food products made from bleached flour.

When you are on an abs diet, eat moderately. Avoid eating large amounts of foods. Instead of eating two or three big meals a day, eat small amounts several times a day. Not only doing this will help your metabolism, it will also prevent you from having a bloated and tired feeling after every meal.

So that's it -- a basic abs diet for women that you can follow whenever you are ready to start building your abs. Incorporate this abs diet in your daily routine, exercise regularly and you are on your way to having great abs!

Removing Facial Wrinkles with Friction

Removing Facial Wrinkles with Friction

Even though the rest of the body has been developed to the strength of an athlete if the muscles on the face and neck are neglected, you will still look old, a contrasting sight to the youthful, developed body you possess.

Therefore, it is necessary to pay equal attention to those muscles for them to grow in size and gain strength and elasticity. The hollow places in the neck and cheeks can be filled up; the muscles which surround the eyes can be increased in plumpness; and, with a treatment I will now describe, that smoothness of skin characteristic of youth may, to a very considerable extent, be regained.

The true secret of restoring to the skin the smoothness of youth is friction. The skin can be polished and the wrinkles can be rubbed out like any other piece of leather. The palms of the hands and the tips of the fingers are the very best tools to use for that purpose. This polishing, wrinkle-removing process can best be done while you lie comfortably in bed as in that position it is easier, less fatiguing and you can get at the wrinkles more readily than when either sitting or standing.

But before commencing this system of facial rejuvenation it might be well to disabuse yourself of the idea that you can "build up" the muscles of the cheeks, chin, neck and throat or to form living tissue by attempting to "rub in" skin foods. Of course, my statement that it is impossible will be regarded as rank heresy by every woman who reads this. But when you consider Nature's method of building the human structure, the fallacy of such a proposition must be evident.
Every part of the body is composed of millions of infinitesimal living cells.
The reason skin foods thoroughly "rubbed in" seems to give that fresh, smooth look to the skin and why the wrinkles grow less under that process is actually the result of what is termed in slang as "elbow grease".

It is the persistent friction of the skin, and plenty of it, using the palms of the hands and tips of the fingers. In that way you will surely improve your facial appearance--with or without the "skin foods."

If you believe that applying "skin foods" which you have bought or made bring the desired result of younger looking skin, then by all means continue using them.

The process is like that of putting grease to a machinery to prevent chafing. But the effect of that procedure is only for lubrication. It will make the friction easier and prevent the skin from chafing during the rubbing process. Other than that, if this greasy preparation is done without accompanying massage, it will only yield a temporary result that can be washed off afterwards.

The usual objection made to the friction process I advise is that the skin might loosen and the pores might become enlarged. If you go at it too vigorously that is very possible. But with thorough care, this cannot be injurious.

However, if it does happen, the structure of the skin will tone up under the stimulating treatment and the skin will eventually be clear and still result to improvement.

To start, keep the skin in place by stretching it using the first and second fingers of one hand. Then rub the skin with the fingers or palm of the other hand.

The points that will probably need first attention will be the corners of the eyes, mouth, temples and immediately forward of the ears.

Apply some lubricants to prevent from chafing. You may use "skin foods" or any smooth face cream.

Don't go at this method of facial rejuvenation too energetically. If you do, your skin will get sore. The same rule applies to massaging the face and throat as to any other system of exercise.

Go slow. Stick to it regularly and you will succeed.

Building Up Shapely Legs

Building Up Shapely Legs

Most persons have more developed legs than the arms since the legs are frequently exercised in a person's daily waking routine. But the mere exercise of walking will not develop the large muscles at the front of the thighs and in the calves of the legs, or the "climbing muscles". Walking or running, may bring those muscles into action, but does not place any considerable tension upon them.

The leg muscles of the runner are more elastic, and capable of more rapid action than are those of the "athlete of the hills". But the former soon tires under the strain of a steady climb, whatever his physical condition may be, simply because he has not developed the muscles then called into action.

This capability cannot be credited to natural ability but to special training and exerted effort.
It may not catch everyone's attention when I say that the exercise I designed will develop these "climbing muscles".

But when I'll say it can add to the proportionality of the legs, it will perhaps generate interest. The build-up of the muscles on the thigh and the calves relies deeply on the ball of the foot. And the exercise I designed can be practiced while lying in bed.

Attach to the foot of your bed a cord about 1½-feet in length, attaching a pulley weight handle. Lying on your side, hold this handle then press firmly against the foot¬board of the bed with the ball of the foot, and alternately relax the pressure. This alternate pressure and relaxation will actively exercise the muscles in question. It will also imitate the action of climbing, the leg being exercised as such. And it will bring no strain or possible injury upon the heart -- a danger ever imminent in hill climbing.

The pressure exerted should be equal to that required in climbing stairs or a steep slope. This exercise, if persistently and regularly prac¬ticed, will surely improve the symmetry of the legs. And it will give one the ability to climb stairs or steep hills, which cannot be acquired by the same amount of walking or ordinary gym running exercise. It should be practiced both with the left and the right feet. Otherwise the development will be unequal.

If the cord and pulley weight handle is inconvenient, simply rest the ball of the foot against the footboard of the bed and alternately press and relax.

Or here is still another and easier way -- lying on your back or partially on the side, place the ball of the left foot on the upper part or toes of the right. Tense the muscles of this right leg and foot so that it may afford support. Then alternately press and relax with the left foot. Repeat the exercises with the other leg.

The cord and pulley weight handle device is far more effective and can guarantee quicker development. But the last two exercises can be practiced under all circumstances and will appeal to the members of the greatest organization on earth: the lazy people, of which the writer is a member and a good example.

The foremost reason why these exercises were designed is to get the desired development with minimal effort exerted. Some people may say it is a lazy man's system but it is mainly designed for people of more advanced age, who are not anymore fit enough to undergo rigorous and strenuous exercises. Just the same, you are guaranteed that the exercises are remarkably effective. Finally, people of all ages can use these exercises to great benefit.