10/25/2009

Exercise: a lean, flat, and sexy stomach

Exercise: a lean, flat, and sexy stomach


Everyone wants a lean, flat, and sexy stomach. However, when it comes to an abs at home workout, most people go about acquired a flat sexy stomach all wrong.

If you want to get more results in less time and finally get the flat stomach you've always wanted, then you need to apply some simple information.

First of all, if you want a lean and flat stomach, then you absolutely must reduce the amount of stomach fat that you have. If you don't remove that fat, it doesn't matter how many ab exercises you do or how often. Without removing that layer of fat, you will never see your abs or get a flat stomach.

So your main priority needs to be on removing excess body fat, and to build lean muscle. Both of these goals with ensure that you get a flat stomach in minimal time.
For your at home workouts you need to apply a couple of simple, yet highly effective, tips in order to achieve your goals.
After I reveal these tips to you, you'll then get some at home workouts that will put you on the fast track to your goal of a flat stomach in minimal time.

As previously mentioned, you won't get a flat or defined stomach unless you remove the fat covering it. So the first important tip you must apply is: use the best bodyweight exercises. By far the best exercises are lunges, deadlifts, jumps, squats, push-ups, inverted rows, chin-ups, dips, and their many variations. You should also include exercises such as burpees, bear crawls, and sprints to your at home workout arsenal.

Those exercises will definitely allow you to burn off body fat while building lean, sexy muscle at the same time.

Second, you should perform your workouts in circuits. Using circuits allows you to complete your workouts in minimum time, but it also will cause you to burn a ton of calories and fat as well as boost your fat burning metabolism even after the workout is finished.
Now that you know how to get the results, it's time to get into the sample at home workouts.

Abs at Home Workout 1

Bulgarian Split Squats x 10-20 each leg
Spiderman Push-ups x 10
Inverted Row with Palms-up Grip x 10
Squat Jumps x 10

Perform each exercise back-to-back and complete as many circuits as possible in 15-25 minutes. After completion, rest for one to two minutes and then perform the following abdominal circuit.

Inch Worms x 10
Crunches with Twist x 10-15 each side
Scissor Kicks x 15-20 each side

Perform each exercise back-to-back with no rest in between. After you finish the circuit, rest for one minute and repeat the circuit one to two more times.

Abs at Home Workout 2

Burpees x 10-20
Handstand Push-ups or beginner version x as many as possible
Door Pull-ups x as many as possible
One Leg Romanian Deadlifts x 10-20 each leg
Once again, perform the exercises back-to-back and complete as many circuits as possible in 15-25 minutes. Rest one minute and then perform the following abdominal circuit.
Reverse Crunches with Twist x 15-25
V Ups x 10-15
Alternating Bicycle Crunches x 10-20 each side

Perform the exercises without resting in between. Rest one minute and complete one to two more circuits.

10/20/2009

Spartan Home Workout: Transform Your Body!

Spartan Home Workout: Transform Your Body!

By far one of the most popular workouts ever, if not the most popular, was the 300 workout the actors from the movie "300" performed while they were training for their roles.
While the traditional 300 workout was a "right of passage" rather than a workout performed on a frequent basis, people still loved the idea and even became addicted to the notion the workout created.

The original 300 workout consisted of several different exercises performed for a prescribed number of repetitions, and the total number equaled 300.
That workout required barbells and other equipment, but you are about to get a "Spartan home workout" that doesn't require any equipment. The only thing you will need for this workout is your bodyweight.

There are a few things that should be noted before we dive into the workout.
First: this is not going to be easy! You are going to be performing total body exercises that are going to get you breathing hard and heavy.
Second: you can perform this workout three times a week if you like. If you do so, make sure you decrease the amount of time it takes you to complete the entire workout.
However, you can also use this workout less frequently to test your strength and endurance levels.

This sample workout will help you burn off pounds of body fat, build lean muscle, and drastically improve your conditioning levels.

Spartan Home Workout

Bodyweight Squats x 50
Close Grip Push-ups x 25
Door Pull-ups x 25
Burpees with Push-ups x 20
Alternating Forward Lunges x 20 each leg
Mountain Climbers x 20 each side
Door Pull-ups x 20
T Push-ups x 10 each side
Burpees x 20
One Leg Romanian Deadlifts x 20 each leg

Perform the prescribed number of repetitions for each exercise before moving on to the next one. You don't have to perform all of the repetitions non-stop.
For example: if you have to take a pause during the 50 bodyweight squats, that's fine. Just complete the circuit as fast as possible, and make sure to time yourself.
Oh, and just so you know there is a total of 300 repetitions in that workout.

Create Your Own Spartan Home Workout

Once you get bored or too advanced for that workout, feel free to design your own. Just make sure you choose big, compound exercises like the ones listed above. Also, make sure you pick exercises that target the main muscle groups. Push-ups and all variations work your chest, shoulders, and triceps. Pull-ups and inverted rows are perfect for your back and biceps. All squat and lunge variations target your lower body.

One More Tip

You can also increase the difficulty of the workout provided. Just increase the number of repetitions for each exercise; anywhere from five to 10 additional repetitions for each. Or, you can increase the total number of repetitions by 100 and divide that number equally among the exercises.

10/14/2009

Green tea may ease mental distress


Green tea may ease mental distress



Drinking five cups of green tea per day may reduce the incidence of psychological distress by 20 per cent, says a new study from Japan.



In a study with 42,093 Japanese individuals 2,774 people, or 6.6 per cent of the study population, suffered from psychological stress, and green tea consumption was said to improve psychological well-being.



According to WHO estimates, more than 450 million people suffer from stress worldwide, with 17 per cent of Europeans stating that stress is the most important risk factor to health. The related costs of stress estimated at €20bn in Europe (WHO) and $200bn in the US (International Labor Office).



Researchers led by Atsushi Hozawa from the Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine report their findings online in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.



Green tea and its extracts already have a positive reputation, with studies reporting they may offer protective effects against Alzheimer's and certain cancers, improve cardiovascular and oral health, and play a positive role in weight management.



Despite reports already stating that green tea or its constituents might reduce psychological stress, no large-scale study has evaluated the relationship between green tea consumption and psychological distress, said the researchers.



After adjusting their results for potential confounding factors, including age, sex, history of disease, BMI, alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, diet, and other factors, a significant inverse association between green tea consumption and psychological distress was observed for people who drank at least five cups of green tea per day, compared to those who drank less than one cup per day.



Being an epidemiological study, the authors could not offer any evidence as to what the active constituents behind the apparent benefits could be. Further study is needed to elucidate the bioactives and mechanism of action.



The four primary polyphenols found in fresh tealeaves are epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), epigallocatechin (EGC), epicatechin gallate (ECG), and epicatechin (EC).


A previous Japanese study reported that green tea extracts may offset the signs of physical and mental fatigue associated with modern stressful lives. Five days of supplementation with EGCG was found to reduce levels of oxidised species related to fatigue in an animal model, according to findings published in the journal Nutrition.


Source: American Journal of Clinical NutritionPublished online ahead of print, doi:10.3945/ajcn.2009.28214“Green tea consumption is associated with lower psychological distress in a general population: the Ohsaki Cohort 2006 Study”Authors: A. Hozawa, S. Kuriyama, N. Nakaya, K. Ohmori-Matsuda, M. Kakizaki, T. Sone, M. Nagai, Y. Sugawara, A. Nitta, Y. Tomata, K. Niu, I. Tsuji

10/09/2009

Using Intense Cardio

Using Intense Cardio

The popularity of intense cardio activity is in the rise these days as more people come to realize the wonders of engaging in these types of vigorous physical activity.
The old style cardio training of long arduous training sessions with plenty of cortisol released into the bloodstream is definitely out and the new method of intense but rapid short bursts of activity is in! Cortisol tends to destroy the muscle and this is apparent if you see the skinny disposition of marathon runners.
These are strong evidence that lengthy session of physical activity wends to destroy muscles cells apart from burning energy.
In comparison, just watch the sturdy muscles of a sprinter. This is the muscles we want-strong, toned and yet the lacks the skinny-like definition of those marathon runners.

The human body is an amazing machine. It can adapt itself to any kind of stimuli it is subjected to. If you perform regular short burst of vigorous activity, it will tend to build muscles so it can withstand their pressure it is subjected to.
But if you engage in lengthy activity, it will want to burn off muscle to enable it to adapt to this form of intense activity.

So if you are sold on this concept and want to start training with this form of intense short bursts of physical activity, here are some suggestions you can use.

100m sprints-find a nice place where you can get yourself engrossed in a short 100 meter dash across the open area. No, this is not an obstacle race with hurdles and all but rather you would want somewhere you can run easily without worrying about tripping over chairs, toys, shoes, your grandmother's wicker chair etc.
Find an open field where you can run and still enjoy the scenery/fresh air. Do this three or four time per session.

If this is not possible if you do not fancy the idea of a 100 meter sprint, get yourself a stationery bike and perform intense workout for five minutes before your slow down for twenty minutes. Repeat this cycle again.

10/06/2009

Best Cardio Workout For Women to Forge the Ultimate Body


Best Cardio Workout For Women to Forge the Ultimate Body



So what is the best cardio workout for women? Well, that is a loaded question, but I am going to give you a series of cardio exercises to help you lose weight and incinerate fat quicker than anything out there. I want to introduce to you the dumbell circuit.


Dumbell circuits are a hard hitting cardio workout routine that I guarantee will help you to achieve mind blowing cardiovascular fitness and the rock hard body to match. Dumbell is so versatile that you can execute lifts that train your body from head to toe while conditioning your cardiovascular system better than anything.


To begin, you must have some basic knowledge of some more of the basic dumbell lifts in order to execute this workout. If you don't no worries, because the types of exercises I am going to explain can be easily learned.


To start, you will want to execute a series of double arm dumbell swings for 30 repetitions. As soon as, you complete this exercise move on to performing a series of dumbell front squats with the dumbell properly racked in the clean position at your chest.

You will want to do 15 squats with the dumbell cleaned in each arm. Once you complete the dumbell front squats then you will want to perform 30 squat and presses (15 each arm) combining the two movements. This completes the first round of your cardio endurance workout.

Permit yourself 3 to 3 1/2 minutes rest and repeat this process all over again. Attempt to execute three rounds of this to classify yourself a cardio queen!


This workout would challenge any guy! Once again if you are not familiar with these basic lifts that I mentioned you can learn them quickly.

Dumbell circuits are the REAL fat loss cardio workout. Remember that anyone can train hard, but only the best train smart!