Cardio May Be a Waste of Time Without This Knowledge

July 2, 2009 By Leave a Comment

The most important factor for improving cardiorespiratory fitness (cardio or CR) is the intensity of the workout.  Changes in CR fitness are directly related to how “hard” an aerobic exercise is performed. The more energy expended per unit of time, the greater the intensity of the exercise, the greater the effect on cardiorespiratory fitness.

You have to know how hard is “hard” to determine if an aerobic exercise like running is producing a CR training effect or if it’s just burning a few calories. The heart rate during work or exercise is an excellent indicator of how much effort you are exerting.

Only by keeping track of your heart rate during a workout can you be sure that the intensity is enough to improve your CR fitness level. In other words, your ability to monitor your heart rate is the single most important key to success in CR training.

Training Heart Rate (THR) = Desired Intensity of the WorkoutTHR is the heart rate at which you need to exercise to get a training effect. The U.S. Army fitness gurus have given us two methods to determine THR.

The first method, percent maximum heart rate (%MHR) is simpler to use, while the second method, percent heart rate reserve (%HRR) is more accurate.

%MHR Method With this method the THR is figured using the estimated maximal heart rate. You can estimate your maximum heart rate (MHR) by subtracting your age from 220. Thus, a 20 year old would have an estimated maximum heart rate (MHR) of 200 beats per minute (220 – 20 = 200).

A person who is in poor shape should exercise at 70 percent of his MHR; if he is in relatively good shape, at 80 percent MHR; and, if he is in excellent
shape, at 90 percent MHR.

Examples:

A 20 year old in good physical condition would have a THR of 160 beats per minute (BPM). 220 – 20 = 200 * .80 = 160 BPM. A 30 year old in good physical condition would have a THR of 152 beats per minute (BPM). 220 – 30 = 190 * .80 = 152 BPM.

A 40 year old in poor physical condition would have a THR of 126 beats per minute (BPM). 220 – 40 = 180 * .70 = 126 BPM.

%HRR Method

A more accurate way to calculate THR is the %HRR method. The range from 60 to 90 %HRR is the THR range in which people should exercise to improve their CR fitness levels. If you know your general level of CR fitness, you can determine which percentage of HRR is a good starting point for you.

For example, a person in excellent physical condition could start at 85 percent of his HRR; if he is in reasonably good shape, at 70 percent
HRR; and, if he is in poor shape, at 60 percent HRR.

Most CR workouts should be conducted with the heart rate between 70 to 75 percent HRR to attain, or maintain, an adequate level of fitness. A person who has reached a high level of fitness may derive more benefit from working at a higher percentage of HRR, particularly if he cannot find more than 20 minutes for CR exercise.

Exercising at any lower percentage of HRR than 60 does not give the heart,
muscles, and lungs an adequate training stimulus. Exercising at more than 90 percent can be dangerous. Before anyone begins aerobic training, he should know his THR (the heart rate at which he needs to exercise to get a
training effect).

The example below shows how to figure the THR by using the resting heart rate (RHR) and age to estimate heart rate reserve (HRR). A 20 year old in
reasonably good physical shape is the example.

STEP 1:
Determine the MHR by subtracting your age from 220. i.e. MHR = 220 – 20 = 200.

STEP 2:

Determine the resting heart rate (RHR) in beats per minute (BPM) by counting the resting pulse for 30 seconds, and multiply the count by two. A shorter period can be used, but a 30 second count is more accurate. This count should be taken while you are completely relaxed and rested. For this example we use a RHR of 69 BPM.

STEP 3:

Determine the heart rate reserve (HRR) by subtracting the RHR from the estimate MHR. i.e. HRR = 200 – 69 = 131 BPM

STEP 4

Calculate THR by (1) multiplying HRR by the relative fitness level as a
percentage and (2) adding the result to the HRR.  For example, our 20 year old in good physical condition will exercise at 70% HRR.

(1)  .70 * 131 = 91.7
(2)   91.7 + 69 =
160.7

In summary, a reasonably fit 20-year-old with a resting heart rate (RHR) of 69 BPM has a training rate (THR) goal of 161 BPM.

During aerobic exercise, the body will usually have reached a “Steady State” after five minutes of exercise, and the heart rate will have off. At this time and, immediately after exercising, is when you should monitor your heart rate to see if you are within your desired THR range.

If your pulse rate is below the THR, you must exercise harder to increase your pulse to the THR. If your pulse is above the THR, you should reduce the intensity to reduce the pulse rate to the THR goal.

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Cardio Exercises-Low Or High Intensity Exercise Burn Body

June 28, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Have you ever wondered which cardio exercises are best for burning off extra body fat? Is walking (low intensity) better or running (high intensity) better for burning body fat? geyq3jcuxf

Well, both low and high intensity exercises will help you burn off body fat. The question is which is more effective and burn more body fat. What is your fat burning zone?

When scientists first reported that during intensive exercises, your body burn glycogen, which is a form of stored carbohydrates stored in your liver and muscles for energy and during low intensive exercises, your body burn
body fat, everyone suddenly change their workout routines to perform low intensity exercises to burn body fat.

Does it work? Obviously it does not work because there are still so many fat people around although they are working out with low intensity exericies isn’t it? Why is that so?

Well, the scientists were right when they said that our bodies burn more body fat during low intensity exercises like walking or a leisurely swim. But during a high intensity exercise like running, our bodies burn a lot more calories.

Even if some of the calories burnt are from glycogen, we will still burn many fat calories as well. To add icing to the cake, when your store of glycogen is low, the carbs from your meal you eat later gets converted into glycogen to fill up the store and will not be converted to body fat when left unused for energy.

Furthermore, high intensity cardio exercises crank up your metabolism even after your workout is done. This means that you body will continue to burn body fat hours after you have left the gym.

This effect is almost non existent in low cardio or aerobic workout. Accumulatively, your body burns up many many more calories during and after high intensity cardio exercises than lower intensive ones.

You can inject high intensity exercises to your cardio workout by introducing some interval training. You can walk briskly for 5 minutes, then breaking into a jog for another 5 minutes.

Then walking briskly again until you caught your breath and then sprint for a minute before walking again for another minute. From this point, alternate between a sprint and a walk, a minute each and do this for the next 15 minutes and you are done.

Do this for 5 days a week and before long, you will be steadily losing unwanted body fat and weight healthily and naturally.

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Join My 10 Part Fitness Newsletter

June 24, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Have you ever wondered how to create a new body shape?  Have more confidence and feeling good ability, than you ever could have imagined.

The New You will walk down the road with your head held firmly up, feeling like a million dollars. And all your family, friends and workmates, will marvel and complement you. This is the New You, and you are now Popular

Get started straight away and click on the following link

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Your Weight in Muscle

June 23, 2009 By Leave a Comment

You probably have heard that muscle weighs more than fat.  Many people notice a small weight gain when they begin lifting weights consistently.  As a general rule, if you lift weights 2 to 3 times a week, you can gain 1 pound of
muscle per month for about 6 months. 

After that, the rate of increase slows down as you start to reach your genetic potential.  For the same reason, you will make a lot of progress on weight progression at the beginning, but the longer you lift; your progression will lessen because you are reaching your genetic potential.  

Don’t be alarmed at the extra pounds of weight from weight training because it is well worth the effort.  For every 3 pounds of muscle you build, research shows you increase your resting metabolic rate by about 7 percent. 

For example, if your body burns 1,200 calories per day (not counting exercise or any other movement), you would burn an extra 84 calories per day with those 3 extra pounds of muscle. 

Many women have a difficult time outgrowing 2-3 pound dumbbell weights, because they are afraid that if they increase the weight they will bulk up.  If you are happy with the strength and appearance of your muscles, you can
do a maintenance program with 5 pound weights. 

However, if you want more strength, you could progress to 8 or 10 pound weights and still not bulk up.  Using heavier weights can increase muscle size, but it’s highly unlikely that you’ll get bulky.

Women don’t naturally have enough of the hormone, testosterone, required to build huge muscles, and even if you could bulk up, you’d have to use significantly heavier weights. 

Another option to tone muscle is to increase your repetitions instead of
increasing weight.  A high-repetition/light-weight program will develop muscle tone and increase strength and endurance without significantly increasing muscle size.

I like to tell my clients to not just go through the motion when lifting weights.  I use the word “squeeze” a lot to describe the contraction of the muscle you should be focusing on. 

Think about the muscle you are working and squeeze or contract it as you are lifting.  You will get a lot more benefit for your efforts if you squeeze the
muscle on the lift rather than just raising and lowering the weight without focusing on the muscle.

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Why You Should NOT Try to Isolate Muscle Groups When Weight Training

June 23, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Working as a fitness professional, there is one type of question I get all the time that shows that many people are missing the big picture regarding the benefits of strength training. This popular question usually goes something like this:

“What exercise can I do to isolate my _______ (insert your muscle of choice – abs, quads, biceps, triceps, etc)?”It doesn’t matter which muscle someone is asking about, they always seem to be asking how to ‘isolate’ it.

My first response to this question is always – Why in the world would you want to isolate it?The first thing I try to teach my clients is that the body
does not work well in muscle isolation. Rather, it works better in movements along a kinetic chain; that is, large portions of the body assist other portions of the body in completing a complex movement.

In fact, there really is no such thing as true muscle isolation. There is almost always a nearby muscle group that will assist in some way with whatever movement you are doing.

However, this article compares attempting to ‘isolate’ body parts via single-joint exercises to the much more effective strategy of performing multi-joint complex movements.

When you attempt to ‘isolate’ muscles by performing single-joint exercises,
you are actually creating a body that is non-functional and will be more prone to injury. Essentially, you are creating a body that is a compilation of body parts, instead of a powerful, functional unit that works together.

Now if you really want to end up hobbling around in a body bandaged up with joint problems, tendonitis, and excess body fat, then by all means, continue trying to ‘isolate’ body parts.

On the other hand, if you would rather have a lean, muscular, injury-free, functional body that works as a complete powerful unit to perform complex movements (in athletics or even everyday tasks), then you need to shift your focus away from muscle isolation.

 Believe me, focusing on how well your body functions will give you the side effect of a body that looks even better than it would have if you focused on muscle isolation. For example, take a look at the physiques of any NFL running backs, wide receivers, or even world class sprinters.

Trust me when I say that these guys pretty much NEVER train for muscle isolation (their strength coaches wouldn’t be crazy enough to let them), yet they are absolutely ripped to shreds! Just look at guys like Maurice Green or Terrell Owens and tell me who wouldn’t want a physique like those guys.

Another benefit to moving away from the ‘muscle isolation’ mindset to a more ‘complex movement’ mindset is that you will find it much easier to lose body fat. The reason is that by focusing more on multi-joint complex movements as opposed to single-joint muscle isolation,

you not only burn a lot more calories during each workout, but you also increase your metabolic rate, and stimulate production of more fat burning and muscle building hormones like growth hormone and testosterone.

Let’s look at an example. The machine leg extension is a single joint exercise that works mainly the quadriceps, can potentially cause knee joint
instability in the long run, and doesn’t even burn that many calories. On the other hand, exercises like squats, lunges, step-ups, and deadlifts are all multi-joint complex movements that work hundreds of muscles in the
body

 (including the quadriceps) as a functional unit, create more stable and strong joints in the long run (when done properly), and also burn massive quantities of calories compared to the single-joint exercises.

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Why My Muscles Won’t Grow? Cortisol Stress Hormone Destroy Muscle Tissues

June 23, 2009 By Leave a Comment

There are many reasons why your muscles won’t grow or why your muscle growth is retarded. One main culprit for your muscle tissue to in a catabolic and not in an anabolic state is the stress hormone called cortisol.

This stress hormone, cortisol, is produced by your body when you are understressful situations. Yes, any type of stress, whether they are mental stress, physical stress or just emotional stress will trigger off an increased in the production of cortisol hormones.

A high level of cortisol is always a bane for bodybuilders and that in itself, is
creating more stress.When you exercise or especially weightlifting body building exercises, you are placing a tremendous stress on your body.

This in turn will cause the cortisol hormone in your body to rise to unacceptable levels which may destroy your muscle tissues, bone density
and causes weight gain especially abdominal fat. Ohhh…that abdominal fat that would not go away.

This hormone hates your muscles and wants you to grow fat. It takes away protein from the muscles. However to be fair to this hormone, the cortisol hormone has its positive functions.

Cortisol is produced by the adrenal cortex and is commonly known as a stress hormone because the level of cortisol in your body rises sharply when you are under stress. This hormone plays an important role in your body’s metabolic function , it facilitates cardiovascular function,
carbohydrate metabolism and controls inflammation.

After all, it is a steroid hormone.As more cortisol is being produced, your muscle tissue breaks down further since the amino acids from your muscle protein is being converted into glucose for energy. This hormone also
blocks new muscle tissues from growing because it interferes in protein synthesis in your muscles.

How to lower cortisol level?• Get enough sleep – Let your body recuperate from the day’s stress and let the body rebuild its wears and tears. A lack of sleep will put your body under further stress and thus increasing cortisol levels.

Avoid stress – Take up yoga, read a book, take a break from whatever you are doing. Learn meditation and breathing techniques to reduce everyday stress. Take a week or so break from your exercise routine after 6-8 weeks of regular training. As your body learns how to relax, the level of cortisol hormone will fall correspondingly.

• Do not over train – Over training is a common issue amongst athletes of all types. This is especially so in bodybuilding and weight lifting. You are
already damaging your muscles when you lift weights, don’t let cortisol hormones rob your muscles of the much needed proteins and preventing muscle repair and growth.

Once your body and mind is free from stress, your cortisol production will be at a healthy level and you will once again see your muscles growing, provided that you are doing other things that are conducive to getting your
muscles to grow.

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When Is Best Time To Eat Protein For Building Muscles|Muscle Growth?

June 23, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Every bodybuilder and fitness enthusiast knows that you must eat enough protein for muscle growth. Without the amino acids of protein, your muscles cannot grow no matter how hard and often you train your. Protein is the building block of muscles and there are no other nutrients to
substitute protein for muscle growth.

It is recommended that if you want to grow and build muscle mass, the rule
is to eat one gram of protein per pound of your body weight per day. That is a lot of protein which many people cannot get in their normal dietary meals and protein supplementation is often necessary.

Without eating enough protein, all your muscle building training in the gym will be futile. Such a waste isn’t it?So when is the best time to eat protein to optimize muscle growth? How and which type of protein should you eat to get spectacular muscular growth?

Eat protein first thing in the morning – After a good night’s sleep, your body is in a catabolic state. That means your body is burning your muscle for energy since your glycogen store is low. So eat quickly digestible protein such as whey protein the first thing in the morning even before you brush your teeth to prevent your muscle wasting away or catabolism.

Eat protein between your meals – To keep protein flowing in your bloodstream so as to feed your muscles continuously throughout the day, take casein protein in between your meals.

Casein protein is slow to digest and as such will continuously release protein into your bloodstream to feed your muscles for many hours in between your meals. In this way, your muscles will be constantly receiving protein throughout the day.

Protein before/after gym workout – It is a known fact that eating fast to digest protein such as whey protein before your workout will promote muscle growth as your muscles are being fed as you training to build
muscles.

Then take whey protein again after your workout along with some carbohydrates to repair your muscle cells after you have damaged them during your workout.Protein before bed – Since you will be going without food for many hours when you sleep and muscle building is at its optimum
when you sleep, you must encourage your muscle to grow by eating casein protein before you sleep.

 As casein protein is slow to digest, it will continuously feed your muscles
for as long as seven hours when you sleep and thus encouraging your muscles to build and grow.So now that you know when is the best time to eat protein and to encourage building muscles, follow these tips and see your muscles growing like you have never seen before.

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What To Eat To Gain Weight And Build Muscle

June 23, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Are you underweight and don’t know what to eat to gain weight? Millions of dollars are spent each year on magazines, books, and weight gain supplements. Gaining weight does not happen overnight and requires a commitment from you, but does not have to be hard if you work out and
eat the proper foods in large enough amounts.

Numerous people are continually searching for the fastest ways to gain weight and don’t know what to eat. If you truly want to learn what to eat to gain weight and maintain it, a diet rich in calories and protein combined with a regular weight-training regimen will help you accomplish your goals.

If you are looking for the best weight gain supplement for you, take into account your diet and exercise routine before making a decision. Weight gain supplements can very beneficial when used in conjunction with the
diet and weight training routine.

The major part of your calorie and protein consumption should come from the foods you eat. Substituting a weight gain supplement for a meal is never a good idea. Your body needs the natural nutrients found in lean meats, poultry, fish, vegetables, and carbohydrates.

Weight gain supplements can be used effectively as a weight gain aid when they are used to supplement your diet, not replace part of it.A diet consisting of large amounts of protein, fats, carbs, and high in calories is essential to any weight gaining effort aided by weight gain supplements.

Training with weights is necessary if you want to build new muscle tissue, and a weight gain supplement can be used after a workout, in between meals, or as a snack but should never replace a meal.

Protein is a major component of any diet designed to add body weight. Lean red meats, fish, poultry, and eggs are excellent sources of protein. Several small meals per day containing large amounts of protein are crucial to your weight gaining effort. The question of what to eat to gain weight is not as complicated as some believe.

Along with plenty of protein, fats and carbohydrates are a big part of any weight gaining diet. By avoiding sweets empty calories, you will give your body the fuel it needs to add body mass and build new muscle tissue through the nutritious foods you eat at regular intervals during the day.

If you are finding it difficult to stick to a weight gain diet, try eating five or six smaller meals per day instead of three large ones. Keep in mind that a piece of chicken and a baked potato is always better than a shake, bar, or pill.

If you should decide to use a weight gain supplement, make certain you consume adequate amounts of food each day in addition to the supplement. Weight gain supplements can give you added protein and calories and may be especially helpful if used immediately following weight training.

Always be certain your diet contains all the required elements and use weight gain supplements wisely.Learning what to eat to gain weight is a relatively simple task. Increase your calorie intake and make certain
you are eating healthy, protein rich foods.

This combined with weight training and plenty of rest should allow your body to bulk up effectively and help you maintain your new body shape.

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Ab workout training program

December 30, 2008 By Leave a Comment

What is the best types of ab exercises to really the get your excess tummy fat to turn into muscle, today it seems everyone is after a push button to press that will achieve anything they desire without the need to work for it, a totally wrong and misguided approach to the main problem, its usually called an Ab Workout for a reason it takes work to get what you want.

I really have found only 2 types of actual exercise directly for the abs that give any sort of aid in getting the results you desire and that is Sit Ups and that is using an Ab Roller and I like this exerciser because it also helps to strengthen the lower back although results obviously vary from person to person and the amount of controlled effort put into the sets

Also use of a Power Wheel is a very good and demanding exercise indeed where your feet are strapped in like riding a bike, except that this is a single wheel device with pedals on the side the exercises suggested with this exerciser will not only give your abs the ultimate abdominal workout but will build a lot of core strength as well due to you having to tension and balance your body whilst working out with it

The above techniques should only be part of your training as the most beneficial methods for losing body fat will come from your regular gym workout combined of course with a sensible and nutritious diet built in. Here is a list of good exercises both for your strength training exercises but also to start losing unwanted body fat with

1/ Deadlifts

2/ Hill Sprints (obviously outside of gym)

3/ Pulling and Pressing exercises (ex: rowing machine)

4/ exercise bike

5/ floor Cardio Exercises (ex: lunges, burpees, flipping punchbag over and over etc)

6/ Clean and Press

Combining the above exercises will give your body a fuller workout and be more beneficial than just using targeted ab related work outs, it will also target your core strength and encompass your overall body flexibility with considerable gains in strength to all other areas of your body, the secret if there is one, is to be focused and consistent with All of your workouts.

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Fitness and Cardio Strength Training

December 27, 2008 By Leave a Comment

There are several exercises you can do here to build up a little cardio insurance for your fitness and strength training, first one that comes to mind is the “Burpee” You stand up straight then put your hands on the floor push your legs back full length then back to stooping position and stand up straight again, repeat this 8 to 10 times for about 3 sets and it will get your heart beating faster.

Another obvious cardio exercise is the good old skipping rope Why not invest in a good quality one and start putting it to use, it will serve you well as a way of building stamina and cardio fitness for years to come Lets face it is a tool that boxers use a lot and they have to be really fit don’t they so don’t sell yourself short and dismiss it out of hand.

Running is another obvious cardio exercise that millions use everyday as they pound the streets of any town or city worldwide The only thing that bothers me about this is you can really be adding up a real problem with your joints later in life and its not very nice I know I have had some experience of this, So here is a very credible alternative that works very well.

Find a grass bank that has say a 45 degree hill that stretches for about 200 yards or so and check there are no rabbit holes or the like you can twist your ankles on Start at the bottom and get down like you are in a race, then you are off and sprint up the hill all of the 200 yards or so then walk back slowly to the start

Breathe in and out normally as you do so, then do it again. Please note if you have to start with 50 Yards that’s fine too If you do this 3 or 4 times each time you do this exercise twice a week should do it, after a couple of months you should see good results

You will feel a major difference in the way your cardiovascular system is working and feeling as well as your ability to perform tasks with renewed stamina and endurance.

If you have not exercised for a long time maybe a  checkup at your doctors is in order, better to be safe, the point here is getting you stronger and feeling really Great.

Another great help when doing cardio strenght training, is doing all your exercises while wearing a weighted vest.  It gives you a harder workout, which will help you to maximize your efforts.  If you would like to get one, take a look here.

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