Cardio Exercise…
A huge variety of fitness activities provide cardiovascular benefits. If you’re breathing hard and can feel your heart beating, you’re doing cardio. Because walking is fun, easy, and requires little time and no financial investment, it’s our top choice for cardiovascular activity.
Walking uses your body’s largest muscle group, your legs. Because it’s rhythmic (you repeat the same basic movements), and it’s aerobic (you take in and use more oxygen than usual), when walking is sustained for more than several minutes at a time it provides fantastic cardiovascular benefits - including weight loss - and can be quickly and easily implemented into your daily routine.
Walking at a moderate pace for about 30-60 minutes burns stored fat, and can build muscle to help speed up your metabolism, burning fat even while you sleep! So, let’s start moving…
First, wake up your muscles by walking at a warm-up pace for five minutes, signaling to your muscles that they can’t just sit back and burn up the available sugars, they need to tap into your fat reserves. This means not starting your daily walk at a high speed. On the contrary, a low-intensity or low-speed start signals your muscles that you are engaging in a long-term activity, prompting the burning of stored fat, and not just sugar burning.
After five minutes, pick up the pace. The speed to walk at for optimal fat burning is a “determined” pace, at which rate you should be breathing noticeably harder, but still able to carry on a conversation in full sentences. By doing this, you raise your heart rate to about 70% of your maximum heart rate, which acts as a
catalyst for burning stored fat.
Try walking as though you’re 15 minutes late for an important appointment. Now, start with walking at this pace for 30 minutes each day. For optimal weight loss, walk at least 5 days of the week, with weekly time spent walking eventually reaching 5 or more hours each week.
Use the following “cheat sheet” to help implement a quick and easy walking program into your daily routine:
Start with a few gentle stretches
Begin walking at an easy pace for five minutes
Walk 30-60 minutes at about 70% of your maximum heart rate
Cool down at a slower pace for 5 minutes
Finish with a few gentle stretches
For longer walks, walk 60 minutes at your target heart rate, and slow down a bit to complete 90 or 120 minutes at a comfortable pace
Walking an hour a day is also associated with drastically decreasing your risk of heart disease, breast cancer, colon cancer, diabetes and stroke. Find time to work one-hour walks into your life. It’s well worth waking up an hour early to do so. After all, aren’t you worth it?
When you feel you can comfortably walk an hour on a single day each week, try the following weekly schedule for increased weight loss and added health benefits, alternating the days to fit your personal weekly schedule:
Sunday: Long Day, 90+ minutes
Monday: Day Off
Tuesday: Short Day, 30+ minutes
Wednesday: Short Day, 30+ minutes
Thursday: Long Day, 90+ minutes
Friday: Short Day, 30+ minutes
Saturday: Long Day, 60+ minutes
On all days, remember to start with some light stretches. Start walking slow for 5 minutes. Walk at your “determined” pace of 70% of your maximum heart rate for the time specified, concluding with an easy pace for five minutes. Always finish with gentle stretching. Lastly, when walking for weight loss, you should take no more than one to two days off each week.
Keep up the water intake and your new ‘fat loss‘ walking program - I’ll see you in 7 days to check in on your progress and to give you the second Secret in our Health & Fitness Tactics Course.
For a ton of f.ree, valuable tips, tricks, and secrets visit: http://www.MaximizeYourMetabolism.com
© 2002-2005 Wisdom Books, LLC & Christopher Guerriero WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this blurb with it: Christopher Guerriero, is the founder of the National Metabolic & Longevity Research Center and a best-selling author, speaker, and coach to millions. He is creator of the award-winning ‘Maximize Your Metabolism’ system. To learn more about this step-by-step program, and to sign up for FR*EE how-to articles and F.REE teleseminars, visit http://www.MaximizeYourMetabolism.com
Tags: boost metabolism, health fitness tips, increase metabolism, lose weight, metabolism, speed up metabolismboost metabolism, health fitness tips, increase metabolism, lose weight, metabolism, speed up metabolismShare This
If you walk into most successful businesses, you’ll notice they have something in common, my professor, Peter F. Drucker, used to say.
“They’re boring.”
Oh yes, they’re making money, but basically, they’re lifting the same rock up the same hill, day after day.
They’ve developed routines that they find are efficient.
Muscle is your body’s wealth, something you draw on for energy, power, and propulsion. It is stored capacity, waiting to be deployed.
And it is the residue of routine, as well.
If you ask most people why they don’t start or stick with exercise routines, you’ll generally hear the reply, “It’s boring!”
They have a basic misconception about wealth.
It’s all about creating a surplus, whether it’s of energy, money, or power. If you hope to survive as a business or as a body, you need to build a profit, a surplus.
A fit body is the vessel that will transport you from a healthy today to a healthy tomorrow. It is the defense against a potentially hostile or sudddenly competitive environment.
It is also a source of self-confidence and a visible statement of your belief in your own capabilities.
And it results from doing that extra repetition; an added set of exercises that you think you just can’t get yourself to do, because it’s too hard.
Or, because you told yourself, “It’s too boring.”
Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of http://www.Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone
Tags: business coach, executive coach, fitness, life coach, muscle, sales coach, speech coach, success coach, UCLAbusiness coach, executive coach, fitness, life coach, muscle, sales coach, speech coach, success coach, UCLAShare This
It’s been called the world’s oldest medicine, the miracle fat burner, and is known in some parts of the U.S. as “Mormon tea.” Ephedra (also called Ma-huang or epitonin) has been used for its healing powers for more than 5000 years by the Chinese, who discovered the plant’s healing properties. So why was it banned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2004, and more importantly, why was the ban recently lifted?
What is Ephedra?
Ephedra grows all over the world, and in the Western United States, this flowering shrub can be found in deserts and sagebrush areas. The plant can be ground into powder for capsules, or dried and used in tea. Ephedrine is the “active” ingredient in ephedra, responsible for its healing properties. Ephedrine is a nerve stimulant similar to adrenaline, but not as strong as amphetamine.
What Does It Do?
Dieters have long known the powerful effects of ephedra in promoting weight loss. Basically, ephedrine creates a thermogenic response, speeding up metabolism and expediting the body’s fat burning rate while preserving muscle. Ephedra has proved to be particularly effective for people with a slow metabolism, who have previously had trouble losing weight.
Additionally, ephedrine can be used to treat bronchial asthma and cough by relaxing the air passages in the lungs. For this same reason, the plant is helpful in treating the effects allergies and hay fever. Ephedra can assist in fighting a minor cold by causing perspiration and urination (to relieve swelling and fluid retention). Alternative uses for ephedra include treating muscle and joint conditions such as bursitis, arthritis, and rheumatism. A synthetic (man-made) replacement, called pseudoephedrine, was created and is widely used in common over-the-counter medications such as Sudafed.
Why the Ban?
Possible side effects of ephedrine include insomnia, dry mouth, nervousness, general weakness, poor digestion, irritability, headache, dizziness, increased blood pressure, increased heart rate, and heart palpitations. Not surprisingly, this list is markedly similar to over-the-counter medications with the active ingredient pseudoephedrine.
Some argue that the pharmaceutical companies have organized lobbyists to target ephedra because it was cutting into their sales for weight loss drugs and asthma drugs (bronchodilators). Others believe ephedra is not dangerous, but simply got some bad press as a result of a handful of people who intentionally misused ephedra or a synthetic replication of the isolated part of ephedra (ephedrine). Ephedra activists insist that human nature simply cannot be regulated and no one can control how people use (or abuse) any supplement, herb, or drug. How can you protect customers who ignore warning labels or double their doses?
The FDA inflicted a ban on ephedra in late 2003 (which became effective in early 2004), declaring an “unreasonable risk.” This decision was based on public comments, literature review, adverse event reports and scientific studies. Dieters were devastated, feeling that their right to safely and appropriately use this herb had been stripped from them.
Why Was the Ban Lifted?
After the conclusion of several court cases (including some high-profile cases), the FDA stated in its final ruling that only five deaths were attributed solely and directly to ephedra. Keep in mind, according to the American Herbal Products Association, approximately 12 to 17 million people consumed ephedra during 1999. Ephedra sales in 2002 were close to $1.3 billion. What you may not know is that in 1994, over 100,000 people died due to adverse reactions or overconsumption of prescription drugs.
Is Ephedra Safe to Use?
According to the FDA, ephedra is safe for human consumption when it is taken in the recommended dosages, and when all warning labels are strictly observed. Obviously, women who are pregnant or nursing, and people with certain diseases (such as high blood pressure) should NOT consume ephedra or ephedrine. It is advised that you check with your physician before taking ephedra.
Where Can You Get Ephedra?
Currently, one company claims to be the only U.S. supplier of ephedra for weight loss. You can purchase ephedra online at www.BetaFuelDirect.com
Amy S. Grant is an avid fitness enthusiast who enjoys SCUBA diving, photography, and empowering people to achieve their goals.
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