Do you ever wonder how to shrink the fat on your thighs or reduce the flab on the back of your arms? Ever wake and up and dream about wearing your favorite pants from the glory days of college? Well, short of plastic surgery, there is no way to simply eliminate certain problem areas.
The reality is that slimming your figure is not a simple task. In order to lose weight in one spot, you must be willing to work your entire body. So, the women who want thinner hips and the men who seek to shed the spare tire must attack the body as a whole. You must lift each body part, and to see the best gains I advocate performing more multi-joint exercises such as bench presses, rows, squats and lunges.
These types of exercises challenge the cardiovascular system as well as stimulating the muscles because they require a lot of effort and force the heart to work harder. Another great trick to speed metabolism during lifting workouts is to steadily reduce your rest periods. This is an advanced technique and should be changed according to perceived exertion levels, experience and training goals.
You can perform all the crunches and inner/outer thigh lifts you want, but it takes more to see the desired results. First, you must perform a consistent progressive strength training program that calls for you to work each body part twice per week. Next, you must engage in a moderate amount of aerobic exercise to aid in boosting metabolism. Finally, you need to follow a sound eating plan (not necessarily a diet). With hard work and consistency, you will begin to see positive changes.
With that said, you can toss away all those exercise tapes or gadgets that promise quick fixes or spot reduction. The best approach is developing a sound nutritional and fitness plan with the intent of making long-term lifestyle changes. This philosophy, albeit slower and more difficult, will deliver permanent results and prevent you from feeling disappointment with unfulfilled claims from fraudulent fitness marketers today.
See how these five proven fitness tips will change your figure in just 3 months:
1. Perform strength training circuits for 30-40 minutes. Consider a circuit as 3 different exercises performed consecutively. Do 3 circuits.
2. Following the circuit, perform 15-20 minutes of high intensity cardiovascular training (perceived exertion = at least 7 on a scale of 1-10).
3. Split your routine into 3 days - total body, chest/back/triceps and legs/shoulders/biceps.
4. Perform 3 sets of 10-12 reps for each exercise in the circuit.
5. Rest no more than 60 seconds between each circuit set, and no more than 2 minutes between each circuit.
Brian Schiff, PT, CSCS, is a respected author, physical therapist and fitness expert. You can sign-up for his free online newsletter @ http://www.thefitnessedge.cc.
Copyright © 2004 Brian Schiff
Tags: body sculpting, fitness exercises, strength training, Toning exercises, weight lifting, womens fitnessbody sculpting, fitness exercises, strength training, Toning exercises, weight lifting, womens fitnessShare This
I wanted to kick off this article by reflecting back to 1985. I was a young boy watching Berry Gordy’s The Last Dragon movie with a few of my friends. Like most boys I was amazed by the speed and grace of martial arts.
For those of you not familiar with the movie; the main character Leroy Green (a.k.a. Bruce Leroy) searches for the “master” to reach his final level of martial arts mastery known as the glow. During the course of his journey he must fight an evil martial arts expert known as Sho’nuff (a.k.a. The Shogun of Harlem) and finds himself having to rescue a beautiful singer from an obsessed music promoter. I know most of you are probably saying, “What kind of movie is this?” remember it was the 80’s.
The most significant part of the movie, in my opinion, occurs during the final battle between Bruce Leroy and Sho’nuff. The setting is an abandoned warehouse (why wouldn’t't it be I thought all movies had to have an abandoned warehouse scene) where Leroy and Sho’nuff have been battling back and forth. Sho’nuff has Leroy held over a large tank of water and continually submerges Leroy’s head into the water while asking the question, “Who is the master?” As Leroy is being held under water he starts to think back to the many lessons that he has learned during the course of his journey and realizes that the answers he has been searching for have always been within him. When Sho’nuff pulls him from the water one final time to ask, “Who is the master”, Leroy confidently answers.”I am”. Leroy develops the “glow” by believing in himself and defeats Sho’nuff before rescuing the girl.
The point that I’m trying to establish is that everyone that I speak with today seems to be in search of the “master”. Advertisers hammer home their messages. Store layouts, movies, television, radio, and magazines and of course the internet all sending us messages of where to find the “master”.
We’ve become a society in search of instant gratification. If you call this 800 number, if you send back this card, if you log onto this site..I’m sure you’ve heard them all. The health and fitness industry has capitalized on this concept. You know the one’s..take this pill for 30 days and lose 30lbs., buy this ab crunch gadget use it for 2 minutes a day and be shredded, hook these pads up to your stomach and stimulate your abs for only minutes a day! All of these things to help us get the “glow”.
I hope you understand that we are no different than Bruce Leroy. We are searching for answers that are within ourselves. When it comes to your health and wellness, you are the “master”. You have to be willing to put in some hard work, sweat a little and do your best to have a clean diet. There are no magic pills or gadgets to help, and please don’t hook any type of electronic pads up to your stomach!
Start 2006 off right and remember, “You are the master”.
Shawn is an independent performance coach. He is a graduate of Waynesburg College where he was an all-conference defensive back and attended
CFL/NFL tryouts in 1994. He is a certified Renegade Training practioner under world renown Strength &
Conditioning Coach John Davies, and is a certified Speed / Agility and Quickness Trainer through
N.E.S.T.A. (National Endurance and Sports Trainers Association)
Visit his website http://www.gamespeed.biz which is the most comprehensive web site regarding
performance training for anyone. He delivers top notch products and information for anyone!
Tags: athletic training, exercise, fitness, performance training, strength trainingathletic training, exercise, fitness, performance training, strength trainingShare This
Ask most people what their New Year’s Resolutions were and you’ll likely find the answer- lose weight. With so many of us wanting to shed the pounds, why is the obesity pandemic reaching new heights?
Weight loss tends to conjure up images of near starvation and tons of cardio. Most of us do not even start on our New Year’s Resolution simply because the thought of it stops us dead in our tracks.
What if we had some tools for weight loss? 4 simple ideas that are practically guaranteed to shed fat, drop the weight, and slim us down? That would be a major first step towards a weight loss program.
Tool 1- Strength Training
We have to recognize this as a viable fat-loss method. Every pound of muscle burns 35-50 calories per day. Adding lean muscle mass is the best way to jump start and sustain fat reduction.
Tool 2- Cardio
Cardio is good, but it’s not the only tool we should use. Cardio should be done as a partner to the other ideas. Anything that gets your heart pumping will do: walking, jogging, running, dancing, swimming, biking, or house cleaning.
Tool 3- Nutrition
Nutrition is often the hardest part of the weight loss process. We simply forgot how to eat well in our culture. We need to eat protein, carbs, and fat to sustain our way of life. Cut one of the three out and imbalances will occur.
Tool 4- Rest
Rest is not a luxury. It is a necessity. We should eat well every day and we should workout 5-6 times per week. The leftover 1-2 days are meant for rest. Our muscles need time to rebuild and repair themselves.
Using strength training, cardio, nutrition and rest to our advantage will result in fat loss. There is no magic bullet. Just simple and effective tools to create the body we want. Make a promise to yourself right now. Try using the above tools consistently and to the best of your ability for 4 weeks. You’ll look great and feel amazing.
Copyright 2005 http://www.strength-training-woman.com
Lynn VanDyke is the proud owner of http://www.strength-training-woman.com. She is a personal fitness professional, yoga instructor and nutritionist. Her site is quickly becoming the authority for all things strength training.
Tags: exercise, fat loss, fitness, goals, strength training, weight loss, womanexercise, fat loss, fitness, goals, strength training, weight loss, womanShare This