The Health Blog

So you’ve slacked off a bit and avoided exercise. Maybe your job demands too much of your time or you simply fell out of the routine. I have news for you. Whether you’ve taken off one year, ten years or haven’t exercised a day in your life – it’s never too late to start. You see there are problems with living a life devoid of exercise. Big problems. Your weight rises along with your blood pressure and cholesterol. Your muscles and joints degenerate at an astounding rate leaving you with daily aches and pains. Your body becomes weak, making you susceptible to all kinds of medical issues.

Why Should I Start Now?

You’ve heard about the benefits that consistent exercise brings, but what if you haven’t been consistent? Should you even start at all? This has been the subject of many medical studies and the results are unanimous: Exercise helps improve your quality of life even if you start late. Researchers are constantly finding new benefits to consistent exercise. It’s no wonder that Dr. Robert Butler, of the National Institute on Aging, once said “If exercise could be put into a pill, it would be the single most prescribed medicine in the world.”

Imagine if a pill could offer all of these benefits (without harmful side effects):

· Substantially reduces the risk of coronary heart disease and osteoporosis

· Decreases the risk for stroke, colon cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure

· Helps to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight

· Contributes to healthy bones, muscles and joints

· Helps relieve anxiety and depression

· Promotes well-being and reduces stress

· Is associated with fewer doctor visits, hospitalizations and medications

· Helps prevent and treat chronic medical conditions associated with old age

· Increases energy levels and promotes sound sleep

· Strengthens immune system

Exercise may not be something that you can gulp down with a glass of water, but it will offer you all of the above benefits that can greatly enhance your quality of life. I know what you are thinking. Those benefits sound great, but I can’t exercise because:

Exercise is painful.

Not if you do the type most suitable for you.

Exercise is boring.

Most people who exercise find it to be quite enjoyable.

Exercise takes too long.

It only takes 30-60 minutes a day.

Exercise is confusing.

Not when you work with a trained professional

Exercise if for young people.

Studies have shown that exercise if for all ages.

Get Started the Right Way

Many people have started an exercise program only to quit days later. Now that you have decided that exercise may be worth your time after all, ensure your success with the following tips:

Make a Commitment

You know the meaning and value of a solid commitment. It’s in your blood. So don’t view exercise as something you will merely try. You will only reap the true benefits of exercise when you stick with it. A great way to reinforce your commitment is to solicit the support of your friends and family. Tell them how you plan to improve your health and quality of life through exercise – who knows, they may join you.

Set Reachable Goals

This is an immensely important ingredient to your success. Don’t start your exercise program with unreasonable expectations. If you expect to lose all of your unwanted pounds, drop your blood pressure and cure your joint pain all in one week then you will be sorely disappointed.

Remember that it took years for your body to fall out of shape so it makes sense that it will take some time to regain it. The key to unlocking all of the benefits of exercise lies in one word: consistency. Only then will your body be transformed.

Rearrange Your Schedule

They say that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. This may be because his schedule simply didn’t allow for it. The truth is that as we age there is a tendency to become ‘stuck in our ways.’ The thought of rearranging your schedule may leave you a bit squeamish. Remind yourself that exercise is worth your time and then think long and hard about your daily schedule. The fact is that you do have time to lend toward exercise – you simply need to find it. Set aside 30-60 minutes for exercise and then stick with it.

Increase the Challenge

You should start your exercise program with the thought of easing into it. Since you haven’t exercised in awhile your body will need to build up strength and endurance. Consider a car that has been sitting in your garage for years. You wouldn’t turn it on and instantly slam down on the gas would you? You need to warm it up. However, this warm up period should not last forever. Your body has an amazing ability to adapt to new challenges and will grow complacent when asked to do the same exercises over and over. When your routine begins to feel easy take that as a hint to increase the challenge. Don’t let another day pass you by. You deserve the good life.

Take action now.

Related Exercise Articles

While is is well-known that exercise is a necessity for effective weight loss, there is quite a bit of conflicting information as to what kind of exercise and how much of it will produce optimal fat burning. Experts often disagree as to what the “correct” exercise is for maximum weight loss. This disagreement is often due to a misinterpretation of research that only gives a part of the whole story. In addition, different individuals will actually benefit from different exercise programs, so universal exercise recommendations really cannot be made.

Let’s begin with what the current research on exercise physiology tells us. It is well-established that it takes approximately 30 minutes of any kind of exercise for the body to burn off its glycogen (stored sugar) reserves and begin burning fat. So, most experts recommend at least 30 minutes of exercise, and generally 60 minutes or more may be recommended to get a good amount of fat burning. Now, if you are going to be exercising for 30 to 60 minutes, or maybe more, what type of exercise would you be able to do for that length of time? It probably would have to be low to medium intensity. In other words, you’re probably not going to be able to run full speed or do any other type of high-intensity exercise for 30 to 60 minutes without a rest, unless you happen to be an elite athlete, and even then you’d be struggling. So, by default, the common recommendation for exercise to lose weight has been 30 to 60 minutes of low to medium intensity aerobic exercise. Aerobic translates to “in the presence of oxygen”, which in common language means that aerobic exercise is any type of activity that you can do without gasping for breath.

In recent years, some experts have changed their recommendations to using a more intense anaerobic (“without oxygen”) exercise program for weight loss. This would include things like intense weight lifting, and something called “interval training”. Interval training involves brief bursts of high intensity activity with periods of rest or low intensity activity in between. For instance, your could sprint at full speed for 30 to 60 seconds and once you were winded, you could walk at an easy pace for a couple of minutes until you could catch your breath, then repeat the cycle several more times.. Since this type of exercise is much more physically demanding, it is done over a much shorter overall workout period – perhaps 20 to 40 minutes (with half or more of that time being rest or low intensity activity), as compared to the 30 to 60 minutes of continuous activity as recommended for aerobic exercise. The question is, how do the two types of exercise compare in terms of their ability to promote fat burning?

The aerobic exercise promoters point to the research that was mentioned earlier that has shown that any exercise, no matter how intense requires at least 30 minutes to use up the body’s stored glycogen (the body will normally burn glycogen before it will burn fat) before fat burning can begin. So, they say, short periods of even highly intense exercise won’t burn much fat and is therefore not a good choice for promoting weight loss. But they are only seeing part of the story.

It is true that you must exercise for at least 30 minutes to begin to achieve fat burning – but that’s at the time you are exercising. Brief bursts of intense anaerobic exercise does something that even quite a lot of low to medium intensity aerobic exercise does not. Intense anaerobic exercise stimulates the production of growth hormone, which is a strong stimulator of fat burning. The thing is, the release of growth hormone triggered by intense anaerobic exercise comes 24 to 48 hours AFTER the exercise, and then it produces considerably more fat burning than is possible with all but extremely long periods of low to medium intensity aerobic exercise.

Because of this effect, most people will lose weight much more easily by doing shorter periods of more intense exercise. 20 to 40 minutes of heavy weightlifting, interval training (which could be done on foot, on a bicycle, swimming, kickboxing, etc.Any kind of activity in which there are periodic bursts of intense exertion interspersed with rest periods, or periods of low intensity activity is typically preferable in the long run for weight control than even long hours of lower intensity aerobic exercise.

Now, you’ll notice that I said “most people”. There is an exception to the rule. People under considerable stress, either emotional or physical, or both, in their daily lives are prone to overworked adrenal glands. The adrenal glands do a lot of things in the body, but with regards to weight loss, they produce two hormones. One hormone is cortisol, which promotes fat deposition in the lower abdomen. This is typically a saggy, pendulous fat held below the waistline. The other hormone the adrenals produce is adrenaline (also called epinephrine), which actually promotes fat burning. Since the adrenals produce cortisol which causes fat deposition and adrenaline which promotes fat burning, you might assume that these two hormones cancel each other out. Unfortunately, cortisol production can be carried out by a much longer time by the adrenal glands than can the production of adrenaline, so long-term, the effects of high cortisol production (deposition of fat in the lower belly), will overcome whatever fat burning might occur from the short-term adrenaline production.

The adrenals are influenced by physical stress as well as mental stress, so for someone who is under a lot of stress in general in his or her life, high-intensity exercise will only add to the total stress and will tend to make the adrenals produce a lot of cortisol, and therefore will tend to promote lower abdomen weight gain. Yes, you read that right – excessive exercise for someone under a lot of stress can actually cause that person to deposit MORE fat around the lower belly! This can result in the frustrating situation in which one exercises more and more and harder and harder to try to get rid of that lower abdomen stomach “pooch”, but never can seem to get rid of it. Because the intense exercise is stimulating more cortisol production, that person is fighting a losing battle. Because of this effect, it is recommended that people under a lot of stress and/or who have most of their weight held in the lower abdomen stick to relatively low intensity aerobic exercise. This kind of activity is usually helpful for controlling stress and reducing the level of cortisol, thereby making it easier to get rid of the deposition of fat around the lower abdomen.

I hope that this article has given you a better concept of how to maximize your exercise routine for the best possible weight loss results.

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There are a number of ways you can boost your metabolic rate. Exercise, diet and lifestyle are all important areas in which you can make changes and increase your metabolism. In this article I will discuss how an effective exercise plan can help improve your metabolism, how to implement such an exercise plan and the additional benefits of maintaining such an exercise plan.

Exercise is a great way to boost your metabolism because it burns calories both immediately and also keeps burning them in the long term. The actual act of exercising will burn calories and over time your body will adapt to your exercise regime and burn an increased number of calories overall. Exercise can be split into two types both of which assist your metabolism in different ways.

1) CARDIOVASCULAR EXERCISE:- Cardiovascular exercises include; cycling, running and swimming. Alternatively, you can try a sport such as football or tennis. Basically, anything which gets you moving and gets your heart pumping can be classed as cardiovascular exercise. The key is to find something that is fun and that will keep you stimulated. Cardiovascular exercise helps boost your metabolism by teaching your body to burn fat whilst exercising and over time whilst resting aswell.

2) WEIGHT TRAINING:- Weight training includes; chest presses, shoulder presses and lateral pulldowns. Basically, anything which involves lifting relatively heavy weights for 8-12 repetitions in order to build muscle mass can be classified as weight training. With weight training you need to be a little more careful than with cardiovascular exercise because there is an increased risk of injury. Start with weights that you are happy with then increase them slowly. If you are unsure about anything ask for advice from one of the trainers in the gym.

The actual act of weight training burns few calories (in comparison with cardiovascular exercsie). However, weight training will lead to an increased muscle mass over time and maintaining your muscles will burn an increased amount of calories in the long term. You must be aware that the additional calories that you will burn as a result of having bigger muscles will not be substantial. Therefore, you need to make sure you combine your weight training with cardiovascular exercise to achieve the best results.

Ideally, you should try and train three or more times per week with each session consisting of an equal mixture of cardiovascular exercise and weight training. If you have time to do more then that’s great but try to make sure you perform at least three hours training per week. As I stated above, if you are having difficulties with any areas of your training visit the closest fitness centre and discuss these difficulties with one of the trainers. Tell them what you are trying to achieve with your exercise program and they should be able to set you on your way.

Apart from metabolism boosting benefits there are a number of other advantages you will begin to notice from an improved exercise regime. These include;

1) INCREASED ENERGY LEVELS:- The strength of your heart will increase as a result of the increased cardiovascular exercise. As your heart develops it will be able to pump a greater volume of blood through the body, sending energy to where it is needed.

2) IMPROVED APPEARANCE:- As you lose fat and gain muscle the overall appearance of your body will improve. Exercise will give your body a more toned, defined appearance.

3) IMPROVED OVERALL HEALTH:- Regular exercise is believed to reduce the symptoms associated with arthiritis, diabetes, high blood pressure and more. It can also get your body’s organs working more effectively and improve your overall physical strength and power.

4) IMPROVED MENTAL HEALTH:- Apart from physical benefits exercise is thought to improve mental health also. There are a number of theories behind this. Some believe exercise allows you to empty your mind and focus. Others believe the discipline associated with exercise helps you organise your mind. Physical exercise is also believed to trigger the release of chemicals which lead to a happy, elevated state of mind.

Overall, exercise is a really important factor in improving your metabolic rate. Physical activity can increase the number of calories you burn at the time of performance and also lead to an increased number of calories being burned in the future. Furthermore, the related benefits really make it something that you should try. Have a look at your daily routine, see where you can implement some cardiovascular exercise and weight training then stick at it for a few weeks. You will start to notice a boost in your metabolism and more.

Muscle Building Exercises & Tips For Skinny Guys

Before we start looking at what is the best time for exercise? We should consider some essential points to be discussed about exercise. Exercise is very beneficial for every person. It gives you healthy lifestyle and relaxes the body as well as mind. When you exercise it’s not only the body which get the benefits exercise also helps relaxing your mind. Taking exercise on regular basis will help benefit your body and it also gives you peace of mind. So if you want to know about the best time to exercise the best thing I want to tell you is it could be any time that suits you just grab some time from your daily routine life and start taking exercise for more healthier and relaxing life.

Due to busy lifestyle now days it is becoming very difficult for all of us to get time for exercise. Like most of people don’t have time to take exercise in morning. Some people take exercise in afternoon or even at night. But they always keep thinking if it is the best time for exercise? Here in this article we will discuss the benefits of exercise at different times like morning, afternoon and night.

What Suits Your Body

If you had observed in your life every person has different approach to everything in life. Like for example some of us can get up early in morning and feel fresh at work in early hours of day, but some of us like to get up at noon or even late and feel comfortable to work at night.  This simply means every one has to decide on their own what time suits them to do something. It will be easier if we say some of us are “night person” and on the other hand some are “morning person”. Similar is the case with exercise one has to decide on one’s own what time suits to exercise. If you think you can workout in morning then you should go for it or other wise you can take exercise at night.

According to Research.

If you want the answer of what research says about it then neither morning nor the night are the best times to take exercise. According to research the beat time to take exercise is late afternoon which would fall somewhere between 4 -5. The reason is that body is at the maximum temperature at this time and muscles are more warm and flexible. When your body is at max temperature and muscles are warm & flexible there are very low chances for any injury. Body’s strength and endurance is at the peak at this time which makes it best time for exercise.

For those who particularly want to know what is the best time for exercise? Is it morning or night? The answer is morning. As the research says that if you exercise at night the only calories you burn will be out of the last meal you had. On the other hand if you take exercise at morning you can burn actually all the stored fats in your body which will be more beneficial for weight lose. It also enhance the working you metabolism which means that by taking exercise in morning you activate the metabolism as such that the whole day working of yours will burn fats.

Conclusion.

Keeping every aspect in mind now its time for you to decide which time in a day suits you to take exercise. You can go with research which says late afternoon is the best time for exercise workout. Or you can go for morning or night time to take exercise but the most important thing is that exercise gives you healthy body and mind which is very necessary for a good life. So what ever time in a day suits you just grab some time for exercise and make it your routine and enjoy more active and healthier life ahead.

Effective exercise and training programs follow certain principles that allow it to help people keep fit. It may be known in various terms and is achieved through different means, but the basic principles behind exercise and fitness is always there. Knowing them and applying them in your own fitness regimen can help make it more effective in showing you the results that you need.

Exercise Variables How effective are the exercise routine that you follow would depend on certain factors. How you work over certain variables in exercise and fitness will help determine how fast you can lose weight, improve stamina or increase athletic performance. Here are the four exercise variables that you need to consider when trying to develop your own fitness program or regimen.

Exercise Frequency- this refers to how often you exercise. The frequency will allow you to develop an exercise regimen that you can go into for a certain period on, let us say, a weekly basis. If you plan to work out for two days in a week, you can speed up getting results by adding another day of exercise for the week.

Exercise Intensity- this refers to the level of physical activity of your exercise program. How hard you push yourself on each exercise session is also a factor in the effectiveness of an exercise and training program. For example, determining between bouts of jogging running and walking on one session would have different results. Doing more running rather than short bouts of walking or jogging would certainly have a different result from walking through each session most of the time.

Type of Exercise- this refers to the type of exercise included in your regimen. There are different types of exercises to choose from with each type being able to build up a certain part of the body better than the other. Knowledge of these types of exercises can help you develop a certain regimen that can be focused on improving target portions of the body.

Duration of Exercise- this refers to the time that is spent in doing the exercises. How long you stay in doing each exercise session will ultimately determine how fast or how slow that you get results. It may also be required to determine the duration of the exercise program along with the other exercise variables in order to either avoid injury or improve results.

These exercise and training variables can be used in developing a certain exercise program that would allow better performance as well as results. You may be able to start with using the different exercise variables in a way that you feel comfortable with. Along the way, you can then change any or all of these variables to either increase the efficiency as well as to reach the target results. The variables can also be used ideally just to make the exercise program even more interesting once they start to become too routine.

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Healthy eating refers to eating suitable foods in an appropriate quantity. It’s what fuels our bodies, and helps us live longer lives, and fight off curable diseases.

Healthy Eating and Nutrition

Healthy eating is vital to living a harmonious and balanced life. It prevents damage to your body’s cells, and even keeps your skin soft and smooth.

If you consume a high level of sweets, it will lower your immune system defenses. Therefore, it is essential to consume those kinds of foods in moderation, or better yet, just eliminate them from your diet.

On the opposite end of the food spectrum, proper nutrition must be followed. Eating a balanced diet gives enough nourishment to stay fit, as long as you combine it with regular exercise.

When you practice healthy eating and nutrition, it will end the majority of your health problems, allowing you to live healthier. In this age of rapid rising health care costs, staying healthy can have a positive effect on your family’s finances. A poor diet of fatty, processed foods leads to obesity, which can rapidly turn into health problems, and extra medical expenses.

Healthy eating is a lifelong commitment that requires discipline and changing your eating patterns. Try consuming plenty of leafy green vegetables that contain high levels of vitamins and minerals.

Consuming fast food, sweets and processed food does not contribute to healthy eating patterns and it will erode your body’s nutritional level, allowing it to fall to disease.

An Apple a Day

Consuming enough fruits will ease the every day load on your digestive system. Fruits are highly rich in vitamins and fiber. Fruit provides enough natural sugars to eliminate your cravings for other sweets. You can keep your system clean and healthy by consuming a lot of fruit each day.

Become a Healthy Vegetarian

Some people think that becoming a vegetarian is an extreme form of nutrition. Also, there are many people who still don’t believe it’s possible to obtain enough protein and healthy fats from being a vegetarian.

To set the record straight, if you load up on rice, nuts and grains, you will have more than enough protein. The fact is, most Americans, and folks of other nationalities eat too much protein. You can easily eat too much protein, but it’s very difficult to eat enough fruits and vegetables.

Eat in Moderation

Never eat a lot of food at one sitting. It’s better to eat 4-6 smaller portions throughout the day. A hearty breakfast can keep you going through the day, and should never be skipped. However, your dinner should be eaten early to avoid putting an extra strain on your digestive system while you are trying to sleep.

Exercise and More Exercise

Exercise is probably the best way of keeping a person fit and healthy. Getting enough exercise goes hand-in-hand with healthy eating, and the combinations of the two are the best way to keep you fit and healthy. Proper exercise also helps regulate your eating habits. You are not as hungry after a good workout, and the calories you burn while exercising help you lose weight faster.

If you are serious about healthy eating, be sure to have a look at a Vita Mix blender, there are a lot of free Vita Mix recipes that are very healthy.

Healthy 3 min meal 4 wt loss & muscle gain

Related Healthy Articles

It’s true that healthy eating is the way to go, but if you don’t have any healthy food or ingredients in your pantry it is going to be a lot harder to stick to the healthy foods. When changing your eating lifestyle for the healthier there are a few key items that you will want to keep on hand. By stocking you shelves with these basics you will be ready and able to make a healthy meal anytime.

Seasonings – Having the right seasonings is what can make or break a healthy dish. Here is a listing of a few key seasonings to have in your spice rack. With these on hand you will find cooking with healthy recipes a piece of cake. Salt, Black Pepper, Cumin, Italian seasoning, chilli powder, crushed Red Pepper, ground cinnamon and ground ginger

Canned Foods – There are many canned foods to keep on hand. These can be used as flavouring for a dish or as the base. By keeping the right ingredients around healthy eating is simple. These include; canned Tomatoes and Tomato paste, canned lentils, various broths and canned beans.

Condiments – This is probably the most important of all the healthy foods to have on hand. With these condiments even if you are missing an ingredient from a healthy recipe you will be able to find a great replacement to make your healthy meals delicious. Condiments such as Dijon Mustard, Balsamic Vinegar, and Extra Virgin Olive Oil are great to have with your meals and really finish off the dish nicely.

Refrigerator Basics – It is always a good idea to keep these cold box items on hand for your healthy recipes. Skimmed milk, Greek yoghurt or low fat yoghurt, fruit juices and feta cheese can all be used in snacks and are a tasty and healthy way of eating in between meals. Snacking is one of the biggest reasons why people put on weight so by making your snacks healthy, you are allowing yourself to indulge whilst not eating unhealthy foods.

By having all of these ingredients in your kitchen you will be well prepared for cooking practically any healthy recipe. Cooking healthy is good for you and your family. Getting a good supply of healthy recipes and testing them out trying new things and adjusting when necessary will not only help you feel better, but look better too. Salmon is a great and tasty meal and with plenty of recipes about you can add in a range of tastes and spices to suit your pallet.

Easy healthy recipes including salmon recipes can be found online and with healthy eating the name of the game at the moment, make sure you are getting your fill.

Alright, so these are the Top 5 Lower Abdominal exercises, which is the abdominal muscle group that develops your side abs, or your abdominals that wrap around your waist, and your lower abs. These exercises aren’t just made up, but they are honestly ranked among all other lower abdominal exercises as the Top 5 Rectus Abs exercises. These exercises, along with other main abdominal exercises, are actually researched, rated, and ranked by researchers that use electromyography equipment.

How This Workout Is Actually Ranked:

Now first of all, what is electromyography equipment? Well, this equipment tests the amount of muscle activity in an exercise, and monitors the rectus abs (main “six pack abs”) and the lower abs during different exercises. Now going back to the research and proof that this is the single best ab exercise, this specific abdominal exercise tested as the HIGHEST most powerful, fast six pack-building ab exercise among thirteen separate exercises that were tested as well.

Bicycle Maneuver:

The first work out we have on our list of amazing top 5 lower abdominal exercises is the Bicycle Crunch. This move is a great abdominal exercise to work on the obliques, which are the side of your abs (the waist) and the lower abdominals.

Directions To This Move:

1. Start the exercise and lay on your back.

2. Press your lower back, while maintaining the position on your back.

3. Put your hands behind your head and bring your knees to a 45-degree angle.

4. With your knees halfway between straight up toward the ceiling and level with the floor, begin a pedal motion.

5. While pedaling with your feet, touch your opposite elbow to your opposite knee, alternating each side.

6. Continue the process as you feel the tightening and burning in your abs throughout the work out.

7. Start with repetitions of 10-20 at first.

Reverse Crunch:

The next exercise in line is the reverse crunch. This can be done on the ground or on an incline sit-up board. The main thing you need in this exercise is just something behind your head to hold. If your going to use an incline board, be sure to use it with your feet lower than your head.

Directions

1. Lie down on your back.

2. hold a weight up, or use the foot bar if you’re using the sit-up board.

3. Keep your knees slightly bent throughout the whole process.

4. Pull your pelvis and legs up so that your knees are above your chest.

5. Once you do that, return to the beginning position.

6. Repeat this process and do about 2-4 sets of 15-20 reps.

Plank:

This is considered to be one of the easier ab work outs for one specific reason, and that reason is because it gives you that rest feeling in your abs since you aren’t doing very much at all. The cool thing about this exercise is that it will give you that rest feeling in your abdominals, but at the same time its strengthening your core with very little effort. Though this exercise does require you to have some patience, the results will prove to be rewarding. The reason for your patience is because there is very little activity in this workout, but this little work out will produce extreme results. This is a good practice to burn body fat around your back, abdominal muscles and core.

Directions:

1. Start with your face towards your exercise mat.

2. With your elbows and fists below your chest, put all your weight onto your forearms, fists and elbows.

3. Now straighten your back so its completely flat.

4. With your straight back, maintain a bridge between your elbows and your toes.

5. Keep your hips as high as you can and don’t let hips to sag below you.

6. Keep this posture as long you can, maintaining a straight back and strong high hips (keep hips from sagging).

7. starting from 10 seconds.

Captain’s Chair:

Now this exercise is considered to be an advanced lower abdominal exercise. What is an advance lower abdominal exercise? Well, what it means is that this abdominal exercise requires every one of your body part’s positions to be dead-on to what the exercise requires you to do, because the positions are vitally important for obtaining the top results. For this reason, it is very important that you keep your lower back stable, keeping it straight throughout the whole workout. One thing to remember throughout the exercise is to not arch your back at all.

Directions For This Move:

1. Start off by standing on a chair.

2. Now, grip the handles on both sides of the chair to stabilize your upper body.

3. While pressing your back against the pad, slowly lift your knees towards your chest.

4. While your doing this, remember to keep your lower back firmly in place.

5. If your lower back isn’t firmly in place, you won’t be strengthening your abs, but your hip muscles.

6. You should also feel the tightening in your abs after a few reps.

7. Do 2-3 sets of 18-25 reps for maximum results.

Vertical Leg Crunch:

The vertical leg crunch is another one of the most effective moves for the rectus abdominus and also the obliques (side abs). A vertical leg crunch is an ab workout that targets the rectus abdominus and the oblique muscles in the body’s core. This is a main core abdominal exercise. They are similar to basic stomach crunches but involve extending the legs into the air in order to better isolate the abdominal muscles during the crunches. Vertical leg crunches are an important exercise for those who want a flat, toned stomach, or chiseled abdominals.

Directions To This Move:

1. This one is similar to the Fifer Scissors from P90x if your familiar with it, except both legs are up.

2. Lay down on your back.

3. Both legs are up and you Leave both legs straight up in that position.

4. Move the hips up and down, up and down.

5. Keep your whole back on the floor, just from the waist-down goes up off the floor each rep.

6. Each up and down counts as one rep.

7. Straight legs, and moving hips.

When we think of eating to lose weight, we always associate it with diets that focus on specific portions and combinations of foods. It conveys images of strict calorie-counting that verges on starvation. From high-protein low-carbohydrate to lemon diet to crash diets and all other forms of dieting in between, weight loss diets are far from healthy. Most of the time, they are ill-designed and do not meet an individual’s nutritional requirements.

The primary objective of a healthy diet is not weight loss. It is the promotion and maintenance of good health. The World Health Organization gave five recommendations on the composition of a health diet: It achieves the right balance between energy and a healthy weight; work towards unsaturated fat consumption as it seeks the elimination of trans-fatty acids; increases consumption of fruits and vegetables, legumes, whole grains and nuts; limits the intake of simple sugars and limits salt or sodium consumption from all sources and ensures that salt is iodized. With these guidelines, a healthy diet prevents many health risks plaguing the nation today which include, among others, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer.

Healthy diets, then, are not fad diets- the usual diets that those on the road to weight loss adhere to. Healthy diets are meals where all the various food groups are represented. It’s a diet with sufficient amounts of protein, carbohydrates and fats. It’s one where fruits and vegetables figure prominently. It’s also one where water is not neglected.

A healthy diet is not merely a matter of proper food choices. It’s also about healthy eating as well. This means eating a hearty breakfast to jumpstart your day and spreading the rest of your meals throughout in two to three hour intervals. It’s also about smaller portions which you can consume. Not only does this promote wise food spending, it keeps diseases that stem from overconsumption such as obesity, at bay. Healthy eating is also about wise shopping. It means going local for your produce such as fruits and vegetables. It means choosing fresh over preserved. It means going for what’s in season as well.

Healthy eating is also about enjoying mealtimes and chewing food well. It’s not using food as an excuse to vent frustration, anger or depression. It’s about meal planning, diet simplification and moderation. It’s also about living a healthy lifestyle where stress management and exercise form part of life.

When a person eats healthy, a fitter, better and well-balanced individual results. When people observe healthy eating habits and make healthy diets part of their lifestyle, obesity doesn’t become an issue. There would be no need for fad or crash diets that only serves to compound the problem. For those who are already faced with the serious health burden of shedding those extra pounds, all it really takes is the observance of healthy eating and dieting habits and exercise to jumpstart the road back to wellness. In the final analysis, healthy diets, healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle form part of one big package which can only be described as living a “high quality of life.”

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When Aamir Khan was spotted with eight-pack abs in the movie Ghajini, it was not only the fairer sex but also their male counterparts who felt the heat. Men across the country felt a sudden need to sweat it off at gyms to impress their girlfriends or wives. Cardio exercises became an instant hit with men since then. The advantage of any cardio exercise is that, it not only helps your body loose a few pounds but also gifts you with a healthy heart and body. While cardio exercises like rowing strengthens your heart muscles, others like sprinting and jogging help you get rid of that unwanted flab. These exercises are the best way to get those muscle-packs in place. At times cardio exercises will have to be combined with other weight–lifting exercises for that perfect effect. It has been seen that it is the women folk who are more interested in doing cardio exercises as it burns fat easier. Men on the other hand prefer weight lifting as it is their external appearance that matters to them the most. Though weight training burns fat, it does no good in keeping the heart healthy. For a healthy heart, cardio exercises are a must. Read on to educate yourselves on the different type of cardio exercises.

Different Types Of Cardio Exercises For Men
There are lots of cardio exercises that can be done inside the four walls of a gym. But there are even more that can be done outside it, making the whole experience of exercising an enthralling one. Along with building body endurance, they help in building muscles as well. There are quite a number of exercises that come under cardio exercises that can be done by men. They are:

Swimming
It is an excellent cardio exercise as it not only affects the heart but the whole body, and so it can very well be categorized under whole body exercise. Swimming helps increase the heart rate, watching the respiratory functions as well. Did you know that the breast stroke can burn approx. 400 calories in 30 minutes? No prizes for guessing why Michael Phelps has a wonderful body.

Bicycling
Bicycling is a cardio exercise that can be done both indoors and outdoors. Depending upon the resistance and speed of the exercise it will burn up to 500 calories in 30 minutes.

Running
Have you ever wondered why anyone with a good pair of running shoes can burn some calories running? It is a great way to burn some calories while keeping the health of your heart under check.  It can easily burn 300 calories in 30 minutes if you are running in the required speed.

Elliptical Trainer
If you do not have enough of country side to go for long walks, an elliptical trainer can be an excellent option. It is a great way of building body resistance. This is one of the commonly used devices in any gym because of its multiple functions.

Walking
Walking is the easiest and one of the healthiest exercises that you can do. What else can you ask for than a brisk walk along the countryside hearing the chirping of the birds, breathing enough of fresh air for a healthy day? Since it is least strenuous, people of any age group can attempt this exercise to keep themselves fit and healthy.

Step Aerobics
It is one of those exercises that can be done by both men and women. This exercise target the legs, hips and glutes giving the lower part of the body good shape.

Racquetball
It is the side to side sprinting that makes racquetball an excellent cardio exercise.

Cross-Country Skiing
Indoors or done outdoors on snow, cross country skiing is an incredible cardio exercise involving both upper and lower body. This helps burning around 330 calories in 30 minutes.

Rock Climbing
It is not only a cardio exercise, but uses arm and leg strength as well. It is a great workout to increase the stamina and power of the body.

Rowing
It is an incredible cardio workout that can help in improving the power and strength of your arms and muscles.

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