Exercise

People often email me asking how many days per week should they workout. For the average person wanting to lose weight and focus on fat loss, the answer is simple. They will get fantastic results by training hard only three days per week. Now for the average person, that should be manageable.

And yes, all three of those workouts should be done in less than an hour. Research shows that 20-30 minutes of interval training is more effective than 40 minutes of slow cardio for weight loss. Combine the intervals with 20-30 minutes of strength training. Do that 3 days per week, and pow, you’ll lose fat fast. (With good nutrition too, of course!)

On off days, I encourage people to be as active as possible, but without making extra effort to go to the gym. Walking to do your errands for an hour is great, if you have the time. Just do some form of health-promoting exercise (which can mean a half hour walk, yoga, or aerobic training if you desire). The duration and intensity of these off-day workouts depends on your fitness level, your recovery capacity, and your nutrition plan.

For many people, New Year’s resolutions mean a return to high-volume cardio programs. But I urge restraint, caution, and conservatism. Trying to re-do your old running programs after some time off is a recipe for disaster.

If you plan on resuming a former running program, please start conservatively, especially if you are running on hard surfaces. Start easy. Build up in volume. Monitor your energy levels, strength levels, and mood. Be conservative, train consistent, and superior results will be yours.

And what about for beginners? How often should they workout?

Well, if you are the utmost of beginners, and haven’t done any formal exercise in a long, long time, then simply do 3-6 bouts of 5 minutes of walking each day. Every day. Progress with your walking by increasing the time you walk and decreasing the number of “bouts” per day. For example, in week 3 of your exercise program, do 3 bouts of 10 minutes per day. And by week 6, you should be able to walk for 30 minutes straight. That is a place to get started.

At the same time, combine your walking program with a professionally designed bodyweight 3-day strength program that you can do at home (heck, most beginner exercises are even done lying on the floor!). After 6 weeks, you can increase the intensity of your workout, as outlined by your personal trainer. Eventually, you can progress into a more intense 3-day per week program.

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit http://www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Push-ups and jumping jacks can become tedious pretty quickly, especially for kids. But when exercise seems more like a game than work, a child’s perspective completely changes. A great number of kids exercise games will not only let them have fun, but will keep your children healthy and active.

Whether indoors or out, the mention of a game to most children will grab their attention and get them excited. There are several keys, though, to making kids exercise games work successfully. First, as the parent you must be prepared and know the game in advance. If the game involves rules, make sure you explain them before starting. And it’s important to clarify boundaries. For example, in an outdoor game of tag, the children must know the limits of where they can and can’t run.

Preparation a day or two in advance can also help children become more interested. Plan a time to play the game and let them know that a fun activity is approaching. This will build excitement and an eagerness to play.

Another key for successfully getting your kids involved in an exercise game is that you must be willing to participate in the activity too. Kids love when grown-ups get involved in the fun side of life. Especially if the grown-ups are parents they love and admire. Participating also proves to them that you understand the value of exercising and being healthy. After all, if you’re not willing to exercise, why will your children want to?

Finally, to make the most of the activity, be willing to make changes to your plans. An unpredicted rain storm can ruin a game, and a child’s day, so be sure to have a back-up plan. Also, be willing to put a spin on the game rules. Sometimes kids have fantastic suggestions to improving a game. Being open to their suggestions will make the activity more fun and will also give it your family’s own personality. Perhaps even the new and improved game could be a family tradition for years.

Being involved in your kids’ lives in this small way can make a large impact on them. It not only improves their well-being and health, but it also creates family bonding moments that will never be forgotten … by either you or your children.

Need a bunch of kids exercise games that you can use in a practical way? Visit our site and find out how you can get exercise games that your kids will beg to play over and over again!

Jeff Wise
http://www.myfamilyexercise.com

The secrets of effective body shaping for women must first start with a clear understanding of the term’s meaning. All too often the term is misused and confused with other fitness related phrases or activities. This is one of the untold reasons why so many women never achieve the body shaping results they desire and deserve.

Body shaping is not bodybuilding, power-lifting, or weight training. These forms of exercise are not for everybody – but body shaping can be, especially for women who are not satisfied with the shape of their body.

Too fat and flabby or too skinny and unshapely? A well structured body shaping exercise program can be the missing link between you and the sexy body you desire and deserve.

Body shaping is the wise use of certain principles of exercise, fitness and smart nutrition to manifest desired changes in the body. Much too often, the term is confused with other types of exercise programs that are not conducive to firming and shaping the female body, safely and efficiently.

There are several elements of body shaping, although not all elements apply to all women. Fat removal, cellulite reduction, skin tightening, feminine muscle shaping, inches lost, changes in body composition levels, shaping curvy thighs or a rounder butt, toning up the arms and shoulders, losing stomach flab – these can all fall under the heading of body shaping for women.

Two ladies with very different goals can follow the same type of fitness program while adhering to nutritional plans that are structured to be in line with their goals, and dependent on their starting points, with measurable progress and consistent success.

A woman who is sixty-three pounds over weight and wanting to lose body fat has the same ‘body’ (a human body) as a woman who is slightly under weight and wants to gain some muscle weight, through body shaping exercises, while improving her overall level of fitness. Although there may be differences in natural abilities of coordination or strength they can both do the same exercise routine. Differences in caloric intake and the quality of foods eaten will be the factor that brings each of these women closer to their individual body shaping goals.

Cardiovascular exercise may be slightly different. The woman who wants to lose body fat to achieve body shaping results, will devote a larger amount of time to cardiovascular exercise (25 – 40 minutes) as compared to the woman who wants to build up certain areas of her body to become more shapely(15 – 25 minutes).

Some body shaping programs try to combine the resistance exercise with cardiovascular exercise. While this is not easy, and most programs fall short of doing this successfully, it is possible – especially when the body shaping program uses body-weight exercise principles.

A body shaping program is not usually found in the gym setting. You either have individual programs of weight training and machine exercises or large group classes doing some form of aerobics with some basic body shaping moves. True body shaping takes advantage of gravity, body-weight and kinesiology to bring about changes in the female body through full body conditioning and targeted muscle shaping exercises and workouts. When these factors are combined properly, you can realistically expect to see definite results within three to four weeks – especially when a moderate amount of attention is payed to nutritional intake and daily calories.

The best body shaping programs should be portable – meaning you can do them anywhere and anytime. Leaving no room for the typical excuses of not sticking with ‘the program’ and allowing you to make continuous progress toward the body shaping goals you have defined for your self.

Joey Atlas, Exercise Physiologist, is the mastermind of the Top Body Shaping Video Series for Women.

The Leg Butt Hip & Thigh Makeover.

Also visit Core Secrets for Hot Core Fitness tips.