Archive for March, 2010

18 March

Last Minute Exercise Plan for Getting a Spring Break Body

Spring break is rapidly approaching and gyms all over the country are starting to get packed with people hoping to get a few last minute workouts in. If you’re one of those, you need to realize that you can’t completely change your body in one or two months. You can however make a difference that is big enough for people to notice. If you’re serious about changing the way you look, you’ll need to work hard from now until spring break.

There are two types of exercises you’ll be utilizing to tone and sculpt your body in a short period of time. You’ll start off with some resistance training to improve your definition and then you’ll move on to an aerobic or cardiovascular workout to burn the layer of fat that is covering your muscles.

Unlike a regular person starting an exercise routine, you are looking to get into shape quickly and have little time to gradually start exercising. The changes you need to make need to happen now if you have any chance of reaching your goal of having an attractive spring break body.

An important element that is often overlooked is warming up. If you skip it, you’ll be too sore the rest of the week to complete your routine. Before you start any exercise, hop on a treadmill or bike for 5 minutes and use a low speed to warm up your muscles. Next, pick one stretch for each muscle and hold it for 15-30 seconds.

You’ll need to do your resistance training program three times per week for the first two weeks and four times per week after that. Each day you go to the gym will be a full body workout. You’ll do both upper and lower body on one day.

First you’ll need to pick one machine for each of the following muscle groups: quads, glutes, hamstrings, calves, chest, back, lower back, shoulders, biceps, triceps and abs. Start with your legs and do 1-2 sets on each machine and count 8-12 repetitions for each set. The weight you pick should be heavy enough that on your last repetition (somewhere between the 8th and 12th) you really can’t do anymore. If you can do more, you need to increase the weight. It should take you about an hour if you follow these guidelines.

Next, you’ll work on your cardio routine. During the first two weeks, do cardio 4 times per week. For the remaining time, do cardio 5-6 times per week. It doesn’t matter what activity you do (biking, running, tennis, swimming or any other sport) as long as you do it for at least 30 minutes, not including warming up and cooling down. You can even do 15 minutes on one machine and 15 minutes on another. Don’t forget to cool down by reducing your intensity until your heart rate dips below 120 beats per minute.

This plan is for people who don’t regularly workout but are in otherwise good health and would like to see some improvement in the way they look for spring break. With time in short supply, you need to take advantage of everyday. Getting into a routine at the last minute is better than never getting into one at all. For next year, the best advice you can get is to start your spring break makeover early so you won’t have to make difficult changes overnight.

If you’re looking to make a difference in the way you look for spring break, you need to realize that change takes time but if you work hard you can make a difference in the way you look so that others will notice. The Guide to Getting a Perfect Spring Break Body has articles, FAQs, tips and tools to help you get a spring break body in a short period of time so you can show it off on your cruise, beach trip or at the pool.

Straight Health was started in July 2006 to spread accurate and easy to understand information about health, diets, exercise and nutrition. At StraightHealth.com you can read articles and tips, use the tools and gain a further understand about the world of health.

18 March

Exercise Without Any Equipment!

For a good workout you don’t always have to go to some gym or do it with some equipment. Simple exercises done without any equipment can too help you get a leaner body. Here are some exercises which you can easily do at your home or at a nearby park.

Walking or jogging

You can take a walk to anywhere or jog in your nearest park. These exercises require no equipment and are a good way to spend sometime in fresh air. Take your IPod with you or take your friends for a walk. You can even jog while watching your favorite TV show. Another simple exercise which will keep your heart at a good rate too is climbing stairs. You can go up and down the stairs of your nearest mall several times.

Push ups

Push ups a re a great exercise without any equipment for your triceps, shoulders and chest. If you find these difficult then start while you are on your knees and when you get stronger then switch to full push ups.

Abs crunches

This exercise is even better than sit ups as your lower back is not strained. Avoid lifting yourself with strain on your neck. Cross your arms around your chest or lightly on your head.

Press ups

Press up is an excellent exercise for your upper body and back muscles and that too without the help of any equipment. Start by keeping your knees and hips in a line and keep your hands apart wider than your shoulder width. Make this exercise hard by placing your feet on a bench and make it easier by putting your hands on a higher place.

Step up

This exercise can be easily performed at your home or at a park. You just need a bench for this. Place your heel on the bench and then step up. Step down with less slowly. Make this exercise harder by stepping on to a higher object or pushing less hard from the ground. If you find this exercise hard the step onto a lower bench or push harder from the ground.

Salt bridge

This is a good exercise for muscles on the sides of your torso. Li on your one side with your elbows and feet in a straight line. Now elevate your hips. This position strengthens your torso muscles. Make it easier by using a bench to raise your hand or elbow.

Finding the perfect Workout Routines takes time and effort. These best workout routines is a great place to start if a person is interested in flat abs. The P90X workout routines is also another workout that will help develop flat abs.

15 March

Best Exercise To Lose Belly Fat – Is Targeted Training The Answer?

A lot of people want to know if there are certain exercises that burn belly fat. Is cardio, interval or weight lifting the answer? I assume that you know that you have to go on a diet to lose the fat and then combine it with some type of exercising to get that great six-pack abs.

First of all, choosing a diet isn’t that hard these days. The number one fat burning diet is without a doubt the calorie shifting diet (also known as calorie cycling). With this diet you fool your body into burning more fat and it will burn lots of fat if you follow it.

The cool thing is that this diet gives you enough proteins and energy to build muscles and you also have the stamina to train a lot if you want to.

When it comes to training things are not as obvious. One thing we know is that just cardio won’t get you those abs. A long and slow cardio exercise could as a matter of fact be hazardous to your health with overuse injuries and along with the fact that this type of exercise gives suboptimal results you should be combining it with other types of exercising.

There is a new type of exercising that combines training your strength with stamina exercises, this program is called Turbulence Training and it is the only of its kind that will help you burn fat and build muscles at the same time. The program combines intense warm-ups with fast interval training. A complete exercise takes about 45 minutes to complete. There goes that excuse…

Jennifer Olsen was a master of failing at different diets. She understood that there were more to losing weight then just going on a diet. Today she has lost nearly 50 pounds with the calorie-shifting diet and meanwhile she has finished reading ‘Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle’ and she is implementing what she learned into daily activities.

She made a mini-site that gives examples of diets, complete fast weight loss diets and reviews of books that helped her stop living the unhealthy life and turning around into a more healthy life-style. If you are interested in learning more please Click Here!

If you are interested in learning more about the calorie-shifting method, please please Click Here!