Fit Tips
Build muscle mass
During a cardio workout, your body zaps hundreds of calories, but when you're finished your metabolism slows down almost instantly. On the other hand, after a resistant training workout, your body continues to burn fat for hours. "Regular weight lifting can boost your metabolic rate by about 15 percent," says Tim Davis, director of personal training at Peak Performance, a gym in NYC. He recommends three 45-50 minute sessions a week.
Eat good-for-you food
Your body is smarter then you think it is- it knows when it's not getting any nutrients. When you munch on processed foods like chips and cookies your body can't identify any value and you'll still be hungry. Instead, chow down regularly on fruits, veggies, whole grains and lean proteins and you'll give your body the fuel it needs to function efficiently and recognize when you're full.
Shut your eyes
Lack of sleep increases the likely hood you'll gain weight. When you are tired the hormones that stimulate appetite increase, while the hormones that help you feel full plummet. Aim for 7-9 hours a night.
What is the best exercise for your stomach?
It is not sit-ups or crunches nor leg lifts or the "bicycle" maneuver. You don't need any special equipment for it either.
The best exercise you can do for your stomach is jogging, or any other cardio exercises like walking or swimming.
Surprised? Well if you want a flat stomach you need to get rid of the fat covering your stomach first.
Until you lose that fat layer your stomach muscles will be hidden beneath it. Also, you cannot "spot train" (lose fat in just one area of your body).
So by doing crunches and other stomach exercises you will get great ab muscles but you will not burn the fat that is keeping them hidden.
Exercising all of your body and burning fat all over combined with a proper diet is the key to achieving a flat stomach.
So if you are doing hundreds of crunches or working out with special exercise equipment but do not see results, this is probably the reason why.
The best way to burn fat all over your body is by moving. Doing any type of activity that gets you moving contributes to your flat stomach goal.
Start by walking or jogging 3-4 times a week to increase your heart rate and boost your metabolism. By boosting your metabolism you burn excess calories and eliminate fat all over your body. You can also go swimming or dancing instead if you prefer.
Weight loss Myths
"Eating carbohydrates will make you fat."
Carbohydrates will not make you fat. Even eating fat doesn't make you fat. The same goes for protein. Excess calories make you fat. The key is to obtain all three macronutrients in a proper balance for your bodies needs.
For carbohydrates, eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, stay away from processed foods, and limit your breads and grains. For protein, eat lean meats, especially fish and poultry. As for fat, stick with unsaturated fats like those you get from almonds and olive oil.
"My metabolism slows with age."
It is a fact that as you age, you become less active. It is also a fact that after years of inactivity and poor nutrition you do lose muscle tissue and strength and, therefore, your metabolism does slow down.
However, you can control your metabolism by exercising regularly and sticking with a proper resistance training program. This will maintain your muscle mass and in turn, increase your metabolism.
"It's in my genes."
This myth stems from the nature vs. nurture issue. If I'm doing everything right and still not losing then it must I be my parent's fault. The fact is only a small percentage (around 1 percent) of people can legitimately blame their genes. For most it is really a lack of exercise and poor eating habits. Be honest with yourself. Analyze what you are doing before pointing a finger at heredity.
"High reps burns fat and keeps you toned."
Toning does not even exist. It is an invention created by magazines to make women feel better about lifting weights.
Toning basically means more muscle definition. The only way you can do this is with proper nutrition to lower your body fat.
Doing high reps only improves strength and endurance; it does nothing to burn fat. It is better to increase your intensity by increasing the weight and decreasing the number of reps. This exhausts your energy stores, thereby raising your metabolism.
Goal Setting
Goal setting is the art that makes everything else possible. It adds aim to energy, focuses effort and, for some, structures time. Surveys show that people who plan ahead are much more successful over the long term than those who plunge in without knowing where they're going or how they'll get there. You wouldn't take a long road trip without a map so it makes good sense to have a compass (and road map) for your fitness objectives.
Fighting Boredom
Are you finding it difficult to get out of bed in the morning for your daily walk and making up excuses to skip the gym on the way home? Even the most dedicated exercisers occasionally get bored with their routine. Waning motivation, cutting workouts short and not having your old enthusiasm all are signs of a stale exercise regimen.
Quick Fix:
First, evaluate your current routine to determine what really bores you. A new variation on your favorite activity -- such as cardio fusion or willpower and grace instead of step aerobics, or hoisting free weights instead of working on machines -- may be enough to reinvigorate a stale routine.
If you've always worked out indoors, logging miles on a treadmill, elliptical or stationary bike, move your workout outside for a welcome change of scenery. In the winter weather bundle up and walk in the snow - you'll be surprised what a challenge it can be.
Also, try working with one of our certified personal trainers for new ideas and inspiration. 3 sessions are free!
Benefits of yoga
Increasing Flexibility - yoga has positions that act upon the various joints of the body including those joints that are never really on the ‘radar screen' let alone exercised.
Increasing lubrication of the joints, ligaments and tendons - likewise, the well-researched yoga positions exercise the different tendons and ligaments of the body.
Surprisingly it has been found that the body which may have been quite rigid starts experiencing a remarkable flexibility in even those parts which have not been consciously work upon. Why? It is here that the remarkable research behind yoga positions proves its mettle. Seemingly unrelated "non strenuous" yoga positions act upon certain parts of the body in an interrelated manner. When done together, they work in harmony to create a situation where flexibility is attained relatively easily.
Massaging of ALL Organs of the Body - Yoga is perhaps the only form of activity which massages all the internal glands and organs of the body in a thorough manner, including those - such as the prostate - that hardly get externally stimulated during our entire lifetime. Yoga acts in a wholesome manner on the various body parts. This stimulation and massage of the organs in turn benefits us by keeping away disease and providing a forewarning at the first possible instance of a likely onset of disease or disorder.
Complete Detoxification - By gently stretching muscles and joints as well as massaging the various organs, yoga ensures the optimum blood supply to various parts of the body. This helps in the flushing out of toxins from every nook and cranny as well as providing nourishment up to the last point. This leads to benefits such as delayed ageing, energy and a remarkable zest for life.
Excellent toning of the muscles - Muscles that have become flaccid, weak or slothy are stimulated repeatedly to shed excess flab and flaccidity.
Beat the Bloat
  
Beat that constant sluggish feeling by cutting out the foods that make you bloated. Bloat in the belly doesn't come from water retention but from a build up of undigested food in the intestinal tract. Cleanse the system with water and fiber filled fruits and veggies and avoid processed foods and salt.
Fab Five Foods:
apples
strawberries
eggs
cucumbers
blueberries
Four Hidden Gut Gushers:
broccoli
cauliflower
cabbage
salty snacks
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Build Muscle Mass
Weight Loss Myths
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