Archive for July, 2010
Has It Been 10 Years Already?
When the invitation arrived in the mail last week, I was slightly apprehensive to say the least. Had it really been 10 years since I graduated high school? All the memories came flooding back – the good times and the bad, the moments of triumph and embarrassment that seemed so important back then. These days I barely keep in touch with anyone from high school, but I still call a couple of old classmates from time to time.
I called them up and we discussed the reunion that was just a few months away. After getting the usual gossip out of the way, our thoughts turned to self-image. It seems like a cliché given all the movies that have touched on the topic, but it really is important to look good for one’s high school reunion. I wanted to show those popular jocks and cheerleaders that I had changed. Undergoing a body transformation would mean instituting a serious workout regimen, but I was up to the task; I immediately went out and purchased the ChaLEAN Extreme workout system.
22 and over 200lbs and What it means for Sue
Today I met a woman, she is 22 and 253 pounds. The circumfrance around her widest point- her hips- was just short of 60 inches… That is nearly 5 feet around. Her mother and her came in together to the gym and her mom purchased a 3 month membership. All I could think was; how did this happen? At 22 she is beginning the battle against- litterally, half her body- with 48.5% body fat. That means she is carrying around 123 pounds of extra weight.
She is going to be a special case, undoubtedly told by her doctor that she is in grave danger and its now or never to lose this weight and reduce her health risks. While getting her into shape is very doable, it will take a kind of dedication from her to show up and give it her all each workout, which others may not realize. It’s not easy to get up each day and go to class with other young adults and be thinking about how you look and what others might be thinking of you. I’m behind her every step of the way, dedicated to improving her health and reaching her goals. I’m going to periodically keep you posted on her journey.
A Healthier, Fitter Lifestyle
If you’re serious about losing weight, it’s important that you accompany your life changes with a correlated change in attitude. After all, the people that truly succeed with weight loss are those that approach it as a life change. It’s not merely a temporary diet or a new exercise routine. Rather, these changes are just facets of living your healthier lifestyle.
This is why the fitness diet that you undertake should constantly be changing and altering as your dietary and fitness needs change. After all, if you’ve finally reached your target weight, it doesn’t mean that your healthy lifestyle is over. It simply means you can alter your routine. Rather than aiming for rapid calorie reduction, you’ll now be looking to tone your muscles and maintain your weight with a mix of cardio and healthy foods. Products like the P90X fitness guide won’t only show you how to meet your fitness goals, it’ll help you stay there too.
Innovative Ways to Break a Sweat
It’s important that all people get a regular amount of exercise to promote overall health and wellness. But this doesn’t mean we need to do the same old boring running to break a sweat, there are a lot of exercises that promote both fitness and fun. For example, sports are a great way to break a sweat, but can be difficult to enjoy without a group of people.
For those people who don’t have friends to play sports with, dancing is another great way to break a sweat, and can be done in the comfort of the home, or out at a club. Dance workouts keep your heart pumping and can even build muscle. And unlike lifting weights or running on a treadmill, you can use the skills you learn dancing outside of the gym.
Are shakes and formulas the way to go?
Walk into a health supplement store and guaranteed you’ll pass through a huge milkshake formula section. The shakes consist of green replacements, protien supplements, fiber assistance, full-on meal replacements and all other sorts. So how do you know what you need?
It’s generally a good idea to find out what you lack and then find out what you might need. Everyone’s needs are unique. It depends on what sort of foods you eat, if you have any specific conditions, and you’re exercise and activity levels. Then talk to an expert who knows which products are credible and which are not. It’s unlikely that you’ll find a cheap powder supplement formula that is actually beneficial to your system. This is a situation where you can expect to pay for quality- Check out a product like shakeology, it is popularity is based on its proven and tested health benefits.
A review of Shakeology
Shakeology is a meal supplement developed by beachbody. It is a powder which can be added to a cup of water and provides nutrient supplements, boosts energy, helps with a weightloss program.
How does it work? It is basically full of anti-oxydants, probiotics, amino acids and vitamins and minerals. Together, these ingredients will make you regular, clear toxins from your body and make you feel energized and alert. The amino acids are what build protein, helping you to feel full and reduce cravings, as well as build lean mucle mass after exercise. Beware though, shakeology isn’t enough to replace healthy, regular meals. The human body still requires natural, whole foods to maintain the best health.
Stress Reducing Exercises
So many of us are living our lives in the fast lane, and hypertension has never been diagnosed as much as it is today. By reducing your stress levels, you’ll usually also reduce high cholesterol and blood pressure. Here are a few things you can do.
Firstly, start a journal. At the end of your day, write down how it went, what was stressful, what was not, etc. This way, you’ll be able to track what sort of things are stimulants and what relaxes you. Next, try some form of deep breathing. You can do deep breathing exercises at any time during the day, when you have a few minutes here and there, or at the end of your day. Thirdly, get active. Getting yourself moving on a regular basis is a proven and very effective method of reducing stress. You can really do any activity- just getting yourself panting and sweating and you’re pretty much doing the trick. There are so many different fitness routines out there that you can follow, so don’t think that hitting the gym is the only option.
Extreme workouts for the extreme athlete
If you consider yourself an extreme athlete, then it probably means that you are not game for just any workout and that you’re probably pretty knowledgable on a lot of health and fitness topics. If so, you’ll understand the different between a good workout and a good marketing ploy advertising a good workout. Here is where I’m going with this; there are a lot of products out there looking to sell based on whatever -excuse my language- crap they can make consumers believe.
Here is how you know a product is made for and by experts: It is a full body training system, but does not compromise exercise quality. The product does not make unrealistic promises- such as how many pounds you’ll lose instantly, just that your hard work and dedication will pay off. Lastly, it should consider itself an extreme, or very challenging workout system, instead of just another promising workout system- you’ll only improve your body if it requires you to really push yourself beyond comfort levels.
Why workout your core?
The core- the center of your body is often missed or neglected in a lot of workout routines. We think about having nice shoulders and biceps, calfs and strong thigh and butts. Almost never neglected is the upper abs- we all know how to do some variation of a sit up or crunch. Unfortunately, this is just not enough for your core.
The back is made up of so many different muscles and all of them do need to be targeted to get a healthy workout. Posture and balance are two very important things to consider for long-term health. Stability exercises with an exercise ball can be really effective, and try adding different styles of crunches to your core workout. Doing a wide variety of exercises helps will help to improve your results quicker than usual. If you are finding these exercises easy after some time, you’ll have to do more challenging moves in order to avoid plateauing.
Achieving your Fitness Goals
The best method to achieve your fitness goals is to stick to them. 95% of all fitness programs fail because the person who wants to get in shape doesn’t have the dedication to stick with a plan, and over time starts to deviate and eventually lose interest. If you keep telling yourself that you don’t have time for fitness, but that you want to get in shape, you need to make time. If you give up on your fitness routine when an event comes up, then you will be much more likely to blow it off in the future for similar reasons. There are two essential steps to achieving your fitness goal: having a plan, and executing it. If you don’t think about the first step long enough then the second step will be much harder.
Hiring a personal trainer to help create your fitness plan is a considerable investment, but some people require that outside source of motivation to stay committed. If you don’t feel like shelling out hundreds of dollars on a trainer, don’t fret; there are other option. Utilizing a video Shaun T Insanity can have the same motivational impact for a fraction of the cost. Just remember, results don’t happen instantly!