Monday, July 12, 2010

Knowing is Half the Battle (of the Bulge)

The importance of monitoring your caloric intake when it comes to dieting and losing weight.




Losing weight may not be the easiest thing in the world, but the basic premise isn’t quite rocket science. It isn’t always all about the exact foods that you consume as much as burning more calories than you are consuming – if you follow that simple formula, you can drop dress or pants sizes. Too many people fall into the trap of believing that because they are eating “health food” (some of which may not even be all that healthy) that they are setting themselves up for success in their weight loss endeavors – but unfortunately, this isn’t always the case.



Read More Here
 

Friday, July 9, 2010

Making the Most of Limited Space with Adjustable Dumbbells

New article up over at HealthMad...


Using adjustable dumbbells in place of traditional strength training equipment to save space without sacrificing workout quality.



Not everyone has a gym or health club right around the corner from their home and those of us with already full schedules may not want to spend an hour+ driving round trip to get a good workout in. A home gym is a great way to build muscle, burn fat and get fit; but what about those of us who live in apartments?




Read more: Here

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Pumping Up the Intensity and Maximizing Results

New article up at MadHealth...

Lack of Time is No Longer an Excuse

The health and fitness benefits of performing high intensity intervals.



It’s the most common reason out there to avoid going to the gym – long hours at work, helping the kids with homework, making dinner and doing dishes all leave you with, “not enough time to exercise.” Well guess what, some of the fittest people in the world do those very same things but still manage to do something to make themselves healthier every day. Their days are the very same twenty four hours that yours are, so where do they find the 45 minutes to an hour a day three or four days a week to keep their weight down and their bodies healthy?


Read More here

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

New Article up at HealthMad

Write It Down, Reap the Rewards



The benefits of keeping a workout log/journal to help you reach your health and fitness goals.



If you have your eyes set on a goal of losing weight or packing on some lean muscle in the coming months, you could greatly benefit from keeping a detailed workout log. Accountability in a workout program is crucial if you actually want to achieve your desired goal and guesswork certainly has no place in the gym.







Read more: here

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

The Importance of Variation

Some people plod along with the very same workout performed at the very same pace for week after week and month after month and wonder why they never really see any improvement.  The main reason behind the lack of results comes from the fact that you body has gotten used to the workout being performed - that what you are doing is no longer challenging enough to yield any positives.

On the other side of the extreme lies Crossfit, where workouts can change drastically from one day to the next.  While I don't think it's completely necessary to perform workouts that are entirely different every single time you step into the gym, this methodology has seemed to work wonders for many of the followers.

The point here is that change is not just a good thing, it's a necessity if you want to continue to get results from your fitness plan.  You either have to change the exercises you are performing, change the set and rep scheme, change the frequency - you've got to change something or you will stagnate and the progress that you were making will cease.

About a year and a half to two years ago(?) I was in a workout funk, focusing too hard and too long with a similar routine in order to try and reach a goal.  Both my hands and my lower back were in dire need of a break, when I paid professional stuntman Nick McKinless' website Beyond Strong a visit - Nick was talking about performing the workout from One Hundred Push Ups a try as a break from his recent regimen and after exploring the website I thought I might give it a shot as well rather than taking a layoff.

I performed the initial test via the website then followed the program as prescribed according to my results.  Even though this was completely different from what I had been doing the program kept me moving, allowed my overtrained muscles a much needed break and also gave me the motivation to hit a long time goal.

There are now free workouts linked to the On hundred Push ups site for squats, sit ups and pull ups - the programs are free, very easy to follow and allow you to get the rest you may need from your current plan in order to come back fully refreshed and focused.

Though these programs are excellent examples of something that you can do to break up the monotony, you can really switch up your current program however you'd like.  The important thing is to not allow yourself to perform the same movements for so long that you stop seeing positive results.