First, there is no such thing about spot reduction weight loss. A lot of people aren’t happy with a certain area of their body and start a diet or exercise program or buy an exercise machine to target that area for weight loss. How often have you heard that by working certain muscles the fat surrounding those muscles will be the first to disappear? This is completely false. Cedric Bryant, chief exercise physiologist for the American Council on Exercise, says this about spot reduction: “This is a myth, pure and simple. No matter how much exercise you do for a specific region of the body, it’s physiologically impossible to lose body fat in a targeted area. Fat is lost or gained throughout the entire the body. But the last area where people tend to lose it from is the areas where they gain it first. So for most men, the abdominal region is the most difficult area to trim, while in women, the hips, buttocks, and thighs are the trouble spots.” So if you’ve got some extra flab on your stomach, don’t go thinking that doing 100 sit-ups a day is going to make that fat go away. Continue reading →
The Secrets to Extreme Weight Loss
NO Xplode Reviews- Can This Stuff Improve a Resistance Training Program
The Essentials of Fitness
Most of us want to be fit, right? Activity promoting fitness can prevent disease, make disease we suffer from more manageable, give us more energy, and raise our self-esteem. But what are the essentials of fitness, and how do we get there? Some may think fitness is synonymous with health. Others may think it means being thin, or good looking. And some may think it is being free of disease. Unfortunately fitness is something that has been twisted and turned into something different than it is. We go through the check-out line at the store and see these skinny, sexy movie stars and for most of us, that is our image of fitness. But being fit is a life style, not just an image. The essentials of fitness training include three components, which are muscle strength and endurance, cardiovascular endurance, and flexibility.
Muscle strength and endurance is vitally important in living a fit life, and is attained through resistance exercises like weight lifting and through many cardiovascular exercises. The idea of being muscular is usually something guys want for themselves, but that most women steer away from. Most of us think of big, strong, ripped guys when we think of muscle strength. Again, I believe this is mostly because of how the media has twisted the real definition of fitness, so just try to eliminate all preconceived notions about being strong and muscular. Muscle strength is something that is essential to your body working properly everyday. We get out of bed in the morning, walk up and down stairs, push our kids on the swing, and bend over to pick up the keys we just dropped. We can do all of these actions because of our muscles. And the stronger the muscles, the easier it is for the body to perform simple daily tasks as well as more arduous activities. The weaker the muscles the harder those activities become and the more likely you are to injure your body. Continue reading →
Diets for High Blood Pressure- The “DASH” Diet
One of the most effective ways to treat high blood pressure is to start a high blood pressure diet. The DASH diet, or Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension, is one of the best diets for high blood pressure out there. It’s well rounded, encourages exercise, and is a diet that teaches you how to live a better lifestyle. But before we look at the DASH diet, let’s address what high blood pressure is, why it’s a big deal, and how to control it.
What is it? Pure and simple it’s an increase in the pressure in your arteries. Unfortunately the cause is unknown. Continue reading →
Cheap Dumbbells- An Inexpensive Must-Have For Your Home Gym
If you’ve been to a department store or sports warehouse lately looking for cheap dumbbells you probably noticed that they aren’t cheap at all. I spent some time trying to find a set of hex dumbbells under $500, and I never found any. The least expensive cheap dumbbell set I’ve found (I’m talking about a non-adjustable, non-neoprene set that goes from 5-50 pounds in 5 lb. increments) is $621 from bigfitness.com, but that doesn’t include a stand, which usually runs between $80 and $100. But this is a pretty good deal, considering most other sets I’ve found are around $850. So with this particular set of iron hex dumbbells you would be paying around $1.15 per pound. Not bad. But, if you want to spend half that then read on. Continue reading →
Electric Treadmills
An electric treadmill is almost a must for the average home gym, especially for those who enjoy working out during the colder months of the fall and winter. There are a lot out there that are well priced, very space efficient, very comfortable to use, and have reasonable warranties. If you don’t have a gym membership than we recommend looking into electric treadmills that will help you achieve your fitness and health goals. Not all are created equal, and for a reason to. Even before going to look at an electric treadmill I would ask yourself these few questions. What am I going to use a treadmill for? Walking, running, incline walking, sprinting? How much do I want to spend? Would a folding electric treadmill be better than a non-folding one? And, who do I know who has a treadmill that I could talk to?
Some people interested in a treadmill for home use just want to be able to walk on a softer surface than concrete, and don’t plan on running at all. Their knees might not be able to with stand the high impact of running and their doctor may even recommend not running for cardiovascular exercise. These people don’t necessarily need to go drop a couple thousand dollars on the “best” treadmill out there. Continue reading →
The Ab Chair- A Great Solution if You Want to Waste Your Money and Time
It’s staggering how many people continue to waste their money and time on an ab chair (along with other crazy devices like the ab kind pro)! Most people aren’t happy with their bodies, especially their mid section, and the ab chair companies exploit that insecurity to make money. These chairs will never substitute for traditional ab exercises in producing strength. They are extremely expensive, lack resistance, and are not needed in any way, shape, or form. I’ve seen ab chairs sell for as much as $200, heard the companies endorsing them promise results in less than 1 week with as little as 3 minutes a day, and have body builders saying they have the body they have because of the ab chair. What a load a B.S.! This is the first of a few articles to explain why to avoid these money suckers. Continue reading →
Our Best Ab Crunch Machine- The Swiss Ball
It’s as simple a machine as you can get, but yes, in our opinion, the Swiss Ball is the best ab crunch machine out there. And unlike the typical ab machine on the market (like the ab king pro or the ab chair), the Swiss Ball or exercise ball is inexpensive, practical, and very effective. You can perform a wide range of exercises to target your three abdominal muscles, do so in a very comfortable way, and simultaneously work on core and stabilizing muscles.
You wonder why good gyms don’t have abdominal machines like the ab king pro, and ab circles pro, for their customers? It’s because they don’t work. But you will see a ton of peopld doing Swiss ball ab exercises at the gym. The next time you see one at the gym or a friend’s house, do a normal crunch on it, then do a crunch on the ground, Continue reading →
Ab King Pro Review- Will it Really Give Me Those Eight Pack Abs?
Will the Ab King Pro really give me those eight pack abs? No. It won’t. The Ab King Pro is just another one of those ab machines that promises those “sexy, rock-hard abs” but doesn’t deliver. It’s overpriced, its construction is mediocre, and its claims are completely out of this world. So it joins our list of worthless ab machines along with the Ab Chair, and Ab Circle Pro.
The package they offer costs around $100 and includes the Ab King Pro machine, an instructional video, a conditioning video and a slim down plan. But the Abs King Pro is just another bench with an arc support bar attached to it. It’s nothing special, and certainly nothing compared to what we consider the best ab machine out there- the Swiss Ball. Also, its construction is certainly not worth the $100. The cushion is terrible and the machine doesn’t adjust to fit smaller or larger people, making it pretty awkward for them. Continue reading →
Can an Inversion Table Really Relieve My Back Pain?
Many people with chronic back pain can find relief by implementing inversion table therapy into their daily routine. Back pain is in my opinion the worst type of pain there is; nothing matches it. I injured my back 5 weeks ago just picking up my two-year-old boy. I haven’t been able to exercise until just a few days ago. You might call me a pansy, but really anyone is susceptible to it. So what to do about back pain. I’ve been looking into back inversion tables and I’m convinced they work. An inversion therapy table can decompress, re-hydrate, and realign your spine, relieving pain and improving your quality of life. It’s noninvasive (back surgery is something most people aren’t excited about), and relatively inexpensive compared to physical therapy and surgery. It’s definitely worth looking into.
So what does an inversion table do? It uses the force of gravity to decompress your spine, and allows your vertebral muscles to relax. As you lay upside down or almost upside down, 60 degrees is optimal according to some studies (Nachemson, Alf, et al. Intravital Dynamic Pressure Measurements in lumbar discs), you eliminate the effect of gravity compressing your spine. Over time your vertebral discs, which are made of soft tissue, can compress, bulge, herniate, or even degenerate. Inversion tables open up the vertebral disc spaces and allow the discs to re-hydrate. This can prolong the life of the discs and alleviate pain caused by nerve compression. Continue reading →
Lifecore Dumbbells Review
The Lifecore Dumbbells are another set of adjustable dumbbells that would be perfect for a home gym. They offer resistance from 5 pounds to 55 pounds, adjustable in 2.5 pounds increments, and they come with a stand that is very convenient to use. The Lifecore fitness dumbbells replace 44 sets of traditional hex dumbbells, saving you hundreds of dollars, and offer an extremely comfortable grip and easy to use switching mechanism. They don’t quite measure up to the Powerblock or Weider Powerswitch in my opinion (I’ll mention why later) but they are still one of the best sets out there. Continue reading →
The Ideal Protein Diet Review Part II.
There are so many diets out there and so many different exercise programs and equipment it’s hard to know what will work for you. Everyone’s body is different and reacts different to dieting and exercise. And we all have different goals for our ideal weight, figure, and overall health. At least I believe we should have goals regarding those things. One thing I didn’t explain in the first post was that this diet does make you lose weight. My buddy that started almost two months ago has lost a ton of weight already. He lost twenty pounds in two weeks. A lot people would love to lose that kind of weight so quickly. So if your only goal is to lose weight, and to lose it fast, then this diet might be your answer. Continue reading →
Weider Powerswitch Adjustable Dumbbells Review
The Weider Powerswitch is a great alternative to a traditional hex dumbbell set for a home gym. I own and use the Weider Powerswitch almost every day, and I have not been disappointed in the least. They are priced very reasonably, are durable, and are very easy to switch between weights. The Weider Tech Powerswitch 100 dumbbells costs $299 at Sears and that includes a stand. Most other sets sell the stand separately for around $100. If you have the set shipped sears adds $130 to the price, so watch out for that. They offer 100 pounds of resistance and are adjustable in 5 pound increments. Weider Powerswitch dumbbells also come in a 50 pound set, adjustable in 5 pound increments, for those who like to work with lower weight. That set costs $149. And for those who need even less weight Weider does sell a 25 pound set. You can buy Weider Powerswitch dumbells at amazon.com or at Sears, but usually they’re cheapest if you buy them from sears.com and have them shipped to the store for free and later pick them up yourself. Continue reading →
Adjustable Dumbbells – A Must For the Average Home Gym
For the average person working out at home adjustable dumbbells can be the perfect addition to their home gym. They save hundreds of dollars and a lot of space compared to the traditional dumbbell setup. There are pros and cons to both, which we’ll look at, but most of the time people are more concerned about saving money and fitting everything into the room they’ve set apart as their “gym.” Those in fact are the big pros to an adjustable dumbbell system.
Continue reading →
Powerblock- The #1 Adjustable Dumbbell Set
Out of the dozens of adjustable dumbbells on the market, Powerblock offers the best, hands down. The Powerblock adjustable dumbbells are the most durable, easiest to handle, and cost a fraction of what traditional hex dumbbells cost. Also, they’re the only company out there that offers multiple adjustable dumbbell sets allowing you to choose just the right set for you. But let’s throw out their one drawback right away. They’re one of the more expensive out there. But with Powerblocks I truly believe that we can say “you get what you pay for.” If they’re within your budget they’ll be well worth it, even though they are more expensive than the Weider Powerswitch or the Lifecore Dumbbells. Continue reading →