How Do I Work Out My Back?

October 9, 2018/in Blog, Fitness and Exercise, Personal Training

The back is one of those areas a lot of us tend to forget about. Why? I’m not really sure, but looking back at when I first started working out, I suppose it was because I couldn’t really SEE it, so I wasn’t aware of how its shape really paled in comparison with the parts that “people see”.

As I get older and building muscle is less about appearance and more about personal goals and health, I’m acutely aware of how important a strong back can be, especially in terms of supporting ourselves during other exercises.

Enough of that, let’s get to it!

For this particular exercise, let’s focus on the lower lats, a major part of the back that people “see”.

We’re going to do pull-ups again, but this time the setup is a little different.

Take an OVERhand grip on the bar (assuming you have one!). Keep your knees bent and try to keep them in front of you (This prevents your back from arching as well as making sure you’re isolating those lats).

Before you even mess with what your arms are doing, pull with your shoulders. Then bring yourself up until your chin is slightly above the bar (or handles, whatever you’re using). When you get to the top, make sure your shoulders are pressed down, and pull your elbows in toward your sides simultaneously.

Pretty self-explanatory lift, really. The only pointer I can think of is to keep a wide grip; it will help build your upper lats, as well as rhomboids.

Finding the Motivation to Start Working Out Again

October 8, 2018/in Blog, Fitness and Exercise, Personal Training

What do you do when you lose your momentum and can’t bring yourself to do your workouts? Recently I was asked if the honest admission that you are getting overweight could be the “jump start” that gets you going?

My answer? Yes, indeed, this would probably do it, although the real trick is to make this honest admission at a time wherein it is possible for you to do a workout.

In other words, say you get out of bed not having worked out for several weeks. Or for several months. Then say, as you shower, you experience the early morning clarity of a shower talk. You know. The kinds of talks you have with yourself wherein you process the urges to better yourself still ringing in your head from sleep.

During this pep talk with yourself then, say you hear your mental mind telling you how much you want to get back to your fitness routine. Of course, then you might hear your physical mind saying, ugh, I know. I should, but . . . blah, blah, blah. After which your mental mind chimes in with, “where would I possibly find the time to workout anyway.” Body / mind connection at it’s finest, eh?

On the other hand, these kinds of mind / body arguments can often be the momentum-building spring boards which can return you to a healthy mind / body life. Not only to a healthy fitness plan mind you, but also to just about any segment of life wherein you’ve lost your momentum. Education. Time with your kids. Hobbies. Whatever. All can be helped by a positive shower talk.

My point here is though that if you have this shower talk with yourself and then go directly from your shower to a workout, you may indeed succeed. Yes, your mind will tell you, you are crazy. However, if it works, don’t fix it. Just do it.

The thing to keep in mind then is to “strike while the iron is hot.” And this is true for all things, but especially true for attempts to regain momentum in stressful activities such as working out.

10 Great Cardio Routine Makeover to Get Lean Fast!

October 5, 2018/in Advice on Cardio, Blog, Personal Training

If you have been a follower of my site for quite sometime now, you already have an idea that I am not a cardio fan. Cardio machines have their share of advantages and disadvantages. However, I learned that people can get very different result than what they expect if they do not use machines properly.

For instance, I have witnessed saddlebags on many who have used machines the wrong way: nobody want to see that on their body.

If you still weigh the same months after you start doing cardio routines, you must be thinking that you are doing your routines inappropriately. You are right!

If this is the case, this is the perfect time to give your cardio routines a different mix before you ask a fitness expert for help to shed those fats. I have listed below things that can help you on your cardio routines:

1. Combine high and low intensity cardio.

There is no need for long sessions of low-intensity cardio if your goal is only to shed those fats away. You will hear a lot of fitness gurus telling you that you can burn those fats easily when you do low-intensity cardio. Yes, you will burn those fats when you do the 40 up to 90 minutes cardio session though it will not have a big effect on your metabolism.

However, doing slow steady cardio sessions will have fat-storing hormonal effects on you. Additionally, your body will get used to it after 6 months storing some extra body fats preparing your body for the next round of cardio sessions.

2. Introduce (true) interval training.

If doing exercise has become a daily routine to you, then you know the term “interval training” – varying high intensity workouts with lower intensity sessions. This is great since it gives you more endurance to do harder routines in a short period. Additionally, it keeps your energy twice higher when you perform high intensity cardio.

Moreover, your metabolism will develop if the resistance on the routine is high enough. The only issue you would most probably experience is your lack of determination to push yourself more. You can spend a minimum of 20 minutes for effective interval training.

You need to make sure that by the time you reach the high intensity, you have to push yourself so hard that you almost feel like you are going to collapse while you are getting near the time you set for your routine. Ways to recover are either to standstill or just stay relaxed and take it slow. If you still feel the same before and after the workout, then your routine is not yet enough.

Lastly, there should be variations on your routines. You can try two different routines in a minute or a 45 seconds hard routine with 30 seconds dedicated for recovery. Routine variations will play an important role if your want to see your desired results.

3. Try some sprints.

Did you ever wonder how is the body built of a sprinter differs from a marathon runner? Sure, there is a big difference. When we think of sprinter, we think of them spending more time running but they are also into bikes or doing cross training for both.

Though interval training may improve either or both speed and resistance, sprint is based solely on speed. They are done for a specific distance on given period that is followed by a complete rest.

4. And a few hills.

Hills are a great way to develop those lean muscles on your gluts and legs and to increase your metabolism as well. While some cardio will not have a long-lasting effect on your metabolism, using hills for your cardio routine will. This is definitely the best approach to cardio training. You can change the inclination setting of your treadmill to at least 8 or go to a handy hill in a local park near your place.

You can get started with a simple brisk walk and as your body get along with the routine, you can combine it with other training like a light running. If you like pushing yourself more, you can integrate training or sprint based training while on hill for up to 20 minutes instead of just doing a simple light running. This is a kind of workout that your body will find hard to recover the first few times you do it.

5. Combine cardio to other training routines.

Have you ever thought of combining your cardio routines with other training that you are doing? If you are a busy person or feeling stressed, doing cardio routines alone can activate a stress hormone reaction to your body that builds more storage. If you are not stressed and you did a cardio more than you are required to do it, it will also have the same hormonal effect on you.

So, when can you consider cardio training as excess? This is doing cardio anything more than 2-3 minutes in a week and longer than the average 20-minutes per routine. You can forget about this rule if you are training for endurance event, as some experts will say that weight training is better in this kind of event than cardio. Real training is a kind of training that our bodies were designed to do. It can include bending, squatting, twisting, lunging, pushing and pulling some kind of heavy objects.

6. Focus on your workout to see results.

Some people’s minds drift away while doing their workout on a cardio machine while their bodies just go through the motion. If you are serious on spending some time on the gym, then you have to focus more.

At times, you might feel like it is just right to follow the speed of the cardio machine, that is fine. However, if you do this all the time, you are not serious enough on your training. In this case, you have to make a choice – push yourself to train to see those results or just stay at home and relax.

7. Mix it up in the great outdoors.

Doing cardio routines may include using some sort of equipment. Sometimes, however, the best workouts that you can do are the ones that includes spontaneous activity or some casual or organized sport.

If the routines that you are doing in the gym are no longer a challenge to you, it is high time for you to hit the outdoors. You can join a Frisbee game, try rock climbing or tag along with your friends that play a certain sport. You can also try new ideas that you can start doing with your friends!

8. Turn your weight session into cardio.

This is my most preferred cardio training. Since I learned how much more weight training that truly works is effective for keeping my clients and myself lean, I have looked for more ways to improve it. This is the reason why I love circuit training. This saves you a lot of time, helps to tone your body, and you will see those sweats coming out of your body as it never did before.

Lastly, it takes care of cardio training without having to use cardio machines. It is very simple – you can choose 3-8 weight training exercises (bigger movements is more effective compared to isolated ones) and do it again, one set of each. Take time to recover for 90 seconds and then repeat it 3-5 times. A break is optional, that is if, you want to keep pushing yourself more on this routine. You will see that this routine really works.

9. Use your upper body.

Your legs also need breaks. On the other hand, if you have been accustomed to heavy training, then it is high time of doing something more than performing the traditional cardio training. You can do some upper body cardio. I would recommend rowing machine. You will know how effective this machine the moment you used it.

Spending just 5 minutes on the rowing machine will really get your heart pumping faster. I like using the rower for some sprint training or for interval training – 100 meters flat out and then followed by at most 200 to give your body some time to get used to this routine. However, if you really want to see some lasting results, a shorter and harder combination will be a better option.

10. Just stop.

What if you were told to cut out cardio training altogether? This may not be for the long term but only for a couple of weeks. You might start to think of doing a very different routine than what you are doing before. This is fine. Everybody deserves a break. In most cases, people notice that by the time they cut out their cardio routines, their performance improved on some other areas.

You may hear others that when they are doing weight training, they are not giving their 100% on it so that they can save some of their energy for cardio. I have been a cardio queen for years but this did not stop me from improving my training by trying out some other routines and ‘no’ is not an option here. I would advise at least 2-4 weeks of cutting out your cardio routine each year for maximum results.

The choice is yours. In the meantime, try to get started by doing all the things I have mentioned here and I mean right away. I can guarantee you that you would be able to see the result in just a week or two and the visual results will soon follow.

How To Perform Cardio For Proper Heart Rate And Weight Loss

October 4, 2018/in Advice on Cardio, Blog, Personal Training

Cardio is well known for it’s ability to help you lose weight, stay fit, and promote a healthy life. We all know this basic knowledge about cardio working to maximum heart rate. However, the problem is that many people don’t understand the four basic reasons for performing cardio, in regards to targeting different fitness goals through maximum heart pulse.

You need to have an understanding of how to target maximum heart rate and how to get it up enough to hit certain fitness goals. So, let me give you the four main goals people have when dealing with cardio.

Here Are The Four Main Reasons:

Maintaining overall general health consistently
Reaching certain weight loss (body fat loss) goals to become lean
Get to a certain aerobic training point such as certain Fitness Goals
Reach a point of optimal health through maximum conditioning

Those are the four main reasons many individuals perform cardio and aim to increase their heart rate. Many people have attempted reaching these certain goals, however the problem is that many individuals don’t know how to reach those goals and how to get their heart rate at the proper levels to hit those goals.

This is why I’d like to further explain how to reach each of these individual fitness goals through proper cardio and the exact method you need to implement and follow for maximum heart rate conditioning.

How To Calculate Your Maximum Heart Rate

Now the main problem is that many individuals don’t know how to calculate their maximum heart pulse. This is where I want to explain how to do it properly and by which method you need to follow. Now for calculating your heart pace, there are two different specifications by which you’ll calculate it.

Either you’re a man, or you’re a woman. So for men, you need to subtract your age from 220, and follow the steps I’ll explain later in the article. For woman, you’re going to subtract your age from 227 and follow the steps I’m going to explain.

Proper Heart Pulse For Good Overall Health

Many people struggle on a daily basis to even reach the daily minimum amount of exercises needed to maintain basic, overall health. Many of us are below the standard for basic health and need to get much higher if we want to live longer, healthier lives.

So, how do you maintain good overall health through cardio, and how do you calculate it so you know that you’re doing it right? Well in order to maintain basic overall, good health, you need to perform enough cardio based off of your maximum heart rate.

It’s recommended that you exercises for 40 minutes per day at 50% of your maximum heart pace if you want to maintain a healthy lifestyle with little or no problems.

How To Calculate Heart Rate For Good Overall Health

So how do you calculate 50% of your maximum heart rate? Just do what I said initially and subtract your age from 220 if you’re a man, and 227 if you’re a woman, then you base 50% off of that number.

For example, I’m a 19 year old guy so I would subtract 19 from 220, which would be 201. I would then multiply 201 by.5, which for you non-mathematical individuals, would be equivalent of taking 50% of 201. I would then calculate it out and see that 100.5 would need to be my maximum heart pace that I exercises for 40 minutes a day.

Basically, if I want to maintain overall good health, I would perform cardio for 40 minutes a day with a maximum heart rate of 100.5. This is how I’d calculate to know if I’m getting the proper results our of my cardio exercises for maintaining basic, overall health.

This is how you should be calculating your maximum heart pace every day not to lose weight, but just to maintain a healthy lifestyle that promotes longer life. We’ll jump into what it takes for weight loss in just a second.

Proper Heart Rate For Weight Loss

The main question with many individuals looking to lose weight is, “How do I lose weight effectively with cardio?” Many individuals perform cardio, but aren’t doing it right or aren’t performing the right exercises to target their maximum heart pace.

However, there is an easy way to calculate it out so you know if you really are doing enough cardio, hard enough to lose large quantities of body fat. The recommended amount of cardio you need to do in order to effectively lose as much fat as possible, is to perform cardio exercises 40 minutes for 5-6 days a week.

Though that may sound easy, there is another part to the maximum heart pace equation. You have to calculate how hard you need to work for that allotted time in order to destroy body fat fast. So, along with performing cardio for 40 minutes 5-6 days a week, you need to workout at 65% of your maximum heart rate. Simple right?

How To Calculate Heart Pulse For Effective Fat Loss

Now how do you calculate it so you know that you’re working hard enough to truly destroy body fat? All you have to do is subtract your age from 220 if you’re a man, or subtract your age from 227 if you’re a woman.

Once you do that, you then take 65% of that final number and that is the number your maximum heart pace needs to be. This is the number your heart rate needs to be at during the full cardio workout period, if you really desire to lose body fat extremely fast and naturally.

This is how you need to calculate your maximum heart pace everyday in order to lose that weight you so desire to lose.

Proper Heart Rate For Aerobic Training

Now for those looking to go past normal weight loss, and actually maximize their stamina and endurance dramatically, you can aim for maximum heart rate that promotes proper aerobic training. To perform proper cardio as hard and as long as you need to, you have to exercises 40 minutes 3-5 times a week at 75% of your maximum heart pulse.

This will not only help you lose massive amounts of weight, but it will push you past that “weight loss level” and take your stamina and endurance to an entirely new level.

This is basically for individuals who are pretty fit and healthy, who want to drop a little bit of extra weight. Or, this can be for individuals aiming for high goals, who want to reach those weight loss goals in the least amount of time.

How To Calculate Heart Pace For Aerobic Training

So, how do you know if you’re past the average weight loss cardio and are pushing yourself for increased stamina and fitness? Well, all you do here is keep in mind that you’re performing cardio for 40 minutes 3-5 times a week at 75% of your maximum heart pace.

The way you calculate this is to subtract your age from 200 if you’re a man, or subtract your age from 227 if you’re a woman. By doing this, you can calculate what your heart rate needs to be for the entire time that you perform cardio. Then, once you got it figured out and know what your heart rate needs to be, just keep it that way and you’ll surpass your normal fitness levels.

Proper Heart Rate For Absolute Maximum Conditioning

Now this is for those individuals looking to aim superbly high and reach goals that they never thought possible. Basically you’re aiming to get as fit and healthy as your body will possibly allow for. This builds maximum endurance and stamina for high intensity workouts and activities that involves short, powerful bursts of energy.

For these kind of cardio workouts, you’ll be breathing as hard as you possibly can and you’ll truly be pushing your body to the limit. There’s no limit to how much body fat you can destroy with just one of these cardio workouts.

How To Calculate Heart Rate For Absolute Maximum Conditioning

Now, based on the last three methods, the way to calculate maximum heart pace has stayed pretty much the same. So, since the calculation method has remained stable, what do you think we’re going to do to calculate heart rates for maximum conditioning?

Yup, we’re going to subtract our age from 220 if we’re men, and subtract our age from 227 if you’re a woman. Then, the numbers change and you’re going to take 85% of that final number, and that will be your heart pace.

Yes, for Ultimate Conditioning (for crazy fitness people) you need to perform cardio workouts at 85% of your maximum heart rate. That is dynamically significant. The reason for this high intensity is that you’re training your body to be the absolute best it can be to maintain optimal health and vitality for you.

So, once again you take that final number after doing the math, and that should be your consistent heart rate throughout the entire cardio workouts. Remember this is for individuals looking to get insanely fit and push their bodies to their Ultimate limits, but this does promote insane fat loss and will give you much faster results.

So, if you’re determined, I suggest you go for this approach and start getting Ultimate Fat Loss results.

How To Determine What Your Heart Rate Is During Workouts

Now that you have an understanding of proper heart pace for different goals, you have to be able to determine what your heart rate is throughout exercises. So all you have to do is go out and find the best all-around heart rate monitor and learn to pay careful attention to what your heart rate meter tells you during workouts.

Take down information and learn how to take control of your weight loss and health today. This is huge for anyone looking to really lose fat naturally and easily, so now that you have the proper knowledge, get out there and use it.

How Much Cardio Should You Do To Lose Weight?

October 3, 2018/in Advice on Cardio, Blog, Personal Training

In this article we’ll talk about how much cardio to lose weight and how this effects your diet and other workouts. Losing weight can be surprisingly simple. When it comes down to it it’s all about the amount of calories in vs. the amount of calories out.

Whenever trying to lose weight, much of your focus should be on your diet. Assuming you are eating few enough calories, the next step is to focus on your cardio training.

Cardio is probably the most effective type of exercise to do when your main goal is weight loss. And of course, Visual Impact Cardio is the most effective cardio you can do. The reason that cardio is so effective for for weight loss is because you can perform these types of workouts for quite a long time and by doing so you will burn quite a few calories. What not all realize though, is that the answer to how much cardio you do depends also upon the type of cardio you do.

We are going to look at two different types of cardio that can be used to lose weight.

When done correctly, you can use a combination of these two to burn an ideal amount of fat and calories. Here is a 1/2 – 1 hour cardio workout that will not only burn calories, but they will mostly be from fat.

5 – 10 minutes warm up
10 – 20 minutes of HIIT
20 – 30 minutes traditional cardio

Why This Cardio Workout For Weight Loss?

So, why should you do this workout instead of a full hour of traditional cardio? By doing cardio with this structure you will end up burning much for fat. How so? It all starts with the HIIT portion.

By starting your cardio workout with some form of high intensity interval training you force your body to release fatty acids into the blood stream. HIIT is what releases the free fatty acids from your bloodstream by creating a higher level of HGH (Human Growth Hormone). So why not do only HIIT and burn more fat?

Here is an illustration of the effects from doing HIIT cardio: HIIT Cardio

Effects of Doing HIIT Cardio

Looks good, right? The problem with this is that HIIT is not ideal for using those fatty acids after they get released. After your cardio workout is done many of the released fatty acids will return back into your blood stream.

This is where the traditional cardio comes into play. Here is an illustration of the effects from doing steady state cardio after your HIIT cardio:

By strategically doing traditional cardio directly after your HIIT workout you burn all (maybe not all, but a lot) of the released fatty acids. This is how you can limit how much cardio to lose weight.

How Often Should You Do This Cardio?

The truth is that you may need to workout somewhat frequently. Even though you can cut the time of your cardio sessions down by doing HIIT along with a traditional style of cardio, you still need to do these often.

Depending upon how much weight you need to lose, you should do a cardio session like this anywhere from 3-5 times every week for maximum weight loss.

5 Cardio Workouts to Burn Fat

October 2, 2018/in Advice on Cardio, Blog, Personal Training

Everything you know about cardio is about to change. You’re about to discover the truth about 5 cardio workouts to burn fat and lose more belly fat in less workout time.

Let’s start by looking at the old, outdated way of burning fat.

Cardio Workout #1 to burn fat: Slow cardio

The first cardio workout to burn fat is “Old School Cardio”. For years, we’ve been fooled into thinking that we need long, slow, boring cardio workouts to burn fat. However, too many men and women slave away on the cardio machines for 40, 60 and even 90 minutes per workout without burning fat. How is this possible?

To be honest, I don’t know exactly why it doesn’t work, but two recent research studies found that women doing 40-60 minutes of low intensity cardio, 3-5 days per week, did not lose belly fat after at least 12 weeks of cardio. Based on those results, slow cardio is not one of the best cardio workouts to burn fat.

In fact, in one of those studies, researchers tested high-intensity cardio, and found that high-intensity cardio was able to burn fat.

Cardio Workout #2 to burn fat: High-intensity cardio

The only problem is that high-intensity cardio requires you to work as hard as you can until you burn at least 400 calories in a workout. That will take you at least 40 minutes – so while this is one of the better cardio workouts to burn fat, it’s still not the best.

A better approach is to use interval training. This is the third cardio workout to burn fat.

Cardio Workout #3 to burn fat: Interval training cardio

In a study from Australia that compared 2 cardio workouts to burn fat, subjects doing 3 interval training workouts per week lost a significant amount of belly fat while another group doing 40 minutes of slow cardio per week did not burn belly fat.

So interval training is a much better workout choice for fat loss. To do interval training, you do a normal warm-up, and then you alternate between hard exercise and easy exercise, then you follow with a cool down. This routine only takes twenty minutes.

Here’s a sample of the interval cardio workouts to burn fat. Do a 5 minute warm-up, and then exercise for 1 minute at a pace that is 10-20% harder than your normal cardio intensity. After that 1 minute, decrease your exercise pace all the way down to cool-down level. Repeat that hard-easy cycle 5 more times. Finish with 3 minutes of cool-down.

Cardio Workout #4 to burn fat: Tabata Interval cardio

Since interval training became popular, personal trainers have been looking for other short cardio workouts to burn fat. A study from Japan used something that is known as the “Tabata Protocol”, and many trainers believe this is even better than cardio and regular intervals. The fourth cardio workout to burn fat is the Tabata Interval program.

I’m not convinced it is better than regular intervals, but it is a heck of a hard way to do a fat burning workout. After a warm-up, you 20 seconds of hard work followed by 10 seconds of recovery. Repeat that 8 times. This fat burning workout takes only 4 minutes!

Cardio Workout #5 to burn fat: Bodyweight circuit cardio

Finally, the fifth cardio workout for fat burning is bodyweight circuit training. Like intervals and the Tabata workouts, bodyweight circuit training is not really “cardio”, however, these are the three better cardio workouts to burn fat.

Whatever you want to call bodyweight cardio, here’s how it works.

First, you start with a quick, easy bodyweight exercise, such as Jumping Jacks.

After that, alternate between 3 lower-body and 3 upper-body bodyweight exercises, using squats, push-ups, lunges, pulling exercises like rows or chin-ups, split squats, and total body ab exercises like mountain climbers.

Finally, finish off the 8 exercise circuit with a tough total body exercise like jumps, burpees, or running in place. Now that’s fat burning cardio!

Those are 5 cardio workouts to burn fat. Only two are “traditional”, but those 2 are the longest, and least effective. The shorter fat burning cardio workouts are the best way to burn belly fat fast.

Best Time to Do Cardio – Find Out When the Best Time to Do Cardio Really Is

October 1, 2018/in Blog, Personal Training, Self Improvement

People often ask ‘When is the best time to do cardio?’ This is an extremely popular subject that is asked time and time again in the world of fitness and cardio. In this article we will discuss when the best time to do cardio is and explain the pros and cons of each one.

Cardio without doubt is an important part of any training routine whether you’re training for fitness or whether you’re training for muscle and size. Cardio will strengthen your heart and lungs, help prevent a number of heart problems and diseases, strengthen your leg muscles and increase endurance levels.

Cardio can be performed at anytime of the day but which is really the most effective? When is the best time to do cardio? That’s take a look at some of the options:

Best Time to do Cardio – First Thing in the Morning on an empty stomach?

The best time to do cardio is first thing in the morning on an empty stomach according to a lot of people. Gym trainers, Personal trainers and even some sports scientists will all tell you that the best time to do cardio is first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. The reasoning behind these claims is that when we wake up in the morning our bodies have gone a good 8 or so hours without food. This means that there are hardly any carbs left in our bodies to be burned/used as energy.

Carbohydrates are your bodies preferred energy source. If you start exercising, your body will be unable to burn carbs as energy as it simply hasn’t got any. Research shows that since your primary source of energy is not available your body will tap straight into your fat stores and use this as energy instead.

Therefore the calories you burn during your cardio will be coming from fat instead of carbs. Due to this theory, many will tell you that the best time to do cardio for maximum fat loss is first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.

There is of course another side to this argument and one which I feel holds a lot of truth. Performing cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach will not burn more body fat; instead it will burn off muscle. Here’s the thing. You wake up in the morning after a good 8 or more hours without food. Your body is currently in a fasting state and does not have a satisfactory amount of energy.

What your body needs right now is something to eat so it can refuel itself. Instead of doing this you choose to put it through a rigorous cardio workout and expend energy that it doesn’t really have. Two things to note here. When energy is not readily available and your body is forced to use an alternate source this doesn’t necessary mean it will go straight to the fat. The chances are that it will target your muscle tissue and burn that as energy.

Now I’m pretty sure you don’t want to be burning off muscle tissue when performing cardio, you want to be burning fat. The other point worth mentioning is that performing cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach will have a negative impact on your performance due to your low energy levels meaning poorer results are likely to be made. You are not going to get optimum results if your body is not properly prepared to perform cardio.

What I am saying above is that the best time to do cardio may well be first thing in the morning but you should not be doing it on an empty stomach. Performing cardio on an empty stomach will limit your performance and increase the chances of your body burning off muscle tissue as energy.

If you like to get your cardio out the way with in the morning then get up and eat something. Get some carbs and protein in you about 30-40 minutes before your cardio. This doesn’t have to be a big meal just a healthy nutritious snack to get you through your cardio. You may then come back and have a proper breakfast.

Best Time to do Cardio – Right Before Weightlifting?

In my opinion the best time to do cardio is definitely NOT before a workout. If your main goal is to build muscle and strength then performing cardio before weightlifting should not be done. If your one of those performing cardio before your weightlifting routine then stop. You will likely see a huge difference in performance once you do. Going all out on cardio before you weightlifting routine will leave you feeling weak and tired.

Energy stores will be depleted and you will lack energy to lift heavy weights. Cardio will also cause protein synthesis to drop. Protein synthesis is your body’s ability to build muscle. If your performing your weight lifting routine straight after your cardio the longer protein synthesis will be lowered. The longer it is lowered means the less time your body can spend repairing and building muscle.

You don’t really want this if you’re looking to build quality muscle mass. You may now be thinking well what if I perform cardio earlier on during the day and then perform my weight lifting routine an hour or two later, is this okay? The answer to this is yes but I still wouldn’t recommend it. If you are set on doing this then you will need to take in adequate nutrition between cardio and weightlifting sessions to ensure your muscles get the valuable nutrients they need to begin the rebuilding and recovery process.

Energy stores will need to be replenished and protein synthesis will need to be elevated. Carbs and protein should therefore be consumed. Even if you follow these guidelines the chances are that your weights workout will still suffer and you may not be able to lift to your full potential.

Best Time to do Cardio – Right After Weightlifting?

Again I would advise against doing your cardio right after your weightlifting routine but if you have no other choice then this is far better than doing it before your weightlifting routine. The reason I say that is because when weight lifting your glycogen stores are not depleted as much as when you do cardio meaning you have a little more life and energy to exert. This will make your weight lifting workout more effective than if you did it straight after cardio but this is still far from ideal.

However, by performing your weight lifting routine first you can give everything you have into that one workout. What you can then do is perform your cardio later on during the day. At least 2 hours apart if you have the time. Within this time it is again important that you replenish energy stores and take in a nutritious meal consisting of carbs and protein. Fats can also be included if desired but make sure you get a good meal in to help your body get back to its original state.

Best Time to do Cardio – Later on in the evening/night?

Performing cardio later on in the day at night or early evening is fine as long as you have the motivation and energy to do it. A lot of people struggle with the fact that they finish work late and then have to get home and set out on a grueling 30 minute run. Many would rather get home and put their feet up, have something to eat and then head to bed.

If you struggle to fit cardio into your routine during the day and are not a morning person who can get up early and get their cardio completed and out the way with, then performing it in the evening or night is fine as long as you are motivated to do so. It can be far more tempting to skip late cardio sessions thanks to long and stressful days at work.

Chances are you will be less prone to doing this if you perform your cardio earlier on in the day such as morning or early afternoon if you have the chance to do so. One other slight downside of performing cardio later on in the day is that you don’t experience the full effect of your increased metabolism. Your metabolism is the rate at which your body burns calories.

After cardio your metabolism will be raised for hours afterwards allowing you to burn more calories throughout the day even at rest! If you perform cardio at night shortly before you go to bed you won’t be getting the full benefit. The reason being is that your metabolism dramatically drops when you sleep making it less beneficial than if you had performed cardio earlier on in the morning. Morning cardio will raise your metabolism for the majority of the day giving you the full benefit of a raised metabolism.

Final conclusion on the best time to do cardio

The best time to do cardio is when you are energized and have your mind focused towards doing it. The important thing is to make sure you are actually doing it. If there is absolutely no way you can get around doing cardio before/after your workouts or late at night then don’t worry too much about it. It is not ideal but you will still reap the many benefits that cardio can bring you.

To experience the most effective gains from cardio I would recommend you perform it in the morning after eating something and on a non weight training day. If you weight train Monday, Wednesday and Friday then try your best to fit in your cardio and running work on the other days you have free. This way you can expect maximum performance in both cardio and weight lifting. The only thing I would say is to watch out for your leg workouts.

If running a day before your leg workout leaves your legs extremely sore and tired only perform a light cardio session on this day. The same goes for the day after your leg workout. If your legs are sore and tired perform a light session of cardio or alternatively don’t perform any at all. The best results are made when you have the most energy so bear this in mind.

Getting up early is not actually that bad once you get use to it. Get into the habit of getting up early for your cardio and you soon won’t have a problem with it. Getting up early and performing your cardio will get it out the way with for the rest of the day, increase your body’s metabolism throughout the day and help you burn more calories making early morning cardio one of the best times to do cardio.

Avoiding and Curing Halitosis

September 28, 2018/in Blog, Health and Wellness, Personal Training

Halitosis, or bad breath, is mainly caused by bacteria building up on the back and under layers of the tongue. There are plenty of treatments available for bad breath, and these are important in good oral health.

It is often asked whether only some people or everyone suffers with halitosis? In order to cure, you must know the causes and triggers of bad breath.

Bad Breath Indicators

When observing people reporting problems, it is common to see a build-up of mucus and bacteria, especially towards the back of mouth and tongue. Removing this film will not always cure the bad breath. Other symptoms of halitosis are a beige or white layer on the tongue, suffering with a dry or dehydrated mouth, tasting metallic or sour tastes, drainage from nasal passages and nodules of a white color on the tonsils. Often, no amount of flossing or brushing of the teeth will cure this.

Causes of Halitosis

Halitosis will affect everyone during their life, but it is only an issue if it remains for a long period, or if it is a symptom of another medical problem. If cured by mouthwash or brushing your teeth, it is known as transient halitosis. When cured in this way, it can often have been triggered by eating foods such as fish, garlic or cheese. It can also occur if you have slept overnight, have been stressed or fasting.

Curing Bad Breath

Identifying the problem. If people you are talking to cough, cover their nose, give you a mint or back away, these can suggest you may be suffering with chronic bad breath.

Using certain types of medicine can often be a cause. Some can cause your mouth to dry, and can often cause halitosis almost immediately. If you find this, ask your doctor to see if there are alternatives.

Drinking at least 2 litres of water every day can be beneficial if you suffer from bad breath, and combined with a sugar-free chewing gum can help prevent dry mouth, which triggers halitosis.

Avoiding or minimising stress is always beneficial, as stress has been shown to trigger the dry mouth which can cause bad breath. Consider yoga, which is a known de-stresser.

Have a robust oral hygiene regime. Brush and floss your teeth, and scrape the tongue.

Avoid foods that can cause bad breath, such as dairy products and red meat, especially avoiding cheese.

To Go or Not to Go Herbal, that is the Question…

September 27, 2018/in Blog, Health and Wellness, Personal Training

Many people nowadays are turning to “organics” and “naturals” otherwise known as herbals. The rising popularity of herbal supplements has created a new fad if not a new health lifestyle. But before you join the bandwagon, here are some things you need to know about this mean, “green” dietary supplementing machine.

What is the difference between a drug and a dietary supplement?

According to the definition set by food and drug administrations in different countries, drugs are chemicals that can prevent, prolong the life, treat other effects of a health condition, improve the quality of life, and/or cure ailments and diseases, or alter the function of any part or chemicals inside the body. These drugs have approved therapeutic claims.

For example, paracetamol is a drug given to bring down the body temperature in fever. Ascorbic acid is indicated for the treatment of scurvy. Iron supplements are given to treat mild cases of anemia.

Herbal supplements are not classified as drugs but as dietary supplements. The main difference is that they do not have approved therapeutic claims unlike in the case of drugs. Moreover, dietary supplements could either contain vitamins, minerals, herbals, or amino acids, all aimed to add to or supplement the diet of an individual. They are not intended to be taken alone as a substitute to any food or medicine.

Most of the manufactured medicines we now have once came from animals and plants. Through the years, chemists isolated the life-saving or life-curing components and separated them from the harmful ones. This lead to the further drug research and drug development that lead to the production of a different variety of drugs for many ailments and conditions from synthetic sources.

But still we have semi-synthetic drugs, as well as drug that more or less approximate more natural composition. Since herbal supplements are made from a mixture of crude herbs reduced into powder or gel form, and later on packaged as tablets and capsules, there is a possibility that life-threatening or at least body chemistry-altering components are still present, thus the expression of concern from the medical community.

Is there a growing concern with the use of herbal supplements?

Yes. With the rising popularity of using and consuming anything herbal or organic is the proliferation of fake herbal supplements that threaten to endanger lives. If that’s the case, then why are herbal supplements given drug administration approvals? One way of ensuring the safety of the people is to have all candidate drugs, food, drinks, and dietary supplements registered with the proper authority. Otherwise, they would pose more risk with these things being sold in the black market for a hefty sum. We could ensure the quality and safety of herbal supplements if they get proper classification with the food and drug administration. Moreover, people may be able to file the proper complaints in the event a worsening of health condition is proven to be linked to the use of a particular herbal supplement.

Is using herbal supplements worth the risk?

Yes. It cannot be discounted that many who have tried herbal supplements experienced an improvement in their health—whether this is due to the herbals themselves or due to a placebo effect, as long as they do not worsen the condition of an individual, then using them is worth the risk. But of course, certain things must be considered before taking those herbal supplements:

Your doctor knows best.

First of all, clear your condition with your doctor. Ask him/her if taking a particular herbal supplement is safe given your health condition. People with heart, liver, or kidney trouble or malfunction, are usually not advised to take these, or at the minimum is to take these herbals in minimum amounts. All substances pass through the liver and kidney to be processed and filtered respectively. Kava, which is used to relieve people from stress, has been pulled out from the Canadian, Singaporean, and German markets because it contains substances that cause liver damage. Certain herbals such as Ephedra used for losing weight, contains chemicals with heart-inducing effects that can increase heart rate, which in turn can exhaust the heart and cause heart attacks in several documented cases by the American Medical Association.

Follow the directions for use.

Never take more herbal supplements than what is directed by the doctor or as instructed on the bottle. Each individual reacts differently to the components of herbal supplements. While it is perfectly safe for one individual to take in a supplement of primrose oil capsules, another person may be allergic to it. So, do not even think about downing one bottle of

It has no approved curative effect.

No matter how the product pamphlet or the label of the bottle sounds about how it has been found to be helpful in certain health conditions, these herbal supplements are not therapeutic. So do not substitute these for the medications prescribed by your doctor for the treatment of certain diseases, or for the maintenance of blood pressure, lowering of blood sugar and cholesterol, and fight off infections.

Beating Panic Attacks Permanently

September 26, 2018/in Blog, Health and Wellness, Personal Training

Suffering from panic attacks can be one of the most frightening things of all, struggling to breathe and feeling your chest tightening and your legs trembling. Your heart is pounding and you’re gasping for air, you may well feel that you are suffering a heart attack when all this begins to happen to you, and that your time on this mortal coil is at an end.

The most likely answer is that you are suffering from a panic or anxiety attack, and you need to learn how to naturally stop and prevent these attacks so that you won’t have to go through the same thing again.

The first time you suffer an attack, you will probably find yourself in a confused and shocked state afterwards. It is natural to question why this is happening to you and what it is, and how could your body be reacting in this way. The fear of another attack is also a natural response, and the more anxious you are of this, the more likely another attack is to happen. If you have suffered from a number of attacks, you are likely so distressed that it will affect your daily life and stop you from operating normally.

However severe your attacks, and no matter how many you have suffered, these aren’t a disease and they can be prevented.

If you have had a number of attacks you will probably understand and have tried many things which haven’t worked. Medicines, calming breathing exercises, thinking positive thoughts and distraction methods aren’t effective in combating these attacks and stopping them from happening. The reason they don’t work is that they aren’t dealing with the problem, but are trying to switch the focus of the problem and trying to help you deal with what is happening, rather than preventing it from happening.

There is however a natural solution to help you prevent panic attacks from occurring.

It is a unique solution which has brought relief to over 54,000 people around the world and helped them to end their problem with panic and anxiety attacks. As the principle of this treatment deals with the source of the disorder, it is not only effective, but can promise the results required. Due to the years of study and a basis in advanced psychology, it can promise to make a real difference with permanent results that will cure the problem forever.