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Losing Weight | Wonderfully Fit

Dieting to Lose a Few Vanity Pounds

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There are those among us who wish to lose a few pounds rather than 20 or more pounds. While many of us would be grateful if that were the case for us, most will find that the smaller the amount of weight needed to lose the more difficult it seems to remove.

The good news is that those with little weight to lose generally do not face the painful issues with exercise and physical activity that plague those with far more weight to lose.

dieting

There are some great products on the market that will assist those with relatively little weight to lose enjoy the weight loss process without feeling deprived. The new market of 100-calorie snacks is an excellent tool for just this situation.

You can get the treats you need to get you through the day without exactly packing on the pounds in the process. You can count calories to no end but if you have only a few pounds to reach your goal weight and aren’t delighted with your tight and tone new body, then perhaps it’s best to work on tightening and toning rather than more dieting.

The thing that far too many people forget along the way is that dieting can only get you so far when it comes to results. There will come a time when weight training and cardio exercises of some sort are the only thing that is going to get you to the body you so rightly desire.

Dieting is good for dropping the pounds, but dieting alone is unlikely to bring you the body of your dreams. You should also keep in mind that exercising and ramping up your fitness routine is a great way to renew your dedication to the process and your enthusiasm. This is particularly true if you have found a fitness routine that is appealing to you.

The fitness routines of today are not the tired old aerobics workout of the 1980’s. You have many options ranging from kick boxing, Tae-Bo, Yoga, Pilates, and even belly dancing for those that dare. The point is that you are not as limited as you may think when it comes to entertaining options for your workout routine.

Find a workout that you can actually be excited about doing and do it. There is a lot of truth to the old Nike commercials that boldly proclaimed: “Just Do It”. Whatever it may be in your fitness routine, it will not do itself. You must be an active participant in your weight loss and fitness endeavors in order to achieve any results that will be favorable.

Whether your weight loss and dieting goals are to shed a few pounds or many pounds along the way it is quite likely that you will at some point reach a plateau in which you discover that you need to ramp up either your level of physical activity or calorie burning methods or you will need to ramp up your calorie cutting exercises.

Either way, dealing with the setback is almost as important as your decision to lose those pounds in the first place. Get back in the game and renew your efforts. In no time you should have lost those few pounds that you were hoping to lose and established the body you were aiming to create.

Stomach Workouts

Lower Stomach Exercises

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An important and sometimes neglected step in stomach exercise routines is isolating particular muscles within the abdominal group. One such set of muscles which needs isolation in order to be exercised properly are the muscles in the lower stomach.

There are a number of stomach exercises which isolate and work these muscles. As with any workout routine, be sure to consult a professional before beginning and always warm up properly to avoid injury.

stomach

Crunch-less Crunch

This first exercise is fairly simple but can also be fairly difficult. Essentially, it involves trying to pull the belly button in towards the spine. This can be tricky, as it involves using muscles which you may not be used to activating. To start, either lie or on your stomach or kneel. You might want to try both ways and see which helps you feel the exercise better.

Relax your body as much as possible, then try to use only the lower abdominal to move your belly button toward your spine. Hold for ten seconds. If holding for ten seconds feels easy, hold for a longer period. The goal is to hold the contraction until you either cannot feel it, or you feel other muscles working harder than the transverse abdominus. When you feel this, let the contraction out.

Alternating Toe Touch

You will need to lie on a flat surface for this stomach exercise. The floor works best, using a mat or towel to cushion the spine. Lie on the floor and put your feet up in the air. Extend your right arm and use your lower abdominal to lift your shoulders off the floor. Touch your left toes with your right hand, then lower yourself back down. Switch hands and repeat. Keep your knees straight throughout and maintain a space between your chin and chest.

Sit-Up Hold

While you are still on the floor, try this stomach exercise. Bend your knees so your feet are flat on the floor and position your hands behind your head. Keep your elbows back so you cannot see them– do not put them alongside your head. Use your lower abdominal to lift your shoulders off the floor. Hold for ten seconds. You may increase the number of seconds you hold as it gets easier. Be sure to lift with your abdominal and not with your arms or neck.

Lower Back Flatten

This stomach exercise is a good natural progression from the sit-up hold, as it starts from the same basic position: lying down, knees bent, feet flat. You may have noticed when you did the previous exercise that there is a natural space between your lower back and the floor, created by the curve of your spine. In this exercise, you want to use your lower abdominal to push your lower back toward the floor and eliminate this space.

Try to focus on pushing with only your lower abdominal and not your legs. Your pelvis will rotate slightly, which is fine so long as the lower abdominal are doing the work. Once you have got your back flat to the floor, hold the contraction for ten seconds. Again, you should continue to build on this time as your stomach muscles gain strength and endurance.

Working Out for Extreme Fitness

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Many people think about building muscles as abandoning life outside the gym and devoting hours in the gym like a monk in a monastery. Perhaps the only way to chisel the body into a hot muscular physique is by toiling hour by hour over the rusty iron day in, day out and year in, year out.

This need not be so. Although hard work is truly required, extreme fitness demands one to be a slave of the iron weights. Full-body work outs can make one progress and it easily fits in one’s schedule. This is very convenient if one is looking forward to achieving extreme fitness but finds it hard to hold on to a single work out routine.

Genuine full-body work outs done by athletes with an aim in mind makes for maximum muscle contraction using heavy weights, makes room for full recovery so one can actually grow and continue to train hard plus it also prevents burnout which is inevitable due to excess training.

So if one is ready for extreme fitness, here is all there is to know about full body work out

Full-body work out is a time saver. The biggest plus about having the whole body trained all at once is probably having to go to the gym less frequently; perhaps around two to three times for every seven days would be enough.

Another advantage of working out the entire body all at once is that one need not spend two or more hours of strenuous exercise in the gym for every session; one only spends one hour in the gym for every session. So that’s just three to four hours per week in the gym right? With full-body work outs, it is all about the quality of exercise one does for session and not the quantity, nor even the amount of time you allot per session.

Full-body work out boosts the cardiovascular system for extreme fitness. One must allot two to four sets for every body part into the one hour session. Jam packed with exercising, each one hour session then gets the heart and the rest of the cardiovascular system pumping and up to speed in a flash.

Now feeling pumped up, next find out what rules does one have to follow when engaging in full-body work outs:

Training commences only once every two to three days. This is so easy isn’t it? What is great about this is that there is time spared during rest days so that one can indulge in a few cardio exercise sessions instead of depending on cardio exercises one normally does at the end of each work out session which after all, are not at all very effective.

Heavy lifting is strongly advised. Contrary to popular belief, especially among athletes. It is not true that it is good to get trapped on training lightly than one actually could so as to conserve energy for the other body parts that will come later in the routine. What is true is that one cannot achieve optimal progress if one is not training heavy, no matter which program that person is doing.

One exercise only per muscle group. This is very easy to follow and is also important. Doing basic exercises which are also intense means you do not have to do another different exercise for that body part.

Keep work out short. Resistance training affects the natural hormones of the body connected to muscle building. Intense exercising boosts the testosterone levels and long work outs increase those of carbolic cortisol. Sixty minutes of work out allows you to get the best of both worlds.

Now with this convenient and powerful work out regimen, one can now truly experience extreme fitness.

Being A Man of Fitness

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Fitness is the essence of a man. Fitness is the ability of a person to do his normal everyday tasks with full alertness and vigor without worrying about fatigue afterward and with extra energy in reserve which can be useful when emergencies arise or during leisure and recreation.

Overall fitness must be the primary goal every man must try to achieve. In fitness, no one is ever too young or too old for improvement.

 

One’s fitness can be improved by engaging in aerobic exercises and through strength training. There are three components of overall fitness that every man must focus on working out in order to be in healthy, tip-top shape. These are cardiovascular work, strength training and of course, these should be coupled with a healthy diet.

Staying strong by building muscles. Man’s fitness regimen should include a work out routine which aims to build the muscles. Aging causes a decrease in muscle mass of five to seven pounds of muscle for every ten years in one’s adult life given that he lives an inactive lifestyle. Truly, the saying “use it or lose it” is very applicable to the muscles. Fortunately, there is a good solution to this. Loss of muscle mass can be replaced by engaging in strength training.

Improvement of Man’s fitness by cardiovascular work out. Flexibility exercises, strength training and cardiovascular work out surely help boost a man’s fitness and all these should be part of a man’s work out scheme. But of all these, cardiovascular work is the most necessary. Exercises under cardiovascular work conditions and develops the cardiovascular system and also works out large muscle groups.

So if a man does not have much time for working out, devoting whatever free time he might have to aerobic exercises would do him fine. He might have to pass out on developing those biceps but so long as cardiovascular work out exercises are done, then the blood pressure, heart and cholesterol levels will be fine to keep you staying happy and healthy.

The essence of nutrition to man’s fitness. It is best as well as well recommended to eat whole and natural foods frequently than do it on large amounts in one to three sittings. Always keep variety in mind when doing the shopping. This will ensure that one is getting most if not all of the nutrients and minerals needed by the body to keep fit and healthy. Always keep the three important macro-nutrients in the diet; these are fats, carbohydrates and proteins. Prioritize proteins though over carbohydrates but never exclude any one of the three on some fad diet.

Some tips in keeping a man’s fitness level high, efficient and safe:

1.) Drink plenty of water all through out the day, especially when working out.

2.) Do exercises properly using the correct techniques, whether it’s weight lifting or aerobic exercises. Always read and understand, and follow of course, the instructions outlined by the personal trainer.

3.) Make sure the is always a spotter when lifting weights.

4.) Challenge the muscles, but make sure that it’s kept safe.

5.) Stretch, warm-up prior to working out and cool-down gradually after sessions.

6.) Check the equipment for safety before using them.

7.) It is better to do less than overdo the whole thing. Over-training will exhaust enthusiasm and kill performance.

Motivation Series

I’m Killing Myself But Have Yet To See Results

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If you have ever found out yourself mumbling or thinking this to yourself, you’re not alone. This is the main factor that most people surrender on their fat loss goals on their journey to get a lean and fit physique. A lack of results can throw an icy cold towel on even the most enthusiastic spirit.

Yet, there are 3 crucial questions that you require to inquire yourself before throwing in the cold, wet towel.

results

  • How long have I been at it?
  • Am I doing what I’m supposed to do correctly?
  • Did I give it my all?

These are the 3 most crucial questions that you directly MUST inquire yourself. Your respond to not seeing results lie within these 3 questions.

We live in a world where everybody wants results rapid. They expect to lose ten pounds in a week. They wish to see their abs after a month of sit-ups. They expect a month or two of going to the gym to result in them achieving a body that would make Stallone cry.

Why?

The answer is basic. fake advertising. Most often the people aren’t to blame. The fitness magazines, infomercials, weight loss vitamins and the myriad of weight loss products that hype their products and make declares so bold they idiot the majority into thinking that the process is rapid and easy.
It is NOT. Weight loss and a lean, toned body take time. The magazines and products can’t give two hoots about the average person. These are cash making companies with only one ambition – PROFITS!

The system is broken and serves to benefit no one but those pocketing the money. If you expect rapid results, you’re in for disappointment. You can’t get a beach body in 3 weeks if you look such as a beached whale. You can’t lose ten pounds in a week by swallowing a few thermo-genic fat burners down with a bottle of root beer.

The truth is that weight loss and fitness need sacrifice, patience, sweat equity and TIME. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Give yourself time. Assuming you lose 1 pound a week, it’ll take you 20 weeks to lose 20 pounds. That’s 5 months. NOT 5 days. Do you have what it takes to adhere it out for 5 months?

You do? Excellent. Then you will see results and your hard job will pay dividends.

Next up, you have to inquire yourself if you know what you’re doing. if your goal is to see your abs and do a thousand sit-ups a day but have a body fat percentage of 35%, all you’re doing is wearing out your floor. To see your abs, you require to bring your weight down to about 9% to 11% body fat. This is fitness know-how that is so vital to meeting your goals. Do you have the knowledge? If you don’t, no worries. The internet is full of information.

Do your exploration and do what requires to be completed. don’t come up with your own ideas and train based on guess work.

Lastly, how difficult are you working out? Most people mention that they are killing themselves, but barely train at 70% of their potential. Do you surrender the moment you pant a little? Do you train till your clothes are soaking with perspiration? Or do you call it a day after one drop of sweat rolls down your forehead?

The navy seals have a saying, “Nobody ever drowned in sweat”. be sure you give it your absolute. anything you may think, you can still do that small bit more. There is yet some fuel in the tank. Once you take off training like your life depended on it, the results will come rapid and furious. You will have a feeling of satisfaction and look forward to your next training session with determination, expectation and a bit of fear. That’s ok. It just signifies you’re training difficult.

To conclude, train difficult, train properly and most importantly, give your body time to adapt and change. It took you years to crawl then walk and on balance run. If you had given up early, you would still be crawling.

Have faith and patience. You will get there. Have no doubts about it. Ever.

Wonderfully Fit Personal Training

Which Type of Yoga Is Right for You?

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There are quite a number of types of yoga these days that try to differentiate themselves from one another and emphasize certain aspects of the entire practice of yoga. Traditionally, yoga works on the body, mind and spirit, though most Western yogas tend to focus on the body.

If you live in a moderately large city, you should be able to find several different kinds of studios and teachers, including:

yoga

* Hatha
* Iyengar
* Vinyasa
* Kundalini
* Bikram
* Ashtanga

Yoga

Hatha

Hatha yoga is the most traditional of all the forms of yoga, and dates back thousands of years. The name means willful or forceful, and the word is a combination of hat (sun) and ha (moon) representing power and balance.

Hatha works with the energy centers of the body, the chakras, as well as the muscles, flesh and bone, for a holistic workout. The main focus is on surrendering to and perfecting the many poses in this form of yoga. There are levels of practitioners who can do increasingly difficult poses for flexibility. They also improve their focus and concentration through meditation.

Iyengar

Iyengar yoga was founded by B. K. S. Iyengar in the 1970s in India and is a form of Hatha yoga. Iyengar’s focus was on detail, precision and perfect alignment for the asanas (poses) he studied and taught, in order to develop strength, mobility and stability. Before his death at the age of 95, Iyengar was said to have perfected approximately 200 Hatha yoga asanas.

Vinyasa

Vinyasa yoga is also known as flow yoga. It uses the same asanas as Hatha yoga, but they are put into sequences that move easily from one pose to the next. The word vinyasa means “breath-synchronized movement,” which refers to the movements being performed in conjunction with inhale and exhale patterns and for the asanas to be held for a certain number of breaths.

Kundalini Yoga

Kundalini yoga emphasizes the balance of mind, body and spirit through the moving of energy in the body, specifically in relation to the chakras or energy centers. Kundalini yoga has several unique postures designed to move the chakra energy up the spine. It does not require a lot of flexibility or stamina and can be done by anyone at any age. There are no levels to the classes the way there are with other forms of yoga such as Hatha.

Bikram

Bikram yoga, founded in the 1970s by Bikram Choudhry from Bengal, is also referred to as hot yoga. It is relatively simple in some ways because it uses only two breathing exercises and 26 Hatha yoga postures done in the same pattern every day for every lesson. However, the poses are demanding and the studio temperatures range from 80F to 110F, with a relative humidity of around 75%. This can also cause severe dehydration and pose a serious health risk to anyone with heart health issues.

Ashtanga

Ashtanga yoga is a form of Vinyasa yoga designed to flow the movements together, but in a more rapid and demanding way. It was founded in the late 1940s by K. Pattabhi Jois from India. It has seven main series – a basic one, and increasingly advanced ones. All of them are vigorous and very few practitioners are known to have reached the highest levels.

The type of yoga you choose should be based on your overall physical health and stamina. If you are a beginner and/or senior, try Hatha or Kundalini if there is a studio near you. For something more lively but not too demanding, try Vinyasa. Then see what a difference yoga can make to your health and vitality.

Vegan Cooking Made Easy

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A push towards a much healthier lifestyle has left many people looking all around for help. There are many different ways to eat, and of course, everyone has their own opinion on which methods are best but how are you really supposed to learn how to properly prepare a new diet? The vast array of dietary choices just makes things further complicated rather than simpler and it can be extremely difficult trying to determine exactly how you should get started as well. The average person also does not have the time to really devote to going to school to learn how to cook either, which is just another complication to the problem as well.

Vegan cooking is not so much a dietary style, but rather an entire way of life. This means it is something that requires just a bit more information and knowledge than simply flipping through a magazine and finding a recipe that looks interesting. Learning to properly prepare and cook a vegan meal requires a really good knowledge of the vegan concepts as well as the exact foods that are impacted. This type of knowledge means that you are going to need to seek out some help and advice in order to create dishes and meals that are not only delicious but also properly nutritious.

Many people who are turning to vegan opt to take a few cooking classes. This is honestly an extremely wise investment not only of your time, but also your health. Due to the large number of foods that you are omitting from your diet it can be very easy to miss out on several key nutrients that you might not even realize you are missing. A good cooking class should teach you how to prepare the meals and cook them properly for maximum flavor but should also devote a bit of time to helping you ensure that you know which foods are critical and how you can make up for missing nutrients.

A couple of cooking classes might seem like a complete waste, but the benefits that you should reap from them makes them very much worthy of the time and effort that you will have to put in. Many people are completely uncertain how they are going to get started when it is time to change to a new dietary style, but typically cooking classes are not necessary. The reason that cooking classes are so helpful for Vegan is due to the fact that it is a change that most people aim to make for life, not just a short diet that they are trying to lose a couple of pounds.

These is a key fact which makes it remarkably different from most other dietary styles and helps to further emphasize the reality that you need to properly know how to prepare meals so that you can stay healthy the entire time you are eating vegan. A few days in a cooking class will pay off and can even serve as a fabulous inspiration of what is possible when you are skilled at vegan cooking and are capable of creating your own truly amazing vegan dishes. The lessons will also allow you to try some new foods in ways you might have never imagined as well, which brings a lot of new dishes to your collection and is certainly an added benefit.

Vegan Cooking for Beginners

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Interested in moving to a Vegan lifestyle? Many people are really interested in the concept, but in practice, it can seem extremely scary to actually do. In order to ensure that you are able to get the biggest benefits possible from the Vegan lifestyle it is important that you make some serious changes that are designed to last for good. This means that it is very important to start from the beginning and begin making some small changes that you can actually sustain for a long time.

In order to really get started with Vegan cooking you need to start assessing your current eating habits. If you normally eat meat for every meal every day you are likely to experience severe problems switching to a Vegan lifestyle immediately. In order to get started successfully you should typically look for ways that you can start slowly. This would mean limiting the meat that you eat slowly and incorporating additional vegetables and fruits into your diet. To start you need to of course know how much meat you typically eat. Using this as a starting point, you should work to omit at least two servings of meat from your diet each week. This will allow you to slowly break your dependency for meats, without giving up on a vegan diet in the very first week.

Of course, there are some people who do feel that it is better to start a Vegan diet by simply cutting out all of the meat immediately. If you are determined to make the change to a Vegan lifestyle this might be possible for you. There are some people who find great success in this method; however, most people do not find this method to be ultimately successful. In order to really reduce your intake of meat you will need to search for some recipes for foods that are delicious while reducing your meat dependency.

If you are determined that you want to reduce your intake of meat you can look to soy products as a wonderful meat alternative. These are typically quite affordable, and with the proper preparation methods can often be just as delicious as meats. However, they do tend o take some time and effort to prepare so many who decide to opt for a Vegan lifestyle find that it is extremely helpful to take a Vegan cooking class to help them. This can be a very affordable way to get started in your Vegan pursuit without running for the first hamburger that you can find.

Another first step that you should take is always look for the help and support of your family. If you are going to be embarking on a change such as switching to a Vegan lifestyle, you need the support of your family to help you out. If you have them on board to make the change with you it will be much easier for everyone to provide support and encouragement. However, it is also extremely important that you take some time to really review all of your options and ensure that recipes that you select will be enjoyable for everyone. Many people make the mistake of picking only recipes that they enjoy, which leaves the rest of their family left out.

To embark on a truly Vegan lifestyle is a very important decision that should never be taken lightly. Simply rushing into the experience can have devastating results. If you are careful and make a wise decision for your family, you will find that the benefits of Vegan cooking are wonderful. A few well planned cooking classes and a bit of additional effort placed into creating meals and it will be no time at all before you are completely satisfied with the delicious dishes that a Vegan lifestyle can provide for you. This makes it a great way to get into a healthier state and also encourage better eating habits.

Top Tips for Vegan Cooking

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In the beginning, you might discover that Vegan cooking is more of a pain and hassle than it is a benefit. If you discover yourself in this position, you are not alone. However, there is help available for you. Taking some time to really look over all of your options is best to ensure that you are able to get the biggest benefit possible from the healthier lifestyle. Vegan cooking is something that will typically require you to think carefully as well as plan ahead, in this spirit it is extremely important to be sure that you are getting everything planned out ahead of time to ensure you have what you need.

One of the biggest suggestions to get the biggest benefit is to look into cooking with the fruits and vegetables that you like the most. If you have a serious objection to eating okra for example you should never dash out and look for a stack of okra recipes. Instead, you need to focus on the recipes that involve ingredients that you like. Of course, a bit of trying new foods is always good, but building a base of foods that you like is a great starting point.

 

To ensure that your new Vegan diet is as affordable as possible you need to look for fruits and vegetables that are in season to cook. If you are constantly having to purchase expensive fruits and vegetables for your meals you will quickly discover that your budget is blown far before it is time to even work on the next months budget. Spreading your money around as much as possible will demand that you buy only foods that are in season as much as possible.

If you are truly interested in living the ultimate Vegan lifestyle, it is time to start investing in a garden for your house. You do not need to dedicate acres of space to the garden, but a small area to raise at least the basic vegetables would be considered essential. If you can spare some additional space to add some more vegetables then go right ahead, however never feel as if a garden is wasted if you only have a few feet. To start with you need to look towards tomatoes and even peppers. These are both extremely easy to grow, take very little space and can save a bundle of money. Having your own fresh vegetables to eat is a huge perk.

Look for ways to save as much money as possible. If you are going to embrace a Vegan lifestyle, you should reap all of the benefits. This means looking for some pick your own farms, which will allow you to pick your own produce at a significant savings. If you are only buying small batches of produce you will discover that it can quickly turn expensive. Purchasing larger supplies can provide you ample stock to enjoy fresh foods as well as allow you to can or freeze additional supplies to have for the off-season months.

A final suggestion to follow as you are getting started with Vegan cooking is to look for some great cooking classes designed to start teaching from the very basics. This will allow you to learn numerous ways to cook without the problem of your meals tasting plain and boring. If you are truly interested in exploring a delicious Vegan lifestyle then the cooking classes are something that you will have to venture into. An alternative to the classes would be to stop by a friend’s house and get some cooking tips from them, this however is only effective if your friend is also a Vegan and can teach you some of the best tips and tricks for retaining flavor and producing delicious meals. Working to live a healthy lifestyle does not involve boring meals that you suffer through; rather with some practice you can create truly remarkable dishes.

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Simple Desk Exercises To Ease Tension

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One of the biggest problems working at a desk all day brings is the neck, shoulder, and back pain caused by it. When we spend a lot of time hunched over our desk, furiously typing away for hours at a time, it’s no wonder that our muscles cramp up and we start to ache.

Thankfully there are a lot of preventative things we can do throughout the work day to keep this from happening. Here are some simple ways to ease the tension in your neck and shoulders.

desk

One of the best things you can do is to simply take frequent breaks. Get up from your desk and walk over to get a glass of water, make a cup of coffee, or go to the restroom. The simple act of standing up and walking around frequently will do a lot to help you stay relaxed and feeling good. When you feel your shoulders starting to tense up, you can even do some simple exercises while sitting in your office chair.

Start by sitting up straight in your chair and do some shoulder lifts to warm up and loosen up your shoulders, upper back, and neck. Bring your shoulders up to your ears and drop them back down.

 

Rolling your shoulders both forwards and backward is another great exercise that will gently stretch those bunched up muscles. When you’re done with that, try squeezing your shoulder blades together in the back. This is a great exercise to offset some of the forward hunching you do while working on your laptop. Last but not least do some spine twists to ease the tension in your lower back.

Reminding yourself to do a few simple exercises like this throughout the day will help you stay in shape and more importantly pain-free. When you get up from your desk, you can do even more. Do some gentle stretching, move your arms, and shake them out. It doesn’t take a lot of time or effort to work out the kinks. The key is to do these exercises frequently and regularly. It won’t take more than a few seconds at a time.

Don’t wait until you’re in a lot of pain and ready for a trip to the chiropractor. Be proactive and take care of your body by moving more and doing simple stretches and exercises at your desk. Your body will thank you.