Avoid Sugar To Lose Weight

We already know that eating sugary foods is not conducive of weight loss, but you may be surprised at just how much, and how sugar affects our weight! What you don’t know about the negative effects of eating sugar are actually far worse than you may think, causing health issues far outreaching weight management. So what is this “other” detrimental effect of sugar, and what does sugar have to do with it?

Well, put very simply, sugar actually fuels the growth of bad bacteria in the digestive system, one in particular. It’s called Candida, and it may very well be the cause of the obesity problem we are experiencing in America today.

Candida is a type of yeast which is normally present in the digestive system, but when the conditions become perfect it grows at an accelerated rate. This can cause an unhealthy imbalance in the digestive system which eventually adversely affects most systems of the body; weight gain and inability to lose weight are just the beginning!

Candida thrives on sugar, therefore a sugary diet creates the perfect conditions for it to get out of hand. The immediate signs of Candida overgrowth include yeast infections, also known as “Thrush”, which is generally seen in infants but can also afflict adults. You may notice a rather foul tasting, white substance on your tongue, or the Candida may present its self as a frequent vaginal yeast infection. Men tend to experience no symptoms of Thrush, which is actually more dangerous as there may be no symptoms of Candida overgrowth until it starts to affect other systems of the body.

Frequent stomach upset, heartburn, constipation, gas and general gastrointestinal discomfort are also a sign of Candida overgrowth, and can eventually lead to more serious conditions as the overgrowth begins to affect the systems’ ability to digest food properly.

So what can you do if you suspect that Candida is affecting you?

• Cut back on your sugar intake as much as possible.


• Eat lots of yogurt, preferably organic.


• Take a good Probiotic every day.


• Eat lots of fresh greens and vegetables.

Now that you know more about How Sugar Affects Your Weight you can finally begin to combat what may really be causing your weight gain, as well as making weight loss more difficult than it should be, while ensuring that your body is healthier at the same time!

Weight Loss Workouts for People with Chronic Illnesses

Losing weight is and important undertaking for anyone who is overweight, but for those with chronic illness and/or diseases, Fibromyalgia, Endometriosis, Diabetes and IBS just to list a few, weight loss and exercise are essential components to feeling as well as possible. For these individuals, weight loss workouts designed for those coping with chronic illness are a must.

These conditions, along with any chronic illness, can make diet and/or exercise very difficult, often resulting in lack of ability of the individual to lose weight and get proper exercise. More often than not, chronic illness or disease results in one of the worst things possible for someone with one of these conditions: weight gain and lack of activity. Due to inability to get proper exercise because of pain, inflammation and other symptoms, people with a chronic ailment frequently “give up” on exercise and the resulting weight gain and muscle degeneration due to inactivity then causes even more discomfort and pain. This becomes a vicious cycle in which the individual may feel trapped.

Though it may be difficult, one must make every effort to get as much exercise as possible. However, this does not mean that getting exercise has to be excruciatingly painful or leave you wiped out for the rest of the day. Below are some ideas for making exercise as effective as possible, with as little pain as possible; these exercises can be done in your own home and without expensive equipment, with the exception of swimming.

*Note: One should always be mindful to not “overdo it” and be sure to start out slowly in order to acclimate the body to the exercise, especially if they have been inactive for a long period of time. Remember, exercise is great for the body, butany exercise is better than none under these circumstances, so there is no need to push yourself or cause yourself more pain, this is only likely to lead to further lack of interest in exercising. Take it slow, take it easy, carefully try some different exercises and create a personalized set of movements that your body can handle, without causing undue pain. Try one or two the first day, doing mostly stretching activities, then try another couple the next day and so on until you have a routine of exercise that you are able to complete for about 30 minutes each day. You may even be able to eventually step up your routine for a more effective workout. If some days the routine is too much, restrict the routine to more simple movements or avoid a painful area or areas until you are able to resume your full routine again.

Isometrics are a great option for getting exercise with as little pain as possible as it involves no lifting weights and can even be performed on some muscle groups while sitting or lying down. This is also a great option for gently working muscles as well as stretching. For this reason, this is the preferred method of exercise taught by physical therapists. Even though you are merely lifting the weight of a particular limb or area of the body repeatedly, Isometrics is a very effective in toning muscles when performed properly and on a routine basis. A simple example of Isometrics is to stand up straight with your feet shoulder length apart, arms hanging straight down at your sides, then slowly raise your arms straight out from your sides until they are in line with your shoulders. Hold this position for 60 seconds, then rest for 30 seconds and repeat the process again. If you are able, try this same exercise while standing with your feet about a foot and a half apart and your legs slightly bent.

Yoga is another great way of getting exercise while also gently stretching the muscle groups, it is also known to be relaxing. You do not have to perform the more difficult forms in Yoga if you are unable, again, any exercise is better than none. Start with basic Yoga forms and work your way up slowly to any of the other forms you are able to perform.

Swimming is a great exercise for everyone as it works all the muscle groups without straining joints and puts as little pressure as possible on all areas of the body. Simply moving around the pool gives the body more exercise than you would think, even if it is just for 20 minutes or so and is a calming exercise as well.

Walking is also a great non-stressing way to get exercise, even if you are unable to speed walk or walk vigorously. A simple, slow 20 minute walk works wonders for loosening tight muscles while giving them a bit of a workout. If 20 minutes is not possible at first, start out with 5 to 10 minutes and work your way up. You may also want to take a 10 minute walk, then use Isometrics and/or Yoga to complete your workout.

You may find that you are able to tolerate your routine better, and perhaps even get in a longer exercise session, if you mix different exercises together, picking and choosing the best movements for your condition. For instance, those who suffer from Endometriosis are mostly plagued by abdominal pain. If it is impossible to exercise the abdomen without great discomfort and spending the rest of the day in misery, try Isometric leg and arm exercises that do not overly use the abdominal muscles, like the example above. This combined with some Yoga forms and 15 minutes of light swimming will do wonders for those suffering from Endometriosis, and will at least keep the limbs in shape. It will also inevitably get the abdominal muscles some exercise as well.

Of course, a cardio workout is best, but again, any exercise is better than none at all and you may find that once you have gotten into the habit of a less painful workout you are able to step up your current exercise routine, or maybe even find some good cardio exercises you are able to do as well!

The Ultimate Jump Rope Workout Guide

With the cooler weather sneaking up on us, a lot of people are turning to the indoors for their workout routines. A jump rope workout is great for the indoors. You don’t need much space, just make sure you don’t get it wrapped around the TV and pull it off the wall or anything. Just kidding, but be careful. All you need to do is clear a radius of about 5-7 feet and make sure you don’t have anything that the rope can get caught on.

Another thing to watch out for as you do your jump rope workout in the house is to make sure you don’t whack anybody who happens to be walking behind or in front of you. I only mention this because I’ve come close Let people (especially kids) know not to come close as you’re swinging the rope.

It’s actually kind of nice to do your jump rope workout indoors. You can watch TV or listen to music, which is nice because it takes your mind off getting tired and before you know it, you’ve done fifteen minutes. It’s surprising how many calories you can burn when you’re distracted!

I prefer doing my workouts outdoors, but with cooler weather, sometimes it just makes more sense to do it in the house. This way you don’t have to worry about freezing your tail off in the snow, rain, or cold. You can simply pop in some of your favorite tunes or turn on one of your favorites shows and start jumping away the pounds.

Jump Rope Start-Up Guide

The first thing to think about is getting your heart rate up to a good and safe level. This is sometimes called the ideal heart rate training range. A fast formula to use to get your ideal heart rate training range is to subtract your age from 220. Then multiply that number by .9 to get the high range and then by .6 to get the low range. If you’re 32, a good heart rate training range would be lower than 169 and higher than 112 beats per minute. At this rate is where the heart is strengthened most, this is also the rate the most belly fat is lost.

To learn how to jump rope, don’t get frustrated when you miss a skip or your feet get tangled up in the rope. It takes time, just like anything else. If you feel uncoordinated the first few times you jump rope, it just means that it’s something you probably haven’t done since grade school.

Another cool little side benefit of using a jump rope in your workout routine is that they are so darn cheap. Instead of forking over $600 bucks or more every year at the gym, you can get a jump rope for about $10 and it will last you several years. Now obviously, sometimes you’ll want to do more than just a jump rope workout.

But if you want a very cheap and fun workout, it’s nice to have a rope in your arsenal. When you do a jump rope workout, it feels like being a kid again! And you can get one on a kid’s salary.

Another nice element of a good ole fashioned jump rope is that they are so portable. You can chuck it in your bag and forget that it’s there, until you want to get it out. When traveling, you don’t always have access to the gym, so it’s nice to have a jump rope in your suitcase or backpack. That way you can still do a phenomenal cardiovascular routine on the road, just by busting out a quick jump rope workout.

So whether you’re out on the road or right at home, a jump rope can be a great tool to getting and staying in shape. Not only are they cheap, they make good traveling buddies.

Lose the unwanted arm fat by doing a couple tricks with your jump rope workout.

One of the biggest problem areas for some people is the back of the arms. Sometimes the fat on the back of the arms just has a lot to do with genetics, but fortunately there are several things to do to get rid of that unwanted arm fat and tighten the muscles in that area. One of these things to do is a jump rope workout.

By making a few adjustments to a regular jump rope workout, you can really target your arms and get a great triceps workout. The first time I experimented with this, I could tell the next day that my triceps had gotten an unbelievable workout. They were pretty sore!!

You can also add a simple dumb bell workout to tone and strengthen the arms.

You start out by doing a normal jump rope workout, and then you gradually start to hold your arms out away from your body while continuing to swing the rope. You’ll feel the burn in your arms after just a few seconds of this. Swing the rope with your arms away from, the side of your body for 20-30 seconds or as long as you can. Then you lower your arms back to your side and just use your wrists for the most part to swing the rope.

After ten, or so, seconds begin to raise your arms again and swing the rope with your arms in this raised position for another 20-30 seconds and then lower them back down to your body and swing the rope with your wrists. Do as many repetitions of these motions as you can during your jump rope workout and you will begin to see a difference in the ‘flabbiness’ of the back of the arms.

A jump rope workout has too many side benefits to name, but for Kung Fu and the other martial arts, the foot speed, hand speed and balance are things that come in super handy. In a Kung Fu match, you feel terrible when you have to go up against someone that is in better shape than you or that is just plain faster than you. You feel like you might as well just bow down right then.

I think any competitive martial arts master wants to be the one that is faster, quicker and more agile. They want to be the one that others fear having to match up against. They want to be the best out there. For this reason, many good Kung Fu teachers have encouraged their students to use a jump rope workout. A wise teacher knows that a jump rope workout will speed up the feet, develop overall quickness, and increase hand/eye coordination. All in an effort to be able to put the smack down when they enter the match.

A jump rope workout causes the athleticism of the martial artist to increase greatly. It takes dedication to keep up with the rope routines, but they really can be very simple to start.

Bruce Lee was a very disciplined jump roper

In the beginning, you probably won’t be able to hang with Bruce Lee when it comes to the jump rope workout, he was a very disciplined jump roper. But with a little integration of a jump rope workout into your routines you’ll start to see very noticeable differences. Get better with the rope and you’ll be able to dominate and become better, faster, and more agile.

Exercise the Heart

A phenomenal way to exercise the heart is to perform a total-body jump rope workout. It will burn a good amount of calories, as well as get the heart pumping. It’s nice too, because you can do it from home and without a bunch of bulky equipment. Jumping rope will also integrate nicely into a cross-training program, where you do a variety of combined aerobic and resistance activities. This creates a very complete cardio workout and helps you achieve total-body fitness.

Be good to your heart by exercising it with a jump rope workout.

As you start your jump rope workout, keep your feet shoulder width apart and keep your arms close to the side of your body. Turning the rope should be done with your wrist, and not your whole arm. Keep your shoulders relaxed and the back straight; then just start to jump as you swing the rope. Slowly but surely you’ll start to feel the burn.

To minimize the strain on the joints, keep your jumps small and your feet about an inch off the ground with each jump. As you get better, you can start doing a boxer’s step where you hop on one foot and then the other in a rotation. With a step like this you can increase the speed of your jump rope workout, which will in turn, speed up your heart rate and your overall heart workout.

A couple things to think about as you start to introduce a regimen is that it’s important to build up some stamina before you start working out at a normal level. It’s good to start at an easy level, unless you’re experienced with the rope. You don’t want to take your heart rate up too fast, or keep it at a high level for too long. It’s like revving the engine in your car. You don’t want to redline it. But by building up your stamina with a jump rope workout, you’ll be conditioning your heart and getting in great shape.

Along with almost every other muscle in your body, the jump rope workout will cause your core muscles to burn, especially your abs. Your abs get a great workout because they have to balance the rest of the body while jumping up and down. Because so many people consider their ‘mid-section’ to be a problem area, a jump rope workout is just what the doctor ordered.

Some jump rope workout tricks

You can also implement a couple of neat tricks while jumping rope to target the abs even more. The first trick is to lift one knee at a time a little higher than normal towards the chest. What this does is cause the oblique musculature to work harder. The effect you’ll feel afterwards is a warm or tightening feeling in that area. You’ll know at this point that you’ve gotten a great oblique workout.

The second trick to target the abs during your jump rope workout is to bend over slightly and with each jump, you bring your knees as close to your chest as is comfortably possible. Again, you’ll feel your abs burn afterwards, which is a sure sign that you’ve gotten a great workout.

These tricks may not be for someone that is just starting out with a jump rope workout routine, but after a few days of getting use rope skipping, you can definitely add these little tips and get your abs workout in at the same time. It’s a great way to save some time and still shape the mid-section.

By learning how to jump rope, you can also tighten the lower area of the body. Just 5 minutes of jumping rope will equate to the same amount of lower body toning that running a half a mile would.

You’ll also see dramatic results in the amount of fat you’ll lose in the backs of your arms when you learn how to jump rope and stay with a consistent jump rope workout routine.

Keep at it and you’ll start to notice more energy, a tighter lower body, and flatter belly.

 

Why Not Try The Jessica Alba Diet and Exercise?

Jessica Alba is 35 years old and she is a mother of two children. Gorgeous actress and model looks amazing, youthful and fit! What are Jessica Alba diet and exercise secrets? You should read this piece to figure out how Jessica keeps herself in such a good shape. Learn more about the Jessica Alba diet and exercise!

Jessica Alba Diet

What do you have to eat to lose and maintain weight like gorgeous actress? Jessica follows a strict diet to be thin and fit. Follow these tips:

• Jessica cooks for herself and for her family, as she likes fresh and natural food, instead of processed.


• The actress doesn’t use a microwave and avoids salty foods. If she is craving for something salty, she eats almonds, rice crackers or dried seaweed.


• Jessica avoids sugary foods! Follow this tip and opt for berries, like fresh strawberries or cherries.


• According to the magazine Women’s Health: “Despite her dislike of exercise, she did follow Ramona’s 3-2-1 Baby Bulge Be Gone (interesting name) to get in shape. The diet involves three meals, two snacks and one liter of water per day.” This diet was created by Ramona Braganza, a Hollywood fitness trainer. Ramona recommends you eating more such foods as: Low carbohydrate vegetables, chicken breast, eggs, tuna, lean beef, brown rice, nuts, whole wheat bread, legumes, balsamic vinegar, and fruits.


• Jessica Alba eats a lot of lean proteins, fresh vegetables and good carbs. She eats fruits in moderation, as they contain a lot of sugar.


• The gorgeous actress always eats breakfast! Her standard breakfast meals are cottage cheese or an egg-white omelet and fruit.


• Jessica eats salad for lunch, vegetables with chicken or fish for dinner and dried fruits or yogurt during the day.


• The actress eats small portions of food. According to a journal International Business Times (IBTimes), Jessica Alba revealed: “I have a hard time with portion control, so I have 1,200-calorie meals delivered.”


• Beautiful Jessica drinks a lot of water during the day to keep herself hydrated and to boost her metabolism.

Follow these diet tips and you will get rid of extra pounds! The nutrition plan of Jessica is healthy and suitable for everyone. Why not to try the Jessica Alba diet and exercise?

Jessica Alba Exercise

The actress doesn’t like to exercise as she easily gets bored by it, however, according to her trainer Ramona Braganza: “she appreciates the benefits that exercise provides her.” Interested to learn more about Jessica Alba workout plan? Follow these tips:

• Jessica includes strength training and cardio, like spinning or jogging, in her workout plan.


• The actress enjoys practicing yoga once in a while.


• According to Women’s Health, Jessica revealed that she likes doing dance classes: “That’s fun. Like hip hop class, mixed with like core Pilates-type exercises.”


• She likes to take a walk and play with her kids! This helps her to stay physically active.


• How often does Jessica exercise? According to the fashion magazine Glamour (UK), she tries to exercise every day for 30 -45 minutes: “I start out on the treadmills or elliptical machine for 10 to 15 minutes to get my heart rate up to 180 beats per minute. Then I do 50 lunges and crunches. Next I get back on the machine for another 10 minutes. Then I work on shoulders, biceps and triceps. I do that nonstop for four sets.”


• Jessica uses light dumbbells, 3 lbs. For best results, you can use heavier weights!


• As mentioned, she gets bored at the gym. She reveals what distracts her: “In the gym, I have like five things to distract me: TV, iPod, magazines. Workout partners are good too, so you can chat and not just drown in your own misery.” (IBTimes)


• According to a fashion magazine InStyle, the best advice of Jessica’s trainer Ramona is to push yourself: “If you don’t feel the intensity then you’re not pushing yourself. If you’re on your own, use a heart rate monitor to make sure you’re training in the zone.” Jessica uses strapless Omron HR-210. Also, Ramona adds that it is extremely important to be physically active most days: you should take a walk or workout at home for 20 minutes daily.

Follow these Jessica Alba diet and exercise tips and look like a Hollywood star!

Halle Berry Beauty Secrets For Anti Aging And More!

When people think of ageless celebrities the name Halle Berry tends to come to mind. This sassy celebrity just turned 50 and has two kids, yet she still looks as fabulous as ever. How does she do it? Here are some Halle Berry beauty secrets that you can try to get her ageless look.

Halle Berry rose to stardom in the 1980′s when she entered several beauty competitions. She won Miss Teen All American 1985 followed by Miss Ohio 1986. After that she was the runner up in Miss USA 1986. This all led up to her entrance to the Miss World competition in 1986, which made her the first ever African American entrant. In her interviews during the Miss USA competition she mentioned that wanted to one day work in the entertainment and media industry. After all of her success in pageantry she moved to Chicago to become a model.

Halle obviously was blessed with gorgeous genetics, but what Hale Berry beauty secrets can you use to look ageless as well? Halle has a few beauty secrets that you can try to keep your skin and body looking sexy well into your 50′s.

Halle’s Skin Care Tips

Here is what Halle had to say about her skin care regimen:“What is high maintenance about me is my skincare regime, and it’s been like that since I was 14,” she said. “I’ve always cleansed, toned and moisturized twice a day, every day. I think it’s so important for ensuring an even complexion.” She told InStyle magazine. A good skin care regimen like Halle’s is essential to keep your skin in good health.

Not only that, but she also keeps her skin protected from the sun. “I wear sun protection all year round – even in the middle of winter – and I really slather it on to make sure I’m protected” she said ”If you take care of yourself, I think you age gracefully and it all stays together pretty OK,”

Along with her skincare regimen and sun protection habits, she also doesn’t wear makeup all the time. ”When I’m not working, I don’t really wear makeup. I think it’s a good chance to give the skin a break,” she says. “I’m big on taking care of my skin so that I can go without makeup. I just grab and go, and what it looks like, it looks like.”

Fitness And Diet Tips

Halle says this about her workout routine: “ I workout three times a week, an hour at a time.  I do cardio, very light weight and exercise that use a lot of my own body weight. I just try to keep everything lean and toned.” In addition to working out she also watches her weight. Because Halle was diagnosed with diabetes at a young age she pays extra attention to what she eats. She avoids frozen or packaged foods and choose fresh fruits and vegetables. She has 3 meals and 2 snacks a day as a part of her healthy regimen.

How awesome would it be if you could fit into the same jeans size you were when you were 15? Well that is exactly what Halle does! She says that every year she tries on a pair of Mickey Mouse pants that she has owned since she was 15. If the pants fit she is satisfied, if they are to tight that’s when she knows it is time for a change!

Halle is an inspiration to many women who want to look good well into middle age and beyond. She is a healthy role model and you can see through all of her habits that she tries to make the effort to maintain her beauty and health.

Fat Loss Factor Review

A Fat Burning Program by Dr. Charles Livingston

Due to the increase of consumption of processed foods, foods with added sugar and foods high in cholesterol and unhealthy fats, our bodies have become prone to various complications including obesity and certain cardiovascular disorders. As a result, every individual who understands the risks associated with poor dieting and obesity is looking for an effective program that will facilitate quick weight loss. Unfortunately, most of the weight loss programs available in the market contain unrealistic techniques and methods that lack scientific basis. However, there is one scientifically proven program known as Fat Loss Factor by Dr. Charles Livingston that helps interested individuals achieve their targeted fat loss. This is my unbiased Fat Loss Factor Review.

What exactly is Fat Loss Factor?

Fat Loss Factor is a comprehensive weight loss system designed to facilitate fat burning through exercise routines and comprehensive diet in combination with supportive activities such as stress management and goal settings. It is an effective program that can be used by beginners, intermediate or those who need rapid or extreme weight loss. It is a 12 week system developed by Dr Charles Livingston.

Dr. Charles Livingston who is the author of the program is a licensed chiropractor, certified advanced nutritionist, wellness professional and a motivational speaker. Throughout his career life, Dr. Charles has assisted many individuals achieve their desirable physique through the use of healthy diet and exercises. He has a great research work and knowledge in relevant areas pertaining to weight loss methods and nutrition. This has made him to develop a Fat Loss Factor system that has become well known as a 12 weeks life-changing program that helps you to reduce stress, increase your metabolism, facilitate muscle growth and maximize weight loss through diet and scientifically proven workouts.

How does the program Work?

For effective results, Dr. Charles has designed his Fat Loss Factor system in phases that are easy to understand. All the sections provided are presented in a friendly way and enable the users to comprehend and apply the basic steps and information. The basic phases or sections covered in the program include;

Phase 1: Two Weeks Detox
The program commences by providing what the author regard as the most crucial information on internal body and liver cleansing. In this section, the users are helped to eliminate toxins from their body systems. In addition, the section provides foods that facilitate cleansing of the liver from toxic substances which reduce the body’s ability to burn fat. What is so motivating about the foods provided is that they are readily available throughout the world and are scientifically proven to work exceptionally well in boosting fat-burning metabolism, cleansing the liver, strengthening the immune system, breaking emotional ties, improving sleep and increasing the energy output.

Phase 2: Fat Burning Foods
This section teaches you some of the foods that will transform your body from fat-storing to fat-burning. The diet provided in this section is based on lean proteins, fresh fruits and vegetables, healthy fats and complex carbohydrates, a combination that will boost metabolism and increase fat burning.

Phase 3: No More Cardio
In this section, you will be provided with comprehensive information on how certain cardio and aerobic exercises reduce your fat burning ability. Instead, the program will provide you with 15 minutes 3 times a week workout plan that will increase your fat burning ability. All the workouts suggested are home-based.

Phase 4: Fresh Mindset
The section provides information that will change your mindset about weight loss. By thoroughly going through all the information provided in this section, you will have a complete control of your body and this will help you to burn more fat in a matter of few weeks.

Fat Loss Factor Success Package

The program contains various packages that increase its success. The packages include:

• Fat Loss Factor eBook: It is the main manual of this program which provides important information on how to maintain your fitness and burn the extra fat while eating delicious foods. The eBook consist of 141 pages
• 10-Minute Raw Food Recipes: The package consists of a collection of healthy recipes based on raw foods
• Quick Start Guide: The guide is a 52 page eBook that provides the users with a comprehensive overview of weight loss process
• Liver and Body Cleansing Videos: The videos within this package show you to carryout liver and body cleansing process to facilitate weight loss.
• 90-Day Meal Plans: The package consists of a collection of delicious and healthy meal plan recipes for 90 days
• Diet/Exercise Log: This package has been designed to help the users abide by the program without experiencing relapse
• 15-Minutes Sample Workouts: The package provides 15 minutes sample workouts for effective weight loss
• Goal Setting Guide: The package is a questionnaire that assists the user to decide what he/she wants to do
• Fat Loss Factor Measurement Form: The package assists the user to keep track of the progress
• Grocery List: The package assists the user to obtain the recommended fat burning foods from a grocery store

Pros of Fat Loss Factor

• Encourages goal setting and keeping of track records of the progress. This results to a greater weight loss success
• The program is customized to one’s current level of fitness
• The program provides recipes and grocery lists which help the user to obtain the recommended foods
• The program provides important advice on the need to create a weight-management lifestyle
• The program encourages the intake of organic foods, vegetables and fruits which keep the body healthy
• It acknowledges the importance of relaxation and stress management
• Provides liver cleansing videos and effective workouts that facilitate weight loss

Cons of Fat Loss Factor

• The program requires total commitment to the nutritional and exercises recommended
• It may be expensive to eat organic foods and some of them are not readily available in local markets

Bottom line

Dr. Charles Livingston Fat Loss Factor program is a comprehensive fat burning program that can assist you to lose the pound and attain a fitness level. The program provides users with detailed plan and guidelines on how to eat healthy and lose weight. This makes it a program worth trying

Turbulence Training Review

A Quick Fat Burning and Muscle Building Program worth Trying

Today, it is extremely difficult to find a training program that works for every individual; advanced, intermediate and beginner. This is because most of the fitness programs available in the market are basically aimed at two types of individuals; those trying to push their fitness to the next level and the total newbie. There is nothing created for those individuals who frequently visit the gym and restrict themselves from certain diet but still aren’t as fit as they desire and are not ready to move to advanced workout.

In addition, most of the training programs found in the market these days insist on cardio, fat burning supplements and restricted diet. Unfortunately, research has shown that cardio affect your body’s ability to burn fat. This is because cardio exercises cause immense oxidative damage which results to muscle burning instead of muscle building. If you are looking for a program that will prevent muscle burning, increase your fat burning ability and move you to the next level of training, then try a Turbulence Training program by Craig Ballantyne. Turbulence Training is a weight loss workout program designed for anyone of any level and which does not put restriction on your diet.

What is Turbulence Training?

Turbulence Training by Craig Ballantyne is a bodyweight fitness program that takes a fairly unique approach to muscle building, weight loss and general body fitness. This is a revolutionary new weight loss workout system designed for all busy men and women. Turbulence Training program focuses mainly on delivering the best results within the shortest time possible. It teaches young men and women with children and busy life how to burn fat without doing any cardio exercises and at the same time eating cheese burger. This is because the program has been designed from a short burst workout system, a system scientifically known to help people burn fat 100 times more quickly than when doing cardio.

Craig Ballantyne who is a man behind this program is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach who have advanced experience in health and fitness. Apart from Craig helping athletes get in shape, he is also a writer for magazines such as Women’s Fitness, Men’s health and Oxygen. His many years of experience in Fitness Industry made him to understand how many individuals destroy their fat burning ability by spending much of their time doing treadmills and other cardio exercises.

A look at Turbulence Training

Turbulence Training program is a simple manuscript that has little in the way of graphics or art. Instead, the program has well organized information in form of text that helps you to clearly follow all the training and nutrition instructions provided. Craig’s program starts with a typical disclaimer that advice you to first check your doctor to evaluate your health. This is because the program is a unique burst workout system that will push your body to the next level of muscle development and weight loss. For this reason, the program advises you to check your doctor first if you have a health issue.

From the disclaimer, the author moves straight to nutrition. Interestingly about this program, you do not need to follow your strict diet or take shipload of fat burning supplements. Instead, Craig provides some of the healthy and unhealthy foods you need to consume or avoid to remain lean and build muscles. Some of the good foods listed include low fat diary, water, green tea, organic foods, fiber-rich snacks, lean proteins, vegetables, nuts and fruits. Some of the bad food choices you need to avoid according to the program include sweet treat and candies, processed foods, chips, cookies and snacks, starchy carbs, coffee and soft drinks, anything fried or fatty and refined flour products.

Turbulence Training exercise list

Turbulence Training comes with a list of amazing exercises to perform in each weight loss workout. In addition, the program explains how to perform and complete the exercises through 4 circuits of 2 exercises each in every workout. According to Craig, each exercise provided should take you 15 and 30 seconds to complete without resting between each exercise. To be able to perform all the exercises, it is important to obtain the program and go through all the provided instructions carefully and follow them.

Bonus guide
When you obtain a Turbulence Training program, you will have an access of 4 valuable bonuses.
1. 24-Hour Home Workout: This guide will train you how to burn fat within the shortest time possible. The guide comes with videos which show you how Craig Ballantyne burn fat and accumulate muscles quickly
2. The Turbulence Training Program: The program provides you with routine plan on how to schedule your workout. It is based on 12-week workout routine
3. The Turbulence Training Guide: The guide shows you how to perform the provided exercises and how to perform Turbulence Training workouts along with your favorite workouts.
4. The Turbulence Nutrition Plan: The guide provides you with easy to follow nutrition plan which will maximize your fat burning ability

Pros of Turbulence Training

• One needs to perform the exercises only three times a week
• The workout can be done from the comfort of your home
• One of the best ways to lose weight and gain muscles
• Increases overall strength
• Proven to burn fat
• The provided workouts last lesser than an hour
• No traditional cardio involved

Cons of Turbulence Training program

• The short burst exercises provided may be difficult to complete especially if you are a beginner
• The program does not provide an option of including these workouts into a DVD. This provides you with only an option of downloading the complete program.

Personal verdict

Turbulence program by Craig Ballantyne is a weight loss workout program that facilitates quick fat burning and muscle building in just 90 minutes per week. All the short burst exercises provided have scientifically been shown to facilitate muscle building and fat burning 100 times much faster than cardio exercises.

 

A Bodybuilder’s Diet - Weight Loss and Fat Loss are Very Different Things

The discipline of bodybuilding can benefit anybody, even those who are not hoping to compete in bodybuilding competitions one day. But that discipline is about a lot more than just lifting weights and pumping up. The diet of a bodybuilder is crucial to his or her success in sculpting that perfect shape.

Changing to a Bodybuilder's Diet One Step at a Time

When it comes to changing our diets in order to lose the fat and gain the muscle that we want, we often wish we could do it over night.  But to accomplish this kind of change, it always works better when it happens gradually.  The following is a ten-week plan to change your diet so that you can begin to see the results you want without changing your entire lifestyle over night.

Weeks 1 & 2

For the first two weeks, you will be cutting fat.  During this time, you need to start becoming more aware of what you are eating.  Read the labels on foods, and start to understand what kinds of foods are not good for you.  Instead of getting something that is fried, try steaming your veggies and broiling your meats.  Look at the fat content of your salad dressing.  If it is really high, switch to a low fat or no fat alternative to start with.

Also, you need to get rid of the meats that have a high fat content and go for lighter meats.  Eat chicken or turkey, they can be cooked the same as any beef dish, but have much less fat.  If you are already eating chicken, then try skinless chicken.  Giving up beef can be a big issue for many people.  If it is an issue for you, than simply get leaner cuts of meat to begin with.

Weeks 3 & 4

During this time period, you should cut refined sugars out of your diet.  This means switching to diet sodas or cutting sodas out of your life completely.  Also, you should stop using the little packets of sugar, which are very bad for your diet goals.

Another step you need to take during this time is cutting sweets out of your life.  Now, I realize cutting them out completely may never be achievable.  Switch to the 100 calorie packs or the weight watchers snacks.  There are some healthier alternatives when it comes to sweets.

Also, realize you might fail in this area.  Plan to have a sweet once or twice a week, maybe as a reward to yourself for accomplishing a goal.  This does not mean to pig out on a quart of ice cream.  This means you can have a cookie of two, or a bowl of pudding.  Do what works best for you.  But the more you can take sweets out of your life, the better results you will see.

Weeks 5 & 6

These weeks are not as drastic as the previous four weeks in terms of diet.  You are simply going to be consuming much more water.  For these two weeks, drink only water for your beverage of choice.  This will get your body in the habit of desiring water.  It will also make mind and body realize water is what you want when you are thirsty.  For these 2 weeks, consume at least 16, 8 ounce glasses of water a day.  If you workout, drink at least 16 ounces during your work out.

Weeks 7 & 8

During these weeks, you will need to calculate your lean body mass so that you can figure out you daily caloric intake needed.  This can get a little tricky.  There is a great online resource to help you calculate your lean body mass at http://www.davedraper.com/bodyfat-calculation.html. You now know how many calories to take in per meal, and per day.

You will need to write everything down that you eat, to make sure you are still on track.  Making menus at the beginning of each week will help you stay on track with your health goals and your budget.

Weeks 9 & 10

For these weeks, you basically continue what you learned in the past two weeks and break it down into groups.  You need to determine how many carbs, fats, and proteins you should be eating each day.  You should get 40% of your calories from carbs, 40% from protein, and 20% or less from fat.  Also, you will need to keep a constant food log.

Overtime the eating habits will become routine.  When you are first starting, it can seem very daunting.  Take it one step at a time.  The results you achieve are well worth the work.

Some Essential Insider Tips on Preparation for a Bodybuilding Competition

The obvious and most demanding preparation for a career in bodybuilding is the working out and sculpting of your body.  That is a process that goes on for months if not years before you are finally ready to compete in serious bodybuilding championships.  It is assumed that when you begin to make plans to compete in bodybuilding events, you have done much of the essential physical training so your shape is ready for that big next step.

There are some detailed preparations that you should put together into a checklist so that with each bodybuilding competition you have ahead of you, you begin early doing the basic preparations to be ready on the day you compete.  Part of that preparation is making sure you pick your bodybuilding shows or competitions carefully.

Your trainer can help with this is he or she is well versed in the landscape of bodybuilding competitions both locally, nationally and internationally.  If you are just starting out, it is always smart to begin with some local competitions. In that way, you learn the ropes of how to prepare and how to compete once the show gets underway.  Along with good management of your bodybuilding career, some other tips on preparation for each competition include…

•    Step up your dieting 90 days before the competition.  In this way, your shape is well defined when you step out on stage to compete.  Your diet should be controlled by eating five or six small meals each day and keeping your diet to lean proteins, green vegetables and complex carbohydrates.

•    Step up your workouts as well.  You will want to put a lot of emphasis on exercises that emphasize bulk and definition of key muscle groups.  By also increasing the amount of protein in your diet, you will be providing fuel for more intense sessions at the gym.  In the last few weeks before the show, slow down on the intensity of your training so you are ready to perform on the day of the competition.

•    Add cardio exercises to trip your shape and get lean just before the competition.  Your trainer can help define how to increase the cardio in your workouts in such as way as not jeopardize your conditioning prior to competing.

•    Learn the poses and know the routines you will use when the competition gets underway.  Do run throughs of your routines frequently with your trainer so they are second nature by show day.  Posing takes practice so get it right and you don't want to appear insecure when you get out on stage to make your move toward a championship.

•    Make your decision about your posing trucks and get them ordered well ahead of when you will need them.  Take some time and get some advice on what looks great on you and which posing outfits show your body off the best.  By getting them ordered and in your possession early, that is one less stress to worry about in the last weeks before you compete.

•    Prepare your tan well in advance.  Most bodybuilders use a tanning product like ProTan to get a great tan that will be visually appealing during the competition.  It takes time to get just the right shade so you should start early.  In fact, even if you don’t have a competition coming up , it pays to experiment how you are going to get the right tanning look so if you make a mistake, you have time to correct it.

These are some basic preparations and you will learn to expand and enhance this list the more you compete.  The day of competition is a critical time when you should think about how to stay dry and lean so you don’t have any water weight to dilute your look.  But if you have practiced your posing, prepared your body and you have your tan and outfits together, those worries will not disturb your concentration.  Then it is a matter of getting in the right frame of mind to get out there and be confident, have fun and win yourself some trophies.

Bodybuilder's Diet Problems and How to Fix Them

Weight loss – is it important?

Perhaps the weight fell off pretty quickly the first several weeks, but seems to level off and stop going down after the first big drop-off.  Don’t beat yourself up about it, even if you feel it is your fault.  It does no good to bring emotion into the picture because that can even cause you to become so discouraged that you lose the discipline you’ve worked so hard to achieve.  Determine for yourself that you will resolve the problem by using your brain, not your emotions.

Remember that in a bodybuilder’s diet, the primary goal is to build the body, not to become skinny.  In fact, if you have not eaten a healthy diet before, you may actually gain weight when you first begin your bodybuilding regimen.  Muscle weighs more than fat, so if you are adding muscle, you may actually show a gain on the scales as the fat is replaced by muscle.

How should I measure my progress?

A much more reliable measure of your progress is measuring your body composition using a tape measure or the body fat caliper method.  There are other reliable methods, but these are among the most widely used.  You can also tell a lot by noticing how your clothes fit and even how you look in the mirror.  As you make progress and your body composition improves, you will notice that your shape is changing, even if your weight isn’t going down.  To be sure you are being objective, use a before picture and recorded measurements so that you don’t have to rely on your own subjective perceptions.

If you don’t see progress in your physique by any of these assessments, review your plan to be sure you are following the prescribed diet and exercise program.  If you discover you are not, determine why this is and how you got off track.  If you’ve gotten out of the habit of maintaining your food diary, returning to this discipline can help you find the root of your problem.  The problem could be as simple as failing to drink enough water, or consume the right amount of complex carbohydrates and protein.  Once you’ve pinpointed the cause or causes, start anew with fresh determination.

Do I have to eat every three hours, even if I’m not hungry?

For bodybuilding, it is imperative that you stick to the prescribed regimen of five to six small meals every day, packed with protein and complex carbohydrates.  Resist the temptation to skip a meal or eat less at one meal and more at another.  It is important for these meals to supply your body with a steady supply of nutrients.

Fluid retention

Sodium or salt is usually to blame if your body retains too much fluid.  It is very easy to let your sodium intake creep up, especially if you eat in restaurants or even use prepared or packaged foods at home.  The sodium that hides in processed foods makes it seem to taste better but can sabotage your diet.  Once you adjust to a lower sodium intake, you won’t miss it at all and you will be glad you made the change.

Sustaining your program

Like any other type of diet, a bodybuilding diet may take time to learn and adopt as a lifestyle.  It is important to be patient with yourself as you develop your self-discipline.  Your commitment to your personal goals is like the fuel that drives the car.  Keep your eye on the target and visualize your destination.  If you experience a setback, think of it as a bump in the road, not the end of your dream.  Get back on track as quickly as you can, and before you know it, you will have made up for lost time.

How to Pose for a Bodybuilding Competition

Bodybuilding is a unique sport.  Like most athletic sports, success requires a tremendous amount of skill, physical discipline and focus.  But unlike sports that require direct physical competition such as football or basketball, the primary "event" of bodybuilding involves the skill of "posing".

To those outside the sport, the competitive skill of bodybuilding posing does not sound very impressive.  But learning how to properly put on display the shape and definition of your muscles involves a dedication to fitness and taking on a physical challenge that is as great or greater than those faced by any athlete in any other sport.

The discipline of bodybuilding gives the athlete a tremendous physical grace and shape that is judged based on how it is displayed for judges.  The ability to display how expertly you have trained for the bodybuilding event and to pose so the definition of your muscles and the symmetry of your shape is properly appreciated is a skill that takes some work to learn to execute well.  Many times in a bodybuilding competition, it is the athlete who is most expert at posing well who sometimes wins even if his physical definition is not the most superior of the competitors in the event.

There are eight essential poses that you will learn from your bodybuilding coach in preparation for a big bodybuilding competition.  To be prepared to hit a series of competitions, you should become expert in all of the significant poses that you may be asked to execute.  While we cannot discuss them all here, let this overview help you get started on a long career in bodybuilding.  It is an excellent first step to become a winner in bodybuilding competitions to learn the various poses and what sets one bodybuilder apart as a winner from the others.

Probably the most common bodybuilding pose that you should master first is called the quarter turn.  It is one that is used in pretty much every bodybuilding competition and excelling at the quarter turn will get the judges attention as you move on into more involved poses during the competition.  To properly do the quarter turn pose…

•    Face the judges directly.  This is a straightforward beginning pose, arms at your side.  You can assume an alert pose but present a relaxed composition to the judges.

•    The turn is to the right so that you presenting a profile to the judges.  While you should accomplish a full turn to meet the qualifications of the pose, it is common to twist to face the judges and show your chest, abs and shoulder muscles.

•    Next turn right a quarter turn again so you are facing away from the judges.  This puts your back, rump and legs muscles off so practice flexing to show the definition you have achieved there.

•    One more turn allows you to show off the opposite side of the body with appropriate poses to flex your arms and torso for maximum exposure.
•    Finish with one more right turn which brings you completely around to complete the pose.  You are done so you can step out of the spotlight when the judges give you the signal.

As we mentioned earlier, there are a number of other poses that you should master along with the quarter turn.  Work with your bodybuilding trainer to perfect each pose and make it your own.  It also pays to attend and view as many bodybuilding competitions as you can to get ideas for how you will make yourself stand out in a field of competitors.  But by preparing well and both understanding and practicing all of the bodybuilding poses that you may be asked to execute, you will give yourself the edge that could turn into many wins when you begin to compete regularly in those competitions yourself.

The Basics of Nutrition for Bodybuilders

When a bodybuilder stands in front of a crowd to show off that magnificent body, it seems like he is a superhuman being that came to us from another planet that way.  But that powerful shape and the muscles that make that athlete a champion are the results of months or years of hard work, smart conditioning and preparation for competition.

That preparation involved a lot more than just pumping iron and learning how to pose when in a competition.  Just like any sport, to be a champion in bodybuilding, it must become a lifestyle.  So it is no surprise that to be successful at building those powerful muscles, a bodybuilder has to start with the basic building blocks of strength and fitness.  Those basic building blocks start with the right kind of nutrition.  For a bodybuilder, that is following rules of nutrition that will contribute to the quest for building strong muscles for bodybuilding competition.

The nutrition concepts that a bodybuilder must live by are not hard to comprehend.  The key to providing the right fuel source for a powerful bodybuilding program is combining energy sources with healthy nutrients.  Well designed bodybuilding nutrition causes the metabolism of the builder to accelerate.  But that natural metabolic increase does not become so excessive that it begins to degrade muscle mass which is the very thing the bodybuilder is trying to build and preserve.

Protein is an essential nutrient to build muscle because healthy protein sources can build lean and strong muscle that also provide the shape and definition a bodybuilder wants.  For most of us who are only out to lose weight, the result may be a skinny shape but that outcome does not provide a healthy shape that comes from bodybuilding.

So many of the rules of building muscle can help those of us who are trying to become fit without looking lanky but without body definition.  Protein is the nutritional building block of building muscle.  Healthy proteins sources include fish, chicken, turkey and protein drinks.

Along with protein, a good representation of carbohydrates must be part of a bodybuilder's diet.  But that diet must have a controlled quantity of carbs because if the diet is too heavy with carbohydrates, the result is excess fat.  Carbs can be harmful to the long term success of a diet because they make you feel full quickly but they burn away so you are hungry too quickly which means you eat too much.

A good bodybuilding diet does not eliminate fat from the meal plan entirely.  Fat is an excellent source of energy and it contributes to the proper functioning of the organs as well as the health of the skin, hair and nails.  A well balanced approach to dieting with a focus on muscle development will help anyone who is working out to lose fat and gain good muscle mass.  We can find that proper balance in our own diets by learning how nutrition is the heart of a program of success for any professional bodybuilder.

A Bodybuilder's Diet is a Clean Diet

One of the reasons we all love to watch top level athletes is it is easy to wish we could reach that high level of training and fitness they display.  Of course, a bodybuilder or some other kind of athlete may be dedicated to the task of fitness twenty-four hours a day because that is his entire reason for being.  So even though not all of us can become as toned and fit as top-level athletes, there is a lot we can learn from how they work out and treat their bodies to reach that level of performance.

It isn't a big mystery that to be able to perform at your top abilities in life or in a sport or competition, diet is a very big deal.  For those athletes we admire, a clean and healthy diet is a top priority.

It is good to think of your body like a high performance engine of a racecar.  To perform at its best and be able to sustain energy at peak speeds, only the very best and cleanest fuel can be put into that engine.  So too, for your body to give back what you are asking out of it when you are bodybuilding, only pure and clean foods will do.  That means that junk food should be as much out of the question as buying bad gas would be for that expensive car.

To make sure you develop and then live on a clean and healthy diet plan, work with your trainer or even a dietitian to develop a plan that will provide to you all of the essential nutrients you need to do well in your daily activities as well as the energy fuel to perform well in your athletics.  That is a different kind of diet than someone who is eating well but not active.  Your body needs healthy and clean proteins and other fuels to power you through an aggressive workout.

Also, bear in mind the various circumstances when you will need to eat.  If your particular diet calls for a number of small, healthy meals throughout the day, that may take some effort to accomplish if you have a structured job.  But even if you can do well with the three meals a day system, you will have to plan ahead so you don’t suddenly find yourself without a planned meal that fits your diet plan.

A written out diet plan is a great way to get started because it gives you a roadmap to success in your dieting that is similar to the workout plan you use at the gym.  You should make sure you are getting foods from the major food groups and that your diet plan includes plenty of good fluids to replenish your body.

Along with good foods, look at the diet program you have laid out to make sure there is plenty of variety there.  If you eat the same thing every day, that will become boring and you will be more prone to give in to temptation and eat something you shouldn’t.  So making sure your diet is fun and interesting is just as important as making sure it is healthy.

Fortunately, there is plenty of information available about how to eat well so that the fuel that drives your workouts is the right kind of foods.  It isn't necessary to become a diet fanatic or even resort to only organic foods.  If you include lots of raw vegetables and fruits and keep the food you eat as clean and free of preservatives as you can, the result will be a diet that will drive you to success both in sports and in life.  That is as close to becoming a champion athlete as anyone can expect.

Making the Leap into Bodybuilding Competitions

Deciding to take part in bodybuilding competitions is a big decision.  Competing can be very difficult.  This is not simply because the other competitors are very determined and that they train hard, but because of the commitment and sacrifice that it takes to commit to win a bodybuilding competition.  But if you are ready to take on that next bodybuilding challenge, then competitions just might be for you.

The first step you need to take after you decide to participate in bodybuilding competitions is finding an organization you want to be a part of.  Most organizations will have you purchase a membership, which is generally good for one year.  Once you are a member you can enter a competition that the organization is a part of during that year.

Remember that when you are just starting out, that the competitions you will be part of will not award cash.  If cash is what you are after, than you need to get into the professional organizations and go to the pro competitions to get you to the professional bodybuilding level.  In order to get there you have to place in the top three of a pro-qualifying competition.

An important deciding factor for which organizations you will join is drug testing.  You should decide early on if you want to be a bodybuilding organization one that tests their members for steroids and performance enhancing drugs or one that does not.  Think about if you are currently taking anything or if you plan to.  That will help you decide which way to go.

Once you have become a member of an organization, then you should decide what competition, or competitions, you want to be a part of.  You will should look for competitions that give you plenty of time to prepare.

When getting ready for a competition you will need to change your diet and workout routine some to get in the best shape in time for the contest.  You will need to eat six to eight meals a day and workout a lot more on both weights and cardio.  You will also need to have a lot of free time.  If you're in the middle of the school year, have a pretty serious girlfriend, or have prior commitments, then right now might not be a very god time to compete.

There is also a hefty financial tag to bodybuilding competitions.  Not only do you have to pay the membership of the organization, you will need to have posing trunks to wear on the day of the competition.  You will also have to invest in getting a great tan, which means lots of time in tanning beds.

If you are going to compete, it is important to stay motivated and to have support.  Read motivational articles, watch movies that get you pumped up and let your friends and family be involved.  Have people there to make sure you eat right and that you keep up on your training routine.  If you try to go through all the preparations and training necessary for bodybuilding competitions by yourself, you will burn out.

Remember that bodybuilding competitions are not for everybody.  Competing takes a lot of time and commitment and it is a lot of hard work.  If it is what you really want to do though, stick with it and it will be worth it.

What it Takes to Be a Bodybuilding Winner

Anybody can look at those beautiful sculpted bodies that are on display at a bodybuilding competition and wish they had such a shape.  But it doesn’t take a genius to look around and realize that most people are not perfectly formed like bodybuilders are.  What may shock some fans of the sport is that there was a time when those perfect physical bodies were not the ultimate example of physical fitness that are on display on that stage.  The men and women who are successful in bodybuilding got there because they knew what it takes to be a bodybuilder and they were willing to go all out to achieve that goal.

To be successful as a bodybuilder, you will need to develop a long-range plan that covers work out goals, diet and lifestyle choices.  Anything related to your body must be covered by that bodybuilder development plan.  The types of workouts that you will engage in will depend on two things.  First, they will depend on where you are in your state of physical fitness.  The stages of development for someone who is starting out overweight is much different from a potential athlete who needs to "bulk" up so there is enough structure to support the large muscle base of a bodybuilder.

The second thing that determines how your workout plan is your bodybuilding objective.  Everybody who puts themselves under the discipline of bodybuilding may not be doing so for the purpose of competing in bodybuilding shows.  The bodybuilding regimen of exercise and muscle development is also useful for weight lifters, wrestlers, fighters and many other athletes who need better muscle development to become winners.  Each person setting out to conquer the discipline of bodybuilding may have different goals.  So their workout program should be customized to fit those goals.

It may go without saying that to be successful in bodybuilding training, you will need a good workout facility and a trainer.  You can work out at home without guidance and there have been some success stories where athletes who did that reached the heights of the bodybuilding world.  But a good gym and trainer can make all the difference in helping you stay focused and achieve an outstanding workout each time to exercise.

Probably the most dominant personality trait of a successful bodybuilder is dogged determination to succeed.  It is going to take months and months of difficult, strenuous and continuous bodybuilding training to get one of those bodies you see on display at competitions.  Your discipline will require absolute devotion to the task and that devotion will mean that bodybuilding must become the number one priority in your life every day of your life.  It is not a figurative saying that a successful bodybuilder eats, sleeps and breathes bodybuilding because the discipline of building the perfect shape impacts your recreation time, your diet and even your rest time as well.

To become a successful bodybuilder, you will need to have a broader focus than just working out.  Nutrition is an essential part of bodybuilding.  Your diet not only must give you a well rounded nutritional plan to keep you healthy, it must be tuned to the needs of your body as it undergoes the dramatic changes that intense exercise cause.  You may need to use a dietary supplement such as a protein drink to assure that you are giving your body everything it needs to be a winner.  Your trainer can help you with designing a bodybuilder's diet plan to fit your workout plan.

Finally, your time of rest and recovery is just as important as your workouts.  Much of the work of muscle development happen during the rest time when you are sleeping between workouts.  To devote yourself to intense training and neglect your sleep is a formula for failure as a bodybuilder.  So pay attention to this part of your physical needs because it will make all the difference in how fast you advance toward your workout goals.

You are doing well already in getting what it takes to be a bodybuilding winner because you are reading and learning about the process of development you must go through to become a bodybuilder.  Education, training, diet, rest, a good trainer, a place to workout and the support of your friends and family will all work together to make you a success.  When you have all those things and you combine them with your unstoppable determination to be a success, you will achieve your goal and get the body you want because you set out to be a bodybuilding winner.

Developing the Heart of a Champion

When you watch great athletes achieve amazing things in any sport or competition, it is a thing of beauty to behold.  It is common when watching such a thing to hear a commentator say that a particular athlete has a heart of a champion.  That is a beautiful sentiment but it deserves some further reflection.

When you are beginning your own route to greatness in the world of bodybuilding, becoming a champion is the ultimate success that lies ahead for you.  So developing a heart of a champion is just as important as working out religiously and maintaining strict discipline over your diet and rest routines when you are not in the gym.

There is no doubt that one of the most outstanding traits an athlete displays when you notice that he or she has the heart of a champion is an unwillingness to quit.  This is more than just stubbornness.  It takes a deep commitment to the sport and to your preparation to keep on pushing even when you don’t feel like it or when it doesn’t seem like you are making any progress.

You can be assured that every champion you see winning the top honors in his or her sport had days where they thought they would never win or when they lost and wanted to give up.  But they didn't give up and that is what makes them champions.

Thinking through how you will develop the heart of a champion points out that winning a top level competition requires both mental and physical discipline.  In order to stay with the rigorous training needed to become a champion bodybuilder, you have to have the mental calm and determination to hit the gym for every workout.

That means you will need to develop a mental toughness and ability to focus that is equal to what the champions have.  Becoming a champion in your heart and mind may take some work to be able to get "in the zone" on demand.  So give some attention to your ability to focus and sustain your determination.  That is an aspect of your inner strength that may need training and development as much as your muscles do.

A champion always has a firm vision of his or her goals.  You will not achieve the heart of a champion the day you walk out on stage at an international bodybuilding show.  You must develop it long before then when you prepare for your first local show and every step along the way.

That means you must be able to focus on the goals that are just ahead in your path to greatness.  But you must never take your eyes off of "the city on the hill" which is your ultimate quest for greatness.  That vision of greatness will sustain you in the hard times and take you to greatness, one step at a time.

You can see the resolve to win at all costs in the eyes of a true champion.  That means that the heart of a champion will settle for nothing less than greatness because his or her sport has that high a priority in life.  This doesn’t mean that you sacrifice home and family and things that are dear to you to win at bodybuilding.  But it does mean that your bodybuilding career has such a high priority that distractions from your goals cannot hold your attention.  It means you focus constantly on your goal of winning a bodybuilding championship even when you are not working out.  It is your number one priority in life and nothing will deny you that championship.

It is good to be considering how to find that champion within yourself in this discussion today.  If you looked within and did not see the heart of champion in there yet, that is no reason to despair.  It takes time to "become" a champion and part of that transformation is getting your mind and heart fixed on greatness and developing the resolve to not be discouraged from that goal no matter what.

If you can get to that point that you cannot be beaten even when you have a set back and that nothing will stop you from reaching your goal of winning the top honors in a bodybuilding competition, that is the heart of a champion you must have to succeed.  And it is that inner will to win that will take you to the top in your spot.

What Does a Great Bodybuilding Routine Look Like?

You are ready to take that step to begin losing weight and gaining muscle.  But what should you do.  Knowing what a great bodybuilding workout should look like is difficult if you do not have someone training you or you aren't a seasoned bodybuilding veteran.  But any great bodybuilding workout should have a few common characteristics.

The first characteristic is that the workout should be short.

You should aim for about sixty minutes.  Make sure the workout is no less the forty-five minutes, and no more the seventy-five minutes.  The reason you do not want to go less than forty minutes is because your body has just gotten to it peak during the workout for fat loss and muscle gain.  Quitting now will defeat the point of the workout.  If you go longer than seventy-five minutes, the hormones that cause you to burn fat and build muscle will decrease and the workout will no longer be effective.

The second key thing to remember about your workout is that you do not need to rest for long periods of time.

The longer you rest, the more your heart rate will drop, which will take you out of your fat burning zone.  In order to keep you heart rate up you should rest for no more the ninety seconds between set and exercises.  Another reason to not spend too much time resting is because you want to pack as much into your workout in those seventy-five minutes as you can, if you are wasting precious time sitting around, you will not be getting anything out of your workout time.

Something else you should remember is that while you should consume a lot of water during your workout.  But don't drink too much water all at once.  Take just a few sips between sets and exercises to keep yourself going.  If you chug half your bottle of water while you are working out, it will just sit in your stomach.  It cannot be absorbed that fast, especially while you are in a workout.  Drink small amounts at a time, so as to avoid any discomfort.

If you are trying to gain muscle mass you want to do heavy weights for about five to ten repetitions.  If you are trying to lose weight and look sculpted then you should use a lighter weight and do about twelve to twenty-five repetitions each time.  Choose a weight that you can control throughout all of the reps. If you start having to throw your body into it just so you can lift the weight, then go down some.  The key is to have slow and controlled movements, allowing the muscles to achieve their best potential.

The final characteristic that all great bodybuilding workouts should have is keeping your workouts varied and cycled.

If you do the same routine over and over, not only will you get bored and lose all enthusiasm that you had, your body will learn the routine, and it will not have any effect.  Try different exercises, working out in different places, using more or less weight, and having more intensity or less.  Putting some variation in your workouts will keep the results coming and will keep you interested.

Becoming a Champion Bodybuilder

To say that becoming a great bodybuilder is an all consuming passion is an understatement.  To reach the level of success in bodybuilding that you can compete in local or national shows is going to take a full time commitment of time, energy and resources.  It is a noble ambition to want to win the top honors of the bodybuilding world.  But even with the lure of that big trophy, that goal is not worth giving up the rest of your life for.  So you must find ways to balance your life so that you continue to take care of the priorities of job, family and community while giving your all to your goal of winning at a bodybuilding competition.

Timing is everything.  There are times in life when you simply cannot afford the time to give a high priority to bodybuilding training.  Take into consideration what is going on in your life and what lies ahead.  You may have other demands on your time like parenting, a new marriage on the horizon or work demands that will compete with your desires to advance in your bodybuilding career.  If the other demands on your life are under control, that may be the perfect time to start training for a bodybuilding championship.  If not, keep the dream alive in your heart and work to get your personal and work life stabilized so you can give your bodybuilding ambitions the time they deserve.

It is possible to organize your workouts so you can attend to your daily duties and still make progress on your bodybuilding goals.  It could be that the best time for your workouts is early in the morning before work and family demands are so pressing.  Be flexible so you can pick up your program the next day or shift your workout to another time if something comes up.  Don't be so focused that you neglect your family, friends and work to continue your quest for bodybuilding greatness.  You don’t want to look back after you win that championship and regret what you gave up along the way.

Your diet and sleep are just as important to your bodybuilding goals as your exercise program.  It will take some planning to make sure that the right kinds of foods are on hand and prepared for you each day.  If you have a partner or spouse who will help you with that shopping and is ready to help you get the sleep you need, that will be a huge benefit to your success in preparing for bodybuilding competition.  But don’t make it someone else's job to make sure you get the diet and rest requirements you need to be ready to work out everyday.

It is a good move to get help from those who are a big part of your life in going after your goal of bodybuilding competition.  If you can get your family, friends and even your work peers and management on board with cheering you on to greatness, they will also do all they can to make sure you get your workouts regularly.  If you do your research, you might be able to find a workout facility where you can get a great bodybuilding workout while the family enjoys exercise options that they would like.  In that way, you are working out and being a great family man at the same time.  That is a good combination.

Bodybuilding Exercise the Healthy Way

There is a right way and a wrong way to get in shape for a bodybuilding competition.  When you see a very pumped up bodybuilder like we think of when we see a movie like Pumping Iron, those athletes seem to be able to perform almost superhuman feats of strength.  But the truth is they achieved their high level of athletic ability through hard work and knowing how to develop their bodies through healthy habits.

Healthy bodybuilding is not just for professional athletes who are going to go on to compete in championships and win awards.  For millions of people, a healthy approach to bodybuilding means staying in shape as the years advance and fighting off sagging muscles and lack of physical strength.  This is about more than just looking great in a swimsuit.  Learning to exercise and work out in a healthy way is about a healthy lifestyle for life.

Too often, someone who is enthusiastic to get in shape goes about it all wrong.  The sad news that there is a right way and a wrong way to exercise and get in shape.  So let's go over some tips on how to avoid the mistake people make so that your bodybuilding program does it the right way.

•    Take It Easy!

When you start working out, you want results.  While that early enthusiasm is good, you have to be careful you don't throw yourself at the program too aggressively and overdo it in the first couple weeks of your bodybuilding regimen.  That can lead to problems with your development and burn out.  Set short-term goals that are achievable.  Plan to stay focused on your bodybuilding goals for the long haul.  Better to lose 20 pounds over six months time and they stay off then to lose a bunch of weight up front and then stop working out and gain it all back.

•    Get Help!

If you want to use bodybuilding equipment, it is wise to take a class in how to use it correctly.  The potential of injury if you use this kind of equipment incorrectly is too great and an injury can end your bodybuilding program.  Even if you are going to use free weights, make sure you know what you are doing and you know how to work with a spotter so you don't incur an injury while working out.  The kind of exercise it takes to see real results is strenuous.  So take advantage of people who understand how to exercise in a healthy way so the program you are developing is beneficial and safe for you.

•    Eat Right!

Almost certainly, the goal of your bodybuilding program involves a significant change to your shape.  Most of the time, that means losing weight.  It is good to examine your diet and fine tune it so you eat the right amount of good foods.  But just like you should not "get radical" about exercise, use some common sense in how you diet.  Avoid fasting or cutting your diet so dramatically that you feel like you starving yourself to death.  That is unhealthy overall and it will lead to burn out when you finally give up and start to eat again.  A healthy diet is sustainable for a month, a yea or even for life.

•    The Most Important Tip…

Is to have fun.  Make sure the program of exercise you design is something you like to do.  Not everyone has to run five miles a day and spend an hour under the weights.  There are dozens of types of exercise you can use to accomplish your bodybuilding goals.  If you design a program of exercise that you look forward to each day, you will stick with it.  And that is the only way to see real progress in what you want to do in your bodybuilding program.

Pumping Iron Alum Frank Zane Brains Plus Brawn

If you are like most people, when you see a bunch of bodybuilders, it is easy to think they have a lot of muscle but very little above the neckline in the way of intelligence.  But when the movie, Pumping Iron came out and the sport of bodybuilding exploded on the national scene, the men who were the "stars" of that movie were the best the sport had to offer.

If you were to ask yourself, which of these men flexing their muscles in Pumping Iron already had a master's degree in education from Wilkes University and had taught chemistry and mathematics, that bodybuilder's name would be Frank Zane.  If you asked yourself which of them would go on to earn more advanced education from Cal State with a degree in experimental psychology, that bodybuilder would also be Frank Zane. While many of the bodybuilders who were showcased in Pumping Iron were highly intelligent and crafty individuals, there may be no better example of the perfect blend of brains and brawn than the wonderfully proportioned Frank Zane.

We should not be confused that when Frank Zane brought his impressive education and intelligence to the sport of bodybuilding, that did not mean he was not a serious contender for the top honors of the sport.  Zane won the Mr. Olympia competition three years in a row.

What made Frank Zane stand out on a stage full of well-sculpted bodybuilders is he possessed the second smallest waistline in the bodybuilding sport.  That tiny waist combined with Zane's wide and muscular shoulders created a perfect V look that was striking, artistic and beautiful.  This body design was no freak of nature.  It was a careful creation of a man who understood the dynamics of bodybuilding and used his powerful mind to create a look that would serve him well in world-class bodybuilding competitions such as the one that is showcased in the movie, Pumping Iron.

Frank Zane may not have enjoyed the fame and success of one of his competitors in Pumping Iron, the intimidating Arnold Schwarzenegger.  But Frank Zane held the distinction of being one of the few bodybuilders to have defeated Schwarzenegger in the 1968 Mr. Universe competition.  That win was just a single victory in the 20 year career in bodybuilding that Frank Zane enjoyed.  Before he retired in 1983, Frank Zane had won Mr. America, Mr. Universe, Mr. World and Mr. Olympia competitions.

The methodical and scientific approach that Frank Zane brought to the discipline of bodybuilding earned him the nickname "The Chemist".  Zane precise use of science and training as part of the reason he had a reputation of being able to bring his body to an exact perfection for bodybuilding and to do it precisely on the day of competition.  Small wonder when Frank Zane walked out on stage to compete in a bodybuilding championship, he was a versions contender each time the other bodybuilders faced him.

Upon his retirement, Zane went on to write many bodybuilding books to pass his vast storehouse of knowledge on to others in the sport.  Any bodybuilder who wants to set out to get that perfectly proportioned symmetrical body that was a Frank Zane trademark can do it employing his carefully formatted program that he called B=EARN which stood for Total Bodybuilding = Exercise x Attitude x Rest x Nutrition.

To win like Frank Zane, his students had to be just as smart and just as disciplined as Frank Zane.  But the one thing that this phenomenal bodybuilder that audiences admired in Pumping Iron proved was that brains plus brawn results in a very successful bodybuilding career.

Healthy Nutrition Concepts for Bodybuilders

It does not matter how often you work out or how hard unless you have good nutrition to back it up.  Just because you workout a lot, that does not mean that you can eat whatever you want.  You have to make healthy choices in your eating habits to enforce what you do in the gym.

Eat whole or organic food as often as possible.  Do not eat products that have a lot of preservatives or manufactured ingredients in them.  You should avoid boxed food or meals as often as possible, as well as many other foods.  You will need to be very aware about what is in your food if you are serious about losing fat and gaining muscle.  It is okay to have a pizza or some other kind of “cheat” food occasionally.  But make sure you keep it just that, occasionally.

Here are some foods that are not only great for you, but still taste good.  In order to get the essential fats that you need, try eating nuts, fish, real butter, and using products like olive oil, or flax seed oil, instead of the traditional oils.  To get your carbs eat products made from whole grains only.  These foods literally use the whole grain of wheat, which captures all of the nutrition in it.  Also, try brown rice and oats.

Be sure to eat a lot of veggies and fruit as well.  These foods can have complex nutrients and minerals that digest slowly and have much less chance of becoming fat.  It is very easy to buy fresh fruits and veggies at the produce section of your local grocery store, and many frozen veggies are now sold in bags that can be steamed to preserve nutrients.  Never boil veggies, this takes all of the nutrients and minerals out of them, and puts them in the water, which you will not be drinking.  Always steam veggies or eat them raw.  If you want them cooked, try stir-fry or baking them.  Do not fry or boil veggies.

Another important key for good nutrition is to eat often.  The best thing to do is to have six mails a day.  This does not mean Sunday dinner size meals each time.  This is small meals.  An example would be, and apple with whole wheat toast, and a glass of skim milk for breakfast, and then having fruit and cottage cheese in between lunch and breakfast, then having a turkey wrap in a whole wheat tortilla or pita bread with a bottle of water and carrot sticks for lunch.  Keep the meals small and sensible, but have more meals each day than the standard three.

Eating more meals during the day boosts your metabolism.  The rule of thumb is to eat every three hours.  Always eat your breakfast, as they say this is the most important meal of the day.  Also, plan a meal right after your workout.  This will replenish your body after you burned all of the calories.

If you are hungry, eat!  Just make sure that you are eating the right things.  If you eat the foods mentioned here, you can eat more without gaining as many calories.  Remember that even if you have a great training program in place, if you don't have a nutrition program to back it up, all of your work will be for nothing.