Welcome to article number 2 in our series “Bodybuilding Sins
That Cause Back Pain and Missed Workouts”. In this article we
are going to talk about how bodybuilders tend to create massive
muscle imbalances and what you can do to not be one of them. If
you missed the first article, you can read it by clicking on the
link below. Here’s a breakdown of the articles to look for: 1.
Article #1 -
Choosing The WRONG Exercises 2. Article #2 - Training
Variations for Pain Relief and Maximum Results 3. Article #3 -
Targeted Stretching 4. Article #4 - Targeted Exercises 5.
Article #5 - Rest, Recovery, and Injury Prevention Article #2 -
Training Variations for Pain Relief and Maximum Results
Bodybuilders are a stubborn bunch… almost as bad as runners! And
they tend to follow the “HERD” doing whatever exercises and
routines the “pros” are doing… Now, if your goal is to be as
big as possible and you are not at all concerned with your
health and fitness, don’t even bother this article… this article
is for bodybuilders who ARE concerned about their health and
want to be big, strong, powerful, and agile… if that’s you, read
on… The reason so many bodybuilders suffer from so many
different injuries is because there are several things the
“pros” don’t tell you… First off, the articles that you see in
all the muscle mags aren’t even written by the “pros”… and the
workout routines they recommend are always extreme and often not
even used by the “pro” who supposedly wrote because their main
goal is to sell magazines… not give you the real deal on
bodybuilding. If you are serious about bodybuilding and want to
achieve your true peak, you need to stay injury free… and that’s
just about impossible if you train they way most bodybuilders
do. There are several key strategies that you can use right now
to not only eliminate any aches, pains and injuries you
currently have, but also keep from creating more muscle
imbalances in the future. For a more detailed article on muscle
imbalances go to
http://www.losethebackpain.com/achesandpainsarticle.html
Strategy #1 - Target the Weaklings! No, we don’t mean the
exercises you think your weak at, or even the muscles you think
are underdeveloped… what we mean is the muscles that are weak in
relation to the opposing muscle group. For example, in the first
article we talked about why the Leg Extension is not a great
exercise and why it’s responsible for so many cases of knee,
hip, and back pain… and the reason is, most people, especially
bodybuilders, are already over developed and stronger in the
quadriceps… and usually have a significant imbalance between the
quadriceps and hamstrings. Another reason bodybuilders tend to
develop so many severe muscle imbalances is because they
emphasize the front of the body more than the back… a great
example of this is what we call “The T-shirt Muscle Workout” and
it usually consists of dozens of sets of chest and biceps… you
know what we mean… in just one workout you do flat bench,
incline, decline, pec deck, dumbbell fly, cable cross overs… and
then for biceps you’ve got barbell curls, dumbbell curls,
preacher curls, cable curls, machine curls, and the list goes
on… So instead of emphasizing the muscles that are already
strong, why not really hit those weak and under worked muscles
like: neck, upper back, shoulder rotators, hamstrings, glutes,
hip rotators, lower abs, and shins. These areas tend to be weak,
tight, out of balance with their opposing muscles, prone to
muscle strains and pulls and most importantly, these imbalances
lead to major injuries and conditions like back pain, knee pain,
rotator cuff tears, tendonitis and others. All of these
conditions are caused by muscle imbalances and will NOT go away
unless you work towards correcting the imbalances… and the only
way to know for sure which imbalances are causing your pain or
injury is to do a series of physical assessments like the ones
covered in our “Lose
the Back Pain Video”. Strategy #2 - Experiment! Here’s a
personal challenge for you: Replace at least 1 of your normal
weekly workouts with something totally different like combat
martial arts, kettle bell training, functional training, or even
strongman style exercises. For example, instead of doing your
super heavy, 3 inch partial rep leg presses, try a single leg
squat… and if that’s easy, try adding weight! Or instead dozens
of sets of shoulder presses and lateral raises, see if you can
do 1 handstand push-up. Those are just a few examples… do
yourself a favor and experiment with other types of exercises.
You can find hundreds of different types of training styles by
taking classes, reading books, watching videos, surfing the web,
hire a personal trainer, etc. We aren’t asking you to
give up your traditional workouts… but just cross-train a bit so
you not only work towards a balanced body but also towards a
stronger, more powerful and usable strength. Again, what good is
muscle if you can’t use it! Strategy #3 - Switch It Up! Another
great way to minimize the number of missed workouts due to
injuries is to vary the exercises that you do for each muscle
group. For example, if you always do barbell squats try rotating
in other exercises like single-leg leg presses, trap-bar
dead-lifts, d-bell squats, etc. Conclusion Remember, the key to
eliminating injuries and preventing future ones is to identify
what areas you need to target. In the next two articles we’ll be
discussing in detail, how to address various injuries like back,
hip, knee, and shoulder pain with targeted exercises and
stretches. In the meantime, be sure to read thru all of our
detailed Artic
les and if you have questions, please post them in our Discussion Forum.
Not long ago, one of the members of my health club poked her
head in my office for some advice and assistance. Linda was a 46
year old mother of two, and she had been a member for over a
year. She had been working out sporadically, with (not
surprisingly) sporadic results. On that particular day, she
seemed to have enthusiasm and a twinkle in her eye that I hadn’t
seen before.
“I want to enter a before and after fitness contest called the
“12 week body transformation challenge.” I could win money and
prizes and even get my picture in a magazine.”
“I want to lose THIS”, she continued, as she grabbed the body
fat on her stomach. “Do you think it’s a good idea?”
Linda was not “obese” by any means, she just had the typical
“moderate roll” of abdominal body fat and a little bit of
thigh/hip fat that many forty-something females struggle with.
“I think it’s a great idea” I reassured her. “Competitions are
great for motivation. When you have a deadline and you dangle a
“carrot” like that prize money in front of you, it can keep you
focused and more motivated than ever.”
Linda was eager and rarin’ to go. “Will you help me? I have this
enrollment kit and I need my body fat measured.”
“No problem,” I said as I pulled out my Skyndex fat caliper,
which is used to measure body fat percentage with a “pinch an
inch” test.
When I finished, I read the results to her from the caliper
display: “Twenty-seven percent. Room for improvement, but not
bad; it’s about average for your age group.”
She wasn’t overjoyed at being ‘average’. “Yeah, but it’s not
good either. Look at THIS,” she complained as again she grabbed
a handful of stomach fat. “I want to get my body fat down to
19%, I heard that was a good body fat level.”
I agreed that 19% was a great goal, but it would take a lot of
work because average fat loss is usually about a half a percent
a week, or six percent in twelve weeks. Her goal, to lose eight
percent in twelve weeks was ambitious.
She smiled and insisted, “I’m a hard worker. I can do it”
Indeed she was and indeed she did. She was a machine! Not only
did she never miss a day in the gym, she trained HARD. Whenever
I left my office and took a stroll through the gym, she was up
there pumping away with everything she had. She told me her diet
was the strictest it had ever been in her life and she didn’t
cheat at all. I believed her. And it started to show, quickly.
Each week she popped into my office to have her body fat
measured again, and each week it went down, down, down.
Consistently she lost three quarters of a percent per week -
well above the average rate of fat loss - and on two separate
occasions, I recall her losing a full one percent body fat in
just seven days.
Someone conservative might have said she was overtraining, but
when we weighed her and calculated her lean body mass, we saw
that she hadn’t lost ANY muscle - only fat. Her results were
simply exceptional!
She was ecstatic, and needless to say, her success bred more
success and she kept after it like a hungry tiger for the full
twelve weeks.
On week twelve, day seven, she showed up in my office for her
final weigh-in and body fat measurement. She was wearing a pair
of formerly tight blue jeans and they were FALLING OFF
HER! “Look, look, look,” she repeated giddily as she tugged at
her waistband, which was now several inches too large.
As I took her body fat, I have to say, I was impressed. She
hadn’t just lost a little fat, she was “RIPPED!”
During week twelve she dropped from 18% to 17% body fat, for a
grand total of 10% body fat lost. She surpassed her goal of 19%
by two percent. I was now even more impressed, because I had
only seen a handful of people lose that much body fat in three
months.
You should have seen her! She started hopping up and down for
joy like she was on a pogo stick! She was beaming… grinning from
ear to ear! She practically knocked me over as she jumped up and
gave me a hug - “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
“Don’t thank me,” I said, “You did it, I just measured your body
fat.”
She thanked me again anyway and then said she had to go have her
“after” pictures taken. Then something very, very strange
happened. She stopped coming to the gym. Her “disappearance” was
so abrupt, I was worried and I called her. She never picked up,
so I just left messages.
No return phone call.
It was about four months later when I finally saw Linda again.
The giddy smile was gone, replaced with a sullen face, a droopy
posture and a big sigh when I said hello and asked where she’d
been.
“I stopped working out after the contest… and I didn’t even
win.”
“You looked like a winner to me, no matter what place you came
in” I insisted, “but why did you stop, you were doing so well!”
“I don’t know, I blew my diet and then just completely lost my
motivation. Now look at me, my weight is right back where I
started and I don’t even want to know my body fat.”
“Well, I’m glad to see you back in here again. Write down some
new goals for yourself and remember to think long term too.
Fitness isn’t a just 12 week program you know, it’s a lifestyle
- you have to do it every day - like… forever.”
She nodded her head and finished her workout, still with that
defeated look on her face. Unfortunately, she never again come
anywhere near the condition she achieved for that competition,
and for the rest of the time she was a member at our club, she
slipped right back into the sporadic on and off workout pattern.
Linda was not an isolated case. I’ve seen the same thing happen
with countless men and women of all ages and fitness levels from
beginners to competitive bodybuilders. In fact, it happens to
millions of people who “go on” diets, lose a lot of weight, then
quickly “go off” the diet and gain the weight right back.
What causes people to burn so brightly with enthusiasm and
motivation and then burn out just as quickly? Why do so many
people succeed brilliantly in the short term but fail 95 out of
100 times in the long term? Why do so many people reach their
fitness goals but struggle to maintain them?
The answer is simple: Health and fitness is for life, not for
“12 weeks.”
You can avoid the on and off, yo-yo cycle of fitness ups and
downs. You can get in great shape and stay in great shape. You
can even get in shape and keep getting in better and better
shape year after year, but it’s going to take a very different
philosophy than most people subscribe to. The seven tips below
will guide you.
These guidelines are quite contrary to the quick fix
philosophies prevailing in the weight loss and fitness world
today. Applying them will take patience, discipline and
dedication. Just remember, the only thing worse than getting no
results is getting great results and losing them.
1) Don’t “go on” diets. When you “go on” a diet, the underlying
assumption is that at some point you have to “go off” it. This
isn’t just semantics, it’s the primary reason most diets fail.
By definition, a “diet” is a temporary and often drastic change
in your eating behaviors and/or a severe restriction of calories
or food, which is ultimately, not maintainable. If you reach
your goal, the diet is officially “over” and then you “go off”
(returning to the way you used to eat). Health and fitness is
not temporary; it’s not a “diet.” It’s something you do every
day of your life. Unless you approach nutrition from a “habits”
and “lifestyle” perspective, you’re doomed from the start.
2) Eat the same foods all year round. Permanent fat loss is best
achieved by eating mostly the same types of foods all year
round. Naturally, you should include a wide variety of healthy
foods so you get the full spectrum of nutrients you need, but
there should be consistency, month in, month out. When you want
to lose body fat, there’s no dramatic change necessary - you
don’t need to eat totally different foods - it’s a simple matter
of eating less of those same healthy foods and exercising more.
3) Have a plan for easing into maintenance. Let’s face it -
sometimes a nutrition program needs to be more strict than
usual. For example, peaking for a bodybuilding or fitness
contest requires an extremely strict regimen that’s different
than the rest of the year. As a rule, the stricter your
nutrition program, the more you must plan ahead and the more
time you must allow for a slow, disciplined transition into
maintenance. Failure to plan for a gradual transition will
almost always result in bingeing and a very rapid, hard fall
“off the wagon.”
4) Focus on changing daily behaviors and habits one or two at a
time. Rather than making huge, multiple changes all at once,
focus on changing one or two habits/behaviors at a time. Most
psychologists agree that it takes about 21 days of consistent
effort to replace an old bad habit with a new positive one. As
you master each habit, and it becomes as ingrained into your
daily life as brushing your teeth, then you simply move on to
the next one. That would be at least 17 new habits per year. Can
you imagine the impact that would have on your health and your
life? This approach requires a lot of patience, but the results
are a lot more permanent than if you try to change everything in
one fell swoop. This is also the least intimidating way for a
beginner to start making some health-improving changes to their
lifestyle.
5) Make goal setting a lifelong habit. Goal setting is not a
one-time event, it’s a process that never ends. For example, if
you have a 12 week goal to lose 6% bodyfat, what are you going
to do after you achieve it? Lose even more fat? Gain muscle?
Maintain? What’s next? On week 13, day 1, if you have no
direction and nothing to keep you going, you’ll have nothing to
keep you from slipping back into old patterns. Every time you
achieve a goal, you must set another one. Having daily and
weekly short term goals means that you are literally setting
goals continuously and never stopping.
6) Allow a reasonable time frame to reach your goal. It’s
important to set deadlines for your fitness and weight loss
goals. It’s also important to set ambitious goals, but you must
allow a reasonable time frame for achieving them. Time pressure
is often the motivating force that helps people get in the best
shape of their lives. But when the deadline is unrealistic for a
particular goal (like 30 pounds in 30 days), then crash dieting
or other extreme measures are often taken to get there before
the bell. The more rapidly you lose weight, the more likely you
are to lose muscle and the faster the weight will come right
back on afterwards. Start sooner. Don’t wait until mid-May to
think about looking good for summer.
7) Extend your time perspective. Successful people in every
field always share one common character trait: Long term time
perspective. Some of the most successful Japanese technology and
manufacturing companies have 100 year and even 250-year business
plans. If you want to be successful in maintaining high levels
of fitness, you must set long term goals: One year, Ten years,
Even fifty years! You also must consider what the long term
consequences might be as a result of using any “radical” diet,
training method or ergogenic aid. The people who had it but lost
it are usually the ones who failed to think long term or
acknowledge future consequences. It’s easy for a 21 year old to
live only for today, and it may even seem ridiculous to set 25
year goals, but consider this: I’ve never met a 40 or 60 year
old who didn’t care about his or her health and appearance, but
I have met 40 or 60 year olds who regretted not caring 25 years
ago.
Burn The Fat, Feed the Muscle (BFFM) is a fat loss program which
acknowledges the simple truth that going “on diets,” entering
“Fitness challenges” or competing in “Transformation contests”
without having long term goals and a lifestyle attitude, is a
recipe for failure. Don’t let yourself be part of the latest
fitness dropout statistics: visit the Burn The Fat website for
more details on how to change your lifestyle… and keep the
change! www.burnthefat.com
It seems that we’re invited to a party or family get-together
every other night in the weeks before the Holidays.
Unfortunately most of the dishes that are brought to those
events are not exactly healthy. We all tend to overindulge
during the holiday season, tempted by all the unhealthy treats
around. But to be honest with you, I get tired of all the rich
and fattening food rather quickly and welcome a healthy fresh
alternative. This is your year to shine with that healthy dish
the next time you are asked to bring something to a holiday
party. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
1. Veggies and Dip
Just cut up some fresh veggies. Good choices are celery,
broccoli, cauliflower and cucumber. Add some baby carrots and
grape tomatoes. Serve it with a low fat ranch dip and you’re
good to go.
2. Fruits and Dip Serve some fruit that’s in season in bite size
chunks with a side of low fat vanilla yogurt. Wash some
strawberries, peel and cut up some apples, pears, cantaloupe and
even some fresh pineapple for a sweet treat that’s actually good
for you.
3. Cheese and Crackers
Make a platter of several low fat cheeses and get a box of
whole-wheat crackers. To make it even more fun, use some holiday
cookie cutters and cut shapes out of the cheese. Just arrange
everything on a platter and take it to the party.
4. Bring A Salad
A salad of mixed greens with some other veggies mixed in always
makes for a great side dish and will go with any other foods
that are served. Start with some basic mixed greens, preferably
dark greens. I like to mix baby spinach with some other dark
greens. Dice up some red and yellow peppers for color and some
slices of cucumber for crunchy texture. Top it off with some
grape tomatoes and you will have a colorful and yummy salad. I
like to bring several ready-made low fat dressings form the
grocery store to serve with the salad.
Go ahead; give one of these ideas a try. You’ll be surprised how
well received your healthy dish will be. Plus you’ll know there
will be at least one dish at the party you can fill up on that
is actually good for you and your health.
Happy Holidays!
I have the privilege of working with motivated athletes and they
all exhibit a high degree of self discipline. Often, one of the
hardest things to do is to get them not to train, or to rest and
recover. Training can be a slippery slope. You have to balance
the right amount of stress with the right amount of rest. Even
though you may be a disciplined athlete, training discipline
means performing the right volume, intensity, and work out and
then allowing your body to recover from it. It also means
knowing when not to train. Training too hard can be more
detrimental than not enough.
Too many athletes confuse high volume training with high quality
training. Just increasing the amount your run or ride will not
necessarily get you faster. You have to choose the right work
outs to train your weakness and capitalize on your strengths.
Training should be a slow steady progression. If you add 10 more
intervals to what you accomplished last week, the first 3 may
have been beneficial, and the last 7 counter productive. A
proper plan will not increase overall volume more than about 8%
per week with a maximum of 10%. Try to keep these numbers in
mind when you design your plan.
Another common mistake is training too hard in the weeks leading
up to a race. Depending on your event you should taper your
training for 1-2 weeks or more. In this time overall volume goes
down while intensity stays up. The purpose of this is to have
you fully rested while maintaining a high level of fitness. Some
athletes find it hard to taper their training and feel they are
under training before their event. As Chris Carmichael once told
me, “there is nothing you can do the week of a race to increase
fitness, but there is everything you can do to screw it up.”
If you are sick, overstressed, or generally feel like you need a
day off it is best to take it. Always consider the quality of
your work out. If you are just going through the motions and do
not have the energy to complete your work outs as prescribed,
rest would be more beneficial than additional stress.
It is important to have a written plan. A plan is not a general
recommendation but a deliberate course of action. You should be
able to see your progression from block to block. The “close
enough” attitude is not a good habit to get into. It is better
to have the satisfaction of completing your work out as
prescribed. Try not to make too many adjustments during your
work outs. If you do need to change your plan or miss a work out
make sure you adjust your other weeks to compensate.
Training discipline means having a good plan and sticking to it.
It means training smart, not just hard. If you are confused
about your training consult with a licensed coach. Often a one
hour consultation can get you on the right track.
When you suffer from eczema or psoriasis, your skin cracks, thus
presenting you with painful slits or fissures. They cause agony
even while doing simple movements. Your skin cracks and it can
give you a terrible pain. The hands and feet are the most
vulnerable spots for this problem. But other spots like the
mouth, lips, cheeks etc. too can be affected. Usually, the areas
between toes and on the heels are affected. These fissures, if
neglected, can cause infection. Generally, women who wear
open-backed heels and slides are affected.
Treatment for the cracked skin:
* Soak yourself: The best treatment for dry skin is to have a
good bath every night before going to sleep. This enables your
skin cells to absorb water, since these cells are like sponge.
You can also soak the affected body part for about 20 minutes in
warm water and then pat dry.
* Apply petroleum products: Once you are through with your bath,
apply a coating of petroleum jelly product. Then put on a pair
of socks for your feet or a pair of light cotton gloves for your
hands to seal the moisture. These petroleum products work far
better than commercial moisturizers, since they do not have the
same sealing effects.
* Stick the cracks: You can apply glue to ease the pain caused
by the fissures. This takes the air out of the nerve endings and
thus sticks the slits. This procedure is completely safe for
slits and minor cuts. However, avoid using this method on deep
wounds.
* Avoid tartar toothpaste: If you suffer from cracked lips,
minimize your usage of tartar toothpaste. This toothpaste
contains compounds that irritate the mucuous membranes and other
sensitive tissues. These toothpastes leave the skin cracked and
cause a rash which itches around the mouth.
Following some of the above mentioned steps can help you in
preventing/curing cracked skin.
Exercise bikes are a wonderful way to get a low-impact exercise
workout. Of course today’s bikes like those from Sportsart,
Tunturi, Nordictrack, Schwinn, and Pro Form are a far cry from
the bikes offered many years ago.
You know the ones - the lightweight plastic flywheel, the tiny
seat, and no statistical monitoring whatsoever.
Well, as you probably know today’s exercise bike offers a
stationary bike rider so much more. Now a person has to decide
between getting the lower profile comfortable recumbent style or
the high-seated traditional stationary style bike.
Of course each has its advantages but to ensure that you get the
most value and best fit for your needs one should ensure that
any bike reviews consider several critical and necessary
features.
Because an exercise bike provides a lower-impact workout they
also require longer usage to get maximum benefit. What does this
mean? It means that using this type of home exercise equipment
is going to require a person to spend many, many hours using the
bicycle.
With this in mind, it’s absolutely critical that any stationary
and recumbent exercise bikes considered has several key features
detailed.
An appropriately supporting seat. Some manufacturers provide
seats that are plastic and rather small. As you might expect,
these are going to get uncomfortable. Fast.
So make sure the seat is large enough and supportive enough to
accommodate today’s heavier riders.
Because it can get rather boring just riding for hours on end,
make sure the bike is quiet enough to operate while a television
is on in front of you. You won’t regret this.
Modern recumbent and stationary exercise bikes have a
computerized console panel above the handlebars. Both cheap and
expensive bikes have this feature. And because these consoles
tell you all the stats you may need to monitor while exercising,
like calories burned, time, distance, exercise level, and speed,
you want to make sure that you are going to be putting your bike
near a power outlet at home.
It’s rare to find a model that still operates on only batteries.
So make sure you plan in advance where you want your bicycle to
be located in your home.
There are other minor features that are more personal preference
but still should be considered. The main ones are:
- pedal straps - seat height adjustability/flexibility - cup
holders - warranties
Overall, if you ensure to consider these points prior to doing
your exercise bike reviews you will be sure to come out with a
bike that is more than acceptable and capable of giving you the
workout you need.
And want.
Holiday seasons are here again. This is your coveted time to
forget about all the sorrows and rejoice with family and
friends. Unfortunately, we do a little bit of celebrating during
this time of year and add up extra baggage when the New Year
appears. We unknowingly indulge in extra helpings, snacking on
seasonal treats during celebrations. Hardly do we pay attention
to our daily workout plan. This all contributes to increase in
dieters in January.
Let us resolve this holiday season to buck the trends and avoid
the Seasonal Seven (the average weight most of us will gain
between Thanksgiving and the New Year). Yes this is the fact and
you must not want to participate in this trend.
Forget about additional stresses and challenges this year may
bring, still there are ways to find balance and maintain a
healthy lifestyle. It may be hard at times to forego the
insatiable urge to devour the season’s traditional foods. But
don’t forget that there are many ways to enjoy the fun without
increasing your pant size. It doesn’t mean that you should
starve yourself on a crash course diet but you can enjoy the
festivities and maintain your weight as well.
Moderation is the word of the season. It’s the secret to
achieving a fun but also healthy holiday time. Try to use this
mantra both to what you eat (or don’t eat) and how much exercise
you do (or don’t do). This will help you avoid packing on extra
weight AND also partake in all the fun of this time of year. So
kick start this season on a determined note on the New Year
instead of starting January with extra pounds to lose.
Here are some tips to help you during those hectic holiday weeks:
•Plan ahead. Create a plan for incorporating fitness and good
nutrition ahead of holidays sneak peek. Define you daily
routine. Evaluate your vacation period and try to come out with
realistic time line you can devote on working out daily. •In
your work environment, simply reject the gracious treats offered
to you by your co-workers. Stick to your healthy snacks prepared
at your home. Eat moderately and don’t guzzle on others snacks
tempting you from nearing desk.
•Never wait until the New Year for you fitness goals to begin.
Keep finding time and dedicate few hours on exercise as often
during this time period as well. Adjust you other schedules
appropriately. There can be lots of excuses for procrastinating
your workout time. But it will ultimately harm you as you will
be left in nowhere finding the right time to begin your daily
exercise. Remember, tomorrow never comes! Utilize even few hours
of your daily hectic schedule to keep yourself fit and healthy.
•Make a scheduler for your daily workouts. Always use a daily
calendar or other inventory to set-aside time to complete them.
Keep on regular update on your fitness calendar. Never skip a
single day’s workout. Stick to the timetable just like any other
important business appointment.
•At holiday dinners, skip the gravy, dressings, and high-calorie
condiments.
•There can be days when you may feel real lack of motivation.
There can be time when you seriously find it hard to devote even
15 minute for daily workout. Even on these instances, do just 10
minutes of exercise. Try not to break this habit and go full
throttle religiously.
•Health clubs can be good to follow a strict discipline and
regular exercise. But at they same time, you end up coughing
lots of money. If feasible, try to exercise at home. You’ll find
yourself more committed and inclined at to do workouts at your
own pace and confidence. At the same time, you will be saving
time on driving, parking, the locker room or waiting to use
equipment.
•Drink less alcoholic beverages. The average alcoholic drink
contains 150-200 calories per glass. Even if you indulge in
these, try mixing half try mixing half a glass of wine with
sparkling water or with a diet soda. This will help cut your
calories in half.
•During socializing, focus on sharing time with your friends and
relatives other than sharing desserts and hot chocolates. During
get-togethers spend the majority of time talking and discussing
events and interesting topics with your dear ones.
The above-mentioned tips must come handy to you when you are
honestly on a path to weight loss program. Always find a balance
between staying fit and also enjoying the fun of the season.
Last but not the least; never forget that moderation is the
magic mantra to weight loss key. Enjoy a great holiday season
ahead!
Aerobic workout - also known as cardiovascular exercise - is the
basis of all exercising. It can be done in many ways. The
important thing is that you find a training method that you
like. Below are some examples that might be something for you.
Walking or Jogging
Both walking and jogging are great ways to lose weight get fit.
Not only do they tone the muscles, relieve stress, create a
healthier heart, and improve lung capability, they make you look
wonderful, which in turns helps you get excited about doing
other exercise for fitness.
Use Your Bicycle
Do you have a bicycle? When you ask many adults when the last
time they rode a bike is, they cannot answer. Although bicycling
is a favorite pastime, many adults do not take advantage of this
great option for exercise. Not only does bike riding exercise
the body and build a stronger cardiovascular system, it allows
you to get out and enjoy nature, fresh air, and see new sites.
Swimming is great workout
Swimming is fun and an excellent way to get into and stay in
shape. If you do not own a pool, many high schools have aquatic
centers, or there is always the YWCA or YMCA, or your local gym.
Many offer water aerobic classes that will help you tighten your
body, lose weight, and get a good overall workout.
Play Tennis
If You haven’t played tennis before, you should try it. Tennis
is not only a fun sport, but also a great way to exercise. You
do not have to be a Venice Williams to play; in fact, you do not
even have to be good. Just running after the ball alone will
help get you into shape. This is a great way to strengthen your
cardiovascular system and lose weight. You can find tennis
courts in just about every city and if you would like to play
but have no idea how, lessons are reasonable.
Copyright 2006 Rick Rakauskas
This article covers the following points: .. How to restore
healthy joints and cut inflammation.
In the last article, one of the key points was:
When muscles along our spine are injured, in many cases the
nerve paths to those muscles are NOT restored rapidly. A
necessary long-term solution for back pain is to switch the
muscles back on so they are in balance on both sides of the
spine.
.. How to restore healthy joints and cut inflammation
What Causes Inflammation and Joint Pain? There are many causes
of inflammation. Among these, the common causes are undoubtedly
related to what you eat (or don’t eat, but should eat), your
living and working environment, and the alignment of your joints.
Let’s start with alignment: When bones are out of alignment, be
it knee joints, or vertebrae, inflammation can occur due to
rubbing of bone on bone. In particular, if your spine has
vertebrae not sitting squarely on top of each other, chances are
high that inflammation will occur, and with it, back pain.
Your vertebrae may have been moved out of alignment by
accidental damage caused by a fall, motor vehicle injury or
other mishap, or it may now be happening because of muscle
imbalance constantly pulling your spine out of alignment.
That’s why the Better Back system is so heavily focused on
re-alignment of the spine and re-balancing of muscles.
Foods can cause allergic or intolerant reactions, often leading
to inflammation of joints.
The most common foods which can cause inflammatory reactions
include dairy products, wheat, peanuts, and salicylate foods
such as tomatoes, capsicums, peppers, olives, berries etc.
It can be quite a complex process to sort out which foods may be
causing swelling in joints. Common allergy tests are not yet
very accurate and you may need to use a process of elimination
and re-introduction to find out for yourself.
For me, when I cut dairy products out of my life many years ago,
all my joint pains disappeared within four weeks and have never
returned. This may not be useful for you, but I believe it is a
good starting point if you are serious about your health.
Common environmental causes are petrochemical reactions from
detergents, paints, perfumes, hair sprays, deodorants, pest
sprays, etc. Foam mattresses can cause inflammatory reactions in
sensitive people.
Some other causes of inflammation can be microbial, viral,
fungal or parasitical infections, excessive levels of C-reactive
protein (linked to poor diet), and depression which can increase
TNF-alpha levels.
As a general statement, a strong immune system is the best
barrier to inflammation from infectious sources. A strong immune
system is very largely dependent on good nutrition, suitable
exercise, and activities such as meditation or relaxation to
lower stress levels.
Much of this is outside the scope of the Better Back system and
will be dealt with at higher levels of the Better Health
system®, which I intend to make a start on in the near future.
In the meantime, to gain a wide understanding of many natural
health techniques, particularly nutrition, I urge you to
subscribe to www.mercola.com. The subscription is free.
Are There Any Natural Solutions For Inflammation?
In the Better Back system’s 100-page manual, I discuss some
natural supplements which have an excellent track record of
cutting inflammation in joints.
But I also caution that many of the brands for sale are of
dubious quality and advise using only properly tested brands.
I also discuss another, simple solution to adopt as well. This
solution involves drinking plenty of good quality water, but it
is vital to add something to the water. The substance I
recommend adding is generally cheap and very plentiful, but
again, must be good quality. There are different qualities
available and I tell you how to select the best ones.
Third, I have uncovered and tested a natural product made from
tree cells, which can cut joint inflammation very quickly when
applied to the skin around the painful area. Beats popping pills.
A useful side effect of this substance is that it also helps
heal cuts and burns very quickly.
For those of you who are interested, the product is dimethyl
sulfoxide or DMSO. Best used at 70% strength, not 100%. I will
include a discussion on DMSO in a future edition of the Better
Back system manual.
There are suppliers of DMSO in the US and possibly in the UK,
while for Australian clients I can mail out a 200 ml bottle of
DMSO for a very reasonable price. Mailing internationally is
prohibitive in terms of the cost of delivery versus cost of
product. Fourth, I am currently experimenting with another
natural product which seems to have some exceptionally powerful
properties in cutting inflammation throughout the body. I am
unable to reveal this publicly for now.
So there you have it, another reason why you get back pain, and
the knowledge to defeat it.
Rick Rakauskas
What is fitness and where do we go to learn about fitness?
Fitness is our ability to function with alertness and energy
over the course of our daily activities. We have so many places
to turn for fitness information, that it would be impossible to
cover all the possibilities in one article. However, we’ll cover
the most common places to look, and let the reader take it from
there.
The major sources of fitness information are available to
everyone, everywhere. Libraries, the internet, your physical
fitness instructor, and your health teachers are all viable
avenues of information sources. The library contains more
information about health and fitness than you could possibly
read in a year’s time. There are magazines, periodicals, medical
journals, and all sorts of books written on ways to become fit,
to maintain fitness, or to participate in fitness activities.
There are sources of information that explain the benefits of
being fit, the physical benefits, the mental benefits, the
social benefits, and the self-esteem and emotional benefits. The
library will also usually have video and audio information
available on almost any topic covered by the reading material.
They may even have fitness tapes available for viewing. Often,
the library provides the opportunity for the low-income to
access materials that otherwise would not be available. Video
and audio tapes are examples of this opportunity.
The internet opens more windows on fitness than the library,
since the internet is a compilation of many libraries, news
articles, newspapers, and individual input. You have only to
type in the word fitness using one of the available search
engines, and suddenly you’ve got more sources of information
than you can research. The search engines often return
information in the order of actual relevance to your search
words. So bear that in mind as you search. The first couple of
pages will contain the most relevant information on fitness. You
can locate information about fitness, local fitness center
locations, and instructors who specialize in one-on-one fitness
plans.
Your local school physical education instructor and health
teachers are invaluable sources of fitness information, in that
they have an education in fitness. They are privy to the most
sought after reliable sources of real fitness benefits. Many of
the articles you will find, and much of the information you
read, is not 100% accurate, ask a teacher, or instructor
actually involved in the fitness process, you are going to
receive much more accurate feedback
Your federal government publishes massive quantities of
information about the fitness in this country, from many
different perspectives. The United States Department of
Agriculture is responsible for determining our daily recommended
allowances, and as such, accumulates much information about
fitness alternatives, the state of fitness in the United States,
and how well we participate in fitness programs.
Past these sources, check out your local fitness center. Quite
often they have random information posted, current magazines,
and periodicals that address current fitness issues and often
offer interested persons the chance to observe fitness in
action.
