Tricep exercise – chair dips

Video: This exercise can be done anywhere, even your desk. All you need is a stable chair.

Getting Started on a Juice Diet

After the drinking of water, juice recipes for weight loss have to be one of the most natural and best ways to stay healthy as you lose weight. Forget about the fad diets, the celebrity endorsed virtual starvation weight loss programs, adding natural healthy juices to your daily eating plan is streets ahead.

The first thing you’re going to have to do is to invest in a juicer – and I say invest because that is exactly what it will be for you and your body. They come in all kinds of shapes and sizes and prices and though some of them can do a variety of other things such as pulping and chopping, a basic juicer will serve you well to try out some juice recipes for weight loss.

Decide on your favorite fruits and vegetables and make sure that the produce you use is as fresh as you can find. The great thing about using juices to help you lose weight is that what you come up with can be as personal as the clothes you wear and how you wear them. No one, is going to be preparing and drinking the same juice recipes as you in the same way as you!

Fancy a carrot and apple juice for breakfast? Then simply wash your carrots, peel and core your apple and throw them into a juicer, in whatever quantities you desire and add a splash of lemon juice and you have yourself a lovely breakfast juice. A juice like this is stuffed full of beta carotene, iron and vitamin C and so if this doesn’t get you going in the morning then simply throw in even more vegetables.

The real key to finding and using juice recipes for weight loss is to make sure that you try a variety of juices. Think about this, the number one reason that many people fail to lose weight is because they get bored with what they are eating. They crave their favorite foods and feel disgruntled that they are not ‘allowed’ to eat and enjoy them. Now, there is virtually no way you should fall into the trap of getting bored with your juices. Just make sure that you are mixing them up regularly and adding or taking away from them.

For instance, that apple and carrot breakfast juice could be so easily changed and refreshed by adding a stick of celery to the mix or even a hand full of strawberries and some crushed ice. Just make sure that you are using all of your favorite fruits and vegetables, in a variety of groups and your juice recipes for weight loss will stay refreshing and keep your interest.

Weighted bench dips demonstration

Video: This exercise is going to help build up the strength in your triceps along with working many other body parts as well.

Are You Obese? What Your B.M.I. Tells You

Obesity is having too much body fat. The body consists of water, protein, fat, carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins, bones, and muscle. When the body has too much fat you have a much higher risk of developing heart disease as well as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and stroke.

Obesity increases the risks of heart disease since it raises the levels of cholesterol, lowers the good cholesterol, raises the blood pressure, and can cause diabetes. Even if a person does not have the any of the mentioned medical problems, obesity does highly increase the risks for heart disease. It is the major cause of gallbladder disease and harms the heart and the blood vessels as well as degenerative joint disease.

Obesity is caused generally by consuming more calories than used in physical activity or other daily activities. When too many calories or too much saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol is consumed, the levels of cholesterol in the blood rises increase the risks of heart disease.

To determine if a person is obese a test called body mass index or BMI is used to calculate the obesity factor. This type of test is widely used and even though it does not take into consideration the amount of muscle a person has, it is pretty accurate to determine the health levels of a person and their general amounts of body fat.

A standard measure, if a person is obese, is if the waistline in a woman is more than 35 inches and in a man is more than 40 inches, they are considered high risk for being obese.

Using the BMI to calculate the fat of the body use the following example:

Weight 150 pounds

Height 5’9″ = 69 inches

Divide the weight in pounds by the height in inches squared (69*69 = 4761) equals .0315 multiplied by 703 equals 22.14 BMI rate. The 22.14 is in the healthy range for body mass.

The BMI ranges for the body are 18.5 or less is considered underweight, 18.6 to 24.9 is considered healthy, 25.0 to 29.5 is considered overweight, and 30.0 or more is considered obese with 40.0 being considered extreme obesity.

To help prevent obesity eat a healthy diet of fresh fruits and vegetables with whole grains, less fat from meats such as fish, chicken and lean beef, and nuts. The foods with fewer fats will help with the risks of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, arthritis, and obesity.

Add an exercise regime to your life style. Take up walking for thirty minutes every other day to get some physical activity in your life. Walk instead of driving places, including at work, when you usually take the elevator take the stairs instead.

What to Eat Before Working Out

Exercise and nutrition do go hand in hand. If you suddenly begin exercising strenuously without adequate nutrition you are going to start feel weak and sick before you know it. This is why it is important to eat properly and keep hydrated before, during and after your exercise routine.

Before starting your exercise program make sure that you have eaten something. A small amount of protein with some complex carbohydrates is a good choice. This snack will help fuel your body and provide you with energy while exercising.

Being properly hydrated is crucial for anyone at any time but especially when doing some form of physical exercise. You should always try to carry a water bottle with you and sip on water every 10 minutes or so. Being hydrated will help prevent your muscles from becoming too sore and helps reduce painful muscle cramps.

If you feel shaky after exercise your body may be requiring some food. So eating another small snack is advisable. Try eating a piece of fruit such as an apple or handful of grapes. This should be enough to see you through until your next meal.

Eating healthy during the day will also help your body get the most benefit from your exercise. If you are attempting to lose weight then cut back on sugars, starches and fats. Instead you want to concentrate on eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Protein is important and should be eaten in small portions. It is recommended that you eat lean, low fat choices of protein such as chicken, turkey, fish and avoid eating too much red meat.

The top tips for both fitness and nutrition can be summed up into the following points:

Always drink enough fluids before, during and after exercising

Eat a small snack before working out

Eat fresh foods as much as possible

Always take the time to warm up and cool down to avoid injury

If adding a low impact exercise to your lifestyle is a new concept then pick something that you will enjoy. Many types of activities can be classed as low impact. Walking, cycling, swimming, dancing, ice skating and golfing are just a few of your choices.

Pilates and yoga may sound easy to do but they are low impact workouts that can be very strenuous and good for your body. Don?t forget too that you don?t have to stay with one exercise. Pick a variety and do them once a week or a couple of times each month. This way you are less likely to get bored and will stick with your new exercise plan.

Upper body exercises

Video: This series of exercises will workout your entire upper body.

Arm Swings

Video: A trainer shows how to do arm swings as a warmup to your exercise routine.

How to do a machine crunch

Video: Regular crunches will help to tone your abs, but machine crunches will really get your abs chiseled.

Helpful Tips for Getting Killer Abs

How do you lose belly fat? That seems to be the million dollar question. Many people say the key is to “obey.” But, I’m going to give you a more thorough answer to the question how do you lose belly fat in this article. A firm, flat stomach is the ultimate symbol of sex appeal. But researchers have also found that losing abdominal fat is one of the most important things you can take to stay healthy for life.

While you probably realize that excess fat is unhealthy, you should also know that where the fat is distributed is key to health. People who are fattest in the abdomen (the so called “apple shaped body”) have a greater risk of heart disease and diabetes than those with pear shapes (fattest in the hips, buttocks, and thighs).

You won’t be surprised to learn that the best way to lose abdominal fat is to eat right and exercise regularly. And there’s a growing body of evidence showing that the quickest way to burn off the fat from your belly is with a mix of weight-training and aerobic exercise.

One study tracked 30 obese women for six months. The women were assigned to either a control group, an aerobic exercise group, or a combined exercise group.The aerobic exercise group did a full hour of cardio exercise for six days a week. The combined exercise group did weight training on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and aerobic exercise on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

At the end of the six month period, the women in the aerobic group had lost 23.1 cm of abdominal subcutaneous fat while the combined group lost 61.8 cm, nearly three times as much. The combined group also did better on the abdominal visceral fat measure with 93 cm lost compared to 82 for the aerobic only group. There was no change in the control group.

How do you lose belly fat starts with developing a combined exercise plan that is strenuous. 30 minutes a few times a week won’t cut it. You need a full body training program combining cardiovascular and resistance exercises. You don’t need to do hundreds of crunches, sit ups or any of the complicated routines being touted by the “six pack abs” hype machine. The key to losing belly fat is to burn more calories than you eat. These fancy exercises don’t burn the kind of calories you need in order to be really successful.

Getting killer abs has a lot less to do with training and everything to do with lowering your total body fat. The next step is to eat the right foods. There is a lot of conflicting information on nutrition. From the Adkins “eat no carbs” people to those who eschew all fats, there are radicals on every side.

How do you lose belly fat starts with taking in enough protein to maintain muscle mass. At least 20 to 30 percent of your diet should come from fats. Then, you balance your carbs around the other two factors depending on whether you want to lose weight or not. And if you are trying to lose belly fat, you do want to lose weight. You must take in fewer calories than you burn.

How do you lose belly fat? Basically, if you lose the excess fat in your system, your belly will go away too.

Being Obese Health Problem Risks

For someone being obese, health problem risks are greatly elevated. The extra weight can cause physical problems like bone and joint problems. And things like diabetes, heart disease, cancers and other serious conditions are more likely to occur. For those who are being obese, health problem risks often center around a condition known as metabolic syndrome.

For someone being obese, heath problem risks are generally directly tied to this syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is just a term for a cluster of conditions that tend to occur together. The presence of these conditions is a pretty good indicator about future health.

For instance, someone with metabolic syndrome is going to have a much higher chance of heart disease, stroke or diabetes than someone who doesn’t have the condition. For people who have one or two of the conditions that make up metabolic syndrome, their risk of these serious diseases is still a little less than someone with a full-on case.

The conditions that are generally present in metabolic syndrome include:

- Obesity. People with metabolic syndrome are generally obese, often with much of their body fat centered in their stomach, giving them an “apple” shape.

- High blood triglycerides (fat).

- High blood pressure.

- Low HDL cholesterol levels. This is high-density lipoprotein, also known as the “good” cholesterol. Having a low good cholesterol level has been found to be more dangerous. than having a high “bad” cholesterol, or LDL (low-density lipoprotein) level.

- Insulin resistance.

A person can have one or two of those conditions without having metabolic syndrome. But their risks for developing the other conditions is very high. In fact, having just one of the conditions listed above makes it very likely that you’ll develop the others.

Being obese, health problem risks are elevated, but there are some factors in metabolic syndrome that a person can’t control. A family history of diabetes, for instance, puts a person at greater risk of developing metabolic syndrome.

Age and race are also factors. Asians and Hispanics tend to develop metabolic syndrome at a greater rate than other races. And the older a person gets, the greater the risk of developing the syndrome.

But for the most part, the conditions that make up the syndrome and the syndrome itself are preventable. And there are no special drugs or treatments required to prevent or reverse metabolic syndrome.

The first recommendation, whether you want to prevent the syndrome or reverse it, is to eat a healthy diet. Choose whole foods like whole grains, fruits and vegetables and avoid carb-laden, starchy processed foods. Don’t drink sodas or other sugar-rich beverages, but opt for water instead.

The next step is to get some exercise. Walk for a half an hour or so each day. That’s all it takes. This along with a healthy diet can help you lose weight, the third thing to do to defeat metabolic syndrome. Being obese, health problem risks including that of metabolic syndrome are elevated if you smoke, so quit smoking and you’ll be on your way to preventing or reversing the disease.