An Ab Workout For Every Level

The abdominal muscles are without a doubt one of the most difficult muscle groups to sculpt. Many perform crunch after crunch with no results. Instead of wasting your time on ab exercises that aren’t working for you, follow this ab workout guide, do cardiovascular exercise at least 4 times a week and eat a healthy diet, and you will begin to see definition in your abs over time. This ab workout will be worth your time! Remember to increase your reps or sets as the ab workouts become easier.

Beginner Ab Workout – Try 3 sets of 10 reps for each exercise.

Basic Crunch – Lie on your back with your hands crossed across your chest or with your fingers on the sides of your head. Place your feet on the floor with legs bent. To begin the exercise, lift your torso, lifting shoulder blades off the floor and crunching your rib cage towards your lower belly. Hold for two counts, then lower slowly to the starting position.

Reverse Crunch – Lie on your back with knees bent, feet a few inches off the floor. Slowly contract the abdominals, focusing on rotating the pelvis up and bringing your knees towards your rib cage. Concentrate on letting your abs do the work. Hold at the top then slowly lower your knees to the starting position.

Intermediate Ab Workout -Try 3 sets of 8-10 reps for each exercise.

Toe Touchers – Lie on your back on the floor on a mat. Elevate your legs straight up into the air and point both of your arms straight up into the air as well having your body form a sort of giant “U.” Make sure you keep your lower back pressed flat into the ground. Exhale and crunch forward, touching your toes with your finger tips. Remember to let your abs do the work.

Scissor Kicks – Start by lying flat on your back on a mat with your arms by your sides and your palms down. Extend your legs fully with a slight bend in your knees. Lift your heels about 6 inches off the floor. Make small, rapid up and down scissor-like motions with your legs. The key is to focus on having your midsection do the work and to keep your abs constantly contracted throughout the exercise.

Advanced Ab Workout

Flat Bench Leg Pull Ins – Sit on a flat bench with your legs off the end. Place your hands to your sides, grasping the edge of the bench with each hand. Extend your legs straight out and lean your back at a 45 degree angle. Bring your knees in toward your midsection, making sure that your abs are doing the work in a slow and controlled fashion. Continue until muscle fatigue.

Side Bridge – Start by lying on a mat with your legs straight out. Turn sideways holding your body up with one bent arm parallel to the floor. Keep your abs tight until 30-60 seconds. A great sports specific exercise. Increasing your time as you gain strength.

The Advantages Associated With Having A Personal Fitness Trainer

Joseph Pilates developed the Pilates exercise model as early as the second decade of the 20th century. The essence of this form of physical training is the insistence on the strengthening of the core muscles and the increase of body flexibility. People who somehow suffer because of their physical condition love the benefits of aerobic fitness Pilates exercise because of the adaptability it brings along: thus, seniors, pregnant women, people who have to recover after a physical trauma, can practice a Pilates exercise rewardingly. Plus, the advantages of the method are within reach for any person who just wants to improve personal health condition.

Any Pilates exercise relies on the use of the core muscles, which are made of the deep abdominal and back muscles. The thing is that if you manage to strengthen these muscles, they will work greatly with the other superficial muscles that support the spine, ensuring movement. Hence, the health of the entire torso is influenced by the condition of the core muscles. And here we have the explanation for back pain alleviation that results after constantly participating to Pilates exercise programs.

The unique Pilates exercise technique focuses on the importance of correct work out without any insistence on movement repetition. If each and every exercise is performed with precision and completely, the results will be incredible. The integrative approach is essential, meaning that with a Pilates training session you will not work only the back, shoulders or abdominal muscles, but the entire body will receive attention and proper care.

Balance at a slow pace, this is what defines a good Pilates exercise, hence, anyone can train like this, no matter the individual physical condition. Then, training provides a certain torso stability which has a direct impact on the movement flexibility, the posture, the balance and the health of the muscles. Mention must be made here that it is recommended to practice any Pilates exercise program under the guidance of a professional trainer.
The Benefit Of Pilates Exercise Programs

Instead of the traditional physical therapy, many people with physical challenges and post-traumatic sufferance, can join some form of Pilates fitness training program and work with a certified fitness trainer on regaining good health. Statistics indicate that the recovery rate of people symptoms of physical trauma is higher for those who use the Pilates health scheme. The adaptability and flexibility of the exercises allows every trainee to evolve at a personal pace without difficulties at all. There is total safety, the physical pain is not a problem and the costs of such fitness exercise programs are usually affordable. Do it for your health!

Upper Ab Workout Tips

The image of pop icons and famous personalities has made the public want more than just a flat tummy. To get into the trimmed stomach group, you?re going to need to perform specific exercises to get those abs in shape. But that’s not all there is to it. The rectus abdominus is the single muscle that we know as the abs. To get that six-pack you always wanted, you?re going to need to target that. When it comes to toning the upper abs, the first word that you can think of will be ?crunches?.

Not all crunches works your entire ab for some of them focus only on one area. When working your retus abdominus, you have to balance your ab workouts by targeting both upper and lower abs. The good thing is that the tricks in doing these crunches are fairly simple. Crunches that require you to move your upper torso will target the upper abs, while those that will have you move your legs and hips will work the lower abs.

If you feel you need to tone your upper abs more than your lower abs, then you can do specific upper ab workouts. Crunches can be performed differently to achieve this. A few variations of the crunches are as follows:

UV Crunch: Compared to the name, sunshine is not required for this exercise. The UV crunch is a variation of the crunch that will require flexibility on your part since you will need to assume a letter V position, or U if you are more flexible. The starting position is done the same way you would do a basic crunch, only with your legs elevated either at a 45 degree angle or a 90 degree angle for the V and U crunch, respectively. Perform the crunch by lifting your head off the floor.

Frog Leg Crunch: This is done by lying on your back, feet together and knees apart. Perform the crunch by lifting your shoulders off the floor while your hands are behind your head. There are more difficult versions of this kind of crunch ? involving modified positions such as crossing your ankles or extending your arms above your head as opposed to your hands clasped behind your head.

Semi-Crunch: The difficulty level of this crunch is a notch higher than the others. You can incorporate this to all kinds of crunches; with the basic position be lying on your back with legs together, hands behind your head, knees bent and pointing upwards. Perform the crunch by lifting your head off the floor; when you come back down, your head and shoulders shouldn?t touch the floor.

To ensure that your abs are the focus, crunches are always the best option. The whole abdominal muscle is put to work with any kind of crunch you do. With slight modifications to these crunches, you can get the lower or upper ab workout that you need.

Footwear For Aerobics

Aerobics, especially high impact, is a tough form of exercise to the lower extremity. To avoid injuries to the feet, knees and hips you should be in shape enough to workout at a high level, use proper equipment, have a suitable floor surface and carefully choosen shoes.
The forces generated during aerobic movements can be up to six times that of gravity directed at each bone of the foot. Aerobic shoes must first and foremust have good shock absorption and be well cushioned.
Aerobic moves often involve side to side or lateral movements for an extended period of time. If your foot has the tendency to supinate or pronate (turn outside or inside) it’s important to see a podiatrist who may recommend controlling the side to side movement by using special inserts.

Because of the lateral movements, shoes must have a well formed arch that corrects for these forces and a thick upper leather to provide stability to the front of the foot. Shoes should also have a firm toe box that is high enough to prevent pain in the toe and nail areas.
Simple sneakers or tennis shoes you may have hanging around your closet probably will not be sufficient. The major shoe companies have developed both aerobic and cross training shoes that will meet the necessary safety enhancing criteria. These shoes provide the needed arch support, cushioning and side to side support which will allow safer turning and twisting.
Running shoes are also not a good candidate for aerobic footwear. Runners primarily move straight ahead so their shoes aren’t made for lateral support. They also often have an outside flair that puts you at a greater risk for injury.
The best time to try on aerobics shoes is in the afternoon when you feet have had time to swell a bit. They should fit snug but not tight. Wear the same socks (athletic socks of acrylic blend) you are going to exercise in. Once you’ve found the right shoe, tie them doubly and securely. This helps prevent tripping accidents.
The pair of shoes you choose for aerobic classes is a very important determinate in how many and what kind of injuries you could sustain. It is imperative duting those high impact or interval classes to have properly supported shoes. Low impact also does a lot of side to side movements so don’t think you can get by with your old closet sneakers in these classes either.

Fit For Life

You?ve been using the same workout for 20 years. The result? Two arthritic shoulders and a sacroiliac joint that threatens to immobilize you every time you get out the car. But it?s not too late for you.

Tips for Enhancing Performance

Running

Pounding the pavements erodes your body?s natural shock absorbers ? cartilage, tendons, muscles and ligaments. Each step exerts a force of up to five times your weight and encourages these body parts to protest through inflammation, pain and even rupture.

Walk as well as run. Varying intensity within a workout is a tactic runners use to get faster or go longer. Walking burns the same number of kilojoules as running and reduces common overuse injuries, such as shin splints. Use a one-to-one ratio if you?re getting into shape after a layoff, then gradually ratchet up the run portion. Walk one kilometer for every six kilometers you run.

Triathlons

These events are filled with former distance runners looking for a new rush and a way to take some strain off their battered bones. Triathlon training also allows a marathoner to use health benefits gained from years of long distance training; increased lung capacity and an abundance of slow twitch muscle fibers, which enhance aerobic endurance.

Rugby/Soccer

The sudden starts and stops involved in touch rugby place tremendous lateral force on your ankles and knees, and the diving (actually landing) sends injury causing shock waves throughout your body.

Break a sweat before you start playing. One guy we know hits the hot showers for 10 minutes before playing to make sure he?s warm. No showers? This simple 10 minute warm up will drastically reduce your chances of getting hurt. Do each of these the length of the field up to the half way line and back while wind milling your arms, then stretch as usual; jog, skip, shuffle (continually slide one leg to meet the other without crossing them; don?t forget to bend your knees), karaoke (run sideways, continually crossing one leg in front of and then behind the other), run backwards and skip as high as you can.

Volleyball

This activity incorporates the same lateral movement and quick jumping ability you?ve developed, but it doesn?t require you to cover as much ground.

Cricket

Playing cricket does little to improve your overall fitness so you have to put in time away from the pitch if you want to avoid rotator cuff tears and elbow or shoulder tendonosis.

Lift weights. It will strengthen your rotator cuff and surrounding muscles to protect you from suffering a tear. The best moves are; lateral raise, lat pull downs and lat rows. Stretch your shoulders before the first over by raising your throwing arm straight above your head, bending it at the elbow, then gently pushing it down and toward your spine with your other hand. Repeat with the opposite arm.

Golf

Golf is easier on your body because you don?t have the sudden starts and stops, and the swing aren?t as violent. Since the ball isn?t moving, you don?t have to reach at odd angles to hit it, which can cause muscle strains. Golf is also better for your heart and gobbles up plenty of kilojoules.

Swimming

Because swimming is non weight bearing, injuries are few. When swimmers do get hurt, they tend to suffer from overuse injuries in their shoulders and knees. Have a coach analyze your stroke each year for glitches so you don?t fall into injury inducing bad habits. Mix breaststroke, backstroke or butterfly in with your freestyle every fourth lap to reduce your risk of hurting a shoulder joint. Strength training is important for swimmers to help balance their musculature and to strengthen bones and tendons that don?t get trained in the pool. The most important lifts; bench press for balance and squats for push off and kicking.

Single Scull Rowing

Single scull rowing will capitalize on the endurance and pain tolerance you?ve built while still allowing you to compete mano-a-mano on the water using your arms and legs to pull you through.

Cycling

Crashes cause most injuries ? damn drivers ? but repeating the same motion again and again and again while sitting hunched over the handlebar also puts stress on the vertebrae in your lower back, which causes pain.

Simply changing the angle of your bike seat could save your back. Back pain in cyclists is caused when the angle between the pelvis and the lower end of the spinal column is overextended. Tilting the seat forward 10 to 15 degrees reduces the strain on the muscles and realigns the bones. Most important; spin, don?t strain, by using higher gears. Lower gears can make you feel like you?re working much harder, but a faster cadence is easier on your body and more efficient.

Soccer

You?ve spent years building endurance and Lance-like quads. Now use them on the field, where both qualities will give you a leg up on the competition, and the wide variety of movements you?ll deploy will round out your fitness. You?ll also play on grass, which is heaven for joints and muscles.

Tennis

Nearly half of all tennis players suffer from ?tennis elbow? (medial epicondylitis). Lower back strains and shoulder and ankle injuries are common. Playing a lot of tennis weakens your shoulder blade muscles by repeatedly stretching and fatiguing the tissues.

Tennis is a terrific lifelong sport ? if you keep your strength and flexibility by doing strength training and stretching. To get the great workout without the elbow or shoulder problems, do military presses. While sitting on a bench or chair, raise a pair of dumbbells to shoulder height. Press the weights overhead. Do 10 to 12 repetitions. Repeat.

Martial Arts

Martial arts, such as tae kwon do or kickboxing, enhance the abilities you?ve developed in tennis, while adding the missing factor of flexibility. You can also take out your aggression on a real person while eliminating the repetitive motion that causes injuries in tennis.

Personal Trainers And Your Fitness Goals

Most people these days, especially those who have little experience in the gym, need to hire a personal trainer to help them get back into shape and become physically fit. These fitness experts are qualified to help a person get in shape and also provide guidance on tips to maintain their body in a healthy manner afterwards. In addition, they provide guidance to their trainees on the food to eat and how to help their bodies by maintaining a proper balanced diet. Everyone has a different reason to start going to the gym, or rather go back to the gym.

For instance, if one wants to be an athlete, he or she would prepare for a marathon by training and focusing on cardio, while many of us just want to look good for the summer. Some are also instructed by the doctor to do so, due to health reasons. Whatever reasons you have, a professional health expert like a personal trainer can make your dreams a reality.Personal trainers not only help you to achieve your end result, but they make sure you get there safely. Many of us do not know how to begin exercising or where to start. Furthermore we can all admit, that having somebody coaching and instructing us while providing motivation is a key ingredient to success. The idea is that a personal trainer is somebody who will not soothe you when training but will definitely make one sweat until one begs for mercy!This is not meant to be discouraging, but rather to motivate you and push you to new physical limits. You have to believe that it is better to struggle today to celebrate tomorrow. Getting into an exercise routine can be physically demanding and mentally difficult. Furthermore a personal trainer knows how to make the road to glory as short as possible.The shortest distance between two places is the straightest road.

Personal trainers are experts in knowing what exercises can help you reach your goals the fastest. If your goal is to lose weight for example, you may think that going to the gym and hitting a treadmill until you need to pass out is the best way to shed some extra pounds. A personal trainer will set up a personalized workout routine that not only focuses on your goals, but takes your body type into account. We are all individuals and not every diet program provides the same results for everybody that tries it.Essentially your personal trainer is going be there for you helping you achieve your fitness goals. From motivation in the gym to diet plans, they will coach you and monitor your progress every step of the way. They are there to answer your questions about health and show you how to avoid injury. Many of us have bought gym memberships and actually went to the gym a few times before eventually forgetting about our old friend. A personal trainer can help you stay in touch with this long forgotten friend of the past.

Tips For Ripped Muscles

Summer is almost here, and it’s time to kick back and relax under the sun. It?s time for the beach, barbecue parties, and for most real lifters these activities also mean one thing: It is time for the clothes to come off and to show off that rock hard body they have been working on all year. Who wants to walk around with a flabby physique, and for the next couple of months, all of those real muscle builders will be moving into ?get ripped? mode.
However, how do they ordinarily try this?

It is really quite simple. They ease up the weights and complete increased repetitions.

This has usually been a largely normal way of ?reducing fat? and if you talk to the majority of trainers in the gym they will advise you that ?heavy weights build up the muscle and reduced weights define the muscle?.

So, what is the reality behind the ?reduced weight and increased reps? way of achieving a sculpted body?

It’s absolutely and totally SO WRONG!

It could not be further from the reality. In reality, there is no plausible basis for this method of exercising at all, and whomever thought up this utterly silly method of exercising has made the vast majority of muscle builders to squander their time and impact their results in the gym.

Allow me to straighten this up once and for all: You CANNOT ‘spot reduce’. Put another way, it is completely unachievable to focus on weight reduction from a individual part of the body. Carrying out bench presses with reduced weight and increased reps won’t cause you to burn fat off of the chest or make it to appear harder and more sculpted.
Each time you hold a barbell, dumbbell or cable, the goal is to create as much muscle increase as possible. There are no particular, secret bodybuilding training routines that will define the muscles or make them become more defined.

Exercising with weights builds muscle mass, period.
Therefore, how in particular do you define a muscle?

The simple method to define a muscle is by reducing your body fat>/a> levels so that you can make your muscles more obvious. Decreasing body fat can be met by two methods:

1) Adapt your diet.

You must lessen your overall calorie consumption to approximately 15 times your bodyweight and concentrate on eating smaller meals more often during the day. This will keep your metabolism easily raised all the time and your body will burn fat constantly. Control your consumption of saturated fats and simple sugars, and concentrate instead on eating good sources of protein and low glycemic carbs. It is also critical to keep your water consumption high at a level of around 0.6 oz for every lb of bodyweight.

2) Execute good cardio exercise routines.
Forget about the usual way of temperate intensity cardio in 30-45 min periods. If you like to make the most of your body?s fat burning capability and also reduce the muscle reduction which certainly goes along with a fat burning cycle, concentrate on shorter cardio exercise routines carried out at a peak level of intensity. These types of exercise routines will boost your resting metabolism through the roof and will let you burn the greatest quantities of fat even as you are resting. I suggest 3-5 high-level intensity cardio sessions every week, spaced at around 8 hrs between your weight exercise routines.

It’s as simple as that, people. Forget the idea of ?reduced weight and increased repetitions? and hurl it out. Following this misguided way will only make you to reduce muscle bulk and strength, and won’t help you in burning fat or defining your body.

All you are required to do to sculpt those rock hard muscles by the summer time, is the following:

1) Exercise with heavy weights and low reps to increase maximum muscle bulk.

2) Adapt your diet and carry out cardio exercise routines to reduce body fat and develop evidently harder and better sculpted muscles.

Period.

See ya on the beach!

Healthy Cleanse: Why Do You Need It

Even though you are ‘healthy’ this does not mean you don’t need to detox. Sure the body does this on a continual basis, our kidneys and livers are constantly functioning by cleansing all of the pollutants (smoke, caffeine, chemical-based products etc) in our body. Detox strengthens our internal organs back to optimal function.

Quite simply, this is accomplished through fasting, therefore resting the internal organs and stimulating the liver by pushing away the poisons from the body. Nourishing your body with healthy nutrients is also done to sustain perfect well being. It has been used for centuries worldwide by diverse civilizations.

Although many people want complete body detoxing, some would like to have a detox on a specific organ only, for instance the kidney, liver or colon. Through kidney cleanse, herbal supplements and juices are used to dissolve and wash out kidney stones. Certain foods are consumed in liver cleansing causing the gallbladder and liver to remove fatty deposits and poisons from the body. Colon detox however, softly flushes the colon with water providing a pathway for that release of toxic compounds.

The main methods utilized in entire body cleansing are:

Fasting. Water or juice fasting is applied for a period of time to reduce toxic loads within the body causing the body to heal itself and nourish inside out.

Parasite cleaning. Appropriate amount of pills or tinctures made from bitter herbs are consumed to build an unreceptive environment for the parasites within the body.

Contrast Shower. The contrast among cold and hot water enhances circulation, helps in detoxifying thus getting a better immune system. This also aids by delivering oxygen, nutrients and immune cells towards harmed and stressed tissue and eliminates metabolic waste as well as other toxins.

Sauna, yoga, exercise, natural food dieting and dry skin brushing also boost the body’s natural cleansing procedure.

Throughout the cleansing, you’ll probably feel the side effects that occur throughout the very first few days, for instance headaches, feeling weak, sore muscles, cranky moods and unable to sleep comfortably.

You’ll find as well numerous good side effects days after the detox procedure. You will feel full of energy, mental clarity enhanced, skin is clearer, improved sleep, and getting a positive mindset in everyday life for a fresh start.

Detoxification is harmless and effective for our health. It is suggested that everyone must at the very least have a quick detoxification program each year. However, kids, nursing moms, and people with cancer, serious degenerative disease and tuberculosis need to consult their physician first for approval and direction.

5 Common Running Injuries – What They Are and How You Can Prevent Them

The risk of you sustaining an injury related to running are higher than what most people think. You can suffer from a little blister to a full blown out knee caps if you’re not careful while running.Here are the 5 most common injuries most individuals suffer from when running, and how you can prevent them from happening.1. BlistersBlisters are caused by the constant rubbing of your shoe against your skin. They can be on the toes, side of the feet, or the heel, and anywhere in between. If left untreated, they can become infected and cause some major discomfort as well as pain.How to prevent blisters: Always wear shoes that fit your feet. Wearing shoes that’s one-size too big or small will result in you suffering from occasional blisters.Another thing to note here is that, when you run, your feet will sweat. Hence you’ll have wear a pair of socks that’s long enough to go past the top of your shoes, so as to avoid having blisters at your ankles.If you start to get a blister, use a Band-Aid to cover the area until it recovers.

Let the blister heal by itself. Do not pop it, as the fluid underneath serves to keep the blister protected until the skin underneath heals.2. Runner’s KneeRunner’s knee comes as a result of you overworking your knees (from running long distances consistently) over a period of time, coupled with the fact that you do not allow the surrounding sore muscles enough time to fully recover.How to prevent runner’s knee: Stretching is the best way to prevent any physical injuries related to running. Be sure you stretch all the muscles and tendons before you start running. Your muscles should be well warmed up before you do any running.Also, do some squats and lunges to build up your hamstrings, shins, and calves of your legs, because the stronger they are, the less likely you’ll suffer from runner’s knee.3. Sore MusclesWhen you over-do your running activities, you could end up with sore muscles. Sore muscles are caused as a result of tiny tears in the muscle fibers.How to prevent sore muscles: Make sure you properly warm up your muscles before you take off on a run.

Start your run slowly, and gradually increase your pace. Another thing you can do is to have a hot bath or a massage after your run to help relieve your sore muscles for a faster recovery.4. ChafingChafing is caused when your clothes constantly rub against your skin, causing rashes to form around the area. You can also get chafing when you run in the rain.Some of the common places where chafing occurs is under the bra line (for women), in the underarms, as well as around the inner thigh area.How to prevent chafing: Wear sportswear that is specially made for running. They have flat seams, not round seams, which can help prevent chafing. Also, they fit better and don’t shift around while you’re running.5. Heel FissuresCracks in your feet are called heel fissures. They are caused by dry feet, coupled with constant running, which over time, breaking open the skin, resulting in bleeding and subsequently, an infection around the area (for more severe cases).How to prevent heel fissures: If you find that your feet is dry, apply moisturizer on it. Also, try not to wear sandals or open shoes (even when not running) so as to avoid drying out your feet.