Top 10 fitness mistakes

How many calories do you need? Well, that depends on a lot of things. Your age,
sex, type of work, physical activity, all come into play. There is no one answer
for this type of thing. I have to warn you, I don't believe the general ideas on
how many calories a person should have. If you have a 2,000 calorie diet, you
are starving yourself. I know that some people live and die by this number, but
I just throw it to the wind. Why don't I pay attention to a number such as
2,000? Only because it is stupid. Yes, you heard me right, stupid. How is a
person who is very active going to live off of 2,000 calories? I mean, you would
end up looking like those dying skinny kids in the 3rd world countries.
I think you get the drift though. I think those numbers are put in place by
people who are so focused on health, that they are blinded by it. I mean, if you
have 3,000 calories in one day, it won't kill you. Though, they might want to
make you believe that it will.
I'm not saying that you should throw all of this stuff to the wind. That would
be foolish. What I am saying is, you should take it with a grain of salt. There
is no reason why you should get bent out of shape if you go a few hundred or
even a thousand over this limit. I mean, if you are going over by 5,000 then you
should be worried. Some people do need to be concerned with such a thing. For
example, people who are on a diet because of heart problems. You should be very
focused on your diet. Also people with sugar problems would fall into this
category as well.
If you don't have some sort of health problem, I wouldn't get too bent out of
shape. Though, if you are eating from the drive through lane every day, then you
might have a problem. What am I saying? Use common sense. Understand where your
calories are coming from. If you are eating 3,500 calories and they are mostly
from things that are good for you, don't go ape shit on yourself. If on the
other hand if it is all from candy and deep fried foods, I would be concerned.
You should be more concerned about where the calories are coming from. Ahhh, now
I think you see what I mean. If you are eating 1,500 calories alone of fruits
and veggies, that is better than eating that in fat. Isn't it all the same? Not
really. I would say that it isn't the same. I know that some of you will argue
with that. It isn't the same because the calories are coming from a good source.
They are coming from things that are good for you. The fruits and veggies will
help you out in many ways. They will also help you fight off cancer and heart
disease. This isn't true if you are over eating on fats and sweets.
What to do? Well, all I know is what I have stated above. If you are eating over
2,000 calories and you are eating things that are good for you, I wouldn't be
too concerned. As always, you should talk to your doctor. That is the best
advice I can give you. You should always talk to him before you go and do
something new. You might have a health condition that will require you to go on
a diet that he tells you to go on.
If you are healthy, base most of your diet on raw fruits and veggies. That is
where the action is. That is where you will get the most bang for your calorie.

Happy eating.

Want Perfect Abs!

Training the abdominal muscles has recently been the subject of more
misinformation and mythology than any other part of the human anatomy. Gizmos
and gadgets allege that they'll give you those coveted "six-pack" abs. But
here's how you can rationally train your abs to their absolute maximum limit of
development using everyday gym equipment. There is nothing unique about
abdominal muscles as far as their training and response to training is
concerned. The principles that apply to biceps and triceps apply equally to abs.
So the three critical elements of your abs workouts are:
1- High-intensity of muscular overload
2- Progressive intensity from workout to workout
3- Proper spacing of workouts to avoid overtraining or undertraining
Most people do sit-ups or crunches as an ab exercise. While these are basically
good exercises that can satisfy point 1 above, how many people use them in a way
that satisfies point 2? Muscles will only develop in response to overload that
is above normal. So if you do 20 crunches every day for a year, why would your
ab muscles develop beyond that capacity? They won't.
To force new development, you need to increase the intensity. You could add a
few crunches every day, but that really just increases duration; there is a
better way to get fast results.
Abs exercises proven to work
1- Weighted crunches
2- Weighted incline sit-ups
3- Weighted sit-ups
The best way to do weighted crunches is to lie on the floor with your head close
to the low pulley weight stack. Using the rope handle attachment, grasp the ends
and pull the cable until it is tight and your hands are resting at the side of
your head near your ears. Now contract your ab muscles in a crunch that lifts
your shoulders off the floor and draws the weight stack up an inch or two.
Choose a weight that is so heavy, you can only do 8 to 12 reps.
If you don't have access to a low pulley, there is a good alternative. You can
use the high pulley that is normally used for lat pulldowns. Kneel on the floor
or sit in the seat directly under the rope handles that you attach to the high
pulley. Lock your legs under the hold down. Pull the handles into position next
to your ears, then contract your ab muscles into a crunch that raises the weight
stack an inch or two. Again, choose a weight that is so heavy, you can only do 8
to 12 reps.
As a further alternative, you can lie on the floor and do a sit-up or crunch
while holding a barbell plate against your chest. The limitation of this
exercise is that, as you progress in strength, it will not be possible to hold
enough plates on your chest safely. But that's a good problem to have.
On each successive workout, shoot for a 5-15% increase in the weight you use. If
you can't get a 5% increase, it's time to add more days off between your
workouts.

Where diets go wrong?

The first reaction of most people who discover that they’ve put some weight on
is to eat less food. It sounds simple enough and reasonable. Since food is what
got us into trouble it follows that eating less of it will make everything right
again. Nearly every diet or eating plan in the magazines or on the Internet says
pretty much the same thing: eat less food. Therefore the answer to this problem
is very simple and handy. Sure, going with less food than usual is a challenge,
but it also carries with it a sort of expiation feeling.
Unfortunately for those who hope that lowering the food intake would help them
lose weight, this doesn’t work. Over the thousands of years of evolution the
human body had to face starvation many times and had to find ways of surviving.
We are the offsprings of those who managed to survive periods of starvation by
coping with the lack of food. Therefore, a simple decrease in the volume of food
is not going to make a big difference because the body will simply compensate
for it by lowering the amount of energy produced and limiting the capacity for
effort.
The best way to reach your weight loss goal is to work around this defense
system by eating smart instead of eating less. Overweight people and thin people
eat roughly the same number of calories per day because they share the same
required amount of food. However, overweight people eat far more fat than thin
people, who seem to prefer complex carbohydrates that are easily broken down and
metabolized by the body. This is the biggest difference between the two groups
and the best point to start when considering what and how to change in your
eating patterns.
Good dieting always takes time. The excess weight was not accumulated over night
and will never go away in a single day. Every year hundreds of thousands of
people are searching the Internet and reading magazines in order to get dieting
tips and to find the modern Holy Grail: a pill that can make fat disappear in an
instant. Well, maybe this is an exaggeration, but you get the idea. You have
probably encountered by now a lot of advertisements promising such amazing
results with the help of some quasi magic ingredient or other. And you probably
know that losing weight doesn’t work like that.
The only way to lose weight for good is to avoid eating foods that are rich in
fat and to exercises on a regular basis. Dieting without exercising is pointless
because all the weight lost by eating less food will come right back in the
following months. The sedentary lifestyle most of us lead is one of the causes
behind the recent increase in the number of overweight people around the world.
Cars, office jobs and foods rich in fat have brought us an unforeseen problem
because the easy modern life has a price tag, just like everything else.

Healthy Cholesterol Levels

Before you start eating your favorite, you might want to know whether you’re
having too much cholesterol. Few years ago, many were not aware what cholesterol
level is but with all the information everywhere people are becoming aware how
their cholesterol levels affect their lives. You have to remember that you are
what you eat and what you eat has something to do with your cholesterol. What is
cholesterol? How will you know if you have a healthy cholesterol level?

Cholesterol is a type of lipid needed in all the vital functions of the body.
Every single one of our cells is surrounded by cholesterol and its job is to
insulate our nerve fibers. By insulating the nerve fibers, the cholesterol
ensures that the nerve signals are traveling properly which is extremely
important. Cholesterol also produces hormones which are used to carry specific
signals around the body.
Too much cholesterol in the body would increase your chances of heart disease.
If you have a high cholesterol level, you should bring it down. Even though
cholesterol is essential for our bodies to function properly, still it should be
controlled properly.
How do you know if your cholesterol levels are high? You have to consult your
doctor let you know exactly what your cholesterol level is. Knowing your levels
is not really enough to tell whether or not you have a risk of heart disease,
you need to find out what your Lipoprotein levels is.
Lipoproteins are molecules which are especially designed to carry cholesterol
around the body. They are important because they control exactly how much
cholesterol is in your body. Now, there are two main types of Lipoproteins:
- High Density Lipoproteins
- Low Density Lipoproteins
The one which you really need to be aware of is Low Density Lipoproteins. A high
level of Low Density Lipoproteins means that you have a bad cholesterol that
here is too much of it to build up. High Density Lipoproteins means good
cholesterol that they are used to carry cholesterol away from cells and to the
liver.

The complicated thing about cholesterol is the right level you should belong.
The doctor has the ability to tell you how low your cholesterol levels should
be. The average person usually should have around 4.0mmol/l but if you have a
low density lipoprotein count, then you should have around 2.0mmol/l. As
mentioned, however, each person is different so you need to get your levels
checked to see exactly what you should be aiming for.
Cholesterol is important and you should know what levels you have for you to
know what you can do about it. More and more people are developing heart disease
due to high levels of cholesterol so it is advisable to go to your doctors to
know your cholesterol level.

There are many ways to improve your cholesterol level. Eat healthy food that can
help lower your LDL cholesterol level. With a healthy diet, your body is
protected from the damaging effect of cholesterol. You should quit smoking, lose
weight and exercise to raise your HDL cholesterol level.
Following a healthy low fat diet can lower cholesterol levels. If healthy eating
and exercising don't work after about six months, consult your family doctor of
the medicine to lower your cholesterol level.
If you really want to lower your cholesterol or manage your weight, Proactol™,
can help you achieve this more easily.