Archive for January, 2010

Arm Toning And Motivation

by Katherine Crawford M.S.

Getting arm tone took me a very long time. Thus, arm fat haunted me for a large portion of my life.

And the most difficult part of the whole arm tone war was an unstable level of motivation. Despite all my efforts, I could not stick with a program for a very long time.

Sometimes the disappointment would be so great that I would jump ship all-together. And a jar of cookies would become my consolation.

But I had a wake-up call and came to the conclusion that this type of mental lifestyle was not going to get me the sexy arms I so desperately wanted.

So I searched high and low for a method that would allow me to stay motivated indefinitely. And I’m happy to say that I found said method. It was created by David Burns M.D. and in my opinion is the best thought modification system out there. Central to his method is the elimination of cognitive (thought) distortions.

So here are 3 thought distortions you need to avoid today so that you can have motivation tomorrow:

1. Perfectionism distortions. If you see things as black or white then you have this distortion. For example, if you have to have a perfect workout or no workout at all then you suffer from perfectionism. Don’t sweat the small stuff and always keep moving forward despite minute setbacks. In other words, focus on general patterns of improvement.

2. Overgeneralization distortions. With this one you become a psychic because you believe that something that has happened to you in the past will keep on happening in the future. Just because you haven’t been able to get toned arms in the past does not mean that you will keep on failing in the future.

3. Mental-filters distortions. This one his horrible because it forces you to focus on the negative instead of the positive. If you have a solid day of healthy eating, but slightly veer off and have a small amount of junk food you only focus on the junk food. But what about all the other healthy food you ate? Always give yourself credit for the positive.

Avoiding the above distortions will seriously help you achieve lasting motivation when trying to get arm tone. And lasting motivation is the key to sexy arm stardom.

One more thing, it’s very important that you act on this advice sooner rather than later. You see, taking action quickly is the fastest way to get great results.

About the Author:
by Katherine Crawford M.S.

All the experts out there have a different say as to which exercise is best for creating different changes in the human body.

Unfortunately, if you don’t have an advanced degree in the field, it may be virtually impossible to separate the wheat from the chaff.

As a result, I am going to reveal some of the best exercises for changing different regions in your body.

Here is my selection:

1. More chest development: If you are only doing bench presses, you are missing out big time. You see, bench presses with dumbbells are much more effective at building up the chest. They are also much easier on the shoulders.

2. A broader upper back: How many times have you seen someone doing pull downs to the back of their head? Well, this is not very good for their posture and not as effective as pull downs to the front of their head.

3. Broader shoulders: There are tons of different shoulder exercises. And some people looking for wider shoulders might do lateral raises all day. While lateral rises are effective, overhead dumbbell presses are even better for increasing mass in the side of your shoulders. And wider shoulders will create the illusion of a smaller waist.

4. Fuller thighs: A lot of people will do regular squats, hack squats and leg presses to build up their front thighs. However, if you want the biggest bang for your buck, I recommend front squats. Not only will they target your front thighs, but they will also work your core muscles as an added bonus.

There are lots of exercises in the magazines, exercise books and online publications. The key here, however, is to not get paralyzed from over analysis.

The best approach here is to start doing these exercises as soon as possible and figure out which ones do the best job at changing your body. You see, taking action sooner rather than later is key for the fastest results.

About the Author:
by Jack Travers

The temperatures are dropping and the wind chill is getting colder and soon the snow will start to fall. This makes outdoor cycling very difficult in some parts of the country and not much fun.

If you are like many cyclists, you are considering purchasing an indoor bike trainer to keep yourself in shape and maintain your legs during the offseason. Nobody wants to work hard all summer long, only to give it up during the offseason. An indoor bike trainer is a perfect way to stay in shape and be ready for spring.

The good news is that there are a lot of choices in bike trainers available to you but this can be confusing when trying to ensure that you make a good buying decision. In my opinion, the best thing you can do is check out the user reviews online and see what other riders think about each bike trainer. If you aren’t exactly clear on what you want then it’s always a good idea to stick with a name brand bike trainer, you get what you pay for.

Three of the most popular name brand bike trainers are:

Minoura Bike Trainers – Minoura USA has been making trainers for a long time and they produce some of the best around. They have a really cool rim drive trainer that is nice, especially for the mountain bike riders.

Kurt Kinetic Bike Trainers – The Kurt Kinetic Road Machine is one of the single most popular bike trainers ever and my own personal bike trainer. It’s awesome, I can vouch for it.

Cycleops Fluid 2 Trainer – The Fluid 2 bike trainer might be among the most widely owned bike trainers available on the market. They are very popular for many reasons but most of which because they are a very good bike trainer.

These three trainers are not the only ones in the game but they are three that I would buy myself and would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a great bike trainer. I personally would lean towards the Kurt Kinetic bike trainer because it I know it well and compared to any other bike trainer that I have ridden, it is by far the best bike trainer that I have ridden in my opinion.

One of the things I like the most about the Kurt Kinetic bike trainer is that it gives a great road ride feel, meaning it feels very similar to riding on the road. It also has a very innovative design that features a sealed fluid chamber that simply cannot leak, which is a huge benefit and a great advantage over other designs. In my opinion, you simply can’t do any better than a Kurt Kinetic bike trainer.

When it all comes into focus, what I like doesn’t much matter because you need to find the best bike trainer that fits your needs and what you value in a bike trainer. I would suggest you read some of the reviews available at those links above and make the best decision you can.

About the Author:
by Jonathan Green

Leslee Bender- a worldwide health expert, certified by the US College of Sports Medicine and also the National Academy of Sports Medicine has over 25 years of expertise within the fitness field. Leslee has made her unique fitness system and owns her own fitness center where she trains people to live a balanced and fit existence. Plenty of reputed organizations and health clubs are using the health techniques and have thus had good results.

What is the BenderBall?

Leslee has produced a distinctive regime to work out the ab muscles termed the Bender Ball work out technique. BenderBall is really a shorter flexible ball which aids with exercising the abdominal muscles. Normal floor crunches can restrict ones exercise postures, allowing a person to move only into front, restricting your backwards movement but leslee’s bender ball gives you a complete backwards extension plus forwards flexion coupled using the selective stabilization technique leading to a complete exercise routine. Bender ball is a wonderful tool to train the abdominal muscles- upper abs, lower abs and sides. The item tones your ab muscles and gives terrific results unlike tedious normal crunches.

The usual process of carrying out crunches advises an individual to lay on his / her back or from a raised place off the ground. That posture is strenuous to reach plus strains your back muscle. It additionally stops you from performing a full back crunch. Whereas the Bender ball allows both forwards plus back extension, flexibly, devoid of straining the back muscles plus providing twice compared to effective as any routine- conventional abdominal crunch.

Buyer Critiques:

Internet reviews suggest that the product is easy to carry if you happen to be going on a family vacation as well as even a shorter weekend getaway. Your worries with regards to breaking a work out plan is nothing to worry about now as it is possible to pack a Bender Ball in your traveling bag and workout wherever you’re, a mountain top or in a valley. Bender Ball is a decent priced, cost effective, exercise gadget, so you really don’t need to worry about investing heavily on a gym in your home or fitness machines. You do not even have to queue up at the fitness clubs or gymnasiums to hang around for your turn to exercise. With bender ball you are able to work out within the the comfortable interior of your home at whatever hour of the day and any time it is convenient.

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Detox Diet Plan: Smoothies

by Tyson Griffen

One main ingredient in the beginning of a successful weight loss plan is to detoxify your body.

However, the average dieter should be wary of detox diet plans that use chemical supplements. You can find a good detox diet plan that uses what nature provides, instead of man-made chemicals. These types of detox diet plans contain everything a body needs, and the easiest and most delicious way to get your fresh fruits and vegetables is by mixing them into a smoothie. You can have these all-natural smoothies any time of day instead of your usual high-calorie meal.

And you wouldn’t believe how easy it is to make an all-natural detox smoothie! There are a variety of ways to make healthy smoothies that not only kick-start your metabolic rate, but also provide the antioxidants, minerals, vitamins and nutrients using those nature-made ingredients of dairy, fruits, juices and vegetables.

And there is a wide variety of smoothies that you can make which will fit in nicely with your detox diet plan. Fiber is key to digestion and detox, and you can add fiber to your smoothie by including berries, carrots, and dark leafy green vegetables such as spinach. Toxins will be moved along more quickly when you incorporate citrus fuits into your smoothies including oranges, tangerines, lemons and limes. You can also mix in fruits that are known diuretics including cranberries, watermelon, pineapple, kiwi and canteloupe. There is no reason for detoxification to be harsh or even painful. By combining the right ingredients, your detoxification process can be natural and healthy.

You can infuse even more nutrients to your smoothies and your detox diet plan by using Mila. Adding 1 Tbsp of Mila increases the amount of nutrients your body receives. Mila is all natural and contains protein, fiber and Omega-3, but leaves out the gluten and sugar! With Mila, you get:

Eight times more Omega-3 than salmon

6 times the calcium levels of milk

Three times the Iron to Spinach

more Potassium than eating 2 bananas

15 times more magnesium than delicious broccoli

Two times the Fiber of bran flakes

Six times Protein to kidney beans

Four times the Selenium than flax seed

Nine times more Phosphorus to that of whole milk

antioxidant levels that exceeds those found in blueberries.

And it is compeltely tasteless meaning that it can be blended into any smoothie recipe safely and without changing flavor.

Mix up this smoothie recipe to start your day and notice how much extra energy you will have to get you through the day.

One cup of frozen strawberries

1 large orange, peeled, sectioned and seeded, or you can substitute 2 tangerines

1 lime, peeled and seeded

Half a cup of plain light yogurt

1 tablespoon mila

Blend all ingredients until smooth. If the smoothie is too thick, check the ripeness of your fruit and the amount of heavy fruits you use. Adding a ice cubes to the smoothie will thin the smoothie out nicely.

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