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Posts Tagged ‘Diet Exercise’

Six-Pack Abs Require A Combination Of Diet And Exercise

November 26th, 2009


Many of us would love to have the six-pack abs. Everywhere you look there are commercials or ads promising these wonderful abs, but what really works? There are many of these ads that say taking a supplement can give you the envious abdominals and the flat stomach you’ve always wanted. Whether or not these supplement is still yet to be decided.  One thing that we do know for sure is that exercises such as crunches and sit ups  will get you the results you want.

Not all the supplements that are available to you are safe. Who knows what they are putting in these supplements that will give you these great abs. There have been reports of serious side effects resulting from taking these supplements. The good news is there is another way to get these great abs without having to take supplements and risking your health. With a little hard work, exercise and a healthy diet you can achieve great looking abs all on your own.

First thing you will need to do is get some sort of journal to keep record of your exercise and diet program. You can choose whatever kind of journal you think will work best for you. If you want to use a little notebook that you can take with you to help you stay on top of your record keeping that is just fine. If you have a personal digital assistant you can invest in a program that will help you keep your records. Whichever way you decide will work better for you is what you need to do.

The purpose of the journal is to keep track of your progress, and help find any areas that may need more attention. Information you will need to put in your journal will be what day it is, your weight, what exercise you are doing or did on that day, and your food intake. You will also want to make sure you record the time of each of these events to make tracking progress easier.

You will also want to take your measurements weekly or biweekly depending on how dramatic of results you like to see and record these also. How often you weigh yourself is up to you as an individual, it all depends once again on how dramatic you want the results to be. Just remember that if you do it every day it may make you more aware of your goals and make you try harder to reach them. Whichever way you decide to go, just make sure you are weighing yourself at the same time of day each time.

When you track this information it will make you more aware of what you need to work harder on the next day or week. If you have a record of what you did you can look and see if maybe you skipped a day of exercise, or didn’t eat very healthy. You want to make sure you are burning more calories than you are taking in. If you keep track of your how much food you ate and when you ate it, it will be easier to see when you need to watch more carefully. Maybe you are overeating everyday at the same time of day, if so your journal will help you see this so you can fix it.

When keeping track of your exercise you will want to write down what type of exercise you did, when you did it, and how long you did it. Keep in mind that just doing sit-ups will not guarantee that six-pack you dream of. You need to make sure you get rid of the fat so that you can see the great abs you are looking for.

To maximize your results you will probably want to do aerobic exercise or cardiovascular exercise to burn fat and calories, strength training to create more muscle, and abdominal exercises. Strength training is important because muscle burns more calories than fat, and will help power your aerobic exercises. Walking, swimming or training along with an aerobic exercise tape are all great ways to get you aerobic workout in. For abdominal work you can do regular sit-ups, or try something like Pilates. Pilates incorporates strength training for your abs and uses twisting movements to get better results.

Just remember that you should exercise four to five times a week, and keep an honest an accurate journal to maximize your results. You also need to realize that you will not get your dream abs overnight; it takes hard work and time.

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Nice Abs – How to Get a Sexy and Slim Waistline

November 23rd, 2009

Most everyone wants to have nice abs that look slim and sexy. However, there are a few very common mistakes that many people make which prevents from getting a solid six pack.

Mistake #1: Trying to do too many crunches to lose stomach fat

If only doing lots of crunches worked for carving out a solid set of abs. If doing a few hundred crunches was all it took to lose body fat then everyone walking around would not have any excess fat. Doing lots of crunches and other ab exercises do not help you get nice abs simply because they do not help you lose the fat that covers them up!

Ab exercises simply do not burn enough calories or stimulate the body’s metabolism enough to get down to 8-10% body fat for a man and 15-20% if you are a woman. The only way doing lots of crunches will help is if you are already down to a very low body fat percentage and want to increase the “toned” look of your abs. If you cannot see your abs at all then it simply means that is too much body fat covering them up!

Therefore, the focus of your diet and exercise routine should be to lose body fat so you can see your abs. Doing endless amounts of ab exercises just won’t help do that.

Mistake #2: Not keeping a food log

Since you know that getting a nice set of six pack abs all depends on having low enough levels of body fat, you should know that the next step is to pay attention to the most important part of the whole process: the amount of calories you are consuming.

If you have excess body fat that you can’t seem to get rid of, then you absolutely have to understand that it is simply the result of taking in too many calories. Its not from poor genetics or some other physical disorder, it just comes down to consuming too many calories. The fitness models who have the sexiest abs of anyone will be the first to tell you they got that way by being extremely careful about what they eat.

The absolute best indication you can use for figuring this out is to keep a food log of what you are eating. You will be amazed at the perspective you will gain about your eating habits from keeping a food log.

Since getting nice abs and a lean midsection is all about losing body fat, and losing body fat is all about taking in less calories or burning more with exercise, then a food log to track yourself is an absolute must.

Mistake #3: Not lifting weights

This will seem counterintuitive to some, but lifting weights is an excellent way to lose more body fat. Resistance training will give you more lean muscle mass that will have a dramatic impact with increasing your resting metabolism.

This means that you are burning more calories because muscle is very active tissue. If you are not strength training then you are missing a huge opportunity to burn more calories. It has been said that each extra pound of muscle mass burns an extra 60 calories per day. If you gain even 3 lbs of lean muscle tissue, you will burn an extra 180 calories each day! That is much more than a simple ab workout will burn.

Conclusion

Getting nice abs does not have to be a big struggle in which you are constantly playing the guessing game. You simply need to eat the right foods at the right time while tracking your calories.

You can use a regular notebook or an online food log if you want more detail. By focusing more attention on total body strength training, your body will develop more lean muscle mass and have a higher metabolic rate.

Now take action right away and start developing those nice abs to show off!

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Optimizing Your Diet to Lose Abdominal Fat

October 27th, 2009

ADSENSE CODE #3

Diet and exercise go hand in hand to aid in weight loss. In order to maximize your chances of developing those killer abdominals you desire, altering your diet is a necessary step.
It is important to remember that weight loss is not instantaneous, nor is it an overly fast process. Healthy weight loss is important, so be sure to do it properly, by adopting a healthy diet as opposed to using dangerous measures such as weight loss pills and fad diets. Ensure you do not adopt these measures as they can be dangerous and will usually result in a person losing significant amounts of lean body mass and muscle.
The following steps will aid you in developing an optimal diet:
1) Limit the energy in your diet: In order to lose weight, we must expend more energy than we are putting into our bodies. To do this is simply a mater of eliminating sources of excess energy (such as foods high in fat and sugar) and ensuring we are not eating portion sizes that are too large. It may help you to write down the foods hat you eat over a few days, to give you and idea of how much you are eating and possible foods that could be eliminated from your diet.
2) Eat small meals regularly: Eating smaller amounts more frequently during the day will aid keeping your metabolism steady, and in many cases will aped it up. Speeding your metabolism up will aid your body in utilizing energy at a faster rate- thus reducing the storage of fat.
3) Eat breakfast: Many people make the mistake of skipping breakfast, this commonly results in a sluggish metabolism and decreased energy stores until you eat next. In the case of many people, this is lunch time. To compensate for skipping breakfast they may eat a very large lunch, which will result in further slowing the metabolism and making the individual feel drowsy and sluggish. DO not think there s not time for breakfast- there is. Whether you have to get out of bed ten minutes earlier or opt for a quick and easy breakfast option such as cereal or a breakfast bar; breakfast is essential in controlling your metabolism.
4) Drink water: In order to optimize your diet and lose weight it is essential to drink sufficient amount of water each day. Most people drink insufficient amounts of water in a day. This has the negative effect of making the person feel as if they are hungry, resulting in them eating unnecessarily. This introduces extra energy into the body which is consequently stored as fat. Ensure you drink plenty of water to avoid unnecessary energy intake.
5) Replace unhealthy foods with healthy foods: This process is quite simple; there are a few rules to follow to ensure your diet contains sufficient healthy foods in place of unhealthy foods:
a) Eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, breads and cereals. Sticking to the basics will ensure you eat sufficient healthy food for normal functions, and will ensure you limit any fats in your diet.
b) Select lean meat: Replace any fatty cuts of meats with lean cuts. Ensure you remove all visible fat or remove the skin form chicken. Avoid sausages, salami, devon and other processed meats as these tend to be very high in fat.
c) Select skim/trim/reduced fat dairy: Dairy products are high in fat and thus high in energy. Consuming full cream dairy products will only result in unnecessary energy being introduced into the diet. Opting for skim, trim or reduced fat milks, cheeses and yoghurts will ultimately result in a decrease in overall energy in the diet, thus making weight loss easier.
d) Avoid or limit takeaway foods: Take-away foods tend to be extremely high in fat and thus energy; this is generally due to cooking methods (most are deep fried). Try not to have take-away more than once per week.
e) Minimize snack foods: Many people consume excess energy through frequent snacking on unhealthy foods. Snack foods that are high in sugar and fat, such as lollies, chips, chocolates, soft drinks etc. should be avoided or replaced with healthy alternatives.
6) Ensure sufficient fiber in the diet: Fiber will aid in keeping sufficient amounts of water in the intestines to optimize the digestive processes to maintain a healthy bowel.
7) Limit alcohol intake: alcohol is high in energy and excessive consumption will inevitably result in the production of fat in the body. To prevent this form occurring, ensure you limit the amount of alcohol you drink.
It may help you to plan your meals in advance. This can be done by searching cook books or online for healthy recipes and making a list of the ingredients you will need. Be sure to have a variety of different foods in your diet, and remember to ensure you are not overeating by consuming large sized meals.
When reducing the number of calories in their diet, many people find it hard to overcome the resulting hunger. If you find your are constantly feeling hungry, try consuming some diet soft drink, diet cordial or diet jelly, as these will help to ease the feeling of hunger without adding calories to the diet.
Be sure to combine diet with healthy eating to ensure optimal weight loss occurs.

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