The Importance Of Weight Training On Health And Fitness

By Jose Bautista

There are many important facets to health and fitness but most women skip an important part, weight training. Only about 20% of women do weight training as part of their fitness regime. In about 2 months you can lose an additional 3% of fat then if you were only doing cardio exercise.

While cardio exercises will burn more calories over the course of the session. Once you are done your body goes back to its normal calorie burn rate. However if you lift weights you will burn more calories overall. You will burn 100 more calories over a 24 hour period by lifting weights then you would by doing cardio alone.

The muscles you are strengthening are also very important for your metabolism. If you have more muscle then you have a greater ability to burn more fat. Even when you are sitting down your muscles are using up calories. So if you can replace 10 pounds of fat with muscle you will burn more calories each day by doing nothing.

Additionally by adding weight training to your exercise you will not lose any muscle. Anything you do lose will be 100% fat. Those individuals that only do cardiovascular then you will lose fat but you will also lose muscle. Weight training will let you keep the muscle you have. It also is particularly good at getting rid of that difficult stomach fat.

When you incorporate weight training into your exercise you need to keep track of your measurements besides your weight. With weight training you may not necessarily lose weight because muscle weights more then fat but you will drop a clothing size.

Because weight lifting adds muscle you should not rely solely on measuring your weight as your success story. You should also take your measurements as you may not lose weight, as muscle weighs more than fat, but you will find that your clothing size will decrease. Weight lifting has exceptional results and should be added to your exercise regime. - 17274

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Create A New You by Fighting Free Radicals

By Dr. Jerimiah Crossderd

The acai fruit is a tasteful, fresh, organic fruit that comes with a wealth of antioxidants. In order to prevent damage to the body as well as slow the aging process, antioxidants are needed as part of a regular diet.

When the body's cells consume oxygen, it creates free radicals (or by-products) that can cause a lot of problems to our body. Antioxidants play an important role in preventing, repairing, and removing the damage done by these toxic by-products. Having a daily supplement of antioxidants is the best way known to protect yourself from these harmful free radicals.

When free radicals are left unchecked, they can wreak all kinds of havoc to our bodies. Free radicals are responsible for the breakdown of our DNA as well as causing cancer. These by-products can invade our cells and cause them to break down or even worse stop functioning all together.

Depending on where the damage was created by these toxic radicals, the range of destruction can lead to neurological damage all the way to hormonal problems. The acai berry produces enough antioxidants that when taken as a regular part of your diet can prevent and fight off these free radicals.

Studies have revealed for years that when antioxidants are taken as part of a regular diet, the body has the ability to repair, and maintain resistance to free radicals as well future attacks.

Dr. Perricone is the one who introduced the mainstream audience to this amazing fruit by writing a book entitled, the Perricone Promise. In this book he writes that the acai berry is the most perfect food on the planet.

When it comes to a food that will make you look and feel young, Dr. Perricone says that the acai berry has all of the ingredients needed to accomplish this. Also, when looking for a diet that will revitalize your health and slow the aging process Dr. Perricone says look no further than the acai fruit berry.

The acai fruit is known as a super food that contains every nutrient your body needs in fighting harmful free radicals. If your goal is to improve your overall health, as well as strengthen and maintain your body, then you should look further into the numerous benefits of the this amazing fruit.

The acai berry is the perfect food to improve overall health, reduce aging, and fighting free radicals and could be just the missing supplement your body needs to creating the new you.

A group of scientist in Arkansas found that fruits that are dark purplish in color such as the acai berry fruit, could possibly hold the key to preventing obesity.

The scientist concluded through animal studies that the extract of the fruit is more effective than actually eating the fruit when it comes to weight loss.

Ronald L. Prior and colleagues, who conducted the study, found that past research has shown that the pigments,called anthocyanins, prevent obesity in laboratory mice fed a high-fat diet.

the mice also tested well from other health benefits related to their purple food diet. Anthocyanins are found in acai berry, blueberries, black berries, and many more foods that are dark in color.

The mice were fed for two months a high calorie diet on top of drinking water and extracted anthocyanins from acai berry gained less weight and had a lower body fat level than the other mice.

Feeding the whole berry tended to increase the weight in mice. But, when the mice were fed the anthocyanins extract from the berries, it tended to reduce obesity according to the study.

The article "Whole Berries versus Berry Anthocyanins: Interactions with Dietary Fat Levels in the C57BL/6J Mouse Model of Obesity" can be read in full in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Colorful pigments found in the skin of blueberries, strawberries and other fruits and vegetables may help prevent obesity, according to recent animal studies from the USDA Agricultural Research Service. - 17274

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To look further into theamazing benefits ofacai fruit,you can look on Dr. Jerimiah Crossderd's web site which provides a wealth of knowledge pertaining to this subject as well as an acai fruit berry review of some of the best products on the market and which ones to avoid as there are many companies that have been found to be fraudulent as a result of acai fruits popularity.

Learn How to Build Pecs

By Frank Hommes

If you are new to weight lifting, you might feel like you're missing something when you're trying to learn how to build your pecs. You may do all of the same exercises you see other people doing , but still have trouble building your pecs up. The reason for this, is that it's not all about about the exercise itself, there are other matters to consider.

1. Eating the right kinds of food is just as important as doing the right exercises. This is because muscle can't be built without certain nutrients. Protein is what muscle is composed of and so in order to build the muscle a person needs to eat a lot of protein. Carbohydrates can also help because it will give the body more energy during the workout.

Overall health is a big part of how to build pecs so having a well balanced diet will be useful. Along with eating a lot of protein a person should be eating many fruits and vegetables. The body will be able to focus on building new muscle as long as it is healthy.

2. The second secret is stretching. A person trying to build their pecs should do stretches that get the upper chest ready to do some hard work. One can do something as simple as mimicking the motion of a push-up while standing can stretch out the pectoral muscles.

People should avoid overworking their pecs for the same reason they should stretch. Too much activity on the pectoral muscles can strain the muscles causing them damage as opposed to making them stronger. It could also lead to overly pronounced pecs which some people call "man boobs."

3. You need to do the correct types of exercises if you want to build your pectorals. Exercises like push-ups effectively work the pecs and can be done without a gym. If you have access to a weight lifting bench, you can do bench presses as well. - 17274

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Casein Protein, How Much is Too Much?

By Phil Ruth

Supplement manufacturers have done a wonderful job of confusing the fitness wanting public. For the last 5 years the bodybuilding community has gobbled up soy protein.

Then studies revealed that due to its fast gastric emptying properties most of the protein taken in via whey protein is metabolized and burned up in the liver. The whey manufacturers first responded by increasing the number of grams per serving. Why not? More protein would have to be consumed, thus more protein is sold.

Soy is popular with vegetarians. The Soy manufacturers looked on as whey protein sales sky rocketed, and, in to get their own piece of the pie, they went after the "health" market, primarily women. Many of the studies the soy manufacturers cite are valid, but do not represent the whole picture.

In one particular study, 2 groups of men were fed diets with one group ingesting soy and the other ingesting animal products as the protein source. The idea was to find out if there was a decreased likelihood for gallstones if animal proteins were replaced by soy protein. Since gallstone accumulation is often linked with crystallization of cholesterol, at the studies conclusion it examined cholesterol.

The study showed that cholesterol crystallization was slightly retarded in the soy group extrapolating that soy can help in preventing gallstones. Here's what the study failed to address. There wasn't any control over fruit and vegetable intake. Soy is a vegetable, and it does happen to fall into the group of veggies that are high in isoflavones.

Isoflavones are very closely tied to many health benefits including a lowering of cholesterol levels. On the other hand, we've known for some time that the consumption of meat is linked with an elevation of the cholesterol level. This does not mean that people who eat soy will have better cholesterol than people who eat chicken, turkey, egg, fish, and other vegetables. This clearly shows that conclusions drawn from studies are very often taken out of their proper context and overemphasized.

Many studies show the cancer resistive benefits of a nutrition plan heavy in vegetables, we do not take this to mean that people who consume soy instead of milk, egg, and animal protein will be in better health, if an exercise is part of the plan conclusions in non-exercising people will always be invalidated.

Most of the research promoted about soy is publicized by companies with a financial stake in Soy Protein sales. The Soybean Board is a good example. Very often the elements of a sound study are taken out of context to boost sales of soy.

As far as metabolism is concerned it appears that you are best off ingesting supplemental protein from a mix of whey & casein protein. The new protein supplements will hit the market and feature this exact combination of proteins. You are best to include a wide a variety of food as possible in your nutrition program. - 17274

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6 All-Too-Common Arm Fat And Dietary Fat Falsehoods

By Katherine Crawford M.S.

If you're serious about getting rid of that loose arm fat, you absolutely have to consume a hefty amount of dietary fat. I know this sounds paradoxical, but it's very true.

You see, dietary fat is so important for arm-fat burning in the female body, that ignoring it would be a big mistake. It's really that vital to your sexy arm success.

So without further ado, here are 6 common dietary fat falsehoods:

1. Downing a bunch of fish oil pills is healthy. Do this and you run the risk of messing up your blood lipid profiles. Excessive fish oil consumption can lead to atherosclerosis.

2. Some trans fatty acids are ok. Stay away from trans fat, stay far away. As proven by Harvard research, no amount of trans fat is acceptable. Eating trans fat is a sure-fire way to arm fat failure.

3. Plant saturated fat is just as bad as animal saturated fat. There is a huge difference between the two. And plant saturated fat is very healthy for you. Coconut, for instance, does wonders for the female body.

4. Omega-3 fat can be stored at room temperature. Keep the walnuts and flax seeds in the refrigerator. Omega-3 fats, critical for arm fat burning, become rancid very quickly when stored at room temperature.

5. Omega-3 enhanced eggs are healthy. They are NOT healthy because they are still loaded with saturated fat. Increasing the amount of healthy omega-3 in the egg doesn't cancel out the unhealthy effect of saturated fat.

6. Lower fat intakes are better for arm fat loss. Nothing could be further from the truth. You see, once your fat intake goes down so will your levels of fat burning hormones.

If you're really serious about getting rid of that loose arm fat, then you have to have a lot of dietary fat. About 30% of your calories should come from fat. However, you can go all the way up to 40%. After all, some of the healthiest diets in the world (i.e., Mediterranean) have about 45% of their calories coming from fat. So the next time someone tells you stop eating fat, ignore them! - 17274

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Blunt Facts about How to Lose Weight Fast

By Curt Joel

A vast amount of people don't only want to lose weight, but they want to see results almost immediately, and they also want to do it safely. Interestingly enough, numerous studies have proven that in order to lose weight and keep it off permanently, your goal should be to lose no more than one or two pounds per week.

The most common mistake that people make in their attempts to lose weight is to approach weight loss as a one time thing and not a lifestyle change.

Effective weight loss programs all do the same basic thing. They manipulate calorie intake so that calories in is less than the total number of calories expended. Most people don't know that one pound of fat equals 3,500 calories.

In other words, if you would like to shed one or two pounds per week, then you would need to consume either 500 or 1,000 calories less than you currently do, providing of course that your weight doesn't fluctuate.

On the other hand, you can also choose to increase the amount of physical activity you're engaged in order to increase the number of calories your body burns each day. Irrespective of whether you choose to consume fewer calories or whether you decide to increase to the amount of exercise you do, both will result in immediate fat loss.

Unfortunately, these are both simplistic approaches to fat loss that don't take into account other factors like bio-individuality, hormone production, and more.

But for someone who is looking to lose fat fast, without regard to long term fat loss, this is all that you need to know.

Of course, in order for the results to be permanent, it's crucial that you acknowledge the fact that it requires a change of lifestyle rather than a one time effort.

Those people who have made noticeable changes to their lifestyle by including exercise in the daily routines, are in fact the ones who are most successful regarding fat loss. This is essentially because they no longer view exercise as being a chore, but instead, they see it as an opportunity to escape the daily pressures they encounter in their lives.

Instead, these people don't see exercise as being a chore but rather as something which they can enjoy. Apart from fat loss, a daily personal training program has far too many health benefits to list in this article.

It goes on and on.

The bottom line is; if you really want to live life to the fullest, then rather than focusing on how to lose weight quickly, you should instead be thinking about a complete change of lifestyle, because that in itself will result in weight loss. - 17274

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Choosing Your Food To Lose Weight Effectively

By Selene Foong

An important component of losing weight is the food intake. What you eat is very important in any weight loss program as it could be the main ingredient in your weight loss success or failure. So, remember that what you choose on put on your plate is vital to your weight loss plans.

However, choosing your food does not mean counting calories and eating only foods with zero calories. The types of food you eat in your meals is as important as counting calories. This is because some healthy foods may not be zero calorie but it is good for you and could even help you to lose weight. Meanwhile, there are low calorie foods that are detrimental to your health and do not supply your body with the needed nutrients so it is not good for you at all.

You don't need to be eating food that are not good for you or healthy even when it is low in calories. It is preferable that you choose foods that are nutritious and has a moderate amount of calories that will provide your body with the fuel it needs to function. These kinds of food will actually help you in your losing weight goals. Unhealthy zero calorie foods will not do this and can't be the fuel to help you burn fat. Take zero calorie soft drinks as an example. These may be zero calories but they don't benefit you at all cause they don't provide you with any nutrients at all. But if you drink a glass of low fat milk which has more calories, it is good enough to give your body a boost of nutrients especially calcium.

Milk is one of the best beverage for you to get the protein you need for your body. Not only is it healthy, it is also delicious and easy to drink. You can even the low fat kinds. Although popular diet programs always say you must cut down on dairy products, a glass or two of low fat milk will not spoil your diet. On the contrary, it might give you a boost and help you to cut down on your food intake.

That's because milk is a type of protein that is pretty filling. After drinking a glass of milk, your hunger pangs will be reduced and this will make you feel less cravings to eat more or binge. If you eat whole grain foods like oats, it will produce the same effect. These are the type of foods that will help you burn fat as they keep you full longer and thus, keep you from consuming too much food.

It is pretty easy to go for healthy foods because all you need to do is yo choose natural foods and stay away from processed food. Vegetables and fruits are natural food that you should always go for as these are fresh and contains a lot of vitamins and nutrients. Other than just choosing your food based on the calorie content, you should also look out for the fat content and the nutritious value of the food. Always choose those loaded with vitamins and nutrients and at the same time is low in fat. Once you load up in vitamins-rich food, it is the best way for you to maintain a healthy body. - 17274

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Selene cooks a lot and has a load of easy and simple healthy recipes to share including a list of nutritious fat burning food.

Weight Loss And Positive Thinking

By Patrick Thorntonson

Once you have decided that you really want to lose weight, you need to make that a firm commitment and approach your goal with a positive attitude. Everyone knows that losing weight can be very challenging. It won't happen over night and it take a lot of practice and time to change habits that you have established over your lifetime.

However you do need to understand you control your very own destiny and it is up to you to lose the extra weight you have gained. You will need to think more like a winner than like a loser and most of all think positively. When you think negative thoughts they can make you doubt yourself and it will be difficult to lose weight this way.

The key to losing weight isn't finding the perfect diet or magic pill. It lies in establishing good habit that will allow you to lose weight as well as maintain a healthy lifestyle and keep the weight off. Try to find a weight loss program that seems sensible and realistic to you and one that you will be able to incorporate into your life not only now but for the long term.

Although it is true that you can control how you think as well as your destiny, it can be quite helpful if you have support from your family friends. There may even be people you know that would like to join you in your weight loss efforts who would not only support you but give you someone to exercise with and help hold you accountable to your goals. This can really be helpful in maintaining a positive outlooking and staying on track.

Today's diets and weight loss programs are very flexible. Some diets even make prepared foods available for you to buy if you want to have that convenience. When it comes time to choosing a weight loss program that will be workable for you, there will be plenty of options for you to choose from.

One key aspect that you need to keep focused on is becoming more knowledgeable on nutrition and healthy eating habits. Find a diet or weight loss program that helps you with your education and that is not rigid, but flexible in the foods that you are allowed to eat. This way your diet will be varied and you will learn more when you are forced to make choices about what to eat.

You also need to get an ample amount of exercise as part of your weight loss program. You will want to have a positive outlook on exercise as well and think of it as enjoyable instead of something that you are doing to dread. There are plenty of physical activities and exercises for you to select from that will work to strengthen and tone up your body and also help you lose weight.

When it comes time to exercise, walking is a good activity to start out with. You can choose from a wide variety of activities including aerobics, swimming, bicycling, lifting weights and jogging among others. The most important thing to keep in mind in terms of losing weight is to maintain a positive attitude and stick with your plan until you achieve your weight loss goals. - 17274

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Can Starting a Swimming Regimen Help Me Prevent Easy Bruising?

By Carolyn Cooper

If you are noticing a lot of bruises on your arms and hands lately, and if you have trouble remembering how you got them, you will no doubt determine that you don't want to worry about this condition. A sizable group of people discover that they are bruising more frequently as they get older, and if you are one of those plagued with this easy bruising, you will learn that swimming can offer some very positive effects on reducing you bruising affliction. Swimming may never be the total answer for your bruising easily, but you will almost certainly find that there are several very real ways that it provides some beneficial responses.

Swimming or any other form of cardiac exercise will help your heart stay in optimum condition, and this then improves your cardiovascular health generally. Bruising occurs when you have broken or ruptured the blood vessels immediately below your skin, and the breakage allows blood to seep out, pool, and be seen as a visible bruise. Through proper exercise routines, you can enhance your cardiovascular health significantly; basically, you are causing your veins to get stronger and reducing the chance that they will break as readily.

Also keep in mind that swimming itself is a great reminder to keep your skin moisturized. Whether you swim in the local pool or in the ocean, numerous people discover that the salt or chemicals tend to dry out their skin. The use of a good moisturizer that helps you enhance the flexibility of your skin more effectively is highly recommended. This moisturizer when combined with the more consistent exercise that you are getting from your new swimming program, will certainly make your skin feel tighter yet more elastic, which will increase your resistance to easy bruising.

If you are taking swimming classes of any sort, you will also discover that you are encouraged to drink lots of water. Being in the water all the time will remind you to drink more of it, and when you want to perform your best, whether you are doing laps, water aerobics or even synchronized swim, you will discover that you are going to get thirsty. Take the time to drink the water that you need, and you will discover that drinking like this will improve your body's metabolism, allowing it to deal with bruises more quickly and expediently when they do show up.

All that being said, find the bathing suit that you love, grab that swim cap and jump in. Swimming is great fun, and you'll see that it can help your body defend itself against bruising easily as well. You should also consider researching unique, daily supplement programs like Bruises Be Banned that can help you overcome your easy bruising and help to reduce bruising or prevent bruising altogether. - 17274

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Carolyn Cooper is known as a renowned expert on bruise treatment through a combination of her educational experience in nutrition and her real life experience with natural supplements for athletes, ranging from kids to the professional ranks. Get a free Special Report on bruising causes and see what she's done to get us past the nightmares of easy bruising and prevent bruising