Tag Archive | "exercises"

What does Metabolism really mean

There perhaps is not a word most often used in the world of weight loss than metabolism. It is not uncommon to hear discussions of the successes of the diet or the struggles over whether their metabolism is fast or slow.

Even doctors relate to their metabolism as they try to explain why the loss of water or starvation diets are not scientifically valid.

Unfortunately, most people simply do not understand the concept of metabolism and metabolic change. This is partly due to the amount of misinformation floating around on the Internet so it is not surprising that there seems to be much confusion on the subject.

The first thing to understand is that the metabolism is not a part or organ. Metabolism is a process in which the body converts food to energy (fuel). Your body uses this energy to perform a wide range of functions and is also the energy used to move and function.

I should also note here that the metabolic process is not just a single function, but is actually a term that describes a myriad of functions that take place within the body. Every second of your life there are numerous chemical reactions that occur through metabolic processes.

Your metabolism is often referred to as a process of harmonization that works to achieve two functions: anabolism and catabolism.

The first function, anabolic is the process of creating cells and tissues. Each time, your body is busy creating new cells to replace dead or damaged. On the other hand, catabolism, is exactly the opposite. Instead of building new cells or tissues, this process breaks down the cells for energy.

As you can see, your metabolism is a process that is responsible for two opposite functions: The use of energy to create cells or break the cells to create energy.

When it comes to weight loss, the relationship between metabolism and the amount of calories you consume becomes clearer. When you eat too much food (energy) and your body can not use this energy at a given time, will be forced to create cells with all the extra energy. It has no other option.

All these extra cells are added weight (fat). The joint agreement between the calories, your metabolism and weight gain all come down to do too much energy. When you consume too many calories from food, most of the time the body has to convert calories into fat cells.

Sometimes, however, can develop into muscle tissue, which is generally a good thing for people watching their weight, but generally require some form of exercise.

This is why people with more muscle mass burns more calories without doing anything. Your muscles need more calories to maintain and to have a higher metabolism. It is for this reason that building more lean muscle mass should be part of any overall program to lose weight or increase your metabolic rate.

The solution for permanent weight loss is to preserve as much muscle mass as possible while building it at the same time to speed up your metabolism. We recommend using the new fail-proof diet program called The Weight Loss Grail.

This is a brand new type of diet never seen before that will never leave you feeling hungry or ask you to give up your favorite foods.

You can begin this fantastic new diet right here:

The Weight Loss Grail: Lose 28 lbs. Every 28 days!

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Using muscle confusion for weight loss

No matter what weight loss program you choose, there will need to climb hills and the challenges to be overcome. One of the best ways to keep the scales falling for the weight loss journey is to incorporate a technique called “muscle confusion” in their daily training or workouts.

This concept is mostly used by professional bodybuilders and athletes, and is based on the principle of never allowing the muscles to know what’s going to do next by alternating your workout constant. Everyone knows how important it is the exercise of any weight loss plan and it’s a great way to burn excess calories into fat.
The major problem with exercise is that people tend to do exactly the same exercises in the same moment every day.

The body quickly begin to adapt to your exercise routine, which means your body can really begin to burn fewer calories while you exercise in particular that for the same amount of time. This is where the concept of muscle confusion comes into play.

When you decide to start a new exercise program, a good tool to keep nearby is a blackboard or notepad. What to do then is write about 20 or more different exercises that you like to do. Each day after that, then go to the list and choose a random and different exercise to perform.

In this way, your muscles will use daily, but in different ways or different muscle groups, so that no two days are the same and neither are the days of the week. Doing so will burn more calories and increase the speed with which to build new muscle.

If you can keep your muscles confused, which can never adapt to the exercises you do and always burn more calories which means a smaller waistline before. You can use any muscle confusion workout. Whether it is weight training, cardio, aerobics or less intense, such as walking and cleaning.

When you run out of the exercises in the list you created, you can then go and write a new new list. If you choose to use some of the older, remember to make them at a different time and day that you did the last time.

Also, do not necessarily have to make only 1 type of exercise every day, you can choose to do 3, 4 or more during their daily training. The idea is to mix everything so that your body has no idea what the exercise is going to do next.

This method of preparation is one of the most effective ways to keep burning calories at the maximum rate. We must remember, even though the exercise is great for burning fat, always will be the burning and using more calories than you consume.

The solution to permanent weight loss is to consume the right kinds of foods that will preserve your lean muscle mass and to increase the fat burning rate by building new muscle to speed up your metabolism. We recommend using the new fail-proof diet from The Weight Loss Grail.

This is a brand new type of diet never seen before that will never leave you feeling hungry or ask you to give up your favorite foods.

You can begin this fantastic new diet right here:

The Weight Loss Grail: Lose 28 lbs. Every 28 days!

Posted in weight lossComments (1)

Use Weights with your Treadmill

In recent times, treadmills have grown-up in attractiveness and have become the most important basis of exercise for a lot of people as an aid to weight loss. Although treadmills are a big choice and can help you burn a decent amount of calories, there are few tricks you can use to burn even more calories as using a treadmill.

For the first 15 minutes of using the machine, your body is basically warming up and not a lot of calories are being burnt. Because the leg muscles are great, they require a significant amount of blood flow in order to start burning fat.

Most people are excited to complete the first 15 minutes of a treadmill exercises, but this should be just the start. Everything after 15 minutes is where the fat burning act really starts to begin.

The greatest way to get the most out of any treadmill exercises is to actually warm your legs up just before you start by using weights. Doing this will reduce the time it takes for your body to warm up and start burning fat. Here are a couple of exercises you can do for around 15 minutes with weights before getting on the treadmill.

Squats – Using a smith machine or squat bar is a great way to warm up those muscles in your legs. Doing sets of 10 repetitions with about 90 seconds of break in between sets will warm up your muscles effectively and quickly.

If you don’t have any free weights or equipment, you can just perform normal squats which are still fine, however, you should increase your repetitions per set to around 20.

Lunges – These might seem a little awkward, but they are exceptional as well for arming up those leg muscles.

To perform a lunge, you simply put one foot in front of the other while bending the knee of the back leg to touch the floor, you then stand up straight and bring your front leg back to normal position and do it again. These again, can be performed with free weights or with no weights.

After you have warmed up those leg muscles and get on that treadmill, each minute will be burning fat. Losing weight is all about burning body fat so these easy replacement exercises will assist you to get much more weight loss from the same amount of time.

Also, you should keep in mind to modify your treadmill practice around from time to time specially if your goal is weight loss. If you can, use a treadmill that has the alternative of inclining and declining so you can target different muscle groups of the legs.

If you enjoy to run, you should try walking, but at a brisk pace for longer periods. This is to bring down the strain put on the knees.

Keep in mind, losing weight comes down to burning calories, so don’t forget to warm up those legs before you set foot on the treadmill so that you burn fat from the very first step and not the 500th.

The solution to permanent weight loss is to consume the right kinds of foods at each meal to preserve your lean muscle mass and to increase the fat burning rate by building new muscle to speed up your metabolism. We recommend using the new fail-proof diet from The Weight Loss Grail.

This is a brand new type of diet never seen before that will never leave you feeling hungry or ask you to give up any of your favorite foods.

You can begin this fantastic new diet right here:

The Weight Loss Grail: Lose 28 lbs. Every 28 days!

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Metabolism and Weight Loss – What You Need to Know

Metabolism and Weight Loss – What You Need to Know
By line: By Yuri Elkaim, BPHE, CK, RHN
URL: www.myFitterU.com
Word count: 863 words
Related keywords: metabolism, weight loss, burn calories, lose weight, intensity, workouts, burn fat, exercise, circuit training, interval training

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Metabolism and Weight Loss – What You Need to Know
Yuri Elkaim, BPHE, CK, RHN
www.myFitterU.com

Your metabolism is important in the weight loss equation because it represents 60-75% of your total caloric expenditure each and every day. Metabolism is proportional to your fat-free mass (ie. muscle), and after age 20 it decreases by about 2-3% per decade. In general, women tend to have a lower metabolism due to lower fat-free mass.

Your resting metabolism is the rate of energy expenditure that your body goes through at rest. It is the number of calories your body needs to survive if all you did was lie in bed.

For each 1% increase in body fatness, your metabolism decreases about 0.01 calories/minute. Thus, simply by having more fat on your body decreases your basal metabolic rate. Conversely, doing things that will burn fat and promote muscle development will increase your metabolism.

While this change may seem like no big deal, it is! This small difference can become much more meaningful if you progressively pack on weight. For example, a 5% increase in body fat at the same body weight results in a difference of 0.05 calories/minute, which is equal to 72 calories/day.

Since 3500 calories equals 1 lb of fat, in our example, it would take 48 days to add on one extra pound of fat (everything being equal). That might not seem like much but over the course of 1 year that would be an extra 7 lbs of fat just because of an initial 5% body fat difference. But it would actually be more than 7 lbs since your body fat would increase as you continued to pack on the weight.

METABOLISM IS ALSO INFLUENCED BY…

Fat-free mass is not the only factor influencing your metabolism. Since the early 1900s researchers have shown that prolonged dieting is associated with a significant decrease in metabolic rate (as much as 20% in some cases). For example, the famous Minnesota Starvation Experiment where caloric intake was restricted by 25% over the course of 24-weeks revealed that, per kg of bodyweight, metabolic rate is reduced on a semi-starved diet. The researchers also showed that T3 (one of the thyroid hormones) and sympathetic nervous system activity decreased as well.

The latter two findings are rather significant considering that thyroid is the master gland regulating your body’s metabolism. A decrease in its function makes it more difficult to lose weight. I have seen this in practice having worked with hundreds of men and women who suffer from an underactive thyroid who at the same time, have had a very tough time losing weight.

The sympathetic nervous system plays a pivotal role in the body’s ability to mobilize and burn fat. Since it stimulates the release of adrenaline from the adrenal glands, a hormone that breaks down fat, any interruption to its functioning will also impair fat burning.

What these “starvation” studies reveal is that during prolonged periods of low caloric intake, the energy production of the tissues decreases in an attempt to adapt to the lower caloric intake and reduce the rate of weight loss. It’s simply a survival mechanism. Obviously, this is an appropriate adaptation in periods of starvation, but it is counterproductive if your goal is to lose weight fast and for good.

IS YOUR METABOLISM DOOMED?

Your metabolism is also responsive to periods of over-feeding. In one dieting experiment, when the subjects were allowed a day of “free eating”, their metabolism was elevated on the following day. Further, in long-term (14-20 days) overfeeding to cause obesity, increases in metabolic rate have been recorded.

This would seem counter-intuitive. After all, if your metabolic rate increases wouldn’t it help you lose weight? In most cases, yes, but not if eating to a point of creating a dramatic positive energy balance.

In essence, during the dynamic phase of weight gain (going from a lower to higher weight), more calories are required per kg of body to maintain the weight gain than maintain normal body weight. This is obvious and it’s also one of the reasons why you may feel hungrier when you are more active.

DOES EXERCISE IMPROVE METABOLISM?

Studies have shown that trained individuals have a higher metabolic rate than untrained individuals – but only when they did high intensity workouts and consumed sufficient calories to maintain energy balance. This suggests that the higher metabolic rate in trained individuals is not due to chronic adaptations associated with training, but more to do with the acute energy flux associated with the most recent workouts and dietary choices.

There is no doubt that your metabolic rate is elevated following exercise. The questions relate to how much and how long it is elevated, and to what extent it contributes to total daily energy expenditure.

It may be said, in the long run, daily exercise is needed to maintain an elevated metabolism. However, it should be remembered that what you do today will potentially have a greater “short term” impact on your metabolism than your combined workout efforts over the past few years. Just another reason why working out at least every other day is imperative for maintaining an elevated metabolism and helping you lose weight and stay lean!

References:

Benedict, F. et al. (1919). Human Vitality and Efficiency Under Prolonged Restricted Diet. Washington, DC. The Carnegie Institute of Washington.

Keys, A. et al. (1950). The Biology of Human Starvation. Volume 1. Minneapolis: The University of Minnesota Press.

About the Author

Yuri Elkaim is a world-renowned fitness, nutrition, and weight loss expert. He is the creator Fitter U and Treadmill Trainer, author of Eating for Energy, and the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for men’s soccer program at the University of Toronto. His trademarked 12-week Fitter U iPod workout program has been helping thousands of people around the world get in shape and lose weight fast without the cost and inconvenience of hiring a trainer. Go to www.myFitterU.com now to get your FREE Fitter U workout and “How to Get Fit and Lose Weight Fast” report!

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Ab machines will not make you thin

Have you ever wondered why you always get a diet program with any new ab machine that you just buy them insist that you use?

The reason is simple.

They know that doing so within minutes of ab exercises every day, never going to make much difference to the amount of body fat or size of your stomach. These machines work well and can give you the rock-hard abs, but you will not be able to see if they are covered by layers of ugly fat.

These machines are made to strengthen and tone your abdominal muscles. After using for a couple of weeks without seeing any results, which generally end up gathering dust in the garage somewhere until the next larger machine AB is released and what he thinks of himself, “This could be the one “.

Some of these exercise devices are so questionable that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched the “Project absurd” against those responsible for the AB Energizer, and Fast Abtronic ABS in 2002.

According to FTC Chairman Timothy Muris, “These electronic abs doing nothing to turn a pot belly into a flat belly bulging six pack.” The government then sued three different manufacturers of these machines for false advertising.

If you are already thin and have visible abdominal muscles slightly, these exercise devices are great to make them look more defined. Therefore, more attractive models in the waistband of shorts and sexy.

They got their sexy figures using the hype machine. They have followed a healthy balanced diet, along with many hours in the gym.

It probably never even laid their eyes on the machine that was being promoted until the day of the photo or shoot commercials and are scheduled your training and diet to be in top physical condition to complete one day.

The other type of athlete ab is known as an electronic muscle stimulator (EMS), which provides an electrical charge to the muscles of his contract.

John Porcari, a professor of physical education and sport sciences at the University of Wisconsin, EMS test a device similar to the market in a study commissioned by the American Council on Exercise. After eight weeks of using the single device, the participants had no significant increases in muscle size or strength.

The bottom line is this:

A few minutes of ab exercises daily not to burn the fat from your belly. We must remember that doing ab exercises alone, will not accomplish much when it comes to reducing weight. Moreover, a study conducted and published by the American Council on Exercise also confirmed this.

The study indicated that these machines do not perform better than the standard practice of contraction, which means that most of these machines AB are a total waste of money.

If you are overweight and want to have a good definition and sexy stomach, you need to add other exercises to your regimen as weight training and maybe some cardio exercise as well as cycling, rowing and aerobics.

You will also have to take note of what you eat and your diet is probably the most important part of any successful program of weight loss.

To begin losing weight fast (and to get a slimmer waistline) we recommend using the new fail-proof diet from The Weight Loss Grail. This is a brand new type of diet never seen before that will give you those visible, sexy abs that you have always dreamed of.

You can begin this fantastic new diet right here:

The Weight Loss Grail: Lose 28 lbs. Every 28 days!

Posted in Fitness / Weight Loss / Fatburn, weight lossComments (0)

Burn More Calories in Less Time

Burn More Calories in Less Time
By line: By Yuri Elkaim, BPHE, CK, RHN
URL: www.myFitterU.com
Word count: 567 words
Related keywords: burn calories, lose weight, intensity, workouts, burn fat, exercise, circuit training, interval training

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Burn More Calories in Less Time
Yuri Elkaim, BPHE, CK, RHN
www.myFitterU.com

In my view, intensity is the most critical aspect of any exercise regime and can mean the difference between someone who reaches their goals and someone who doesn’t. Increasing your workout’s intensity will stimulate your body to burn more calories and induce a greater cardiovascular response. It will also allow you to have a more time efficient workout.

If you are looking to burn fat and become more toned, then increasing your exercise intensity is critical. Many people have the misconception that if you workout at a higher intensity you will no longer be burning fat since you will be in your “cardio zone”. Whereas, if you keep your intensity low for a longer duration you will burn more fat since you will be in your “fat burning zone”.

Let me clarify this for you once and for all. By training at a low intensity (<70% max) it is true that you use fat as your predominant source of fuel. While exercising at a higher intensity (>75% max) your main fuel source is carbohydrate but you will ultimately burn more calories. And since 1 pound of fat is equivalent to 3500 calories, the ultimate goal is to burn as many calories as possible to create a negative energy balance!

One of the best ways to achieve this intensity is through the use of full-body exercises (circuit training set up) in conjunction with interval training. The benefit of full body exercises is that they utilize more muscle in any given movement – thus, you burn more calories. The inherent intensity of the workout also means that each exercise becomes more challenging as your heart rate is sustained at a much higher level as a result of not giving yourself enough rest between exercises.

Here are a couple of benefits to following an exercise program combining circuit training and interval training:

1. Intervals and circuits vastly reduce boredom. Traditional steady state cardio training and/or weight lifting can become quite boring. Interval training and circuit training offer more variety and excitement to your workouts.

2. Interval training increases post-exercise energy expenditure (calories burned following exercise) more than steady-state exercise, which means that more fat is burned. After intense exercise, the body needs extra calories as it works to repair muscles, replace energy stores (i.e. carbohydrate) and restore the body to its normal state (e.g. reduce heart rate).

As this can take many hours, you will keep on burning more calories long after the workout is over. In fact, research shows that metabolic rate is higher for several hours following interval training compared to steady state exercise.

3. Interval training burns more calories. As an example, 30 minutes on an Elliptical machine using a steady state program will burn roughly 292 calories, whereas 30 minutes of intervals will burn approximately 584 calories!

Here is a sample circuit traing workout that will leave you huffing and puffing:

WARM-UP – bike, treadmill, elliptical, rower + dynamic stretching (5-10 min)

CIRCUIT (45 seconds for each exercise, with 15 seconds rest between exercises :: 5-7 min to complete 1 set)

Lunge walks with lateral raises

Plank (on stability ball)

Squats with medicine ball shoulder press

Push-ups

Side Bridges

Reverse Pull-ups

Burpies

INTERVAL TRAINING (cardio machine)

20 sec @ 100% : 40 sec @ 70% x 5 = 5 min

Repeat Circuit and Interval 3 times

Total Workout Time: 45 – 50 min

Do this workout 4 times over the next 2 weeks and watch the difference intensity brings to your workouts – and your results!

About the Author

Yuri Elkaim is a world-renowned fitness, nutrition, and weight loss expert. He is the creator Fitter U and Treadmill Trainer, author of Eating for Energy, and the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for men’s soccer program at the University of Toronto. His trademarked 12-week Fitter U iPod workout program has been helping thousands of people around the world get in shape and lose weight fast without the cost and inconvenience of hiring a trainer. Go to www.myFitterU.com now to get your FREE Fitter U workout and “How to Get Fit and Lose Weight Fast” report!

Posted in FatburnComments (0)

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