Answer To Your Fitness Questions" />More Ways To Burn Calories
February 27, 2008
We are always looking for ways to burn MORE calories, aren’t we? So here are a few easy, painless ways to accomplish that!
- Be a smart shopper, have a list ready when you go to the store so as to prevent impulse buying.
- Snack right. Try eating a piece of hard candy. It takes 20 minutes to et it versus a few seconds on a cookie or and ice cream cone.
- Sleep for weight loss. A woman’s metabolism rises 40 percent when she gets enough sleep.
- Do something motivating. Like sticking up a picture of a cute outfit that you would love to wear.
- Drink water before each snack. It is an appetite suppressant.
- Go for a walk. Try to get out for 20 minutes a day outside or sit by a sunny window. Sunlight helps to control food cravings.
- Always eat breakfast. We need fuel for the day and you will feel less hungry.
- Rent or buy exercise videos.
- Buy a jump rope. It is an outstanding exercise and gets your heartrate up quickly while contracting your abdominals in the process.
- Do yard work. You can burn up to 500 calories in an hours working hard in the yard.
- Act silly. You can dance around the house or slide around like a skater. Do it for 10 minutes you will burn 150 calories.
- Brush your teeth. The taste of mint can trick your taste buds.
Just try to find ways to slyly keep active and before you know it, you will notice the difference!!
Get A Flat Stomach And Six Pack Abs
February 11, 2008
I think we all dream of six-pack abs from time to time and why shouldn’t we? Why shouldn’t we want ‘perfect’ abs, the result of lean, well-sculpted midsections that seems to be the ultimate sign of peak fitness. The problem is that for most of us, genetics plays a big role in that some of us are born with naturally low body fat levels that give great looking abs while others have to work like crazy in order the achieve the same results.
There is good news, however, and that is, if you are willing to make the effort you can get them. Of course this is depending on your body fat percentage. You may already have a six- pack because you work out and do the appropriate things, but they are simply covered with a layer of fat. Now putting cardio and strength training aside right now, let’s focus on the six-pack look using the trunk muscles, merely using the exercises below to achieve that needed strength in the midsection.
- Ball crunches: Lie down on a stability ball and and place your hands behind your head/ears or across the chest. Curl-up while keeping the ball stable.
- Squeeze a ball: This is for the midsection, place a ball between the knees as you lie down in a supine position. Flex your spine with hands behind ears and squeeze your inner thighs approx. 20 reps.
- Modified plank: Place elbows on the floor and place knees down on the floor, without sagging in the middle or allowing the shoulders to sag as well. Eyes look forward. Hold as long as you can, relax and then repeat again.
- Knee tucks: While in plank position on the ball, draw the ball into your chest, with hips high and engaging your abdominals as you pull in.
- Hip Extension on the ball: Lying flat on the floor with feet on top of ball, keep abs tight and lift your hips off the floor while squeezing your gluts until you are in an upward plank.
- Crunch and lift: While lying over a ball in a supine position, place hand weights in hand and contract abs and lift up while holding the weights in a 90 degree angle. Change this to a criss cross as well to add obliques.
These exercises are not easy but they are very effective!! Happy ab hunting!!
