Tag Archives: exercise

Eight Suggestions to Help Get Your Booty Back


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jumpingladyBy Gary Pepper, M.D.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and may not reflect the opinions of your health professional. Please consult your own doctor before embarking on any new exercise routine.

Lack of energy and inability to lose weight are constant challenges for many people and are every day complaints encountered in the doctor’s office. Studies show that almost everyone can find some relief from these problems by accessing the healing properties of physical activity. In my experience, mentioning the need for “more exercise” often results in rolling of the eyes, sighing, shrugging, snorting or worse yet, the hundred yard stare. Yes, we all know exercise is important but who has the energy for that? It seems like a vicious cycle. What is surprising is that when done correctly, exercise can actually improve energy with the additional advantage of promoting weight loss, and restoring tone and stamina. It is helpful to remember that the human body was designed for a lot more physical activity and a lot less food than we are privileged to experience in present day life. It therefore takes will power and knowledge to maintain the environment required for optimal health. Here are eight steps to get in the swing of regular exercise. Some suggestions may surprise you. Continue reading →

Maya Sarkisyan Offers Expert Advice on Quitting Smoking and Weight Gain


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Maya has been a long standing guest expert at metabolism.com. In her recent post Maya offers her expert opinion on the debate regarding weight gain (and how to lose it) when stopping smoking.

Maya writes:

I help people to quit smoking using hypnosis in combination with other healing modalities. It is always an individual approach. Not everyone gains weight after quitting, so I have noticed that people who do generally have other underlying health issues, such as underactive thyroid function. Why than smoking keeps the wight down? There are few possible explanations.
1. when you smoked you constantly had something around your mouth, so you ate less.
2.The taste buds are getting desensitized because of the nicotine.
3. according to some Chinese medical sources the nicotine is a very hot substance and upon entering your body it dries up your fluids – vital fluids as well, such as your blood. This is why cardiovascular disease is associated with smoking.

Now when people quit smoking their body has to go through some sort of rearrangement. Food starts tasting better and it is important to start adjusting your diet even prior to the quitting smoking in order to prepare yourself for the long and healthy life. Adding more vegetables and fruits to your diet helps a lot. Drinking lots of water.

Detoxification process is a good approach after quitting to help your body get rid of the gunk accumulated over the years. This way you give yourself a good chance to get back in balance. There are different detox treatments available to do at home and some of them are very mild yet effective.
And, most importantly, taking care of yourself helps to get you healthier in all aspects.

Thank you Maya for your comments. You can find more of Maya Sarkisyan’s articles at https://www.metabolism.com/author/Maya-Sarkisyan/. Maya also maintains her own website at www.transentient.com

Is Cardio Making YOUR BUTT BIGGER???


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This post is by Wendy Chant author of Crack the Fat-Loss Code, courtesy of her publisher FSB associates:

Is Cardio Making YOUR BUTT BIGGER???
If You’re Adding Resistance to Your Cardio Machine, YES!
By Wendy Chant,
Author of Conquer the Fat-Loss Code

As a former bodybuilder who went on to own a gym, I have spent more than my share of time around weight machines and the one thing that always amazes me is how people will take a perfectly effective, scientifically designed, thoroughly adequate exercise machine and adapt it thinking “more is more.”

In fact, more is more is one of the worst philosophies to have when exercising because, in fact, when you do it right less is actually more; less time, less effort, less weight, less often — IF you follow the rules and give it your all each time.

Unfortunately, everyone is so busy multi-tasking in every other part of their lives — eating while in the car, taking a conference call on your morning commute, with multiple windows open on every computer screen — that we naturally think we must do the same at the gym.

So I see people barely using any weight and trying to perform an exercise while talking on the cell phone. They use the gym more as a time to socialize than for what they are meant to do there: lift weights! While others do the same workout every time (with no break in the routine): they come in and go down the circuit of machines in the same order and then decide, “Well, that’s it; workout’s over and I feel good! Time for a post-workout smoothie . . . ”

Resistance training (free weights, stationary weight machine, etc.) can be a fabulous way to build muscle, boost your metabolism, increase toned muscle mass and increase your overall health. Likewise, cardio exercise (Stairmaster, exercise cycle, treadmill, etc.) can increase your heart rate, burn fat and expend calories quickly.

So naturally, you might think, combining the two is the surest way to both build muscle and burn fat, get your heart rate up and expend lots of calories fast. But, in fact, doing more when it comes to resistance and cardio actually produces less results. That’s because when exercising you should put like with like.

In other words, a great resistance workout can produce much better results when you concentrate purely on resistance, focusing on the tension of the weight, the number of sets and reps, really feeling the burn and completely focused on those main goals of resistance, i.e. building muscle and boosting metabolism.

Likewise, a great cardiovascular workout should focus strictly on cardio to produce maximum results. The last thing you want to be doing while running around the neighborhood is fiddling with your weight straps or figuring out how to drink from your water bottle in one hand while adjusting your easy-grip, five-pound barbells in the other! So when it comes to exercise, put like with like; resistance, resistance, resistance, cardio, cardio, cardio — not resistance, cardio, resistance or cardio, resistance, cardio.

I see this drastic mistake at the gym all the time. I see people, especially women, on a stair stepper machine, who add resistance thinking, “Wow, my butt (glutes) and legs are getting a hard workout.” And they are, but the fact of the matter is this is a counterproductive way to perform cardio.

In fact, this is using a method of weight training called “time under tension” and what it will do is force the body to store more glycogen — and possibly fat — to the lower half of your body — actually making your butt bigger, because your body has to know how to anticipate the load, so the body says, “We need help; store more there!”

And that sure isn’t the reason why you are doing cardio in the first place, right? So remember to use no resistance when doing cardio and only apply resistance when weight-training. One of the best methods I teach my clients to burn the most amount of fat is do a method called 1:2s.

For example, after warming up for about 5 minutes first, get on a treadmill and do one minute quick-paced and 2 minutes at a slow pace. (The treadmill should be set with no incline and, to make this exercise most effective, try not to hold on.)

This method, called the HIIT method (High Intensity Interval Training), is the best method for burning fat and, if you are doing weights in the same session, make sure to do weight training first and cardio last to get the most fat burning results out of your workout. Remember, like with like: resistance with resistance, cardio with cardio for the most effective results every time.

©2009 Wendy Chant, author of Conquer the Fat-Loss Code

Author Bio
Wendy Chant, author of Conquer the Fat-Loss Code, is a certified personal trainer and a specialist in performance nutrition. She holds a bachelor of science degree in medical science and nutrition science. A champion bodybuilder, she opened her own training center, ForeverFit® , in 1998.