Most people want to look their best, especially during the warmer spring/summer months where most people dress on the lighter side. To look your best, many people focus on strengthening and tightening up their stomach muscles. If you look even a little bit, you can find many stomach muscle exercises to consider for your exercise program. So which exercises would be best for you?
There are a couple of things to consider before choosing the actual exercise program to strengthen and shape your midsection. The first thing is you need to do is pick a program you are really willing to complete and stick with, since no exercise program will have any benefit long term of you don't keep it up. The second thing to consider is to choose a set of exercises that work all the various muscles groups that form the abdomen from the obliques to the upper and lower abdominal muscles.
Stomach crunches have always been a popular and effective stomach exercise. Regular crunches work the front stomach muscles while side crunches work the obliques. Crunches are not perfect though, and for some can cause back and neck strain.
A crunchless crunch exercise is a lower abdominal core exercise where the intent is pull the lower abdominal muscles at the belly button inward toward your spine and hold for 10 seconds. This really works those lower muscles that you probably did not even know where there. This type of exercise is done while kneeling or when lying on your stomach. This exercise also eliminates the back and neck strain you may get with a normal crunch.
A long arm crunch involves lying on your back and with knees bent and feet flat. Put your arms straight back as if to reach over your head and then contract your stomach muscles slowly and lift your arms head and shoulders off the floor to about a 30 degree angle. Hold this position for a few seconds and then slowly go back to your original position. Rinse and repeat for a set.
The hip lift involves lying on your back with arms at your sides and palms up. Then lift your legs straight to about a 90 degree angle to your torso and hold. Now contract your lower abdominal muscles at your belly button to your spine. At the same time, lift your hips off the floor to a height of 2-3 inches and hold there, your legs still being held straight upward. after a few seconds lower your hips back to the floor and then repeat the cycle for a set.
Another good stomach muscle exercise involves laying flat on your stomach with legs straight and arms extended above your head. Now, raise your body up with hands clasped together as if you were doing a push up. Hold this position for as long as you can stand it and repeat as desired. This exercise strengthens your whole stomach.
The Pilate's workout offers a good stomach muscles exercise because each Pilate exercise focuses on strengthening the core of the body otherwise know as your stomach muscles. Almost every movement in Pilate's will work the stomach muscles directly or indirectly so Pilate's is a good choice to consider.
There are other stomach muscle exercises out there not mentioned here that are good as well like the vertical leg crunch and the torso twist. If you are serious about working and strengthening your abdominal muscles you will find it advantageous to try several different stomach muscle exercises to find which ones work best for you.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Monday, July 23, 2007
Use Fat Burning Foods For Effective Weight Loss
Nobody likes to diet. But what if you could make tasty meals yourself that would speed up the process of losing weight? By combining 'negative calorie' fruits and vegetables into salads and other dishes at mealtime, you can accelerate your weight loss in a delicious way.
Negative calorie foods are not new and have been discussed in weight loss circles for years. They are essentially fruits and vegetables that make your body use more calories to digest than they contain themselves. When you eat them as part of your diet, the net result is a negative calorie balance. This will help you lose weight faster.
Here is a short list of popular negative calorie fat burning foods:
* Asparagus
* Apples
* Beets
* Broccoli
* Cabbage
* Carrots
* Cauliflower
* Celery
* Cucumbers
* Garlic
* Grapefruit
* Lettuce
* Oranges
* Papaya
* Pineapples
* Raspberries
* Spinach
* Strawberries
* Turnips
* Zucchini
As you can see there are many fat burning foods to choose from. The way to achieve faster weight loss with these foods is to eat more of them more often. Let's explore your options for the many ways to include them in your diet. First pick out the vegetables from the list that you like to eat. Write them down on a piece of paper. Then list your favorite fruits below them on the same piece of paper.
Your objective is to use as many of your favorite fat burning foods incorporated with the other foods you prepare. For example, when you eat your daily salad incorporate as many fat burning foods as you can to make a tasty salad for yourself. You can start with lettuce, add shredded carrots, a few cucumber slices, sliced or diced apples and maybe a little pineapple. On the side you might add a few strawberries and a couple pieces of celery.
For a snack you can make sugarless Jell-O with shredded carrots included. Another good snack is your own special fruit salad prepared ahead of time. You can top it with a sugarless whipped cream. Be creative. Find ways to use garlic in your cooking instead of salt. Use fat burning vegetables as the complementary ingredients when you cook your meals. You will soon become accustomed to using these foods first in your meals.
By their very nature, you can eat as many of them in your diet as you wish. The more of these foods you eat on a daily basis, the more weight you can lose and keep off. Remember to also eat other sensible low fat foods and protein to stay healthy. Never go on a crash negative food diet only. The idea is to increase your use of these foods, not to replace your total diet with them.
A well-rounded lifestyle that includes the right foods and exercise will result in you reaching your goal weight faster. Fat burning foods can be your secret weapon in the battle of the bulge. It's a tasty way to lose those unwanted pounds.
Negative calorie foods are not new and have been discussed in weight loss circles for years. They are essentially fruits and vegetables that make your body use more calories to digest than they contain themselves. When you eat them as part of your diet, the net result is a negative calorie balance. This will help you lose weight faster.
Here is a short list of popular negative calorie fat burning foods:
* Asparagus
* Apples
* Beets
* Broccoli
* Cabbage
* Carrots
* Cauliflower
* Celery
* Cucumbers
* Garlic
* Grapefruit
* Lettuce
* Oranges
* Papaya
* Pineapples
* Raspberries
* Spinach
* Strawberries
* Turnips
* Zucchini
As you can see there are many fat burning foods to choose from. The way to achieve faster weight loss with these foods is to eat more of them more often. Let's explore your options for the many ways to include them in your diet. First pick out the vegetables from the list that you like to eat. Write them down on a piece of paper. Then list your favorite fruits below them on the same piece of paper.
Your objective is to use as many of your favorite fat burning foods incorporated with the other foods you prepare. For example, when you eat your daily salad incorporate as many fat burning foods as you can to make a tasty salad for yourself. You can start with lettuce, add shredded carrots, a few cucumber slices, sliced or diced apples and maybe a little pineapple. On the side you might add a few strawberries and a couple pieces of celery.
For a snack you can make sugarless Jell-O with shredded carrots included. Another good snack is your own special fruit salad prepared ahead of time. You can top it with a sugarless whipped cream. Be creative. Find ways to use garlic in your cooking instead of salt. Use fat burning vegetables as the complementary ingredients when you cook your meals. You will soon become accustomed to using these foods first in your meals.
By their very nature, you can eat as many of them in your diet as you wish. The more of these foods you eat on a daily basis, the more weight you can lose and keep off. Remember to also eat other sensible low fat foods and protein to stay healthy. Never go on a crash negative food diet only. The idea is to increase your use of these foods, not to replace your total diet with them.
A well-rounded lifestyle that includes the right foods and exercise will result in you reaching your goal weight faster. Fat burning foods can be your secret weapon in the battle of the bulge. It's a tasty way to lose those unwanted pounds.
Saturday, June 02, 2007
How To Lose That body Fat
Here are five tips to help you keep the weight off. If you don't think you are in the right frame of mind to implement all five right away then pick one today, right now, and just get started. No matter how you go about your weight loss journey, you have to remember to HAVE FUN or you will just continue to pile on the pounds.
1. Attitude IS Everything
If you went into last year's holiday season thinking you could eat like a wolverine and worry about it in January, well, how's that working out? Swimsuit season is right around the corner.
2. Eat exactly what you need
You should aim for a comfortable feeling of satisfaction at every meal. Besides, you can enjoy your meal and feel great afterwards too. This tip alone can save you hundreds of calories per meal. If you want to try all the courses, have smaller portions of everything you really want.
Give up the couch this summer and get out the spandex. If you really can't get to the gym, do a few exercises at home or go for a walk. It won't just burn calories; it will keep you in touch with your desire to get skinny and healthy. You know the routine; use the steps, park farther away. No matter what you chose remember that a journey of thousand miles begins with the first step!
4. Trash Day
You just had to buy the Doublestuff Oreos because you had a coupon right? Time to clean out the cabinets. This is the single best tip you can put into place today. Why? Let's say you are watching reruns and you get the craving to eat the entire pint of Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia, if you don't have it in the house then you are less likely to get in the car and go get it.
5. Relax!
Stress makes us do crazy things to our bodies like smoking, drinking, and oh yes, eating. You have many reasons to reduce your stress levels as you do drinking your thousand-calorie Starbucks Frap.
If this describes your pattern of eating you are not alone. This is the single highest response given when asked why people eat the way they do, the nervous eater. If you can recognize it and at least alter the foods you are taking in, you can save yourself thousands of calories a week.
1. Attitude IS Everything
If you went into last year's holiday season thinking you could eat like a wolverine and worry about it in January, well, how's that working out? Swimsuit season is right around the corner.
2. Eat exactly what you need
You should aim for a comfortable feeling of satisfaction at every meal. Besides, you can enjoy your meal and feel great afterwards too. This tip alone can save you hundreds of calories per meal. If you want to try all the courses, have smaller portions of everything you really want.
Give up the couch this summer and get out the spandex. If you really can't get to the gym, do a few exercises at home or go for a walk. It won't just burn calories; it will keep you in touch with your desire to get skinny and healthy. You know the routine; use the steps, park farther away. No matter what you chose remember that a journey of thousand miles begins with the first step!
4. Trash Day
You just had to buy the Doublestuff Oreos because you had a coupon right? Time to clean out the cabinets. This is the single best tip you can put into place today. Why? Let's say you are watching reruns and you get the craving to eat the entire pint of Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia, if you don't have it in the house then you are less likely to get in the car and go get it.
5. Relax!
Stress makes us do crazy things to our bodies like smoking, drinking, and oh yes, eating. You have many reasons to reduce your stress levels as you do drinking your thousand-calorie Starbucks Frap.
If this describes your pattern of eating you are not alone. This is the single highest response given when asked why people eat the way they do, the nervous eater. If you can recognize it and at least alter the foods you are taking in, you can save yourself thousands of calories a week.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Why Do I Need To Exercise
"I am not overweight, so why should I be exercising?" If you asked yourself this question, like so many of us did at the beginning of the year, here are a few really good reasons to start exercising:
- Exercise can be a great mood enhancer, depression buster, and stress manager: do your workouts in nature, and enjoy the benefits of fresh air and sunlight.
- Sleep well after a good workout: of course, don’t exercise too late in the evening, as that can backfire on your, giving you extra energy.
- Exercise lowers the bad cholesterol, as well as your blood pressure, helping prevent heart conditions.
- Reduce back pain when you strengthen your back muscles, by improving flexibility with regular exercising.
- Systematic exercise enhances your immune system.
- Exercise also helps slow the aging process, because of increased blood flow to all the organs, as well as muscles.
Of course, exercise has a lot more benefits, and YOU can definitely benefit from regular exercising activities.
Now you may ask: but how do I exercise? I don’t like the thought of having to work out all the time. Well, you can actually enjoy your work out routine.
If you like swimming, go a couple of times a week. If you like company, invite a friend for a nice stroll in the park, and if you find yourself wanting more, go ahead and sign up for a gym, where you can use their professional equipment. You can also go bike riding a few times a month, and why not sign up for a dance class?
Of course, vary your routine, so you don’t get bored, and also for then benefit that you get from exercising different areas of your body. Also, many times you can get in a little bit of exercise without even trying. If you mow your lawn with a push mower, if you are weeding, or gardening, you are in fact exercising.
When you go shopping or are out on errands, make sure you don’t look for the closest parking spot. And if you have a two-story house, find reason to go up and down the stairs several times a day (checking on your kids, getting a load of laundry to the lower floor, taking back the folded laundry, or any other reason to move your muscles).
Remember to warm up and cool down before and after your exercising time, and make sure you don’t forget to drink plenty of water to flush out toxins.
Enjoy your new found flexibility, strength, and increased self esteem!
- Exercise can be a great mood enhancer, depression buster, and stress manager: do your workouts in nature, and enjoy the benefits of fresh air and sunlight.
- Sleep well after a good workout: of course, don’t exercise too late in the evening, as that can backfire on your, giving you extra energy.
- Exercise lowers the bad cholesterol, as well as your blood pressure, helping prevent heart conditions.
- Reduce back pain when you strengthen your back muscles, by improving flexibility with regular exercising.
- Systematic exercise enhances your immune system.
- Exercise also helps slow the aging process, because of increased blood flow to all the organs, as well as muscles.
Of course, exercise has a lot more benefits, and YOU can definitely benefit from regular exercising activities.
Now you may ask: but how do I exercise? I don’t like the thought of having to work out all the time. Well, you can actually enjoy your work out routine.
If you like swimming, go a couple of times a week. If you like company, invite a friend for a nice stroll in the park, and if you find yourself wanting more, go ahead and sign up for a gym, where you can use their professional equipment. You can also go bike riding a few times a month, and why not sign up for a dance class?
Of course, vary your routine, so you don’t get bored, and also for then benefit that you get from exercising different areas of your body. Also, many times you can get in a little bit of exercise without even trying. If you mow your lawn with a push mower, if you are weeding, or gardening, you are in fact exercising.
When you go shopping or are out on errands, make sure you don’t look for the closest parking spot. And if you have a two-story house, find reason to go up and down the stairs several times a day (checking on your kids, getting a load of laundry to the lower floor, taking back the folded laundry, or any other reason to move your muscles).
Remember to warm up and cool down before and after your exercising time, and make sure you don’t forget to drink plenty of water to flush out toxins.
Enjoy your new found flexibility, strength, and increased self esteem!
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