October 22nd, 2008 — body image, cardiovascular, exercise, fats
Most of us have at least one spot on our bodies that we would like to change. Commonly referred to as “problem areas,” if you are serious about making a change, you’ve got to find a way to target that area. While full body exercise is vital, there are many benefits to spending a few extra minutes targeting your problem areas to get better results. Here are some great tips on how to easily turn those problem areas into your pride and joy.
Stomachs –
For many people this is a big problem. The prevalence of “six pack abs” in the media is difficult for many people to get around. To start targeting this area, it is important to reduce your fat intake and get more cardio exercise. While crunches will build up your muscles, if you are not first losing the fat that covers them you won’t be able to see the results of your effort. For women, it is also important to realize that it may not be physically possible to have a completely flat stomach. Just try your best and don’t let the media dictate how flat your stomach should be.
Arms –
This is actually a pretty easy area to target and since most people don’t have a lot of fat build up on their arms, you can see results pretty quickly. In addition to your regular cardio or aerobic routine, add in a little strength or resistance training. This can dramatically produce results in a few short weeks, especially if you keep with it. For women, strength training has many benefits, and contrary to popular belief, a little light training will not make you look like a body builder.
Hips and Thighs –
For many women this is a big problem area and while it is possible to reduce this area, it is important to realize that your frame and genetics may impact just how small you can get. Focus on getting toned first, and keep up with the cardio and other fat burning exercises. You will see results, and over time, this area will get smaller if you can stick with it.
Rear Ends –
By far, the best way to tone up a rear end are squats and lunges. However, you’ve also got to burn fat in order to see those results, much like with your stomach. Focus on adding a few squats to your regular exercise routine, but don’t ditch your cardio. You need to keep burning fat in order to get big results on your rear end. Stairmasters are also another great solution for firming up your rear, and simply taking the stairs at work can also have a big impact.
Remember, no matter how bad your problem area may be, you can’t let that physical real estate keep you from living your life. Focus on your good points and work towards getting fit. The rest will naturally fall into place if you keep with your lifestyle and exercise changes.
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June 18th, 2008 — blood sugar, caffeine, carbohydrates, fats, metabolism, proteins
If you want to jump start your weight loss efforts, you're going to need to focus on your metabolism. For most of us, our metabolisms have either been slowed by yo-yo dieting or even genetics and it can be hard to get them back again. However, it is not impossible to kick start your metabolism once again. You just need to make sure you are using the right techniques.
Many people fall on the theory that caffeine is the easiest method you can use to increase your metabolism. While this is true in the short term, the drawbacks are numerous and it's not good for your body or your heart to take too much caffeine. You can actually end up with caffeine intoxication if you have more than 500mg of caffeine in a day. That's the equivalent of two large cups of coffee from Starbucks to put that into perspective.
Instead of relying on external ways to increase your metabolism, it's time to look inward. First, let's talk about blood sugar. If your blood sugar is out of whack, your metabolism is too. Your body is spending too much time processing the wrong kind of foods and your metabolism suffers for it. If you're constantly throwing your body through feast and famine when it comes to sugar, chances are your levels are far out of whack.
To fix this, you need to make sure that you are getting the right balance of proteins, carbs and fats. This gives your body the chance to actually start burning fat instead of working on handling all the sugar that you've thrown at it. Keep in mind however, that you do need some sugar in your diet to keep functioning properly.
Next, you're going to want to build lean muscle mass. It simply is more effective at raising your metabolism than anything else. You can start doing this by adding in some mild weight lifting into your exercise routine. Even women can benefit from lifting small amounts. As you build muscle mass, don't panic if the numbers on the scale go up a bit. This is perfectly normal since muscle weighs more than fat. It is only temporary and if you keep burning fat, those numbers will come back down.
You can look at it as though you are restructuring your body. You are removing fat, which slows down your metabolism, which lean muscle mass that will raise it. Over the long term, you're retraining your metabolism and getting it to speed up.
By learning how to manage your blood sugar properly and by building more lean muscle mass, you have the perfect recipe for increasing your metabolism. It won't happen overnight, but if you stick with it, you'll be able to burn fat quickly and more efficiently. Don't rely on supplements that make crazy promises and endanger your health. They may work in the short term, but unless you address the issues that caused the slowdown of your metabolism in the first place, you're not fixing the problem.
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