Lose My Belly |

Everyone has wondered at some point in time which

cardio exercise is better.  To put it in simple

terms, both low and high intensity exercises will

help you to burn off body fat.  The question here

is which is the most effective to burn off more

body fat.  

When scientists first discovered that during 

intensive exercises, your body burns glycogen, which

is a form of stored carbohydrates that are stored

in your liver and muscles for energy.  During low

intensity exercises, your body will burn a lot of

fat.

If your wondering whether or not it works, the

answer is no because there are so many obese people

still around.  Even though they are working out

with low intensity routines, it still makes you 

wonder how it can be.

The scientists were right when they said the human

body burns more body fat during low intensity

exercises like walking or swimming.  During a 

high intensity exercise such as running, the body

will burn a lot more calories.  Even if some of

the calories burnt are from glycogen, there are

still many fat calories burned as well.

To put the icing on the cake, when your store of

glycogen gets low, the carbohydrates from your

food you eat will later get converted into 

glycogen to fill up the store and won’t be

converted to body fat when they are left unused

for energy.

High intensity cardio exercise will juice up your

metabolism even after you have completed your

workout.  What this means, is that your body will

continue to burn body fat hours after you have

left the gym.  This effect is nearly non existent

in low intensity cardio or aerobic workout.  

Accumulatively, your body will burn up more and

more calories during and after you have finished a

high intensity cardio exercise that it will with

low intensity.

You can inject high intensity exercises into your

cardio workout by introducing some interval

training. You can walk for 5 minutes or so, then

break into some jogging for another 5 minutes or

so.  Then, walk briskly again until you have

caught your breath and then sprint for a minute

before you walk again.  From this point, simply

alternate your running and walking for the 

next 15 minutes until you are finished.

One of the best things about cardio is the more

you do it, the more energy you’ll have.  Cardio

will help you to burn calories, although its more

useful for keeping your energy levels high.

If you’ve never tried cardio before, you should

give it a shot.  If you like to exercise, you’ll

find cardio the best way to boost your energy and

keep in top shape.  If you are just starting out,

you’ll want to go slow and keep your cardio 

exercise in track - as it is very easy to over

exert yourself.

Even though exercise may not be the most exciting

word in your vocabulary, it sure is a word with a 

lot of benefits.  Participating in daily exercise

will not only make you healthier in general, but

it can also diminish the effects of stress on your

body as well.

Think about all the times you have heard someone

say “the doctor says it’s stress related”.  Normally

people will laugh it off, concluding that doctors 

say that when they don’t know the real answers or

diagnosis.  The truth of the matter is that too

much stress will play a role in many diseases.

To help increase your immune system and decrease 

your stress level as well, try exercise, as movement

is the key word here.  Bending, stretching, reaching

and walking.  There’s really no need to buy any

expensive equipment either, as you can implement

more movement into your daily routine and reap

the benefits.

If you like aerobic exercise, you should grab a

partner and have a blast with one of the basic

aerobic videos.  Or, you can simply go out for a 

walk and enjoy spending time together.  As you

may have heard, walking really is the best overall

exercise you can do for your health.  As long as

you have a pair of walking shoes, you’ll be

fine.

As you go through your daily activities, make it

a point to walk a little farther, bend down and

pick something up without using a pick up stick

or moving the item towards you with your foot.  

While you are sitting, you should also do some

simple and quick stretches for your neck and 

shoulders.

If you enjoy sitting around watching television,

you should consider buying a jogging board.  

These padded boards will make running, jumping,

or walking in place less stressful on your knees

and joints.  They are easy to store as well and

also very portable.

In many people’s opinions, jogging boards are

the best pieces of equipment you can buy.  They

are also far cheaper than bulky treadmills and

stationary bikes.

There are several different exercises that you

can do to help you eliminate the stress in 

your life.  Walking is by far the best, as you

can easily lose yourself and your troubles by

walking.  Even if it is just around the block,

walking can do wonders for your health as well

as stress.

If you have a lot of stress in your life, you

may want to consider a gym.  Working out then

sitting in the sauna is also a good way to

relieve tension.  If your gym has a pool, you

may find swimming to be very beneficial as well,

as it helps you to relax.

This day and age it can be very difficult indeed to

go to the gym.  Life is very hectic and busy, which

will create a serious challenge for remaining 

consistent with exercise each day.  Exercise is 

however, just what we all need to reduce stress,

and give the body the extra energy it needs to carry

out normal living.

The best results of exercise are achieved through

the use of refined techniques, functional exercises,

cardio, the right nutrition, variety, awareness, 

consistency, and motivation over a period of time.

The refined techniques mean correct form to isolate

muscles or to target areas of the body.  Efficiency

is need to ensure stimulation of the muscles.  With

weight lift training, which is also known as 

resistance training, you’ll need to eliminate any

type of momentum.  

It is also important to move the weight about using

a full range of motion.  Full range of motion causes

the muscle to contract for the right amount of time

and help to ensure the right length of the tendons.

The goal here is to strengthen the joints of your

body by stimulating the muscles.

Cadence is also helpful, as it is a term that refers

to the rate in which the resistance or the weight

moves.  The best results with cadence are gained

by slow movements which will cause the muscle

to contract for a longer period of time.  You

can mix in a series of fast and slow cadence,

which is very beneficial with sports type 

training.

Using the correct angles will achieve muscle

isolation in target areas and help to decrease

the risk of injuries, which is great for those

using heavy weights.  

Functional type exercise is a popular technique

that will stimulate the core and torso of your

body while you work on another muscle group at

the same time.  As an example, when you perform

a dumbell press while lying on an exercise ball.

Your abdominal muscles and the core muscles will

contract to hold your body into this position,

while your chest and tricep muscles will push the

dumbells up.  This type of exercise and challenge

will cause maximum stimulation to your body and

keep the workout interesting and refreshing.

Cardio is another exercise that is great for the

heart and lungs.  The total number of calories

you burn is very important along with maintaining

the right heart rate.  The formula for your 

heart rate is 220 minus your age times 60 for

the lower number, then 220 minus you age and

times 80 for the upper number.  

This is also known as fat burning zone.  Cardio

will also de-toxify the body and help to strengthen

the immune system along with other benefits.  The

muscles will contract and pass the lymph along,

which will allow the immune system to clear away

dead cells and bring new ones in.

Anytime you exercise, warming up is very important,

as it will prepare your body for the more 

demanding workout of cardio.  You should always

allow 15 - 30 minutes prior to weight lifting and

10 - 15 minutes prior to cardio exercises.  You

should also stretch as well, as this will help

get the blood flowing through your musles and

get them limber as well.

An ideal schedule for working out is to warm

up then follow with cardio.  You can lift weights

on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday then cardio

only on Tuesday and Thursday.

Even though you may think your schedule is simply

too busy to maintain a schedule for working out,

you’ll find that adding exercise will actually add

more time, as you’ll have a lot more energy in

your normal everyday life.  You can think of

exercise as the batteries that will help to give

your life power.

Making the decision of where you will go to exercise

is a very important step in reaching your goals of

fitness.  A lot of factors will go into this 

decision, and each one should be evaluated well

before you start exercising.  Once you have made 

a decision on where you will go to exercise, you

can move on to deciding how you plan to work out.

As you probably know, exercising at home has many

advantages.  The finance department is one of the

best advantages.  With the gas prices being what

they are today, it is quite obvious that you’ll

save money on fuel as well as wear and tear on

your vehicle by choosing to exercise at home.

Memberships to a gym can often be quite expensive

and may include other things that you don’t need

such as child care or swimming pools.  You also

won’t need to be concerned about the latest 

trends of exercise gear as you most likely will

be exercising by yourself at home.

Keep in mind that working out at home does 

require a bit of financial obligation.  Even 

though you may plan to run, it is very important

that you have high quality running shoes.  This

statment applies to any type of equipment that 

you may purchase to use at home.  If you go

out and buy cheap equipment, you’ll probably

end up getting hurt or getting frustrated because

you aren’t making any progress.

Along with the financial gains, exercising at 

home may also help those who don’t like to work

out in public.  If you are worried about how you

look in gym clothes, it is very comforting to

know that the only person who has to be with you

when you exercise at home is you.  Also, when

you exercise at home, you don’t need to worry

about time at all.

Those of you who are motivated by being with

people you know or come to know while working

out away from home, a gym may be a better idea

than working out at home.  At the gym, you’ll 

also more of a selection of equipment as well,

far more than you’ll have at home.

If you need other services than just weights and

equipment, the gym may have just what you need.

If you plan to swim a triathlon, you’ll find the

swimming pool at the gym to be just what you need

to prepare yourself.  Swimming is also a great 

exercise for your body and cardio, as it will work

muscles in your body that you probably didn’t

even know you had.

Gyms will also offer you classes that you may find

very motivating.  If you attend class on a regular

basis, you may be motivated enough to continue

so you don’t have to defend yourself when asked

where you’ve been or what you have been doing.

You can also meet new people in class, or just

help others along if you choose.

All in all, making the choice of exercising at 

home or at the gym is a choice you should make

based on your goals and personal preference.  The

most important decision you’ll need to make is

to determine what type of environment you want

to be in and how you want to accomplish the

fitness goals in your life.

Once you have given it some thought and weighed

out the pros and cons, you’ll have no problem

making the choice.  Always keep in mind that

once you’ve made your choice, you can always switch

if you aren’t happy with the choice you made.

When you decide to purchase an exercise bike, you

should first find a place in your home where you 

can place it.  Then, you’ll need to think about 

whether or not you want an upright exercise bike, a

semi recumbent bike, or a recumbent exercise bike.

Once you have made the decision of which type of

bike you want, check out the reviews that are

available in bike magazines and also on the internet.

You can also take the advice of family and friends

who are currently using the same as well as

personal trainers who have experience.  The reviews

on exercise bikes are normally rates in accordance

to their performance, functions that they have, as

well as the type of material that is used for 

constructing the exercise bikes.

The exercise bike that you select should be very

comfortable to sit on and the seat should be easy

to adjust, as it otherwise it would be really hard

to cycle on.  If the height of the seat is wrong,

it can put a lot of pressure in your lower area,

specifically the groin.  To find out more about

these types of features, it is very important

that you read a review as the reviews can give

you valuable information about the features

of exercise bikes.

Reviews have other advantages as well.  A lot

of times, websites on the internet will offer

special discounts on the exercise bikes as well,

which is just another benefit to reading the

reviews.  After you have read the reviews,

you’ll be able to negotiate for a better price

once you talk to the sales person.

No matter how you look at it, you really can’t

go wrong with reading a review on exercise bikes.

You can find out anything you want to know, as

well as get opinions from those who already

own the equipment.  A majority of the time,

you can find out flaws as well, which can save

you a lot of time and effort.

Going to local gyms is also a great way to 

find out about exercise bikes.  If you don’t

want to buy one or if you don’t have the space

to keep one at home, you can always join a local

gym and use one there.  There are several

different types available at your local gym, 

with everything from standard exercise bikes to

the newer electronic versions.

Whether you choose to buy on for home use or

use one at the gym, an exercise bike can help

you stay in shape.  All you need to do is ride

it a few minutes a day, and you’ll be amazed

at just how much it helps you.  Considered to

be a part of cardio, an exercise bike can help

you lose weight and tone your body down like

never before.

Many us need to follow an exercise program, in order

to remain healthy.  Below, you’ll find several good

reasons why you should start exercising now.

1.  Contributes to fat loss

It is well proven from scientific research all over

the world that physical exercise contributes to

weight loss.  If you burn more calories than you

consume through nutrition, you’ll lose weight.  When

you exercise, you burn more calories than when you

don’t.  It’s really simple - the more you exercise,

the more weight or fat you’ll lose.

2.  Prevent disease

The chances of developing several various diseases

has been proven to decrease when exercising.  These

diseases include heart disease, cancer, diabetes,

and the stroke.  

Around 4 out of 5 deaths caused by heart disease

and cancer, are linked to factors that include stress

and lack of exercise.  We all know that diabetes

increases the chance for heart attacks and strokes.

What this shows, is that many of the risk factors

and diseases caused by not exercising are working

in conjunction to damage your health.  To prevent

this from happening, start exercising.

3.  Improving disease

Many severe and minor diseases can be improved or

even healed through regular exercise.  These even

include the diseases listed above.  By following

a regular plan, you can also decrease HDL 

cholesterol levels, decrease triglyceride levels,

and decrease your blood pressure as well.

Exercising on a regular basis will also reduce

the risk of prostate cancer for men, breast and

uterine cancer for women, and much more.  All of

this is scientifically proven, which is why you

should start exercising today.

4.  Enhance your state of mind

Everyone knows from the many scientific studies

that regular exercising will lead to an increased

release of endorphins in the body.  These chemicals

will fight depression and make you feel happy.  The

body releases these endorphins only 12 minutes

into the workout.

There is another chemical known as serotonin that

is increased during and after a workout.  The

increased levels of serotonin in the central nervous

system is associated with feelings of well being

and decreased mental depression. The chemical 

can also help you sleep better at night.

5.  Enhance your wellness

When you are in great shape and well fit, you’ll

have more energy and you’ll notice that your overall

mood is improved.  You will have experienced that

you can stretch beyond your own limits and you

know that you can do more than you thought possible.

6.  Persistence

Exercising regularly will give you more energy, 

which can help you be more productive at home and

at work.  Exercising can help give your new goals

a sense of purpose and give you something to focus

on and aim for.  This can help you increase your

persistence and prevent you from going off track

while you aim for your goal.

7.  Social capabilities

After a workout on a regular basis you can boost

your self esteem.  This can help you look better

and you’ll be more comfortable as well.  Exercise

will also help you to become more active and meet

new people, which will prevent you from feeling

isolated and unsupported.  Exercise will also

increase your interests in sex, and can help you

to improve your marriage or your partner

relationship.

After knowing all of these tips and reasons to

exercise, you shouldn’t hesitate to get out there

and exercise.  You can exercise at home or go out

there and join a gym.  There are several different

ways that you can exercise, all you have to do

is select a few that you like.  Take a little bit

of time out of your day and start exercising -

you’ll feel better than ever before and your body

will thank you.

These days, more and more people are turning away

from memberships to gyms and instead choosing to 

invest money in a home gym.  You can put a home

gym in a spare corner of your home, or even in the

basement if you wish.  Along with helping you save

money by combining several different types of 

equipment into one machine, these types of equipment

can easily fit in small spaces and type up a lot

less weight than their individual counterparts.

When you are considering to buy an all in one piece

of exercise equipment, you should first think 

about your goals.  You should consider what you 

hope to achieve from exercising and just how well

this piece of equipment will benefit you.

There are several types of all in one equipment for

exercise on the market and almost all of them are

advertised well on television, in magazines, and 

on the internet.  The most popular types on the

market are those types that are geared towards

individuals who are interested in lifting weights.

Right now, the two most popular types of all in

one exercise systems are the Bowflex and Total Gym

brands.  The Bowflex system uses resistant bows 

that bend instead of the traditional weights that

simply lift.  Bowflex is designed to fit a wide

variety of budgets and needs, it’s widely 

adaptable and extremely popular as well.

To make things even better, you can store the

basic Bowflex system in small and tight places,

even under a bed if you choose.  The larger and

more expensive Blowflex system competes with 

the types of professional equipment that you can

find in gyms, which allow you a quality workout

on quality equipment.

The Total Gym system is great as well, as it

is advertised by martial arts legend Chuck Norris

and supermodel Christie Brinkley.  It is less

expensive than the Bowflex and uses gravity

and resistance instead of traditional weights.

By using this system, you have the ability to

adapt the machine to a wide variety of exercises

that will work many different areas of your body.

When you make that decision about buying an all

in one exercise system, you must also decide 

on price, features, brand, and just who will use

the machine.  If your family plans to use it as

well, then you’ll need to get a system that 

everyone will agree on.  You obviously wouldn’t

want a machine that is too complicated for

others in your home.

Even though Bowflex and Total Gym are the 2 most

popular types of all in one equipment, there are

several others out there as will, from brands

such as Weider and many others.  Before you

make your choice, you should look at several

to see which one offers you more for your money.

The type of exercise you do all depends on you and

what you like to do.  What you hate doing, paying

membership fees, and whether or not to buy equipment

are all things you need to consider as well as 

answer.

If you choose something that you don’t like to do,

you aren’t going to keep doing it for a long period

of time.  Give it some thought - if you don’t like

jogging, you aren’t going to get up at 6 AM and go

running.  If you can’t find something you like to

do, choose something you hate the least, which will

normally be walking.

Walking is great exercise, as it suits all levels

of fitness.  Anyone can start a walking program at

any time, it’s normally the intensity and duration

that differs.  Walking is also a social exercise,

as it isn’t difficult to find a training partner

to chat with while you exercise.  Walking with a

partner will also make time go by faster.

No matter what exercise you choose, you should 

start at a low level of intensity and build it up

over a period of weeks, which is essential to the

longevity of your exercise program.  If you start

off too hard, you could end up with an injury

which will require time off to get over.

If you are really in bad shape, you should start

off by walking for 10 minutes each day.  Then,

increase it by 5 minutes every 2 weeks.  To make

things more interesting, you should try walking

a different course every few days.  You can also

roster a different friend to walk with you each

day of the week.

If walking isn’t your thing, then you may want

to try a fitness center.  They have loads of 

variety and normally have trainers on hand to 

answer any questions you may have.  When you 

choose a fitness center, make sure that they give

good service.

If they aren’t willing to treat you well before

you join, then they certainly won’t after you 

join.  You should also make sure that the equipment

they use is well taken care of.  It’s easy to 

find out, as all you have to do is listen to the

machines.  If they squeak a lot or make noise, 

then chances are they aren’t being taken care of.

If you still aren’t sure what you should do, then

you should look into golf or tennis.  Both are

good social activities in most areas, and you can

even meet new friends.  Tennis is great for fitness

although it isn’t for someone who is just starting

out.  If you haven’t exercised in a long time,

then golf may be the best activity for you.

Anytime you exercise, you do so in order to try and

maintain good health. You also know that you have to

eat as well, so your body will have the energy it

needs to exercise and maintain for the everyday tasks

of life.  For making the best of your exercise, what

you eat before and after you workout is very important.

No matter if you are going to be doing a cardio 

workout or a resistance workout, you should always

make it a point to eat a balanced mix of protein and

carbohydrates.  What makes that determining percentage

of carbs and protein you consume is whether or not

you are doing cardio or resistance exercise and the

intensity level that you plan to work at.

The ideal time for you to eat your pre workout meal

is an hour before you start.  If you plan to work

at a low intensity level, you should keep your pre

workout meal down to 200 calories or so.  If you

plan to exercise at a high level of intensity, you

will probably need your meal to be between 4,000 

and 5,000 calories.

Those of you who are doing a cardio session will

need to consume a mix of 2/3 carbs and 1/3 protein.

Doing so will give you longer sustained energy from

the extra carbs with enough protein to keep your

muscle from breaking down while you exercise.

For resistance exercise, you’ll need to eat a mix

of 1/3 carbs and 2/3 protein, as this will help

you get plenty of energy from the carbs to perform

each set you do and the extra protein will help

keep muscle breakdown to a minimum while you 

exercise.  

Eating after you exercise is just as important as

your pre workout meal.  Anytime you exercise,

whether its cardio or resistance, you deplete energy

in the form of glycogen.  The brain and central

nervous system rely on glycogen as their main 

source of fuel, so if you don’t replace it after

you exercise, your body will begin to break down

muscle tissue into amino acids, and then convert

them into usable fuel for the brain and the 

central nervous system.

Keep in mind that mostly during resistance

exercise, you’ll break down muscle tissue by 

creating micro tears.  What this means, is that

after a workout, your muscles will instantly go

into repair mode.  Protein is the key here for

muscle repair, as you don’t want muscle breaking

down even further to create fuel instead of

lost glycogen.

Once you have finished a cardio session, you’ll

need to consume mainly carbohydrates, preferably

those with high fiber.  Rice, oatmeal, whole wheat

pasta, and northern fruits are excellent sources.

Also, try to consume 30 - 50 grams of there

types of carbs after you exercise.  After your

cardio workout, it is fine to eat within 5 - 10

minutes.

Once you’ve finished a resistance workout, you

will need to consume a combination of carbs and

protein.  Unlike cardio workouts, resistance

workouts will break down muscle tissue by creating

micro tears.

You’ll need protein as this happens to build up

and repair these tears so that the muscle can

increase in size and strength.  The carbs will

not only replace the lost muscle glycogen, but 

will also help the protein get into muscle cells

so it can synthesize into structural protein, or

the muscle itself.

After your resistance exercise, you should wait

up to 30 minutes before you eat, so that you won’t

take blood away from your muscles too fast.  The

blood in your muscles will help the repair process

by removing the metabolic waste products.

Something you need to keep in mind and never forget

is that when you exercise, you are training for 

life.  You still may spend an hour a day in the

gym, although that will still leave another 23 hours

or so for your muscles to function without using

any fancy equipment.

Whenever you do any type of exercise, the movement

of your body during the exercise is known as the

range of motion.  The more difficult the range of

motion is, the more effective the exercise will be,

because your body has to work twice as hard to 

perform the movement.

Take for the instance the classic dumbbell bicep

curl.  If you aren’t familiar with the exercise,

it is performed by standing up straight with your

palms facing forward, and a pair of dumbbells held

down by your sides.  You’ll contract your biceps

to bring the dumbbells up to your shoulder height,

then repeat the exercise as many times as you wish.

Using that same movement for exercise on a bicep

curl machine, you should sit down, brace your 

upper arms on a pad, grasp 2 handles that are in

front of you, then perform the same movement as

above to move the handles in an upward motion.

Now, looking at the muscle contractions in this

exercise, you are contracting essentially your

biceps if you are using the curl machine, and

that is pretty much all you are doing.  When you

use the machine you are sitting down, which will

limit just how much your shoulders give.  The

machine has several muscles used in this

exercise limited to the biceps, as well as

the muscles in your forearms and fingers.

Most of the time, when using machine weights, you

will always be limited as to what type of exercise

you can perform.  You must always follow a strict

procedure, which is pretty much the same with

free weights.  Unlike free weights, machine 

weights offer a certain degree of resistance.

One of the best thing about free weights is the

fact that you move a little chuck around to 

select the weight you want to use.  Instead 

of dragging it over to your exercise area,

you simply select it on the machine.  When 

you are tired during a workout, this can be

a blessing.

A lot of people argue in the fact that free

weights are the best for your body.  While this 

is normally true, many people out there feel that

machine weights are the best.  There are pros

and cons with both machines, although free 

weights have been around a lot longer and have

been proven time after time to achieve dramatic

results.

Body builders for example, have used free 

weights over the years to build very impressive

bodies.  If you ask most of them about machine

weights, they would probably laugh at you and

tell you that you need to quit joking around.

In a nutshell, free weights will use more of your

muscles than the machines do, which makes them

more effective overall.  This doesn’t mean

that the machines are a waste of use, as they

offer some great advantages.  In some cases,

it is best to stabilize the muscles that are

being used in a movement, which is where machines

are the best to use.

The decision on which to use for you should be

based on what you hope to achieve with lifting

weights and where you plan to use the equipment,

such as home or at a gym.  Both systems are

great for your body, although the free weights

are best to use if you want the best possible

workout, and always ensure that your muscles

are getting the right workouts they need.