Friday, March 23, 2007

Bring Out The Best In Your Abs

Most people are in a constant struggle with their abs trying toexpose them to the world but always seem to fail. Below we willshare a few tips to help you win this battle.1. CARDIOLike it or not you can do all the weight training you want withyour abs, but this is not going to be enough. You need to upyour cardio levels so you start burning fat which in turn willlet your abs be more visible. So first tip is to do some cardiolike sprinting or guerrilla cardio which was discussed in theprevious blog post.2. DIETTheir is a famous saying Abs are made in the kitchen, not inthe gym. Without the proper diet you can kiss your chances ofgood abs good bye. You really do need to keep your carbs low atnight, protein high, and sodium low. The basics of a diet shoudlbe enough to drop the belly fat and expose the abs.3. Weighted AbsWould you do 4 sets of bench press at 50 reps each with justthe bar? not to many people would why should you do the samewith abs? Add some weight to your exercises to actually buildmore muscles around the abs. This is already assuming you areon the right diet and cardio levels, but doing abs with weightsis a great way to develop the actual abdominal muscles and makethem larger and more defined.4. WATERWhen you think you have drank enough, you havent even gottenstarted. The pros drink more then a gallon of water a day sotry and drink as much water as you possibly can. Make it partof your day, this flushes out fat and unwanted toxins from yourbody.5. FlexingWhen not in the gym, while driving your car, showering, orwhatever you do keep your abs tight and flexed. Dont ever letyour stomach hang. Always keep the abs tight and sucked in,this in itself will train your abs to become tighter and cangive visibly better results.6. Shower TimeWhen in the shower, get some soap and lather it up around yourabdominal and love handle sections. Now massage the soap intoyour abs and love handles vigorously up and down feeling thefat moving. What this does is break down the fat pockets andmakes them easier to burn. This is done best before a workout.Haven t you ever seen those ab creams and they say to rubthem vigorously around your abdominal area for a few minutes?guess what your actually doing, yea the same thing as with thesoap ;-)About The Author: Jared Izwar - http://Fat-burners.org/articles

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Protein Bars

So youre strolling down the aisle in your local grocery storeand this cute, athletic looking brunette with ice blue eyespasses you by. You get the old eye lock but no smile. Hmmm,of course you turn around to see the backside but shes alreadyout of sight. So you fast walk your way to the next aisle andspot her at the other end looking at something. So you walk upand pretend youre looking for something around the same spotshe is. You notice that shes looking at all these ProteinBars. You think to yourself, Why the hell do people eat thatcardboard tasting crap! Just then, she turns to you and says,Looks like you dont need any of these, I think your Snickers,Twix and 100 Grand bars will keep you busy. Busted! Damn.Youre speechless, and hungry.So why HAVE the protein bars become so popular? Sit down andgrab a cup of Joe, cause youre about to be introduced to thenew and improved candy bar.Protein bars started out as a bit of an accident with the PowerBar concept. At first they were just a bunch of carbohydratesfor people who needed extra energy on the go. I know whatyoure thinking..who needs EXTRA calories? Yea, well, somefolks who dont spend their time behind a desk or computer allthe time spend MORE calories than they can eat! So, for theseguys, the Power Bar was invented. But nobody paid too muchattention to what they tasted like.so they tasted like crapbasically.Fast forward a few years and youll find tons of differentprotein bars and drinks, energy bars and drinks on the shelvesof everywhere from 7-11 to the grocery store. Now, a lot ofthese bars have serious problems with them. They either tastelike complete crap, have WAY too many calories, or arebasically a candy bar with a protein or energy label. Sohow do you figure out which ones are good?? And better yet, whythe hell do you care?First, you care because they are a fantastic source of proteinthat can be placed and kept ANYWHERE. The car, office, boat,back pocket.anywhere you can think of, you can keep one. Themore places you can stash these, the less times you will beOVER-STARVED and the less likely you will be to devour anentire large pizza and a 64 ounce Dr. Pepper! So, if you aretrying to stick to a healthy, regulated diet, these babies arefantastic. Secondly, protein satisfies our hunger much longerthan carbohydrates (especially simple carbohydrates) do. So,the trick is to find a protein bar that you like to eat, alongwith a good composition of protein, carbohydrates and calories.A good rule of thumb is to get a bar that has 15-20 grams ofprotein for every 125-175 calories. That means, youll begetting about 40 grams of protein for a bit over 300 calorie.If you keep this ratio, youll be able to stick to your 5small meals a day program much easier.So which ones taste good?? Well, so far, Chef Jay and companyhave been putting out some protein bars that arent half bad. Ialso love the Detour bars. A very popular protein bar rightnow is the Promax Bar. Of course taste is all relative toeach person, but I can tell you that anything that says LowCarb on it, probably has Sugar Alcohol as an ingredient, andtastes like crap. Other than that, get out there and try some!About The Author: Dr. Parker is a surgical resident who has aninterest in preventative health, weight-loss and fitness. Dr.Parker uses the principles of human physiology coupled with ahttp://www.super-fit.com/proteinbars.html to have the body workfor, not against.

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

How To Maximize Acupuncture Weight Loss

You may have heard about acupuncture weight loss and are havingtrouble believing that sticking needles in someone's body, thetraditional image conjured up when someone says acupunctureweight loss, could ever help them lose weight. Well, maybe your scepticism is born from the fact that youdon't know all of the elements involved in acupuncture weightloss treatments. Acupuncture weight loss grew out of the millennium old Chinesepractice of acupuncture. While acupuncture weight loss has beenaround for almost as long as acupuncture itself it only hit thepublic consciousness in 2003. The media began reporting the staggering statistics ofacupuncture weight loss in China. In a society where weightloss is a major issue for so many, the news was greeted withmuch interest. The Chinese were reporting that acupuncture weight loss washelping a large number of people lose, on average, betweentwenty two and thirty three pounds. There was even theoccasional super case where someone lost huge amounts ofweight, sometimes in excess of 240 pounds. The percentage of success case was fantastic as well.Acupuncture weight loss specialists in China were claiming fourout of every five people were losing weight. It wasn't long before acupuncture weight loss centers beganpopping up in the west. Yet one visit to an acupuncture weightloss center would quickly dispel any assumption thatacupuncture weight loss was exclusively focused on stickingneedles in someone's body. The main goal of acupuncture weight loss is to stimulate thepatient's digestive system. While acupuncture weight loss usesacupuncture as the main foundation of this process, it isalways married with an herb regimen. The herbs used in an acupuncture weight loss regimen balancethe digestive system, reduce appetite and improve the patient'smetabolism. All of these processes are vitally important in asuccessful acupuncture weight loss plan. It is also important to note that most reputable clinics usingherbs as a part of their acupuncture weight loss regimen areusing pharmaceutical quality herbs. Acupuncture weight loss clinics also use methods such as lightexercise, Shaitsu massage, proper breathing lessons, andinformation on body balance and flexibility as essentialelements of a fully rounded acupuncture weight loss system. It is also important to note that acupuncture weight loss isnot an instant weight loss solution. Acupuncture weight loss isa gradual approach that is focused on turning the body and mindinto a healthy balanced machine. That isn't to say that acupuncture weight loss is a gruellinguncomfortable process. On the contrary, while some of the acupuncture weight lossmethods are active, some others, such as Aroma wraps and thepreviously mentioned Shiatsu massage would have to beconsidered more on the pampering side of the acupuncture weightloss methodology. Another recommended site for more weight loss information is: http://4-best-weight-loss.com So now you hopefully have a different picture of what'sinvolved in an acupuncture weight loss process. You may even betempted to give an acupuncture weight loss clinic near you atry.About The Author: Annie Beal is a healthcare writer who makesit easy for people to learn about Alternative Healthcare. Sheis a contributing author at 4HealthGems. For more of her workgo to: http://4healthgems.com

Thursday, March 1, 2007

Good weight loss pace

Believe it or not, shedding unwanted pounds doesnt have to be as difficult as you may think. As a matter of fact, it can be accomplished quite easily, and without extreme self-sacrifice. In fact, when done properly, weight loss can be fun and rewarding. Proper weight reduction should be at a pace of one half to one pound per week. These types of programs are more easily followed, and are less stressful. The reason is that they encourage new lifestyles with improved eating behaviors, and as a result, weight loss is permanent. Plans that use powder or liquid meal replacements however should be avoided. Does it make sense to waste valuable time, money and self-deprivation on something that will ultimately fail?