Most people at some point in their lives want to lose weight or more accurately fat and many will battle with the problem for many years until they are successful or they give up. In my experience as a Personal Trainer and Pilates Instructor most go about it the wrong way and have a poor knowledge of what’s really required.

The following points are what I believe to be the most important when it comes to fat loss and I hope they help you as much as they’ve helped me and my clients.

Do you really need to lose weight?

Here you need to be honest with yourself and decide whether you really need to lose any weight. There are three main body types:

• Ectomorph – These are the thin skinny people with a light bone structure who we all hate They never put on any excess weight even though they eat like a horse.
• Mesomorph – Medium build and usually of average height these people are well muscled and and are the ones who look like Greek gods.
• Endomorph – Large framed with a hefty build they are very strong but tend to gain weight the easiest.

If you’re an Endomorph you are never going to look like the models in the magazines (God forbid anyway) you’re naturally large and no amount of dieting or exercise is going to make you look waif like so it’s a waste of time and effort to try. If you’re at a healthy weight and not carrying a lot of excess fat then it’s just something you’re going to have to live with.

Fat and healthy vs Thin and unhealthy

Don’t forget you can be fat and fit and from my own point of view I’d rather see someone carrying some extra weight (I’m not talking about obese or morbidly obese here) than someone who is to thin.

Peer pressure and the media can sometimes give us an unrealistic idea of what an ideal body shape is I suggest if you’re close to your ideal weight and BMI struggling to squeeze into a size zero set of jeans isn’t a good idea be happy you’re fit and healthy and just accept that you can’t change the laws of physics

On the other hand if you’re well over weight and want to successfully get down to your ideal size and shape safely then see part II of this article.

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Fat Loss – Do You Really Need To Lose Weight?

So as to not waste any of your time I’ll tell you up front that if your looking for some magic pill or gimmicky piece of exercise equipment that will give you that slim sleek and chiseled look then you’re in the wrong place and you might as well hit the back button on your browser.

I think we all know deep down that there’s no magic bullet for losing fat and having great looking abs it’s just that we’ve been seduced by the slick snake oil salesman that are very persuasive at selling us what we truly desire – a quick and effortless way to lose the fat we’ve piled on over the years.

Well I’m sorry to say such a product doesn’t exist and you can be sure it never will. No matter how clever the exercise gadget is you’re going to have to do some work.

Successful fat loss requires a change in thinking and dealing with not only what you eat but how and when you exercise.

I like The Truth About Abs by Mike Geary because it addresses all of the above and I believe if you follow this program and follow it’s recommendations you will not only lose fat but also be much healthier.

Even before discussing exercise this program covers what I believe to be the most important parts of successful fat loss and that’s Mindset and Diet (what you eat). Without the right mind set you are almost certainly doomed to fail no matter what program you choose. It’s essential you know your outcome and are prepared to do whatever is necessary to get there. It really isn’t that hard and this program lays it all out for you and includes sections on.

• How to set your outcome and overcome procrastination
• Your blood sugar and how you might be sabotaging your weight loss goals
• Why dieting doesn’t work
• How eating the right fats can make you leaner
• Meal frequency
• The thermic effects of food
• The fat loss benefits of tea
• Metabolism boosting foods
• Healthy eating strategies
• Balanced meal planning

The program then goes on to explain why exercise is such an important part of fat loss and why you need a complete body exercise program and not focus entirely on your abs and includes sections on:

• Safe and effective ab development
• The structure of your abdominal muscles
• Proper positioning for abdominal exercises
• Resistance, frequency and the length of time required to perform the ab exercises
• Recommended exercises
• Exercises to avoid
• The metabolic effects of exercise
• Full body training programs
• The problem with cardio only exercise
• Advanced secret weapon exercises
• Body weight exercises
• Frequently asked questions
• And much more.

In my opinion this is one of the best fat loss programs of it’s type on the market today. It will show you how to correctly and safely lose fat and then keep it off. It’s possible to do the program without buying any additional equipment although a fit ball and dumb bell set would be useful.

So if you’re tired of the gimmicky and hyped up pieces of exercise equipment that promise you the world and then don’t deliver, take a look at The Truth About Abs. It costs less than $40 and does exactly what it says it’ll do – help you lose fat and then keep it off.

PS Buying the latest exercise gadget isn’t always a bad idea (assuming it’s safe) as it can add variety to a stale workout. Just don’t expect the results the manufacturers claim using ONLY the machine.

Posted by: At Home Workout Reviews

The Truth About Six Pack Abs Review

If you are looking for a way to burn calories without putting too much stress on your joints, going for a swim could be a good choice of workout for you.  Due to the resistance of the water, impact on joints is low but effort level is high and you can burn up to 400 cal an hour doing vigorous lengths of your local pool.

Technique is important when swimming, so even if you can already swim it would be a good idea to get some lessons.  Many people, myself included, hate putting their head under the water, but I’m afraid if you swim along with your head held high you are putting your neck and upper back under a lot of strain.

Wearing goggles is an absolute necessity in my opinion for correct swimming and if you hate the feeling of water going up your nose, nose clips are inexpensive and easy to buy.  Properly kitted out you will not mind putting your head underwater and your swimming technique will improve accordingly, with little strain on your back.

The leg pattern used in breaststroke can also put strain on your lower back and sacrum; if you find this is a problem you will have to stick to front crawl and concentrate on mastering the challenging breathing pattern!

Exercising in water can work for if you are a poor swimmer or even if you cannot swim at all, as just wading through water at chest height involves effort and thus burns calories.  Aquaerobics classes are very popular and are an excellent form of exercising without strain; the instructor teaches from the edge of the pool so that the moves are easy to follow.

There is no complicated choreography to learn, and you will be surprised at how effective this form of exercise is, and how tired you are by the time the class has finished.  And best of all you need not even get your hair wet!  Aquaerobics is perfect for injury rehabilitation or for those who need to lose a lot of weight as the water takes much of the strain.

Posted by: At Home Workout Reviews

Swim For It!

A common excuse I get from people for not exercising on a regular basis is I can’t afford to buy any at home exercise equipment and I certainly couldn’t afford an expensive gym membership.

Well, that may be true even though a lot of good equipment isn’t very expensive.  To be honest you can get a fantastic full-body workout without buying a single piece of exercise equipment and therefore not having to spend a penny.

Before exercise gadgets became so popular primarily because of the outrageous claims some equipment manufacturers gave people are now brainwashed into thinking it’s impossible to get fit without spending a small fortune on equipment.

It’s perfectly possible to keep fit using by just your own body weight.  You could for example do press ups and squats.  Between press ups and squats you use almost every single muscle in your body either directly or in a stabilising role.  Add to that 20 minutes of brisk walking a day and you have a very good and effective exercise regime which costs you nothing but time.

So although exercise gadgets like the Shake Weight can make your workouts more interesting and varied they are not essential.  So don’t use the I haven’t  got any money excuse any longer.  Even the 20 minute walk a day will give you surprisingly good results with very little or no impact to your joints.

If however you have a few dollars to spare I’d recommend employing a Personal Trainer for a few weeks just to show you how to do the body weight exercises safely and in good form.  It doesn’t take very long to learn these simple and effective exercises and once you see the great results you can get you’ll wonder why you didn’t try them before

Posted by: At Home Workout Reviews

Help I Can’t Afford To Buy Exercise Equipment

Do you ever get those days when nothing goes right?  You wake up in the morning full of dread and as cross as a bear and the day just goes downhill from there, with the smallest setback making you erupt into an incandescent rage.  On one occasion I was so grumpy, that when my teenage daughter loaded the dishwasher wrong, I threw a spectacular tantrum.  She looked at me with interest and said,  ” Mum, your face is purple and your eyes are bulging. It’s only a dishwasher.”  Well, that put it into perspective for me and I started to laugh.

When you are feeling so grumpy that all you want to do is to crawl into a hole and sulk, think about doing some exercise.  I know you won’t want to even think about it, but the link between exercise and a better mood has been proven by scientists; in fact exercise is sometimes prescribed by doctors for cases of mild depression.

And the best thing is, you don’t need to pound on a treadmill for an hour for it to work.  Just go out for a walk in the fresh air, breathe deeply, march briskly and swing your arms and within about 20 minutes I can almost guarantee that you’ll feel better, the fresh air will clear your head and the ups and downs in your life will shrink back into perspective. In other words, your mountains will become molehills.

I have found that when I am in the worst moods,  a session in the gym really helps me as I take out my bad temper on pushing the Pec Deck and hauling on the Lat Pulldown, muttering under my breath the whole time.

I get some really peculiar looks from other gym-goers, who give me the same kind of  wide berth that they would give a rabid Rottweiler, but I have to say that after having pulled, pushed and pumped weights for 30 minutes I am hot, sweaty and much more at peace with myself and the world.  And the bonus here is that all of this will increase your fitness and tone your muscles, so that not only will you feel better, you will look much better too.

Posted by: At Home Workout Reviews

Exercise And Mood – One Of Those Days

No exercise programme is complete without weight training, but it seems to be the thing that most women prefer to avoid, convinced that they will end up with the bulky muscles of a weightlifter.  This is absolutely not true as women do not have enough of the hormone testosterone to produce muscle bulk like men do and in fact female weightlifters have a really hard job to produce big muscles.

So why do women need to weight train?  Wouldn’t aerobic exercise be enough to lose weight and shape up?  The answer is no.  Muscle tissue is absolutely necessary to the body and the more muscle you have the more calories you will burn at rest when you are not doing anything, even when you are sleeping or relaxing in front of the TV.  Toning and strengthening muscles also stabilises your joints and makes them stronger, making them less vulnerable to damage, and toned muscle gives shapely limbs and a pert butt.

Adding a weights session or two a week to your workouts is quite simple and does not require all the complicated machines in the gym, which can be very intimidating to the uninitiated!  Women don’t need heavy weights to tone muscle so Ladies, you can easily get by with some neat dumbbells at home and all you need to do is lift and lower them a few dozen times or squat down and stand up while holding them to tone your body.

Muscles strengthen and develop according to the strains placed on them, so if you lift weights for a few weeks you will find that it starts to get easier – this is the point where you need to get some heavier weights to keep your body challenged or change your exercises to work your body in a slightly different way and keep it guessing.  If you don’t, you muscle gains will plateau and then eventually reverse as your body has become too used to that particular weight and you will gain no further benefit.

If you want to combine cardio with strength training why not take a look at the Kettleworx?

Posted by: At Home Workout Reviews

Working Out With Weights

Do you like blueberries?  Well if you don’t you should!  Blueberries are chock-full of healthy fibre, vitamins and antioxidants, and now you can get the Blueberry Giant, which produces masses of huge, delicious, juicy blueberries at a fraction of the cost of buying them in a supermarket!

Health experts agree we should all be eating blueberries regularly (unless you’re allergic to them, of course, then you shouldn’t touch them).

But the problem is they’re expensive and sometimes hard to come by; I know that in the US you can pay up to $10 per pint for blueberries in stores, and here in the UK there are even more expensive; we are currently paying around $8 a pound for them, which is extortionate.

So what’s the solution?  We are supposed to eat them for the health benefits, but they cost too much – what can we do?

Well why not grow your own?  Now you can with the Little Blueberry Giant, a new type of blueberry plant that produces masses of berries that are way bigger than ordinary blueberries. Just think – pint after pint of luscious, healthy blueberries just waiting to be picked from your garden.  They don’t get any fresher than that!

We all know that the fresher fruit is, the better it is for you; as soon as fruit is picked it starts to lose its health benefits.  And the blueberries in your local store could have been picked weeks ago for all you know; whereas what could be easier than going outdoors and picking your own blueberries bursting with flavour and goodness fresh from your Blueberry Giant – easy, convenient and so very good for you and your family.

What distinguishes the Giant Blueberry Plants from other blueberry plants is that it will grow and flourish in either sun or shade – a great plus if you don’t live in a part of the country that has constant sunshine.  An added plus is the Blueberry Giant plants have a much higher yield than other plants, producing up to 4 pints of delicious, luscious great big blueberries every day!

Blueberries have been proven by scientists to be one of the healthiest fruits there is, having the highest antioxidant level of all berries and being chock-full of vitamins to keep your immune system strong, neutralise the free radicals that can cause cancer and even contain compounds that can improve your memory. And if you are watching your weight, blueberries are among your best friends as they are low in fat, high in fiber and have been proven to help in getting rid of stubborn belly fat.

So if you’re tired of paying high prices for blueberries in stores and want to start harvesting the amazing taste and health benefits of Little Giant Blueberries, just click on the link and order your Blueberry Giant plant today.

For just $10 you will get 2 Blueberry Giant plants, plus a third absolutely free!  All you have to do is pay the extra S&H, and you could soon be harvesting your own giant blueberries, bursting with flavour and goodness to help safeguard your own and your family’s health.

Posted by: At Home Workout Reviews

Little Blueberry Giant Reviews

High levels of cholesterol in the blood can possibly be lowered by a healthy diet rich in all kinds of vegetables and fruit, whole grains and small amounts of lean meat, a German scientist has stated in a recent report.  Although the blood cholesterol levels are affected less by what we eat than has been previously believed, it makes good sense to eat good food that is freshly prepared and has a balance of all the nutrients necessary to health on the plate.  This does not mean cutting out fast foods, alcohol and sugar completely, but they should be kept to a minimum and consumed in their most natural form where possible.

Most fast foods such as sausages, burgers and processed meals contain unacceptably high levels of fat, salt and sugar, all of which have a detrimental effect on the internal workings of the body.  Researchers have found that, while most blood cholesterol is produced by the body itself and not by the food we eat, being overweight and sedentary can affect our cholesterol levels adversely.  A healthy diet should consist of balanced amounts of protein, such as chicken or fish, pulses and chickpeas combined with whole grain carbohydrates such as granary bread or brown rice, as many lightly cooked vegetables as you can squeeze onto your plate and a maximum of three portions of fruit in a day; of the latter two, try to eat a rainbow of colours every day.

Regular exercise has been proved to maintain a healthy blood cholesterol level; there is plenty of Workout Equipment available on the market, and it costs nothing to go for a brisk walk.  Healthy lifestyle changes have been proved to lower cholesterol levels within a few weeks, enabling many people on medication for high cholesterol levels to reduce or do without it, although medication should never be stopped without referring to a medical professional.

Posted by: At Home Workout Reviews

Cholestrol Can Be Lowered By Diet And Exercise

Hi,

Yes I’m back! I have to apologize for not posting for some time I think the last post is way back in August.

Life has been so busy recently that I’ve had to cut back on a lot of my commitments and unfortunately this Blog has been one of them.

Anyway things have settled down a bit and I’m determined to post at least once a week. Since August a lot has happened in the health and fitness industry and I’ll be commenting on these trends soon.

I’ll also be reviewing the latest pieces of at home exercise equipment to hit the market along with the expected rush of new stuff that will be released just after Christmas. If history tells us anything most will be a complete waste of money and I’ll give you the heads up on what’s hot and what’s completely useless!

If you would like me to review a particular piece of fitness equipment please feel free to leave me a comment below and I’ll do my best to oblige.

Regards,

Carol

Posted by: At Home Workout Reviews

I’ve Been Missing In Action!