Why I Love The HJ 720 ITC Pedometer
December 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Despite the fact there are a few good pedometers you can choose from at the moment, there are some pretty good reasons why you might want to consider an Omron HJ 720-ITC.
Firstly, this pedometer makes use of an improved system for measuring exactly what counts as a step or pace. In plain english, that means it’s more accurate at working out how many steps you’ve taken than other models.
So, for you and me, that means that we don’t have to bother with all that clipping it to our belt so that it works properly business. Instead, we just drop it into our pocket, bag or purse and off we go. Personally, I think this makes a big difference to people, especially those who are in a rush and have to make a quick decision about whether to take their pedometer with them or not.
The other great reason to choose the HJ 720-ITC is that it lets you download information to your computer. It’s actually got two levels of memory built into it - a quick 7 day memory, and a longer 42 day memory. You can view the last 7 days on the pedometer, but you can download the last 6 weeks worth of data to your PC.
The pedometer also comes with some special software called the Omron Health Management Package. You install this onto your PC and it allows you to view and manage the data with graphs and charts. It also works with other products from Omron such as their heart rate monitor and their blood pressure monitor. I think this is great for people that want to do more than just keep track of their walking or running progress.
I use the memory facility to track my activity from week to week and to see my improvements over time. Funnily enough, I find it also encourages me to do more exercise. I try to do a certain amount of exercise each week, and if my pedometer stats tell me I haven’t quite managed to meet my goal for a particular day, I always do a bit extra the next day to make up the difference. I know for a fact I wouldn’t bother doing that if I didn’t have the figures in front of me.
I was just thinking, I know the Omron HJ 720-ITC is a great gadget for myself, but wouldn’t it be a great gift for someone else? Why not buy them something that positively helps them maintain or improve their health? I think that would be a great way to show you really do care about them. Don’t you?
How To Get Strong, Build Muscle and Lose Fat With Only A Barbell
December 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment
I had a subscriber ask this question:
“Is it possible to build muscle, nuke fat, achieve peak condition and get maximum hard-body results if I don’t have a power rack and I only have access to a barbell? Not even an Olympic barbell, but one of those old crappy cement filled barbell sets”
I know exactly the weights this guy is talking about. I think most of us grew up with them right? They were basically cement weights covered in plastic, and over time the plastic busted up and the cement started to get busted underneath remember?
I guess I’m showing my age 
Anyways
YES! You can build strength and power with archaic equipment!
You just need someone to show you how. Luckily you met me. And luckily I just read most of Dan John’s awesome “From the Ground Up”.
In this outstanding little ebook Dan John explains the “Rapid Ascent Program”, which contains three workouts:
1. Pull Move
2. Press Move
3. Squat Move
And here’s how you did the program (from his book):
“The program was very simple. First, groups of four boys were given a bar. The bars were weighted from very lightmaybe 25 poundsup to perhaps close to 100 pounds. Each cohort of boys would lift one at a time, put the bar down, then the next boy would lift. The four would constantly move from lifter to watcherthe bar never stopped. The three sets (explained in just a moment) would not take very longin fact, sometimes it was hard to catch your breath in time for your next set.
The repetitions were incredibly simple
* Set Number 1 — 8 repetitions
* Set Number 2 — 6 repetitions
* Third set: 4 repetitions
The goal was simple: once you got all 18 reps (8+6+4), you added weight. If you started with a bar that was excessively light, the succeeding workout, you would be bumped up to the next weight and a stronger group. (Needless to say, actual variations could include making a whole new group with more weight, tooor whatever necessary to make the group work together).”
Sounds simple doesn’t it?
That’s the upside of this program!
You don’t need lots of equipment to build a hard body with muscles of steel… all while increasing your cardiovascular fitness and knocking out fat.
What you DO need is a little “do or die” perspective. You must make your mind up you surely WANT to reach your fitness goals, then you’ll find a way to utilize whatever equipment you have available to make it happen.
I like this program because it keeps up with the DoubleYourGains’ philosophy of training movement patterns instead of a bunch of exercises. The Rapid Ascent program has a press move (military press), a pull move (power clean), a squat move (front squat) and an explosive/hamstring move (power clean).
How to perform the “Rapid Ascent” program for cardio and fat loss:
Coach Dan points out that you could also get a great cardio workout and burn some fat:
“To “hurry up” the trainingas if it was required, there were times when Mr. Freeman advised bringing together the Power Clean and Military Pressesone clean and one press, repeated for a total of eight reps. This was completed with a lighter weight. One could also execute the Front Squats after the clean and presses, too. I have only done this onceand it was an incredible cardiovascular exercise.”
So if you believe you don’t have enough equipment to get into your best shape and reach your fitness goals you are incorrect. You are incorrect. You are incorrect.
As a matter of fact, you don’t even need a barbell. You can be on your way with the DoubleYourGains’ bodyweight program. You can do pullups on your door frame (for extra strong fingers) or just grab the top of a door and go to town (or a tree limb, anything you can hang from, and all that) Believe me, if THAT workout gets easy for you - you will be a certified STUD.
After that, as soon as you get hold of good Olympic barbell set you can start the DoubleYourGains’ 3-5 Program.
Achieve Muscle Weight Gain Quickly with HIIT
December 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment
I bet you’ve heard it repeatedly: you can’t build muscle up and burn fat at the same time. They say that building mass involves an increase in calories, while fat burning involves a decrease in calories. This old school wisdom is based partially in fact, but the concepts are being tossed on their ears with insights into interval-based workouts. The fact is, you can accomplish muscle weight gain at the same time as you burn fat if you add intervals to your workouts.
Interval training isn’t new, but it’s more widely understood, accepted, and practiced in recent years. While traditional cardiovascular activities were considered the only efficient ways to shed weight, and the only acceptable workouts for endurance athletes, high intensity interval training (HIIT) has been shown to be advantageous to athletes in all fields, and for folks with varying goals.
Standard cardio activity is often referred to as “steady state,” which essentially means that you work up to a certain intensity level and maintain that level throughout the training session. During the training session, your body gets 50 percent of its energy through your fat stores, and gets the remainder through your oxygen system, and by dipping into your glycogen and muscle deposits.
Interval sessions, conversely, consist of short maximum intensity intervals followed by lower intensity rest periods. HIIT sessions are muscle sparing and are quick, but pack a wallop. A fifteen-minute HIIT session can raise your base metabolism for almost 24 hours, enabling you to continue burning higher levels of fat for up to a day.
On top of this, because your muscles consume calories during every minute of the day, the more lean mass you have, the more fat you burn, even while you’re sleeping. Because HIIT not only spares your muscle, but also helps you build muscle up, your future fat burning ability is increased.
The bottom line is that regardless of your fitness goals, HIIT workouts can help you increase your overall fitness level with very short sessions. Better still, if your goals include muscle building and fat shedding, adding HIIT to your workout schedule is a no-brainer.
Exercises For The Mini Trampoline
December 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Exercises on the mini trampoline are a good way to help you lose weight and keep fit. To achieve optimal results, these exercises should be done three to four times a week. In addition to exercise, healthy diet is necessary to see best results.
To prevent injuries and muscle pull, do warm up exercises before starting to exercise on the mini trampoline. Warm up ensures that the muscles are ready to work. Cool down exercises after the workout help muscles wind down after hard work.
Trampoline contact bounce is a good warm up and cool down exercise. To perform contact bounce, keep your feet shoulder-width apart with slightly bent knees and hands on the waistline. Keeping this position, begin to bounce gently without feet leaving the mat.
Another very effective warm up exercise is the trampoline foot tap in which you keep your body in the position used for the contact bounce and shift your weight to one side. Then tap your one foot out to the opposite side and start bouncing steadily.
Now the best exercise to start with is the lower body stretch. In this exercise you place your feet shoulder-width apart and put your hands behind your back. Now, bend over as if you were going to touch your toes. Hold this position for thirty seconds and repeat the movement ten times.
Another effective exercise is the floor stretch. To do this exercise, sit on the floor with legs stretched apart. While keeping that position, pull your torso towards one thigh. Hold the position for thirty seconds and repeat on the other side.
For people who want to exercise to lose weight knee raise is the perfect work out. While bouncing, begin to raise one knee just above your waistline. Repeat this movement ten times on each knee and then resume back into a steady contact bounce.
After completing your mini trampoline exercises you should do the cool down exercises to prevent unwanted injuries. If you use this trampoline weight loss program along with a healthy meal plan, you will begin to see a steady weight loss within six to eight weeks.
Does exercise to make yourself feel better?
December 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment
People are always being warned about the health benefits of exercising, mainly the improvement and maintenance of physical fitness and the prevention of heart disease, blood pressure illness, and diabetes. Countless others do not,while many of us happily comply. Irrespective of whether it is using the treadmill or short walk around the block, staying fit and healthy does not seem to be a driver for us to leave the comfort of the couch.
I believe that if more emphasis were placed on the mental benefits of exercising, more people would exercise. If you tell someone that doing a little bit of exercise might improve their well-being, said person might be more willing to actually exercise in order to improve mood, fitness, and health. While this is not logical, it is the way peoples minds work. It is likely that when you are not feeling good about yourself, you are not motivated to take on any long term physical challenges and goals.
It is a much easier task to motivate people to exercise to improve their moods. About ten minutes of moderate exercise will have a positive effect on a persons mental state, putting them in a better mood, making them feel more energetic and less tired. On the other side, you can not expect to get good results from exercise (exercise along with healthiness) unless you commit to at least thirty minutes of moderate but regular exercise a day, for however long it takes ,usually forever, since ceasing to exercise altogether is not good for your health or physical well-being..
Research has shown that exercising exerts its effects on the brain in several ways, including something called neurogenesis the development of nerve tissue) and endorphin release, which is believed to enhance a persons mood. Your body warns of stress and pain through the release of endorphines from your pituitary gland. which is precisely what exercise means to many people. Sense they stop the transmission of pain signals going to the brain and give off the same feeling of euphoria, endorphins which are all said to be natural feel good chemicals. An improvement in the moods of patients experiencing depression who have been given Beta-endorphin injections has been reported by researchers. Serotonin, adrenaline and dopamine, which are all released by your body when you perform exercises, these all work together so that you naturally boost your mood - almost instantly.
“Endorphin” literally refers to morphine that the human body manufactures. For what reason? Well, because the chemical structure of endorphins is similar to that of morphine and because, like morphine, they prevent you from feeling pain. Morphine and endorphins act upon the same brain receptors. Exercise not only releases endorphins throughout the body in the bloodstream you will find that you have had a significant reduction in cortisol, tension and anxiety as a result.
The most significant thing is that it’s not necessary to spend large amounts of time exercising. A moderate amount of exercise will significantly improve your mood. In addition to these natural chemical processes, exercise can, of course, improve your self-image, boost your confidence and distract you from everyday worries, making you a happier person on the long run.
Switch of the television and go for a quick walk. You will definitely feel better, a lot better, so much that you just might want to do it again the next time you are feeling bored or low, and possibly do it again the next time. There will become a point that you may notice an improvement in your mental well being as well as your physical.