Weight training is often the focus of those who want to increase strength and provide definition of muscles in targeted areas of the body.   While cardio exercise is also important to health, weight training is the winning strategy for changing your appearance.

Muscle tone is especially important when you are dieting.   It’s not enough to simply lose the ring of fat around your middle.  You want to replace that belly fat with strong, toned muscles.  A good weight loss supplement that targets abdominal fat is the best choice.

Health advantages to weight training go far beyond muscle tone.  The exercises help boost your metabolic rate and increase your endurance during physical activities.   They also strengthen bones and help prevent injury.

Training with weights also improves your balance and coordination.   It makes sense that stronger muscles would center your body for balance and allow controlled movement that is streamlined and more graceful.

To begin weight training, use a weight that will allow you to complete the repetitions necessary but will be difficult to lift for the last part of the training routine.  Within just a few days you will notice your body becoming stronger and more resilient. My preferred series of repetition during sets follows 1of 3 patterns

1.    Maintenance and strengthening (10,10, 8,5,3). This pattern is great for maintaining and improving muscle tone. The first set is a warm up, while the last should be close to your maximum lift. Also, the 8 and the 5 should certainly be difficult, but you should be able to get through them without a problem.
2.    Muscle increase (10,5,3,8,10). These sets are great for really straining your muscles, tearing individual sarcomeres (muscle cells), thus stimulating hyperplasia and hypertrophy. Remember, proper diet and sufficient proteins are of paramount importance in increasing muscle mass. The First set is a warm up, but the second “5” should be seriously heavy weight for you. The “3’ should be your “max”. Make sure to have a spotter to get the best benefit from these sets. The last two sets are designed to “burn out” the muscles and build muscle unit endurance. This should be weight that you would normally do earlier in a conventional maintenance set.

When the weights become easy to lift, it’s time to change the exercise routine.   You may do this by adding more weight, adding more repetitions or changing to a different body position.   For those new to weight training, the initial weight might be used for the first month and more weight added the second month.   During the third month you may choose to use a different type of resistance or increase repetitions.

When adding more weight you need just enough to balance the increased strength you built with the previous weight limit.   If you must swing a weight to accomplish the reps, it’s too heavy.   The goal is to use your limit of strength to accomplish the repetitions necessary with nothing left over.

The changes made to weight training routines are based on your goals for the exercise.  Adding more and more weight will lead to stronger (and larger) muscles but bulk may not be your goal.

Adding more repetitions to your exercise without more weight will strengthen muscles without bulking up.   For the most effective weight loss it’s best to vary the routine by adding more weight for some exercises and more reps for others.

Weight training should not be rushed.   The days when you rest your body are important in reaching your goals.   If you choose to work out several days in a row, target a different group of muscles each day to allow previously worked muscle groups to recover and change.  The results from weight training are due to taxing a muscle group and then allowing time for rest before stressing those same muscles again.

A warm up period is required before beginning your exercise routine as warm muscles are more flexible and less likely to be injured.  A simple cardio exercise and a few light repetitions is enough to prepare for your exercise session

The warm up also prepares you mentally for the training to come.   Focus on posture, don’t hold your breath and focus on slow controlled body movements using the range of motion necessary for the exercise.

Combined with a healthy diet and good weight loss supplement, weight training will transform your body.  While your muscles gain strength and become sleek and defined your self-confidence makes a giant leap as you see and feel the results of your efforts.

Burn Off your Flab with Anti Fat Pills:  Combined with Diet and Exercise, Fat Pills Can Work for You

Whether you call them anti fat pills, diet supplements or dietary aids, there is no magic pill you can take that does not require some thought and effort on your part to show significant weight loss.

No magic fat pill will melt away love handles or a fat tummy.   Taking a pill alone will not streamline your thighs or tighten your derriere.   A good, high quality diet supplement will ease hunger pangs that can lead to afternoon snacking or late night forays to the refrigerator.

The best anti fat pill will provide support for the health of your body as you follow a diet plan that includes good nutrition with a regular program of exercise.   By supporting the health of your cells, helping your body process sugar and providing ingredients that boost your metabolism, Of all the weight loss and anti-fat pills that we reviewed, cutting edge combination supplements best support and enhances your health as you lose weight without stimulants that boost you up only to crash a couple hours later.

At the end of your weight loss plan, you want to feel more than “thin”.   You want to be healthy and full of energy that will motivate you to maintain your new slender silhouette.

Obesity is a growing problem in our society that cannot be ignored.   If you are overweight, you can easily become uncomfortable.   Bending over to pick up something you dropped is not easy.   You may feel awkward and hate to shop for clothes or even go dancing with your spouse.

When you are overweight you are the one who suffers and you are the only person who can rid yourself of those extra pounds.   You may be pleased to learn the old diets that make you feel deprived and depressed are no longer recommended by nutritionists.

Losing weight is about making choices, not about will power.    If you think about it, changing your eating habits isn’t the end of the world as you know it.   It’s a new way of living that will allow you to feel better both emotionally and physically.

Big may be beautiful, but it’s not healthy.   Some cancers, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and other serious medical problems have been proven by scientific studies to be closely linked with obesity.

It is truly amazing that simply by losing the extra 50 pounds you carry you can reduce your risk of heart problems and diabetes immediately.   That is close to a medical miracle if you think about it.  Drop the Big Mac and the fries and choose a salad and shrimp.   Clear your pantry of potato chips and processed snacks and fill a celery stick with low fat peanut butter instead.

There are no magic pills – anyone that makes a claims of instant weight loss without some attention on your part are just fooling dieters.   However, Some products will offer diet tips and consult with you if needed to boost your weight loss by adjusting your diet plan.   Many of us groan when we think of dieting, imagining ourselves starving or eating nothing but rabbit food.   The reality is that you don’t have to give up every food you love to lose weight.   You need to make substitutions by choosing food for nutritional value rather than from bad eating habits formed years ago.

Starting to exercise even if you only take a long brisk walk every day will boost your diet efforts and help your body process food efficiently.   Certain weight loss supplements can help by stopping hunger pangs and by boosting the fat burning capacity of your system to get rid of abdominal fat while increasing your energy with safe, all-natural ingredients.

When looking for the best weight loss supplement to support your dieting efforts, it’s important to understand the components of a top weight loss aid and the health effects of the ingredients used to formulate the supplement.

The goal in choosing a weight loss supplement is to provide support for your diet and exercise goals.   It’s easy to forget that simple goal when you begin reading sales pages that advertise various diet supplement products.

So often products advertised for weight loss seem more focused on wild promises than on serious discussions about diet support provided by the product.  It is easy to become carried away with the professionally written sales copy that promises a huge burst of energy or to cure or claims to prevent major diseases.

The burst of energy may be only the effect of caffeine or other stimulant added to the product.   Energy from such ingredients is not sustainable and not natural.  It can lead to nervous jitters, a shaky or weak feeling and make the dieter feel depressed when the product wears off causing a total loss of energy.

If you are seriously focused on finding the best supplement to help you lose weight, you can’t afford to fall for slick sales copy.   If you think about it, the same problems some weight loss supplements claim to cure are problems caused by the extra weight you’ve been carrying.

When you are overweight, your heart works harder.   You are at risk of developing high blood pressure and at great risk of becoming diabetic.   Those health problems are common side effects of obesity.   What you need is to bring your weight under control and adopt a healthier diet and more active lifestyle.   When you accomplish your weight loss goals and have increased your level of physical activity, the chances of contracting these serious health problems is greatly reduced.

There are some ingredients that do promote healthy weight loss while supporting your overall health.   Some weight loss supplements such as Liporidex contain these natural ingredients.

Chromium and Manganese are minerals found in nature that help regulate blood glucose levels and are important for sugar metabolism.

CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) is proven to increase lean muscle mass especially in the abdominal area and contains powerful antioxidant properties.

The primary purpose of Soy Isoflavones is to reduce the gain of fat in the abdominal area but also acts as an antioxidant to boost the immune system.

Mucana Pruriens contains L-dopa, an amino acid, in significant amounts.  In Liporidex, L-dopa provides a mood stabilizer to curb emotional eating habits and restlessness.

Studies have shown Green Tea boosts the basal metabolic rate and increases the metabolism of fat.   Combined with high levels of antioxidants, green tea decreases cholesterol by slowing the release of carbohydrates.

The capsaicin in cayenne pepper increases heat product for a short time.   Studies have shown capsaicin improves weight loss by increasing metabolism and digestion.

Bitter Orange is a naturally occurring stimulant.  The lose dosage of Bitter Orange in Liporidex provides a slight increase in alertness and focus and a noticeable decrease in food cravings which can sabotage the most motivated dieter.

Choosing the best weight loss supplement requires careful attention to the ingredients included in each product.   One good choice is Liporidex, but whatever you choose, ensure that you know what’s in the product and that you understand how the different ingredients all work.

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a natural, polyunsaturated fatty acid. Beef is the richest source of CLA, but it is also found in other meats as well as in non-meat animal products. This fatty acid, found and proven to be a very powerful antioxidant, can be beneficial in weight loss regimens and also seems to have other more serious benefits to recommend its use.

First, studies have proven that CLA supplements not only help dieters lose weight, they also help to maintain weight loss. CLA also assists in establishing a safer and healthier fat/muscle ratio in the body. A side-benefit is the burning of abdominal fat, deemed to be the most dangerous fat in the body.

Second, CLA supplements appear to have benefits in lowering cholesterol and triglycerides, as well as in keeping the arteries clear. We all know the dangers of high cholesterol and triglycerides. We also know that keeping our arteries clear so that our heart does not have to work as hard to pump oxygen rich blood to all of our body parts is important as well.

Third, CLA does not damage Vitamin E or other vital nutrients, which allows them to fulfill their antioxidant potential within the body. CLA is considered to be a powerful antioxidant itself, providing necessary protection against damages caused by free radicals and other dangerous compounds found within the body. CLA in the heart muscle, for instance, is thought to strengthen it and protect it, not only from the normal wear and tear of living, but also from stress related damage.

Fourth, CLA may have anti-cancer properties. Additional studies have shown a reduction in benign and malignant tumors when CLA was supplemented in test rats. The cancers most widely studied and affected by CLA were breast, prostate, and metastatic lung cancer.

Additionally, CLA may have benefits for maintaining healthy bones. In our quest for weight loss, we may forget that we actually need some healthy fats. This is especially true for women. CLA, a beneficial, natural fatty acid may help to prevent some of the risks associated with an extremely low fat diet and the resulting bone loss. Many people jumped on the anti-fat wagon a few years ago. It is now known that there are actually good fats that are actually needed for optimum health and healthy weight loss. We are aware of the good Omega 3’s and what they can do for us. Now it is time for us to learn about CLA and its benefits.

Asking your body to work without food is like asking your car to keep running once its gauge says “empty”. It is just not going to happen. Your car needs fuel in the form of gasoline to work properly; your body needs fuel in the form of calories to run properly as well. Giving your body good fuel will allow it to work properly and will allow you to achieve not only better health, but the slow and steady weight loss that is actually sustainable and realistic. Starvation diets do not work for weight loss because starvation throws everything in the body out of balance, everything including your metabolism

Your metabolism is the rate at which your body uses the fuel that it gets for energy. In simpler terms, metabolism is how fast your body burns calories. Nearly everything that you eat or drink has calories. Calories are the unit used to measure the amount of energy that it takes to convert and use food for energy. If you eat more calories than your body needs to maintain its systems and to move around, you will store what is left in your fat cells; you will gain weight.

If you burn off too many calories and do not replace them, your body will seek energy from other sources which could include your own lean muscle tissues. While you do want to burn your fat for energy, you do not want to destroy muscle in the process. Weight loss then becomes a delicate balancing act of learning what is and what is not the right amount of calories to take in each day.

Starvation is not a normal state for your body to be in. To survive, the body will sense that it is in danger and will start shutting down the metabolism – it will not burn any fuel for energy. What will happen instead is simple: the body will hold on to every single calorie it receives, and when you do eat, your body will continue holding on. If you slow or stall your metabolism for long enough, you may find it very difficult to get it started again.

While your body is busy storing all of the new calories it is taking in, the cells will still need energy, but will be getting it from other sources. Again, the muscle tissue will be in danger of being burned off to use as fuel. Consider it this way: You buy a home and fill one room with beautiful furniture and another room with firewood. When winter comes you are cold, but you do not want to have to buy more firewood so you burn your furniture instead. It does not make sense, does it? Starving yourself is the same thing. You have your beautiful and strong muscles that enable you to move and be active, but you are trying to lose weight as well. So, instead of feeding your muscles and moving around more, you starve yourself, and just like in the house with the fuel and the furniture, you burn off what you need to keep, and keep what you need to burn off.

Now we all know that’s not right, so….

No more starvation!!

Heres a question that a friend asked me over on my facebook page. Of course, the answer was too long for facebook to display. Also, its a great question so I’m posting it here for everybody to discuss and learn from.

“Dr. Okwuje, Since you are a body builder, how can I build up my forearm muscle? After my thumb surgery I don’t have a lot of strength in my right forearm…Dr Garay says it will come in time, but I want to hurry it along a bit! I have been doing wrist curls? What do you think?”

Janis, in general there are Two things that dictate muscle mass, hence size AND “definition”.

1) Hyperplasia – an increase in the number of cells

2) Hypertrophy – an increase in the size of the muscle.

Hyperplasia tends to be controlled at a more central level, by expression of DNA, (diet, hormones, etc) This tends to respond slower to working out, but exercise is still important as molecular signalling processes act at this level.

Hypertrophy is the reaction to stretch and damage of individual muscle units. The result is that the muscle repairs itself and gets larger in the process assuming that there’s an adequate supply of dietary proteins (the building blocks) to support the growth.

Your forearm is composed of a bunch of different muscles but in in general the front are the wrist and arm flexors while the back are the wrist extenders. To develop stronger/larger forearm musculature, wrist curls are a great start.

However, I would also suggest the following.

1) Cable flys (chest) or any exercise that will require you to lock your wrist against extension resistance. Its great when you can use exercise for dual effect. By resisting extension, you’re in effect doing your wrist curls, but also hitting another muscle group!

2) Reverse curls. These target one of my favorite muscles – the brachioradialis. This is a forearm muscle (lateral forearm, next to elbow) that actually is a flexor of the forearm – not the wrist. You basically do a curl like you would for your biceps, but PRONATE your wrist, so that you look at your knuckles not your palm when you curl.

Typically you’ll be able to do less weight, so don’t be alarmed.

3) Ensure a proper diet rich in essential proteins.

I like to do 5 sets of increasing weight and decreasing reps. Usually 10, 10, 8, 5, 3. You want to ensure that the 5 and 3 are difficult.

As always, stretch out and train smart – there’s no hurry. This is a long-term game, not a sprint.

Every new diet program, book or weight-loss guru eventually mentions water, but only after touting their program, book or own personal fabulousness. They have the order backwards, I am afraid. Water is important to your weight-loss efforts, no matter what you are using, eating or doing. In fact, water should be mentioned at the start, middle and end of every diet book and program, regardless of who wrote them or what they are suggesting. Yes, water is that important.

Quick! What is the difference between feeling thirsty and feeling hungry? It may be harder to tell than you think and you may be reaching for a snack when all you need is a nice, big glass of water. The feelings of thirst and hunger may be similar because they are similar signals; they are both ways for the body to tell the brain that there is a need. If you cannot tell the difference between the two, stop and ask yourself a few questions.  When was the last time that I ate something? Did I eat enough then? Have I been exceptionally active between that meal and now? Should I really be hungry?  If you cannot say yes to most of those questions, start with some water and see if you still feel the same way.

Not drinking enough water will slow the digestion. In turn, the slower digestion will slow down the metabolism, which leads to stalled weight loss efforts. The body is in a constant state of searching for a very delicate balance called homeostasis. One thing thrown off kilter could put an entire system out of whack.

Digestion starts in the mouth. We chew our food, moistening it with saliva as we do. If you are not drinking enough water, you will not make enough saliva to lubricate your food and the result will be more work for the stomach to do. The stomach receives the food and churns up the stomach acid to further break down the food. The more work it must do, the more stomach acid must be produced and the longer it will stay in the stomach which could lead to heart burn and acid reflux. Not drinking enough water could lead to heartburn? Who knew?

If you are trying any kind of weight loss program, you do not want to do anything that will slow or stall your metabolism. Your body will take longer to digest the foods that you have already eaten. Your brain will not receive a signal for new food (hunger) for a while, so the fat burning furnace known as metabolism will be shut down. You will not lose weight at all, and in fact, you may gain as your body strives to hold onto every single calorie that comes through. A slowed metabolism is a dieter’s worst enemy, far worse than that chocolate cake you feared.

Drinking water keeps the body’s systems working in proper rhythm, including digestion and metabolism. In fact, consider this: you burn calories just by drinking water. Not a lot of calories mind you, but you do get the action started as your body works to use the water. If you drink ice cold water, you increase this calorie burn because your body must first work to warm the water before it can use it. The more you rev up your metabolism, the more efficiently your body will burn those calories, regardless of where they came from.

Did you know that Women between the ages of 20-55 have nearly double the Iron requirement as their male counterparts! While the daily requirement for males is 8mg/day, this can be as high as 18mg/day for women.

Another important fact is that the absorption of dietary iron is influenced by many factors – namely whether the iron is bound to hemoglobin, the concentration of iron and/or the presence of cofactors which can enhance or hinder iron absorption.

What do you think the best sources of iron are?

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