Strengthen Your Back and Abdominal Muscles With 2 Simple Exercises

There are two key areas in the body that most people tend to ignore. They are your abdominal or core muscle groups and your back muscles. These two muscle groups are very important and should not be ignored.

Your abdominals are groups of complex muscles that run along the side and middle of your abdominal area. Your abdominals are used in some way every time you move your body. They support the spinal column and ensure it maintains its unique S shape. A strong abdominals will ensure you move efficiently and effectively. With a strong central core you will reduce your risk of injury when doing strenuous physical activities or lifting heavy weights. A strong and flexible back is also essential to a healthy functioning body. It ensures you have a good posture to avoid back pain.

The following are two great exercises that you can use straight away to build a stronger back and abdominal muscles.

The Spine Plank

This is a variation of the traditional plank exercises however, rather than facing down your body is facing upwards. The supine technique targets your glutes, the stabiliser muscles in back as well as your shoulder muscles.

To begin the exercise lay with your back against the surface of the floor. Raise your upper torso by extending and straightening your arms. Extend your legs out in a straight line. At this point your whole body weight should be supported by your arms and the heels of each foot. Keep a steady straight line from your neck to your feet. Gaze upwards towards the ceiling. Hold the position for as long as you can.

Balancing On An Exercise Ball

As the title suggests you will need an exercise or Swiss ball for this routine. This exercise will give your core muscles a good work out.

You need to be kneeling on the ball with your back and torso straight and with your arms fully extended outwards. It can be a little tricky to get to this position especially if you are doing it for the first time. It is advisable that you find someone who can support you while you position yourself on the ball. Alternatively, use the side of a wall for support while you acquire the desired position. Once you are at the kneeling position you have to maintain your balance as steady as you can. However, gravity and the ball will be working against you. In the beginning you will have to constantly adjust in order to keep steady.

Make sure you do a warm up before doing any physical exercises. Always consult a doctor or physician for advice before doing any new exercise program if you have a medical condition or injury.

5 Fun Ways to Burn 200 Calories

When you want to lose weight, reducing calorie intake is one part, but also consider burning some extra calories through activity. There are many ways to burn 200 calories for example, you do not necessarily need to go to the gym or go for a run. Often people are dreading doing some exercise but do not consider that also any other activity that makes you break a little sweat can increase your overall energy expenditure for that day. So, let's have a look how we can increase our metabolism while having fun at the same time.

1) Ice skating burns 200 calories in 20 minutes

When have you last been ice skating? Yes, I know it seems we don't have these winters any more that we remember from our childhood. Ice cold weather, blue sky, some snow and the lakes are frozen. At those times we were dying to get out there and it really was fun! Now, you don't need to wait for the next winter as I am sure there is some indoor ice skating available close to you. Find out where and take your whole family!

2) Inline Skating burns 200 calories in 25 minutes

This is somewhat similar to Ice Skating, but the good part is you do not have to do it in the cold! Just go out, put you inline skaters on and off you go. Locate very smooth tarred roads, that will make it lot's of fun and you really can get quite fast on inline skates, so better don't forget to wear protection!

3) Dance for 30 minutes to burn 200 calories

Now you know what all the time spend in the night clubs was good for after all! You might not have found the love of your life, but at least you had burned some calories while trying to impress to opposite sex. For burning those extra calories you don't need to spend money on the entrance fee, just put on some good music and shake you body!

4) Go shopping for 60 minutes to burn 200 calories

Girls, you can do this, can't you! And now you don't even need an excuse any more, just off you go to burn some extra calories. Your partners surely would want you to be slim and toned?

5) Play Frisbee for 60 minutes to burn 200 calories

This feels of course a bit more like exercise than shopping, but it really can be fun. So when you next time go to the beach or pack your picnic basket to go to the park, remember to take that Frisbee disk with you. Even your dog might join in!

Want more? Here are 50 ways to burn 200 calories

Permanent Weight Loss - The Secret the Diet Companies Don't Want You to Know

The weight loss/diet industry is a multi-billion dollar industry. Judging by the myriads of commercials and ads we're constantly inundated with, it appears that all they want to do is help us lose weight. In reality, they have no interest in helping you lose weight - they're in it to make money on you. Lots of money.

You see, they know that the odds of someone losing weight with their products and keeping it off are astronomical. But they'll never tell you that. Think about it - when was the last time you saw a weight loss commercial that showed their spokesperson 10 years after they started the diet? Or even 5 years.

It's no different from those "become a millionaire in real estate" commercials you see late at night. The fine print is always the same as with weight loss products: "Results are not typical".

Don't get me wrong - you can actually lose weight with diet products/plans, but that's not what the main issue is. The issue is, how do you keep it off? Because there is a secret to keeping it off that most people aren't aware of. This is the secret that the weight loss giants will suppress at any cost, because should it become common knowledge, they would all go out of business.

I want you to pay really close attention to what you are about to read, because it will change the way you diet forever.

First, let's kill off a myth: You do not get fat because you don't exercise. It's simply not true. You get fat because you don't eat the right foods at the right intervals every day. And that is a lot easier to do that than it sounds. In fact, if you ignore this little fact, you'll end up storing most of the calories you eat as fat tissue - no matter how much you exercise and starve yourself in between.

Another shocking fact: Using a low calorie diet is pointless. Did you get that? I'll say it again - it is pointless. Period.

Why? 

Because your own metabolism's response to ANY drop in calories is to READJUST ITSELF to burn fewer calories each day.

Example: Let's say you drop your intake from 4000 to 2,500 calories per day. Your metabolism will promptly adjust itself so that your body now starts to burn only 2,500 calories per day.

This is why your diets always fail in the long run. It's the same reason why your friends can eat 3000 calories a day and not gain any weight, while you gain weight by eating 800 calories a day. But it doesn't have to be that way.

The system behind this knowledge has been nick named "Fat loss for idiots", because this 10-step system to permanent weight loss is so basic and simple that literally anyone can do it. It is the end of dieting and the beginning of something you didn't think was possible: Permanent weight loss.

Click here to learn those 10 steps to permanent weight loss.

How To Stay Motivated, The Key To Keeping Fit

Being fit and healthy is a very invigorating feeling, and being in a fit and healthy state of mind is a very liberating feeling. The thing with being fit and healthy is that you may not necessarily realize how fit you are until you lose that fitness which depending on your level of fitness and the dedication you show to keep in fit can appear to happen very suddenly.

Fitness is like anything in life, the more you put in the more you get out, but where fitness is concerned there are subtle little departments within what we understand about fitness that all help to make up the bigger picture. We all have different levels of fitness and likewise we all have different expectations about being fit and healthy.

The best way of describing levels of fitness is "fit for purpose". For instance, if you intend running in marathon in six months time it would be foolhardy to attempt to get your fitness to an adequate level to compete successfully by running around the local park once a week, and likewise if you are just starting out on the road to fitness and you want to go for a run do not expect your body to be too willing to oblige if you choose to go for a ten mile run.

You need to be realistic in your goals and targets with fitness, whether it is simply to achieve weight loss or whether you need an increased level of fitness for a sporting event. Setting yourself a goal will also help you to keep motivated as well as give pointers as to whether you should be training harder. If you are new to keeping fit or have not trained in quite a while I would always recommend consulting a doctor before you start a training plan.

If you are keeping fit to lose weight you will have to be realistic with your targets and accept that there may be a time when things do not appear to be going to plan. Losing weight is about more than keeping fit but exercising but exercising is a massively crucial part of the overall plan. To lose weight you need to remember some very important points; do not starve yourself, eat correctly and wisely and as long as you burn more calories than you put into your body you will succeed.

Many people who go to diet clubs expect long term results, a diet alone will not work in the long term, a good healthy diet is always recommended but your body will find a level within that diet and stay there. Very few diet clubs promote exercise or at least have a plan for exercise for you, this is because if you start losing weight by exercising what are the chances of you paying to go back to a diet club each week?

If you are struggling to know where to start with keeping fit as well as knowing what to eat I would recommend researching anywhere but diet clubs, at least to start with. Look on the inter web and try to find fitness trainers online who will be able to give you pointers and tips regarding food and exercise as well as giving you motivational tips to help you stay on track. Many online fitness trainers will have a records and results section that you can log into to store any measurements you may want to take and keep to help you monitor your progress.

The trick with keeping fit and staying healthy is to stick with it, do not be disheartened if things do not appear to going to plan, your body is in life for the long haul so you need to keep your mind in the same set.

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How to Lose 10 Pounds in a Week - 8 Proven Tips That Helped Me to Lose 10 Pounds in One Week

I desperately needed to lose weight for my wedding. I have lost 13 pounds on the first week, and 10 pounds on the second. This is quite a short time for losing weight, and not very healthy, I know. However, this quick weight loss success was a kick-start for my weight loss journey, and it motivated me to keep losing weight, following natural and healthy methods later. I am going to share every single step I followed on the second week, that helped me to lose 10 pounds in 7 days.

Please keep in mind that extremely fast weight loss is never healthy.

Here are the steps I followed after the first 7 days, to lose 10 pounds in a week:

1) First, I had a day of detox - to cleanse my body and lose weight even faster. I prepared a drink of lemon juice, ginger and honey mixed with water, and drank this detox drink during the day. Whenever hungry, I just drank it. I felt good, as I normally do, no cramps, no lack of energy, nothing. This was not hard at all, and I am sure it boosted my weight loss results. I know some people do the whole week of detox, but this is not for me.

2) I limited the amounts of foods, because I really needed to lose weight so fast. I had plenty of vegetables, lean meat, fish, eggs, and some fruits (mostly apples and oranges). My new rule of eating was this: half of the plate should be veggies (just tried to avoid too much potato), ¼ of the plate - white meat or fish, and the rest can be fruit (no bananas because they are too sweet and starchy). I know that eating less is not always an option for a long lasting weight loss. But it surely is an option for fast weight loss, and that`s what my goal was. An easier way to reduce the amount of food is to get a smaller plate. However, eating less was pretty hard, I admit. But I reached my goal, and I am so happy now.

3) I added 2 apples an one can of black beans to my daily diet. I had the beans as my main meal, or split them into 2 smaller meals and had with veggies on the side. This is a trick that no diets tell. And it works wonders, because 35 grams of fiber in a daily diet truly supercharges weight loss. These fibers clean the digestive tract and improve digestion.

4) I started to eat breakfast and stopped eating at night. 7 PM was the latest time of the day when I had my dinner. Breakfast boosted my metabolism and helped me to burn calories faster, although I never believed it could be so important for weight loss. It kept me energized as well. I got at least 10 glasses of water during the day, and I still do - water cleanses the body, increases metabolic rate, and does not let you feel hungry.

5) I distributed my usual calorie intake during the day. I started to eat 5 times a day, having smaller meals. This way I never had to go hungry.

6) I limited fat, sweet and not so healthy food, and whenever I felt like I need to eat something unhealthy, I moved those meals to the first part of the day. Because metabolism is higher in the morning compared to the evening, and this let me eat a donut or ice cream once every few days.

7) Instead of drinking juice, I had a fresh fruit every time. Juice is too sweet for weight loss, if you`re thirsty, get some water or unsweetened green tea.

8) I kept myself motivated and busy all the time. I know that when you`re busy, you have no time to go to the kitchen. This works wonders.

This plan might sound too simple to lose 10 pounds in a week - but follow this plan religiously, and you will see real results.

If you would like to know how I lost even more weight on the first week, make sure you grab the Free weight loss guide packed with many incredible proven tips, at the lose 10 pounds in a week website! You would actually have to TRY to mess it up and not to lose weight by following those steps!

Best Lower Ab Workout - How to Blast the Lower Abs

Finding the best lower ab workout is not always an easy thing to do. It can be frustrating to keep trying to work the lower abs if you feel like you are not doing it right.

In this article, you will learn what it takes to have the best lower ab workout around.

Before we get into 3 exercises, it is important that you understand some basics about training the lower abs.

The first thing that you should understand is that just working the lower abs will not result in losing fat in that area. In order to lose fat in that area, you need to lose fat all over your body. This is how basic fat loss works. If you have a lot of fat to lose, then the best lower ab workout in the world won't do the trick all by itself. The same goes for someone who just has to lose the last few pounds.

The good news is that doing a great lower ab workout safely and effectively will help to strengthen your core, as well as tone those muscles up for when you are in the single digits with body fat percentage =)

Losing fat all over your body requires that you do the right combination of strength training (don't worry you will not get big and bulky), a special type of cardio called interval training, and most important, have a great diet.

Once you have those things under control, your fat loss efforts will be guaranteed.

But you came to this page looking for the best lower ab workout around, so here are a few exercises you can try right now.

Remember that training your abs is different than training other muscles. If you were working your biceps, you might try doing 3 sets of 10 reps for a few different exercises. For your lower abs, you will want to do a special sequence of exercises with little rest in between. This is called abdominal circuit training.

Here are some of the best lower ab exercises to try:

1. Alternating Supine Leg Walks

Start off by laying on your back with your hands under your buttocks. Lift your legs so they are vertical. Contract your abs so your midsection is tense.

Then, lower 1 leg so your foot is a few inches from the ground. Hold there for about 1 second, then return that leg to the starting position. Alternate which leg you lower.

Try a reps and really try to feel the lower abs working.

2. Supine Reverse Crunches

Start off by laying on your back with your hands under your buttocks. Lift your legs so they are vertical, then bend your knees at a 90 degree angle. Contract your abs so your midsection is tense.

Keeping your knees bent at the same angle, slowly lower them until the back of your feet are a few inches above the ground. Then, bring your knees up towards your chest and really squeeze your abs while doing this.

Repeat.

3. Leg Lifts

Start off by laying on your back with your hands under your buttocks. Lift your legs so they are vertical.

Contract your midsection by engaging the upper abs.

Then, lower both legs so that the back of your feet are right above the ground. After holding that position for a few second, return your legs to the vertical position.

Repeat.

All three of those exercises are part of getting the best lower ab workout possible. If you have any lower back problems at all, you should not hesitate to see a doctor for exercise advice. Now you know the basic components of having one of the best lower ab workouts. Remember your safety comes first!

Good luck, and remember to keep learning and stay persistent. =)

Hi, this is Tom, the author of this article. I recently went through an intense 9 week fat loss phase using a program written by a good friend of mine. You can check out the website and the rest of the story here: http://www.mywarpspeedfatlossreview.com. He used this program to go from 7% body fat to 17% body fat in only 9 weeks!

Little Known Workout That Gets You in Shape and Melts Fat Really Fast

Everybody that tries to get in shape and lose fat starts with the normal exercises and routines but after a while it becomes boring and so many drop out of the program, and quickly start putting on fat layers again. For the people who tend to get bored by the same routine it's a good idea to try something different from time to time, more so if the new exercise is even better at fat burning than the previous one.

I'm going to reveal to you a very simple exercise that you can do almost everywhere, anytime and which is guaranteed to melt your fat and to get you in shape faster than most of the conventional exercises that you do in the gym or at home. In order to do this simple training you need just one mundane thing: some stairs. Yeah, that's right, stairs! By correctly doing a stair exercise regularly you'll get in shape, lose weight, fell great and look even better.

Here's a simple idea of a stair exercise that you can practice in your own building, at your work place or in any other building that has a staircase. The easiest routine you can implement is the following: first just walk up to the top floor at your normal pace and when you reach it do a bit of stretching. Then take the elevator down and start again, but this time a bit faster. At the top, take the elevator down again and repeat the process several times increasing your speed each time. You'll notice that you'll get a complete workout this way; it's very demanding on your body as you increase speed and do more repetitions.

Try to make this exercise at least two times a week and every time note just how many times you made it up the stairs. You'll see that after a while, as you get fitter, you'll be able to increase the number of repetitions. You're whole body will benefit from a workout and you'll loose pounds faster than before. A fun way to implement this training is to have a friend train with you. You could then make small contests like who can climb the staircase the most number of times or who can climb the staircase 3 times in a row in the shortest time. You could also bring your dog along so you both can get some exercise in the same time.

The battle with extra pounds is not easy, so click on the following link and find out how to lose fat really fast.

PERFECT YOUR POSTURE

Here is an article i found on the mens health website i thought might be of interest to people as a few of us struggle with this.

Perfect your posture


Correct your posture in 5 minutes flat

Sitting hunched over a keyboard for 10 hours a day doesn't just strain your soul, it trains your muscles and connective tissues to adapt to that position. So when you finally break free you're walking around like a mad scientist's assistant.



But salvation for your slump is at hand in the shape of an exercise which sounds, rather unpromisingly, like a straight-to-DVD action flick: the Prone Cobra.



How to do it: Lie face-down, arms by your sides, palms down. Contract the muscles in your glutes and lower back to raise your torso and legs off the floor. At the same time, rotate your arms back till your thumbs point toward the ceiling. Hold this position for 60 seconds, rest for 60. Do 3 sets.



Try it in the office with a couple of pens up your nose and you may even score some sick leave.

Diet to Build Muscle and Lose Fat - How to Get in Shape in 8 Weeks

If you are looking for a diet to build muscle and lose fat then this article will show you how. We outline an 8 week program to deliver your results, though to have some long term success the plan has to become your lifestyle. This way you will be in shape all year round apart from the occasional holidays where we all treat ourselves to some junk food and desserts etc. Then just get back on the program to get quickly in shape again.


Using this 8 week action plan you will be able to build muscle and lose fat with the tips we give you:

Building muscle - Without doubt the quickest way to build muscle is to become stronger, the stronger you are the stronger you will also look. Do barbell exercises for the major muscle groups ie; squats, bench press, shoulder press, deadlifts, bent over rows, barbell curls etc. Learn the exercise form correctly and increase the weight gradually one week at a time. This is great exercise for weight loss too.

Quality Nutrition - This plays a massive part in getting stronger and building quality muscle. You'll also burn fat as long as you keep your meals healthy.

Protein - Meat, poultry, eggs and fish etc. Whey protein shakes with water are great to boost your protein intake.

Fats - Olive oil, saturated fats and fish oils. Great sources of Omega 3.

Vegetables - Focus on the green vibrous ones.

Fruit - Apples, oranges, and low GI berry fruits like strawberries/raspberries etc.

Whole grains - Wheat bread, wholemeal rice, wholemeal pasta.

Water - A minimum of 8 - 10 glasses per day plus your workout water. Water is great for removing fat storing toxins.

Try to eat foods that come in their natural state and avoid foods that come out of a box. Limit your junk food to once a week and stop drinking soda. If your looking for a coffee replacement there are lots of delicious flavored herbal teas to drink. These tips are going to make a huge difference in a short period of time.


 Lose your fat - Strength training exercises will build up your muscles while burning your body fat, its a win - win situation. If you are either impatient or have a lot of fat to lose then here's some helpful tips:


Cardiovascular exercise - After your strength training do 30 minutes of cardio. Keep the intensity low and do this 3 x per week. After week 2 include some interval training to speed up the fat burning process if need be. If you prefer to go outside then running to lose weight is also very effective.


Cut your calories - Start out by eating your current body weight in lbs x 18. One week later cut down on 500 calories. If you lost weight that week eat the same amount of calories. If you never lost weight cut back on another 500 calories.


Getting weighed - Don't get obsessed by the scales. Weigh yourself once a week on the same day, first thing in the morning naked. Take cm measurements and measure yourself once a week. The tape measure and your clothes are the best guide that you are losing weight because you are doing strength training with this program.


Golden rule - Never starve yourself with this diet to build muscle and lose fat. If you don't eat your body will naturally store fat. Plan 5 small meals per day and if you struggle with that because of work etc then use protein shakes as a quick fix. Protein keeps you fuller longer too.


 Motivation - The best way to stay motivated is to set goals and track your progress accurately. Put up a good sized vision board in your house where you can see it everyday.

Nobody ever said that a diet to build muscle and lose fat would be easy to follow. We all can get side tracked occasionally. The good news is with discipline and consistency we can all achieve our goals.


If you are serious about building quality muscle and burning off your unwanted fat and would like a simple step-by step plan to follow, please visit http://www.trainingsecretsrevealed.info

Best Tricep Exercises - Top 3 Exercises For Big Triceps

By now, we all know that if you want big arms, you have to train your triceps. As the name indicates, the triceps consist of 3 parts while the biceps consist of only 2. Simply based on that fact, it's foolish to neglect doing your tricep exercises as they make up the majority of your upper arm.



The 3 parts of the triceps are the medial head, lateral head and the long head. You can specifically target certain parts of the triceps through your exercise selection. However, the best tricep exercises for mass are ones that recruit all 3 heads. All 3 heads of the triceps are recruited when you're using a heavy load.


The best tricep exercises to add mass are the ones that allow you to utilize a lot of weight. Based on that, you'd want to replace the tricep kickback exercise with skull crushers or close grip presses. Below is a listing of 3 best tricep exercises for adding size to your arms.


Best Tricep Exercises 1: Decline Skull Crushers


I had been doing skull crushers for years using a flat bench before I saw the decline version in one of Tudor Bompa's conditioning manuals. In the book (serious strength training), Bompa and his colleagues did an study to determine the most effective exercises for each body-part. They determined the effectiveness of the exercises based on the recruitment of motor units. Without getting too detailed, an increased recruitment of motor units equates to an increased recruitment of muscle fibers. The decline skull crusher exercise triggered the greatest training response and therefore, it tops the list of the best tricep exercises.


Best Tricep Exercises 2: Weighted Dips


Your triceps are at their strongest when your elbow is positioned below your shoulder. What makes dips one of the best tricep exercises is that the favourable alignment of the arm enables you to lift a lot of weight. When performing dips on the parallel bars, keep the torso upright to optimally target the triceps as the more you lean forward, the more the chest will be involved in the movement.


Best Tricep Exercises 3: Close Grip Underhand Bench Press


This is also one of the best tricep exercises. You'll most likely need a spotter to help you get the barbell off the rack. It may feel awkward at first but after a couple sets, you'll get used to it and it'll feel natural. Keep in mind that for this version, you should bring the barbell down towards your sternum rather then the middle to upper portion of your chest as you would with the regular bench press exercise.

So there you have it. 3 of the best tricep exercises for you to implement into your workout routines.