Reach Weight Loss Goals Now

Did you reach your weight loss goal this month? If not, you need to know why so you can make needed changes. You won't get different weight loss results if you continue to do the same things that have been unsuccessful.



Here is another question for you: Did you reach your fat loss goals for the month? You didn't set a fat loss goal? Big mistake! You should use your fat loss percentage to determine whether your body is really changing. If you are burning fat and losing inches, you are on the way to being successful with your weight loss and fat loss program.

You can weigh the same amount and still be successful! How? Burn body fat. If you weigh the same but your body fat percentage decreases by 10%, your body is changing to more lean and toned. Soon, you will begin to lose weight and it will stay off! As you build muscle mass, your body will shrink and your metabolism will speed up.

Here are some weight loss and fat loss tips to determine if you are on the path to success:

1. Check your body fat percentage every week to see if your body is shrinking. If the weigh scale doesn't change, you are doing the right things if your body fat percentage decreases.

2. Seek expert guidance if your way is not working. Personal trainers can be great sources to help you visualize goals, individualize workout programs and give you valuable feedback to make improvements.

3. Make sure you are eating enough food. Many of you have wrecked your metabolisms by eating too few calories during the day. If you have been eating 1000 calories a day for months and months, your body has shifted into survival mode and is storing body fat.

For instance, my basal metabolic rate (how many calories my body would burn if I did nothing all day) is about 2000 calories. If I eat 2000 calories and burn 500 calories through exercise and daily activity, I will still lose weight and burn fat (500 calorie deficit). If I starve myself and eat 1200 calories (1300 calorie deficit) day after day, my body will rebel and store body fat. A 1300 calorie deficit is too large (severe calorie restriction).

4. Is your workout program adequate. Are you working out hard enough? Are you over-training? You need the right mix of exercise and rest to be successful with weight loss and fat loss. Two to 3 days of weight training (30-40 minutes a session) and 2-3 days of interval cardio (20 minutes a session) will give you the workouts you need to be successful. Circuit weight training is a proven fat-burning method. Change up your workouts every 2-3 weeks to keep your body guessing.

5. Are you getting enough sleep? More and more, I am seeing clients who are not sleeping enough and resting too little (over-training). You need both for your metabolism to work properly. Most of us need 7-8 hours of sleep every night. And, you should not workout every day. Take at least 1 day off from working out.

Don't despair, just make the needed changes to reach your weight loss and fat loss goals!

If you need to know how to lose weight the right way, get My Fitness Hut's 7-Day Weight Loss And Fat Loss e-Course! The e-Course is FREE!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

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Cholesterol in Foods OK

A review of the world's literature shows that dietary cholesterol itself is not associated with increased risk for suffering a heart attack (Current Atherosclerosis Reports, September 2010). More than 80 percent of the cholesterol in your bloodstream is made by your liver. Less than 20 percent comes from your diet. When you take in more cholesterol, your liver makes less so that your blood cholesterol remains virtually the same. The few people who do increase their blood levels of total cholesterol when they eat cholesterol-rich foods, have an increase in the good HDL cholesterol that prevents heart attacks.

Since the 1960s various organizations have recommended eating no more than 300 mg of cholesterol per day, the amount found in one egg. However, eating three eggs per day does not increase blood cholesterol levels. Poultry, eggs and shellfish, all rich sources of cholesterol, have not been shown to increase heart attack risk. Meat IS associated with increased risk for heart attacks, but I believe that the culprit is not cholesterol. A more likely explanation is the sugar-protein called Neu5GC found in meat from mammals, which may cause inflammation.

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Burn Fat, Lose Weight With Short Workouts

Short, intense workouts will burn more fat and help you lose more weight. Are you working out 1-2 hours a day? You don't need to do that to accomplish your goals. Matter of fact, these long workouts will lead to boredom and repetitive stress injuries. Thirty to 40-minute weight training workouts will get the job done.



A woman asked me one day why she wasn't making any progress on her fat loss and weight loss. After asking her a few questions, I found two main problems with her workout program:

1) She wasn't eating right and

2) she was working out TOO LONG (2 hours per workout) and TOO SLOW (workout included 1 hour of machine cardio)!

I don't know who has time to workout for 2 hours....alot of you have this mindset: longer workouts are better.....this couldn't be further from the truth....

Here is a good 30-minute workout that will serve as a strength and cardio workout. If you have been doing the heavy weight training for a while, this workout can be a good change of pace for you:

--Y bodyweight squats, 12 repetitions, moderate pace
--Pushup Plank, 10 repetitions, 10 second hold
--Squat jumps, 10 repetitions, full speed
--Pushups, 12 repetitions
--Ball Ab Rollouts, 12 repetitions, moderate pace
--Pullups, 10 repetitions
--Cross body mountain climber, 12 repetitions each leg
--Do this circuit 3 times

Do this circuit with little or no rest between exercises. Rest 2-3 minutes between circuits.

The truth is that no weight training workout (including bodyweight training) needs to exceed 50 minutes....and interval cardio workouts should be about 20 minutes....shorter, more intense workouts will give you more calorie-burn, more fat-burn, more weight loss and fewer repetitive stress injuries! And, you will have more time to do the things you want to do in life.

One more tip: You don't need to workout everyday. Five to 6 days of working out is enough! Some weeks, you might need 2 days off. Listen to your body!

Workout smarter and harder, not longer!

If you need to know how to lose weight the right way, get My Fitness Hut's 7-Day Weight Loss And Fat Loss e-Course! The e-Course is FREE!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

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Prolong Life with Methionine Restriction?

Humans live longer when they exercise, eat lots of fruits and vegetables, keep body fat low, and restrict excess calories, meat and protein. The latest research show that restricting a certain protein building block called methionine may be more effective in prolonging life than restricting calories or proteins.

Caloric restriction with adequate intake of nutrients prolongs life in fruit flies, roundworms, and mice by increasing insulin sensitivity and heart function, and decreasing inflammation and the muscle wasting of aging. In humans, calorie restriction helps to prevent diabetes, heart disease and cancer. However, getting all of the nutrients you need while restricting calories is very difficult.

Anything that increases cell growth and increases production of new cells in your body appears to shorten lifespan. Your cells are programmed so that when food is scarce, cells lie dormant in an attempt to conserve energy to help you survive. However, when food is plentiful, extra calories stimulate new cell growth which ultimately shortens lifespan. Researchers have identified a protein in cells called TOR (Target Of Rapamycin) which promotes cell growth. Blocking TOR increases lifespan in yeast, worms, flies and mice (Aging Cell, September 2010). Caloric restriction and a drug called rapamycin block TOR to decrease cell growth and prolong life (Nature, July 8, 2009). However, rapamycin is not safe because it suppresses immunity to increase infections and it also markedly increases blood levels of triglycerides to increase risk of heart attacks.

The most potent dietary activators of TOR are amino acids, the building blocks of protein. Restricting protein lowers TOR and another major promoter of cell growth called Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (Rejuvenation Research, October 2007). Restricting just one amino acid, methionine, extends the life of flies and mice as much as caloric restriction does (Medical Hypotheses, February 2009). Methionine is found primarily in animal products, and is very low in foods that come from plants. Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables and low in meat and dairy products markedly restricts intake of methionine. Furthermore, this diet is much easier to follow than one that restricts calories.

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Step Ups Strengthen Gluteus Medius

The step up is one of the best exercises to strengthen your gluteus medius and tone your leg muscles. Weakness in the gluteus medius can result in knee and back injuries. Weakness in the gluteus medius also contributes to instability when you walk, run and jump.



Step ups will also improve your dynamic balance. Its not that easy to balance all your weight on one leg (with good form) while stepping up onto a platform.

1. Face a bench or platform (knee high) and put your right foot on the bench. Your knee should be bent 90 degrees. Don't do this exercise with dumbbells until you have mastered the bodyweight version.

2. As you lift your body on your right leg, keep your body erect (don't bend over) and look straight ahead. Balance on your leg for 1-2 seconds and descend. Don't let your left foot touch the platform.

3. Do all required repetitions on the right leg and switch to left leg.

You may have to start with a platform lower than knee-high. Your hamstrings and butt will be worked more with a higher platform.

Exercises like the step up are important because it uses the same pathways that it takes to walk or run. Plus, one leg cannot compensate for weakness in the other leg. If your left leg is weaker, it will be forced to "catch up" to the right leg. Muscular balance is important to avoid injuries.

Step up to your next workout!

If you need to know how to lose weight the right way, get My Fitness Hut's 7-Day Weight Loss And Fat Loss e-Course! The e-Course is FREE!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

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Burn Fat With Home Workout

You can burn fat and lose weight with an intense home workout. Even if you're super busy, you don't have to skip your workouts. Who says you have to go to a gym to workout. Many people with gym memberships sometimes go months without stepping foot in a gym!



You can even do your workout while watching television. You don't have time to waste just watching television or surfing the internet. Be productive and you'll start seeing the fat melt away from your body!

So, while you're watching 30 Rock, do a bodyweight or dumbbell workout for 30-45 minutes. Your family will probably join you in the fun.

Need a good home workout? Here goes:

--Prisoner squats, 12 repetitions, moderate pace
--Pushup Plank, 10 second hold, 10 repetitions
--Mountain Climbers, 30 seconds, slow pace
--Pushups, 20 repetitions
--Dumbbell Bentover Row, 10 repetitions, moderate pace
--Dumbbell standing shoulder press, 10 repetitions, moderate pace
--Ab Ball Curl Ups, 15 repetitions, slow pace
--Do this circuit 3 times

Do this workout 3 times a week, add in 2-3 interval cardio days between this workout and you've got it whipped! Who needs a gym membership?

Have home workout tips of your own? Let us know!

If you need to know how to lose weight the right way, get My Fitness Hut's 7-Day Weight Loss And Fat Loss e-Course! The e-Course is FREE!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

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Lose Weight With Vertical Jumps

If you're trying to burn fat and lose weight, vertical jumps (and like exercises) will help you burn fat and sculpt your lower body! You will also begin to lose more weight as your body changes and your metabolism speeds up (with weight training and high intensity exercises/cardio).



See various jump exercises on Speed Camp Youtube video!

Vertical jumps will burn more fat because they are very intense! Shorten and intensify your workouts with jump training (plyometrics)! Plyometric workouts also burn more fat and calories during and after your workout! Just do 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions at full speed! Jump as high and fast as you can and jump on a soft surface like rubber or grass to protect your knees against injury.

If you're having trouble sculpting your butt, hips and thighs then you need to do more jump training.

Jump training workouts are advanced workouts. You need to perfect jumping and landing techniques or you will injure yourself. And, if you have knee and low back problems, high-speed vertical jumps are not for you.

If you need to know how to lose weight the right way, get My Fitness Hut's 7-Day Weight Loss And Fat Loss e-Course! The e-Course is FREE!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

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Bentover Dumbbell Rows Burn Back Fat, Build Muscle

If you're trying to build up back muscles and burn back fat, bentover dumbbells rows should be in your routine. Bentover dumbbell rows allow you to work your lats using heavier weights. Your lower back will be worked more if you row with both arms at the same time. You will also work your obliques in the process.



See Dumbbell Rows on Speed Camp Youtube video!

If you experience back pain doing two-armed rows, then try doing one-armed rows so you can support your body with the other arm.

Do two-armed bentover dumbbell rows this way:

1. With your feet about shoulder width apart, bend over and grab the dumbbells. Keep your back straight (don't bow or arch back) and keep your head in line with your torso. Look straight down during the exercise.

2. Pull dumbbells up to your side until they make contact with your ribs. Keep your elbows close to your side during the exercise. As you pull the dumbbells up, squeeze your shoulder blades together.

3. Don't curl the dumbbells as you lift. Curling will allow too much use of your biceps. This is primarily a back exercise. Return the dumbbells until your arms are fully extended. That is one repetition.

Build your back muscles and burn fat at the same time with bentover dumbbell rows.

If you need to know how to lose weight the right way, get My Fitness Hut's 7-Day Weight Loss And Fat Loss e-Course! The e-Course is FREE!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

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Tone Hips With One-Legged Exercises

Train more with one-legged (unilateral) exercises to better tone your hips. The muscles that move your hip joint (mainly gluteus medius) are activated more with one-legged exercises. Many running injuries can also be traced to a weak gluteus medius.



Sometimes, too much focus is placed on two-legged (bilateral) exercises. These two-legged exercises, like squats, are needed in your exercise program. But one-legged exercises improve your muscular balance in each leg. Having dynamic balance means that you are able to maintain your center of gravity over a constantly changing base of support. You cannot have dynamic balance without muscular balance.

To achieve muscular balance in your lower body, one-legged exercises should be a big part of your training program. These one-legged exercises can be performed as strengh or power (full speed) exercises.

One lower body exercise that should be in your program is one-legged step ups with knee lift (pictured above). This exercise is done one leg at a time to force each leg to work evenly. For example, you would do 10 repetitions with your right leg and then 10 repetitions with your left leg.

The hanging leg should not touch the bench and you should lower your body under control. This exercise can also be done with dumbbells to increase difficulty. Other good one-legged exercises would be squats and lunges. Add more one-legged exercises to your training program to better tone your hips.

If you need to know how to lose weight the right way, get My Fitness Hut's 7-Day Weight Loss And Fat Loss e-Course! The e-Course is FREE!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

Read more »

Cross Body Mountain Climbers Work Abs Hard

You need to add cross body mountain climbers to your ab exercise routine. This exercise will build strength and help tone your "six pack" and obliques. Cross body mountain climbers also work the calves, quadriceps, glutes, back, chest, triceps and shoulders. You will need high levels of core strength to do this exercise the right way for each set.





1. Start by getting in the push up position with your arms fully extended. Keep your hips and torso in a straight line. Don't let your hips sag and don't point your butt in the air during this exercise.

2. Do the exercise by moving your left knee straight up and across your body to the right armpit area (keep your abs braced). Also, don't let your foot touch the ground as you do the movement. Move your left leg back to the starting position and repeat with your right leg. Alternate your leg movements until you have completed all repetitions.

If you are doing the mountain climber exercise then just add on the cross body mountain climber!

Get FREE Training and Nutrition Insider Secrets for a Lean-Body with Six Pack Abs! This ebook, created by Certified Nutrition Specialist & Certified Personal Trainer, Mike Geary, details over 27 specific metabolism-boosting secrets that you can use to strip off your stubborn body fat faster and easier and get your six-pack abs! Contains unique workout methods and nutritional strategies to slash body fat and take your body to a whole new level of leanness. Get Your FREE Book Now!

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Lack of Vitamin D Weakens and Injures Muscles

Because of injuries in the springtime, I missed six Boston Marathons back in the 1960s. It wasn't until 40 years later that I found the cause: my vitamin D3 blood level was 20 nmol/l (normal is greater than 75 nmol/L, equal to 30 ng/ml). Recently I moved to Florida and have been relatively injury free for the first time in my life. I now know that people genetically susceptible to vitamin D deficiency are the ones most likely to suffer muscle weakness, injuries and poor athletic performance. Many exercisers and even competitive athletes are vitamin D deficient even if they live in the sunbelt. I believe that sunlight offers benefits that cannot be obtained just by taking vitamin D pills.

Vitamin D acts directly on specific receptors in muscles to make them stronger and prevent injury (Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, April 2010). As people age, they become increasingly susceptible to muscle weakness and falls caused by lack of vitamin D. Muscles are made of thousands of individual fibers that are classified into two types: slow twitch fibers that govern endurance, and fast twitch fibers that govern primarily strength and speed. Vitamin D specifically maintains the function of the fast twitch strength fibers. A review of the world's literature showed that lack of vitamin D is associated with muscle weakness in older people (Molecular Aspects of Medicine, June 2005). With aging, you lose muscle fibers. For example, the vastus medialis muscle in the front of the upper leg has 800,000 fibers in a 20 year old, but only 250,000 in a 60 year old. Vitamin D slows this loss of muscle fibers, preserves muscle strength and helps to prevent falls, while lack of vitamin D increases loss of fibers, muscle weakness and falls (Pediatric Clinics of North America, June 2010).

If you suffer muscle weakness, pain or injuries:
• Check your vitamin D3 level. That is the only available dependable test. If it is below 75 nmol/L (30 ng/ml), you are deficient.
• You can try taking vitamin D3 at a dose of at least 2000 IU/day for a month.
• If that does not bring your D3 level to normal, you can check with your doctor about taking higher doses.
• A certain percentage of people will have their vitamin D3 levels go above a normal 75 nmol/L and still suffer from muscle weakness, fatigue, pain and injuries.
• These people may benefit from exposure to sunlight.
• Since skin cancer is caused by cumulative exposure to sunlight over a lifetime, you should restrict exposure to sunlight on your head, face, top of ears, arms and hands.
• Try exposing your legs and bathing trunk areas. Be careful to avoid sunburn.
• Start at low exposures of less than a couple of minutes and work up gradually. You cannot tell that you have suffered a sunburn until the next day when your skin will burn, itch and perhaps blister.

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Shape Glutes With Marching Bridge Exercise

I know you are always looking for exercises to shape your glutes better. Glute muscles are like any other muscle group. You must consistently train your glute muscles if you want to see improvements in how your butt, hips and thighs look.





Use the marching bridge exercise to shape your glutes and stabilize your core. The marching bridge will also strengthen your lower back. Many people develop low back problems because too little time is spent strengthening the muscles of the lower back.

1. Start by lying on your back with your knees bent and your hands by your sides.

2. Lift your body off the ground into a straight line and brace your torso (like taking a punch to the gut). Don't let your body sag.

3. Lift your right leg, contract your glute and hold for 3 seconds. Lower your leg and do the same with your left leg. That's one repetition. Do 8-10 repetitions.

Other great core exercises that will strengthen your lower back muscles are cobras, stability ball plank, supermans and back extensions.

Don't neglect to strengthen your lower back muscles! You will pay with pain and injuries if you ignore training your lower back!

If you need to know how to lose weight the right way, get My Fitness Hut's 7-Day Weight Loss And Fat Loss e-Course! The e-Course is FREE!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

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Burn Fat With Athletic Workouts

Athletic workouts will burn fat from your body sooner. If you need to ramp up the intensity and break through your weight loss plateau, athletic workouts will work.



Athletic workouts are very intense and will improve your body's composition (fat loss, more muscle). These workouts will sculpt your body without your joints taking a pounding from lifting heavy weights!

To get your muscles to improve power (how fast your muscles can produce force), do some or all of the exercises full speed. Also, you will really burn fat and shape your bulkier, fast twitch muscle fibers when doing exercises at full speed!

Athletic circuit workouts are a tried and true method to burn more fat, increase strength/endurance and improve heart health.

Do each exercise (10 repetitions) one after the other with little or no rest between exercises. Rest 2-3 minutes and do the circuit 2 more times. Here is a good athletic workout:

--Bodyweight squats, moderate pace
--Side shuffles (pictured above), full speed
--Pushups, full speed
--Walking lunges/Side Lunges/Tranverse Lunges, moderate pace (one for each circuit)
--2-Handed medicine ball chest pass, full speed
--Squat jumps, full speed
--Back extensions, moderate pace

Use correct form and get after it!

Get FREE Training and Nutrition Insider Secrets for a Lean-Body with Six Pack Abs! This ebook, created by Certified Nutrition Specialist & Certified Personal Trainer, Mike Geary, details over 27 specific metabolism-boosting secrets that you can use to strip off your stubborn body fat faster and easier and get your six-pack abs! Contains unique workout methods and nutritional strategies to slash body fat and take your body to a whole new level of leanness. Get Your FREE Book Now!

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Body Composition Change Is Key To Weight Loss

Change your body's composition to more muscle and less fat to keep weight loss off for good. That's easier said than done but you must keep that as your main goal when trying to lose weight. It also takes longer to change your body's composition, so be patient. Its worth the wait. Quick weight loss gimmicks will never work for you.

What if the bathroom scale only showed you your body fat percentage and not your weight? That wouldn't be a bad thing. A woman or man with 10-15% body fat is never a bad thing. Body composition (less fat, more lean mass) is the key to permanent weight loss.

If you lose 20 pounds in 10 days using severe calorie restriction with no exercise (you probably won't have the energy to exercise), just about all of that weight loss will be lost muscle mass! You need to increase your lean mass to permanently speed up your metabolism! You need to build a lean body that will give you good health and one that will last through the years of your life. If you rush the fitness process, it won't work!

Fortunately, muscle mass can be maintained/increased (and body fat decreased) throughout your life through weight training and cardio exercise. Weight training also helps to keep your bones strong (preventing osteoporosis).

When was the last time you had your body fat percentage checked? Make a habit of doing this once a month. Or, you could get a scale that will tell you your weight and body fat percentage. Then, you will know your real progress.

If you need to know how to lose weight the right way, get My Fitness Hut's 7-Day Weight Loss And Fat Loss e-Course! The e-Course is FREE!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

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Use Sprints To Burn Fat Faster

Sprints help you burn fat faster! Sprinting is one of the best ways to get your total body lean and toned. It is one of the least used exercises done by general exercisers. And, you don't have to be fast, just run as fast as you can! To avoid injuries, always sprint on surfaces like grass or sand and never run on hard surfaces like concrete or asphalt.



Sprints will lean and tone your body like never before if combined with full body strength training.

You see, sprinting activates your bulkier, shapely fast twitch muscle fibers. These fast twitch muscle fibers lie dormant when you do slow-paced cardio sessions (hint). Sprinting will really burn the fat on your butt, hips, thighs, hamstrings and lower legs. Fat will also be burned on your upper body.

It is important to properly warmup before doing sprinting intervals. A proper warmup is a dynamic warmup such as doing 5-10 minutes of jogging, walking lunges, half-speed sprints and three-quarters speed sprints. Do static stretches after your workout to bring your muscles back to normal length.

To sprint efficiently and avoid injuries, you need to master correct running mechanics. Most people that I see at gyms need to work on running mechanics. Running the right way really does make running easier (and vice-versa)!

A 20-minute sprint interval workout is very simple---and tough! Do it this way:

--Run a 50 to 60 yard sprint
--Walk back to start line
--Run a 50 to 60 yard sprint

Do this rotation for 20-minutes and you are done (exhausted)! Do this type of workout no more than 2 times a week. This will allow your body to recover from this intense form of exercise.

A sprint interval workout will also give you superior heart-health.

Do more sprints and watch your body sculpt like never before!

Get FREE Training and Nutrition Insider Secrets for a Lean-Body with Six Pack Abs! This ebook, created by Certified Nutrition Specialist & Certified Personal Trainer, Mike Geary, details over 27 specific metabolism-boosting secrets that you can use to strip off your stubborn body fat faster and easier and get your six-pack abs! Contains unique workout methods and nutritional strategies to slash body fat and take your body to a whole new level of leanness. Get Your FREE Book Now!

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Cold Drinks Improve Sports Performance

Drinking cold fluids lowers body temperature. More than 70 percent of the calories that you use to convert food to energy are lost as heat. So the more intensely you exercise, the more heat you produce. A rise in body temperature slows you down because the heart has to work harder to pump extra blood from your hot muscles to your skin to dissipate the heat. Seven studies show that cold beverages lower body temperature and improve performance by an average of 10 percent (International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, April 2010).
How much water do you need?

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Tone Butt and Hamstrings With Leg Curls

Leg curls are great for toning your lower butt and hamstrings. Leg curls also help you avoid hamstring and knee injuries.





Hamstring injuries can have a long recovery period. Its best to avoid hamstring injuries. And, weak hamstrings can lead to other serious injuries. For example, females tend to have weaker hamstrings because they use their quadriceps muscles more while walking and running. This means females use their strong quadriceps muscles and do not adequately activate their weak hamstrings. The two opposing muscle groups would not be balanced in this situation.

The hamstring muscle group acts to protect the anterior cruciate knee ligament (ACL) and the opposing quadricep muscle group places stress on the ACL. So, if you are quadricep dominant, you are placing excessive stress (and many times serious injury) on the knee ACL.

If you don't have a leg curl machine available, just do your leg curls with the medicine ball.

If you need to know how to lose weight the right way, get My Fitness Hut's 7-Day Weight Loss And Fat Loss e-Course! The e-Course is FREE!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

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Weight Loss With Fat Loss

If you want weight loss with fat loss, your workouts need to be intense enough to build muscle and burn fat. And, you need to be patient as your body changes its composition to lean and toned. That would stop you from ever trying a quick weight loss program designed to give you short-term weight loss but long-term failure. You will change your eating habits to help reach better long-term goals of health with a great looking body.



Here are some other tips to achieve weight loss with fat loss:

Work harder for a shorter period of time and you'll burn more fat and calories during and after your workout! An intense 30-40 minute workout will work just fine.

Do as many compound strength exercises (with weights or bodyweight) standing up as possible. These types of exercises work major muscle groups and many times are full-body strength exercises. Squats, deadlift, lunges, standing bentover rows, squat-to curl-to press and bench press are great examples. Full-body core exercises like planks and side planks work well also. Spend less time posing on "mirror exercises" like bicep curls, calf raises and tricep extensions.

Here is a good fat-burning workout:

Do each exercise one after the other with little or no rest between exercises. Rest 2-3 minutes between circuits. Do the circuit 3 times.

1. Bulgarian Split Squats, 15 repetitions each leg
2. Ball Plank, 15 repetitions, 5 second hold
3. Pushups on Medicine Ball, 20 repetitions
4. Step Ups with Knee Lift (knee high platform), 10 repetitions each leg
5. Pullups, 10 repetitions
6. Walking Lunges, 10 repetitions each leg
7. Standing dumbbell shoulder press, 10 repetitions
8. Repeat circuit 2 more times.

This type of workout will help you build muscle, burn fat and lose weight.

If you need to know how to lose weight the right way, get My Fitness Hut's 7-Day Weight Loss And Fat Loss e-Course! The e-Course is FREE!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

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Gut Fat or Butt Fat? Which Is Worse?

Okay, I know you don't want gut fat or butt fat! And, you don't want too much body fat. The fact remains that too many people are carrying around too much gut fat, butt fat and overall body fat. All locations of fat tend to show up on your body if you're overweight or obese.



According to the International Journal of Obesity (and many other sources), butt fat is healthier than belly fat. Their research shows that gut fat increases risks of heart attack, stroke, diabetes and premature death.

Women tend to carry too much fat on the butt, hips and thighs while men tend to carry too much gut fat. The research showed that women with more butt fat/thigh fat than gut fat have better blood sugar levels, blood fat control and slower fat turnover (prevents inflammation and promotes metabolic health).

So, my challenge to you is to start burning more body fat to make your body healthier. This will give you the best chance to live a longer, healthier life. And, you will have a better self image.

There are no secrets as to how to lean and tone your body.

1. First and foremost, don't ever try a quick weight loss fad diet! If you do, you are setting yourself up to gain more weight than you lose (interpreted yo-yo dieting)!

2. Second, adopt the mindset of starting and maintaining healthy eating patterns and exercising regularly. This might sound boring but it will work to lean and tone your body in the longterm.

3. You won't burn your gut fat by doing 1000 ab curl ups. You will burn your gut fat by eating less foods like sugars, processed foods and saturated fats and eating more foods like fresh fruits, vegetables and lean meats.

4. You will burn more total body fat faster by doing high intensity workouts such as full body circuit weight training, jump training and fast-paced cardio sessions (such as sprint intervals). You don't have to workout this intensely all the time (3-4 days a week is plenty). Workout at a slower pace on the other days. Eat right most of the time.

5. The time to start burning fat and losing weight is now! If you've been inactive, start walking today and build up to a regular exercise routine. Its very simple. Just make the commitment.

Get FREE Training and Nutrition Insider Secrets for a Lean-Body with Six Pack Abs! This ebook, created by Certified Nutrition Specialist & Certified Personal Trainer, Mike Geary, details over 27 specific metabolism-boosting secrets that you can use to strip off your stubborn body fat faster and easier and get your six-pack abs! Contains unique workout methods and nutritional strategies to slash body fat and take your body to a whole new level of leanness. Get Your FREE Book Now!

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Vegan Or Vegetarian Diet? Which Is Better?

So, what's the difference between a vegan or vegetarian diet? You may not have thought about this if you have no interest in being a vegan or vegetarian. Or, you may be thinking about changing your eating habits. Vegan or vegetarian diets are healthy options. Let's look at both types of nutritional diets:

Vegan Diet

Veganism is the strictest form of vegetarianism. Vegans don't eat animal products or animal by-products. Vegans eat healthy foods but they need to take supplements such as calcium, iron, protein and vitamin B12 because these nutrients are sometimes missing in their diet.

A vegan diet contains less fat than vegetarian diets so this would be a plus if you are trying to burn fat and lose weight. Vegan diets will generally provide you with more energy than a less strict vegetarian diet.

Vegetarian Diet

There are four other less strict forms of vegetarianism:

1. Semi-vegetarians eat eggs, chicken, diary products and fish. They do not eat any other types of animal meat.

2. Ovo-lacto vegetarians don't eat poultry, meat, seafood or fish. They will eat eggs and drink milk. Most vegetarians fall into this group of eaters.

3. Ovo vegetarians are similar to vegans except they will eat eggs.

4. Lacto vegetarians are similar to vegans except they will drink milk.

If you are a vegetarian, you are probably reaping the health benefits of a great diet. According to Susan Havala Hobbs (author of Being Vegetarian For Dummies), research has proven that vegetarians have lower rates of coronary artery disease, some forms of cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity. Vegetarians are also less likely to have kidney disease and intestinal problems like diverticulosis.

Food choices for vegetarians have expanded at grocery stores and restaurants. Vegetarian diets are no longer considered "bland". Like any diet, you must make sure you are getting enough nutrients.

I would recommend everyone take a multivitamin, unless your diet is perfect.

Do you need to learn how to lose weight the right way? Get My Fitness Hut's 7-Day Weight Loss And Fat Loss e-Course! The e-Course is FREE!

"Exercise is not my life.....exercise makes my life better!"

Check out my other great blogs:

Her Fitness Hut Blog Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named as one of the "50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody---including athletes!

Read more »