Burn Fat In Four Minutes

Burn fat with shorter, more intense workouts in as little as 4 minutes. Long, boring workouts are a thing of the past. The research and my experience with clients proves that short bursts of exercise, such as circuit weight training and interval cardio, will sculpt your body better and faster.

Improve your body's composition (fat loss, more muscle) without your joints taking a pounding from lifting heavy weights with 2 hour workouts. Circuit workouts are a tried and true method to burn more fat, increase strength/endurance and improve heart health.

The BodyBot delivers high-velocity weight loss results in as few as 4 minutes a day. The state-of-the-art BodyBot software is based on the exact same workout system developed by Ryan Lee that Men’s Fitness Magazine hails as “The World’s Fastest Workout”. Check it out below:

The BodyBot Software Program

Ryan’s belly-busting system was also featured on the cover of Millionaire Blueprints Magazine which went on to write an 8 page feature article calling his weight loss programs: “The Future of Fitness.”

The scientifically designed BodyBot was created to get you as fit as possible – quickly and easily. Watch as BodyBot creates a 100% fully customized 4-Minute Fat-Blasting Workout in just 30 Seconds flat.

I fully endorse BodyBot as a personal trainer who does athletic, intense workouts (and so do my clients).

The BodyBot Software Program

Mark Dilworth, Certified Personal Trainer

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Air Conditioning Helps Recovery

A study from the University of Montana in Missoula shows that athletes recover from hard workouts faster in room temperatures of 72 F than in 91 F (International Journal of Sports Medicine, August 2010). Nine male participants completed one- hour time trials at 91 degrees F, followed by recovery in rooms at 91 degrees F or 72 degrees F. They were given recovery carbohydrate beverages at zero and two hours. Four hours after the time trial, the athletes in the air conditioned room had much higher muscle glycogen levels (105 vs 88 mmol/kg).

Intense exercise causes the soreness that signals muscle damage that is necessary for muscle growth. Intense exercise also depletes your muscles of glycogen. The faster you replace glycogen, the quicker you recover and the sooner you can exercise intensely again. Athletes who can take the most intense workouts with adequate recoveries improve the most. This study shows that in hot weather, you will replace used-up muscle glycogen faster in air conditioning than at higher temperatures.

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Caloric Surplus Causes Weight Gain, Not High Glycemic Foods

You will gain weight and fat if you maintain a daily caloric surplus even if you eat low glycemic foods. This fact remains unchanged: A daily caloric surplus (consume more calories than you burn) will cause you to gain weight! Lose weight by maintaining a caloric deficit over time.

That's right, you can still gain weight on a low-carb diet.

Having said this, it is important to eat quality carbs, proteins and fats. But, how much you eat will determine if you gain weight or lose weight.

Being aware of the glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) of certain foods can help you control your glycemic response and body fat.

The glycemic index is a numerical index that ranks carbohydrates based on their rate of glycemic response, or their conversion to glucose within the human body. The Index uses a scale of 0 to 100, with higher values given to foods that cause the most rapid rise in blood sugar. Pure glucose is the reference point and has a GI value of 100.

A low-carb diet is not necessary. You are better off eating the right kinds of carbohydrates at the right time.

Your body depends on carbohydrates as a primary fuel source (especially during intense workouts). For instance, after a tough workout, a post-workout drink with high glycemic carbs and protein will help your body recover and rebuild your muscles. During the day, low glycemic carbs are more desirable.

The glycemic index is important because your body performs best when your blood sugar is kept relatively constant. When blood sugar drops too low, you become listless or experience increased hunger. If it goes too high, your brain signals your pancreas to secrete more insulin. Although insulin will bring your blood sugar back down, it does so primarily by converting the excess sugar to stored fat.

For non-diabetics, there are times when a rapid increase in blood sugar is desirable. For example, some coaches and trainers recommend high GI foods (like sports drinks) immediately after exercise to help speed recovery.

Another way to control your GI is to also control your glycemic load (GL). Glycemic load can be controlled by the type and amount of carbohydrates you consume. So, GI and GL work together to control your glycemic response.

GI's of 55 or below are considered low, and 70 or above are considered high. GL's of 10 or below are considered low and 20 or above are considered high.

IF YOU USE GI AND GL VALUES AS THE SOLE FACTOR FOR DETERMINING YOUR DIET, YOU COULD END UP OVERCONSUMING FAT AND TOTAL CALORIES. GI is only used to rate a food's carb content. If you continue to eat more calories than you burn, you will gain weight no matter what you eat.

Learn how to lose weight the right way and 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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Training in Heat to Improve Performance

A paper from the University of Oregon shows that training in the heat can improve racing performance in the cold (Journal of Applied Physiology, October 2010). Twenty competitive cyclists continued their regular training. In addition, they completed ten 1.5-hour training sessions at 50 percent of their maximum effort (VO2max). However one group rode in a lab heated to 104 degrees, the other group rode in 55 degree lab.

The cyclists who were heat acclimated improved their time-trial performance four to eight percent, while the cold-trained group did not improve.

Training in the heat makes you a better athlete because it cools your body better. Since more than 70 percent of the energy used to drive your muscles is lost as heat, the harder you exercise, the more heat you generate and your body temperature rises. With each increase in body temperature, your body requires more oxygen to turn food to energy. Since lack of oxygen is the limiting factor to how fast you move and how much power your muscles generate, any increase in body temperature slows you down.

Training in the heat increases blood volume so you have more blood available to carry heat from hot muscles to your skin where the heat can be dissipated. sweating begins earlier and is more profuse to cool your skin, and the heart pumps hot blood to the skin faster. All these factors lower body temperature.

Some athletes may decide to heat train by wearing plastic or thermal suits. It could be dangerous because it prevents sweat from evaporating and a person could overheat and pass out or even die. You can help protect yourself from heat stroke by knowing the progressive signs of rising body temperature. See my report on the dangers of swimming in warm water

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Holiday Snacks To Control Weight Gain

The holiday season is long so eating the right snacks to control weight gain is important. What you eat between main meals can make or break your weight management. The snacks can really skyrocket your calorie count if you're not careful!

First, a few common sense holiday eating rules:

1. Use no more than a pat of butter on whole wheat bread or rolls.

2. Use natural sweeteners like cinnamon instead of sugar.

3. Use condiments like mustard instead of ketchup or mayonnaise.

4. Drink only water or unsweetened drinks, like tea. Cranberry juice and pomegranite juice are not that healthy if they are loaded with sugar!

5. Limit alcohol consumption which has 7 calories per gram.

6. Sweet potatoes are very healthy (limit the butter and marshmallows). Try them roasted to seal in the flavor without adding fat! Sweet potatoes are full of fiber, vitamin A, potassium and one of the best snacks around. Plus, they satisfy my sweet tooth!

7. Turkey is a healthy source of protein. If you deep fry it or smother it in gravy, you will add alot of calories! Turkey also provides folic acid, vitamin B, zinc and potassium. I love white turkey sandwiches on wheat bread for weeks after Thanksgiving day!

Here are some healthy snacks to eat during the holidays:

1. Popcorn is high-fiber and low calorie. Skip the butter and excess salt! I like to pop it on the stove in canola or olive oil. On the run, I eat natural, microwaved brands.

2. Nuts. Peanuts, pistachios, pecans and almonds are all good. A handful of nuts goes a long way! They are high-calorie so be careful. Skip the excess salt! Nuts have heart-healthy fats, fiber and vitamins.

3. Fruit is always a healthy, filling snack. I've never heard of anyone getting fat from eating fruit! We all know the health benefits of eating fruit so enough said.

4. Green, leafy salads. Eat green salads on most days with very little dressing. You can't go wrong with green, leafy veggies for the health benefits!

5. Low-fat yogurt is a great snack! Yogurt smoothies are also great options (especially after a strength workout).

Happy, healthy eating during the holidays!

Learn how to lose weight the right way and 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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Thanksgiving Day Workouts

If you get the chance, do a short Thanksgiving Day workout. It will help you burn calories, stay energized and alert the rest of the day.

I like to get in workouts the night before and the morning of Thanksgiving day. I will enjoy the full Thanksgiving meal and desserts with no guilt at all!

Here is my night before Thanksgiving workout:

1) Chest press, 4 sets/10 repetitions
2) Bentover DB Rows, 4 sets/10 repetitions
3) Standing DB Shoulder Press 4 sets/ 10 repetitions
4) Step Ups (knee high platform), 4 sets, 10 repetitions each leg
5) 20-minute interval cardio on treadmill

Here is my workout Thanksgiving morning:

1) 20-minute interval cardio on treadmill
2) Front Chops with 35 lb. plate, 6 sets/15 repetions
3) 10-minute interval cardio on treadmill

And then it will be time to eat! Happy Thanksgiving!

Learn how to lose weight the right way and 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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Ice Delays Recovery from Injuries

More than 30 years ago I coined the term RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) for the acute treatment of athletic injuries. Now a study from the Cleveland Clinic shows that one of these recommendations, applying ice to reduce swelling, actually delays healing by preventing the body from releasing IGF-1 (Insulin-like Growth Factor-1), a hormone that helps heal damaged tissue (Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, November 2010).

When germs get into your body, your immunity sends cells and proteins into the infected area to kill the germs. When muscles and other tissues are damaged, your immunity sends the same inflammatory cells to the damaged tissue to promote healing. The response to both infection and tissue damage is the same. Certain cells called macrophages rush to the damaged tissue to release IGF-1 which helps heal muscles.

Healing is delayed by cortisone-type drugs, nonsteroidal anti inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen, applying cold packs or ice, and anything else that blocks the immune response to injury. Now the treatments for an acute injury include Rest (stop exercising), Compression and Elevation (to reduce swelling), but no ice.

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Burpees Burn Fat

The burpee exercise burns body fat like crazy and is great for conditioning! Always do burpees under control with good technique.



If you need to change up your high intensity interval cardio routine, here is a great choice----do full speed burpees for 20 minutes.

Trust me, it is a great full-body exercise that will increase your strength endurance, power and anaerobic conditioning (remember, aerobics is an exercise done for more than 2 straight minutes).

Exercises like sprints and jumps are anaerobic. Research has proven that anaerobic conditioning will give you superior fat loss, conditioning and heart health.

You can use the burpee exercise as an interval cardio routine to ramp up your fat-burning and conditioning:

--1 minute full speed burpees
--2 minutes walk or jog
--Do this routine for 20 minutes and you're done!

From a squat position with your hands on the floor, kick your feet back to a pushup position. Quickly return your feet to the squat position and jump as high as you can from the squat position. Repeat this exercise at full speed for 1 minute! Whew! Walk or jog for 2 minutes and burpee again!

Go for it!

Train hard and safe!

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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Functional Training Burns Fat, Improves Life

Functional training can help you burn more fat and help you live a quality life. You see, functional training prepares your body for how you want to live. For example, if you are a hiker, you should train your body with intense exercises to get you ready for hikes. Exercises like mountain climbers, bodyweight squats and pullups would be good to get you ready for hikes. Train movements and not just muscles.



A major reason for exerciser (and every day life) injuries is a weak core area. Functional training would definitely include core stability, strength and power training.

The saying "you are only as strong as your weakest link" is true in the case of the human body. Core strength is inadequate for many people. The majority of movements are either initiated or transfer through the body's core area.

Here are some tips to follow during functional training:

1. Your body needs to be stabilized and strengthened before progressing to high-speed power exercises. If this is not done, you are headed for certain injury when more intense exercises are introduced. Along the same lines, you should perform an exercise correctly before progressing to power exercises.

2. Many strength and core exercises should be performed in a standing position since most daily movements are on your feet. Standing exercises also burn more calories and fat.

These exercises will also involve the important hip stabilizer muscles and not just the abdominals. A great full-body core exercise is the medicine ball chop.

3. Your functional strength and core exercises should be multi-planar, multi-dimensional and progressive. Many daily movements involve twisting, rotating, turning, etc. The exercises should also constantly challenge and improve (progressive) your athletic ability. Finally, your functional training should target endurance, strength and power.

Train your body for how you want to live!

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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Soap Removes Vitamin D

Vitamin D deficiency is very common, even among athletes who spend a lot of time outdoors. Seventy-three percent of athletes tested in a private practice were vitamin D deficient (Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, September 2010). If you spend a lot of time in the sun and still have low vitamin D, you may have a genetic susceptibility to vitamin D deficiency, or you may just use too much soap (The Lancet, published online June 9, 2010).

Your epidermis (outer layer of skin) makes cholesterol and converts it to 7-dehydrocholesterol. Some 7-dehydrocholesterol remains in the skin, but much of it is secreted in oil to the skin's surface. There exposure to ultraviolet light converts it to previtamin D3 (cholecalciferol). Since both skin oil and vitamin D3 are fat soluble, and not water soluble, a shower does not wash away vitamin D, but using soap does. To preserve vitamin D, use soap where you need it, but don't lather it over your whole body.

Fur and feathers in some animals block UV rays from skin, but their skin oils carry 7-dehydrocholesterol to their hair and feathers where UV light converts it to previtamin D3. They get their vitamin D by licking and grooming their hair or feathers.

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The Twinkie Diet? Forget About It!

You can try the "Twinkie Diet" or any other diet you want. One fact remains unchanged: A caloric surplus (consume more calories than you burn) will cause you to gain weight! Doing the opposite will cause you to lose weight. There's no controversy about this.

Professor Mark Haub, a nutrition professor from Kansas State University, lost 27 pounds in 10 weeks on a "Twinkie Diet." He basically ate junk food (with some veggies, protein drinks and vitamins thrown in) to prove a point. He lost weight because he created a caloric deficit by eating 1800 calories a day.

His health markers, like cholesterol and triglycerides, improved. For short-term results, this is not that surprising to me. What about long-term results? Would you be healthier eating this way in the long-term? Of course not!

I wonder what his body fat percentage was? Hmmm.........

It does matter What You Eat and How Much You Eat! I have repeatedly said that fat loss is more important than weight loss. Changing your body's composition (less fat, more muscle mass) is critical for your health and permanent weight loss (and lean body).

Your goal should be to be a fat loser. Losing huge amounts of weight can be gained back quickly if you don't build muscle mass. Build muscle, burn fat, speed up your metabolism and lose weight (and keep it off)!

Look, I realize that people will ultimately do what they want to do....we all know that a junk food diet is not the way to go for health and fitness. Make the right choices for yourself.

1 + 1 always equals 2.

Eating quality calories and controlling your calorie intake always improves your health and fitness.

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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Caloric Deficits Work For Weight Loss, Severe Calorie Restriction Doesn't

Cut calories based on a healthy meal plan. With a good exercise program, you will burn fat and lose weight. Starve yourself on a fad diet with severe calorie restriction and it will not work long-term. That's the short story....read on....

Cutting calories, eating healthy, burning fat and losing weight can be a confusing process for you. It doesn't have to be that way. You just need a plan and you need to make adjustments as you go.

First, don't think you will have it all figured out in 2 weeks time! Experts agree that you are better off making manageable changes to your diet and workout routine. Some of your eating and workout (or no workouts) habits have been developed over a lifetime.

For example, severely limiting sugars from your diet would be a great start. Drink water instead of sodas and sugary drinks. Just this one change will slash tons of calories every day. And, you will be on your way to burning dangerous belly fat.

Don't cut too many calories from your diet. 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).

You will find it easier to cut more calories by eating healthy and eating foods with high water content. You will actually be eating more while eating fewer calories. And, you will feel fuller for a longer period (thereby eating less).

The basics of it is to eat as many foods with high water content/low calories as you can. Foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables are examples. These types of foods help you to feel fuller (satiety) while eating fewer calories. For instance, grapes with the same caloric amount as raisins will provide more satiety and theoretically help you eat less the rest of the day.

Energy density of food is a key component when trying to add volume to your diet. Energy density (ED) is defined as the amount of calories of a food divided by its weight in grams.

You would basically focus on foods rich in fiber with high water content (or low ED value). Fresh fruits (apples, etc.) and vegetables (such as tomatoes and broccoli) whole grain pastas, brown rice, whole grain breads and cereals, soups, salads and skinless white chicken/turkey are some examples. Lean meats provide protein which should be eaten with every meal. Protein helps you feel fuller for a longer period.

Other dryer foods could be added to your diet on a limited basis. Dryer foods would be starchy fruits and vegetables, pizza, salad dressings, crackers, etc.

The old rule still applies: A caloric surplus (consume more calories than you burn) will cause you to gain weight! A diet high in water content will cause you to consume fewer calories while providing all the nutrition you need. Eat your meals about every 3 hours to protect against binge eating and provide needed energy throughout the day.

Cut out these types of foods: sodas, sugary fruit juice drinks, candy, cookies, donuts, fried meats and fried foods, fast foods, ketchup, mayonnaise

Add these types of foods: whole grain breads, whole grain cereals, oatmeal, almonds, nuts, low-fat dairy products, low-fat yogurt, fruits, veggies, unsweetened tea, water, lean meats (baked, broiled or grilled), olive oil, cinnamon, mustard.

Cutting calories the healthy way combined with regular weight training and interval cardio training will help you reach your goals over time.

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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Top Holiday Eating Tip

You will hear many holiday eating tips from now until the end of December.

Here is a top holiday eating tip for any season of the year:

Eat your calories! We tend to drink more of everything during the holidays.

Drinking sugary drinks and alcohol can really pack on the pounds quickly. Drink mainly water and unsweetened drinks like tea.

Eat your calories. Chew your food slower. One quick way to "blow a hole" through your meal plan is to drink too many empty calories contained in drinks like sodas, sugared fruit juices and designer coffees. These are empty calories because they do very little to keep you full (satiety) and you end up wanting and eating more!

I have more holiday eating tips for you. Just download my FREE book, "Holiday Eating Tips For Weight Management," now!




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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Danger of Swimming in Warm Water

We don't yet know why US swimmer Fran Crippen died in Dubai, but the most likely cause is heatstroke. He disappeared in 86 degree water barely 400 meters from the finish of the six-mile World Cup race.

You are far more likely to suffer heart stroke racing in water temperatures above 80 degrees than you are to suffer heat stroke at any temperature on land. During exercise, more than 70 percent of the energy used to drive your muscles is lost as heat, so your heart has to pump extra blood from your hot muscles to your skin where you sweat. When you exercise on land, sweat evaporates and cools your skin to dissipate the heat. You produce sweat when you swim, but the sweat cannot evaporate to cool your body.

Almost all cases of heat stroke occur when you suddenly increase the intensity of your exercise, like the finishing sprint of a race. Nobody should ever die of heat stroke because your body sends you warning signals as your temperature rises. In 1965, I almost died from heat stroke in an unimportant local running race in Arlington, Virginia. I am still embarrassed by my stupidity because I ignored all the warning signs as my temperature continued to climb. First your muscles are affected, then your circulation and then your brain. As your temperature starts to rise, your muscles feel like a hot poker is pressing against them. It is normal for intense exercise to make your muscles burn, but hard exercise does not cause painful burning that feels like fire. Furthermore, the burning of hard exercise is relieved by slowing down. The muscle burning of impending heat stroke does not go away when you slow down.

As your temperature rises further, the air that you breathe feels like it's coming from a furnace and no matter how rapidly and deeply you try to breathe, you can't take in enough air. When you exercise intensely, you can become very short of breath, but the air you breathe will not burn your lungs. Burning in your lungs, not relieved by slowing down, signals impending heat stroke. When you feel that the air is so hot that it burns your lungs, stop exercising. Your heart cannot pump enough blood from your exercising muscles to your skin so heat is accumulating rapidly and your temperature is rising rapidly. Your temperature is now over 104 and continuing to exercise will raise your body temperature even further and it will start to cook your brain. Your head will start to hurt, you'll hear a ringing in your ears, you may feel dizzy, you may have difficulty seeing and then you will end up unconscious. Your temperature is now over 106 and your brain is being cooked like an egg in a frying pan.

When a person passes out, call for medical help immediately. If it is heatstroke, he should be cooled immediately, but if it is a heart attack, cooling can be fatal. Carry the heatstroke victim into the shade and place him on his back with his head down and feet up so blood can circulate to his brain. Cool him by pouring on any liquids you can find or spray him with a hose. As you cool him, he will then wake up and talk to you and act like nothing has happened. While he's sitting or lying there, his temperature can rise again and he can go into convulsions or pass out again, so he must be watched for some time afterward.

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Fat Loss For The Holidays?

Fat loss for the holiday season? Yes. Fat loss is for every season. And, you can still enjoy your holiday goodies---up to a point.

Even during the holidays, try to comply with your meal plan 90% of the time. This leaves plenty of room to enjoy the holiday goodies. Also, your food journal really comes in handy during the holiday season. Tracking what you eat holds you accountable.

Don't skip your workouts during the long holiday season. Good workouts can cover many eating mishaps!

"My Fitness Hut's 10 Must Know Fat Loss Tips" will help you navigate through the holiday "food minefield." Below is a partial quote of tip #4:

"You must change your body composition! You must increase muscle mass to become a “fat-burning machine.” Concentrate on compound (multi-joint) strength exercises like squats, deadlifts, lunges, bench press, planks and rows because they work and build more muscle groups.

Do less single-joint exercises like biceps curls and tricep extensions. It is a good idea to start your training program with 3 days-a-week of full body circuit weight training tailored to your body type......"

Although changing your body composition takes time (more lean mass, less fat mass), you can still build muscle during the holiday season. Don't expect fat burner supplements to do it for you!

It takes hard, smart work to change your body and you don't have to wait until January. And, you can't be a "weigh scale junkie" (worried too much about weight loss). Fat loss is the key to your fitness success!

If you're burning fat and building muscle, your body will eventually change permanently (if you consistently exercise). That's why a lifetime commitment to fitness is important. That way, it won't matter how long it takes for you to reach your goals---YOU'VE MADE THE COMMITMENT!

Subscribe to my FREE Fat Blaster eNewsletter and get a FREE Special Report: "10 Must Know Fat Loss Tips" and Free Fat Loss Workouts!

"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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Is Eating Healthy Too Expensive?

Anyone ever tell you its too expensive to eat healthy? If you believed that story, I have some waterfront property to sell you in Arizona. Saying that, "its too expensive to eat healthy" is a built-in excuse to eat bad, fattening food.



Have you seen how expensive fast food is these days? Or, try eating lunch every day at a restaurant. You could easily spend $70 to $80 dollars a week eating out at lunch and dinner.

Now, have you seen how inexpensive fresh fruits, vegetables, oatmeal, eggs, low-fat yogurt, legumes, tuna, chicken and whole grains are for your pocket book. These foods also last longer into the week and are more nutritious. Even organic foods will last longer into the week (although they are more expensive) and save you money in the long run.

So, what's the point? Eating healthy plays a huge part in you reaching your fat loss and weight loss goals. Don't let excuses stop you. Planning and packing your food is always healthier and less expensive.

Many times, eating junk foods with high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) packs on the calories and pounds quickly. This is how it works: your body processes the fructose in high-fructose corn syrup differently than it does regular sugar.

It also lowers the hormone leptin in your body. Leptin signals to your brain that you're full. It also forces your liver to kick more fat out into your bloodstream (especially true with sugary drinks because they are processed so fast)! So, your body wants more and stores more fat at the same time (HFCS is in more food products than you might think).

Its too expensive for your health and fitness to not eat healthy. Plan your meals for the week.

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 And Glutes With One-Legged Exercises

One-legged exercises will help to better tone your hips and glutes. 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!

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Intervals to Improve Both Endurance and Speed

Cyclists, runners, and almost all other athletes have to move very fast in training to be at their best in competition. However, you can't move very fast over long distances, so athletes use a training technique called intervals in which they move very fast for a short period, move at a very slow pace until they recover their breathe, and then move very fast again and repeat these sprints a few times in a single workout. When you train intensely, you run low on oxygen to cause lactic acid to accumulate in your bloodstream. This makes your muscles more acidic to cause them to burn and you to slow down. We now know that increasing both speed and endurance for competition requires you to train so intensely that you build up lactic acid in practice sessions. This helps the mitochondria, the furnaces in muscles, to burn lactic acid more efficiently for fuel during exercise (AMAA Journal, Fall 2009). In fact, intervals markedly improve endurance for cycling competitions that take many hours and days, because the stronger you are, the less of your maximal effort is needed to get the same pressure on the pedals (Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, January 2005).

Duration of Intervals
Athletes in all sports use some variation of long and short intervals. Short intervals take fewer than 30 seconds and because you do not build up significant amounts of lactic acid in that time, often you can do as many as a hundred repeats in a single workout.

Long intervals usually take two to three minutes and are very damaging to your muscles. Because you feel burning in your muscles and become very short of breath for an extended period of time, you can do only a few of these in a single workout. The longer the work/rest interval, the greater the muscle damage, utilization of oxygen and sugar, and using up of muscle glycogen (Journal of Sports Science, August 2005). Athletes in all sports that require endurance usually do both long and short intervals to help them exercise intensely longer.

Short Intervals
You can do a lot more short than long interval workouts in a single workout. Intervals that last more than 30 seconds build up so much lactic acid that you get burning over a long duration that causes significant muscle damage. Short intervals between 10 and 30 seconds can markedly improve all aspects of speed and endurance (European Journal of Applied Physiology, September 2010). Since shorter intervals cause less muscle damage, beginners can start out by doing short intervals as short as six to ten seconds. Thirty-second intervals give you a better training effect and recovery during competition than six-second intervals (American Journal Physiol Regul Integr Comp, December 28, 2006).

Long Intervals
Most athletes do long intervals of two to three minutes. Intervals longer than that cause so much muscle damage that muscles take far longer to recover for the next hard workout. Many athletes do intervals lasting much longer than three minutes, but these very long intervals cause so much muscle damage that they do not do them more often than every few weeks.

Duration of Rest Between Intervals
The shorter you rest between intense intervals, the longer it takes to recover (Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, August 2005). Conditioned athletes doing four-minute intervals usually can recover for their next interval within two minutes (Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, September 2005).

Therefore most athletes slow down long enough to
• recover their breath,
• slow down their breathing, and
• relieve the burn in their muscles.

Then they do their next long interval. Most athletes start their next interval before complete recovery of heart rate and breathing rate. They should not do the next interval when muscle burning is still present. They usually terminate a workout when muscle burning or soreness persists.

Runners and cyclists often use heart rate monitors or a clock to determine when their heart rate has dropped low enough to start their next interval. Weight lifters usually wait for their bodies to "feel" recovered. Athletes learn their ideal interval rest duration during a workout through trial and error. You can use whatever yardstick for recovery from each interval you like, but if it takes you longer than two days to recover from an interval workout, you are probably exercising too intensely, doing too many repetitions, or not taking a long enough interval rest.

How Often to Do Intervals
Every time you do intense interval training, you cause a tremendous amount of damage to your muscles. Obviously it takes time to heal. If you try to do an interval workout again before your muscles have recovered, you put yourself at high risk for injuries and also impair your training because you can't train fast on damaged muscles. As a general rule, the only sport in which athletes try interval training more often than three times a week is swimming. Most athletes in most sports cannot recover faster than 48 hours from intense interval workouts. In sports such as running or cycling, competitive athletes do not improve by increasing their volume of low intensity exercise without also using intense training. Furthermore with interval training, many athletes have to decrease the volume of their slow recovery workouts done on the days after interval workouts.

Avoiding Over-training
Going out and exercising slowly over long distances will not give you much endurance unless you also exercise intensely once or twice a week at much shorter distances. A person can run a marathon or ride a bicycle century much faster by training fast two or more times a week. The most common mistake made by endurance athletes is to exercise so much that they can't maintain their speed training on their hard interval days. This is often seen in runners or cyclists who perform so many miles per week that their fast workouts end up much slower than they should be.

Scientists used to think that the primary cause of muscle fatigue during endurance exercise was running out of glycogen, the sugar that is stored in muscles. They now know that cumulative fatigue and soreness that does not go away are caused primarily by damage to the muscle fibers. The best way to protect muscle fibers is to strengthen them by exercising against increasing resistance by running, cycling, skiing or skating faster once or twice a week. However, every time that you exercise more intensely, your muscle fibers are damaged, so you have to allow time for recovery by exercising slowly the rest of the time.

How to Include Interval Workouts in Your Exercise Program
If you want to gain the endurance to walk, run, swim, cycle, skate, ski or dance for an extended time, pick two days, say Tuesday and Thursday, for speed and the rest of the time for less intense recovery workouts or days off.

On Tuesday, warm up and then start an interval workout by doing five-second intense intervals followed by a marked slowing of your breathing and complete disappearance of muscle burning. Only then should you start your next short interval. When your muscles start to stiffen or the muscle burning takes a long time to go away, you must stop your workout. Otherwise you may take weeks to recover from that workout. After many months, you will become stronger and you can try to work up to the point where you can do lots of 30 second intervals in a single workout.

On Thursdays, start out the same way as your Tuesdays but then try to work up to the point where you can do repeat bouts of sustained exercise for two minutes. Rest until you recover your breath and the muscle burning disappears, and then repeat these fast two-minute intervals three to eight times. Of course, these long intervals will be significantly slower than your short intervals.

WARNINGS: INTENSE WORKOUTS CAN KILL PEOPLE WITH BLOCKED ARTERIES. Before you start a new exercise program or increase the intensity of your program, check with your doctor.

Always stop exercising, particularly in interval workouts, as soon as you feel pain in one area that worsens with continued activity. Always stop a workout if you don't feel good. Never take an interval workout, or do any intense exercise, when your muscles are sore from a previous workout. On recovery days, exercise at reduced intensity.

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Cross Training Varies Your Workouts

Cardio cross training will burn more fat and keep you from getting bored! Cardio is a naturally monotonous exercise that can bore you to tears, unless you change it up and keep it short. This is where interval training comes in.

The good thing about interval cardio cross training is that it doesn't require long sessions to be effective. And, it gives superior calorie-burn, fat-burn and heart-heart when compared to steady-state cardio. I usually do my interval cardio sessions in 20 minutes or 2 separate 10-minute sessions (about 5 minutes apart). Research has shown that 2 separate workouts will give you more calorie-burn and fat-burn.

How do you do regular interval cardio? Here's an example:

1. Sprint for 30 seconds
2. Walk for 1 minute
3. Repeat this rotation for 20 minutes

To do interval cardio cross training, just mix up the exercise modes to get even more fat-burning benefits. Here is an example of an interval cardio cross training workout that I do:

1. Step Ups, 15 repetitions each leg
2. Walk 1 minute
3. Jumping Jacks, fast, 1 minute
4. Walk 1 minute
5. Sprint Intervals for 6 minutes (run 1 minute, walk 1 minute)
6. Mountain Climbers, fast, 1 minute
7. Repeat this circuit 1 more time

You can use any exercises you like. I like to mix in at least one strength exercise. You could do squat jumps instead of jumping jacks. Or, you could do bodyweight squats instead of step ups. One-legged exercises (unilateral) are more intense than that two-legged (bilateral) exercises. If you don't want to run on a particular day, just do all bodyweight strength exercises.

Cross training will make you less prone to repetitive stress injuries. Cross training will also tone more muscle groups, especially if you include strength exercises.

To get better fat-burning results, do interval cardio cross training.

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 »

Nutrition Basics For Health And Weight Loss

If you don't get the Nutrition Basics down, you are getting off on the wrong foot when trying to improve your health, burn fat and lose weight.



What puts on weight? Consume more calories than you burn (caloric surplus). Want to lose weight? Create a caloric deficit (burn more calories than you consume). That is the law of thermodynamics. So what makes this such a complex process?

Cutting calories to help reach your fat loss and weight loss goals is not as easy as “just doing the math.” You need a healthy meal plan to start the process. After that, you will make many adjustments until you know how different foods affect your body.

Don’t think you can just eat 1,000 calories every day and continue to lose weight (because you have a caloric deficit). This tactic will only work for a short time. Your body doesn’t know you’re on some crazy diet. It thinks you are starving, so it goes into survival mode and stores body fat. Many of you have wrecked your metabolisms by eating too few calories during the day (month after month).

Calories are Not Your Enemy

Calories are just units of energy in the form of food and drink. Consider these facts:

--one gram of protein provides 4 calories
--one gram of carbohydrates provides 4 calories
--one gram of fat provides 9 calories
--one gram of alcohol provides 7 calories
--vitamins and minerals don't provide any calories
--water provides no calories

Depending on your goals, you may want to gain weight (such as athletes) or lose weight. Proper training will allow you to do either without losing critical muscle mass.

What About Basal Metabolic Rate and My Menu?

What is your BASAL METABOLIC RATE (i.e., the number of calories you would burn if sitting all day doing nothing)? You will need to know this rate because it is important when planning meals to reach your individual training goals.

For instance, my basal metabolic rate is about 2,000 calories. If I eat 2,000 calories and burn 500 calories through exercise and daily activity, I will still lose weight and burn fat (500 caloric deficit).

If I starve myself and eat 1,200 calories (1,300 caloric deficit) day after day, my body will rebel and store body fat. A 1,300 caloric deficit is too large (severe calorie restriction).

You will find it easier to cut more calories by eating healthy and eating foods with high water content. You will actually be eating more while eating fewer calories. And, you will feel fuller for a longer period (thereby eating less).

Components of a Healthy Diet

Protein

Proteins are the basic building blocks of life. They make up a large part of our foods such as meat, nuts and beans. It is very important for building and repairing body tissues, especially after a tough workout. Protein should provide 15-30% of total daily caloric intake, depending on your goals. Include protein in every meal to help you feel fuller for a longer period (helping you eat less during the day).

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are made mostly of sugars. They are also important for burning fat and sparing protein to build and repair body tissue. Carbs provide vitamins, minerals, fiber and other substances that are important to overall health.

Carbohydrates are not your enemy! They are your body's preferred source of energy (especially during exercise). Its important to have a meal plan that includes the macronutrients (carbs, protein, fats). The primary cause of weight gain is a caloric surplus. There are some instances where carb cycling can be a great strategy to burn fat. But, you should master the basics of nutrition first.

The majority of your carbs should be low glycemic (about 80%) with the rest of your carbs being high glycemic. This means that you should limit eating foods like potatoes, bread, corn, pasta, muffins and flour products.

These high glycemic foods encourages fat storage since more sucrose is escorted into the bloodstream. Instead, concentrate more on foods like fruits, vegetables and whole grains which have high fiber content. Total carbs should provide 55%-60% of total daily caloric intake for moderately active individuals.

Fats

Fats are important for your diet because they help you feel full and keeps skin, hair and nails healthy. You should limit your intake of saturated fats (usually solid at room temperature, such as butter) and trans fats ( partially hydrogenated fats found in packaged foods).

Instead, increase your intake of unsaturated fats (they are usually liquid at room temperature, such as olive and canola oil). Fats should not exceed 20% of your total daily caloric intake. Percentages of protein, carbohydrates and fat should be adjusted based on your goals and level of exercise activity (i.e., hobby, recreational, sports, etc.).

Water

You can only live a few days without water. About 2/3 of your body is water. Drink about half your weight in water every day. So, if you weigh 160 pounds, drink 80 ounces of water each day.

Remember, certain foods contain large amounts of water. This counts toward your water intake. For instance watermelon is about 90% water and lettuce has about 95% water. Some meats contain as much as 70% water.

Water also helps your body flex muscles, remove wastes, cushion joints, carry nutrients and oxygen to your cells and helps convert food into energy (although water doesn't provide energy).

You may be experiencing dehydration if you have dry lips/mouth, dizziness, headache, nausea or muscle cramps. When you exercise, drink about a cup of water every 15 minutes.

Vitamins and Minerals

Discuss the supplements you plan to take with your doctor. Don't try to treat serious medical conditions with supplements. Look at the GRAS (Generally Regarded As Safe) supplement list published by The U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The supplements that I take and recommend to clients are multivitamins, fish oil and green tea. Notice that these supplements are great for health benefits and are not targeted at weight loss. Exercise and eat healthy to reach your fat loss and weight loss goals.

If you want 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!

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 »