Too Busy To Exercise This Weekend? Not!

You're not too busy to exercise this weekend! You just have to really want to exercise and you will get it done! Check out this question: Client Q: Do you have any suggestions for fitting in exercise during my busy weekend?Mark's A: Here is a good tactic that I use all the time: exercise at the location where you are currently. Many days, I fit in 15-20 minutes of exercise while waiting for a client training session. Take advantage of "DEAD TIME" during your day and exercise. Twenty minutes of exercise here and 20 minutes of exercise there works just fine. Actually, two-a-day workouts will burn more calories and burn more fat than one workout! Heather (all-world busy mom), a good friend of mine, is one of the busiest people I know....

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Burn More Fat By Working Large Muscle Groups

Burn more fat by working large muscle groups, not by working out longer! Maximize your time in the gym and get the results you want! The quality of your workouts are better than the quantity of your workouts! Have you been working out for 2 long, dragging hours per session with little or no results! Shorten your weight training workouts to 50 minutes or less and ramp up the intensity! In other words, work harder (on large muscle groups) for a shorter period of time and you'll get more fat burn and calorie burn during and after your workout! 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,...

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Two-A-Day Workouts Burn More Fat, Like Football Training Camp

Two-a-day workouts (like football training camp) will help you burn more fat, lose more weight and break through your fat loss plateau! Research proves that two 20-minute workouts will burn more fat and calories than one 40 minute workout. Doing a second workout during the day (even a short one) keeps growth hormone levels high throughout the day. This will give you even more body fat burning. As a former college football player, I dreaded the repeated two-a-day practices for the first 2 weeks of training camp! Let me tell you, it was tough! But guess what? I was in the best physical shape of my life and I could sprint forever!To this day, I still routinely break up my workouts into 2 sessions and sometimes 3 sessions. The sessions are...

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Losing Water Weight vs. Burning Body Fat

So, are you losing water weight or burning body fat and losing weight? When you gain weight without exercise, the weight gain is usually fat and water retention. One big cause of water retention is too much salt consumption (sodium). If you eat many processed foods and not many whole, natural foods, your sodium consumption is too high---and you will take on more water weight. When you have rapid weight loss through severe calorie restriction, much of that weight loss will be water weight. So, you find yourself regaining this weight quickly when you begin to eat the carbohydrates, proteins and fats that your body needs. Why? Because you will also replenish water stores in your body's cells. You need to lose your weight the right way to...

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Cardio, Oxygen and Fat Burning

Cardio and oxygen help you with fat burning. Cardio is basically any exercise that works the heart and lungs with more intensity. Yes, you need consistent weight training but you also need consistent cardio training to burn fat, keep the weight off and stay healthy. For your body to burn fat, it must receive enough oxygen to begin the burning process. The definition of aerobic is “with oxygen.” Doing cardio exercises requires a generous supply of oxygen to create energy. When you start your workout, your body transforms glycogen to glucose. When your glucose stores become depleted then fat is burned as fuel.Remember this: cardio exercise doesn't have to be aerobic! Aerobic exercise is an activity that is done continuously for more than 2...

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Exercise After Lunch

I like to exercise right after lunch---like walk for 30 minutes after lunch. Why?1. It keeps me alert during those afternoon "sleepy hours." I don't get sluggish or sleepy. 2. It burns calories immediately after I just ate the calories.3. It keeps my metabolism "humming" during the day.4. The walk after lunch is part of my exercise for the day. I still do my regular workout later.5. I oftentimes walk after dinner too. These walks help me to keep an active lifestyle.When you do these walks after lunch or dinner, its important to eat healthy snacks such as fruit, veggies or nuts. The temptation will be to eat high-calorie, high-fat snacks because you are hungrier more early in the day.Bottom line: a calorie burned is a good thing. Try...

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Getting Rid of Belly Fat

Sit-ups will not get rid of belly fat because you cannot get rid of fat in a certain area just by exercising the muscles underneath that fat. You will lose the most belly fat by exercising intensely in any sport (Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, November 2008). Three groups of overweight, middle-aged women who suffered from Metabolic Syndrome completed 16-week programs of: (1) continuing their existing levels of activity with no change; (2) low-intensity exercise training five times a week at a level that did not cause breathing hard; and (3) high-intensity exercise training with three days a week hard enough to become short of breath and two days a week at an intensity not becoming short of breath. Cat scan X rays and air displacement...

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Weight Loss Buddies

Everyone needs weight loss buddies! Don't try to do weight loss alone! Going it alone will hurt your chances to achieve permanent weight loss. Why? Because permanent weight loss takes a lifetime commitment from you....lifetime commitments are hard to keep all by yourself.Research has proven that you are more likely to succeed with your weight loss and fat loss goals if you have a weight loss buddy (social support or accountability partner). Who are your weight loss buddies? It helps to have more than one because life's events are unpredictable.Here are some examples of good weight loss buddies:1. Spouse 2. Friend 3. Personal trainer4. Brother/Sister 5. Exercise group (bootcamps, group classes, neighborhood groups, running groups)6. Teammate7....

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Plyometric, Fat-Burning Workout

Plyometric workouts 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!If you're having trouble sculpting your butt, hips and thighs then you need to do more plyometric training. Plyometric 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 plyometric training is not for you. Try this jump training workout (take little or no rest between exercises):--jump rope, two feet, full speed, 1 minute--squat jumps, 10, full speed--lunge jumps, 10, full speed--depth jumps (off knee-high...

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Quick Weight Loss vs. Weight Loss Management

First, forget about quick weight loss if that's your only goal! Weight loss management is healthier for you and you will achieve and maintain a healthy weight and acceptable body fat percentage with weight loss management!So what's the difference between quick weight loss and weight loss management? Well, let see:Quick Weight Loss1. Quick weight loss program advertisements make it seem as though the most important thing in your life is using "their diet program." The most important thing is YOUR HEALTH! 2. Advertisements such as "lose 30 pounds in 30 days," sends a message that has a short-term solution to your weight problem. Weight lost that quickly (without regular exercise) will be mainly lost muscle mass instead of fat mass (this will...

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Ab Ball Rollout

The ab ball rollout is a great core exercise that you should be doing if you have been working out for some time. Finish Start1. Start with the ball in front with your elbows on the ball. 2. Roll the ball out slowly and keep your abs braced (as if taking a punch to the gut). As you straighten your torso you will feel your abs stretch and extend. Return to the starting position.Try the ab ball rollout the next time you workout.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...

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Weight Loss Management

Weight loss management is a simple process---if you do it day in and day out! Its a process like any goal you are trying to reach. You don't reach your goals overnight! And, you didn't gain that weight overnight---it was a process too!Weight loss management works along with fat loss management. Regular strength training, cardio exercise and a good meal plan will help you burn fat (lose inches), speed up your metabolism and lose the weight for good! No more yo-yo dieting and regaining that weight!How many times have you followed your meal plan and exercise program all week and then blown it on the weekend by going on an eating binge? If that's you, then you need a daily weight loss plan to follow!And, if you haven't yet figured out how...

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Kickboxing Cardio Burns More Body Fat

Try kickboxing cardio to burn more body fat, "lean out" your body and ramp up your workouts! Many of you are looking for a more challenging workout. I recommend kickboxing if your body is ready for the intensity.Its important to do a dynamic flexibility warmup prior to starting a kickboxing workout. If you don't, you will injure yourself. Kickboxing workouts are "high-risk," "high reward." A good dynamic warmup could include jumping rope, running, various jumps, kicks, bodyweight squats, hip turns and hip swings.A good kickboxing workout definitely targets your full body and that is why it burns so many calories and body fat. It is a high intensity workout so all you need is 20-30 minutes of exercises (resting about 1 minute between exercises).Some...

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Weight Loss Or Fat Loss?

Weight loss or fat loss? Which is better? Well, if you burn body fat as you lose the weight, you are on the right track! This would mean that you are building muscle mass, speeding up your metabolism and changing your body composition (more lean mass, less fat mass)....and, you won't put the weight back on as long as you stay consistent with your strength and cardio workouts and follow a good meal plan. It takes longer to do it the right way! Forget about the quick weight loss gimmicks out there! They don't work long-term! Check out this question by one of my readers:Hi Mark, Per the BMR calculator my BMR is 1423. I work out for 60 minutes of cardio and 30 minutes of weights 3 times a week M-W-F and probably a total of 60 minutes combined...

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Muscle Mass And Body Fat

Maintain/improve your muscle mass and burn body fat with consistent weight training (including bodyweight exercises). Muscle never changes into body fat. If you become chronically inactive, your muscles will lose mass (atrophy). And, your fat cells were still there although they had shrunk. So, now the fat cells come back with a vengeance! Also, your metabolism begins to slow down in your thirties. Your metabolism will slow down even more if you are losing muscle mass. In your early thirties, you can begin to lose as much as one-half pound of muscle each year. Inactivity will make this problem even worse. Remember, muscle mass speeds up your metabolism because your body has to work harder to maintain muscle mass. So, you begin to...

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Caffeine May Help to Prevent Alzheimer's

Two studies in the July 2009 issue of Journal of Alzheimer's Disease show that the equivalent of five cups of coffee a day reverses memory loss in mice with Alzheimer's disease. The coffee also reduced blood and brain levels of beta-amyloid,the abnormal protein that may cause Alzheimer's disease in mice and people. Other studies by the same researchers at the University of Florida show that caffeine lowers blood levels of beta-amyloid in elderly non-demented humans, and when given in early adulthood, prevents memory loss in mice bred to develop Alzheimer's disease in old age. Previous studies on rabbits also showed that caffeine may help to prevent Alzheimer's.Researchers at the Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Committee plan to start studies...

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Top 25 Exercise Tips To Get Jumpstarted

Here are my Top 25 Exercise Tips to jumpstart your exercise and get you out of your rut. The hardest thing to do when you're in a rut is to get started again....So, here are my Top 25 Exercise Tips to get you jumpstarted already!1. Clear your mind.....this will be fun and not some dreaded activity! Get your doctor's clearance if you've been inactive for a while.2. Set realistic goals such as restarting your active lifestyle, burning body fat (losing inches) or losing 1-2 pounds a week.3. Start today with a 20-minute walk. Do this walk every day, somewhere, at some point (the mall, at work or the park works). You can break it up into two 10-minute walks if you want.4. Start today with your great meal plan full of nutritious, whole foods...

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Get 16 Hour Energy---NO CRASH LATER!

You need to get your "16 Hour Energy" dose! It works every time and your body will NOT CRASH LATER....and, "16 Hour Energy" is not found in a pill, bottle or powder! Huh?!That's right! You need "16 Hour Energy" and you need it every day! Its easy to get and you don't have to spend any extra money. "16 Hour Energy" will probably save you some money and you'll feel and look great!Drum roll please..........Here's how you get and keep "16 Hour Energy:" 1. Get 7-8 hours of restful sleep every night. This is critical or you'll run out of energy during the next 16 hours.2. Follow a great meal plan full of whole, natural foods like fruits, veggies, lean meats, whole grains, etc. Eat small meals every 3-4 hours. Keep a food journal and it...

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Clock Lunges

Add clock lunges to your exercise routine to better sculpt your butt, hips, upper legs and lower legs and help them look better in 3-D space! Many of you do forward lunges, reverse lunges and walking lunges. These exercises work your lower body in one plane of motion (sagittal). I don't see enough people doing side lunges and transverse lunges. If you will do clock lunges, you are covered in all 3 planes of motion, your legs will look better and they will be more balanced.Do clock lunges this way (bodyweight or with dumbbells):Lunge with your right leg at 12 o’clock, 2 o’clock, 3 o’clock,...

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Don't Blame Obesity On Genetics

While its true that we inherit certain body types, don't blame genetics if you're overweight or obese. Ultimately, your body weight will depend on how much you eat and how much you exercise (including an active lifestyle), not your genetics. Hard, smart exercise and a good meal plan can overcome genetics!If you consistently eat more calories than you burn (caloric surplus), you will consistently gain weight and add on body fat, no matter what your genetics may be. If you are active and exercise regularly, it will help you burn more calories. It will also keep your metabolism "humming along." Part of being active is to walk as much as you can every day.You need to know how many calories you need each day. Start by learning your basal metabolic...

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Walk, Walk, Walk To Make Fitness Easier!

Walk, walk, walk and walk some more and you will make getting fit and staying fit much easier! You don't have to wait until "your workout" to exercise. You have plenty of opportunities during the day to walk.....Keep your walking/running shoes with you! Walk as much as possible during the day! Take advantage of every opportunity to walk. This one tip should be used all the time. It makes a huge difference in your fitness. When I used to work on The University of Texas campus, it was not unusual for me to walk up to 2 hours in a day going to different departments....and, there are alot of hills here, so that made the exercise that much better. I didn't think of it as exercise until I stopped working on campus. I soon realized that I had to...

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Starting Exercise Again?

If I were starting exercise again, my numero uno suggestion to myself would be to pick an activity I enjoy! Its that simple! We do and continue to do activities that we enjoy and love!If I were in an "exercise rut" for months or even years, I would start exercising again by playing a sport like flag football....this would be easy for me to do and I would stay with it because I love playing sports. What about you? What physical activity do you love? Are you in an "exercise rut?" Forget all the exercise theories and articles! Just get started with an exercise activity you love and do this activity for at least 30 minutes on most days. Before you know it, you will have started exercising regularly again (and loving it)!Then, just add...

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Low-Fat Diets

I always ask the same question when someone tells me they're on a LOW-FAT DIET. Why? The answers are usually something like:1. Fats are bad for me.2. I'm trying to lose weight on my low-fat diet.3. I saw this commercial on television and the people talked about how their low-fat diet helped them lose weight.4. I've tried alot of different diets so I want to see if this one will work for me.Okay, you get the picture.... All of these diets are getting "tired"......low-fat, low-carb, high-protein, etc. The same solution works for fat loss and weight loss: regular exercise, active lifesytle and a nutritious, balanced meal plan. Having said that, a low-fat, low-carb or high-protein diet can sometimes be used with short-term success....but,...

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