Nuts Prevent Heart Attacks

A review of 25 studies shows that eating nuts (including peanuts) lowers cholesterol to help prevent heart attacks (Archives of Internal Medicine, May 10, 2010). Eating an average of 2.5 ounces of nuts per day lowers total cholesterol 5.1 percent, LDL (the bad cholesterol) 7.4 percent, and triglycerides 10.2 percent. It even lowers Lp(a), a genetic component of cholesterol that increases risk for strokes and heart attacks in young people. The more nuts a person eats, the lower the cholesterol. Those with the highest bad LDL cholesterol had the greatest lowering when they ate nuts.An earlier review of five large epidemiologic studies and 11 clinical studies showed that eating nuts reduces risk for heart attacks (Nutrition Reviews, May 8, 2001)....

Read more »

Summer Body Sculpting Plyometric Workout

A summer body sculpting plyometric (jumping) workout will blast more fat because it is very intense! And, one-legged plyometric exercises are more intense than two-legged exercises. Shorten and intensify your workouts with jump training (plyometrics)! Plyometric workouts also blast 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 jump exercises. Bodyweight plyometric workouts are advanced workouts. You need to perfect jumping and landing techniques or you will injure yourself. And, if you have knee and...

Read more »

Summer Body Sculpting Eating Tips

Help sculpt your summer body by eating fresh and light. It will help you stay more alert during those hot summer days. The easiest way to get sleepy in the afternoon is to eat a 1000 calorie triple cheeseburger! That's a good way to pack on the body fat too! You're on the run alot during the summer right? Pack your meals with healthy foods that are easy to prepare or eat. Pack your smoothies, nuts, yogurt, finger sandwiches, kiwi fruit, cantaloupe, green salads, fruit juices (not sugary), etc. Eat more foods that have high water content. This will help you stay hydrated in the heat and eat less. Foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables are examples. These types of foods help you to feel fuller (satiety) while eating fewer calories....

Read more »

Strenuous Exercise Prolongs the Lives of Cells

Italian researchers showed that after running a marathon, a person's lymphocytes live longer (BMC Physiology, May 2010). This could help to explain why exercisers live more than 12 years longer than those who do not exercise (British Journal of Sports Medicine, March 2008).Every cell in your body has a programmable cell death called apoptosis. For example, skin cells live 28 days and then die. Cells lining the inside of your mouth and intestines live 48 hours, and your red blood cells live 120 days. When cells become cancerous, they live forever. They lose apoptosis and forget to die. Cancer cells then transfer to other tissues to prevent them from functioning. For example, breast cancer cells become so abundant that they may travel to your...

Read more »

Top 5 Summer Body Sculpting Cardio Exercises

Some cardio exercises sculpt your body better than others. For sure, don't waste too much time with long cardio sessions! You will get more heart-health and body sculpting benefits from short, interval cardio workouts.Get outside and exercise! Get off the cardio machines and enjoy the fresh air. If you know me at all, you know I prefer to exercise outdoors! Have fun this summer with your cardio! Get off the machines, be creative and keep burning body fat! Here are some top cardio exercises that sculpt your body:1. Run sprint intervals on grass or in sand if you're at the beach! Sprints...

Read more »

Summer Body Sculpting Tips

My Summer Body Sculpting Tips will show you how to shape and tone your body all day---not just during your workout! Hey gang, get active during these warm months! As you can see by the picture below, I love to ride my bike in the summer. Its a great way to help sculpt your body in the summer and there's more daylight to take advantage of evening ride time. Take advantage of all the time you have available to you during the day to burn more fat and sculpt your body! I will assume you know that you MUST follow your fat burning meal plan to be successful with any fitness program!Here are some...

Read more »

Summer Body Sculpting Workouts

You can sculpt your summer body anywhere, anytime. With the busy summer months on the way, you don't have to skip your workouts. Do you have 30 minutes to workout? Of course you do! My Fitness Hut's Summer Sculpting Workouts are only 30 minutes. You will burn fat with these intense workouts. Start getting your summer body on now! Everything is usually free and easy in the summer so keeping up with exercise and eating right is a huge challenge! Since the clothes are looser and skimpier, you want to look good, right?! Well, take some steps to start getting in shape for the summer. If you will...

Read more »

Weight Loss Failure Autopsy

Doing an autopsy on your weight loss failure(s) can be a huge benefit. The only way to improve is to know where you went wrong. Getting at the truth behind your weight loss and subsequent weight gain can sometimes be painful. But autopsies are sometimes that way.The bottom line: you want a healthy, lean body that will give you the best chance to live healthy for a long time! You need to know the reasons why your weight loss and fat loss efforts failed. As a personal trainer, I have seen many reasons why people fail at weight loss and fat loss. Some are:1. You MUST make a real commitment to change eating habits and exercise habits. A real commitment always includes willpower to succeed. That means you won't quit even if you lose some...

Read more »

Bicycle Riding Posture

Recreational bicycle riders probably should not try to tuck their heads down in the form of racers. A study from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland shows that "aerodynamic position" (with the head down near the handlebars) causes bicycle riders to tire earlier when they ride fast (European Journal of Applied Physiology, March 2010 and January 2006). Researchers compared how quickly cyclists tired during high-intensity cycling at constant speed in upright and supine postures. During the fatigue tests, riders performed a 10-second all-out effort followed by riding at a fast speed for 50 seconds. They repeated the all-out, 10-second bursts every minute until they couldn't go fast any more. Riding supine caused a drop in power and fatigue earlier...

Read more »

Side Squat To Tone Hips, Glutes And Thighs

The side squat will help you tone your hips, glutes and thighs faster. The side squat will improve your overall lower body strength, especially in the frontal plane of motion. 1. Grab a medicine ball and stand with your feet wider than a normal squat. Point your feet slightly outward. Brace your core (as if taking a punch to the gut).2. Without moving your feet, keep your chest up, shoulders back and lunge to the right. 3. Drive upward back to the standing position. Repeat the movement to the left side and back up to the standing position. That is 1 repetition.The side squat is similar...

Read more »

Lateral Cone Hops Burn Leg Fat

Use lateral cone hops to burn leg fat and improve your strength and power in the frontal plane of motion. Hops and jumps are very intense exercises that activate that bulkier, shapely fast twitch muscles fibers in your butt, hips and thighs.The frontal plane is an imaginary bisector that divides the body into equal front and back halves. The motions primarily involve abduction and adduction (side-to-side motions). Abduction takes your limb away from the midline of your body and adduction takes your limb closer to the midline of your body. Examples include exercises performed on hip abductor and...

Read more »

Lateral Tube Walk Tones Lower Body

The Lateral Tube Walk is a strength exercise that tones your lower body. It also looks like an easy exercise to perform. Don't be fooled by appearances. When done correctly, the lateral tube walk will challenge your strength (especially in the frontal plane), endurance and balance.The lateral tube walk will strengthen and tone your butt, hips, core, adductors (inner thighs) and outer thighs.Do the exercise this way:1. Attach the resistance band just above each ankle. Place your feet shoulder-width apart with your knees slightly bent and your back straight.2. Maintaining good posture, step...

Read more »

Shuttle Runs Burn Fat Faster

Use shuttle runs to burn fat faster and really lean and tone your body. Shuttle runs are proven fat burners and would be a great change of pace exercise for you, if you are ready for advanced exercise. Shuttle runs are effective fat burners because of at least three mechanisms:1. Interval cardio - Research has proven that the benefits of anaerobic exercise (like sprint interval cardio) is superior to aerobic exercise for fat loss, fitness and heart health. The progression of your cardio exercise should be low-intensity aerobics to moderate/high-intensity aerobics to high-intensity anaerobic...

Read more »

Muscles: Incredible Health Benefits

Almost all people should do some form of strength training as they age. Aging causes loss of muscles which increases your risk for metabolic syndrome, diabetes, obesity, heart attacks and premature death (Sports Medicine, May 2010). Contracting muscles remove sugar from the bloodstream to prevent high blood sugar levels which damage every cell in your body.The authors reviewed the world's literature and found 13 placebo-controlled studies of the effect of lifting weights on health in later life. Weight lifting reduced HbA1c (a measure of cell damage caused by sugar stuck on cells), body fat, and systolic blood pressure. It did not affect diastolic blood pressure, triglycerides, HDL, LDL or total cholesterol.The only way you can enlarge muscles...

Read more »

Metabolic Circuit Training Burns Fat

Metabolic circuit training will burn fat like crazy and get you in peak condition. You will make improvements in resting heart rate, strength, muscle mass, cardiac output and blood volume. Your body fat will definitely decrease at a faster rate.Metabolic circuit training is an advanced form of high intensity exercise (strength circuits and interval cardio circuits). Metabolic circuit training is a popular and effective method for sports teams. If you play on a rec league basketball, soccer or flag football team, metabolic circuit training would be ideal. You would also lessen your chances...

Read more »

Avoid Summer Weight Loss Gimmicks

There will be summer weight loss gimmicks aplenty, as usual. You don't have to fall for the weight loss traps. Never think short-term when it comes to weight loss. You can lose 20 pounds in 2 weeks but your body won't look lean and healthy. And, you will feel horrible. You don't just want to lose weight for summer, you want a lean, healthy body for life.Start exercising today toward your goal of fat loss and permanent weight loss. The quick weight loss gimmicks lead to yo-yo dieting and even more weight gain! There are no quick solutions to permanent fat loss and weight loss. Make the commitment to change your eating habits permanently even if you have to take small steps to get it done! And mix in regular weight training (including...

Read more »

Start Exercising Again, Today

Today is the best day to start exercising again! It doesn't have to be anything special, just get started exercising! Has your "I'll start exercising again next week" turned into next year? And, you still haven't really started exercising regularly? One of the biggest barriers to getting anything started is procrastination! Jumpstart your exercise now!Whatever you do, don't look for a quick, easy solution to fitness and weight loss. The quick weight loss gimmicks lead to yo-yo dieting and even more weight gain! There are no quick solutions to permanent fat loss and weight loss. You could...

Read more »

Salt for Warm Weather Exercise

This month, two major reports in medical journals claim that getting people to reduce their intake of salt will save lives, prevent heart attacks and markedly reduce health costs (Annals of Internal Medicine, April 2010; NEJM, April 22, 2010). That may be true for many people who do not exercise, but for heavy exercisers and athletes, particularly those who are also vegetarians, it can cause cramps, fatigue, injuries and even death.During World War II, Dr. James Gamble of Harvard Medical School showed that salt (sodium) is the only mineral that people need to be concerned about when they work or exercise for long periods in hot weather. After Gamble published his studies, people who work in the heat were given salt tablets, which is such a...

Read more »

Lose Weight With Challenging Exercises

If you want to lose weight and burn fat, do more challenging exercises! Challenge yourself with exercises that test your balance, coordination, strength and flexibility! Step "outside the box" and try new exercises. If you do, I guarantee you will lose more weight and burn more fat!Try some of these challenging exercises:1. Incorporate many one-legged exercises such as power step ups (pictured above), single leg squats, single leg good mornings, single leg medicine ball exercises, etc. These types of exercises are more intense than two-legged exercises.2. Include exercises with your eyes closed...

Read more »

Burn Fat Exercising Major Muscle Groups

Burn more fat by exercising major 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 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 major 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...

Read more »

Home Workout For Summer

Here's a home workout you can use this summer anywhere, anytime. With the busy summer months on the way, you don't have to skip your workouts. Just make the adjustments to your summer schedule and do your workouts! No one wants to gain weight in the summer! Television watching can be a big time waster! I rarely watch a 2 or 3 hour game without doing something else while watching. I don't have the time to waste.So, while you're watching 24 reruns, 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: ...

Read more »

Fat-Burning Cardio

Burn fat with your cardio workouts! If you aren't burning fat, change up your cardio routine. Change your thought process about how you do your cardio. If your cardio workout sessions are 45 minutes to an hour, get ready to change (if you want to burn fat and tone your body)! Long, slow cardio sessions wastes time and your precious muscle mass also wastes away! Anaerobic cardio sessions, like sprint intervals, have been proven to give superior heart-health and fat-burn! So, stop wasting your time and start building your lean, mean fat-burning machine! Devote more time to strength training...

Read more »

Preventing Senility

A study from Columbia University in New York shows that those least likely to develop Alzheimer's disease eat a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids, omega-6 fatty acids, vitamin E, vitamin B12 and folate, in foods such as nuts, fish, tomatoes, olive oil, poultry, broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables, fruits, and dark green leafy vegetables. They eat less red meat, organ meats and high-fat dairy products (Archives of Neurology, April 2010).Alzheimer's disease is associated with an overactive immunity called inflammation. Your immunity is good for you because it prevents germs from invading your body. However if your immunity is overactive, it uses the same chemicals that it uses to destroy invading bacteria to punch holes in your arteries...

Read more »

March Of Dimes Walk For The Babies

The March of Dimes Walk For Babies is a great cause that helps everybody. Start walking with a purpose---not just to get fit but to save lives. Every day, thousands of babies are born too soon, too small and often very sick. I'm walking in March for Babies because I want to do something about this. And I need your help.Please support my walk. Making a secure donation is easy: just click the "March of Dimes Button." The mission of March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.Your gift will support March of Dimes research...

Read more »

Burn Fat And Lose Weight Faster

Burn fat and lose weight faster by using shorter, more intense workouts. If you're working out 2 hours a day, stop now! You're wasting valuable time and probably breaking down your body. Exercise smarter, not harder and longer! A 30-40 minute workout will help you reach your fat loss goals.Intense, fat-burning, speed-based workouts give you maximum benefits in minimum time! One 20-minute, speed-based workout will burn tons of calories and fat---during and after your workout!Speed-based workouts don't have to be "running only" workouts. But, running sprints are usually included in a speed-based...

Read more »

Diabetes and Glutathione

Ok, we have all heard of diabetes....what is glutathione though? You need to know about glutathione. Research has found a link between diabetes and glutathione. According to Wiley InterScience, "Increasing evidence in both experimental and clinical studies suggests that oxidative stress plays a major role in the pathogenesis of both types of diabetes mellitus. Free radicals are formed disproportionately in diabetics." "Abnormally high levels of free radicals and the simultaneous decline of antioxidant defense mechanisms can lead to the development of insulin resistance. These consequences of oxidative stress can promote the development of complications of diabetes mellitus."Diabetics also have low levels of intracellular glutathione (GSH).According...

Read more »