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. She has also made a commitment to fitness. She shared this personal story with me and here is an exerpt from it:

"Over the past three days or so, I’ve gained a better understanding of why women of my age (the specifics of which is an irrelevant detail) lose track of their gym passes and the will to fight the good fight on personal fitness.

I’m nowhere near quitting. I’ve done this for too long and believe that exercise tones a lot more than my body. It smooths out the rough spots in my emotions; it gives me spiritual muscle for Life’s considerable challenges. It gains me “thinking time,” enhancing my sense of perspective. It makes me smile more and wrinkle less."

Read the rest of the story! Have a great workout today!

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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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, deadlift, lunges, standing bentover rows, squat-to curl-to press and bench press are great examples. Full-body core exercises like planks and side planks work well also. Spend less time posing on "mirror exercises" like bicep curls, calf raises and tricep extensions.

Here is a good fat-burning workout:

Do each exercise one after the other with little or no rest between exercises. Rest 3 minutes between circuits. Do the circuit 4 times.

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

This type of workout will help you break through your weight loss and fat loss plateau.

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!

Read more »

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 usually about 20 minutes each and very intense---whether it be circuit weight training or interval cardio. It works every time to burn massive amounts of calories and to keep my metabolism "ramped up."

Why don't you try two-a-day workouts for a few days? You will see a significant reduction in your weight loss and fat loss provided that you follow your meal plan!

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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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 avoid the "yo-yo effect" of rapid weight loss and even more weight gain. You must maintain a caloric deficit to lose weight.

This does not mean that you need severe calorie restriction to reach your fat loss and weight loss goals. Severe calorie restriction for too long will lead to health problems.

So, what are you to do? Lose as little water weight as possible so your body is forced to burn more body fat. To limit losing water weight:

1. Eat small meals of whole, natural foods every 3-4 hours. Also, eat protein with every meal. Protein will help you feel full for a longer period and help repair and rebuild your muscles.

2. Exercise regularly with strength training and short interval cardio sessions. Too many long, slow cardio sessions will eat away at your muscles.

3. Never do crash diets or severe calorie restriction! This will usually lead to yo-yo dieting and even more weight gain!

4. Don't lose any more than 2 pounds per week (on average). At the beginning of a new exercise program, you will probably lose 6-8 pounds the first week (especially if you are obese). The weight loss will even out over time.

Don't become frustrated when one week you lose 5 pounds and the next week you lose no pounds. Growing your muscles increases lean body weight. More lean body weight increases your metabolism which helps you burn fat!

Be patient and eat right, build muscle, burn the fat and lose the weight! This process will keep the weight off and you will keep your lean body!

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!

Read more »

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 straight minutes (like treadmill and biking).

If you want to tone up your body and look more sculpted, you should perform the majority of your cardio exercise using intervals (such as sprints). Cardio intervals would be something like 1 minute fast and 2 minutes jogging.

Do this rotation for 20 minutes and your cardio interval workout is done (and effective)!

Doing cardio sprint intervals will activate your bulky fast-twitch muscle fibers to give you a more lean and toned body. Just take a look at an athlete who competes in a speed sport.

Their bodies are "ripped" for a reason (most of their training is fast). Research has proven that the heart-health benefits of anaerobic exercise is superior to aerobic exercise.

More calories need to be burned than are consumed in order for weight loss and fat loss to happen.

An intense interval cardio session will help your body burn calories during and after your workout. This happens because the body needs to increase the amount of oxygen consumed in order to replenish energy and return your body to a resting state after your workout. So, the higher the intensity of your cardio workout, the more calories you will burn after your workout.

Other health benefits of cardio exercise are: improved circulation, increased red blood cell count, strengthened heart, improved lung capacity, lowered blood pressure, better endurance and overall risk reduction of heart health problems.

Keep doing your cardio exercise!

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!

Read more »

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 30-minute walks after breakfast, lunch or dinner. They will help you reach your weight loss and fat loss goals faster!

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!

Read more »

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 plethysmography studies showed that the high intensity exercisers lost belly fat, both underneath their skin and inside their bellies. The low-intensity exercisers lost no measurable belly fat.

Storing extra fat in the belly causes people to become diabetic. Full fat cells produce hormones that prevent the body from responding to insulin so that blood sugar rises too high, causing sugar to stick to cells and damaging cells anywhere in the body. Those who store fat primarily in the belly are the ones most likely to suffer high rises in blood sugar. If you store fat primarily in your belly, have high blood levels of triglycerides and sugar, and low levels of the good HDL cholesterol, you meet the definition of Metabolic Syndrome and the odds are that you are diabetic, or will become diabetic soon. You are likely to suffer a premature death unless you make major lifestyle changes: lose weight, exercise, avoid refined carbohydrates (except during exercise), and make sure you get enough vitamin D.

Exercise can cause heart attacks in people with blocked arteries, and intense exercise increases the risk. Almost 80 percent of diabetics die of heart attacks. Check with your doctor before starting a new exercise program or increasing the intensity of your existing program.

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