It is a wonderful feeling to realize that if you lie flat on your back all day and watch the world go by, your body burns up some 1,700 calories worth of energy just to keep alive. Add to this another 800 calories for the energy expended in sitting, walking, playing, and washing dishes or thinking seven or eight hours at an office desk, and you have a grand total of 2,500 calories that you must take each day in the form of food merely to keep your weight stationary. These figures apply if you weigh about 160 pounds.

Now suppose, after you have eaten your 2,500-calorie quota, you spy a solitary doughnut left over on the dessert plate. Its loneliness touches you; unless it is eaten it is going to be thrown out with the coffee grounds and cantaloupe rinds. Sheer waste So you eat it

That single doughnut is a treacherous, subversive influence. It packs a 200-calorie punch. It boosts your daily calorie intake 200 degrees above par, for a total of 2,700. It is these extra calories you dont need that keep you from getting slim.

Actually, not every calorie in this case of the superfluous doughnut is laid down in you as fat. Because of the stimulating effect of food itself, and through other regulatory means that nobody understands very well, you are usually able to handle a small portion of those surplus calories in your stride.

In practical terms, however, a daily intake of 200 to 300 calories in excess of needs results in a weight increase of 8 to 10 pounds a year. Only 3/5ths of a pound a year is considered allowable; at least that is the usual annual weight increase of normal persons as they grow older. One investigator with a diabolically mathematical turn of mind has calculated that one extra pat of butter a day beyond ones needs will add 165 pounds to ones weight in twenty years.

When you eat more food than you need, it is possible to take extra exercise to prevent its turning into fat. But we might as well be honest with ourselves. It takes more exercise than we think. For instance:

If you consume the above, the additional exercise maintenance requirements needed to burn up these surplus calories would be :

a.One doughnut 200 CALORIES - Conduct an orchestra for 135 minutes

b.One ice cream cone 150 CALORIES - Wash dishes for 135 minutes

c.One marshmallow 20 CALORIES - Write for 60 minutes

d.One chocolate nut caramel 80 CALORIES - Type for 90 minutes

If you consume the above - the additional exercise maintenance requirements needed to burn up these calories surplus calories would require you to:

e.Two dates 56 CALORIES - Read aloud 120 minutes

f.One peanut bar 350 CALORIES - Wash clothes for 180 minutes

g.One ice cream soda 400 CALORIES - Saw wood for 55 minutes

h.One fig bar 60 CALORIES - Ironing for 60 minutes

i.One wedge of pumpkin pie 360 CALORIES - Swim for 135 minutes

j.One vanilla wafer 23 CALORIES - Sew for 60 minutes

k.Two Brazil nuts 90 CALORIES - Walk slowly for 45 minutes

l.One serving poultry stuffing 275 CALORIES - Sweep the floors for 150 minutes

m.One tablespoon thick gravy 50 CALORIES - Knit for 90 minutes

n.One bottle 12 oz. soft drink 120 CALORIES - Play the violin for 150 minutes

Pretty somber, isnt it Each horrendous pound of fat stored on your person represents about 4,000 calories, and to use these up you would have to climb stairs for nearly four hours. That is why, although exercise is a splendid accessory, it is not practical as a sole method of reducing. Or are you tougher than we think

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These are in my opinion the TOP 5 Questions asked regarding core workouts for strengthening and firming your abdominal muscles.

Question: Can You Exercise the Upper and Lower Abs Separately

Answer: Although it may feel as though you can “isolate” the upper and lower abs the rectus abdominis, you actually cant contract one section independent of the other. Research that looked at the muscle activation while performing a basic crunch exercise found that you may feel more contraction in the upper abdomen because the muscle fibers in the upper part of the rectus abdominis shorten more than in the lower part of the muscle, but the entire muscle is, in fact, activated during the movement.

When you perform a reverse crunch lifting the hips, the opposite happens; you feel more contraction in the lower part of the rectus abdominis even though the muscle fibers in the upper rectus abdominis are also contracting.

Additionally, when you stabilize the hips and only lift the torso during the crunch, there is greater muscle involvement in the upper rectus abdominis as well as the internal obliques. When you perform reverse crunches, there is more activation in the lower part of the rectus abdominis and more involvement of the external obliques.

Question: Can I Lose Belly Fat by Doing Lots of Crunches

Answer: Unfortunately, no. Simply doing lots of crunches wont reduce belly fat. The belief that you can lose body fat in a specific area by exercising the muscles just beneath that fat is called “spot reduction.” Spot reduction is a myth that has been disproved time and time again.

In 1984, researchers at the University of Massachusetts concluded that abdominal exercises do not decrease the amount or size of belly fat. In this study men did the equivalent of 5,000 sit-ups for 27 days. The researchers measured body fat in the abdomen, buttocks and upper back during the study. If spot reduction worked, the men should have lost fat only in the abdominal area because the buttocks and upper back are not worked during sit-ups. However there was no change in the thickness of abdominal fat or waist size. Biopsies showed there was no significant change in the diameter of abdominal fat cells either.

What ab exercises can do is tone and firm the muscles, but to reduce abdominal fat takes more than just ab exercise. You need a balanced fitness routine that includes cardiovascular exercise, resistance training, and a sensible diet.

Question: What Is the Best Abdominal Exercise

Answer: One study that looked at the best and worst ab exercises concluded that:

1 The Bicycle Crunch Exercise was the best for strengthening the rectus abdominis
2 The Captains Chair Exercise is the best for strengthening the internal obliques and the external obliques

However, its important to keep in mind that there is no single abdominal exercise that challenges all the abdominal muscles in the most effective way, and the best way to work the abs is with a variety of abdominal exercises.

Question: Does the Order of Ab Exercises Matter

Answer: Although some programs insist that the order of abdominal exercise is the key to getting results, there is no research that backs this up. In fact, research shows that the opposite may be true. The Principal of adaptation explains how our body constantly adapts to new training routines. Over time and with practice we become very efficient and master these techniques. If you continue to do the same exercise, in the same order in a few weeks or months the routine becomes ineffective and we hit a plateau. To break this cycle, modify your routines every 1-3 months. To modify your exercise routine, change one of more of the following:

1 The Specific Exercises Performed
2 The Number of Repetitions or Sets Performed
3 The Order of the Exercises
4 The Number of Exercises Done Each Session
5 The Amount of Weight or Resistance Used
6 The Speed, or Tempo of the Exercises

Question: Can I Use Weights When Exercising the Abs

Answer: Yes, but before you add resistance with weights you should be able to perform the exercises properly with good technique. The most effective ab exercises start with proper body position, controlled movements and focus on contracting the specific muscles you want to work. Better results come from slow, controlled repetitions. Once you have good form, you can begin adding small hand held weights or a medicine ball to increase the resistance.

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For a fully comprehensive program on how to lose as much body fat as you want by following a smart, scientifically designed training and nutrition program, check out my system designed for both Men Women.

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When out with friends or family, how easy it is to stop and eat at a fast food restaurant It is very easy and convenient. We are all starved for more time. I was out recently with some friends and stopped at a fast food restaurant to eat. I hate fast food restaurants, but sometimes you just do not have time for anything else and you have to go there. You just have to make the best of it and make good choices while finding something healthy to eat.

If youre forced to eat fast-food, heres a tip to make sure that youre not doing much damage to your body… ALWAYS AVOID the soda and anything deep fried including French Fries, hash browns, and anything breaded like chicken nuggets, chicken patties, or breaded fish sandwiches. These are all absolutely soaked in deadly trans fats from the industrial hydrogenated vegetable oils they use to fry all of these items.

Remember, as Ive said before, Ive seen studies indicating that as little as 1 gram of artificial trans fat per day can have serious degenerative internal effects in your body such as inflammation, clogging and hardening of the arteries, heart disease, various forms of cancer…not to mention packing on the ab flab. Thats as little as 1 gram

Consider that a typical fast-food meal of a breaded chicken sandwich or fish sandwich along with an order of fries can contain as much as 10 grams of trans fat Add on a cookie or small piece of pie for dessert which are usually made with deadly margarine or shortening, and now youre up to about 13 grams of trans fat with that entire meal.

If 1 gram a day is slowly killing you, imagine what 13 grams is doing And that was only one meal that you ate. Some people are consuming 20-30 grams of trans fat per day, and not even realizing what theyre doing to themselves internally. Please realize that nobody, I mean NOBODY, is looking out for your health, except for YOU.

Anyway, back to the topic of how to avoid this stuff and eat a reasonably healthy meal on the rare occasion that youre forced to eat fast-food. As for drinks, avoid the sodas…theyre nothing but heavily processed high fructose corn syrup which will surely end up as extra belly fat. And yes, that mean NO DIET SODA either This stuff is pure evil to your body. Water is always the best drink, but if you need something with flavor, try unsweetened or lightly sweetened iced tea.

At breakfast, the best choice is an egg, ham, and cheese on an English Muffin not on a Croissant, which is full of nasty Trans Fat, or a fruit& nut salad. At lunch or dinner, the best choices are a grilled chicken sandwich, chili, a grilled chicken salad without croutons again croutons = more Trans Fat, or even just a plain cheeseburger. The main take-away point from this little fast-food article is that the nastiest stuff at these fast food joints are the sodas and fries, and any other deep fried items.

For any of you that have seen the movie “Super-Size Me”, you saw how eating fast food every day absolutely destroyed that guys health, but did you happen to notice the one guy that was the king of eating Big Macs or some kind of burger I dont remember what kind of burger it was, but basically this guy has eaten these fast food burgers almost every day of his life for the past 30 years or something like that.

Did you notice that he stated that he almost never eats the fries or soda, even though he eats the burgers every day And hes not necessarily overweight. Now Im not saying that fast-food burgers made with their refined white bread and low quality beef and cheese are the healthiest thing, but the point is its the fries and sodas that are the real health disaster.

Alright, so next time youre out at one of these places, remember these tips and choose smart By the way, if you havent heard yet, McDs has added a nutrition label to all of their food wrappers now. Remember, that as little as one gram of trans Fat may cause some internal harm and now you can actually see how many grams of trans fat youre eating right on the food wrapper. That might change your mind about finishing it.

About the Author

For a fully comprehensive program on losing as much body fat as you want by following a smart, scientifically designed training and nutrition program, check out my program for both Men Women.

Article Source: Content for Reprint

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When out with friends or family, how easy it is to stop and eat at a fast food restaurant It is very easy and convenient. We are all starved for more time. I was out recently with some friends and stopped at a fast food restaurant to eat. I hate fast food restaurants, but sometimes you just do not have time for anything else and you have to go there. You just have to make the best of it and make good choices while finding something healthy to eat.

If youre forced to eat fast-food, heres a tip to make sure that youre not doing much damage to your body… ALWAYS AVOID the soda and anything deep fried including French Fries, hash browns, and anything breaded like chicken nuggets, chicken patties, or breaded fish sandwiches. These are all absolutely soaked in deadly trans fats from the industrial hydrogenated vegetable oils they use to fry all of these items.

Remember, as Ive said before, Ive seen studies indicating that as little as 1 gram of artificial trans fat per day can have serious degenerative internal effects in your body such as inflammation, clogging and hardening of the arteries, heart disease, various forms of cancer…not to mention packing on the ab flab. Thats as little as 1 gram

Consider that a typical fast-food meal of a breaded chicken sandwich or fish sandwich along with an order of fries can contain as much as 10 grams of trans fat Add on a cookie or small piece of pie for dessert which are usually made with deadly margarine or shortening, and now youre up to about 13 grams of trans fat with that entire meal.

If 1 gram a day is slowly killing you, imagine what 13 grams is doing And that was only one meal that you ate. Some people are consuming 20-30 grams of trans fat per day, and not even realizing what theyre doing to themselves internally. Please realize that nobody, I mean NOBODY, is looking out for your health, except for YOU.

Anyway, back to the topic of how to avoid this stuff and eat a reasonably healthy meal on the rare occasion that youre forced to eat fast-food. As for drinks, avoid the sodas…theyre nothing but heavily processed high fructose corn syrup which will surely end up as extra belly fat. And yes, that mean NO DIET SODA either This stuff is pure evil to your body. Water is always the best drink, but if you need something with flavor, try unsweetened or lightly sweetened iced tea.

At breakfast, the best choice is an egg, ham, and cheese on an English Muffin not on a Croissant, which is full of nasty Trans Fat, or a fruit& nut salad. At lunch or dinner, the best choices are a grilled chicken sandwich, chili, a grilled chicken salad without croutons again croutons = more Trans Fat, or even just a plain cheeseburger. The main take-away point from this little fast-food article is that the nastiest stuff at these fast food joints are the sodas and fries, and any other deep fried items.

For any of you that have seen the movie “Super-Size Me”, you saw how eating fast food every day absolutely destroyed that guys health, but did you happen to notice the one guy that was the king of eating Big Macs or some kind of burger I dont remember what kind of burger it was, but basically this guy has eaten these fast food burgers almost every day of his life for the past 30 years or something like that.

Did you notice that he stated that he almost never eats the fries or soda, even though he eats the burgers every day And hes not necessarily overweight. Now Im not saying that fast-food burgers made with their refined white bread and low quality beef and cheese are the healthiest thing, but the point is its the fries and sodas that are the real health disaster.

Alright, so next time youre out at one of these places, remember these tips and choose smart By the way, if you havent heard yet, McDs has added a nutrition label to all of their food wrappers now. Remember, that as little as one gram of trans Fat may cause some internal harm and now you can actually see how many grams of trans fat youre eating right on the food wrapper. That might change your mind about finishing it.

About the Author

For a fully comprehensive program on losing as much body fat as you want by following a smart, scientifically designed training and nutrition program, check out my program for both Men Women.

Article Source: Content for Reprint

[Source : Full text health articles - Content for Reprint]

It seems everyone who exercises is looking for the best ab-exercise routine for developing flat, tight abdominal muscles. Every year there are dozens of a new exercises, fitness classes, products, gadgets or routines claiming to sculpt and strengthen the abdominal muscles like none other. And while some of these may offer a new approach to working the abs, many are ineffective and may increase your risk of injury.

To avoid falling victim to unproven and misleading abdominal exercise claims, its important to have an understanding about the function of your abs, including where they are and what they do and how they can be exercised with the least risk of injury.

First, lets look at each of the abdominal muscles groups. The most well-known and prominent abdominal muscle is the rectus abdominis. It is the long, flat muscle that extends vertically between the pubis and the fifth, sixth, and seventh ribs.

A strong tendinous sheath called the “linea alba,” or white line, divides the rectus abdominis down the middle, and three more horizontal tendinous sheaths give the muscle its familiar “washboard” or “six pack” look in very fit athletes.

The rectus abdominis helps to flex the spinal column, narrowing the space between the pelvis and the ribs. It is also active during side bending motions and helps stabilize the trunk during movements involving the extremities and the head.

The next group of muscles that make up the abdominals are the external oblique muscles. This pair of muscle is located on each side of the rectus abdominis. The muscle fibers of the external obliques run diagonally downward and inward from the lower ribs to the pelvis, forming the letter V. You can locate them by putting your hands in your coat pocket.

The external obliques originate at the fifth to twelfth ribs and insert into the iliac crest, the inguinal ligament, and the linea alba of the rectus abdominis. The external oblique muscles allow flexation of the spine, rotation of the torso, sideways bending and compression of the abdomen.

The internal oblique muscles are a pair of deep muscles that are just below the external oblique muscles. The internal and external obliques are at right angles to each other. The internal obliques attach from the lower three ribs to the linea Alba and from the inguinal ligament to the iliac crest and then to the lower back erector spinae. The lower muscle fibers of the internal obliques run nearly horizontally. Along with the external obliques, the internal obliques are involved in flexing the spinal column, sideways bending, trunk rotation and compressing the abdomen.

Because of their unique alignment, at right angles to each other, the internal and external obliques are referred to as opposite-side rotators. When the trunk rotates left, the external obliques on the right contract. When the trunk rotates to the right, the external oblique fibers on the left activate the movement.

The deepest layer of abdominal muscles is called the “transversus abdominis.” The transverse abdominal muscle wraps around the torso from front to back and from the ribs to the pelvis. The muscle fibers of the transversus abdominis run horizontally, similar to a corset or a weight belt. This muscle doesnt help move the spine or the pelvis, but it does help with respiration and breathing. This muscle helps facilitate forceful expiration of air from the lungs, stabilizes the spine and helps compress the internal organs.

The hip flexors are a group of muscles that bring the legs and trunk together in a flexion movement. The hip flexors are not technically abdominal muscles, but they do facilitate movements during several ab exercises.

The muscles that make up the hip flexors include: psoas major, illiacus, rectus femoris, pectineus, sartorius.

Many of the exercises being promoted as “ab exercises” actually work the hip flexors more than the abs. The hip flexors are strong powerful muscles that often overtake the abdominal muscles when performing some variations of abdominal exercises. In order to isolate the abdominals you need to minimize the involvement of the hip flexors and maximize the contraction of the abdominals.

One example of an ab exercise that actually focuses on the hip flexors includes the full sit-up exercise, especially when the feet are held down. This movement primarily involves the hip flexors and may cause the lower back to arch. This could increase the risk of back pain, particularly if you have weak abdominal muscles. Therefore, the full sit up is not recommended for beginners. Another example of an ab exercise that works the hip flexors is any leg-raising exercise done in a supine laying face up position. Again, this movement works the hip flexors far more than the abs and shouldnt be done until you have good abdominal strength.

Keep in mind that the best way to isolate the abs is by minimizing the involvement of the hip flexors while doing your ab workout. Now that you have a basic understanding of what the abdominal muscles are and how they work, you can design workouts that actually target these muscles.

About the Author

For a fully comprehensive program on how to lose as much body fat as you want by following a smart, scientifically designed training and nutrition program, check out my program designed for both Men Women.

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