Ab Machines - Do They Actually Work?

By Tom Leverson

One of the frequent questions I often get asked is, do the
ab cruncher exercise machines you often see on television
actually work? Yes and no is the answer to that question. I
know this is not particularly useful but let me explain.

These machines exercise the different layers of ab muscles.
The idea is that these machines will stimulate the abs muscles
to enlarge. However, they will not necessarily give you a set
of rippling, muscular, lean abs. The reason being is that to
get a set of ripped abs you will need to get rid of that layer
of fat tissue that overlays the abs.

Ab crunchers will not normally remove the fat focally over
the abs. Performing hundreds or thousands of sit ups will
not get rid of this layer of fat tissue for the exact same
reason. The only way to do this is by lowering calorie
intake and burning excess calories, therefore reducing fat
content all over the body.

Adding an aerobic exercise regime to your exercise program
is the most effective way to burn off these calories. Also,
exercises that use the big muscles of the body such as the
quadriceps are great at burning calories.

The quadriceps are the big thigh muscles located at the
upper part of the legs. A good exercise to stimulate the
quads is squats. Due to the fact that they produce so much
heat and burn a large amount of calories means they are
great to help weight loss. They also stimulate the body's
natural growth hormone production therefore encouraging
muscle growth which is good for building those abdominal
muscles.

The most common aerobic exercises are rowing, running,
swimming and cycling. For burning fat it is best to do these
exercises over a long period of time.

Used on their own these machines won't get you a set of
visible rippling abs. You have to do fat busting exercises
as well. Great ab development can be had in as soon as
twelve weeks if you apply this advice consistently.

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5 Essential Bodybuilding Nutrition Rules

By Chad J. Beck

Every successful bodybuilder understands that nutrition is a
key component of any training program. Following correct
nutritional practices will provide you with a stable amount
of energy needed for daily activities and for each training
session. Having an excellent nutrition base and enough rest
are vital for ongoing bodybuilding success. Not following a
sound nutritional plan will just limit your potential muscle
gains and may put to waste all your effort and time invested
on training.

According to Catherine Ratzin Jackson, author of the book
"Nutrition for the Recreational Athlete", the eating habits
of bodybuilders aren't always based on sound nutritional
advice. She explains that many bodybuilders base their diet
strategies on tips they've read in bodybuilding magazines or
from -experts' at nutrition stores. Unfortunately, much of
this advice is usually one-sided and does not provide the
complete picture of the essentials of calorie intake,
protein requirements and specific types of food to eat for
weight loss. If you're just getting started with
bodybuilding, here are some essential rules of nutrition
used by professional bodybuilders:

1. Avoid rapid weight loss. Rapid weight loss can result in
the loss of lean body tissue and make it very difficult to
increase muscle size and strength. Extreme weight loss often
results from starvation or low-calorie diets, and may result
in electrolyte imbalances, water and important lean body
mass. High protein, low-fat diets can be harmful to your
health and may prevent you from achieving your ideal body
weight.

2. Always calculate your protein requirements. Muscles need
protein to build up strength and mass. Just make sure that
you are getting the right amount of it. Too much or too
little of this nutrient will not produce your desired
results. Different people need to take different amounts of
protein as measured by their Recommended Dietary Allowance
(RDA). The RDA of protein for sedentary individuals is
0.8g/kg per day. While for athletes, the RDA is set at
1.0-1.5 g/kg. Make it a habit now to check the nutritional
labels of each food you eat to keep track of your protein
consumption.

3. Eat Fresh Foods. Eating fresh foods is an important
component of any bodybuilding program. Stay away from
artificial and processed food as much as possible. Natural
foods from animal and plant sources give out the most
nutrients to our bodies. Our bodies assimilate more
nutrients from natural foods as compared with artificial
foods.

4. Exercise caution in taking supplements. It is now widely
acceptable to use supplements for performance enhancement.
Supplements are a great help to any athlete but they do
cause some negative side effects, especially if abused.
Supplements are designed to be added, or supplement, our
nutrition program. Supplements are by no means created to
replace proper diet and exercise.

5. Watch what you eat before and after a workout. Muscle
builds up significantly before and after you exercise. What
you eat at this time will surely influence this process
either positively or negatively. Always monitor what you eat
at this time by keeping a written record.

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Use These 5 Criteria When Choosing A Muscle Building Program To Fit You

By Mark Dale

Why is it that so many people who have followed various
muscle building programs have failed to make the muscle mass
gains they desire? Well put simply, it's usually because
they've followed a muscle program that is completely
unsuitable for building muscle. If this sounds like you and
you're not seeing regular muscle growth and improvements in
the mirror then you are doing something wrong.

However, many muscle building programs can be completely
inappropriate to an individual's needs. The result of this
can be anything from little or no muscle gains or even
injury through over training.

If you are looking for a muscle building program that can be
customized for your goals, body type, and size then I
suggest you think about the following 5 main points when
choosing your next program:

1. Workout Time

Muscle building programs aimed at gaining lean muscle mass
will not have you training for hours in the gym. Your
workout routines should last no more than 45 mins, but
should be intense and push your strength to the limit.

2. Varying Your Workout Program

Keep your workout program varied and this will help to keep
your muscles growing by stimulating them in different ways.
Therefore re-structure your gym workouts every 8 - 12 weeks.
If you don't change routines your body will become used to
the same exercises and muscle growth will slow or even stop.

3. Rest is Part of Your Muscle Program

You need plenty of rest to help your muscles grow and to
help your body recover from your workouts. Every good muscle
building program must include rest days and you should
always take a week off at the end of your 8-12 weeks
program.

4. Perform Exercise with Correct Form

When doing any sort of physical activity you must make sure
that you do them safely, using the correct form and speed.
Look out for muscle building programs that provide you with
exercise databases that are either video or illustration
based. If you are unsure of how to do an exercise correctly
then don't do it -watch the video or study the illustrations
and practice with a light weight.

5. Diet - The Most Essential Part!

Diet is the key to every bodybuilder's success. However any
muscle building diet must be personalized to your body type
and goals. The best muscle building programs will provide
diet plans for every individual. This means diet plans will
cover all calorie levels and include meals from 2000 - 6000
calories a day. The best meal plans I've come across even
cater for vegetarians or those who need to avoid specific
foods.

So that's 5 very simple but very important tips to get you
on the right track to muscle building success. Make sure you
find answer to all these points when you are looking at
muscle building programs.

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6 Essentials To Find The Best Home Exercise Equipment

By Thong M. Dao



Purchasing the best home exercise equipment isn't as simple
as you may believe. Indeed, you have to think about it a lot.
Here are a few essential elements to think of while making a
decision.

1. What's your goal?. Choosing the right type of equipment
and deciding how much you'll spend relies heavily on what you
want to achieve and your fitness level. So before jumping to
conclusion, ask yourself what you want to gain:
cardiovascular health, strength, energy, or what. Answering
those questions will help you pick the best equipment for
you.

2. What's your budget?. You need to decide how much to spend
on your equipment. The costs vary. An elliptical trainer
costs anywhere from $2000 to $5000, a treadmill from $1500
to $3500, a stationary bike from $500 to $1000. Remember
"you get what you pay for", so consider everything:
features, affordability and usability.

3. Space. Apart from your target and budget, the two other
evenly critical things to think of whenever buying workout
equipment are: to examine it and to measure the size. Whilst
the first is fairly automatic, the second is frequently left
out, merely because if you're at the store, it's difficult
to say if the best home exercise equipment can actually fit
into your free space. Therefore look at the space necessary
for the equipment. (It applies whether you've a home
gymnasium room or only a little space in the living-room.)

4. Have a look around. Inspect a different store and compare
to find out the best home exercise equipment. You had better
also do research on the Net to be educated of the product
you wish to purchase. Find out product reviews where you can.

5. Don't be deceived. Folks can do everything to make sales.
Therefore when you watch television adverts stating that you
are able to drop a few inches off your waistline or drop off
a few pounds after a week, do not fall prey. Yeah, these
seem too good to be true, and they are. Quick-fixes with
"before" and "after" testimonies could be appealing, however
remember that bodies don't change radically after some
sessions. Since if it does, everybody who wants to have
six-pack abs or who would like to drop off pounds after
pounds of fat must be satisfied right away.

6. Investigate all the cost. Installation, transportation,
and added charges are frequently neglected. So be sure you
know all the cost and are willing to pay off the final
amount for your best home exercise equipment.


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Lose Weight Fast - 3 Crucial Things You Should Know

By Chloe Bishop

Most people nowadays are looking for fast and easy ways to
lose weight. We long to have lean, toned and attractive
physique and yet we are not willing to work for it.

This overwhelming demand for easy ways to lose weight fast
is exactly what's fueling the scams that many diet and
weight loss companies are perpetuating.

Do these sound familiar:

"Simply peel and stick to burn fat and lose weight!" (ad
selling diet patches)

"This product will change your body in 4 minutes a day!"

"Forget about long, difficult exercises! We have a range of
treatments and surgeries to make you lose weight..."

"Take this pill, go to bed... wake up skinny! It's magic!"

If you really think about it - can you honestly believe
their promises are true?

Out of desperation, many people actually buy into these
fantasies of a quick, easy, and miraculous physical
transformation.

Sure they are just doing their jobs - but don't you think
you deserve to make a well-informed and educated purchasing
decision?

They say when it sounds too good to be true, then it
probably is. So before you fall for any of the hype again,
remember these 3 things being kept from you by most
marketers of quick fix weight loss solutions:

1. "Weight loss" is not necessarily beneficial.

Most (if not all) body wraps, slimming teas, and toning
creams work mainly by eliminating water from your body.

Losing water changes nothing about how much body fat you
have. Remember that your body is 75% water. It's sick that
their strategy for making you lose weight is by dehydrating
you.

But you gotta hand it to them - dehydration IS an easy way
to lose weight fast! Clever, indeed.

Losing weight by dehydrating yourself is obviously
ineffective, and the weight loss effect hardly lasts.
Buying these miracle cures is just like patching up a hole
on your shirt - it may patch up the hole, but it doesn't
make you look good nor solve the problem.

2. Starving yourself actually makes you fatter!

Another "easy ways to lose weight fast" solutions are pills
and potions designed to make you lose appetite. An extremely
low-calorie diet can work in the short term, but over a
prolonged period of time, our body's starvation response
mechanism kicks in, ultimately causing our bodies to hoard
fat.

When you starve yourself, you may lose weight at the start
due to the big calorie deficit, but eventually your body
thinks it's starving to death so it switches to survival
mode. When this happens, it burns off your muscles for fuel,
conserves energy by decreasing your metabolism and - horror
of horrors - keeps your body fat.

Is that what you really want?

3. Many quick fix solutions don't work for the long-term.

Of course, when you DO lose weight through bogus means and
by using ineffective products, in order to keep losing
weight you're made to think you have to keep consuming their
products. And that's exactly what marketers and vendors are
training you to do: to keep buying their stuff!

Considering this reason alone, you may want to ask yourself
if it's really worth it.

Conclusion

The problem with weight loss is that losing weight could
mean just losing water or muscle. So instead of having
weight loss as your goal, aim for fat loss instead.

An truly effective fat loss program includes the right
combination of personalized nutrition, exercise and mental
training.

Using natural methods, you may need to pay a higher price
with your sweat and resilience to see results, but the
benefits are worth it.

The truth is that there are no magical and miraculous
solutions that can instantly give us the body we want. If
there are, then why is obesity a continuously growing
problem?

Recommendation

Many people fail to lose fat effectively because they don't
know what to do or how to do it. I say that the best way to
to find out what works for you is by educating yourself
using reliable sources and applying the principles you've
learned.

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building is Tom Venuto's Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle
program.

I myself have used Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle, and while
the results had been remarkable (I reached my target of 15%
body fat within 84 days), what really worked for me was the
whole process of how I succeeded. When I read Burn the Fat,
I finally 'got' it, and from then on I was unstoppable. I
had everything I needed to make it work: the motivation, the
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