Fitness Weight Loss - How Can You Use Fitness Weight Loss To Your Advantage?

By Vanessa Youngstrom

Weight loss is a common topic of conversation. The standard Western diet has introduced high amounts of fat, oils, sugar and processed foods that have led to a weight problem that affects most countries. Fitness weight loss is an option that is more palatable than only decreasing calorie intake.

Fitness weight loss can take many forms. The objective is to keep moving for at least 10 minutes working up to 60 minutes as your schedule allows. Fitness weight loss programs can include, but are not limited to, walking, running, swimming, rowing, tennis, and golf.

Continued movement will give you the health benefits that include fitness, weight loss, increased energy, decreased cholesterol and blood pressure as well as improving your core muscle strength.

As with any fitness weight loss program you should always check with your doctor before beginning. Your physician will consider your current medical conditions, medications and your present physical condition. The potential for more harm than good comes when you approach a fitness weight loss program without consideration for your current conditions when another fitness option may be better for you.

There are specific muscles that should be strengthened in a fitness weight loss program and the core muscles should always be included. Most programs focus on the muscles that are important to the particular exercise but ignoring core muscle strength can cause long term back problems.

Hard abdominal muscles are not only sexy but they serve a specific function to your health. These muscles are located between your pelvis and your ribs and are in charge of giving you full range of movement to your upper body and to keep your internal organs in place and protected. With weak abdominal muscles you are set up for injury and make it less likely that you will achieve your goals.

A study from the American University of St Louis found that although diet and exercise help with weight loss, people who do not exercise also lose muscle. Fitness weight loss is likely choice to keep your health, muscles and lose that weight.

Fitness weight loss programs are more successful when the client has the support of the people around them. Recent studies have also shown that people who diet or exercise with a partner or a group will tend to be more successful at fitness weight loss and in keeping it off than those who try to go it alone.

Research backs up the current popular standard that fitness weight loss is the most successful way to lose weight, keep it off and improve your health. There are an amazing number of fitness weight loss programs that you can work through. The choice is really yours. You chose health!

Vanessa Youngstrom, a nurse practitioner, enjoys writing and educating on health and wellness topics. You’ll find more articles at http://www.YourHealthHere.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Vanessa_Youngstrom

17 Muscle Building Facts I've Discovered

Shawn LeBrun

I've been a personal trainer and natural bodybuilder for the past 5 years.
During that time, I've discovered a lot of muscle building facts and fitness
observations.

I wanted to share some of the most important ones with you, in this article.

Here are 17 of the most important muscle building facts I've learned over
the years.

1. People do not see great results with their muscle building endeavors
simply because they are misinformed and misled as to what works and needs to be done. My job as a trainer is to inform and to educate people as to what
really works.

2. In order to stay with your fitness routine for the long run, you need to
identify the "why" behind what you're doing. Uncover, specifically, what you
want to change and why you want to change. Use this to become your driving
force.

3. You absolutely must associate pleasure with your muscle building routine
and pain with not committing to your fitness routine. Humans by nature do
things that are pleasurable and avoid things that create pain.

4. We are after long-term, permanent results, so there will be no quick
fixes and gimmicks. We are going to create a lifestyle change that will be
easy to live with. No counting calories or points, just make better choices
and healthier, moderate portions.

5. Always think quality over quantity. This means more working out is not
better when it comes to building muscle, better is better. Most people I
come in contact with work out too much and eat too little.

6. The key to permanent fat-loss is to speed up your metabolism. Once this
is done, weight-loss becomes permanent.

7. The whole process of changing your body takes time. Commit yourself to at
least three months to literally transform your body. You may see some
results before then, but three months is what it takes to see great results.

8. During the first couple weeks of a muscle building program, you'll notice
that your scale weight either doesn't change or it may go up a bit.

Throw the scale out the window, it doesn't distinguish between fat and
muscle, so when you initially gain a bit of muscle at the start, the scale
weight will go up. That's a good thing. Over time the scale weight WILL go
down.

9. You must eat often and in moderate amounts to speed up your metabolism.
If you eat often, your body utilizes and breaks down your food often,
leading to less stored body fat.

10. Eat 5-6 small meals/snacks throughout the day. The easiest way to do
this is to eat a moderate breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and then a small
snack between breakfast and lunch, lunch and dinner, and then a small snack
at night. You must condition your body to eat every 3 to 3 1/2 hours. You
cannot restrict calories too much, this will slow down metabolism and
absolutely stop progress dead in its tracks.

11. You must create a synergy between proper nutrition, moderate aerobic
exercise, and intense, brief weight-training. The answers to weight-loss lie
within each one of these. This is why diets, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig,
and other programs are not long-term successful. One or more of these
elements is missing.

12. Small, steady steps will lead to progression, which will lead to
results, which will increase motivation, which will again increase results,
which in turn will lead to long-term change.

13. For best results with building muscle and losing fat, 5 days a week, 30
minutes a day is most beneficial. More than 5 days and you risk
overtraining. Less than 5 days and you may not see optimal muscle building
results.

14. You must incorporate resistance weight-training into your weight-loss
efforts. Fat is metabolized by muscle, muscle literally will burn more
calories just to maintain itself. Increased lean muscle tissue helps your
body to speed up its metabolism (again, increased metabolism being the key
to weight-loss.

15. Too much aerobic activity will be counterproductive to your muscle
building efforts. 2-3 days a week, 20-30 minutes each session is optimal.
Again, more is not better, better is better.

16. Diets do not work, so never try to diet. Diets are a flawed method which
create to much pain (pain/pleasure principle). You can diet for a short
time, but the physical and psychological cravings come, leading you to binge
and eat more than you would have.

17. Pick one day a week and cheat. Eat anything you want, and I mean
anything, but just make it a moderate amount. Then be strict for the other 6
days a week.

These were some of the most important muscle building facts I've learned
over the past 5 years. Follow as many as you can and you'll soon see more
results from your time spent in the gym.

Shawn Lebrun is a personal trainer and drug-free bodybuilder that offers a
proven muscle building and fat loss program. Get the most muscle and
definition possible in the least amount of time:
http://www.shawnlebrunfitness.com

10 Fitness Mistakes We Can All Make

By Andrew Gee

The following article is one of a series of articles which focus on Self Improvement, Motivation and Empowerment. It is based on research done over twenty years as a personal and business coach. This self improvement article was written in response to questions which have been asked on losing weight and long term weight loss as well as address common challenges that people have with this subject. I sincerely hope that you find the following information of value.

10 Fitness Mistakes We Can All Make

Nearly every guy or gal who's tried dieting or fitness has dropped out of a program at least once. Such is life. Work and social events tend to get in the way, lack of adequate emotional support saps the willpower and boredom sets in. Eating the same kind of foods every day is boring.

Suiting up at the gym only to go through the same motions is also boring. But this kind of mood can be avoided with a bit of planning and a positive attitude. Here's a list of the most common mistakes people do when trying to get fit.

The number one mistake has to be the failure to plan ahead. Going to the gym with a vague target in mind is the best way to fail. If your target is unclear, how can you know if you've reached it or not? If you're a little vague on the details, maybe you need help.

Ask a doctor what's your ideal weight and make that your goal. Or focus on the number of inches you want to drop off your stomach, bottom and thighs. That works great, too.

Coming up with excuses to avoid going to the gym is second on this list. Yes, life tends to get in the way, but that can be arranged with some more planning. Don't quit the program just because something came up at the last moment. Reschedule your gym session and make sure you don't get lazy.

Don't work out too little. This may seem too obvious to belong here, but a lot of people lift two dumbbells a couple of times and think they're done for the day. Sit down at the table for half an hour and come up with a sound training program. If you don't know enough to make your own program ask a gym trainer or a veteran bodybuilder to help you. People are usually quite happy to show off their knowledge.

Too much fitness is also bad. Muscles need time to grow and the body needs time to burn fat. Some people think that the body only burns up fat during exercises, but this is not true. The more muscles mass you have, the faster calories get burnt because muscles need energy for maintenance all the time. Even when you're resting. Overtraining will simply make you tired without any additional benefits.

========SIDEBAR========
When it comes to the subject of self improvement, I fully understand (through my own experiences) that it is a lot easier said than done. However, you are here, right now, because you have a desire to improve your self or you are at least interested in this subject. Perhaps you are reading this to help a friend or colleague - great. If this article helps you or you help a friend, paying it forward is what lif'e all about so we all win.
======END SIDEBAR======

Never compare yourself to others. We are all unique individuals with unique genetic make-ups governing our weight gain, weight loss and response to training. You shouldn't rate your performance according to the achievements of others, but stick to your own pace and your own goal. If you're trying too hard too soon, you're simply asking to fail.

Don't do the same things over and over. There's no better way to lose motivation that doing the same exercises in the same order over and over again. Learn to juggle around with the exercises that form your routine and replace them with new ones every now and then. Find variations on a classic exercise and try them out. Make things interesting for yourself

Don't stroll into the pub straight from the gym and keep alcohol consumption on a tight leash. Alcohol has extra calories that you don't want and is also metabolized as fat and very fast. Pumping iron in the gym for 45 minutes and then throwing the entire effort away with a couple of beers is not a good way to move forward.

Keep a close eye on your meals. Drop the fast food and snacks from your daily eating plan and forget about soft drinks. At the same time avoid starving yourself. This is a huge mistake and a lot of people do it. Never assume that you can tank your way through a fitness program while starving yourself because you'll only end up in a hospital. Muscles need nourishing meals in order to grow and starvation is a bad way to diet anyway.

And, lastly, never look for a magic fix that can save you all the trouble. You can't lose weight sitting around and moping in front of the TV or computer. It just doesn't happen. So get out and go to that gym because it's good for you. And no excuses!

NOW is the time!

O.K. you have read the article. Now is the time for action. Without action, this article adds no value whatsoever to your self improvement. But remember, without action, you cannot blame this self improvement article or any article for that matter. So, take action NOW.

Even if only one piece of advice, one piece of information, one tip makes a difference, then the whole article has been worth it for all of us. NOW is the time!

Be the person you want to be, you deserve it!

Even If You've Been Overweight And Out Of Shape For Years, Andrew Gee has done extensive research into weight loss and what works. Find out valuable information about our free and dedicated customer support and our online health, fitness and weight loss program.

Be the person you want to be and visit us at Long Term Weight Loss

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrew_Gee