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Many people are concerned with the current state of the economy. As unemployment rises and job market remains uncertain many are reexamining their household budgets to find ways to eat healthy on a limited budget. Read more…
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Exercising is an important part of the weight loss process. It also should be a part of our lives if we want to be healthy. However it is not always easy to go to a gym after a tiring day to exercise even though we know that exercise can help increase our energy levels. In the article discover creative and effortless ways to exercise. Read more…
Guest post by Brett Warren
Change in the world of strength training seems to evolve at exponential paces. Maybe we don't notice it on a day-to-day basis – one session at the gym is never very different from the day before – but step back for a moment and contemplate how far we've come.
Our history of exercise for the sake of building muscle dates back two-and-a-half millennia. Milo of Croton, a 6th century BC war hero and famous wrestler in Ancient Greece, was said to have carried a newborn calf on his back every day, until it was fully grown. That's not unlike adding weights to our lifts as we progress in the gym.
By the 2nd century AD, evidence exists of rudimentary dumbbells. Egyptian hieroglyphs depict men lifting and tossing bags of sand. A rod supporting two church bells became a dumbbell in old Europe, replacing stones as the primary lifting object. In Persia, meels developed an ancient version of the clubbell.
Still, 2,500 years of development can't even compare to the progress we've made in the last century. (Of course, with all the focus on things like heirloom crops and romanticism about returning to traditional ways of life, someone today might make a killing opening a gym that features stones and meels instead of machines!)
By the 1960s, gyms began to open in the U.S., and weight-resistance machines were developed. Nautilus machines opened the door for regular exercisers to engage in weight training, building strength without trying to emulate the hulks in popular films like Pumping Iron.
Unfortunately, with the progression of more accessible weight training came the development of a sedentary American lifestyle. Before a half-century ago, most of our jobs required us to move around. Even people who never considered exercise as an end-unto-itself were able to stay in shape, through the movement required by their daily tasks.
Conversely, it's easy today to sit at a desk all day (even writing blogs about exercise!), eat a few less-than-healthy meals, and then veg out in front of the TV all night because we feel crummy from not moving around enough! For many people, especially with office jobs, incorporating weight training into their lives requires going out of our way to some degree.
But it's not just in the gym where change happens. Our lifestyle carries over to every moment of our day, from when we open the fridge in the morning to when our head hits the pillow. And fortunately, it's in that holistic approach to training that evolution has really sped up lately. We know more today about how to build muscle mass than ever before in history!
A few key things we've come to learn in recent years:
What we've learned in the last 20 years about the importance of avoiding processed foods, in favor of whole foods, makes a bigger difference in the gym than any other development.
Try telling a weight lifter 100 years ago that the keys to success include eating their vegetables and sleeping, and you'd likely get a laugh! But there's a reason that records keep getting broken. We're evolving more all the time.
Brett Warren is a fitness and weightlifting enthusiast from Boston, Massachusetts. He is passionate about nutraceutical science and loves his job developing workout supplements for Force Factor. Brett's extensive background in biochemical engineering means he's one scientist you don't want to mess with. When Brett is not crushing it in the gym or working at Force Factor, you can find him spending time outdoors with his family.
by Paul Atkins
When it's time to have a drink it's time to have a drink. The problem with that though is that many drinks are just plain not good for you. Never mind if you're on a diet plan and trying to lose weight these 5 are the cream of the crop when it comes to calories, sugar, and just plain old bad stuff you don't want to have floating around inside you.
Not only do these types of drinks wreck your system and help fluctuate your sugar levels up and down faster than a bobble head they tend to always be the ones that leave you with that wonderful early-morning hangover headache that always seems to come at the worst possible time. It's also a good idea to keep in mind that the drinks mentioned in this article are ones that are very popular. This is important because your odds of running into them are high. These drinks tend to be the ones that are more socially inclined and lend themselves to large groups of people who will more than likely want you to drink them with everyone.
To begin things let us start off with the most serious offender the long island ice tea. Long Island ice tea is neither a tea nor from Long Island. This drink does not contain antioxidants or have any herbal medicinal purpose, rather is a blend of different liquors as well as sweet and sour mix with a dash of Coca-Cola. What makes this such a notorious offender is that it is passed off as something that it is not, and contains just about every ingredient you need to avoid in a drink especially when you're watching your weight and trying to stay healthy.
Next up, but equally as bad for you as a Long Island iced tea would be the newest drink combination to hit the street called a red bull and vodka. Over the last 10 years or so this newcomer has grown in popularity not just with the youth but with veteran drinkers as well. Why this is the case no one really knows, maybe it's due to the subtle red bull propaganda that we see like the cars driving around with giant red bull cans strapped to the top of the roofs or perhaps the catchy television commercials showing a little cartoon character having wings with the catchphrase “red bull gives you wings”. Whatever the case may be whoever decided to add vodka and red bull together deserves to win a medal for creating one of the world's worst cocktails.
Why red bull and vodka is listed as one of the five worst combination's ever is because only those supercharged college drunks who desire more than anything to wake up with a ridiculous hangover in the morning or not wake up at all because they couldn't fall asleep are right for this drink. The positive side to red bull and vodka is that it leaves those that drink them stupidly energized which in turn allows for the ability to bounce off the walls enough to burn a few of those extra calories that you just ingested.
A personal favorite of mine is the Jack and Coke. I hate to admit it but it goes without saying that although Jack Daniels on its own on the rocks is a great drink splashing a little coke in it absolutely kills it. The good news is those that tend drink Jack and Coke usually end up in some pretty hard-core bar fights which gives a outlet for all those pent-up calories needing to go somewhere.
The fourth worst offender on our list is the stereo typical pool bar frozen drink the Pina colada. Not only does his baby have tons of calories and sugars it actually also has lots of fat and lends itself to a massive hangover as well. What you end up with is an alcoholic milkshake that rivals the caloric value of any shake from steak and shake. You might be better off ordering a double cheeseburger with fries from the pool bar over a Pina colada.
Last on the list but certainly not least of the worst cocktail offenders is another tropical resort destination favorite called the scorpion. This little Devil seems to be a favorite especially when a tropical themed pool party is in full force. If your unaware of what a scorpion is just think giant fishbowl shaped glass with all kinds of sugary-based alcohol's and then adding in about every type of sugary-based juice. There's really not much worse than throwing together a bunch of different liquors together except when you add in a bunch of different sugary juices not to mention adding six straws and letting everybody have at it. A couple of these bad boys and you'll end up wondering where the party went because your face down praying to the porcelain god.
The person who is prepared well in advance well before the party begins or the vacation starts will be the one who comes away not only feeling good mentally but also physically about the decisions they've made. Avoiding these five particular calorie and sugar rich cocktails is one of the first ways to prevent a disaster from taking place. Doing so will ensure that you stay on track and will not become derailed from whatever fitness or weight loss goals you still have to accomplish.
A great drink is great and sometimes needed, just make sure it doesn't sidetrack the progress you have made with your workout routines. A 90 day program that allows for a little alcohol at times but still kicks your butt is P90X by Tony Horton.
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Ever looked at your favorite hero flexing his muscles and dreamt of doing it the same way? This is way easier than what one thinks. Training your back and shoulder are first steps one can take in this regard. There is this misconception among many that working out is meant to be done only at gyms. Healthy working out can be done anywhere by a dedicated heart. Read more…
Look, I know how hard it is to build muscle. Trust me when I tell you it took me 20+ years to figure it out. But once I did--BAM!--muscle appeared almost overnight. Give me your email address and I'll send you the keys.