Burn fat with the Deadlift

This month's featured exercise is the deadlift

One of the best full body exercises for burning fat is the deadlift.

When performed correctly it works you legs, back, buttocks, arms in fact most of the major muscle groups are involved.

After the squat this is the best exercise to build lean muscle get the heart pumping and increases your metabolic rate so you will still be burning calories long after your workout.

Deadlifts will also teach you to pick up an heavy object with a straight back - this will prevent injuries like hernias which usually result from repeatedly lifting with a round lower back.

How to Deadlift.

Proper technique is the key to deadlifting and preventing backpain.

Always start with the bar on the floor. Pulling from the safety pins is a Rack Pull. Deadlifting top down is a Romanian Deadlift. With conventional Deadlifs the bar must always start on the floor. Here's how to Deadlift in 5 easy steps:

1.    Stand with the bar above the center of your feet - your stance should be a bit more narrow than shoulder-width to give your arms room.

2.    Grab the bar overhand so your arms are vertical to the floor - if your hamstrings are tight, do Squat 2 stands to boost your hip flexibility.

3.    Bend through your knees until your shins hit the bar which must remain above the middle of your feet. Shoulder-blades directly over the bar.

4.    Lift your chest but don't squeeze your shoulder-blades like on Squats. Just put your shoulders back & down, head inline with rest of your spine.

5.    Pull - keep the bar close to your body, roll it over your knees and thighs until your hips and knees are locked. Do not lean back at the top.

And that's all there is to it. Lower the bar by pushing your hips back first, and then bend your knees once the bar reaches knee level (NOT before otherwise the bar will hit your knees). Repeat for 5 reps on StrongLifts 5x5.
(Check out this crazy fat burning routine)This simple exercise can accelerate your fitness progress dramatically, and should be preformed by women as well as men.

You will find when you start doing deadlifts and squats the extra strength you gain carries over to all your other exercises, not to mention improved posture.

So what are you waiting for lets get deadlifting.

Get even more great tips here!

Top rules to burn fat fast!

Fat loss exercise tips

If like many people shifting those last few pounds of body fat and burning calories is one of your goals, these great top 10 fat loss tips will ensure you get the very most out of every fat burning exercise routine.

Being intense is better with your fat burning exercise

Don't be fooled by the so-called fat-burning zone. This is the misguided notion that working at a lower intensity is better for fat burning than working at a higher effort level (say, for example, walking instead of running.) Two hours of slow paced jogging is not necessarily better that a high impact intense 45 minute weight workout.

The harder you exercise the more calories you will burn and this is really the key element when it comes to burning fat faster.

Choose exercises carefully

Work out a routine that you will enjoy doing.

In my opinion weight training for both men and women offer’s the greatest most intense workouts in the shortest period of time.

With weights you also see the rewards quicker than with other types of workouts.

It is important to choose a routine which you will enjoy and therefore you will work harder towards your goals.

Exercise larger muscles first for greater calorie burn

Serious fat-burning activity uses the large muscle groups of the body – the thighs and bottom, chest and back.

Training the legs for example will burn much more calories than training the arms for the same period of time.

And all over body machines such as the rowing machine,

Burn fat much faster than say one of those one arm pulling machines.

The greater the muscle mass employed in the routine the more calories you will burn.

Sustainable exercise development

To fire up the calorie furnace, fat-burning activity has to be sustainable for a reasonable period.

So it is better to make your workouts intense, with very little rest time between sets for about 25-60 minutes 3-5 times per week for best results

Interval training to maximise calorie burn

Interval training, in which you mix hard efforts with bouts of recovery, is one of the best ways of maximising calorie expenditure, improving aerobic fitness and making use of limited time.

So a two minute intense exercise maybe followed by one minute rest to start with, cutting this down to 30 seconds as you gain experience.

Carrying the load is better

Activities that are weight bearing, such as walking and running, use more calories than those in which your weight is supported (such as swimming or cycling), simply because you have to shift your own body weight against gravity.

Adding a weight training routine to your exercise session will burn pounds even greater than walking and running put together.

Run on empty?

Exercising on an empty stomach may seem like a good idea at first.

And whilst it is true your body may dip into fat reserves if you eat nothing in the morning your lack of fuel may prevent you from working out for as long or intensely as you usually would.

It is better to have a small breakfast such as fruits or oatmeal to make the most of early morning training

Go for the after burn

One of the best things about high intensity exercise is that the fat-burning benefits continue long after you’ve got out the shower.

This 'after burn' (increased calorie expenditure) is far greater following exercise at 75% of maximum heart rate, or higher – another reason to forget those low-intensity workouts!

 

Increase exercise intensity

If you want to keep seeing results in your fat-burning programme, you must keep increasing the intensity.
This isn’t the same as increasing your effort, because as you get fitter, your body will be able to cope with increasing demands.
So you will have to either increase your poundage used in weight training or reduce your rest periods.
Another way to keep your results moving is to continually introduce new fresh exercises into your routine.

 

Keep moving to burn that fat

Maximise your daily fat burning by moving! Researchers at the Mayo Clinic have found that leaner people tend to stand and move more than overweight people in normal daily life.
Their ‘non-exercise activity thermogenesis’ (NEAT) was as much as 350 calories higher each day. So don't just sit there, wiggle your toes, shake a leg, get up regularly and move your body!

Check out the No 1 Abs and fat burning programme on the web at:

http://www.getabsatlast.com/

Is Sugar Toxic to Your Body? 
Video shows how sugar not only causes heart disease and diabetes, but also feeds tumors and is as addictive as Cocaine to your brain

I think everybody needs to watch this video from a recent 60 Minutes episode to see just how harmful to your health sugar really is.

 I don't think most people understand the seriousness of this.  People seem to blindly eat and drink loads of sugar each day (Americans consume a whopping 1/3 lb of sugar per DAY on average) without thinking about how this internally affects your body and your biochemistry.

Please share this page with all of your family and friends to help protect their health.

Mike's comments:
As you can see in the video, it should be no surprise to anybody that studies clearly relate excess sugar consumption to obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
You might argue that some natural sugars have always been in the human diet, so why is this an issue.
 Well, yes humans have always eaten small amounts of natural sugars from fruit as part of the ancestral diet, but we've never historically been exposed to the massive amounts of added sugars that we see in today's world of sweetened drinks, candies, cakes, cookies, as well as added sugars in everything from condiments to dressings to tomato sauces.

As you can see in the video, the average American eats a sickening 130 lbs of sugar per person per year, or 1/3 lb per day!  That's just nasty if you ask me, and shows how little most people respect their body, or even think about what they're putting in their body on a daily basis.

The video also mentions that in one controlled study, they replaced 25% of the daily calories of the subjects with sugary drinks, and took continual blood tests.  The tests showed that by replacing 25% of their daily calories with sugary drinks, the subjects increased their dangerous small dense LDL particles in their blood which causes arterial plaque and heart disease.  Yes, in fact, sugar and carbs in general contribute more to heart disease than fats do.

We also need to realize that high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a relatively new invention in the human diet and is something that your body does not know how to properly handle.  HFCS didn't really become part of the human food supply until the 1970's and now it's found it fairly large quantities in almost every processed food on the grocery shelves.  As the video points out, HFCS consumption is clearly linked to increased heart disease and stroke risk.

One statement I don't agree with in the video above is that sugar and HFCS are "the same".  While I agree that they are both terrible for your health and both toxic, there are certainly big differences in how the body processes HFCS vs table sugar or other forms of sugar.

Also take note that the video mentions how sugar feeds tumors and can make cancer worse.
In addition, sugar activates reward centers in your brain, similar to drugs like cocaine, thereby making sugar addictive.  The part of the video where they do brain scans on him while he sips a sugary soda is interesting indeed.

One other thing to mention about this video... I don't fully agree with how they lump honey and real maple syrup in with table sugar or HFCS.  Although honey and real maple syrup are mostly sugar, and should be minimized overall, both of them at least have additional micronutrients and antioxidants that sugar or HFCS simply don't have.

In addition, another aspect that the video fails to mention is that it's not just added sugar that causes all of these negative effects in your body, but also fast-digesting carb sources like breads, pastas, bagels, muffins, rice, and other grain-based foods that spike your blood sugar just as quickly as regular table sugar.  For example, each piece of bread you eat is basically equivalent to eating about 20 grams of sugar since the response to your blood sugar and triglyceride levels is essentially the same.

The bottom line is that food manufacturers want you to be addicted to sugar and continue to buy all of their junk foods and sugary drinks which destroy your health.  But it's time to take control of your health for yourself and not support these giant businesses who only care about their corporate profit and not about how they are destroying your health.  Please share this video and article with your friends and family with easy sharing options below:
  7 odd foods that KILL your belly fat

The Top 3 Things to AVOID at Restaurants to Stay Lean and Healthy

The Top 3 Things to to Stay Lean and Healthy,AVOID these at Restaurants

 The Truth about Six-Pack Abs

I have been traveling a lot away on business this year, and I have noticed that it is very eas to fall into the junk food trap when you are away from home.

Lets face it there are not many healthy options on the high street, so you find yourself just grabbing a quick burger.

In fact, eating out at restaurants frequently is one of the biggest reasons why so many people fatten up while traveling.

But there are a few tricks available to make eating out much more in keeping to your home diet.

These will help keep the calories down and stay in control.

The 3 most important things to avoid that are EVERYWHERE not just at restaurants are:

• the deep fried foods
• the refined starchy foods
• and any sodas, juices, or other sugary foods (except whole fruits, which are great)

This eliminates the major food sources that do the worst damage in our food supply - the evil trans fats, the inflammatory refined vegetable oils, refined starches, and processed sugars.

This means trying to cut out the table bread they usually leave for you to snack on, skipping the french fries (that come with every single sandwich on every menu known to man), and reducing all of the large portions of rice and pasta that are often loaded on the plates as well.

Instead, try to order just meat, side vegetables, and a salad, asking for the vegetables or salad as a substitute for the typical fries, rice, or pasta that the meal probably comes with.

Almost every restaurant I've ever been to will always allow me to substitute veggies or a side salad for the fries or chips that almost always come with sandwiches or burgers.

Side note:  It always amazes me how many people scrutinize me because I substitute veggies for fries by telling me that I'm "not living" because I won't eat fries...

Yet they are always the first to complain that they are overweight and have "tried everything", yet can't lose weight.  I'm not sure why so many people think eating french fries equals "living it up"... I'm all for moderation with many things, but if there's 2 things that should be almost totally removed from everyone's diet because these foods are simply that evil... it's fries and sodas!

Take a look at the typical difference this simple substitution makes between choosing smart and doing what most people do...

Most people will eat a meal out such as this:

• Sandwich or burger
• fries or chips
• soda or other sweetened drink

A MUCH smarter alternative for a leaner, healthier body is very simply this:

• Sandwich or burger
• veggies or salad
• unsweetened iced tea or water with lemon (and no diet drinks -- unless you enjoy drinking carcinogenic poisonous artificial sweetener chemicals).

These 2 simple substitutions save at least 400 - 900 calories EACH time you dine out (depending on drink refills and fries portion sizes)... AND you're cutting out the most harmful foods to your body as well by avoiding the trannies and high fructose corn syrup.

Also, it may be rare to find this in most restaurants, but if you can find some that offer much healthier grass-fed beef burgers, it's a much smarter decision compared to grain fattened beef.

Side note:  a little-known way to eat full portions of rice, pasta, and breads and actually get away with it without packing on the bodyfat is to make sure to schedule a high intensity full body resistance training workout before your scheduled meal time.

Sometimes it may be hard to fit the workout into your schedule right before the meal event, but if you can, the meal can be your "post-workout meal", in which case, your body can handle a higher amount of carbs than normal to help replenish the muscle glycogen depletion you had during the intense workout.

A cardio workout WON'T cut it for this... it must be high intensity resistance training to deplete enough muscle glycogen to handle restaurant portions of carbohydrates.

I hope these dining tips help you choose smarter and healthier next time you eat out. Feel free to share this article with your friends.

http://www.getabsatlast.com/

Crazy Belly Fat-Burning workout

Crazy Belly Fat-Burning Workout...

A uniquely different style of cardio combined with weight-training workout.
Burn belly fat fast with this crazy routine

 The Truth About Six-Pack Abs

When you get stuck and just cannot seem to shift those last stubbon traces of belly fat.

Then maybe it is time to shock your body and include these cool tips into your training routine.

Idea #1 - The weights / cardio high intensity 60 seconds combo workout...

This is a great unique way to structure your workouts and is great for breaking through a plateau and getting exciting new results.

Most people usually fit in their cardio workout at the end or beginning of their gym or home workout, or even dedicate a whole session to jogging, swimming, or whatever.

But if you are like me and find the whole cardio routine slow dull and boring,try these new tricks to liven things up and plus get two workouts for the price of one

Now the key to this workout is to alternate short 1-minute bursts of high intensity cardio work in between your usual weight training sets.

Now what this does is shock your body into increasing your metabolic rate by introducing something new, this in turn increases your fat burning rate dramatically

So for example, let's say that you're doing 4 sets of arm curls or 4 sets of bench press.... well, in between the weight training sets, you simply add in any type of cardio at a high intensity for 1 minute.

This 1 minute burst of cardio could be a 1 min blast at high speed on the treadmill, the bicycle or rowing machine at a high setting. You could even try grabbing a jump rope and banging out a super high speed intense 1 min of jump roping between sets.

So your routine would look something like this:

weight training set #1
1 minute high intensity cardio

weight training set #2
1 minute high intensity cardio

weight training set #3
1 minute high intensity cardio
etc, etc

new exercise weight training set #1
1 minute high intensity cardio

new exercise weight training set #2
1 minute high intensity cardioetc, etc

Now this is a very powerful technique but please note it is quite tough and not for the beginner.

But if you have been working out for a while and have hit a wall and just cannot seem to shift those last few pounds, then try this tip and you will be pleasantly surprised just how fast this really works.

Idea #2:  the "quirky pullup"...

I've tried this on many occasions to mix up my pullups to give me a harder variation as a challenge and to increase my results.

This type of pullup is only for advanced trainees that can already do at least 8-10 normal pullups or more per set.

What you do on this challenging style of pullup is use 2 small towels and wrap them around the bar at about shoulder width for each towel. The small "hand towel" size towels work best, as a large towel will make too large of a grip for grabbing onto for pullups.  You wrap each towel around the pullup bar so that at least 6-8 inches of towel are hanging below the pullup bar.

Then grip the towels as hard as you can (from the hanging towel sections below the bar) and start doing pullups.  You're basically only gripping the hanging towel and not the pullup bar itself.  You won't be able to do as many pullups as normal because of the tough grip, so do a few extra sets.

I can tell you... these are HARD pullups and challenge your grip immensely! Only try these if you are already very strong on pullups.  Great variation though to mix things up.

I hope you enjoyed these tips today and they help you get better workout results!

To get the full programme please check out http://www.getabsatlast.com/

 Ive found some more great tips also on this site http://www.greatnnatural.com/

The 2 Vital Secrets You Need for Losing Your Belly Fat for Good

The 2 Vital Secrets You Need for Losing Your Belly Fat for Good

I bet you're thinking that you've tried every technique in the world for losing your stubborn belly fat, but it just never seems to budge... right? I'm sure you see TONS of commercials and ads making all kinds of miracle claims for losing your belly fat overnight with their magic pill or wildly-hyped snake-oil supplement.

How about all of the bogus infomercial gadgets out there claiming you can shrink your stomach in a matter of days just by strapping some worthless "ab-belt" around your waist, or sizzle away the stomach fat by using their patented "ab-roller-rocker" do-hicky.
Come on now! I hope you've been insulted by all of these fraudulent marketers and the gimmicks and scams that they are pushing down your throat by trying to get you to believe that a fat-loss miracle is possible overnight.

So let's get past all of the scams and gimmicks and get right down to the hard science and reality behind what techniques and strategies really do help you for losing your stubborn belly fat and keeping it off for life!

1) The first important principle we'll discuss is how you structure your workouts. In order to stimulate fat-loss from your stomach, you need to stop wasting so much of your time doing all kinds of various abdominal exercises and hundreds of reps of crunches, leg lifts, and torso twists in the hopes of "spot-reducing" your belly and love handles.

I'm sure you know by now if you've read any reputable fitness publications over the last decade that spot-reduction DOES NOT occur. It's a myth that just won't seem to go away. The truth is, losing belly fat does NOT occur by doing exercises that target the stomach area. Unfortunately, even though most people by now do understand this (or at least they should), they still spend WAY too much of their training time trying to target the stomach with tons of abs exercises.
Now don't get me wrong, a certain amount of abdominals exercises are great and they do help to strengthen your core and help you maintain a healthy back. But the fact is that direct abs exercises should only be a small portion of your workout routines. The majority of your time should be spent focusing on big multi-joint exercises that work the largest muscle groups of the body like the legs, chest, and back.

Now that is one of the REAL secrets for ridding yourself of that sloppy belly fat for good. Focusing on big multi-joint exercises for the largest portions of your body greatly increases your metabolic rate both during the workout, and for 24-48 hours after the workout. In addition, this also stimulates an increase in fat-burning hormones within your body. You simply don't get this type of metabolic and hormonal response by wasting most of your time with "abs-pumping" exercises.

Want to lose your belly fat the right way... Well, get your butt under a barbell and do some squats, some lunges, some deadlifts, step-ups, some back and chest work. For you ladies, don't worry...it's not going to "bulk you up".

It doesn't matter per se if it's barbells, dumbbells, or even bodyweight exercises... the focus needs to be on big multi-joint exercises at a high intensity. That means no 5-minute rest periods between sets while you flap your gums with half of the people at the gym. Losing that stubborn belly for good requires some focus and intensity in your workouts! Anybody who tells you that you can do it while sitting on your couch watching TV with some "ab-belt" strapped to you, or doing only 2-minutes of crunching with your "ab-rocker-roller" is flat out lying to you!

2) The second important principle to rid yourself of that flabby belly revolves around your nutrition. The first thing you need to realize is that "diets" only work against your body in your effort to lose the stomach fat. You see, if you follow any of these fad diets like extremely low-carb, or low-fat, or the grapefruit diet, the soup diet, or anything else that restricts 1 or more of the macro-nutrients (protein, carbs, and fat), most of the time you will actually lose lean muscle and lower your metabolic rate. This only makes you fatter in the long run, when you start to eat normal again!
I could go into all kinds of details, but essentially you are messing up processes related to your hormonal balance in your body, the muscle glycogen process, insulin, blood sugar, etc., and this stops your fat loss dead in its tracks!
It's important to stop falling for the fad diet gimmicks, and understand that as humans, we are meant to eat a balanced diet full of a diverse array of foods from healthy natural sources of carbohydrates, proteins, AND fats. This gives your body all of the macro-nutrients as well as all of the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and enzymes that your body needs to run like a well-oiled fat-burning machine!

I could go on and on with dozens more strategies for losing your belly fat faster, the natural way, but I've rambled on long enough for one article. You can find all of my best fat-loss strategies to help you uncover those hidden abdominals of yours, laid out into actual programs for you to follow in my Truth about Six Pack Abs Program for

Losing Belly Fat

If you've been thinking of getting a copy of The Truth about Six Pack Abs Program, but just haven't made the move yet, now is the time to take action, and get started on your lean ripped flat stomach today!

Eating what you want for one day a week can actually help you shed the pounds

Eating what you want for one day a week can actually help you shed the pounds.



Some times all this watching the calories and what you eat to lose weight can get a bit boring and get you down.
But do not despair today I have some good news for you.
Actually taking one day off a week from your diet actually helps weight loss, yes it’s true.

I usually take my day off on a Sunday but it doesn’t matter which day of the week you chose.

It give me the chance to stuff my face with ice cream, pizza chocolate and all my old favorite’s, to be honest at the end of the day I am a little bit nauseous and I do not want to see any more treats for the rest of the week.

So how can this help you lose weight? I hear you ask

Well dramatically increasing you caloric intake just once a week increases fat loss by ensuring that you metabolic rate (thyroid function, etc) doesn’t down regulate from extended caloric restriction.

In other words when you diet for an extended period your body adjusts to the lower food intake and you can find it very difficult to lose any more weight.

Who would have thought eating pure crap one day a week could actually help you shift the pounds.

Yipeeee anyone for ice cream?

http://www.greatnnatural.com/