Tag fitness

There are lots of myths and misconceptions about running and muscle building, and doing research online to find the answers you’re looking for can be very frustrating.

Does Running Build Muscle?

Well, the answer can be difficult because too many self-declared experts have conflicting information. What may be true for one person may not be true for the next.

So let’s tackle the more common questions and give definitive answers for each one, so we can settle the matter once and for all.

Does running build muscle? The answer is: it depends on what you mean by “build muscle”. When you run, you use muscles, and those muscles in turn, grow or develop.

Now this development doesn’t mean that your leg muscles will bulk up. What it does mean is that your leg muscles will become stronger, they will look toned, and they will have more endurance.

What muscles are developed by running? When you run, you “push off” from the ground. This extends your ankle and works the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles of your calf. These are the muscles connected to your heel bone through the Achilles tendon.

When your foot returns to the ground, you pull up your toes. This works the tibialis anterior, the muscles on the front of your shin.

Does running reduce muscle mass? Running can help you slim down, but it does not reduce muscle mass. It doesn’t burn muscle or use it as fuel.

The only way this is possible is if you’re foolish enough to enter a diet that virtually doesn’t give you any protein at all, while at the same time you perform high intensity workouts for prolonged periods. Now that will really reduce your muscle mass.

But running does tend to prevent any extra muscle gains. This is why a lot of bodybuilding experts counsel against frequent jogging.

How do we explain all those photos of super-skinny runners? The stereotype for long distance runners is rather unfortunate, because we often see stick-thin elite runners in movies, magazines and websites. This has led some “experts” to conclude that running can really make you skinny and reduce all your muscles.

But running did not turn these elite runners into skinny beings. They’re just naturally that way, and genetics is the main reason for it. Crediting running for their slim physique is like thinking that basketball training can make you taller.

And if you see sprinters, you will notice that most of the best ones are truly fit, with muscles that are quite impressive. Check out the female sprinters, and their muscles are truly works of art.

So what does it all mean? Does running build muscle? Well, let’s put it this way: you’re better off lifting weights if you want to build muscle.

Basically, what you need to do is to define your fitness goals. If your first priority is to build muscles, then you have to cut back on your running. The more you run, the more difficult it will be for you to build muscle mass. And you also have to admit that genetics and diet can play a very significant role here. For some people who run, bulking up is possible. For others, it’s not.

If building muscle is your goal, see “Building Muscle for Men and Women” for some great tips to get you going in the right direction.

If you take a peek into some of the advertising copy of “miracle” supplements, you may actually begin to believe that diet and exercise are no longer necessary if you want to become healthy and ripped. You just need to pop a pill, and your fat will magically turn into muscle.

But regardless of whether you believe the hype or not, you have to ask, does fat turn into muscle?

This is a good question, because turning fat into muscle has always been a standard claim in the fitness industry.

But if that’s the case…

Exactly how does fat turn into muscle?

The answer: it depends.

Fat vs. Muscle

If you mean literally turning fat into muscle, then the answer to the question is no. Fat does not turn into muscle, because they’re made from different types of cells. It is physiologically impossible to turn fat into muscle because fat doesn’t have nitrogen which is needed so it can turn into muscle and there’s no way to turn fatty tissue into amino acids.

It’s sort of like trying to turn straw into gold. It can only happen in fairy tales.

Less Fat, More Muscle

Now if we are talking about turning fat into muscle in a less literal sense, then it’s possible. It’s a figure of speech, just like when some advertising copy promises to turn you into Hercules. You don’t actually become the demigod son of Zeus—you just turn into a muscular dude.

But why do some chubby people turn into impressively muscled men in some pictures? You’ve probably seen them too. And then again, some people don’t seem to lose weight at all. They just become more fit and muscular while their flab disappears.

That’s because when you stick to eating right, supplementing with whole food nutrients (Zeal for Life recommended) and a good weightlifting routine, two things can happen:

You will lose weight. When you don’t consume enough calories for your weightlifting activities, your body is then forced to lose burn the fat stored in your body for energy. Exercise burns calories, and combined with a diet your calorie intake can become less than the number of calories you use up.

You will gain muscle. When you lift weights, what you really do is to stress and tear your muscles. Your body then responds to this by rebuilding the muscles, and because you have lots of protein in your diet you have the necessary raw material to build more massive muscle.

You can’t turn straw into gold, but in the real world you can sell straw and then use the money to buy gold. And when we put it this way, we did turn straw into gold.

It’s the same thing for turning fat into muscle. You have two separate results—muscle gain and fat loss—but both are the results of your diet and weightlifting regimen. And they happen generally at the same time.

So does fat turn into muscle? In a way it does, from a certain POV.

When you go online, you’ll probably realize right away that there are millions of websites dedicated to diets. Most diets are about losing weight, others focus on health, and there are even diets for ethical or religious reasons. But if you want to build muscle, you also need the right muscle building diet.

Of course, the “right” diet is open for debate, because many experts have different opinions. What is obvious is that a specific diet needs to be customized to your requirements and circumstances. While a nutritionist can probably help you out, there are some things which you can do yourself when you are looking for the right muscle building diet for you.

A Good Muscle Building Diet Requires Monitoring Your Calories

The first thing you’ll need to do is to figure out how many calories you need per day. For that, you can go online and use a calorie calculator. This calculator estimates the minimum number of calories you need to consume.

If your aim is to lose weight, then you’ll need to eat less than what your body uses up. But if your goal is to pack on more muscle mass, then you may have to consume more calories than what you burn.

You can start by consuming about 20 calories for each pound of body weight if you want to gain weight. After a month or so, you can change this if you’re not gaining weight or if the weight gain is too much.

Now, this means you need to do some research on how many calories each meal will have. Canned and packaged foods have this info on the label and there are also many guides online for calorie content of common food items. Just track the number of calories you consume each day, so you can tweak your muscle building diet accordingly.

Plan on Eating Smaller Meals More Often

Now figure how many calories you need per meal. You should plan on eating 6 small meals a day, instead of three large ones. It’s easy; just take your normal meal and divide it in two, and then eat the other half three hours later. Eating six small meals means you won’t get hungry often because your food intake is spaced out.

Tracking Your “Muscle Building” Protein Intake

Next, track your protein intake. This is just as important as your calorie intake, because protein and amino acids are the building blocks for muscle growth. If your protein intake is insufficient, you won’t be able to grow as much muscle you want.

While some top-level bodybuilding athletes do is gobble up massive amounts of protein, for you it will be different. You can start by taking about a gram of protein for each pound of body weight, although you can go up to 1.5 grams per pound.

Carbs are a Necessary Part of Your Muscle Building Diet

Get enough carbs. Some people forget about carbs and concentrate on protein when building muscle, and then later on they complain why they’re not getting bigger and stronger. What they don’t realize is that carbs should be where most of your calories are coming from.

You can start by consuming about 2 grams per pound of body weight. Some may suggest as much as 3 grams per pound, but it’s a better idea to start low. You can always just increase the carb consumption if when you don’t gain muscle mass after a month.

Generally, you should opt for slow-burning carbs to raise your glycogen levels, which boosts your stored energy. Examples of these include oatmeal and quinoa.

For breakfast and for your post-workout meals, you should switch to starchy simple carbs. These raise your insulin levels, which helps you absorb nutrients more efficiently. You can also choose quick-burning carbs to replace your oatmeal or quinoa if you find it difficult to gain mass.

Fats are an Important Part of Your Muscle Building Diet

Don’t forget fat in your diet. This is also important if you want to build muscle. In fact, the rest of your diet should be fat after protein and carbs.

Fat has 9 calories per gram while protein and carbs have 4 calories per gram. If you weigh 200 pounds, then you may be aiming for 300 grams of protein and 400 grams of carbs, which gives you 2,800 calories. If you are aiming for 4,000 calories a day in your muscle building diet, then the rest of the 1,200 calories comes from about 133 grams of fat.

As you may have noticed, these are not hard and fast rules. Just make sure you track your food intake and monitor your gains. Then tweak your muscle building diet routine when you want to make improvements or if you’re not making any improvement. It’s as simple as that.

One of the things you need to understand is that trying to build more muscle can take time. We’re not talking about looking like The Rock here. We’re talking about maybe adding 5 to 10 pounds of muscle mass. But the good news is, you can actually learn how to build muscle fast.

What may be slowing down your progress is that perhaps you don’t fully grasp what you need to do to build muscle. Learn to understand the basic principles of bodybuilding and you should be able to learn how to build muscle fast as well.

What to Eat to Build Muscle Fast

Nutrition plays a crucial role in building muscle. Essentially, they provide you with the “raw material” so you can have bigger muscles. So you’ll need to pay attention to what you eat. You have to keep a record, and you have to note down your caloric consumption plus your carb and protein intake.

If you really want to speed up the muscle building process, then you can’t take too much time trying to understand everything you read. It can get very confusing for you, since a lot of online “facts” on the topic are untrue or contradictory. With the help of a nutritionist, you can get a definitive diet plan which you can just follow to the letter.

You’ll also need to look into some supplements. That’s because your diet may not be able to provide you with all the nutrients you need on a consistent basis. If you can’t get enough protein from your food, then you can compensate by drinking protein shakes.

However, supplements can also boost hormone profiles or increase the amount of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) which you need for energy. Some supplements contain ZMA or creatine for this purpose. Other supplements can also have caffeine, which will give you the energy you need for your workout.

Correct Bodybuilding Exercises to Build Muscle

This is also a very confusing topic, as there are as many philosophies as there are professional trainers out there. What seems to be a unanimous belief is that you must lift weights if you want to learn how to build muscles.

Again, professional advice can really accelerate your progress, so you may want to look into hiring a personal trainer. For the most part, trainers are of the opinion that the basic exercises can give you the fastest results.

These include bench pressing, deadlifts, and squats. You can also add pull-ups and military presses. These exercises work more muscles in far less time than other exercises.

What you need to avoid is over-training. More is not always better. With over-training, you’ve dealt too much stress on your muscles and this can result in injury, a lack of progress, or the decrease in enthusiasm.

You should also try to spice things up every month or so by changing your workout routine. Simple changing the sequence of the workouts can work.

Finally, you have to improve. The weight you can lift should be more after a month. By improving, you maintain a consistent level of stress on your system.

Rest and Recreation Help Build Muscle Fast

While you toil away on your workout routine, ironically most of your muscle growth happens while you’re taking a rest. It’s during your off-training days when your muscles are recovering when you actually build muscles. This is why you mustn’t exercises the same muscles every day.
Basically, the exercises are “tearing” your muscle fibers. When you rest, your body rebuilds your muscles, and that means they can get bigger and stronger. If you are feeling some pain, you should stop and rest.

You need your rest for your muscles to recover. It’s estimated that muscles need as much as 72 hours of rest after a workout session.

So getting enough sleep is a must. You need to learn to relax, so that your body doesn’t produce too much cortisol which encourages your body to burn muscle and store fat.

If you still don’t get some improvement after following these tips, then a visit to the doctor may also help. You may have an underlying health condition that keeps you from building muscle.

You just have to keep in mind that even with these tips, it will still take some time to get the physique you want. You can’t expect super quick results. You just need to go at it and persevere. At least with these tips on how to build muscle fast you will be able to achieve the results you want in the shortest time possible.

Many people seem to think that it’s easy to learn how to gain muscle mass. The problem is that most of them don’t do enough research. So what happens is that they make a lot of mistakes, and then they become frustrated when all their efforts don’t pay off.

There’s a Right Way and Wrong Way to Gain Muscle Mass

To avoid such problems, here are some clear-cut rules you need to follow so that you will gain muscle mass more effectively:

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• Define your focus. Some people think that bodybuilding and weight loss are synonymous, but for workouts, these are two completely different objectives. That’s why high intensity training is good for people who want to lose weight, but it’s actually counterproductive if you’re a pipsqueak who wants to be bigger, stronger, and more muscular. For that, you need heavy weights and lots of calories.
• Eat more. We’ll presume for the moment that you’re on a sensible diet and you’ve actually done your research on what and what not to eat. But when you start learning how to gain muscle mass, you’ll need calories. About 500 more calories than your usual intake should suffice. Do not take too much calories though, because you’ll just turn the extra calories into fat instead of muscle.
• Space out your meals. Instead of three big meals a day, try eating 6 small meals. This keeps you from getting hungry, and the meals also provide you with the protein and carbs you need.
• Drink protein and carb shakes. Whole foods are great, but then protein shakes are good too. With shakes (Recommendation: Zeal for Life Protein Shakes), you make sure you get adequate carbs and protein that your diet may not provide. For the most part, they’re also much easier to digest.
• Don’t forget to stretch. Quite a few people keep forgetting the very important step when they work out. Stretching is not just for yoga fanatics. Stretching before and after a workout makes you more flexible, improves your recovery, and also prevents you from getting injured.If you keep on having pains after working out, that may mean you didn’t stretch properly.
• Limit your cardio workouts. About twice or three times a week of jogging should suffice. And don’t jog for a couple of hours at a time. Instead, keep it to 30 minutes. Your best bet is to sprint for a full minute then alternate with a couple of minutes of jogging.
• Don’t spend too much time on your lifting exercises. Your proper weightlifting workout for the day should last for just 45 minutes. You should make sure you warm up before your workout, and you need a cool-down routine as well. About a dozen sets for each muscle group is okay, but more than 20 sets is overkill. Your reps for each set should range anywhere from 6 to 12, so that you only spend 40 to 70 seconds each set. When you lift weights, after an hour your body will start producing cortisol in response to the physical stress, and this will impede on your progress. Cortisol signals your body to store fat and burn muscle.
• Perform exercises that focus on several muscle groups at once. These exercises include pull-ups, rows, deadlifts, and squats. You can train your entire body or concentrate on either your upper your lower parts, but this is more efficient than working on just a single muscle group per session. By doing this, you reduce the risk of injury when you work out. You become stronger and your muscle development gets better. Besides, it helps you look so much more attractive.
• Change your workouts regularly. The body has a strange way of adapting to various strenuous events. So after a month or so, you may want to vary your workout a bit. Your 45 minutes per workout is enough for about 6 to 8 different exercises, and each one should have alternatives. Or, you can just vary the sequence of the exercises instead.
  You should note down your workout details in your journal, so that you have an accurate record of what you’ve been doing.
• Get enough rest. Make sure that you give your muscles enough time to heal, grow and develop by resting them after a workout. Get enough sleep as well.

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Learning how to gain muscle mass also means appreciating the time needed to attain noticeable results. Shortcuts aren’t recommended because they may eventually become harmful for you. Just make a habit of lifting weights and following your muscle building program. Give it time and dedication and you’ll begin to gain the muscle mass you want.

In fitness circles, you often hear about toned abs and 6-packs for guys that sometimes you might forget that the best ab workouts for women can be very beneficial as well.

Toned abs can go a long way in making women look attractive and feel strong and fit; it helps build confidence during “bikini season.”

In addition, abs workouts can help improve core muscles that can make daily challenges much less troublesome.

Doing ab exercises should be included in a complete body workout and not just working the ab muscles only.

Top Three Best Ab Workouts for Women:

• Standing Side Crunch. Start by standing with your hands on your hips and your feet about 3½ feet apart, with your toes slightly turned outward. Now bend your knees over your toes, while you lower your hips directly under your shoulders. Then when you straighten yourself back up, lift your right knee slowly towards your right shoulder. When you start lowering your knees again, slowly return your right foot back to the floor. You should make sure that your movements are controlled and deliberate. This will work your obliques as you go up and down. You don’t need a lot of reps for this. Just do ten reps on one side and another ten for the other side.
• Stability-Ball Plank Leg Lift. As the name of the exercise suggests, you’ll need a stability ball to get started. Get into a pushup position, except that your hands are on the stability ball directly under your shoulders. You may want your feet planted wider for more stability. Now contract your abs to bring your body into a straight line. You can keep this position stable, lift one leg off the ground, and keep it there for ten seconds. Now do this for the other leg. Do three sets when you hold for ten seconds, then level up to 30 seconds. Keeping your body in this position stresses all of your core muscles, and forces your abs to stay contracted the whole time. If you want a flatter tummy, this is really an excellent exercise technique to use.
• Reverse Press Up. This workout will focus on the lower part of your abs without having to use any sort of equipment. Start by lying flat on your back with your palms pressed to the floor. Now lift your legs straight up in the air over your hips, with your knees bent and your feet flexed. Then push upward using both feet at the same time, with your hips off the floor, while you press your heels toward the ceiling. One set consists of 15 reps, and you should do three sets.

Now the thing you need to remember is that not even the best ab workouts for women can give you a flat tummy if you live an unhealthy lifestyle and fail to take in the right nutrients. Not moving around enough will also hinder you from seeing any results because sitting in one position tightens your muscles and this can make it more difficult for you to contract your abs when you exercise.

You can also see http://myfitnessnut.com/5-tips-to-get-six-pack-ab-results for some good tips on the best ab workouts for women and men alike.

Almost everyone knows the benefits of bodybuilding and by using these 15 bodybuilding tips, you’ll be on your way to sculpting your body to be the best it can be.

Bodybuilding does wonders for your social and professional life, and it also gives you considerable health benefits as well. But you only get these benefits if you do your workouts properly and exercise a little patience as well. It takes much time and energy for your body to develop into a lean, toned, muscular work of art.

These tips are a fit for both men and women; even though women do not normally put on as bulky of muscles as men do, the strength and appearance benefits both in the same way.

Crucial Bodybuilding Tips to Keep in Mind:

1. Create a bodybuilding plan. You can ask a personal trainer about this or you can do some research online. But you can’t just buy bodybuilding equipment or go to the gym and do any random exercise. You need a good plan that outlines the specific exercises needed, the exact number of reps and sets, and a time frame.
2. Start a healthy diet. No list of bodybuilding tips is complete without mentioning the need for a proper diet, because workouts are just one aspect of your bodybuilding plan. Make sure your body gets enough nutrients, especially protein. Take some supplements as well, since your diet probably can’t give you all the vitamins, minerals and nutrients your body needs.
3. Get enough protein. As a rule for highly physically active people, you need at least a gram (or even up to a gram and a half) of protein for every pound of body weight. So that means if you weigh 200 pounds, you should consume 200 to 300 grams of protein per day.
4. Don’t forget about BCAAs. These Brain Chain Amino Acids are necessary for bodybuilding, and they’re available in supplement form.
5. You must have a rest day. You can’t workout every day. This is a very common mistake, and even some bodybuilders who have been at it for quite a while still make this mistake. They train too hard, and too often, so as a result, they become prone to injury and they’re not getting the results they want. Keep your workouts to just three times a week. At the very least, you need two days off each week.
6. Get enough sleep. It’s when you’re resting that your muscles repair and grow, and they can’t do that properly when you’re not getting enough sleep. Lack of sleep can affect hormones crucial to bodybuilding, and it also makes you too tired to want to exercise.
7. Make sure you target every muscle group each week. You can’t neglect a specific muscle group. When people commit this mistake, the results can be rather off-putting. You could end up with a huge torso and stick-thin legs.
8. Start with the basic equipment. If you’re a beginner, you should stick to the basics. Don’t waste your time trying to learn all the fancy new bodybuilding equipment in your gym. Just focus on free weights such as dumbbells and barbells.
9. Stick to fundamental exercises. There are numerous types of exercises out there, but the basics never go out of fashion. These exercises include the squat and the deadlift, as well as bench press and the military shoulder press.
10. Forget the written descriptions of exercises. Watch the videos on YouTube instead of reading manuals and guides. Take note of the proper form, and watch how the hands and legs are positioned.
11. Gradually increase your weights. Track your weights, and then every two weeks you should increase the weight slightly. Your muscles will need to be challenged continuously. What this means is that if you find a certain weight “easy”, then you’re not lifting enough. Lift heavier weights that really challenge you.
12. Vary your workouts every two weeks. Maybe you can change the exercises you’re doing, or this can be a simple matter of changing the order of the workouts. But you need variety so that your body doesn’t adapt and reach a plateau when you don’t progress.
13. Track your 1-rep weight. Every few weeks or so, find out how much weight you can handle with just one rep of a particular exercise. This weight should increase every time. Doing this tells you how much progress you’ve made in your strength training and it also helps motivate you into continuing your efforts.
14. Make your safety a priority. That means taking care of your weights properly, using a safety belt for heavy weights, and having a spotter near you. The point of all these workouts is to make you healthier. You’re not supposed to get injured while you build your muscles.
15. Be patient. Regardless of what you may have heard or read online, your muscles won’t grow overnight. You can change this with steroids, but this isn’t only illegal, it’s also unhealthy as well. So just be patient, keep doing what you’re doing and pretty soon you will have the body you’ve always wanted.

Of course, you have to think and act like a true competitor during this period in your life. Eat right, avoid bad habits, and commit to a healthy lifestyle. None of these bodybuilding tips will matter unless you do all these.

Determining the best ab exercises can elicit a lot of fiery opinions on the subject, from people who are naturally passionate about the very idea of fitness and exercise.

So, rather than getting caught in the crossfire, we’re going to refrain from choosing sides. Instead, we’ll just list down some of the ab exercises that fitness professionals propose to be the best and most effective.

As an added note, it’s always a good idea to have a professional fitness trainer to assist you in learning the proper way of doing these exercises so that you can get the most value out of your workouts.

The Top Four of the Best Ab Exercises

• Walkout. While you stand with your knees bent, put your hands flat on the ground and then “walk” your hands away from your body and past your shoulders as far as you can. Hold that position for a count, and then walk your hands back towards your feet and then slowly return to standing position. Now do that 10 times. This will work your lower back, obliques, and upper and lower abs.
• Swimming plank. You may find it strange that one of the best ab exercises resembles free style swimming, but you don’t need a pool to do it. This will challenge your abs as well as your back. Lie on your stomach, and prop yourself up by your elbows and toes, while there’s an upright dumbbell about six inches in front of you. Now use a freestyle motion with your right arm to reach over and past the dumbbell, then repeat with the left arm. Do 10 reps total while you alternate.
• Cross-Leg Reverse Crunch. This will work a lot of your muscles from your bottom pelvis region upward, and it won’t strain your neck. Just lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Bring your arms over your head, and hold onto a heavy medicine ball (or just the bottom of your couch). Now cross your right ankle to your left knee, and in that position lift your legs as close as possible to your chest. Slowly return to your original position. Do 15 of these, and then alternate your legs.
• Rotational Lift. Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet hip-width apart while you interlace your hands behind your head. Now bring your head and shoulders off the floor as you try to get your chest close to your knees while your pelvis is neutral. Exhale and then rotate to your right side. Then let out another breath and rotate even further while you lift a little higher. Then inhale and lift as you return to the center, and repeat to your other side. Do about 8 to 10 reps of this. This exercise will focus on your abdominal walls and oblique muscles.

Choose any one or all of these abs exercises for your workout. You probably need it, since the average modern society person spends 56 hours a week sitting which weakens the core.

You can read more about how long will it take to see six-pack abs; but of course, not even the best ab exercises known to man can help if you don’t watch what you eat, so do take care of your diet too!

With the right nutrients, preferably from whole food such as the ones found in Zeal for Life can help with performance and recovery in a really big way. So focus on the best ab exercises outlined above, feed your body the important nutrition it craves and watch the results they have on your mid-section.

Positive Thinking Can Help Win Your Battle In Losing Weight

Being positive allows us to do more things because we look at how it will be a good thing. This also applies to losing weight.

Many people don’ t get to lose weight because they look at how hard the workout sessions are, they can’t finish the session because they get tired easily, they cannot commit to the new diet plan, etc.

Positive thinking allows us to see that working out will make us stronger, finishing the sessions properly eventually improves our cardiovascular resistance and committing to the diet plan will make us healthier. Having a positive outlook will make it a lot easier for us to finish what we need to finish and more.

Being positive is half the battle for most of the time and that shows just how important a role it has for us to achieve our weight loss goals.

Positive = Happiness

When we are positive towards what we are doing, we tend to like it and see the benefits better. Being positive allows us to commit to the activity in the first place. Pessimism has never benefited anybody and having a positive disposition allows us to try more things and thus achieve more.

Even when we do not achieve our goals the first time, being positive allows us to review what we did so that we can turn a failure into something like training. Failure is just training towards perfection. I am not sure who said that but it does bring the point home. If you are positive enough to look at a failure as something like training, you will eventually perfect it and achieve your goals effortlessly.

Positive = Strength

Being positive makes us stronger because we will not feel down easily. Minor setbacks often derail the progress of many people who does not take things positively. They often just stop and give up without knowing that they only have to change their approach a little bit or push on a little more to achieve their goal.

It’s like giving up climbing to the top of Everest when you are just 100 feet away because you are tired. You often will not see the top until it is right there. The same applies to weight loss. People often give up a month away from their goal because they feel that it’s too much work.

Positive = Achievement

Being positive will ultimately lead us to achieve our goals. Edison would have not perfected the light bulb if he stopped after failing so many times. He stayed positive and he eventually got to his goal. Weight loss is a lot like every worthwhile endeavor. Being positive will allow us to finish in spite of all the hardships and sacrifices because we know that we will eventually reach our goal.

There are a lot more benefits of thinking positive when it comes to weight loss but these three basically makes the most sense. We are not losing weight just for the sense of losing weight. We are losing weight because we want to feel better, stronger and for some, as my former client said “just wants to look good in front of the mirror”. Whatever our real purpose is, positive thinking is definitely an important ingredient for us to reach that weight loss goal.

Should You Weigh Yourself Everyday While Losing Weight?

Weighing yourself every morning is not a good idea because your body will not really show much weight change on a daily basis. Even if you are working out regularly, the weight change will only be less than a pound anyway so most weigh scale will not really reflect it. Weight loss is something needs to have a plan and just like any investment, you will not see profit on a daily basis. Weighing yourself daily is not only pointless; it can affect your overall goal negatively.

Here are a few things that tend to happen when you weigh yourself everyday.

Loss of Interest

A lot of people watch infomercials and see a girl or guy lost, well at least claim to lose, 10 lbs. in a month. They think that as long as they put in the effort, they should see results on a daily basis. It just does not work that way and not all bodies are created equal.

Genetics can affect your weight lose quite a lot as well as diet so unless you have the same genes and diet as the people on T.V. you should not expect the same results. Losing 1 lb. a day is simply not achievable and sustainable. Now a lot of people tend to lose interest when they don’t see any change on the scale and simply stop.

Question the Routine

After a week of a diet plan, people are already expecting a change. After a month of working out, people expect a big difference. Sadly, it does not work that way. You have to give your body a chance to show you some results before you question the routine that you are following. Your body might be building some muscle tissue which is a good thing because it will allow your body to burn more fat cells. That change will not reflect in the scale but you will see a lot of difference because of this in the coming weeks.

Go On A Crash Diet

A crash diet is one of the worst things that you can get your body in to. Sure, you will get thinner but you’re not healthy. The overall goal of losing weight is to get healthier and not to push your body to the hospital. Many people tend to go on a crash diet if they don’t see regular lose on the scale. Sure, a crash diet will make you lose pounds quickly but what good is a slim body if you’re in a hospital?

Those are just a few of the possible side effects of weighing yourself daily. You can say that you will never get to the point that you will do these things but we know that when we don’t seem to get what we want, we tend to do things that we don’t normally do.

An important point to remember is that the number one cause of weight loss failure is inadequate nutrition and going on a “crash diet” will only exacerbate the problem. The best weight management program will provide an abundance of nutrients that your body needs to balance, drop the fat and keep it off.

Losing weight is a good thing as long as it is done properly and without forcing it. The point of losing weight is to be healthier so don’t do it in an unhealthy way. Simply put, weighing yourself daily is not a good idea if you want to use positive thinking to help you win your battle to losing weight.

Jumping Rope Is a Great Idea For Losing Weight

Jumping rope is an inexpensive exercise equipment that is a really good cardiovascular and muscular workout. It improves muscle tone on the legs and arms. It’s very easy to do and is a great way to lose weight without shelling out a lot for a gym membership and a personal trainer. Jumping rope started as a game for kids but has picked up popularity as a legitimate piece of workout equipment used for weight loss.

Jumping rope for 10 minutes burns about 100 calories and a pound of fat is about 3500 calories. Now I am not saying that you burn all 3500 calories purely from jumping rope but using one will definitely make a difference. 10 minutes of jumping rope burns roughly the same calorie count as 30 minutes of jogging or over 700 yards of swimming. A simple jumping rope and a good weight management program can help you burn the fat fast.

Here are a few more things that jumping rope brings to the table:

It’s a Total Body Workout

Jumping rope works the legs, the arms, the abs and the circulatory system. It is a killer cardio that makes us sweat a lot and burns calories efficiently. The more time you spend using it, the more fat we tend to burn. It not only burns fat but is also great for your skin so you end up with a tight and lean midsection and lower body. Jumping rope produces quite a result that it only has to be used 30 minutes a day and results can be noticed within a few days.

Great Looking Legs

The reason we lose weight is to look good. With jumping roper, we will be able to tone our calves, hamstrings, and even the glutes. This results not only in better muscle tone but a lot of calorie burns. Our bodies tend to burn a lot more calories when muscle quality improves and this is what jumping ropes tend to do to our legs.

Great Cardio

Increasing cardiovascular capacity is one great effect of jumping ropes. Better cardiovascular capacity allows us to do a lot more is our days which in turn burns more calories. If we improve the cardio capacity, the heart and lungs improve in efficiency and therefore not only makes us lose weight but feel better overall.

Portable – Do it Anywhere

The fact that it can be brought and used anywhere makes for a big advantage since you don’t have to go to the gym to loss weight. You can do a quick 15 minute session while on break and that will help in losing weight in the long run. This is especially useful for people who spend hours seated on an office chair.

Losing Weight Jumping Rope is Fun

Let’s face it, jumping rope is a lot more fun than just running of swimming. We liked it as kids and there’s no reason we won’t like it now considering all the benefits that we can have from it.

Those are just some of the benefits that jumping rope can bring and that is why it’s a great idea to use for weight loss. Losing weight does not have to be an ordeal. It can be a fun and enjoyable activity that will make us feel happy and fulfilled.