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Boost Up Your Strength Training

If you just can't stand a certain exercise in your strength-training plan!

You don't have the equipment it requires, or just want to have a little control over which moves you do in the weight room, good news: You can make tweaks to your plan on your own, so long as you swap apples to apples, so to speak. In fact, a new study in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that muscle activation during these two moves is actually identical. (Find out the differences between a narrow grip bench press and a wide grip bench press.)

There are of course many other exercise “pairs” that work the same or similar muscle groups and are essentially interchangeable, explains Joel Sanders, performance coach at EXOS. 

Sanders paired five swappable moves, modelled by Lacey Henderson, American Paralympic Long Jump Record Holder who trains at EXOS (and, when done together, make up a killer total body workout). “These pairs include one more 'loaded' strength movement (meaning it uses weights) and one that works the same muscles but uses less equipment,” explains Sanders.

If you are aiming to get stronger, do 6-10 reps of each move (with the heaviest weights you can stand, adding weight to any bodyweight movements or placing a medicine ball between your knees for knee raise.) If you are looking to expend calories and keep your heart rate elevated, aim for 8-12 reps and keep the weights lighter/body-weight, says Sanders. Move from one move to the next with little to no rest. Rest two minutes, then repeat the circuit for a total of three cycles.  

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Top Workout Songs 2014

It's time to start thinking about getting back into the gym or planning your exercise program for the New Year.

We always think it's best to plan your program for about 8 weeks, this allows you to get the best from the program, but isn't too long so that your body become too comfortable with the routines.

The video above has some top workout songs, that you can use to motivate your workouts and challenge yourself to improve the intensity of the exercise. For instance, if you are doing a cardio workout try to complete a set before a song reaches a certain point, or try to maintain your pace for the duration of the song.

You can also select songs to warm up to and warm down to, this will stop you from clock watching and allow you to lose yourself in the music. By having a quality play list which you workout to the time will fly by and you will find yourself enjoying your sessions much more.

If you have never exercised to music before, give it ago, after all you have nothing to lose and you might just find that the music is the trigger you need to really help you focus! 

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If losing pounds is as easy as journalling about what you put in your mouth, can you use the same technique to help you stick to a fitness routine?

Dieters who keep a food diary lose twice as much weight as those who kept no records, according to a recent study by Kaiser Permanente’s Centre for Health Research. But while keeping a journal holds you more accountable for how you treat your body, sticking to a fitness routine is different from sticking to a healthy eating routine. Personal trainers we talked to recommend these tactics to keep you motivated and inspired to work out.

1. Change Your Perspective

Shift your thinking from couch potato mentality to thinking like an athlete. This may sound like a big challenge, but it’s not as big a leap as you think. Essex, Massachusetts mother April Bowling, 33, stopped using her busy life as an excuse not to exercise. After the birth of her children (now ages 5 and 3), Bowling started viewing exercise as a way to set a strong example for her kids.

Bowling started thinking about her workouts at odd hours as a blessing rather than a sacrifice. She also found inspiration in others, looking outward for extra motivation. “Take inspiration from everyone you meet."

2. Set a Goal

There’s nothing more motivating, sometimes even scary, than that first 5K looming in bold letters on the calendar. Register early and commit to an exercise program that will get you in shape by race day.

“Set realistic goals that include clear milestones, and as you progress toward your goal, you’ll find a ripple effect occurs and things fall into place in your work, home life and health,” says Stacy Fowler, a Denver-based personal trainer and life coach.

The goal doesn't even have to be an organized race. Maybe it’s a mission to fit into that bikini by the annual beach vacation or that old pair of jeans buried in your closet. Whatever it is is, define it, write it down and revisit it daily.

Make sure it’s realistic and you can actually adapt your life around meeting the goal, says Philip Haberstro, executive director of the National Association for Health and Fitness in Buffalo, N.Y. 

3. Schedule a Regular Workout Time

Some of the most committed exercisers do it every day before the sun comes up or late at night when the kids are in bed. Sit down with your weekly schedule and try to build in an hour each day to be good to your body.

Tamira Cole, 24, a graduate student in Clarksville,Tenn., was motivated to exercise regularly by the energy boost it brought to her day. “It’s easy to stay in bed. But you have to set an alarm and take the extra initiative,” she says. “Then you’ll find you have more energy and can be more efficient throughout the day.”

If you convince yourself you’ll fit in a workout some time after that last meeting, once the kids go down for a nap or when your spouse arrives home on time, failure is certain. Chances are a last-minute invitation will come along; weather will foil a bike ride; or the kids won’t nap. Write your workout on your calendar, set up daycare, and rearrange things around this one hour as if were any other important appointment you have to keep.

4. Think Fun and Variety

By nature, humans need change and variety to stay motivated. We also need to have fun, even while we’re working hard. 

Whether it’s a toning and sculpting class that changes choreography every week or a trail run that changes scenery every season, design your exercise routine around a variety of exercise methods. Make sure you include activities you truly enjoy and look forward to doing. Think movement that's more like recreation and makes you forget you're working out, like dancing, hula hooping or playing sports with family and friends.

Workout variety also challenges your body in unique ways, which may introduce you to new muscle groups you didn't even know you had!

5. Reach Out to Others for Support

In America, some tend to have trouble asking for help, says Bowling. Yet in order to stick to a fitness program, we need buy-in and encouragement from other people.

“Exercising is built into our family life," Bowling adds. “We view it as a necessity. Sometimes it takes the place of watching TV together.”

For others, it’s finding a friend with a shared zest for running, and planning scheduled workouts together. It’s easy to hit the snooze button when it’s just you, but much harder to leave a friend waiting at the track.

Consider joining a social networking site or on-line community with fitness trainers and nutrition experts, and support from other people trying to lose weight and maintain healthy eating and exercise routines. People who get this kind of on-line support are proven to lose three times more weight than people going it alone.

So start thinking of yourself as an athlete, and not a spectator. Set a goal, enlist a friend, mark it on your calendar and have some fun. You’ll be setting yourself up for a lifetime of better health, more happiness, and more energy for everything else in your life.

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The Fastest Way To Lose Belly Fat

Losing "belly fat" is most peoples main concern!

In this video you will find out how to lose your belly fat by exercising, but take time to notice how Mike talks about "will power". Will power in my language translates as mindset! We can give you all the best exercise routines and diets in the world, but if you haven't got a positive mindset you will have very little chance of success.

If you are honest and self analyse the way you live your life, you will be able to see why you are over weight and what you need to do to change it. Once you recognise the weak areas, address them and make a positive commitment to change, then you will be ready to start your weight loss journey.  

Enjoy the video, concentrate as always on perfect exercise form and build up your repetition count over time.

To find out more about positive mindset go to : www.JRSpublishing-freegifts.co.uk

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"Ladies With Their Prams!"

I have always admired ladies who exercise at the earliest opportunity after giving birth.

When we talk about mindset, there is no better example than the ladies who can't wait to start exercising as soon as they can, after having their babies. They have the ultimate excuse to stay at home, but their mindset is strong and they are totally focussed.

The exercise table below may not appeal to everyone, but for the ladies it's aimed at, I hope it helps. We can all take inspiration from the "ladies with their prams", there is simply no reason not to exercise, except for the one's you make up! 

The Man Who Never Gave Up!

This short video is very moving and definitely shows what can be achieved with a strong positive mindset.

The body fat transformation is breath taking!

We don't know how long it took John to realise his dream, but that is not important as your weight loss journey is not a race. I can guarantee that a long the way he felt like giving up thousands of times, made excuses why he couldn't train or ate fatty food. But the evidence is undeniable, by training his mind to never give up and making a promise to himself he smashed his dream to pieces.

The future is definitely in your own hands, if you want to make the changes to your life that you dream about, then just do it. Stop making excuses, watch the video a thousand times and use John as your mentor and make it happen.

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Fat Burning Workout

Losing weight is a simple concept: you need to burn more calories than you eat!

The British Nutrition Foundation recommends a sensible weight loss of 1-2 lbs (approximately 0.5-1.0 kg) a week. This could mean cutting energy intake by about 500-1000 kcals a day. However, the actual reduction will depend on how much weight needs to be lost, how active the person is and whether they are male or female.

If you want to lose weight faster, you'll need to eat less and exercise more. Essentially, you need to eat no more than 1,050 to 1,200 calories per day (for important health reasons calorie intake should not be lower than this) and take one hour of exercise a day. On this type of plan, you can expect to lose 2-4 lbs (1.3-2.25 kg) in the first week, or more if you weigh over 18 stone (114 kg).

But the British Nutrition Foundation says there are advantages to not being over-ambitious about how much weight you lose. A measured approach is preferable it says because:

* It is not damaging to health. A very low calorie diet (consuming less than 600 kcals a day) can be     dangerous as the body loses too much lean tissue (as well as body fat). This type of diet can also be low in certain nutrients.

* It is easier to stick to the diet.

* Such a diet provides the opportunity to improve eating habits in general which can have long term benefits to health and help to maintain weight loss.

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