Green Tea Pills

Within the last year or two I started taking green tea pills every morning. I took regular green tea just becuase I like the way I felt afterward and I know that they have some benifits. Resently they came out with a green tea pill the curbs your appitite and helps you lose 20lbs in weeks if you maintain a regular balanced diet (2000 calories a day). Green tea has been shown to aid in weight loss in at least two separate ways; the first one being increasing thermogenesis, and the second one is increasing fat oxidation. To understand how each factor adds to weight loss it is important to know a bit about each process.Thermogenesis is the production of heat by the body as it burns fuels. The higher the level of thermogenesis the more calories that the body is burning at any given time. The caffeine and other compounds in green tea work with the body to slightly increase the rate of thermogenesis. This, in turn, burns calories faster by increasing metabolism. This is a gradual increase, and is not harmful to the cardiovascular or nervous systems. Some metabolic enhancers are very stressful to the body, whereas green tea is safe and non-harmful. This is how the green tea pill works.It is important to know that some fat is important in every diet, as our bodies require fat for nutrition and vitamin and mineral transport within our blood system. Too much fat in the diet leads to many conditions including heart attack, stroke, high cholesterol and other cardiovascular problems. By drinking green tea on a regular basis the rate of fat oxidation in the body is increased, and this leads to weight loss and decreases in cravings. It is also believed that green tea consumption helps to optimize the use of fat in the body and increases athletic performance and energy. Green tea has a specific action on the digestive enzyme called amylase, which is responsible for carbohydrate digestion and breakdown. Since green tea slows down the action of amylase, carbohydrates are digested more slowly and the huge increase in blood sugar is not noted after a meal. This drastic increase in blood sugar soon leads to a “carb crash” which causes cravings and snacking behaviors, definitely not what is wanted when you are dieting.
The use of green tea weight loss products still requires effort on the part of the person who wants to lose weight; meaning exercise and healthy food are still required. It is important to remember that weight loss also requires a person to completely change their eating habits otherwise just consuming the product will be a waste of time. If you are ever curious when it comes to diet pills, I'd say this is one of the safer pills out onthe market today and is worth trying.

http://www.colonhealth.net/weight_loss/Green_Tea_Increases_Metabolic_Weight_Loss.html

Brains vs Bronze? Pulleys vs Free Weights?

Have you ever actually took the time out to think about the differences between cable machines and free weights? How about the benefits and the negatives of both? There are a lot about both of those two categories that you may not know. The fact of the matter is the choice is up to you. The equipment you choose depends on your level of experience and your exercise goals, and to some extent, your personal preference. An understanding of these factors will help you decide if free weights or machines  or a combination of both will help you reach your goals. First off we'll start with the advantages of both. Free weights incorporate the stabilizing muscles that enable you to perform the movements you choose to make and may be more effective in producing overall muscular strength and power gains. Free weights also are used by athletes more so because your body movements are more related to actual movements you would perform in game like situations. The biggest advantage to free weights would be their versatility and the lack of space they take up. All you need is a little area of the gym and a set of dumbbells and you can perform multiple exercises without having to switch machines or even dumbbells if the weight suits your needs. Just the simple way in which you hold a dumbbell can determine which muscle or part of the body you can/are working out with a simple change in direction your moving on to the next muscle group. As far as Pulley Systems go these are much easier to use and are perfect starters for beginners or even people how have been lifting for awhile but just don't like the feel or free weights. Some machines are far more efficient in isolating certain muscle groups then free weights. A big advantage and turn on to machines are that your form is almost guaranteed to be correct and working out with machines takes less time because your form is that much better and you can move easily from machine to machine.
The disadvantages of both. Free weights you need to quickly learn how to keep your body centered and balanced while trying to exert a force at the same time. This can be very hard for a beginner to do or even a vet just trying to lift heavier weight. Free weights can be used incorrectly by swinging the weights rather then pushing them which works the muscle better and the major down fall would be they are just plain dangerous. So when working with free weights you should always have a partner or don't be bashful and ask someone at the gym if they wouldn't mind spotting you for a few sets. One of the Pulley Systems major down falls is that it guides the muscle along a certain path regardless of if it fits the path of the person using it, which intern means the user is not getting the full effect of the workout he/she is doing. The biggest down fall of the machines would be ajustability. Machines are made for the average sized person. So if you are shorter or taller you will always have trouble using/adjusting to these machines.
As you can see their is an upside and a downside to both. In my own opinion I think you need to use both free weights and machines to get the full effect of weight training. I feel it allows for one to perform power lifts and tone at the same time which in the end allows them to experience the best of both worlds which is lifting a lot and looking good while your doing it, not to mention improving your overall health and wellness while lifting.

http://www.acefitness.org/fitfacts/fitfacts_display.aspx?itemid=289
http://www.fitnesspros.com/articles/machvsfree.html

Bigger, Faster, Stronger

If you are a professional or college athlete or someone who likes to hit the gym hard with intense power lifts then you'll want to tune into this blog abd check out the bigger, faster, stronger weight trainining program. BFS has been around for a little over 28 years now and has been helping athletes of all levels improve there musclular strength, endurence, speed and power. The mission of Bigger Faster Stronger, Inc., is to encourage positive changes in the lives of young people through character education and sports fitness seminars. The program also supports coaches and physical educators in their work with young people, we offer certification programs and continuing education materials that teach how to increase the safety and effectiveness of their sports and physical education programs through the concept of unification. To support excellence in youth athletics and physical education, BFS offers the highest-quality exercise equipment at the best prices. Our experienced staff also assists – from concept to completion – with all aspects of developing the best possible strength and conditioning facilities and programs. BFS is centered around 6 power lifts (squat, bench press, cleans, dead lifts, squat vereation and bench vereation). These are the main lifts that your other sport specific programs are revolved around. So when splitting these lfits ups during the week you can alos add in other exercises pertaining to the sport or activity you are preparing/ or staying in shape for. Not only is it a great training tool it is an awesome way to build team chemistry and commrodery. Power lifts are not done by ones-self therefore your always with a teammate lifting and this program posses challenges and makes teammates push eachother to reach goals and fitness levels that they might not have thought possible of themselves. I for one can attest to this BFS program and say that if you deticate your time and effort and you believe in the program it works 110%. My sienor year in high school I graduated throwing the baseball somewhere around 80mph. I deticated my hole summer and fall to BFS. I had tests done by my personal trainner and I was amazed. I put on 8 lbs of muscle and dropped about 10 lbs of fat. They way I felt was amazing. Every weight lifting exercise, the amount of weight I was lifting went up in significant amounts. But the most impressive thing was, the first pitch I throw in my college career my freshmen year was 88mph. In about 6 months I went from an average high school pitcher to a domainant college pitcher and an actual contendor in every game I pitched in. I can promise you that if you try this program as something new you will not be disapointed with the outcome and results when you are through your first go at it.

http://www.biggerfasterstronger.com/home/ProgramHome.asp

Obesity Epidemic

Most of my blogs have been about exercising and improving your health and just updates on things happening in the fitness world. This blog I wanted to take the time and explain and touch upon the current Obesity Epidemic in the US right now. In today's adolescence society about 25 million children are over weight or obese, that is 32% of American children, SHOCKING!!!. What is even worse and more shocking then that previous facts is those 32% turn into 70% stay obese when the mature (grew up). This number in obese children has been on the rise for the past twenty years and it has almost tripled. The health issues that are associated with being obese are very serious. As of the last past 20 years the adolescence population has been being diagnosed with type II diabetes which is usually very rare when your at a young age. Not only does being over weight create physical disabilities for these children but social as well. Children who are over weight are more apt to be bullied in school and picked on, less likely to go out of their way and be social and try to make friends, this leads to depression and a lack of self-esteem. The American population is paying for this and they seem to not even care that health care has gone up three times more strictly because of obese children.  The most common causes for childhood obesity are bad eating habits, to little exercise, an unhealthy family lifestyle and genetics, all which can be PREVENTED!!! I find it very hard to believe that the parents are over looking their child's problem when it has been publicly announced that this generation of children may not out live their own parents. This blog is not only trying to point out how bad this epidemic really is but is trying to show people, Americans, especially parents how easy it really is to stop this in its track before it really is to late. There are so many little tips that can be acted upon at home to help your children out, and there are plenty of programs in the states that are here to help stop this obesity crisis. First of the little things like, healthier eating habits, higher levels of physical activity can easily reverse this problem. But it isn't that simple now sence we have waited so long to adress the additional problem. More dratic measures have to be taken to solve this problem.

Programs like WE CAN  (Ways to Enhance Children's Activity & Nutrition) have been thought up to help out the situation. This program is directed to parents, cargivers and ones community and targets children 8 - 13 and gives them help and tips to stay and maintain healthy weight. Parents and gaurdians are the primary influence on these children, so the more they know the more helpful they'll be to the children. The organization also offers things like community groups and health proffesionals to help meet the needs of these children. Another example of a program would be shapedowns which are weight managments programs for children, or quote un quote "Fat Camps" where a child will go for a period of time to try to lose there weight. Obesity can be prevented, everyone and anyone can help. HELP YOUR CHILDREN OUT LIVE YOU!

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/wecan/about-wecan/index.htm
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/childhood-obesity-facts-know-this-before-its-to-late-1658203.html

Losing Belly Fat, Is Possible?

One of the biggest questions in fitness is "HOW CAN I LOSE MY BELLY FAT?". Well here are a few answers that you might not have thought of before. One of the most common misconceptions is the more sit-ups and crunches you do the quicker your belly fat will go away. FALSE, sit-ups and crunchs are a great way to strengthen your stomach muscles and tighten them up but it is not the best and most efficent way to lose your belly fat. Performing crunches like half the population does can actually cause negative things to happen to the body such as, bad posture, lower back and shoulder pain along with sloutching shoulders. Burning belling fat is as simple as GET STRONGER, strength train. Strength trainining builds muscles mass and helps the fat loss process. Most people don't understand that during most workouts such as squats, dead lifts, and benching exercises you are constantly squeezing your abbs together and working them out when you don't even no your doing it. Obviously all the general things come along with losing fat in the stomach area, calorie intake, get strong servings of protein, carbs, vegatibles and healthy foods. When eating you should pay most attention to carbs and fats, try to reduce alcohol intake and soda intake. Plain and simple, good diet and smart eating will help you lose weight. Another easy way to lose fat in the belly and waist area is simply running, most people hate to do it, but once you start you won't want to stop once you see the results you'll be getting.

http://stronglifts.com/how-to-lose-belly-fat-fast-naturally/

Keeping Track of your Progress

This article/post goes out to all of those who want to take the first step to make themselves healthier but have no clue on how to get started. The best way to keep up with your progress is to keep track of what you are actually doing. There are so many ways to do so but how easy are they? Very Easy! In my measurement and evaluation class we were introduced to www.livestrong.com . This is an amazing website for beginners, and people with advanced levels of diet and fitness. Right off the bat their ma do sends a powerful message. "They believe everyone has the power to make their lives better. This website was formed by Demand Media and Lance Armstrong. This website is the daily definitive of healthy life styles. What livestrong is? Livestrong is a website that anyone can go to free of coast. You create a password and ID and go from their. Two of the best features of livestrong I would say are the daily plate and exercise log. For those who are big on calorie intake and burning them of this is the perfect website for you. The daily plate allows you to go in in type in a search bar exactly what you had for breakfast, lunch and dinner right down to the brand of the food. Then you are able to select a serving size and the amount of what you consumed. You then can click on that item and the time you ate it. The website then calculates the calorie consumption and takes it away from a basic 2000 calorie a day diet and you then can see how many calories you have left to consume for that day. At the end of the day you will be able to see calories consumed.
The fitness log does just the opposite of the daily plate. You are able to go in in select the form of exercises or activity  you performed that day and for how long you did so. Select an activity and time and the computer calculates how many calories you have burned off during that period and shows how many calories you took off from your daily consumption. This is a great way to keep track of your progress and such an easy way to keep track of what  you eat, which so many people struggle on. Other features of the website include places you can go to look up different workout routines, whats new in the fitness world, updates dealing with the website and health issues, the website also has its own blog as well. For those of you just starting out or who are a veteran at the hole fitness thing I suggest you take a look at this website, you will not be disappointed.

http://www.livestrong.com/

Losing Weight the Healthy Way!!

For those who are already in the fitness world, and for those of you who are joining here are some great and healthy ways to lose weight. A huge and most of the time unanswered question when it comes to exercising is, How can I lose weight and how can I lose it fast? This article that I stumbled across shows you quick and easy ways to drop the pounds but at the same time doing so in a healthy manner. It is stated that the body may like crash dieting and huge burst of exercise right away but will then reject them in the long run. The body likes slow changes and likes when you ease into things in terms of exercise, running and things of that nature. Rushing into exercises  and weight routines is a great way to hurt yourself and also as the article mentions, you expect so much of yourself to early and you feel beaten, demotivated and defeated when you rush into something and can't finish it or complete the workout. I for one experience this every off season at the beginning of the summer. I play baseball and when my season ends I get to take at least a month of at the beginning of the summer. When middle summer roles around your so amped up to lift and train you start off with to much weight, or the distance of your running is to far and you can't complete them and you lose confidence in yourself. So now the big question: If you need to lose weight, What do you do?
Everyone knows from science class that body stores food as energy, and if the body consumes more food then it needs the energy stores its-self as fat. So you need to get the body to use up those storage's of excess energy and maintain a balanced level. A couple steps toward losing this weight, reduce calories, be more physically active (but switch your activity up, cardio, swimming, biking it shouldn't be the same day in and day out that gets boring), cut out things like candy, soda, and fatty foods. Perfect example of this would be my uncle. My family is a big family literally about 60 people and my smallest uncle on my mothers side is 6'4 240 or I should say was. My uncle Frank had been having Cholesterol problems,w eight problems, blood pressure and everything you could imagine. The biggest change in his daily routine was cutting out soda, and he loved soda. He drank water with everything and he began to walk daily and turned it into a run when he felt comfortable. My uncle in 2months time dropped down from 240lbs to 205lbs, he says its the best he has felt in a long time. So when you want to lose weight, remember change your exercise routines, eat healthier and make a change but make it slow and gradual. Start slow and finish strong.

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/health_advice/facts/loseweight.htm