The King of All Bodyweight and Weighted Exercises - The Lunge

If you want to gain functional strength, muscular endurance and quicker first step reactions, something all athletes and Martial Artists need, you’ll start adding lunges into your routine.

There is no other group of exercises that packs as much punch for training as the Lunge Evolution. Nearly all traditional bodyweight and traditional weightlifting exercises are one-dimensional, you are locked in place in a stable atmosphere. With squats you stand in one place, with the bench press you lie on your back, with pushups you are stationary on your hands and feet.

Lunges are the exact opposite. They are multi-dimensional, and as you’ll soon discover, the last stage of the evolution packs all the punches of Proprioception, teaching your body where it is in space. When your body has a better understanding of where it is when you’re not fully balanced, they benefit are quicker movements, reactions and faster movement patters.

Breaking down the Lunge into several of the movement patterns that take place in the exercise, you can see:

1. A squat
2. Running
3. Throwing a punch
4. Rotational trunk movement
5. Controlling an unbalanced load with one leg in the air, as in a punch or kick
6. And on and on…

The gains of lunging have to be seen and felt to be fully appreciated.

As with any exercise, you should start at the conservative level and gradually up the intensity. When a stage becomes easy, and you’ll know when this happens, you move on to the next stage. You’ll do yourself no good jumping into the hardest part of the evolution, that will only lead to your frustration and inability to get the very most out of the training.

The Lunge Evolution

The stages of the Lunge Evolution are as follows:

1. Lunge
2. Weighted Lunge
3. Weighted Lunge and Rotate
4. Proprioceptive Weighted Lunge and Rotate

The Lunge The Lunge is done with no weight and begins to get the body use to using its’ lunging muscles. When starting out, repetitions should be very conservative, even in the single digits as you begin to get those hamstrings use to the work.

1. From a normal standing position
2. Take a long step with the right leg…
3. As the left knee barely touches the ground…
4. Take your next step with the left leg
5. Keep your torso straight

The Weighted Lunge

The Weighted Lunge increases the challenge by forcing a body using forward momentum and stepping to manipulate a weight. This is akin to teaching the moving weight of the body’s limbs to stay within the body’s balance plane and use efficient movement patters. When the body throws a punch, if the hand gets out of the body’s balance plane, all bets are off. This is something that happens when you throw one punch too many on a punching combination.

1. Lift a medicine ball, or weight, only light weight is needed
2. Take a long step with the right leg…
3. As the left knee barely touches the ground…
4. Take your next step with the right leg
5. Keep your torso straight
6. Maintain balance as you continue to hold the weight over your head

The Weighted Lunge and Rotate

The Weighted Lunge and Rotate now adds in the rotational movements of the torso. Every strike in the Martial Arts contains rotational movement. This is also true of a jab and front kick, there is just not as much rotational movement in those strikes, but it is there.

1. Hold a medicine ball or other weight above your head
2. Step with the right foot while bringing the left knee to barely touch the ground
3. As this is done, rotate the medicine ball to the side of the forward leg, in this case, the right one
4. Step with the left leg forward, right knee barely touching the ground, and medicine ball having traveled up above the head and over to the left side
5. Continue until finished, using distance in place of repetitions for this exercise

The Proprioceptive Weighted Lunge and Rotate

The last piece of intensity added in is forcing the body to balance itself from the ground up. This is accomplished by wearing Proprioception footwear. I’m seen in this picture wearing Jumpsoles with the Proprioceptor Plug inserted in the bottom, it’s like walking on two mini stability balls.

When you can do this exercise for 20 yards, you’ve arrived.

1. Wearing Proprioceptive footwear, hold a medicine ball above your head
2. Step with the right foot while bringing the left knee to barely touch the ground
3. As this is done, rotate the medicine ball to the side of the forward leg, in this case, the right one
4. Step with the left leg forward, right knee barely touching the ground, and medicine ball having traveled up above the head and over to the left side
5. Continue until finished

Increased Athleticism

When I work with athletes, many feel the effects of lunges sometimes after only a couple of training sessions. Their feelings are always the same as they tell me they feel stronger and more athletic.

The reason for the increased athleticism is the Proprioception training that’s taking place. With the Lunge Evolution, the smaller micro-muscles of the spine become engaged, and essentially are woken up by this exercise and told they are needed. I refer to these muscles as the “athleticism muscles”.

No matter what sport you play, when you start adding Lunges to your training, you’ll be amazed by the gains you produce.

About the author: Joe Driscoll, is a former Martial Arts world champion and the author of "Conditioning and Beyond" and several other books on fitness, conditioning and Martial Arts Training. Find out more about Joe and his training concepts at http://www.FightingShape.com

Home Bodyweight Exercises: You don't need to go to the gym to get bigger and stronger

I'M TIRED OF EXCUSES. People often complain to me about how they don't have time to go to the gym or they trained only once or twice last week because their gym closes early. MUSCLE & FITNESS publishes routines that you can do at home with nothing more than a bench and dumbbells, but I'm going to take the home-training concept one step further: Here's a workout that doesn't require a health club (do it in your living room if you like) or equipment. But when you finish it, you'll absolutely feel like you just got home from the gym.

Perform the following exercises circuit-style, meaning you do a set of one exercise, then move to the next without resting. Go through the circuit 4-10 times, depending on your fitness level. While this continuous training will tax your cardiovascular system to an extent, you should step outside and go for a walk or run after the workout for further cardio benefits.

• Push-Up (Chest) Sets of 30-40 reps or to failure (whichever comes first). Not much to explain here--we all know how to do push-ups. To make them tougher, you can put your feet up on a chair (this position also hits your upper pecs more), or you can do close-grip push-ups to target your triceps. Advertisement
• Pike Push-Up (Shoulders) Sets of 8-12 reps or to failure. Find a table or chair that's a few feet high and sturdy enough to support at least half of your bodyweight. Position your upper body in a handstand position (hands on the floor, arms extended vertically in line with your torso), then flex your hips and place your feet (or toes) on the table or chair so that you're in a pike position. Lower yourself by flexing your elbows until the top of your head lightly touches the floor, then push your body back up. Note: These are tough.
• One-Legged Squat (Thighs) Sets of 15-20 reps per leg. Since you aren't using added resistance, do these one leg at a time to make them more difficult. Extend your nonworking leg out in front of you, hold your arms out to the sides for balance and squat down as far as you can on your working leg.
• Standing One--Legged Calf Raise (Calves) Sets of 30-40 reps or to failure. Stand on the ball of one foot on something like a wooden block or stair, then place your other foot behind your working ankle and grasp something stable for balance. Rep out as you would doing regular calf raises in the gym. Hold onto to something (like a bag full of books) to add resistance.
• Chair Dip (Triceps) Sets of 20-30 reps or to failure. Find two solid structures (like a chair, bench, table or couch) and put your feet on one and your hands just behind your lower back on the other. Dip down until your elbows are past 90 degrees, then explode back up. To add intensity, place a heavy object on your lap and do weighted dips.
• Crunch Time (Abs) Sets of 20-30 reps. Here's a great finisher: Pick your favorite abdominal exercise and rep out.

To complete this workout, perform pull-ups--if you have an appropriate place to do them--to hit your back (and your biceps, especially with an underhand grip). Do sets of 8-12 reps or to failure, whichever comes first.

Leg Exercises, Leg Press, Quadriceps

A well defined and developed body is important for the overall health and look of a body. How many times have you seen a guy with a big upper body and tooth pick legs. This not only looks bad, it can lead to injuries and cause stress on the knees and hamstring injuries. Training legs helps with the overall development of your body. You should devote an equal amount of times training your leg as you do your upper body. To achieve a well defined and balanced legs you must incorporate several exercises. Your leg exercise workout must have different exercises from different angles to develop all the parts for your Legs. Developing strong Legs is crucial to preventing injuries to other muscles during exercises.

To get the best results you need to do 6-10 reps of each exercise. Choose a weight that you can do up to 10 for three sets. Once you can do 10 then move to a higher weight for maximal results. You can build up your Leg muscles by doing a variety of leg exercises with and without weight. Choose at least 2 exercises from The Entire Thighs and Quadriceps group.. Always do leg curls for hamstrings. Every week or so change exercises within each group.

Entire Thighs

Leg press

Sitting on a leg press machine, position your feet together against the crosspiece about should-width apart and toes pointed slightly outward. Grasp the handle grips or sides of the seat. Bend your knees and lower the weight as far as possible without changing the position of your hips. Do not lower the weight so far that your hips start to curl up off the seat! Then slowly push the weight back up using your heels, not your toes. Do not lock your knees at the top, but rather take the weight to just before lock. Then being to lower the weight again SLOWLY. You can change your foot positions to vary the angle on the muscle.

Squat

Hack squat

Step up with dumbbells

Place a barbell on your shoulders like you would if you were doing Barbell Squats. Step up onto a flat bench with your left leg. Then step up with your right leg so you are now standing on the bench. Step down with your left leg, then your right leg. Repeat, starting with your right leg this time. Be careful not to fall! Use lighter weights. Can also be done with two dumbbells in your hands instead of a barbell

Quadriceps

Dumbbell lunges

Place a barbell on your shoulders like you would if you were doing Barbell Squats. Step up onto a flat bench with your left leg. Then step up with your right leg so you are now standing on the bench. Step down with your left leg, then your right leg. Repeat, starting with your right leg this time. Be careful not to fall! Use lighter weights. Can also be done with two dumbbells in your hands instead of a barbell

Leg extension

Using a leg extension machine, sit in the seat and hook your feet under the padded bar. Adjust the pad and/or the seat so that your knees hang off the end of the seat and the footpad rest on the lowest part of the shins. Grasp the handles on the machine or the edges of the seat to keep your hips from lifting up as you perform the exercise. Extend your legs until knees are straight, making sure you remain seated flat on the machine. Raise the weight all the way, lock and hold briefly, then slowly lower the weight back to the starting position. Get the full range of motion and feel the muscle being worked during the entire movement. Do not SWING the weight up!

Lateral Squat

Double leg power jump

Cross your arms over your chest. With your head up and your back straight, position your feet at shoulder width. Squat down until your upper thighs are parallel, or lower, to the floor. Jump straight up in the air as high as possible, using thighs like springs. Immediately squat down and jump again. Can also be done with a barbell on your upper back or with dumbbells hanging at your sides.

Hamstrings

Leg Curl

Lie face down on a leg-curl machine and hook your heels under the roller pad. Your legs should be stretched out straight so that the pads rest on the back of your ankles. Grasp the handles under the bench for support. Remaining flat on the bench, curl your legs up until your hamstrings are fully contracted. Release and lower the weight slowly back to the starting position. Concentrate on using a full range of motion and do not SWING the weight up. You can point your toes to intensify the burn in your hamstrings.

Clinton Walker III is a 32 year-old personal trainer from Birmingham, AL. His experience includes over 7 years of Personal Training. He has studied diet techniques, weightlifting, and nutrition for over 10 years. This includes the study of kinesiology at the University of Alabama. Through extensive research, experience, and testing, he decided to put the knowledge that he has gained in writing. Clinton Walker III believes in not only training, but educating his clients to maintain their results throughout life. If you would like a personalized workout check out http://www.makeoverfitness.com

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Top 4 Ways To Make Fitness Fun For You

Do you wake up every morning anxious as heck to start your fitness training routine?

Do you come home from a hard day’s work and look forward to focus on your nightly workout session, or some family fun fitness?

Do you?

Well, you should?

In fact, you should be fired up!

Don’t laugh……….I’m serious.

Exercising and fitness should be something that you can’t wait to do!

Other than the many documented benefits of exercise (and the many that I have talked about, and will continue to talk about)………..you should feel refreshed to do something different during the day and something that will directly benefit you and your life.

Your fitness routine should not be “routine”…if you catch my drift.

Make it different, make it challenging, and test yourself………

Now that is fun.

Ok, on to the specifics…

I’m going to give you 4 EASY ways to make your exercise regimen fun for you……..

Here goes…….

1.Do something fun as your workout……….not to make this sound too simplified, but your workout should not be the same thing everyday. Nor should it be a trip to the gym every other day seeing how much bench press you can throw up. Your routine should be varied………from bodyweight exercises, to rock climbing, to running/walking hills, to sprinting etc. Make it fun and make it exciting……you will come back for more, much more.

2.Challenge yourself – Let me tell you, doing the same routine (i.e. bench press, arm curls, tricep extensions, etc. etc.) will BORE you quickly. When you are BORED, you get complacent, which means your workouts are less intense, which means you are not focusing on your muscles, which means you might as well go back home and lay on your couch with some greasy potato chips because you are wasting your time. If you can only do 8 pullups, try to do 9 (even if you have to cheat a little to get to 9)…test yourself, make challenges for yourself, and make everything a game. Try and see if you can 1up yourself every workout (in some way, large or small). You will be amazed at what you can do.

3.Focus on your end goal – I can assure you……..if you lull around every workout and say things to yourself like “it’s gonna take me forever to get in shape”, and “I’ll never look like him/her, that’ll take too long”, well your just gonna make yourself depressed. EXERCISE IS NOT SUPPOSED TO CAUSE DEPRESSION, lol! Exercise naturally makes you feel good, and puts you in a better mood…take advantage of that. Focus every workout on how GREAT you’re going too look now and in the future. Be your own motivational speaker. And SURELY don’t worry about what others think of you. We don’t care about them.

4.Workout with a friend, boyfriend/girlfriend, husband/wife etc…..(by the way, working out together makes for a great date). This is a great way to keep you motivated, especially when you see someone you care for working out just as hard or harder than you. Encourage each other, help each other, and push each other. Get together with the family, and have some family fun fitness time together. Here’s another free tip: If you really want to strive for success, workout with people who know MORE than you. That way, you can ask questions and LEARN along the way. One thing that I found out is, people LOVE to talk about themselves (especially fitness), and tell you what they are doing. Use this to your advantage.

Always remember that you have to exercise CONSISTENTLY (keep up with your fitness training routine), you cannot expect to follow my instructions, yet only exercise once a week. That will never work, you have to have discipline, you have to be consistent, and great things will happen. Talk to you soon.

Smart Weight Loss

Christopher C.: Chris Callegari, founder of http://www.fitnesswithchris.com is unleashing his real-world exercise, fitness, nutrition, and healthy eating tips to the world, to help support lifestyle changes for any and everyone.

How Much Weight Can I Lose In A Week?

Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could lose 5 pounds or 10 pounds of weight the week before that important function? Well, that is definitely not going to happen. Let us take a look at how much weight you can lose in a week.

The following guidelines are subject to you doing the following.

You need to increase your metabolism by eating smaller and more regular meals throughout the day. In addition, you need to perform specific fat burn exercises for between 30 to 60 minutes per day.

Your body will never burn fat only. It always burns a combination of fat and carbohydrates (glucose). During periods of elevated exercise your body just happens to prefer burning fat cells, but at the same time it still burns carbohydrates as well.

For your body to lose 1 pound of fat it needs to burn around 3500 calories.

Given this information we can now calculate how much weight you can expect to lose doing certain fat burn exercises.

When you go to the gym and do moderate cycling for one hour on a stationary bike you burn around 600 calories. If you did this for six consecutive days you would have lost around 1 pound of fat.

If you do vigorous calisthenics for one hour you burn around 700 calories. Hence, if you did vigorous calisthenics for five consecutive days you would have lost 1 pound of fat.

Going for a brisk walk for one hour in the neighborhood burns around 350 calories. You will need to go for your one-hour brisk walks for 10 consecutive days before you would've lost 1 pound of fat.

I think you're beginning to get the picture. Despite all the hype that is thrown at you by many product manufacturers, healthy weight loss is a relatively slow process that requires patience and endurance.

Provided that you control your diet and that you perform a moderate to vigorous level of exercise for one hour every day you can expect to lose around 1 pound of fat per week.

One pound of fat does not sound like a lot. Put 1 pound of margarine in a plastic bag and look at just how much it really is. Once you understand how much 1 pound of fat really is, you will know how much you've accomplished by losing it.

Your individual results might vary from this guideline. Your rate of fat burn and your weight loss depend on so many different factors including your physiology and state of health, amongst other things.



Tisha Diaz recommends this fat loss and weight control program that will help you get rid of those excess pounds and help you reach and maintain a healthy body weight.

The No Fuss Way To Lose Weight

Open any magazine these days and you could be forgiven for thinking that the only way to lose weight and get into shape is to thrust yourself headlong into a grueling exercise regime.

But they all make the same mistake of assuming that if you want to shed a few pounds then you must also like to run a marathon or compete in a triathlon. Nothing could be further from the truth!

See, hard competition training and simply dropping a few pounds are at opposite ends of the fitness spectrum and never likely to meet. In the exercise and gym culture, one size most definitely doesn't fit all.

So if you are not getting ready for the next Olympics, what can you do to lose weight and get into shape? Quite simply, just undo all the things that got you into your present condition. Which for most people was a combination of eating too much of the wrong things and doing little or no exercise.

So it's pretty obvious that if you want to shed the pounds and feel fitter, you need to eat less of the wrong foods and more of the good stuff. And get your body moving! All it takes is a little extra time and enthusiasm.

Take things easy at first by taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Forget the car for all those short journeys, walking is far healthier and you get to meet new friends too. Take the dog with you and share some quality time. The whole reason for this is to make you realise that exercise is a part of daily life, not some pain that you need to endure to make you feel guilty for eating.

As you begin to notice a difference, just raise your target bit by bit. Walk more often or increase your distance. Carry a rucksack with a water bottle to add a little resistance to your routine.

Drinking a glass of water before every meal will make you feel full sooner as well as fending off dehydration. Water also assists in keeping your bowels regular so make sure that you drink plenty during the day.

By making a few small changes to your diet and your lifestyle, you will soon start to feel fitter, younger and a whole lot better. Now isn't that better than risking serious problems on the squash court?

Take your fitness to the next level with your own fitness equipment. Mark Heywoods website features tips for buying a treadmill to help you decide on the best recommended treadmill for your needs.

A Great Lower Body Exercise!

When it comes to working on the lower body, lunges can be one of the most beneficial and functional exercises. What I mean by that is everyday we lunge down to pick things off the ground, whether its groceries, laundry, or our kids. However, too many times when we workout in the gym enviroment, we do things in a straight line or linear pattern. Do you think you function like that in the real world?

No way. I want to discuss a few variations to maximize yur physical potential, mimic lifestyle movements, and create variety in your exercise routine. Always keep in mind if you do lunging moves with just bodyweight to start and you feel pain, go get it checked. Better to be safe than sorry. Okay, let's talk lunging: First is the normal dumbbell lunge. Stand with feet together a pair of light to moderate dumbbells to start held by side. Lunge out about 3 feet with your right foot keeping your back straight and lowering weights toward floor. Keep your knee in line with your toes, and don't let them go over knee. Go down as far as possible, NOT allowing the back knee touch the ground. Pause for a sec then push up hard and take an exhale. Tip: If you take a further lunge you will target more butt muscles, a narrower lunge more thighs. Use a barbell for a more challenging lunge. Second, is the lateral lunge. This variation is good for the inner thigh or groin muscles. Stand with the weights in hand as described above. This time take a lunge to the side and lower weights down towards floor. Keep back flat and butt out as you do it. Go down almost to ground and pause a sec, push off explosively to starting position. Keep the knee in line with toe and you shoulders square with the rest of the body. Lateral moves are a big part of our normal everyday activity, and this should be incorporated into your routine from time to time. This frontal plane lunge as us trainers call it is good for sports like hockey and soccer. You can also use a barbell for more of a challenge.

Lastly with have the rotational lunge. If you want to target the butt muscles, try this one. Stand with weights at side and then rotate right leg to a 10 o'clock position. Your basically turning your body around and opening your hips up. This move requires you to have greater stability and balance, so you may just have to start with bodyweight. This is called the transverse plane and you do lots of these rotational moves in everyday life aswell. Their are 6 deep muscles in the butt that are really involved when you do this exercise. If you have tight hip flexors, the muscles that bring your knee toward your chest, you may have problems doing lunges due to the fact you won't be able to get good range of motion. If that's the case you must do regular stretches to loosen that area up, it will make a big difference in your training. So you see, there are other ways to do lunges then just the old standby you see so many times, try all three of these lunges and you will get a better overall workout and improve your functional capacity.

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Brian A.Gurneak is a Master Level Personal Trainer and competitive drug-free bodybuilder for over a dozen years. Mr. Gurneak is also a professional fitness model and has been helping individuals and groups with exercise programs and nutritional tips through his website, www.completephyisque.info .

5 Easy Tips To Make Any Exercise Program A Success

People seldom "fail" with their exercise program. What does happen is that they fail to achieve the success they had hoped for. Far from a failure, this is usually the result of their not really understanding what is required from them for an exercise program to be successful.

The five main reasons that most people are not successful with their exercise program are these:

1. They try to do much too soon.

2. They have inaccurate or inappropriate expectations.

3. They get bored.

4. They lose their motivation.

5. They quit too soon.

Since these are the main reasons that many exercise programs don't seem to do the job, then addressing them may make us more successful with the exercise side of our fitness and weight loss plans. So, let's take a look at each in turn and see if we can figure out what to do.

The dangers of overdoing exercise.

A factor that figures into all five issues is simply ignorance. I don't mean that as an insult, it's just that people go out and buy a piece of equipment or a Richard Simmons DVD and jump in with both feet. Even if they read the directions, those are normally written from the viewpoint of "this is what you should be doing" rather than "this is how you get to the point where you can do what you should be doing". Since most people don't really know much about exercise or how it works, and I was once one of those people, they tend to make a lot of mistakes, even though they have the best of intentions.

One of these mistakes is to try to do too much too soon.

Let's say your new barbell set says, that for maximum effect, you should be able to three sets of ten reps a certain exercise with the weight set at one-fourth of your body weight. So, you figure you weigh 160 lbs, set the bar at 40 lbs, and do ten reps. You're a little winded. It was a bit hard, but you were able to do it. You rest a minute, and try again. It's harder, but you're still able to get through it. You take another short rest and do the third set. Wow! You had to squeeze out the last couple of reps, but you did it! You feel good. You've got what it takes, and you can't wait until the next exercise day.

What has happened is that you have produced a large amount of damage to muscle tissue that your body will now have to spend the next couple of days fixing. Since you are out of shape (even if you were able to do all three sets), your body is going to have a hard time getting that work done. This is going to impact almost every physical and mental event over the next several hours or even days.

The next day, what happens? You hurt like hell! That's what happens. Even if you can convince yourself that this is a good sign, continuing on in this manner will eventually either produce a real injury, or will set you up mentally and physically to begin wanting to avoid your workouts, whether you are doing aerobics, lifting weights, running, swimming, bicycling, or working in your garden.

Most people simply do not realize how much is going on internally when they take an out-of-shape body and begin demanding that it perform as if it were already in shape.

So, just take it easy. Start off slow and gradually ease your way up to higher levels. Many highly successful marathoner runners were barely able to walk to the end of their street and make it back without stopping to rest when they first started. Many a housewife has begun her "exercise program" with a can of Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup in each hand. Start light and increase gradually. Don't worry if you don't see "results" at first. All sorts of good healthy things are going on inside your body.

When it comes to expectations, get real.

As trite as it is, one of the best remarks to remember is: It took you years to get this way and you're not going to change things in a couple of days. No matter how badly you try, you simply will not lose 20 lbs in 10 days. It happens, but that's the exception rather than the rule. Also, each of us is different. If your neighbor tries an exercise routine or diet and loses weight right away, you cannot assume that you will respond the same way. The one main thing you can say is that if you do your exercises regularly and gradually challenge yourself, your body will make the appropriate changes in outward appearance and inner capabilities.

Yes! Exercise CAN get boring.

Doing anything day after day can be boring whether it's exercise, sex, or eating ice cream...at least for most of us. A few people can do things over and over and never get tired of it, but most of us aren't built that way. Even if you are doing everything the right way, have good expectations, have a great program, and are seeing good results, getting up 45 minutes early for the 150th day in a row and strapping on those running shoes is going to get old eventually. Do what you can to liven it up a bit. Even if you just like to go for a walk, can't you walk somewhere else today? Why not substitute a swim, a bicycle ride, a visit to the zoo, or an hour's worth of yard work for your walk? If your normal routine is comprised of Press, Curl, Bench Press done with a barbell, why not substitute Triceps Extensions, Preacher Curls, and Chest Flys all done with a dumbell once in a while? Or, you could go to the park, do some chin ups and pushups and then take a long walk yourself. Who says you have to do exactly the same thing in the same place every day?

I listen to the news or play a motivational video while I'm on my walker. Before I know it, the walk is over and I didn't even notice it.

Your goal is to stay motivated.

How many times have you begun a program or project with a very strong motivation, only to find that after a few days, you just didn't feel like doing it any more? The other night, you saw a documentary on the potential dangers of heart disease in sedentary people and were so affected by it that you took an oath to begin exercising regularly. Perhaps you were in Sears or Dillard's shopping for some new clothes, or even worse, a bathing suit, and found that you needed the next size up...again! You went home and vowed that you would do whatever it took to get back to the size you were in high school (unrealistic expectation) and that afternoon you began your exercise program and felt so good about what you were doing. A few days later, you just couldn't find the time or the motivation to do your workout. In fact, you weren't even thinking about whatever it was that kicked you into gear in the first place.

Write it down. As you are writing it down on paper, try to relive in your heart and mind every boliling emotion...pain, fear, embarrassment, anger...whatever got you started on the exercise pathway in the first place. Make it a statement about what you feel, what you want to change, why you want to change, and how you intend to change. Put it in your purse, wallet, or pocket, and take it out and read it a few times a day. Every time you read it, try to read it out loud, and try to reconstruct in your very being the thoughts and feelings you had when you wrote it down. Paste it on your mirror, put it on the fridge, tell your best friend if you dare, but revive it in your heart several times a day, every day.

Whatever you do, don't quit.

One of the main reasons many people feel that their exercise program has failed them is because they quit too soon. Remember that thing about how it took you years to get this way and it's not going to change overnight? The visible results of a day's exercise, a week's exercise, or a month's exercise may not give you a reason to keep on getting up at the crack of dawn or paying those gym fees. However, six month's worth of steady, regular, moderate exercise will awaken most people to the wonders of life that await them in their newer, slimmer, physically fitter body. Oh, six month's won't be enough, and some people may have to wait a year or more to see the real results, but science and several million people have proven that if you are exercising regularly, challenging yourself and moving upwards, you WILL see the results you have been hoping for.

You will see results, and so will everybody else.



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Donovan Baldwin is a Texas writer. He is a University of West Florida alumnus, a member of Mensa, and is retired from the U. S. Army after 21 years of service. His interests include nature, animals, the environment, global warming, health, fitness, yoga, and weight loss. Learn more about exercise and weight loss at nodiet4me.com/articledirectory/

Effective Lower Body Exercises for Home or Travel

The best lower body exercises are the ones that can be done anywhere with little or no equipment. Being single with no kids may allow for wasted time in the gym doing twelve sets per lower body part, but once in the real world of spouse, kids and job, those two hour gym visits are history. The good news is this should be a welcome change because the old-school bodybuilder, weights and machine type workout routines can do more damage in the long run as compared to a smart, properly structured lower body exercise routine.

Exercise machines and weights will always have their place in fitness - but they are not the only way to achieve a strong, well toned lower body. The right selection of lower body exercises can produce a sufficient training stimulus to bring about desired changes, continuous progress and visible results. As health clubs and fitness centers are filled with an endless amount of exercise machines and weight training gear, it is in their best interest to promote weight and machine type workout programs. Naturally, members develop a dependency on these types of workouts because they don't learn any alternative exercise methods. Some fitness experts argue that workouts with machines and weights are the only path to true lower body improvements. The reality is, nothing can be further from the truth.

The problems with this mind-set range from the 'more is better' syndrome to the 'I got out of my routine' excuse. To develop a strong, fit and defined lower body your choice of exercises must be realistic for long term adherence and they must consist of exercises that can be done at home or while on the road if you are traveling. As a career personal trainer and fitness consultant I've had the opportunity to work with many people at various stages of life. The people who maintain long term fitness success are the ones who structure their lower body exercise routines so that they are 'portable' - meaning if they don't have a gym available to them - it's not going to prevent them from getting their lower body exercise session in. This ties into one of the essential elements of fitness success - consistency. Staying on a regular exercise schedule will yield the best long term results. Starting and stopping a routine that is unrealistic will yield harmful results - this is a fact.

Lower body workouts consisting of body weight leg exercises produce an incredible amount of natural strength while providing gender specific improvements in muscular development and appearance. While women seek more of a toning and firming effect, men seek more of a lean muscle building effect with muscle group definition. An old fitness myth exists that has people believing that a woman will develop muscles like a man if she follows the same type of lower body exercise program. The exercise program does not dictate this result. It's the gender/genetic differences of the male and female DNA that dictate the specific results that men and women derive from well rounded, and properly structured lower body exercises. Not the type or intensity of the workout routine itself.

Yes, we sometimes see women who look like male bodybuilders or power-lifters - but these abnormal looks can almost always be traced back to some method of pharmaceutical enhancement. For example, taking anabolic steroids or growth hormone to develop as much muscle mass as possible is one way for a woman to lose the fit, sexy and feminine look. Nothing against them - but they do not represent the definition of fitness - especially for women.

No matter if you are male or female, the benefits of properly structured lower body exercises that do not rely on the confines of a gym or fitness center can give you all the results you could ever want, in a program that can easily be followed for life. After all, isn't that what true fitness is about?

Don't get rid of your health club membership - especially if you enjoy doing some of your lower body workouts there. But it would be wise for you to develop a body-weight leg exercise routine for you to follow at home or while you are 'on the road' - so you don't develop over-training injuries or find yourself missing several weeks of exercise sessions because you were traveling or just 'didn't have time to get to the gym'.

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Fitness Consultant and Pro Trainer, Joey Atlas, is the mastermind behind the Best Lower Body Exercises and Workouts for Ladies. And see Stretching for Fitness Flexibility.

5 Great Reasons Why We Need to Bodyweight Exercise

I had never thought of sharing on “why exercise” and always assumed that we all believed and agreed that it was an essential part of everyone’s lifestyle regardless of whether one had the time or discipline to do it, until about two years ago I gradually pulled myself out from a sedentary lifestyle and I established a workout regimen in the morning and started to read more about the different types of workout such as aerobic training, resistance exercise and weight bearing activities. I reckon that exercising may be very often emphasized by all, but sometimes, its benefits may not be so clear and obvious to everyone.

Helps Strengthen Your Heart

Aerobic exercises benefit the circulation of your blood through your heart and blood vessels, that is, your cardiovascular system. They make our heart work harder, pump more blood, and reduce the risk of developing heart disease. With each beat of your heart, a surge of blood is pumped into your body's intricate web of blood vessels. The pressure exerted on your artery walls as blood passes through helps keep the blood flowing smoothly (what you know as ‘blood pressure’). A build-up of plaques in your arteries, caused by cholesterol in your bloodstream can affect your blood flow and cause serious damage to your cardiovascular system.

A workout on a regular basis benefits your heart because it helps lower the buildup of plaques in arteries by increasing the concentration of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (the "good" cholesterol) and decreasing the concentration of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol) in your blood, while keeping the blood pressure at the optimal level. As a result, your heart is able to do a better job in delivering oxygen to all parts of your body. Blood travels more efficiently, bringing much-needed oxygen from your lungs and nutrients to the rest of the body. That’s why people generally feel more refreshed and energetic after exercising.

Want to consider some aerobic activities? Try swimming, basketball, rope skipping, jogging (or brisk walking), in-line skating, soccer, or biking.

Maintains Strong Bones and Muscles

I am sure most of us have tried doing push-ups, weight lifting in some form, or repeatedly used your muscles to counter some kind of resistance. These are called resistance exercises which the experts believe could strengthen our muscles; preserve bone mass, increase bone density. Regular resistance training can help prevent the bone-weakening disease, osteoporosis.

Walking and jogging are also important activities that bear your body's weight and help build strong muscles and bones. Other resistance workout include pull-ups, running, biking, and rowing.

Helps Manage Your Weight

This benefit is well-known to all who are weight conscious or trying to lose the extra pounds. Your body needs a certain amount of calories every day just to function. If you eat more calories than your body needs, it may be stored as excess fat. For instance, if you have an excess of 10kg fat, and each gram has some 9 calories, then you have 90000 calories for your body to use!

Exercising helps you achieve or maintain a healthy weight by utilizing and burning the extra calories. And if you exercise, your body works harder and needs more fuel. Even after you stop exercising, your body continues to burn calories at a modestly increased rate for a few hours. The more intensely you workout, the more calories you burn. By burning more calories than you take in, you can reduce body fat, giving you a healthier body composition. Losing body fat can make you look and feel better and can reduce your risk of obesity.

Induces Quality Sleep at Night

Many people who have problems sleeping find doing moderate exercise at least three hours before bedtime help in relaxing and sleeping better at night. The recent Hibernation Diet Theory teaches that regular exercise could activate production of recovery hormones during sleep, increases our body’s metabolic rate and promotes fat-burning. It makes a powerful association between poor sleep and obesity, a disease that has been rising dramatically in developed countries and has reached epidemic levels in the United States. While most of us would associate poor weight control with aging, low metabolism rate, and poor eating habits, many other research studies have also reported and pointed to the relationship between insufficient sleep and weight gain.

So start today, get a good night's sleep, aim for eight hours a night if you can, and add resistance workouts will speed up your weight loss and the body will worker harder at night.

Puts You in a Better Mood

We all know that it definitely feels good to have a strong, flexible body that can do all the activities you enjoy and be able to move your arms and legs flexibly without feeling tightness or pain. But you may not know that exercising can actually put you in a better mood.

Exercise combats depression by activating the neurotransmitters, which are basically chemicals used by our nerve cells to communicate with one another and often associated with avoiding depression. The balance of these neurotransmitters, namely serotonin and norepinephrine plays a role in how we respond to daily events. When experiencing depression, our level of serotonin, norepinephrine or both may be out of equilibrium. Workouts may help synchronize those brain chemicals.

Exercising also stimulates the production of endorphins, another type of neurotransmitters that produce feelings of well-being, provide for "natural" pain relief, and help you relax.

Sounds good? If you just had a tough day at work and need to let off some steam, go for a workout or a brisk 30-minute walk to calm yourself down.

Well, if you have not any form of physical training for a long while and find it a pain to do so, I suggest that you start doing it 2 times a week and slowly increasing to 3 and then 5 times or more a week. You can do 10 or 15 minutes bouts of workout each time to make up a 30 minutes session a day.

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