Fitness Training

Archive for August, 2009

Usually, weight loss programs fail for similar reasons. It usually starts like this. An individual wants to lose weight for a specific reason. For example, a wedding is coming up, and the bride wants to look good during the wedding. So to get results fast, she goes on a starvation diet.

A starvation diet here means skipping meals or consuming just a tiny amount of food for each meal. The body goes hungry throughout the day due to the minimal consumption of food. In the short term, this seems to work very well. The weight loss starts to happen.

But the bride doesn’t know that she is losing her health as well. How does that happen?

You see, when the bride to be goes on a starvation diet, she is losing muscle mass and fat at the same time. Without a constant source of energy (due to the meals skipping), the body has to tap into existing sources of energy to continue functioning. But most people don’t know that the body is also responding to these new eating habits.

As it is not receiving adequate nutrition, the body starts to store fat whenever possible. In other words, the metabolism drops. When that happens, the bride needs only to eat a little to gain weight. The body stores the food as fat because it doesn’t know if it’s going to have enough to eat the next day!

So the wedding comes, and the bride is happy because she gets to look slim during her big day. But as soon as the event is over, she reverts back to her normal diet. And guess what happens? She puts back all the weight that she had lost, plus a few more extra pounds! That’s not surprise. After all, she did get her metabolic rate to nose dive during the last few weeks.

Hopefully, the bride learns an important lesson here. When it comes to losing weight, it’s all about how much fat you burn. And how much fat you burn depends on your metabolism. You want your metabolism to be high so that your body will continue burning calories throughout the day.

Going on a starvation diet is always a poor short term strategy. The weight loss program is never going to work for the long term. In the long run, you want your metabolic rate to be high so that you can enjoy your daily meals, and yet feel strong and look great.

Having fitness affects all areas of your life. You will have more energy for work, for friends, and for your family. Remember that there is no short cut to losing weight. You have to increase your metabolism or your program is going to fail. Workout regularly, eat well, and start leading a healthier life.

Learn more about protein shakes and how a protein shake a day can benefit your health.

Is it even possible to lose weight when you are eating more? Sounds too good to be true. But fitness enthusiasts are secretly smiling. They know something that others don’t. It is, in fact, true that you can eat more than you normally do, and still lose weight at the same time. How does that work?

The secret lies in knowing what to eat. I’m sure you would have heard of the many so-called “healthy” diets that TV programs promote. Those are full of salads and other low calorie meals. But consuming low calorie meals is just one part of the equation.

If you want to lose weight for the long term, you must master both sides of the equation. On the one hand, you have your diet plan to think about. And on the other hand, you have your exercise program to think about.

The two must go hand in hand. Otherwise, your weight loss program is destined for failure. Let’s take a look at why you need both for your program to be successful.

If you only have a diet plan, and you don’t work out, you are not growing any stronger. In other words, there is no chance of your metabolism improving. That means the only way to lose weight is to lower your calorie count. But there is a limit as to how much calories you can avoid consuming per day.

Don’t view calories as the ultimate enemy. It is not. In fact, you need between 1500 to 2000 calories each day in order to stay healthy. With all that calories, how does one lose weight then?

Here comes the other part of the equation – your exercise program. In order to boost your metabolism, you have no choice but to gain lean muscle mass. And there is only one way to do so – by engaging in resistance training.

Resistance training here means that you are using your muscles to push against an opposing force. It can be dumb bells, resistance strings / springs, or it can be your own weight. As long as you are using your muscles to push against an opposing force, your muscles will respond and grow accordingly.

When you are engaged in work outs, you have to choice but to eat well. Feed yourself with lots of proteins (about 1g of protein for every 1 pound of weight) so that you have enough for muscle growth and repair. As your muscles grow, your metabolic rate will become faster.

After about 4 weeks, you will start to notice changes to your body. Not only will you feel better, you will also look better. With an increased metabolic rate, your body now burns fat at a faster rate.

That’s the main reason why you can eat more and yet lose weight at the same time! Your body just burns off the fat, even while you are not exercising.

Learn more about protein shakes and how a protein shake a day can benefit your health.

Looking to boost your metabolism? Even if you are living in cave, you would have heard of a high protein diet. Surround yourself with health enthusiasts and observe them consuming high protein meals.

How does protein help in your quest to lose weight and regain health?

Your muscles will need an adequate amount of protein to grow. The primary goal of any workout is to increase lean muscle mass. The more lean muscles, the higher the metabolism. We start to feel more energized as we continue to workout. A higher metabolic rate means the body is better at converting food and oxygen into energy. Listlessness is gone forever from your daily activities.

Muscles don’t grow during a workout. We are actually sending “instructions” to our muscles that we will be placing stress and demand on them. Due to the workouts, our muscles start to grow. But bear in mind that the muscles grow only after a workout is complete.

Ever experienced soreness the next day after your workout? That is a sure sign that your muscles are responding. Now in order to continue with an intense workout, you need to be able to grow and repair quickly. Don’t force a workout if your muscles are still hurting. If you really wish to workout, try to exercise another part of the body. Sore muscles undergoing extreme stress will be easily injured.

The faster you recover, the better you are able to cope with your exercise program. The fitter you become, the faster you recover. That is a fact.

On a daily basis, not everyone consumes the amount of protein that their body needs. Everyday, we take in proteins from our daily meals. In general, most people you come across don’t track the amount of protein that they take in. As a general rule of thumb, you should consume one gram of protein for every pound that you weight. For instance, if you weight 120 pounds, then you should eat 120g of proteins daily.

Professionals always take smaller meals each day to condition their body. This is another way of improving your metabolic rate. A body that is used to starvation will start to store fat. The reason is simple – the body stores fat as an alternative energy source as it doesn’t know when it’s getting it’s next meal!

You don’t grow fatter eating more meals. You grow slimmer because your metabolism increases! That means you will be eating a small meal every 3 hours or so. Divide the protein you need by the number of meals you will take each day and you will get an idea of how much you should eat.

In the midst of your daily activities, you can always sneak in one or two shakes to supplement your protein needs. This will ensure your protein intake never fall below what you really need. Don’t skip a meal just because you don’t have the time. Find the time.

Protein shakes are one of the easiest supplement to prepare. Just mix the powder with water or milk and you are good to go. It’s easy to get addicted to the taste that you love!

Both teens and adults will love protein shakes because they are now available in three of the most popular flavors – chocolate, vanilla and strawberry.

If you are not familiar with strawberry, you may find the taste a little bitter. Vanilla is the most popular taste so far, and chocolate comes in a close second. Rotate the flavors so that you always get a different blend each time.

Learn more about protein shakes and how a protein shake a day can benefit your health.

Manchester United Football Club was formed in 1878 under the name Newton Heath LYR (Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway). The workers at the Newton Heath railway yard played games against other departments of the LYR, and did not even consider themselves good enough to become founder members of the Football League, when it formed in 1888. They eventually followed in the footsteps of teams like the Blackburn Rovers in 1892 and signed up. Never having much money it seemed that the end may be in sight for the club at the start of the twentieth century but salvation came in the form of John Henry Davies, a local brewery owner when he heard from the Newton Heath captain Harry Stafford of the clubs plight. Davies’ involvement led to the name change Manchester United, so named in 1902. The clubs first manager was Ernest Mangnall and the turning point for them was in 1905/06 when they reached the quarter finals of the FA Cup, and were runners up in the Second Division. In 1907/08 United won the Football League Championship for the first time, followed by the first ever Charity Shield in 1908 and the FA Cup in 1909.

Old Trafford stadium was up and running by 1910, when the club moved from Bank Street, with Davies paying for the building work. The Club’s first fixture was played there in February 1910, and United….lost! However by the end of their first full season at Old Trafford they were League Champions for the second time. World War I meant that the Football League was suspended, and clubs played only regionally.

They returned to the League after the war and only two of the men on duty for their first match against Derby County had played at the end of the 1914/15 season. Former manager Mangnall moved to City as did Billy Meredith, and in 1921/22 United won only 8 of their 42 matches. However in 1925/26 United finished in ninth place, but City beat them at the semi finals! They had a bit of a downward spiral finishing 15th in 1926/27, 18th in 1927/28, recovering slightly in 1928/29 to 12th. This decline continued into the 1930s, losing 27 of their 42 league matches in 1930/31, conceding 115 goals – so only 3,507 fans showed up at the opening match of the next season. Bankruptcy threatened, but this time the saviour was James Gibson, who invested £30,000 to get the club back on track. Only ten wins in the season of 1935/36 with City as the League Champions again left fans and players disillusioned. The relegated team included Walter Winterbottom who would go on to manage United for 16 years.

World War II meant that football wasn’t as important between 1936 and 1946. In 1941 Old Trafford was bombed during a German air raid. Matt Busby joined United in 1945 on a five year contract and would still be involved with managing the club 25 years later. He got several brilliant players involved including the famous five: Jimmy Delaney, Stan Pearson, Jack Rowley, Charlie Mitten and Johnny Morris. Busby also signed Jimmy Murphy as his right-hand man and together they made United become a power in world football.

Busby’s team won the 1948 FA Cup Final, 39 years to the day that United had previously won the Cup, in 1909. It was the club’s first major honour since winning the League Championship in 1911, and the fans came back – more than one million of them attended matches in the 1947/48 season.

In the 1950s Busbys winning team fell apart when Johnny Morris departed for Derby and Charlie Mitten went to Colombia. However there was no need to worry as Busby promoted the youngsters he had been recruiting in the 1940’s. ‘Babes’ Jackie Blanchflower and Roger Byrne made their debut in 1951/52, and in doing so United won the League Championship for the first time since 1911.

The United Manager didn’t just use great British talent, he also signed internationals such as Tommy Taylor and Harry Gregg. The Busby Babes were in top form and beat Arsenal in 1958 in a nine-goal thriller. Unfortunately the glory was cut short when the United aeroplane, on its return from Munich crashed killing 22 people including 8 players – Byrne, Colman, Jones, Pegg, Taylor, Geoff Bent, Liam Whelan and Duncan Edwards. The team entered into a period of loss and transition.

The team had to be built up again at the start of the 1960s, and Dennis Viollet was one of the leading players to do this. United’s form was erratic during the early 1960s but won the 1962/63 FA Cup Final. It was during this season that George Best was signed to the team, and became footballs first celebrity. Best, Law and Charlton did great things for the club and in 1964/65 won the League Championship and reached the semi-finals of the European Fairs Cup and the FA Cup. Law was named the European Footballer of the Year. They were League Champions again in 1966/67 and won the European Cup. Matt Busby retired in 1969 after a very successful term which paved the way for the future success of Manchester United.