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I recently started incorporating kettlebell exercises into my workout routine.  If you want to add a little variety and ramp up fat burning, I’d highly recommend utilizing kettlebell workout routines.  So, why should you start using kettlebells?  Because they’re great for increasing strength, losing body fat, and improving your cardiovascular health.  What more could you want out of a piece of equipment?  Another benefit I’ve found is that one-arm kettlebell exercises have helped me even out the strength between my arms. What is a kettlebell? As you can see from the picture, a kettlebell is a cannonball with a handle.  For some, the initial reaction to kettlebell workout routines is that you can perform the same exercises with dumbbells or a barbell.  In my recent experience, I’ve found the kettlebell provides a slightly different workout than either though.  It lies in the fact that you hold the handle to perform exercises which means the wei...

Have you ever wondered about how to make your strength training workout more time efficient and effective?  Then it’s time to consider a high weight, low reps superset workout routine.  The best way to build strength is by using a heavy weight that you can only lift for a few reps.  Ideally you want to give your muscles plenty of time to rest between sets so that you avoid training to failure.  However, this is terribly inefficient.  This is where superset workout routines can be helpful.  Rather than just resting between sets, you perform a different exercise.  I’ve discussed my preferred way to combine high weight, low rep training with a superset workout in Fitness in a Flash and How to Get a Beach Body but thought it might be worthwhile to provide a little more flavor. High Weight, Low Reps If you’re focused on gaining strength, then I’d highly recommend combining high weight training with low reps.  Muscle fibers experience the most growt...

While I generally think heavy lifting while avoiding failure is the best way to train, every once in a while I like to perform low weight high reps training to failure.  This is primarily used for sarcoplasmic hypertrophy which results in muscle mass gains.  Done strategically, training to failure can actually generate a nice “shrink-wrap effect” as well.  However, over the long term, I think low weight high reps training is best left to bodybuilders. Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy vs. Myofibrillar Hypertrophy Let’s get the technical stuff out of the way.  Low weight high reps training to failure results in sarcoplasmic hypertrophy while high weight low reps training avoiding failure results in myofibrillar hypertrophy.  So what’s the difference?  Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy is characterized by bigger muscles.  However, that volume is in the form of sarcoplasmic fluid.  Fluids can’t contract so while sarcoplasmic hypertrophy results in muscles with mor...

Is weight loss really all about creating an energy deficit by eating less calories than you expend?  Dr. John Berardi has challenged that notion with what he calls G-Flux.  This concept involves energy flux, and Dr. Berardi argues that you are better off eating more and exercising more to generate a caloric deficit.  Essentially you influence your metabolic rate and ultimately increase your metabolism leading to a great number of calories burned than if you tried to simply eat less.  On the surface, G-Flux is a novel approach that makes sense when viewed over the long term. Increase Your Metabolism What’s the easiest, most time efficient way to cut calories?  Simply remove them from your diet, right?  However, did you ever notice that your weight loss starts to level off as you get leaner and approach your target weight?  You could even get to the point where you’re eating less than 1,000 calories per day but still not seeing any results.  I...

Over the past couple months, my fitness routine has included many of my favorite strategies to get six pack abs.  Combining a clean diet with ample strength training and cardio has allowed me to significantly reduce my body fat to a level I have never been before.  As such, I’d like to share my six pack abs workout routine and diet plan.  Additionally, I’d like to review some of my preferred six pack abs exercises.  While I can’t guarantee you’ll see the same results as me, I hope that many of these tips will help you learn how to get six pack abs. How to Get Six Pack Abs The fundamental key to getting six pack abs is that your body fat has to be very low.  Everyone is different, but generally for men, you’ll start to see your abs around 10% body fat.  You’ll look completely ripped if you get under 6% body fat.  For women, you’ll start to see a nice six pack when your body fat is around 16%.  Anything under 12% and you’ll have ripped abs. Wh...

If you’re looking for a way to gain lean muscle mass, then I highly recommend Martin Berkhan’s Leangains Guide.  While my work and family schedule prohibit following all of Martin’s recommendations, I’ve recently tried to implement as many as possible from the Leangains Guide.  Most people will have a hard time believing that a diet centered around intermittent fasting constitutes the best muscle building diet plan, but I’ve seen excellent fat free muscle mass gains when pairing the Leangains approach with the Visual Impact Muscle Building workouts. The Best Muscle Building Diet Plan Most muscle building diet plans focus on eating a lot of calories.  However, this subjects you to potential fat gain.  Whenever I’ve previously tried this approach, I always ended up eating too much and adding a good deal of fat to go along with muscle mass.  Then I would have to work really hard to eliminate the fat while trying to preserve muscle.  Generally known as the ...

As the year comes to a close, I thought now would be a good time to review my favorite workout programs and diet plans.  So what are the key components of the best workout programs and best diet plans?  In general, I think any good program provides some background and guidance as to why it is effective.  That should in turn help the reader understand and even construct their own workout program or diet plan.  Additionally, I find that the best workout programs and best diet plans lay out a recommended approach.  Obviously, this provides a starting point for readers.  Ultimately, I believe the best programs offer specificity as well as customization.  In other words, a reader can either perform an exact recommended routine or gain enough knowledge to create their own routine.  In this manner, the best workout programs and best diet plans can be effective for both beginners and experienced fitness fanatics. Free Workout Program and Diet Plan Bef...

I’m currently in the process of choosing a new workout routine.  I generally like to change things up ever 6-8 weeks which is why the 3 phase approach of Visual Impact Muscle Building was so appealing to me.  While I could just cycle through the program again, I’ve decided that I want to try a different approach to see what type of results I’ll get.   So what should you consider when choosing a workout routine?  Here are the guidelines I’m using. Goals It’s important to choose a routine that is consistent with your goals.  Why do a mass building routine if you want to burn fat?  Different workouts were made for different people as well.  Same thing goss for diets.  There’s no reason to undertake a highly restrictive diet if you know you won’t be able to stick with it.  For example, a diet that eliminates all fat or sugar may sound great but execution could prove incredibly difficult. It can be challenging to decide if a program fit...

While I posted my initial Visual Impact Cardio Review a couple months ago, having recently completed the program I can now offer a more complete assessment of some of the highs and lows.  Unfortunately I can’t provide a full overview of results since I was using the program to limit fat gain while trying to add muscle.  Frankly, given my goals, I could have shelved Visual Impact Cardio until a later time and just adjusted my diet accordingly.  However, I was excited to test out a new routine and see if it lived up to the high standards that Rusty Moore set with Visual Impact Muscle Building and Visual Impact for Women. Background As I mentioned, my goals in undertaking this program were vastly different than most.  The majority of people will utilize this routine to lose a significant amount of fat.  I chose to use Visual Impact Cardio to improve my overall fitness level while allowing my diet to be flexible.  Ultimately, I was using my strength tr...

A couple months ago I decided to buy a weighted vest. If you’re at the point where you’re doing 20+ reps for bodyweight exercises or would like to burn some extra calories during cardio, then it might be time to perform weighted vest workouts.  I’ve been using a 40lb weighted vest to increase the difficulty of pushups, pull-ups, dips, and inverted rows.  Obviously I’ve had to significantly reduce the number of reps I’m performing, but that’s the whole point.  Increased resistance, decreased reps, increased strength and muscle mass.  I’ve also used the weighted vest when performing steady state cardio.  It’s amazing how much harder using an elliptical can be when carrying an extra 40lbs.  In an ideal world, I’d also wear it outside every morning while walking my dog, but it looks conspicuously like a bullet proof vest. Weighted Vest Bodyweight Workouts If you’ve been training for a while, then there’s a chance that bodyweight exercises just aren’t chall...

Roche shares fell at the begining of buying and selling on Monday after trial failures put into the Swiss drugmaker’s challenge of replacing patent-expired medicines with lucrative new drugs. Its cancer of the skin treatment Zelboraf flopped, the organization stated on Monday, while similar drugs from Novartis achieved their set goals. Furthermore, analysts now doubt prospects for Roche’s eye drug lampalizumab after it unsuccessful another trial, jeopardizing greater than $2 billion in potential annual sales. Roche continues to be relying on new drugs to boost its business as rivals produce cheaper biosimilar copies of their greatest sellers — the $20 billion-a-year trio of cancer drugs Herceptin, Avastin and Rituxan. However the recent flops, along with disappointing results this season on its immunotherapy Tecentriq and it is Herceptin-Perjeta combination, underscore the task Roche faces. “In a finest situation, lampalizumab might have been a substantial driver of Roche e...

Researchers state that getting out of bed and moving every half an hour may help to counterbalance the harms of sedentary behavior. Getting out of bed and from your seat every half an hour could aid in reducing the harms of sedentary behavior, according to a different study. Researchers discovered that adults within the U . s . States spend more money than 12 hrs each day sitting lower, and also the additional time spent sitting, the higher their chance of premature dying all causes is going to be. But it is not every not so good news. They also discovered that getting out of bed and getting around every 30 minutes could aid in reducing the harms of prolonged sitting. Keith Diaz, Ph.D., of Columbia College Medical Center in New You are able to City, NY, and colleagues lately printed their findings within the  Annals of Internal Medicine . Research is more and more documenting the health risks of prolonged sitting. For instance, research printed this past year ...

Long time no see! I have been plenty busy with my work and dance schedule but after a big performance this past Saturday (dance to a live band!) I'm freed up for the time being and this means back to a serious workout regimen. I'm currently using  Julia Valencia's Metabolic Workouts  as my strength and cardio, in addition to 4 dance classes a week, hot yoga (when I get the opportunity), walks now that it's nicer here in Toronto, and my morning jog. Food wise, I'm back to basics.  Lots of oatmeal, egg whites, brown rice, lean protein sources and vegetables.  My weakness has always been the weekend chocolate and dining out excursions but of course, if I want to make the most of my new routine, these things have got to go! Here are The Top Three Ways to Stay Committed to your New Workout Plan 1. Talk about it.  You may think that you will WOW your friends and family by suddenly appearing at an event fit and toned but the reality is that secret goals mean no accoun...

When people start their new fitness program one of the first things they ask (or wonder) is how soon they will see results.  Most think of results purely on the physical plain.  They want tone, weight loss, muscle etc but before these wonderful changes occur there are other results that will motivate a consistent workout regimen.  And consistency is key.  It WILL result in physical changes. Here is a Timeline of Expected Results from Exercising Week 1 You will be tired from a vigorous workout and you will start to sleep better.   If you are eating clean you will start to feel clarity and improved energy. Week 2 You may start to notice that you are already getting through workouts easier.  Last week you could only do 10 pushups but now you can do 15!  If you have been drinking a lot of more water you will feel less bloated and may have dropped a couple of pounds of water weight.  Week 3 Beginners may start to notice results now. ...

Whether you just want to look good or you need to build your muscles up to relieve back pain, a good  upper body workout  is important to your overall health. You don’t have to spend hours every day on this goal if you follow a few of these suggestions. You can incorporate these into a  full body workout routine , too. No Equipment   Upper Body Workout : Jumping jacks or rope 30 seconds Pushups on knees or with hands Birds-lift arms up and down like you’re flying Chair dips-sit on floor with back to a chair and lift yourself up with your hands. Crunches-regular, reverse where you just lift hips off floor, left and right crunches where you touch elbow to opposite knee Specifically for cyclists: Standing shoulder press with weights Pull ups Squat row with cables-hold cables of rowing machine or secured exercise bands and walk backward, maintaining tension, and lower into a squat at the end. Prone press-knees slightly bent, lean forwar...

Balancing exercises helps in improving the balance of our body. Quite often, we see that many people do not include balance exercises in their daily exercise program, but we should know the fact that good balance is also an important part of our healthy lifestyle. The main reason, why these balancing exercises are not included in workout is that these exercises show very less impact on how our body looks. Instead, they help in effective body movements. As we grow older, it is common tendency that we lose our body balance and also that in certain medical conditions, we lose our body balance. This may result in falling (resulting in fractures), or difficulty in walking. Balancing exercises are perfect solution for such situations. Balancing Exercises Let us see some balancing exercises Stand on one of your feet and count up to 8. Repeat it for 8 to 10 times. Now do it with another foot. When you that you are pretty stable, stretch your raised leg forward and point your toe. Rep...