Friday, March 28, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Lose Weight Safely
How to Lose Weight Safely
from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit
Adopt a healthier lifestyle and and you will often lose weight as a bonus. Learn strategies to help you look and feel better!
Steps
- Calculate your daily energy output kJ. Looks complicated but isn't.
- Women [655.1 + (9.56 x weight kilograms)+ (1.85 x height centimeter) - (4.68 x age years)] x 4.2
- Men [66.47 + (13.75 x weight kilograms)+ (5 x height centimeter) - (6.76x age years)] x 4.2
- Multiply the kJ amount by the following factor depending on your lifestyle: 1.2 = sedentary, 1.375 = lightly active (1-3 days a week exercise), 1.55 = moderately active 3 -5 days exercise or sport, 1.725 = very active hard exercise 6-7 days/week, 1.9 = extremely active hard daily exercise or sport or physical job.
- Women [655.1 + (9.56 x weight kilograms)+ (1.85 x height centimeter) - (4.68 x age years)] x 4.2
- Keep a food journal for a week or two. Write down all that you eat. Include snacks, cups of coffee, etc. - it all adds up. You may be surprised how much you are consuming in between meals.
- Use the journal to help understand when it is you might eat foods that are high in kJ and find ways to cut them out and replace those items with healthier choices. For example, if you crave sugar in the afternoon replace sugary snacks with fresh fruit.
- Work out what energy you are actually expending daily and find ways to increase your level of activity. You don't necessarily need to join a gym. Simple changes can add up. Try parking as far away from the shops as you can and walk in. Climb the stairs, rather than riding the elevator. Dance while you vacuum. Play actively with the kids instead of just watching TV.
- Focus on attaining good health, rather than feeling deprived or "on a diet". Losing weight is frequently the result of living a healthier lifestyle
- Try to stick to three meals a day. Breakfast - eg. high fibre cereal with low fat milk, lunch eg. wholemeal sandwich with lean filling OR a salad with no fat dressing, dinner eg. Protein (meat, fish or poultry - all lean cuts and skinless with lots of vegetables or salad and minimal amount (not necessarily no) carbohydrates. Healthy snacks are OK especially if they help you from getting so hungry that you eat foods you shouldn't.
Tips
- A possible diet: a bowl of Special K cereal for breakfast, a jelly sandwich with trans-fat free bread and an apple for lunch, salmon and green-beans for dinner. Snacks can include carrots, celery or a banana.
- Find snacks that you love that are healthy, such as fresh fruit, raw vegetables, low-fat yogurt or cottage cheese, and be sure to stock them in your pantry. Limit yourself to two snacks each day. If you crave more than two snacks, chomp on a piece of gum for a few hours.
- Don't shop when you are hungry. Have a healthy snack and a glass of water before heading to the grocery store.
- Increase your daily fibre intake. Pick whole meal bread, and whole grains (bulgar wheat, quinoa).
- Try a daily walk. It is a great exercise for weight loss. You can go at your own pace. If you walk with a friend it is mentally uplifting to chat and support each other.
- Add strength training to your exercise plan to build lean muscle. While aerobic exercise (like walking) helps burn calories, anaerobic (or strength-building) exercise can help boost your metabolism.
- Add one or two extra vegetables to your evening meal that you would usually not eat. Try new recipes with unfamiliar ingredients to keep your eating plan interesting and fun.
- Use non stick cookware or barbeque to limit oils and fats.
- Go crazy with herbs and strong flavours to make your meals very tasty and satisfying - potentially you'll eat less.
- Use a smaller plate.
- Clear up left overs before sitting down to avoid second helpings
- Drink lots of water 2 litres/day (approx. 64 oz). Drink a glass of water about 20 mins before dinner to help you feel full.
- Put your knife and fork down instead of loading it up while you chew. Eating more slowly allows your body to be in time with your brain so that by the time you "feel" full you haven't already over eaten.
- Avoid/limit alcohol (3-4 standard drinks/week)- it reduces you ability to lose fat as well as making it harder to resist temptation.
- Measure your loss by how your clothes feel on you and only weigh yourself once every couple of weeks. Take your measurements once a month to judge your weight loss in inches as well as pounds.
- Find a friend who wants to feel better too and use each other for support.
- Listen to slow music while you eat. It's been proven to help you eat slower, which helps you lose weight.
- Avoid processed foods. Anything that comes in a package is usually full of fats, sugars and salts. Know what you're eating in advance.
Warnings
- You should see a health professional before undertaking any diet or exercise plans.
- There is NO safe way to lose weight fast. You should aim for lifestyle changes that support better eating and add some exercise that is suited to you personally, as prescribed by your doctor. Gradual weight loss is better and also tends to be longer lasting in most people.
Related wikiHows
- How to Lose Weight
- How to Lose Weight Fast
- How to Lose 5 Pounds in 5 Weeks
- How to Choose the Best Diet
- How to Calculate Your Body Mass Index (BMI)
- How to Stick to Your Diet During the Holidays
- How to Evaluate Your Eating Habits
- How to Lose Weight With Vitamins
- How to Lose Weight Like a Model
- How to Lose Weight With Juicing
- How to Cope With Anorexia
Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Lose Weight Safely. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Workout Diet
How to Start the Recommended Workout Diet
from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit
This arm program is for advanced weightlifters only!
Steps
- Eat a meal 1 hour before workout your workout; 1 cup oatmeal, 1 chopped apple and three whole eggs (cook with the oatmeal). Add two tablespoons of honey and cook in 1 and half cups of apple juice.
- Have one half cup of raisins 20 minutes before the workout.
- Prepare a big water bottle(500ml) with orange juice in it and 25 grams of whey protein; sip on this during the whole workout.
- Warm up with 7 minutes of jogging. Curl your arm up and squeeze like a bicep curl and push down as if you were working your triceps.
- Do one set of as many Parallel Tricep dips as possible.
- Go to the chinning bar and do as many pullups as possible.
- Go between two benches and do as many bench dips as you can.
- Go to the lat pulldown and do as many as you can.
- Rest for one minute and do two sets of 21 Tricep pushdowns supersetted with two sets of 21 overhead tricep extensions.
- Do one set of 21 barbell curls supersetted with as many concentration curls as possible.
Tips
- Parallel Tricep dips: keep body straight come down until biceps hit forearms and lockout at the top and squeeze triceps.
- Pull ups: take a under handed grip with hands about 10 inches apart, curl your self up until you eyes meet the bar only come down a little pass 90 degrees with your arms.
- Bench dips: make sure you go all the way down until your butt hit the ground and lockout at the top Squeeze your triceps
- Lat pulldowns: same as pull ups under handed grip 10 inches apart ,now keep your arms out in front of you so your triceps are parallel to the floor and a 90 degree angle to your body (the same as resting your elbow on a table) keep your arms in this position and curl the lat bar down toward the top of your head until it hit the top of your forehead.
- Tricep pushdowns use lat pulldown bar(long bar) take a wide underhand grip do 7 reps move the hand in a little and take a overhand grip and do 7 reps move the hand close together and do 7 reps overhanded move on to barbell over head extentions and do the same 7 underhanded wide grip ,move hands in a little overhanded 7 reps , close together 7 reps.
- Barbell curl: take a narrow grip underhanded start from the top of the movement and do 7 rep only coming down to the top of the rip cage and coming up to touch your collar bone, continue by taking a underhanded mid grip starting from the top of the rip cage down to legs, continue by taking a wide overhanded(reverse) grip and doing 7 reps through the full movement. Know go grab two light dumbbells and a incline bench place yourself on the incline bench chest first so your chest is at the very top of the bench let you arms hang down over the top of the bench and do 7 curls but only coming up half way do a other 7 reps but only coming down half way and another 7 reps doing the whole movement.
Related wikiHows
Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Start the Recommended Workout Diet. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Gain Muscle Fast
How to Gain Muscle Fast in 5 Easy Steps
from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit
This is to help those that find it difficult to gain muscle, particularly for those with small body frames. However, the techniques will also benefit those individuals that would like to bulk-up quicker, safer and efficiently.The main question by those tired of trying to shape up their bodies, but with no results, or even those starting their journey into fitness is how to gain muscles fast. The reasons are varied, some want to look good for their vacations,or to enter and win competitions. Some want to walk down the road with their heads held up high and command respect. However, what every single hard gainer should not forget in their desire to get the body of their dreams and how to gain muscle fast is to do it safely and effectively.
Things You Need
A good source of food that you will requite in order to give you energy in to work-out regularly and aid in your muscle recovery are complex carbohydrates.
Good sources are:
- Potatoes
- Pasta
- Rice
- Cereals
- Couscous
- Yams
Steps
- Limit your reps to 10. Do not go beyond 10 reps because you are emphasizing your slow-twitch muscle fibers which have the smallest opportunity for muscle growth. In your work-out you need to employ the maximal amount of muscle fibers in every set.
- Gain muscle by switching to heavy lifting mode. Every single set and every single exercise. Work out with heavy weights and never go beyond 10 reps.
- Increment your strength by 5% every two weeks. Track your progress and do not repeat the same routine using the same weights all the time. Your muscles are engineered to tolerate stress so put them under stress and let them grow.
- Aim for a minimum of 5% strength increase every two weeks. You might aim for bigger increases with larger muscle groups like legs and back versus smaller muscles like triceps and biceps. Keep focused and have the goal in mind that in six months from now, you will be over twice as strong as you are now! It is a good idea writing down your strength goals for the six months ahead and then work from your starting point. If you are currently dead lifting 140 lbs, aim to be dead lifting 280 lbs over the next few months!
- Work-out only one exercise per muscle group. Consider this typical day in the gym. Today is your legs day. Your first exercise is the leg curl. You perform your first set with 155 lbs, second set with 175 lbs, third set with 195 lbs and fourth set with 215 lbs.
- Strictly stick to 3 to 5 sets per muscle group. Understand that if you are doing more than 3-5 sets per muscle group, alarm bells should be going off in your head. If you work-out the first 1-2 sets at 85% maximum effort, the 3rd set at 95% maximum effort and the 4th (and sometimes the 5th) set at 100% maximum effort, Know that it is only this last set that produces the greatest muscle growth. Anything beyond the last set mentality that you have to keep going until you explode, simply burns out the muscle and delays your recovery time to work on that muscle again.Add 5-10 extra pounds more than your previous set.
- Gradually shorten your work-out times. Know that if you really want to increase your muscle density and move your fitness to new heights, you need to work-out outside your comfort zone.This can be achieved if you increase your work rate but taking less time do it. The results will be that your work capacity will increase. Work refers to the number of sets, reps and poundage within your work-out.
- Try to complete a work-out,it in less time. Decrease your rests. Move between exercises faster. If you do this, don't be shocked if you feel out of shape!
Tips
- Limit your reps to 10 only
- Increment Your Strength by 5% Every Two Weeks
- Work-out only one exercise per muscle group
- Strictly stick to 3 to 5 sets per muscle group
- Gradually shorten your work-out times
Warnings
- If you never worked out before consult with a doctor before beginning your workout routines. Do not begin one if you have any serious health problems.
- Work out with a partner to prevent injuries, and for encouragement to push your limits every inch of the way.
- If you experience discomfort like numbness, tingling sensations, dizziness, palpitations you must stop immediately. These are warnings signs that your body is giving you to let you know that it has gone past the safety threshold.
Related wikiHows
- How to Gain Weight
- How to Get Strong Muscles
- How to Get Stronger Muscles when You Are Currently Weak
- How to Build Muscle
- How to Eat to Gain Muscle
Sources and Citations
Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Gain Muscle Fast in 5 Easy Steps. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Pool Workout
How to Have a Workout in the Pool
from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit
Do you need a basic exercise plan in the water? Read this and you'll be splashing around in no time.
Steps
- Do a warm up (do this every time before you swim a different stroke). Do 6 laps (one lap is one way in the pool) of freestyle.
- Get out of the pool and stretch.
- Put your right arm across your chest and link your left arm around, then do the opposite.
- Pick up your right leg and balance on the left foot, then do the opposite.
- Try to put your hands on the ground and stretch your legs (don't bend them!).
- Shake your entire body around and jump up and down.
- Put your right arm across your chest and link your left arm around, then do the opposite.
- Do a 100 IM. This is one lap butterfly, one lap backstroke, one lap breaststroke, and one lap freestyle in that order.
- Do a 200 IM now this is 2 laps butterfly, 2 laps backstroke, 2 laps breststroke, and 2 laps freestyle in that order.
- Do 4 laps of freestyle.
- Do 4 laps of breaststroke.
- Do 4 laps of backstroke.
- Do 4 laps of butterfly.
- Do drills for each of the strokes (see External Links).
- Do a cool down (do this after every workout); 6 laps 2 of each stroke backstroke, butterfly, freestyle, and breaststroke.
Tips
- If you want to squeeze in do sprints one lap of each stroke and dive off the board
- this workout is good by yourself not with a group foucus more on you in drills and such in the water.
- Try combining the dolphin kick from the butterfly and the crawl of the crawl. It is faster than either one.
Things You'll Need
- A 25 meter pool
- A swim cap -- if your hair is down, it is harder to swim
- goggles -- so you can swim underwater
Related wikiHows
- How to Do the 'Death' Breaststroke Kick Drill in Swimming
- How to Teach Swim Lessons
- How to Exercise to Become a Better Swimmer
Sources and Citations
- http://swimming.about.com/cs/techniquetips/a/Freestyl_Drills.htm
- http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/swim-cgi/
Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Have a Workout in the Pool. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Bigger triceps
How to Get Better Triceps
from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit
Many people do not realize the importance of their triceps, they think almost exclusively of their biceps. While biceps are probably used more, weak triceps can be a real problem in your life. The tricep is the muscle opposite the bicep on your upper arm, and it's used for pulling your arm straight after bending. Gymnasts have to have strong triceps, due to the type of acrobatic maneuver they perform. For example during the back handspring you have to spring backwards and push up off the ground with your hands back onto your feet.
Steps
The Push Up Way
- Lie on your stomach with your legs straight and together. Put your palms flat on the floor next to your shoulders. Your arms should naturally bend with the elbow pointing towards the ceiling. They may point away from your body, in which case pull them in tight against your ribs. Now push up, this is one tricep push up. Start off with ten of these, or if that is too hard start off with five. Increase the amount you do each time by five as the excersise becomes easier.
- Start off in a normal press up position, the same as a tricep push up, but the arms are not tucked in. Move your hands together until your first fingers and thumbs touch, which should form a triangle/kite shape on the floor. Keep your palms flat on the floor as you do this. Now do a push up. Again start off with five, and increase by five as before.
The Dumbbell Way
- Obtain a dumbbell weight you are comfortable with, if you are just starting out you may want a 5 kg dumbbell. With it in your hand raise your arm up straight, now bend your arm so that the dumbbell comes down behind your head. Then raise your arm again, for maximum effect do this in a slow and controlled manner. Again, start off with five and work up from there as you build more muscle.
- Kneel down on one leg, rest the hand not holding the dumbbell on a stool or somesuch. Let the hand with the dumbbell hang free so it is relaxed. Now, bend at the elbow so the upper arm is parallel with the ground. Straighten that arm all the way, if the strain peaks when you fully straighten your arm you are doing it right. If not find a heavier dumbbell or check your stance. Start with 5 and build up from there in fives as you build more muscle.
Tips
- Do not over strain yourself, you have to know your own limitations. If it is very difficult to do one repetition then stop at one, if you don't you will get a stiff triceps which will prevent you from exercising in the near future.
- Always warm up the muscle you are planning on exercising.If you don't you are in danger of pulling a muscle, which is not only very painful but will put that muscle out of action for a long time. To warm up exercise that muscle a few times and stretch, do this at least twice to be extra sure.
- Eat healthily. Like all exercises if you wish it to have an effect you must eat healthily, see Eat Healthy for Life for more information.
- Cardio, Cardio, Cardio! Depending on what you are looking for you may already include this in your work-out. The proper name for it is cardiovascular, which means 'heart and vessels' so it is exercise of the heart and vessels in your body. Essentially it burns fat, so if you want to see a result from all this triceps exercise you must shed fat like a snake sheds skin, as the triceps isn't designed as a very impressive muscle like the bicep.
Warnings
- Again do not injure yourself doing these exercises, take it slowly. The slower the exercise the better it is, and you have the added bonus of not doing yourself an injury.
Related wikiHows
- How to Eat Healthy for Life
- How to Get Six Pack Abs
- How to Get Better Biceps
- How to Get Wider Shoulders
Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Get Better Triceps. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.