Friday, March 1, 2013
The Schwinn Airdyne Bike - Obsolete or Best Choice?
The Schwinn Air-Dyne bikes introduced the fan resistance exercise. The concept is simple. You pedal the bike and the pedaling turns a large fan. The faster you pedal, the faster the fan turns and the harder it is to turn. So the resistance increases as you pedal faster.
Also the handle bars are linked to the pedals so the handlebars move as you pedal. You can "pedal" just with your arms or just with your legs or with your arms and your legs together. So someone with a injury can work just the legs or just the arms.
If you push the handlebars and the pedals, you really get a total body workout. The handlebars work your entire upper body in a vigorous workout. You don't just work your arms, this thing works your arms, your shoulders, your back, really your entire upper body. Your lower body is worked on by the foot pedals. So it's a great machine for a muscle workout plus a heart and lungs routine too.
This machine is built like a tank! Every part of the Schwinn Airdyne is nearly indestructible. Every piece is heavy duty. That's why you can find a used one if you look for awhile. You literally cannot wear the thing out. You may get tired of it, but you won't wear it out. Of course you'll need batteries in the electronics and you might wear out a pedal or some minor piece, but this thing is made to last. Even the seat is super heavy weight and durable.
Mine was purchased used and now has 7,000 plus miles on it and except for a little rust from dripping perspiration and one worn pedal, it rides like new. Schwinn doesn't sell two of these to very many people. You can't wear it out.
What are the downsides? The bike is hard to move since it is so heavy. It does have wheels for rolling it around, but it's still hard to move. Secondly, it's noisy. The fan stirs up a lot of air and is loud, too noisy to listen to anything much while you pedal. That's about it on the downside.
Looking for a fast way to get fit? Read another article about the Schwinn Airdyne Bike and for more information visit our website at http://ExerciseBikeFitness.com.
Simple Leg Toning Exercises for Shaping Sexy Legs
Are you interested in easy, but greatly effective, leg toning exercises that you can do anywhere, anytime - without having to deal with the hassles of 'going to the gym'?
Fitness centers and health clubs are filled with big, expensive machines.
No matter what kind of leg exercise program you are looking for, the instructors are going to put you through a typical general lower body workout circuit doing one set on each machine for twelve reps and so on.
Of course, they are not going to show you a workout routine that doesn't need a single exercise machine. They'd be out of business!
The truth is, toning and firming up your leg, hip and thigh area is not achieved by using all those weight machines, and heavy dumbbells and barbells that could get you all pumped up with much more muscle than you were looking to build, or cause serious, long term injuries! (we've all heard these horrible stories, right?)
The real magic of a properly structured leg exercise program lies in the combination of non-weighted and body weight exercises, put together in a sequence that targets all the muscles in AND around the legs, hips and thighs. The program should also emphasize proper form AND speed of movement along with breathing - these are elements that are lacking from most 'modern' leg workouts and fitness programs.
Here is an example of a highly effective, but simple leg toning and shaping exercise:
First you'll need a staircase or a utility step - 9 to 12 inches high is good.
You may have one you can use in your garage or a closet - just make sure it is sturdy.
If using a staircase - stand on the second step with both feet. If using a utility step - try to use one that is about 10 - 15 inches high & stand on it with both feet. This is one of the simplest yet most effective leg exercises for women.
Place your hands on your hips or hold them out in front of you, or out to the side. SLOWLY, step down with your left foot & LIGHTLY touch the floor with your toes & the ball of the foot (keep your heel off the ground).
Then bring your left foot back up & lightly touch the step and repeat this 15 times with the left foot.
Take a 10 second rest and then do the right leg.
IMPORTANT - The leg that stays on the step is the one doing the most work & you should feel a nice 'burn' in that leg.
This means you are doing the exercise right.
If it is too easy - you may be moving too fast - the key is to move slowly to 'use the muscles properly'.
Or the step may be too low - try a higher step to increase the intensity of this leg toning exercise.
Try to build up to 3 sets of 15 reps (per leg) with 20 seconds rest between sets. If you haven't been exercising your legs, or are a beginner - you can do this 2 or 3 times each week.
If you have been exercising you can simply add it right into your current leg workout routine.
Often times, too much focus is placed on machines, gadgets and high intensity, 'no pain - no gain' concepts. Most of this is for marketing reasons and sometimes just a pure lack of understanding of what the female body needs in terms of the correct leg exercises and overall fitness programming.
Joey Atlas, Exercise Physiologist, is the fitness mastermind behind The Best Leg Exercises for Women.
Go to
Flat Stomach Exercises for stomach toning advice & tips.
Video Source: Youtube
Natural Weight Loss for Good Health and Well Being
weight loss is becoming an unhealthy obsession dealing with body images, but in some cases can improve health and fitness. When weight loss is a result of eating healthy, exercising and/or taking natural weight loss supplements in contrast to synthetic prescription drugs with the risk of harmful side effects, weight loss can be effective, rewarding, and greatly improve overall health.
Extra weight, especially extra fat on a person's body, applies significantly increased stresses on the heart, joints and back. These stresses can be extremely detrimental to one's health. Healthy weight loss can reduce the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, arthritis and other health problems, as well as generally extending an otherwise average life span. Recently, the scientific root cause or explanation of obesity has been revealed as being part of one's physiology. The internal functions of an obese person are different than those of a healthy person, and cause intense hunger pains and food cravings.
Natural weight loss supplements can help counteract this constant hunger and lead to healthy weight loss. Unbalanced hormones are a common cause of weight gain, therefore taking natural hormone balancers and herbal supplements would help to create a healthy weight loss regimen. Restoring your health allows you to lose weight naturally, without excess frustration and effort. It's all about losing weight from the inside out.
Emotional issues always accompany change, especially changes in our bodies e.g. natural weight loss. Weight loss affects our perception body image, our sense of identity i.e. who am I?, and how we feel about ourselves in general. Weight loss also effects our social relationships in that there may be people in our family or social contacts that are emotionally invested in our remaining the same i.e. overweight with all that it symbolizes e.g. friendliness, non-threatening, protective, jovial, helpful, etc. Beyond our physical health, it can be said that "size matters" cognitively and emotionally to ourselves and others. Eating and food have come to symbolize being accepted, being cared for and comfort. Having the support of others in our efforts to naturally lose weight and regain our health is a huge advantage.
We have been "conditioned" to fear any kind of loss, including weight loss. Especially if what we may lose is something with which we identify i.e. use to tell us who we are.
The emotions of fear, anger, anxiety and depression effect our weight. We often tend to "stuff our feelings" or numb these emotional feelings or stress by overeating. We may even overeat, thinking that will ease the physical discomfort caused by excess weight e.g. physical pain, lack of sleep, and lack of energy caused by moderate depression. To improve our overall health and support us through the process of natural weight loss and the emotional dynamics around it, we can take advantage of natural sleep aids, natural depression relief and natural pain relief health care products.
Our weight and health is greatly dependent upon our having a healthy digestive system or metabolism. Our digestive system converts, on a cellular and muscular level, the foods we eat, eliminates toxins, and uses and stores glucose for energy. Natural enzymes trigger hunger signals and facilitate absorption of nutrition. Good digestion with the help of natural enzymes aids in the conversion of fat to muscle.
Allergy and sensitivity to food, parasites, yeast overgrowth and emotional stress are signals of digestive disruption and inflammation. Natural essential fatty acids work to reduce intestinal inflammation, decrease harmful acids, help the liver process proteins that grow muscle, balance hormones and facilitate the elimination of toxins. Natural essential fatty acids help clear our digestive system of heavy metals, harmful bacteria, pesticides that we are increasingly encountering in our environment. Essential fatty acids along with natural fiber help us clean out the intestinal debris that harm our health and often lead to weight gain. Essential fatty acids also help our brain's neurotransmitters to function properly in order to deal with stress, emotions, and cravings that can lead to overeating and weight gain.
Natural amino acids are the building blocks that make up proteins. Next to water, protein makes up the greatest part of our body weight. Amino acids help increase metabolism, build muscle, ease moderate depression, and help burn fat. Natural antioxidants help carry more oxygen to cells and muscles to help increase energy, burn fat, build muscle and process the foods we eat.
Hormone balance is essential for natural weight loss. Our metabolism slows as we get older because of the decrease or imbalance of hormones. This contributes to weight gain. Hormone balance also helps us deal with stress that leads to weight gain. Proper hormone balance helps to decrease cravings and binge eating. There are many natural hormone balancing products available, e.g. natural progesterone, promensil, soy isoflavones, essential fatty acids and hormone balancing formulas.
Our metabolism's primary task is to nourish our brains. We need healthy neurotransmitters to help us curb craving, ease depression, and deal with stress that lead to weight gain. Balancing our natural brain chemistry has a calming effect and allows us to feel a sens of well being and safety. There are many natural health care products to help balance brain chemistry, e.g. essential fatty acids, natural depression relief products, natural products to increase serotonin, and more. When our brain feels well and safe, it is prone to change our metabolism from calorie saving to calorie burning.
Our bodies were designed to move and be active. Movement requires muscle activity. Muscle activity uses the glycogen supply found in our muscles. When this glycogen supply stored in our muscles is used, our body is forced to use stored fat as an energy source. Using this stored fat through movement and exercise, results in natural weight loss. There is no reason for us to become athletes to accomplish natural weight loss. Low impact exercise like swimming, walking, etc, can be done slowly and without strain. In order to lose real weight rather than "water weight", it is important to drink extra amounts of water when exercising. Drinking more water will also help our digestive system and metabolism to use and eliminate extra weight.
Remember, the first objective, accomplished through natural weight loss, is to improve our physical and emotional health. This involves having a healthy digestive system, a healthy emotional system and a healthy nutritional system. We can build these healthy systems with natural vitamins, amino acids, antioxidants, natural digestive aid, pain relief aid, natural sleep aids, natural emotional and mood aids, essential fatty acids and many more helpful natural health care products. We need to concentrate on improving our general health, feeling good, and living well through natural weight loss, rather than constantly comparing ourselves to someone else's idea about appearance from some magazine. Physical and emotional health is primary. Appearance may be important to us, but it is secondary. Through natural weight loss, we can live well and live long.
Losing Weight - Are Diet Plans Worth It?
diet plans that send pre-made meals right to your door have become very popular in recent years. The first plans weren't too appealing since the meals were delivered in a freeze dried state and left something to be desired as far as taste and consistency were concerned. Today, all that has changed and you can have fresh or frozen meals delivered to your home that actually taste pretty good.
When you look into it, you'll find many companies offering diet plans. Some of them are well known names in the diet industry and others are new comers or local operations. Because there are so many, you'll also find a variety of price points and features.
You may be wondering if a diet plan is worth it and if it really can help you lose weight. There are definitely some advantages to having your meals pre-made for you. For one thing, it takes away a lot of temptations you would have to face when preparing your meals. You don't have to worry about sneaking bites of food as you cook or eating portion sizes that are too big.
These meals arrive as single servings so you eat just the right amount to stay in your calorie count. All you have to do is warm the meal in the microwave and enjoy. Along with removing temptation, diet plans also remove the difficulty associated with meal planning and shopping when you go on a diet. Forget all the complicated stuff. Just order the meals that appeal to you and they will arrive at your door. If you don't want to pick and choose your meals you can even let the company choose the meals for you so you have a balanced diet.
Not all companies operate in the same way. Some let you order meals ala carte so you can select your favorites and as many or as few as you like. Others require you to order a week's worth or more at a time and offer the convenience of auto shipping. Some meals are freshly prepared and sent out chilled while others are shipped frozen. Some may still even come freeze dried.
There are many choices and the good news is the meals are not all that expensive especially when you consider you will be eliminating your regular grocery bill. You may still want to buy salad fixings at your convenience but the main entrees and side dishes will be prepared and portioned for you.
Dieting has never been easier. You can eat your meals at home or take them to the office and heat them up. Using a diet plan takes a lot of stress and confusion out of planning a diet and sticking to it. However, you'll still need to abide by the regulations of the diet you choose. If the company ships two week's worth of food in advance, you don't want to eat it all in a couple of days.
You would probably be surprised at the choices available when it comes to the foods you can get. Some of the companies hire gourmet chefs and strive to make meals that not only help you lose weight but taste delicious at the same time. If you are looking to lose weight, buying pre-made meals might be a good choice for you as long as you also follow the golden rules of weight loss: restricting calories and getting plenty of exercise.
Mike has been writing articles for a couple of years now. His latest passion is on http://www.troutfishingreview.com/. He just created a page in his site on http://www.troutfishingreview.com/trout-fishing/trophy-trout-fishing-tips.html. When you get a minute and you love to fish yourself come check out his site.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Top Twenty Weight Loss Tips, Tricks and Solutions
Here are some everyday, helpful hints to get you started, keep you going, and help you stick to your diet.
1. Never leave home "starving." Always have a light snack before eating dinner in a restaurant, such as a piece of fruit, a glass of juice or a carrot.
2. Don't go food shopping on an empty stomach! You'll be tempted to buy everything in sight.
3. Don't be tempted by treats. Store them out of view, off counter-tops and as out-of-reach as possible.
4. Don't eat in front of the TV. Watching the boob tube -- instead of watching your plate -- lulls you into overeating. Also avoid being tempted by food and snack commercials.
5. Make it a rule in your house to confine your meals to the dining room or kitchen table! Never eat standing up! This leads to mindless snacking.
6. Think before you drink. Alcohol adds lots of calories, but no nutrients. Also, it weakens your willpower to avoid the wrong food choices. Hangovers can cause wicked cravings for fatty or high carbohydrate foods that can sabotage any attempt at weight loss.
7. Fill up on soup first. Begin every meal with non-cream hot soup; it forces you to eat slowly and fills you up so you won't overeat.
8. Take time to taste your food. Don't gobble food down! Rushing through your meals doesn't give your brain the time that it needs to signal your body that you are full.
9. When dining out, request sauces and low-calorie dressings on the side.
10. There is no law that requires you to finish everything on your plate.
11. Prepare a shopping list (with menu ideas in mind) and stick to the list. Avoid being tempted by bargains that grocery stores place on the outer aisles and at the back and the front of the store. The healthiest foods are usually in the long narrow aisles.
12. Use non-stick pans to reduce the need for cooking with fat.
13. If you must use oil, try a flavorful one like olive or sesame oil. Now remember, a little goes a long way! Make just a spritz of oil go even further by buying a Misto. A Misto is an aerosol can that you can fill with a good fat such as olive or canola oil.
14. A pinch of grated cheese or blue cheese will provide a flavorful kick without adding a lot of calories to a salad or grain dish.
15. If you cook in large quantities for your family, store leftovers in individual serving size containers. This is a way to practice portion control for yourself so you don't eat too much at one sitting.
16. Nibbling off someone else's plate may seem harmless -- but those calories do add up!
17. Drink six to eight glasses of water a day. A beverage before mealtime will also help you feel full faster and longer. Water also helps your body digest food, which is especially important now that you're eating a fiber rich diet.
18. Store really tempting treats in opaque containers or silver foil -- and stick them in the back of the refrigerator. Out of sight out of mind!
19. Are you stuffing yourself? If you have to loosen your belt a few notches after meals you're definitely eating too much!
20. Mashed bananas, prunes and apple sauce are great baking substitutes for fat, especially in bread, brownie and cake mixes.
GET RID OF THOSE EXTA KILOS FAST - Phenphedra Weight loss
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The phenphedra is the natural herbal pill that is quite famous in the market. The phenphedra diet pill is a kind of aft burner. The fat burner pills work on the mechanism of fat inhibition. In this mechanism the body utilizes the energy more efficiently that it has produced in the form of calories. The phenphedra diet pill will not allow you to store extra calories in the form of fat. For more information you can easily log on to diet-pill-review.net . The site will give you complete information about the fat loss techniques.
The phenphedra diet pill is natural diet pill. It has all the herbal contents. The diet pill has no side effects as compared to other pill with artificial components in them. The side effects with the artificial pills can be dizziness, headaches etc. because of this reason the phenphedra is quite popular among the people.
The phenphedra keeps you healthy and maintain the stamina of the body. The phenphedra increase the water consumption of the body and thus help in increasing the solublization of fat. This helps in controlling weight. The phenphedra also has effect on hormonal systems like that of serotonin. The serotonin helps in controlling the appetite and the feeling of satisfaction when you eat something. The phenphedra diet pill brings this feeling of satisfaction easily when you eat something. The site will help you to get all the required information.
The phenphedra along with proper diet and exercise will help you to get back in shape easily. The intake of healthy food at proper time is must while following the prescription of phenphedra diet pills. These diet pills are easily available on the internet. The diet pills have given an easy way to the people to reduce weight. But it must be kept in mind to take natural pills only like phenphedra pills so that you may not have any adverse effect on your health.
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The Homemade Drink That Burns Calories
Today I'm not going to talk about dieting or exercise.
Obviously diet and exercise are necessary but there are some real easy weight loss tips (that barely require any effort) that you can use to burn off extra calories.
I'm now going to share with you one of these quick weight loss tips.
This secret fat burning tip is one that most dieters don't know about. The great thing is that it's easy… real easy. Not only that, but it's a healthy weight loss tip… no dangerous diet pills, crash diets, or silly fad diets.
Here it is: I will show you how to make one simple change to regular drinking water that will force your body to burn calories when you drink it.
Would you like the details?
Great. Well if you drink an eight ounce cup of ICE COLD water, your body will burn 7.69 calories to heat the ice cold water up to body temperature.
Really interesting fact right? Well let's exploit this useful little fact for our fat loss goals.
So when you drink eight ounces of ice cold water your body burns approximately eight calories. If you drink the minimum recommended eight glasses of water a day (for health) but make sure that your water is ice cold... you will be burning an extra sixty-four calories per day by doing pretty much nothing!
You could even do this while lying in bed!
Now this was if you only drank eight cups of ice water per day. Well that sixty-four calories burned is good but you don't want just good enough right?
You are a hardcore fat burning machine right? You want every weight loss advantage you can have and you want to squeeze them for all they're worth!
Well seeing as how you're so motivated and want to really give your fat loss a boost, let's go all the way with this sneaky diet trick.
What you can attempt to do is work your way up to drinking about one gallon of ice cold water per day. One gallon comes out to about sixteen cups. Drinking sixteen cups of ice cold water will have you burning 123 extra calories per day doing almost nothing!
Over one week you will have burned 861 calories... and this is just from drinking water! To put those 861 calories into perspective, you will be burning roughly the same amount of calories as...
Doing two whole hours of jogging!
Just by adopting an ice water drinking habit, you can burn the same amount of calories as if you had added two hours of jogging to your weekly workout schedule. Now that's incredible.
Remember, drinking eight cups of ice cold water a day will burn a decent amount of calories too. You do not have to drink a whole gallon but if you want the extra boost, you can work up to that amount.
The ice water trick is just one of many sneaky diet tricks I use in The Trifecta Diet.
Now go and get yourself a cup of ice cold water! To lose weight you have to take action now!
Video Source: Youtube