3 tips for a Rock-Solid Stomach

3 tips for a Rock-Solid Stomach

1. Keep Your Abs Engaged. Your core region (lower back, abs and glutes) make up your “stabilizer” muscle group. This powerhouse is constantly at work when you’re doing ANY kind of workout, so take advantage of this! When you’re lifting weights, or doing anything that uses your stabilizer muscles, consciously tap into that strength—keep your abs tight and posture solid, and you’ll see big results.

2. Use Compound Movements.  When targeting your abs, compound exercises are better than isolated ones. Why not work multiple muscle groups at once? Some compound movements that work the whole ab region include Planks and the Bicycle Maneuver:

 For Planks, lie face down, forearms and toes pressed into the floor, and lift your hips up off the floor. Engage your abs, straighten your back and hold this position for as long as you can. Trust us, you’ll feel your entire ab region engaged! 

• For Bicycle Maneuver, lie with your back on the floor, hands behind your head and elbows spread wide. Keeping your lower back pressed into the floor and abs contracted, crunch across the body—one elbow to the opposite knee. Alternate continuously. This will work more muscles than a standard crunch.  Add a fitness ball to increase strength.

3. Eat Protein.  Protein will allow your body to rebuild muscle after your workouts. Great sources include lean meat, nuts, eggs, cheese and legumes. Another excellent source of protein is a protein shake, which can be one of your 5-6 daily meals. A whey or soy protein powder, when mixed with soy or skim milk, can give you roughly 20 grams of protein. 

2 Reasons YOU Should Strength Train To Lose Weight!

2 Reasons YOU Should Strength Train To Lose Weight!

1.  Themore muscle you have, the higher your base metabolism will be and the morecalories you will burn even at rest. 
2.  Second reason is more important. Whenever you loseweight, you will lose some muscle along with the fat. If you don't exercise anddo some strength training, up to 30% of the weight you lose can come frommuscle loss, that isn't likely to be healthy over the long haul. Goodstrength and muscle tone are essential for functional living and health. Youcan hold your muscle loss down to 3-5% total weightloss with moderatestrength training. 

Strength training helps to preserve bone density,balance, and many other important things. 


Strength traineach muscle group at least twice a week--this really only takes about 30-45minutes per workout. Better yet, try circuit training, where you lift weightswithout resting between sets. This method meets both cardio and strengthrequirements because you keep your heart rate elevated throughout your workout,increasing the amount of calories you burn per workout. 

3 things are key to good health and longevity: 

Exercise, Good Nutrition, and Commitment.

Lifting Heavy is the Key to Weight Loss.  We know that losing fat involves increasing your metabolism. What you may not know is that muscle plays a huge role in raising metabolism. A pound of muscle burns about 10-20 calories a day while a pound of fat burns 5 calories. That means any growth in your muscle tissue is going to help you burn more calories all day long. In fact, strength training has all kinds of great effects on your body like:
·       Increasing resting metabolic rate so you burn more calories, even while at rest.

·      Making you lean and slim--muscle takes up less space than fat so, the more you have, the slimmer you are.
·     Strengthening bones and connective tissue, which can protect your body from injuries in daily life
·      Enhancing balance and stability
·      Building confidence and self-esteem

You are the only one that can change your health....only you can choose to eat healthy and exercise..hard to do? ---yes, can you do it yes---is it worth it...?

A healthy lifestyle is a choice. You have to choose it and you have to fight for it everyday.

PERSISTENCE
“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence.