By choosing the right pectoral exercises, you can throw together some extremely effective pectoral workouts that will ultimately force your chest to explode.  If your goal is to build a big muscular chest, then the upper body exercises that you choose are vital to the process.  If you piece together your chest workout with exercises that don’t fit certain criteria, then you really won’t be able to build your chest up quickly. In this article, I’m going to uncover the specific criteria that your chest exercises need to meet in order for you to stimulate some serious upper body growth, as well as list a few of my favorite pectoral building exercises.

Lets get on to one of the first things that I like to teach people about building their chest muscles up.  In order to stimulate upper body muscle growth, you absolutely need to perform muscle building exercises that meet certain conditions. First, the chest exercises that you choose, need to allow you to actually target your pectoral muscles. If you choose upper body exercises that place most of the emphasis on your shoulders, then your shoulders will be doing most of the work and in turn achieving the benefits of doing that work (you’ll stimulate muscle growth in your shoulders instead of chest growth). So you want to focus on movements that specifically target your chest muscles.  It’s ok if the chest exercises also incorporate your shoulders or triceps, but the main muscle group in the movement should definitely be your pectoral muscles.

The next piece of criteria that the pectoral exercises that you choose for your upper body workouts need to meet is that each of the exercise that you select need to allow you to move a fairly heavy amount of weight.  Lifting incrementally heavier weights over a full range of motion is precisely how you stimulate muscle growth, so it only makes sense that if you’re wanting to add size to your upper body muscles,  then you need to be training with heavy weights.

The next piece of criteria is something that most people completely overlook.  You’ve got to actually enjoy performing the pec exercises that you pick!  If you hate the exercises that you put into your upper body workouts, you’re not going to be able to hit your upper body as hard as you’d be able to if you really enjoyed performing the upper body exercise in the first place, so make sure to stick with  a few of the chest exercises that you actually enjoy. Sometimes you’ve got no choice but to perform a few chest exercises that you don’t really like, but try not to build your pectoral workouts around these pectoral exercises, instead find a few that you really like and slip them into the workout.

Listed below are a few of my favorite upper body exercises ( in no particular order). After looking over this list of exercises, I can honestly say that approximately 95% of all of my pectoral workouts are composed of these highly effective pectoral exercises. Once in a long while, I’ll work in a few sets of cable crossovers, but that really about it.

The Best Pectoral Exercises

1. DB Bench Press
2. Bench Press
3. Incline Press
4. DB Incline Press
5. Push Up
6. Chest Dips
7. Dumbbell Flyes
8. Decline Bench Press
9. DB Decline Bench Press

If you’re one of the hundreds of guys out there who really wants to build a bigger, more muscular chest, then make sure that your pec workouts are composed of the most effective pectoral exercises!  The majority of your chest  workouts should be created around the short list of chest exercises listed above.  If you follow no other advice than to simply make sure that your upper body  workouts are designed with exercises that fit the criteria outlined in this article, you’ll begin to build a bigger chest in no time at all.

The bent over row is one of the basic bread and butter exercises for upper and middle back development. For some time now, power lifter and bodybuilders have been performing the bent over row as a way to increase the size and strength of the muscles in the middle to upper back. If you’re looking to pack on some bulk and shape to your upper body, then the bent row is an important exercise that you must fit into your lat workouts.

Targeting the Latissimus Dorsi, the bent over row combines the potent muscle building benefits of allowing you to train through a complete range of motion with a  heavy weight and allowing you to target your latisimus dorsi with targeted accuracy and move closer to the classic V-shape taper that you really want! While most of the best best weight lifting exercises allow you to train multiple muscle groups at the same time, the bent row doesn’t allow any other body parts to steal the show and cut into the amount of work that your lats do.  This is one of the big benefits to incorporating barbell rows into your back workouts. The heavy weights that you can perform this exercise with allow to to really hammer your lats.

Muscles Stimulated During The Bent Over Row

Aside from the Latissimus Dorsi, there are a few other muscles that carry a some of the load.  To complete this movement the Brachialis, Posterior Deltoid,Teres Major,Brachioradialis and Biceps Brachii all contribute, but the vast majority of the load is carried by the latissimus dorsi. When performed with decent form, the bent row uses very few of the muscles listed above, but when performed with poor form, it is one of those exercises that can start to push a lot of the load from the target muscle group to the secondary muscle groups.  that’s just one of the reasons that it’s so important to learn how to perform bent rows properly.

How To Perform The Bent Row

1. Grasp the Barbell with an overhand grip with your hands spaced slightly wider than shoulder width.  Spread your feet shoulder width apart and bend your knees slightly. Lean forward at the waist at approximately a 45° angle. Make sure to keep your back straight during the full range of the movement. If you’re body is aligned properly, then the bar should be positioned just above your knee prior to beginning the exercise.

2. Pull the bar up to the lower portion of your chest, making sure to keep your core muscles contracted (in order to stabilize your spine). When properly performed, you will basically be lifting your elbows up towards the sky while holding your upper body in a stationary position.

While performing this exercise, you should feel the muscles in your upper back working. The lats are located along both sides of the spine along your back. In order to ensure that you are targeting the lats properly, it helps to think about the muscles that you are using (or supposed to be using) and to attempt to pull your shoulder blades up and back at the top of the exercise, this will force your latissimus dorsi to contract if it isn’t already engaged.  Once you feel the muscles that are supposed to be performing the bulk of the work during bent over rows, then it becomes easier to make small adjustments to your form to ensure that the right muscles are being targeted.

3.  Allow the bar to move back down to the starting position in a slow and controlled manner, but still focus on using your lats to complete the eccentric portion of the lift.

As with all free weights exercises varying the position of your grip will allow you to target different parts of your middle and upper back. If you perform barbell rows with an overhand grip, you will place an emphasis on the lower part of the trapezius and your rhomboids. While performing the bent over row with an underhand grip will place most of the emphasis on the upper portion of the trapezius and the biceps brachii.

If you’re looking to increase the size and strength of your middle and upper back, then bent over rows should be a major part of your back workouts.  Not only will you be able to target your lats with laser precision and take a step towards acquiring the v-taper upper body, but you’ll be able to train with a heavy enough weight to make a noticeable difference quickly.

If you’re trying to gain muscle mass naturally, then there is no doubt you understand the importance of eating enough high quality muscle building protein. If you’re searching for a way to add additional sources of bodybuilding protein to your diet without having to choke down more chicken breast, ground beef or whey protein powder, then egg white protein may be a good choice.  While egg protein has been a staple of a well balanced bodybuilding diet for decades, for some strange reason, it seems that egg protein has fallen out of favor in the bodybuilding community over the past 2 – 3 years. Kind of strange when you begin to look at the benefits of consuming egg whites, whole eggs and egg protein powders.

Egg White Protein High Quality Or Not?

Egg whites are definitely one of the most (and quite possibly the most) complete sources of bodybuilding protein. Combining at least 8 types of protein, it would be virtually impossible to find any other naturally occurring form of protein that even comes close to the diverse protein arrangement of eggs. To give you an idea of just how high the quality of protein found in eggs is, when every other form of dietary protein is analyzed in a laboratory for protein quality, it’s measured against the high quality protein profile found in eggs!

Aside from containing impressive doses of protein, whole eggs and egg whites are an amazing source of vitamins including: vitamin A vitamin E, and vitamin K. As well as various B vitamins such as vitamin B12, riboflavin and folic acid.

Whole eggs also contain all eight of the amino acids which are essential to the rest and recovery process following heavy duty body building workouts. With high doses of muscle building protein being a top priority for everyone who wants to pack on mass, egg whites protein and whole egg protein in general, may very well be one of the most complete and versatile foods around.

Why I Like Whole Egg And Egg White Protein

There are certainly a ton of options these days for both high quality whole food protein sources and supplemental proteins; I always recommend to at least try to include as many different types of protein into your diet as you can.  As far as whole eggs go, not only are they nutritious and easy to cook, but they taste great!  Even when I’m in a cutting phase of a bodybuilding program, I always try to mix in some eggs in the form of omelets, scrambled eggs or good old fashioned fried or poached eggs.

When it comes to egg white protein, I absolutely love them because they are an extremely low calorie source of protein that is versatile to cook with.  Egg whites can be whipped into oatmeal, added into omelets, or hard boiled and incorporated into thousands of dishes easily. If I’m ever in a situation where I need to increase my protein intake but also cut calories, egg whites are always my first choice.

What About Egg Protein Powders?

Egg protein powders are a great way incorporate the full spectrum of proteins found in eggs without the hassle of actually having to prepare them beyond mixing them into an omelet or shake.  It’s also important to keep in mind that while food sources of protein are typically higher quality than supplemental powders due to the fact that the supplements have been refined and processed to some degree.

That said, it’s awfully hard to find a more convenient way to get in some extra protein throughout the day. If you’re one of those people who just doesn’t like to eat eggs or mess around with the inconvenience of separating your egg whites each day, then egg white protein powders may be a good choice for you.  I personally like to use egg white powders whenever I’m on the road or get too busy to cook my meals. Whey protein and egg protein powders can be a real convenience whenever you start to slip off of your bodybuilding diet.

If you’re trying to piece together an efficient muscle building nutrition plan and you understand the importance of incorporating different sources of whole food and supplemental protein into your diet, then whole eggs, egg whites and egg protein powders should get some serious consideration.  Not only are eggs delicious and easy to prepare and delicious, but they are affordable and contain the “gold standard” of naturally occurring protein quality!

As much as you’ve probably been trying to avoid it, the summer has slithered up to nip us in the bud yet again. If you’re like most of us, in order to hit the beach (or pool) this summer feeling fit and confident, you’ll definitely need to lose some weight.

In order to help you achieve your fitness related goals, I have outlined the process of creating an amazing, effective exercise workout plan. If followed, this process will certainly increase your chances of hitting the beach this summer feeling great about the way you look!

Clearly Define Your Goals

The first step, (and arguably most important), step in the process is simply taking the time to clearly identify your goals.

If you have no idea of where you are going, how can you possibly expect to get there?

Broad goals like, “I want to lose some weight” or “I want to finally get into shape”, are not nearly as defined as they need to be. Take the time to think about what it is that you really want to accomplish. If you want to lose weight, define exactly how much. If you want to lose fat, define the exact amount that you would like to lose. As simple as this seems, you would be surprised at the amount of people who do not take the time to clearly think this through before jumping into the fire.

Choose Your Fitness Activity

After you have clearly defined your goals, you will need to decide upon the best method for you to accomplish them. This is not an easy task as everyone is different and has different preferences, tolerances and requirements. If your goal is fitness related, it usually goes without saying that you will need to add some sort of exercise or fitness related activity to your everyday life.

This is the time to explore different types of fitness activities. There are literally thousands of possibilities ranging from Pilates, Yoga and Spinning classes in a commercial gym, to simply jumping rope or lifting weights in your garage or basement. None of the options out there are completely worthless, just as none of the options out there are a do-all, be-all solution for everybody.

It is true that some types of exercises and activities are better suited for certain goals, but the focus should not only be on progress, but enjoyment and usability. In my opinion, the only totally worthless exercise workout plan on the face of the planet is an exercise plan that you do not follow!

Learn How To Prepare Your Mind For Your Exercise Workout Plan!

Plan Your Schedule

Now that you know exactly where you are going and what form of exercise you are going to use to get there, you will need to take the time to schedule your new fitness related activity.

Set aside time each day to perform a minimum of 20 minutes of physical activity. As your goals expand a bit, you will need to rearrange your schedule accordingly. Someone who desires to lose 2 lbs in 3 weeks can plan a fairly conservative approach to their exercise workout plan, while someone who desires to lose 25 lbs in 2 months; will need to take a more aggressive approach.

Some people prefer to exercise in the morning prior to starting their day while others enjoy sleeping in until they absolutely have to get up. Again, it simply does not matter when you perform your exercise. Running at high intensity in the morning will burn just as many calories as running at high intensity in the evening. The most important thing here is that you create a schedule that you will be able to stick with in the long run.

Put Your Plan Into Action

Put your new plan of attack into action. It does not matter how well you design an exercise workout plan, if you never follow it. The only way that you will see any results is by taking your exercise plan and following it religiously. Many of the results that you desire will not come until you have put in the time to perform your workouts on a consistent basis.

When it comes to losing weight quickly, easily and safely most people have no idea where to begin. Most start by committing to some sort of gimmicky weight loss diet. While eating healthy foods in moderation is certainly a great place to begin your weight loss efforts, the truth of the matter is that most fad diets simply don’t promote healthy weight loss habits.

As with many of the fad diets on the market today, you will initially begin to see some exciting results as you begin any new weight loss plan. This initial weight loss can be attributed to a few factors such as excitement over starting a new diet, beginning to monitor your calorie or food intake, and increasing water consumption to name a few.

The majority of these diets implement principles that are proven to aid in weight loss, but lead you to believe that you will only lose weight due to their “revolutionary weight loss secrets”.

If you truly want to lose some quick weight and keep it off for good, follow the tips outlined below!

Weight Loss Diet Tip #1 – Drink More Water

This is more of an overall health tip that will help your body feel better, recover quicker from exercise and stress, flush out toxins produced in your body and keep you from becoming dehydrated. Try to shoot for 1 gallon of water a day. Not only will you feel better, but this will also help you to feel fuller while restricting your calorie intake.

Weight Loss Diet Tip #2 – Monitor What You Currently Eat

In order to get where you want to go, you must first have a clear idea of where you are. Log everything that you eat throughout a 2 day period. Get a calorie counter at your local bookstore, or go online and visit : http://www.nutritiondata.com/.

Look up the calorie content, protein content, fat content, and carbohydrate content of each food that you eat on a daily basis. Total up the fat, carbohydrate, protein and calories that you are currently consuming each day and average the values.

Weight Loss Diet Tip #3 – Eliminate Unnecessary Junk Food and Other Empty Calories From Your Diet

For some people, this simple step is all that it will take to lose some quick weight. Look for anything that has minimal nutritional value and make the choice not to eat it on a daily basis anymore. In order to keep weight off long-term, adopt the motto: “eat to live, don’t live to eat”.

Make the commitment to yourself to eat only for nutritional value and energy, not to feel better emotionally.

Weight Loss Diet Tip #4 – Lower Your Daily Calorie Intake By 500 Calories

This should be enough of a reduction to allow for some immediate results in weight loss, but not so much that you throw your body into a state of shock. In order to lose weight and keep it off, the key is consistently and gradually lowering you calorie intake, while increasing your calorie expenditure.

Do not try to completely eliminate food from your life. If you take this approach, you will not lose weight! For some people, step #3 will eliminate enough calories that they will consume 500 calories less just by eliminating junk food from their diets.

“People who take a long term approach and focus on steady consistent progress, are the ones who will be able to permanently change their eating habits and consequently keep the lost weight off for good!”

Weight Loss Diet Tip # 5 – Eat Smaller More Frequent Meals Spread Out Every 2 – 3 Hours Throughout The Day

This will help to boost your metabolism while keeping you full of energy throughout the day. By eating smaller more frequent meals, you are forcing your body to process the foods that you eat when you eat them. This supplies a steady stream of energy throughout the day. As your body begins to process these more frequent meals, it also burns more calories adding to your calorie deficit.

Weight Loss Diet Tip # 6 – Perform Moderate Intensity Cardiovascular Exercise 4 Days Per Week For 20 -30 Minutes Per Session

This will cause your body to burn more calories, while increasing your cardiovascular (heart) and cardio pulmonary (heart and lung) health. By adding regular cardiovascular exercise to your regular routine, you will also improve your mood and sense of well being and take a huge step towards feeling better about yourself.

For More Great Fat Loss Tips Read The Body Fat Guide!

As you can see, permanent weight loss is not easy to achieve. It requires a consistent commitment to regular exercise, intelligent eating habits and determination to see your plan through to the end!

Put these weight loss diet tips to use and combine them with a fat loss workout program, you’ll be amazed by how quickly the pounds begin to melt off!

As each new year begins, many people have diets and fat loss on their minds.  Hopefully, most people realize that in order to lose body fat the best approach is to incorporate fitness and sensible nutritional practices into their lives to create a fat burning lifestyle.

In order to help distinguish between all of the gimmicky aerobic exercise fads floating around, I have compiled  a list of aerobic activities that I personally feel are the absolute best for fat loss.

Before we dive into the list, I know that there are a few questions that my clients regularly ask regarding aerobic activity. I would like to take the time to provide answers to some of the more common questions.

What is the definition of aerobic exercise?

In order to define aerobic exercise, we will need to take a look at the meaning of the word aerobic.  In it’s simplest form, the word aerobic means ‘with oxygen”.  So, aerobic exercise is simply exercise that requires the use of oxygen.  Think back to the last time you performed any type of aerobic workout, I would imagine that you were breathing heavily? right?  That is because during aerobic exercise, your body uses oxygen to create energy for you to complete the exercise session.  In essence, you are exercising “with oxygen”.

What are the health benefits of aerobic exercise?

There are many reported health benefits associated with aerobic exercise. Some of the most common are:  Reduced blood pressure, increased HDL (good) cholesterol, decrease in total cholesterol, decrease in body fat, increased aerobic work capacity, decreased symptoms of depression and anxiety and increased heart function.

With those common questions answered, here is my short list of aerobic activities for fat loss…

Aerobic Activity #1 – Jogging

I know that this seems obvious and boring, but that is exactly why I believe that it is one of the best.

Many people simply ignore this type of exercise, thinking that a fancy elliptical trainer or exercise bike is better.  This is simply not true.  The other main benefit of walking or jogging, is that you can perform it anywhere in the world. There is no need for fancy equipment. Just buy some comfortable walking / running shoes and your off.

Aerobic Activity #2 – Swimming

Many people simply can not walk or jog without pain and discomfort due to joint troubles.  This is where the benefits of swimming as an aerobic exercise come in to focus.

Swimming is one of the only non weight bearing exercises that provides an adequate cardiovascular workout. Not only that, but sometimes it’s just plain fun to swim on a hot summers day.

Aerobic Activity #3 – Walking

The benefits of walking at a brisk pace have recently come to light in the medical and fitness communities.  Studies suggest that you can get many of helath benefits associate with jogging by simply walking at brisk pace a few days a week.

The main benefit of this type of exercise, is that while it is still weight bearing.  The stress placed on the joints is not as intense as in jogging.  This opens the door to people who otherwise would not be able to participate in any kind of aerobic activity.

Aerobic Activity #4 – Biking

Whether mountain biking, street biking or simply riding an exercise bike in your local gym, biking can add variety and excitement to your aerobic fitness program.  As with some of the other aerobic activities listed above, while somewhat weight bearing, biking traditionally places less stress on the joints of the lower body.

Aerobic Activity #5 – Roller blading, roller skating or ice skating are all great aerobic activities that can add variety and fun to your exercise routine.

While thoughts of graceful figre skaters may not conjure up images of aerobic exercise, ice skating, roller blading and roller skating will not only get your heart pumping, but will make you work muscles that you never knew existed!

While this list will get you moving in the right direction, it is important to spice up your weight loss exercise programs by regularly performing a variety of new and more challenging cardiovascular activities!

When it comes to permanent or sustained weight loss, it is important to understand that no single factor will cause you to lose weight.

In order for a weight loss or fat loss program to be successful, you must implement a number of time-proven weight loss principles that include:

• Eating a well balanced diet,
• Performing some type of regular weight loss exercise program
• Paying attention to proper rest and recovery
• Drinking enough water each day…

…And maintaining an active lifestyle away from the gym!

All of these things in unison create the environment for permanent fat loss.

No principle alone will allow you to lose weight and keep it off!

So to answer the question: ” How much water do I need to drink to lose weight ?”
My answer is somewhere between drinking as much as you can and 1 gallon a day.

If you can, drink 1 gallon a day. If 1 gallon is simply too much for your body, focus on consuming as much water as you can throughout the day.

If you are serious about weight loss, you should be eating 5-6 smaller meals throughout the day. Drink 1 glass/ bottle of water with every meal and 1 large glass/bottle in between every meal throughout the day.

If you are performing regular exercise, drink water before, during and immediately following any workout. This will help to ensure that you are replacing any water lost during exercise sessions.

As far as weight loss is concerned, drinking water alone will not cause fat to fall off of your body.

What consuming water will do is allow for proper hydration. You will be able to feel a difference in your skin, joints and overall level of health.

Water will allow you to replenish what you lose during exercise and day to day life. Water will also help your body rid itself of toxins and waste.

Hopefully you can see the importance of consuming adequate amounts of water throughout the day.

Not only will you feel better, but your body will be able to function more efficiently.

As far as weight loss is concerned, drinking water throughout the day will help you to feel fuller while on a restricted, balanced diet.

10 Weight Training Diet Tips
For Unbelievable Fat Loss!

Have you recently begun a free weights workout program for fat loss only to find that you simply are not progressing toward your goals as quickly as you would like? If so, it may be time to consider fine tuning your nutritional strategy.

While some people certainly can achieve impressive fat loss results by simply adding exercise to their daily lives, the honest truth is that most of us also need to pay close attention to what we eat in order to achieve any lasting fat loss.

This article outlines 10 weight training diet tips that are geared toward fat loss. Read them, take them in and make it your goal to implement a few these weight training diet tips each week. Before you know it, you’ll be shedding body fat and feeling great!

Weight Training Diet Tips For Fat Loss

Diet Tip #1 - Keep a food diary of everything you eat. This is the first step to acquiring a new, healthier life style. Lets be honest here, if you don’t know exactly what you are currently eating, how can you expect to make any significant changes to you lifestyle and diet?

Start by writing down everything that you eat for one week. Look up and record the nutritional values of each food on the list. By following through with this exercise, you should know exactly how many calories, grams of fat, grams of carbohydrate and grams of protein you have consumed during the previous week. Now you have a place to start.

Diet Tip #2 - Wait no more than two hours between meals or snacks. This will help to stabilize your metabolism. ideally, you will want to eat every two to three hours throughout the day. This will help to provide you with sustained energy levels throughout the day as well kicks tart your metabolism.

Diet Tip #3 - Beware of misleading claims. Reduced fat merely means that the item has 25% less fat. Use common sense. If something “normally” contains 300 fat grams, then reduced fat means it still has over 200 grams of fat!

Diet Tip #4 - When eating in a restaurant, ask for a child’s portion or ask to have the meal split and have the second half packaged as takeout. Simply put, pay attention to what you are eating.

Diet Tip #5 - To making certain you are getting the right nutrition from your vegetables, alternate the colors from day to day. One day eat fresh yellow and orange vegetables like squash, pumpkin, and carrots then switch to green the next day, like spinach, or dark leafy lettuces.

Diet Tip #6 - If you frequent a specific restaurant, ask to take a menu home so you can study what they offer and plan your meals out.

Diet Tip #7 - Ask yourself if you really tasted and enjoyed that last bite of food. If your answer is no, it’s time to slow down.

Diet Tip #8 - Steer Clear of fast food restaurants. Most of their food is 40 to 50 percent fat. Many are finally wising up, however, and you can get salads, plain hamburgers or grilled chicken. You can also ask for the restaurant’s nutritional information.

Diet Tip #9 - If you enjoy eating pizza, visit restaurants that offer salads and pizza by the slice. Don’t order pizza with meat. Stick with vegetable toppings and, if possible, a wheat crust. Some pizza places do offer that option.

Diet Tip #10 - Low fat foods may seem less flavorful when you first try them, but you will find yourself getting used to them after some time. Add zip to your meals with lots of herbs and spices like basil, garlic, ginger, onion powder tarragon and oregano. Vary the spices and come up with your own combinations.

If you are serious about shedding unwanted body fat, implementing just a handful of these weight training diet tips can help you achieve remarkable fat loss success. Start slowly by trying out a few tips a week until they become second nature to you. Before you know it, you’ll be living a healthier lifestyle and enjoying your learn muscular body!

So…What Is Aerobic Activity Anyway?

In it’s most simplistic definition, aerobic activity is defined as any activity that is performed “with oxygen”.

Aerobic exercise therefore encompasses a wide range of activities that all require the use of oxygen to create energy for the body to complete the exercise.

Aerobic conditioning is the cornerstone of most weight loss and fat loss fitness programs, because it causes your body to burn more calories, thereby increasing your metabolic rate. This increased metabolic rate, combined with a well balanced nutrition plan, will force your body into a calorie deficit and promote natural, healthy fat loss.

Some common aerobic exercises include walking at a brisk pace, jogging, swimming, step aerobics, jumping rope, running on a treadmill, or performing an elliptical cross trainer workout.

Some important things to keep in mind when trying to put together an aerobic conditioning program include duration of exercise, intensity of exercise and frequency of exercise. (how long, how fast, and how often).

Aerobic exercise routines have been around for many years, but were popularized and brought to the mainstream in the early 1980′s. Since then many people have wondered exactly how aerobic activity can help the cardiovascular system.

The Cardiovascular System

The cardiovascular system is made up of the heart, blood, and blood vessels. The cardiovascular system is your body’ s delivery system. Blood moving from the heart, delivers oxygen and nutrients to every part of the body. On the return trip, the blood picks up waste products so that your body can get rid of them.

So exactly how does aerobic activity help the cardiovascular system?

Aerobic activity helps the cardiovascular system in a number of ways…

First it increases the workload of the cardiovascular system as a whole. This increased workload conditions the muscles and organs of the cardiovascular system, making them more efficient. This increased efficiency results in the muscles of your cardiovascular system having to perform less work to transport more blood and oxygen to your body at rest.

One of the health benefits of aerobic exercise is the fact that regular aerobic exercise causes your heart to enlarge. As a result, the heart increases its blood stroke volume. With increased blood stroke volume, comes greater oxygen uptake. Greater oxygen uptake causes Oxygen to be utilized by your body more efficiently.

When oxygen is utilized by your body more efficiently, you will…

• Burn more fat during any type of exercise. Again, as your body becomes more efficient at utilizing oxygen, you will begin to notice a positive body composition change, more muscle and less fat.

• Increase you endurance and allow for faster recovery from exercise, allowing you to perform more intense aerobic workouts, at more frequent intervals.

• Lower your blood pressure and resting heart rate, increase in good cholesterol and decrease in bad cholesterol, and a reduced risk in developing diabetes and other diseases. These are major reasons why regular cardiovascular conditioning is promoted so often throughout the health, fitness and medical fields.

When your cardiovascular system is in good condition, your resting heart rate,(number of times your heart beats at rest), slows. A resting heart rate of less than 60 beats per minute is an indicator of good health.

There are many other reported health benefits of aerobic exercise. Some of the most common are: Reduced blood pressure, increased HDL (good) cholesterol, decrease in total cholesterol, decrease in body fat, increased aerobic work capacity, decreased symptoms of depression and anxiety and increased heart function.

Regular aerobic conditioning can also help people who are coping with emotional and psychological stresses. As you perform a cardiovascular workout, your body releases endorphins into your blood stream. A high concentration of endorphins in the blood, has been shown to increase your mood and overall sense of wellbeing, typically leading to an improved self image.

So what are you waiting for…Put on your shorts and go for a jog today!

10 Tips To Help You Burn Fat &
Keep It Off For Good!

Have you tried all of the new diets for quick weight loss only to find that you haven’t lost any weight at all?

Rest assured…you’re not alone!

With obesity rates rising and new diets for quick weight loss popping up every day, confusion about healthy fat loss is at an all time high.

If you’re one of the thousands of people out there who is simply trying to discover what works and what doesn’t when it comes to safe, healthy weight loss, here are ten tips to get you moving toward your goals!

New Diets For Quick Weight Loss Tips

1. Use fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables, instead of canned or processed veggies. Canned vegetables are alright if you don’t have any other options, but generally include more sodium than you will want to consume. By the time they are canned and processed, they have lost much of their nutritional value.

2. Eat more yogurt. Yogurt contains quality protein and when mixed with fresh fruit, contains carbohydrate. This gives you the muscle building power of quality protein as well as sustained energy levels throughout the day!

3. Focus on consuming healthy lean protein sources like boneless skinless chicken breast, skinless turkey breast, tuna, salmon, skim milk and low fat cottage cheese. These foods contain an amazing amount of quality protein with very little excess fat.

4. You don’t have to give up dessert, just get more creative with it. Try mixing fresh fruits with low fat yogurt. Strawberries and blueberries mixed with vanilla yogurt is my personal favorite!

5. Eat more vegetables. Try mixing and matching fresh vegetables for variety. Not only do vegetables contain valuable nutrients, but the contain very few calories. This means that you can eat more of them without blowing your diet!

6. Steam your veggies instead of boiling them. They’ll taste better and you’ll retain more of their nutritional value.

7. When baking, applesauce makes a great substitute for shortening. Not only does applesauce moisten baked goods, but it also ads unique flavor.

8. Prepare foods in different ways. Instead of traditional frying, try stir-fry and use a low fat spray or a non-stick pan.

9. Make your own potato chips. It’s simple. Thinly slice a large baking potato and place in a single layer on a cookie sheet sprayed with low fat aerosol spray. Spray the slices lightly as well. Sprinkle with paprika and any other spice of your choosing. Bake in a 400 degree oven for thirty minutes making sure to turn once. ‘Voila! Your own home baked potato chips and a great snack.

10. Switch from cream of wheat cereal to oatmeal. The whole grain in oatmeal is much better for you and won’t leave you hungry an hour later like the cream of wheat. Oatmeal is a complex carbohydrate. This means that it provides slow released sustained energy throughout the day, rather than the fast fading quick bursts of energy that you get from simple carbohydrates.

If you’re getting ready to begin a fat loss diet, a great place to start is by implementing a few of these quick weight loss diet tips into your daily routine. Before you know it, you will be well on your way to lasting fat loss!