Exercise - Lift Weight to Loose Weight!

In your quest to lose weight and stay fit, it’s pretty much common knowledge that cardio is a great way to burn fat while increasing your cardiovascular health as well. But, when you’re busy working out your cardio program, don’t forget to also include some weight training! Studies have shown that strength training plays an important role in ridding the body of extra weight.

Sure, aerobic exercise burns calories, but the body’s metabolism quickly returns to pre-exercise levels, usually within 30 minutes or so. Yet researchers at Johns Hopkins University have found that resistance training actually leads to increased calorie burning for up to two hours after the workout is over. In the study, research lead Carol A. Binzen and colleagues recruited 10 moderately trained women to perform three sets of 10 exercises at 10-repetition maximum with a one-minute rest period between each set. They found that fat burning was significantly higher after the strength-training session.

Why? Simple. If you lift weights, and eat healthy, you will increase your muscle mass. Which picks up your metabolism, burning fat! But, one thing to keep in mind is that weight training often results in a corresponding increase in weight due to increased muscle mass. While men usually don’t have a problem with that (since we’re suppose to have muscles!), unfortunately many women abandon their strength-training efforts, opting instead for strictly cardiovascular activities. There is this myth that as a woman, if you lift weights, you will gain muscle like a man. Those female bodybuilders you see – well, without either a bizarre hormone balance, or testosterone supplements, women won’t put on muscle like a man.

So, don’t give up your cardio workouts….just don’t forget to add some weights once in awhile! And, if you’re looking for help on finding weight lifting equipment, Fitness 4 Home Superstore can help!

Healthy Lifestyle - Don't Forget About Your Kids!

by Bob Lachniet
President - Fitness 4 Home Superstore

So, you try to eat healthy while keeping your weight down. But, what about your kids? Sure, when they’re at home, you have some control over how they eat. But, how can you make sure that when you’re not around, that they still follow healthy eating habits?

Now, of course, you can’t always keep an eye on them when they’re away from home. But are your pantry shelves have high-fat snacks and sugar-filled cereals that you’d never buy for yourself? And, have you worried about what the combination of peer pressure and your kids desire for fat-and-sugar filled snacks might be doing to their health?

Well, if you haven’t started to worry – you should. Kids today are fatter and less fit than previous generations. Between the mid-1960s and the late 1970s, obesity increased 54 percent among young children (ages six to 11) and 39 percent among adolescents (ages 12 to 17). Food companies spend millions of dollars on television advertising to convince children that high-fat, high-sugar, processed foods are worth eating. Food is consumed because it's cool, fun or comes with a free toy rather than for its impact on health or even for its taste!

You know where the easiest place to start is? Simpe - eat your words! The fact is that parents who have adopted a lifestyle that includes healthful foods and regular exercise are living role models for their children. The habits and behaviors that you exhibit at home have the proven benefit of carrying over to your kids. But, it won’t happen overnight.

The first step is to stop battling with your kids about food. Take it slow, and introduce reasonable alternatives as you gradually reduce those high-fat, high-sugar foods. Be sure to include some of their favorite foods in daily meals.

Make sure that the majority of the items you have in your pantry are healthy. Keep cut up veggies in your refrigerator, for example. Cut back on butter – if they want popcorn, either air pop it, or purchase plain microwave popcorn – and sprinkle it with low-fat, grated parmesan cheese.

Also, get them involved with both shopping and cooking. Look for cookbooks that have their favorite recipes, but in a healthy format – if they learn how to cook healthy, those habits will stay with them.

And, don’t forget to let them have their favorite foods on occasion. If they’re never allowed to eat them, they’ll look for every chance to sneak them behind your back (just like we all did when we were kids!). Having them once in awhile might actually make them feel a little bit guilty once in awhile – and over time, can help keep them following healthy dietary habits!

Exercise – Cardio Tips

So, you’re either planning on starting a cardio program, or you’re wondering whether or not you’ve put together an effective cardiovascular exercise plan. Here’s some tips you can use to make sure you’ve build a plan that works best for you!

First, your goals and your body type will dictate how much cardio you need per week. If you’re trying to add muscle mass, and you’re naturally lean, you should keep your cardio sessions down to only one or two times per week. On the other hand, if you’re prone to storing fat, and one bite of carbohydrates seems to add inches to your hips – you might need 3 or more sessions per week to keep your figure! And, if your training for something like a marathon or triathlon – well, you should increase your frequency as you get ready for your event.

Also, if your goal is just general health, you might want to do long, slow runs on your treadmill. Keep in mind that if you’re not having fun, you won’t make it a habit, so make sure that you pick the type of workout that makes you happy! (And, if you’re not sure what type of workout you’d enjoy - a great way to figure that out is to stop by one of Fitness 4 Home Superstore’s 3 Phoenix-area locations!)

Next – decide what your overall goal is – fat burning or cardiovascular health. If your goal is fat burning, you might want to do moderate cardio workouts. Those are the type of workouts where your heart rate returns to normal within a short period after you complete your workout. If fat burning isn’t your goal, but maybe your looking to improve your time for an event your planning on entering, you want a more intense cardio workout, where your heart rate might be elevated for a couple of hours after your event. A great way to tell the difference is like this – if you can carry on a conversation while working out – that ‘s a moderate workout. If you can barely speak two or three word sentences…well, that’s intense!

Over time, your goal should be to move up to more intense workouts. Here’s why – in a moderate workout, your body will burn fat DURING the workout, but not after. In an intense workout, you won’t burn fat during the workout, but your body will burn fat AFTER the workout for hours! The reason for this is as your body gets more accustomed to intense workouts, your metabolism becomes more efficient at burning fat – so even if your treadmill or elliptical is set for cardio workouts, make sure you “up” the level of those workouts over time to help your body “learn” how to pick up your metabolism! But, always throw in a moderate workout once in awhile – it’s always good to keep your body guessing (and, the variety helps you stay motivated to keep working out!)

Your heart rate can provide you a lot of information about your training. Over time, your resting heart rate should decrease. By tracking your heart rate, you can monitor your effort. If you train today at 160bpm then have a lousy day and don’t feel like you’re receiving any benefit, use your heart rate as a guide. As long as you are pushing hard enough to hit that 160bmp mark again, you know you are getting at least the same intensity from your training as the time before.

One last thing – make sure you keep your workouts interesting by injecting variety into your plan. If you always use the treadmill, your body will become so efficient at using the treadmill that you will begin to burn fewer calories doing the same workout. On the other hand, if you perform treadmill work one session, elliptical on your next another session, then go for a bike ride, you will continue to see the benefit of increased calorie expenditure. This will keep the fat melting off and continuously improve your cardiovascular conditioning. And, don’t let yourself think that cardio isn’t necessary, since even when you’re in peak condition, a little cardiovascular exercise is always necessary for a healthy lifestyle. Just make sure you change the style and frequency of cardio to suit your lifestyle and fitness goals. Consider various styles of training, different terrains, and new types of equipment to train on. Learn what your body needs, keep a good journal, and find out what works for you!