Fitness

“Love handles” is a term often used to describe the extra bulges of fat along the sides of your waist. Getting rid of these little (or not-so-little) bulges of fat can be challenging!

There are several exercises that help you lose love handles:

Side Bends:

This exercise works the oblique muscles that are located on the sides of the abdomen. Standing with your feet approximately shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent and arms straight down at your sides, tuck your pelvis forward slightly to stabilize your lower back, and then gently lean your upper body to … read more

If you want to workout at home rather than in a gym, there are hundreds of different workout routines you can buy on DVD or video, which may be easier than working out on your own. With the DVDs, you get the feeling of working out with a group of people, but the freedom to work out in your own home on your own schedule. I will be giving you some buying advice for workout videos below…

Running for weight loss is simply one of the best aerobic activities you can do because it helps you burn a lot of calories and the more calories you burn, the more of a calorie deficit you create. However, running is a pretty intense exercise that isn’t for everyone.

If you are very overweight or out of shape, if you have joint problems, back problems, or respiratory problems, running probably isn’t the best choice for you and you may feel more comfortable with a low-impact exercise like walking, swimming or bicycling.

If you think you are strong enough … read more

Believe it or not, calorie-burning is not limited to your daily workout routine – there are endless ways to burn more calories in a day, and most of them can be quite fun! Try a few of these for starters:

- Join a dance class

Dancing is a great way to burn more calories, have fun and meet new people all at the same time. There are fun hip-hop classes so you can learn the … read more

When it comes to weight loss you may have wondered how often to exercise. Do you have to work out every single day, or should you allow a day or two of rest in between? And does it differ when you’re doing cardio workouts or weight training workouts?

Most experts say that weight training should not be done every day because resistance exercises that stress your muscles actually create small tears in the muscle fibers, and the muscles then need 24-48 hours to heal and repair themselves.

On the other hand, it’s generally safe to do cardio … read more

Do you remember how much fun it was to ride your bicycle when you were a kid? Would you believe that such a fun activity could also help you lose weight and maintain a healthier weight as an adult?

Bike riding and weight loss are actually a great combination! Riding a bike helps strengthen your leg muscles and buttocks, not to mention providing excellent cardiovascular benefits (provided you’re actually pedaling consistently, not just coasting).

You can burn between 300-500 calories per hour on a bicycle, depending how fast you go and how much you currently weigh. … read more

Walking is such a simple exercise, but it yields great fitness results when done properly. Before we get into how many calories are burned walking, it’s important to point out that “walking” in this context doesn’t mean a relaxed stroll. In order to burn maximum calories and rev up your metabolism, you’ll need to keep a nice, brisk pace for a certain length of time.

If you do not exercise regularly, please check with your doctor to be sure starting a daily walking program would be safe for you. If you are somewhat active already but not quite fit enough … read more

Pilates and weight loss: are they a match made in heaven? As far as exercise routines go, pilates can be a beneficial addition to your weight loss plan, simply because it helps sculpt your muscles to be long and lean. Long, lean muscles means a slender, lithe figure.

Even better, when you have more lean muscle mass, you boost your metabolism and burn more calories, which means easier weight loss over the long run.

Pilates also has plenty of other great benefits, like improving your posture, breath control, muscle strength, physical endurance, and balance. Not to mention helping … read more

One of the biggest excuses people use for avoiding regular exercise is that they don’t have time for it. In our busy, fast-paced world, who can spare 30 to 60 minutes a day for working out? You may be surprised by just how much of your day is “wasted” on non-essential activities that you could use for exercise – for most people it will be way more than 30 minutes.

Examples: You spend 2 hours getting ready for work in the morning, taking more than 30 minutes to iron your outfit, make and pack your lunch, and other … read more

Winter is usually a time when nature likes to sort of hibernate. We cant wait for spring to arrive and bring activity along with it. But, just because nature is in hibernation does not mean we have to be in hibernation as well. You can avoid putting on weight during the winter season by continuing to exercise in the winter! When spring arrives, you will be a step ahead of nature and everyone else.

The overcast weather and the cold air do make it difficult for you to get up in the mornings. So exercising in the winter seems totally … read more

A muscle gain plateau is something that many bodybuilders experience not long after making really good progress with their muscle gains. It’s basically when your muscle gains start to decrease and then stop altogether, despite the fact that you appear to be doing everything correctly. Sometimes, your muscles will even shrink. This is only for those people interested in body building!

What is actually happening is that your body has gotten used to your workout and will no longer react in the same way anymore.

Luckily, there are some ways to break through the muscle gain plateau and get back … read more

If you go to any online forums on fat loss, you will find heated discussions on the proper exercises to lose fat. You will also find that people take extreme sides: some say that high intensity interval training (HIIT) is the only way to lose fat, while others swear by LSC (long, steady cardio).

But as in any area of life, extremism is not healthy.

The ideal would be to combine both high intensity, short duration exercises with lower intensity, long duration exercises. In this way, you develop both the anaerobic and aerobic systems, and you lose fat while exercising (long term … read more

When you are trying to lose weight you will want to do more than just watch what you eat. While eating the right foods is a major part of achieving good weight loss results, you can’t forget the importance that exercise has on weight loss. When you exercise you burn calories, speed up your metabolism, and build muscle. The more muscle you build, the more calories your body will burn naturally. There are many ways to fit exercise into your day so that it doesn’t feel like a chore. The easier you make it on yourself to exercise, the better … read more

If you want to achieve one of those perfect midsection’s then you can do so without spending a lot of money on expensive equipment. As more and more people find themselves looking for less expensive means of achieving those six pack abs, more companies work to provide them with less expensive options. When you begin to look at ways of obtaining six pack abs, you will want to consider the less expensive choices out there since many of them can provide you with the same results as the more costly pieces of equipment.

Exercise Ball: The exercise ball is an excellent … read more

Everywhere that you look you will see advertisements for ways to achieve six pack abs. You will see advertisements boasting of amazing results in magazines, on TV, posted on buses, and on benches. These advertisements are on such items as creams, pills, belts, drinks, and various equipment. A lot of people want to see these amazing results on themselves so they wind up spending a lot of money on these products only to be disappointed after not seeing the results that they had been promised.

The truth is that there is no fast and simple way to get … read more