[The body is only an extension of the mind - and without the mind, it is only a shell.]

When I first started working out, I was surprised how I would always feel a workout in a completely different place than I was supposed to. I would try to work my chest with a bench press and feel it almost exclusively in my shoulders. Or I would feel leg lifts done for my abs on my legs and not my abs.

I found this incredibly discouraging. I was convinced that either every workout book, personal trainer and the entire internet was playing some kind of practical joke on me, or something was really wrong with my body. That was until I found out about something that would completely change how I approached working out…

Why You Need to Know About the Mind Muscle Connection…

The mind muscle connection is probably the most overlooked and important concept in fitness today. (Not to say that using bodybuilding supplements  (sponsored)  if you want to gain muscle is a bad idea.) The idea behind it is that your mind and body is linked, and the only way to properly stimulate a muscle group is by using your mind to target it. If you are not concentrating on flexing the muscle group you’re trying to target while completing an exercise – then there are good chances that you’re going to allow other muscles to over-compensate in the exercise and you’ll get a lot less out of it.

This is what happened to me when I first started working out, and it’s incredibly common for beginners who aren’t aware of this to get confused in the beginning when it comes to certain exercises. If you have a weak muscle group and you haven’t made a good mental connection with it. And then you go on and try to target it with a certain exercise – even if you have perfect form it’s very likely that your other muscles will take over in the exercise. Which is something that you don’t want.

How to Build the Mind-Muscle Connection

In order to build a proper mind muscle connection – you’re going to want to do isometric exercises that target the specific muscle group you’re trying to improve. For example, to start feeling your chest muscle raise your elbows and push your hands against each other while trying to flex your chest. For your abs, do a plank while feeling your ab muscles.

Using Your Mind to Strengthen Your Body…

There are a lot of tricks you can use to help strengthen your body and activate your muscles when working out. For instance, imagining that you’re trying to reach land when doing the rowing machine or catch a crook when doing sprints are good ways to motivate yourself to work harder. Sometimes a little imagination is all we need to give ourself that extra push.

And remember – one of the most important things in reaching your goals is workout routines.

Note: What do you think? Does our mind play a large influence on the workings of our body?

This guest post was written by Michael from Made4Fighters – the leading online supplier of MMA Gear.

Over the past few years the gym has gradually started to dominate more and more of my life. I have immersed myself in bodybuilding and it has become my primary interests.

It feels like there’s always somebody new asking me the very question that isn’t easily answered: what is the key behind increasing muscle size?

Hypertrophy is a vital ingredient to the nature of a bodybuilder, and is something that isn’t easily done without sheer dedication and a good insight into its best practice.

There are 5 aspects to hypertrophy that all beginners would work to if they are to be successful. These are:

•  Symmetry – Ensuring exercise is measured equally.
• Diet – Diet is KEY and the most important addition to a training programme (80% in fact)
• Technique – Your form and lifting techniques are vital
• Recovery – Allowing the body to heal
• Routine – The layout of your workout / weekly routine

1.     Symmetry

Symmetry to a bodybuilder is extremely important. Without having a perfect line of symmetry, vital points are lost in competition. Having one pec larger than the other, or one shoulder broader than the other isn’t a comforting thought, but there are ways we can work our body to ensure that these are easily avoided.

Personally, I believe the best way to prevent odd lines of symmetry are to make sure that weight is equally spread when using a barbell, ensuring your grip is widely placed an equal distance apart. A wonky stance or grip can add more weight (noticeably or un-noticeably) to one side of the body.

A key example of this can be a military press of wide-grip barbell curl – both easily carried out with incorrect grips and cause incorrect muscle growth.

Most bars have indentations or breaks in the grip showing the best position to grip the bar. When gaining the size, you need to gain the symmetry, a key to holding and constructing upon an excellent shape.

2.     Diet

I can’t stress enough how important the diet is to a body builder. Taking on the correct nutrition can be a gigantic challenge if you don’t know where to start.

As most of you know, protein plays one of the most important rolls in body growth and muscle recovery, so be sure to keep a healthy intake of protein (1g per pound of BODYWEIGHT).

This can be found in white and red meats, available in shakes and found also in Soya (There are more sources, don’t worry! Just to name a few..).

Healthy fats are also a key to size; taking on a good amount of mono-saturates and healthy fats found in seeds, nuts, meats and cottage cheese – this is a common factor to what we know as bulking.

These along with a healthy intake of Carbohydrates and Fibres pushing a good calorie count can add healthy size and bulk to help transform your body into a machine for muscle growth.

There is an excellent article I discovered some short time ago with an excellent beginners guide and an insight to a correct nutrition, you can read it here. (Simply Shredded contains a lot of brilliant information and reads so be sure to take some time and have a look!)

3.     Technique

Keeping a good form can be difficult, to gain a good form can be the general case of trial and error – we’ve all been there.

When I started lifting back in college, I had no clue. Only gradually through practise could I achieve a half decent form where I wasn’t doing any damage to my body.

My first tip on this would be to always ensure that your feet are shoulder width apart to keep a healthy posture throughout.

As I mentioned before in the symmetry section, equal grips are also vital in technique. This lays the foundation for maintaining a good balance when doing the more compound, full body movements such as squats, deadlifts and the military press.

With most of the weight being focused on in these 3 movements, there are a number of things to take on board (particularly with them being 3 of the greatest mass builders).

Your back must always be kept straight with your knees bent and your glutes forced backwards; this keeps excellent form throughout each movement guaranteeing you full benefit from the exercise, prevents any injuries and keeps the weight spread equally across the lower body to keep you from falling over.

Maintaining these movements can keep equal growth throughout.

4.     Recovery

Allowing your body to heal will give you quicker results. The saying “too much of any good thing, is a bad thing” is very apt here!

Overtraining can cause mass fatigue in your muscles and, if anything, cause you to lose size, purely because you begin burning muscle if you push too much.

Make sure you have at least 1-2 complete rest days a week with a healthy intake of food and your vital nutrition – so your proteins, carbs, fats etc. As well as this, a healthy amount of sleep and rest makes a huge impact.

Sleep is so important. We all know that it’s better to exercise and lift feeling fresh, awake and energetic as opposed to crawling through the front door in the gym and struggling on regular weights using an improper form. A good routine easily maps this out.

5.     Routine

Last but not least, a routine. Routines should be mapped out around you as an individual dependent upon your goals.

Through experience, I’ve found it easier to train certain muscle groups on certain days through a split routine, something structured around this:

• Day 1: Upper Body Power
• Day 2: Lower Body Power
• Day 3: Rest
• Day 4: Back and Shoulders Hypertrophy
• Day 5: Lower Body Hypertrophy
• Day 6: Chest and Arms Hypertrophy
• Day 7: Rest

But that’s just me. Be sure to include those rest days and make sure that you’re not overtraining certain muscle groups.

Happy Training!

Stay-at-home parents, people without active gym memberships, and anyone squeezed for extra time can really take advantage of home fitness routines in order to stay active and healthy.  Though most houses and apartments aren’t outfitted with all of the fitness equipment commonly available at local gyms, there are a number of exercises you can do to keep yourself in shape without all the pricey extras.  Even though many exercises can be performed and mastered without the use of fitness equipment, an avid home exerciser will still need a few supplemental aids to help with his or her routine.  Below, we’ll go over a few pieces of fitness equipment one should keep at home for those small periods when exercise is possible between work, meals, school, and sleep.

Jump Rope

If you don’t have a treadmill, stationary bike, or elliptical machine at home, it can be hard to keep up with your personal aerobic fitness.  Weight loss and maintenance often depends on aerobic exercise and raised heart rates, so unless you plan on doing jumping jacks or running in place all day, you’ll want something to help you with your aerobics.  A jump rope is the perfect accessory for home fitness, as it’s cheap, easy to store just about anywhere, and is versatile in its uses.  You can easily keep track of your day-to-day changes in endurance as well by counting your number of jumps.

Exercise Ball

Though not as easily hidden from view as a jump rope, an exercise ball is still readily stored and cheap to purchase.  Using an exercise ball, one can work on several abdominal exercises for core strengthening, thanks primarily to the build of the ball and the optimal amount of give it provides.  If you do a variety of stretches as well, a ball can be a perfect tool for accomplishing more difficult ones.  So if you want a tight abdominal region or just need some stretching assistance, exercise balls are the way to go.

Free Weights

So most people won’t be able to fit an entire weight bench in their homes, but keeping a few free weights in the closet or under the bed is easy enough for most people to manage.  Free weights are versatile, and you can use them for a wide variety of arm and chest muscle building.  You’ll want to get ones with different weights to them, so that you’ll be able to perform various exercises at optimal weight resistance.  Just be sure not to drop one on your toes!

While I have nothing against pharmaceutical companies like the Canadian Online Pharmacy, after all – the medical revolution has helped save millions of lives. I do think there is something very good to be said about taking care of yourself with walking, exercise, eating healthily – and yes, even vitamins. As they say, prevention is the best form of treatment.

That being said, there tend to be two strands of thought on the whole vitamin good or bad for you thing. There are the people who love them, and then some pharmaceutical companies who seem to be against them.

A recent study done that claimed to have evidence against vitamins was interesting for it’s complete lack of a control group, and as I understand in science is known as the least dependable of all the kinds of studies to be done on vitamins. In fact, it seems logical that taking vitamins that your body needs will indeed help your overall health.

And of course, many people blamed big pharma for the media attention such a study received – especially when it is a “study” done without any control groups. I’ve heard that studies like this can be shown to prove anything the researcher wants it to prove – and thus aren’t really trustworthy.

And you know what? Maybe “the people” are right. Maybe “big pharma” is right. But maybe, just maybe – there are people who don’t differentiate between “conventional” and “natural” medicine, and just focus on figuring out what works in each individual case, and not worrying about the label.

Here’s to being optimistic about a future where people are open minded, thoughtful, and honest when it comes to helping save and improve lives.

Cheers,

Rafi

Are you looking to tone and strengthen your stomach? Well, you came to the right place-  because I am going to show you the PERFECT workout to get in great shape and really tone that belly. Here’s how:

When looking to burn off fat, the critical component here is to put your body in the “fat-burning zone”. To help with that, I’m going to recommend a special training technique called High Intensity Interval Training, or HIIT.
The idea behind HIIT is simple. By getting your heart beat up in a workout, you increase your body’s metabolism for a limited amount of time, allowing you to burn calories even when the workout is better. Now, here is a little more information about these exercises for belly fat:
We’re going to combine sprinting with body weight workouts, for a full toning and burning effect.

Here’s the workout:

• From 2-8 60 meter sprints depending on your level. 30 seconds to 1 minute of rest in between and light stretching. Before you start, do a 5 minute jog for a warm up:
• 100% max push ups, Rest for 30 seconds.
• 80% max push ups. Rest for 30 seconds.
• 50% max push ups. Rest for 30 seconds.
• 1 minute plank.
• 100% max pull ups. Rest for 30 seconds.
• 50% max pull ups. Rest for 30 seconds.
• 50% max pull ups. Rest for 30 seconds.
• 1 minute side plank (right side).
• 1 minute side plank (left side).
• Walk briskly for 5 minutes to cool down. This is the end of the fat burning workout.

This workout is pretty amazing for toning a stomach and burning fat. Enjoy!

How To Lose Fat In 4 Simple Steps

Losing fat is simple. I know that’s a bold claim, but there are only four steps involved in losing fat. I’ll even go as far as saying that these are the only four steps that work for fat loss. So with that grand introduction, let’s get to it. . .

1. Eat real food. In my opinion, real food consists of vegetables, fruit, meat, eggs, and nuts. And that’s about it. If you can’t eat it raw or cooked with nothing more than a pointy stick and an open flame, then you probably shouldn’t eat it if you want to lose fat. That means getting rid of the dairy, pasta, bread, rice, and beans. And it definitely means steering clear of any processed junk like cakes and cookies. Here’s another simple tip: if it comes in a box or a wrapper, don’t eat it.

2. Train outside of your comfort zone. We can debate about long slow cardio and interval training. We can go back and forth about machines versus free weights. But here is the bottom line: you must always try to do more work than you did previously. This can come in many forms from moving heavier weight, to doing more reps, to completing a workout in less time. The key is to continually push yourself to higher levels.

3. Recover. The body needs rest to repair itself between workouts. The most important component of rest is sleep. Rather than prescribe an exact number of hours of sleep you should get each night I’ll say this – get as much sleep as you can. Stress management is also an important factor for recovery. So whether you take a walk in nature, meditate, play with your dog, or get a message, stress reduction techniques should be employed.

4. Repeat with consistency. You didn’t gain your belly in a day and you won’t get rid of it in a day. It takes consistent application of the principles above to reduce you belly fat over time. But with dedicated effort you can reach your fat loss goals.
 

I started this article by saying that fat loss is simple. And by simple I mean that there are no complicated formulas or intricate moving parts. Knowing what to do is not the problem, it is the application where so many fail. Yes, fat loss is simple. But simple does not mean easy.
 

Vic Magary has been a fitness trainer for over 10 years helps people lose belly fat with his best selling program, the 31 Day Fat Loss Cure.

Medical science is finding out more and more that belly fat. Why? Because a large waist can be a sign of dangerous fat surrounding a person’s organs. This fat is called visceral fat or intra-abdominal fat.

Among other things, this kind of fat has been linked with:

• High Cholestrol
• High Insulin
• High Triglycerides
• High Blood Pressure

I know that for “vanity reasons”, everyone wants to get a flat, toned stomach. But it turns out there’s more to it than now. Frankly speaking, belly fat can be dangerous, period. There’s a reason everyone is looking for ways to get rid of it.

Here’s a video where even Dr. Oz is warning people about the dangers of belly fat:

There are a lot of ways to trim off the belly-fat. High intensity Interval Training, swimming, running – they’re all good. But ultimately your DIET is going to be the ultimate factor in trimming off the fat.

Now for those of you who dieting comes more easily – you can just watch your calorie in-take and by eating 500 calories less per day, you’ll lose a pound a week or even more.  A great free resource to help you lose weight this way is the United States Nutrient Database.

However, for those of you who have some trouble dieting and are looking for something that can really help you, I highly recommend you check out this Belly Fat Diet.

——>Find out more here.<——

Hey guys, this is a guest post on fasting for weight loss by my friends over at TheFatLossAuthority. Enjoy!

Fasting for Weight Loss – Fat Loss Success or Foolish Trend?

If you’ve been trying to lose weight within the last few years chances are that you’ve heard a few people talk about fasting as a way to lose weight. Although some scoff at the idea that fasting can help you lose weight, many have experienced significant and ongoing weight loss.

Fasting intermittently is the best method of fasting for weight loss, but there is much more to fasting than simply not eating for a set period of time. Keep reading to find out how fasting for weight loss could benefit you!

What Is Fasting?

Simply put, fasting is when you go without food (or drink) for a set period of time.

When it comes to fasting for weight loss, dieters have to decide which method of fasting works best for them. There is the absolute fast where you completely abstain from eating foods and sustain yourself through liquids and vitamins, and there’s temporary intermittent fasting.

Intermittent Fasting

The intermittent fast however allows you to abstain from food for a few days at a time, again sustaining yourself through liquid nutrition, as a means to break your addiction to food.

Intermittent fasting for weight loss is the best method because it doesn’t force you to go through physical and mental extremes associated with long-term fasts. Intermittent fasting for weight loss means 24-72 hours at a time without food, but not without nutrients.

Fasting for weight loss is effective because fasting helps with the most crucial part of weight loss; the calorie deficit. Successful weight loss requires you to burn more calories than you consume, and fasting allows that because you are consuming virtually no calories.

Fasting for weight loss can also be successful because it can help you reconnect with your body. Often we eat, not out of hunger, but out of boredom or habit which often leads us to eat far more calories than our bodies need for sustenance.

Fasting, particularly intermittent fasting for weight loss gives you a chance to identify when your body is hungry because it needs energy or if your brain simply needs to feed its addiction to food. When you’re able to distinguish real hunger from your food addiction, you can respond better whether or not you’re fasting.

Fasting for weight loss often gets a bad reputation because of the lack of energy often associated with long-term fasts. With intermittent fasting however you aren’t going long periods of time without food and nutrients, so you never have to worry about your energy levels dipping dangerously low.

In fact because intermittent fasts only last a few days, you’ll even have enough energy to complete regular workout sessions. In fact if you continue weight training during your fast, you can stop worrying about losing muscle mass because it just won’t happen.

Fasting for Weight Loss No-No’s

Another reason fasting for weight loss gets a bad reputation is because of reckless fasters out there who go overboard once the fast has ended. Your body isn’t starving after a 3 day fast, so there’s no need to gorge on proteins or eat your weight in carbs just to increase your energy level.

Fasting for weight loss will allow you to have energy to get through your busy day and work out regularly without feeling crabby and sluggish. Just make sure that when you’re not fasting for weight loss you’re eating a well-balanced diet that consists of fresh fruits & vegetables, fiber-rich foods and lean proteins.

Fasting not only teaches you how to identify real versus imagined hunger, but it also teaches you how to lose weight for long term weight loss success. Get more calorie counts, recipes and workout tricks for weight loss at The Fat Loss Authority!

NOTE: If you don’t know how to do these exercises, check out my post on body weight training for newbies for tutorials.

Hey guys, I just wanted to give you all a fat burning workout you can do for the weekend. The idea behind it is that it combines muscle building exercises with a cardio workout to get the full on fat burning effect.

Here it is:

Warm up: Jog for 5 minutes.  Light stretching after jog as well.

1. Do 5(beginner) to 25(advanced) push ups depending on your level, or kneeling push-ups if you can’t do a push-up.

2. Do anywhere from a 15 second (beginner) to a 2 and a half minute (advanced) plank.

3. Do anywhere from 5(beginner) to 30(advanced) body weight squats.

Rest for 30 seconds. Repeat two more times for a total of 30 times and then stretch.

If you still have some energy, after this workout do 4 fifty meter sprints outside. Rest for 30 seconds to a minute in between each sprint. Stretch when done.

Have a great weekend guys!

-Rafi