Count Down To Fitness Success
And Keep Your Motivation Drive Alive
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
http://offto.net/292dpm/
There are many fantastic ways to get focused and motivated to begin a diet or exercise program, but often the most difficult thing to do is keep that drive and ambition alive for more than a few weeks and see your goal through to completion.
Within just weeks of starting, many people have already hit their first snag or setback, and as a result, have slipped backwards in the mental focus and motivation department. Setting goals in writing is an essential step to success, but how do you stay focused on them? One technique I have used ever since my very first bodybuilding competition 18 years ago, is...
The "contest countdown calendar."
I have used it ever since, through 28 competitions and it will work for you too, for any fitness goal.
I purchase a desk or wall calendar - the type that shows each week stretching horizontally across the page with an open block of space for each day.
After I set my goal and place a deadline on it, I do NOT stop there. I take out my calendar and start counting backwards from my target goal deadline to the present day.
T-minus 117 days....
T-minus 116 days...
T-minus 115 days....
I also fill in my workouts for the entire 3-4 month period, which is the typical length I allow for my mid-range goals like contest prep.
you would be shocked - pleasantly so - just how focused this keeps you. Even better still, you get MORE and MORE motivated with each passing day you countdown because the deadline is getting closer
Deadlines are absolutely critical to your success. Little gets done without deadlines.
There is a saying in management and psychology that "work will always expand to fill the time allowed for it's completion."
Remember term papers in school? when you were given a term paper assignment and you had the entire semeseter to do it, did you run home that first night and get crankin on it?
How about after a week? two weeks? A month? TWO MONTHS?
probably not, eh?
If youre like most people, you put it off until the last minute and you barely got it turned in on time. In fact, there are always a few people who pull all nighters the night before!
Alas, the power of the deadline!
In your fitness endeavors, if you dont have IMPENDING deadlines that give you that twinge in your stomach that says "take action now, or else!" then you find it very easy to say to yourself, ' I have plenty of time so this one cheat meal doesnt matter... it doesnt make much difference at this point if I skip this one workout... I have time to make it up..."
And then, just like the term paper, you are scrambling at the last minute to reach your weight goal. But in the case of a your body, the consequences are more severe and painful than just a bad grade or late penalty.
Inevitably, you succumb to crash dieting and overtraining or other unhealthy fast-weight-loss madness, which eats up your own muscle like a hungry cannibal and sends you spiraling into the dark pit of metabolic damage and the inevitable plateau and weight gain that follow.
But the solution is so simple: Count your way down to success!
Don't stop with setting goals. Put your goal countdown on paper, review your goals every single day, AND know, every single day, how many days there are until your target goal date. You will stay more consciously focused and even better, your unconscious mind will go to work for you in keeping you motivated, on track, and on schedule. You'll come in for a landing on your goal deadline date like an F-16 landing on an aircraft carrier.
I just did my countdown calendar earlier this week... T minus 117 days til my next bodybuilding competition, and thanks to this simple but powerful technique, I'm already focused like a laser beam and have been making steady progress without so much as a hiccup...
Don't under-estimate this simple technique... Give it an honest test... because it's often the simplest motivational techniques that are the most powerful of all!.
About the Author:
Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilder and author of the #1 best selling e-book, "Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which teaches you how to burn fat without drugs or supplements using the little-known secrets of the world's best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and turbo-charge your metabolism by visiting: http://offto.net/292dpm/
Who Else Wants Six-Pack Abs?
http://tinyurl.com/2frl42
Monday, February 18, 2008
Monday, January 7, 2008
FIND A FAT LOSS DIET THAT WORKS FOR YOU
For those looking to lower their body mass index, a typical diet may not prove successful as they are geared towards losing weight. A fat loss diet, on the other hand, can provide you the means of losing fat and inches while still maintaining your weight.
While that may sound like a contradiction, it does make sense because some people may have some extra inches and a few areas with extra fat, but are not necessarily over the ideal weight for their height and build. Those type people should be working on a fat loss diet instead of a weight loss diet.
In order to have a successful fat loss diet you must first understand where fat comes from in the first place and why. Your body is dependent on sugar for energy for body heat, strength and health. When there is an excess of sugar, the body tends to store it as fat for later use.
Similar to hibernating bears, if the body believes it may be some time before more food will be available, then it will store more fat. This can happen frequently with starvation diets. The body believes that food intake will be few and far between it will store more fat out of self-preservation.
There may be some initial weight loss, but eventually your body will beat you in the contest of a fat loss diet. People eat because they are hungry as well as when they are sad, excited, nervous or celebrating. No one has ever said because they received that big promotion they are going to go out and have a diet pill from my fat loss diet to celebrate.
Stress can have the effect of prompting excessive eating. Not usually health food, either. Starches and carbohydrates, which are turned into sugar by insulin, are the usually fare and when your body’s insulin level peaks, the pancreas makes more, and with more insulin comes more hunger until a cycle is created that you eat more.
Reducing stress in your life can help reduce the need for food, but if you are serious about a fat loss diet , you will have to take control of what you eat and when.
Eliminating the tasty choices for meals can be a good first step in that direction, so choose one healthy meal for lunch and then eat the same thing every day. At least the stress of making that decision will be removed for you.
About the Author: John Ugoshowa. http://www.quickregister.net/partners/
Skinny Guys CAN Gain Muscle
http://tinyurl.com/yvpfq5
While that may sound like a contradiction, it does make sense because some people may have some extra inches and a few areas with extra fat, but are not necessarily over the ideal weight for their height and build. Those type people should be working on a fat loss diet instead of a weight loss diet.
In order to have a successful fat loss diet you must first understand where fat comes from in the first place and why. Your body is dependent on sugar for energy for body heat, strength and health. When there is an excess of sugar, the body tends to store it as fat for later use.
Similar to hibernating bears, if the body believes it may be some time before more food will be available, then it will store more fat. This can happen frequently with starvation diets. The body believes that food intake will be few and far between it will store more fat out of self-preservation.
There may be some initial weight loss, but eventually your body will beat you in the contest of a fat loss diet. People eat because they are hungry as well as when they are sad, excited, nervous or celebrating. No one has ever said because they received that big promotion they are going to go out and have a diet pill from my fat loss diet to celebrate.
Stress can have the effect of prompting excessive eating. Not usually health food, either. Starches and carbohydrates, which are turned into sugar by insulin, are the usually fare and when your body’s insulin level peaks, the pancreas makes more, and with more insulin comes more hunger until a cycle is created that you eat more.
Reducing stress in your life can help reduce the need for food, but if you are serious about a fat loss diet , you will have to take control of what you eat and when.
Eliminating the tasty choices for meals can be a good first step in that direction, so choose one healthy meal for lunch and then eat the same thing every day. At least the stress of making that decision will be removed for you.
About the Author: John Ugoshowa. http://www.quickregister.net/partners/
Skinny Guys CAN Gain Muscle
http://tinyurl.com/yvpfq5
BUILD MUSCLE/LOSE FAT
The Key to Muscle Growth - What Causes Muscle Growth
By: Hussey
Three main factors are required to promote muscle growth:
1. Muscular stimulus. Resistance training (weight training) is needed to make the muscles work, use energy and cause microscopic damage to the muscle fibers.
2. Nutrition - after intense exercise the muscles need to replenish their stores of fuel.
3. Rest - it is during the rest or recovery phase that the muscles repair the microscopic damage and grow.
Here are the supplements I'd recommend for Muscle-building.
Creatine:
A great supplement that always produces positive health and muscle-building benefits. Helps to fill the muscles with fluid making you stronger and able to lift heavier and recover faster. Good bodyweight gains achieved with this, which allows you to lift more for better muscle growth stimulation.
Protein Powders:
Whey protein isolate is the best fast acting protein to aid in repair and growth of muscle tissue after an intense training session. Casein Protein is a slow digesting protein best taken just before bed to supply the body with a continuous flow of amino acids for repair and growth through the night while you sleep.
Muscle size increases due to hypertrophic adaptation and an increase in the cross section area of individual muscle fibers. Intensive exercise impacts more on the strength influencing fast twitch type II fibers, therefore the increase in muscle size is accompanied by greater strength.
Some other muscle building supplements include various amino acids, protein bars, growth hormone, and a huge selection of multi vitamins, all with varying ingredients used to help promote muscle growth. Growth hormone is released by the pituitary gland and is responsible for our growth, particularly during our teenage years when we hit puberty. In time, this hormone slows down, but by if we supplement with it, we can see a large increase in growth in both muscles and sometimes in bone growth as well. This is a popular choice for muscle building supplements, since the results are very stunning and often surprise people with repeated use. Protein bars are a safe and delicious way to help promote muscle growth. Many people love to eat them in order to help stave off hunger and provide the body with an extra boost of energy, without sugar or fat. Protein bars are made by hundreds of different companies, so you should be able to find one you like with a few different tries.
How to increase muscle size.
We must train hard enough to damage the muscle fibres so our body rebuilds them bigger and stronger.
We can trigger this type of muscle growth by using:
1. Heavy weights.
2. Low repetitions (6-8).
3. Long rest periods (2-4 mins).
The low reps affect muscle fibres in a unique way that causes maximum muscle growth. The heavier the weight, the more muscle fibres are used.
This type of training also stimulates our natural levels of testosterone. Testosterone is the 'muscle growth' hormone!
I prefer doing compound exercises for this type of training like the squat, the bench press and the shoulder press. You can use a lot of weight in these movements to strongly stimulate muscle growth.
A study published in 1997 found that knocking out the myostatin gene in mice enabled them to grow bigger muscles. Studies on cattle also found that those that were naturally bulky produced less myostatin protein. The scientists believe these latest findings show that the same process works in humans.
They also believe that techniques used to block this gene in mice could be used on humans, including those who have difficulty developing muscles.
"This is the first evidence that myostatin regulates muscle mass in people as it does in other animals," said Dr Se-Jin Lee, professor of molecular biology and genetics.
Article Source: http://myarticlezine.com
Read out Bodybuilding. Also check out for pregnancy and obesity
Menarique
amazing, weird, crazy, interesting
menarique.blogspot.com
By: Hussey
Three main factors are required to promote muscle growth:
1. Muscular stimulus. Resistance training (weight training) is needed to make the muscles work, use energy and cause microscopic damage to the muscle fibers.
2. Nutrition - after intense exercise the muscles need to replenish their stores of fuel.
3. Rest - it is during the rest or recovery phase that the muscles repair the microscopic damage and grow.
Here are the supplements I'd recommend for Muscle-building.
Creatine:
A great supplement that always produces positive health and muscle-building benefits. Helps to fill the muscles with fluid making you stronger and able to lift heavier and recover faster. Good bodyweight gains achieved with this, which allows you to lift more for better muscle growth stimulation.
Protein Powders:
Whey protein isolate is the best fast acting protein to aid in repair and growth of muscle tissue after an intense training session. Casein Protein is a slow digesting protein best taken just before bed to supply the body with a continuous flow of amino acids for repair and growth through the night while you sleep.
Muscle size increases due to hypertrophic adaptation and an increase in the cross section area of individual muscle fibers. Intensive exercise impacts more on the strength influencing fast twitch type II fibers, therefore the increase in muscle size is accompanied by greater strength.
Some other muscle building supplements include various amino acids, protein bars, growth hormone, and a huge selection of multi vitamins, all with varying ingredients used to help promote muscle growth. Growth hormone is released by the pituitary gland and is responsible for our growth, particularly during our teenage years when we hit puberty. In time, this hormone slows down, but by if we supplement with it, we can see a large increase in growth in both muscles and sometimes in bone growth as well. This is a popular choice for muscle building supplements, since the results are very stunning and often surprise people with repeated use. Protein bars are a safe and delicious way to help promote muscle growth. Many people love to eat them in order to help stave off hunger and provide the body with an extra boost of energy, without sugar or fat. Protein bars are made by hundreds of different companies, so you should be able to find one you like with a few different tries.
How to increase muscle size.
We must train hard enough to damage the muscle fibres so our body rebuilds them bigger and stronger.
We can trigger this type of muscle growth by using:
1. Heavy weights.
2. Low repetitions (6-8).
3. Long rest periods (2-4 mins).
The low reps affect muscle fibres in a unique way that causes maximum muscle growth. The heavier the weight, the more muscle fibres are used.
This type of training also stimulates our natural levels of testosterone. Testosterone is the 'muscle growth' hormone!
I prefer doing compound exercises for this type of training like the squat, the bench press and the shoulder press. You can use a lot of weight in these movements to strongly stimulate muscle growth.
A study published in 1997 found that knocking out the myostatin gene in mice enabled them to grow bigger muscles. Studies on cattle also found that those that were naturally bulky produced less myostatin protein. The scientists believe these latest findings show that the same process works in humans.
They also believe that techniques used to block this gene in mice could be used on humans, including those who have difficulty developing muscles.
"This is the first evidence that myostatin regulates muscle mass in people as it does in other animals," said Dr Se-Jin Lee, professor of molecular biology and genetics.
Article Source: http://myarticlezine.com
Read out Bodybuilding. Also check out for pregnancy and obesity
Menarique
amazing, weird, crazy, interesting
menarique.blogspot.com
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