Pilates for Beginners in Pictures: Moves for Abs, Toning, and More 1) Steve Pomberg/WebMD 2) Steve Pomberg/WebMD 3) Steve Pomberg/WebMD 4) Steve Pomberg/WebMD 5) Steve Pomberg/WebMD 6) Steve Pomberg/WebMD 7) Steve Pomberg/WebMD 8) Steve Pomberg/WebMD 9) Steve Pomberg/WebMD 10) Steve Pomberg/WebMD 11) Steve Pomberg/WebMD 12) Steve Pomberg/WebMD 13) Steve Pomberg/WebMD 14) Steve Pomberg/WebMD 15) Steve Pomberg/WebMD 16) Steve Pomberg/WebMD 17) Steve Pomberg/WebMD Alycea Ungaro, physical therapist; owner, Real Pilates, New York; author, 15 Minute Everyday Pilatesand Pilates Practice Companion; Pilates Practice Companion, DK Publishing, 2010. American Council on Exercise: "Pilates Primer," "Can Pilates Do It All?" Dina Blair, Pilates instructor; athletic director, Concourse Athletic Club, Atlanta. Dori Ricci, NASM, CPT. Idea Health and Fitness Association: "Pilates Moves Recruit Deep Abs Better Than Crunches." Kidshealth.org: "Pilates." Pilates Method Alliance: "An Exercise in Balance: The Pilates Phenomenon."
7 Ways to Boost Your Metabolism — And Burn Fat Fast Posted in: Exercise, Metabolism, Nutrition, Spotlight, Tips, Weight Loss, Weight Loss Tips Whether you’re trying to lose weight or just wanting to maintain your sleek physique, boosting your metabolism to a higher rate is always a good idea. There are several ways to give your metabolism an extra push — including exercising early in the day — but eating can also be a factor in its elevation. Increasing your metabolism means your body burns calories at a higher rate. So if your metabolism is high, it’s burning calories even when you aren’t working hard at the gym. A sluggish metabolism can cause you to gain weight, because you’re consuming more than your body is burning. Here are 7 ways to boost your metabolism, so you can burn fat fast: The first thing you need to do is add breakfast to your daily meal planner. Must ReadFlatten Your Stomach and Get Rid Of Your Belly Once And For AllHow Do Bodybuilders and Fitness Models Get So Lean? ToolsCalories Per Meal Calculator
6 Bodily Tissues That Can Be Regenerated Through Nutrition It may come as a surprise to some, especially those with conventional medical training, but the default state of the body is one of ceaseless regeneration. Without the flame-like process of continual cell turnover within the body – life and death ceaselessly intertwined – the miracle of the human body would not exist. In times of illness, however, regenerative processes are overcome by degenerative ones. Today, however, drug-based medicine invariably uses chemicals that have not one iota of regenerative potential; to the contrary, they almost always interfere with bodily self-renewal in order to suppress the symptoms against which they are applied. Nerve Regeneration – There are actually a broad range of natural compounds with proven nerve-regenerative effects. [View the first-hand biomedical citations on these neuritogenic substance visit our Neuritogenic Research page on the topic] [view the first-hand biomedical citations on the Liver Regeneration research page]
Steel Wheels: The Ultimate Tri-Sets Workouts For Legs by Roger Lockridge Aug 02, 2011 Most of us hate "leg day" - we think of long, laborious, puke-inducing work. But guess what? Leg day can be done more quickly than you think. You'll still be working off your tail, though, so let's lay down some ground rules: You absolutely have to train legs if you want a complete muscular physique. So get ready to saddle up, because here are three quickdraw tri-sets that will get the job done. With each exercise, lift heavy so you can reach failure within the specified rep range. How fast will it take YOU to complete, partner? Neither leg day nor trisets are for the faint of heart. First Tri-set: Blow Those Quads Away 3 rounds, 1-minute rest between rounds: Tip: After your thighs reach parallel with the floor, explode on the way up. Second Tri-Set: Wreak Havoc On Your Hamstrings Tip: Stretch before starting this round, and make sure to get a good stretch while performing the stiff-legged deadlift. Third Tri-Set: Cannonball The Calves But wait! Week 1 Week 2
Eat Big and Gain Nothing But Muscle What you eat will either be used by muscle or stored as fat. This process is called nutrient partitioning. If your body partitions nutrients well, they'll go to muscle. If it doesn't, count on gaining 2 to 3 pounds of fat for every pound of muscle you try to build. If you're a good nutrient partitioner, almost every calorie burned comes from stored body fat and not muscle. If you're not a good nutrient partitioner, you could lose a pound of muscle for every few pounds of fat you lose. Bad Genetics? Do you know anybody who's built? Almost every calorie these gifted men and women eat goes straight to muscle. You? The difference between you and them is largely genetic. Another hugely significant advantage possessed by the gifted has to do with how well they partition nutrients, which, luckily, is a gift you can acquire, too. Not All Calories Are Treated the Same Nutrient partitioning is the process by which the body decides what to do with the energy you get from your diet. Two Roads to Take
Shredded in 6 Days There's lean and then there's really lean and dry, like how a bodybuilder looks on stage. If you're already lean, this 6-day plan will take you to the next level, just in time for a contest or photo shoot. You don't just want to dump water weight; you want the muscles to look full and round. This will require special techniques. The biggest mistakes when cutting water weight are made when manipulating minerals and cutting water intake too soon or too gradually. This is not a fat loss diet. The 4 Levels of Leanness There's more than one level of leanness. Level 1: Not overweight, but no visible abs either. Level 2: In shape. Level 3: Nicely cut. Level 4: Shredded. Level 4 leanness involves not only a very low level of body fat, but also a certain extent of dryness. The goal of this peaking procedure is to minimize subcutaneous water (just beneath the skin) while keeping the muscle as full as possible. Accidentally Ripped? Obviously you didn't gain that much adipose tissue in two days. 1.
Signs Your Body Is Too Acidic And 9 Ways To Quickly Alkalize It A variety of physical problems and diseases are caused by acidity. The vast majority of the populace in industrialized nations suffers from problems caused by acidification, because both diet and modern lifestyle promote acidification of the body's internal environment. Acidic bodies are unhealthy bodies. When the body is acidic, it creates an unwanted environment where illness, bacteria, and yeast thrive. When the body is overly acidic, the body takes minerals from vital organs and bones to neutralize the acid and remove it from the body. Because of this, the body's mineral reserves such as calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium can run dangerously low and cause damage that can go undetected for years, until it reaches unhealthy levels, causing acidosis. Most of us are already consuming enough acid forming foods, such as dairy, grains, meats and sugar. Consider The Health Problems Caused By Mild Acidosis (Poor pH Balance): Doesn't The Body Adjust pH On Its Own? Start By Knowing Your pH
Bodyweight Isometrics for Improved Strength (No, Really!) We already know what you're thinking. "Bodyweight isometrics in my strength program? You've got to be kidding me!" If we were trying to come up with an article topic that would simultaneously draw the ire of the entire strength and conditioning world, destroy our credibility, and raise the estrogen levels of anyone unfortunate enough to lay their eyes upon it, bodyweight isometrics would hit the bull's-eye. Hear us out. This article is about leveraging the benefits of an extremely powerful training tool that's been used by bodybuilders, Russian power athletes, and Olympic gymnasts for centuries. Enter the World of Isometrics Bodybuilding legend Charles Atlas first introduced isometrics to the fitness world in the 1920s under the term, "dynamic tension." The popularity of isometrics surged again in the 1950s after a study by Hettinger and Mueller showed that a small dose of daily isometrics could increase strength by 5% per week for up to 10 weeks. The Way of the Isometric
Muscle Building Tips: Getting Big Vs. Getting Strong| Muscle & Fitness Even your trainer down at the local franchise gym knows that hypertrophy is best had in the 6-12 rep range while strength gains are found in heavier sets of six reps or less. But the guy who trains with those growth-targeting ranges still ends up gaining strength, adding weight to the bar and failing at a higher rep number each week. The strength guy, meanwhile, may not be as big but can generally toss around much more weight. So what gives? Where is the overlap? Where is the divide? Simply, you’ve got to be willing to wage war when you lift. The Repetition Method: Using higher reps with submaximal weights to spark muscle hypertrophy. Ultimately, more size equates to better leverage. Download Now! The Dynamic Method: Maximum power is developed in core lifts using 50-80 percent of a lifter’s one repetition max. Force = Mass x Acceleration. This is called Compensatory Acceleration Training (CAT). The Max Effort Method: Lifting weights over 90 percent for 1-3 reps.
10 Tricks for Bigger, Healthier Shoulders This sounds obvious but is often neglected. If your shoulders are inflamed or injured, training will be very difficult since there is hardly an exercise where the shoulders are not involved. Even barbell squats become difficult as it's hard to hold bar with a set of inflamed delts. The main reason for shoulder injuries is a structural imbalance; meaning that most trainees are overdeveloped in the front part of the shoulder and too weak in the rear. Stand with your back against the wall, bring your arms to shoulder height, while bending the elbows about 90 degrees.
Delt Workout: Shock Your Shoulders for More Muscle Growth Every now and then a muscle group needs a jolt of something intense – a workout you’ve never done before that will spark new muscle growth and strength. Below is just such a workout for the shoulders. The routine gets going with a brief but brutal rest-pause scheme for overhead dumbbell presses, then finishes off all three delt heads with a shrug, a flye and a face pull for high reps. Before getting into the workout, make sure your shoulders are warmed up with some light lateral raises and overhead presses. Then, have it at. Training Protocols: Rest-Pause with Reps-Based Training Benefits of Rest-Pause Method: Shortened rest periods increase the intensity, release more natural muscle-building hormones and charge resting metabolism rates for hours after the workout is over. Increased mental toughness. Increased workout efficiency, high impact and decreased time in the gym. Benefits of Reps-Based Method: Download Now!
Fitness and health Of all aspects of bodybuilding training, stretching is the one part that is most often ignored by the majority of people. It is just one of those things that seems to get pushed off to the side as not that important. You probably say to yourself in the back of your mind "I know I should stretch... blah, blah, blah... but why bother? I just want to get big and muscular. And besides I don't want to look like some skinny yoga master." Standing Elevation Quad Stretch Well, one thing you probably didn't realize is that when stretching is properly integrated into a weight training program it can actually speed up your muscle growth. Connective Tissues The connective tissues that surround the muscles are very tough and hug the muscle fibers tight. Even if you haven't seriously focused on stretching before, the muscle mass that you have built up to this point came about from the stretching and expanding of the muscles encasing tissue. Let's Get Down To Business Active Stretching With Weights