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30-Day butt and abs workout challenge

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Check out the latest 30-Day butt and abs workout challenge!

There’s good news for people who want to watch their weight without giving up watching TV. Now there’s a new workout for couch potatoes and people who think they’re too busy to find time to stay fit.

With time at a premium, many Americans are turning to creative forms of exercise. In a recent survey conducted by Harris Interactive for the North American Spine Society, three out of four people said they used the stairs rather than the elevator at work, 58 percent said they started parking their cars far away in parking lots and almost half reported walking while on the phone.

At the same time, however, 46 percent of people described themselves as couch potatoes–a major contributing factor to being overweight. Many adults say they have procrastinated working out in order to do other activities, such as watching television, sleeping in, doing household chores or working.

Approximately three in four adults say they would exercise more if they could fit it into their daily routines, however, and a majority of adults say they would exercise more often if they could do it at home. Among noncouch potatoes, 80 percent would like to get more exercise, but say they don’t have the time.

Meanwhile, more than 4 million Americans suffer disc problems. One out of four Americans over 30 will have recurring back pain, and one in 14 will seek medical care for back or neck pain this year, totalling almost 14 million visits per year. Back pain is the second most common reason that people visit a physician. Back and neck pain result in more lost workdays than any other condition. Due to absenteeism, medical and other related expenses, the cost of back injuries exceeds $80 billion each year in the United States. Exercise is one way to avoid back problems.

That’s why it’s important to find time to incorporate exercise into your daily routine. In addition to things such as climbing stairs and parking farther away, there are a number of fun ways to make your daily tasks opportunities to exercise:

%u2022 Feet Alphabet. This exercise can be done anywhere you are sitting, except while driving. It should not be hard to find a place. Simply write the alphabet in the air with each of your feet and ankles. You can do the letters in capitals or small letters and, for that matter, in any language you would like. Doing this two or three times on each ankle will begin to strengthen the ankle and maintain or improve motion.

%u2022 Doing the Dishes Neck Circles. This exercise is easily done while doing the always fun task of washing the dishes. As you are standing there at the sink, slowly rotate your neck in a clockwise position, trying to extend the tip of your head out as far as possible. After three or four rotations, repeat the exercise in a counter-clockwise position. Remember, these rotations should be done slowly and in a pain-free range of motion. Besides increasing the flexibility of the neck, these exercises can pass the time of doing dishes.

%u2022 Overhead Laundry Toss. Put the laundry basket directly in front of you and have the washer or dryer directly behind you. Grab a piece or two of dirty clothes, reach over your head slowly and drop the laundry into the washer. Again, start with dry clothes, then progress to wet clothes from the washer into the dryer.

%u2022 Remote Wrist Lifts. This can be done on any Sunday afternoon watching multiple football games. Simply take the remote control (use the biggest one you have from the pile of remotes) and, while sitting watching your favorite team or movie and with your arm pointing toward the TV, aim the remote at the ceiling, moving your wrist only. Hold it there for 10 seconds, then aim it at the floor, again only moving the wrist. Repeat this three to four times during every commercial. Be careful not to accidentally change the channel when doing this exercise or it may irritate people who are watching TV with you.

These are just some ideas from “The Couch Potato Workout: 101 Exercises You Can Do At Home!” by Joel M. Press, M.D., president of the North American Spine Society and medical director of the Spine and Sports Institute at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. “The Couch Potato Workout” describes numerous practical and functional exercises people can do to build strength, balance and flexibility as part of their normal daily routine.

Secret Weight Loss Tips For Women Over Forty!

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If you have ever joined with a male friend in a weight loss programme you may have noticed that men are able to lose weight more easily than women. Life seems cruel sometimes. Men hold a metabolic edge over women because they have more muscle, and muscles are the “workhorses” of the body.

Many women who felt slim at 35 years, still weighing the same at 45 hnow consider themselves “fat”. No it probably isn’t social conditioning. It is more likely to be the truth and they are actually more “fat” than they used to be. The scales are not the only answer to understanding what’s going on in your body.

Consider the case of Annette who weighed 63 kilos at age 35. At that time, 23 percent of her body consisted of fat. (Experts consider 23 to 33 percent body fat healthy for women ages 40 to 59). Back then, 15 of Annette’s 63 kilos were fat. The rest–48 kilos–consisted of bone, muscle, water, and internal organs.

By the time Annette reached age 48, her body fat had increased from 23 percent to 30 percent, yet her weight had remained the same. Her body now contains 20 kilos of fat, 5 more kilos of fat than at age 35. At the same time, Annette had lost approximately 5 pounds of muscle.

When women gain fat and lose muscle, two things happen:

Fat isn’t as dense as muscle, so any fat gained takes up more space than muscle. Even if you haven’t gained weight on the scale, your body can appear larger, and your clothing size may even increase.

Because muscle burns more calories than fat, your metabolism slows and you burn fewer calories, which can contribute to weight gain if you don’t make adjustments in your calorie consumption. Muscle burns up to 7 times more energy than fat, so the effect on your metabolism can be quite significant.

Annette has been extraordinarily careful about what she eats and hasn’t been able to lose weight – with good reason. The amount of lean body mass you have is an important factor in determining the rate at which you burn calories. If lean body mass drops, metabolism drops.

Every pound of muscle a woman loses slashes the number of calories she burns by as many as 30 calories a day. If she loses 10 pounds of muscle over 3 decades, she could burn 300 fewer calories each day, or a whopping 2,100 fewer calories each week.

By the time she celebrates her 55th birthday, she could have lost as many as 15 pounds of muscle, and now burn 450 fewer calories each and every day.

What this means for Annette–and other women in their forties and fifties–is that maintaining muscle mass is critical as the birthdays add up. Lean muscle matters because there’s so much of it.

Calorie-burning muscle accounts for approximately 40 percent of the body mass of a normal-weight woman–that’s 56 pounds for a 140-pound woman like Janet–so it’s a major factor in energy.

Here’s some good news: Because muscle mass is linked directly to metabolic rate, women can give their metabolic engines a boost with weight training and other forms of exercise that builds muscle. Second, with eating the right sources of very lean protein you can encourage muscle development as you exercise.

Workouts To Firm Up Your Abs Fast

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The goal is to have a tight stomach but not everyone is going to be successful in their goal with the same workout. The exercises and equipment needed to take your abs to the next level might be very different from one person to another. The goal is to find out what works you.

Regardless of the exercises to build nice abs that are sure to work for you, putting variety within your workout is crucial for getting an all over workout. Using the exact same workout and continuing to keep building the same muscles wouldn’t work for anyone. Many people are able to find great ab workouts in a variety of ways. For some people their ab workout routine is based on simple ab exercises that target all of the different ab muscles and can be done without any equipment within their homes.

Targeting all of the core ab muscles is the key to getting a great workout here. Pilates has proven to be an extremely effective tool for targeting abs and getting the desired flat abs women search for. Pilates offers a number of basic ab workouts that normal ab exercises cannot target. With Pilates the movements are easy to do both from a technical stand point as well as easy to do from home.

Other people base their ab workouts around going to the gym. Joining a gym gives you access to a variety of cable machines that can help you work your ab muscles through a wide range of angles. Plus, there are a variety of non cable weight machines that are also designed to target the abs in several different ways to give you a full workout. Also, joining a gym give you access to trainers and instructors that can give you tips of good ab workouts.

Somewhere in the middle between gym equipment and doing ab exercises on your own lies the exercise ball. Many people have found this ball extremely useful in their ab workout routine and have seen dramatic changes in their bodies due to this ball. With a typical ab routine done from home, you are exercising just one section of your abs at a time as you do the exercise.Pixabay Image 2277451

With an exercise ball, you are able to target a larger mass of muscles all at the same time. The exercise ball can be used in several ways. You can sit on it to perform an abdominal curl. You can also lay flat on your stomach on top of the ball to gain access to working your obliques, the rectus abdominus and the hip flexors. Or you can place the ball under your feet as you lay on your back in order to perform a variety of exercises as well.

Some people have found that one of these ways to exercise their abs is working for them and they stick to it. Others have found that a variety of ab workouts using a variety of techniques gives them the abs they desire. With either method, being diligent in your workout and making sure that you truly are targeting all of your ab muscles will give you the stomach others would be jealous of.

The Best Ab Exercises

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When first starting to workout your abs you go right for the crunches right? They are the exercise that most people do when they are on the rod to getting their ab muscles in shape. But, are these the best kind of exercises for you to get the flat tummy or the six-pack you are after?

The gym teachers of the past must have known something because crunches are one of the best exercises you can do for your abs. But, like most things in life, the basic crunches that we used to do in gym class have evolved into a better workout and one that is overall better for your body.

Sitting on an exercise ball to perform your crunches is a great example of how crunches have changed over the years. The ball is aced under your mid or lower back. You can place your arms behind your back or cross them over your chest. Use your abs to pull the bottom of your ribcage down towards your hips. The goal is to keep the ball stable. This is part of the way that you are working more then your abs with this simple exercise.

Another way crunches have improved is through the placement of your arms. In elementary school the ways we were taught crunches was to place your hands behind your head or cross them over your chest. This new and improved crunch specifically works your upper abs by keeping your arms extended straight behind the head. The goal is to use your abs to lift your shoulder blades off the floor while keeping your arms next to your ears. You do not have to sit all the way off of the floor as was done in the past.Screen Shot 2017-08-04 at 22.27.59

The reverse crunch has also proven to be one of the best ab exercises today. Rather then bringing your torso up
off the ground, you bring your knees in towards your chest keeping your feet together. The point of the exercise is to use your abs to left your hips off the floor rather then using your legs to create the momentum

And finally crunches have improved in one final way. It is called the full vertical crunch. This crunch involves the upper and lower abs. It is done by lying on your back with your legs extended towards the ceiling. You place your hands behind your head and lift the shoulder blades off of the floor. At the same time you create a ìuî shape with your torso by pressing your heels towards the ceiling.

While crunches are one of the best ab exercises, there are a few other exercises that work your abs just as well. The bicycle exercise has proven to target the rectus abdominis muscles which will give you that six-pack you have been after as well as the obliques which is your waist.

For this exercise you lay face up on the floor with you hands laced behind your head. Bring your knees in towards your chest and lift your shoulder blades off the floor. Straighten your left leg while turning your upper body to the right bringing your left elbow towards the right knee. Then, switch sides continuing to alternate for 2 to 16 reps. This exercise plus several others like the captainís chair leg raise and the ab rocker will get you on the road to great abs.

Mistakes with Your Ab Workout Routine

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Having nice, cut, flat abs is the goal for many people today. Men have a desire to achieve a six pack and women have the desire to gain a flat stomach. Unfortunately, many people are going about getting cut abs by making huge mistakes.

One big mistake that people are making is that they are not intensifying their workouts over a period of time. When someone is starting out in a new workout routine, it is wise to take it slow. Push your body so you are getting a good workout but, not so hard so that you are paying for it the next day. For instance it is like when someone chooses to do a cardio workout by walking.

Over time of doing the dame walking pace, they are not going to see the results they want. In order to continue to see results, the workout has to be intensified over time. Start by walking then eventually, starts jogging then running. Or walk faster or longer. It is the same thing with ab workouts. Start off with a certain amount of crunches and as you continue with the exercise over time, add more crunches to your routine.

Another mistake people are making in their ab workouts is that they are not doing the exercises correctly. Ab exercises are supposed to target our abs. Some people are using their leg strength or their necks to perform the exercise. This only leads to neck pain.

Lay your hand on your abs as you perform the exercise slowly for the first time. You should be able to feel your ab muscles being used. You can then learn how to target those muscles as your go through your ab workout. Another thing that will help you in your ab workout is to brace your abs before each exercise as if someone is going to punch you in the stomach. This will protect your back as well as target your abs.

Plus, if you use this technique in other exercises that are not necessarily targeting you abs, your abs will be getting a workout anyway. Another way to protect your back is to stay away from exercises that will cause you to bend over or round your back. This might lead to a back injury.

Crunches today are no longer preformed like they used to be. We have laid aside the lifting your full torso off the floor in order for your chest to hit your knees. There are several different types of crunches do in a variety of ways that can be done without injury and will target the ab muscles that will give you sexy abs.

By avoiding these simple mistakes with you ab workout routine, you will be able to double the effectiveness of you ab workouts. Along with simple ab exercises, add interval training and resistance training to your routine. You will quickly be on the road to getting the flat stomach and sexy abs that you have always dreamed about having.

Killer Lower Ab Exercises

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While getting flat, ripped bas is the goal, some people are going about exercising their lower abs incorrectly. It is Screen Shot 2017-08-04 at 22.23.05very easy to incorporate other muscles into the exercises meant to target lower abs. In order to perform these exercises correctly, there are a few things that youíll need to keep in mind.

Exercising your lower abs is not about how many reps you can do at a time. It is about really targeting the
muscles and making them work. You will feel your lower abs working when you target them with the right exercises.

Plus, when your lower abs begin to get tired from too much of a workout, you may start to not feel them as much. Listen to your body. Do not over strain them or you will be paying for it the next day.

A great lower ab exercise that specifically targets your lower abs targets your transverse ab muscles. The Transverse Abdominus runs horizontally under the Rectus Abdominus (muscles that run vertically and pull your front pelvis up towards the belly button) and are the muscles that pull your belly button in towards your spine.

This exercise is preformed by kneeling on the floor with your palms flat on the floor in front of you. You simply pull your belly button in as much as you can using your lower abs. Try to relax the rest of your body to ensure that the work is being done by your lower abs.

If you are a beginner, start by holding the position for 10 seconds then relax. As your body gets used to using these muscles, you can lengthen the exercise to holding the position until you can not feel it anymore or for up to 2 minutes or you start feeling other muscles contracting more.

If you are a beginner and you are unsure if you are performing the exercise correctly, test yourself my lying face down flat on the floor and performing the same exercise. This position will allow you to be able to feel your lower abs better therefore ensuring the exercise is done correctly.

Another great lower ab exercise starts with you lying flat on the floor on your back. This exercise works by moving your legs and targeting your lower abs. The goal here is to keep your abs tight throughout the exercise. Once you stop feeling the tightness in your abs or you feel pain in your lower back, stop the exercise.

To perform the exercise, one leg is kept on the ground and the other leg is kept in a bent position. Keep the thigh muscle of your bent leg perpendicular to the ground. Using your lower abs, move your leg towards the ground until your foot touches the floor. Work both legs with this exercise.

As the exercise gets easier for you and you are looking for more of a challenge, you can straighten your leg in order to increase the demand on your lower abs. To further increase demand on lower abs, lower both legs straight at the same time. Keep in mind that this exercise should be done slowly and with a lot of concentration. Perform 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps each.

Ab Workouts for Women

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Women crave flat abs, a ripped core and a sexy six-pack. They hunt after the thrill of being able to show of their mid sections that men drool over. For some women, the disbelief of actually getting to a place where they can show off their mid sections is overwhelming.

Surprisingly to some women, is the idea that you need to loose the excess body fat around the midsection is misconstrued. They donít target their ab muscles because they are overwhelmed with the idea that they need to loose the weight to do it. Or, they are doing tons of crunches but, neglecting a full body workout. In actuality, by giving yourself a full body workout you can still achieve flat abs. Building muscle helps to burn calories. Muscles burn calories twenty-four hours a day even while you are sleeping.

The more you gain muscle with weights or simple exercises like lungs or squats will help you get stronger, build muscle, burn fat, and get a flat stomach. One way women are looking to accomplish this is through Pilates. Pilates strengthens your whole body by focusing on your core. Cardio is another technique women use to get the abs of their dreams. A good way to start out is doing a low intensity cardio workout like speed walking. The thing to remember with cardio is that as the months of doing it roll by, the pace you do your workout at has to increase.

Certain ab exercises have added to the success of women achieving the ab they want. A great ab exercise is raised leg crunches. This exercise is done laying flat on the floor on your back with your hand behind your ears. Bend
your legs at a 90 degree angle off of the floor. Pull both knee towards your head forcing your core into a crunch position.

Then, lower our core down into a resting position by lowering your knees back into their starting position. This exercise intensifies the concentration on the core muscles while combining all of the muscles of the legs which is a key feature for ab workouts for women.

You can repeat each movement for 30 seconds.

Another kind of crunch exercise that will combine all of the abdominal muscles and all of the muscles in the lower and upper legs is something some women call Super crunches. Like raised leg a crunches, this type of crunch exercise is also done by lying flat on your back on the floor. Bring your legs into a bent position 90degrees of the floor and parallel with the ceiling.Screen Shot 2017-08-04 at 22.01.21

Then, bring both knees towards your head and crunch your core. Make sure that you are targeting your abs and are exhaling as your bring your knees towards your head.

You can repeat this exercise for 30 seconds. Crunches are vital for a women to achieve flat abs because they blast through fat and raise the metabolism which helps to burn calories while building muscle. They also allow women to work at their own pace and to work up the intensity level with time.

Abs Workout Essential Info

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Sexy, ripped, flat abs is the goal for many people. They strive to be able to show off their stomachs and feel better about the core of their body. Achieving great abs goes beyond just looks. Ab muscles provide the body with movement and they support the trunk of the body. They also assist in helping you breathe. Whipping your abs in shape will get you on the road to feeling better overall. Working your abs also improves core strength. Improving core strength improves your back alignment and assists in reducing back and neck strain.

It is very important to target all of your ab muscles when trying to achieve cut abs. The abdominal muscles are a group of six muscles that extend from the ribs to the pelvis. The pair of ab muscles residing on each side of the torso are known as the internal obliques. In addition to movement and support, the internal obliques are used to rotate the spine and used in the lateral flexion of the spine. There are also the ab muscles known as the external obliques. These are the pair of external ab muscles that are located on either side of the torso. Like the internal obliques, they assist in rotation and the lateral flexion of the spine.

Also part of the ab muscles are the rectus abdomius. These are the muscles that are closest to the outside of the body and are responsible for creating the six-pack look. The final set of ab muscles are known as the transverse abdominus muscles. Unlike the rectus abdominus, they are the deepest of the 6 ab muscles. Although you cannot touch this muscle from the outside, they have a tremendous effect on the bodyís posture. They wrap around the torso creating a similar effect to a back support belt.

While many people have seen results fairly quickly by doing a great ab workout, some people struggle to get their bodies into shape. The reasons they might not be seeing the kind of results they want varies form person to person. It might be that they are not targeting their ab muscles in the right way. It might be that they are not intensifying their workout as they process with it over time. Or it could be that they are doing the wrong kind of exercises altogether.

What some people do not understand is that any exercise can be an ab workout. You can accomplish this by tightening your abs as you do you other exercises. Brace yourself like you are about to get punched in the stomach. This works your abs while you are doing your cardio and other exercises.

Whether you have found that using the exercise ball is the way to get you the abs you are looking for or you use the equipment at the gym, getting the ab of your dreams will not only give you a boost in confidence. Getting the abs of your dreams will improve your overall health, strength, posture and dexterity.

Low Carb High Fiber Foods Are Not As Disgusting As They Sound

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When you hear the term low carb high fiber foods, you probably picture carrot sticks, rice cakes and anything else that doesn’t sound the least bit appetizing. That’s just not true, however, as you can find many good, and delicious, food choices when it comes to eating low carb high fiber foods. Think of it more in terms of a high protein low carb diet, with more vegetables, meat, and good carbs, which you’ll eat in lower quantities. There are many places to get menu options when it comes to eating low carb high fiber foods, you just have to know where to look.

Online

You can find many menus to help you know what to eat when you want to follow a diet with low carb high fiber foods. Online resources like diet and fitness pages, forums, and more can give you high protein low carb diets that are delicious, filling and which will help you lose weight fast. Just make sure you follow the diet ninety percent of the time or more if you want to see results.

Eating Out

You can even find low carb high fiber foods on many menus nowadays when you’re eating out. That’s because restaurants know that their customers are looking to reduce their waist lines so they are trying to help out by providing food that will fit within high protein low carb diets. If the menus don’t have low carb high fiber foods, they will usually let you tailor menu items to fit within that category so that you don’t have to cheat on your diet while eating out.

Get Exercise

To see faster and better results, make sure you get plenty of exercise while you remain on your diet of low carb high fiber foods. Walking for thirty to forty five minutes is a great way to lose weight. It’s low impact, it’s easy and fun, and the time will pass nicely if you bring an Ipod or some other MP3 device with you. It’s a great way to get exercise, it lets you enjoy the outdoors, get some fresh air and you’ll feel better. Of course, there are many other exercise options that you can partake in while remaining on your high protein low carb diet but walking is a great choice that you can do anywhere, anytime and you’re more likely to stick with it if it’s low impact and fun.