Archive for August, 2007

Alpha lipoic acid is an antioxidant that is manufactured in your body and is widely used in the prevention of various diseases.

The main function of this antioxidant is to increase glutathione production, which helps to dissolve toxic substances in the liver.

When your body turns food into energy, free radicals are created and these free radicals are attacked by the antioxidants. The sources of free radicals are cigarette smoke, ultraviolet rays, car exhaust, radiation, and pesticides.

If the free radicals are not damaged, they can cause harmful reactions and damage your cells in the body, making it hard for your body to fight from infections.

If your cells are damaged, you become susceptible to long term diseases like liver damage and diabetes. Alpha lipoic acid works with other antioxidants such as vitamin C and vitamin E.

Deficiency of this antioxidant include weakened immune system and increased susceptibility to colds and other infections.

Alpha lipoic acid benefits:

• Alpha lipoic acid is vital for growth, helps in preventing cell damage and also helps to get rid of harmful substances from your body.

You should know target heart rate and correct training zone to know if you are training at the right pace.

Health care professionals know the importance of right pace during workout.

To get the benefits of workout, it is important that you should not tire too quickly. Target heart rate allows you to measure initial fitness level and monitor your improvement in fitness program.

Your pulse is measured in a periodic manner as you exercise and you should stay within 50 to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate. This range is called target heart rate.

Measuring target heart rate:

Heart rate can be measured easily by wearing the heart rate monitor. Alternately, without monitor also you can measure it.

To measure heart rate, index finger should be placed on the side of your neck between the middle of collar bone and jaw line. Now, the beats can be counted for sixty seconds.

Training zones:

Healthy heart zone: It is the warm up zone. Target heart rate should be 50 to 60 percent of maximum heart rate. It is the easiest zone if you are starting a fitness program.

When using free weights, your muscles will be engaged as you lift and balance the weight.

Free weights provide overall muscular strength and power gain.

You can perform variety of exercises with free weights such as dumbbells.

Free weights can be used by anyone regardless of shape, size or strength.

If you are a beginner, light dumbbells are the best free weights for you.

As you improve and become stronger, you can use barbells. Free weights build stability and balance in a way machines cannot.

Here are some free weight exercises for you:

Bench press: This exercise can also be done with barbell. Bench press gives greater range of motion. This free weight exercise strengthens your triceps, pectorals and shoulders.

Sit down on bench with dumbbells resting on lower thigh. The weights should be kicked to the shoulder and you should lie back. The dumbbells should be positioned to the sides of upper chest with elbows under the dumbbells.

The dumbbells should be pressed up with elbows to the sides until your arms are extended. The weight should be lowered to the upper chest sides. Repeat the exercise.

Many people do not realize what circuit training is and that it can be beneficial to them.

The circuit training goal is keeping yourself moving and allowing you to take minimum breaks between exercises.

If you want to take rest, take ten seconds to walk around and start again.

If you are short on time, combine cardio and strength training as it is a great way in circuit training.

Circuit training workout is obviously different from other workouts you are following.

It works to keep pushing your body aerobically while challenging your power levels. It improves your overall fitness. Circuit training techniques have many variations, but here it is given a general idea how circuit training routines work.

Circuit training workouts:

Lunges: By standing in split stance, keep your right foot in front. Knees should be bent and body should be lowered into lunge position.

The right knee should be kept behind the toe, torso should be upright and abs should be in for thirty seconds. Switch legs for thirty seconds and hold weights for added intensity.

Many people know that reducing saturated fat intake is important in losing weight.

Saturated fat is a type of fat which is bad for your health.

At room temperature, saturated fats are solid or waxy, for example fat on meat and butter.

Saturated fats are found in foods such as poultry, red meat, and full fat dairy products. Plant oils like coconut oil and palm oil are high in saturated fats.

Saturated fat is made of triglycerides with fatty acids which contain hydrogen atoms in every available spot. As they are fully saturated with hydrogen, they are known as saturated fats.

These fats lack double bond atoms which are found in unsaturated fats and therefore cannot absorb iodine.

Saturated fats increase blood cholesterol levels more than other types of fat. Blood cholesterol can be lowered by reducing saturated fat to less than ten percent of calories. As these fats increases your cholesterol level, it puts you at an increased risk of heart disease.

Even the trans fat which is found in processed and fried foods causes same health problems. Trans fat not only raises bad cholesterol but lowers good cholesterol as well.

All guys and girls desire for great muscle mass with big arms and chest along with six pack abs.

But, many of them think that only professional body builders can achieve that type of bodies.

You can also build muscle mass to look greater. It only requires hard work and right workout routine.

There are some fantastic exercises which help to build muscle mass and make others’ heads turn faster to your side.

Exercises to build muscle mass:

Chest workout! Your chest and shoulder muscles work with chest workouts. The equipment needed for this workout to build muscle mass is dumbbells and flat bench. Lie back on flat bench and hold two dumbbells of equal weight. Bend your elbows slightly and rest the dumbbells on your thighs.

The dumbbells should be moved in the form of arch from your thighs to just behind your head, until the dumbbells touch. The dumbbells should be returned back to thighs using reverse motion. Repeat the exercise.

Bicep workout! Bicep muscles work with bicep workouts. The equipment needed to execute the exercise to build muscle mass is flat bench, high pulley and straight bar attachment.

While exercising, your muscles burn fat and glucose in different proportions.

Depending on how you exercise, muscle burns fat in a larger proportion to glucose.

If you are performing light and easy activity, you can burn much higher percentage of fat.

Oxygen is required to burn fat, which is a slow burning fuel. If sufficient quantity of oxygen is delivered to muscle cells, the cells can easily burn fat for most of its energy requirement.

To succeed with fat burning workout, you have to pay attention to some issues. You should notice the intensity of workout, frequency of workout, motivation and duration of exercise.

Frequency and intensity! The frequency for fat burning workout should be three to five times a week. The present body condition should be maintained by exercising at least twice a week.

Intensity of workout can be determined with a heart rate monitor. You have to set up your intensity for fat burning workout in such a way that the heart rate is kept near the low end of target zone.

Increase the heart rate gradually until it reaches high end of target zone. As your condition is improved, you can go for greater workload. If you feel fatigue or find difficulty in breathing, stop your exercise immediately.

If you are able to perform many repetitions against a given resistance for a prolonged period of time with the combination of strength and endurance, it results in muscular endurance.

Muscular endurance is important for every fitness activity, from the anaerobic weight lifting repetitions or “reps” to intense aerobic activities like jogging.

It is also important for athletes such as swimmers, runners, rowers and cyclists.

Muscular endurance determines how well your slow twitch muscle fibers are developed. Your body contains two types of muscle fibers: slow twitch and fast twitch.

Slow twitch fibers cannot exert as much force as fast twitch, but can uphold an effort over a much greater period of time.

Fast twitch fibers can exert a great amount of force for a limited amount of time. Therefore, slow twitch muscle fibers equals endurance while fast twitch muscle fibers equals strength.

You have to pay attention to muscular endurance if you are playing sports or involved in physical activities that lasts quite a while.

If you want to improve muscular endurance, involve yourself in cardiovascular activity such as biking, running and playing sports. Walking also can help you to stay healthy and condition your leg muscles.

Omega 3 fatty acid is getting importance for health benefits from years.

It is an important fatty acid to your body but cannot be manufactured by the body.

Therefore, you should get omega 3 fatty acid from the food you eat.

Omega-3 fatty acid is polyunsaturated fat which is found in certain plant oils and fish.

Polyunsaturated fats are liquids at room temperature and remain as liquid when frozen or refrigerated. Omega 3 fatty acids are of three types: alpha linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)

When you eat omega-3 fatty acid, your body converts ALA to EPA and DHA. EPA and DHA are readily used by the body. Omega-3 fatty acid reduces inflammation and helps in preventing certain diseases like arthritis and heart disease.

These fatty acids are highly concentrated in the brain and are important for behavioral and cognitive function.

Dietary sources of omega-3 fatty acids! Apart from fish and plant oils, there are other plant based sources of this fatty acid. Leafy green vegetables, nuts like walnuts, pecans and Brazil nuts, seeds, eggs, and oils such as soya bean oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, and flaxseed oil contain this fatty acid.

Fartlek is a form of road running in which the runner varies the pace significantly during the run.

It is regarded as advanced training technique for the experienced runner who has been using interval training to develop speed.

Fartlek provides a means to introduce speed work to train schedules in a way which makes your training runs both varied and enjoyable. The fartlek is related to interval training.

The interval training purpose is to develop speed by running for short distances at a speed significantly higher than the normal strong race pace. Short runs are separated by intervals of easy running or jogging.

In fartlek running, there are no set distances. Fartlek is effective and satisfied form of training when it is done properly. A good distance runner needs to have endurance, strength, speed and racing tactics. Fartlek contains all these qualities in the same workout.

Fartlek training:

The technique of fartlek is to introduce into your normal runs some short periods of slightly higher pace. Maintain the pace for short period, and then drop your pace back below your normal running pace until you have fully recovered and your breathing has returned to normal.