Angelou's Fitness for Men and Women

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Losing Weight and Fat Through a Cardio/Weight Training Program

When considering weight training in order to lose weight, most of the people are concerned that they will actually start looking bigger as they gain more muscle.

One thing is for certain, including weight training into your routine will definitely result in muscle buildup. At the beginning, it might seem like you aren’t making progress in terms of weight loss. However, if you stick to it, you will begin noticing several changes in your body, such as muscular tone, increase in energy, and better-fitting clothes.

Why Weightlifting is a Powerful Tool

Weightlifting is an incredibly powerful tool as far as weight loss is concerned. Of course, weight training isn’t usually considered an aerobic activity. It primarily makes use of the glycogen system in order to produce energy. Your own heart rate is likely to increase while you are lifting weights, and if you work out for around 40 minutes, you will be able to burn a considerable amount of calories.

The average individual burns nearly 2,000 calories a day simply by carrying out their routine activities. If you add weight training to your daily routine, you will be able to burn extra calories each day that you work out. One pound of fat equals nearly 3,500 calories, which is why you need all the more calories you can burn every day through weight training to lose a pound of fat every week.

Including Cardio Into Your Weekly Regimen

Another interesting fact is that you can burn even more calories a week by including a cardio session or two into your weekly workout regime. To make this work, you can consider getting a fitness tracker to see the number of calories you get to burn. By doing this, you will be able to adjust all your workouts properly.

While lifting weights puts several of your muscle groups to work, cardio sets the tone for an overall healthy and well balanced body. It strengthens your lower body, increases your heart rate, while also providing you all sorts of health benefits. And let’s not forget the fact that cardio is the ultimate tool for boosting metabolism and burning fat even while you are at rest.

Resistance Cardio

Resistance cardio consists of a combination of cardiovascular training with resistance training. For example, rowing with added resistance is a form of resistance cardio, and so is riding a stationary bike which on high setting. If your primary goal is to lose weight, get healthier, and have a more toned appearance, combining resistance and cardio together is definitely an excellent idea. With a session of resistance cardio every once in a while, you will make sure your body torches fat and burns calories like never before.

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Monday, April 4, 2016

All You Need To Know About The Side Effects Of Using Steroids

If you are looking to enhance your performance levels and gain competitive advantage by taking performance enhancing drugs or steroids, then it is important that you first understand the side effects of using them. Steroids are referred to as a group of drugs that are used to treat a number of medical conditions by regulating the immune system and enhancing reproduction. Furthermore, they help in the treatment of many other medical conditions such as inflammation.

In order to gain muscles, nowadays many young and old people are turning to steroids. However, steroids can cause adverse health effects, which is the reason why using them without prescription is illegal. It is quite unfortunate that many athletes today are using performances enhanced drugs (PEDs) to boost their performance and win accolades. Doping is the term used when athletes indulge in such activities. Doping not only lands them a ban from their particular sport/competition, but it also affects their health negatively.

Following are the two types of steroids and their negative side effects.

Anabolic Steroids

Anabolic steroids treat certain medical conditions related to hormone deficiencies, late puberty, and muscle loss. Furthermore, they promote the growth of male skeletal muscles. In order to improve athletic performance and facilitate muscle growth, many athletes and body builders use anabolic steroids. However, this practice is illegal and causes many health problems. The most common anabolic steroids side effects include:

· Hair loss

· Oil hair/skin

· Acne

· Liver Damage

· Disruption of puberty in children

· High Blood pressure

· Increased sexual appetite and aggression

· Infertility

· Excess body of facial hair

· Depression

· Heart Disease

· Kidney Disease

· Breast tissue development in men

· Deeper voice in women

· Shrinking of testicles in men

· Abnormal menstrual cycles in women

· Male impotence

· Breast development cessation in women

· Reduce sperm production

· Enlarged clitoris in women

Apart from the aforementioned side effects, anabolic steroids can make you psychologically and physically dependent on them. Use of anabolic steroids can cause severe depression and may even lead to suicide. The side effects of anabolic steroids can persist for up to a year after you stop using them. These side effects include steroid cravings, reduced sex drive, insomnia, loss of appetite, restlessness, fatigue, and mood swings. Oxandrolone, methyltestosterone, testosterone, and danazol are examples of anabolic steroids.

Androgenic Steroids

Organ development and the development of male sexual characteristics are the two things androgenic steroids aid in. Individuals with growth deficiency and potency related issues are the ones androgenic steroids are meant for. There are many side effects of repeatedly using this type of steroids. These include facial hair growth in females and breast development in males.

There are two types of steroids available today in terms of consumption, oral and injectable. The injectable steroids include Depo, Deca, and Equipoise, while Oxandrin, Dianabol, and Androl are examples of oral steroids. However, it is important that you keep the serious side effects of steroids in mind before you use any of the above-mentioned drugs.

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Saturday, March 26, 2016

Polar activity tracker (watch) review

Exercise programs can never be successful until and unless you equip yourself with all the required things. This includes the fitness supplements and gadgets. As of late, gadgets have been playing a vital role in improving the efficacy of exercise programs. One such gadget is the Polar Activity Tracker watch. The Polar Activity Tracker is Polar’s new do-it-all fitness tracker that tracks all day fitness metrics, sleep duration, and exercise.

The tracker has a colored touch screen display. It is waterproof so you can wear it while swimming and in the shower. It is currently available only in a black and a white band option. However, there will be more color options released soon. Now, it is said that the Polar Activity Tracker is one of the simplest touch screen fitness trackers available today, and in my experience, that’s definitely true. Also, it is the easiest and most intuitive touch screen fitness tracker that I have ever used.

The tracker even boasts a couple of smart watch features such as call and text notifications delivered right to your wrist. Now, this fitness tracker features a polar loop along with a rectangular elongated design, some chrome edges and an overall well-designed built quality. Furthermore, it is the first and only fitness tracker to use a standard USB charging port to charge the internal battery.

The band is comfortable as it is made out of a soft latex, rubbery material. One of the nice things about the design is that even if the band does wear out, you can easily replace it. You can also set this device up with your computer, be it PC or Mac. Additionally, you can set it up with your Smartphone too which is something most users would probably want to do.

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The best features of this fitness wearable include the optical heart rate monitor, paired with a Bluetooth chest strap like the Polar H7. The bands have a nice, rippy texture on the inside which allows the optical heart rate sensor to sit on the wrist nicely and still to get accurate readings. The band is secured with a pin styled clasp and loop. Initially, I was concerned that the band would eventually become loose, but fortunately, that just did not happen.

The user interface of this device is pretty simple; you just push the button on the side and it will open up the watch menu which you can then just scroll down to set the training parameters. You need to select training and then select the type of workout you will be doing. While you are busy selecting the workout, the heart rate monitor begins to work in the background to acquire your heart rate.

The activity tracker band might be a little bit tighter than what you usually wear. However, it immediately comes alive and is the best optical heart rate monitor that you’ll find today. After every lift or high intensity interval training, you will be able to get quick and accurate results.

If you are someone who does any sort of lifting, any sort of high intensity interval training or cross fit exercises, then, in my opinion, the polar activity tracker will be a great watch choice for you.

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Monday, March 21, 2016

The Importance of Strength Training and Best Strength Training Exercises

According to studies, there is a type of exercise that strengthens your bones, improves your balance, benefits your heart, and even helps you lose weight. The type of exercise that allows you to do all of these is strength training. Contrary to the popular belief, strength training is so much more than bodybuilders lifting weights. Strength training benefits all sorts of people including those with health conditions such as heart problems and arthritis.

There are many benefits of strength training. This includes shedding a few pounds off your body, protecting your muscle mass and bone health, becoming stronger and fitter, developing better body mechanics, preventing some diseases, boosting your metabolism, and improving your energy levels/mood. If you want to achieve all the aforementioned benefits then you simply need to incorporate of the following four strength-training exercises in your exercise regime.

Bodyweight Squats

One of the best strength training exercises is bodyweight squats. In order to perform this exercise, station your toes in a forward facing direction and stand with your feet and hip separated apart. Without allowing you knees to surge ahead of your toes, sit back as if you’re sitting in a chair. Until your hamstrings, quads and glutes engage and come back up to standing, do not stop sitting back. It is important that you create 90-degree angle in your knees. 8 to 12 repetitions are what you need to complete. When this becomes easy, start adding weight to the exercise.

Single-Leg Deadlifts

Another great strength training exercise is single-leg deadlifts. In order to perform this exercise, lift the opposite leg behind you after bending one knee and hinging it forward towards the waist. It is important that you do all this while holding a barbell or free weight slightly in front of your body. Until the weights come below your knees, lower them and keep them very close to the top of your legs. Come back to the standing position after engaging the glute of the leg on the ground and your hamstring. Switch to the other leg after you’ve performed 8 to 12 repetitions.

Core work

Core work is another important strength training exercise. You can use any one of the hundreds of exercises meant for strengthening core. Some of the best exercises include reverse crunch, bicycling, planks, and crunches. All of them are equally effective and you need to make them a part of your daily workout routine.

Single-Leg Squats

The final exercise that I am going to recommend is single-leg squats. In order to perform this exercise, sit with your hips back, bend your knee, balance yourself on one foot, and squat down. Extend your leg back to standing after your knee is down in a 90 to 110 degree angle. Rest the toes of your hovering foot on the ground if you find this too challenging. Switch to the other leg after completing 8 to 12 repetitions.

You can achieve all the benefits of strength training by making the above-mentioned exercises a part of your exercising routine.

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Related Links:

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Beauty Sleep by BikiniBOD™ is a delicious, innovative tea supplement that takes the typical weight loss and detox elixirs found on the market today to a whole new level. Beauty Sleep Tea combines the very best of the leading detoxifying, appetite suppression and beauty ingredients into one mix.

Friday, March 18, 2016

The Importance Of Manipulating Training Variables And The Best Ways ToDo It

A quiescent period in training is something that everyone inadvertently experiences. Everything is going well with you losing fat, gaining strength, and looking better when all of a sudden things take a new twist, and you hit a rough patch. Rarely changing their training variable is what causes most people to suffer from this rough patch.

If you want to progress in training without getting injured then there are a few things you need to consider, known as training variables, whether you’re a beginner or an elite trainer. The variables that are the most important and the ones you need to manipulate include volume, load (weight) lifted, and muscle actions to build muscle. Following are the ways of manipulating training variables.

Manipulating Volume Variable

The best technique for manipulating the volume variable is the progressive overload. Increasing the total number of sets or repetitions for a particular workout can overload volume. In order to manipulate the volume variable, start by increasing the number of repetitions and then add an entire set.

Keep the sets and weight same for the next workout if you’re doing a chest fly at 5 sets of 10 reps for 40 pounds. You can increase the number of repetitions to 12. However, a sudden increase in volume can be taxing for your body so refrain from adding an entire set.

Increasing the volume by adding a set to each exercise if you’ve been doing 5 sets at 14 reps of 4 exercises will increase your training session volume by 56 repetitions. If your body or fitness levels do not allow you to deal with rapid changes then this increase in volume may not be suitable for you.

Manipulating load (Weight) Variable

Dialing the weight up is the only way of progressively manipulating it. The weight will become easier to lift as you become stronger. This will automatically encourage you to increase the weight on the bar. Increase the resistance in the following training session by 2.5% or 5 lbs if you’re able to easily handle the prescribed weight through all your reps.

Manipulating Muscle actions

The isometric, eccentric, and concentric actions of a lift are what muscle actions include here. A standard concentric focused routine is what most programs employ. However, employing other muscle actions will allow you to enjoy a number of benefits. Focusing on the eccentric action of a lift will provide you with a greater stretch than a concentric focused routine and will also increase the time under tension.

Furthermore, you will be able to increase volume and strength by performing supra-maximal or circa-maximal eccentric overload. However, the greatest benefit of employing different muscle actions is avoiding a rough training patch.

If you want the desired training success and results then it is important for you to know the ways of manipulating training variables. By understanding these ways, you will be able to avoid a rough training patch and will ensure your training success.

Related Amazon Links:

Click here to lear more about High Intensity Interval Training!

Bodyweight Training: Advanced Methods of Muscular Enhancement Using Bodyweight Only Training (Bodyweight Training and Workouts Book 2)

Related Product Links:

Related Links:

Make every step toward health count with a Fitbit tracker.

21 Day Fix - Simple Eating. Simple Fitness. Fast Results.

Don't live in gym, just look like you do!

Transform your body in just 90 days with P90X!

INSANITY - Get a Year's Worth of Results In Just 60 Days!

Body Beast - Go from Regular Joe to JACKED...Ho-Hum to HOTTIE in 90 Days flat!

Beauty Sleep by BikiniBOD™ is a delicious, innovative tea supplement that takes the typical weight loss and detox elixirs found on the market today to a whole new level. Beauty Sleep Tea combines the very best of the leading detoxifying, appetite suppression and beauty ingredients into one mix.