Article Intro:
New York City’s proposal for a near ban on artificial trans fat in restaurant food received overwhelming support at a hearing on Monday, as fast-food chain KFC separately said it would stop using oil containing the artery-clogging fat.
Article Intro:
“But the New York City Board of Health, the city
’s powerful arbiter of public health rules, is considering a plan to make it much harder to avoid the cold, hard numbers by requiring some of New York’s 20,000 restaurants, including outlets of the nation’s fast-food chains, to list calories on menus and on clearly displayed menu boards.”
It seems that most of the time when people talk about doing a cardio workout, they refer to it more as a necessary evil than as something that they really enjoy. With how monotonous cardio workouts can be, this really isn’t too surprising. Think about it: unless you are outdoors doing what might be considered “natural cardio” (running, biking, etc. without a machine) you are mainly just conforming to the movement of a machine to get your heart rate up. The scenery doesn’t even change except for the people that are walking in front of your machine. Sometimes that might be good scenery and sometimes it might not be…
So how do we make our cardio workouts more enjoyable? The first thing is that you have to decide that it can be enjoyable. Let’s face it, people dread doing things they don’t enjoy. A great example of this is the dentist. Because most of the time it is not an enjoyable experience to go to the dentist, most people dread it. It becomes another one of those necessary evils that we have to do to maintain good health. Now, I don’t think that its fair to compare cardio with going to the dentist, but it seems that to some people it is that un-enjoyable. So once you’ve decided that it can be enjoyable, here are a few things you can do:
1- Read a magazine or book while doing cardio.
Granted, this is easiest to do if you are on a stationary or recumbent bike. It’s probably best to read books and magazines about fitness and health, keeping your mind focused on what you’re really trying to do. While other books and magazines are great to read, they may not be the best to keep yourself mentally in the game when doing your cardio workout.
2- Watch a favorite action movie
Chick flicks, slow dramas, and other slow paced movies are probably not the best to watch during your workout. You want to keep a fast pace for your workout, so don’t slow it down by what you’re watching visually. Watch the type of movie that motivates you to want to get in shape.
3- Listen to upbeat music
Music can have a very powerful effect on you. Have you noticed that when you listen to upbeat music, you feel more upbeat; when you listen to angry music, you feel a little more on edge; basically music can greatly affect your mood. So if you’re planning on listening to music while your workout, make sure it is upbeat and positive.
4- Play some type of racing video game
Again, this really only works when you’re on a stationary or recumbent bike, but why not do all you can to make your body think that you really are in some type of a race? Great way to get your heart beat up. This could be done with either a hand-held gaming device or on a full console if you’re working out at home.
One thing to be careful of with any of these methods it to make sure that they help you and don’t distract you. Personally, I’ve found that my pace almost always slows down when I’m just “watching TV” while doing my cardio workout. But if its a movie that motivates me, then I tend to keep my pace up to par. Experiment with different ideas and find out what works best for you.
Not all fats are created equal! We’ve all heard that need to avoid the words “Partially Hydrogenate (insert oil type here)” when reading different nutrition labels. Here is a good article from USA Today that talks about that exact subject. So, if you’re thinking of grabbing some fast-food (especially deep fried stuff), this might help you think twice and stay on the path of healthiness.
Article Intro:
Trans fat, which is used in many fried and processed foods, may contribute more to weight gain than other types of fat, suggests a new study presented here Saturday at the annual meeting of the Obesity Society, an organization of weight-loss professionals.
Hopefully all of you have heard about the possibility that Congress may be passing a law either restricting health supplements or at least extremely limiting their availability. You may remember seeing banners with the slogan “SOS - Save Our Supplements” on many popular sites like GNC and others. The fact of the matter is, if this law were to pass, it would affect many of us in many different ways. How many people out there take at least 2-3 supplements each day just to help them maintain their current physiques or fitness levels? While supplements are just that, supplemental to what you can do naturally, they are a huge help for all of us in reaching our respective goals. It would seem that some of the responsibility does need to be carried by the supplement companies themselves, making sure that they are producing quality products with little or no side-effects (think of the fall of Ephedra) to keep laws such as this from even being considered. Read more by using the link below:
Original Article Intro:
Now in committee, this law would virtually destroy the dietary supplement industry. The legislation is identified as the “Dietary Supplement Access & Awareness Act,” but it does not address free access & only creates a negative awareness of these products. It would cost taxpayers millions & take away our freedom. Contact your Reps through link…..
Most of us already know what we should be doing to achieve some of our lifetime fitness and natural weight loss goals. The question is, are we actually implementing the knowledge that we have? In his book Body-for-LIFE Bill Phillips refers to this as “Crossing the Abyss”. He talks in that book about the big difference between knowing what to do and actually doing it!
We came across this Q&A Article with Tom Venuto on www.ironmagazine.com where he talks about this same concept. In this article Tom makes some very good suggestions to a teen that is looking to improve his physique before a graduation trip. The point is this: there are principles that have to be followed in order to achieve anything in your life. One of these principles is goal-setting. Tom does a very good job in this article of going over some of the main reasons and methods you can use to set and accomplish your goals.
Article:
Q&A article by fitness guru Tom Venuto that gives some good information about what to do to achieve some fitness goals. Especially for those people that feel they already know what to do, but need some help actually doing it!
So we all know that there are some basic things that you have to do if you are trying to lose weight. The information in the link below isn’t anything revolutionary, but it is a good reminder of the basics. Have a read!
Article Information:
So you have decided to lose weight. Almost all of us go through it at one point or another. But, with so many different diets, pills, advice and information, how do you go about it without going crazy? Here are some tips that worked for me and some others.
We have all heard that you are what you eat, and there are many studies coming out all of the time that are suggesting that this is very true. We found this article and the concept is very interesting. Essentially the research shows that by improving someones diet and nutrition, they were able to greatly improve their overall demeanor and behavior. Anyway, it makes for an interesting read.
Here is the intro to the article:
Research with violent British and US prisoners suggests nutritional deficiencies may play a key role in aggressive bevaviour. US clinician Joseph Hibbeln’s hypothesis is that modern industrialised diets may be changing the very architecture and functioning of the brain. We are suffering, he believes, from widespread diseases of deficiency.
This may be an age-old question, but today we’re going to address some of the pros and cons of some of the main cardio machines out there. Each one has their benefits of course, but each can also be used for different situations. So let’s get started:
Treadmills
Ah, the ever popular idea of running in place. There are many articles out there that state that running on a treadmill is the best way to burn fat. And, in many cases we would have to agree with them. Some of the really nice things about treadmills is that they give you the same feeling as running in the country, but without the country smell. So the big pros to doing your cardio workout on a treadmill is that it is a great fat burner and cardio monster.
One of the down sides of the treadmill are that you experience the same impact that you would doing regular running, which depending on the condition of your knees might not necessarily be a really good idea.
Elliptical Trainer
The elliptical trainer gives you a really good workout with out the impact that the treadmill does. That is probably the biggest benefit to the elliptical. One of the problems that sometimes comes with an elliptical is that it is fixed in the way that it moves. If you’ve ever sat back and watched people run, you’ll notice that different people move differently when they run. It seems that there isn’t really a standard when it comes to every-day joggers. But on an elliptical, you have to conform to the machine and that can become somewhat uncomfortable. (Editor’s Note: In the gym that I go to there are only 2 elliptical machines that I like to use because my knees always hit the joints on the other ones because of my height. Other than that, I love using elliptical trainers!)
Stationary Bike (Upright)
Another classic, the stationary bike has been around for a long time. For those of us with somewhat bad knees, these are great for staying low impact and also getting a good workout for the quad and other legs muscles. Overall the stationary bike is a great alternative for your cardio workout.
Recumbent Stationary Bike
This seems to be a relatively newer version of the old bicycle. Rather that being upright when you ride this cardio machine, you are seated more like you would be in a regular chair. This helps you to get a cardio workout from a different angle than you will with any other machine. The other great feature of the recumbent bike, is that it is the easiest cardio machine to get a workout and some good reading at the same time!
Stair Climber
One of the great things about the stair climber is that, just like the stationary bike, you can make it really hard if you want to. The stair climber can even be used as part of your leg routine if you make the resistance high enough! Stair climbers give you essentially the same effect of running up and down stairs, without having to actually go to a stadium to do it.
So, when it comes to doing a cardio workout, its very important to mix up what you do on a rather consistent basis. Cardio is one of those things that can become very boring, so mix it up from time to time and have some fun with it!
How important is focus when you’re working out? We believe it is crucial to your success, whether you are working on losing weight or just trying to gain muscle. There are a lot of different terms that people use for extreme focus, but we’ll use the concept of being in the “Zone” today.
So how do you get into the “Zone”? This will be different for each individual person. One thing that is very effective it to somehow drown out all of the other noise around you in the gym. Get an inexpensive walkman or MP3 player and listen to music that gets you pumped. There are a few reasons why this simple method is effective for getting into the “Zone”. First of all, have you ever been working out, and then all of a sudden a song you just can’t stand starts to play over the gym radio? Tune it out and listen to something you like! Another reason is that some people find that they are easily distracted by other conversations, grunts, and other gym noises around them. Again, let’s drown those out with something that gets you motivated and moving.
Other things that you can do to get in the “Zone” are meditation, working out alone (if that suits you), and other general attitude concepts that we don’t have time to go into in this post. In my personal opinion, music has always been the most powerful way to help me get into the “Zone” where I can really focus in on the intensity of my workouts.
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