Aerobic video

Aerobic Videos - Shapes You Up!

I have been using aerobic workout videos for about a year now, and let me tell you if you have the right setup and the right attitude, they work every bit as well as an actual aerobics class with an expensive personal trainer. Although many people buy aerobic videos, and then leave them sitting there, gathering dust, and never do anything with them, many others use them to embark on a healthier, more successful life. What is the difference? Why do aerobic videos work wonders for some people, but fare horribly for others? Allow me to explain.

You see, the reason is not the aerobics videos at all, but the person watching them. The first and most important thing is attitude. Now, we have all heard that before but I will have to emphasize it again: attitude is everything. The right attitude towards exercise will enable you to find joys in hours of sweat which could otherwise make you give up for the tempting leisures of a potato-couch instead. The right attitude is essential to your success. Right from the onset, you need to set realistic and achievable goals and a constant schedule of exercise that will help you approach your goals. That is no easy task, I know. And nobody or nothing can help you. Motivation can not come from the aerobic videos it has to come from within.

The most important thing is that you exercise regularly. Doing each aerobic video twice every third Sunday won't count. Frequency matters more than how much time you spend on each once-in-a-blue-moon session. Even if you never make it all the way through your aerobic videos at first, you have to be using them every day or you will not get the maximum results from them I doubt that you will get any results at all. Set realistic goals and stick with them. It is no good telling yourself that you will do a two hour workout with your aerobic videos every day, and then compromising that unachievable goal the very next minute. Set little goals, ones you know that you can succeed at, to build confidence and slowly move on to bigger goals.

Equally important is to have a good space to do your aerobics workout. If you live in a tiny one room apartment with clothing spread all over the floor, forget it. You can use some aerobic videos with less space than you might think, but if you don't at least clear a little room to move around in, you will never reach any of your exercise goals, and that is a terrible excuse. The beginning of your aerobic workout is really setting a time, clearing out a space, and psyching yourself up. Don't expect immediate success from using your aerobic videos. It will be very hard work and you might feel like giving up at times. But if you persevere, within a month you will notice major changes.

By Steven J Acren

Fitness and Nutrition

5 Fitness & Nutrition Tips for More Weight Loss

Here are 5 fitness and nutrition tips to help you with your weight loss program. Follow these and you'll boost your metabolism and burn more fat.
What would I do if I were you?

If I were you and I wanted to lose the fat I gained over the holiday break...whether it's 3 pounds, 10 pounds, or 20 pounds or more...so, here's what I would do if I were you...
1 - I'd return to the program that has worked best for me in the past. So let's say that my best fat loss ever was 8 pounds in 4 weeks last summer...when I was eating right and doing 3 total body workouts per week followed by intervals.
Then I'd simply get right back on that program, pronto. Don't worry about trying to set up some fancy program based on this research or that, just get back to what worked before.

2 - I'd drink six cups of Green Tea per day and 3.5grams of Omega-3 fatty acids per day (I'd get this from eating fish or from fish oil supplements). I'd eat at least 6 servings of vegetables per day and 6 servings of fruit. I'd snack on almonds. I'd eat only lean protein sources. Etc. Etc. And this is what I do, everyday. Maybe some pizza on the weekend, but other than that, stick to the plan.

3 - I'd do only the exercises that I hated...as long as I hate them because they are hard. For me, that's squats, dumbbell rows, split squats, and other big muscle-group exercises. Just thinking about those exercises jacks up my metabolism.
For many people, chin-ups are a major challenge...and let's face it, they are a total body exercise if done right.
In fact, all of the major exercises in the strength and interval workouts are "total-body exercises". If you don't think that chin-ups and DB rows are total body exercises, then you aren't doing them to their full capacity. Maybe you don't have the total body muscle control to work your whole body with these exercises.
If you're confused by what I wrote, go ask a truly experienced lifter, in person, and they should be able to show you how you can make all lifts "total body exercises".

4 - I'd add more bodyweight exercises to my training schedule. Bodyweight workouts won't cause too much soreness, but they will allow you to give your body more metabolic turbulence, meaning more fat loss and more calories burned.
And you don't have to drive to the gym to do these. In fact, you could probably get a total-body, bodyweight workout done in the time it takes you to get to the gym and back.

5 - I'd keep trying to get stronger. Training to get strong causes the greatest metabolic response in your body. That means, in less geeky language, that your body will burn more calories, and ultimately more fat, when you train to get stronger.
No more la-dee-daing and farting around with the high reps, low weight stuff. Leave that to the bad workout videos from the '80s.
Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week.

By Cariq Ballantyne