Work out

Whether you are working out at home or at the gym, there are plenty of work out routines to choose from. Everyone has their preference on work out routines, some people like to make a circuit, some people like to work out their whole body and some like to work out one muscle group a day. If you are trying to gain muscle or tone up, strength training is a must. Weights and resistant bands work well for toning up and or gaining muscle. Some people like to lift heavy and do less reps and some people like to lift light and do a lot of reps, both are effective in getting results. The most important thing to know is to always challenge yourself, if your body is use to weight or work out routine, you must change it. The more you challenge yourself, the more results you will see. According to ask men the more muscle mass one acquires through weight-bearing exercises, the more he will burn fat calories--even at rest. Remember muscle weighs more than fat, so lift those weights. Here is a good upper body work out that you can do at the comfort of your own home.

If you don't like running outdoors or using the treadmill and elliptical, high intensity interval training is a great way to burn a lot of calories in a short amount of time. According to Shape, high intensity interval training describes any workout that alternates between intense bursts of activity and fixed periods of less-intense activity or even complete rest. As stated by Shape, research shows you can achieve more progress in a mere 15 minutes of interval training (done three times a week) than the girl jogging on the treadmill for an hour. And according to a 2011 study presented at the American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting, just 2 weeks of high-intensity intervals improves your aerobic capacity as much as 6 to 8 weeks of endurance training. And if you want even more results combine weight training with high intensity interval training. AskMen states combining cardio and weight training is for the best because cardiovascular activity combined with weight training will result in much more effective fat loss. Cardiovascular exercises will raise muscle metabolism during the activity and for a short time after the exercise session. AskMen also states weight training, on the other hand will raise your muscle metabolism during the exercise session and for a long time after the exercise session. Here is a good 10 minute cardio work out.

Traditional gyms vs. Local boot camp/ crossfit gyms

        When it come to picking out a gym, where do you start? Should you go with the traditional gyms such as 24hr fitness and Fitness 19 or Local boot camp gyms? It is important that you pick out a gym that is right for you. You want to pick something that you will be committed to, something that catches your interets and will not get old for you. Everyone is different, everyone has a different schedule and everyone has different goals. Some goals are to loose weight, some are to tone up, some are to gain mucle and some people just want to improve their over all health.
 
     24 hr fitness is your traditional chain of gyms. The great thing about 24hr fitness is that is it open 24hrs a day, so no matter how crazy your schedule is you can go when ever you want. Another great thing is that 24hr fitness has so many locations to chose from, so if your out of town, you can still get your work out at a local 24 hr fitness. LA fitness, Fitness 19, Gold's Gym are all tradional gyms that provide eqiupment and classes. What makes 24hr fitness distinct is that it is 24hrs. These tradiotional gyms have memberships that require payments that are yearly and or monthly. The price varies for all gyms and most of these gyms are affordable. The gyms don't follow up with you if your not attending your daily work outs. They can care less, just as long as your making your payments. For those people who know how to work out on their own and have self-disicpline. A traditional gym is a good answer for them because all they really need is the equipement. For those who don't know, they can always take that classes that gym provides. These classes are at times full and you need to get their early to get a spot. Most of these traditional gyms do have personal trainers on staff, but it is an additional cost.

Local gyms such as bootcamps and crossfit gyms are more of an initmate fitness community. Everyone knows each other and the trainer/instructor knows your name. According to Crossfit Threshold, unlike traditonal gyms who's business models revolve around providing members with general purpose equipment which can easily be used by as many people as possible, CrossFit affiliates not only provide their clients with the equipement needed to establish life-long, sustatainable fitness, but also with: Instruction on how to use such equipment, coaching needed to keep individuals motivated and on-task, educational insight on physiology and nutrition and a community to support you on your journey. These gyms do provide equipement, something that you won't see at a tradiontional gym is tires to flip and ropes to climb. These gyms are unique and do challenge you in a different way. These gyms are more costly and are more of an investment, but these gyms do always have great offers on groupons and livingsocial. According to Marissa Garavito who is a personal trainer and instructor at The Next Level Gym, she prefers the boot camp gym over a traditional gyms. She said she wasn't getting the results she wanted at 24hr fitness and was not being challenged. So she started training at her local gym, The Next Level Gym, and their is where she not only got the results she wanted, but found her passion for fitness. One year later after being a member she became a personal trainer at The Next Level Gym.

Everyone has a different goal and has a different schedule, when picking a gym always find what is best for you. The most important thing is that your trying to become a healthier you.

Childhood Obesity

Growing up I was an active kid, I was always outside playing, involved in sports and it was rare that I would be watching TV.  I feel that because of all the new technological accessories, such as smart phones, IPads, and video games, you find kids hook on these accessories instead of being active. In addition, everyone is always in a rush to be somewhere and many people have little time to actually cook, so when they are hungry and or their kids are hungry they turn to fast food. On the subject, thirty years ago, kids just ate one snack a day, whereas now they are trending toward three snacks, resulting in additional 200 calories a day ("Learn the facts," 2010). Things have changed and it is not a good change as you can see. It is not hard to see why so many kids are obese in America. It is important that parents start taking action.     

            According to Centers for Disease Control childhoodObesity has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 30 years. Childhood obesity has both immediate and long-term effects on health and well-being. One immediate effect is that obese youth are more likely to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease and are more likely to have prediabetes, which can later develop into diabetes. ("Childhood obesity facts," 2013). Now diabetes is only one major health problem, but other Obesity related health problems are heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer and asthma. 

          Kids should not be worrying about these diseases, which is why parents need to take action. Kids will eat what their parents eat. If the parents are eating unhealthy it is likely that the child is eating unhealthy. First Lady, Michele Obama started a campaign called “Let’s Move,” which is dedicated to solving the problem of obesity within a generation, so that children born today will grow up healthier and able to pursue their dreams ("Let’s Move," 2010).  This idea is just what parents need. It focuses on health and being active. This website provides tips and how to get started. According to Blaze.com, Michele Obama said “childhood obesity is just a public health issue, it’s not just an economic threat, it’s a national security threat as well.” Michele Obama getting involved shows that it is a huge problem and it is something that needs to be solved.  

            Small changes can make a big difference. Forcing kids to play outside instead of watching T.V. can make a huge difference or staying away from fast food and making healthier choices. Implementing portion control by allowing the child to eat a certain amount instead of the whole bag of chips or candy. Taking kids to the park or even on hike at least three times a week. There are many ways to control obesity; you just have to implement these ideas.   

References

Learn the facts. (2010, February 9). Retrieved from http://www.letsmove.gov/learn-facts/epidemic-childhood-obesity

Childhood obesity facts. (2013, July 10). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/obesity/facts.htm

CrossFit

Cross fit is the new "it" work out, it is intense and high impact, no machines are needed for cross fit just your body. Many people are switching from 24 hr fitness and LA fitness to a cross fit gym. According to games.crossfit, cross fit is many things. Primarily, it's a fitness regimen developed by coach Greg Glassman over several decades. He was the first person in history to define fitness in a meaningful, measurable way. CrossFit itself is defined as that which optimizes fitness constantly varied functional movements performed at relatively high intensity. Greg Glassman open up the first cross fit gym in 1995 and and 5 years later, everyone began to become familiar with it. From 2005-2009 over 1000 cross fit gyms open world wide.(crossfitvirtuosity) In summer 2007 the cross fit games began; every year people compete to be the fittest on Earth.

 Burpees, mountain climbers, pushing a tire from one side of the room to the next and climbing a rope are just some of the few workouts in cross fit. Most of the cross fit gyms are a bit pricey, but they are worth it because they work with you on a personal level, so its like having a personal trainer. Cross fit will help you loose weight, gain endurance, muscle and strength. Cross fit is many things and it is why people like it, you will never get bored because there is always a different work out routine and a new challenge to surpass. 

This video explains what cross fit is and gives you a better idea. Although it may be pricey, just remember you can't put a price on health. Would you rather have a new outfit, pair of shoes or a healthy/hot body. Look for deals on group on and living social, local cross fit gyms are always giving a sweet deal that is too good to pass up.

 The most important thing is to find something you enjoy doing, cross fit might not be for you, but you might like dancing, weight lifting, running, swimming, or boxing, if you enjoy doing a certain type of work out then stick to it because it will help you reach your fitness goal. 

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Lower body work out

Here is a great lower body work out video that you can do at the comfort of your own home. What is great about this video is that you don't need any weights, your just using your body weight. This video also includes a 5 minute warm up. This video will definitely have your legs crying and is only 16 minutes. To make this more of an intense work out, go for a 30 minute jog around your block, or do some jumping jax, anything to get your heart rate up. Remember a pound of fat is 3,500 calories. According to Nicci Howell, a pound of fat contains about 3,500 calories, so for each pound of fat you want to lose, you'll need to trim 500 calories a day. Howell suggests if you wanted to loose 2 lbs a week, do physical activity daily to burn those 500 calories or eating 700 fewer calories and exercise to burn 300 calories. Read more at Live Strong.com

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Upper body work out

When your working out it is best to focus on certain muscles at a time. For example, one day you can do upper body work out and the next lower body work out. This method lets you focus on certain muscle groups. Sometimes it could be too much for body to handle when your working out your entire body. This video is perfect for your upper body, it demonstrates the work out then does the work out. This video is 20 minutes and all you need is a mat and dumbbells.  Fitness can be done at the comfort of your home, so you have no excuses. There is always a way to get in shape. Before starting this video I would recommend warming up, maybe start with jumping jax or jump rope for 5 minutes or even go for a jog. If you want to break a sweat before you start this work out do 50 jumping jax, 20 burpees, 20 mountain climbers, and 20 squats in place. This will make your work out more intense and will get your heart rate up, hence burn more calories.  

Bye belly fat

The most stubborn fat to get rid of is your belly fat, better known as your gut. The stomach is a major problem area for both men and women. According to Fred Pescatore, MD, a New York physician specializing in nutrition and the author of Boost Your Health With Bacteria. "The gut plays a huge role in our overall health," he says "the majority of all of our illnesses stem from the gut being unhealthy."(Hepler, 2012) Asthma, allergies, obesity, heart disease, diabetes and inflammatory are all related to a poor gut health. According to Jennifer Cohen, Belly fat is actually the most dangerous type of fat-besides aesthetics, large waist lines are indicators of disease. There is a formula you can do to see if you are at risk of disease, according to Dr. Oz, you take your height in inches and divide that in half. If your waist size is more than half your height, you're at higher risk for developing complications from belly fat. Click here to view a video of Dr. Oz discussing belly fat.

Now that I have discussed about how belly fat can be a major threat, I will share some information about how to get rid of it. A healthy diet and exercise will help you get rid of that belly fat. In more detail of what kind of work out you should be doing is something that is high impact, something that will get your heart rate up. Julian Michaels recommends circuit training because it gets your heart rate up and you work out your entire body. Do not rely on sit ups to get rid of the belly fat because you don't want to build muscle over the fat. According to Julian Michaels both belly bulge and love handles are about excess body fat, not lack of muscle. That's why ab exercises alone are not the solution. Scoring a flat stomach is all about workouts that impact different muscle groups at the same time-so you're strengthening your entire body and burning more calories. Jon Wade from Motely Health encourages exercise for weight loss. He claims that exercising has an immediate effect on weight, in that as you exercise you burn energy, mostly glycogen stored in muscle tissue. The body replaces the lost energy by breaking down sugar reserves in fat cells. This is why we lose weight/fat when we exercise. So get off that couch and exercising.

Jennifer Cohen discusses 6 ways to burn your belly fat, one is sleep. When you're tired you produce more ghrelin, which triggers cravings for sugar and other fat-building foods.(Cohen, 2012) Number 2 on the list is short burst of exercises, once again do not rely on crunches or sit ups to get rid of the belly fat, she suggests planking because it works out your entire body and aims at your core as well burning more calories. Cohen strongly suggest to stay away from sugar and claims that it is your enemy, she is not the first person to say this either, Julian Michaels and many other articles such as Live Strong.com recommend to reduce your sugar and sodium intake in order for you to lose weight. Cohen suggest a great tip, she suggests to sprinkle cinnamon in your coffee or oatmeal because the spice has been shown to help stabilize blood sugar. Cohen suggests to increase your vitamin C intake because when you're under extreme stress, you secret more corisol hormone. Vitamin C helps balance the cortisol spikes that happen to you under this stress. Michaels and Cohen both suggest to eat fat, yes fat, but the good fat. Michaels suggests to eat nuts, according to Michaels, research has found that people who eat nuts twice a week are much less likely to gain weight than those who don't. Cohen advises to eat good fats such as salmon, avocados and walnuts, foods that are rich in Omega 3's.

If your serious about getting rid of the belly fat, you have stay away from happy hour. Michaels implies to stay away from alcohol because alcohol releases estrogen into the bloodstream and when you have excess estrogen, you're more prone to hold onto weight. Julian Michaels insinuates that  alcohol also lowers your inhibitions, decreases your willpower, and stimulates your appetite. The result? You in a drive-thru ordering a cheeseburger and fries at 2 a.m. Michaels is so right because many of us have been in this position. Jon Wade encourages to decrease your alcohol consumption. According to Wade, if you drink a lot, you will accumulate fat around your waist. Excess alcohol consumption can really give you a belly.

Having a healthy life-style will help you in so many ways, you will have energy, confidence and a better mine set. Start your healthy life style today and get rid of that belly