How Does Protein Help You Burn Fat?

If you liked this video please check out more information at www.dietsolutionsprogram.com

Top 10 tips for getting your six-pack

  There are many myths and misunderstandings about obtaining a great six-pack.  If you want to build a six-pack, here are 10 tips on how to make a six-pack.  Very often when people start to work on their abs they do a big mistake.  Like doing 500 sit ups and crunches every day, ff you can do 500 reps of an exercise the exercise is simply not hard enough for you and you need to focus on exercises that put more pressure on your abs and burn fat at the same time.

Furthermore, you need to watch your calories for sure.  Your body is basically a machine and you need to watch the calories you put in and the calories you burn.  For example, if you take in more calories than you burn you will not lose weight but gain weight.    

In addition to this there are some other things to change.

Here are 10 tips on getting a six-pack:

1. You need to combine your abdominal work out with a work out for the rest of your body as well, no matter what your fitness level.

2. Your Diet is 50% of the work you put into it, if you are obese it is even more.

3. Only doing abdominal exercises is not going to give you a six pack, you need to remove the fat surrounding your abs.

4. Cardiovascular training, like running, power walking, treadmill and cross trainers are an important part of building a six pack whether you like it or not.

5. If you are obese and are dropping to many pounds per week, you might get a problem with excessive loose skin in your stomach region, so you need to find a balance with a healthy diet and be patient.

6. Base your abs exercises on lifting your legs and not your upper body, this puts a much better pressure on your abs.

7. Analyze your body type before you get started in the gym so you can set up the right work out for you

8. Low Glycemic carbohydrates, like brown rice, sweet potatoes and oatmeal are ok, but you should avoid anything white like regular rice, sugar etc

9. A good trick is to cut out and just stick to meat and vegetables in the evening after 6 pm.

10. Avoid any crash diets they are going to have a negative impact on you and might even make you gain weight.

If you are following these 10 tips you for sure will be on your way to build your perfect six-pack, no matter what level you are on.

Just imagine yourself walking on the beach with a very nice six pack, that itself should be motivation enough.

Happy workouts,

JB

Learn more about the foods that help you get your six-pack:  www.getyourabs.com

Carbohydrates and Body Fat

I'm going to cut right to the chase and get to the point. Eat more veggies than starchy foods for your carbohydrate source.
Here's why:
The end result of all carbohydrates broken down by the body is glucose, also called blood sugar. So whether it's a spoon of sugar, a piece of bread, or some broccoli, the body breaks each down to use as its main fuel source, blood sugar. The difference between some of these carbohydrates is the rate in which the body metabolizes them, or breaks them down, to use as blood sugar. There are simple carbohydrates like fruit, syrup, and sugar and there are complex carbohydrates like bread, pasta, potatoes, and oatmeal. The difference between simple and complex carbohydrates is the speed at which the body breaks them down to utilize as glucose.
Simple carbohydrates like table sugar and fruit are converted more rapidly for a quick energy boost. Complex carbohydrates take longer to break down and offer a more sustained supply of energy for the body.
Complex carbohydrates should be your main choice for energy for that precise reason, they offer more of a sustained energy supply. Simple carbohydrates create a quick boost of energy followed by a rapid decline, almost like a "crash."
Complex carbohydrates mainly come from either starchy foods like rice, pasta, and bread, or by vegetables like broccoli, peas, and green beans. The biggest reason to switch from a diet full of starchy carbohydrates like bread, pasta, and rice to a diet with more fibrous, leafy ones like vegetables is the calories involved.
I have a friend named Shawn LeBrun who is a personal trainer in Maine and when he was getting ready for his bodybuilding show in which he lost almost 50 pounds in 10 weeks, he replaced his starchy carbohydrates with more vegetables and fibrous carbohydrates.
I have never had to lose that much weight that fast but can vouch this works.
Fat-Loss Veggies
This one simple modification accounted for a significant drop in calories that was soon followed by a significant drop in body fat. Just like it's wise to moderate fats because they are very calorie dense, starchy carbohydrates like bread and pasta are more calorie dense than fibrous, leafy ones like vegetables.
What we want to do is eat a lot of food that makes us full but without over-doing it with the calories.
For effective, permanent fat loss, I feel it's important to choose foods that offer high volume but low calories. This way you do not feel deprived because you're still eating a lot of food but you're not getting a lot of calories in return. Vegetables offer this luxury. You can eat a lot in volume, but do not get a lot of calories in return, unless they are deep fried or drowned in butter (not recommended). This high volume, low calorie luxury doesn't exist with starchy carbohydrates. A small serving of starchy carbs like pasta, bread, and rice is still high in calories.
For example, a 1/4-cup of rice has approximately 150 calories. A 1/2-cup of oatmeal has about the same amount of calories. However, you can eat an entire box package of broccoli and have fewer calories than what you consumed with the 1/4 cup of rice. Or almost an entire bag of raw baby carrots.
I know what you're thinking, "I love my bread and I'm not getting rid of it". I absolutely agree, do not get rid of your breads, pasta, rice, and oatmeal. But moderate it and reduce the amount of each serving. Instead, supplement the smaller serving with more vegetables.
Your body absolutely needs carbohydrates. Carbs are the body's main source of glucose. Your brain cannot function without glucose, in fact, you'd die without blood sugar.
To start eliminating excess calories from the diet, start to moderate and limit the amount of starchy carbs like bread, pasta, rice, oatmeal, bagels, and instead eat more vegetables like broccoli, carrots, green beans, spinach. lettuce, peas, and so on.

To discover how you can tap into your hybrid muscle fibers in order to build muscle and burn fat simultaneously go here:  www.leanhybridmuscle.com

Legs Anyone??

I keep finding these great articles on Ezine and other areas that have great relevant workouts and information.  Give this one a read and see if you like it.
 

The Greatest Quad Builder... That Almost No One Wants To Do

By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.BurnTheFat.com

It’s axiomatic that the exercises which give you the best results are always the hardest ones to do. If you want a huge back… you row and deadlift. If you want huge legs, you squat… OR… you do THIS leg exercise – that almost no one wants to do because its one of the hardest of them all.

Which one am I talking about? FRONT SQUATS!

In my opinion, front squats are one of the absolute best quad builders. Back squats are a tremendous mass builder as well, but front squats introduce an additional level of challenge because they require flexibility, technique, and core strength because the bar must be held and balanced on the front of the shoulders. As such, the front squat does everything the back squat does and more.

One great advantage of the front squat, especially for someone like me, having previously suffered a low back injury (herniated L4), is that the torso can be held in a more upright (vertical position). Since there is less forward trunk inclination, this removes some of the stress and shear forces from the lower back. At the same time, this upright position is closer to a bodybuilding squat and throws much more emphasis on the quads and less on the hips. It is truly a superb bodybuilding exercise.

There are two styles of front squatting, the Olympic lifting style and the crossed arm style. I find that most athletes, and of course Olympic lifters, use the former, while most bodybuilders seem to prefer the latter. The barbell should generally be your weapon of choice, but for bodybuilders, front squats on the smith machine are an outstanding alternative. The Smith machine front squat takes some of the balance issues out of the picture, which allows the physique athlete to really focus on working the muscle rather than worrying about balance and stabilization. Be sure to rotate between both versions, however– barbell and smith machine – because long term overuse or dependency on machines may lead to stabilizer weakness or muscle imbalances and variety is never a bad idea in the physique game. Incidentally, the barbell front squat is an outstanding “core” exercise.

A third version of the front squat worth considering is the dumbbell front squat (especially the sumo or wide stance version). These can be performed holding a single dumbbell with both hands on the front of the shoulders, cupped between both hands (goblet squat) or with two dumbbells, one in each hand, resting on top of each shoulder. The limiting factor on these front squat variations is often the poundage, as holding heavy dumbbells can become unwieldy. This can be partially overcome by performing the dumbbell front squat last in a leg workout or second in a superset, or by manipulating tempo and range of motion so the exercise is made more difficult. The dumbbell variations are also a great choice for women who usually don’t require as much weight as men for stimulation.

I find that the front squat is particularly effective at developing the tear drop shaped vastus medialis portion of the (“lower”) quads, and you can emphasize this effect even more by elevating your heels on a board or a wedge. Elevating your heels is considered controversial and some say that this is damaging to the knees. I’m not convinced that this is the case with a slight elevation and very strict form and controlled tempo, although I would not recommend this method to anyone with existing knee problems. There is certainly a risk to benefit ratio of every technique variation, and you have to decide if the added potential benefit is worth the potential risk, depending on your particular situation (consult the appropriate medical or training professional if you’re not sure)

You can also emphasize the medialis and increase overall effectiveness by working FULL squats (breaking parallel) and only coming up three quarters (no locking out). Have you ever seen Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman’s workout videos? I realize that Mr Olympia’s bodybuilding video tapes are not “workout instruction” nor do they really have anything to do with us mere mortals, but I pay attention to everything in the world of bodybuilding, and I did find it very interesting to watch Ronnie front squatting 500+ pounds. I also found it interesting that he went rock bottom and he did ¾ reps without releasing tension for even a single rep. Although he certainly has some advantages over other bodybuilders, everything is relative and he has some ridiculous quads, even compared to other IFBB pros. Indeed, continuous tension ¾ reps are a tremendous technique to employ with the front squat exercise, regardless of whether you’re a novice or a pro. Be prepared to leave your ego at home, however.

In addition to the ¾ reps, try manipulating your tempo. It will limit your poundage even further, but what you sacrifice in strength you will make up in hypertrophy.  Whereas a regular rep might be 2011 or 3011 tempo, or even a full-out explosive concentric with a controlled eccentric, bodybuilders may want to try utilizing a tempo of 3020, or (even harder) 4030. With sets of 10 -12 reps, this will give you a minimum of 50-70 seconds of continuous time under tension. The lactic acid burn around the 10-12th^th rep has to be felt to be “appreciated.” The only thing more difficult than continuous tension/non-lockout ¾ reps are continuous tension, non-lockout reps with a slow tempo. Truly a quad killer!

Note: 4-point tempo prescriptions are as follows:

3020 tempo =
3 = negative/eccentric action
0 = pause in stretch/bottom position
2 = positive/concentric action
0 = pause in contracted/top position

So if front squats are so good, why don’t more people do them? Simple – because they’re damn hard. Here is what I usually see happen: Someone will start front squatting (or try to), and they inevitably put on way too much weight. Their form is horrible, it feels totally uncomfortable and unbalanced, so our novice front squatter quits and writes off front squats for good after only one try, and heads back over to the leg press machine.

I usually advise them to unload the bar and master the form first with very light weights, but invariably, ego gets in the way, and 315-405 squatters and 1000+ pound leg pressers don’t want to be seen with a single “wheel” (45 pound plate) on each side of an Olympic bar while they patiently master the technique for a new exercise. Alas, they never learn to front squat, they go back to what is easy and familiar and they never gain all the benefits of this awesome exercise.

Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
Lifetime Natural Bodybuilder
www.BurnTheFat.com

About the Author:

Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilder, certified personal trainer and freelance fitness writer. Tom is the author of "Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using secrets of the world's best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: www.burnthefat.com

Muscle Confusion???

 The Mass Confusion That
Dominates  In Fat Loss & Fitness Today

By Rob Poulos, Fat Loss & Fitness Expert & Creator of 'Fat Burning Furnace'

People are confused more than ever about how to burn fat.  They are confused about the best way to go about achieving the body they want.  They are confused about what works and what doesn’t, and the reasons why.  There are countless individuals slaving away in gyms and fitness centers around the country right now. 

They are working tirelessly, almost every day, on the treadmill, stair-climber, elliptical, etc. to burn those calories and fat.  They also might be lifting weights several times a week for hours at a time to build some strength and muscle.  They might even join a few aerobics or spinning classes too.

They are probably also trying one of the latest diet strategies that promises miracle fat burning and weight loss.  They could also be spending a lot of money on the latest and greatest dietary supplements that could be that miracle pill that will aid in weight loss.  They are also carefully watching the scale as their main judge of fat loss progress. 

If it goes up a pound or two, they may behave rashly and maybe even change up their entire workout or diet program! And of course there are others are doing variations on that same theme. 

After all, this is the kind of stuff that many of the popular fitness and diet gurus typically recommend to burn fat.  But with so many different strategies and plans being pushed as the be all and end all, what happens is we tend to overboard. 

And when that happens, we lose sight of what really matters in achieving lifelong fat burning, fitness and health…the principles than many people don’t know about, most people have forgotten, and only a select few put to use to achieve lifelong health and fitness.  These are the same principles I used to drop over 40 pounds of unwanted body fat, keep it off, and revitalize my life!

With any exercise or nutrition program, you’ll probably lose some fat initially, but far too often the progress doesn’t continue or doesn’t come as fast as the person would like because they're using a temporary mindset.  They're only focused on the short term and one specific goal.  So they end up switching to something else, and the cycle continues until they’ve become consumed by this cycle of confusion. 

I believe that this is one of the biggest, if not the #1 reason for the lack of fat loss and fitness progress that is being experienced by the masses of exercisers and dieters in the world.  They are jumping from one fad diet or exercise routine to another, while losing sight of what’s really important, and what really works. 

Simply put, they are exercising far too much, not nearly intensely enough, and trying to adhere to unrealistic diet recommendations.

If instead they focused on a long term plan, a lifestyle as it’s often called, and didn’t worry about “losing 10 pounds by summer”, they would find it far easier to do the right things most of the time. 

And those right things include brief, progressive, and intense resistance training, eating a diet full of nutrient rich foods, drinking tons of water, and getting plenty of quality sleep and rest.  The students of my Fat Burning Furnace method understand this and are reaping the life long health and fitness rewards because of it.  Are you? 

Claim your free copy of Rob Poulos's "7 Secrets Of Permanent Fat Loss & Fitness" at his website: http://www.fatburningfurnace.com

The #1 Fat Loss Tip Of The Year

Another great article to start the year off right.  The content is so true and reveals significant information to help with your fat loss efforts.  Happy reading!!

The #1 Fat Loss Tip Of The Year
By Tom Venuto
www.BurnTheFat.com

If you stopped me on the street to ask me what my number one fat loss tip for this year is, there are a hundred different directions I could lead you. Of course, there is one strategy that stands out among the others, and in almost all cases, this would be the first thing I suggest. This is the one absolute requirement for weight loss, and it’s something you’ve probably heard of before. However, there’s one critical distinction about this familiar advice that you might not have considered - and this one thing makes all the difference in the world…

Let me quote Melvin Williams, PhD, professor emeritus of exercise science at Old Dominion University and author of the textbook Nutrition for Health, Fitness and Sport (McGraw Hill):

“Human energy systems are governed by the same laws of physics that rule all energy transformations. No substantial evidence is available to disprove the caloric theory. It is still the physical basis for bodyweight control.”

There are a variety of diet programs and weight loss “gurus” who claim that calories don’t count. They insist that if you eat certain foods or avoid certain foods, that’s all you have to do to lose weight. Dozens, maybe hundreds of such diets exist, with certain “magic foods” put up on a pedestal or certain “evil fat-storing foods" banished into the forbidden foods zone.

Other weight loss “experts” invoke the insulin/carbohydrate hypothesis which claims that carbs drive insulin which drives body fat. That’s akin to saying “Carbs are the reason for the obesity crisis today, not excess calories.”

They are all mistaken.

Of course, there IS more to nutrition than calories. Food quality and nutrition content matters for good health. In addition, your food choices can affect your energy intake. We could even point the finger at an excess of refined starches and grains, sugar and soft drinks (carbs!) as major contributing factors to the surplus calories that lead to obesity.

However, that brings us back to excess calories as the pivotal point in the chain of causation, not carbs. A caloric deficit is a required condition for weight loss - even if you opt for the low carb approach - and that’s where your focus should go – on the deficit.

Now, here’s that critical distinction…

You’ve heard it said, “exercise more and eat less” a million times. However, saying “focus on the deficit” is NOT the same thing. If you don’t understand the difference, you could end up spinning your wheels for years.

You could exercise more, but if you compensate by eating more, you cancel your deficit.

You could eat less, but if you compensate by moving less, again you cancel your deficit.

This type of compensation can happen unconsciously, which leads to confusion about why you’re not losing weight or why you’re gaining. That often leads you to make excuses or blame the wrong thing… anything but the calories.

Therefore, “focus on the deficit” more accurately states the most important key to weight loss than “exercise more and eat less.” Make sure you understand this distinction and then follow this advice.

Last but not least, keep in mind that there are a lot of ways to establish a deficit and many of those ways are really dumb. Eating nothing but grapefruits, cabbage, twinkies… but in a deficit?… Dumb!

A calorie deficit is required for fat loss, but once your deficit is established, the composition of your hypo-caloric diet DOES matter. That’s why any good fat loss program starts with calories but doesn’t stop there - you also need to look at protein, essential fats, macronutrients, micronutrients, food quality and how the diet you choose fits into your lifestyle.

Don’t let the simplicity of this idea fool you. This is the #1 key to your successful weight loss this year, and every year: Focus on the deficit!

Train hard and expect success,

Tom Venuto, author of
Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle
www.BurnTheFat.com

The untold story about belly fat and your diet!

I was doing some research on good and bad fats and came across this article that sums up nicely some unique issues in regards to diet, nutrition and fats.

Specific vegetables that actually help to stimulate the burning of stomach fat?  Sounds crazy right?
Well, check this out below and you'll see why it's not so far fetched.
First, one fact that you may have not realized is that there are certain chemicals in our food supply and in our environment, such as pesticides, herbicides, and petrochemicals that have an estrogenic effect inside our bodies.  This problem can increase belly fat on both men and women, so pay attention.
These are called xenoestrogens, and exposure to them from these chemicals in our food supply, water supply, and the environment is one factor that can actually stimulate your body to hold onto belly fat.  The problem is that in today's world, even if you eat organic and live in a relatively low-pollution area, it is almost impossible to not get at least some degree of daily exposure to xenoestrogens.  They are even in household cleaners and cosmetics!
So how can you fight against these xenoestrogens so that they are not forcing your body to hold onto stomach fat?
Well, that's where these specific types of vegetables that I'm going to show you can help.
There are many classes of vegetables, teas, spices, etc that have compounds which can help to fight against the effects of xenoestrogens.  However, one of the most powerful classes are cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, kale, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, etc.
These types of cruciferous vegetables contain very unique compounds (phytonutrients) such as indole-3-carbinol (I3C) that can help to combat the effects of xenoestrogens in your body, and therefore, can help you to burn abdominal fat more effectively.
As if you needed another excuse to eat more broccoli and cauliflower... Now, you can add losing stomach fat to the list!

Now here's the cool thing...
On this link, I'm going to show you my program that explains specific teas, spices, and other sources of these unique compounds that help to fight against xenoestrogens and help you to Burn Belly Fat faster and more effectively.
Enjoy, and good luck with your fitness goals!
Mike Geary -
Certified Nutrition Specialist,

Cardio Anyone

By Elliott Hulse

Max Effort Cardio?
Discovering The Essence of Hard Core Fat Loss

If you’re anything like me… you HATE doing cardio! I can’t even stand the word, “cardio”. It conjures up childhood memories of watching my mom follow along with a Jane Fonda VHS while wearing tights and those knee-high bushy pink socks. — *shiver*
But I DO like the idea of burning off thick layers of beer belly fat and nastiness, without my butt going numb on a bicycle seat or bouncing around on colorful plastic blocks. In fact, the only thing I really enjoy doing in the gym is lifting heavy barbells and throwing around odd objects. So, as a part of my Lean Hybrid Muscle experiment I decided to utilize what I call “Max Effort Cardio”.
Max Effort Cardio is where I illicit a cardiovascular response via mulitjoint barbell exercises or strongman training. So, instead of the typical max effort singles and triples, I use a slightly lighter weight and perform back to back sets of 5′s… and here is the secret to this whole concept, with very MINIMAL rest intervals.
I know, I know… you’re probably saying, “Elliott, that doesn’t make any sense! Everything that I have been taught about weight training says that I should rest 2-3 minutes between max effort attempts — you must be going mad!”

Yes, I HAVE gone mad a long time ago… but all respected scientists do so eventually
Just bare with me for a moment!
If you consider that my Max Effort Cardio system forces your muscles to adapt by increasing Mitochondrial Density, you already understand that this means an increase capacity for fat burning ALL DAY LONG. In fact, it has been noted that weight training in a similar fashion to what I have described also keeps your metabolism burning at an accelerated rate for several hours after completing your training session.
This is in stark contrast to the immediate drop in metabolic rate when engaged in low intensity cardio, such as jogging or pedaling on a stationary bike.
Below is a workout for you to try… but you have to make me a promise. After you try the workout post a comment on this blog post about how you felt and if you think that this type of training can help ANYONE get bigger muscles and burn fat at the same time!
Try this:
Set a barbell with either 95 lbs or 135 lbs (more if you are a monster)
Perform 5-10 sets of 5 Thrusters (see the video below) with less than 30 seconds between sets.
If this doesn’t get your heart beating faster than a jack-rabbit’s in heat, then you’re probably dead.