Getting bigger muscles is the top priority of anyone working out with weights. Lets look at how your muscles get bigger and then you can figure out what it will take for you to increase your muscle gains.

Muscle hypertrophy

Muscle hypertrophy is when your muscles cells get thicker. You muscle cells will thicken but not lengthen and it is still up in the air as to whether your muscles cell will actually split or divide to get larger. The best way to cause muscle hypertrophy is to put pressure on your muscles so that they expect to need to push more weight.

Another form of muscle building is Muscle Hyperplasia and this is the actual splitting of muscle cells. Anyone that has seen a giant bodybuilder has to wonder if we all have the same number of cells

Resistance training

Resistance training is doing weights. It is just about that simple. What you really want is to make yourself stronger by making your body more able to handle heavier and heavier weight for at least four reps. Power lifters as you have probably seen in the Olympics are not the biggest guys and that is because their goal is to lift the most weight for exactly one rep. To fool your muscles into thinking that they have to be able to lift more weight they will need to do a few reps at the higher weight. Your body will then get used to this higher weight by increading the strength of the individual muscle cells

How big should your workout be?

There are many strategies to get stronger and the idea behind all of these strategies is to be able to lift more weight for a few reps a month from now then your are doing now. You have a few options and they are these

• Number of reps per set
• Number of sets per exercise
• Number of exercises per muscle group
• Amount of rest between workouts

All of these parameters are a little too much to cover in this article so I will cover them later but for now just think about how you are structuring your workouts and frequency of workouts.

I hope that this info helps you understand how to get bigger and better at working out I hope you that if you have any questions then you can of course leave comments here as well.

Thanks for visiting. To get started why not subscribe to the 21 day fitness plan at the top of this page. Look in the red box, it is right there.. Thanks Bill

There are some very high costs for Fruit and even vegetables these days. One of the best ways to stay healthy is to eat lots of fruits but the cost can be terrible. If you follow a few rules then you can lower you fruit costs.

Here are some tips to help you get a better deal on fruit or really any food that is seasonal or out of the area. Now that Spring is here and Summer is coming my house has a lot more fruit but we really struggle to buy cheap fruit. Here in Calgary I find fruit is expensive year round.

If you follow these produce buying tips you should get more bang for the buck as far as Fruit and vegetables goes.

• If your urban grocery doesn’t stock much produce, seek out local farmer’s markets or community gardens.
• Don’t forget that fruit and veggies in any form — fresh, frozen, canned, dried and 100% juice — count toward your 5 A Day requirement.
• Buy in volume from wholesalers or inexpensive food outlets like Costco, and freeze your excess stock.
• Keep it simple. More exotic fruits usually cost more than common varieties. For example, oranges are more affordable than kumquats, bananas are more budget-friendly than boysenberries, apples are easier on the wallet than Asian pears, etc.
• Get clipping — collect coupons and keep eyes peeled for in-store specials.
• Buy in season. As prices can vary greatly depending on the time of year and part of the country, know what fruits and vegetables are in season. Standard economics dictates prices rise with scarcity and fall with increased quantity.
• Remember that the closer that your produce is grown to you the fresher and lower the transport costs are.

This may seem like a strange way to shop for many people but as we run into more food shortages and the price of produce thanks to high transportation costs goes up this is a very good way to make your food buying dollar go farther. The biggest change for many people is not having any fruit and vegetables at any time as most of the list stresses better for you and better produce as it is closer to you and transported less.

I have been compiling info on artificial sweetners for years and there are some that are OK and some that are really bad for you but here is a bit of an overview of he dangers of using different artificial sweeteners to try to drop your calorie intake.

Aspartame

Aspartame, a dipeptide of aspartic acid and a methyl ester of phenylalanine, is approved for use in pharmaceutical products and is being used increasingly in chewable tablet and sugar-free formulations. Labels for both prescription and nonprescription products must include the phenylalanine content. The major consideration in the use of aspartame in children is in patients with autosomal recessive phenylketonuria. Although heterozygotes do not appear to have clinically significant increases in phenylalanine after ingestion of even large amounts (equivalent to 24 12-oz cans of diet beverages), homozygotes with strict dietary restrictions should avoid aspartame. Children without dietary restrictions could safely ingest 10 mg/kg/day. Dietary consumption of aspartame is typically less than 5 mg/kg/day; young children, however, could ingest considerably more. For example, a 2-year-old child weighing 12 kg consumes 17 mg/kg from drinking one 12-oz can of diet soda and one serving of a sweetened product (eg, cereal, pudding, gelatin, or frozen dessert). Read the rest of this entry »

Carbohydrate loading is a method that has been used for at least 20 years now by marathon runners and other endurance athletes. The idea behind carb loading is that you would eat a huge amount of carbohydrates, usually complex carbohydrates in the 12-18 hours before competition. The Mayo Clinic came up with this great primer on the how, what and why of Carb loading.

Carbohydrate loading can improve your performance during high-intensity endurance exercise. Use this strategy to prepare for a marathon, triathlon or another endurance event.

Perhaps you’re training for a marathon or triathlon. Or maybe you’re a long-distance swimmer or cyclist. Whatever your sport, if you plan to complete 90 minutes or more of high-intensity exercise, carbo-loading (carbohydrate loading) may improve your performance.

Carbohydrates: The body’s fuel

The food you eat contains carbohydrates, protein and fat. These nutrients supply the calories your body uses for energy. Although your body needs all three nutrients, carbohydrates are your body’s primary source of energy.
Read the rest of this entry »

Over the years I have seen a lot of flimsy ideas of how to get a set of six pack abs. The most common scams are special machines that will do it and sometimes some kind of drink. I remember at one point Slim Fast seemed to be showing chubby people suddenly spawning a set of six pack abs.

Anyway I wanted to put this notion to rest that there is some magic to getting a six pack. Sure there is some genetics involved in sculpting perfect abs but the two most important factors are diet and exercise.

What? Did you think there was a shortcut?

Six Pack Abs Diet

The diet part is fairly simple; you need to drop any extra fat. You have probably heard this before but there is no such thing as spot reduction when you are losing weight. You will lose weight proportionately, generally, as you lose weight. What you may find is that you have a large stomach and if that is the case of course you will lose that fat faster than you lose the fat on your legs but that is just because that is where the fat deposits will be easiest for your body to use.
Read the rest of this entry »

X-Weighted is a TV show that is shown on the life network here in Canada. The idea of X-Weighted is that the story of regular people losing weight would be interesting to watch and in fact it is. The host of X-weighted is a trainer from Edmonton by the name of Paul Plakas. Paul is a great host for a weight loss show because he goes into peoples houses and is not afraid of offending them with his tips and is really great for giving workout ideas. Also, as a Canadian Paul is never an ass but he doesn’t give anyone much of a chance to make any excuses either.

I watched X-Weighted a couple of times last season but earlier this week was a standard episode that I thought was great to watch especially for the lack of hype that this show uses to bring across the idea of weight loss over a longer period of time. The structure of X-Weighted is that you will have an intro where you see the life situation of someone that wants to lose weight, then Paul Plakas measures and weighs the person, looks in their kitchen and does a fitness assessment. Later in the show you have workouts and a a weight in and finally at the end there is an official X-Weighted final weigh in. Great drama and great info all in an hour

Anatomy of an X Weighted Episode

The X-Weighted episode that I saw started with Michelle, a lady that was over weight and would like to lose 50 pounds. She had problems with one of her three children being Autistic and becoming a problem and her whole family leaned on her for support in various parts of their lives. Because of Michelle’s work schedule and early mornings she would eat out at fast food places once or twice EVERY day. Now we know this ladies background.

First things first for the meeting with her trainer . Michelle laid out her situation and then told her trainer that she wanted to lose 50 pounds in the next six months. Her trainer talked to her about her exercise requirements, eating requirements, tested her current level of fitness and then followed her around for a day. A couple of day later Michelle met with her trainer for a training session and then we get to see how Michelle reacts over the next few months to life, changes and weight loss.

In the end Michelle lost I believe 44 pounds and was really happy with how things went for her weight loss. Her life was a series of traumatic events over the time of her weight loss and it really makes you feel for her and her family.

X-Weighted is a great show in that it really walks you through how real people lose weight while living their regular lives, this is a classic idea of a reality show where the people are in their own surrounding much like our own and every great result is hard fought. X-Weighted is on in Canada on many nights of the week on the Slice Network (formerly the Life Network).

Thanksgiving and Christmas are my favorite eating days of the year. Thanksgiving dinner is now only a couple of days away in the US and the Turkeys and Hams have already been bought and are waiting to be eaten. This thanksgiving maybe you can be more careful about your eating and well being and I hope that looking at these tip will keep you feeling better the day after as you get to go on your post thanksgiving day shopping spree.

1. Decide what you are going to eat each day in the morning before you start. Think about 3 meals and 3 snacks. No one says you can’t have a snack, then dinner a while later and then desert a while after that.

2. Get some exercise right after you get out of bed. This will help you focus on your fitness and make you aware of how your body feels that day.
Read the rest of this entry »

Those little Halloween candies looking at you from the bowl, little, bright colored and just jumping up with the sweet chocolate that you know that you love so much are very very evil. You know you want one, you yearn for one or two but as you try you just can not say no….or can you?

Halloween candy is some of the worst stuff that you can eat. It is small so you do not worry too much about the calories (even if you eat 20), it is high in saturated fat, and there is so much around at this time of year that it is hard to avoid. In fact it would be hard to find an office building anywhere in america that does not have a few bowls of Halloween candy lieing around on November 1st.

Here are the calories for some Halloween candies:

Nestle’s Crunch - Fun Size 3 bars=210 calories
Peanut M&M’s - Fun Pack 2 bags=80 calories
M&M’s - Fun Pack 2 bags=180 calories
Snicker’s - Fun Size 2 bars=160 calories
Milky Way - Fun Size 2 bars=150 calories
Kit Kat - Fun Size 2 bars=100 calories
Hershey Chocolate Bar - Fun Size 1 bar=90 calories/ 5grams of fat
Reese’s Cup - 1 cup=80 calories
Butterfinger - Fun Size 1 bar= 100 calories
Twix - Fun Size 1 bar= 80 calories
York Peppermint Pattie - 1 pattie=70 calories
Twizzlers - 1 treat size pkg= 45 calories
Almond Joy - 1 snack size bar = 90 calories
Milk Duds - 1 treat size box = 40 calories
Butterfinger - 1 snack size bar = 100 calories
Milky Way - 1 snack size bar = 90 calories
SweetTarts - 1 treat size pkg. = 50 calories
1 Tootsie Pop - 1 pop = 60 calories
1 Tootsie Roll - 1 small roll = 13 calories

Note: Calorie content is based on 1 serving of Halloween snack or fun size packages, not full size servings found in the candy aisle.

If you are not worried about all of these extra calories over the next week that is fine, but if you would like to avoid Halloween candy and the calories that they offer here is a few tips.

1. Change the way that you think about the little Halloween candy. Most of us will associate these candies with childhood and that carefree feeling, instead think of them as something that will raise your blood sugar and make you jumpy.

2. Eat properly so you can stay away from Halloween candy. If you keep yourself on track for eating then avoiding the Halloween candy is easier because you will not be hungry.

3. Only buy the Halloween candy that you do not like. What may be tough for someone to resist may not be too hard for you to resist.

4. Decide what you are willing to eat ahead of time. Look at the list above, there are some good decisions that you can make that will stop you from making this a weight gain holiday by eating the right Halloween candy. I am a big fan of Tootsie Rolls and those are apparently OK to eat.

5. Just stay away. there is some willpower involved in not eating the things that we are not supposed to eat. Have some willpower and you can stay away from treats, it is only a one week holiday anyway, right?

Fat Loss For Idiots - Will It Help You Lose Weight?

Fat Loss for Idiots is a site and diet that my wife had learned about from her stepmom. Initially I looked at the Fat Loss For Idiots website and saw that after clicking though a bunch of pages of information I found that the program was only $39.

As a fitness and health enthusiast I know that there are no easy ways out of losing weight so when I first saw all of the hype around fat loss for idiots I was of course initially skeptical.

I have scoured the internet looking for more information on the Fat Loss For Idiots program and would like to present this to you here so that you can make an informed decision when you visit the Fat Loss For Idiots site.

Lose Weight Fast with Fat Loss 4 Idiots?

Fat Loss for Idiots claims you can lose 9 pounds lost in 11 days. Wow, is this possible? You probably have your doubts but I know because I have seen it happen, with the right diet and exercise program you can lose weight and lose it quickly.

I would suspect with a good plan and some exercise that you should be able to lose 4 pounds per week or more.

After that quick weight loss it is important that you continue eating according to the plan and get some exercise of any kind and you will continue losing weight. The way the diet cycles means that you should lose weight every week with no bad weeks at all.

Fat Loss for Idiots Meal Plan

This is a great part of the fat loss for idiots program
Fat Loss for Idiots food is made up of lean proteins, fruit and vegetables, and the sources of fat come from whole foods (such as cottage cheese or eggs). There are some starchy carbohydrates (such as oats and pasta). The day is divided into 4 meals that should be eaten at a maximum of 2 1/2 hours apart. There is no calorie or carb counting, no limit on portion size - Fat Loss 4 Idiots says you “just eat short of being full”.

After the 11 day meal plan there is a 3 day “cheat” - where you get to eat whatever you want. Then you are back into the 11 day plan again.

The real difference between the fat loss for idiots plan and other plans is that the diet is purposely confusing your body so it never thinks it is starving. This is not a new meal program in that regard. Body for Life and other programs have long advocated confusing your body by having a day or more off of the diet so that you are in more control of how you eat. Fat Loss for Idiots does a good balance of this.

The meal plan is created by selecting from a list of preferred foods. These are then used to generate your meal plan.

Fat Loss for Idiots also includes a very extensive handbook that teaches you how to to eat, how not to eat and what is important in your goal of losing weight.

Exercise on Fat Loss 4 Idiots

Fat loss for idiots is a diet program. One thing and one thing only. The people that come up with the meal plans look at you as a user of the service as a person that is mainly sedentary.

Fat Loss for idiots recommends that you do get some exercise for additional weight loss. They encourage walking and other low intensity exercise of 30 minutes a day.

Fat Loss for Idiots - Is a Cheap Diet Program

Fat Loss For Idiots is a cheap diet. When you buy the diet is gives you access to an online diet generator as well as a diet workbook. Nutritionally it is a reduced carb diet that cycles macro-nutrient ratios (to try and trick your metabolism). It recommends common-sense weight loss principles (brisk walking, plenty of water, etc), and contains only whole foods (no processed foods, high-sugar foods, or supplements).

Here are some good reviews for the fat loss for idiots program:

“I started this diet 3 days ago, and have lost 2 and a half pounds so far.”

“I have now been on this diet for 11 days and have lost 6 and a half pounds. I am very happy with that, especially since I have not exercised or done the recommended walking.”

“On Fat loss for idiots I lost 7 pounds the first 11 days! I’m happy with that considering (like I mentioned) I had not done the suggested walking.”

The really nice thing about the fat loss for idiots diet is that it is cheap, and you buy your own food. No need to buy prepackaged food and expensive supplements which is the downfall that I always find with the more famous diets.

Fat Loss 4 Idiots - Will Work For Most People

There are a few things that seem to be really good in the fat loss for idiots diet and plan. Firstly the cheap nature means that you do not have to buy and create a complex meal plan. Secondly there is a cycling of your diet so that you keep your metabolism from working against you. And thirdly the diet is incredibly popular on the internet and the reason for that is that it seems to work for just about anyone.

Lastly there is a guarantee that this will work or you get your money back. I do not see any way that anyone can lose by at least trying Fat Loss 4 Idiots.

Who shouldn’t do Fat Loss for Idiots?

I have not been critical at all about Fat Loss for Idiots but I have to admit that there are some drawbacks to the diet.

If you exercise a lot Fat Loss for Idiots may not be for you. The diet itself is a diet designed to help you lose weight but people that get a lot of exercise, and hour or more a day, may find that the diet does not offer enough calories.

The diet itself can get a bit boring. There is a lot of repetition in the menu plan but most people seem to be OK with this as this is supposed to be a diet that helps you lose the weight that you want and then you ease off to a diet that you can live with for life.

I Really Recommend Fat Loss for Idiots

There is no magic behind Fat Loss for Idiots but really what it is a good focused meal plan and sensible exercise for beginners. Although this may not seem like much it is very important in my mind to be doing something that will give you the satisfaction that you are making the changes in YOUR life that will help you lose weight. This diet will work for you.

I am a big fan of Fat loss for idiots for no other reason than it is nice and simple, and it really does work, if you follow a diet that changes what you eat and moves you in a better direction nutritionally than what you are now.

And the simple fact is that at $39 fat loss 4 idiots is much cheaper than even a couple of weeks of Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers.

If anyone is interested in taking advantage of the special ebook Beyond Calories as well then do this.  Just click the link below and then scroll to the bottom of the page, go to the next page and about half way down you will see a 50% discount link, click the link and you will see that you can get Beyond Calories for an additional $16.95. The total package comes to $55.95

I believe that for the low cost I have to recommend the fat loss for idiots system and hope that it works great for you. If you go ahead and buy it please come back and post a comment of what you thing of the diet…

As a favor to you to help jump start your NEW YOU program, I am offering you four free e-books if you purchase Fat Loss For Idiots though a link on this page.

The e-books are:
101 Diet Tips (A great addition to everything else you will learn here)
Skyrocket Fat Loss (A Tom Venuto Interview that spans 41 pages)
Training and Nutrition Secrets (65 pages of secrets that almost no one knows)
Losing weight without starving yourself (61 pages about…well I guess the title says it all)

These ebooks alone are worth more than the total price of Fat Loss For Idiots which is only $39

After you have purchased Fat Loss 4 Idiots just email me at bill @ nadraszky . com (just click the link) and I will forward the books to you.

One last thing - If you are looking to lose weight then you need to act now. I am not sure how many pages of diet info that you have looked at but the trouble with the internet is that there is more information then you can possibly read and the problem is that there is no real plan to follow. Buy the Fat Loss for Idiots program today and see where you are in a month.

One month from today, if you commit now, you can be 10-20 pounds lighter. Otherwise, in a month, if you do nothing you will be the same weight or even slightly more than you are today. The choice is yours.

Well we are a couple of weeks away from the 2 hour premiere of the fourth season of the Biggest Loser. Next Tuesday we are going to have a recap of the people from last season and a chance to see whether Erik has managed to keep the weight off over the last couple months plus probably an update of the poster couple of the Biggest Loser Season 2 Matt and Suzy and their new baby (Let’s see if Matt has been able to drop his post show weight again).

In two seeks we get the two hour Biggest Loser 4 Premiere. Remember a few weeks ago we found out that Bob Harper and Kim Lyons but also we will have a team coached by a returning Jillian Michaels. Also as a replacement to Caroline Rhea we are now going to have soap star Alison Sweeney as the new host.

I have no insight into how the show is going to play out last season but you may remember how I was a really disappointed at how the people on the show were having their own mini survivor and trying to play the game more than supporting each other. Time will tell how well the show will go with a new cast and a whole new set of issues will play out between a bunch of people that do not know each other yet.