Body weight exercises are exercises used to develop strength and endurance that do not require the use of free weights or exercise machines: the practitioner’s own weight provides the resistance for the movement. Perfect for traveling, living room or backyard workouts or adding a bit of variety to your regular exercise routine. Most body weight exercises are designed to build and tone muscle, however, when used in conjunction with aerobic activities, can also help you lose weight quickly. Studies indicate that those following a strength training program for two months will, on average, burn about 200 calories more per workout than those whose regimen did not include strength training.
This is sometimes a major consideration for women, who have the (mostly irrational) fear that strength training will make them “bulk up”.
In reality, a body weight exercise routine has many benefits (for both men and women), among them:
- increases endurance and flexibility
- protects joints (reduces the risk of injury)
- increases bone mass (helps prevent fractures and reduces bone loss [osteoporosis])
- increases energy level
- boosts metabolism (for ongoing weight management)
Stretching exercises are a fundamental form of bodyweight exercise, although the lengthening and toning of muscles afforded by stretching are rarely associated with strength training or weight loss. In actuality, they are effective on both counts and should be incorporated into any exercise regimen.
Most body weight exercises are simple to perform, which means you will enjoy doing them, and because they do not require weights, bodyweight exercises are the ideal choice for individuals who are interested in fitness but do not have access to strength training equipment. Some of the basic movements: sit-ups, crunches, pushups, pull-ups, twists, squats, lunges, dips. Along with these fundamental movements, a whole list of movements has been designed to add variety to an effective body weight strength training exercise regimen.
Weights can be incorporated to increase the difficulty of most body weight exercises (they say Charles Atlas lifted pails of cement!) and some exercises do require some sort of apparatus to lean on or hang from, but for those exercises a substitute can usually be improvised, for example a chair or tree branch.
So, no equipment is required- or (as mentioned) you can incorporate your own modified version of weight lifting with household items: cans of soup in each hand for chest-flies and curls, small water bottles filled with sand or kitty litter, (increasing the weight gradually) etc. etc…
In this way, using no equipment, or rudimentary items like chairs or jugs filled with water, or branches, there is literally no muscle group which cannot be effectively worked: abdominals, legs, arms, chest, back, buttocks…
You can design a very effective and beneficial body weight strength and aerobic exercise routine to improve the quality of your life!
Tags: bodyweight, bodyweight exercise, bodyweight exercises, dips, fitness, pull-ups, workout
What is Aspartame?
Aspartame is that hidden little chemical inside those cans of pop, packs of gum and many other artificial sweetener products. What is it and why is it there? It sounds like a chemical I might have used in chemistry class. Is it safe for human consumption? My answer is NO!
What effect does it have on your body and how does it affect your natural fitness?
How was this drug approved?
First things first. How did this drug get into the system? At the time in the late 70′s and early 80′s the FDA commissioner (Dr. Gere Goyan) of the time would not approve it safe for human consumption. Dr. Vernon Young from MIT was on the board at the time who was in charge of determining its safety. The board determined it was not safe and needed more study. However, in 1981 when Regan was elected the FDA commissioner (Dr. Gere Goyan) who was holding up aspartame and not allowing it into market was kicked out and replaced with someone who would. This was pushed along by our dear friend Donald Rumsfeld who brought us into the Iraq War. So this is how the poison has made it into the system. Sure, we can trust the FDA and our government. They have our best interest at heart, right? Wrong! It is time for us as Americans to think on our own two feet. Think of the body as a whole not as a system of parts and pieces. This is critical if you want to really understand the body and experience true health. By the way the FDA Commissioner who approved aspartame still refuses to answer any questions in regards to its safety.
What effect does aspartame have on the body?
Now onto what Aspartame does to the body and why you should eliminate it from your daily life immediately. Aspartame causes cancer, diabetes, obesity, headaches, seizures, blindness, ADHD, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s…etc. So that can of diet coke you may consume everyday is not making you skinny its actually helping to keep the weight on. Along with that it is causing myriad other problems.
Dr. John Olney of Washington University has studied the effects of Aspartame on rats and found it to have damaging effects on the brain. But that is a mouse, you say, not a human. This is the point where you need to start thinking on your own two feet. If I fed an apple to a mouse do you think it would cause brain damage? I think you know the answer. This is why it is not safe for us to consume either. Anything that has such a damage effect on a mice is not be consumed by humans either.
Also note these facts from Mary Nash Stoddard
“Facts They Don’t want you to know about Artificial Sweeteners” :
Since aspartame came onto the market in the early eighties, Dr. John Olney of Washington University Medical School in St. Louis, shows a 10% rise in two specific forms of brain tumors that showed up in lab tests: Astrocytomas and Glioblastomas [glio cell tumors].
Phenylalanine [50% of molecule] in aspartame can change the chemistry of the brain and lower the seizure threshold, according to studies done by Dr. Richard Wurtman, head of brain science at MIT.
Phenylalanine also blocks production of a neurotransmitter – serotonin, which may result in mood swings; sleep disorders; mild to suicidal depressions and aberrant behaviors in some. Prozac and L-Tryptophan both increase serotonin levels.
Formaldehyde [embalming fluid], a breakdown product of methanol [wood alcohol]- found in aspartame- is on the EPA’s list of hazardous chemicals.
The effect of methanol on the eye, liver, pancreas and other organs of the body are well documented in scientific literature.
Physicians and researchers know what damage may be caused by ingesting wood alcohol. Two teaspoons have been know to cause death. [Every 12-oz can of diet soda which contains 200 mg. of aspartame may contain as much as 20 mg. of methanol.]
In nature, ethanol, methanol’s antidote, is present to neutralize the toxin.
There is no ethanol in aspartame for protection.
Aspartame can be especially hazardous to anyone with a preexisting medical condition such as diabetes.
A newsletter published by the Association of Birth Defect Children, shows Phenylalanine in aspartame can be responsible for both mild and severe birth defects – including permanent neurological damage. Aspartic Acid [40% of the molecule] in aspartame can change DNA, and caused holes in the brains of lab animals and is classified as a neuroexcitatory amino acid.
Aspartame can sabotage weight loss attempts. Many report a paradoxical weight gain while using the products sweetened by aspartame. A study done at Leeds University in the U.K. showed weight gains by the men in the study on aspartame.
In Dr. John Olney own word’s “its not an issue of science it is an issue of politics” We know how the saying goes: “money talks” and money has power. Coke and many other large companies have a huge interest to ensure that Aspartame stays on the market and that people continue to stay addicted to it as well.
The message here is drink water, eat whole foods- your body will be happy you did as well. You will maintain good health and natural weight because of it. You will also save a little money as well, going the natural route.
Tags: aspartame, health, natural fitness
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yPn1ylMEM8
This is a truly inspiring video that I would just like to share with everyone. This goes to show the current problems with our medical community. They no longer practice real health care but only sick care. They maintain what I call a revolving door policy. Get you in and keep you coming back depending on them for life. Just in my local community the hospital has quadrupled in size. We also have developed the need for a pharmacy every five to ten feet. Someone has got to see a problem here. However, I am afraid they continue on with their daily life not worrying until they are the victim. At that point, they no longer worry and it is just a matter of survival.
Tags: fitness, Health Care, sick care
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