TIPS FOR A SHORTER, BETTER WORKOUT

In today's fast-paced world, everyone deals with a hectic schedule. It's common to have a full- time job (or maybe even two), and a family or significant other demanding time and attention. In addition to these primary factors in our lives, there are also small "time-suckers" that are hard to account for but always seem to pop up during the day. It can be very difficult to juggle everything that needs to get done, let alone things that you want to do, like going to the gym or maintaining an active social life.

Unfortunately, it often seems like there isn't enough time in the day to complete your workouts. However, if developing a healthy and fit body that you're proud of is your goal, make it a priority and find a way to fit it into your schedule.

Fortunately, if you're strategic in how you devise your workout program, you can slash your gym time in half without sacrificing your results. Let's take a look at some of the top ways to make your workouts like a recon mission -- getting in and getting out while still achieving your objective.

No. 1: Be Honest About Your Rest Periods

A great way to instantly cut back on your workout time is to be completely honest with yourself about how long of a rest period you take between each set. Most of us take longer breaks between sets than we really need. This can unnecessarily prolong your workout duration without any added benefit of recovery.

Walking to the water fountain, chatting with your workout partner, or not knowing exactly what exercise you're doing next are all minor offenses that can have major effects on amount of time that you spend in the gym. So if you want to ensure that you don't go into gym "overtime," start timing your gym sessions with a stop watch. Using this method will not only save you time, but will even improve your results tremendously. It'll ramp up your overall workout intensity and help you learn to push through fatigue.

Keep your rest periods at approximately 30 seconds after any isolation exercises and 60-to-90 seconds between compound exercises. While you don't want the quick turnaround to cause you to have to drop your poundage, keep those rest periods short and snappy.

No. 2: Use Supersets

Another technique that you can start adding to your workout to get in and out of the gym faster is the superset. These consists of two or more exercises done in a row without a break. It doesn't just have to be two exercises for opposing muscle groups, however. You can also superset a lower-body exercise along with an upper-body movement.

This will dramatically reduce your downtime, since your lower body will be resting while you perform the upper body exercise, and vice versa. You may find that you only need 30 seconds of rest after each superset, so this is one way to create a truly fast-paced workout. As an added benefit, supersets tend to crank up your heart rate, making them perfect for those looking for maximum fat loss.

Superset two compound exercises whenever possible, because you'll engage more muscles than just the one involved in an isolation exercise. As a result, you'll get more muscle utilization for each precious minute you invest in that session.

WEIGHT LOSS AFTER CHILDBIRTH

Even women who have been skinny their entire lives can undergo the struggle with weight that is adopted during pregnancy. Unfortunately, this new weight is not all baby weight and after labor, woman will find themselves with excess weight.

Post pregnancy weight is not the same as regular excess fat and a mother’s body and frame of mind is different too. This article will help new mothers to understand the hurdles and realistic expectations to face after giving birth and to remind you all that you are not alone.

How Soon After Child Birth

After carrying a child for 9 months and undergoing labor, the body is significantly weakened. It will take a few months for a mother to regain strength and all this while nursing a newborn, a large task even for a person at full strength. It is a good idea to check with health professionals such as your local GP as to when juggling a weight loss regime with your parental responsibilities is appropriate for you.

Go Slow

The approach should be slow and gentle, as should the weight loss. For a mother that has just given birth, the mind and body has undergone great stress and will continue to do so with early motherhood. The weight gain has taken several months to occur and the weight loss should also take months.

At the peak of a fitness and diet regimen the amount for a mother should be no more then any other person who is losing weight i.e. no more then 1 pound a week. Beyond this and the weight loss is too rapid and unhealthy and not only will it affects a mother’s ability to function as a parent and individual, but there is a greater risk of sabotaging your own weight loss efforts.

Breast Feeding

Conveniently, when you breast feed, your child is consuming calories in the form of breast milk. The more a mother breast feeds the more weight she will lose.

Be Active

The weight loss activities must fit in with the lifestyle of the mother and there are plenty of things one can do which not only mean you are burning calories, but you are engaging in positive activities with your baby/child.

Exercise with your baby – get out and about; take your baby for light walks. It’s good for you and it’s good for your baby. 

•  Rugged prams that allow mums to jog with their babies are excellent exercise for mum and a thrill for baby/infant
•   When your baby is old enough, you can place them in a backpack and go for walks

Be imaginative! have fun with a friend

Does your friend have a child? Take your children to a park or oval. One parent stays with the children while the other does a lap of the oval. Take turns.

Listen to music and dance around or with your child – it’s fun , good exercise and very good for your child

Take your child outside with you while you engage in some gardening

Active mothers groups – perhaps you can enroll others members of your mothers group to be active and lose weight together

Diet

Particularly in the first few months after giving birth, a mother should not impose a strict diet on herself. The priority is providing fuel not just for the mother, but sufficient calories and nutrients for the newborn.
 

The focus in the first few months should be less restricted portions of healthy food

Being a mum is very busy work and between washing, changing, feeding and cleaning, sleep is high up on the list of priorities. This leaves little time to cook proper meals but it doesn’t mean that fast food and junk food are the most convenient options. Healthy snacks can be kept on hand that will help you lose weight and at the very least, help you to avoid stacking more weight on.

Post Pregnancy Summary

The most important thing that a mother should remember post pregnancy is to

• Have realistic expectations
• Continue to lose weight slowly
• Be active
• Eat healthy

How a lack of body confidence can hold you back

Just think about it... If you are concerned about how you look, you'll always have a handicap. Whether you're networking, negotiating a deal, or making a presentation on stage, your lack of confidence puts you at a disadvantage.

1) You avoid the spotlight

Chances are that you're also afraid of the spotlight that could come with success. How would you really feel about being on TV? Everybody looks heavier on TV, they say, and if you're already self-conscious about your weight, you may try to avoid any opportunity involving a camera, at least subconsciously. Can you see how that can hold you back?

2) You lack the crucial ingredient you need to attract others

There's more. As long as you're being plagued by that niggling fear that you're looking less than your best, you will lack that air of confidence that is so attractive to others. And it gets even worse -- you have reason to be concerned.

3) People judge others by how they look

It's a fact of life that people really do judge us by the way we look. The more attractive we are, the more strongly people are drawn to us. Studies have shown that people who are more attractive get promoted more quickly and make more money. You can insist on political correctness all you want, but it isn't going to give you that raise. And it's certainly not going to bring you more clients and customers.


Of course I agree that it's not fair to be judged by the shape of your body, but belaboring that fact is not going to give you the results you desire. If you want to achieve success and abundance, there's really just one question that's helpful: "What are you going to do about it so you can achieve the benefits below?"


The benefits of taking action


1) More confidence


I know how you feel - because I used to be more than 30 pounds overweight. Before I finally claimed the fit and healthy body I truly wanted, I was down and depressed. Now, I love meeting people and I even love being on stage and in front of the camera. There are no longer any worries about how I look. Instead, I'm free to focus on the reason I'm there.


2) More physical energy


You see, most people spend up to 70% of their energy just digesting their food. That doesn't leave too much for doing the kind of things that will boost your success. So if you can reduce that percentage to 50% by making your metabolism more effective, you'll practically double the energy you have available. Imagine the competitive edge all that new energy could give you.


3) More emotional energy


And you'll gain more energy in other ways as well... How long does it take you to find clothes that make you look good -- or at least as good as possible? Finding clothes that flatter a less than fit body can be a true project. Not only does it require extra time to go through your closet or a store's offerings to find something that camouflages those "bad" parts, but it also takes a lot of energy. How so, you may wonder...


Most people really beat themselves up in dressing rooms. Looking at the unvarnished truth in full-length mirror can be challenging indeed. But do you know how much emotional energy all that self-criticism can take? And chances are, you're also doing the same thing every morning when you decide what to wear for the day.


4) Success and abundance


You will begin to thrive in all areas of your life once being self-conscious about your body no longer holds you back.

THE MANDELA WORKOUT

A Freedom Fighter to the bone

Mandela spent his entire life fighting for freedom.

Whether it was representing non-whites that no one else would in court, or organizing protests from within the confines of solitary confinement, he never stopped at “good enough.”

He fought, and fought, and fought some more. He never gave up on his quest for freedom.

I'm currently reading Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom. At a whopping 656 pages, it's taking me almost two weeks to read! Yet every chapter is utterly compelling, painting a portrait of a man who was unwavering in following a passion that most thought impossible to achieve.

On reading his autobiography, I was struck by just how much attention he has paid to his fitness.

Here are a few quotes I pulled out:

“I enjoyed the discipline and solitariness of long-distance running, which allowed me to escape from the hurly-burly of school life.”

“On Monday through Thursday, I would do stationary running in my cell in the morning for up to forty-five minutes. I would also perform one hundred fingertip push-ups, two hundred sit-ups, fifty deep knee-bends, and various other calisthenics.

“Exercise was unusual for African men of my age and generation… I know that some of my younger comrades looked at me and said to themselves, ‘if that old man can do it, why can’t I?’ They too began to exercise.”

“I attended the gym for one and a half hours each evening from Monday through Thursday… We did an hour of exercise, some combination of roadwork, skipping rope, calisthenics, or shadow boxing, followed by fifteen minutes of body work, some weight lifting, and then sparring.”

I was deeply touched by the following paragraph.

" I have always believed that exercise is a key not only to physical health, but to peace of mind. Many times in the old days I unleashed my anger on and frustration on a punch bag rather than taking it out on a comrade or even a policeman. Exercise dissipates tension, and tension is the enemy of serenity. I found that I worked better and thought more clearly when I was in good physical condition, and so training became one of the inflexible discipllines of my life. In prison, having an out let for my frustrations was absolutely essential.

Even on the Island, I attempted to follow my old boxing routine of doing roadwork and muscle building from Monday to Thursday and then resting for the next three days. on Mondays to Thursdays I would run on the spot in my cell in the morning for up to forty five minutes. I would perform a hundred fingertip push ups, two hundred sit ups, fifty deep knee bends and various other calisthenics."

I don't think I could have said it better myself; no wonder the man remains so trim and active at 93!

Physiques to blow your mind!!!!