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Posts tagged lose weight

Lose Weight with Boxing Training

Aint’ it strange that you can never really notice weight loss in yourself until someone else spots it. A couple of weeks ago a person I hadn’t seen in years told me I had lost weight. The same day, a girl at the gym asked me if I had lost weight. Of course, I have been doing my usual weight training and skipping workouts and much less spinning. It’s so strange. Then I weighed myself at weekend and found that I had put half a stone on.

So perhaps I’ve added a lot of muscle tissue, which obviously weighs more than fat, although I have a fairly athletic build, but I don’t think I have added seven pounds of muscle. That is way too much.

Anyhow, I need something quick to get me fit and I’m now attending boxing training twice a week, body pump once a week and body combat once a week. That’s enough for me. I’m already aching after my gym session last night and boxing training tonight.

If you’re serious about conditioning your body, I would highly recommend boxing training. The hour and a half session started off with skipping. I used a weighted rope, which makes it a little harder but tones the shoulders nicely. Then there were sprints on the spot, high jumps, press-ups, burpees, star jumps, and sit-ups. Then it was out into the nippy air for a mile and half job followed by tiring two minute heavy bag punches non-stop. Sit ups and press-ups followed, then knees up throwing shots at the bag thirty seconds, heavy blows for half a minute, and alternate punches for a final thirty seconds. Two sets of these were performed.

Finally the last twenty minutes contained some seriously hard body weight training, some of which I coudn’t do (throw your body off the floor press-ups) but at least I tried but almost splatted my nose on the carpet. More tough sit-ups followed and then it was a stretch and warm down.

I am not sure what attracts me to hard training such as this but I know that the pain is worth it in fitness and the positive changes it gives to the body. Even my punching power has gained in strength and I am able to keep my guard up. I have big respect for boxers. I struggled throwing punches for just two minutes, let alone twelve rounds of three minutes.

Tips to get Killer Abs

We all have beautiful killer abs inside us. It is only because fat covers the muscles that we do not see them. It is pretty simple. Lose weight and  improve muscle tone equals weight loss. What many people seem to think is that starvation diets will help them to lose weight or thousands of crunches will burn off fat around the stomach. This is a myth!

In order to shed weight and show off those killer abs, it is important to carry out both aerobic and anaerobic training. Aerobic training may be cycling, walking, rowing, skipping, running etc. Anaerobic training can take advantage of body weight training ie. sit-ups, pressups etc, weighted machines like the leg press and chest press, or free weight training, which involves using the core muscles and specific weights to tone areas of the body. Free weight training is a lot more effective than weighted machines but this kind of training may cause an injury if the exercises are not performed correctly.

Remember that muscle tissue does weigh more than fat so if your weight increases slightly and you have made no changes to the diet, this may be because you have gained muscle tissue. This is good because, over time, it will get rid of fat and shrink the cells. Although your weight may stay the same your body will look leaner because the body is burning many more calories per day and at rest.

If you are serious about getting killer abs, both weight training and aerobic exercise is extremely important. Women need to get their body fat percentage down to around 12-15% for sexy muscle tissue to be visible. Men need to lower it to 8-12%.

Obviously, do it the right way without any silly diets. It is important to eat a lot of protein when you are undertaking weight training to repair the microscopic tears to the muscle tissue. Also have a rest day every two days. Weight training performed regularly will increase the metabolism for up to 48 hours afterward.

Have a cheat day to Lose Weight

What many fad diets do not allow are treats for achievements. Following a healthy diet six days out of seven is an achievement. It is tough to watch whatever you eat all week. To know exactly what you put into your body it is important to keep a food diary. Coffee, tea, alcohol, those few Quality Street…everything counts.

We may not count regular drinking with meals as ‘drinking’ because it is not binge drinking as society wants us to believe. Too much alcohol in the system can cause weight problems. When alcohol is consumed, it converts to instant and usable sugar in the body. If the alcohol is burnt off, for example dancing, great but if it is not it will be stored as fat. Alcohol is also high in calories. Per pint expect to consume over 200 calories. A large glass of wine is over 100. Spirits are the least calorific but when doubles and triples are ordered, the calories are going up. Try to give up alcohol altogether of if you do have a glass of water between each drink to care for the liver and take Milk Thistle, a liver detoxifier.

What I believe is everything in moderation. I love cheese and onion pie, I could eat it for breakfast, dinner, and tea but I would also feel stodgy and lethargic and I hate to feel like that. However, on my cheat day after I have followed a very healthy diet for six days of the week, I can look forward to my pie.

What I have also learnt about cheat days is that when the body consumes healthy foods for six days of the week, the metabolism eventually starts to slow down because the body does not have to get rid of as much waste. Having a cheat day not only boosts the body’s metabolism productively but also can help you to lose weight. Causing this spike by having just one cheat day a week is an effective way to eat what you love and ALSO lose weight.

Get off the silly fad diets or points system. They are getting all the money because you usually have to buy the foods that go with a diet. It is YOU and only you who can make a change. First a healthy body starts with a healthy mindset. Get rid of the negativity and focus on others to make you slim and you can achieve anything.

Lose Weight with Nuts

Nuts contain a lot of fat, yes. You only need to look at the nutritional content for a packet of salted peanuts to find that out but, in moderation, they contain essential fatty acids, which help your body to shift the bad fats, that’s what we want isn’t it, to get rid of the excess fat.

Nuts are nutritious and protein packed. They will help with any muscle building programme. I always have a small plateful before gym sessions and it gives me enough energy to last a couple of hours. Try to steer clear from the salted varieties. Get an old biscuit tin and fill it with cashew nuts, almonds, peanuts (unsalted varieties), pumpkin seeds, melon seeds, sunflower seeds, pecan nuts, hazelnuts, and brazil nuts. Grab a handful or have a small plateful whenever you feel hunger strike. Guaranteed they will fill you up longer than white carbs and they’re supplying your body with essential fatty acids and omega 3. Nuts are so healthy.

For anyone on a weight reduction diet, nuts are really your best friend. You do not need to follow these silly weight watchers or eat less carbs diets, everything eaten in moderation, together with a good exercise programme will shift the fat for you. Do not spend large amounts of money on dietary supplements either because they can upset your body in various ways, ie. diarrhea or loose stools.

The sad fact that no-body wants to tell a dieter is that FATS are important. You should not reduce them from your diet, only the saturated fats but, monosaturated fats, contained in nuts and seeds are ESSENTIAL to weight loss. Seriously!