9 Best Fitness Moves of All Time

It's resolution time! As we ring in the new year, many people often turn their focus from indulgence to moderation and start working to shed a few pounds they gained over the holidays. With this in mind, the American Council on Exercise (ACE) compiled a list of the best moves to target problem areas and keep your body lean and fit throughout winter.
Though you may have a particular body part in mind right now, ACE pooh-poohs the idea of "spot reduction" -- they say it's based on the flawed notion that it's possible to burn fat from one area of your body at a time, which, unfortunately, it is not (so much for those fantasies of shrinking your thighs and adding the leftover volume to your bust!).
However! Though the best way to think about staying fit any time of year is to go for a total-body approach, focusing on cardio and overall strength, it is indeed possible to sculpt your physique by paying additional attention to a few key areas many of us consider to be "problem" body spots:  More....Yahoo Health

The Gym-Free Interval Workout

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No time to rush to the gym for your daily workout? We've got you covered. From fab abs to thighs of steel, these easy to try-at-home exercises will have you looking and feeling great. This fun, 20-minute, equipment-free interval workout was created exclusively for Health by Crunch Gym’s regional group fitness director, Marc Santa Maria.
More.....Health.com

4 Fitness Secrets from the NFL

Aaron Rodgers. Drew Brees. LaDainian Tomlinson. Reggie Bush. Besides being NFL Pro Bowlers, what do these guys have in common?
They're all trained by Todd Durkin, C.S.C.S., owner of Fitness Quest 10 in San Diego, a contributor to Men's Health, and author of The Impact! Body Plan.
Durkin makes his living training elite athletes, but he also helps average men (and women) achieve their ideal bodies too. And he does so with the very same strategies, exercises, and workout plans he gives top athletes. Walk into his gym, in fact, and you may very well see a grandmother training next to an NFL superstar. That's pretty cool.
We recently asked Durkin to how top NFL athletes get and stay in peak physical condition—and how you can do it, too. Here's what he told us.
Secret #1: Work Your Weaknesses
Durkin: The average guy avoids exercises he's not good that. Oftentimes, these should be his focus.
I do the same thing with my athletes. When I first started working with LaDainian in 2002, he had room for improvement on his balance. He since has become so much better. When I started working with Brees (pictured here training at Durkin's gym) that same year, his core wasn't as strong as it should be. So with an emphasis on joint integrity and core strength, he was able to really improve his game.  More...Yahoo Health

25 simple ways to get more steps in your day

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By Su Reid-St. John So you’ve heard it a million times: Walk more! Aim for 10,000 steps a day! But taking the stairs instead of the elevator will only get you so far.… Read More »

Lose Weight Around the Clock

6:45 AM: Get Some Early Exercise
"Studies show that most people who wear pedometers clock up more steps before lunch compared to after lunch," says accredited dietitian Kate Di Prima. "Morning exercise raises your heart rate and metabolism early to give you physical energy for hours, so from that perspective it also helps burn more calories throughout the day." Depending on where you live, there are also generally lower pollution levels in the morning.  More...Shine from Yahoo

Czechs order obese soldiers to tighten belts

The Czech army has shrunk to just a quarter of its size since Prague shrugged off the yoke of Communism two decades ago, but a new report has prompted it to pursue a different type of downsizing.

Military doctors raised the alarm when they discovered that half of the army's 22,000 personnel are overweight, and 3,500 are obese, daily Lidove Noviny reported Wednesday.
The army has decided on a quick counterattack: Soldiers will go on a diet and the army may even deploy fat-fighting pills.
The Defense Ministry confirmed the obesity figures but said pills were only a last-resort weapon, following diet and exercise.

The Czechs are member of the NATO alliance and have around 700 troops in Afghanistan.

(Reporting by Robert Mueller, writing by Jan Lopatka, editing by Paul Casciato)

Jogging Beats Weight Lifting for Losing Belly Fat: Study

FRIDAY, Aug. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Aerobic exercise is better than resistance training if you want to lose the belly fat that poses a serious threat to your health, researchers say.
That's the finding of their eight-month study that compared the effectiveness of aerobic exercise (such as jogging), resistance training (such as weight lifting), or a combination of the two activities in 196 overweight, sedentary adults aged 18 to 70.

The participants in the aerobic group did the equivalent of 12 miles of jogging per week at 80 percent maximum heart rate, while those in the resistance group did three sets of eight to 12 repetitions three times per week.  More...Yahoo Health

Exercise & Fitness

Age is Just a Number

Stick with your fitness program: Exercise is key to staying healthier in old age.  Find out »
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6 Arm Exercises for Immediate Results

I really like my butt. Sure, it's on the bigger side -- but hey, large butts are "in" (big up to Kim K and her pseudo-celebrity derriere -- you do us us curvy girls proud).
You know what's not as likely be "in" though? The fleshy wings that hang below my arms.
Read More »
Sourced By:  Shine from Yahoo

6 Sneaky Ways To Get In Exercise

Need to work out but can't get to the gym? Try these six easy ways to work out! The best part? You can do these moves anywhere!

At-home chair squats: Hover above a chair seat as if you were going to sit down, without letting your butt or thighs touch the seat. Hold for 30 seconds, building up to 1 minute. Do these body toning exercises whenever you get a moment, aiming for once an hour.
Squat in the Kitchen: Every time you're in the kitchen, perform triceps dips using a kitchen chair: Stand in front of a chair as if you were going to sit down, then bend knees and lower hips, placing hands on the seat edge, fingers pointing forward, arms straight. Walk feet forward, and with feet flat and torso erect, bend and straighten arms, keeping butt close to chair seat without touching it. Do 8-15 reps.
Sourced By:  Shine from Yahoo

10 Workout Secrets from the Super Motivated

Marissa Stephenson, SELF magazine You know that girl with the seemingly superhuman mojo who always manages to fit in fitness…and into her skinny jeans. No need for envious glances. You can steal her playbook!… Read More »
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Exercise Alone Is Not the Answer to Weight Loss

The cover story of the August 9, 2009 issue of Time Magazine was, “Why Exercise Won’t Make You Thin.”  This article stirred debate about the role of exercise in controlling body fat.  ACE (American Council on Exercise), ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) felt compelled to issue a statement responding to the suggestion that exercise is not a central component to turning around the growing epidemic of obesity in America.  Many health experts feared that Americans would not initiate or would quit their exercise programs at the suggestion that it was not going to help them control their weight.  More....Aol.com  Sourced By:

Larry Krutka

Fitness, Training and Sports

Shrink Your Belly in 14 Days

We have some great news for your abs: The ultimate piece of belly-flab-busting equipment is a $30 stability ball. When researchers at California State University, Sacramento, hooked up electrodes to the midsections of 18 people, they found that ball moves recruited twice the number of muscle fibers as traditional crunches or yoga/Pilates-inspired workouts. Scientists credit the ball's instability with doubling the toning power of these moves. To amp up results, we combined ball exercises from the study with high-energy cardio and simple calorie-cutting tips. In 2 weeks, you could lose up to an inch from your waist; in 4 weeks, shed up to 8 pounds or more.   More...Prevention.com

WEIGHT LOSS TIPS FOR MEN

As a reason of leading of unhealthy lifestyle and eating of junk and fast foods on regular basis, our body is gaining some abnormal weight which are eventually turning us into obese. Obesity brings about many other illnesses in our body besides looking bad. It is happening due to eating of unhealthy foods and also due to leading a restless lifestyle. In order to lose this extra mass of fat some methods can be trialled out like:

1. Doing exercise – Exercise does a lot of help in curbing this fatness. This may include some day to day exercises like walking and running exercises, aerobic exercises and also heavy exercises with machines in gymnasiums.

2. Target – One cannot curb fat just in a day or so. One needs to set a target as per the guidelines of the trainer or the specialist concerned. A tight schedule on the set target may help one to lose stress as well weight on a regular basis.

Read more...
WEIGHT LOSS TIPS FOR MEN

More Evidence That Exercise May Keep The Brain Sharp

TUESDAY, July 19 (HealthDay News) -- Older adults who keep active may be helping to reduce their odds of losing their mental abilities, two new studies suggest.
Both reports were published online July 19 in the Archives of Internal Medicine, to coincide with presentations scheduled to be presented Tuesday at the International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease in Paris.
"We looked at an objective measure of physical activity -- most previous studies looked at self-reported levels of physical activity, which always has some inherent error," said the lead researcher of the first study, Laura E. Middleton, from the Heart and Stroke Foundation Center for Stroke Recovery at the Sunnybrook Research Institute in Toronto. More....Yahoo Health.com

Have a ball

"My No. 1 tip: Do the ball exchange three times a week. Lay flat on your back with your arms above your head and legs straight out. Start with a stability ball above your head in your hands. Bring the ball up above your chest as you bring your legs up to meet the ball and place it between your ankles. Bring the ball back down to the floor with your legs and straighten your arms back out over your head.
Repeat the ball exchange 10 to 12 times, remembering to keep your lower back pressed into the floor as you do this move."
–LaReine Chabut, author of Exercise Balls for Dummies  Sourced Yahoo health

12 Ways To Work Out Despite The Heat

The dog days of summer are upon us, but you don't have to put your workout routine on the back burner just because it feels too hot to exercise.
Instead of using the heat as another excuse to skip my workout, I get creative with my summertime activities so I can keep up my fitness goals.  More... Sourced By: health.com

6 Moves for Tank Top–Ready Arms

As the weather warms up and the sweaters come off, many of us realize our arms might not be ready for the big reveal. No big deal! SELF has your back (and biceps). To flaunt lean, sexy Cameron Diaz–like arms, you need a routine that targets all the dozen-plus muscles from your wrists to shoulders. For the quickest, easiest payoff, we boiled it down to the essentials with help from trainer Julie Bobek, creator of the All About You: Arms class at Reebok Sports Club/NY in New York City. Do her moves below two or three times (check out the how-to video at Self.com) a week, and you’ll start to see results that will send you sundress shopping this weekend. Bonus: These multitaskers show your lower half some sculpting love, too. Here’s what you need to shed the sleeves! More Yahoohealth.com

Exercise and Physical Activity: What's the Difference?

Physical activity is defined as movement that involves contraction of your muscles. Any of the activities we do throughout the day that involve movement — housework, gardening, walking, climbing stairs — are examples of physical activity.
Exercise is a specific form of physical activity — planned, purposeful physical activity performed with the intention of acquiring fitness or other health benefits, says David Bassett, Jr., PhD, a professor in the department of exercise, sport, and leisure studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Working out at a health club, swimming, cycling, running, and sports, like golf and tennis, are all forms of exercise.
Physical Activity and Exercise: Understanding the Difference
Most daily physical activity is considered light to moderate in intensity. There are certain health benefits that can only be accomplished with more strenuous physical activity, however. Improvement in cardiovascular fitness is one example. Jogging or running provides greater cardiovascular benefit than walking at a leisurely pace, for instance. Additionally, enhanced fitness doesn't just depend of what physical activity you do, it also depends on how vigorously and for how long you continue the activity. That’s why it’s important to exercise within your target heart rate range when doing cardio, for example, to reach a certain level of intensity. More... Aol health .com

Using Exercise to Beat Stress

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Nothing can beat regular exercise as a stress-busting technique. The result of the 'fight or fight' reaction is that our bodies go into a state of high arousal but there is often nowhere for that energy to go, so our bodies can stay in this state for hours at a time. Exercise is the best way to dissipate the excess energy, especially if you have a sedentary job.
It's a good idea to channel your energy into proper exercise, be it a brisk walk, a run, a bike ride or a game of squash. You don't need to join a health club— exercise can be as informal as taking the dog for a walk, or dancing at home to your favorite music.
Experts recommend that we exercise at a moderate intensity for a minimum of 30 minutes, most days of the week. And there are many reasons to do so. Exercise not only improves health and reduces stress, it also relaxes tense muscles and helps you to sleep. It causes the release of chemicals called endorphins into your bloodstream, making you feel relaxed and happy. As such, it can be a helpful tool in fighting depression and anxiety, as well as keeping you trim and reducing your risk of heart conditions and stroke, managing high blood pressure, diabetes and back pain. All in all, fit people are better able to handle the long-term effects of stress without suffering ill health.  Sourced By:  Aol.com