Women can now lift heavier barbells. They can also do 200 crunches, and yes, they can also do serious muscle training using dumbbells. If you are a woman who doesn’t want to be left behind in terms of strength and resistance training at the gym or at your own backyard, you can do these 3 super easy dumbbell exercises for women:

1.Biceps Curl. Before you get started with this exercise, you have to make sure that the dumbbells you pick aren’t too heavy as they may strain your muscles. Pick weights that range from 3 to 6 pounds. If you are a starter, you can have a pair of 3-pound dumbbells. In this exercise, you can either sit on a bench or stand up straight with your feet apart and knees bent slightly.

Place your dumbbell-holding arms on the sides and make sure your palms are off your body. Your elbows are supposed to be clipped on the sides. Curl both your arms up until the shoulder level. Hold for 2 seconds and bring them down. You can do 8 to 12 repetitions before you take a 1-minute rest and start another set of 8 to 12. Other advancers who have been working out for quite long can do 3 sets of 16, but if you are beginner do not attempt so.

2.Upright Row. This time, you allow your dumbbell-holding arms hang in front of your things. Your palms must be fronting your thighs. Lift your dumbbells up until the chin level but ensure that your palms are held steadily close to your body. Bring up and down for 8 to 12 counts before resting for a minute and doing the routine all over again. This exercise focuses on your upper back, neck and shoulder blades.

3.Side Shoulder Raise. This is another easy dumbbell exercise. Allow your dumbbell-holding arms to hang right in front of your thighs again. Your elbows should be bent just a little while your palms are to face one another. Bring your arms up but they should be fronting outwardly as you lift the dumbbells. Lift them until the shoulder level with your elbows still bending a little bit. As you bring the dumbbells back down, it should be done slowly rather than abruptly. You can do 3 sets of 8 to 12 counts but make sure again that you take a 30-second to 1-minute rest in between sets.

These dumbbells are surely convenient and quick to learn. Once you get used to them, you are on your way towards developing your muscles successfully and contouring your body in a matter of time.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/fitness-articles/3-super-easy-dumbbell-exercises-for-women-537257.html

About the Author

Finding the perfect Tony Horton’s 10 Minute Trainer takes time and effort. The P90X Plus workout is a great place to start if a person is interested in flat abs. The P90X is also another workout that will help develop flat abs.

State anicteric capital that you can apprise chronicle as it should be rewarding. But what are the main factors that threaten our eudaemonia? Is there any way we can annihilate them or at least decrease the effects they have on our embody and on our well-being?
What are the things we do on a regular supposition in status to overcome? We eat, we steep, we expel, and we slumber. Sleeping is something that should be through regularly and in the advisable allotment – roughly 8 hours each day, but a minimum of 6 hours. Without death, our bodies are submitted to a lot of enunciate and our interior organs pay the value for our lack of attention.

The air we release is something we cannot check. Isolated from wearing a cover everywhere we go, we can’t do anything else. And if we utilize to this answer, everyone around us power not score much a upright image. This brings us to the factors that we can hold the human – what we eat and what we uptake. How can we ascertain which are the person foods to eat?
This is where nutrition entropy comes in. Nutrition assemblage can be obtained from varied sources and it can lead to a bouncing way. When you conceive zealous, you aspect great and you can accomplish tasks that otherwise you wouldn’t regularise imagine almost. Your coverall efficiency is improved significantly.

Nutrition entropy regards what you eat on a rhythmic foundation. When you go to fast-foods to eat, you are doing a lot of scathe to your body. Commutation cheeseburgers with fruits and vegetables is one of the most important steps you can gain towards a better lifestyle.
There are grouping that vary in this field called nutritionists. They can support all the nutrition assemblage you necessity and educate a fasting system that starts with breakfast and ends with party for you to equipoise all your meals to smoldering a ameliorate history.
Regularize so, nutritionists are specialists that supply their services in reappear for money. Whatever people cannot or leave not accost this write of services and thus hotel to the eudaemonia tips they happen over the cyberspace. This is not delinquent at all, because these website wage accumulation from grouping who pair what they are conversation roughly or change been there and someone suffered from what troubles you now.
Eudaimonia tips constitute over the net state whatsoever advantages. They are really comfortable to admittance, everyone can prospect them and they are a termination of grouping who bonk suffered and who try to foreclose others from achievement finished their pains. Any termination of a place meant to ameliorate sprightliness is something we can use.

Patch you explore the cyberspace for all the welfare tips you can get, let met hold you whatsoever incommode and taper you in the paw instruction. Visiting the website drmomonline.com give president you reach to upbeat tips classified into main interest groups which gift sort your activity easier and quicker.

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more health tips please visit good health tips

more health tips please visit www.healthtipshome.com

One major reason why people stop is because they have an extreme belief on magazines on body building that give them a completely different picture. Some of these materials on body building are inaccurate and hold a lot fallacy that confuses the body builders even more if they fail to have an in-depth overview. From time to time some of the magazines only change the photos of the body builders but the content still remains the same. Some of these muscle magazines merely are not meant to provide any education or knowledge on body building but they are purely for marketing strategies.

It is what marketers use to sell their products and convince the people on their effectiveness. The marketers have taken all space in these magazines and very little space has been left for any educational write up. People who are really in search of this information are left with no option, they fall victims in usage of products that do not help them and eventually they are discouraged from continuing. Therefore, there is no big reason for stopping body building based on lack of attaining the desired goals, it is important first to try one’s own work outs and dig deeper for experiential information.

The pictures too in these magazines demoralize the users when they compare themselves to them, in the pursuit of such huge muscles, the people get tired and exhausted in the waiting process of when the day will come for them to be like the role models. They even go further to search for the ways and means that the role models could have used to reach such stages, but to their surprise nothing seems to work out. This brings them to a point of desperation and criticism of body building, something that could have been avoided if it were not for these comparisons.

The solution to all these is very simple, it is important to try and work out what is best for an individual other than a group. Also, avoid temptations from every other source that mostly comes one’s way. Also keep in mind that not all information that one reads is true and therefore verifications on any practical issue is quite important before one gets into trouble for lack of consultation. Finally, know that, though there may be role models in body building, let one not follow what they do. Probably, one can use their figure as inspirations of continuing with exercises.

Dane Fletcher is the world’s most prolific bodybuilding and fitness expert and is currently the executive editor for BodybuildingToday.com. If you are looking for more bodybuilding tips or information on weight training, or supplementation, please visit www.BodybuildingToday.com, the bodybuilding and fitness authority site with hundreds of articles available FREE to help you meet your goals.

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1. Eating too much carbohydrates and sugar. Rice is the main source of carbohydrates. It is a staple food for most Asian countries. It is an energy-giving food. Too much intake of this nutrient gives your belly additional weight.
2. Poor diet. Unbalanced and unhealthy diet can contribute to unwanted fats.
3. Lack of exercise. Unwanted calories and fats should be burned by doing physical exercise.
4. Stressful lifestyle

In other words, diet alone is not only the main cause of obtaining belly fats. Other factors contribute as well. There are no sure-fire tips to help you in losing belly fat and getting 6 pack abs on the spot. But here are some tips that may help you achieve a gorgeous, well-toned and trimmed abdomen:

1. The first rule – as others say is that to curb down your carbohydrate intake. It is true, provided that you have a solid healthy diet plan to follow. You may consult a nutritionist regarding what kind of diet to take to ensure that your body will still get the required essential nutrients.

2. Skipping meals is a big no-no. There is a myth that skipping dinner will help eliminate belly fats. This isn’t true. If you starve yourself, you have the tendency to eat more than the usual, contributing more on accumulating unnecessary fats.

3. Eat a well-balanced diet. Remember the grow-glow-go food pyramid? But for those over 30 years old, it is advisable to eat more fresh vegetables and less with meat.

4. Exercise, exercise and exercise. To tone your abdomen, you must know the suitable exercise for the midsection body. A good form of exercise for the purpose of achieving a 6-pack abs is the curl-ups. For starters, you can do 10 curl-ups every morning before breakfast. Other forms of exercises are also good for the body; you may also want to try some of these.

5. Maintain a fit and healthy lifestyle. Drink liquors moderately, as product advertisers say, but it is much better if you completely avoid it.

6. Give yourself ample time for rest and sleep. Lean muscles cannot be achieved if coupled with lack of sleep. Give yourself a good form of relaxation for both the body and mind. You may want to take yoga courses.

7. Bear in mind that not all people are the same. Techniques in losing belly fat and getting 6 pack abs may vary for some people.

It is really possible to quickly and effectively loose your belly fat and show your abs! See what Matt did by following this program.

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http://EzineArticles.com/?Tips-For-Losing-Belly-Fat-and-Getting-6-Pack-Abs-For-Summer-2010&id=3414719

Do this program two times a week. You are going to do drop sets. This means you are going to do three sets back to back without resting. Obviously if you ar not experienced with liting weight you will start with one set then more up to the three sets. You are going to work your larger muscles first. The order goes something like this:

Leg extension

Leg Press

Hamstring Curl

Close Grip Lat. Pull Down

Pull Over or Seated Row

Bench Press

Chest Fly

Triceps

Bicep Curls

Lateral Shoulder Raise

For every exercise write down the weight and the number of repetitions you do for your first set only. Do fifteen repetitions, once you get to the fifteenth repetition drop the weight down about 25% then do as many repetitions as you can, then again without rest drop the weight down and do as many repetitions as you can. If on the first set you cannot make fifteen repetitions, no problem, do as many as you can then drop the weight and keep going as I mentioned.

Write down the weight and number of repetitions you did for the first set only. For your next workout, if you made it to fifteen repetitions increase the weight. If you did not make it to fifteen repetitions, keep the weight the same and try to do more repetitions than you did last time. This will constantly push you to trainer harder. Try and do the exercises in the exact same order every time.

Not resting will really fatigue the muscle, but only while lifting at that time. You will still be able to do your other training. Training this way will stimulate muscle growth because you are causing the muscles to fail. In fact, on your third set you may only be lifting the bar with no weights on it at since your muscle is failing. That is one reason you will want to do this workout on some type of machine unless you have a spotter. Get past how much weight you are lifting, just let your muscles fail.

After a few sessions switch the type of exercise you are doing. Instead of a chest fly do a decline bench, then latter do an incline bench. Instead of a close grip lat. pull down do a seated row, but keep the same basic order, working the larger muscles to the smaller muscle.

You should be able to get this fully body weight session done in thirty minutes or less. Now go run!

–

Please feel free to publish this article in your Newsletter or on your Website (with Resource Box included).

About The Author

Dr. Jeffrey Banas is a Chiropractic Sports Physician, and triathlete, practicing in Mesa, AZ. If you would like to contact Dr. Banas, he can be reached at his office at 480-633-6837, or by visiting his web site at www.personal-weight-loss-help.com

drjeffbanas@yahoo.com

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Most people know they should exercise, and many know how to do it, but simply can’t get motivated. Many busy people have found their answer in a growing trend in fitness known as phone coaching.

You probably have heard of coaches for different facets of life personal, business, financial, etc. Fitness coaching by phone appeals to the busy person who is trying to balance work, family and personal care, and often finds their care at the bottom of the list. With our crazy schedules, it is hard to find the time to exercise, let alone make two to three appointments a week with a personal trainer at the health club. Fitness coaching by phone saves you time, frustration and money. With a phone coach you have a 20 to 30 minute weekly phone session to determine your goals and exercise schedule for the week. You exercise on your own, whenever and wherever it is convenient.

Tara, a phone coaching client in California liked the convenience and the motivation her coaching program provided: A friend of mine at work suggested phone coaching. I said, why not? I didn’t have to go anywhere. I could call my coach from work and exercise by just walking out the front door of my office. Pretty soon, I found on my walks that my feet were wanting to fly over the pavement, so I started walking and running, then built up to where I would run the 30 minutes. It became addictive – I was actually looking forward to it!

Fitness coaching by phone is most valuable as a means of keeping people accountable. Too many people, for example, join a health club with expectations of attending regularly and getting fit. Its not too difficult to keep this commitment at first, but inevitably it becomes easier to find excuses to not go, especially when no one is checking up on you. Accountability is essential!

Researchers at Stanford University have been studying phone-based exercise counseling for over 20 years. They have found astounding results – after six months of phone coaching, up to 90% of the subjects were still exercising on their own. Those people who had a coach to guide them and to hold them accountable were more successful and exercised independently, working with their coach by phone.

One of the most important goals of phone coaching is to teach the participant how to become his or her own independent coach and motivator. By learning how to exercise on your own, you will be able to create a lifelong habit.

Fitness coaching by phone is a concept whose time has come. You can find fitness coaches all over the United States. They have helped thousands of clients find the motivation to get the results they have always wanted!

If you are ready to take charge of your health and fitness and finally reach you goals, phone coaching may exactly what you are looking for. Your success may be just a phone call away!

About The Author

Gillian Hood-Gabrielson, MS, ACSM, is the president of Healthier Outcomes, a nationwide coaching practice specializing in intuitive eating and fitness coaching. For more information and to receive her special report, "6 Simple Steps to Guilt-Free Eating" visit www.HealthierOutcomes.com. Gillian can be reached at gillian@healthieroutcomes.com or 866-650-6464.

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http://EzineArticles.com/?Your-Fitness-Success—Just-a-Phone-Call-Away&id=19266

What you should do:

• Drink plenty of fluids. It’s extremely important to stay hydrated. If you’re thirsty then you are already dehydrated; drink before you feel a need to. Be sure to drink throughout the day (stick to non-caffeinated beverages, preferably water). Also, drink 15-20 minutes before beginning your workout and every 15 minutes throughout the exercise.

• Eat regularly. The heat can decrease your appetite, but it’s important to eat normally. Try to eat small meals 5-6 times per day. Include lots of fruits and vegetables. Aside from being nutritious, fruits also tend to help with hydration.
• Wear light, loose fitting clothes that can breath. Cotton is always a good choice. If your outdoor activity produces a lot of perspiration, consider clothing that is designed to wick the sweat away.
• Wear sunscreen. Even if you exercise early in the morning or late in the evening, if the sun can reach you then you can get burned. Not only is a sunburn bad on the skin and potentially dangerous but it also hinders your bodies ability to stay cool.
• Use common sense and don’t attempt strenuous activities that your body is not accustom to. Stick to exercises that you are very familiar and comfortable with.
• Check the weather forecast. It’s best not to participate in intense outdoor exercise sessions when the heat index registers in the dangerous zone.

What you should not do:

• Don’t try to diet by sweating. Excessive perspiration is not the key to permanent weight loss. Any decrease in the scale would simply be a result of water loss, not fat reduction.
• Don’t adapt the "no pain, no gain" motto. Ignoring your body’s signals could be dangerous. Heat-related illnesses come with warning signs. Be sure to learn how to recognize them and what actions to take.
• Don’t forget to drink plenty of liquid when swimming. Just because your body is surrounded by water does not mean that you are well-hydrated. As with any land exercises, you need to regularly replenish lost fluids when in the pool.
• Avoid physical activity during the hottest part of the day, which usually is between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
• If you want (or need) to be working in very hot temperatures, don’t do it until you become acclimated. Try to spend only a few minutes per day in the hot conditions for the first couple of weeks and then add time gradually each day.
• Avoid extreme changes in temperature. Don’t hop from being extremely hot and sweating excessively right into an ice cold, air-conditioned environment. Try to cool your body down slightly before exposing it to the extreme temperature variation.

Whether you have to work outside or do it for enjoyment, following the above tips will help you stay cool and safe during the dog days of summer. So, don’t spend the season cooped up, get out there and have some fun!

About The Author

Lynn Bode is a certified personal trainer specializing in Internet-based fitness programs. She founded Workouts For You, which provides affordable online exercise programs that are custom designed for each individual. Visit: http://www.workoutsforyou.com for a free sample workout and to sign-up for their monthly fitness newsletter. Fitness professionals, visit: http://www.trainerforce.com

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Need a source of vast power and energy?

Look no further than your gym.

The link between physical fitness and energy is so strong, that doctors have lately been prescribing exercise as treatment for chronic fatigue, depression, seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and insomnia, for instance.

If sufferers of the most stubborn kind of fatigue can be energized with exercise, imagine what can do for those of us who experience ordinary, every-day fatigue.

* Feel Great At Mid-Afternoon *

Your brain thrives on oxygen. Blood transports oxygen to the brain, so the greater blood flow to the brain, the greater the oxygen supply the brain has. As you increase your heartbeat with a vigorous workout, more blood surges through the brain, more oxygen gets absorbed by your brain cells, and you feel more mentally alert and energetic.

Experts point out another long-term cause-and-effect relationship between exercise and blood flow to the brain: as you continue exercising, the number of capillaries (small blood vessels between your arteries and veins) throughout your body will grow. More blood flow through your "pipes" means more oxygen will be supplied where you need it.

Regular exercise also keeps the pipes clear and circulation healthy by preventing atherosclerosis (buildup of plaque). Regular exercise can actually REVERSE atherosclerosis when combined with a healthy nutrition plan. When you have atherosclerosis in check, your brain is virtually guaranteed for the rest of your life.

Blood also carries glucose, the simple sugar that’s the primary fuel source for your entire nervous system of which the brain is the command center. Glucose’s production starts the metabolism of carbohydrates. Various enzymes, plus your body’s ability to use glucose to produce ATP, the more important energy chemical in the body, control this production. When you exercise, you increase the level of those enzymes and their activity.

In other words, when you exercise regularly, you boost your enzymes, resulting in more glucose, and your body is more efficient in using the glucose. You get a larger supply of ATP, which helps fight off the mid-afternoon energy drop-off.

* Increase Metabolism *

It’s no secret that strength trainers are firmer and stronger than sedentary folks. How could it be otherwise?

Resistance exercise builds muscle, pure and simple. The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism, and the more calories you burn even at rest.

So why does "strong and toned" equate to more energy?

For starters, heavy people have to lug around more weight all day long. When the overweight climbs a flight of stairs, do yard work, or even just carrying the garbage can to the curb, they’re also carrying that excess weight, making almost everything they do more exhausting.

Better-conditioned muscles make every task that much easier, regardless of body weight. When you exercise, your ability to use muscle fibers is increased. So you require less effort to perform any physical task.

A strong body also has a stronger immune system. Being sick drains us of energy, and exercise, by boosting immunity, staves off illness. Recent research has shed light on why the strong may get sick less often and recuperate faster when they do get sick: exercise increases the activity of natural killer cells in the bloodstream.

* Less Stress *

A great deal of research supports that weight lifting is one of the most effective means of battling depression and stress. One of the main fatiguing factors of depression and stress is lack of sleep. In a recent Stanford University study, formerly sedentary insomniacs who began to exercise fell asleep 15 minutes faster and were able to sleep an hour longer than they had before becoming active.

* Boost Brain Fitness *

To this point, we’ve been talking about the benefit of exercise on mental energy. But is it possible that being in shape might translate to even greater mental benefits, such as increased intelligence, creativity, memory, or reasoning ability? It’s very possible.

Studies show that both factors of mental stimulation and exercise were contributing to the increase of the brain’s learning centers in different ways. Mental stimulation results in more synapses (the little gaps between brain nerve cells that enable them to communicate with one another), while exercise increases the number of capillaries in the cerebellum and cerebral cortex (two areas of the brain crucial to intelligence.)

* Take a Walk *

Medical research results could hardly be clearer: Taking a walk is one of the best ways to take charge of your health. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (February 11, 1998) showed that walking briskly for half an hour just six times a month cut the risk of premature death in men and women by 44 percent. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine (January 8, 1997) reported that men 61 to 81 years old sharply reduced their risk of death from all causes, including cancer and heart disease, by walking two miles a day. Other research has shown similar results for women.

Recent studies have concluded that moderate amounts of exercise – including walking, jogging or using a treadmill for one hour, four to five times a week – can turn back the aging clock 30 years for middle aged men.

Consistency is probably the most important part of your workout. The more committed you are to walking all or most days of the week, the healthier you’ll be. Remember that short walks are better then none at all. Health, like life, is a journey. All you have to do is take the first step.

About The Author

Paul Reeve is a Personal Trainer responsible for training individuals one-on-one and assisting them in achieving their health and fitness goals and providing them with guidance, support and motivation. Presenter and lecturer for Fitness Professionals, Sports Organizations, Sport Coaches, Corporate and Community Organizations. Webmaster for http://www.treadmilladviser.com – providing informed advice on exercise treadmills.

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During one of the panels on body-image, Jane Fonda, the American icon of fitness, who we all look at and wonder what it must be like to have such a “perfect” body, said it has taken her until age 61 to grow to love her body.

I was dumbfounded. “Good God, I don’t want to wait that long!” I thought. And hot damn! If SHE has body image issues, and her body is “perfect” by today’s standards, then this is really pointless.

(By the way, Ms. Fonda doesn’t look a day over 44 with a body of a 20 year old aerobics instructor)

Powerful and successful women of all ages shared the same thing; their complete lack of love and gentleness toward their body leads them to spend a large part of their lives in a constant struggle and battle with it.

The young women in the crowd of nearly 2000 also nodded their heads in amazement and familiarity. Somehow it was comforting to see these icons sharing real things about their real bodies.

Something’s Gotta Change

Have you seen the movie, “As Good As It Gets” with Jack Nicholson? There’s a scene where he goes to see his therapist’s office and on his way out, he stops to ask the patients waiting in the waiting room – “what if this is as good as it gets?” The entire room breaks down and starts crying. Kinda funny, but it makes a great point.

Unless you are going to start working out like you say you’ve been meaning to, unless something changes pretty damn soon, unless you do something different, the odds are stacked in favor of your body being as good as it gets right NOW.

Two choices:

1. Accept that you’ll never exercise regularly and be happy with what it looks like now

2. Choose to take on exercise, but in a whole new way.

Don’t exercise. Instead just moooove your body.

Exercise conjures associations such as "I have to", "I should", "I will one day, someday, maybe," to name a few. When was the last time we leaped joyfully towards that!? None of those feel good, right? So cut yourself some slack and consider a few things: 1. Get rid of shoulds 2. Go for movement vs. exercise

Delete the word "should" from your vocabulary. Immediately. Right now. Do it. Have your friends forbid you to use it! Do whatever it takes! It does you no good. Choose the word "could" instead.

Could vs. Should

Using the word “could” vs. “should” implies choice. After all, isn’t that the truth? You do have the choice, you can choose to move your body and you can choose to take responsibility for not shaking your thing. You made the choices that got you here. Sorry, it’s bad news, I know. The good part is that once you get clear what’s happened and acknowledge what IS, you can move forward.

I had a client who just wouldn’t exercise, despite her incessant talking and complaining about it. So I decided to not call it exercise anymore and take a different approach. She instantly lit up.

Together we created a "movement menu.” Ah… sounds delicious and curiously inviting, yes? Now you know you’re on the right track if your feeling a bit piqued.

You want to know more, don’t you? You’ll have to wait. In Part Two of this article, I’ll show you how to create a movement menu of your own. One so good you’ll want to brag to all of you’re sister goddess friends on how you got moving through pleasure vs. pain.

Action Tip: For now, just swim around in the concept of “movement vs. exercise”. Let yourself really get it. Get how you are perfectly capable to discover and create ways to move your body that feel good and are good for you. You may find that you’ll be drawn to ways you already move your body – walking, dancing, morning stretch, taking the stairs. It’s all good.

You are good. You are beautiful just the way you are. Read that again. For today, just revel in the idea of uncovering your favorite ways to move your body.

Bonus Tip: For the raring to go and advanced ladies. Your duty for all womankind and sisters worldwide, is to dance to a favorite tune. Dance wildly, as if no one was looking and your were inventing a new style of dance. Get silly, shake your thing. Just move. It only takes 3 minutes to dance to your favorite song. Channel NIKE, the ancient Goddess of Victory and JUST DO IT.

Karin Witzig of Wild Woman Wellness™ Health Coaching has been in a private practice and a Speaker in the New York metropolitan area for nearly five years and has a national clientele of courageous women breaking out of their food ruts and energy-lulls. She specializes in making getting healthy highly pleasurable, practical and fun. She can be reached via http://www.wildwomanwellness.com

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If you want to start an exercise program or take your current routine to the next level, you’ll find the information and tips in this article just what you need.

What is the F.I.T.T. Principle?

The F.I.T.T. principle is a basic philosophy of what is necessary to gain a training affect from an exercise program.

Specifically, the letters F.I.T.T. stand for:

• Frequency

• Intensity

• Type

• Time

Here’s what each of these four things stand for:

Frequency refers to the number of times you exercise. For those new to training or those just wanting to lose weight, frequency is usually calculated within the context of a week. For example, your plan might be to walk 3, 4 or 5 times per week.

Intensity is the level of effort you put into each exercise. For aerobic exercises intensity is usually measured in terms relative to your maximum heart rate while the intensity of strength exercises is measured in terms of the amount of weight you use, the number of repetitions and sets you perform, and the amount of rest time you take in between sets.

Time is simply how long you exercise during each session. For example, 30 minutes of aerobic exercise (walking, jogging, cycling, etc) per session.

Type refers to whether you do aerobics or strength training during your exercise sessions and the specific exercises you select for each.

The F.I.T.T. principle and Weight Loss

Why are the basic F.I.T.T. principle concepts important if you are planning an exercise program to lose weight?

They’re important because they help you to:

• Start with the right exercises and intensity.

• Measure your progress.

• Plan your exercise to maximize long term weight loss.

Using the F.I.T.T. principle isn’t just important in your initial exercise planning, it is also crucial to your long term planning and weight loss and fitness success.

By increasing or varying any or all parts of the F.I.T.T. principle elements, you can:

1. Increase the number of calories you burn during each exercise session.

2. Improve your cardiovascular fitness and strength.

3. Help minimize overuse/over training injuries.

4. Build variety into your program.

F.I.T.T Principle Guidelines

Here are some basic F.I.T.T. principle guidelines for both aerobics and strength training to help you plan an exercise program.

Please keep in mind that these examples represent general guidelines only for those of us with low to moderate fitness levels. Use these guidelines to establish a program and then customize your program to fit your specific needs and goals as your experience and knowledge increases.

And remember to always consult your doctor before commencing any new exercise program and consult a fitness professional (personal fitness trainer, gym instructor, etc) if you require help.

Basic Aerobic Training Guidelines

Frequency: Exercise between 3 and 5 times per week.

Intensity: Maintain a heart rate of between 60 – 80% of your Maximum Heart Rate.

Your Maximum Heart Rate can be calculated using a Maximum Heart Rate test conducted by a fitness or health professional or estimated using the formula:

For Women (230 – Age = Maximum Heart Rate).
For Men (220 – Age = Maximum Heart Rate).

The best and most practical way to monitor your heart rate is with a heart rate monitor.

Time: Those of us with low levels of fitness should maintain our heart rates in our selected target zone for a minimum of 15 to 20 minutes, excluding warm-up and cool down periods.

Those with a good fitness base should exercise for between 20 and 60 minutes in their target heart rate zone.

Type: Exercises that involve as many muscles as possible and allow a relatively consistent level of intensity are best. Good examples of these include:

• Walking

• Jogging

• Cycling

• Swimming

• Rowing

• Hiking

Basic Strength Training Guidelines

Frequency: Exercise each body part 1 to 2 times per week. For lower intensity workouts or for those who have trained for some time, try exercising each body part 2 to 3 times per week. You can exercise different parts of the body on different days (called split routines) or you can train your whole body at each workout.

Intensity: Choose a weight that can be performed 10 to 15 times (repetitions) per set.

When you can perform more than 15 repetitions without rest, increase the weight slightly for your next workout.

If you are training your whole body each time you exercise, only do 1-2 exercises for each muscle group and perform 1-3 sets of each exercise.

If you employ a split routine try performing no more than 2-3 exercises per muscle group and 2-4 sets of each exercise.

Time: Beginners usually benefit from exercise sessions that last between 30 to 45 minutes. As you become fitter and stronger, you may want to increase your total workouts from 45 to 90 minutes. For most of us, particularly those with limited time, sessions of 60 minutes are typically ideal.

With rest between sets, try not to take longer than 2-3 minutes as a beginner. As you get fitter, try to reduce this time to 1 minute or less.

Type: Generally speaking, there are two types of exercises for muscles, compound exercises and isolation exercises.

Compound exercises use more than one muscle group to perform and are the most effective for those interested in losing weight. Examples of compound exercises include Bench press, Push-ups, Squats, Shoulder press and Deadlifts.

Isolation exercises use only one muscle group to perform and include Bicep curls, Tricep extensions, Leg extensions, etc.

For those new to resistance training, compound exercises are best. Once you have a base level of strength you can add isolation exercises to your workouts for variety and to help shape individual muscles.

Conclusion

No matter what your goal, current fitness level or exercise experience, you can employ the F.I.T.T. principle to plan an effective long term exercise program.

By using the guidelines above, you too can plan an effective regime that will help you to improve your cardiovascular fitness, strength, flexibility and of course help you lose weight.

Using the F.I.T.T. principle in your exercise planning will ensure that you achieve your weight loss goals as efficiently as possible. Not only will you achieve your goals in the shortest possible time, you’ll also enjoy your routine more because of the variety built into it. If that weren’t enough, you’ll also minimize the chances of experiencing annoying and painful overtraining injuries that can stall or stop your weight loss and fitness progress.

While anyone with the basic knowledge provided above can plan their own workout, if you are new to exercise or have an existing injury or ailment, we suggest you consult a personal trainer or other fitness professional. As well as designing a personal plan for you using the method above, they can help you rehabilitate or work around existing injuries, teach you the right techniques for each exercise in your program and advise you of when to modify your plan to take advantage of your new fitness levels.

Scott Haywood is the editor of Australia’s leading weight loss and healthy lifestyle website weightloss.com.au. Weightloss.com.au is a free weight loss resource and weight loss products guide.

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