“Is it possible to achieve maximum strength power, knockout fat, sculpt lean muscle and dramatically transform my shape, if I don’t have a power rack and I only have access to a barbell? Not even an Olympic barbell, but one of those old crappy cement filled barbell sets”

I know precisely the weights this guy is saying. I believe nearly everyone of us grew up with them right? They were basically cement weights covered in plastic, and over time the plastic busted up and the cement started to get busted below remember?

I think I’m showing my age

Anyways

Of course! Why not?! You can absolutely build strength and power with an outdated equipment!

You just need someone to show you how. Luckily you met me. And luckily I just read most of Dan John’s awesome “From the Ground Up”.

In this outstanding little ebook Dan John explains the “Rapid Ascent Program”, which contains three workouts:

1. Pull Move

2. Push Press

3. Front Squat

And here’s how you did the program (from his book):

“The program was very easy. Primarily, groups of four boys were given a bar. The bars were weighted from too lightpossibly 25 poundsup to maybe close to 100 pounds. Each group of boys would lift one at a time, put the bar down, then the next boy would lift. The four would continuously move from lifter to watcherthe bar never stopped. The three sets (explained in just a moment) would not take very longindeed, occasionally it was hard to catch your breath in time for your next set.

The repetitions were incredibly simple

* Set Number 1 — 8 repetitions

* Set #2: 6 reps

* Set #3: 4 reps

The goal was simple: when you got all 18 reps (8+6+4), you added weight. If you started with a bar that was too light, the next workout, you would be bumped up to the next weight and a stronger group. (Of course, actual variations could include making a whole new group with more weight, tooor whatever necessary to make the group work together).”

Sounds simple doesn’t it?

That’s the upside of this program!

You don’t need a great deal of equipment to achieve maximum strength and power and build mega-muscles… all at the same time as increasing your cardiovascular fitness and stripping off stubborn pounds of fat.

What you DO need is a little “do or die” perspective. You must make your mind up you surely WANT to reach your fitness goals, then you’ll find a way to utilize whatever equipment you have available to make it happen.

The shoulder area consists of the muscles of the posterior, medial and anterior deltoid. The rotator cuff muscles and the upper trapezius are included in the whole shoulder girdle.

The deep muscles of the rotator cuff attach different sections of the thoracic area to different parts of the humerus. Upper trapezius muscles are the muscles that run from the back of the neck; extend to the medial deltoid, then downward to intersect with the middle trapezius. Toward the back of the shoulder, you will find the posterior deltoid muscle, beneath the lower region of the upper trapezius. The outer part of the shoulder is a where the medial deltoid lies, with the anterior deltoid muscle being visible outside of the pectoral muscles.

Each shoulder has a specific function when lifting the arm. The anterior deltoid is responsible for bringing the arm forward, inward and for rotating the arm. The medial deltoid allows the arm to move away from the side. The posterior deltoid comes into play when the arm moves back or rotates outward. When the scapula is moved upward toward the ears, like shrugging your shoulders, the upper trapezius muscle does the job. Lastly, the muscles of the rotator cuff stabiles the arm during movement and allow the arm to rotate.

Coming to shoulder area, the military press, lateral raises, lying lateral raises, the Arnold press, behind the neck press, and bent-over lateral raises are just some examples of the exercises you can perfom to target those muscles. The upright row in addition to bent-over rows will also help you build the shoulder area to magnificent proportions.

The secret to forming huge shoulders is to comprehend the way the shoulder operates and maintain its health. You should do everything possible to avoid injury so you do not hinder your progress in the gym. One of the most common injuries is to the rotator cuff muscles. The rotator cuff is made up of muscles which are not exactly large and strong. So that you don’t get injured try doing some band work with your shoulder workout.

Make sure that you use the proper amount of weight and this will reduce your chances of injury. You should be able to have control of the weight through the entire movement. If you discover that you are just able to perform partial reps or you have to redistribute the weight, then it’s too massive of a weight. Using too much weight puts too much stress on the shoulder and is likely to cause injury. Before increasing the weight, be sure that you can maintain the proper technique and use the full range of motion.

While developing the muscles in the shoulder does require some work, bodybuilders agree that the payoff is worth the effort. Everybody’s body will develop at a different rate, so experimentation and determination is important.

It’s easy to go to the gym a few times a week and then assume you will just sit back and watch your muscles grow. But there are many other factors involved besides just physically working out and targeting your muscles through weight training.

Dont underestimate the effect that sleep has on your workout. You need to rest properly, and that’s not just between workouts. Altering your sleep schedule to ensure getting a steady and sound night’s sleep each night can produce drastic transformations in the outcomes you observe with bodybuilding.

There are actually several reasons why sleep is so important to be successful at bodybuilding. For starters, your body recovers and rebuilds muscle while you are asleep. This is the crucial time when other parts of your body are shut down and not consuming energy or internal resources that your body uses to repair damages from bodybuilding.

If you don’t give it time, your body will not be able to heal muscles and build new muscle. Your progress will be greatly impeded if you do not let your muscles properly heal, mend, and grow.

Another reason that sleep is so important for bodybuilding is that a lack of sleep can cause you to have a lack of focus and a lack of physical energy. A lack of mental focus can destroy your results while you’re in the gym. You can have the best intentions in the world, but if you get in the gym and you can’t visualize the exercises you are going to do and you can’t focus on moving from one to the next, you aren’t going to get a great workout.

Although you might not have the energy or be motivated enough to have a great weightlifting session. There’s only so much your body can handle over the course of a day with a tiny amount of sleep. With everything else going on in your life, its working out that often takes a backseat.

Finally, the unseen reason why sleep is so important for great bodybuilding results is that sleeping restores and maintains a natural rhythm with your body’s hormones. Sleeping releases some hormones into your bloodstream that are essential for proper metabolism and muscle gain. At the same time, sleep also inhibits other hormones that can lead to fat gain and other unseemly consequences.

Irregular sleeping habits are detrimental to your efforts to get in shape. Sleeping 3 hours on Monday, and 11 hours on Tuesday, is not the same thing as sleeping 7 hours on each night. That’s what you should shoot for, at least 7 hours a night. Keep in mind, that no sleep will ruin your efforts at bodybuilding.

However, the road to building your chest does not end here. There are many other exercises to build the upper body swiftly and some of them are:

1.    Incline bench presses
2.    Decline bench presses
3.    Flat bench presses
4.    Incline bench flies
5.    Dumbbell flies
6.    Cable crossovers
7.    Push ups (dips)

There are many others but these are the most basic exercises which you can do to increase the muscle strength, size and feel of your upper body. There are few other exercises which rival these when it comes to shaping the upper body and concentrating on these solely can give you all the required boosts to up your body building endeavors.

How to do the bench press

Doing the bench requires some practice apart from which, it is a relatively simple exercise. Here are some simple steps which will give you a fair idea about the job.

•    Lie down on the bench with the bar directly over your eyes.
•    Start with light weights if you are pressing for the first time. Otherwise, ask a helper to lift the barbell over your nipples. Settle the bar above your chest
•    Now breathe in properly as you lower the bar slowly.
•    When you push the barbell upwards, exhale.
•    Repeat till your muscles fail or till you complete the set.

It is important to warm up your muscles before you bench press. So starting with lighter weights is always a good idea. The exercise usually tires out your shoulders and chest at the same though you may feel tension in your lats and triceps too which is a good sign of development. Say your max weight is about 220lbs (totally random figure used for example only!) You’d start with a warm up of about 90lbs and do 15 reps, then 140lbs for 8 reps, then 170lbs for 4 reps, then 200lbs for 1 rep. This ensures you’re not only warm, but ready to handle the weight without wearing out the area. You’re “primed” for doing the real work where you work the muscle to total failure. This is where you’ll achieve maximum muscle growth potential.

How to press bench effectively

These pictures collected from the web will help you to visualize the routine better.
That’s about it. Do these exercises regularly and soon sport the shirt tearing torso that girls die for.

Here are some of the healthiest lifestyle tips which can help a great deal with weight loss, clean body, better hygiene, thus keeping you as fit as a fiddle. They have been collected from various studies, statistics and surveys.

1: Drink tea in the mornings
Because: A study in the international journal of cancer revealed that drinking tea in the morning slashes kidney cancer risks by as much as 25% and improves blood circulation through the body organs.

2: Always nap nicely
Because: A British medical study has revealed that more than nine hours of bed time or less than a six hours in it can more than double your risk of an early grave. It is best and most ideal to aim for seven to eight hours of regular sleep. That’s why they say that too much of sleep, or not enough of it can kill you.

3: Associate Smoking with death and misery, not fashion and trend
Because: A Swedish survey found out that 60% of the world’s smokers were influenced into smoking cigarettes because they thought it made them cool. Of these 60%, 35% suffer from more than 70% of the diseased one would find in a man above 45 years of age and some of these problems include no stamina, weak nervous system and pale skin.

4: To stay lean, drink wine
Because: Compounds called Polyphenols are found in red wine and they greatly help the body to block fat absorption. Wine in other words, cuts fat. This not only helps to control weight gain, but keep a check on the flubber too. These were the findings of an Israeli study.

5: Keep a check, on your neck, to stay on deck
Because: The American Journal of Study published a study that a thyroid gland which was under active could aid in boosting cardio diseases by more than 60%. Therefore, make sure that you are exercising your neck, if not the whole body. Also, a nippy blood test can show your Thyroid Stimulating Hormone content in the blood.
6: Clean eyes with after shower lens

Because: The University of Illinois, Chicago has found out that water borne infections can affect your eyes after a nice long shower. Therefore, always pop the contact lens after the shower. Also, 40% of eye infections are due to lack of care while handling lens so be careful if you love those sights.

7: Keep your muscles stretched after working a hard
Because: a Diabetes study showed that cardiac diseases, obesity, diabetes and other serious problems are fuelled and genes linked to these are activated by sitting for hours to end, with a break. Stretching the strained muscles is the best solution to keep yourself young and fitter.

That’s just about it. Follow these tips and the many more to come on health, weight loss and quit smoking for a much better life ahead.

We have heard this time and again - Drinking lots of water helps in weight loss. We have finally managed to compile this compelling list reasons as to why actually. The ‘why’ is something which few people can answer accurately. To put it very simply, all our body functions require a certain quantity of water to function as they should. When you mess with this threshold limit, the body functions all deteriote when it comes to the quality of functioning.

In even simpler words, if you are bringing new changes to the metabolism of your body, then you need lots of water to ensure everything runs smoothly - there’s no shortage of fluids, no lack of the essential building blocks that’s responsible for all life on earth. That’s a bit far-fetched for issues such as weight loss and diets but still, its accurately close.

Mechanism of weight loss

The basic mechanism of weight loss is by and large same and there are several advantages that drinking water imparts to one’s body, speeding up weight loss, fat burn and muscle gain.

1. Metabolism changes as one burns more and more calories, thereby removing fat cells and other unwanted toxins from the body.
2. Calories are burnt usually when one exercises and consequently, one needs to drink plenty of water if one exercises regularly.
3. When one burns calories regularly, there is a chance of toxins collecting in the body. Drinking plenty of water is the perfect way of eliminating toxins from the body.
4. During exercise and fitness, adequate water ensures that the muscle tone is uniform and healthy by allowing them to contract and expand comfortably. Also, water
5. Dehydration is a common ailment and it reduces one’s blood volume. This in turn reduces the the supply of oxygen to your muscles which eventually makes one feel tired and exhausted.

Evidently, water can help a great deal to bring about weight loss in the body through high efficiency body processes.

The reason for this?
“Visceral fat, produced in your metabolism is more active, better than the loss of subcutaneous fat under the skin, especially if you have a lot,” explained a researcher in the country, Dr. Kris Etherton
“People who are overweight significantly, can see the results faster and the lower abdomen of a person becomes slimmer quickly”, University of Georgia professor of nutrition, said Christine Blum Naluo Sen, Ph.D. Research and development.

Coarse grains may help you lose stomach fat fast
A recent study in the U.S. Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that a  diet rich in coarse grains helped people to lose stomach fat fast. People who participated in the study ate all the cereals (in addition to 5 servings of fruits and vegetables, and 3 times with low-fat dairy products, meat, two fish or poultry) lost more weight in the stomach more than other groups of people eating the same food system, but all foods.
“If a person eats more coarse grains, while limiting refined carbohydrates to change the blood glucose and insulin response, he is more likely to start mobilization of stored fat,” said Dr. Chris Etherton, distinguished professor of Nutritional Sciences University, The Pennsylvania State University.
“Visceral fat increases metabolism and is easier to lose than fat under the skin, especially if you have a lot of the right kind of fat to meet the conditions, such as in our study.”
Refined foods such as white bread, known as an inciter in number of activities, ranging from high blood sugar followed by an increase in insulin response, could lead to more fat being easily stored. Nevertheless, some ate more coarse grains (which are usually high fiber)  improved their insulin sensitivity. This, in turn, helped the body  in more efficient use of glucose in the blood and lower blood sugar levels and this decreased fat deposition, eventually helping them to lose stomach fat quickly. In 2005, the U. S. Department of Agriculture dietary guidelines and recommendations suggested that half of your grains should be whole grains.

“Whole grains may be totally unrealistic and difficult for many people to consume,” Rosenblum said. Instead, he recommends that “increasing consumption of grains, because they are often high-fiber,satisfes hunger and helps you eat less refined grains.”
Several  are of the opinion that monounsaturated fats and fatty acids (MUFAS) found in avocados, nuts, seeds, olives, beans, chocolate, olive oil and rapeseed oil are the best choice for health benefits such as reduced risk of heart disease risk and greater fat loss. Nevertheless, these are not magical foods for removing fat in the abdomens, experts pointed out. While MUFAS fat is healthy, it still contains 9 calories per gram - more than twice as much found in carbohydrates, proteins - which have four calories per gram.
“If you want to lose weight, keep your stomach trim and lose stomach fat fast, you have to eat healthy and control calories in your diet and exercise regularly - 60 minutes of daily moderate activity such as walking to recover,” Rosenblum.  Also, Jensen believes that people who participate in high-intensity aerobic exercises often have less fat on the stomach and so do not need to lose stomach fat.

Why is it so important to lose stomach fat?

Even some extra pounds in your middle region are very dangerous. Being overweight in the middle of your body is more dangerous than the fat on your thighs and hip as this visceral fat is worse for your health than subcutaneous fat, which is under the skin.
“In the middle, obesity is linked with inflammation and an increased risk of health problems and diseases such as cardiovascular, diabetes, metabolic syndromes and more,” Jensen.
According to a recent study conducted in Circulation, it appears that abdominal fat is linked with the more severe disease of atherosclerosis.
To assess your risk, use a soft tape measure. Lie down and wrap it around your natural waistline, located above your hip bone and below your belly button. Take the measurement without holding your breath or holding your stomach in.
If your waist is larger than 40 inches (for men) or 35 inches (for women), you have too much belly fat and are at risk for heart disease and other conditions. And one of the best things you can do for your health is to lose weight, says Rosenbloom.

Conclusion about  how to lose stomach fat fast
Most dieticians and research evidence shows that a calorie controlled diet rich in fruits, vegetables, grains, and low-fat dairy products, beans, nuts, seeds, lean meat, fish, eggs and poultry meat based  diet, provides all the nutritional needs of to help you in achieving a thin waist and lose stomach fast and effectively.

Acupuncture is the ancient Chinese form of medication which involves the placement of needles in specific areas on the body to help in various types of pains and several other ailments. It is based on the conviction that humans have an essential energy, called “qi”, which circulates throughout twelve hidden energy lines known as meridians on the body. Each meridian is linked with a dissimilar organ system. An inequity in the run of qi during a meridian is how disease begins and acupuncture aims at correcting this.

In recent times, it is being extensively used as an alternate practice to help patients cope up with smoking cessation and nicotine withdrawal and therefore is a natural way to quit smoking.

What does Acupuncture change?
There are several theories about how acupuncture works and changes the internal metabolism of the body. A few common ones are that Acupuncture:

1. excites the release of pain-relieving endorphins
2. manipulates the release of neurotransmitters, substances that transmit nerve impulses to the brain
3. kindles electrical currents throughout the system.
4. sways the autonomic nervous system

Common ailments and medical problems which are treated by acupuncture are:

• migraines and tension headaches
• sinusitis, common cold
• addictions, smoking cessation
• arthritis, menstrual cramps
• low back pain, other muscular pains
• asthma and breathing problems
• weight loss

Acupuncture and smoking cessation – standard procedure

Oriental Medicine mostly aims to take care of specific symptoms that are exclusive to each human being using a selection of methods such as acupuncture, Chinese herbs, bodywork, lifestyle/dietary suggestions and energetic exercises to re-establish unevenness created within. Therefore, an acupuncturist takes an interview to find out about your distinctive smoking habits and also executes a physical examination. The emotional and bodily symptoms that you are witnessing will be of assistance to produce a lucid picture of a treatment plan exclusively for you. Acupuncture treatments focus on the jitters, cravings, irritability, and the restlessness that people commonly complain about when they quit. As the profile of every individual smoker is different, the overall treatment, duration and other variables are entirely different during the process of stopping smoking.

Which points are used for acupuncture?
Generally a blend of body acupuncture points on the ear are used to help in smoking cessation as they are believed to influence the organs and energetic pathways associated with smoking.

Ear points:
Shenmen
Kidney
Sympathetic
Lung Upper and Lung Lower
Hunger or Mouth

Typical treatments last from five to 30 minutes, with the patient being treated one or two times a week. After removing the needles, ear press needles or silver pellets are often applied to stimulate the points between treatments and reduce cravings.

This basic analysis of a typical acupuncture treatment will help you know what this ancient oriental art is all about and how will it help you to quit smoking.

But first, what is the
The best quit smoking aid in the world?

If you want to search for the best quit smoking aid in the world, look no further than the mirror – it’s you. Yes, it’s your will and determination which decides how successful you will be at finally kicking the deadly habit of smoking cigarettes. Though there are several techniques, stop smoking pills, stop smoking medications and drugs available which chemically alter the functioning of the body, but these are should be avoided as far as possible. Why change your health and the way your body functions when you have alternative available? Let’s proceed to discuss some of the common quitting aids available in the market today which have managed to make a viable dent in consumer base.

Quit smoking through pills, drugs, inhalers and physical aids

All these forms of stop smoking aids contain two chemicals:

• Bupropion : Bupropion hydrochloride is a common anti smoking chemical that is used in stop smoking pills. Sold below the names Zyban, Wellbutrin SR, and Wellbutrin XL by GlaxoSmithKline, this is an anti-depressant prescription that works surprisingly well as a smoking cessation aid. It has been shown to noticeably decrease bodily withdrawal symptoms connected with nicotine.
• Varenicline Tartrate: Discovered and developed by leading American Pharma Company Pfizer, Inc, varenicline tartrate is marketed under the brand of Chantix. Chantix was permitted by the FDA in May 2006 and is very popular as it has the exceptional capability to moderately deactivate nicotinic receptors in the brain, reducing a person’s craving for nicotine when he quits smoking. Additionally, if a person smokes during the course of varenicline treatment, the drug helps in smoking cessation by blocking nicotine from fastening with these similar receptors.

Most medications that are aimed at helping a person in coping up with smoking cessation contain several chemicals that might have side effects and therefore it is highly recommended that one takes expert medical advise before using them.

Common ways to quit smoking naturally

The most common, tried and tested ways which most websites, journals and magazines suggest to stop smoking naturally normally are:

• Changing one’s lifestyle
• Changing one’s dietary habit
• Following a positive mental attitude

And so on…

However, look closely and it the entire cessation treatment seems pointless. Without any concrete suggestions or helps, such guides are usually pitching useless products which claim to aid in stopping smoking. The uncommon and better though out ways to quit smoking, naturally. Here are some alternative treatments which you can try if

• Everything else has failed for you
• If you are against the use of chemicals or stop smoking pills and aids
• Want to improve most other aspects of your health and life
• Want to keep it that way, permanently

Though these methods largely depend on personal involvement, dedication and motivation, you will enjoy the different experience all together and therefore chances are that you will successfully implement these as part of your daily health regimen.

Clinical hypnosis for smoking cessation

Hypnotherapy is a much discussed anti smoking technique on our site and therefore, it is first on the list of alternative treatments for quitting smoking. Lot of debate is currently on in medical circles regarding the effectiveness of hypnosis and the current statistics say that it is indeed highly effective in helping people cut down on smoking and in many cases, quit it completely.

Acupuncture to help you quit smoking

Acupuncture is a 3000 year technique which was developed in china to help the body gets rid of many sorts of ailments. The standard procedure involves attaching three small staples behind the ears and acupuncture specialists say that this helps to calm the mind and reduce stress, tensions and negativity. These are three factors which encourage many people to take up smoking and by reducing them, the overall frequency of smoking cigarettes for a mental release can be affected.
Physical exercise to keep your mind off smoking

By far, physical exercise and excursion has been the most thrilling, user friendly and fun way to approach the aim the quitting smoking naturally. Keeping the body occupied all throughout the day is a very effective and logical way of keeping one’s mind occupied as it has been showed that people who have no work tend to smoking more than busy people. However, by being busy, it is important to avoid stress and tension as there are strong factors which urge a man to smoke. Therefore, swimming, yoga, physical sports such as soccer, tennis or simply walking can help you to control smoking.

That’s it!

If you were expecting a long list of activities to choose from, are sorry to disappoint you. These three come up as the top three methods of following smoking cessation and as we did not want you to waste your time digging through long lists, we gave you the very best. It is suggested that you implement at least one or two of the mentioned activities in your daily regimen,analyse the results and only if not satisfied, look for alternatives.