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Monday, July 25, 2011

John Is Fit

John Is Fit


Stay Fit while Spending Quality Time with the Family

Posted: 24 Jul 2011 08:35 AM PDT

This is a guest post by Nan Gibbons.

You're a parent. You need to spend quality time with your family but it's getting hard to when you are so busy all the time. Well, what if I told you that you could do that AND stay fit at the same time? Your mind must be blown, but here are a few ways you can balance your family leisure and fitness time.

Wii Fit

Wii FitThe Wii Fit is a great way to get some exercise while spending time with the kids. It features a bunch of fitness activities that you can do on the provided mat. It really is like having a home gym except it keeps track of your calories and other useful information. That way, you will know how much you should work out as well as how much you should control your food intake. If you don't own a Wii, I know there is an alternative for the Xbox 360 that is very similar.

Swimming

If you are fortunate enough to own a swimming pool or even live close to a community one, that is another fun activity that can be done with your children while getting exercise. Make sure you are equipped with necessary pool supplies so that your children are safe. Doing laps or playing any various pool games will help you get some exercise while enjoying some time in the water!

Bicycling/Rollerblading

If you are just trying to get some exercise and don't want to just walk around the neighborhood, teaching your child how to ride a bike or rollerblade will be beneficial for both of you down the road as they grow older. It allows you to enjoy the fresh air while spending some bonding time with your children as they increase their physical activity. Find a biking trail near your residence and explore some wilderness!

These are just a few of the many ways you can stay fit while spending some quality time with the kids. Be creative with it and have fun! It's always nice to get away from the stressful work environment every once in a while.

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Post from: John Is Fit - Personal Weight Loss Blog

Stay Fit while Spending Quality Time with the Family

How hard is it to lose weight after having a baby?

Posted: 24 Jul 2011 08:15 AM PDT

This is a guest post by Olivia.

Weight gain is, perhaps unfortunately, something that is often focused on during pregnancy. Expectant mothers frequently worry about how much weight they are gaining, whether it is too much or too little. And perhaps for the first time in her life, a pregnant woman's weight is not a taboo subject but an acceptable topic of small talk. All pregnant women gain weight, and many have that infamous postpartum belly after they give birth. How hard is it to lose weight after having a baby?

Denise Austin - Bounce Back After Baby - Exercise/Weight Loss DVD

We often see celebrities posing with their newborns looking great, without that belly. They don't hear "when are you due?" months after they become a mother, do they? But is that possible for "ordinary mortals"? The answer is yes. Women can and do end up back at their pre-pregnancy weight without a personal trainer and lots of exercise sometimes. At the same time, others are bigger than before they had a baby. Some women find it very hard to lose weight in the postpartum period, while others are actually losing it too quickly!

When I gave birth to my first baby, I was back at the weight I had when I was trying to get pregnant when she was a day old. I still had more belly fat than I enjoyed looking at, though, and the skin was a bit loose too. The skin extra fat was gone at around seven months postpartum. With my second baby, I was actually thinner right after he was born than I was when I found out I was expecting, and there was no extra skin (or new stretch marks) either. My friend, who lost the weight she gained while she was nursing her first baby as soon as she got pregnant a second time, once again noticed weight gain when her new baby was born – not because she was eating too much or the wrong foods, but because of what turned out to be a thyroid problem.

The moral of these stories is that postpartum weight loss is a highly individual process. There are many things we can do to lose weight, like exercising regularly, eating well, and even breastfeeding – which burns 200 to 500 calories a day. But is weight loss really something we want to stress about after we just had a baby? We can be more gentle on ourselves by accepting that our bodies all recover from pregnancy in different ways, and by focusing on our health, an active lifestyle, and dressing nicely rather than on weight loss itself. Give yourself time, and your body will get into a new, post-pregnancy swing.

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Post from: John Is Fit - Personal Weight Loss Blog

How hard is it to lose weight after having a baby?

Workout Routines: Burning Fat vs Gaining Muscle

Posted: 24 Jul 2011 08:01 AM PDT

This is a guest post by Esther Spencer.

You're working hard to look your best. You're either trying to lose fat or build muscle. You've cleaned up your diet, but you need a routine to help you reach your goal. No problem. We've got a few tips on workout routines for each goal so you can achieve your ideal physique.

Fat Burning Routine

Warm up before you start your fat burning workout. An effective fat burning workout will incorporate circuit training, which combines both resistance and cardio exercises. With a fat loss routine, you'll want to amp up the cardio to 4 or more days per week. You want to do 2-5 sets of 8-20 reps of light weight resistance exercises. The rest period between sets should be 30 seconds. With fat burning exercises, you want to work out the entire body and expend more energy to lose more fat.

Fat Burning Workout Example

You want to alternate the muscle groups you work out. Here is a sample routine where you're training 6 days and resting 1 day.

Day 1

Chest

Flat Dumbbell Bench press 4 sets of 10 to 15 reps
Incline Dumbbell press 4 sets of 10 to 15 reps
Dumbbell Flyes 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps

Biceps

Dumbbell Curls 3-4 sets of 10 to 12 reps
Preacher curls 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps

Calves

Standing toe raises 5 sets of 15 to 20 reps
Seated toe raises 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps

Abdominals

Incline sit ups 4 sets of 15 to 20 reps
Seated leg raise with bent knee 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps

Day 2

Legs

Extensions 4 sets of 15 to 20 reps
Leg press 4 sets of 15 reps
Squats 4 sets of 10 to 12 reps
Leg curl 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps

Triceps

Pull downs 4 sets of 15 to 20 reps
Dumbbell Extensions 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps

Abdominals

Incline sit ups 4 sets of 15 to 20 reps
Seated leg raise with bent knee 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps

Day 3

Back

Lat Pull downs 4 sets of 10 to 12 reps
One arm row 3-4 sets of 8 to 12 reps
Cable rows 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps
Hyper extensions 2 sets of 12 to 15 reps

Shoulders

Military press 4 sets of 8 to 10 reps
Lateral raise 4 sets of 12 to 15 reps
Upright rows 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps
Rear Delt Raises 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps

Calves

Standing toe raise 5 sets of 15 to 20 reps
Seated toe raise 3 sets of 12 to 20 reps

Abdominals

Vertical leg raise 4 sets of 15 to 20 reps
Seated leg raise with bent knee 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps

Muscle Building Routine

Building muscle will require more reps and heavier weights. You'll want to do 3-4 sets of 6-20 reps for each body part you want to work out. Steadily decrease the reps as your sets progress. For an example: 1st set of 15 reps, 2nd set of 12 reps, 3rd set of 10 reps, 4th set of 8 reps. As you bench press, steadily increase the weight in increments for each set. The rest period should range from 1-2 minutes. To increase growth, you will want to focus on each muscle group. You should perform 3-4 exercises per group.

Muscle Building Workout Example

In this example, you're in the gym 3 days and resting 1 day. Remember to always warm up before training.

Day 1

Chest:

Barbell Bench press 4 sets; 8-10 reps
Flat bench dumbbell press 3 sets; 6-8 reps
Incline barbell press 4 sets 8-10 reps
Incline dumbbell flyes 3sets; 8-12 reps

Biceps:

Barbell curls 4 sets; 6-8reps
Incline Dumbbell Curls 4 sets; 8-10reps

Triceps:

Triceps Extentions 4sets; 10-12reps
Nose Breakers 4sets; 6-8reps

Day 2

Legs:

Extensions 4 sets; 12-15reps

Squats: 4-5 sets; 8-10reps
Leg Press: 4-6 sets; 10-12 reps
Hamstring curls 4sets; 8-10reps
Stiff leg deadlifts: 4 sets; 8-10reps

Day 3

Back:

Lat Pull downs 4sets; 8-12 reps
Bent over barbell rows 4 sets; 6-8reps
Cable rows 4sets; 8-10reps
Shoulders: Military press 4-5sets; 8-10reps
Lateral raises 4 sets; 8-10reps

Rear Delt Raises 3 sets 8-10 reps
Upright rows 4 sets; 6-8reps

Day 4 Off

*Repeat Cycle*

Note: Abdominal and calves are to be trained twice a week.

Abdominal:
Incline sit ups 4 sets; 15-20reps
Seated leg raise 4 sets; 15-20reps

Calves:
Standing toe raises- 6 set (2 sets toes straight, 2 sets toes inward, 2 sets toes outward); 15-20reps
Seated toe raise- 4 sets; 15-20 reps

Conclusion

Whether you are working to lose fat or build muscle, you will want to vary your workout program to avoid hitting a plateau. Diet also will be the most important factor no matter what you are trying to do. While an average diet is 2,000 calories per day, a fat burning/weight loss diet may be 1,500 calories/day. However, a muscle/mass building diet may require 3,000 to 4,000 calories/day. To achieve your goals, eat a clean diet and work out regularly.

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Post from: John Is Fit - Personal Weight Loss Blog

Workout Routines: Burning Fat vs Gaining Muscle

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