The title might be surprising to some people expecting just articles on losing weight and striving to be a Greek god/ goddess. However the time has come for this writer to spread his wings and extend the subject matter towards other things dealing with healthy living.

This first article will be an interesting introductory article on various natural remedies for everyday common ailments we might have in our lives. Some remedies might be unexpected/ shocking while others might seem like I asked some witch doctor all the way from the mountain tops of theHimalayas. I assure you that most of them work and for you guys to at least try it before you knock it down like a pack of unstable pyramid cards.

Make muscle pain a memory with ginger

When Danish researchers asked achy people to jazz up their diets with ginger, it eased muscle and joint pain, swelling and stiffness for up to 63 percent of them within two months. Experts’ credit ginger’s potent compounds called gingerols, which prevent the production of pain-triggering hormones.

The study-recommended dose: Add at least 1 teaspoon of dried ginger or 2 teaspoons of chopped ginger to meals daily.

Cure a toothache with Cloves

Got a toothache and can’t get to the dentist? Gently chewing on a clove can ease tooth pain and gum inflammation for two hours straight, say UCLA researchers. Experts point to a natural compound in cloves called eugenol, a powerful, natural anesthetic. Bonus: Sprinkling a ¼ teaspoon of ground cloves on meals daily may also protect your ticker. Scientists say this simple action helps stabilize blood sugar, plus dampen production of artery-clogging cholesterol in as little as three weeks.

Heal heartburn with cider vinegar

Sip 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar mixed with 8 ounces of water before every meal, and experts say you could shut down painful bouts of heartburn in as little as 24 hours. Cider vinegar is rich in malic and tartaric acids, powerful digestive aids that speed the breakdown of fats and proteins so your stomach can empty quickly, before food washes up into the esophagus, triggering heartburn pain.

Note: Even though I absolutely hate cider and vinegar separately and the thought of both make me sick to the core. Cider vinegar does have natural healing qualities and if you can bear the taste I recommend drinking it at least 3 times a week.

Erase earaches with garlic

Painful ear infections drive millions of Americans to doctors’ offices every year. To cure one fast, just place two drops of warm garlic oil into your aching ear twice daily for five days. This simple treatment can clear up ear infections faster than prescription meds, say experts at theUniversity OfNew Mexico School Of Medicine. Scientists say garlic’s active ingredients (germanium, selenium, and sulfur compounds) are naturally toxic to dozens of different pain-causing bacteria. To whip up your own garlic oil gently simmer three cloves of crushed garlic in a half a cup of extra virgin olive oil for two minutes, strain, then refrigerate for up to two weeks. For an optimal experience, warm this mix slightly before using so the liquid will feel soothing in your ear canal.

Chase away joint and headache pain with cherries

Latest studies show that at least one in four women is struggling with arthritis, gout or chronic headaches. If you’re one of them, a daily bowl of cherries could ease your ache, without the stomach upset so often triggered by today’s painkillers. Research reveals that anthocyanins, the compounds that give cherries their brilliant red color, are anti-inflammatories 10 times stronger than ibuprofen and aspirin. Anthocyanins help shut down the powerful enzymes that kick-start tissue inflammation, so they can prevent, as well as treat, many different kinds of pain. Eat 20 cherries (fresh, frozen or dried) daily, and then continue until your pain disappears.

Fight tummy troubles with fish

Indigestion, irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease. If your belly always seems to be in an uproar, try munching 18 ounces of fish weekly to ease your misery. Repeated studies show that the fatty acids in fish, called EPA andDHA, can significantly reduce intestinal inflammation, cramping and belly pain and, in some cases, provide as much relief as corticosteroids and other prescription meds. EPA andDHA are powerful, natural, side effect-free anti-inflammatories that can dramatically improve the function of the entire gastrointestinal tract. For best results, look for oily fish like salmon, sardines, tuna, mackerel, trout and herring.

Prevent PMS with yogurt

Up to 80 percent of women will struggle with premenstrual syndrome and its uncomfortable symptoms. The reason: Their nervous systems are sensitive to the ups and downs in estrogen and progesterone that occur naturally every month. But snacking on 2 cups of yogurt a day can slash these symptoms by 48 percent, say researchers. Yogurt is rich in calcium, a mineral that naturally calms the nervous system, preventing painful symptoms even when hormones are in flux.

Tame chronic pain with turmeric

Studies show turmeric, a popular East Indian spice, is actually three times more effective at easing pain than aspirin, ibuprofen or naproxen, plus it can help relieve chronic pain for 50 percent of people struggling with arthritis and even fibromyalgia, according to researchers. That’s because turmeric’s active ingredient, curcumin, naturally shuts down cyclooxygenase 2, an enzyme that churns out a stream of pain-producing hormones. Recommended dose: Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon of this spice daily onto any rice, poultry, meat or vegetable dish.

Soothe foot pain with salt

Experts say at least six million Americans develop painful ingrown toenails each year. But regularly soaking ingrown nails in warm salt water baths can cure these painful infections within four days. The salt in the mix naturally nixes inflammation, plus its anti-bacterial, so it quickly destroys the germs that cause swelling and pain. Just mix 1 teaspoon of salt into each cup of water, heat to the warmest temperature that you can comfortably stand, and then soak the affected foot area for 20 minutes twice daily, until your infection subsides.

Prevent digestive upsets with pineapple

Got gas? One cup of fresh pineapple daily can cut painful bloating within 72 hours. Pineapple is naturally packed with proteolytic enzymes, digestive aids that help speed the breakdown of pain-causing proteins in the stomach and small intestine.

Relax painful muscles with peppermint

Suffering from tight, sore muscles? Stubborn knots can hang around for months if they aren’t properly treated. Advice: Three times each week, soak in a warm tub scented with 10 drops of peppermint oil. The warm water will relax your muscles, while the peppermint oil will naturally soothe your nerves — a combo that can ease muscle cramping 25 percent more effectively than over-the-counter painkillers, and cut the frequency of future flare-ups in half.

Give your back some TLC with grapes

Got an achy back? Grapes could be the ticket to a speedy recovery. Recent studies at suggest eating a heaping cup of grapes daily can relax tight blood vessels, significantly improving blood flow to damaged back tissues (and often within three hours of enjoying the first bowl). That’s great news because your back’s vertebrae and shock-absorbing discs are completely dependent on nearby blood vessels to bring them healing nutrients and oxygen, so improving blood flow is essential for healing damaged back tissue.

Wash away pain injuries with water

Whether it’s your feet, your knees or your shoulders that are throbbing, you could kick-start your recovery in one week just by drinking eight 8-ounce glasses of water daily. Why? Experts say water dilutes, and then helps flush out, histamine, a pain-triggering compound produced by injured tissues. Plus water is a key building block of the cartilage that cushions the ends of your bones, your joints’ lubricating fluid, and the soft discs in your spine.

Be sure to measure your drinking glasses to find out how large they really are before you start sipping. Today’s juice glasses often hold more than 12 ounces, which means five servings could be enough to meet your daily goal.

Heal sinus problems with horseradish

Latest studies show sinusitis is the nation’s number one chronic health problem. And this condition doesn’t just spur congestion and facial pain; it also makes sufferers six times more likely to feel achy all-over. Horseradish to the rescue! According to researchers, this eye-watering condiment naturally revs up blood flow to the sinus cavities, helping to open and drain clogged sinuses and heal sinus infections more quickly than decongestant sprays do. The study-recommended dose: One teaspoon twice daily (either on its own, or used as a sandwich or meat topping) until symptoms clear.
Beat bladder infections with blueberries

Eating 1 cup of blueberries daily, whether you opt for them fresh, frozen or in juice form, can cut your risk of a urinary tract infection (UTI) by 60 percent, according to researchers. Blueberries are loaded with tannins, plant compounds that wrap around problem-causing bacteria in the bladder, so they can’t get a toehold and create an infection.

Heal mouth sores with honey

Dab painful canker and cold sores with un pasteurized honey four times daily until these skin woes disappear, and they’ll heal 43 percent faster than if you use a prescription cream, say researchers. Raw honey’s natural enzymes zap inflammation, destroy invading viruses and speed the healing of damaged tissues.

Cure migraines with coffee

Prone to migraines? Try muscling-up your painkiller with a coffee chaser. Whatever over-the-counter pain med you prefer, researchers say washing it down with a strong 12- ounce cup of coffee will boost the effectiveness of your medication by 40 percent or more. Experts say caffeine stimulates the stomach lining to absorb painkillers more quickly and more effectively.

Note: to all your coffee addicted lovers out there, finally something to cheer about with caffeine and coffee. In the last few years we have taken a beating with teeth discoloring, dehydration, or preventing weight loss and also coffee apparently being detrimental to healthy living

Tame leg cramps with tomato juice

At least one in five people regularly struggle with leg cramps. The culprit? Potassium deficiencies, which occur when this mineral is flushed out by diuretics, caffeinated beverages or heavy perspiration during exercise. But sip 10 ounces of potassium-rich tomato juice daily and you’ll not only speed your recovery, you’ll reduce your risk of painful cramp flare-ups in as little as 10 days.

Conclusion: Hopefully this article has showed you the possibilities are endless when it comes to helping yourself with common everyday ailments. Maybe our mothers, grandmothers and ancestors with their ‘old wives tales’ have finally convinced scientists with hard earned research that their advice passed from generation to generation actually had some truth and facts behind them.

By showing you natural ingredients, herbs instead of going to the chemist and getting a panadol, pain killer or some type of chemically induced medicine to solve your problems. The article should open your mind up to nature and environment we live in and crush any misconceptions we might have.

Let’s dive into my final article in this two part series on Immediate to advanced dieting. Tying what you have learnt from my blogs in reaching that pinnacle to a truly awesome body and sustaining healthy living. Here are the following tips and recommendations;

1)      If it looks man made or commercial type of food they are probably made with a large amount of preservatives, artificial ingredients, chemical additives and hormones. Adding a diet of refined, processed, low fibre foods, animal fats and we have a ticking time bomb ready to explode. The 1^st tip is therefore eliminating as much of these types of foods as you can from your diet or a gradual minimization will go a long way in feeling better and reaching your goals.

2)      Increase your protein intake as it takes more energy to break down than any other dietary nutrient such as fat. An easy rule to follow is the maximum amount of protein can be hunted of fished. Although it also comes from animal by products such as eggs, milk as well as legumes. The amount of protein you should eat is linked to weight. Approximately 0.8 to 1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. It has been shown that high protein diets increase metabolism which is one of essentials to weight loss.

3)      Eat breakfast – its essential you start your day on a positive note and not trying to catch up on energy levels throughout the day with heavily sugared foods.

4)      Eat slowly and stop eating as soon as you feel full. This is important as most of us when we are hungry gorge ourselves with food quickly and don’t realize we just ate a whole pizza!!!

5)      As a reward let yourself have “sometimes foods” (and drinks) – This can be your once a week treat. You’ re never going to have sustainable and realistic weight loss if you eliminate something you love and go with the all or nothing mentality. If you love ice cream have some, if you like eating hot chips have half a packet. Just try halving normal portions or having it half the time

6)      Eat heaps of low glycemic index (GI) foods as these make you full. Also mean you lower insulin in your blood, which is better for fat loss. Have a lot of legumes (e.g. chick peas, lentils, beans) and eat low GI bread (e.g. Burgen breads). However note that high fibre doesn’t equal low GI and low GI doesn’t equal high fibre. Balance is always the key in healthy living and especially weight loss!

7)      Watch what you DRINK. Nutrition is all about balancing between food and drinks. Not alcoholic drinks by the way or soft drinks. It’s best to always drink at least 2 litres of water a day, herbal teas and black tea or coffee. Drink less soft drinks, fruit juices, milky/ sugary coffees and alcohol. Ill give you an idea of what having a big night on the town and drinking 9 standard beers or wine equals too. It is roughly 2000 calories!!! That is close to your daily amount of calories you’re meant to have in a day and this is only just beer/ wine and a few hours drinking it. No wonder we call it the infamous “Beer Belly”.

8)      Carbohydrates tend to be viewed by most people as either ‘good’ or ‘bad’. It is not always black and white and as you realize I am not a strong advocate of the ‘no carb diet’. However it is essential that to know your body and to consume carbs that you can tolerate. This means for some people eating high carb meals all day might feel great doing it. While others get huge insulin spikes and suffer energy and mood slumps after a high carb meal. This sensitivity is called GI and it is a measure of how quickly a specific carbohydrate breaks down and release glucose (sugar into blood).

There is no physiological need for carbohydrates in the human diet since our bodies actually get glucose from non carb sources. Warning; don’t go with just eating meat only diets either. Balancing your diet is always the key in healthy living and sustainable results.

9)      When it comes to nutrition and weight loss, fat is the mystery among most people. Its like the fart in a lift full of 15 sneaky people letting a silent one go!!! Fat has gone through some tough times recently and has been getting some slapping around from the missus. There is some good fat around however and essential fat we should all be implementing in our diets such as: avocados, nuts, olive oil, coconut oil, flaxseed oil, fish oil, omega and butter that will help your body become – and stay – lean, strong and healthy.

A healthy diet includes a mix of omega 3s and 9s, saturated and unsaturated fats and minimal amount of omega 6s

The bad apple of the fats is ‘Trans fatty acids’, or man made fats normally in breads, cookies, pastries, doughnuts etc etc. please try and avoid these as much as possible……Please

Concluding thoughts:

These last few articles have hopefully tied everything you have read so far up until now, into a neat little package with a cute red ribbon. This will be my last article of this series relating to the important aspects with losing weight and/or gaining muscles in previous articles.

The last few articles have tried pushing and guiding you further along in achieving higher goals for yourself. As long as you can have realistic and high goals you should be able to live a sustainable healthy lifestyle. Remember to always push yourself and please don’t go into plateaus or ruts where you feel that the hard work you’re doing is not paying off. Remember what losing weight and having a healthy lifestyle is all up too, including the motivation and drive to sustain it. Opposite from the famous catch phrase, “Every cigarette is doing you damage!”WELLevery run, every apple you eat, every day you stay active will result in a longer, happy and worthwhile life where you can be proud of your body.

Complementing hand in hand with exercising is the diet in any workout routine for an individual striving to become healthy and in reaching your true potential body wise. For some people “Dieting” is an ugly word to use and once someone mentions the word “DIET” it accompanies a swift backhand across the face (mainly by the ladies).

This article and the proceeding one will focus on the tying up of all my previous articles related to weight loss and hopefully will give you a much needed push towards the right direction in planning your diet and exercise plans to meet your needs.

Dieting is like marriage with the constant struggles between succumbing to your subconscious part of the brain telling you, “Hey you should eat that pink layered, Jelly filled doughnut, it looks so delicious and one isn’t going to kill you”. Then your rationale part of your brain badgering you like an angry wife telling the man to take out the trash, “Well if you eat this pretty little doughnut I am afraid to say that you either a) Have to run 30mins to burn it off or b) By eating the doughnut it’s going against your plan and then setting the chain of events that follows (eating another doughnut accompanying it with a soda of some type)”. Therefore sacrificing that good work you have been doing in trying to look awesome.

As you can see dieting and sticking with a plan is hard and depending on how you look at it, is just like the ‘Perfect or not so perfect marriage’. However when you find that right Balance between what works, doesn’t work or coping with this lifestyle. It will soon become apparent that in the long run sticking with a proper exercise and diet plan will be beneficial to you mentally and physically.

In reading my blogs, hopefully you have come to realize I don’t harp on the diet plans with low carbs or carbs that are non existent from the plan. I am not an advocate of the, ‘no carb diet’ and I actually recommend you implement carbs in your plans. If you’re exercising hard, you need to fuel that V8 engine.

My next article of this two part series will introduce what foods, diet plans you should follow to achieve a long and healthy life.

At this stage of your weight loss/ healthy living regime and hopefully with reading my blogs you have come to be in ok or good physical shape. With realizing and achieving those realistic mini goals each step along your journey, you might feel like you have reached that peak on the mountain. Well done I applaud you and go pat yourself on the shoulder for achieving your goals and feeling/ being better with your body.

However there would be some of you who probably haven’t met your expectations in terms of how you feel with your body or general well being. For these people I recommend to re asses your goals and find aspects of your daily routine that could hinder your progression. Most likely its little things you need to change or modify; it could be your diet, sleeping patterns, how hard you work out and the list could go on. In my later articles I will go into more detail on the finer aspects that could prevent or slow down your results in working out and being healthier; these include culture, body type, and stress to name a few.

For the rest of you out there you are probably stuck in a “RUT” or have hit that plateau stage of your journey. As long as you have been reading my articles and following it to some extent then your fitness levels should be decent enough to take it to the next step. Therefore the next 2 articles are concentrated in exercises and diet plans to reach AMESOMENESS.

1)      Shorten up your workout times. Yes you read right, its time to throw the common misconception of walking/ jogging for 1 hour a day is the ONLY way to lose weight. More importantly walking, jogging or working out more than one hour to one hour and a half has been scientifically proven that it could be detrimental to fat loss and weight loss. Unless you’re a marathon runner or athlete where you train everyday 6 hours a day. Naturally your body’s testosterone levels will decrease after a certain period leading to an increase in cortisol (converting protein into glucose which leads to stored fat around gut). Old adage is true;WORKhard or go home!!!

2)      Applying this shortened work out times, the next step would be to introduce some new exercises and modify existing ones.

-          High Intensity training: Or namely HIT is a very effective workout routine you should introduce into your normal regime from now on. Results of HIT is an increase in production and release of several fat burning substances in your body such as growth hormone, adrenaline, testosterone (for the men), and lactic acid. There are many high intensity interval training HIT or even metabolic resistance training workouts that can be used to stimulate these substances to do their fat burning jobs.

-          It is my personal opinion and experience and research, shuttle sprints is one of the most effective way to produce the best results. Traditionally, shuttle sprints are performed using a distance of 40m. Place two markers 40m apart and place 1 in the middle at the 20m mark. Start in the middle and sprint to the 40m marker, turn around and sprint to the 0 yard marker, turn around and sprint back to the starting point at the 20.  MAKE SURE you are sprinting as fast as humanely possible for you!!!

-        The best thing about shuttle running is all you need is your local field or some space with a flat piece of land and your GOOD to go.   It’s a cheap way of doing it without going to the gym and it will definitely make you sweat and feel exhausted after it. Also living in a time poor society and with my previous workout plans that could be time consuming to the average person. SHUTTLE running takes about 20 to 25 mins max for the same effect as running 5km. Important to make sure you rest for a minute in between your sets. The KEY with shuttle running like other workouts is the constant improvement each week ranging from increasing sets, to the length of sprints to vary what type of sprints.

3)      Circuit training: This is the second workout routine I am going to introduce into your program. Essentially circuit training works on the different sections in your body individually. Incorporating with HIT/ Shuttle training to achieve Maximum results towards that body you have always wanted. Circuit training will also give definition to your muscles and therefore you will look and feel like a movie star.

The main muscle groups and exercises with it are:

• Upper-body
• Press ups, Bench dips, Pull ups, Medicine ball chest pass, Bench lift, Inclined press up

• Core & trunk
• Sit ups (lower abdominals), Stomach crunch (upper abdominals), Back extension chest raise

• Lower-body
• Squat jumps, Compass jumps, Astride jumps, Step ups, Shuttle runs, Hopping shuttles, Bench squat

• Total-body
• Burpees, Treadmills, Squat thrusts, Skipping

6 Exercises

• Treadmills, Press ups, Squat Jumps (forward astride), Sit ups (bent knees feet on the ground), Squat Thrusts, Bench Dips

8 Exercises

• Treadmills, Press ups, Squat Jumps (forward astride), Sit ups (bent knees feet on the ground), Squat Thrusts, Bench Dips, Shuttle runs, Back extension chest raise

4) Duration

• 20 to 30 seconds work on each exercise with a 30 second recovery between each exercise
• 3 to 5sets with a 3 minute recovery between each set

- The duration can be based on time (e.g. 30 seconds) or set to half the number of repetitions of the exercise the athlete can complete in 60 seconds of 100% effort.

- If training is based on the number of repetitions then regular testing (e.g. every 4 weeks) will need to be carried out to determine the maximum number of repetitions that can be completed in 60 seconds for each exercise.

Training can be based on a four week cycle comprising of an easy week, medium week, hard week and test/recovery week. The workload can be varied by changing the number of exercises, duration, sets or repetitions and recovery time.

-         the following table is a recommended training program to help you get started:

* Notice that shuttle training stays constant at 20mins. This is because each week you either go faster or shorten up your lengths and go harder in between your runs. Meaning you can do more sets in the period of time and therefore achieve better results. Circuit training stays roughly the same time as it incorporates many different exercises and using different equipment.

* IMPORTANT: Remember to always improve each week you train to achieve better results. You will see better RESULTS with these type of workout plans as it shocks your system and therefore forces your body to lose fat faster and more effectively

* Next article coming soon: Immediate to Advanced, Diet part 2

Let’s start by saying even though my title for this article is somewhat sexist I am by no means a sexist man and I am here to help the opposite sex in whatever health needs they might need and want. Think of me as your Gay best friend that can tell you what body parts you need to improve on to reach your potential to sexiness.

I’ll use the word “toning” from now on instead of “Weight Training” since for women any connotations with the word ‘weight’ and ‘training’ automatically alerts to their deep instinctual nature that it means, “Butch, Fat, gaining weight, junk in the trunk, Rippling Muscles” and the list goes on.

Instinct and our physiological nature plays a huge part in the difference between “toning” for women and “weight training” for men. Women are attracted to men with a body ratio of 2-1 or 1-1 (That V shape from shoulders to waist) and that’s why men concentrate on mostly on the upper body due to women seeing this body shape as the alpha male or leader of the pack that can provide for her.

Whereas women when toning concentrate on the overall “PEAR/ Hour glass” body shape or a ratio 2-1-2 as men see these traits as being able to bear children and therefore makes men more attracted in nature to this type of woman.

This article is aimed for women; however men are free to use these programs as it depends what your goal is when exercising/toning and how you want your body to look. I specifically aim for women since my previous titles seem quite “Men” related. If you’re a woman read my previous articles as it gives insight of what to look for in terms of technique, diet, rest, motivation. Furthermore the exercises mentioned before for Men can just as easily be implemented in women’s workout plan, just it needs some tweaking which ill explain later.

Workout Plan (For Women)

Unlike my previous workout plan for men with only a few exercises. For women I’ll concentrate on the whole body with some emphasis on certain areas. The training involves a lot more exercises and techniques to consider. This is still an introductory article so ill try and keep things simple and highlight main points throughout.

Monday: Upper Body

1. Bench press (Muscle Group; Chest)

2. Shoulder Press

Look at this video for proper form and guide to Shoulder Press;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-aVuyhvLHU

3. Dumbbell Curls (Muscle Group; Biceps)

4. Lying Triceps

5. Lat Pull down (Muscle Group; Upper and lower back, Biceps)

Look at this video for proper form and guide to Lat pull-downs;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3kAMDNjtt4

6. Machine or Dumbbell Flys (Muscle Group; Chest and supporting muscles)

Do 45-50 total reps of each exercise; using a weight you can lift 12 to 15 times before your speed slows down or your form changes. Rest about 60 seconds between sets.

- Important Note: If I don’t provide pictures or videos on the above or following exercises then it means I have shown it before in my previous articles such as; weight training for beginners

(Tuesday: Rest)

Wednesday: Lower Body

1. Medicine Ball Squats (Muscle group; Quadriceps and Glutes)

2. Squats (Muscle group; Quadriceps and Glutes)

3. Dumbbell lunge or step-up (Muscle group; Hamstring, Glutes)

4. Calf/ Foot Raises

Look at this video for proper form and guide to Calf and Foot raises:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQMng6-dZ5E

Do 45-50 total reps of each exercise; using a weight you can lift 12 to 15 times before your speed slows down or your form changes. Rest about 60 seconds between sets.

- Important Note: Try and invest in a medicine ball at home as it is especially important for women with toning, stretching and flexibility. My later articles I’ll recommend further exercises to use with the medicine ball.

(Thursday: Rest)

Friday: Abdominals (Abs)

1. Medicine Ball crunches

2. Plank

-  Important for women with weak pelvic muscles. Also it helps strengthens the core supporting muscles around the stomach region

- If you can’t do the normal plank position, try going on knees initially (going on knees shows your weak core muscles).

- Aim is at least 30 seconds to a minute and do as many as you can

3. Air Bike

4. Lying Leg Raises

Do 50-60 total reps of each exercise; with each set comprising of 18-20 reps before your speed slows down or your form changes. Rest about 60 seconds between sets.

- Important note: It is important to do Abs with the right technique. DON’T listen to people who say do 1000 crunches a day etc etc because that’s detrimental to your progress for nice tone abs and might cause injury problems especially in lower back area. Remember to concentrate on contraction of Abs and technique, it’s not about amount of reps you do, but how you do it.

Additional Pointers:

Saturday and Sundays could be your “rest days” or for better results body wise; implement cardio work into your routine or repeat one of those weight training exercise days into a Saturday or Sunday. Also “rest days” such as Tuesday and Thursday could be cardio days as most women would rather be nice and lean rather then pack on muscle.

Every few weeks try to mix your exercises and routines so your body is not use to it. For example instead doing Mondays workout on the Monday, do it on a Wednesday and vice versa. This helps with the body never being use to your workouts because once your body gets use to something the results will plateau and it will seem like you are never improving.

As these workouts are more for women, I would imagine no woman wants to look like some incredible hulk. However improvement is always the key in any exercise you do in Cardio or weights. So once you get to a suitable weight you can lift with each exercise, DON’T just continue doing the same weight and reps/ sets each week. At least try to incorporate more reps or more sets in each exercise with the same weight so you don’t get bigger muscles BUT a more toned effect. The result will be a leaner you, that has muscle endurance without compromising your natural womanly figure and is generally stronger overall in each body part.

Concluding thoughts:

Remember my main tips/ points from previous articles apply to not just Men but women too. Try to follow the diet, guidelines, get enough rest and above all else have fun exercising and be motivated to be healthy.

Once you start seeing results, you will realize that constantly improving your weight training potential, getting stronger and toned will give you more focus to strive for higher goals. The end result will be a sexy new you, booty shaking to “Lets Get Loud” like Jennifer Lopez in the Super bowl.

My previous article, “muscle building tips” were for those people thinking about incorporating weight training as part of their weight loss program or becoming stronger generally.

Concentrating on the basics to weight training my previous article gave a summary of the important initial steps to weight training before we get to the specific exercises and programs. Imagine previous articles to this website as building blocks to that end goal or peak of a Pyramid. Now imagine those blocks stacked up further after you reach your weight loss goal to another peak to your body’s unlimited potential. That is Weight training and becoming stronger, bigger, cut, fitter and difference between an average body and an awesome physical body you can be proud of.

Let’s get down to the business and let the BEAST transformation begin:

1)      An important point to consider before diving “arms” first and pumping those weights is “TECHNIQUE”. I would recommend that the first step you take is to research on the proper techniques of the exercises mentioned in my program or any other program you look into by yourself. I have some videos to help you out and will try and emphasis things to look for when lifting weights. Technique is just as important as any other point mentioned earlier because it prevents injuries which can delay your weight training progress while having long term problems in the future. I care more about your body being sustainable/ strong throughout your life then being Arnold Schwarzenegger-ISH and having future problems due to improper technique and improper conduct (Easy way of steroids, growth hormones to pack on muscles).

-         With technique and important points from the previous article such as Rest, Diet, motivation; we are ready to get stuck into weight training exercises.

2)      The best way I think to describe what exercises to do would be to put out a recommended exercise plan like a benchmark and show through videos (for the more advanced type exercises), pictures, in depth explanations with the best way to go about it. This article will focus on exercises mostly for men as weight training generally applies “us” dudes wanting to look like Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. Weight training is a very general concept and is just as important for women to do it as men in being a strong independent woman. My following article will focus on weight training for women.

Gym/ Exercise Plan (for Men)

If you want to pack on muscle fast, the old saying is true: You need to train smarter, not harder. For the time being we will concentrate on 3 exercises a day to start with and as we progressively get stronger, bigger and fitter you can branch out to specific muscle groups.

Monday

1. Bench press (Muscle group; Chest)

Look at these two videos for proper form and guide to bench pressing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOnP_oAXUMA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6I0z_d4xqY

2. Chinup (Muscle group; Back)

3. Deadlift (Muscle group; Lower Back, Quadriceps)

Look at this video for proper form and guide to dead lifting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-O_MT72rck

Do 25 total reps of each exercise, using a weight you can lift 4 to 6 times (Except Chin-ups as that is your body weight or could be assisted chin-ups initially) before your speed slows down or your form changes. Rest about 60 seconds between sets.

(Tuesday: Rest)

NOTE: If you are considering trying to lose weight or concentrating on getting fitter with cardio exercises. Doing cardio work on alternate days to weight training or those “Rest days mention above” will give you better results faster and give you that desired body sooner than you think.

HOWEVER try to have at least one or two days of truly “Rest days” comprising of no physical activity.

Wednesday

1. Dumbbell single-arm shoulder press

2. Dumbbell single-arm row (Muscle group: Back and Biceps)

3. Dumbbell lunge or stepup (Muscle group; Legs)

Do 40 total reps of each exercise with each arm or each leg, using a weight you can lift 10 to 12 times before your speed slows down or your form changes. Do all the reps of each exercise before resting. Rest 45 seconds between sets.

(Thursday: Rest)

Friday

1. Barbell bent-over row (Muscle group; Upper Back and Lower Back)

2. Dip (Muscle group; Triceps)

3. Squat (Muscle group; Quadriceps and Glutes)

Look at this video for proper form and guide to Squats:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbxxs1PErLQ

Do 15 total reps of each exercise, using a weight you can lift 2 to 3 times before your speed slows down or your form changes. Rest about 90 seconds between sets.

Additional Pointers:

Saturday and Sundays could be your “rest days” or for better results body wise; implement cardio work into your routine or repeat one of those weight training exercise days into a Saturday or Sunday.

Every few weeks try to mix your exercises and routines so your body is not use to it. For example instead doing Mondays workout on the Monday, do it on a Wednesday and vice versa. This helps with the body never being use to your workouts because once your body gets use to something the results will plateau and therefore muscles will not get bigger. Think of it as a motivating aspect to as you are not doing the same thing week in week out and hopefully excite you like Tom Cruise jumping on couches.

Always try to improve or do heavier weights each week. Aim at 15% increase every 2^nd week at minimum. If toning or getting CUT is your goal in weight training then it’s easy to change the gym/ weight guide around to suit your aim. E.g. instead of doing 4-6 reps with heaviest weight you can lift in total of 15-25; do a total of 40-60 reps or a weight were you can lift each set about 12-15. This concentrates on endurance part of weight training and gives the muscles are more toned or CUT effect without getting bigger.

Concluding thoughts:

Once you start seeing results, you will realize that constantly improving your weight lifting potential and getting beast or cut will give you more focus to strive for higher goals.

Getting started:

This article and proceeding ones are going to branch off to other topics of interest dealing with health and nutrition in our society.

The site is not just aimed at weight loss, but a range of other topics that hopefully will appeal to a broader audience.

Let’s get started with “weight training tips for beginners”; It has become increasingly noticeable that more and more guys are taking the initiative of wanting the Brad Pitt (Troy) body or more recently Taylor Lautner (Jacob; that werewolf in Twilight) with that 8 pack and perfect body he has. Weight training or wanting to be the bigger man is instinct for “US” guys and it’s inbuilt that to be the leader of the pack we have to be bigger and stronger. Lets face it we are animals/ primates and we feel the need to dominate the competition to win the girl across the bar or win at sports against our fellow man or just that feeling of winning to boost our fragile egos.

Whereas weight training for women is an entirely different scenario to deal with; unless you’re a woman packing some major Testosterone in her system or LOVES being the man in a relationship. The majority of women just want that sexy toned model look to their body while being a strong independent woman that doesn’t need a man to open a jar of Vegemite.

Weight training is a broad term in the context of things. This article will have Weight Training Tips and cover the basics of weight training and probably focus on the preparation aspects to weight training before diving into the exercises and programs. I’ll focus on getting STRENGTH, TONING, MUSCLE GAIN in my next article of weight training.

1)      Join the Gym as most of the weights, equipment, things needed for weight training are located in your gym. Also investing in a personal trainer will help with you achieving your necessary goals.

2)      Motivation is key to weight training with the ability to constantly improve from week to week. By now you have probably noticed that I use the words constantly and improve a lot and I will keep on saying that until those words have been pounded/ drilled into your brain.

-         I would recommend if being alone at the gym or at home and you lack motivation, to either have a partner with preferably similar goals and ideals so they can provide that extra motivation each time. Also having a trainer weekly or for the first few sessions will give you the information needed to take that next step or give you an incentive to keep on going as they monitor progress and keep you in check.

3)      You’re Diet/ food plan is important when weight training and knowing the right types of food to eat will help your ability in getting fitter, stronger and bigger. Try and eat mostly protein based food groups when weight training. Protein helps in the recovery process of muscle building because doing weights causes “micro traumas” to the specific muscle being trained.  I’ll give an example at the end of article on a food plan while weight training.

4)      Rest is just as important as the previous points mentioned above in weight training and weight loss. It takes about 2-3 days for that muscle group to recover; therefore you shouldn’t train the same muscle on consecutive days as it might cause injury and derail your program. Getting the minimum 8 hours sleep will give better results and 8 hours rest ensures the maximum time for muscles to repair, build and get stronger. In today’s society people seem to only get 6 or even less hours of sleep for reasons such as work, stress, alcohol, television and the list go on. However to achieve your desired goals, sacrifices have to be made and hard work is involved if you want to achieve strength or muscle gain. 8 hours sleep isn’t much to ask and the results will show if you stick to my guidelines and plans.

Suggested healthy eating for weight training:

Note: You can mix what you eat on different days when concentrating on cardio exercises with some meals being replaced by carbohydrates such as having pasta or cereals instead of just meat dishes

At this time in the journey to losing weight, we have concentrated on getting your head in the right place, developing a food and/or daily plan which hopefully gives you the motivation needed in losing weight or keeping an ideal weight range and living a healthy sustainable life.

The next important part is to tie everything we have done so far into a neat little package with the last remaining component being EXERCISE. Now if you thought sticking to a food plan is HARD, sticking to regular physical activity is even harder. Think of it as reaching the flat spot of a mountain thinking it was the peak only to see more mountain and hills to the pinnacle. AND no don’t think the pinnacle as a strawberry glazed doughnut as a reward because that doughnut is long gone from your diet….Hopefully.

Remember in my first piece of “Weight Loss Tips For Dummies Part 1”, I said exercise is about 40% important in the overall scheme of things. Well when you get the right balance between diet and exercise the results to stripping the fat and kilos off will become considerably noticeable quickly. As long as you have the right motivation, good goals to aim at and the will power, losing weight and maintaining a healthy size will become second nature and therefore making you happier with yourself and in life generally.

The following steps should ensure the final part of the weight loss program and ties everything you have learnt so far.

1)      When writing these initial articles I think of you as a beginner, novice, someone who their whole life until now has been living under a rock or more appropriately sitting on the couch watching television while eating Pizza Hut. I think of you as someone who wants to change and is WILLING to make the necessary steps to live a healthier life from your current one. The recommendations I give are for you to follow and to continually learn about your body and physical exercise. We are always learning new and exciting things about everything in life.

2)      EXERCISE 3 – 4 TIMES A WEEK, want me to repeat this EXERCISE 3 – 4 times a week. No I don’t mean walking to the remote control/ TV to change the channel or walking to work from the train station in your suit. If for some magical reason, you leave your house, at least get someone to hide that remote when you return, as it will give some type of physical activity finding the thing.

3)      There is 24 hours in a day and I am sure everyone can fit in at least 30 min to an hour of some type of physical activity throughout the day. If you say, “I have no time blah blah”. Who are you kidding? Me? Grandma? Mum? Dad? Neighbor who sees your fat ass everyday watching TV? You are only kidding yourself if you came up with that excuse.

-         Since I am here to give you advice and recommendations; yes there is 24 hours that equal one day. Pretty amazing right that in a ‘TIME POOR’ society we live in now that everyone seems to have no time for the little things in life such as taking care of oneself.

-         Breaking our day up so we can fit in healthy eating and exercise. Sleep comprises up most of the day with about 8 hours average needed and work equals roughly 10 hours average (including transport time). That leaves a MASSIVE 6 hours of free time and all you need to do is somehow fit 30mins to an hour of physical activity 3-4 times a week. That leaves the remaining 3 days of no exercise or in fitness terms, “Rest days”.

4)      Now the next few steps are getting the specifics of what you can do in terms of exercising and what to concentrate on. Also ill try and put in an example of a weekly plan for exercising. My daily food plans coincides with this and should provide necessary nutrition for recovery and energy levels throughout your day

5)     Figure out if you’re a morning or afternoon or night person as it will give you an indication when the best time your motivation levels would be at its highest and therefore being able to exercise properly. Preferably the best time to exercise is in the morning before breakfast if you are thinking of LOSING FAT FAST and not worried about muscle loss. In the Morning before breakfast when exercising, maintaining a high heat beat or BPM (Beats per Minute) should ensure you are burning the fat off straight away as there is no food or energy to burn off. This works and I use it quite often when I need to loss weight and fat in a short space of time.

Warning: By doing this tip and exercising in the morning, it will make you hungrier then usual, so try to refrain yourself from gorging out like it was the last supper.

6)      Ideally we want to exercise 5-6 times a week and one day of rest because weight training with cardio gives the best chance to rapidly lose weight while being leaner and stronger. However at this moment in time we will stick with my recommended 3-4 times a week and mainly stick with cardio exercises.

7)      WALKING or jogging is probably the easiest and cheapest form of cardio exercise someone could do. All you need is a proper set of sneakers and plan where you are running or jogging to. Since I assume your fitness level is non existent and your fitness age is probably equivalent of a 75 year old. Walking a fast pace for approximately 15-20 mins at the start of weight loss program should be sufficient to get your heart rate up and burning calories. Proper jogging technique is shown in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJm4zQJVbrY

8)      CYCLING is another easy form of cardio exercise. But you might need a gym member ship or own a bike to do this exercise. Cycling is easy, a great workout and is easy on the knees as your not putting your body weight on it.

9)      ROWING is great for toning your muscles such as abdominals, arms, back and legs. Good for strength work and cardio work as you are exerting a lot of energy in a short period of time. A gym or machine is needed to do this exercise and technique is important when rowing. Concentrate on the contraction of your abs and back while rowing.

10)      PUSH UPS, SIT UPS, CHIN UPS, NORMAL LEG SQUATS (Body Strength Exercises); these exercises are great when in conjunction with cardio exercises as they improve strength and takes up a lot of energy to do them. Helps in the process of losing weight rapidly while toning/ sculpting your body. Try to fit at least 2 of these exercises a week.

-         Push ups: If you can’t do a normal push up at the start, use your knees instead of feet to do a normal push up. Try to keep your arms at shoulder width to the ground and do as many as you can do for now. Try squeezing your pecs together or concentrate on chest muscle contracting

-         Sit ups: Lie on the floor, keep legs together and feet planted on the ground. Lightly put your hands behind your head (don’t put any pressure on neck) and try to contract your ab muscles when doing a sit up. Do as many as you can for now

-         Chin ups: is a bit advanced and only do it when strong enough. If you go to gym they might have an assisted chin up machine. Use this as it will make chin ups easier

-         Leg Squats: Concentrate on keeping abs tight and you’re back straight. Then use your legs to go down in a squat position (position when taking a dump). Do as many as you can for the time being. Tip; use a wall to keep back straight or push arms out in front of you when squatting.

11)      The BEST form of cardio exercise that will ensure weight and fat loss efficiently is SWIMMING. It is the best form because it works not just your legs but your whole body works together. SWIMMING improves your lung capacity and breathing making you a healthier and fitter person. Also if you a heavy set person SWIMMING puts less stress on your precious knees. Imagine how your knees feel when every time you walk into a room it feels like an earthquake might come after those tremors your feet are making. Your knees are very important part of your body since it carries your whole body weight.  However SWIMMING involves a pool and the ability to be able to swim; which most people either don’t have access to a pool or being able to swim properly

12)      The KEY to losing weight and having a healthy active lifestyle is constantly IMPROVING and PUSHING yourself when you exercise. The journey is an ongoing process of learning your body and mind with what works and doesn’t work for you. Initially the exercises will be introductory as I assume your physical activity levels are somewhat, NON existent. When you start getting use to the exercises and physical activity, we will go deeper in our journey of losing enough weight that will get you on the right track and taking you off the ‘At RISK’ weight range.

-         the following table is a recommended training program to help you get started:

NOTE: it is very important to always try and improve from the next week. Also change up exercises is important as you want your body to never be comfortable with your routines. This will greatly improve weight loss results and further help you achieve a healthier lifestyle.

-         Important considerations to take when trying to lose weight is: If the following few weeks, you don’t see much change and you are following my recommendations. Don’t try and worry/ stress too much because the results will show up soon. It takes time to see noticeable results and depends on your body composition, genetics and other factors.

Now hopefully by reading Part 1 of my blog you have written down your goals, used the calorie calculator to add up your normal intake of foods and realized, “WOW I can’t believe eating a Big Mac is half of my recommended daily calorie intake”. It might have been a shock that based on your physical activity levels of at most walking to work from the train station or to the fridge that you have exceeded the your daily calorie limit by a considerable amount. Australians are ranked 7^th and consume 3,280 calories on the “average daily calorie intake per person” list.

Furthermore this shouldn’t be a further shock that you are probably unhealthy, fat (Not big boned) and have decreased your life expectancy by 12 years.

However there is hope, it’s up to YOU to get your life back on track so you can lead a sustainable healthy life and maybe see your grandchildren grow up.

The first major step we need to take is breaking down weight loss to several parts. My first part is diet, second is certain exercises in your program and lastly time management issues.

Changing your diet is very VERY important in achieving weight loss goals. The general consensus says that diet is 50% important in achieving weight loss while exercising comprises of the other 50%. If you think about and what you currently eating in your normal day it’s not hard to see why food is the root of the problem. 50% is a round park figure and only use it as a benchmark for your goals. 40% food; 40% exercise and 20% mental or motivation should be a proper benchmark to follow for your weight loss goals.

Once we have a sustainable diet that can be followed comfortably, it will provide you with enough energy and nutrition throughout the day. We then can proceed to exercising and what you should focus on in terms of your goals and objectives.

1)      In part one of this series I got you wrote down a list of your daily foods you eat and calorie counted them. Now the next step is to write up a new daily food list and to wipe out all the food groups that are considered junk or with KJs that seem pretty high. Now hopefully you have some common sense to realize what is considered a NO NO type of food and if it tastes awesome, it probably has 100, 000 ingredients inside of it, that are not very good for that body of yours.

-   Some examples include: KFC, MacDonalds, Pizza Hut, Hungry Jacks and the list goes on.

-   Note: to give you an idea; eating a pizza or eating a Big Mac meal takes 30mins to an hour of jogging to burn those calories you just consumed and those foods roughly equal your recommended calorie intake for the day….AND its only ONE MEAL!!! UNLESS you’re Michael Phelps or some elite athlete you should try and keep these types of foods to a minimal. Like trying to quit smoking it takes will power, weaning and time to realize that the foods I recommend will make you feel much better everyday with results in improved mentality and body.

Maccas shouldn't be part of your diet

2)      Next break down your food plan to breakfast, snack 1, Lunch, snack 2, tea, dinner. Eating regularly and 6 meals a day helps you sustain energy levels and will help you feel satisfied or not hungry all the time. However there is an exception to this rule or guideline you hear from the professionals and that is you don’t need to have 6 small meals.  3-4 meals a day is sufficient enough as long as you are eating enough of the RIGHT foods. Also Breakfast is the most important meal of the day followed by lunch and lastly dinner. Thinking about it logically eating a big breakfast and lunch will give you enough energy needed throughout the day and gives you the best chance to lose weight through exercise whereas dinner is close to your bed/ recover time where carbohydrates, calories should be kept to a minimum as sleeping is an inactive activity.

3)      OK now we are down to the specifics of what foods YOU should eat to provide the best results in weight loss. I will give some sample food plans you can follow, but basically you should try and develop a similar recommended plan where you can follow it regularly to fit your time and lifestyle. I will break it down to the recommended food groups and then some fat burning foods that will help in the process of weight loss.

4)      Recommended food group tables

Table 1

Table 2

Table 3

Table 4

-         In your daily eating plan try to pick as many of these foods as you can and which ones you can bear to eat or don’t mind eating.

NOTE: Sometimes you hear that you should only eat egg whites from the egg. However taking out the yolk is only if you don’t like the taste of eggs, otherwise it’s perfectly fine to eat the whole egg as they provide you with essential protein, fats and carbs.

5)      Fat burning foods list – these foods will help maximize the losing weight component of your goal:

Fruits – apples, berries, lemons, mangoes, oranges, pineapples

Vegetables – tomatoes, chili, broccoli, carrots, avocado

Protein – eggs, beans, salmon and tuna (keep to at least 3 times a week), lean cuts of meat e.g. turkey

Others that are equally important – oatmeal, whole grain bread, yogurt, peanut butter, sunflower seeds, almonds, soybeans, lentils

-         Try to implement these foods in your diet and you should see results in no time at all. For the full list of fat burning foods go to: http://www.101fatburningfoods.com/

6)      Suggested healthy daily eating plan:

Note: It is assumed with this meal plan that you are at least doing some sort of physical activity. However if you have no time to follow this daily food plan with physical exercise, you can try and take out 1 or 2 of the meal plans

By reading this blog you have made the initial step of wanting to change your situation you are currently in and becoming a healthier sustainable human being.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that there are probably thousands of diet programs about weight loss out there in society ranging from caveman diet to lemon diet to south beach diet to no carb diet and the list goes on and on.

What we don’t realize is, instead of buying all these diets and wasting money on them we should just start the next process to weight loss by breaking it down to simple mini steps. Buying all these programs because you think they are quick fix to your overweight frame or flabby stomach will only do more harm then good to you and your body.

By trying not to sound too much like Tony Robbins, the following steps will hopefully give insight that weight loss can be simple and maybe fun to an individual:

1) Look yourself in the mirror, preferably without a shirt on. This should be a true indication on you if you’re overweight, fat, normal, skinny etc etc. Tell yourself honestly because we can only be our own true judge. DO NOT weigh yourself as putting a number to your weight problems will only affect your mindset and you might eat a doughnut because of the stress of knowing your 20 Kilos over the recommended range. NOTE: YOU know when you need to make changes when; if climbing stairs or walking a few hundred meters makes you tired. This should be an indication that something is wrong.

2) Writing down achievable aims in what you truly want to achieve with your body or lifestyle and look at it as mini goals. E.g could be to lose waist size, get stronger or get fitter etc.

3) You need to write down what you eat normally during the day as this helps you to understand what you need to change in your diet and identifying why you got to this stage. After you have written down your normal eating routine, go to any calorie calculator online and put your foods into it. Calculate your calorie content (you this free calorie calculator) and compare it with your recommended intake in terms of your physical activity and height. This is needed as calories vary from person to person and not everyone needs 2400 calories a day. This is only a benchmark and not to be taken seriously or followed religiously.

4) Finally to really get started either join a gym and hire a trainer to help you with your process if you have the money. Or Research more on how to lose weight or continue to read our blog on specific aspects on weight loss and healthy living.

End of part 1