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Showing posts from April, 2016

Treadmill, Cross-Trainer or Exercise Bike: How to Choose?

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The post-Christmas blues may long be over, but the desire to shed those extra pounds still lingers on for many.  source With temperatures continuing to hover around an uncomfortable 2 or 3°C on many days, the desire to pull on your running shoes and take to the streets may not be so strong. If you want a way to exercise and get fit but in a warmer and more comfortable environment, why not consider a  fitness machine ? With just a few minutes set aside to build the machine and place it in your desired location, you’ll soon be looking at a highly convenient way to have a workout session at any time which suits you, without even having to leave the house. Which type of machine is right for you? When choosing your new fitness machine, it is important to think about your goals and the reasons behind your desire to start exercising, as this will influence which machine is most suitable for you. Are you perhaps looking for a way to ‘feel fit’, training for an upcoming event or hoping to lose

Cross Trainer vs Treadmill for Weight Loss

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In the world of weight loss, there are two very popular pieces of gym equipment to help you burn those calories. Any quality gym or fitness centre you visit will have both treadmills and cross trainers (aka ellipticals) occupying a significant portion of gym space. And in most cases, you’ll see people happily (or not so happily) burning away calories on each machine. Most people who have spent some time in a gym or working out have probably given both of these machines a try. After all, they both seem like great tools with great benefits to help burn fat and achieve a weight loss goal. However, there are a pretty good amount of people who want you to believe one is better than the other for your workouts. In many cases, there are staunch supporters of either side. The ‘Team Treadmill’ supporters say that since a treadmill is essentially a running trainer, it’s a more effective weight loss tool. On the other hand, the ‘Team Elliptical’ people note the features of that equipment’s design

How to Lose Weight With a Cross Trainer

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source The cross trainer, also known as an elliptical, is a low impact cardiovascular exercise machine. The machine mimics the movement of cross country skiing, making it the perfect exercise machine for those who have lower body injuries and can't handle the lower body stress that comes with running or jogging. If you are looking to lose weight but have injury issues or simply don't like the treadmill, the elliptical might be the cardio machine for you. Follow the Guidelines When it comes to getting healthy, the American Heart Association offers some helpful advice. Its health guidelines suggest 30 minutes of moderate activity five days a week, which can be easily accomplished on the cross trainer. According to Harvard Medical School, a 155-pound person burns roughly 335 calories in 30 minutes on the elliptical. If you are following the guidelines and using the elliptical five days a week for 30 minutes each time, you should be burning plenty of excess calories. Paired with a

5 Ways to Boost your Cross Trainer Workout

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If you’re looking for a piece of exercise equipment that will give you a great cardio workout and improve your strength and muscle tone, the cross trainer is your go-to machine.  source source Creating a motion best described as ‘like cross-country skiing’, the cross trainer targets almost every major muscle group in your body, including the arms, shoulders, back, thighs, calves, abdominals, and of course, the butt. Unlike running, it doesn’t place anywhere near the same amount of stress on your joints. And when used at a high level of intensity, it can burn up to 38 kilojoules (9 calories) per minute – need we say more? But that doesn’t mean you can just jump on a cross trainer and reap the rewards; more than any other machine, you really need to focus on the exercise you’re doing to get the benefits. Unlike the treadmill, where you can set the speed and incline and allow your mind to wander while your legs keep pace, the cross trainer requires constant effort on your behalf to mainta

The Mindset for Successful Weight Loss

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NO! This article is not going to say that weight loss is all about emotions! source It’s more about exploring the changing mindsets of those people who are successful in lasting weight loss: as they were putting on weight as they were trying to change and trying to lose weight to achieve their target weight as they adapted to their new weight and started witnessing their mindset change So what is mindset? (The word isn’t in the Oxford Dictionary!) Let’s loosely describe it as a combination of your worldview about a subject, any biases and beliefs, and particularly the habits that attach to those beliefs. With food, does the belief or the habit come first? Perhaps the person never thought about it, but just repeatedly ate something and got into the habit, and so they subconsciously thought that it was OK.The habit is like another one we’re all familiar with: have you ever planned to drive somewhere after work, but found yourself heading home as the habit was automatic? It’s the same wit

9 Ways to Mentally Prepare for Weight Loss

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Before you get to enjoy the physical changes that come with  healthy weight loss , you first must undergo a mental makeover that helps you break your old bad habits. The key to beginning your transformation is thinking of it properly — you want a true lifestyle change instead of a lose-weight-quick crash diet. Think of your goal as weight  control  and remember that you want to stick to your new healthy diet for the foreseeable future. source “Framing your diet as weight control makes it long-term. It’s not as dramatic or drastic a push to get yourself to a certain weight at any cost,” Brian Quebbemann, MD, founder of the NEW (Nutrition, Exercise, Wellness) Program in Newport Beach, Calif., says. If you “diet” and set unrealistic expectations, you’ll probably regain any weight lost as soon as you go off the plan. But if you make attainable lifestyle changes, the lost pounds will stay away. Before you jump into your new lifestyle, prep properly by following this mental checklist for suc

Are Your Friends a Fat Influence?

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Research shows that your ability to lose weight now  hinges on who you hang out with Chances are, you've dined with a friend and had a scenario like this unfold: You start salivating over the idea of ordering linguine carbonara, but tell yourself,  Oh, I really shouldn't . Then your friend requests that very dish before snapping the menu shut and handing it to the waiter. "Make it two," you say. And there goes your diet. Friends' health decisions have a funny way of rubbing off on us. So important is their power that the World Health Organization lists them as a determinant of health, as big a factor as genetics and income level. In fact, understanding how pals  shape   one another's health behavior has top billing in Healthy People 2010, the government's plan for improving national well-being. Research has found that smoking, deciding to get the flu shot, and taking vitamins are all socially contagious behaviors. But where our friends have perhaps the mos

Think Yourself Thin

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Are you convinced that your normal-weight frame is...well, fat? By thinking so, you could be packing on the pounds. source New research published in the  Journal of Obesity  found that normal weight women who perceive themselves as fat are more likely to become fat. In the 10-year study of 1,196 normal-weight teenagers, nearly 6 in 10 women who perceived themselves as fat became overweight (measured by body mass index) within the decade, while only 3 in 10 of those with an accurate body image became overweight. While a distorted body image might motivate some to hit the gym, the study found that exercise didn't compensate for the effects of a negative self-image. Previous research done on normal-weight adults found similar results: an increase in weight over time in those who perceive themselves as overweight. One explanation for the weight gain is psychological stress, which has been linked to putting pounds on—especially around the middle. What’s more, we behave according to how