In your quest to lose weight there are only two things you can do. The first is to eat fewer calories, the second is to exercise. This sounds simple, but not all exercises are made the same. I would say that all exercise is definitely good, but some exercises give you more return for your time spent. Specifically exercises that can give you both an cardiovascular and resistance workout are #1 in my book.
Copyright (c) 2008 John Barban
On the topic of trying to lose weight, there are two ways to accomplish this. You can eat fewer calories and you can exercise. This sounds simple, but not all exercises are made the same.I have to tell you that all exercise is definitely good, there are definitly some exercises that you more of a return on your time spent. Exercises that provide both a cardiovascular workout and a resistance workout are the best in my book.
Here are 20 great exercises you can do right in the comfort of your own home that will burn a tone of calories and maintain good strong muscles and boost your metabolism even when you're not working out.
Bodyweight squats - Stand with feet shoulder width apart squat down like you're sitting back into a chair, drive your heels into the floor a return to the starting position. Try 10 reps to start working up to 20, and then 30.
Y-Squat - Same as above, with your arms up and out to your sides to make your arms and body resemble a "Y" shape. Try 10 reps, working up to 20 and then 30 reps.
Squat jumps - Starting in the same position as above, squat down as if you're sitting back into a chair and then jump up from this bottom squat position. When you land from the jump sit right back down into this squatting position and repeat. Start out with 8, and then work your way up to 12, 15 then possibly 20.
Lunges - Standing with feet shoulder width apart talk a long step forward with your right foot lunge down touching your left knee to the ground. Drive your right heel into the ground and push yourself back to the starting position and switch legs. Try 10 reps per leg to start, working up to 15 then 20.
Reverse Lunges - Standing with feet shoulder width apart talk a long step backwards with your right foot, touch your right toes to the ground lunging backward touching your right knee to the ground. Drive your left heel into the ground and step back forward with your right foot, then switch legs. Try 8 reps to start working up to 15 then 20.
Push-Ups Start out Lying face down, flat on the ground. On your toes and hands push yourself off the ground. If using your toes and your hands is too hard at first, then start out using your knees and hands. Start out with 8, and then work your way up to 12, 15 then possibly 20. (once you can do more than 20 on your knees and hands, start trying to do some on your feet and hands)
Push-Up/Stick-Up - Do a push up the same as above, now in between each push up stand up and raise your arms above your head (like your being held up at gun point...this is why they call it a 'stick up') and then get right back down and do your next push up. Continue doing each repetition like this. Try 8 to start, working up to 12 and then 15.
Step-Ups - Go to a set of stairs and step up to the second stair with your right foot. Step back down and then switch feet. Continue alternating feet until you've stepped up 20 times with each foot.
Bridge - Get into a traditional push up position on your hands and feet keeping your body rigid and hold for 30 seconds. As you get better at these work up to 45 and then 60 seconds.
Start by working through one set of all of these exercises. As your strength and endurance increases, and you get better at them, you can add in another set of each, or you can even choose which exercises you like to add more sets. Take 30-60 seconds rest between each exercise.
3 Foods That Will Boost Your Metabolism
A commonly held belief about food is that you need to eat frequent meals to keep your metabolism going and to keep burning calories. I'm not exactly sure where this idea came from but it makes absolutely no sense to me. In fact, to me it sounds like this nonsense about eating food to keep your metabolism going is a clever myth that only supports the food and nutritional supplement industry.
Workout With a Purpose
Anything you do in your life that provides a sense of gratitude and is really worth something is usually done with a sense of purpose behind it. Things of little or no value have no purpose behind them and are literally wasted time you can never get back. For example sitting on couch watching an hour of rerun's you've seen before probably has little or no purpose and most likely doesn't give you any sense of gratitude afterwards.
5 Most Common Mistakes That Will Sabotage Your Weight Loss Goals
If you are trying to lose weight but have been unsuccessful so far, check to see if you are making any of these common mistakes. 1. Eating too Often -- it is a commonly held belief that eating multiple small meals each day is a good way to lose weight. But this only works if the meals are SMALL! If each of these so called 'small meals' start to creep up in calories and start to get larger you are never going to lose any weight.
