Feel the burn!

Feel the burn!

Many dieters and bodybuilders rely on popular fat burners and thermogenics to achieve their desired figures, but how many fat burners are actually safe? Next, how many really give results? These are the questions that many newcomers ask when they go into GNC, Vitamin World, and other health retailers. Caffeine is the normal ingredient in almost all fat burners. Pharmaceutical drugs are said to be in a lot of fat burners as well.  At the same time a lot of brand fat burners have not been approved by the FDA (The U.S. Food and Drug Administration). This alone can be a scary factor for consumers.

 According to Livestrong.com, The top-selling fat burners once contained ephedra, also known as ephedrine or ma huang. This stimulant was successful in burning fat quickly but also had very serious side effects, including being linked to stroke, heart issues, high blood pressure and death. Ephedra was banned in 2004 and dietary supplements containing this stimulant became illegal. Some newer products contain ingredients such as bitter orange or country mallow. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, these herbs contain chemicals related to those found in ephedra and thus also are potentially dangerous and addicting.

Before using a fat burner it is important to first seek your physician. They can tell you what would be a good choice if any, depending on your medical history. Secondly, do not consume more than what is stated on the package. Thirdly, do not take any fat burner with a combination of other fat burners. This could cause heart problems and even death.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/441878-the-negatives-of-fat-burners/#ixzz1sJDKXQQK

Soda?...Pop?.....NEITHER!!

Soda, Pop, soft drink, Diet and Regular…No matter where your from or where you live there is only one meaning to this high sugary beverage. We all know when dieting or eating healthy pop/soda should be avoided. They are full of sugar and high in calories. Not to mention all those other chemicals and dyes that are in them such as carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup and/or sugar, caramel color, phosphoric acid, artificial and natural flavors, sodium benzoate (preservative), caffeine.  Soda can be addicting and most people drink more than one can or bottle a day. According to the Huff Post “This week, researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health found that drinking just one sugar-sweetened beverage a day was associated with a 20 percent bump in a man's risk of having a heart attack over a 22-year period. What's more, that risk increased along with the amount of sugary drinks consumed -- even after researchers controlled for other factors like family history, tobacco use and BMI”.  Recently studies have found that diet sodas are no good either. In fact,it has a negative effect on heart attack and stroke: a separate study of 2,600 adults found that those who drank diet soda regularly were 40 percent more likely to have a heart attack or stroke according to the Nurses' Health Study.So your best bet would be water. 

Strength Training is for women too!

One thing I noticed about women working out at my local gym is that they don’t lift weights. They only do cardio for 20, 30, and 60 minutes. I asked this lady next to me on the elliptical if she strength trains and she told me “no” because she did not want to bulk up and look like a man. The truth is weight training will not make you look like a bodybuilder. Many women are afraid that strength training or weight training will make you develop large and bulky muscles like those of male and female bodybuilders. Women develop muscle mass in a way that is different from men. Men who engage in weight training develop large muscles because their bodies have the necessary amount of testosterone for building muscle mass. Since you don't have those levels of testosterone, weight training will not give you enormous muscles. Instead, your muscles will get toned and your body will develop a firmer look.

If you’re looking to slim down it takes cardio + strength training to burn calories. If you don't have time to dedicate an hour a day to strength training in addition to your cardio, try giant sets. Giant sets are generally thought to involve four, or more, strength exercises into one arduous set that, if done correctly, will stimulate multiple muscle groups. Pick four or more exercises you want to focus on, do each set to failure and only rest 5-10 seconds between exercises, with 1-2 minutes between giant sets. (For a total of 3 giant sets) Provided enough intensity is applied, a giant sets workout can significantly enhance fat loss while building muscle.

Beware of overtraining. The idea is to stimulate the muscle, not annihilate it. Once a muscle has been thoroughly stimulated, more sets and reps will just retard growth. If you've experienced decreased physical performance, fatigue, loss of motivation, loss of appetite, weight loss, elevated resting heart rate or increased amount of minor injuries, you may be overtraining.