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Fitness myths are a real pain in the butt. They waste your time by leading you to use ineffective and inefficient exercise and nutrition techniques. Here's one of my myth busters from Men's Fitness magazine. That column gives you the truth on how to lose fat and gain muscle.

Myth: You can turn fat into muscle

The Truth:

You have a better chance of turning straw into gold than converting fat cells to muscle-the two are completely different kinds of tissue. For one thing, fat can't be flexed, whereas muscles control all your body's movement. Nevertheless, when people see a guy who's made a successful body transformation, they tend to assume he actually swapped one for the other. At first thought, it seems to make sense-the muscle he built is exactly where the fat used to be.

In reality, though, the only way anybody ever turned flab into abs is by losing fat and building up the muscle that was lying beneath it. Your best strategy for doing that: a high-protein diet; regular, intense strength training; and cardio-especially fat- and calorie-incinerating intervals.

Here's another popular myth:

Myth: 1 pound of muscle burns 50 calories per day

The Truth:

This is another of the biggest misconceptions and most often quoted myths in fitness articles.

Unfortunately, it is just not possible for each pound of new muscle to burn 50 extra calories per day. Just think about this number in the big picture. If I put on 10 pounds of muscle, it is wishful thinking to believe that my metabolic rate will go up 500 calories. That would be a huge jump, and would make it difficult to keep the new muscle on my body if my metabolism jumped up that much.

I'm the first person to recommend strength training to people, but we can't use this myth any more as justification. But not to worry, there are plenty of other reasons to strength train when your goal is a better body (increased bone mineral density, increased real-life strength, and improved bodysculpting are just three reasons to use strength training).

You have permission to publish this article in your web sites, ezines or electronic publication, as long as the piece is used in its entirety including the resource box, all hyperlinks (HTML clickable) and references and copyright info.

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked fat burning, muscle building workouts have helped thousands of men and women with weight loss and fat burning in less than 45 minutes three times per week. His new bodyweight, muscle building, and fat loss workouts each month help you get more results in less time. Craig is using the Muscle Gaining Secrets Workouts from Jay Ferruggia to gain 25 pounds of muscle without supplements.

The population of most of the developed world is getting heavier each year.

And as a result too many people today are overweight or obese.

More likely, overweight people are prone to chronic illnesses such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease,sleep disorders, reproductive problems and depression.

Aside from the genetic factors, the main reasons why more and more people are getting heavier are due to various reasons like

-watching too much television,
-spending way too much time on the computer,
-relying on less manual work,
-eating far too much junk food and take aways.

If you see yourself in this situation, it's time to improve your life and self-esteem.

And it's time to get going, lose weight for a healthier lifestyle.

When planning to lose body fat, avoid fad diets promising fast weight loss.

Why?

Two reasons...

1) It is not healthy for you
2) Once you return to your normal eating habits, the weight will quickly return

The best way to lose body fat is to

1. Sacrifice and plan to make small, life long changes to your eating habits;
2. Reduce the calories, and eat 6 healthy meals during the day. This will reduce any cravings for junk food or sweets;
3. Drink a minimum of 8 glasses of water a day;
4. Eat less high fats such as biscuits, chocolate, fried onions, and chips
5. Cut out both diet and non diet sodas
6. Add less fat from butter, margarine and oil to foods
7. Eat plenty of steam food, vegetables and fruits
8. Reduce alcohol consumption if you drink more than 2 standard drinks per day
9. With a calorie restricted diet, you might lose weight - but if you don't exercise, you will miss the chance of burning more body fat, and reduce the likelihood of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. So Move your butt and start exercising.

And one of the best exercises to lose belly fat is the Turbulence Training Routine.

This is a great workout for beginners looking to lose body fat.

With that, aim to lose 5-10% of your weight over 3-6 months.

This is more of a realistic target, and much easier to achieve.

As a guide use your waist measurement as an indicator of the amount of body fat you have lost.

And so, if you are overweight and looking to reduce weight - the best way to lose body fat is think long term, eat more and move more for a better you, today.

Need to know the truth about six pack abs?

Visit http://www.squidoo.com/thetruthabout-sixpackabs1 now to learn how to get rock hard abs and effectively turbo-charge your fat burning metabolism to scorch away stubborn belly fat.

What is not so commonly known is that organic food can actually help relieve obesity as part of your weight loss regime. Eating organic food also means you will be giving your body a greater quantity of essential nutrients, especially if you steam your vegetables.

Conventional food contains many chemicals and your body has to deal with these and dispose of them in order to avoid poisoning your system. Most of this work is undertaken by your liver, a very key organ that can make or break your weight loss attempts.

The liver is the powerhouse of your body and is also the largest burner of fat too. However to be at its most efficient your need to make sure you feed it properly. By this I mean that you need to make sure you are eating enough fibre and limit the intake of toxic chemicals both in the form of food and alcohol.

As you probably know fibre helps your digestive system in that it consists of indigestible matter that passes out of your body. This essential function carries with it many of the toxins and waste products from your body that you need to get rid of daily.

Fibre helps ensure a speedy exit of these waste products think of it as cleaning out your pipework!

Fibre also helps to ensure that your liver efficiently rids itself of toxins and gives it less opportunity to store them as fatty deposits.

If you load your body with too much fat, additives and poisonous chemicals then what usually happens is that the parts your body cannot dispose of are stored as fat until and when, your body can get round to dealing with them and clearing them out.

This can lead to fat deposits all around your body but most worryingly can lead to a condition called fatty liver.

A tired, toxic liver is the number one reason why many peoples weight-loss attempts are floored.

You have to make sure your essential organs are operating at peak efficiency to make the most gain in your weight loss attempts and this means eating good quality food, preferably raw and free of added chemicals, which makes organic food a good choice.

Remember that conventional manufacturers deliberately add synthetic chemicals to processed foods to increase their shelf life and pesticides and hormones to farm produce to boost their crop volumes.

You dont want to be eating too much of that type of produce as the chemicals they contain will definitely affect your liver and digestive system performance, probably making you actually put on weight in the form of the stored fatty deposits I mentioned earlier.

Organic food can help in that you reduce the number of toxic chemicals entering your body which in turn reduces the stress on your digestive system and its fat production.

This should help make for a leaner thinner you.

Virginia Louise runs a web site that tells you all about the advantages of organic food visit the site to pick up some free organic food recipes.

Once you get in the zone, burning fat can be very easy. I know, easier said than done, right? But maybe you just don't have the right tips and tricks in your arsenal to help you get started on the right foot.

So here are three of the most important things you need to be doing to get your fat burning workout program started properly.

1) Use Fitday to figure out your food intake.

You can't just "wing it". You can't "eyeball" your food intake, as research shows that even nutritionists underestimate how much food they are eating.

If you don't know whats going down your throat each day, you are going to eat way too much food and never burn the fat. If you aren't losing fat, it's a simple numbers game. You are eating too much. And if you know your numbers, its easy to make the necessary changes.

As one client said on the message boards...

"Ok, I input all my meals on Fitday yesterday, including 2 cheats that I didn't think were a big deal. One was a handful of trail mix and the other was a handful of goldfish crackers. (yes, I have kids :-) ) I can't believe how just those two seemingly harmless snacks added up!! No wonder I have a muffin top! Yikes! So thanks for the tip about Fitday because that's going to keep me accountable."

The little things add up so quickly! You'll be amazed when you finally start counting your calories that you will often be far above your recommended intake.

A little bit here and a little bit there is all that is needed to sabotage your efforts.

Use it and lose it!

2) Use the right recovery pace in your interval training

The biggest mistake people make in interval training is working too hard during the recovery period.

If you continue to work at a hard pace when you should be almost resting, you wont get the true benefits of interval training.

So lose the cardio mentality and be sure to alternate between periods of harder than normal exercise, and very easy exercise.

If you don't know about interval training, here is how it goes.

Start with your normal warmup. Let's say walking at 3.0mph on the treadmill. Do this for five minutes, and then increase the speed to 3.8mph (a fast walk). Do this for 30-60 seconds (as long as you are comfortable doing it - don't do it if you feel that is too fast for you).

Drop the intensity way back to three miles per hour.0mph for 60-90 seconds. That is one interval. Go back and forth between working hard and going easy for 3-6 rounds. Then finish with a 5-minute cool-down.

Use the recovery period to recover!

3) Plan your food intake on the weekend

Set aside time to plan, shop, and prepare several days worth of meals. Use a Saturday or Sunday afternoon to cook some chicken breasts, prepare some raw vegetables, wash your fruit, and pack up your nuts.

A little bit of knowledge can go a long way.

Its that easy.

Use interval training in your fat burning workout and bodyweight exercises to sculpt your body.

Following on from the first article on effective ways to lose stomach fat - the benefits

of a good eating habit is without question, great for fat loss.

Here are 2 ingredients you need to to seriously add into your meals-

1) Get enough quality protein in the daily diet.

Make certain to include some protein and fat in every one of your meals.

Eating protein requires more energy, and you will burn more calories digesting it

than carbs and fat.

And studies has proven it is an effective strategy to help you burn fat, and keep fat

off.

Dietary fat, on the other hand, is so easily processed and turned into

body fat that there is little thermic effect. The amount of energy

required to process carbohydrates falls between that of protein and fat.

As well, protein helps maintain your energy level by maintaining your blood

sugar, and will keep you feel full for longer periods of time.

Feeling full makes you likely to avoid the cravings.

And protein is a great building block for maintaining and building lean

muscle (which is one of the main factors for controlling your

metabolism).

Healthy protein such as tune, shrimp, chicken, nuts, and cottage cheese are great for

the energy levels and your metabolism.

2) Fiber

For fibers, get a daily dose of vegetables, fruits and high fiber unrefined

grains.

Fiber in your diet will you a great feeling of fullness, which is beneficial for fat

loss.

Not only that, the benefits of antioxidants and vitamins that are packed into

fruits and vegetables will help keep your healthier and more

resistant to diseases.

If vegetables or fruits aren't really your thing, try to 'mix it up' and find creative ways to prepare them.

You can make them a part of a salad, or make them a part of the protein in your meal.

In the next series, we'll look at 2 more ways to lose stomach fat.

For More Information On How to Lose Body Fat and Build Muscle, Visit Turbulence Training at http://www.squidoo.com/turbulencetrainingreviews For the Best Exercises To Blowtorch Your Body Fat For Good.

We've known Ricki Lake for years, from her role as Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray, to her successful, mostpopular talk show, "The Ricki Lake Show", which ran for 10 years. Throughout that time, Ricki has always battled with her weight. According to Ricki, she tried almost every diet on the market in her attempts to slim down and lose those extra pounds.

Knowing that she would be walking the red carpet in early 2008 for the premiere of "The Business of Being Born", an independent film which she also executive produced, Ricki decided to really step up and give the paparazzi something to snap at!

In early 2007, she embarked upon a program which consisted of a low calorie diet and more physical activity. Not a big fan of exercise classes, she did 4 to 5 mile uphill hikes and runs several times a week.

For her meals, she utilized a food delivery program called Fresh Dining. Her plan was based on a lower 1200 calorie a day diet. When asked what's her secret to eating smarter, she mentions portion control and also that she eats more salads and tries to avoid bread and chocolate, which are her weaknesses.

After the dust cleared, Ricki had lost over 125 pounds and 20 dress sizes! It took her just about a year to accomplish this drastic change in body weight and clothing size. When Ricki showed up at the Business of Being Born premiere with her svelte new look and glowing, positive attitude, she blew everyone else in the place away! Keep up the good work, and GO Ricki!

You can get weight loss and fitness tips by Yvonne Bridges at http://thefitnessdiva.blogspot.com Yvonne is a top fitness instructor and ex Golden Gloves champion boxer living in New York City. She also authors the website http://CelebrityDietsandFitness.net

Q: Do I HAVE to eat 6 small meals per day? How about 4? I'm concerned about the six small meals thing. If I am eating my appropriate caloric intake and following both my dietary restrictions and exercise program, isn't that enough? I'm eating only 2 big meals per day right now.

Answer:

6 meals are better than 4, and for most people, I recommend 8. You will see better results if you eat more meals. Both science and experience support that.

In your case, since you were only eating 2 big meals per day, we will only jump to 6 for now. That will give you amazing results if you can break down your food intake into 6 small meals.

NOTE: Sometimes a "meal" is just a protein shake and some almonds, so don't get overwhelmed thinking you have to cook 6 times per day.

Q: How do I modify a man's nutrition plan for a woman? Do I just do use fewer calories?

Answer:

That is correct. We just do the calculations to get the correct calorie amount for any body weight, and then plan the meals from there. That is relatively accurate for someone that has close to average body fat levels.

I also recommend that every client uses www.fitday.com to track their food intake, so that I can review it and make sure that they are on track. It is easy to see someone's eating mistakes when we look at their daily food intake.

Q: What Protein bar is the healthiest?

Answer:

The one with the least sugar and least amount of "fake carbohydrates". But I'm not a huge fan of protein bars. I'd rather that you have a protein shake + an apple or another fibrous fruit. Or even 1/2 ounce almonds. And ideally, the more real food sources of lean protein that you can eat, the better.

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Mens Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines and all over the Internet, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit http://www.TurbulenceTraining.com

You know the world has changed when the average lifter wants a baseball players physique. A big chest, a thick back, and jacked arms pretty much completes the wish list for most. Now whether or not all of these players achieved their results with steroids, I dont know. The fact is, they sure as heck didnt get those arms by training with kickbacks and concentration curls.

If your arms havent grown since you thought baseball was drug-free, then its time to make a change to your workouts. And Im going to show you how to use efficient and effective exercises in a scientifically-designed plan that will add more size to your arms a week at BALCO labs.

Unlike the average gym member, the lifter that gets results trains with a plan (even on arm day). While my sets and reps scheme might be out in left field compared to what you are doing now, believe me, its guaranteed to improve on most arm training programs. But if you insist on playing in the 10-15 rep range for every exercise then you are bound to plateau and have minor-league arms. Research shows that a wide range of repetitions (from 3 reps per set to 12 reps per set) can lead to big-time gains in muscle size.

Using low reps and heavy weights for your arm exercises might go against the grain, but the following outline will work for arms and all other body parts. But for now, this is all you need to know.

In the first exercise of this workout, youll do 3 sets of 5 reps with a heavy weight (that allows you to complete all reps according to the guidelines below). The goal is to build absolute (maximal) strength and muscle mass (obviously). Increasing your absolute strength will help you lift more weight in all exercises. And if you can lift more weight, then you can train the muscles harder. In response, the muscle will get bigger to keep up to the demands of the heavy weights.

In the second exercise of the workout, youll use 4 sets of 8 reps. It just might be the optimal combination of intensity and volume for muscle growth and will work extremely well for lifters that have been stalled on higher rep sets.

In the third and final exercise of the workout for the arms, youll do 3 sets of 12 reps to add more volume to the workout and to fatigue the muscle and deplete muscle glycogen (glycogen is the name for carbohydrate stored in the muscles). High-volume training and fatigue cause the muscles to stock up on carbohydrate stores in preparation for the next training session. And when your muscles stock up on glycogen, they get bigger and future training sessions can be more intense. At the end of the 6 week program youll be blasting through these workouts with more intensity and strength than youve had in months.

One the trademarks of my strength-training programs, as you will see in the months to come, is to use supersets as often as possible (although there will be exceptions to the rule). With supersets, we pair two non-competing exercises together to get more work done in less time, without sacrificing strength or mass. Muscle size is not associated with how long you spend in the gym. The training goal is to get in, work hard, get out, pound a post-workout shake, get home, eat and grow.

Another way to increase the effectiveness of the training program is to focus on the tempo of the exercise. Tempo just means the speed of the exercise. For example and for our purposes, a 3-1-1 tempo means youll take 3 seconds to lower the weight, then youll pause for 1 second, and then youll lift the weight back up in 1 second. A slow eccentric (lowering) tempo and a fast concentric (lifting) tempo will work your Type II muscle fibers the hardest these are fibers that have the greatest potential for muscle growth. So youll get your best strength and mass gains by using that general tempo arrangement.

You may have gone through a tempo phase in the past for a couple of weeks and then due to human nature you probably got lazy and forgot about using it. But for the next 6 arm workouts, I want you to stick to the prescribed tempo. Youll see and feel the benefits after the first workout.

Now all that remains is to choose the best exercises for building big arms. With the help of scientific research, experience, and some recommendations from Charles Poliquin, Ive put together some of the most efficient and effective arm exercises for mass and strength.

After the 4-week arm assault I want you to cut back on your arm training for 1 week to allow your muscles to grow (and adapt to the training). If you regularly include an off-week in your training plan, take it here. Otherwise, skip your arm workout in week 5. You can return in week 6 with a new variation of this program. By the end of the program your results should be strikingly obvious and you might even be getting calls from major league sluggers for training tips.

Training Recommendations

Note: This program is for advanced lifters only. If you are a beginner, youll need only 1 set per exercise for the first two weeks and only two sets in weeks 3 & 4.

Do this workout 6 times in 4 weeks.
Week 1 Wednesday & Saturday
Week 2 Wednesday
Week 3 Wednesday & Saturday
Week 4 Wednesday
Week 5 Recovery week

Reduce the amount of direct shoulder training you do in the 4 week arm training phase.

Exercise descriptions: See the bottom of the article.

Warm-up: For a specific warm-up, perform 2 sets of each exercise in the first Superset. Start with 50% and then 75% of the weight you will use in your first real set. Perform 8 repetitions for each warm-up set.

Each pair of exercises constitutes a Superset. In each Superset, do one set of the first exercise (1A) followed immediately by the next exercise (1B). Rest 1 minute and repeat.

Use a proper weight for each exercise that allows you to get all repetitions completed with perfect form and the recommended tempo. It will require you to decrease the weights by at least 10% on most exercises.

Superset #1
Sets: 3
Reps: 5
Tempo: 5-0-1

1A) Close-grip Rack Lockout Bench Press
1B) Close-grip EZ-Bar Preacher Curl

Superset #2
Sets: 4
Reps: 8
Tempo: 3-1-1

2A) Decline DB Triceps Extensions
2B) DB Incline Curls

Superset #3
Sets: 3
Reps: 12
Tempo: 3-0-1

3A) Lying EZ-Bar Triceps Extension
3B) Seated DB Zottman Curls

Exercise Descriptions

Close-grip Rack Lockout Bench Press

Move a flat bench into the middle of the squat rack.
Set the pins 6-inches above your chest. Youll perform only the top half of a close-grip bench press.
Keep your feet flat on the floor, legs bent, and upper back flat against the bench.
Grip the bar using a shoulder-width grip & have your spotter help you take the bar from the rack.
Keep your elbows close to your sides, lower the bar straight down to the pins according to the tempo.
Pause briefly and then press the bar up in a straight line.
Poliquin recommends that you keep a very small bend in your elbows at the top of triceps exercises in order to keep the muscles working at all times.

Decline DB Triceps Extensions

Lie on the decline bench with your feet anchored appropriately.
Press the dumbbells over your chest to the start position and turn your palms in so that they face one another.
Start the movement by bending the elbow and lower the dumbbells down and beside your head.
Pause and hold for one second and then contract your triceps to extend your arms and move the dumbbells back to the start position.

Lying EZ-Bar Triceps Extension

Lie flat on a bench with dumbbells in each hand. Hold the dumbbells at arms length over your chest, with your palms facing each other.
Bend the elbows and lower the dumbbells behind your head.
Pause briefly at the bottom, and then contract the triceps and extend your arms back up to the starting position.

Close-grip EZ-Bar Preacher Curl

Sit at the preacher curl bench with a narrow, palms-up grip on the EZ-Bar.
Poliquin recommends that you set the height of the seat so the tops of your thighs are parallel to the floor.
Lean forward so that your armpits are at in contact with the top of the preacher bench and as you lower the bar your triceps are in contact with the padding of the bench.
Lower the bar until your arms are stretched.
Pause briefly and then contract your biceps to curl the bar back up to the top position.
Poliquin also recommends that you keep your wrists cocked back throughout the full range of motion.

Seated DB Incline Curls

Set the incline of the bench at 80 degrees (in an almost upright position).
Sit on the bench with a dumbbell in each hand and your palms turned up.
Lean back and keep your back and head against the bench at all times throughout the exercise.
Perform alternating dumbbell curls with each hand. Keep the palm up throughout the entire exercise.

Seated DB Zottman Curls

The Zottman curl is simply a dumbbell curl performed with a palms down grip as you lower the dumbbell and a palms-up grip as your lift the dumbbell. Its like doing a curl followed by a reverse curl.
Set an adjustable bench so that the back is upright. Sit down and hold a dumbbell in each hand at arms length with your palm turned up.
Contract the biceps and curl the dumbbell up to shoulder height.
At the top of the movement, turn your palm down and lower the dumbbell back to the start position.
Poliquin recommends that you keep your elbows glued to your sides throughout the lifting and lowering portion of the exercise.

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Mens Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit http://www.TurbulenceTraining.com

It's pretty safe to assume that most people in the western world have been on a diet of some sort at some stage of their lives. Majority of people want to lose some weight from somewhere on their bodies, though the most common complaints are from women around their buttocks, hips, and thighs. Based on this, the question of how to lose weight fast and easy is widespread.

The problem with most diets though, is that they take so long. Who wants to be deprived of their favourite junk food, alcohol, and takeaway for months at a time? Who wants to be locked into regular exercise? The answer is easy: nobody.

So, for the couch potatoes of you who want to know how to lose weight fast and easy, here are seven tips to help make things faster and easier:

1. Drink lots of water. Water fills you up and cleans you out. In fact, the Chinese and Japanese swear by it. They even have a "water diet" which begins the day with drinking half a litre of water before you've even cleaned your teeth! If you get sick of water, you can always eat ice, which can take the edge off hunger for a while, and numbs your mouth so you don't want to eat any real food anyway!

2. Halve your portions. It stands to reason that if you don't consume as many calories, you won't need as much effort to burn them off. Most fad diets or short-term diets are based on a low consumption of calories, around 1300 a day, but who wants to count calories? Pile on your plate the way you normally would, but only eat half. You'll be surprised at how easy it is. You may even discover that you didn't 'need' such a big plate to fill you up in the first place.

3. Eat slowly. It has been proven that chewing your food more times and eating slowly results in you eating less, therefore consuming fewer calories. Most people, particularly if they're hungry, eat relatively quickly not giving their stomach a chance to feel full when it really is and ending up "over-eating" without intending to. By slowing down your eating habits, you can lose weight without even changing what you eat.

4. No fizzy drinks. Soft drinks are renowned for their high sugar content, which definitely means more calories to get rid of later. In addition, they don't actually quench your thirst, so you need to keep drinking them when you're thirsty. Replace each time you would normally have a fizzy drink, with water and see the difference!

5. Sleep early. When you are sleeping, you are not eating. When you sleep early, it means you eat earlier, which gives your body a good chance to digest the food properly.

6. Move more. It's not necessary to spend hours at the gym working out, however you do have to do is more exercise than you do now. It doesn't have to be set exercises though. It could just be walking from the parking lot to the supermarket, but parking further away or it could be walking up the stairs instead of taking the escalator. Small things which, done on a regular basis, make a big change.

7. Eat more often. This is probably the best tip of the "7 ways how to lose weight fast and easy". By eating little and often during the day, you will naturally speed up your metabolism, meaning you will burn calories more effectively. Of course, it doesn't mean eat a 3-course meal, 6 times a day,snacks such as raisins, an apple, celery or carrot sticks are good options and because you are eating continuously, you are less likely to stray towards foods you should be limiting.

So there you have it. These tips can show you how to lose weight fast and easy. All you have to do now is put them into action!

Get in touch with the industry experts at http://www.weightlossfatburnersecrets.com for more help. Steve Magill has written several articles with regard to the weight loss business. As a Fellow in the (FBAE) he is considered an expert consultant when it comes to helping people to lose weight.

I have read many articles like " Before you hire a personal trainer read this " then the article goes on to give you different things to look for, and the #1 is certification, well what everyone should know, is that anyone who can read a book and retain information can become a certified personal trainer.

If you are fat you can become a trainer, if you smoke you can become a trainer, if you are a boozer you can become a trainer.

So even though the a person has no previous experience- they can take an online test and become certified to train you, what I want to know is this who you want training you?

Most people will become the trainers "test subjects" they have no real life experience, they have no idea how to get someone into shape, so does it make more sense to have some one certified or experienced training you ?

Go into almost any gym and you will see some bad trainers, also good trainers, but the bad trainers out number the good trainers.

Personal trainers who don't live what they teach should be ashamed of themselves if they can't take control of their own life, how can they motivate you to better life.

If these trainers want to change peoples lives they should live this way too.

I personally seen people get certified that were fat, even seen one guy who could not even balance himself on one foot, yet they were certified as personal trainers- CRAZY.

Basically what I'm saying is certification isn't always the answer, experience can go along way, if you find the right person.

John Grube is an expert on the subject of bodyweight training. He also has 25+ years of training experience and is the author of The Wildman Training Program manual. For more info http://www.wildmantraining.com.

Imagine being able to lose weight simply by walking.

It's true. By adding this natural and inexpensive exercise to your agenda, you can lose weight and keep it off. The key is to be persistent, stick to a regular program and make it interesting.

Just this morning, I caught Sanjay Gupta of CNN talking about this very subject. Research has proven that walking as little as once a week is enough to at least keep you from gaining as much weight as you would otherwise.

Do you have a dog? Maybe you should get one.

Sanjay's research revealed that people with dogs are even more likely to lose weight by walking than people who walk without a dog. Not exactly sure why that is, but my suspicion is that an active dog forces you to take that walk whether you want to or not. Besides, dogs make walking a far more interesting and creative adventure.

I've always had dogs, but I didn't walk much with my last one. And guess what? For the first time in my life I gained weight. Since getting my new dog, who happens to be a Belgian Shepherd so you can imagine how active he is, I've shed a few pounds.

Recently, we discovered a new park that actually has exercise stops. That's where you are given various stationary "equipment" and a sign with instructions on how to use them. For instance, you can do chin ups on a raised bar. You can walk the balance beam. You can do step-ups. You can do 10 pushups. You can climb up and over a 4 or 5 foot wall.

Of course, you can do sit-ups, abs crunches, and various stretches, too.

Obviously your dog can't do most of those exercises, but he probably doesn't need to. You do.

There are a number of reasons why it's good to take advantage of those exercise stations.

1. They take the boredom out of just walking
2. They give you a more complete workout
3. They boost your heart rate more so than walking
4. They will help sculpt your body
5. They help you to lose weight

The best way to exercise to lose weight is to walk in intervals of fast walking and slow walking. You can even add short jogs if you like. You do this by alternating and giving each variation one or two minutes, and repeat the cycle 10-15 times. This type of exercising, called interval training, helps boost your metabolism while giving you a good fitness workout.

When you add in those exercise stations, your magnify your results.

Believe it or not, you will reach the point that you will look forward to taking these walks. On your very first day, you will come back feeling revived and energized. You will breathe easier. Your mind will be clearer.

And you will feel less stressed, which makes walking the perfect end to a day at work.

If you want to learn more weight loss and fitness exercise routines, download your free copy of The Original 4-Week Bodyweight Turbulence Training Workout.

Most dieters these days have already amassed enough information about what is and isn't good for weight loss, to be able to decide whether or not a particular food is healthy, or is likely to help, hinder or otherwise affect their diet.

Very often it all comes down to a matter of balance. You know that there are certain things that, unless you have particular medical problems, are generally thought to be good foods that can help you to be healthier and lose those extra pounds.

Most dieticians would agree that eating good portions of fresh fruit and vegetables every day is going to be good for you. Also unless you are on a low carb weight loss diet wholegrain foods such as pasta, whole grain bread and rice are usually accepted as being beneficial, both generally and for weight loss.

These days drinking is also very much in focus for those who wish to achieve both weight loss and a benefit to their health. It is generally thought that too much alcohol is not a good and may bring about a variety of health problems, although small amounts may not be a bad thing.

Water, especially spring water, is thought by many nutritionists to be very beneficial to the health and there are some who say that it can also be helpful to those who are concerned about weight loss. Some encourage drinking water before meals as this can take the edge from the hunger and will let the dieter have smaller meals without feeling as though they haven't had enough.

Lean meat and fish and also the occasional portion of oily fish such as salmon, are another group of foods that are usually thought to be beneficial to weight loss and general health. And also seeds, pulses and many dieticians recommend nuts as being beneficial.

There are, of course, many foods that are not generally recommended by dieticians as be effective for weight loss, such as refined sugar products and many fried and especially deep fried foods, such as French Fries. Although a certain amount of olive oil is recommended by many health professionals.

It is of course not just the food that you eat, but the way that you eat it that is thought to have an effect both on your health and your weight loss. Many people skip breakfast but many health professionals believe that this is not a good way, to either start the day, or to achieve any kind of weight loss benefit.

For three of the best weight loss programs avaliable for people who are serious about losing weight go to http://www.info4youlive.com/diets.htm

Do you spend your days in the gym trying to gain weight and build muscle only to realise that your actually losing weight or not gaining a pound?

In the following article you will learn how you can gain weight and build muscle by simply following the information given below.

To gain weight and build muscle can be hard for the average hardgainer, so to gain weight successfully you need to put in place 4 main steps.

These include:

Eating more

Lifting Heavier Weights

Less workout days

Shorter workout routines

1. Eating more - You probably sick of hearing about eating more calories to gain weight, but it's true, and you should be doing this to gain weight and muscle.

You need to start calculating how much calories your taking in, so keep a diary of what you eat over a week. Write down the amount of calories your eating at the end of the 7 day week and look at what types of foods you are consuming. If you have too many junk foods in there then its time to cut it out and get eating some whole foods full of healthy nutrition.

To gain healthy muscle weight you should be consuming a ratio of 40% carbs, 30% Protein, and 30% Fats. But remember these all need to be good healthy foods.

2. Lifting heavier weights - This may seem obvious, heck, you have done it, my guess is you haven't done it properly. You should be lifting at a weight so that your muscles fail after 6-8 reps for the first set. The you need to increase it every set you do. Make sure you keep a note of how much you lift because you should be lifting heavier next time round. Lifting at this intensity will increase the stimulation to the muscles and increase muscle growth.

3. Less training days - This is the main cause of many trainers today, they simply train too much. If you train too many times during a week, your muscles won't have a chance at repairing and regrowing. You may even see muscle loss if you over train by too much.

4. Shorter workout routines - To gain weight and build muscle you only need to train for a maximum of 45 mins at a high intensity. You lift heavy and you should only do 3 to 4 sets of any exercise. If the weight you're lifting isn't making your muscles fail after 6 reps then get a heavier one.

The above steps are all very easy to implement and they are proven to gain weight and build muscle.

Find more info on how to gain muscle weight now or you can check out some weight training programs that will guide you step by step to building muscle through nutrition and training.

Wesley is an avid bodybuilding enthusiast and he has been teaching hardgainers and beginners how to gain weight and build muscle naturally for years. You can see his bodybuilding site here - http://www.weightgain4you.com

Thanks to the weight loss industry, many people think that weight loss is a complex, overwhelming process.

It's not their fault - companies have spent millions of dollars trying to confuse dieters, so that they helplessly spend their money, hand-over-fist, in order to find the latest and greatest "cure".

But people who are able to get "out of the box" and learn about simple and proven weight loss methods tend to have the huge advantage. This is because once they realize that food and the patterns in which they eat is more powerful than any kind of weight loss pill or surgery... they have complete mastery over their body.

Once these people have a grasp of how to eat, they never again have to worry about gaining weight back or becoming fat ever again.

Because it's very, very easy!

All people have to do in order to lose weight is to shift their calories. That's it!

With typical low-calorie or low-carbohydrate diets, people eventually end up plateauing. Their bodies adjust to the diet, and weight loss halts.

The weight loss industry doesn't want to acknowledge this, though, because low calorie, low fat, and low carbohydrate products account for millions of dollars in revenue. People constantly switch up the amount of calories that they eat on a daily basis. They have low days and high days... and because their bodies never know what to expect, they can never adjust accordingly. Because of this, people continue to lose pounds upon pounds of weight.

Although bodybuilders and other body-conscious people have known about calorie cycling for decades, this is not popular to mainstream America because of the lack of money that people can make from it. With calorie cycling, there's no need for people to buy certain kinds of foods or restrict themselves in any kind of way... so there's not a lot of money in it for companies.

Rachel has lost 100 pounds herself, and is passionate about helping other people do it too. She has been featured in Woman's World, among others.

You can check out more about calorie cycling on her website at http://www.yayFOOD.com.

Turbulence Training is one of the most popular weight loss and fitness programs in the world today. But does it really work? Before we answer that question, here are some details regarding this program: It was created by Craig Ballantyne, an expert trainer and fitness guide and writer for various magazines. Turbulence Training, as it's name signifies, is based on intensive but short workouts aimed at burning the most calories and fat in the shortest time possible.

Even though this program enjoys positive reviews from laymen and experts alike, the best way to know if something works is to read real users' results and testimonials. This is what this article is about.

As it so happens, Craig Ballantyne himself made it easy for us to see first hand results of his program by establishing a contest to see who would have the best results. The winning contestants details were posted online with pictures and all, so we can read their accomplishments and see pictures as well. In this article, I'll relate just a sample of all the results that I've read.

Turbulence Training Results and Testimonials - a Sample

1. The winner of the contest Craig Ballantyne opened is a woman who lost an impressive 15.5 pounds and over 5% of body fat. I've seen her picture. It is truly a transformation.

2. But no. 2 impressed me even more since this guy lost over 30 pounds in under 3 months which is incredible. If we take into account that he added muscle weight as well, it means that his weight loss was in large part pure fat.

3. There was another guy who didn't finish in the top 3 (don't ask me why) who lost over 80 pounds. Talk about results.

I won't bore you with all the other testimonials. I have a link to the other results in my Turbulence Training Review so you can read them at your leisure. Just remember that this program requires hard work, but the results are worth it in my opinion. You not only gain a new body, but also a much healthier one.

To read more about this program, visit this webpage:

Turbulence Training Results and Testimonials.

John Davenport lost over 30 pounds in his twenties after being overweight most of his life. To read more about fast weight loss, click here: How To Lose Weight Fast And Never Gain It Back

No matter what sort of exercises or diets you might follow there is a very basic weight loss formula which applies to almost every individual out there. This formula can do wonders for you if followed properly. You see people go around trying to figure out the perfect formula to weight loss when the real formula is already known to them. Read on to discover what this formula is and how you can use it to lose tremendous amount of weight within no time...

Eat less and exercise more- Simple isn't it? Well but this is one of the most effective tips you will ever come across as people are willing to lose weight but they aren't willing to cut down on the wrong foods and do more exercises. You see everyone wants to know the shortest way possible to lose weight but guess what? There is no short way as human body takes time to adapt to different things and this same law applies to your weight loss goals.

Start today- In case you really want to make a difference you need to start today and start right now to achieve the best results. People tend to say ok I might start tomorrow the day after etc but they are never able to make a start and get seduced by their lazy habits.

Slow and steady always wins the race- You see most people think that if they are slow they would never get anywhere with their weight loss efforts. Whereas the fact states that you don't have to be fast in order to achieve maximum results, you can start slow right now and see results with time. It's always recommended to take it slow at first and build up with time.

The Real weight loss secret- Can you imagine yourself losing 9 lbs every 11 days from now? Yes you heard it right "9 lbs every 11days guaranteed". This is the single most effective way which helps you lose weight. It is truly an absolute breakthrough in the weight loss industry. If you don't know this than you are missing out on the best ever secret "Guaranteed" to help you lose weight right away. So are you ready to drop some pounds within the next 11 days? Read on to discover this rare secret right now click here- Earth shattering weight loss secret guaranteed to help you lose weight within 11 days

You've seen it on the news and on the web, celebrities changing their bodies from fat to muscle in what seems like weeks and months. How can they change so quickly while it takes the rest of us years to get a perfect six pack? The answer to this question is time and money.

To get a perfect body you need two things: good diet and proper exercise. If you're overweight, you need to cut calories and exercise to lose weight. If you want to gain muscle, you need to start a resistance training routine to stimulate your muscles to grow. Celebrities use these same elements but are much more successful at it then any average person can be. The reason why is because they have a lot more money and time to achieve their goals.

Time is an important factor is losing weight or gaining muscle. You need time to exercise and make healthy food. How much extra time do you have in your day for these? You probably have a 9-5 job and unless you want to wake up very early, you'll have to exercise after work when you're tired and just want to go home. Because you're tired you might not get the most out of your time. When are you going to cook a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner? When are you going to prepare some healthy snacks?

Celebrities have all of these problems solved. If they need to slim up for a movie that starts filming in three months, they hire a gourmet chef, personal trainer, and dietitian. They can afford to devote most of those three months to getting into shape. They don't have to wake up too early and they don't have to workout really late after a long day of work. They have a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner prepared for them and when they're ready to go workout, they have a very qualified and exclusive personal trainer telling them exactly what to do. No more guessing how many reps or sets to do. How long would you be able to afford a lifestyle like this?

When you see famous people, you also have to keep in mind that looking like them isn't realistic. They have image consultants, make up artists and many other luxuries the rest of us can't afford. You also have to remember that when they're in the news because of a new movie or album, that's when they're going to be in shape. You don't see them when they're out of work, between movies: that's when they look like the rest of us. So the next time you're wondering why you can't look like Brad Pitt or Eva Longoria, you'll know the answer: time and money.

Starting a diet can be a daunting task. There are countless books and diets on the market for you to choose from. The Beginner's Guide to Dieting will help you sort through what works and what doesn't.

Starting out an exercise routine can also be a difficult task. The Beginner's Guide to Exercising has articles, FAQs, tips and tools to help you get started.

Straight Health was started in July 2006 to spread accurate and easy to understand information about health, diets, exercise and nutrition. At StraightHealth.com you can read articles and tips, use the tools and gain a further understand about the world of health.