Exciting research from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario shows that you do not have to lift very heavy weights to grow large muscles (PLoS ONE. August 10, 2010).

The heaviest weight that you can lift once is called your “One Repetition Maximum” (1RM). This study questions what many non-competitive lifters do. They find their 1RM and do three sets of five repetitions at 90 percent of their 1RM.

In the Ontario study, fifteen men were assigned four sets of leg presses with one leg. They were asked to continue to extend and contract their leg muscles until they were exhausted against 30 percent of their 1RM, and against 90 percent of their 1RM. At 90 percent of their 1RM, they were usually exhausted at five to ten lifts. At 30 percent of their 1RM, they could do about 24 lifts before they were exhausted. So the lighter the weight, the more repetitions they could do. The authors used sophisticated tests for muscle growth (mixed, myofibrillar, and sarcoplasmic protein synthesis) to show that those who lifted more times at a lighter weight have greater immediate muscle growth.

This is just another case of scientists explaining and supporting training methods after athletes have used them to be successful in competition. Richard A. Winett, a professor at Virginia Tech who has published extensively on strength training, says “the stimulus from resistance training for muscle growth comes from the effort at the end of a set, where the last repetition in good form can be performed. There’s no reason to use heavy resistance; moderate resistance, good form with controlled repetitions, and a longer time under tension is effective.”

Dr Winett explains that for muscle growth:
• You do not have to use very heavy weights
• You should make an effort to exhaust your muscles (lift towards failure).
• Optimal growth comes from three sets to failure for each muscle and two or three exercises per muscle group.
• You should feel mild soreness on the next day. If you are very sore, you may have used too much resistance, too much volume, too large a range of motion on an exercise, too much emphasis on the eccentric part of the repetition, or you did not get enough sleep for recovery.

Do not lift weights that are so heavy that you lose form and do only partial contractions of your muscles. Try to find a workout that is not painful when you do it, but that makes your muscles feel mildly sore on the next day. As with all exercise, check with your doctor before starting a weight lifting program.

By Harvey Green

How to boost immune system response, is on many minds these
days. It can make the difference between illness and
wellness. You body is constantly fighting off invasions from
many sources. This protection mechanism keeps your entire
body working properly. When it is not properly functioning,
you may be subject to many illnesses. There are a lot of
methods to help the body’s defenses. Here are just a few.

Proper intake

Everything that you take into your body will affect your
defenses. Good things in, will equate to good things out.
Eat plenty of vegetables and fruits. Substitute good fats
and oils for bad. Do not eat too many meat items. Limit your
salt intake. Try to maintain an overall healthy lifestyle.

Nothing is more important than your water intake. Your
natural defenses cannot perform well without this liquid. It
also makes it possible to digest and metabolize your food.
Drink water often. Drink it throughout your day. You may
think that tea, soda, and coffee count toward your daily
water intake. They do not. In fact, they can take away from
it. They have a diuretic action on the body. This removes
water and minerals from you. Many of these are vital
electrolytes, like potassium and magnesium.

Healthy tea

Green tea has received a lot of attention in the press.
White tea is also becoming popular. Both contain many
important antioxidants that keep your defense in top gear.
Tea acts similar to an antibiotic. It helps to prevent
bacteria form attacking tissue. It may decrease your risk of
some kinds of cancers. It may also be of benefit to those
with rheumatoid arthritis. Although white tea is supposed to
be more effective, green tea has many benefits, too.

Echinacea therapy

Echinacea is frequently used for infections and flu. The
action of echinacea is on a cellular level. It stimulates
cells that are responsible for fighting infection. It also
helps to produce chemicals that stimulate the healing
process. You can take echinacea in liquid or capsules. It is
usually take for two to three weeks at a time. It is best to
take it with food, also. This may help to eliminate an
aftertaste.

Garlic

Garlic oil and garlic have a positive effect on your
fighting cells. When they attack, they secret enzymes that
can cause inflammation. Asthma and rheumatoid arthritis are
examples. Garlic secretes chemicals that act against this
inflammation. Allergy problems may be helped this way. The
inflammation of other conditions may also be reduced.

Olive leaf

Olive leaf extract is used to help your body’s defenses. It
aids cells with its chemical secretions. It also provides
many important antioxidant enzymes. It is supposed to act
similar to an antibiotic. It may also possess antiviral and
anti-fungal properties, too.

If you find yourself getting under the weather a lot, then
you may need to start
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boosting your immune system. Try some
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immune system supplements. Chances are, you will notice the
difference in a few of weeks.

Body weight exercises are often overlooked when it comes to a workout routine. Most people incorrectly assume that you have to use weights to get a good workout in. While this might be the case for elite Olympic power lifters, it’s not true for everyone.

The good thing about body weight exercises is that you can do them wherever you are at. If you’re on the road a lot traveling for work or for pleasure you can do them in a hotel. If you’re really adventurous you can even do body weight exercises at the airport or while you’re waiting in line. The beauty of them is that you can do them from the safety of your own home or even at the office. The benefit is that you can do them no matter where you are at.

The first body weight exercise that is probably the most popular; is the push up. There are many different ways for you to do a push-up ranging from the standard push-up to inverted push-ups and everything in between. If you have trouble doing a standard push-up than you can get on your knees and do a push-up from there as this makes it easier. You can also stand against the wall and do a wall push-up.

Body weight squats are great way to increase your leg strength. There are also numerous ways to do a body weight squat. Some of the ways you can do the squats are; quarter squats and full squats. The difference between a quarter squats and a full squat is that on a quarter squat you only go a quarter of the way down.

A full squat has you go all the way down so that your quads are parallel to the ground. Make sure that when you do these your knees never go over your toes, this is to ensure they don’t put any undue pressure on to your knees.

Sit-ups are other great body weight exercise. The amount of different stomach exercises that you can do are many, so I’ll touch on just a few. The most basic stomach exercise is to sit up. However, you can also do crunches, toe touches, V sit ups, and finally leg ups. I would like to make a small note that you can do sit-ups until you’re blue in the face and still not have six-pack abs. This is because you’ll need to have proper nutrition also with your exercising. Having good genetics never hurts either.

What are the top choices in home exercise equipment as the temperatures begin to cool and we roll into fall?

The top choice in home exercise equipment is still Tony Horton’s phenomenal P90X Extreme Home Fitness Workout Program. P90X has held the top spot for nearly three years. It’s an amazing program that I can personally vouch for. I’m on week 9 for the third time thru the program.

The Zumba Fitness Total Body Transformation System DVD Set comes in at number 2. I’m surprised these fitness programs have done so well during the summer. Figured folks would be getting outside in the sun and fresh air.

The Shake Weight Dumbbell is at number 3 on our list. Does this thing really work? The Iron Gym Total Upper Body Workout Bar – Extreme Edition is #4.

And for number 5 on our top choices for home exercise equipment we finally get to the great outdoors – Yea! – with a pair of New Balance Men’s MR993 Running Shoes.

I was hoping that a bicycle or some golf equipment would make the list but it seems like folks are staying out of the heat and keeping fit in their dens and basements.

A review of the world’s literature shows that dietary cholesterol itself is not associated with increased risk for suffering a heart attack (Current Atherosclerosis Reports, September 2010). More than 80 percent of the cholesterol in your bloodstream is made by your liver. Less than 20 percent comes from your diet. When you take in more cholesterol, your liver makes less so that your blood cholesterol remains virtually the same. The few people who do increase their blood levels of total cholesterol when they eat cholesterol-rich foods, have an increase in the good HDL cholesterol that prevents heart attacks.

Since the 1960s various organizations have recommended eating no more than 300 mg of cholesterol per day, the amount found in one egg. However, eating three eggs per day does not increase blood cholesterol levels. Poultry, eggs and shellfish, all rich sources of cholesterol, have not been shown to increase heart attack risk. Meat IS associated with increased risk for heart attacks, but I believe that the culprit is not cholesterol. A more likely explanation is the sugar-protein called Neu5GC found in meat from mammals, which may cause inflammation.

By now you have probably heard of the meal replacement shake called Shakeology. In the following short video, you’ll get to see what doctors are saying about the drink that’s billed as “the healthiest meal of the day”. Watch this video and find out what the medical community thinks of this product.

Humans live longer when they exercise, eat lots of fruits and vegetables, keep body fat low, and restrict excess calories, meat and protein. The latest research show that restricting a certain protein building block called methionine may be more effective in prolonging life than restricting calories or proteins.

Caloric restriction with adequate intake of nutrients prolongs life in fruit flies, roundworms, and mice by increasing insulin sensitivity and heart function, and decreasing inflammation and the muscle wasting of aging. In humans, calorie restriction helps to prevent diabetes, heart disease and cancer. However, getting all of the nutrients you need while restricting calories is very difficult.

Anything that increases cell growth and increases production of new cells in your body appears to shorten lifespan. Your cells are programmed so that when food is scarce, cells lie dormant in an attempt to conserve energy to help you survive. However, when food is plentiful, extra calories stimulate new cell growth which ultimately shortens lifespan. Researchers have identified a protein in cells called TOR (Target Of Rapamycin) which promotes cell growth. Blocking TOR increases lifespan in yeast, worms, flies and mice (Aging Cell, September 2010). Caloric restriction and a drug called rapamycin block TOR to decrease cell growth and prolong life (Nature, July 8, 2009). However, rapamycin is not safe because it suppresses immunity to increase infections and it also markedly increases blood levels of triglycerides to increase risk of heart attacks.

The most potent dietary activators of TOR are amino acids, the building blocks of protein. Restricting protein lowers TOR and another major promoter of cell growth called Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (Rejuvenation Research, October 2007). Restricting just one amino acid, methionine, extends the life of flies and mice as much as caloric restriction does (Medical Hypotheses, February 2009). Methionine is found primarily in animal products, and is very low in foods that come from plants. Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables and low in meat and dairy products markedly restricts intake of methionine. Furthermore, this diet is much easier to follow than one that restricts calories.

Here are some ways to lose weight fast.

1 – Take everything one step at a time. Begin simply by paying more attention to what you are eating, slowly cutting back on the bad foods and implementing more healthy foods into your diet. Once you have this under control, the next step is to add exercise to your plan. If you do not like exercising, take this one step at a time as well by implementing only 15 to 30 minutes at a time, at first.

2 – Choose foods and activities that you enjoy. If you do activities that you get enjoyment out of, you will find them to be much more successful than trying to exercise in ways that you do not enjoy. The same goes for foods that you implement in your diet: Choosing foods that you enjoy will help you enjoy your diet rather than craving bad foods.

3 – Build muscle. You lose calories based on your weight. Muscles, surprisingly enough, burn calories more quickly than fat does, pound for pound. Work out with weights to build muscle and lose weight, and then allow your extra lean muscle mass to burn more calories for you on a long term basis.

4 – Reduce your carbohydrates. Do not cut your carbohydrates out completely, because your body needs carbohydrates for energy. Cut out some of the white breads and pastas from your diet, though, to cut down on the carbohydrates that you consume. What carbs you do need to eat, you can replace with whole wheat and brown carbs for better health.

5 – Set realistic, measurable and attainable goals. Put deadlines on your goals, making them measurable. Make them realistic by choosing goals that you know you can attain. Set long term and short term goals and you will more readily achieve your expectations regarding quick and healthy weight loss.

6 – Give up the bad stuff. It may surprise you how unhealthy it is to eat candy, cookies, cakes and other sweets, and to drink soda and sugar laden drinks. Cut these bad goodies out either completely, or at least 80% of the time and the pounds will shrink away without you having to do much else to make the weight loss happen.

7 – Have a suitable breakfast. Most of your calories should be consumed early on in the day, and breakfast is no exception. Eat a nice breakfast to give your metabolism a good foundation to run from for the remainder of the day.

8 – Control portions by leaving something behind. Make sure your portions are correct based on the actual serving size of your food, and then make sure not to clear your plate completely. Exercising portion control will give you better control over what you put into your body for easy and achievable weight loss.

Implement these tips one by one and in no time at all you will begin to see a significant difference in your weight.

They say TurboFire is the best high intensity interval training ever put on DVD.

If you are ready for the best workouts, with the best trainer, from the best spot in class, check out this review of the TurboFire workouts.

By Lee Peterson

There are so many myths about proper skin care, that it’s
scary. From old wife’s tales about preventing stretch marks
during pregnancy to what’s mandatory for proper cleansing,
the falsehoods that are taken for granted have most
dermatologists shaking their heads in discord. According to
many skin care specialists, some of these myths can actually
lead to skin damage. Here we dispel five of the common fishy
tales regarding skin care.

1. Prepare your skin for summer sun on a tanning bed.
Tanning beds are dangerous because of the concentrated UVA
rays they emit. These are the same rays you get from the sun
that cause premature aging and skin cancer. Getting a light
tan on the sun bed does not protect your skin from further
damage, it just means you have already exposed it to harmful
rays. Tanning does not produce more melanin in the skin, it
just brings it to the surface.

2. Application of olive oil can prevent pregnancy stretch
marks. Stretch marks are caused when the sub-surfaces of the
dermis split, usually due to expansion of the skin beyond
its elasticity ability. This can occur during pregnancy or
because of excessive weight gain. There are no topical
preparations that will prevent this scarring from occurring.
A healthy diet, hydration and regular exercise are the best
ways to ensure your dermis remains healthy and retains its
elasticity.

3. Increasing the SPF means you can stay out in the sunshine
much longer. This is truly an unsafe belief. A sunscreen
with an SPF of 15 will block approximately 94% of UV rays.
Increasing to an SPF of 40 will only block 97% of UV rays.
Increasing the SPF does not significantly increase the
protection. What’s more important is to ensure the sun block
you purchase protects against both UVA and UVB rays. Another
must is to apply the protection before you venture out in
the sun and then reapply sun screen every couple of hours,
regardless of whether you got wet or not.

4. You don’t need sunscreen if you have dark skin. A darker
skin tone, whether a Mediterranean olive-toned complexion or
the skin tone of a person of color, does not give the person
extra protection from the sun. It only means that they have
an increased level of melanin. Although this does decrease
the risk of skin cancer from the harmful UVA and UVB rays of
the sun, it is only a slight decrease, and people with
darker skin tones must use sunscreen and take the same
precautions as those with a fairer complexion.

5. Eating chocolate will give you acne. Acne is not caused
by anything you eat. Acne occurs when the dead cells that
your skin sheds stick together and block gland openings.
This causes a back up of the oils that naturally occur in
your skin. Bacteria on the skin react to this and make the
condition worse. One type of food is not going to cause
acne, but a healthy diet will promote a healthier skin and
body.