Hollywood Celebrity "Quick Six-Pack Abs" Secrets

Hollywood Celebrity "Quick Six-Pack Abs" Secrets When most people think of "six-pack abs," they immediately visualize themselves (or others) suffering through endless ab crunches, or worse...sit-ups. Unfortunately, you could do ab crunches or leg raises till you couldn't stand upright anymore...and it still wouldn't give you that chiseled, sexy six-pack abs that you - and everybody else - wants to show off. So, take a break from the crunches or sit-ups...and listen up...for some better - and more effective - alternatives to looking leaner and sexier around your mid-section... Show 'Em What You Got If you're standing next to a guy (or gal) who has no abdominal muscle development whatsoever, s/he will still look better than you if s/he has no fat around their waistline. Translation: If you want your mid-section to look good, the very first thing you have to do is to lean out a bit. Losing some pounds of fat will immediately make you look harder and leaner, even if you don't have any abdominal muscles worth showing, whatsoever. And...even if you do already happen to have amazing abdominal muscles, from doing years of crunches or leg raises, no one will be able to see them if there's a there's a layer of belly fat covering them. So, losing the fat around your belly should be priority number one, even above building more ab muscles. Walk a Mile In Your Shoes Most people may not realize this but, one of the most effective - and easy - ways to lose some pounds quickly is to start walking more. Not running or jogging. The reason: walking burns more fat than muscle, unlike running, jogging, or any other faster-paced activity. Faster activities tend to use up more carbohydrates and protein stores in your body as fuel, whereas slower activites use up more stored fat instead. So, get to walking. Try to walk for at least 30 minutes each day, even if you have to break up the walks into multiple 10-minute segments. You know the drill: take the stairs instead of the elevator, park a little further away from your destination (provided the environment is safe for you to walk,) go out for a 10-minute walk during your lunch break, and so on. Just start walking more. (Walking is also easier and less straining on your body, which is a plus.) Core It As mentioned earlier, working your abdominals directly - by doing crunches, leg raises, etc. is fine - provided you don't over-do it. But, if you want to get that leaner, stronger, sexier look around your midsection, you have to work your entire core, not just your ab muscles. There are stabilizer muscles all around your mid-section that help you do, well, everything. Every move you make involves your core. And, if any area of the core is weaker, the others areas will suffer, and look sloppy. For most people, their lower back muscles are the weakest. And, this tends to push their belly out even more, to make them look more bloated than they really are. Developing a stronger core will help you stand taller, move more gracefully, and yes, it will give your waistline a leaner, trimmer look...even if you don't end up losing any fat around your midsection. So, work the entire core. That means, instead of working just the core muscles in front of your body (read: the abdominals,) you have to work the muscles around your entire midsection, which includes your sides (where the love handles tend to be) as well as your lower back muscles. Plank It A simple and effective way to work your core is to do exercises like the "plank" or any other variation of it that gets your core involved. Here's one of my favorite exercises for the core... Start in the push-up position, where your entire body is straight (like a plank) while only your palms and toes (or balls of your feet) are touching the floor. From this position, take your right hand off the floor (as you shift more weight on your left hand in order to have it support all of your upper body) and extend your right hand out to the right side, without bending your elbows. Then, continue to lift and turn your right hand even higher, until it is pointing straight up, towards the ceiling. In order to do this, your head and body will have to rotate about 90 degrees. Maintain the "plank" shape with your body, i.e. do not allow any bending or sagging around your waistline, at all - in any direction. At this point, only your left palm, and your feet will be touching the floor. (It's possible that only the side of your left foot will be touching the floor, and your right foot may be resting on top of the left one.) Hold this position for 5 seconds, while your body is still straight (like a plank) without any bending or sagging in the midsection area. Next, bring your right hand back to the floor at, moderate speed, as you rotate your body back to the starting position, i.e. in the starting push-up position. Now, do the other side. Take your left palm off the floor and do the same thing, i.e. extend your left arm to your left side and then continue to move it higher, till it's pointing toward the ceiling. (Your body and head will rotate along with the move.) Hold this position for 5 seconds, and return to the starting position, at moderate speed. Repeat this entire movement 6 to 10 times (that's, 6 - to 10 times for each side.) You can start with one set of 6 to 10 repetitions, 3 to 4 times per week. The following week, do 2 sets of 6 to 10 reps. The next week, do 3 sets. And on the 4th week, do 4 sets. After the forth week, continue to do 4 sets of 6 to 10 repetitions, 3 to 4 times per week, with a day of rest in between. Do that and you'll have something to show off during your next visit to the beach - or the bedroom. And remember... while you don't necessarily need to stop hitting your abs with all those crunches, leg lift or other spot/isolation exercises - from every possible angle, be sure to walk some pounds off as well. And, of course, don't forget the rest of core, i.e. your back and side muscles. Important: As always, consult your physician before starting any exercise or fitness program.

Hollywood Celebrity "Speed Muscle" Secrets

Hollywood Celebrity "Speed Muscle" Secrets Have you ever wondered how those celebrities are able to sculpt harder, tighter bodies in record time? Well, believe it or not...many of them don't spend all day at the gym, in order to look sexier without their clothes on. No, celebrities - with the help of their high-priced trainers - have figured out something very sneaky, and clever. They have realized that looking muscular doesn't necessarily have to do with building more muscle. Instead, they have found that it's about exposing and showcasing the muscles that you have already built over the years. (And, unless you have never moved a single muscle, nor done any physical activity at all - ever in your life, you probably have built some muscle in your body that is worthy of attention.) Lose It to Show It So, one of the first things that many celebrities do (and you can do,) to start "looking" harder and muscular - without gaining a single ounce of extra muscle - is to lose some body fat, fast. Again, you don't need to camp out at the treadmill or eliptical machine to lose weight. There are easier, and quicker, ways to do it. I share one of the best methods below... Get More By Doing Less One of the most effective - that is, quick and easy - ways to build more muscle while also losing fat weight, without having to spend the whole day at the gym is to do compound exercises. Compound exercises tend to work more than one muscle group at a time. So, it's more efficient, i.e it takes less time to work more parts of your body, than to do isolated exercises, which work only one muscle group at a time. For example, doing tricep extensions will only work the tricep muscles...whereas the bench press will work your chest, shoulders, and triceps - all at the same time. So, start doing more compound exercises. Use Your Weight A great way to start using more muscles groups at one time (read: compound exercise) while also giving your muscles something new - and more stimulating - to do is to incorporate some body weight exercises into your workout routine. Body weight exercises, like push-ups, chin-ups, lunges, and even many of the yoga poses can help you work a lot more of your muscle groups at the same time, and hit your muscles in new and interesting ways, than many of the traditional weight-resistance exercises. Start replacing some of your current exercises with body weight exercises. Take A Break One of the most important - and often ignored - pieces of the "speed muscle" formula is rest. Rest is absolutely essential for your body, after a workout, if you ever want it to become bigger and stronger. In fact, your body grows and becomes stronger during the rest and recuperation periods - not during the actual workouts. So, give yourself - and your body - at least 24 hours of rest in between workouts. (If you're still extremely sore after 24 hours, rest for 12 - 24 more hours before you workout again.) Keep It Up One of the other big mistakes most people make is, they don't workout consistently, and they don't stick with their workouts long enough to see some results. So, be sure to workout at least 3 times per week (with adequate rests in between workout sessions.) And, don't give up too soon - even if you don't see results right away, i.e. within the first few weeks. Keep going! Be consistent... that is the key to success. Sometimes, your body needs a little more time to change it's shape. So don't stop before your body catches up with all the hard work you've been doing. Or else, all of that sweat and tears will go to waste. Important: As always, consult your physician before starting any exercise or fitness program.

Hollywood Celebrity "Speed Weight Loss" Secrets

Hollywood Celebrity "Speed Weight Loss" Secrets Most people make weight loss a lot more complicated than it really is. At the very foundation, losing weight is as simple as burning off more calories than you consume. But none of us want to hear that, do we? So, let's discuss some of the quickest ways to lose some pounds so you can be ready for that new event, date, the beach, or whatever it is you're trying to prepare for. Rise and Rev It's common knowledge that the best way to lose weight - even if you don't change your diet at all - is to start moving (exercising) more. But, most of us hate to exercise. And, the longer we have to exercise, the more we hate it. There's an easier way. You can workout for just 10 minutes per day, and see better results than most people who exercise for 30 minutes to an hour. The secret is to do it first thing in the morning - before you eat or drink anything! (Water is allowed, and recommended. About 8 ounces to start. But nothing else.) The reason that this works well is... working out before eating anything will use up your glycogen reserves, i.e. "stored energy" that your body has been saving in your body from the previous night's meal. So, instead of piling on more energy (read: calories) by having breakfast, you can use up what's already stored in your body - before you have breakfast. That way, more of your breakfast calories will get used up as energy during the rest of your morning - instead of being stored up as more energy... which eventually turn into fat weight. As soon as you get up in the morning, drink about 8 ounces of water. Warm water is preferred. Next, visit the restroom/bathroom/toilet and take care of business. After that...warm up for a minute or two by moving around, followed by some light stretching, etc. Then, for the next 10 minutes, start moving your body more vigorously, to get your heart rate up. The trick is to keep moving continuously, without ever completely stopping, for the entire 10 minutes (unless your heart rate becomes excessively high.) A great way to accomplish this is to do a few different exercises instead of just one. So, instead of jogging or running for the entire 10 minutes, do 3 or more different exercises, one after the other, until your 10 minutes is up. For example, you could start with some push-ups, then switch immediately to squats, then some jumping jacks. If your 10 minutes isn't up yet, start over, i.e. do another set of pushups, then squats, then jumping jacks. Keep cycling through this process until your 10 minutes are up - without stopping or slowing down too much.) (If you need to take a break in between exercises, walk around for a minute. Do not stop completely. Keep some part of your body moving throughout the entire 10 minutes so that your heart rate stays up.) After your 10 minutes is up, take some small sips of water...then take a couple of minutes to cool down and do some light stretching. You'll be amazed at what 10 minutes of exercise per day will do for you - within just a few weeks... IF you do it before breakfast, as explained above. Carbs or Protein? If you don't already know, your body needs carbohydrates, protein, and yes, even fat in order to function optimally - provided they are from the right sources. The problem, especially in the Western culture, is that most of us tend to have an abundance of all of those 3 nutrients. So, carbs is not the enemy. Nor is protein or fat. The enemy is over-consumption. And no, the "fix" is not to eliminate any of those nutrients from your diet completely. As mentioned earlier, you need to consume all three to be healthy. So...if you're having a hard time cutting back on the amount of your overall calories consumed, you can see some dramatic results just be minimizing your consumption of these: - sugar, sugary products like candy bars, sodas, most coffee-shop drinks, and even many fruit juices. (It's much healther to just eat the fruit instead of buying it in juice form.) If you do nothing else except minmize your sugar intake, you'll see some dramatic results. - simple carbohydrates. These include white bread, pastries, cakes, cookies - and most products made from white flour. Many of these also contain large amounts of sugar. So, you'll be doing twice as much good by getting rid of these, or at least minimizing their consumption. Eliminating, or minimizing your consumption of sugar, sugary products, and most products created using white flour (which ends up turning into sugar very quickly) is one of the quickest ways to start shedding pounds. Try it out for 30 days and you'll be pleasantly surprised by the results. Note: If you really feel the need to replace the above calories with something else, go for more fresh fruits and vegetables, and/or even some lean protein like whole beans, fish or eggs. Food Is The New Drug In our society, it's not the hardcore drugs that most of us are addicted to. Food is our drug, and food is our therapy. We eat to feel better about our day, our most recent bad news, and even to feel better about ourselves. And, we often reach for the fatty, greasy foods. After all, they provide the most "comfort." They quickly change our body chemistry and make us feel "better." Being addicted to food is something that most of us will never admit too. But it's time to do a de-tox. (Don't worry, unlike Lindsey Lohan, you won't need to check into a detox clinic or rehab center.) We can do this ourselves, at home. The secret is juicing. For an entire week, drink only vegetable and fruit juice. But, do not buy any juice - unless it is fresh-squeezed without any added sugar or other junk. The best way to do this detox is to get a juicer and juice the fruits and veggies yourself. You can, and should, take your multivitamins during this juice cleanse. And, if you feel that you really need to supplement this juice diet with more protein, have some almond milk - get a brand that has the least amount of carbohydrates and sugar. About 8 ounces, once or twice pay day should do it. Warning: Just like a drug detox, you may experience some withdrawls during your food detox. This is mainly because of your body's addiction to simple carbs, sugar, salt, and saturated fat. But, don't give in. This is only for a week. Come on, I know you're stronger than most people. So, just do it. Not only will this week-long juice diet do wonders for your overall health and immune system, it is also a way to quickly lose some pounds without depriving your body of the nutrients that it needs. Important: As always, consult your physician before starting any exercise or fitness program.