The Worst Core Exercise

In my post on my main blog over at the Healthy Body Revolution site, I gave 31 great core exercise ideas that are better than crunches.

Why did I do this?

Because crunches suck!

They are the most overrated exercise in the history of overrated exercises. Do a thousand crunches and get a six-pack...or just a bad back!

Stay away from crunches and check out the core exercises that I do feel are very beneficial for you in that blog post. But first, if you want a six-pack, please make sure you clean up your diet!

Why I Hate Diets

Diets don't work. They don't work for weight loss. They don't work for weight gain. They just don't work, that is unless you do not want to be healthy.

For this reason, I hate diets.

But why don't they work? They don't work because they do not take into consider everyone's individual needs. Everyone is different at the biochemical level so everyone responds to different foods in different ways.

That's a lot of differences for a one-approach-fits-all type of diet.

And don't even get me started on calorie restricting diets. You are limiting the amount of energy you are giving your body.

But what if your body NEEDS more energy? Where is going to come from?

I'll tell you where it's going to come from. It's going to come from your muscles. Your body, when it is starving for energy, will begin utilizing your own muscle tissue for its energy needs. This will cause you to lose precious muscle and consequently to drop your metabolic rate.

When your body does not get enough calories, it also goes into starvation mode. This means it starts to conserve energy by slowing down your body's processes. This slows your metabolic rate and means you will burn fewer calories over the course of the day. Thus, eventually, weight gain becomes likely.

Diets don't work. So just avoid them. They are unhealthy and will do you no good in the long-run. Unless you are looking to put a band-aid on your current problems, do not go on a diet.

OK rant over.

Making Use of Fitness Equipment For a Challenge

If your goal is to get fit, there are a number of pieces of fitness equipment that you can use to better reach your goals. This equipment can provide the boost you need to take your workouts to the next level.

The stability ball is one such piece of equipment. Also called an exercise ball, swiss ball, body ball, and a number of other things; the stability ball can challenge you by creating an unstable surface. You can use the ball as a bench or a seat. You can lie on it, sit on it, or brace your arms on it. Just about any exercise you can do with a bench or on the ground becomes even more difficult with a stability ball.

Balance boards are another great way to provide an unstable surface to exercise on. Any exercise that can be done in a standing position can be done using balance boards or a BOSU balance trainer. Balance boards challenge the stabilizer muscles of your feet, ankles, knees, and hips. They work muscles that do not get worked in the typical resistance workout.

Medicine balls are great for power and core exercises. If you have a partner, you can do medicine ball chest passes, overhead throws, and rotational throws to each other. This is a great way to make your workout more dynamic and provide you with a different type of challenge.

All of these above pieces of fitness equipment are great tools to add a new challenge to your workouts. While there are more, I feel that these are the best of the best.

So give them a try, take on the challenge and have some fun!

Core Training

One of the most common weight loss exercises I see people doing at the gym is the crunch. People will do hundreds or even thousands of crunches every single day! People do crunches when they wake up in the morning and when they go to bed at night. There are abs classes that are loaded with crunches. So why do most of these people still have a lot of belly fat?

Core training is not about doing a lot of crunches. It is about strengthening your core to provide a strong center for your body so you can lift things and support yourself in a healthy manner. Crunches do not do this.

Crunches are not a functional exercise. The only thing they do is make your abdominal muscles bigger. They are great for the bodybuilder and pretty much no one else.

The crazy thing is you can grow your abdominal muscles without crunches.

The best core training exercises are the plank, side plank, and bird dog. These hit the stabilizer muscles of your spine and lower back very hard. They are great for protecting your lower back during your workouts and everyday activity.

If you want great abs, these three exercises will help, too. In addition, you can throw in woodchops and reverse woodchops to work the obliques. You can add stability ball or ab-wheel rollouts for a concentric contraction to hypertrophy the abdominal muscles. You can also add a cross-body mountain climber for a great, dynamic core exercise that is also great for conditioning.

Don't do crunches. They are useless and put strain on your lower back. Strengthen your core the right way instead. And experience new levels of health and fitness as a result.

Consistency and Weight Loss

One of my favorite quotes of all time is by Og Mandino: "I know that little things repeated will complete any undertaking."

This is especially true for weight loss. Keep doing the little things day after day, week after week, month after month; and you will certainly get to your goals. Replacing one soda every day with water may only be 120 calories or so at first, but after one week that is 840 calories, after one month that is 3,600 calories, and after one year that is 43,800!

If 3,500 calories is one pound of fat, replacing one soda or juice every day with water saves you 12.5 pounds of fat in a year! That is very significant. See, the little things add up in big ways when you are consistent.

Now what if you were to cut your five cookie (400) snack down to four. After a week that is 560 calories. Then you cut it down to three and that will save you another 1,120 calories. Then you cut down to two to save 1,680 calories. Then you switch those two cookies for a serving of almonds and you are eating about the same calories, but now you have a healthy snack. And for this month of progressive minor improvement you have saved yourself about 5,000 calories. That's over a pound of fat right there!

The little things add up.

Be consistent with your weight loss program. Lose just one pound of fat each week for a year and you will have lost 52 pounds of fat! You may not even want or need to lose that much! And that's a very realistic amount to lose in a healthy manner.

Keep doing what you're doing if you're doing the right things. Keep moving forward. There will be good times and bad times but do not stop moving. Do not stop working for what you want. Keep going!

Be consistent.

Weight Loss Tips: What is EPOC?

Have you ever thought of this thing called EPOC when people talk about weight loss and fat loss? EPOC stands for Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption and is a very important aspect of weight loss that needs to be understood in order for you to create a strong exercise program.

Basically, EPOC means that, after exercise, the body's processes are all vamped up a bit. This means the body is still working harder than at rest for up to a few hours after exercise. This extra exercise requires more energy, and that means it also will burn more calories.

So the goal of your exercise program should be to maximize EPOC, both in magnitude and duration.

So how do you do this?

It's actually quite simple. All you have to do to get more out of EPOC is increase your high intensity work. High intensity exercise has a far greater effect on EPOC than low intensity exercise.

This means you should be doing more resistance training with moderate to heavy resistance and more interval training. These types of exercise are typically high intensity in nature and will elicit a great response in the form of increased EPOC.

Here's some more advice: Try a total body circuit training routine of about 30-45 minutes three times per week. Add 20-25 minutes of intervals either after the circuits or on days in between twice a week. This combination is sure to get a good metabolism boost from EPOC. Give it a try and see the fat fall off!

Exercise at Home

Just because you cannot get to the gym or cannot afford a gym membership does not mean you have an excuse not to exercise. You can literally exercise just about anywhere at anytime.

Thousands of years ago, I don't think too many people had gym memberships. Still, they managed to keep themselves in pretty good shape. Look at the statues of ancient Greeks and Romans. Those dudes were pretty ripped, if I do say so myself.

The most obvious way to get in exercise outside a gym is to run. Running outdoors is so much better than running indoors because you actually go somewhere! You can actually feel the progress. Plus you get to take in fresh air, enjoy beautiful scenery and go wherever you want to go. You can find some place to run no matter where you live. While I am not a big fan of aerobic exercise for weight loss purposes, there are plenty of people who enjoy running and it is a great way to improve your cardiovascular health.

Another way to work out outside of a gym is to use bodyweight exercises. Pushups, stickups, lunges, prisoner squats, and planks are all great exercises that require only your bodyweight as resistance. There are hundreds of great bodyweight exercises, so you should never have a problem getting in a workout even if you have no equipment around.

A final example of exercising outside of a gym is to buy some of your own fitness equipment. You can cheaply and easily set up a great exercise place in your house with some dumbbels, kettlebells, exercise balls, mats, and resistance bands. Even if you are on a budget, you can get what you need and start working out from the convenience of your own home.

You do not need a gym to get in a great workout. Having one is nice, but not having one is no excuse to be out of shape.

Weight Loss: Be Happy With Your Body

It's easy to be unhappy with the way your body looks in the mirror, especially when you are attempting to lose weight. We are all overly critical of ourselves. Even when we look good, we always want to look better. We also see each other every single day in the mirror, often several times each day, so it is difficult to notice any changes made to our body.

Being overly critical of yourself is unhealthy and very harmful to your weight loss efforts. There is nothing wrong with being happy with your body, even if it isn't the body of your dreams yet.

Your body is a gift. It is yours and yours only and it is precious. Your body encapsulates your life. It holds your heart and your spirit. It provides a structure for all you have.

You body should be celebrated, not scrutinized.

For those same reasons, you should treat your body with the utmost care and respect. Do not put anything in it that it will not like. Move in ways it wants to move. Feed it good energy and build some muscle for stronger support.

Treat your body well and it will treat you well.

Be happy with your body while you work to make it happier and healthier. By doing so, it will be much easier for you to enjoy life. As long as you have life, you have the opportunity for better things. Appreciate this opportunity and be grateful for all you have. Then go after everything you want.

Why Counting Calories to Lose Weight is a Waste of Time

You want to lose some weight, so you figure you'll cut some calories out of your diet. It's a reasonable assumption that if you take in less calories than you burn, you will lose weight. In fact, this assumption is absolutely true. The problem is that the amount of calories you take in can impact the amount of calories that you burn.

If you start restricting the amount of calories you intake each day, your body will realize that it is not getting enough calories for its energy requirements. It will respond by conserving energy and storing fat.

Most people I know that want to lose weight do not want to conserve energy or store fat. Therefore, calorie restriction is a very bad idea for weight loss purposes, or any purpose for that matter.

It may not seem logical that you have to eat more to lose weight, so don't think of it that way. Just eat in a normal, healthy manner the way your body wants you to eat.

In other words, give your body the energy it needs. It will respond favorably.

That's pretty much all there is to it. Well, ok there's also the matter of what to eat, when to eat, what to avoid, how to exercise, how much to excercise...

But this is a good start!

Quick Weight Loss Tips

Here are a few quick weight loss tips if you are looking for new ideas to break through a weight loss plateau.

1) Try Interval Training to Spice Up Traditional Cardio

Running for long periods on the treadmill or elliptical or anything can do damage to your weight loss efforts. Eventually, your body will become very efficient at aerobic exercise, so you won't burn as many calories as you did when you were getting started. This causes a lot of weight loss plateaus and can easily be fixed by interval training.

2) Don't Starve Yourself

By not eating enough calories regularly, your body will enter "starvation mode". This means you will start to conserve energy by burning less calories. You will also tend to store more fat and begin to use muscle for energy. This will kill your metabolism.

3) Try Something Fun

Exercise in the part. Dance. Go for a swim. Go for a hike. Workout with a friend. Take a kickboxing class. Exercise does not have to be boring. There are thousands of ways to get in a good workout. Who says you need to stick to a routine?

For more great tips check out this Healthy Weight Loss Plan on HubPages.com.

Fat Loss via the Straight-Line Method

Many people struggle with weight loss and fat loss for years and years. It all starts off well, with positive gains for a little while, but then things tend to tail off and eventually they are back where they started. This is not uncommon. It is probably the most common path traveled by fat loss seekers.

Fortunately, it is a path that you do not have to take. Or, if you have already taken this path, it is one that you can quickly get off. I want to show you the way to the path that is going to take you all the way to your goals. Not only is it going to take you there, it is going to get you there in the quickest way possible. Additionally, it is going to enable you to stay there so that you can enjoy your new and happier life.

This path is the path of the straight line. Think back to sixth grade math class. Remember when the teacher asked you what was the shortest distance between two points? Remember how you confidently raised your hand and belted out, “a straight line!”?

Good for you. Now, remember when you complained to anyone that would listen that math class would never help you in real life?

That’s right, you’re busted. We all said it (except for the math geeks, of course). But who’s laughing now? Here it is, the shortest distance between two points, coming up in a discussion about fat loss!

You may wonder how something so simple and so painfully obvious is going to help you reach your fat loss goals. The answer can be summed up in one word: consistency. There you have it. That is all you need to know. Nevertheless, I will continue to explain myself.

People fall off of the straight-line path to their fat loss goals because they are inconsistent with their efforts. They start off all gung-ho for proper nutrition and exercise, but when that initial burst of energy and enthusiasm wears off, they start to falter. Laziness and dread for the gym sets in. Those bacon cheeseburgers start looking better and better. Their will weakens.

This is only natural. Actually, it is unnatural, but it has become akin to who we are because that is how we have been conditioned to behave. We have been conditioned to instant satisfaction, and when it doesn’t come, our spirits drop. We get frustrated and feel like quitting. We may hang on for a little while, but hanging on and going after our goals full-force are two completely different animals.

This is a major problem with today’s fat loss programs. They tell you to do this and do that and what to expect at the end. However, they lack in the fact that they don’t tell you what to expect along the way. They give you the directions to your destination, but they don’t tell you about the obstacles along the way that you have to bust through or climb over. They just tell you to go do it.

The problem with this is that we have become weak. We want those instant results. We don’t know how to overcome obstacles. Excuses come easy for us. We don’t know how to eliminate these excuses. We don’t know how to challenge ourselves.

That is where the straight-line method comes into play. The shortest path to your goals is a straight line. The only way to keep moving forward on this straight line is to be consistent with your efforts. You must follow your plan to the letter. You must continually challenge yourself and push yourself out of your comfort zone.

This is what is great about fat loss. You can continue along a straight-line path consistently and never get bored. Consistency does not mean you will be doing the same things the same way over and over again. Rather, here consistency means that you will continually challenge yourself to do new things. You will constantly push yourself to points where you have never pushed (within reason). You will always strive to do better. You will drive for excellence.

The straight-line path to your greatest of fat loss goals is also the path with the most resistance. The obstacles are in front of you. They are begging you to step off the path. There are distractions on the side pulling and pushing you in all directions but you are fighting them off like a great gladiator running the gauntlet.

When you overcome all of these challenges, you are met with the greatest of rewards. You will achieve ultimate happiness. That is the aim of every fat loss mission. You aim to be happy. Now go out and do the things that you know you need to do to make you happy.

Video on the Way

I just finished the recording of a special video on building a stronger mental approach. It turned out pretty good, but I want to tweak a few things to make it better. This was my first attempt at doing a video presentation. Note, the video is simply a screen capture of a power point presentation with voice narration. I think it is a good teaching tool and plan on doing it more in the future. So look out for this on Tuesday. If you are on my mailing list, you will receive an e-mail about it.

By the way, I just created yet another hub over at HubPages.com. This one is about weight loss myths and should be very useful to most people.

Check it out here:

http://hubpages.com/2seot7jl7pope/hub/Weight-Loss-Lies

More Great Fat Loss Tips

OK, enough fat loss inspiration, it's time to start doing. I just published a new hub over at HubPages.com entitled "7 Fast Fat Loss Tips". These 7 tips are things that you can implement right away to start burning fat immediately. Click the link or go to:

http://hubpages.com/hub/7-Fast-Fat-Loss-Tips

More Fat Loss Information

I found this cool place called HubPages.com. It's sort of a combination blog/website/community type deal. I created my first Hub there and it is all new stuff. I think you will really enjoy it. I'm not a great hubber yet, but I plan to become one with some experience. So check it out:

http://hubpages.com/hub/Fat-Loss-Motivation-Conquer-the-Fat

The Myth of the Diet That Works

I'll make this as simple as possible. Diets do not work. They never have and they never will. They may seem to work on occasion or for short periods of time, but this is just chance.

The diet is not actually working. Sometimes it just so happens that a particular "diet" works for someone. In actuality, if there really is some kind of long-term benefit, what is happening is the "diet" is actually that person's perfect balance. That person should be eating that way all the time if the benefits are long-term. This is not a diet, it is simply that person's biochemical individuality.

Without getting too technical, biochemical individuality means that each person responds differently to all the chemical processes that go on in the body. For example, Eskimos' bodies respond differently to eating fish than someone from a desert region.

We were all programmed to eat a certain way. Unfortunately, modern times have led most of us askew from this "right way". Some of us may benefit from eating few carbs and greater amounts of protein. Others may benefit from just the opposite. Still more may be in between. Even within these groups there are differences among all of us.

The key is to find the right macro- and micro-nutrient balances for ourselves. This process is known as "Metabolic Typing". Metabolic typing enables individuals to pinpoint what proportions of nutrients they should be eating at each meal. In order to achieve ideal health and body, we must find our metabolic types.

Fortunately, there is an excellent book on the market about metabolic typing written by one of the leaders in its development, William Wolcott. For more on the topic, visit www.MetabolicTyping.com and learn how you can find the right eating approach for you.

The Fat Loss Tip That Will Change Your Day

People often tell me how great they feel after a solid workout in which they pushed themselves harder than they ever have before. I wrote about this situation in my article "The True Beauty of Fat Loss". But there is still even more to it than learning something about yourself.

How many times have you heard someone say that they've "pushed themselves to the limits?"

I hear it all the time. But what are these "limits"? Are these things that have been created for us? Are these things that can be changed? Or are these things that we have set for ourselves?

Personally, I do not believe in limits. They are created by individuals who want to believe that they are giving 100% effort and cannot possibly do any more.

But does anyone really ever give 100% effort?

Truthfully, no one can ever say that they give 100% effort because as humans we cannot even comprehend what 100% effort is like. Think about it, have you ever done anything with an effort that you can honestly say you could not have pushed even just a little bit harder?

If Albert Einstein could only utilize a small portion of his brain power, it is not surprising that all humans leave so much potential untapped over the course of our lives. This potential can be used, but even with a tremendous effort most of it is untouchable by our current realized capabilities.

All this goes to show that there really are no limits to our efforts. We can always find a way to give a little more. We can always find a way to dig a bit deeper. The only limits that exist are the ones that we set for ourselves.

Think about your last workout. Think of a point where you could have pushed a bit harder and gotten a little more out of it. Now, there may be times when your workouts are more concerned with form than pushing as hard as you can. Whenever I am attempting a new exercise, I often concentrate solely on form for the first workout or two. I challenge myself with moderate resistance, but the real challenge is the new movement pattern. This does not mean that it is time to relax and not give as much effort as can be mustered. Rather, it is a time to concentrate all focus on the form of the exercise. A high level of focus and concentration on form, can lead to getting more out of each exercise and dramatic results down the road.

Taking this concept a step further, think of your entire day to this point. Did you have a perfect breakfast? Have you kept yourself hydrated at optimal levels at all times? Did you have perfect snacks?

All these things are a part of your fat loss routine. Heck, all of these things are a part of any health and fitness routine. And I am sure that you were not absolutely perfect on any of these things, let alone all of them.

This just goes to show you that there is always something that you can do better. There is always an area in which you can concentrate more effort to improve your fat loss potential. This means that the possibilities are endless. The limits do not exist. Just writing about this gets my juices flowing.

Sit and think for a minute of one thing that you could have improved about day to this point. Then, make a note that you will make the improvement for tomorrow, or the next time this situation will arise. Do this every single day. I guarantee you will always be able to find something if you really put your mind to it.

When it comes to your fat loss efforts, there are no limits. Do not set any for yourself.

10 Things to Watch for Fat Loss in 2008

Happy New Year!

Let's make 2008 a great year for fat loss.

Here's to a year where:

1)Hard work replaces the quick fix.

2)Effort replaces laziness.

3)Chicken breast, spinach, and water replace a Big Mac, fries, and a Coke.

4)The gym replaces the couch.

5)People treat the word "resolution" literally instead of as a buzzword.

6)The gym is more than a place of social gathering.

7)People stop walking and start running in intervals.

8)People stop doing 3 easy sets of 10 reps when they can really do twice that.

9)People stop beliving that fat loss can be easy.

10)The good fitness professionals take the forefront by coming together and getting stuff done!

2008: The year that will change the world of fat loss!

Working on Blogging

I'm evaluating a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they're letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.

It covers:

• The best blogging techniques.
• How to get traffic to your blog.
• How to turn your blog into money.

I'll let you know what I think once I've had a chance to check it out. Meanwhile, go grab yours while it's still free.

Merry Christmas!

I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. This is a difficult time of year for fat loss, but it still is possible.

That being said, don't be afraid to have a good time. Have a couple drinks, eat a little dessert, have some fun! Just don't go overboard.

This is one of the most special times of the year for a lot of people and I want you all to enjoy it. Spend some quality time with your family and stop worrying about fat loss for a while.

As long as your not too crazy, you'll get right back on track in a couple days.

Merry Christmas!

-Matt Maresca

The True Beauty of Fat Loss

Have you ever accomplished something difficult?

I'm sure you have, so how did it feel?

Pretty darn good, I bet.

Now, let me give you a hypothetical example. Suppose you were to run a race against someone with a broken leg. You, of course, win easily. However, you do not end up feeling very satisfied. This is because it was, in fact, very easy. You did not actually accomplish anything great at all. This was no thrill of victory. There was no satisfaction of achievement.

Suppose, on the other hand, you were to run a race against a former track star with two good legs. This would be a much more difficult match. If you were to go on and win this one, it would be a remarkable accomplishment. You would feel great. You would go and brag to all your friends. It would be something to not easily be forgotten.

If you play chess and beat a nine year-old just learning how to play, you would not feel much from the victory. On the other hand, if you were to beat a world champion, it would be an unforgettable experience.

My point is that the beauty of fat loss is that it can be a monumental achievement in your life. It can be an experience that you never forget. It can drive you to bigger and better things. It can make you grow as a person.

And it can do all this because fat loss is not easy. It is a challenge.

I want you to take this challenge that you have in front of you and embrace it. Take full advantage of the opportunity to find out a lot about yourself.

I don't want you to just dig deeper like all the other people who are "giving it 110%". I want you to dig where they are all digging and then dig even further. Get to that point where 99.9% of people stop pushing and go a little bit further. Go to the point where you would normally stop and then take another step.

That is called growth. I want you to grow.

Fat loss is not just about a better body and better health. It is about finding a better you. And once you have found that "better you", it is about bringing that person out each and every day of your life.

That is what makes your fat loss journey so beautiful.

Go out and find yourself.

Try it with your next workout. Try to push a little harder than you would normally push and get in that extra rep or two. Push a little harder on the treadmill or bike. Take your workouts further than you would normally go. You will love how great it makes you feel.

And you will learn a little bit more about what your body can really do.

Fat loss is all about the person you become along the journey.

That is the philosophy being my book that can be found at www.conquerthefat.com.