Stop Blaming Genetics!

Have you ever heard people blame their current weight problem on their genetics? I'm just "big boned" or "I have my mother's thighs". It is a very convenient excuse for being overweight! But let me ask you this, how much can your genetics actually change in just a few generations?

Look back at your grandparents or your great grandparents; did they have a weight problem? Truth is that the only thing that has changed dramatically in just a few generations is our fast paced lifestyles. We now favor convenience over nutrition. The foods we eat now come pre prepared; pre packaged and ready to eat. Plus, we are eating more of these poor quality foods and moving far less!

The scary thing is that these poor eating habits are being past to future generations. What bad habits are we unwillingly passing on to our kids?

Once we realize that we are in control of what goes into our mouths, and begin to make informed choices about what we eat, these choices will begin to have a positive effect on every aspect of our life. 'Your body is a direct reflection of your lifestyle.' If you learn how to positively change your lifestyle your body will follow. Results are inevitable!

This is further backed up by the recent article in the Herald Sun - http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,,25777147-5005961,00.html

It suggests that it is behavioural rather than genetic factors that have a greater influence in determining whether children become obese. Children become obese as a result of being influenced by their same-sex parent, not as a result of genetics, according to this new study.

Corey Johnstone is a former international level athlete and fitness professional. Co-founder of the website http://www.Fittime.com.au He aims to empower people with the knowledge of exactly what it takes to create a healthy lifestyle. Together with his brother Lee, they designed the Fittime 12 Week Challenge as a revolutionary, no nonsense approach to fitness that provides people with the knowledge and tools necessary to transform their bodies and create healthy, well balanced lifestyles.

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Eating Heart Healthy

The following is a list of foods that are great for maintaining and improving the health of your heart, they include:

Nuts, Seeds and Oils

Nuts and seeds are an excellent source of both Polyunsaturated and Monounsaturated oils. These oils help to maintain the health of the cardiovascular system thanks to their anti inflammatory and anti coagulant properties. They also help to lower LDL or 'bad' cholesterol and there is evidence to suggest that they may even increase HDL or 'good' cholesterol. It is thought that HDL can remove cholesterol from the arteries and transport it back to the liver for excretion or to be re-utilized.

Nuts and seeds are also excellent sources of the minerals calcium, magnesium and potassium. These minerals are needed to maintain proper muscle and nerve function and therefore help to assist and maintain healthy heart rhythm. These minerals also play an important part in helping to relax the cells, which can help to lower blood pressure.

Nuts and seeds are a great natural source of vitamin E. A powerful antioxidant vitamin noted for its heart protective qualities.

Some of these foods include Avocadoes, Almonds, Brazil Nuts, Cashew Nuts, Walnuts, Hazelnuts, Peanuts, Pine Nuts, Flaxseeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Sesame Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Flaxseed Oil and Olive Oil.

Remember to store your nuts, seeds and oils in the fridge. This will help to keep the oils they contain from going bad.

Some oils like Flaxseed Oil cannot be used for cooking as they have a low tolerance to heat and will go bad if they are used. Instead drizzle onto fresh salads or onto your morning bowl of oats.

Oats

Oats are fantastic for the health of the heart thanks to their high fibre content and unique compounds that they contain called Avananthramides. Together, the two help to protect 'good' cholesterol from free radical damage and at the same time eliminate 'bad' cholesterol.

Berries and Red Grapes

Berries are loaded with antioxidants. A diet high in antioxidants is important in maintaining a healthy heart and cardiovascular system. Blueberries and Red grapes also contain certain antioxidant compounds that have been noted for their positive health effects on the heart as well.

Green Tea

Green Tea possesses a range of important health promoting qualities including strong heart protective benefits. The goodness of green tea has demonstrated the ability to help protect the cardiovascular system from free radical damage and may even be able to help lower high blood pressure.

Garlic and Onions

Garlic and Onions are great for the health of the heart as they have blood thinning and anti clotting properties.

Citrus Fruits

Citrus fruits are high in Vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant vitamin that helps to protect the heart and cardiovascular system.

Beetroot

Eating fresh Beetroot can help to lower blood pressure thanks to its ability to dilate and 'relax' blood vessels. Beetroot also possesses cleansing and detoxifying properties.

Broccoli and Spinach

These two super foods are loaded with many antioxidants, vitamins and minerals essential for maintaining a healthy heart.

Fruits and vegetables

All fruits and vegetables are great for your health. Choose a wide variety and try to pick fresh, seasonal and organic Fruits and vegetables. This will help to minimize the time they may have been in storage or frozen and help to eliminate the chance that they contain nasties like pesticides. The fresher they are, the healthier they are.

Tips for keeping your heart healthy

Exercise There is plenty of evidence that suggests that exercise like walking, jogging and cycling can help to strengthen and maintain the health of the cardiovascular system. It helps to reduce cholesterol and can also help to lower high blood pressure. If you have never exercised before, seek medical clearance before beginning and remember to start off at your own pace, gradually improving as you get fitter and stronger.
Avoid eating packaged and processed foods as they are nutritionally void and are full of salt, fat and sugar.
Limit eating out as takeaway and restaurant foods often contain a lot of salt, fat and sugar.
Limit your intake of red meat as it can be high in saturated fats
Drink plenty of water Our bodies comprise of about 60-70% of this vital liquid. Keeping the body well hydrated helps to relax the cells, serving to lower blood pressure as well as helping to eliminate waste and toxins from the body.

Corey Johnstone is a former international level athlete and fitness professional. Co-founder of the website http://www.Fittime.com.au He aims to empower people with the knowledge of exactly what it takes to create a healthy lifestyle. Together with his brother Lee, they designed the Fittime 12 Week Challenge as a revolutionary, no nonsense approach to fitness that provides people with the knowledge and tools necessary to transform their bodies and create healthy, well balanced lifestyles.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Corey_Johnstone

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Building a Strong and Healthy Body

I am often asked why I structure resistance programs completely different to convention training methods. For example why do I place the compound exercises before the isolations when usually most conventional programs will have you do it the other way around. Here is a brief explanation as to why I order them this way.

Simple...If you want conventional results, train conventionally! If you want much, much more from your training program read on...

All the exercises in any successful, well balanced Resistance Programs have to be ordered specifically to help you achieve the fastest possible results. And it is probably the complete opposite to what you may have been taught.

Compound exercises should always be performed before isolation exercises!

This is because a compound exercise movement more closely matches natural, functional movements of everyday life. For example, pushing or pulling something heavy. If we need to push something with force we naturally incorporate our arms, shoulders and chest muscles into the movement.

We do not simply try to push with arm strength alone. This is the way the human body is designed to work. The body will always try to adapt by growing stronger to make the task easier.

Because of this reason the body will prefer to grow in proportion, maintaining its strength ratio. For example, when we push an object with force, a certain percentage of the 'push' comes from the chest, the shoulders and the arm muscles. As the chest is the biggest pushing muscle it makes up a greater percentage of the overall 'push'. But what happens if we over train the Triceps muscles of the arms to do more than their natural share of 'pushing'?

The answer is that it upsets the ratio, creating imbalance in the body. As the body prefers to grow in proportion, you will be able to get far greater results if this natural ratio is adhered to.

Why?

The reason is that the body is structurally designed to work a certain way. This includes the frame (skeleton) and tissues (muscles, tendons, ligaments etc). Try and change the ratio and it will result in injury and imbalance. The body will naturally try and prevent this from happening.

It will be easier to increase both strength and muscle growth if the body gains them proportionally. Training the body in this way means that your pushing strength will increase but your pushing ratio will be maintained.

Starting with the more functional and natural movements of the compound exercises we can safely lift heavier weights. These are the muscle building sets. They require a heavier weight to be lifted less times.

Plus, having the full use of the supporting muscles during these heavier sets means a greater reduction of stress on the joints, allowing you to frequently increase the resistance while limiting the chance of injury.

It is these compound sets that form the strong foundation of any successful Resistance Program. This is evident in the way your body develops - stronger, more balanced and in proportion.

Isolation sets are the definition sets. These sets isolate singular muscles and fine tune their development.

Many people try to lift too much weight during an Isolation Exercise when only one muscle group is active, placing tremendous stress on the ligaments, tendons and joints. As a result, most people incorporate a swinging technique to assist them in the lift (this means that it becomes a compound exercise anyway).

The weight is now being moved by momentum, detracting greatly from the resistance that is actually being placed on the targeted muscle. This results in limited muscle growth and significantly increases the chance of injury.

If used correctly however, Isolation Exercises can be a crucial tool in creating muscle definition for that 'shredded' or 'sculpted' look.

By training Isolation exercises after the Compound, you have successfully pre fatigued the muscles (and satisfied the ego). You are now forced to lift significantly lighter weights. Doing this means you can now correctly perform the exercise without bad, swinging technique and effectively 'isolate' the muscle you are targeting.

It is the correct combination of both Compound and Isolation sets that can create a strong, functional, well balanced body.

Corey Johnstone is a former international level athlete and fitness professional. Co-founder of the website http://www.Fittime.com.au.

He aims to empower people with the knowledge of exactly what it takes to create a healthy lifestyle. Together with his brother Lee, they designed the Fittime 12 Week Challenge as a revolutionary, no nonsense approach to fitness that provides people with the knowledge and tools necessary to transform their bodies and create healthy, well balanced lifestyles.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Corey_Johnstone

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