Interval Training

Among the latest and most effective exercise routine for  fast fat loss, improving performance, raising fitness levels, increasing endurance or getting started on a regular fitness regime interval training has been the touted to most effective routine.

Short burst of high intensity training for a short period of time is known as Interval Training. You can do interval training with almost any kind of exercise. Interval training requires you to do a certain exercise with full power for a small duration and then rest for some time and repeat. For beginners Fitho recommends a 1:3 ratio. It means every exercise is done for 10 seconds, also called a set, which is then repeated three times for ten seconds each without giving a gap.

Interval training helps in burning fast calories and is highly effective for someone who is looking to get into shape fast. You can do interval training with sprinting, cycling training, high intensity interval training etc. Interval training is tough but effective in improving your performance. You can increase the intensity of the exercise according to your capacity and fitness levels. You can do 60 seconds of interval training which will test your guts and then rest. You could do skipping, squat jumps, sprinting etc for high intensity interval training which will quickly burn the energy reserves and then burn the fat in your body.

This mode of training is effective for beginners as well as regular fitness enthusiasts. Interval training increases the heart rate and builds enduarance and strength. It must be noted that a high intensity workout must be alternated with rest or moderate workout for recovery. Read more

Ideal Weight Loss

If you were given a choice to lose weight how much would you want to lose and what should be your ideal weight loss.It would make life comfortable if you know that how much weight you could lose within a month and after x months you would reach a desired weight. Suppose you lose 4 kgs a month and by the end of 6 months you would be able to lose 24 kgs. You could actually calculate the expected weight loss and set the time limits according to your own choice. Read this article on ideal weight to set target for your weight loss.

There are some important points that you should keep in mind while planning your ideal weight loss.

Body Composition Analysis: This is the first step towards Ideal weight loss. Body composition analysis gives you a report which tells you about how much fat and muscle percentage is there in your body at different parts. BCA also tells you what your daily caloric requirement is and how many calories you require to maintain the same weight. It also tells how much visceral fat is present in the body. BCA also includes on the basis of your height and weight to be more precise and effective weight loss.

Once you have your BCA report it is time to start taking action. We understand that we have to eat a limited amount of calories per day as the body requires it whether we are at rest or work. It is advisable to not starve yourself as it makes weight loss difficult. Suppose if your daily caloric requirement is of 2000 calories then spread your meals through out the
day on the basis of this. You could break 500 calories for each meal which would be 1500 calories and the rest 500 calories you could distribute for your snacks, biscuits, mid meals etc.

Keep things in mind that don’t assume your daily calorie requirement and eat on an assumed basis. Choose healthy food options which are low in calories and not provide empty calories. Choose fruits, vegetables, whole grain cereals, legumes, dairy, lean meats, nuts and seeds etc. Follow the food pyramid for correct distribution of carbohydrates, protein, fats and
fiber. Read more

Exercises to Lose Fat on Arms

Eating extra calories gets stored in the body in the form of fat and at various places like arms, tummy, legs etc. Different women have different weight problem points. One of the most common weight problem point are the arms and thighs. We recently covered a story on the best exercises to lose weight on the thighs. Click here to read the complete story. In this article we will help you find out how to lose weight on the arms and tone them up.

Upper arm consists of triceps and biceps. Women have a higher tendency to accumulate fat on this area then men. Also losing weight and toning arms is also one of the most difficult thing to accomplish. Everyone wants a quick solution or spot reduction to fat arms. Unfortunately there is no such thing as spot reduction and exercising alone doesnt help you get results. Its always a combination of diet and exercises that get you faster and better
results. Often we have seen people using heavy weights in the gym to lose weight on the arms. The simplest trick to losing weight on arms is starting cardio that will help reduce fat and then adding resistance to your training in the form of weights to get the right results.

Here are some exercises for the arms to help you tone up

Running: Any kind of cardio exercise is recommended for fast fat loss in the body. You could do skipping, running, sprinting, jogging, cycling, swimming or play a sport. All the above options burn faster calories and help reduce maximum fat from the body.

Women Push ups: Pushup has multiple benefits including working out the arms. For more stress on the arms perform close grip push up. To perform get into a plank position with knee on the ground for women. Keeping the body straight, lower body to the ground by bending arms at the elbows. Raise body up off the ground by extending the arms. Repeat.Body weight should be lifted by the arms. Read more

Can Exercise Make You Fat

Some researchers are of a belief that exercise makes you fat. And if we continue to be moderately physically active it is enough to maintain the weight. According to them sweating it out in the gym only makes you fat and does not really help in any weight loss.

We partially agree to this theory about moderate physical exercise is enough to keep you fit. Like most things there is a condition that too applies to moderate physical activity, which is  if you are also watching what you eat. Even if you are exercising and at the same time eating more than you are actually burning you are bound to not lose any weight. Keeping this logic in mind we further explain how exercising is really making you fat.

We see a lot of people compulsively exercising at the gym over a period of time without losing any weight. Well there could be two reasons for it. First either you are following a wrong routine which is similar to ‘eating empty calories’ or you are still eating more than you are burning. Like doing a twist with a long rod on the shoulder or walking on a high incline while holding the rod in front. Infact  talking on the phone while walking on the treadmill, elliptical, slow cycling is as useless as sitting on a chair. There is a study that states that while you exercise you need to focus at the activity at hand for best results.  Have you ever seen a sports or a fit person be on a phone while exercising ?

Read more

Look Hot & Stay Fit this Summer

Summer sets in, time to re-groove our fitness levels after cold winters where probably the chill had not allowed you to get out of your bed and hit the exercise program. This is the time of the year when you can flaunt with your body and get a few heads turning around. You probably have a desire to look slim, toned and look taut in whatever you wear. Are you ready to wear that bikini when you are on a holiday to cool yourself and enjoy sometime relaxing your mind and your body.

Before you change your wardrobe and go shopping with thin looking clothes just jump start your fitness routine and shed a few kilos and inches from hips and arms. Here are a few tips for exercise and food that you should follow to see yourself with a body you would vouch for. Read more

Get a body like Shahid & Priyanka

Many of us want to be fit like a sportsperson or a super fit celebrity, aspire for a 6 pack like Hrithik Roshan or a body like Shahid Kapoor, or wish to have a perfect figure like Lara Dutta or Priyanka Chopra.

When you see Sachin Tendulkar sustaining 50 overs at 36 it inspires you and makes you believe  that you too can do it. We like setting ourselves a goal of reaching to a fitness level like our favorite celebrity but how many have you have really worked-out to enjoy the high standard of fitness level of stamina, endurance Read more

Outdoor Activities for Kids

Best thing about being a kid was playing  games and indulging in all sorts of fun outdoor activities. But  gradually the trend is changing, kids these days are hardly seen playing outdoors.  Its important to involve  children in daily physical activities which will help them grow both physically and mentally.  It is becoming increasing important to ensure that the child is being given the right encouragement. As the anecdote suggests, all work and no play makes John a dull boy. Here a few easy tips to get your child started with some fun outdoor activities.

Sports: Develop a interest in a sport or two in your children. Team games will increase competition amongst children for increasing efficiency. Check that he is playing the sport and not hanging around and just watching others. Participating in sports will make your kids more active.

Fun workouts: Children are moody and joyful. They like games, exercises which are fun and not boring. Ask your child which sport he enjoys and support him in his liking for the sport so that he plays it and has fun along with it. Cycling, dancing, skipping are a few that you can get them started with.

Good Habits: Inculcate good habits in your children. Don’t over reward your child for every little achievement he makes. Keep a check on their eating habits and develop their taste buds to nutritious foods rather than burgers and pizza’s which will cause problems in their efficiency and weight gain. ( link it to child obesity link)

Be a Instructor: Children look up to their parents for advices and help. If possible accompany your child for a game and teach him the game. This will increase the interest level and will improve his performance in the game. Proper training and guidance can make him a rookie.

Don’t compare: With increasing competition pressure, we want our children to out beat every one. Don’t pile the pressure on your children. Some children are slow at learning and learn according to their own pace, comparing them might demotivate them. Let your child have his space.

Make learning fun for children with the direction and help them be fit and healthy.

Tips to improve your health, fitness and sex life

In our previous article, we talked about how an unhealthy diet can negatively affect your sex life. Here, we will tell you all about how you can improve it

- Watch the Fat: The daily fat content of your diet should not be more than 30%. That’s the stipulated guideline for fat content in your diet. If you go over, you risk increasing fat storage in your body, along with cholesterol build up. High cholesterol reduces blood flow to all parts of your including your genitals for sexual arousal.

- Eat lots of fiber: Soluble fiber help to clean cholesterol build up in your arteries. With cleaner arteries, more blood can flow to all parts of your body, including your privates. Common sources of soluble fibre are legumes, oats, rye, barley, broccoli, carrots, onions, potatoes, apples and other fruits, etc.

- Do your Cardio: Cardiovascular exercises like cycling, running keep bad cholesterol down and raises good cholesterol. They also improves blood flow and circulation in your body, again benefiting sex life. Need some help to start running?- Here are tips to start running

So, keep the alcohol under control with these low calorie alcoholic drinks, follow these tips and improve your sex life.

Better to run on treadmills or outside? Part 2

So, here’s the second part of the series, where we compare exercising on machines, or out in the open. In Treadmills vs Outside Running Part 1, we considered 3 points between treadmills and running outside. At the end of the 3 points, treadmills were winning 2:1 against running outside. Let’s continue to find out, which is better?

4. Speed Change-Sprints/Intervals: Sprints and Interval Training are the fastest way to burn fat, but intervals on the treadmills can be painful, since you have to keep pressing those buttons at the end of every interval, to change your speed. Its kind of annoying than just using your legs to slow down, where you would actually use more muscle in running on the ground, to increase or decrease your speed. In fact using your legs to increase or decrease your speed actually helps to work more muscle. Its even more annoying to simulate sprints on a treadmill. So, this one goes to running outside. We’re even, at 2:2

5. Environment/Access to Space: This one is a toss up. If you live in a nice clean area, with lots of parking or running space, its great to run outside. But treadmills are great if you live in a polluted location, a dirty area, unfriendly weather like rain, snow or heat; or just don’t have running space!

6. Impact on joints: Depending on what kind of ground you run on, the impact varies. Running on a soft surface reduces impact on your joints, whereas pounding your joints on the concrete sidewalks increases that impact. Most gym treadmills have impact factors that are somewhere in the middle- not as reduced as soft surfaces, and not as hard as concrete. So, this factor is also a draw between machines and the real thing. (A great zero impact cardiovascular exercise is swimming)

Similar factors would affect whether you want to use the cycling machines in the gym, or cycle outside, or deciding between a stair climber machine or actually running on stairs, or between a rowing machine and rowing in a lake. Because of equipment expense and access to water bodies, actually rowing is a tough one, but its a fantastic workout.

We’re partial to running outside, since we like to feel our shoes on the ground. But neither won this battle. It really comes down to what the situation is.

But the answer to the ultimate cardio question – Is is better to run on a treadmill or to run outside, on the ground? , is ultimate one -It depends

How to get sexy legs & muscles

According to a study from the University of North Carolina, almost half of all adults will develop knee osteoarthritis by age 85, and your odds increase if you are obese in middle age or had a past knee injury.
The good news is you don’t have to deal with creaky knees when you’re older if you take some precautions now.

Start by losing weight: The study shows obese people had a 64.5 percent risk of arthritis, compared to 44.1 percent for those who were simply overweight and 34.9 percent of those at normal weight. So, you slash your chances of developing arthritis by 50% just be being of normal weight.

When you sweat off your gut, don’t pound the pavement or you’ll weaken your knees even more—the study showed a 14 percent higher risk of arthritis after a past injury. If you enjoy running outside or on treadmills, then avoid runner’s knee by rotating your running with low impact sports like swimming and cycling.

Further protect your legs from injury with strengthening exercises, like squats, lunges and dead-lifts. These exercises build muscle around your joints and ligaments further protecting them from injury. Also, movements like squats and dead-lifts will help you develop muscle all over your body, as well as develop a six pack.

Don’t forget, yoga exercises also gives you great toned legs and butt!