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Protien Bars Help Weight Loss
It may seem a strange combination but protien bars and weight loss go together hand in glove. This is because protien bars, as you might guess have high levels of protien in them - no way you say! Ah, but that is very important because increased levels of protien stimulate muscle growth and an increase in your metabolic rate. The end effect - increased weight loss since you burn calories quicker.
Protien bars are not meant to replace a meal, they act as supplements providing extra protien that can be utlilised as part of a good fitness routine. Ah yes, theres the rub - dont think you can just munch a bar in the Lay-z-boy and watch the pounds fall off - no, its into the gym for you I'm afraid!
Most good fitness routines concentrate on two key factors - cardio and strength. Increasing your cardio workouts will help you burn fat faster while strength training will stimulate lean muscle mass growth, which in turn helps you burn fat faster and more effectively. So, there you have it , a double whammy, you get fitter and burn calories in the gym, and because you have transformed fat into muscle you lose weight quicker outside in everyday life.
Protien bars and weight loss then, are a fantastic combination.When you are doing weight training, your body will use the extra protien that the bars provide to generate lean muscle mass. Remember you dont need great big bulging biceps, you are aiming for a set of better toned muscles that burn fat quicker. Oh, and did I mention that they taste great too, and are much more nutritious than a candy bar.
About the Author
So, get on-line and snap up some high quality protien bars to kick-start your weight loss program at http://www.proteinbarshop.com
Two Free Weight Squats For An Incredible Workout
If you are looking for the most effective exercises to achieve your fitness goals, be they fat loss, to improve athletic performance, to gain muscle, or simply to stay in shape, the deadlift and squat are two of the most effective multi-joint exercises. The reason for this is because exercises like squats and deadlifts engage more muscle groups under heavier loads than almost any other weight bearing exercise, and because of this, they produce the best results.
We will take a look at the squat exercise in this article, and why it can be beneficial to add a couple of additional squats to the regular barbell back squat routine.
University studies have proven that squats can increase development of the upper body as well as the lower body, despite the fact that there are no specific upper body joint movements performed during the squat.
There are several ways to perform squats, for instance, barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, sandbags, or just body weight. These are all forms of free weighted squats and are far more beneficial than the Smith Machines you often find in your local gym. Smith Machines or any other squat machines for that matter do not allow your body to follow its natural movements. They are designed to stabilize the weight for you, which means you perform less work, and in turn get weaker results.
There are a number of ways you can do free weighted squats but the squat that the majority of people are familiar with is the barbell back squat, where the barbell rests on the back of your shoulders. There are two other types of squats that many training and strength coaches believe are more useful to increasing athletic performance, and offer less risk of lower back injuries when compared with the back squat. They are the front squat and the overhead squat.
The names are fairly self explanatory, as in the front squat, the barbell rests on the shoulders in front of the head, and with an overhead squat, the barbell is in a snatch grip above your head. Not the most exciting names in the world, but I suppose they do the job.
Front squats are slightly harder than back squats, and overhead squats are much more difficult than both front and back squats. If you have never tried the front or overhead squats before, it will take a couple of sessions before you get a feel for them, so its wise to start out light. Once you get the feel for things you can start adding weights and building intensity.
The Front Squat
The really good thing about front squats is that in order to perform them properly, you have to really engage your abs. Obviously the squat is more of a lower body exercise, but you engage a number of other areas at the same time, especially when you are performing free weighted squats, which is why I don’t particularly like Smith Machines.
One of the more tricky parts of the front squat is learning how to rest the bar on the front of your shoulders. There are two ways you can do this. The first is to cross your forearms like an X while placing the bar on the dimples in your shoulders, which are created when you cross your forearms and lift your elbows up. Make sure you keep your elbows up high enough so that your upper arms are parallel to the ground, and just hold the bar in place with the thumb side of your fists against the bar.
The other way is to hold the bar with your palms face up while resting the bar on your fingers against your shoulders. Again, make sure that your elbows are up high enough that your upper arms are parallel to the ground.
Find out which technique works for you by practicing with the bar only, and perform a couple of reps to see which one feels more comfortable.
Once you’re comfortable with the grip, begin the squat from your hips by sitting back and down, and place the weight on your heels rather than the front of you feet. You should squat down to a point where your thighs are approximately parallel to the ground, then move back up to the starting position. By placing the weight on your heels, you protect your knees and there is less chance of injury.
Does that make sense? Probably not, but do not fear, you can check out photos of the squat through the link at the bottom of the page.
The Overhead Squat
This is definitely the hardest of the three basic squats, and it can take a while before you become comfortable with it, so starting out with an un-weighted bar is best.
To do the squat, you first need to get the bar above your head and your hands in a wide snatch grip. When you are starting out with smaller weights, you can snatch it, and once you get better at doing them and move up to heavier weights, you can clean and press the bar over your head. Once its there, you can adjust your hands to a wider snatch grip. It is a good idea to start out light and progressively move your way up to heavier weights. It is also a great idea to have someone spot you until you can perform it correctly.
When your barbell is up and stable, you need to ensure your arms are locked really tight and that the weight is positioned a little towards the back of your head. You must keep your whole body really tense or the weight could fall forward or back. Keep your head up, keep the weight on your heels, and sit into the squat until your thighs are approximately parallel with the ground, then move back up to the starting position. It is important to remember to keep your entire body tense throughout the movement to keep the weight stable. This is why I think free weighted squats are much better then squat machines, because you have to do all the work, and this tones and strengthens your body up incredibility quickly.
As you can see, this squat is quite hard and it does take a few sessions to really feel comfortable with it, so it is really important that you get your grip and movements nailed down first using an un-weighted bar, before you start to increase weight and intensity.
You will be quite surprised at how hard these two new squats will workout your abdominals when you nail down the correct form. This is because you need more of an upright posture to than you do with back squats.
Again I stress, as with any new exercise, try them out first without weights, until you feel comfortable with the exercise and are performing it correctly, then you can start adding weights and increasing intensity.
About the Author
You can check out this article at MyWellnessResource.com for some pictures of how the front and overhead squats are performed.
If you are interested in finding out more about hard body workouts like the squat or deadlift, as well as many other fat burning and muscle building strategies, check out these Ab and Muscle Training Secrets
Also, grab your FREE Training and Nutrition Ebook at MyWellnessResource.com
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