The gorilla chin crunch is a compound exercise that effectively works the abdominal muscles, as well as the lats and biceps. It is certainly no secret that everyone who takes the time to workout wishes to have a flat, washboard abdomen. You do not want to have great looking abs and walk around with flabby arms ? or do you?
If you want to perform the gorilla chin crunch, you need to understand that although it may look really simple but if you do not have upper body strength, you may not find this exercise very easy to perform.
What You Need to Perform Gorilla Chin Crunch
You will require a chin-up bar, upper body strength and determination
How to Perform Gorilla Chin Crunch
You can start by hanging from the chin-up bar; you should use an underhand grip (that is, having your palms face you). The underhand grip should be a little bit wider than shoulder width.
Then, bend your knees at around a 90 degree angle in such a way that your calves are parallel to the floor while your thighs stay perpendicular to it ? this will be the starting position.
As you breathe out, you should pull yourself up while you crunch your knees up at exactly the same time ? do this until your knees are at chest level. When your nose reaches the same level as the bar, you will stop going.
Important Note: when you reach this point, you should also be done with the crunch at the same time.
You should breathe in slowly as you return to the starting position.
You should repeat the gorilla chin crunch according to the recommended amount of repetitions.
If you want to, you can also add resistance by holding medicine ball or dumbbell between your feet ? but you need to understand that if you are not an advanced athlete, you should not try this. On the other hand, when you become an advanced athlete, you can also try doing the one arm gorilla chin crunches, the exercise involve grasping your wrist with your free hand and continue working the oblique more.
The abdominal muscles need regular workouts and 5 minutes of daily abdominal exercises can actually make a real difference ? that is, as long as you do the exercises everyday.
Now, you need to know that even though exercises play a vital role in getting the physique you have always desired, you will need to make sure that you eat the right kind of food and drink lots and lots of water too.
When you feel your muscles cramping, you should immediately stop the exercises and rest. Do not over push yourself, especially if you have just started working out ? with a little time, you will be an advanced athlete.
Important Tip
You can get a training buddy if you are not sure whether you will be disciplined enough to continue your work out routine ? a committed workout buddy will keep you primed and ready to go.
Remember, you will never regret dedicating your time to staying fit.
There are so many different diets on the market that it is important to know which diet is honestly safe to use. The different factors involved with each diet can make either the diet effective and safe or a health hazard. Here are ten safe diets that have been researched and reviewed by leaders in the diet industry, to verify the health related factors for everyone wanting to diet safely.
eDiets.com is a diet plan that incorporates most of the plans into their online system for dieters. The main focus on the diets includes healthy eating habits and exercise for the weight loss. This site uses Atkins, Glycemic Impact, Mediterranean, Slim Fast, Low Fat, High Fiber, Wheat Free, Cholesterol Lowering, Vegetarian, and Heart Smart diets along with many others on the site.
Diet.com has a credible doctor backing this site, who has authored books about weight loss. Dr. Robert Kushner, uses personal lifestyles of the individuals to create a customized diet plan; based on the personal habits that will help people lose weight and maintain a healthy weight.
Other doctors to help their patients lose weight effectively and safely created Medifast Diet. It consists of six meals a day removing the hunger many suffer during a diet. The plans are transitional with maintenance and exercise plans to help keep the weight off, as well as a strong support system for continued guidance and assistance.
Jillian Michaels Diet Plan is used by a national television program with proven results. The diet is designed so the individual can exercise in the comfort of their homes as well as eating a healthy diet and concentrating on the mental aspects of the dieter. The plan is based on the individual’s metabolism and increasing it so the person can lose weight safely and effectively with the abilities to learn weight management for long-term effects.
Denise Austin Diet was created by a fitness expert that bases her diet on the development of a diet plan that allows a person to eat what they want but at lower levels that are healthy and nutritional. The concept helps dieters learn to avoid the cravings while eating a balanced diet with an exercise program.
Sonoma Diet uses the Mediterranean diet with added styles in the plan. The foods are known to be extremely delicious that adds to the wonder of losing weight. The people are taught to eat slower so they not only enjoy their food more but also learn to eat less since it takes about 15 minutes for the brain to accept the stomach is full when eating. The diet is based on “waves” or steps where the person uses the described steps to lose weight effectively.
South Beach Diet Plan is based on healthy eating foods that will be satisfying, while removing the hunger issues. There are three phases to the diet that are each designed to deal with the many issues such as eliminating the food cravings, kick-start weight loss, and weight management.
The Duke Diet & Fitness was created by renown experts in the nutrition and medical field dedicated to helping others improve their lives with healthy eating and weight management. The diet focuses on the diet, fitness routines, and behavioural strategies to help the person create a healthier life style.
Nutrisystem Diet Plan is a unique plan for women, men, over 60, vegetarians, and Type 2 Diabetics. The personalized diets use good carbohydrates in the diet with fiber and Omega-3 fatty acids to control the appetite while promoting a healthier heart.
5 Factor Diet Plan was created by a diet coach for Hollywood stars based on fitness and a healthy diet. The people eat five times a day, cut the time on the exercise routines, and transforming the person’s body into a healthy body.
To be on the safe side it is always better to consult with your own personal physician prior to commencing a specialized diet or exercise plan.
Posted in Video on May 18, 2012
Video: This upper body workout is a great home workout that requires no equipment and little space.
Posted in Video on May 17, 2012
Video: An easy exercise that can be done anywhere and really gets your heart rate going.
Posted in Recipe on May 16, 2012
Ingredients
1/2 cup crushed walnut
2 cups of oats
1/2 cup raisins
4 tbsp whole flax seed
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar free maple syrup
Preparation
Add all ingredients except vanilla extract into a bowl, mix it until its blends. You may think it needs more liquid, it won’t just keep mixing. Next add vanilla extract and remix. Once mixed, break into 8 equal individual pieces and form a bar. Place all bars on a baking sheet that has been coated with coconut oil and bake at 350 F for 8 minutes.
Want to work out in a gym-like atmosphere but don’t want to fork out the hundreds of dollars required for a membership? For those of us who either don’t like to or can’t run outside, and can’t find a way into the local fitness center, we’ve compiled some tips for you when it comes to creating your own home gym.
Check it out at the library. A staple of any home gym is exercise videos. These are a great way to get sweating with minimal cost involved, but when the minimal cost drops to “zero” it’s as budget friendly as you can get! Most libraries carry work out tapes and videos in their media sections, and the larger ones are likely to have DVDs as well. This is a great way to get some serious variety into your workout video regimen, as well, since you can bring back the old tapes and pick up new ones every week without spending a dime!
Work out with a buddy. Instead of spending 50 dollars or more on a personal trainer, why not try working out with a friend in the comfort of your own homes? This is a great way to get you both motivated to work out, as you’ll have to deal with the sense of “letting the other person down” if you cop out for a day. You can either encourage each other or compete against each other as you desire and it’s all free!
Used gym equipment is cheaper. If you’ve always wanted a stationary bike but just can’t justify spending the hundreds if not thousands of dollars required to get one into your home, try Craigslist for used equipment. You might balk a little bit at first, but think about it, people pay hundreds of dollars to share gym equipment with total strangers at gyms. What’s so different about purchasing an item that’s been in somebody else’s home? Give it a chance and you’ll save big.
Make your own weights. This will depend on how strong you are and how much resistance you need, but you can often create a reasonable exercise plan for yourself by either using your own body as weight – push up, sit ups, lunges – or by filling jars and cans with rocks, sand, or other heavy materials and using that in lieu of expensive dumbbells.
Use cables instead of weights. If you need more resistance but don’t want to buy traditional weights, try cables. These can be used in many ways to give even the strongest individual a great workout, but are much smaller, easier to store, and less expensive than dumbbells.
After the drinking of water, juice recipes for weight loss have to be one of the most natural and best ways to stay healthy as you lose weight. Forget about the fad diets, the celebrity endorsed virtual starvation weight loss programs, adding natural healthy juices to your daily eating plan is streets ahead.
The first thing you’re going to have to do is to invest in a juicer – and I say invest because that is exactly what it will be for you and your body. They come in all kinds of shapes and sizes and prices and though some of them can do a variety of other things such as pulping and chopping, a basic juicer will serve you well to try out some juice recipes for weight loss.
Decide on your favorite fruits and vegetables and make sure that the produce you use is as fresh as you can find. The great thing about using juices to help you lose weight is that what you come up with can be as personal as the clothes you wear and how you wear them. No one, is going to be preparing and drinking the same juice recipes as you in the same way as you!
Fancy a carrot and apple juice for breakfast? Then simply wash your carrots, peel and core your apple and throw them into a juicer, in whatever quantities you desire and add a splash of lemon juice and you have yourself a lovely breakfast juice. A juice like this is stuffed full of beta carotene, iron and vitamin C and so if this doesn’t get you going in the morning then simply throw in even more vegetables.
The real key to finding and using juice recipes for weight loss is to make sure that you try a variety of juices. Think about this, the number one reason that many people fail to lose weight is because they get bored with what they are eating. They crave their favorite foods and feel disgruntled that they are not ‘allowed’ to eat and enjoy them. Now, there is virtually no way you should fall into the trap of getting bored with your juices. Just make sure that you are mixing them up regularly and adding or taking away from them.
For instance, that apple and carrot breakfast juice could be so easily changed and refreshed by adding a stick of celery to the mix or even a hand full of strawberries and some crushed ice. Just make sure that you are using all of your favorite fruits and vegetables, in a variety of groups and your juice recipes for weight loss will stay refreshing and keep your interest.
There are methods to help prevent heart disease other than leading a healthy life style. Heart disease is the leading cause of death yet it does not have to be a factor in your life. Here are five strategies to help protect the heart from heart disease.
1. Smoking or other tobacco products are one of the most significant risks for developing heart complications. No amount of smoking is safe for the heart. Medical studies have shown any form of tobacco products including smokeless tobacco and low tar or low nicotine
cigarettes are also very risky as well as second hand smoke. Tobacco smoke contains over 4,800 chemicals that are dangerous and harmful to the heart and body.
The chemicals hurt the blood vessels, making them narrow resulting in heart attacks. Smoking also makes the heart work harder when the vessels narrow, which then increases the blood pressure and heart rate.
Carbon monoxide is in cigarette smoke. It replaces the oxygen in the blood stream resulting in the higher blood pressure. Women that smoke and use birth control pills are at greater risks for having a heart attack of stroke compared to the women who do not smoke that use birth control. The risks increase for the smokers taking the birth controls when they are over the age of 35.
2. Regular activity reduces the risks of fatal heart disease. Combining the activity with a healthy diet decreases the risks even more. Physical activity helps to keep in control of weight that also reduces the risks of heart disease by avoiding becoming obese. The physical activity also reduces the risks of other health issues such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes as well as reducing the stress levels. Health guidelines recommend that the amount of physical activity for adults is 30-60 minutes at least four times a week. Simple acts of walking are one of the best ways to include physical activity daily to help reduce the risks of heart disease.
3. Eating a healthy diet helps to reduce the risks of heart disease. Limiting the fats in the diet while adding fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and low dairy products protects the heart. Learning to eat a healthy diet is more about the types of foods consumed compared to the amounts of foods consumed. Omega-3 fatty acids help in the prevention of heart disease and lower the blood pressure. Some fish are natural sources of the Omega-3 that are great for the body and heart. It can be found in flaxseed oil, walnut oil, soybean oil, and canola oil. Reduce the alcohol consumption to lower the risks as well.
4. Maintain a healthy weight with a Body Mass Index or BMI within the limits of the healthy range. Any BMI rate over 25 is considered unhealthy and increases the chances of heart disease and other health related problems. When using the BMI chart, remember that fat weighs threes time more than fat so you will have a higher rate even when muscular.
Get regular health screenings for high blood pressure and cholesterol. They can cause severe damage to the heart and lead to heart disease. The blood pressure rate should not be over 120/80 millimetres of mercury and the cholesterol should be within the range of 130.
Prevention pays off when wanting to avoid heart disease. Learning to live a healthy life style is one of the best methods to use to combat heart disease.
By now you might have known though it is hard to get a perfect body shape, it isn?t impossible either. Following a proper exercise regimen will help you attain what you aim for. Now after the shoulder exercises, let?s get onto working on upper back muscles. The rows exercise as they call it, is an exercise performed with a rowing machine. It could be down with the dumbbells, bars or t-bars rows with special equipments, in any case, though it might look like an arm exercise, it really helps in strengthening the upper body muscle.
Bent over t-bar rows exercise:
As usual before starting any weight lifting exercise it is advisable to do warm up exercises to make your muscles flexible. So start with some light aerobics exercises and continue it for a time span of 15-25 minutes.
Once you are done with warm up exercises, load your t-bar with the weight you intend to work on. But remember if you are a beginner or if you are doing this exercise for the first time then start with just 25-45 pounds of weight. If you are an advanced weight lifter then you can go up to 100 pounds of weight. However do not go beyond your comfort level, as it may worsen the condition than helping you out.
Face the ground and grasp the handles. Depending on the part of the back you want to emphasize you can either use a palms up, palms down or palms in position.
Now grasp the handle of your t-bar with your overhand grip. While you are lifting the weight make sure that you are standing with your feet placed shoulder width apart and your arms extended in front of you. Your knees also should be bent slightly. This will be your starting position.
While you lift the t-bar see to it that you keep your body flat and bend your waist a little bit till your upper body is at 45 degrees from the vertical. The bar should be at arm?s length straight below your shoulders.
As you exhale slowly squeeze your shoulder blades together and lift the t-bar as close as you can to your lower chest. One tip to be followed here is, while lifting the bar keep your upper arm as close to your chest as possible, as this will lay proper emphasis on the back muscle.
Hold this position for a second or two, as per your convenience and then slowly inhale and place the bar back on the ground. Come back to the starting position.
Repeat this exercise as per your fitness expert?s recommendation.
As mentioned before take proper position before starting this exercise, as an improper position may wrench your back out of whack instead of helping you out. As this exercise involves intense weight lifting to be done, it is wise to perform it under the supervision of an expert than doing it by yourself. So stay fit and enjoy your life.
Exercise is good for everyone, but for some it can prove to be more difficult to get the proper amount of exercise time in each week. If you are dealing with some type of health issue you will understand just how difficult it can be to exercise every day.
For certain conditions low impact exercises can be really beneficial. Regular exercise has actually been shown to help those who are suffering from depression, anxiety attacks, and can even help slow down osteoporosis.
Low impact exercises help to release the endorphins in your brain which in turn make you feel more alive and alert. If you suffer from achy and sore joints exercise will help make you feel better. The tough part is just getting going!
If exercising is challenging because your body hurts then there are a couple of things you can do.
Take a warm bath or shower to warm your joints before exercising
Start exercising very slowly
Visualize yourself exercising
Listen to music while warming up
These tips have been very helpful to people who have to live with the pain of arthritis each day. Sometimes not focusing so much on your body actually allows you to get moving a little quicker each day.
Every time you exercise you must always pay attention to your body. If your routine is too much then slow the pace down. Don?t try to keep up with the rest of the class.
After exercising your body may feel a little sore and tired. This is to be expected and perfectly normal. But if you are experiencing lots of pain more than 2 ? 3 hours later then you may want to seek medical attention.
Always inform your doctor when starting any new exercise program especially if you have a health challenge. They can possibly recommend ways and methods to help ease your body into your new routine.
If you suffer from asthma your doctor can advise you on how to use your inhaler so that you can get the most out of your exercise routine without having an attack. Many Olympic athletes deal with asthma and still manage to exercise and train daily.
Once you have found ways to exercise around your health issue you will find that your mind and your body both feel much better. Within a couple of weeks you will probably notice that you can exercise a little longer without feeling so sore afterwards. Don?t let any health problem stop you from exercising, with a little help and determination you can manage anything.
