Featured Exercise - Arms
TRICEPS DIPS
Target Area:
Triceps - back of the arm.
Set-up:
Take a seat on a chair or bench. Place your hands by your hips. Slide your hips off the seat. Make sure your shoulders are away from your ears and your chest is lifted.
Start the Exercise:
Start the exercise by bending your elbows. Bend them not quite to 90 degrees and then press yourself back to the top. Maintain good posture.
Get all you can out of it by...
- Make sure your shoulders are controlled. Pull them down away from your ears and open your chest so your shoulders squeeze together in the back.
- Try to keep your elbows close together. Make sure they DON'T point out the the sides. They should point up and back.
- The farther you move your feet away from the seat the more challenging this will be.
- Make sure you travel slowly with control.
- Keep your chin pulled back so you don't over tighten the back of your neck.
- If you feel alot of tighness in the shoulder don't travel down as far. Make the range of motion a little smaller.
- Keep you butt near the seat. It should not travel away from the seat, only down and up.
How many times?
About 10-15 times. If that's easy try walking your legs out father.
This exercise is also in the video at the bottom of the Boot Camp page.
**As always consult your doctor before starting an exercise program. This exercise may not be for you. I share them to spread information, please be careful always while exercising. Know your abilities and your limits. If you have any questions please ask anytime.
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Fat burn confusion Part 2 of 2
The Fat Burning Cardio Zone
Does it exist? Can it help?
Here is one of the most prevalent ideas in fitness today. It is so much a part of fitness culture that exercise equipment has labels and lights to tell you when you're "in the zone." It must be the most effective way to exercise if the machine says it.
Let me spit out a quick generality that covers most equipment and offers on health and weight loss. They (manufacturers and businesses) are in the business of giving you what you want, or even more accurately, giving you what you'll pay money for. If the population jumps on a band wagon, you can guarantee all the businesses and manufactures will tailor their product to fit the fad.
So, now that we are past that, let's talk about this fat burning zone. I will be the first to admit there is truth to this zone. If you exercise at a lower intensity you will be burning a higher percentage of fat compared to other fuel sources. Your body has a limit to how fast you can metabolize fat. When you push your body harder, it cannot burn up fat that much faster. The higher the intensity of exercise, the more carbohydrates (sugars) are used to keep you moving.
The best way to explain this is with numbers. These numbers are only a generalization. The exact numbers will depend on the individual person.
Let's say we exercise at a heart rate of 60% of our maximum heart rate. We'll use a 40-year-old person for this example. A maximum heart rate for someone this age would be around 180 beats per minute. 60% of this is 108 beats per minute. This might be a treadmill walk at 0 incline and 3.0 mph speed. In 30 minutes this person will have gone 1.5 miles. Estimated calories burned would be 150 calories. 50% of those calories are from fat.
Same person - different day. We get this person up to 80% of the maximum heart rate. 80% of 180 is 144 beat per minute. This might be more like a jog at 0 incline and 5 miles per hour. In 30 minutes this person will have gone 2.5 miles. Estimated calories burned would be 250 calories. Only 30% of those calories are from fat. Now this person is clearly burning less fat, right? About 20% less fat, right? If you have the feeling I'm setting you up for a big WRONG your correct. The math doesn't lie.
150 calories and 50% were fat = 75 calories of fat.
250 calories and 30% were fat = 75 calories of fat.
Both workouts burned the same amount of fat. Fat usage does not drop with exercise intensity the carbohydrate usage just increases. The fat burning zone sounds so good as an idea. I wish it worked that way. It would be like a magic trick that could make you thin without working very hard.
We just proved that the fat burning zone burns a higher percentage of fat, but not any MORE fat than a more intense workout. Now I have to tell you that it doesn't even matter anyway. Calories are the only thing that can make you gain or lose weight. The higher intensity workout burned more calories. As long as food intake is kept the same, the extra 100 calories will help this person lose an extra 10 pounds over the course of a year. This means by exercising at an intensity below your ability level you are asking to keep extra body weight.
Calorie control, is the most important concept to understand with regard to weight loss. It is actually based on a discovery by Sir Isaac Newton (you know, the gravity guy), based on his laws of thermodynamics: energy can neither be created nor destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another. When something sounds too good to be true ask yourself, "does this claim even follow the laws of science?"
In order to really lose weight you have to change the stored energy in your body into moving energy, while at the same time, not bringing in too much additional energy that you replace the storage. No zones necessary. More simply put, "Move More, Eat Less."
Oh...and also Have fun, Be Safe.
If you have any questions or comments please e-mail them back. You can reply right to this newsletter. I'm always looking for new questions. If you have a question a lot of times other people are wondering the same thing, so step up and ask.
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a time to get together with family and friends and celebrate the great country we live in and how grateful we are for the daily freedoms we have. On top of that, it also seems to be a great holiday for grilling outdoors. I have some great tips for your grill and your gathering that will help you have the most enjoyment and help your health as well. 