The Good News About Aerobic Kickboxing

Aerobic kickboxing is becoming very popular with some women and others are a bit confused as to how all that kicking and punching benefits their body. It may not look fancy but it is very effective.

All aerobic exercise is good but some forms are more effective. Kickboxing falls into that category. The more muscle groups you use during your workout the more calories you burn and the longer you are able to workout. That may seem contrary but it is true.

The human body is amazing. It is very conservative. It uses just what it needs to get the job done and no more. Some diseases put a kink in its system but a healthy human body works very well.

Exercise forms that use several muscle groups at one time make the body work harder than those that focus more on one area of the body such as biking, walking and running. Using several muscle groups causes your body to burn more calories per workout session. Your body has to deal with many motions at once. It uses more energy which adds up to a higher amount of calories needed. Most of those extra calories needed are supplied from your fat storage.

Kickboxing uses your arms and legs simultaneously which challenges your body and forces it to work very hard.

So if you are working harder how could you possibly be able to do it longer? Your body has two major fuel sources it uses for energy, fat and glycogen. You have a limited amount of glycogen stored in your body. You have lots of fat. To access your fat storage you need oxygen. Oxygen fuels the fire so fat can be burned.

When you use several muscle groups while exercising your body requires more oxygen to bring to all the different muscles being used so your body has more oxygen allowing it to use more fat for its energy source. That allows your body to work longer because it has a large source of fuel to draw from.

When you use fewer muscles you have less oxygen in your system so your body is forced to go to your smaller fuel source, glycogen. Since you have a far smaller supply of glycogen your energy source gets used up much faster. You are unable to keep exercising.

Oxygen's by-product is water so it is pretty painless. Glycogen's by- product is lactic acid which is pretty uncomfortable. That is the burn you feel in your thighs when you are peddling up the big hill on your bike. Your body is using glycogen at that point and its by- product, lactic acid, is letting your thighs know it is running out of its supply of glycogen.

All those kicks and punches done in aerobic kickboxing workouts add up to more calories being burned and your body being able to keep at it longer. Kickboxing also increases your co-ordination.

So next time you go to the gym and see a kickboxing class offered you might want to join in and see what it is all about. When you are online looking for a good workout DVD choosing a kickboxing routine would be a good idea if you want to get fit fast.

7 Quick and Easy Exercises to Form the Foundation of Your Exercise Regime

Do you want a tight bun and rippling abs, firm thighs and toned shoulders? Then follow our tried and tested boot camp exercises to get that perfect beach body.

Squat
This is the king of all weight-lifting exercises. A squat will give you rock-hard thighs and bun as well as working your abs, hamstrings and lower back muscles.

Stand upright with your feet shoulder-width apart and your hands to the sides of your head. Lower your body to the floor as if sitting down, pushing your hips back and down and bending your knees. Push through your heels to stand back up, keeping your back straight and your hands beside your head.

Repeat 15 times

Lunge

This is great for toned buns, thighs and hamstrings. It will strengthen your knees and balance. You will not stagger in your high heels after this exercise.

Stand upright with your feet hip-width apart. Step one foot forward, bending your knees until both legs are at 90 degrees, keeping your head up and your back slightly forward. Push back up from the heel of the front foot to the start position.

Repeat 15 times on each side

Press-ups

For toned shoulders, chest and triceps - say goodbye to bingo wings!

Support your body on your hands and toes with your elbows bent and your chest nearly touching the floor. Push up to a straight-arm position. Lower your body to the start position.

Repeat 15 times

Body Row

If this is too hard, start off with your knees on the floor and work up to doing it on your toes.

Try this exercise for a sexy, toned back and biceps.

Hold on to a suspended bar (such as a kids' climbing frame) with a wide grip, arms straight, knees bent and feet on the floor. Pull your chest up to the bar, keeping your back straight and bending your elbows. Lower your body slowly to the start position.

Repeat 15 times

Burpees
This is not only good for toning, but also great for fat-burning. Burpees are a complete body workout.

Start in the straight-arm push-up position. Jump your feet in to bring your knees to your chest, keeping your hands on the floor. Stand up, jump in the air raising your hands high above your head and shout 'Oh, yeah!' Go back to the floor with your knees to your chest and jump your feet back.

Repeat 15 times

Jack-Knife

This is a great exercise for tight abs - at least the six-pack will not just be in the fridge!

Lie on your back with your legs straight and hands to the sides of your head. Lift your head and shoulders off the floor and, at the same time, bring your knees to your chest. Lower your upper body and legs slowly.

Repeat 15 times

Alternating Bridge

This exercise is great for butts, hamstrings and abs.

Support your body on your toes and hands with arms straight. Raise one arm and point straight ahead. At the same time raise the opposite leg straight up off the floor. Try to keep your body in a straight line - you may feel like Superman at this point. Hold the position for a few seconds, then lower arms and legs to the floor. Repeat with your other arm and opposite leg.

Repeat 15 times each side

Frequency
Beginners should aim to do the sequence once or twice with a minute's rest between circuits.

Intermediates should aim to do the sequence 2-4 times with a minute's rest, and advanced should aim to do the sequence 4-6 times.

Sessions should be no longer than 20 minutes, doing 20 repetitions of each exercise. Repeat 3 or 4 times a week.

The women who do these exercises at a boot camp have the added benefit of eye-candy guys in army fatigues to encourage them all the way!

Three Helpful Tips to Help You Get 6 Pack Abs

Where do you begin when you want to lose most of that tummy fat and get a great looking midsection? Here's three general principles that may help guide you towards your goals.

## Set Proper Goals

Set some short term and long term goals, write them down and then work towards achieving them. If they're realistic and you're willing to work hard then you will reach them. The short term goals give you an everyday sense of accomplishment before you actually see your results, which are connected to your long term goals.

An example of a short term goal is, "I want to do xyz workout 5 times per week." An example of a long term goal is, "I want to drop 25 pounds, have six pack abs and feel great!"

## 5 Important Foods

These foods not only will help you with your aesthetic objectives but will be a great benefit to your overall health and energy.


1. Leafy Greens -- Big fresh, dark, leafy green things that are in your local grocer's produce department have a very important overall nutritional impact for you. Some examples would be spinach, kale, arugula and chard. Light green crispy iceberg lettuce does not fall into this category.


2. Complex Carbohydrates -- Think of this... replace white rice with brown rice. Replace white bread with whole grain bread. Get the idea?


3. Fruit -- Use delicious fruits to replace the sweet processed sugary snacks that you tend to crave. Your body will thank you.


4. Healthy Fats -- Use healthy extra virgin olive oil instead of the traditional generic vegetable oils. Also remember fish and avocado for high quality sources of oil.


5. Quality Proteins -- Make a habit of upgrading to higher quality organically fed beef and other meats. This will be one more way to prevent a buildup of those nasty animal antibiotics in your system.

A Few Good Body Weight Exercises

Body weight exercises are often overlooked when it comes to a workout routine. Most people incorrectly assume that you have to use weights to get a good workout in. While this might be the case for elite Olympic power lifters, it's not true for everyone.

The good thing about body weight exercises is that you can do them wherever you are at. If you're on the road a lot traveling for work or for pleasure you can do them in a hotel. If you're really adventurous you can even do body weight exercises at the airport or while you're waiting in line. The beauty of them is that you can do them from the safety of your own home or even at the office. The benefit is that you can do them no matter where you are at.

The first body weight exercise that is probably the most popular; is the push up. There are many different ways for you to do a push-up ranging from the standard push-up to inverted push-ups and everything in between. If you have trouble doing a standard push-up than you can get on your knees and do a push-up from there as this makes it easier. You can also stand against the wall and do a wall push-up.

Body weight squats are great way to increase your leg strength. There are also numerous ways to do a body weight squat. Some of the ways you can do the squats are; quarter squats and full squats. The difference between a quarter squats and a full squat is that on a quarter squat you only go a quarter of the way down.

A full squat has you go all the way down so that your quads are parallel to the ground. Make sure that when you do these your knees never go over your toes, this is to ensure they don't put any undue pressure on to your knees.

Sit-ups are other great body weight exercise. The amount of different stomach exercises that you can do are many, so I'll touch on just a few. The most basic stomach exercise is to sit up. However, you can also do crunches, toe touches, V sit ups, and finally leg ups. I would like to make a small note that you can do sit-ups until you're blue in the face and still not have six-pack abs. This is because you'll need to have proper nutrition also with your exercising. Having good genetics never hurts either.

Running for Weight Loss - Do You Have The Courage?

Do you have the courage to lose weight? In order to do so, you need to burn a lot of calories. Running could be your answer. It is an intense exercise as it will speed up your metabolism and as a result, you will be able to lose those extra pounds.

If you are obese or are not in good physical shape, this might not be for you. I you have joint problems, back problems, or respiratory problems, you might have to find some other sort of exercise. You might prefer walking, swimming or bike cycling.

To be on the safe side, you should consult with your medical doctor and inform him or her that you intend to go on a running program. The tests that he will perform will take care of any hidden health problems you might have.

Once you get the go-ahead from your physician, you will have to take a few decisions, like start your program right away or start by walking each and every day. If you start by walking, do it briskly and increase the distance every day. You can also start jogging slowly for a short period, like 5 to 10 minutes. Then you walk in a more brisk manner. You keep doing this for maybe a couple of weeks or until you don't feel exhausted by the jogging any more.

Prepare yourself to start running at a faster pace. You can also increase the time period. Never forget to always start your running program with a brisk walk to avoid injuries and allow your muscles to warm up. Then, you can increase your speed and the distance you run until you are able to easily run 1, 2 and even 3 miles without being out of breath.

If you want to be successful in your weight loss program, be sure to intensify your workout, so your body does not get used to this effort and tries to slow down your weight loss. You want to always be pushing yourself a bit harder each time you work out, but you don't want to hurt yourself. Aim to strike a balance between being cautious while still striving to do more every day.

In the beginning, be certain to pay attention to any sharp pains or cramps. If you experience any, you need to slow down a bit. With time, your endurance will increase and you'll be able to work out harder and longer.

In conclusion, always remember that running is a high intensity exercise. You need to eat properly to give your body enough fuel. Before you start your running workout, you could eat simple carbohydrates like pasta, bagels and rice, as well as low-fiber fruits like grapefruit, cherries pears and peaches.

Just remember that the above information is for you to benefit from. Why not give it a go!