They showed results from a simple test that revealed how people who eat less protein are likely to put on more weight. In this experiment they took 20 people in a controlled environment and fed each of them a particular diet with varying amounts of protein every day.

The resluts showed that those with less protein in their diet remained hungrier throughout the day and therefor needed to eat more food later on. They actually consumed more calories every day then the people who had a higher protein diet.

In other words those that ate more protein felt fuller for longer and over the course of 24 hours they actually ate less and consumed less calories.

So translate this to everyday life and everyday people and the results help us to understand what we should and shouldn’t be eating. However I have to say that you shouldnt all of a sudden start piling red meat into your diet – you have to be balanced and to get things just right you have to follow the advice of an expert.

If gaining expert insight into what you eat isn’t for you then it’s quite simple – eat a well balanced diet. So thats lots of fresh fruit, raw and cooked vegetables, lean white meat, fresh oily fish, some red meat in moderation and of course plenty of clean fresh water.

Doing this ensure your getting the right carbs, fibre, protein, vitamins and all round nutrition.

Some of the great reviews are saying that people had the whole thing set up and built within a couple of hours without any hassle or problems at all. Some shops are actually charging a few hundred dollars to set this up for you but from we have gathered there is absolutely no need to do this as you can set things up for yourself in a short while.

Many people have also reported that there is great build quality to this product and that it is very sturdy and strong, so if you have a few wild kids that are great at jumping on and trashing your home gym equipment – don’t worry ‘cos they’ll never trash this indestructible beast.

There are loads of great exercises that you can do on this machine and that makes sure that you never get bored. I know from experience that when either myself or my partner has purchased and used home gym equipment there just isn’t enough variety, but with the Bowflex PR1000 this simply isn’t the case.

There’s loads of exercises that you can do!

As a negative there are a few people that say the maximum weight load isn’t enough. So for very strong bodybuilders this probably isn’t right. However for most people who aren’t trying to look like the incredible hulk then this might be a great option for you.

It certainly is going to get you toned and fit as there are some great aerobic exercises that you can do with this too.

The power rods that this machine uses seem to be a hit and many people are reporting that you can vary and modify the exercises it’s built for to give you an even broader workout. Also absolutely perfect for low impact exercises enabling you to prevent injury and it’s good for people that have injuries and need to exercises them carefully. Some reviews on Amazon for example also report that this has helped people with rheumatoid arthirits!

Check it out here – Bowflex PR1000 Home Gym

Obviously home gym systems are incredibly popular and people’s positive response to this type of equipment seems to be on the increase. People are becoming more and more busy in the 21st-century, leaving us less time to go to a gym and work out. Therefore being able to keep fit at home is a great solution and equipment by Total Gym is very popular.

The 1800 model has some great features such as large glide boards and abdominal boards, plus it also has a pulley kit, foot harness, press up bars, dip bars and the wing accessory. This means that working out every major muscle group of your body is possible.

If you take a look at some reviews of people that have purchased this particular model, you will see that most people gave it five stars out of five. They find that it gives them a great workout and it’s easy to adjust the level of intensity that you work out at my easily raising or lowering the glide board.

I must point out that any time you are using any kind of glide system such as that used in the Total Gym 1800 model that it is very important that you tie up any loose hair. This is not some kind of design fault with any kind of home gym equipment, but simply common sense as loose hair can get tangled in any moving parts on any type of mechanical contraption.

You will be paying somewhere between $300 and $400 for this equipment. But let’s face it, that’s a lot cheaper than a gym membership and other that you’re getting the convenience of working out, turning up and getting fit in the privacy of your own home.
Not to mention a really solid design and good fluent mechanics!

Purchased this from somewhere like Amazon and home delivery is often free or very low priced.

Total Gym 1800 Club

You see there is always the argument that all kinds of models are too skinny and that some are dangerously under-weight. Therefor this gives the wrong image to men, women, boys and girls all over the world. Now if someone is dangerously under-weight then I couldnt agree more – its not healthy!

However if we went to the other end of the spectrum and looked at plus sized models, are they just as unhealthy? Is this also portraying the wrong image to the public? After all obesity is a massive problem in many developed countries, most of all the US.

Now I know that I would much prefer to see all models looking strong and fit. A sporty body, with defined muscular strength and a strong healthy posture is far more attractive to look at and it is absolutely way more healthy.

Shouldn’t we be celebrating someone that has great health and someone that takes care of their body?

Let me know your thoughts….I’d love to hear what you think!

Whilst your here check out this post – Lady Gaga Workout Routine

Have you ever tried singing and dancing at the same time? Wow you get out of breath quick! And I love Gaga ‘cos she does actually sing live when she’s bouncing around the stage or TV screen…..and wow she can hold a note or 2 right?

Anyway how does she stay in shape, what does she eat and what are her secrets to keeping super slim trim and toned? Well of course the info that I am sharing in this email is of course simply speculation. The research I gather has not come straight from Lady G’s mouth! No-one on earth really knows exactly what she eats except perhaps her nutritionist or personal trainer.

However it is beleived that she quite simply eats what you would imagine is a very very healthy diet. That being fresh vegetables, salad and fresh fish. Fluids are non-sugary too. If you ate this type of food you would be getting some great nutrition and only consuming low calorie foods, the right proteins, healthy carbs and healthy required fats. You cant really go wrong with this type of food consumption so put this in your diet and your going to get pretty darn healthy.

Workouts

Now as for workouts again I cant say exactly what she is up to – only her trainer knows. but it is beleived that she uses a device called the Harley Bar. This was invented by health and fitness guru Harley Pasternak. It’s a long thin weighted bar, or should I say a series of bars. You can then select one or many of these bars and screw them together end to end to get the required width of bar and weight that you need for a variety of exercises.

If you have just one bar they aren’t very long and can be used in each hand like a dumbbell. if you screw 2 or 3 together the total weight increases and it can be held like a larger barbell!

Genius idea and it gives you laods of scope for a whole variety of workouts and routines, from bicep curls, over head extensions, bent over rows, squats, deadlifts….the list goes on and on.

Obviously leg lifts are incredibly good for hips and buttocks and as the old pear shape problem appears to be a very difficult one to shift for some women, so I thought a post with a simple video would be a good idea.

In the video below you can see how leg lifts combined with an exercise elastic band are very effective. These elastic bands can be purchased online or in most of your local sports and fitness stores, however they do come with a more fancy name as opposed to an elastic band. Today I’m going to stick with that name so nobody accuses me of promoting one brand above another!

These really do not need a huge and detailed explanation. There are plenty of workout programs, videos and books that explain leg lifts incredibly deeply, but I really liked this video as it is straight to the point.

Grab your elastic band, but it around both ankles, hold onto a chair, watch the video and start performing your leg lifts and give yourself tight buns and slim hips in no time.

See? Now that is a simple video, right? The benefits and affects you will see from performing these exercises regularly and including them in your routine will be dramatic!

Jumping jacks are very different to Star jumps. I noticed this because I saw somebody working out in a circuit training class at my local gym. Even the trainer got this wrong because part of the circuit involved completing 20 Star jumps. Well here the trainer had his class members doing jumping jacks and getting confused. So here’s the difference…..

Jumping Jacks.

This is where you stand upright and remain standing all of the time, you then jumped slightly in the air, begin to spread your legs into a wide stance and raised both your arms up in the air in an arc motion. You then land on the floor with your feet in a wide stance that’s wider than your shoulder width and both your arms pointing straight above your head.

You then take a second small jump where you pull your legs and feet back together and lower your arms to your sides in an arc motion again. So it’s a full reverse back to the starting position. These are not Star jumps.

Star Jumps.

This is where you begin on the floor in a crouched position with both feet together and your hands by your side. You then take a large jump by exploding upwards and your aim is to form a star shape in the air. So during your jump spread your legs wide to 5 o’clock and seven o’clock and push your arms up in the air to 2 o’clock and 10 o’clock – note that all of this is done in the air.

As gravity takes over and you begin to descend you must land with both feet together and immediately go back into the crouched position ready to perform the next star jump.

That is the difference between the two and as you can see they are completely different. Personally I find Star jumps to be very challenging and a great aerobic workout. However for some people jumping jacks are much more beneficial if there is less pressure and impact on your knees.

Speak to your trainer and they will advise you on which is best to incorporate into your routine, just make sure they know the difference!

Now we all know how important the correct nutrition and the correct amount of exercise is to losing weight. We all understand that we need to avoid sugary foods, sugary drinks, decreae carbohydrate intake and ensure we are consuming enough fibre on a regular basis.

But getting the right amount of sleep is also important when it comes to weight loss.

This is all down to hormone production and to be precise the human growth hormone or HGH for short. This is the hormone that ensures muscle is built and maintained and fat is burned for fuel. It is produced whilst you sleep or during periods of prolonged intense exercise. If you’re not getting enough sleep or you are being disturbed too many times during your regular sleep pattern, then they amount of HGH your body produces is greatly reduced.

Getting enough sleep ensures your hormones remain balanced and aid you during your weight loss efforts.

There are also some less scientific but equally important factors to take into consideration when thinking about sleep. Think about it, when you haven’t had enough sleep you become tired, sluggish and you’re simply not as mobile – therefore you’re going to burn less calories. Many people also become very agitated or irritated if they have not had enough sleep, this can in turn cause stress and one common way we treat stress is by eating too much.

Of course you need to discover exactly how much sleep you personally need, but the medical world still recommends between 7 to 8 hours of unbroken sleep for an adult. Make sure you get into a routine, wind down before bedtime and ensure you get a good night’s rest every night in order to feel lively, energetic and to have your HGH level perfectly balanced.

Whether you are using one of these at the gym or in your own home, they are great for toning particular parts of your body or even giving you a whole body workout by incorporating a combination exercises.

Here are a few ideas:

Push-ups or Press ups – these are like a regular push-ups, but you have to put your feet on the workout ball. This can be a little tricky to do at first, so maybe an idea to ask someone to help you lift your feet on to the ball. However once you are in position with your arms directly under your shoulders and your feet resting on the ball, you are ready to perform your first push-up.

Start with your arms and elbows locked out, gently bend your arms and lower your chest to the floor. As you do this take a breath and inhale. Once you are 1 to 2 inches from the floor begin to push back up and aim to lock your arms out. As you do this exhale. Aim to do three sets of eight push-ups.

Swimming or Superman – okay this is a very cool exercise where you are working out several muscle groups such as your lower back, buttocks, arms and hamstrings. Life facedown with your stomach resting on the workout ball. Your fingertips and toes should be touching the floor to keep you stable. Now slowly begin to raise your right arm straight out in front of you and at the same time extend and lift your left leg straight behind you.

So now you are working opposite limbs and all the time you are having to use your core strength to keep you stable and balanced on the ball.

Sit-ups – firstly begin by sitting on the ball and then begin to push your hips forward and lower yourself into a lying position, but keep your feet flat on the floor. The ball should be covering most of your back but ensure it is supporting your lower back. Now cross your arms over your chest and begin to raise yourself up from the waist. Concentrate on contracting your abdominal muscles as you crunch forward.

Don’t aim to reach a full sitting position, simply aimed to raise yourself a minimum of 45° up from the lying position. The ball provides you with great support, but because the ball can move your core muscles are engaged even more than a regular sit up to keep the balance and controlled.

Obviously these are just a few exercises that you can do with one of these big rubber balls. However there are loads more that you can do, so we really recommend purchasing one of these workout balls. They’re not very expensive but they are incredibly useful!

First of all you want to get firm, not big so you have to make sure you do the right exercises. There are loads of websites out there and even personal trainers that are trying to make women look just like men. I mean seriously who wants to look at a woman and see a man’s physique? Nobody, right?

All the guys want to see a firm feminine physique and all the ladies want a firm feminine physique, so this is how you do it.

My recommendation is to get down and funky with loads of bodyweight exercises, throw in some cardio and of course include some white dumbbell exercises.

Best of all with this type of routine the most about of equipment you’re going to need is a set of dumbbells and a bench. If you head to your local gym then you are going to find loads of dumbbells and loads of benches that you can use. However if you want to workout at home and it really doesn’t cost that much for a set of dumbbells and a good bench.

In fact I reckon you could probably buy all the equipment you need for under $100.

So what type of exercises are good for you?

A great place to start is with compound exercises. This is where you do to separate exercises consecutively, but they both target different muscle groups. This allows each muscle group to rest what you work on the other muscle group.

A great example of this would be to do some simple bodyweight squats, say 15 reps, followed by a set of stomach crunches whilst lying on a Swiss gym ball – 10 to 15 reps would be great.

You could then repeat each set three times and all of this would be complete in around five minutes, but you will have worked out your hamstring muscles quadricep muscles, buttocks and of course your abdominal muscles.

Now thats timesaving and a great workout.

For your upper body you could follow the same method. Try alternating between push-ups that will work out your triceps and chest with some dumbbell bicep curls which work the front pair of bicep muscles on each arm.

Obviously there are hundreds of different exercises you can do and hundreds of different combinations for these compound workouts. Whatever routine you eventually choose the use of your own bodyweight and/or white dumbbell waits will result in a firm, toned and feminine physique.

Perfect!

A great program I often recommend uses exactly this principle of a simple set of dumbbells and one bench. Crazy results, check it out here – Toning Routine