Tips for women and muscle toning

1 Push yourself. Overtraining is pretty easy, however you want to make sure you cannot do one more repetition in a set because you are too exhausted. You want it to burn (this feeling is lactic acid stimulating muscle growth) and want to make the next set harder to do.

2 Add resistance. You'll get a burn when you add resistance training, and with resistance comes stronger muscles and a more toned look.

3 Harness the big tree exercises. Train the trunk of the tree most, not the limbs. The big three exercises when you build muscles include the deadlift, squatting, and the bench press. They should always be included in your workout plan in some fashion as they build condition, strength, and bulkiness.

4 Workout a few times a week. You should workout at a minimum of 3 times a week - that should provide more than enough exercise required by your body to build nicely toned muscles.

5 Keep it balanced. You want to focus on both cardiovascular workouts like running and biking while you try to build muscles. However, you never want to do both extremes at once - for example, training to run a marathon while still lifting 5 times a week. It is great to mix cardio and strength training, but just don't push each to the max at the same time. It is also great to combine your cardiovascular exercise into your strength routines, such as jump roping or short sprints between strength exercises.

6 Eat well. Not only does this mean eating healthy, but you need to eat for your muscles to build and not deplete. If you're cutting calories as part of a weight-loss regime, they will leave your muscle and you'll be fighting to build them back up. If you are trying to lose weight at the same time as you're building your muscles and are required to drop the amount of food you eat, make sure at the very least to keep your protein levels the same as before. You can work out how many calories you need on a daily basis by using a BMR calculator.

7 Measure body fat, not weight. If you are part of a diet and weight loss regime and perform strength training, be sure to measure body fat - not your weight. If you're actually gaining muscles, you will be gaining weight (pounds on the scale), even if you're losing calories in other places on your body. Remember, weight does not equal size - it's about how you look in the mirror, not how much you weigh!

8 Carbohydrates are your friend. If you're exercising and performing cardio and weight strengthening exercises everyday, your levels of glucose are being depleted. If you fail to fuel your body with a sufficient amount of protein, your body will begin to ravage your muscles to extract protein (for carbohydrates). It depends on how much you're exercising, but you should consume anywhere from 2 to 3.5 grams of carbs for every pound of body weight you have daily.

9 Consume protein before and after workouts. Consume about 10 to 20 grams of protein less than an hour before training to help increase the muscle-building effect of training. This equals to about the same size as 1 or 2 glasses of milk. After your workout, have a protein shake.

10 Try supplements. While the results vary for all individuals and should be taken only under the advice of a medical professional, many supplements may have the ability to enhance your training - making you workout harder and for longer period of times. This could lean to increased muscle growth. Additionally, recent research performed has demonstrated that a creatine supplement combined with proteins and carbohydrates may encourage muscle building.

Shoot for the stars, but it might take a while. It takes a long time to send a rocket shuttle into space. You need to make sure to set systematic, reasonable goals for your muscle building program that you can track, progress, and meet overtime. The bottom line is that if you keep training you will lose weight, and you will also gain muscle and strength. It's time for the women to get in the gym and start training with resistance!

Chad Cannon is the owner of Shaping Concepts Fitness Training Center in Bluffton, SC, and is an independent distributor for AdvoCare International.

Aerobics is NOT the key to Fat Loss - You Can't Run Off the Pounds

If your goal is to drop fat from your body, don't go out and run to do it. Trust me, I just trained for and ran a full marathon, and my body fat is higher than ever. Yes, I lost weight, but gained fat. That's NOT the ideal way or healthy way of looking and feeling good.

There is one way to burn FAT off your body. It's called resistance training with high intense cardio. It takes less time, because you combine the resistance and high heart rate, so more calories (Fat calories) are being burned. In fact the body will burn probably double the calories in the same amount of time with just running.

Watch the video below and try this workout on for size. It's one of my favorates that I use at least once per month. This is an example of an exercise routine that combines resistance training with high intense cardio. No need to do walking or running with this program. Trust me, the cardio is in there.

This is just an example, so you may try this one, maybe modify it, or do something like it. You WILL burn more calories than ever before, and even better you are going to feel so much stronger, stand taller, have more confidence, and even find yourself eating better. Remember it's not all about the weight loss. It's about your health. Look better, feel better, perform better! Live by that!



Try our 21 Day Trial at the Shaping Concepts Fitness Training Center TODAY! Start your New Year off with a BANG!!

Chad Cannon is the owner of Shaping Concepts Fitness Training Center in Bluffton, SC.

Top Nutritional Strategies For Maximum Fat Loss

So there are many things we can do nutritionally to burn fat. Of course you know that a good amount of cardiovascular and resistance training are also needed. However, speaking nutrition only below are my Top Nutritional Strategies For Maximum Fat Loss…

1) Increase meal frequency in order to stabilize blood sugar levels and thus minimize insulin secretion (the fat storing hormone). Eat small servings of food every 3 ½ to 4 hours instead of 1-2 larger meals during the day if you want to lose weight.

2) Increase fiber in your diet to reduce sugar cravings, improve digestion and provide a sense of fullness at meals.

3) Increase fruits and vegetables which contain phytonutrients and antioxidants that are essential for protecting and maintaining thousands of functions at a cellular level including fat burning.

4) Avoid the whites including white pasta, white bread, white potatoes, white rice, cakes, cookies and basically any food that is lacking color.

5) Increase the colors by eating more fruits and vegetables with a wide variety of colors. The more color in your diet the better.

6) Avoid foods which contain “enriched, high fructose corn syrup or hydrogenated” in their ingredient lists. These three words are a main culprit with today’s obesity epidemic. Stay away from foods that contain these ingredients as much as you can.

7) Avoid fried foods by choosing baked, grilled, broiled, seared, sautéed or other more healthy options. This is an absolute must if you’re serious about losing weight.

8) Use flax seed oil to increase the amount of healthy omega 3 fats in your diet. Taking just 1 tbsp per day can add 14g of healthy fat to your diet. When combined with protein and high fiber carbohydrates you’ll feel fuller longer, reduce sugar cravings and raise your metabolism for increased fat burning.

9) Minimize dairy products for best results. Yes they’re high in calcium but so are leafy green vegetables which will help you lean out much better. Bottom line is milk is for growth, that’s why we drink it as babies. Choose skim milk for your cereal or look at alternatives such as soy milk.

10) Increase water intake while minimizing or eliminating sodas, sweet tea, Gatorade, fruit juices and alcoholic beverages. Multiply your weight by .55 to determine the desired number of ounces of water per day to drink.

11) Keep a food journal to track your habits and discover what improvements can be made with your diet. People who journal their diet habits in the beginning are several times more successful than those who do not. Success leaves clues.

Chad Cannon is the owner of Shaping Concepts fitness studio in Bluffton, SC.

Keep Track of Your Calorie Burn

I like to use the word "Burn" quite a lot when speaking to my clients about losing fat. What does "burn" mean? Well, it's simply the amount of calories burned during exercise.

There is an easy way to keep track of your burn compared to how much fat you want to lose. Of course losing fat has a lot to do with what and how much you eat, but as far as exercise is concerned these numbers are what you want to remember...

To lose 0 pounds or maintain the body fat that you have, your goal is to burn 100 calories each day through exercise or 700 calories each week.

To lose 1 pound per week you need to burn 250 calories through exercise each day or 1,750 calories each week.

To lose 2 pounds per week you need to burn 500 calories per day through exercise and 3,500 calories each week.

So always remember what your goal "Burn" number is according to how many pounds you prefer to lose each week. Again, I cannot stress enough how important your food intake is. If you are not eating the correct amount of calories for your body or not taking in the correct kind of calories, your burn numbers won't matter too much.

Chad Cannon is the owner of Shaping Concepts in Bluffton, SC, and is known as the low country Fat Loss Expert. He can be reached at chad@shapingconcepts.com

Great Tip for Watching your food intake!

Hey everyone! If you are like me and have trouble with sneaking those bad foods every now and then, I have a great tip to help you out and stop you from binging on foods that are holding you back on attaining your fat loss goals. Watch this 2 minute video to get your tip for watching your food intake!

Get SEXY!

Admit it, YOU want to be sexy too...The "Get Sexy Bluffton" Woman's Body Transformation Contest. Read Below On How You Can Register To Be One Of The (6) Women Who Are Selected To Qualify For This Amazing 10 Week Program Absolutely FREE!

Do You Want To Look Better With No Clothes On?
Not too many people get excited about exercise to help prevent diseases such as heart disease, stroke, or even diabetes. But when it comes to getting "sexy", everyone comes running!
If you want a flat, sexy tummy, to fit into a slender red dress, feel confident at the beach in a bikini, or even get the body back that you had in your 20's, if that's what important to you, then let it be, because that's the most important and motivating thing for you. So I encourage you to get sexy because by taking care of your outsides you'll automatically improve your insides.

Getting sexy is all about lowering body fat and increasing lean muscle mass to get that tight, toned, athletic body anyway. My "Get Sexy Boot Camp" is here to make you look and feel better inside and out! I will make this boot camp challenging to YOUR current fitness level, not the person's next to you!My "Get Sexy Bootcamps" are extremely personalized while at the same time they provide the camraderie, motivation, and support that you can only get from a group.Normally, a one on one session with a Shaping Concepts fitness professional would cost you $35-60 per workout. Now, you have the opportunity to work with a Shaping Concepts fitness pro in a fun and exciting group environment for only a fraction of the cost. Best of all, for a limited time I'm choosing (6) women to participate in my program absolutely FREE! I will be choosing the "Sexy Six" from applications received by the deadline of Friday September 19th, 2008.

If you are not chosen as one of the "Sexy Six", you can still join my "Get Sexy Boot Camps" for just over $12 per session. We have found that the social support and accountability that comes with group training consistently provides far better results than going it alone.
I will teach you how to build a fast metabolism that will have you burning unwanted body fat while at the same time, building lean, sexy muscle every hour of every day. So what are you waiting for? Sign up to get the "sexy" back by filling out the web form here: http://www.shapingconcepts.com/getsexybluffton.php