Reducing body fat, increasing lean muscle mass or simply getting a bit fitter to cope with the vigor of everyday life can be a massive challenge. This challenge often becomes frustrating with results often coming very, very slowly. Losing weight, gaining muscle and trying to achieve health/fitness goals are based on a multidimensional parameter. Training type, training time, training frequency, nutrition intake, fluid intake, alcohol consumption, sleep patterns and stress can all play a huge part.This short article isn’t designed to look at the total picture and take every aspect of lifestyle management into consideration. I am simply going to look at the time spent in the gym and how following the ‘Three C’s’ principle will make your time in the gym more efficient and more effective leaving you with more time to do the other things you enjoy in life. It will also make you look forward to your next gym visit and believe me…the RESULTS WILL COME!!!As a Personal Trainer, I spend half my life in the gym environment and I see these three simple points carried out ineffectively by almost 80% of gym visitors. That means 80% of gym visitors are not implying simple strategies to help them achieve their goals. So what are the Three C’s? The Three C’s are Continuously, Consistently and Creativity. So let me explain each one individually and how if performed correctly will help you achieve your health and fitness goals.This may sound strange but a recent survey found that 37% of gym members once they start training do not train continuously. By all means when training there are times when we obviously rest, these rest periods are incorporated into the training program. But coffee breaks, reading the news paper, constant chatting amongst gym members and a distinct lack of focus on the training session at hand is many frustrated exercises biggest downfall. So when we are in the gym lets ensure we are focused ad exercising continuously. A great point using weight loss for an example would be ensuring the heart rate remains above 60%, throughout the whole training session.The second C is Consistency. Sure one great gym session is going to help, but that alone is not enough. To achieve our goals, for example weight loss we need to be exercising frequently (3 – 5 times per week). So Consistency in following your gym routine is crucial in order to get results.The final C is Creativity. In order to train continuously and consistently your exercise routine needs to be creative. A creative routine will keep you both physically and mentally stimulated. Rather than using fixed machines three times a week in the same monotonous way, incorporate body weight exercises, dumbbells, kettlebells, medicine balls and stability balls to keep challenging your body. For more advice on these types of equipment speak to a personal trainer at your gym or health club. I’m sure they’ll be happy to help!To sum up and more importantly, ensure that you put this into action follow the three simple points. They will lead to a Fitter, Healthier and revitalized you that gets results from the gym, enjoys the gym and attends the gym regularly:1) Make sure we train continuously for the allocated period of time in accordance with our training program.
2) Make sure we train consistently on a weekly and monthly basis ensuring each training session is implemented as successfully as possible.
3) Make your routine as creative as possible to kick boredom in to touch. This will ensure long term our exercise routine is sustainable and both physically and mentally challenging.Healthy ThanksSam O’Sullivan
(South Wales, Uk based Level 3 Advanced Personal Trainer)
Three Killer Digital Photography Tips
When taking photography, it can be hard to capture that perfect shot. Experts will tell you to practice, practice and practice some more. But what they really should do is give some solid advice as to what you should be practicing. This article will give you three digital photography tips that you can practice and start seeing results fast.Tip Number One:The first tip is pretty easy. Keep it simple. That’s all.What I mean by this is that you should try to keep your photo as simple as you can. Now, when you master simplicity then you can make more complex shots, however, try to keep it simple right now. To keep it simple here are some guidelines-Get closer to the subject you’re photographing. This will make the subject more pronounced and stand out more. It will also make for less clutter as the subject will take up more of the frame-Get Down Low and Shoot up. This will make the shot simpler since you won’t have all that clutter behind the subject and only the sky.-Get Higher and shoot down. This will make it so the background is the ground and not the cluttered background that would usually be there-Use a shallow depth of field.Tip Number Two:The second tip is a little more detailed. Basically, keep everything that isn’t of importance and minimize or remove it. For example, if you photograph a subject that is green and there are bright red objects of unimportance around this subject. Those red objects are of no importance and are distracting the viewer from the true subject. Get rid of those red objects, unsaturated them in an editing program, do something so that the picture isn’t so complex and confusing.Tip Number Three:Have a solid concept you want and stick with it throughout. Have you ever written a paper and been criticized that it goes everywhere? The same can happen when taking pictures. You want your picture to be focused on primarily one theme. For example, the theme could be peace. You could have a picture of a couple at a beach enjoying a drink. Now, if there’s a homeless man in the background that’s going to be distracting from the main theme of peace.
Active Lifestyle – A Must For a Healthy and Long Life
Maintaining an active lifestyle is an important part of a healthy life. There are many benefits attached to leading an active and healthy lifestyle. Very often as people grow older they begin to lead a less active life. This leads to various ailments. The fact is that one can easily lead an active and healthy lifestyle irrespective of how old they are.Benefits Of An Active LifestyleDoctors and health experts are continuously stressing the importance of an active lifestyle because there are so many health benefits associated with it.o An active and healthy lifestyle helps us lead a longer and healthier life. Statistics show that those who exercise regularly live longer than those who lead a sedentary lifestyle. Even a moderate amount of activity can do wonders for your health.o Exercise helps to control fat and regulate the sugar levels. Thus it helps to prevent diseases like, diabetes and high cholesterol. Diabetes is a serious health problem that usually affects those who lead a sedentary and unhealthy lifestyle.o Exercise helps to build muscle strength and stamina. People with muscle strength are able to work longer without tiring out.o Regular exercise helps to keep many lifestyle diseases at bay. Regular exercise helps to strengthen the heart muscles, lungs and the respiratory system. An active lifestyle helps prevent heart disease. It is already known that prevention is better than cure.o Regular exercise and activity also helps in weight maintenance.Maintaining an active lifestyle is not that hard if you set your mind to it. Very often it has been seen that as people get older they gradually give up leading an active life. In fact today’s easy lifestyle promotes sedentary lifestyle. One does not have to go to a shop to buy groceries or other stuff. One can just order them online.Active Lifestyle Through YogaHowever, this does not have to be the case. Yoga for health provides a wonderful and safe way for elderly people to stay fit and healthy.Yoga can be taken up at any stage in life and when done properly it guarantees health benefits. There is yoga for all kinds of people. Those who are suffering from some physical ailment or those who are completely stressed out can find a yoga program that suits their fitness level.Yoga helps to build muscle strength and provide flexibility. It relieves stress and improves concentration. Yoga has helped many senior people lead a stress and pain free life. People feel alive and less fatigued after doing yoga. It gives them the energy to lead an active and healthy life.Yoga basically consists of poses (asanas), breathing exercises (Pranayama) and meditation. When these three things are combined together, it gives us a holistic health program. In yoga, the body is treated as a vehicle that allows us to work and evolve. Yoga helps in this purpose.Many people believe that yoga is strenuous for old people. However, the fact is that there are poses that are specifically designed to help old people. These poses are easy to perform and have no side effects.Yoga can truly help you lead an active lifestyle and resolve many of your physical ailments.