Cardio: The best time of the day to

WARNING: What you are about to read is the answer to the most common question people have about their cardio/aerobic workout. What you are about to read is all 100% true! What you are about to read is the answer to the question that personal trainers and fitness magazines will make you pay for. Enjoy...

This is another time where what I am writing is inspired by questions people have emailed to me. So, be sure to keep those questions coming so I have more material to write about. =]

Now, on to the question. When is the best time of day to do cardio, and why? Well, I bet most people do cardio "whenever they get a chance." Sometimes during the middle of the day, sometimes before bed, sometimes directly after your weightlifting workout, sometimes directly before the weightlifting workout and sometimes first thing in the morning. The truth is, all of those times will get results. It doesn't matter what time of day you do your cardio workout, you will be burning calories every time. BUT, the real question is, which of those times is the most effective? And the answer is (drum roll please).... first thing in the morning!

Doing cardio first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach, before you eat anything, is by far, the most effective. Whether you run, jog, walk, swim, jump rope, take an aerobics class, ride a bike, etc., doing it first thing in the morning is the best time to do it for maximum fat loss. Why? Its simple. When you do your cardio workout, you are burning calories. Lets say you wake up, eat breakfast, eat lunch later in the day, and then a few hours after lunch, you do your cardio. All you will be doing during that cardio is burning the calories and carbs of the food you just ate. When you do cardio first thing in the morning, you haven't eaten anything for the last 8 or so hours because you were sleeping. So, when your body sees that there are no carbs to burn, it goes directly to stored bodyfat. And stored bodyfat is the fat that is on your body, which is the fat that you want to lose!

Understand how it works? When you do your cardio sometime during the day other then first thing in the morning, you spend most of that time burning off carbs that you already ate that day. When you do it first thing in the morning, there are no carbs to burn, so all your body can burn is body fat!

Some people have e-mailed me asking what type of cardio I do and I tell them I jog on my treadmill first thing in the morning. Even though I do all of my weightlifting at a gym, I do my cardio in my house on my own treadmill so I can do it first thing in the morning without having to take a shower, get dressed and do whatever else I'd do if I went to the gym to do cardio.

weight loss - free information on losing weight

When you think of weight loss and losing weight, the first things that probably come to your mind are either those "lose weight fast !!" articles that are in every magazine and newspaper in the world that never work and are written by some personal training idiot that has no idea what they're talking about... or maybe you're thinking of all of those weight loss pills that claim to be safe and allow you to "eat whatever you want and still lose weight because the pill will do all of the work for you" or whatever stupid line they are using to get you to buy their useless unsafe weight loss product. Or, maybe you're thinking of rice cakes and never eating and being hungry all day long.

Well, if you are thinking any of those things, forget it! Forget all of it!

What I am about to give you is totally FREE, detailed, easy to understand information on weight loss and losing weight and how to lose weight and fat without using any type of pill or supplement, without using some "fitness magazine" diet, and by eating not 1, not 2, not 3, but 5 meals a day! Sound impossible? Sound too good to be true? Sound like I'm going to make you buy my "book" or order my "product" first before I tell you? Well I'm not! I don't have a book and I don't a have product. I am not trying to sell you a damn thing! What I am trying to do, no... what I am GOING to do, is tell you exactly how you can lose weight. Enjoy...

Weight loss is simple, burn more calories then you consume. If you can fully understand that then you are on your way to losing weight. There are 6 simple steps. Here they are:

1) Count how many calories you eat in a normal day. That's right, wake up, and eat like you would normally eat and count the calories in everything you eat and everything you drink and keep track of it on a piece of paper or on the computer some where. You might be thinking to yourself, "yeah right, I'm not gonna sit around counting calories all day." Well, if you're thinking that, then you're obviously not dedicated enough to losing weight. If this is the case, then feel free to go waste your money on the newest useless weight loss pill. But, if you are dedicated enough to take 10 minutes out of your day and count the calories, then keep on reading.

2) At the end of that day, add up the number of calories you ate/drank. Be as exact as possible. Once you add it all up, you now have the total number of calories you consume daily. Also, weigh yourself.

3) Starting the day after you counted calories, eat 500 calories LESS then you normally do. So, lets pretend that the day you counted calories you counted 2000. For the rest of the week, you would eat 1500 calories a day. Understand? All you have to do is subtract 500 from the total number of calories you consume in a normal day, and eat this new number of calories every day for the next 7 days.

4) Instead of eating 3 big meals a day (breakfast, lunch and dinner), or eating all day all the time, spread those calories out over 5 smaller meals. Eat one meal every 2 and a half to 3 hours. Doing this will speed up your metabolism.

5) Cardio. Cardio is an important part of weight loss. If you're serious about losing weight, but don't want to do the cardio workouts, then you are requiring your diet to do all of the work. Jog, walk, swim, jump rope, ride a bike, take an aerobics class, whatever... cardio + proper diet = better than just doing one of the two. All it takes is 30 minutes a day, 3 - 5 days a week. I say 3-5 days a week because I don't know if you have 5 pounds to lose, or if you have 50 pounds to lose. So, depending on how much your looking to lose, figure it out. 3 times a week is good starting point though. (For information on the most effective time of the day to do your cardio workout, read doing cardio for maximum weight loss)

6) At the end of that week, weigh yourself. You'll notice a difference just after one week! Now, don't expect to see a 20 pound difference. Losing anymore then 1 or 2 pounds a week is unhealthly. So look for a 1 or 2 pound weight loss at the end of the week. Don't sound like much? You can lose 5-8 pounds a month! That's around 75lbs a year! So if you have A LOT of weight to lose, you can lose it. If have just a few pounds to lose, you can lose it.

Important weight loss tips for losing weight effectively! (extremely important!)

- THE BAD FAT MUST GO! Stay away from "bad" fat! Get rid of all the chips and candy. No more fast food, nothing fried. No more cookies, no more cake, no more of these saturated fats. There is no question about it and there is no way around it, get rid of these types of foods. Don't get me wrong, you should NOT be eating 0 grams of fat every day, but the only places you should be getting your daily fat intake from are lean meats (not the fried fast food kind), chicken (again, not fried!), etc. as well as the foods that contain the "healthy" types of fat, which can be found in just about every type of fish (tuna fish, salmon, fish oil supplements, etc.), nuts, olive oil and flaxseed oil.

- LOWER THE BAD CARBS! Most people think that it is fat that makes people fat and that just by eating less fat, they are on their way to weight loss! WRONG! Certain carbs can be just as bad as fat when it comes to losing weight. Limit foods high in bad carbs. These carbs will eventually turn into fat. Foods like sugar, white bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, etc. are high in simple (bad) carbs. Sure, your body needs carbs, which is why foods like these are ok to eat, but don't go overboard. Stick to high protein/good carb/low fat foods like tuna fish (and other seafood), chicken breast, turkey, whole grains, fruits and vegetables etc. (For more information, go here: Diet Plans And Diets)

- WATER! Drink water! Get rid of the soda, get rid of the beer, and get rid of the sports drinks. Drink around a half gallon a day, more if you can. Spread it out throughout the day, just like your 5 meals. Yes that's a lot of water, but it's that water that will give you energy and speed your weight loss.

- STRENGTH TRAINING! YES! Weightlifting isn't just great for muscles, it's great for losing weight. Muscles burn calories.

- Weigh yourself at the end of every week. If you ever have more then 2 weeks go by without losing 1 pound, it's time to change something. Eat 250 less calories then you've been eating. And keep everything else the same. Each time you see weight loss stop for more then 2 weeks, decrease calorie intake by 250 until you get down to where you want to be. Remember, NEVER starve yourself!

- Sleep! YES! Sleep! The easiest, yet most over looked step. Get at least 8 hours of sleep a night. Trust me, you're gonna need it! =]

- Food cravings! Can't stop giving in to your food cravings?
Read this: food cravings

- Still don't understand weight loss yet? Read this: How to lose weight: My day in a weight loss chat room

There you have it. You now know everything you need to know about losing weight. You didn't have to buy any weight loss pills or books on losing weight, instead, you should use the money you just saved and go buy some good food or a gym membership.

Now, I never once said this would be easy. If it was easy, you would have done it already. Losing weight isn't something you can just do "on the side." You also can NOT lose weight fast. You are going to have to dedicate your mind and body and your time to doing it! So, you now have the information you need, all you have to do now is use it.

(I've done my best to explain diet and weight loss as simply as possible, for free. However, if you feel you just need something more, I'd definitely recommend Diet.com. For a small membership fee, you receive meal plans that are custom-made for your needs, 24/7 access to a team of doctors and dietitians, online support groups, useful tools, trackers, videos, calorie counters, and more. If this sounds like something you'd be interested in, go for it: Diet.com)

The truth about ab workouts, infomercials and getting perfect abs

The truth about ab workouts, infomercials and getting perfect abs...

WARNING: What you are about to read is what the people from the ab infomercials don't want you to read. What you are about to read is all 100% true! What you are about to read is the truth about ab workouts and how to get "the perfect abs you've always dreamed of." Enjoy...

I have realized that on average, at least once a day I see one of those infomercials about ab workouts. You know them, the ones that have a bunch of guys/girls with pretty good bodies all standing around talking about ab workouts and how great this product is. Maybe they will use it to show how it works, maybe there will be a diagram drawn to show what part of the ab muscles it works, maybe there will be a big speech about why it is better than ANY of the other abdominal machines and abdominal exercises, and better than anything you can possibly do for your abs. Personally, I love the names. The "Ab Doer," the "Ab Dolly," the "Ab Swing," etc., but my question is, why don't they just name it the "Ab machine that will totally waste all of your money and do absolutely nothing for you, except help us people in this stupid, bad acted, infomercial make money."

The truth is, no matter what Chuck Norris or whatever other idiot in the commercial says, it is all a big lie. The truth is, EVERY one of the ab machines you see in EVERY one of these infomercials is 100% useless. The truth is, the ab dolly, the ab doer, the ab slide, the ab lounge, etc. are all a big useless waste of money, and one big lie! The truth is everyone in these infomercials with the perfect 6 packs and flat stomachs all got that way WITHOUT using the dumb abdominal product they are advertising. There is only 1, I repeat, there is only ONE way to get a stomach like that and it has nothing to do with any kind of "magic" ab workouts or abdominal exercises. It's the huge secret that everyone in those commercials don't want you to know because if everyone knew this secret, these infomercial idiots would all have no jobs. So... the BIG secret is...

You have to have a low body fat. It's as simple as that.

You don't have to spend $19.95 to swing in the "Ab Chair" for 8 minutes a day, you don't spend $29.95 to ride the "Ab Dolly" for 3 minutes a day. All you have to do is have a low body fat; not do some kind of magic ab workouts. The brutal truth is we all have perfect abs. The 2000 pound guy who has to be lifted out of his house by a truck because he's so fat, has perfect abs. I have perfect abs, you have perfect abs. EVERYONE has perfect abs. The problem is most people just can't see them. Why? Because their fat body is too high. Eat a perfect diet, and do cardio, and your body fat will get lower, and your abs will be able to be seen. Sure, doing abdominal exercises and working out your abs is good, this helps strengthen and build your ab muscles, but that won't do much for you if you can't see them because there is a layer of fat covering them!

Everyone in these ab infomercials swear that the ab workouts they are advertising are "the best!" They swear that their stupid useless abdominal product is the best, fastest, and most effective way to get the "perfect abs you've always dreamed of." The truth is, you can get those perfect abs by doing 5 minutes of plain old crunches 2 days a week. Hell, that's what I do! My ab workouts consist of a few different types of basic abdominal exercises like crunches (weighted) and leg raises 2 times a week. No machines, no 8 minute abs video tapes, nothing. Just me and the floor. The workout usually lasts about 5-15 minutes. It's the diet and the cardio that give you the low body fat that allows your abs to be visible. Not the Ab doer dolly lounge swing fling thing useless piece of crap blah blah blah! You get my point.

So, the next time you see one of these infomercials, be happy. Feel good about yourself. Why? Because you know the truth. You know the big secret, you know that somewhere out there is someone who is ordering this stupid product right now... and you're not! Be happy that you know what you really have to do to get the perfect abs you've always dreamed of... and lucky you... you even got to save your $19.95!