Losing Weight With Zumba - It's Fun!

People dance or people exercise. The former is done for creative satisfaction and the latter for weight loss and fitness. But what if you could combine the two, and get the best of both worlds? It may not sound like such a new idea, but with Zumba, the latest dance-exercise weight loss mantra catching on around the world, this combination becomes more fun and effective than ever before. Here are some details on how Zumba helps for losing weight.

What Is It?

Zumba is the brainchild of Alberto Perez, an aerobics instructor, and it involves a combination of dance rhythms of varying intensities, all borrowed from different Latin dances. The music is also Latin, and the whole session involves intervals of fast paced, vigorous dancing, punctuated by spells of slower and more relaxed movements. A typical session is an hour long, and the music tracks play non-stop, which means that there is no period of complete rest. In other words, your body burns a serious amount of calories every second of that one hour!

How Many Calories Does Zumba Burn?

The calorie count expended by Zumba is the most impressive part for weight loss aspirants. An hour of Zumba can burn anywhere between 500 to 850 calories, depending on your body weight and fitness levels. For example, a 150-lb person is expected to burn about 535 calories during an hour of Zumba. Compare this to moderate swimming, which for the same person would burn less than 420 calories an hour, racquetball at under 500 calories an hour, and jogging at 680 calories an hour. In other words, Zumba is great for weight loss!

How Popular and Genuine Is Zumba For Weight Loss?

Zumba may appear quite spontaneous, but it is anything but random. Ever since it was created in 2001, this dance-exercise routine has spread to over 110 countries, and 10 million people. The instructors are all fully trained, and there is a full-fledged Zumba academy in the US, where they are required to get a license. Besides, there are different kinds of sessions, customized for people with different levels of fitness and dancing skills. So, whether you are a beginner or someone who is already quite fit and a competent dancer, you can gain a lot from a Zumba class.

By bringing in intense spells of dance-exercise and periods of light movement, Zumba incorporates the principles of interval training. This is known to burn more calories than single-paced exercise, dancing or aerobics, and accelerate fitness levels faster. Indeed, with Zumba, you will not only burn calories, but also tone your muscles, boost your metabolic rate and improve your flexibility.

While Zumba is great for weight loss, it is also a lot of fun. One great plus point is that during your hour, you don't feel like you are grinding out an exercise. This helps you stay motivated and interested. In fact, the Zumba Academy advertises some cases of people who lost up to 100-lb, with Zumba as their only cardiovascular exercise. So, do check out your neighborhood class. Zumba might just be the kind of weight loss workout you were looking for!

By Ram Gupta
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6573665  

How To Lose 20 Pounds Quick!

How do you lose 20 poundsquick? Good question. It all depends on where you start. It depends on where you're coming from and what kind of sacrifices you're willing to make. 

You can lose 7 to 10 pounds in a week, very easily, if you just clean up your eating. I mean really clean it up! We're talking about drinking clean fluids-that means water. No saturated fats. No processed sugars. Lots of veggies-oh, and a tad bit of exercise. Say walking for 20 minutes a day after your last meal. 

That's a simple, good start. Easy stuff, too.

To lose 20 pounds quick you will need to hold steady on the above plan just a little longer. The first 10 pounds will disappear in about a week or ten days. Much of that will be water. When that's done, you move a step further. 

Next phase: exact same stuff. We're not talking about killing yourself, here, especially if you haven't been active for some time. An injury? That would be foolish. What good will the weight loss do if you've hurt yourself in the process? I'm guessing it might be depressing.

For your purpose: to lose 20 pounds quick, you don't even need to join a gym, or lift a single weight. It's called cleaning up your habits, if only for an abbreviated period of time. To lose weight, a small altering of your mindset is really the only essential. Begin and just stay the course, which is not always easy.

You must follow through. Action is a verb. It is continuous. Small daily adjustments, like the few outlined above are all that's necessary. We're talking about how to lose 20 pounds quick, not 100 pounds. You are always moving. The world spins and we move along with it. 

We change our circumstances over time, mostly without notice. To effectively lose 20 pounds quick, you need to begin to take notice, to become more self -aware. It starts with the foods you eat, the fluids you drink, and the small steps you decide to engage in. 

But it won't take long. You can truly lose 20 pounds quick if you're willing to take the very first, magical step. Simply begin.

The Truth About Abs Review

"The best program for fighting belly fat..."

Hands down, Mike Geary's program was simply the most effective abdominal and muscle building program out there on the market today.

We really spent time with this program and others like it. After this extensive look we can determine that without a doubt, this one topped them all. The great thing about this program is that it doesn't matter where you are at in terms of your level of fitness, you can benefit from it. Even supposedly "fit" and "cut" athletes we worked with got a tremendous advantage from using this program.

Geary offers a comprehensive abdominal program that we have been looking for, but he also takes things a step forward in comparison to most of the other programs we saw. He not only offers specific information on particular abdominal muscle types, but also offers a diet and nutrition component to his regimen. This is truly a step-by-step, guide to developing great looking abdominals!

The Truth About Abs scored high using our criteria. No question, it delivered strength gain and weight loss, but unlike other programs out there, it was pretty easy to use.

In addition, doing Geary helps steer you away from doing the "wrong" exercises to prevent injury, which is also very helpful to those just starting out.

If we had to look at a downside to this program is that it is so comprehensive that it may feel like a bit overloaded for the first. But everything is spelled right out for you that it should pose too much of a problem. Yet, then again, having more information in your hands, the better, right?

The Verdict: The Truth About Abs is the most effective abdominal program out there on the market today and we highly recommend it. 

http://www.truthaboutabs.biz/ 

Exercising With Whole Body Vibration

One time exercise, from toning muscles to improving strength and bone density. All this you can get in just 10 minutes, 3-4 times a week. What you have to do is add a vibration exercise machine to your workout area. This technique of exercise was introduced by Russians Space Program. In space with zero gravity muscles deteriorate and the body even loses the bone density. To fight this, the Russians introduced vibration exercise.

These vibrating exercise machines are of different types and produce different vibration effects like:

· You can experience a natural type of vibration which is the side vibration.

· Then, there is the tri-planer which is among the more popular ones. This results in horizontal and vertical vibrations. In this machine, the vibrating platform is set in a particular angle.

· Then, there is the horizontal vibration machine. This is the least expensive of all machines and only produces horizontal vibrations.

This vibration exercise machine works like the person has to get onto a platform; he can stand, sit, lay down or even focus the platform on certain body parts. This platform creates a vibration, which is sent through the body. In response to this vibration the muscles will contract which results in causing tendons to stretch, and increases blood flow and improving blood oxygenation. The most important work that this vibration exercise performs is that it strengthens and tones the muscles without letting the person to make an effort on the person’s part. Since the vibrations get sent through the entire body, all the muscle groups are affected. Vibration exercise reduces the amount of coristol in body more than a normal sweating exercise. It also prevents stress and even tension related pain. Anyone can use this equipment whether he is young or old or a beginning exerciser. Following are some of the fat burning roles performed by this machine:

Supports Lean Muscles – The rapid vibrations of the machine help in maintaining and building lean muscle mass in the body. By boosting lean muscle mass it burns fat not just during the workout but also throughout the day.

Boosts Human Growth Hormone (HGH) – Exercising on the machine boosts Human Growth Hormone by 361%. HGH level decreases in the body as we get older, and this causes weakening of muscles and increase in weight gain.

Lowers Stress Hormone- Higher levels of stress hormone promote fat gain, chiefly around the belly. Vibration exercise reduces the circulation of this hormone level by 30% which helps in losing weight.

Improves Blood Circulation- Vibration helps in proper distribution of oxygen throughout the body, which promotes circulation of blood and oxygen.

This Vibrating exercise machine not only helps in losing weight but also provide various added benefits. As it is always advised that before starting any heavy exercise consult to your doctor. Pregnant ladies, heart patients are not advised to perform vibration exercise technique, people having a pacemaker, who have just had surgery, having hip or knee implants, diabetic or epilepsy patients, migraine patients are always advised to consult with the doctor before using this technique. It is beneficial for the patients suffering from osteoporosis, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and stroke victims also. With all this, it does appear that vibration exercise equipment can be beneficial to your health. After weighing the factors, you can make the decision about whether or not it would be a helpful addition to your home gym.

Best Classes for Weight Loss

So many commercials and advertisements scream “Lose weight now!” but how many of them are actually legitimate? Just to be clear, taking pills and supplements are not going to get rid of excess weight – the only way to do that is through good old-fashioned cardiovascular exercise coupled with a healthy diet. Thanks to modern innovations and ideas, though, you can work out and burn more fat than ever while you have fun at the same time! Gyms and fitness studios across the country are focusing on creating cardiovascular fitness classes that keep participants engaged and encouraged, and this is a boon for folks who are traditionally turned off by the thought of exercise. Losing weight has never been so fun and fast!

Spinning

The workout of the stars, spinning is an exercise similar to biking except that, well, you don’t go anywhere. When you spin, you are using a machine similar to a bike but with only one wheel and with adjustable resistance so that you can control the level of exertion. Beginners start with the handle in a traditional biking position but as you proceed through levels and become more fit, eventually the handles will be almost level with the bike saddle. Spinning mimics mountain biking by changing resistance at different points throughout the workout, imitating hills and rises. The calorie burn can be impressive but be prepared for a sweaty workout. Your leg muscles will be called upon in ways they never have before and the first few classes will probably leave you with some muscle soreness and stiffness that should disappear within a few days. Spinning instructors recommend that participants wear heart monitors to track heart rate and move into the ideal range for maximum fat burning. You can find Spinning classes at gyms nationwide. 

Belly Dancing

If you’ve ever watched belly dancers and admired the lithe, seductive movements, here’s your chance to learn their secrets and burn calories at the same time. Belly dancing classes have exploded in popularity in the past few years and can be found in most major cities and metropolitan areas. You won’t need any special workout gear, just show up in your t-shirt and shorts. You’ll start learning the basics of moving your hips and waist, and go from there to the more complicated twists that make belly dancing so unique and seductive. The calorie burn is average but couple the class with a healthy diet and brisk walking several times per week and you’ll see the fat begin to melt away. The bonus of belly dancing is that as you’re burning calories you are also toning and firming the abdominal muscles, so when the fat is gone you’ll be able to see beautifully defined abdominals. In addition to that, you will have learned a unique skill that you can use as a workout any time you like!

Step Aerobics

Step aerobics can burn serious calories thanks to the work it requires from muscles. The concept of step aerobics has been around for decades and it became popular in the eighties along with Jane Fonda. It remained a regular offering at fitness studios but recently has enjoyed a renewed burst of popularity. In a step aerobics class, there will be an instructor leading the class from the front. You will need an exercise step that can be raised or lowered depending on your fitness ability. After a brief warm-up, the instructor will lead the class in aerobic exercise utilizing the step to increase calorie burn. The pace can get intense and that equals a higher fat burn for you! Arms will frequently be included as part of the workout but only to increase the heart rate, so don’t forget to include regular strength training as part of your fitness program.