There are quite a few untruths out there about health and fitness. I'd like to share a few of them with you.

If you're thin you're fit. Sorry, but being thin is no indication of how efficient your heart, lungs, and muscles are. Body composition testing has shown that thin people usually have a higher percentage of body fat because they feel that they don't have to exercise. You've got to exercise
By doing sit-ups you get rid of stomach fat. No way! There is no such thing as spot reducing. Fat reduction comes from aerobic activities and is reduced proportionally throughout the body.
Sweat loss means fat loss. You do lose weight when you sweat but it is mostly water weight, it is not fat loss. It is usually regained after drinking liquid.
Extra protein makes you bigger and stronger. It would be great if it did. However, your normal diet meets your daily protein needs. Extra protein is only converted into and stored as body fat.
Sugar before exercise will give you fast energy, Candy bars, honey, and sweets quickly enter your bloodstream and release a tremendous amount of insulin. The insulin increase during exercise causes your blood sugar to drop, leading to faster exhaustion.
Lifting weights gives women big, bulky, muscles. Women do not produce enough male hormones for large muscle growth. They also don't have as much muscle fiber as a man. You must train specifically for muscle growth if you want to gain muscle mass.
Muscles turn into fat when you quit exercising. NO, NO, NO. Some may seem to make this look true. However, fat cannot change to muscle or vice-versa. When you stop exercising, your muscles start to waste away and lose their firmness. It is the over consumption of food that increase the size of the fat cells and therefore you puff out.
Cellulite is a unique type of fat. Cellulite is fat; all fat is fat. Rubbing creams don't work. Remove cellulite (fat) through aerobic conditioning, weight training, muscular endurance training, and diet.
Certain food supplements and foods can burn fat away. Food doesn't burn fat nor do supplements you can buy monthly supplies of. Aerobic exercise is the way we burn fat. The only way.
Low intensity aerobic exercise burns more body fat than high intensity aerobic exercise. You must look at total calorie expenditure. Everyone's physical ability is different. Gradually work your intensity up and keep going as long as you can.

Now that you know what the real deal is, don't wait another day before embarking on your weight loss and fitness plans. Think positive!

Sandra L. Garth is a wellness writer and consultant. Stay informed and motivated by receiving her twice weekly fit tips. Log on to

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It?s a fact: How fast or how well you age is all in the head. It?s as simple as that.

It?s how you decide to behave. It?s your attitude about life. It?s how you feel about yourself. It?s about what you think is possible. It?s about what you think is important. Briefly, it comes down to choices you make about how you live your life.

However, there is more to it than that. Tradition, custom, conventional wisdom, consensus thinking, the influence of friends, the media, plus influences you are not even aware of -- all affect how you live your life ? and how you age.

For example, society tells us that about age 55, you are a ?senior.? If you accept that categorization of yourself at age 55, you will experience ?oldness? signs far earlier than necessary. That?s because acceptance of ?seniorhood? carries with it adoption of approved ?oldness? thinking and behaviors.

You don?t deliberately adopt old thinking and behaviors. Tradition and culture have established how you ?ought to be? at a given age. Unaware of the influence, it?s easy to fall into line.

Close friends who have fallen into line reinforce ?old? thinking and behaviors. We learn from each other without being aware of it. The result is what I call the ?monkey see monkey do? syndrome.

It doesn?t have to happen. Remember, controlling old age begins in your head. Regardless of friends or cultural influences, you can march to your own drummer. It may not be easy if belonging is important to you, or if being different is difficult for you, but you can control oldness influences.

Instead of becoming a ?senior? (or whatever word describes or categorizes people beyond age 55), you can remain an ageless mature woman or man in a constant state of growth. You don?t need to be in a category. You don?t need to accept mores of a society that is out of touch with reality.

Are we really are out of touch with reality?

Absolutely. It?s absurd to call anyone at age 55 a senior. It may have been appropriate 50 years ago, but it no longer makes sense. Consider that in 1950 there were possibly 2,300 centenarians. Today there are over 40,000. By 2050 there will be close to a million people 100 years of age or older. We are living longer ? that?s a fact.

So why cling to horse-and-buggy thinking that results in limitation of your potential? Why do we continue to relegate people at age 55 to seniorhood with all the ?old? baggage that goes along with it? Could it be because ?old age? is very big business, and debilitated old age is even bigger business? Let?s face it: A shortage of prematurely compromised people in various stages of need or want would adversely impact the economy.

You don?t have to succumb to tradition, conventional wisdom, or whatever you want to call it. You don?t have to see yourself or accept yourself as ?old? because society says you are old. There is a better way and Helen Harkness, Ph.D. describes it in her revolutionary book, ?Don?t Stop the Career Clock.? Dr. Harkness says, ?If we need some kind of aging chronology, I suggest we design our own. The following is my ?live long, die fast? contemporary model for aging.? And it?s this:

Young adulthood: 20-40; First Midlife: 40-60; Second Midlife: 60-80; Young old: 80-90; Elderly: 90 and above; Old-old: 2-3 years to live

If you are age 55, doesn?t it make you feel better to know you are not a senior, but merely in your first midlife? If you are 70 or beyond, doesn?t it change your outlook on life to know that you are not ?elderly? but merely in your second midlife? After all, if living to 100 or beyond is becoming the norm, then age 70 certainly is not elderly!

Let?s jettison antiquated attitudes and behaviors relative to chronological age. Let?s stop categorizing ourselves as ?old? (or allow others to do it to us) when there is so much life left to live as vibrant, dynamic, mature ageless persons in a constant state of growth. Your chronological age is just a number. Don?t allow it to become a premature death sentence by adopting ?age appropriate? thinking and behaviors that are out of touch with reality.

The bottom line: You can triumph over oldness, regardless of your age, if you take control of what goes on in your head, and challenge antediluvian attitudes, thinking and behaviors that no longer make sense.

Copyright 2006 Barbara Morris, R.Ph.

Barbara Morris, R.Ph. is a pharmacist, youth preservation expert, and author of Put Old on Hold. Subscribe to her newsletter at PutOldonHold.com. Learn more about Don?t Stop the Career Clock at putoldonhold.net/dontstopthecareerclock.html Her expertise is recognized in Art Linkletter and Mark Victor Hansen?s new book, How to Make the Rest of Your Life the Best of Your Life. Learn more about this new book at putoldonhold.net/LinkletterBook.html

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Proform treadmills are one of the most popular types of treadmills for first time buyers. A company called Icon that is one of the biggest manufacturers of exercise machinery manufactures them. They are also the manufacturers of Reebok products. One for the main benefits with a Proform treadmill is the cost. Generally speaking, they are one of the most affordable makers of indoor running machines available on the market. Although they might not have all of the features of some of the more expensive machines they are generally well built and extremely reliable, plus they are a good buy for anyone that is looking to buy a treadmill but does not have a lot of money to spend on it.

Of course they don't just cater to the lower end of the fitness and exercise market. Pro Form treadmills make a huge range of machines and as such there are a large variety of models to choose from. Even though they do not compete at the higher end of the market, they do have something to suit most people interested in getting into better shape with the use of a treadmill. Even at the lower end of the price range where there are treadmills for around $500 they still make a reliable model. They are of course of a lighter construction than the higher cost models, but for what they cost, these treadmills make a very good exercise machine. If you go for one of the cheaper treadmills, then you should remember that they are not as durable as those that are at the more expensive end of the market, but they are still quite useable and will put up with a lot of work.

Even the basic models have such things as cushioning on the track that can save your knees a lot of wear and tear and make running a lot easier on your joints. This is achieved with the aid of air shock absorbers and they are a very effective aid for making your running a lot easier. Even if you go for one of the budget models you do not have to put up with a very basic machine. There are still plenty of features on some of the lower cost models and if there is not a feature that you are looking for then it might be possible to have it as an added feature. Heart rate monitors are a very popular add on that a lot of people find very useful

Proform treadmills are one of the better budget treadmills and are a very good buy but you need to do your research to make sure that the model that you are thinking of is the right one for you. There are lots to choose from and there is very likely to be one that suits your needs as well as your budget.

Timothy Gorman is a successful Webmaster and publisher of Treadmill-Solutions.com. He provides more treadmill ratings, recommendations and information on finding the best Proform Treadmills that you can research in your pajamas on his website.

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If you have ever read a fitness magazine...

If you have ever watched TV ads about latest machines that will magically reveal your abs...

If you have ever gone to a gym and seen tens of people lying on the floor doing crunches....

Then beware - because chances are you are a victim of the two biggest abdominal training hoaxes!

Hoax # 1

Just doing some midsection exercises can reduce your love handles.

Fact:

You cannot reduce fat from a certain targeted area of your body just by using exercise alone. The abdominal area is no exception.

So, if you want to get a flat stomach and reveal your abs, losing the fat covering them is the way to go.

The only way to do this is to lose fat proportionately from your entire body by burning more calories than you consume.

How? By doing these two things:

1) Have a healthy and balanced permanent diet: dark green vegetables, fresh fruits, whole wheat and whole grain products, non-fat dairy products, fish, poultry breast, lean red meat, egg white.

You should cut out all sugar, soda, non-whole grain products and saturated fats: These aliments should only be a reward for achieving a goal, not a habit!

2) Start exercising

Aerobic and weight training will raise your metabolic rate. In result, your body will burn more calories.

* aerobic exercising

3 times per week, conduct an exercise that keeps your heart rate elevated for at least 30-45 minutes (ex: walking, running, cycling, swimming, aerobics, etc)

* weight training

Alternate days of aerobics with weight training. You will build muscles that will burn more calories, even when at rest!

Hoax # 2

You have to do tons of crunches.

Fact:

Overuse of crunches will only shorten your abs, pull your head forward, and give you bad posture. Do you really want to look like Quasimodo, the Hunchback of Notre-Dame?

Any standing exercise that will contract your abs will do, but you should specifically target your lower back to strengthen the muscles that support your spine.

The easiest exercise is sucking the gut in, also known as the stomach vacuum...

1. Exhale. Suck in your gut.

2. Maintain the contraction for 10 to 20 seconds.

3. Repeat 10 to 15 times, as often as you like throughout the day (...while in the shower, sitting at your desk, while driving, etc.).

Time now for YOU to take action!

PS: Do not forget to consult your doctor before starting any diet and exercise plan.

Copyright 2005 MHG Consulting

Dan Farrell is owner of http://www.weight-loss-exercises.info and http://www.4maximumhealth.com The Weight Loss Primer.

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Life is busy. Between jobs, housework, family, and errands, the days fly by. Add into that the task of spending time going to the gym, and it just doesn't seem possible for a lot of us. Home exercise equipment and exercise videos are often a great alternative to spending time and money at a gym. If you are planning to start a home exercise routine, you may be wondering what type of exercise equipment you will need to get an effective workout. Often, you will find that you can get the best deals on home exercise equipment online.

First you will need to determine what is your current level of fitness and what goals you wish to accomplish. Your budget and the types of activities you enjoy are major factors as well. If you do not enjoy the exercises you are performing it is very easy to lose interest and quit. The safety of the exercise equipment and the amount of space you have in which to store and use the equipment is also a major concern.

Some of the different types of home exercise equipment are treadmills, elliptical trainers, stationery bicycles, cross-country ski machines, and free weights.

* Treadmills are very popular for use in the home. You can purchase a treadmill in any price range and with basic to advanced functions. You will need a treadmill with solid construction, smooth walking action, a wide belt, incline setting, and a safety cut-off. Make sure you understand the warranty and availability of replacements parts before making your purchase.

* An elliptical trainer gives you a comfortable, non-impact way to exercise and almost anyone can do it. You will be able to adjust the intensity and resistance to fit your current fitness level and change the settings as you progress in your exercise routine. Elliptical trainers vary in price and you should check out several models before making a purchase to make sure you find the best deal that you can possibly find on a well-constructed machine that carries an excellent warranty.

* Stationary bikes give you a no-impact, comfortable way to exercise and will take up very little space. Exercise bikes are great for those who have been leading a sedentary lifestyle and are just beginning an exercise program.

* You may also want to consider a step machine. Steppers give you a great cardio-vascular workout and will help strengthen your lower body muscles.

* Cross-country ski machines and rowing machines are a great way to exercise at home. You can get a full body workout in the comfort of your own home, but be sure to try these machines before you purchase. The workout you receive with a cross-country or rowing machine can be intense and may not be suited for beginners.

* Free-weights and other resistance equipment are great for toning muscles and improving strength and require very little space.

Before you make any purchases determine which kinds of equipment will be the best for you and what your particular goals are in starting a home workout routine. Compare prices, warranties, and consumer reviews for the exercise equipment you are considering purchasing to make sure it fits your needs, your budget, and is safe for you to use.

Most types of exercise equipment that you can use in your home will work great if you use it on a regular basis. Decide what your goals are and what your budget will allow before you begin shopping for new exercise equipment and purchase the types that you will find fun and challenging to use.

Tina Titas invites you to http://www.FunExerciseVideos.com From The Biggest Winner to pregnancy yoga, you?ll find exercise videos at a great price.

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If you are seeking a sharp mind, ginkgo biloba may be the key to enhancing your brainpower, as well as providing a host of other health benefits.

Ginkgo has been shown to:

?Increase mental alertness

?Enhance vitality levels

?Improve circulatory health

?Improve blood vessel health

?Enhance sex drive.

Unlike many herbs where claims made which are not backed up by medical research and substantiation, Ginkgo is one of the most researched herbs in history, and medical evidence points to its many health benefits.

Turn Back the Ageing Clock

Its high antioxidant activity is renowned for fighting age related conditions.

All over the world, millions of people have claimed Ginkgo to be beneficial in the fight against the gradual erosion of energy, associated with aging.

History

The ginkgo is the oldest living tree species - geological records indicate this plant has been growing on earth for 100 to 200 million years.

Chinese monks kept the tree in existence, as they considered it a sacred herb with a wide range of health benefits.

Arriving in Europe in the 1700?s, it is now a commonly prescribed drug in many countries.

It is also one of the best researched, and popular medical herbs used in the world today.

Benefits

Ginkgo has been shown to be nutritional support for:

?Mental alertness

?Enhanced vitality levels

?Better circulatory health

?Better blood vessel health

Its high antioxidant activity is particularly valuable in fighting a wide range of age related conditions.

How it works

Few herbs have been as extensively researched as ginkgo biloba extract (GBE).

Throughout the past thirty years, around five hundred pharmacological studies have been conducted on the proprietary, standardized extracts of the ginkgo biloba leaf.

This research has concluded that the herb has three major health benefits:

1.It increases cognitive function and memory

2.It helps Improve circulation throughout the body

3.It helps slow the aging process

Ginkgo contains the following active substances:

?Flavonoids

?Terpene lactones

?Ginkgolides A, B, and C

?Bilobalide

?Quercetin

?Kaempferol.

1. Antioxidant Benefits

Ginkgo acts as a powerful antioxidant and contributes to the oxidation of free radicals, which are associated with premature aging and dementia.

Antioxidants protect eyesight, the cardiovascular, and central nervous system.

The herb has been used in the treatment of a wide variety of circulation related disorders, such as:

?Diabetic peripheral vascular disease

?Raynaud's syndrome

?Hemorrhoids

?Varicose veins.

2. Sexual Benefits

Ginkgo also helps control the transformation of cholesterol to plaque associated with the hardening of arteries. It can also relax constricted blood vessels, which has seen it used as a supplement to increase both male and female libido.

3. Memory Enhancer and Energy Booster

Ginkgo active compounds increasing the flow of oxygen to the brain, as well as optimizing the brain's use of glucose.

When consumed, food is converted into glucose - a sugar that can easily be used by the body's cells for energy.

By helping the body to make glucose available for energy use, ginkgo enhances both mental alertness and memory function.

Ginkgo therefore helps to combat fatigue by its increase in glucose utilization.

RDA for Ginkgo

There is no RDA for ginkgo since it is not an essential nutrient, but many experts recommend taking 40-80 mg, 3 times a day, on an empty stomach for best results.

It can take around 12 weeks for the benefits of ginkgo biloba supplementation to become apparent.

More health and wellness information and FREE exclusive diet and health magazines, are available on our web site: http://www.net-planet.org

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Cardio Exercise...

A huge variety of fitness activities provide cardiovascular benefits. If you're breathing hard and can feel your heart beating, you're doing cardio. Because walking is fun, easy, and requires little time and no financial investment, it's our top choice for cardiovascular activity.

Walking uses your body's largest muscle group, your legs. Because it's rhythmic (you repeat the same basic movements), and it's aerobic (you take in and use more oxygen than usual), when walking is sustained for more than several minutes at a time it provides fantastic cardiovascular benefits - including weight loss - and can be quickly and easily implemented into your daily routine.

Walking at a moderate pace for about 30-60 minutes burns stored fat, and can build muscle to help speed up your metabolism, burning fat even while you sleep! So, let's start moving...

First, wake up your muscles by walking at a warm-up pace for five minutes, signaling to your muscles that they can't just sit back and burn up the available sugars, they need to tap into your fat reserves. This means not starting your daily walk at a high speed. On the contrary, a low-intensity or low-speed start signals your muscles that you are engaging in a long-term activity, prompting the burning of stored fat, and not just sugar burning.

After five minutes, pick up the pace. The speed to walk at for optimal fat burning is a determined pace, at which rate you should be breathing noticeably harder, but still able to carry on a conversation in full sentences. By doing this, you raise your heart rate to about 70% of your maximum heart rate, which acts as a catalyst for burning stored fat.

Try walking as though you're 15 minutes late for an important appointment. Now, start with walking at this pace for 30 minutes each day. For optimal weight loss, walk at least 5 days of the week, with weekly time spent walking eventually reaching 5 or more hours each week.

Use the following cheat sheet to help implement a quick and easy walking program into your daily routine:

? Start with a few gentle stretches

? Begin walking at an easy pace for five minutes

? Walk 30-60 minutes at about 70% of your maximum heart rate

? Cool down at a slower pace for 5 minutes

? Finish with a few gentle stretches

? For longer walks, walk 60 minutes at your target heart rate, and slow down a bit to complete 90 or 120 minutes at a comfortable pace

Walking an hour a day is also associated with drastically decreasing your risk of heart disease, breast cancer, colon cancer, diabetes and stroke. Find time to work one-hour walks into your life. It's well worth waking up an hour early to do so. After all, aren't you worth it?

When you feel you can comfortably walk an hour on a single day each week, try the following weekly schedule for increased weight loss and added health benefits, alternating the days to fit your personal weekly schedule:

Sunday: Long Day, 90+ minutes

Monday: Day Off

Tuesday: Short Day, 30+ minutes

Wednesday: Short Day, 30+ minutes

Thursday: Long Day, 90+ minutes

Friday: Short Day, 30+ minutes

Saturday: Long Day, 60+ minutes

On all days, remember to start with some light stretches. Start walking slow for 5 minutes. Walk at your determined pace of 70% of your maximum heart rate for the time specified, concluding with an easy pace for five minutes. Always finish with gentle stretching. Lastly, when walking for weight loss, you should take no more than one to two days off each week.

Keep up the water intake and your new 'fat loss' walking program - I'll see you in 7 days to check in on your progress and to give you the second Secret in our Health & Fitness Tactics Course.

For a ton of f.ree, valuable tips, tricks, and secrets visit: http://www.MaximizeYourMetabolism.com

? 2002-2005 Wisdom Books, LLC & Christopher Guerriero WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this blurb with it: Christopher Guerriero, is the founder of the National Metabolic & Longevity Research Center and a best-selling author, speaker, and coach to millions. He is creator of the award-winning 'Maximize Your Metabolism' system. To learn more about this step-by-step program, and to sign up for FR*EE how-to articles and F.REE teleseminars, visit http://www.MaximizeYourMetabolism.com

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