ULTIMATE WORKOUT GUIDE

Why is the epidemic of heart disease particularly strong in the U.S.A.? If you are a typical American, whether you know it or not you consume an unbalanced, obesity-producing diet. Drs. Louis Katz and J. Stamler, prominent researchers in this field, called it “a pernicious combination of over-nutrition and under-nutrition -excessive in calories, carbohydrates, lipids and salt; and frequently substandard in certain critically important amino acids, minerals and vitamins.” It is not surprising that this situation exists. The science of nutrition, a comparative newcomer to the medical field, has up until recently been concerned almost exclusively with under-nutrition. People have been urged to “eat the right foods” and to provide plenty of meat, eggs, milk, and cheese for their children. In most areas of the world, this problem of getting enough nourishing food to eat is still of primary importance. But it is not the problem in America. Our problem is somewhat the opposite: “living too high on the hog.” Our diet is too rich in fat as well as calories, refined sugars, starches, and oils. At the same time, it is low in essential nutriments, minerals and other vital requirements. The exact relationship between the amount of fat you eat and the production of cholesterol in your body is still a very complex question. Investigators differ on some points. Concerning one aspect of the problem, though, we are all agreed: the cholesterol found in the blood is made largely in the liver from fats in the diet. It is also believed that cholesterol is produced in the arterial walls themselves. But the main source and the one that we can to a great extent control is fat in our food.

What is the situation in other countries of the world? We have research that supports the big difference in the health of Americans and people in various other countries lies in their diet. For example, in Norway, during the war years of 1940-1945, the consumption of butter, milk, cheese and eggs (which are all high in fats) had to be decreased substantially. Did the reduction of fat content in the country’s diet prevent heart attack deaths? The Norwegian Ministry of Health, which kept accurate records, answered that question with an emphatic “yes.” With the reduction in fat consumption, the death rate from also coronary attacks was reduced. The Norwegians reported that deaths related to heart disease dropped by 31% each year among the urban population. In addition, there was a 22% decrease in heart disease-related deaths among the rural population. France, which also to ration high-fat content foods during the war years, had similar results. Mr. Marcel Moine, from the French Ministry of Health, reported to me that from 1941 to 1945, when the French population was on a low-fat diet, the death rate from heart disease was reduced to an average of 20.6 for each 100,000 persons. In the postwar years, when the diet returned to normal fat consumption, the death rate rose to 25.5 per 100,000, which was the death rate prior to the war. Italy is another example, in which they studied two neighboring provinces. In one neighborhood the daily diet included pork products (which are usually high in fat), the rate of heart disease ended up being much higher than in the neighboring town where the population followed the comparatively low-fat diet of the country as a whole. Related studies have been conducted in all across the world-countries such as Finland, Denmark, South Africa, China, and Japan. Statistically, the results all reveal the same conclusion: high-fat diet means a high rate of heart deaths. Famous celebrities, as Mark Twain and Marilyn Monroe have shown, sometimes have a way of giving us a false image, by misunderstanding cause and effect relationships where the health of whole populations is concerned. For example, you could claim, on the basis of statistics, that since the use of soap was also sharply reduced in some countries during the war, with a corresponding drop in death rate from heart disease, the soap (which is a fat) was the underlying cause of the disease. In a more scientific perspective, however, the evidence weighs heavily on the side of fat consumption as the primary factor in causing atherosclerosis.

Is the epidemic confined to older people? What has affected to our culture to the point that men between 30 and 45 are common victims of this “silent killer”? Why are increasingly more young women, thought to be practically immune to this disease until after menopause, are now joining men as common victims? We do not know the entire answer to this mystery, or even if there is a single answer to theses questions. However, the research that has been carried out by my colleagues across the globe, and by myself during the past 10 years, has provided some informative hints. Recently, we discovered to our amazement that over 90% of our adult population has, to a greater or less degree, a degenerative disease of the arteries that doctors call atherosclerosis. That, as you know, is the term meaning the thickening and narrowing of certain vital blood vessels, which is the leading cause of heart attacks and strokes. Doctors and physicians once believed that it was a result of growing old, but the disease is now being discovered in infants and children as well. As children, however, we have the ability of absorbing the fats that deposit themselves to the artery walls. As we age, we seem to lose this power of absorption, and thus real trouble begins. At what age does this happen? Much earlier than we might expect.

For example, my associates and I studied the arteries of 600 patients who had died from various diseases. Approximately 100 of them had met sudden death from accidents or acute illness. To our amazement we found that atherosclerosis, a disease of the arteries, was present in many of the young people before they had reached their thirtieth birthday. By the time they were near the mid-century mark, the fatty deposits and embedded crystals of cholesterol were already in the artery walls. Such thickening and narrowing of the blood vessels obstructed the nourishment and blood flow to the tissues in the heart, brain, or kidney. Similar evidence from autopsies also came from Korea, where Army doctors autopsied 300 American soldiers who had died while serving there. It was the first time such a study had been made of a cross section of the country’s youth; their average age was only 22. A report of the autopsies revealed shocking information: 77% of the young U.S. servicemen already had atherosclerosis! Furthermore, this data was weighed against the mere 11 incidence of the same disease among Koreans and Orientals who had lived and fought in the same environment under the same conditions.

Does heredity have anything to do with the problem? At this point you are probably wondering: why do some people have more cholesterol in their blood than others? At present we do not know the whole answer to that question. We do, however, know some of the predisposing factors. One of them is heredity. Some families are affected by what physicians call hereditary familial hyper-(excessive) cholesteremia. In such a family the tendency to high levels of cholesterol in the blood is passed on for several generations. Among members of such families we usually find a large number of individuals who suffer heart attack and strokes. If no heart attacks or strokes have occurred in your own family line, you have at least one protective factor in your favor from the beginning. The second factor is one that is pretty much up to you. It concerns what you eat and how much you eat. Unfortunately, it is too late for us to choose our parents.But it is not too late to choose our diet. By learning how to avoid food excessive in fat and cholesterol content, we can help minimize the effect of heredity.

Women have better natural protection against atherosclerosis. If you are a woman, you are less likely to suffer from a heart attack or stroke until well after you pass the half century mark. That is when your protective female hormones give out, and you become as susceptible to the disease as men.Can’t men take female hormones to protect themselves? They can, but if they do, they will “cross the border” and develop a high voice, full enlarged breasts, and other feminine characteristics. So that approach to the problem is not practical. Anything else? Yes, there is something everyone can do without great inconvenience, and with the added reward of improved health in general. It is this: select a diet that will keep your blood fats down to normal levels.

Can you reverse damage done to your arteries by excessive fat? Only recently have medical research teams produced dependable evidence supporting that excessive fat in our diets increases the risk of heart disease. If you are past the age of thirty, you have probably already started wonder whether the harm done to your arteries is permanent, or if it is reversible. Right now, as our current level of research, we doctors cannot answer the question with certainty. However, we can say with hope that experiments have shown that the condition is reversible in animals. We have data that verifies cholesterol in the arteries is absorbed in adolescents, as proposed by Dr. Russell Holman and others. However, this metabolic gift disappears as we age. There are many qualified experts in this field who hypothesize that since atherosclerosis is reversible in animals, the same can be true for humans as well. However, we should be careful when drawing conclusions from animal testing, as their metabolism is quite different from ours.

Another question that patients often ask me is: “Can you tell me whether I am already a victim of degenerative artery disease?” Unfortunately, we do not as yet have a test that can predict with certainty whether you are susceptible to coronary disease, or are likely to have a heart attack. One fact, however, is certain: if laboratory tests show that you have an excessive amount of cholesterol in your blood, your chances of avoiding heart and blood vessel disease, which can lead to heart attack or stroke, are much smaller. You are then much more susceptible. If you are over 30 years of age, you ought to have your physician include such a measurement of cholesterol level in your routine check-up. Too many men in the dangerous middle years are so busy playing for high stakes in the fast-moving game of life, that they forget that “hearts are trumps.”

What is the solution for us? The many studies that have been made do not prove conclusively that heart disease is caused solely by diet. But they do heavily underscore much of the information that I have gathered from my own quarter of a century of practice and laboratory research.Taken together, the evidence points strongly to this fact: If everyone in the United States would reduce his fat intake by 25 per cent, we would cut the number of heart deaths in half within another 20 years. Moreover, the low-fat diet will add immeasurably to your general health and well-being. “But,” you ask, “how can I go about reducing the fat in my diet? Where do I begin?” In the following pages you will find a safe guide; it includes low-fat menus and directions for using simple and inexpensive nutritional supplements that I employ in my own practice to help my patients forestall heart attack, and to treat those who have already had one or more. If you follow these directions carefully, you will not only add years to your life, but life to your years.

Carl Juneau teaches men how to get a six pack using a unique mix of carefully sequenced abs exercises. Visit his site to find out powerful abs exercises that help to tone and define your abs.

Ask any person what their most troublesome body area is and ninety five percent of people will say their abdominal area. This is because when we stop exercising or concentrating on this particular area, our core abdominal muscles become very weak. This is why it is so necessary to do some sort of Ab Workout to help increase the strength of the core muscles.

You do not have to feel as if you are going to be in agony while you try to exercise your tummy muscles. This is simply not the case if you are careful and you find a series of exercises that will work for you. There is no need for you to feel as if your excess in this area is not going to leave you.

One of the main reasons that people do not like to do ab exercises is because they say it hurts their back. This is a sure sign that they are not doing them properly. It is also one of the key reasons why you have to ensure you choose an exercise routine that is specifically tailored for your purposes. Also, make sure you speak to someone who knows what he or she is doing so they can show you the ropes.

For people who haven’t done any form of exercise for a long time, it is necessary to make sure you do not overdo the exercise for the first few sessions. It is best to start off with crunches and lifts for the abdominals, as well as the obliques. The best way to do this is to have your arms behind your head with the weight of your head resting in your hands.

Your legs should be hip-width apart with the knees bent and the feet flat on the floor. Pull your shoulders off the floor by contracting your abdominal muscles and raising your arms and head. It is best to concentrate on looking just past your knees to make sure you don’t “squash” your chin into your chest. Once you have come up as comfortably as you can go, try and lift a little higher and then slowly lower yourself to the floor.

You are going to have to make sure you do these exercises slowly and carefully. One has to be careful for obvious reasons and this is also part of the reason for the slow pace of the exercise as well. There is also a more challenging element to the workout if you try to hold the exercises longer.

If you want to make sure you target the obliques then you could do a similar crunch to the one described above, but you should add a twist to it. This means you would want to try and touch your left knee with your right elbow and of course also the other way round.

Ab workouts come in all sorts of forms and can be done with or without machines. It is important to ensure the exercises you choose are the best for you. As a beginner it is pointless to try an exercise that is meant for people with a stronger core. And if you have a strong core it is useless to do all exercises that are meant for a beginner. Start an intense Abs Workout today.

Trying to do this sort of Ab Workout everyday should really be what you work towards. This is going to be a very good start to getting in shape and you will find there are loads of benefits that you perhaps knew nothing about previously. Have a good Lower Abs Workout and a good change to your body as a result.

Everyone nowadays is obsessed with tone abs. They look great on a slim or muscular body. They are what we used to determine if someone is in good shape. But tone abs are much more that aesthetics. Besides looking good, they represent a healthy body.

The abdominal muscles are located in the midsection of our body. They are very large and hold our body together. Keeping these muscles tone is essential to good health. The abs protect our internal organs. Whereas many of our internal organs are protected by a ribcage, the stomach and intestines are not. These strong muscles provide defense that bones provide elsewhere.

Good posture depends on strong tone abdominal muscles. They help us stand upright and prevent slouching. Weak abdominal muscles must get help from other muscles to do their important job. Many times the lower back ends up helping those muscles maintain posture. That is not the job of the lower back.

A good abdominal workout can often help with lower back pain. Because weak abs tend to get help from other muscles, making them stronger prevents that. When abs are stronger they no longer depend on other muscles. Building stronger abdominal muscles and using them instead of the back muscles can prevent lower back pain.

Speaking of back pain, incorrect abdominal exercise sometimes causes back pain. These muscles are so important that they have backup muscles. When they are not exercised correctly other muscles will attempt to take their place. Care must be taken that abs workouts are done correctly to prevent injury to other muscles.

Balance is often overlooked in abdominal exercises but it should not be. Balance has been important to professional athletes for many years. Good balance prevents injury and encourages increased performance. Balance also helps the body to work as a whole – meaning each muscle does its job. When there is poor balance, muscles compensate and often cause injury. One of the abdominal muscles main job is to ensure good balance.

One of the obvious benefits of good balance is the prevention of injury. People with poor balance are likely to have falls and trouble walking. Standing on one leg requires strong abs. Try doing that with using your abdominal muscles. For me, that would be reason enough to strengthen them!

Balance exercises are a good addition to any abdominal workout. Balance exercises will naturally strengthen the abs while improving balance. Yoga has many balance exercises as part of its program. An exercise regime involving a balance ball is also a good idea. These exercises improve balance by strengthening the abdominal muscles.

Tone abs can keep you healthy. They help you stand up straight and build a beautiful posture. Strong abdominal muscles protect our vital organs similar to how bones protect our lungs. Tone abdominal muscles are the foundation of professional athletes providing their bodies balance. Everyone knows tone abs look good on you. Now it should be clear that tone abs are also good for you.

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There are many programs available that offer abs work out exercises. These can be found in gyms, videos, in groups, individually. It really depends on what environment a person feels most comfortable in and what motivates them to exercise. For many busy people going to a gym three times a week just isn’t something they can make time to do on a regular basis so they look for options at home.

In order to make an abs work out work a person needs to decide that they are serious about doing the work to get fit. Toned abs are an indication that a person is eating right and exercising regularly. This kind of decision is going to require that a few decisions be made. Among those decisions will be when an individual is going to exercise.

Next set a date for evaluation. This date can be from one to three months down the road. The key to success is paying attention when things are working and making adjustments when they are not. By putting a date on your calendar to re-evaluate your exercise program you will not be working in a tunnel that has no end. People need different types of motivation, but almost everyone works better if they know that they are working towards a goal.

A focused exercise program should not last over thirty minutes at a time. For the best results plan on exercising at least three times a week. It is also important to do some stretching prior to beginning an abs workout. The abdominal muscles are affected, and affect, many of the body’s other muscles so when no stretching has been done a person can pull a muscle very easily.

The following exercises are done on the floor and are very simple starter exercises. You will find an abundance of abs workout exercises on the Internet that you may want to add as you get more limber and use to exercising.

The first exercise is to get on the floor in a crawling stance, keep looking at the wall in front of you. Make sure that the knees and wrists are in alignment. Curl the back up while tightening the abdominal muscles. Hold for a count of ten, release then repeat for five more counts. This is a simple exercise and great way to start.

Next lay flat on the back with the knees bent up and hands touching the shoulders. Now while holding the abdominal muscles tight pull forward and hold for a count of five then release lay flat take a breathe and repeat.

Next, prop the hips up with the hands and legs in the air. Make a bicycle riding motion with the legs while holding in the tummy. When the muscles start to feel tingly it is time to stop. These exercises do more than just tighten the abdomen. They strengthen the back muscles and also work the legs and gluts. By doing these exercises daily you should start feeling stronger in a short time and see results fairly quickly.

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