Sunday, January 11, 2009

Muscle Building Tips

Starting any kind of fitness program can be difficult because of the sheer amount of advice out there. It is often hard to know where to start your burn fat gain muscle efforts.

There is more than one way to build muscle, more than one exercise that works, but there are also many things that can hurt your efforts to build muscle and obtain those elusive washboard abs, if that is your goal. Let’s take a look at some things to avoid.

1. Overspending on gym memberships

You may think that they only way to get a good workout is to go to a gym: they have stack-pulley, computerized, and hydraulic machines that you could never afford. And they’re safer, right? Not necessarily. Often, the low-cost exercises that you do at home are much more effective and safe. If you are considering a gym membership, you may want to save yourself the expense.

In the privacy of your own home, you can workout with moves like squats and lunges, which require absolutely no equipment, or with free weights, which are relatively cheap. The best equipment is your body, some free weights, and hard work.

2. Doing the Same Workout All the Time

When it comes to exercising and building muscle, what worked for you in the beginning may not work for you now.

Doing the same exercises all the time doesn’t challenge your body. In fact, your body becomes so efficient at performing the moves that it works less hard. Your muscles will not be challenged enough.

Therefore, doing the same workout routine causes your body to burn much fewer calories. Add some variation. Up the intensity. Never let your body get used to anything – it needs constant challenges. The upside is that you won’t get bored with your exercise routine.

3. Ignoring Cardio

Some people who are trying to build muscle focus exclusively on weight training. While this is obviously important, they are ignoring an integral part of success: cardio.

Cardio has multiple advantages, including preventing your body from gaining fat and helping your body recover from rigorous weight training. To get the maximum benefit from your cardio, do it immediately after your weight training session when your body is primed for fat burning. Also, limit it to high intensity intervals totaling no more than twenty minutes.

4. Not resting enough.

Your body builds muscle while it is resting, so it is important to take breaks for your training regimen. Take two or three days off per week and allow your muscles to rest.

Muscle fatigue and injury are other problems that will cause you to build muscle much more slowly. To avoid this, work different muscle groups during each workout. Try working on your arms and back one day and your legs and abs the next. This will allow muscle to grow.

5. Snubbing diet.

Food is fuel, and many people who fail when building muscle do so because they are not adequately fueling their body. To put your body into muscle building mode, eat properly.

Especially important is protein, which is essential to muscle building. Make sure you get plenty of lean meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy in your diet, and eat a protein snack within thirty minutes of your workouts.

6. Giving Up

Everyone’s body is different, and it takes some people longer to build muscle than others. Quitting because you are not seeing results fast enough is a huge mistake.

There are several things you can do if you notice your efforts are stagnating: look at your fitness routine to see if there is anything you can change. Look at your diet to see if you are eating properly. If your body just takes more time to build muscle, giving up will be a great loss.

Either way, quitting won’t give you the body you want. Keep up with your efforts; if it is not working, then by all means change something. Just don’t give up.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Here's Why I Download Audio Books

In a world where everything is digital, why should you limit yourself to traditional methods of buying and reading books?

Buying books in MP3 format offers the consumer a wide range of advantages that traditional formats do not. Here's a look at some of the major benefits that await you when you purchase MP3 audio books.

1. MP3 books are eminently more usable than other audio books.

MP3 files, in general, are very easy to use and to transfer to friends and relatives for the simple reason that so little equipment is required. All you really need is a computer. You don't even technically need an mp3 player to play them.

This presents an advantage when you listen to the books and then want to share them with your friends. With a CD, your friends would need a player on which to listen. While CDs seem ubiquitous, they are fast becoming obsolete ? not everyone has a CD player, much less a portable version.

When you download audio books on line, they are far more usable than if you purchased them on tape or CD.

2. MP3 formats offer a price that is much more reasonable than other formats.

Because no packaging and shipping costs are required, and because there is little overhead for companies providing MP3s, books on this format are much less expensive than traditional books, CDs, or tapes. Simply purchase your MP3 book, download, and enjoy.

Because the format is much cheaper to produce, you might even be able to get the best deal on mp3 books by purchasing two or three of them online at once. For the same price that it would cost you to buy one in the bookstore, expect to have several mp3 audio books at your disposal.

3. MP3 audio books surpass the convenience of other forms of audio book.

MP3s offer you the convenience of browsing and purchasing online, from the comfort of your own home.

The hassle of driving to a store, looking through stacks of books and hoping they have the ones you want, and then praying for a sale is eliminated when you choose MP3 audio books. You are only a few clicks away from the best deals on the books you want.

4. You get a selection that is absolutely impossible to beat.

Whether you are looking for childrens' mp3 audio books or any other mp3 audio books on any subject, you are guaranteed to have a better selection when you purchase them online.

This is because when you download audio books you are ultimately choosing from a digital library, and digital libraries are cheaper and easier to maintain than a store's inventory.

If you have ever tried to order an obscure, hard-to-find title, you know that it can be a tedious process. Even online giants like Amazon can be cumbersome, and you still have to wait for the shipment to arrive. Going digital with MP3 purchases is the easiest and fastest way to get the books you want.

With better quality, a lower price, higher convenience and better choices, mp3 audio books are much better than the competition.