Three Lifestyle Strategies For More Impressive Abs

Having an impressive abdominal area is certainly a worthy goal. Achieving the much-desired six-pack is the pinnacle of that goal. In addition to specific abdominal muscle training, overall weight training, cardio training and a healthy diet, certain lifestyle adjustments should be included into your ab program to ensure that you meet your abdominal conditioning goals. If you want to optimize your abdominal development, then consider these three Lifestyle Strategies:

Make Sure You're Getting Adequate Sleep - It's vital that you get 7-9 hours of high quality sleep. Numerous studies link the lack of sleep (or sleep deprivation) with increasing body fat accumulation. A study, reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine involving 924 participants, found that people who weigh the most had less sleep. A National Health and Examination Survey of 18,000 adults revealed that people who regularly slept 4 hours or less were 73% more likely to suffer obesity than people who had 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night.

Many medical experts agree that lack of sleep can affect your hormone balances and this could be one contributing factor to gaining bodyfat. For instance, data from 1,024 volunteers in the Wisconsin Sleep Cohort Study suggest that people sleeping less than 5 hours a night showed lower levels of the hormone leptin and higher levels of the hormone ghrelin as compared to people who slept an average of 8 hours a night. Leptin is produced by the fat cells. Low leptin levels trigger hunger and increase your appetite. Ghrelin is produced by the stomach. High levels of this hormone will act as an appetite stimulant.

Besides the hormone balance/weight gain issue, adequate sleep is necessary to support proper rest and recovery of your muscles from your weight training and cardio exercise sessions.

Your sleeping quarters should be quiet, dark and cool. In addition, refrain from exercising 2 or 3 hours prior to going to bed. Furthermore, limit caffeine or alcohol consumption within 3-4 hours of going to sleep. Your activities prior to retiring should be restful and calming activities, such as reading, listening to music (but not Hard Rock), and meditation.

Manage Your Stress - Stress will hinder your efforts to gain muscle and lose body fat. High stress situations cause your body to secrete a hormone called Cortisol. Cortisol is a catabolic hormone that shuts down the anabolic process of building muscle. It also shuts down your fat burning capacity.

Unless you're unusually blessed or lucky, you're going to experience periods of stress. When this happens, you need to employ "de-stressing strategies". The following "de-stressing strategies" are suggested to help you with managing your stress:

1. Listen to calming music

2. Engage in a relaxing hobby

3. Participate in yoga or meditation

4. Reading

Seek a Supportive Environment - Hopefully, you're around people who support your bodybuilding and fitness goals. It's important to surround yourself with positive, motivated and supportive friends, relatives and co-workers.

Strive to associate with other bodybuilders or fitness buffs who have become successful in their fitness goals. Success breeds success. If you're new to fitness or bodybuilding, then find someone who can mentor you or give you advice on how to get started on the right track to meet your goals.

Building muscle and losing fat doesn't happen only in the gym. To be successful in achieving more impressive abs, you must adjust your lifestyle to assist the muscle building/fat burning process by insuring proper rest and recovery.

For information on how to get ripped, six-pack abs?and a FREE REPORT about Ab Training, visit optimummuscledev.com/Free_Ab_Training_Info.html this site.

Jeffry Robinson is a NSCA Certified Personal Trainer specializing in muscle building, fat loss and fitness consulting. With over 40 years of bodybuilding experience and his in-depth knowledge of physiology, anatomy and muscle building principles, he has developed new and revolutionary information products for bodybuilders. Bodybuilding articles and free bodybuilding reports can be found at his website at:

optimummuscledev.com optimummuscledev.com.

Yoga Teacher Training: Am I Too Old to Become a Yoga Teacher?

All too frequently, I am asked by middle-aged or senior students, who aspire to become a Yoga teacher, "When is the best time to become a Yoga teacher?" Has the window of time passed for this opportunity, and is a younger Yoga instructor better suited to teach Yoga to the public?

Some of these veteran Yoga students have decades of experience, but feel intimidated by the "young hard bodies." This is a deep subject, so let's take a closer look at what holds some of us back from becoming a Yoga teacher.

The following three issues are worth mentioning at this point:

1. Is Hatha Yoga strictly a physical practice?

2. If Hatha Yoga were an exercise class, the value of a "coach" is worthy of note.

3. There are so many Yoga students over 40 years of age, who desire a knowledgeable, mature, and careful Yoga teacher.

Is Hatha Yoga strictly a physical practice? No - Hatha Yoga covers mental, spiritual, and emotional aspects, as well as the physical aspects of life. The public has been duped by pretzel asanas (postures) on the covers of magazines.

If you never studied Yoga, you might not know better, but I am surprised when a student, with ten or more years of practice, still sees asana as the "Holy Grail" of Hatha Yoga. Asana is very valuable, but does not govern Hatha Yoga.

Pranayama (cultivation of life force through breath) is the ruler of body, mind, spirit, and emotions. Pranayama keeps you healthy in all aspects of existence, and Pranayama governs many asana techniques. If you cannot breathe correctly, asana performance can be very frustrating - when folding, balancing, or twisting. Pranayama makes mudra (gestures), and bandha (locks), purification of the nadis (energy channels), and meditation, much more powerful.

However, Pranayama is not the only aspect of Hatha Yoga. It is just one of the many aspects mentioned within the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. Maharishi Patanjali mentions eight limbs within the Yoga Sutras. Asana is just one of the eight limbs of Yoga, but asana can be seen, and can be performed, to impress the public.

Would the public be impressed by Samadhi (the settled mind)? You already know the answer - The general public is impressed by the superficial aspects of Yoga, but Yoga is much more than one aspect.

If Hatha Yoga were simply an exercise class, the value of a "coach" is still worthy of note. The definition of a "teacher" in most languages is, "One who has been there before."

When you can teach a Yoga student how to perform an asana technique correctly, but you cannot perform the same asana perfectly, that is a part of being a teacher. The fact is - you understand the mechanics as good as anyone.

© Copyright 2007 - Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in Attleboro, MA. riyoga.com riyoga.com He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. To receive a Free e-Book: "Yoga in Practice," and a Free Yoga Newsletter, please visit: yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html

How to Pass Your Yoga Instructor Training Exams

The following is a brief compilation of tips that will help anyone taking happinesslifetime.com Yoga certification exams. Generally speaking, Yoga teacher courses are composed of three basic parts. These parts may be your written exams, essays, and practical exams. There may be one, or more, of these parts involved during the examination process.

Written Exams: Usually, written exams are based upon foundational Yogic knowledge. The points, that the examiners may be drawing you to, are valuable for anyone, who will be teaching Yoga classes. In other words, this is knowledge that you should have been mastered, before you began teaching a class.

Written Exams may be based upon one, or more, books which are part of the curriculum. When referencing books, it is always best to reference the book, author, and page number of the information you are presenting. In this way, you support your answer with concrete evidence.

At the same time, there is nothing wrong with having a personal opinion that agrees, or disagrees, with the author's point. In this way, you also show evidence that you are able to think for yourself. The exception to this is if the examiner requires you to give an answer that is based only upon the author's opinion.

Essays: One of the biggest mistakes to make on an essay is to cut-and-paste writings by various authors, and then try passing it off as your own work. If you quote an author, you should also give credit to that author by stating the author's name, the book or website, and include the page number or URL.

When using any quotes by authors to support your essay, you would want to provide a page of references - whether a separate "References" page or Footnotes at the bottom of each page where the quote is included within the text of the page. Also related to this: Limit the number of supporting quotes, to about 20 percent, of your work. The examiner is looking for your thoughts, not a complete compilation of another author's thoughts.

Practical Exams: This is usually considered the hardest part of the testing. However, preparation is going to help you pass this hurdle. Interns, who spend time teaching mock classes, recording their classes on video, and practicing teaching techniques, will pass much easier than someone who puts little thought into how to conduct a class.

Teaching a Yoga class is composed of cueing skills, observation skills, showing modifications, and assisting when needed. You never want to turn your back on your students and "do your own Yoga practice." It is a wonderful thing when one can perform a technique, but a teacher is being tested for his or her ability to lead a class.

One last point about the Practical Exam - if you find yourself facing away from your students, it is probably a good time to get off your mat and walk around the room. It always seems to be that, when you turn your back to your students, there is a mental disconnect between you and your students.

© Copyright 2010 - Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, has written many books on the subject of Yoga. He is a co-owner and the Director of yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html Yoga Teacher Training at: Aura Wellness Center, in Attleboro, MA. He has been a certified Master Yoga Teacher since 1995. To receive Free Yoga videos, Podcasts, e-Books, reports, and articles about Yoga, please visit: yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html

Hatha Yoga Techniques For Prosperity

Contrary to popular opinion, within different forms of Yoga, there are combined methods of meditation, mantra, and affirmation for prosperity. The world could use some prosperity right now. Should you become too prosperous, as a result of the following practices, you can always donate your surplus to the nearest charity.

There are a variety of mantras for prosperity. For example: Bhakti Yoga practitioners may call upon Parameshwari (the Supreme sovereign Mother Goddess) for wealth, longevity, abundance, and everything we desire in life. There is also the Ardas Bahee meditation, which is a combination of mantra and meditation performed by some Kundalini Yoga practitioners.

There are also many more, but what if these practices collide with your religious beliefs? You may not be comfortable calling upon a live or deceased Yoga Guru or a deity from a religion, with whom you are unfamiliar. Whatever your religious belief, you have the power of prayer or affirmations.

For non-believers, the concept of prayer might not work for them, but the power of positive affirmations is still very significant. To believe in one's abilities to find answers and solutions is a primary step toward any form of empowerment.

For believers, from each of the world's religions, the power of prayer is universal, and it is taken for granted that miracles happen on a daily basis. If people collectively have similar prayers, mantras, or affirmations, this creates a massive rebounding wave in the Law of Attraction.

To avoid any religious conflicts, let's take a look at affirmations. The following are examples of short, and straight-to-the-point, positive affirmations, which are realistic. One could repeat one of these positive affirmations as a preventative measure (to prevent negative thinking) or in times of need.

"I love life and accept prosperity unconditionally."

"I am grateful for my family, friends, and all the prosperity I receive."

"I become more prosperous each day."

"Each day is filled with endless opportunities."

You may be thinking, "My Yoga teacher never covers mantra or affirmations during class. We basically focus on Yoga as an exercise." If this is the case, there is nothing stopping you from pursuing more knowledge. Some Yoga classes focus only on asana (postures).

The reason this happened is because some of the most valuable aspects of Yoga were not as popular as the physical exercises. Past experiences may discourage teachers from discussing the benefits of pranayama, meditation, mantra, kriyas, mudras, bandhas, and so much more. Now that you know the power of a trained mind, there are two ways to advance your practice.

1. Seek out a competent Hatha Yoga teacher, who will show you a path to control your mind.

2. Develop foundational Yogic training. Then, immerse yourself in self-study and Yoga studies. The search for truth is what Jnana Yoga (the path of knowledge) is founded upon.

© Copyright 2009 - Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, has written many books on the subject of Yoga. He is a co-owner and the Director of Yoga Teacher Training at: Aura Wellness Center, in Attleboro, MA. aurawellnesscenter.com aurawellnesscenter.com He has been a certified Master Yoga Teacher since 1995. To receive Free Yoga videos, Podcasts, e-Books, reports, and articles about Yoga, please visit: yoga-teacher-training.org/member-offer.html yoga-teacher-training.org/member-offer.html

Jujitsu And Yoga

Jujitsu and Yoga emphasizes on groundwork

For Brazilian Jujitsu practitioners, the most critical physical linkage between the Brazilian Jujitsu and yoga is the emphasis on groundwork. All poses of yoga such as the handstands, and the seated and standing poses emphasize the relationship of the body to the ground. All yoga exercises that are strength-related make the practitioner to put direct resistance to the gravity pull. It may seem an easy situation. Of course, if you just stand on your two legs, gravity is an easy force to deal with. Now let's use how you can stand on the your feet's balls, then squat up to where your thighs and the ground are parallel, and try holding that pose for 10 counts. This is what yoga is all about.

The mechanics for many of the yoga poses somehow is directly similar to the body movements found in the Brazilian Jujitsu. Likewise, yoga helps in preparing you for the mental rigors of Brazilian Jujitsu sparring, grappling and competition because yoga trains on you on how to relax mentally while trying to hold physically compromising poses and positions. Indeed, there are many yoga poses that are intended to arouse various emotional responses such as fear, frustration and anger.

Benefits of Yoga on Jujitsu

Regardless of the emotions that you might have, and how intensely and seriously you feel them, the practice of yoga trains you to not only endure and tolerate such emotions, but it also encourages you to really experience them. When you are able to experience your mental and physical limits at their extreme, yet you respond with a clear and calm attitude, getting attacked and mounted upon by a 250 pound competitor or sparring partner at a Jujitsu game should not be as fearsome as the early games used to be. This is one of the true benefit and advantage of yoga. Each pose as well as practice session is a chance for you to deal with your resisting opponent. Your every breath and moment is actually a personal challenge that we can really experience, tolerate and overcome.

It is quite wrong, that for the bulk of the population, when the word or phrase yoga practice are mentioned in conversations, one easily imagines a half-naked native chief, dressed scantily with the use of loin cloth, chanting the world ohm, and smiling on of the widest grin imaginable. Or, even worse, one envisions a group of individuals, seated in full-lotus position, trying to get in touch with their inner dolphin.

Try dropping your weights, leaving the sneakers or running shoes and the nice gloves at home for just some sensible training from a professional yoga practitioner. There is actually much more to yoga than you can imagine, especially as an able partner to Jujitsu. You may find more information on Jujitsu at jujitsufightingstyle.com jujitsufightingstyle.com website.

My name is Maryann and I am a big martial arts and Jujitsu (Jiujitsu) fan. I love all types of martial arts with Jujitsu being my favorite. You can check out my jujitsufightingstyle.com Jujitsu - jujitsufightingstyle.com jujitsufightingstyle.com site if you want to learn more about Jujitsu.

What Should a Hatha Yoga Teacher Know? - Part 1

Most of the time, prospective Yoga teachers have a very strong foundation in Yoga; but sometimes, they originally come from a related-field, such as Martial Arts, Pilates, Dance, Gymnastics, or Fitness. This is fine, but be prepared for a "learning curve" and do not expect to learn all about Yoga in one Yoga teacher training intensive course. Even if you "lock yourself up" in an ashram for months, you should realize that learning Yoga is a life-long journey and not a race.

Now, if you come from a related field - you have a lot more mental work to do than a long-time student of Yoga. Hatha Yoga is a physical form of Yoga, but being athletic is not as important as the knowledge a Yoga teacher should possess. So, what should you know in order to become a Yoga teacher? Below is a list of what a Hatha Yoga teacher should know in order to successfully teach Yoga classes.

Anatomy, physiology, and kinesiology should always be covered during a Yoga teacher training session. Yoga student safety is especially an important issue for those who will be teaching Yoga. Students are always physically different, and Hatha Yoga practice can be made to adapt to anyone - regardless of age or physical ability. Anyone who desires to teach Yoga should have a complete understanding of how the physical body works.

Asanas are the postures held during Yoga practice. Hatha Yoga teachers do not have to know hundreds of Asanas to teach a Yoga class, but they should be very familiar with 26 to 100 different Yoga postures - depending upon the style of Yoga. Yoga teachers should be able to design a lesson plan using these postures, their variations, and the many other aspects of Hatha Yoga teaching.

Yoga teachers should know how to give Asana modifications to their students. Sometimes, this could be advising a Yoga student to use a block, strap, bolster, chair, ball, blanket, or any other prop for proper alignment and safety. Other times, this might be giving a Yoga student an alternative variation of an Asana.

Yoga teachers should be familiar with contraindications for Asanas; which are cautions that can be related to a specific Yoga posture. This is very important when working with Yoga students who are pregnant, have high blood pressure, or have a specific ailment.

Yoga teachers should take the time to be familiar with each student and his or her particular health condition. This means researching health conditions that Yoga students have and staying on top of your own continuing education. After becoming familiar with an ailment; learn how you can help, but never give medical advice.

No Yoga teacher should ever put a student at risk. The body of a Yoga student cannot be forced into a position that a Yoga teacher feels is correct. Instead, the body is gently guided to its natural limits, without pain and little discomfort.

© Copyright 2006 - Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul Jerard is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in North Providence, RI. He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. To receive a Free e-Book: "Yoga in Practice," and a Free Yoga Newsletter, please visit: yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html

The Positives of the Big-Five Training

More Muscle Can Save Your Life: The medical document affirms the unmitigated role that enlarged muscle mass plays to one's advantage during life- threatening situations. A lot of the useful effects of strength training come from the fact that the other organs of the body strengthen their functional efficiency to mark, one to one, with increases in muscle mass.

Strength: Practice that is done to make your muscles bulkier also makes them stronger. When you're fitter, the metabolic cause of any work out that you have to do as part of your daily life becomes less significant. Having more intensity benefits you in all activities, it not only makes everything you do easier but also enlarge the space of what you can do.

Inactive Metabolism: Muscle is metabolically effective tissue. Any decrement of muscle with duration leads to a diminish energy requirement and a reduced resting metabolic rate. A twelve week strength training program results in gaining three pounds of lean muscle weight and reducing body fat by an average four pounds. As a result the resting metabolism rate will increase by 7 percent, which is equal of additional 108 calories burned per day or extra 756 calories per week. The case indicates that the body burns at least 35 calories a day for every pound of lean muscle weight gained.

Glucose Metabolism: The capacity to metabolize glucose efficiently is vital to health. Diabetes has been associated with poor glucose metabolism, which intensity has been shown to improve, increasing glucose uptake by 23 percent after six weeks.

Release of Body Fat Stores: Body fat loss is another asset that complete strength training affords the trainee. This benefit of a resistance - training program is a result of three factors. The first is that an build up in muscle mass raises the resting metabolic rate of the body, consequently burning more calories in a twenty - four hour time stretch. The second is that calories are incinerated the whole time the strength-training motion a greater rate. Third, as communicated the muscles bare themselves of glycogen, glucose is removed out of the bloodstream and into the muscle, lowering the bloodstream's insulin levels.

Blood Pressure: Correctly accomplished strength training has indeed been revealed to trim resting blood pressure in lightly hypertensive adults without danger of alarming blood pressure increase.

Flexibility: People count flexibility to be the third leg of the fitness tripod, the additional two being cardiovascular stimulation and strength building. While enhanced flexibility is beneficial, you don't have to list in a yoga class or stretch constantly to harmlessly achieve flexibility. There's a vast spread of confusion, even among fitness authorities, between stretching and flexibility. What you want is not enlarged flexibility so much as enhanced flexibility. The target is accomplished by an application of resistance at the safe ultimate of a muscle's extend of motion.

Click muscleexercisestips.com muscle exercises to get in-depth knowledge of strength training.

muscleexercisestips.com MuscleExercisesTips.com