Zen My Fitness – Linking Muscle and Mind

I have read so much about Crazy Celebrity fad diets that I decided I should try one to see if they really would work.

I picked the Cabbage soup diet only because it went for 7 days and would not be so disruptive in my normal routine. It has also been recommended by medical institutions as a pre-surgery diet so I guess it couldn’t be that bad.

Most diets are not suitable for long-term weight loss but are good for losing weight fast.

The Cabbage Soup Diet is a low-fat & low- calorie, high-fiber diet that should help drop weight fast.

It could be used before you embark on a long-term eating plan.

The CABBAGE SOUP DIET

Day One: Read the rest of this entry »

This is a guest post I did recently for MMA UK Blog.

The article digs into the mind of a MMA fighter and begs the question what it takes to be real and about the sport.

Also importantly if you are like me and want to know about the latest MMA news, fight reviews and get first hand interviews with fighters (and the MMA girls) check out Aundre’s site,  it’s been rated as the fastest growing blog site for Mixed Martial Arts in the UK!

It’s a site that is informative, provides current info. and better than buying an expensive magazine off the shelf.

So here we go …

Once you enter the Octagon there is no turning back!

Sounds very dramatic doesn’t it?

Don’t take it lightly nor should anybody else who decides to enter the ring without serious consideration of what might occur.

Train all you like, have a few bouts but the cage is where your mind journey begins by acknowledging the outcomes and its consequences of this brutal sport.

An Essential Sport? ….. Read more at MMA UK Blog.

Most people only think of stretching routines as a method for increasing flexibility.

Recently I wrote about how stretching effects your GTOs (Golgi Tendon Organs) which helps you to lift heavier, and lifting heavier means you grow more!

But I want you to know about this other secret tip on how to “increase muscle size” by stretching during your work out when timed correctly.

It’s called fascia stretching.

Don’t mix this up for facial stretching, the “Celebrity Botox” kind.

I mean fascia, its a dense type of connective tissue, all of the muscle in your body is enclosed in this fascia.

The job of fascia is to help protect muscles and allow them to maintain their position throughout the body.

By stretching your fascia you can actually allow for more muscle growth to occur. Read the rest of this entry »

Crazy Celebrity Diets can work for weight loss over a longer term than just for a few days, celebrities like Brad Pitt and Jennifer Anniston look fantastic so their diets can’t be that bad?

In Hollywood its good to be different, so diets that make sense are usually based on sound nutritional practices but specially wrapped to sell to celebrities and then onto us, their adoring fans.

As I mentioned in my last article “diets that don’t work” the sole purpose is for rapid weight loss, the better diets are ones you can use and become healthy.

The Zone Diet – (Enter the Twilight 40:30:30 Zone)

A popular diet followed by Jennifer Anniston, Brad Pitt and Rene Zellweger was created by a scientist so not surprisingly that’s why its so formula based.

You eat meals in the ratio of Carbs 40%, Proteins 30%, Fats 30% which controls hormones and the body’s insulin to stay within a healthy region to help lose fat. Read the rest of this entry »

We get caught up in all the many CRAZY things that go on in Hollywood.

So in the next couple of articles I thought I’d shed some light on the Celebrity Diets that ”don’t work“, “do work” and “one diet I’ll choose to try out” to see what happens.

In a previous post I discussed how celebrity fad diets can be unhealthy and maybe even dangerous but these ones are just silly.

All diets used for rapid weight loss are usually nutriently unbalanced,  they can not be used over any lengthy period.

Diets have a very low success rate, so essentially they don’t work.  Most times your original weight returns shortly after you stop dieting.

Maintaining a healthy weight over a life time is only sustainable by using a nutritional strategy rather than a fad diet!

An example of  a nutritional strategy is using   intermittent fasting for the long term.

The Zero Fat Diet - (the evil fats)

SALT is the latest spy action movie where CIA agent Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie) is wasting the bad guys and maybe some of the good guys too!

But Angelina needed to get into shape for this role.

Her issue was not to lose weight but actually put it on. A reverse situation for most of us.

Angelina had to do the following; Read the rest of this entry »

I would like to thank Aundre of MMA UK Blog for taking the time out to provide a guest post.

I regularly visit Aundre’s site for the latest information in the MMA World and I’m sure if anyone wants to learn more about MMA please take the time to visit.
Check out his “Knockout of the Week”

MMA Training Zen Style – A Guest Post by Aundre of MMA UK Blog

Without a shadow of a doubt, the most important thing in MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) is training.

There are no shortcuts, no easy way out – training cannot be denied when it comes to MMA.

Training isn’t all about the physical aspect.

Of course it’s important to be at a peak physical condition, but it’s also important make sure that the mental aspect of your game is on point as well.

That’s where the art of Zen comes in. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the best ways to develop overall functional fitness is to adopt methods used by MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fighters.       

BJ Penn Underwater Training

 Using these methods you will be able to tweak your current routine into a very effective total body conditioning workout.       

Top class fighters like BJ Penn, Sean Sherk, Rich Franklin and Georges St Pierre all develop explosive power, speed and strength by using fight specific non stop metabolic circuit training.       

In the off season they work on their techniques, learning new styles of fighting and the weaknesses of others then adding in typical gym training to build muscular strength.       

During fight season, leading up to their event these warriors start moving into weighted high repetition functional exercises increasing their anaerobic fitness so they can sustain high levels of intensity for the duration of a match.       

“In a fight, if you are too tired to hold your hands up or unable to escape a submission … See Ya Later!”    Read the rest of this entry »

Celebrities have a huge influence on us.

Everything they do is always in the spotlight and at times we want to copy “everything they do”.

One area that gets a lot of attention are their diets and workouts.

Some are spot on with their weight loss but some are so far off the track it becomes dangerous, here are a couple examples of crazy and not so crazy diets they follow.

You might be surprised which celebrity gets its right!

Jennifer Love Hewitt – The Grape Whisperer

This hard working actor would work on set for up to 15 hours a day.

Not having a lot of time Jennifer would go home and make simple but high carb (carbohydrate) meals of mashed potatoes, risotto and pastas and not having the time to work out took its toll on her body as the weight piled on.

When it got to the point that Jennifer felt she need to lose weight the first diet she tried was The Grapefruit diet (also known as the Hollywood diet)  a short-term fad diet. Read the rest of this entry »

The Sun Salutation Sequence or Surya Namaskar is a set of 12 yoga poses performed usually in a connecting series of smooth flowing movements.

I'm about to start the Surya Namaskar at Sunrise - 2010

It was originally created for the worship of Surya (the Sun), the Hindhu solar deity.

Each movement is coordinated with the breath (pranayama) and traditionally at the beginning of each pose a sacred mantra is recited.

Today, you will find most yoga classes will include this sequence into their program (sometimes ignoring the importance of breath and mantras) as a way to offer building flexibility and strength.

The different styles of yoga perform the Sun Salutation with their own variations but the core sequence is the same.

The basic Surya Namaskar uses alternating backward and forward bending postures, flexing the spinal column through over a range giving a profound stretch to the whole body.

Sun Salutation would normally be done at sunrise, facing the sun, its used to generate energy and awaken the body but really anywhere is fine as long as you get to do it. Read the rest of this entry »

Ground and Pound, Clinch or Sprawl and Brawl, do you have a battle strategy in MMA (Mixed Martial Arts)?

Every kick is an Abs Crunch

Well whatever your style, getting into the ring you need more than a chiseled midsection but one that is going to absorb punishment from hands, feet or any part thrown at you, then follow these MMA core workouts to build your abs.

Every kick delivered or a raised leg block is simply an abdominal crunch.

To get out of serious trouble in a grapple you’ll need an extraordinary strong abs strength.

Executing forceful escape manoeuvres off the ground comes down to core strength.

Trying to resist an opponent’s attempt to uncurl their bodies with floor spins or pushing off the cage with their feet will demand a solid foundation.

In MMA Cage fighting you need explosive movements and developing a combat core is crucial.

If your opponent is going to throw a body punch and you can’t take a shot you’re in trouble.

Get hit in the stomach and either you will lose your breath or be on the floor, it all depends on how good your core is.

You will need to absorb strikes and need to maintain a fight posture without fatiguing otherwise as soon as you drop your hands… LOOK OUT a huge round house kick is coming your way. Read the rest of this entry »