What Good is Sweat? Reasons for sweating -- By Dr. John Spencer Ellis

Perspiration isn't generally considered desirable. It makes clothes wet and uncomfortable, it makes our skin unpleasant to touch and it often smells bad. But the biological fact is that sweating is essential to good health, especially during exercise.

Why?

Humans take in and use water for a number of important physiological functions. It provides a medium for cells and tissues. It makes possible the transport throughout the body of important elements or compounds like sodium and sugar not to mention forming part of the blood that moves them. It provides structural cohesion and lubrication between all parts. But there's one more highly important function it helps perform: temperature control.

Homeostasis is the body's ability to keep certain processes and factors in equilibrium; this is not too far from a central point. Body temperature is one key item among those. When body temperature gets too high, we experience fever and ultimately heat stroke. If it's too low, we get chills. Both are signs that the body is in a less than ideal state.

One major reason is that all chemical reactions within the body have to take place within a very narrow range in terms of rate. Compounds have to be used and produced at just the right quantities within a certain time in order to proceed properly, or at all. Temperature, for very basic physical chemistry reasons, is a key factor in controlling that rate.

So how does sweat play a role in that?

Perspiring does not occur primarily in order to keep the amount of fluid in homeostasis - urination does that, along with breathing (though sweating plays a small part). But it has a huge effect on body temperature. As we exercise, chemical reactions speed up and mechanical motion is taking place. Both those produce more heat energy, which raises the internal temperature.

But the body is constantly seeking homeostasis: an equilibrium within a narrow range around a central point. For humans, that is 98.6F/37C on average - a small deviation is within normal range. As we sweat, the excess heat energy is moved from inside the body to the outside, along the surface of the skin, carried along with the perspiration.

Outside the body a physical principle is at work - Newton's Law of Cooling. Inside too, but never mind for now. Ignoring advanced mathematics, it says essentially that warmer bodies lose heat to cooler ones. We get cooler; the air gets a little warmer. Air molecules collide with the sweat molecules and pick up some of the heat energy they contain. That lowers the temperature of the sweat, lowering our temperature in the process (on the outside).

The net effect is to take excess heat on the inside and move it to the outside, somewhat like a home air conditioner or a car radiator. That helps keep the internal temperature at a constant 98.6F/37C.

That process takes place with breathing and just simple exposure. But sweating makes the process much more efficient, since water can carry a lot more heat than air does alone.

So, though it may have its unpleasant aspects, be thankful you perspire. After all, if you lacked sweat glands like your dog does, you'd look very silly panting.
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Each week, over one million people enjoy a fitness and wellness program created by John Spencer Ellis. His programs are implemented in the top resorts, spas and health clubs. John is the CEO of NESTA (National Exercise & Sports Trainers Association), the Spencer Institute for Life Coaching, and the Get America Fit Foundation. John has been featured on ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, FOX, FOX Sports, FOX Reality, SPIKE and ESPN. Visit him at www.JohnSpencerEllis.com

*brought to you by FitnessandHealthAdvice.com

Stress and Your Health by Dr. John Spencer Ellis

Some effects believed to be linked to stress have not been borne out by research. Ulcers, in particular, were thought to be caused by stress. Though the acid produced during moments of stress may increase discomfort, contemporary research points more to genetic factors in combination with certain stomach viruses as the likely culprit.

But evidence is accumulating that some health effects are strongly influenced by stress.

Some of the more elementary and obvious effects of stress are well known. Headaches, excessive muscle tension, high blood pressure, rapid heartbeat, interrupted digestion, and other symptoms are often recognized. But there are longer-term, and more serious, potential consequences from chronic stress.

Just as one example, several studies undertaken at the National Institutes of Health and elsewhere strongly suggest that stress has an effect on the immune system. Interestingly, the effect is sometimes positive, sometimes negative.

Since stress, in one definition, is just a person's 'fight or flight' response to a perceived threat, it can have a positive effect. It triggers the release of biochemicals that can help heal infections from bites, punctures or other damage. That makes sense if you consider how evolution might have tailored the immune system to deal with these problems.

But when that response persists over a long period of time, the effects can be harmful.

One result is that the immune system actually decreases in effectiveness. This is logical if you consider that once those chemicals are depleted, but have nothing to act on and hence dissolve, they can't readily be produced again when there is something to counteract. The result is a higher susceptibility to infection and a lowered resistance to colds and other virus induced illnesses.

The other result is a general fatigue and sometimes depression. When a person is stressed for long-periods, there is a feedback between one part of the cause - the belief that no action is possible to overcome the stress initiating events - and the effects. In other words, the belief becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Another impact on health caused by chronic stress is a compromised circulatory system. When stress hormones released by the 'fight or flight' trigger don't get used up by physical activity, they can cause actual physiological stress on the body.

High blood pressure increases physical tension on the walls of blood vessels. When the body reacts to heal the micro-tears that sometimes result, scar tissue can be produced. That decreases the ease of blood flow through them.

If carried to an extreme or for a long enough period, or for individuals at risk for genetic or age reasons, heart attacks can occur. As the blood vessels narrow, the heart may be unable to deliver sufficient blood and oxygen at moments of high demand.

Stress has long been known to worsen the effects of rheumatoid arthritis. As the link between this condition and the immune system have become better understood over the years, it's clearer why this should be so.

Protect your physical and mental well-being by practicing techniques to lower it. Adopt a philosophy that helps minimize stress in your life. Your health depends on it.
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Each week, over one million people enjoy a fitness and wellness program created by John Spencer Ellis. His programs are implemented in the top resorts, spas and health clubs. John is the CEO of NESTA (National Exercise & Sports Trainers Association), the Spencer Institute for Life Coaching, and the Get America Fit Foundation. John has been featured on ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, FOX, FOX Sports, FOX Reality, SPIKE and ESPN. Visit him at www.JohnSpencerEllis.com

*brought to you by FitnessandHealthAdvice.com

Sponsor Message: If you've not done so already, grab your copy of the world wide best-seller 'Maximize Your Metabolism' by fitness expert, speaker, and author Christopher Guerriero.

The Best Results Always Occur 1 Step Past Where Most People Give Up -- By Christopher Guerriero

I just got back from the gym about: 30 minutes ago and wanted to share an important success 'reminder' with you. I'm not sure about you guys, but getting to the gym is sometimes a pain in the butt, but we all have to do some things we don't want to do, right?

At the gym I was doing bicep exercises and my goal was 12 reps each set. Each set I did, I tried to increase the weight and make it a bit tougher. It got much tougher. So much, that by the 8th rep, I wanted to 'throw in the towel'... but I didn't!!!

I wanted to stop so badly, but I didn't. What I did instead was give just 5% more effort and I didn't stop at 12 reps, I went to 15. You see, we need to be reminded that the magic doesn't happen on the 1st mile, it happens when you go the extra mile for yourself and for others.

Anybody who knows anything about weight training or dieting will tell you that you get most of your results from those last 2-3 reps you don't want to do, or from those last few weeks that you really don't want to diet.

But here's the catch...

Most people quit on themselves and their dreams, right when it gets tough.

Unfortunately, they then never get to taste the magic that could have taken place for them. That same magic that could have transformed their body from ordinary to extraordinary.

And that taste is so sweet, it really is unfortunate that more people don't give themselves the gift of going the extra mile, so they too can enjoy living life in the body of their dreams.

(Shameless plug: Some of the best feedback I get from my 'Living Health - Weight Loss Audio Program', is that it shows you how to easily go that extra 5% and win.)

I've said it over and over again, but I'll repeat it here one more time... you don't have to be 50% or 100% better then everyone else when you diet or exercise. 5% is it. Yes, that's it.

Persist past your desire to stop dieting or exercising. Do a little bit more today.

Do one more rep. Workout 15 minutes longer. Drink one more glass of plain, fresh water. Eat one more large bowl of salad (without a lot of dressing). And encourage one more person to exercise with you.

Are you ready to give 5% more today?

I can't tell for sure, but I really feel that you are ready.

Am I right?

Make your move.
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Christopher Guerriero is Founder and CEO of The National Metabolic and Longevity Research Center, where he has devoted more than 15 years to studying people who have successfully mastered their metabolism. Christopher is the author of several books, including the world wide best-seller "Maximize Your Metabolism".

*brought to you by FitnessAndHealthAdvice.com

Bad News: You May Have The Fat-Gene By Jon Benson

Ah, the "Fat-Gene." Yep, I have it. You probably do too. It's called the FTO Gene. Researchers estimate that up to 30% of those from European decent have FTO.

FTO is just flat-out nasty. It is an obesity "allele", which just means that it is a part of a gene structure that is associated with weight-gain. FTO is also associated with an increased chance of Type 2 Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome, and other disease states.

However, these states are secondary to weight-gain. This means weight-gain is a major trigger for these disease states to begin.

No kidding. Who'd thunk it?

Oh, there's more: FTO was found to jack appetite through the roof after rats were deprived of food for a while.

So... let me get this straight:

1. This gene makes someone eat more after they starve themselves.
2. This gene is associated with obesity and disease states caused by weight-gain... which is...
3. Always the result of starving yourself.

I'm just trying to paint a picture here folks and to avert some needless panic.

Let me give you an alternative hypothesis:

1. Yes, genes have something to do with weight-gain and bodyfat, etc.

2. But most people who were tested for these genetic factors probably tried some form of starvation dietplan long before Mr. Researcher called them into the clinic.

3. As a result, this FPO sucker triggered the extremely well-researched "fight or flight" response to starvation, which ...

4. ...bingo...caused our test subjects to gain bodyweight.

Ta-da.

This is no different than the genetic traits that make someone more likely to smoke or drink or like pop music. He/she STILL has to start the process, and that means he or she can stop it.

So, want to turn "off" your FTO?

* STOP STARVING YOURSELF *

You do not need to starve. You need to eat smart. I am only moderately hungry at night even when getting into super lean condition. I eat many times a day or (if eating higher-fat) 2-3 times and I'm always eating plenty of food.

Turn off FTO by turning ON your body's natural need for frequent, healthy food.

My friend Christopher Guerriero wrote a killer book on this subject. It is like The Bible of Metabolic Power. You can read about it here --> Turn Off Fat-Gene. Christopher knows his stuff. He's an expert in the field of bio-nutriton and human metabolism, and he's in killer shape at 44.

Stoke the furnace -- and turn off your fat-gene. It just takes a bit of smart eating and a willingness to ignore most of what the media trys to sell you.
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Jon Benson is a nutrition and fitness counselor and best-selling author. His latest book "7 Minute Muscle" documents the latest research on brevity training and how you can get more results in far less time in the gym. Read more at http://myworkout.notlong.com

*brought to you by FitnessandHealthAdvice.com

Measure Your Progress By Christopher Guerriero

An extremely important part of your fitness program is being able to measure your progress.

Body fat testing is not painful, nor is it expensive. You can get it done at most any gym or fitness center. Simply ask if they have an expert who can measure body composition. It's also a good idea to take before and after photos and post them somewhere you'll see them every day. But most importantly, measure 5 - 10 different aspects of your progress.

My most successful clients measure everything in their life that's effected by their weight loss, normally on a simple scale from 1 - 10, such as:

* their daily energy level
* their attitude
* the way they feel when they look in the mirror
* the way they fit into their clothes
* the compliments they get from people
* their level of mental focus
* their waist, hips, and thigh measurements
* their body weight
* their body-fat level
* their endurance in their workouts
* etc, etc, etc...

Make a long list of ways you can measure your progress - but be sure to include things that are truly important to YOU. If having loads of energy is important to you, than you should be measuring your energy level every day to see if your diet and/or workout routine are doing their job.

On the other hand, if you already have a lot of daily energy, than you might not want to measure that - you might prefer to measure other things that are more important to you at the stage of life your currently at.

Take time to design your list, then chart your progress in a daily journal every day for each of the categories on your list. Then take an average for the whole day, and write that average at the top of your page.
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Christopher Guerriero is Founder and CEO of The National Metabolic and Longevity Research Center, where he has devoted more than 15 years to studying people who have successfully mastered their metabolism. Christopher is the author of several books, including the world wide best-seller "Maximize Your Metabolism". Take a moment to learn about Christopher's Healthy Living Weight Loss Audio program.

*brought to you by FitnessAndHealthAdvice.com

Weight Training is Important For Women, Too By Christopher Guerriero

The benefits of lifting weights -- also called weight training, strength training or resistance training -- include stronger muscles, a stronger heart, a much leaner physique, a longer life, and a body better able to support your everyday needs and activities. Women, however, still tend to shy away from this beneficial form of exercise.

Ladies, does the mere idea of weightlifting scare you?

“I don’t want to lift weights because they’ll make me too big and bulky.” For how many of you is this the reason you’ve never attempted weight training?

It seems to be many a man’s dream to have big, bulky muscles. Why is it then, that men, whose bodies naturally contain much greater amounts of testosterone and growth hormone, lift weights yet don't get big and bulky?

It’s true! Unless they are supplementing with dangerous and unhealthful steroids or similar substances, most men do not naturally bulk up hugely by lifting weights regularly. And neither will most women.

The idea that women get big, ugly muscles from weight training is a complete misconception.

The fact of the matter is that women must lift weights in order to achieve the lean, sculpted bodies they dream of having. If a woman does happen to have the genetic disposition to bulk up quickly, there are easy ways to alter a workout to prevent this extra muscle size, while still increasing strength and rapidly burning fat.

The idea that weightlifting causes insanely huge muscle buildup is largely a creation of the media. It’s true that some women weightlifters takes steroids, and these hormones do make them look very masculine. The average woman who weight trains, however, will simply achieve a slim, healthy body without adding unwanted muscle mass.

Let’s start by discussing the basics of weight training ...

Weight training involves controlled lifting and working out with weights. Two basic terms related to weightlifting are “rep” and “set.” A rep describes the complete act of raising and lowering a weight during a single act of exercise. A set describes the number of times a particular rep is performed.

For example, when a person does five reps of a squat, they squat down and stand up five times, continuously, before stopping and either moving on to another exercise or finishing their workout. Those five squats would equal one set. A balanced weight-training session will include several sets of different exercises.

Your goal as either a beginner, intermediate, or advanced weight lifter should be to exhaust your muscles in the shortest time frame - that simply means that when you lift a weight, you should lift a heavy enough weight to exhaust your muscles doing only 10 - 15 reps.

And you should do this exercising pattern about 3 days each week - with at least 24 hour of rest after each workout.

Now I'm going to share a principle exercise with you that many commercial fitness "buff's" will hate me telling you because this single exercise will do more for your body than almost any other exercise around - making it completely unnecessary for you to ever buy another exercise gadget from late night television ever again.

before I share it with you I've got to give you a quick disclaimer...this exercise should be done (at least initially) under the supervision of a qualified personal trainer, so that you learn the proper form to use during the movement.

This exercise will work every muscle in your body, and you can do it in the privacy of your own home, without any fancy machines or expensive video's.

In fact, this exercise a foundational core exercise and it'll set your internal furnace up to burn more calories throughout the rest of the day than any other exercise we've tested (when done properly).

It's called the dead-lift and here's how it's done for maximum fat loss and body shaping...

Starting Position ...

Stand with feet flat and placed slightly farther apart than shoulder width with toes pointed slightly outward.

Squat down with hips lower than shoulders and grasp the weight lifting bar (or any small object)...in the beginning I highly suggest that you use very little added weight, so when you bend to grasp something, use a book or something else that's small and light weight - just to help you balance.

Place hands on bar (or whatever you choose to lift) slightly less than shoulder width apart, inside the knees and with elbows fully extended.

Place bar roughly 1 inch in front of shins and over balls of feet.

Upward Movement ...

- Lift bar off floor by extending hips and knees.
- Maintain an erect and flat back at all times.
- Keep elbows fully extended.
- Keep bar as close to shins as possible without hitting or scraping.
- When bar passes knees move the hips forward.
- Keep body erect at point of full knee and hip extension.

Downward Movement ...

Allow the hips and knees to flex to slowly lower the bar to the floor.
Repeat movement until finished with set.

Now this might sound a bit confusing the first several times you read it - however, once you practice it for a day or 2, the movement will become second nature to you and you'll begin feeling and seeing the results quickly.

Remember that with any new exercise comes a bit of soreness, so start very slowly, and gradually increase your intensity.

Ladies, I encourage you: Let go of your preconceived ideas about weight training. Do not fear it. Embrace your weightlifting potential! You will benefit so much more from it than from spending hours on that piece of cardio equipment alone.
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Christopher Guerriero is Founder and CEO of The National Metabolic and Longevity Research Center, where he has devoted more than 15 years to studying people who have successfully mastered their metabolism. Christopher is the author of several books, including the world wide best-seller "Maximize Your Metabolism".

Look: Grab your copy Christopher's Healthy Living Weight Loss Audio program!

*brought to you by FitnessAndHealthAdvice.com

How to Burn More Fat in Less Time By Christopher Guerriero

Are you exercising for long periods of time to try to burn fat?

If you're like most people you probably are, but this week I want to share with you a far better technique to use. It's called "high intensity interval training" (HIIT) and lately it's started to become pretty famous for its obvious health benefits.

So What Exactly Are The Benefits?

1. Major Increase in Fat Loss. In a recent study two groups were assigned different training regimens. Group A performed the regular moderate intensity cardio (like jogging or bicycling) for 20 weeks and Group B performed a HIIT routine for 15 weeks. In the end the results of each group were recorded. Group B lost 9x more fat than Group A and in 5 weeks less!

2. Increased Lactic Acid Threshold. Lactic acid is that burning sensation you feel when you work a muscle really hard. You're lactic acid threshold is how fast your body can remove the lactic acid in your muscles. The higher the lactic acid threshold, the harder you can work your muscles before they get tired.

3. Increased peak power, or the maximum amount of energy available for a sustained period of time.

4. Increased VO2 peak or ability to utilize oxygen.

5. Shorter Workouts. I don't know about you, but would you rather spend 30 minutes to an hour jogging along the road, or crank it up a notch and just spend 4-8 minutes performing sprints?

So Why Does This Burn more Fat than just Jogging?

Although HIIT is much shorter than a normal "run for 30 minutes" workout, it burns more fat. To put it simply, after your HIIT training session is over with your metabolism explodes and tons of calories are being burned. So essentially with HIIT training, you burn most of the fat after your training session.

So How Exactly Do I Perform This?

Simply put, HIIT is based around this concept: Go fast then go slow. Repeat.

You can perform HIIT routines on pretty much any machine you want ... like a treadmill, elliptical machine, cycling machine, or apply it to almost any sport (swimming, cycling, running). Try to keep the bursts of speed at around 90%-100% of max effort.

Here is a sample HIIT (high intensity interval training) routine:

Sprint 20 Seconds
Rest 10 Seconds
Repeat 4-8 Times

Or

Sprint 15 Seconds
Rest 5 Seconds
Repeat 4-6 Times

These are just samples, you can change it however you want (you could even use distance instead of time), but remember, HIIT is based around the concept of fast bursts of work.

Also, to continually challenge yourself you should add to how many times you repeat the cycle. Say for instance, day one you repeat the sprint/rest cycle 8 times, well the next week you should shoot for 9 times. Also remember the amount of time you sprint, rest, and the amount of times you repeat the cycle should depend upon your athletic ability.

If you haven't trained at a high intensity since your high school gym days, take it slow at first. If you have to start at 80% intensity and perform less cycles that's O.K. too. Everyone has to start somewhere.

You may also want to check with your doctor before performing a routine like this as it is very physically demanding.

Btw. I go far more in depth about this type of training in the Living Health Weight Loss audio program.
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Christopher Guerriero is Founder and CEO of The National Metabolic and Longevity Research Center, where he has devoted more than 15 years to studying people who have successfully mastered their metabolism. Christopher is the author of several books, including the world wide best-seller "Maximize Your Metabolism".

*brought to you by FitnessAndHealthAdvice.com

2 Ways To Start Burning More Calories Today -- By Christopher Guerriero

1. Start Exercising first thing in the morning ...

As soon as you wake up in the morning workout for at least 30min to an hour. Studies show that working out in the morning has been shown to burn up to 3x as more fat as opposed to working out at any other time during the day.

Here's Why:

During the day your body's main source of energy is the carbohydrates that you get from eating your meals. As you sleep at night for 6+ hours your body uses up all those carbohydrates as energy for various bodily functions that go on even while you sleep. When you wake up in the morning your body doesn't have any carbohydrates as energy to use and it will look to burn body fat instead for energy.

For you to take advantage of this morning fat burning opportunity you have to exercise first thing in the morning. Don't eat breakfast because if you do you'll just give your body some carbohydrates as a source of energy instead of the body fat that you want to burn for energy.

Another great thing about working out first thing in the morning is that your metabolism gets revved up after your morning workout. Morning workouts keep your metabolism elevated throughout the day. An elevated metabolism throughout the day only means that you'll burn more calories and lose more weight.

If you workout at night you may still burn fat while you workout but as soon as you go to sleep your metabolism will slow down and you'll miss out on all the extra fat that you can burn during the day if you had exercised in the morning. When you sleep your metabolic rate is always at its slowest.

Other reasons why its good to exercise first thing in the morning is that you get the workout out of the way, and working out in the morning will also reduce your level of stress throughout the day.

Advanced Tip: Want to burn even more fat? Add another workout to your daily routine 4-6 hours after your morning workout. Keep your already high metabolism higher by adding a 2nd workout during the day.

If you're seriously thinking about adding a 2nd workout to your daily routine then try to do your cardio workouts in the morning. Mostly fat calories are burned doing cardio at a moderate intensities. Make your 2nd workout of the day a workout with weights. Mostly carbohydrate is burned doing weight-training workouts.

The muscle that you build from weight training will also help you burn fat. 1lb of Muscle burns 50 calories a day or 1lb of fat every 70 days. Not only will you be burning more calories, you'll look better – whatever your weight is.

2. Eat Breakfast ...

Another way to keep your metabolism revved up all day long is to eat breakfast. After you workout in the morning as discussed earlier, just have breakfast and you'll give your body the perfect 1-2 combination to jump start your metabolism.

Eating breakfast in the morning is what gets your metabolism started. Don't skip breakfast and wait until mid-morning or afternoon to eat, your metabolism will run slower causing you not to burn any extra fat.

Think about it this way -- Your metabolism is a fireplace that'll burn fat all day long for you if you operate it correctly. When you eat breakfast you are basically throwing a log onto that fireplace to get it started burning fat.

Eating breakfast will help stop those cravings you may have later on in the day and along with working out in the morning, eating breakfast will also keep you energized throughout the day and lower stress levels.

Advanced Tip: Instead of eating only 2 more meals during the day like lunch & dinner, try to eat 4-5 more small mini-meals spaced 2-3 hours apart during the day. Remember the fireplace?

By eating these mini-meals you'll be throwing just the right amount of "wood" on the fireplace to keep your metabolism burning calories throughout the day. Don't shut down your metabolism by eating big lunches or dinners, keep that metabolism of yours burning fat all day long.

Morning Checklist:

1. Workout for at least 30min after waking up in the morning

2. Eat a healthy breakfast

3. Burn fat & lose more weight during the day

Use these 2 tips to reveal that six-pack, fit into that dress or those pants for an upcoming event like a wedding or reunion, or to impress that your spouse or co-workers. Whatever your fitness goal is these 2 tips above will surely help you reach them.

Until next time... Here's wishing you the absolute best of health.
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Christopher Guerriero is Founder and CEO of The National Metabolic and Longevity Research Center, where he has devoted more than 15 years to studying people who have successfully mastered their metabolism. Christopher is the author of several books, including the world wide best-seller "Maximize Your Metabolism". Take a moment to learn about Christopher's Healthy Living Weight Loss Audio program.

*brought to you by FitnessAndHealthAdvice.com

Getting Rock Hard ABS -- Old School By Christopher Guerriero

Before I talk about one of the most productive and forgotten Abdominal Blasting exercises ever created, you will need to know how your abdominal muscles actually work.

I know for a fact, if I don't offer some pretty convincing evidence, it will be very difficult for you to believe such a claim so here is where a little education will go a long way to prove my point.

Your abdominal muscles are really one big muscle called the Rectus Abdominus. You do not have upper, mid and lower abs unless...

...YOU have some genetic anomaly. This is really critical to understand because the long muscle fibers in the abdominal muscles start at ribcage and ends at the pubic region.

So, when you contract your muscles during a curl-up or crunch, the two ends of the muscle fibers move toward each other. It is impossible for the lower portion of the Rectus Abdominus (abs) to function without equally "firing off" all the other muscle fibers in the abs.

Once the muscle relaxes and allows its two ends to move apart and reach its original stretched position, you will complete the full range-of-motion of an abdominal exercise,

I am not forgetting the external and internal Obliques because they are directly and indirectly involved while performing any abdominal movement so it's really not necessary to hammer out your Obliques regularly. In fact, since the only thing a muscle can do is shrink and grow (atrophy or hypertrophy), you probably will not want to overly develop the Obliques because it will create a thicker looking waistline.

That means the key to creating great-developed abs is to use exercises that fully contract the abdominal muscle until it is fatigued and that will take the muscle through it's full range-of-motion, just like any other muscle you build in your body.

Remember though, you will not see your abs if they are hidden under a layer of fat and you cannot spot reduce the fat from waistline by training your abs for hours on end. Simply doing hours of abdominal exercises may develop your abs but you will still carry that layer of fat around your body if you aren't burning the appropriate amount of calories. If you are trying to lose body fat, there are much bigger and better exercises than abdominal exercises for burning calories and body fat.

Now that you know how the abdominal muscle works, it's time to discover, "The most forgotten productive exercise for your Abs."

Reintroducing, TADA - The Sit Up...

Wait! Don't go yet. It's really, really important for you to know how to properly perform a Sit Up. If you perform the Sit Up like you did in Gym Class, you are reducing the Sit Up's effectiveness by almost 50% and you could cause some serious low back pain for yourself.

I know; if a personal trainer or non free-thinking exercise physiologist is reading this section right now they are going to tell me I am crazy for recommending Sit Ups. Here again, it is important to understand the rules behind Abdominal-development and the Sit Up exercise really qualifies as a very effective movement.

Remember, when the abdominal muscle is working, "Two ends of the muscle fibers must move toward each other and be able to fully contract".

Does the Sternum and Pubic area move toward each other when performing Sit Ups?

Does the Abdominal Muscle bend and stretch the spine in its full range of motion in a Sit Up?

Does the abdominal muscles reach full extension to full flexion?

- YES to everything, if you perform the exercise correctly! So, why does the sit up exercise get such a bad rap?

Primarily because the old style Sit Ups you performed incorrectly in gym class put too much stress on the lower back and hip flexors. But, do you know what is really crazy about that logic? If more muscles than one are involved, it is called a compound or multi-joint movement. You won't hear me saying compound movements are bad. Are these supposed experts trying to get people to actually believe that compound movements are great for every muscle except the abdominal muscles?

If I remember correctly, didn't these same exercise physiologists claim squats and Deadlifts put too much strain on your knees and back and that we all needed to stop doing those exercises too? Just a few years later, most of the experts are now eating their words, aren't they?

Description of Exercise: Here is the appropriate way to perform an effective Sit Up.

Lay flat on your back with a rolled up towel under your lower back. Bend your knees about 45° with heels on the floor and keep your toes pointing up. Do not anchor your feet.

Spread the knees apart approximately 6-8 inches to prevent the hip flexors from contributing too much to the exercise.

Next, extend your arms between your legs and keep your hands between your legs throughout the movement because it will help keep you in the proper position.

Now, exhale and lift your shoulders off the ground, keeping your neck in a neutral position. Concentrate on trying to force the lower portion of your ribcage into your knees by curling the spine upward into the sit up position. (DO NOT CURL YOUR NECK).

Slowly lower yourself back down to the starting position by uncurling your spine and you are finished with the repetition when you feel the rolled up towel supporting your lower back again.

Notice how both ends of the abdominal muscle fully contract together and are stretched through its full range of motion. When you perform a Sit Up with proper biomechanics, your next crunch exercise will pale by comparison.

Until next time... Here's wishing you the absolute best of health.
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Christopher Guerriero is Founder and CEO of The National Metabolic and Longevity Research Center, where he has devoted more than 15 years to studying people who have successfully mastered their metabolism. Christopher is the author of several books, including the world wide best-seller "Maximize Your Metabolism". Take a moment to learn about Christopher's Healthy Living Weight Loss Audio program.

* read more abdominal muscle / ab strengthening exercise tips...
- Tummy Tightener Exercise Program

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