Does Climbing Stairs Firm Your Butt?

Stair climbing is an easily-accessible activity that tones the butt. As with many exercises, stair climbing requires practice in short durations to increase your endurance and strength. Whether you choose to take the stairs indoors, outdoors, at work or on a machine at the gym, this movement will fire and firm your glutes.

This post appeared on Azcentral.com.

Stair Benefits

Choose the stairs instead of elevators or escalators to firm your butt, legs as you burn calories. According to Tufts Medical Center, a 135-pound woman burns approximately 163 calories in 20 minutes of stair climbing. The more calories you burn, the less fat is stored on your body and the easier it will be to see your firm backside. When you climb stairs for 20 minutes, you also improve your cardiovascular system. Your heart pumps out the oxygen-rich blood to fuel your lower body muscles for the workout.

Gluteus Maximus

The gluteus maximus is the main muscle in your butt. You feel this muscle when you put your hands in your back pockets. The glutes contract to extend your hip, especially when your upper leg bone passes more than 15 degree beyond your pelvis. For example, when you run and skip, the gluteus contracts to extend your leg behind you. To maximally activate the glutes, begin with your hip in a flexed position and move to a full extension. This action occurs with stair climbing. Your knee is flexed when you place your foot on the step. Your leg moves into a full extension as you straighten your leg and stand on that foot in preparation of taking the next step. When you begin a stair climbing routing, your muscle tissue grows and you may believe your butt is getting bigger. Once the fat burns off your backside and you continue with a healthy eating plan, your butt will be lifted and firm and still fit into your favorite jeans.

Flights

Climbing flights of stairs is sometimes an activity for fund-raising events or competitions; for example, such events are held at the Empire State Building, which has 1,577 steps. Even if such as feat is not within your capability, the American Council on Exercise says that stair climbing doesn't have to be extreme to be an effective leg- and glute-strengthening exercise. Use proper form when climbing the stairs. Land on the middle of your feet on the way up the stairs and keep your knees over your heels. As you descend, turn your foot out on a slight angle to keep your knees and heels aligned. Begin with a five- to 10-minute climb twice a week and gradually increase your duration and frequency.

Machines

If flights of stairs are not available, many health clubs have stepmills. This piece of cardiovascular equipment resembles a revolving staircase. The steps descend toward the floor as you climb in a stationary position. Hold onto the handrails for balance and set the speed slow until you learn the stepping technique. Then, increase the speed of your stair climbing to a level that leaves you slightly breathless, but at which you are able to carry on a conversation. Stationary climbing contracts the glutes in the same way as climbing flights of stairs, yet your knees are protected because you do not have to descend the stairs.

Cautions

Although stair climbing is an effective exercise, the activity is not recommended for everyone. If you have arthritis in your knees, hips or ankles, select a low-impact exercise alternative such as swimming or walking. Also, if you have balance problems speak with your doctor regarding the safety of stair climbing. Everyone should use caution and climb well-lit stairs with hand railings. Remove any objects from the stairs including throw rugs at the top and bottom landings. Keep your hands free from objects in case you need to grab the railings for balance.

Workout tips for busy people

If you're ready to make a healthy commitment to your future self, exercise is an absolute must.

This post appeared on Daily Life.

But when you feel overwhelmed by work, familial obligations, and a thriving social calendar, time at the gym gets put off, and your healthy goals fall by the wayside.

In the long run, a consistent workout schedule makes you happier, more productive, and less stressed in all aspects of your life, but getting started is overwhelming. Don't put off your healthy life one more day! Learn how even the busiest person can make fitness part of her life.

Get honest about goals

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If you've decided to start exercising with weight-loss goals in mind, you're going to have a more rigorous schedule than someone who simply wants to maintain their health and de-stress at the gym.

With clients who are looking to lose weight, the Biggest Loser Australia trainer Michelle Bridges recommends "six days [of exercise] a week, ideally for 50 to 60 minutes at a time."

If you're looking to reap healthy benefits of consistent exercise beyond the scale, experts say it's all about hitting a minimum of 150 minutes of exercise per week to decrease your risk for metabolic syndrome - and everyone can carve out two and a half hours over the course of seven days.

Schedule in advance

Even with the best intentions, it's easy to skip workouts, opt for other activities, and wake up on Friday morning to realise you haven't worked out once all week.

Treat your workout schedule like you would an important business meeting - it's an event that's set in stone.

Spend a few minutes every Sunday night to map out your weeknight schedule for the upcoming days, and write down your workouts in your calendar to help them stick.

Make sure there's a healthy balance of fun, work, and exercise to keep your new schedule feeling fresh and doable.

Make it social

If you're concerned about falling out with friends you see regularly, get them involved in your new healthy habits.

Plan a new kind of happy hour date with friends, hit up a fitness class with co-workers, or go for a long hike or walk before heading to your favourite restaurant with your partner over the weekend.

Whether you're looking for a running buddy or a little healthy competition in a group class, fitness is more fun when you've got friends involved.

And it doesn't hurt that you'll be less likely to bail on a workout if you'd be letting someone down.

Be realistic

Don't set yourself up for failure (or injury) by going overboard in the beginning of your journey by over training with two-a-day workouts.

Going too hard too soon will only make you revert back to old habits and excuses.

Even if you feel up to it, stick to the workouts you have set in place that make sense for your body and schedule.

As working out becomes ingrained in your schedule and your strength and stamina improve, you can up the ante on the number of days you're working out.

A short workout still counts

There will be times when you have to be flexible; obligations arise, and you have to plan accordingly, but one of our favourite mantras is, "a short workout is better than no workout at all."

Even 10 or 20 minutes of exercise can keep you on track and is worth the effort.

Time spent working out will only allow you come back to the project at hand with a fresh, clear perspective; trust me, you won't regret it.

The Best Exercise for Legs and Butts

Defying Gravity: How to Build a Stronger, Defined Butt

Here's how to ensure the largest muscle in your body isn't also the laziest.

 The Science Behind Your Booty

This post appeared on Fitness Magazine.

I'm alone with a handsome young doctor who has his hands down my shorts, but neither of us is too happy about it. Joseph Herrera, a doctor of osteopathic medicine, furrows his brow as he struggles to untangle a 48-inch lead attached to an electrode that he has taped to my butt. The electrode is slick with conductivity gel and he's holding it in place as he attaches the other end of the wire to the electromyography (EMG) machine, a hulking piece of equipment that measures electrical activity in your muscles. Dr. Herrera, the director of sports medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine's rehabilitation department in New York City, has agreed to help me figure out what, if anything, is going on with my glutes when I'm not explicitly working them out. Which is almost never. And it shows. Or rather, doesn't show on my unremarkable, flat butt.

On Dr. Herrera's signal, I mimic myriad daily moves, including walking, jogging at catch-a-bus speed, crouching to pursue a toddler, and shifting my weight from hip to hip, as I do waiting in line at the ATM. With each movement, the line on the machine's screen gives a pathetic little jump; the readout looks like a lie detector test minus the lies. Dr. Herrera shrugs and says that this is normal no matter what shape butt you have. "Your glute muscles are typically not that engaged throughout the day," he explains. "The quads do a lot of the heavy lifting."

Then I step up onto a stair and the screen's readout shows a violent spike. Finally, my gluteus maximus is doing what it was born -- or rather, evolved -- to do: keeping me upright as I stride, especially during more balance-challenging hikes up stairs.

Among the things that differentiate us from our knuckle-dragging primate ancestors are not only our big brains but our big butts -- or, as Stephanie P. Marango, MD, a physician and anatomy expert in New York City, puts it, our well-developed gluteus maximus. "That ability to be bipedal is a huge deal," Dr. Marango says. "And it's this muscle that is really doing a major component of that."

It's ironic, then, that the largest muscle in our body, which has given humans their signature upright strut, spends most of the day metaphorically sitting on its butt.

Anything Butt Normal

While we obsess about shaping the ideal butt, the multibillion-dollar jeans industry and even the government have been hoping to define exactly what the typical one looks like. For years the rule of thumb for chairs was that seats be at least 18 inches wide -- to fit 95 percent of female fannies, because our hips outspan men's -- or about three inches wider than this magazine when it's open. (Go ahead, sit on it to see how you stack up.) Data confirmed that our collective backside is indeed spreading.

When 3-D scanning technology was developed, the air force, along with a group of automotive engineers and apparel companies, was the first to use it, conducting the CAESAR (Civilian American and European Surface Anthropometry Resource) study, published in 2002. Thanks to CAESAR, "you can get a digital replica of a whole butt in 3-D," says Kathleen Robinette, PhD, an anthropologist at the U.S. Air Force research laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio and director of CAESAR research. "You can prepare a before-and-after scan, and see how apparel affects shape." The armed forces used such data to reconfigure women's uniforms, adding "women's" cuts -- that is, a wider hip and butt area -- to cover many more of their female soldiers without resorting to costly alterations.

The apparel industry subsequently pulled together with the U.S. Department of Commerce to conduct the Size USA study, using different 3-D scanning with a much larger, 10,000-person sample that included a wider range of body mass indexes, ages, and ethnic backgrounds.

From these studies, we've learned a lot about the average American female butt -- mainly that there's no such thing.

The Size USA study found that 86 percent of women 26 to 55 years old who are between five foot two and five foot seven and weigh less than 160 pounds have a seat circumference of 37 to 43 inches at the widest point. Those numbers, however, should be taken with a grain of salt, Robinette says. "As soon as you start trying to make an amalgam, an 'average' female body, you lose touch with reality," she explains. In other words, you can have a statistically average butt size, but your weight, height, or waist measurement is unlikely to be likewise average. A short woman with a so-called average butt size would have a proportionately large bottom, whereas a tall, heavy woman with an average butt size would have a proportionately small one.

In other words, shopping for your dream butt in celebrity magazines is a bad idea.

5 Reasons You’re Not Hitting Your Weight Goal

Here’s the scenario: you’ve been soooo good. You haven’t cheated on your diet, you’ve been exercising your tail off, you’re consistently logging all your meals in MyFitnessPal, and you even turned down your favorite dessert at dinner last night. You expected to drop at least a few pounds since the last time you stepped on the scale, but… The numbers haven’t budged. What gives?

This post appeared on Hello Healthy.

If this annoying story line sounds all too familiar, you’re not alone. We’ve uncovered the top 5 sneaky reasons that could explain why you’re simply not hitting your goal weight.

You’re not counting “extras” A dish usually isn’t served plain or alone. Normally, it’s served with dressings, sauces or dips that you need to take into account—not to mention how it was cooked, which Jackie London, M.S., R.D.N, says is most overlooked. “You have to consider cooking methods when logging food,” says London. “Was your entree sauteed in butter? Is there cream in the sauce that you just entered into MyFitnessPal as ‘tomato sauce’?” It’s important to be as specific as possible. Don’t skip over the dressing on your salad, or forget that your chicken is covered in creamy alfredo. “Those calories add up,” says London. “And interestingly, it tends to be these higher calorie or more calorie dense items that are often overlooked.”

You’re misjudging portion sizes Remember if you’re eating lean meat, one serving is about the size of a deck of cards. If you’re eating a sushi roll, the calories are likely for a six-piece serving, not eight or ten. Make sure you’re aware of just how much you’re taking in. “This is easier, of course, when you’re preparing meals at home and can measure everything out,” London says. Try cutting back the number of meals you’re eating out or immediately box up half of your restaurant meal for the next day.

You’re not logging foods right away Logging your meal after you eat it eliminates the attention to detail. You might forget to add the cheese you had on your salad, or that small side roll that came with it. “Accuracy is what makes a food journal work,” London says. “By not writing it down while it’s happening, you lose the accountability factor, which makes your goal harder to achieve.” Logging your dinner before you eat it might help you notice that the cookie from earlier actually pushed you over your calorie target for the day, so you’ll be less inclined to reach for a second helping.

You’re not counting the liquid calories If you’re quenching thirst during the day while on the go, or sipping mindlessly as an accompaniment to your meal, you may not be counting all those liquid calories. And there’s a laundry list of culprits: “Coffee beverages, wine, beer, cocktails, juices, sports drinks, et cetera, et cetera,” London says, noting how easy they are to forget. “Just because you can’t remember it, doesn’t mean you didn’t drink it.” As soon as you do, log it!

You’re overestimating your activity level To figure out the number of calories you should be consuming daily, you need to determine how many calories your body is going to burn in 24 hours.MyFitnessPal will calculate this for you using your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), but you still have to appropriately choose your activity level—something most casual exercisers tend to get wrong. “We often perceive our intensity as being much more difficult than what it actually takes to create a calorie-deficit for the day,” London says. If you’re not losing the weight you want, you may have incorrectly guessed your activity level. You may not be up and about during the day as much as you thought, or your workouts aren’t as high-intensity as you assume. Try recalibrating your activity level in MyFitnessPal: on the web, go into settings and select “Update diet/fitness profile;” and in the app, select “Goals” from the main menu.

Confession time: Are you guilty of these little logging slip ups? How do you keep yourself on track?

9 Expert Tips For More Mindful Eating

Source: 

Unless you're a competitive eater, there's really no reason to scarf down your meals. After all, doing the opposite -- that is, slowing down -- is likely better for your waistline, according to a new review of studies.

The review, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, included 22 different studies that examined food consumption through computerized feedback, human instructions, food texture and utensils used in eating. The results showed that eating slower is linked with statistically significant weight loss.

But how do we slow down when we chow down? Nutrition experts shared their best tips.

1. Take A Seat

Many people eat on the go, meaning they stand while they grab a meal. Whether it's at your desk, walking down the street or standing around your kitchen counter, "The Biggest Loser" nutritionist and HuffPost blogger Cheryl Forberg, R.D., says this is a clear sign that they’re rushing through a meal to get to something or somewhere else. To stop speed-eating, sit down at a table.

2. Unitask
Many of us veg out in front of the TV, mindlessly shoveling food into our mouths. But as we already know, we're no good at multitasking, so stop reading the paper or watching reruns while you eat. Focusing on what you're putting into your mouth can help you slow down and really pay attention to the task at hand. “Enjoy it, savor it and your mindfulness will replace inhaling your meal with a relaxed pace, more enjoyment and better digestion,” Forberg tells HuffPost.

3. Switch Things Up
Having trouble channeling mindful eating? Maybe it's time to get a little weird. Nutritionist Rochelle Sirota, R.D., C.D.N., recommends adopting some different techniques to help distracted diners slow down and focus. She suggests eating with the nondominant hand, using chopsticks or even setting down the utensil between bites. Eating in an unusual way can help bring back the focus and break quick-eating habits.

4. Socialize

If you're looking for an excuse to host dinner parties on the regular, here's your chance. According to Joy Bauer, M.S., R.D., C.D.N., nutritionist and founder ofNourish Snacks, eating with others can help fast eaters slow their pace by engaging in conversation. “The more you chat, the slower you eat,” she tells HuffPost.

5. Chew More
Chewing more can both bring the focus back to speed and help taper eating pace, simply because it takes longer to swallow each bite. That’s why nutritionist Julie Upton, M.S., R.D., CSSD and blogger for The Huffington Post, recommends trying to chew for 15 to 20 seconds before swallowing. Leaning toward foods that actually require more chewing -- like veggies, fresh fruits and lean proteins, rather than softer casseroles, mashed potatoes, applesauce or ice cream -- can also help speed eaters slow down.

6. Avoid Extreme Hunger
Any time we get too hungry, we tend to scarf down our meals without a second thought. But how can we tell the difference between hungry and too hungry? Upton advises paying attention to your body. If you feel hungry, start planning what to eat, but if your stomach is growling and you have hunger pains, you've let your hunger go too far. Train yourself to start keeping track and listening to what your body's saying.

7. Eat Shelled Snacks

Shelled snacks -- like peanuts, pistachios and soybeans -- slow down eating because it takes time to remove the actual nut or bean from its encasing. They also may provide visual cues that let munchers know when to stop snacking. One study conducted by researchers at Eastern Illinois University found that participants consumed fewer calories from pistachios when they ate shelled ones versus unshelled. That means that shelled snacks kill two birds with one stone, helping eaters consume less and know when to stop.

8. Water Is Your BFF
Water can help you slow your munching in more than one way. Bauer suggests setting down your fork and taking small sips between each bite to stayed focused and regulate speed. Forberg recommends gulping down a glass before you even begin. “This really does help you fill up a bit,” she says. “When we don't feel as starved at mealtime, we eat more slowly.”

9. Time Yourself
Since time is the problem, why not tackle it directly? Bauer recommends setting a timer to help slow down your eating speed. Ideally, it should take at least 20 minutes to finish a meal, and using a kitchen timer can help retrain rushers until they've slowed down.

5 Fundamental Fitness Habits that Guarantee Lifelong Success

Source: http://www.tigerfreedom.com/

Aristotle said it best: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

This is 100% true when it comes to establishing lifelong fitness habits. Contrary to popular belief, people aren’t born with a perfectly toned and aesthetically pleasing body. They’re made through hard work and most importantly, through consistency. Just show up day in and day out.

Implementing a few simple habits makes the difference between being fit and successful or being a couch potato who lives in the land of mediocrity.

Here are 5 easy habits to implement immediately that will have you looking awesome, feeling wonderful, and living a successful productive life.

1. Choose a nutrition plan that is simple, stress free, and satisfies your palate

There isn’t a one size fits all nutrition plan that everyone has to follow. Maybe your best friend feels energized by skipping breakfast(i.e. intermittent fasting), whereas you feel like crap without eating a healthy nutritious breakfast.

Both options will work.

For long-term success, your nutrition plan should mesh flawlessly with your current lifestyle. If you have a busy 9-5 job or are an busy entrepreneur, don’t worry yourself crazy by eating 5-6 times a day.(leave the tupperwares and meal obsessing to the bodybuilders)

Simplify your life, increase your portion sizes, and eat 3 meals a day.

At the end of the day, it’s only nutrition. Not rocket science. Eating healthy doesn’t have to be complicated and uncomfortable.

Stop obsessing over finding the perfect plan and focus on more important things such as how you feel eating this particular type of way.

2. Adopt a 90/10 philosophy

It’s unreasonable, unnecessary, stressful, and boring to try and eat perfect every single day. Staying fit and living life to its fullest aren’t separate entities.

One of the most important fitness habits to develop is the skill of indulging without feeling any guilt. Allow some of your favorite foods to stick around. That’s what the 10% is for.

90% of the time, commit to eating foods that come from nature. Stay away from factory made processed foods.

Have your proteins come from chicken, eggs, beef, and fish. Excellent carb sources would be rice, potatoes, and fruits. Lastly, you have your healthy fats, which consist of nuts, avocados, coconut oil, and fats from meats. Veggies are a staple at every meal and can be eaten in unlimited amounts.

Make smart choices for your 90% and have fun with the 10% by eating whatever you want(ice cream being my choice).

3. Commit to working out 3 times per week

If you want to be fit and healthy, you have to make time for it. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

The difference between fit people and those who only dream about being fit is their level of commitment. Fit people strike a balance between work, socializing, and working out while the lazy hide within their excuses.

If you have time to sit for hours watching tv, playing mind numbing games on your phone, or mindlessly surfing the internet(cat videos & porn count)…then you have time to workout.

It doesn’t take hours upon hours everyday to become healthy and fit. Keep it simple and start with full body workouts 3 times a week for 30 minutes.

Who doesn’t have 90 minutes a week to spare for better health?

4. Have a positive outlook on yourself & life

“Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change”-Wayne W. Dyer

Maintaining a positive attitude goes a long way toward achieving success. Our battles are won or lost mentally.

Optimistic people see adversity as an opportunity to learn a valuable lesson. Pessimistic people will handle adversity by quitting or using an excuse such as “it wasn’t meant for me”.

Let go of comparing yourself to anyone else. Your current body doesn’t determine your self worth.

You’re good enough already. Comparison will only accomplish lowering your self esteem (fix that here), increase resentment toward others, and making you more negative.

This kind of individual is one who will be alone forever.

5. Make sleep a priority

Sleep needs to be your best friend. It’s easy to get caught up in the rat race of everyday life trying to become the best versions of ourselves. Not getting enough sleep kills your daily productivity.

Neglecting sleep increases the likelihood for weight gain, along with increasing cortisol levels. Cortisol is your stress hormone and when its elevated above normal levels, fat loss substantially slows down.

Make a commitment to get 7-8 hours of sleep nightly.

Now it’s time to hear from you. What are some other fitness habits that are essential to lifelong success. Comment below.

- See more at: http://www.tigerfreedom.com/5-fundamental-fitness-habits-that-guarantee-lifelong-success/#sthash.HXRnvo2d.dpuf

Almost A Third Of The World Is Now Fat, No Country Immune

Source: http://www.news.net/

LONDON (AP) — Almost a third of the world is now fat, and no country has been able to curb obesity rates in the last three decades, according to a new global analysis.

Researchers found more than 2 billion people worldwide are now overweight or obese. The highest rates were in the Middle East and North Africa, where nearly 60 percent of men and 65 percent of women are heavy. The U. S. has about 13 percent of the world's fat population, a greater percentage than any other country. China and India combined have about 15 percent.

"It's pretty grim," said Christopher Murray of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, who led the study. He and colleagues reviewed more than 1,700 studies covering 188 countries from 1980 to 2013. "When we realized that not a single country has had a significant decline in obesity, that tells you how hard a challenge this is."

Murray said there was a strong link between income and obesity; as people get richer, their waistlines also tend to start bulging. He said scientists have noticed accompanying spikes in diabetes and that rates of cancers linked to weight, like pancreatic cancer, are also rising.

The new report was paid for by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and published online Thursday in the journal, Lancet.

Last week, the World Health Organization established a high-level commission tasked with ending childhood obesity.

"Our children are getting fatter," Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO's director-general, said bluntly during a speech at the agency's annual meeting in Geneva. "Parts of the world are quite literally eating themselves to death." Earlier this year, WHO said that no more than 5 percent of your daily calories should come from sugar.

"Modernization has not been good for health," said Syed Shah, an obesity expert at United Arab Emirates University, who found obesity rates have jumped five times in the last 20 years even in a handful of remote Himalayan villages in Pakistan. His research was presented this week at a conference in Bulgaria. "Years ago, people had to walk for hours if they wanted to make a phone call," he said. "Now everyone has a cellphone."

Shah also said the villagers no longer have to rely on their own farms for food.

"There are roads for (companies) to bring in their processed foods and the people don't have to slaughter their own animals for meat and oil," he said. "No one knew about Coke and Pepsi 20 years ago. Now it's everywhere."

In Britain, the independent health watchdog issued new advice on Wednesday recommending heavy people be sent to free weight-loss classes to drop about 3 percent of their weight, reasoning that losing just a few pounds improves health and is more realistic. About two in three adults in the U. K. are overweight, making it the fattest country in Western Europe.

"This is not something where you can just wake up one morning and say, 'I am going to lose 10 pounds,'" said Mike Kelly, the agency's public health director, in a statement. "It takes resolve and it takes encouragement."