When in ideal shape, body fat will make up about 15% - 18% of a male’s body
weight and 18% - 22% of a female’s. The remainder of the body’s “lean weight”
is composed of water (55%-60%), muscle and other lean tissue (10%-20%), and
bone and minerals (6%-8%). In other words, a 150-pound woman who is within or
close to her ideal body fat composition range at 22% will have approximately
33 pounds of fat, 86 pounds of weight composed primarily of water, 20 pounds
of muscle and other lean tissue, and 11 pounds of bone and mineral weight.
This total then makes up her total weight of 150 lbs.

Now take the example of another woman who weights 150 pounds, but has 30%
fat on her body. She would have 45 pounds of fat on her body, and the rest of
her weight would be divided among muscle, bone and water. Her non fat body
composition might look like this, 79 pounds of water (53%), 17 pounds of
muscle (12%), and 9 pounds of bone and minerals (6%). Both women weight 150
lbs. and are about the same height, but one looks much different because she
has less body fat.

Body fat percentage is generally accepted as a better gauge of weight loss
progress and fitness than scale weight. The method of calculating body fat
from body measurements as used by HealthSmart Nutrition is the fourth most
accurate method. Hydrostatic testing underwater is first. Electrical testing
of body mass resistance is second and body fat measurement by caliper is
third. Although it is not the most accurate, if you record your measurements
carefully and consistently using the measurement taking instructions given,
you will have a good relative gauge of how much body fat you are gaining or
losing. To our knowledge, the HealthKeeper software is the first program to offer this body fat percentage by measurement feature.

For higher accuracy you can override the automatic body fat measurement calculator and enter your body fat percentages done by hydrostatic testing underwater, electrostatic testing of body mass resistance or body fat percentage done by the caliper method. One product we highly recommend is the Tanita bathroom scale. It does very accurate electrostatic testing of body mass resistance to determine your body fat percentage in seconds.

The more accurate of method you use for tracking your body fat percentage the more accurately you will be able to use
the Lean Body Weight tracker.

More about Lean Body Weight

The two most important graphs and statistics you want to watch to find out if you are making true and honest progress on your weight loss diet or body building program are, body fat percentage and lean body weight. Increasing lean body weight (mostly muscle mass) is important because if you body fat is going down into your ideal range and your lean body weight is going up you will be able to eat more calories without gaining weight and, it will be easier to maintain your desired body fat percentage when you reach your goal. This is because more lean body weight (composed of increased muscle mass) raises the body’s basal metabolic rate
(BMR) and the calories your body burns even when you are doing nothing.

If you body fat is going down to your ideal range and your lean body weight is going up you should be absolutely ecstatic. You have attained two of the three holy grails of honest and lasting weight loss. (The third is keeping within your ideal body fat range for 3-5 years after getting there.)

In spite of lean body weight being such a vital statistic to honest weight loss,
the Performance Diet is the only program and software we know that tracks it. (To track you lean body weight make sure you have used one of the 4 methods of body fat tracking and your body percentage is entered in your Personal Profile. Then go to the Graphing mode and select the correct date range and Lean Body Weight from among the various graphing options.)

The lean body weight tracking we use is based upon your current weight and the following formula. From your current weight calculate the number of pounds that is equal to your current ?X? percentage of fat. (That is the number of pounds of fat on your body.) The remaining percentage of your weight is your non-fat lean body weight. This is composed of muscle and other lean tissue, water, bone, blood and minerals. Over an extended period of time (even considering periodic water retention,) the levels of water, bone, blood and minerals remain fairly constant.

A personal trainer is someone who steps in and will coach you through your weight loss regime. What is it that a personal trainer does exactly?

Finding Out What A Personal Trainer Does Is Step Number One
Whenever I want to find out what it is that a personal trainer does, I simply visit the website or look at an advertisement of another personal trainer. From one location that is located in California, I have found the following list to be exactly what a personal trainer does.

Coaching workouts that intensify gradually at different stages
Working to increase improvement function of the body from walking and running, etc.

Keeping a client up to date on nutrition

Practices safe stretching and exercise techniques

Helps to increase muscle tone and metabolism in the body

Minimize the possibility of injury

Increase the client’s self-confidence and put good ’stress’ to encourage

Eliminate laziness and excuses from stopping the client from getting what they want

What is it that Clients Ask When Looking for a Personal Trainer?
One that I have found says that finding the best personal trainer is to simply ask a lot of questions. If you ask questions of your personal trainer and he or she does not know the answer or doesn’t give an answer you are particularly happy with, a client should simply walk away.

If you are looking to become a personal trainer, expect to hear questions. What is your background? How long have you been doing this? How are you involved in the industry? Do you stay competitive in the industry? What is the education level that you have? Did you get certified in a weekend or are you university educated? Are you continuing to educate yourself on the latest health techniques? Insurance? CPR? First Aid?

If you are able to answer these questions to a client, you’ll be much more likely to sign a client. Above all, personal trainer will make a customer state his or her reasonable goals and set a plan to reach those goal in a healthy and constructive learning environment that will let the client keep the regime for years to come, even if they stop using the personal trainer.

What is it That Separates a Good Personal Trainer from a Bad One?
Like when you shop for anything else, there are good trainers and there are bad personal trainers, but what is the difference?
A good personal trainer would tell you that you should shop around and find the right trainer for you. A lot of corporate gym trainers have sales quotas, do you really think they’re primary interest is your health? Most of them have minimal training and are more of a sales person than a trainer.

Remember years ago, the sticky strip you hung out in your back yard. Flies would fly by and stick to the strap. Well, that is what soft drinks do in your system. While you may be eating half way descent food groups (not to mention your portions) the sugar drinks act as the sticky fly trap. This hinders the digestive process.

In plain English; the longer the food stays in your system the more of a chance you have of getting fatter. The soft drinks act as barriers. In many cases when it comes to weight loss, the food combinations really get you. The biggest no- no is starchy foods with sugary foods.

If you have wine, cut down on the breads. If you have pasta’s cut down on the wines. If you have soft drinks, cut back on the starchy complex foods.

Dr.Walter Bortz, in The Journal of the American Medical
Association, 1982, stated that a number of the physical
changes we undergo as we age, such as loss of muscle tone,
organ deterioration, and osteoporosis are “indistinguishable
whether caused by age or inactivity.” He believed that exercise
could delay many of the diseases associated with aging, adding
“at least a portion of the changes commonly attributed to aging
are in reality caused by disuse and, as such, subject to
correction”.

As we age, we lose bone density and muscle mass. We get stiff
and our joints creak. Instead of using our body, we “rest” it
even more, starting a very dangerous downward spiral. The
synovial fluid dries up, the tendons become brittle, the sinews
grow weak. It hurts to move, so we don’t.

More recently Dr Henry Lodge and Chris Cowley published a new
book on this theme, “Younger Next Year: A Guide to Living Like
50 Until You’re 80 and Beyond”. The premise of this book is that
weight lifting will help reverse the loss of both bone density
and muscle mass that begins to take place as we get older. And
they’re not talking about light weights, but rather big heavy
weights.

In July 1983, Terry Todd wrote in Sports Illustrated that “Anyone
who has spent much time in what is sometimes called the “Iron Game”
has, of course, seen weight trainers over 40 whose physiques were.
surprisingly youthful. Apparently there is something about the act
of regularly stressing your body with heavy exercise that gives it
the wherewithal to resist the visual manifestations of advancing
age.research in this area suggests that men and women of middle age
will respond to systemic progressive resistance with weights by
becoming more powerful and more flexible, with more endurance and
less fat.”

In 2003, the Centers for Disease Control reported that strength
training “can be very powerful in reducing the signs and symptoms of
numerous diseases and chronic conditions, among them:arthritis,
diabetes, osteoporosis, obesity, back pain and depression.”

Strength training will also increase your flexibility and balance,
which decreases the likelihood and severity of falls. One study in
New Zealand in women 80 years of age and older showed a 40% reduction
in falls with simple strength and balance training.

I don’t agree that we need to undertake heavy weight training to
see substantial benefits.

The American College of Sports Medicine strength training
guidelines say we should start with at least two days a week of
any type of resistance exercise by doing 8 to 10 different exercises
and doing 8 to 12 repetitions per day. A repetition is how many times
you lift the weight or do the exercise.

So start off with a weight that you can lift correctly for at least
8 reps, even if it’s only 2 to 5 pounds. Rest between each set of
repetitions and between each exercise. If you can’t make it to 8 reps
during the first few tries, don’t give up. Do as much as you can do.
You’ll be suprised at how soon you will feel like you need to add a
bit more weight.

But the goal is not to become a body builder, but rather to restore
your muscle tone and joint movement. You can gradually work your way
up to heavier weights if you desire, but you will obtain the best
benefit by avoiding injury and sticking to the program - lifting
weights every two or three days.

An excellent resource on this subject is Getting Stronger: Weight
Training for Men and Women by Bill Pearl and Gary Moran, Ph.D. I have
the edition that came out in 1986. A newer one is now available.
I have referred to it constantly over the last 19 years.

The book gives you tips and pointers on how to set up a strength
training regime. There are illustrations of every exercise with step
by step instructions on how to do them properly.

You can either learn beginning to advanced body building, sports
fitness routines to help you do better in 22 different sports,
exercises to help prevent injuries at work or just the principles
of general conditioning and strength training.

And you don’t need any fancy equipment to get going. Almost all the
exercises use cheap dumbbells and weights that are available in just
about every sporting goods store. All in all, this is a very
comprehensive book on weight training and is especially helpful to
those of us who have never lifted weights before.

If you have any disease, injury or physical disability, consult the
doctor who has been treating you before undertaking these exercises.
Follow his advice on how to get started and do not strength train if
he says not to.

Start off slowly with light weights. Follow the diagrams in the book
to make sure you’re positioning your body correctly to avoid injury
and obtain the best result from your workout.

After several weeks, you will be well on your way to improving your
appearance, physique and general attitude toward life, while doing
wonders for you internal organs and maybe even fighting off disease.
“Use it or lose it” applies to just about every part of your body.
Don’t “lose it” because of inactivity and disuse.

As your season progresses, and your intensity increases, weight work can be detrimental to your more specific work outs and events. Your legs may need up to 72 hours to fully recover from a weight work out. This is a big block of the week to give up performance in other areas. Just like your training plan your strength plan will go through specific phases. Endurance athletes should not use body building plans that are focused on muscle mass gains. This can actually be counter productive for a distance athlete. Each phase will have a specific purpose such as acclimation, hypertrophy, muscular endurance and power. If you are weak on sprints and jumps, you may want to emphasize more power training. If you are weak on climbs, muscular endurance is a good focus. If you are generally weak, or new to strength training, I recommend a slightly longer period with the weights. Shorter distance athletes may want to emphasize more strength work for speed, while longer distance athletes, that are more slow twitch, will not need as much weight work.

Listen to your body and avoid overreaching yourself with the weights. This is especially important in the very beginning of your plan. You may feel the need to push yourself, but you may also not be walking well the next day. This is due to micro trauma in the muscles or small muscle tears. These tears have to heal up before you get stronger, so take it easy. You may also find yourself more tired, and you may need more sleep during the initial acclimation period. Make sure you refuel after a strength work out just like you would any other.

Core strength is crucial to protecting your back during lifting. I recommend using a variety of exercises to strengthen all core muscles every other day. Core strength also will help with your running, biking, and swimming ability. If your muscles are very sore, do not overstretch them. This may re-injure the micro trauma that occurred during training and slow the healing process. Light stretching and recovery work is recommended. I do not use a weight belt. These belts are for power lifter who wants to increase inter-abdominal pressure for max lifts. They may actually make your back weaker. Do not use a belt to exceed your limits. In fact you should be no where near this type of lifting. I like to perform my core strength at the end of my work out. Performing core exercises first may leave them too fatigued to properly support you.

Choosing when to strength train is very important because it affects your other work outs. I usually try to strength train after a rest day early in the week. I make sure I do not have a critical or high stress work out in the next few days following my leg work out. Again, this is why weight work is best performed in the base or foundation period when there are not a lot of break through work outs.

I generally only strength train my legs heavy one time per week. I may do a lighter session at the end of the week. Strength training and endurance training are like oil and water for the most part. They work well when separated, but do not mix. With a heavy foundation load I do not recommend strength training more than twice per week. You may negatively affect your other training, or more likely over reach yourself.

These are general guidelines. I will not recommend specific work outs. I do recommend the core of your routine be compound or multi-joint exercises such as the squat, lunge, dead lift, step up, and leg press. The number one rule of strength training is switch up your routine. Your body will acclimate quickly to the same routine week after week, and growth will be retarded. Switch up your exercises each week. You may want to get with a certified strength trainer to learn advanced training techniques such as drop sets, compound sets, super sets, and other methods. Try to use a pedal width stance on your exercises and mimic the range of motion of running and cycling.

One exercise I will caution you on is the leg extension. Most people use way to much weight on this exercise, which can put a lot of pressure under the knee cap. This may lead to cartilage damage. Leg extensions are a good exercise to warm up with. Use light to moderate weight and lots of reps. You may want to perform this exercise in the top 20 degrees range of motion. This helps strengthen your VMO or innermost quad which plays a key role in patella tracking.

Finally, if you are unfamiliar with weight training and proper form I highly recommend you get with a certified athletic trainer. Exercises such as the squat, dead lift, and even leg press can easily injure you if performed incorrectly. I could write an entire book on how to perform these exercises, but if I am not standing next to you and watching your form, you could still be performing them incorrectly. I see and correct bad form from even experienced clients on a daily basis.

Phase I- Acclimation 4-8 weeks
Purpose: To gradually adjust your body to the stresses of strength training. During this phase you will use light weight and high reps. You may want to start of your first few weeks with very light weight or body weight. Make sure you perform your exercises slowly and controlled.
Reps: 15-25
Weight: Light to Moderate
Exercises: 3-5
Sets: 2-3
Rest between sets: 1-3 minutes generally allows full recovery

Phase II Hypertrophy: 4-6 weeks
Purpose: To recruit maximum amount of fibers and promote muscle growth and absolute strength. Make sure your first set is a light warm up set. You will want to “pyramid” or increase the weight on each set while lowering the reps. A typical rep scheme may look like this 12-10-8-6, or 12-10-8. This phase has a good potential for injury, so be careful and listen to your body. You can take your lifts to muscular failure during this period. I recommend a spotter. Don’t be surprised if the first few weeks leave you very sore.
Reps: 6-12
Weight: Moderate to Heavy
Exercises: 3-6
Sets: 3-4
Rest between sets: 1-3 minutes generally allows full recovery

Phase III Strength Endurance: 6-8 Weeks
Purpose: To train the ability to sustain repeated hard efforts, similar to a steep climb. This phase will raise your lactate threshold and time to exhaustion. You want to use moderate weight and slow controlled motion. You can bring yourself to muscular failure but at a higher rep range. I recommend that you raise your rep range slightly as you progress.
Reps: 15-30
Weight: Moderate
Exercises: 3-5
Sets: 2-4
Rest between sets: 1-3 minutes generally allows full recovery

Phase IV Power: 3-6 weeks
Purpose: Power is force over time, or the ability to move the most resistance in the shortest time period. This is necessary for jumps and short sprints. Again, I recommend a trainer during this period because of the potential for injury, and the creative knowledge needed for power training. You will take each strength exercise and explode upwards. Be careful on the eccentric phase (lowering). Try to picture a spring that is slowly coiled until it is tensioned, then explodes. Go light, especially in the beginning. This does not mean you will not fatigue the muscles. I use a body weight for the first few weeks.
Reps: 8-20
Weight: Light to Moderate
Exercises: 4-6
Sets: 2-3
Rest between sets: 1-3 minutes generally allows full recovery

This work was written over 4700 years ago. Even older settlements have been found around the world with various devices such as pottery used to evaporate water to leave the salt behind. It is speculated by some that major civilizations flourished in arid regions at the edge of vast deserts due to the physiological need for salt.

Salt, or sodium chloride, is a chemical compound. Salt occurs naturally in many areas of the world. Salt crystals are cubic in form - if you view salt through a magnifying glass, you will see small “squares” or cubes.

Salt is an essential nutrient - your body requires both sodium and chloride, and cannot manufacture these elements on its own. This is why there is a human gustatory receptor (taste bud) specifically for salt, forming one of the basic components of “taste”. Salt is an electrolyte and has a slight charge. Salt preserves food by making it difficult for microorganisms to live - the salt draws water from the cells of microorganisms and dehydrates them.

In the body, salt helps to regulate blood volume and pressure. The relationship between salt and blood pressure was known as long as 4,000 years ago, when the Chinese emperor Huang Ti wrote of the connection between salt and a “hardened pulse.” Many studies have shown that increasing or decreasing salt intake for salt-sensitive individuals can have a direct impact on blood pressure.

Within the body, salt serves as part of the ion pump. Just as salt formed a hostile environment for microorganisms by dehydrating them, salt controls water balance in the human body. The sodium/potassium pump is a prime example of how electrolytes are critical to health (sodium and potassium are both electrolytes). Two potassium molecules are pulled into a cell, and three sodium molecules are pumped out. This is an endless cycle, with the net result that cells carry a slightly negative electrical charge.

For many years, controversy has existed with respect to the optimal amounts of salt in the diet. Unfortunately, many studies focused on the salt content of foods without taking into account other electrolytes. Biologically and physiologically, sodium intake alone does not regulate the sodium/potassium pump - potassium intake is important as well! More important than the amount of sodium in the diet is the ratio of sodium to potassium. While food labels are required to report sodium content, they are not required to report potassium content, which makes analyzing potassium intake extremely difficult.

Recent research suggests that this ratio is critical. While many studies have focused on high sodium content in the diet, it appears that problems with hypertension may be related more to an inappropriate ratio of sodium to potassium. Processed foods are extremely high in sodium. The major sources of potassium are fruits and vegetables. In recent years, the typical American diet has increased in the amount of processed foods and drastically decreased in the amount of whole, unprocessed foods such as fruit and vegetables. This means that sodium intake is potentially much higher than potassium intake.

When monitoring sodium in the diet, it is important to consider two factors. The first factor already discussed is the ratio of sodium to potassium. In order to balance this ratio, it is important to eat whole, unprocessed foods and not to add excessive salt to meals. This will lower the amount of sodium in the diet. One should also increase the amount of fruit and vegetables consumed in order to increase potassium in the diet. The exact ratio is unknown, but research suggests that a 1:1 ratio is probably a good target. The typical American diet is more than a 5:1 ratio in favor of salt!

The second factor to consider is fluctuation of intake. Salt sensitivity is not sensitivity to salt in general. It is sensitivity to a drastic change of salt intake. If a person is taking 5 grams of sodium consistently, then suddenly goes on a low sodium diet, problems can occur with a radical shift in blood pressure. Similarly, someone on a “low sodium” diet who suddenly increases sodium intake may experience similar problems. This is why many people who eat healthy throughout the week and then treat themselves to a “splurge” meal sometimes feel nauseous and can even experience elevated heart rate and blood pressure: it is the body’s reaction to the sudden increase in salt intake.

The sodium/potassium pump affects fluid balance. The body monitors the amount of salt and potassium in the bloodstream, as the body has no mechanism for storing electrolytes. Sodium and potassium are typically filtered in the kidney. When a shortage of either exists, the body secretes hormones that drastically reduce excretion of electrolytes and fluids. This is why cutting out sodium too soon before a body building competition can actually cause the competitor to retain water - the body is reacting to the lowered intake by preserving fluids and electrolytes.

To summarize, the skinny on salt is as follows:

* Be more concerned with the ratio of salt to potassium than the actual amount of salt in the diet
* Do not try to eliminate salt - it is essential and required by the body - instead, try to reduce excessive intake by focusing on whole, unprocessed foods and minimizing the amount of salt that you add to meals
* Increase potassium intake by including 4 - 5 servings of fruit and/or vegetables in your daily menu
* Focus on restoring electrolytes post-workout, preferably with a higher potassium-to-sodium ratio. For example, Mass Maker from Beverly International has 300mg of potassium to 140mg of sodium, or about 2:1.
* Avoid frequent, high fluctuations in salt and/or potassium intake, as these may have an adverse effect on your blood pressure

The term “weight lifting supplement” is familiar to almost everyone nowadays. Weight lifting supplement is a supplement that is designed to help people who use it to achieve better results in their body building or weight lifting training programs. Currently there is a wide range of weight lifting supplement products available in the US market.

Weight Lifting Supplement - safety.

You need to be very careful when you are looking for weight lifting supplement products for your training. There are many fake products available on the market. There are also many very dangerous supplements that may harm your health. Always consult with your doctor and other health professionals before using any of the weight lifting supplement products. Don’t just trust the labels’ claims. There is not much scientific proof for many of them.

Weight Lifting Supplement - dangers.

Weight lifting supplement products could be very dangerous. For example, according to several health organizations’ sources, a study of androstenedione, the steroid-like food supplement used legally by professional athletes, has found it may not build muscles and could create adverse health effects. The report said muscle strength did not differ in the men given the supplement, compared to others in the study who were given a placebo.

Weight Lifting Supplement - severe withdrawal syndrome.

Fitness Supplement - weight loss supplements.

Weight loss supplement is a fitness supplement that is designed to help people who use it to achieve a considerable loss of weight. The weight loss supplement can be based on various chemicals, vitamins, minerals, herbs, etc. Examples of weight loss supplements include but are not limited to Solidax ADX, Phentermine, Kava - Herbal, Xenical, Fat Absorber TDSL, Bontril, Meridia, and many more.

Fitness Supplement - body building supplements.

Body building supplement is a fitness supplement that is designed to help people who use it to achieve weight gain, muscle building, and strength training. There are many other reasons for using body building supplement products but these three are probably the most popular. Be careful with body building fitness supplement products as some of them could be very dangerous.

Fitness Supplement - nutritional supplements.

Arms are a part of the body that just about everyone wants to reshape. Free weights offer the most flexibility because you can easily increase the intensity by increasing the amount you lift. There are also a variety of styles to fit individual needs. Traditional barbells that range in weight from 10 to 40 or more pounds are ideal when you have a weight bench and you want a rigorous routine for building large muscles. You basically perform your reps, increasing the weight as you progress through your routine. When you travel or if you are interested in slight definition, you will want to invest in a smaller set of dumbbells. If you have back problems, aquatic barbells may be a better option. You use this equipment in a swimming pool where the water provides support.

In addition to free weights, you can also use a dip stand, pull-up bars, or pushup stands to work your arm muscles. This equipment is versatile and enables you to work your entire upper body. If you are interested in bulking up your muscles, you simply need to perform additional reps using this equipment a few times each week. If you want to tone your muscles you will need to perform fewer reps several times a week.

Reshaping your legs is easy with body building equipment. While you can use free weights to define your leg muscles, machines that enable you to perform leg curls or leg raises provide the most benefits. There are very few equipment choices outside of large machines for performing these exercises. Most home gyms contain a leg press or calf machine for you to work your leg muscles.