I’m about to hand you a special report that’ll set the ground rules for your workouts.

You’ve probably heard some of these before, but are you doing them?

What I mean is… you can use this as a basic check list every time you workout (these tips can even inspire you to come up with new ways to modify or improve your current training routine).

This report is courtesy of ‘Wameed’ and it goes into tips such as:

• How to have all the benefits of a gym without buying a single machine.
• Why it might take you a while to get a hang of this simple training concept and how to tweak it to target the right muscle groups.
• Plus, this type of training may be just right for people on the go. After all, you can’t pack a pair of dumbbells in your suitcase and you won’t need to scout for gyms when you’re out of town. (One thing: you’ll need to understand the limitation to this type of workout and how to work around it).
• 5 rules to setup a home gym on a budget. (hint: how to get your money’s worth and when to consider a refurbished piece of equipment. Plus: how NOT to miss the ‘progress’ factor in your home gym).
• 5 tips to ensure you ‘buy wisely’ and avoid common home gym blunders: 3 safety features to look for,  3 more ‘adapt to your workout’ features NOT to skip, why spend some time on the machine you’d like to buy, another thing to look for in refurbished units.
• Which 4 home gym gadgets give you the best value for money – skip this and setting up a full home gym can easily cost you thousands.
• 3 ways to easily get a dumbbell set without the expense.
• One of the most versatile workout tools you can buy for cheap and how to make sure it’s the right size for you.
• The one reason your diet starts to lose steam and your progress stalls – explained in simple terms. Plus what to do when this happens to swing things into you favor (this may seem unusual, it even runs against what you naturally wish to do, yet it works). You get 6 ways to implement this technique.
• Trying to get slim? Can’t stop checking your weight? Here’s why you shouldn’t panic when the scales won’t budge.
• 5 ways to keep your diet on track. (hint: do this to avoid breaking your own rules – it won’t be so easy to quit this time… plus, a simple way around having to give up comfort foods entirely.)
• …And much more.

You can download the report by clicking here.

Grab your copy today. Check it out and let me know what you think.

M. Jamal

P.S. You’ve probably noticed I’ve been quiet most of December. Turns out my trusty laptop needed an upgrade.

Well, to be honest it burnt out and I had to get a replacement and get back up to speed. Anyways, I hope you gave yourself a break in December… distressed, enjoyed the holidays and now you’re filled with new found motivation for 2009 (oh, the years seem to fly by so quick. Don’t you think? Make the most out of 2009)

Many women resort to crash diets to get them bikini-ready for summer or to help fit themselves into their wedding dress before the big day.

The principle is simple – they try to accommodate in two or so weeks what should be a weight plan normally designed for 6 months or more.

Crash diets entail radical reductions in caloric intake.

They range from soup diets to cleansing diets, but a common factor among them is the deprivation of nutrients needed by the body for proper metabolism and production of energy.

They last from several days to a few weeks, and there is almost always a radical reduction in weight, but crash diets are not in all aspects successful.

The Body Mechanisms Affected By Crash Diets:

Dieting is not as easy as reducing fat intake and losing pounds.

We need to look into the mechanisms in the body affected by these diets to understand what we should watch out for.

First, if you want to fit into that bikini or wedding dress in two weeks’ time, then you just might be able to do so because crash dieting is a few steps away from starvation – and we know how hunger strikers look like after a few weeks.

But the question is… is it healthy for you?

Since our body uses various sources of fuel to convert to energy, the fuel used by a 200-meter-dash athlete is different from that used by a basketball player at the second half of a game.

Studies have shown that lean tissue and muscle are the first to be broken down than stored body fat.

Thus, when people subscribe to crash diets, it’s the muscle that breaks down first before the body fat which they are actually targeting.

During extreme diets, your body will think it’s starving when you’re losing too much weight too fast, and responds by conserving fat.

The same thing happens when a person cuts down on caloric intake but does not exercise at the same time – your body will tend to whittle muscle tissue, not fat.

How Is Muscle Tissue Different From Fat Tissue?

Besides their appearance, muscle tissue is metabolically active – that is, you have to work on them to keep them healthy.

Notice how some patients recuperating from accidents lose muscle mass but gain weight?

It’s because if they can’t benefit from therapy that helps them exercise their muscles, the muscles can atrophy. However, the fat cells will stick to them like glue.

The Basal Metabolic Rate:

In order to maintain your metabolism’s health, muscle tissue is extremely important to help your body function properly in all aspects.

If there is a reduction in muscle mass, there is also a drop in metabolic rate.

Muscle that is metabolically active has to be fed well, and this is why bodybuilders have diets that can compete with those of sumo wrestlers.

How does the body respond to crash diets?

When it senses that it has been deprived of the nutrients it needs for an extended period, it makes up for the lack by lowering the basal metabolic rate, or BMR. This is the number of calories burned in a day by an at-rest body so it can maintain normal body functions.

If it decreases, it means that calories are burned more slowly by your body.

Its implication in crash diets is once you get off a crash diet and revert to your normal food routine, it will become easier for your body to deposit fat. This is what happens in the so-called “yo-yo dieting,” when someone’s weight see-saws between diets.

How, Then, Should You Keep Muscle?

Researchers recommend a target of not more than one pound a week. It may not be much, but that’s 20 pounds in 5 months, and your body will thank you for the less drastic change.

M. Jamal

P.S. Been on a Crash Diet before? How did it feel… and… was it worth it?

Here’s the video I mentioned in my last post, check it out… and why not give it a try. It’s simple, doesn’t require fancy equipment or going out of your way to the gym…

In other words, No Excuses. Give it a try.

M. Jamal

P.S. Did you try any of these Stair Training Moves yet? Love to hear your thoughts. (If you missed the link last time, here’s how to find out more about this style of training… have a look here)

Here’s an interesting Twist to your cardio workouts I just came across…

Check out the video, it’s a great demonstration of taking something that looks So Simple and tweaking it for maximum ‘Body Shaping’ effect.

Try at least one sample today (even if you’ve just got 5 minutes) and post your thoughts…

M. Jamal

P.S. I’ll be posting another interesting exercise variation soon. You can also find out more about this style of training by going here

So I’ll occasional pop over to Starbucks every week or so to grab some mocha…

(and well, for a change of mood when my mind’s in freeze mood – you know those days when you feel like grabbing your favorite beverage and flipping through a book or magazine)

Anyways…

I’ll admin I like their mocha but I’m always lost when I look at their food menu.

I mean, unless I’m desperately hungry, I’d simply skip the food on their menu altogether – not even a good choice for a snack on most days.

And you know what, I bet I’m not the only one tempted to skip those meals. Hear this…

I just came across a comment by Starbucks Chairman and Chief Executive Howard Schultz saying how he was “embarrassed” by the food at Starbucks and that it would be “completely reinvented by fall.”

Now get this…

I just there was something in the news today that’s hopefully a sign for things to come…

Starbucks just added what they call “dietitian-designed breakfast foods”

That’s 5 food menu items including hot oatmeal and a protein plate, a new improved apple bran muffin, a 100 percent whole-grain pastry made with seasonal fruit and a multigrain roll with seven different seeds and grains. (you can check out the full story here )

But what is it that got me excited…

Even though I have zero plans to visit a Starbucks before heading to office in the morning?

Here’s one reason…

It’s because I’ve seen countless friends skip breakfast all together and… well, you know… grab a morning coffee.

So I’m thinking: maybe next time they’ll be tempted to grab some food along with their coffee. (Would you?)

After all, some breakfast is way better than No Breakfast. (Read that again, it’s that important)

I’ve covered this in an earlier post: “Don’t Skip Breakfast Even While Slimming”

And you know what, way too many people would rather grab a few minutes extra sleep than breakfast.

And if you’ve ever found yourself tempted to skip breakfast because you’re too busy or in a rush, hang in there because I’ve got a resource that’s all about “10 Tips To Making Time For Breakfast”

But first, check out some of these eye-opening stats:

• Almost one in four adults in Ireland often skip breakfast and almost one in five often skip lunch.
  ( reference )
• In the UK, a survey of over 1,000 workers found that more than a third of office workers either never have breakfast or have it just once to three times a week.

  Here’s an interesting quote from independent nutritionist Mark Barker:“People who eat breakfast are also more physically energetic and have beet co-ordination. Research tells us that scores on memory tests were about 15% lower in people who skipped breakfast,” he said. “And those who skip it tend to eat sugary, fatty foods later in the day, reducing their productivity.” ( reference )

• And how does it affect kids?

  Well, one study found that irregular breakfast eating had a significant negative association with quality of life among Japanese schoolchildren.Another study, surveyed the behavior of 1609 Taiwanese adolescents aged 12 to 20 where 23.6% of participants reported that they ate breakfast irregularly on schooldays. And, odds of becoming overweight were 51% greater for those who regularly skipped breakfast. ( reference )

• Okay, here’s something to cheer you up…

  David Clarke, chief executive officer of Best Western Hotels, says “Over the past few years the gender split with breakfast has become much more noticeable. Female guests certainly head for the healthy option much more than men, especially when traveling for business reasons”
  ( reference )

And now for those “10 Tips To Making Time For Breakfast”

I like Mr. Breakfast’s 6 “A.M. FUEL Rules”

Right now, I’m into Tip #6, I’ve become a bit of an oatmeal fan (along with a mix of crunchy, dried fruit and morning protein).

Plus, he goes on to share 14 “Quick & Healthy Breakfast Recipes” at the end of that webpage. Be sure to check those out (click here to see it now)

M. Jamal

P.S. What’s your morning eating habits like? Do you skip breakfast often?

P.P.S. On another note, I wonder if the Starbucks vs. McDonalds is behind this whole thing. Would you say Starbucks is trying to win over some “morning meal seekers”? Here’s the video…

Lifetime memberships in gyms may seem cheap if you’ll consider the unlimited use, but let’s face it, there’s a very slim chance you’d set foot in the gym for the larger part of a year – unless you’re living just a few blocks away from the facility.

This being the case, you may choose between investing around $1500 for a lifetime membership at a gym you can’t always go to, or spending a few dollars on inexpensive equipment which you can use daily in the convenience of your own home.

Jump-Ropes:

Thousands of professional boxers can’t go wrong!

Skipping rope gives you a very good cardio and you can even fit it into any tote when you’re traveling.

It may look like child’s play, but this exercise is actually intense, toning the upper body muscles as well as the hamstrings and calves.

How effective is it?

Studies show that a mere 10 minutes of jumping rope is equivalent to roughly half an hour of running at nearly 6 miles per hour. It has the power to burn up to 1000 calories in an hour.

You’ll also get to improve your endurance, agility, and coordination.

Resistance Bands:

If you think the $2000 price tag on a Bowflex home gym system is just too much, even if it holds the promise of giving you washboard abs in a few months, then first try the $50 Bodylastics.

This equipment, which makes use of elastic tubes, also involves resistance training and offers a ton of variety in exercising. It has exercises for the legs, shoulders, back, abs, chest, and arms.

Step Stools:

In addition to the staircase you have at home, you can also think of exercise sequences using an ordinary (but sturdy) step stool.

You can do lunges on them to tone your butt and quads.

Trampolines:

Re-marketed as rebounders when a stabilizing bar was added, these fun devices can strengthen your heart and improve your circulation.

It’s also relatively easier on your joints and your feet than bouncing directly on the floor.

Even seniors and children can safely use it. As it improves respiration, toxins trapped in the organs and tissues are promptly eliminated. You can find a good-sized one for less than $30.

Frisbees:

Have fun with your kids in your yard or play a round or two with friends if you live near the beach or a park.

They cost next to nothing yet can give even the most exercised athletes a huge workout.

Exercise Videos:

Whether they’re the antiquated Fonda workouts or the newer programs, you can’t go wrong with an exercise video. All you have to do is prepare your mat if needed, drop the video in, and exercise during whatever time of day you please.

Many women prefer using videos than going to the gym especially during the first few days of a program simply because they’re embarrassed to be seen exercising in public – and that’s the beauty of working out in privacy.

When you are more confident and as you start to get the hang of working out (it can be addictive), you can then join a gym if you want to.

Secondhand Equipment:

Treadmills, ellipticals, and other fitness items can be acquired on the cheap when they’re pre-owned.

You only have to be able to try them out to see if they are still in good condition.

If you’re lucky, you can come across an owner who hardly used her machine.

Good sources are garage sales, Craigslist, or eBay, but only if you can check the item out. If not, make sure that it’s still under warranty.

M. Jamal

P.S. So do you prefer an in-home workout, outdoors or gym?