Try this Move For Amazing Abs

This move does double duty, targeting both your upper and lower abdominal muscles all at once. So it’s a great move when you’re trying to blast away at your abs in a hurry! It’s a challenging exercise, so start out with low reps to ensure proper form.

How to do a V-Up: Lie flat on the ground. Your toes should be pointed and your arms should be extended over your head. Both your arms and legs should be slightly off the ground, with your back flat against the floor. (A) Raise your legs and upper body at the same time, using your core abdominal muscles to pull your body together for form the ‘V’ shape. (B) Keep your abs tight through out the exercise, even as you lower slowly back to start position. Don’t allow your arms or legs to touch the ground. Continue the move without bouncing or using your body’s momentum to get you through the move.

V-Ups

Get Beth ‘Venom’ Horn to coach you through
this move in her Strong Core Ab Workout

Download Now >>

Drink Coffee To Reduce Pain During Exercising

I can’t make it to the gym in the morning without drinking at least one cup of coffee…although it usually ends up being two or three. But even if I train in the afternoons, I still drive through Starbucks before hitting the elliptical or lifting weights. Like me for my pre-workout boost, former competitive cyclist Robert Motl, PhD, drinks a cup ‘o Joe to fuel up and get a little more energy to push harder during cycling distance training and competitions.

This former pro athlete, currently a professor at the University of Illinois kinesiology and community health, found in his study that the relationship between caffeine and physical activity is more than just an energy boost. It actually enhanced his cycling ability by reducing the pain. “We’ve shown that caffeine reduces pain reliably, consistently during cycling, across different intensities, across different people, different characteristics. But does that reduction in pain translate into an improvement in sport performance?”, says Motl.

But for now, RELIEF is what you can get from this study . Particularly those who write off working out all together or don’t exercise with as much intensity as you’d like to due to the pain you experience during your workout.

How much caffeine do you need to drink to feel the effects? Try drinking two to three cups of coffee or caffeinated drink per day to see if helps you stick to your workout plan and not allow pain to derail you from your goals.

Sources: International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, April 2009.

No Excuses: by MyBodyBeats' Trainer, Nicole Duncan

Hello everybody. It’s a beautiful morning and I thought I’d take a moment to share with you my thoughts and plans for this competition season. It’s a Tuesday and as I look down at my planner I realize that I am about 19 weeks out from the Europa Supershow in Dallas. I would really love to qualify for my 2nd Olympia appearance and prove that I can be a top contender in the IFBB. It’s going to take focus, hard work and sheer determination. I’m tired of being the girl with the great routines who gets docked for her physique. So, it’s time for me to step up and do something about it.

My placing at this year’s Arnold was a rude awakening. My goal was to place in the top 10 and I placed 14th. I got rave reviews for my routines but was then penalized for my conditioning. Now, I’ve always measured my success by my personal improvements so for me the show was still a success. However, now it’s time for me to look at the big picture. I need to be able to prove to the judges that I have what it takes to go the long haul in this competition. Originally I had wanted to compete at the Europa in Orlando but as I kept going over and over it in my head, I realized that I didn’t want to just do well for myself, I want to make a big impact and show that I can really make significant improvements with my physique. So, I’m taking a little more time to prepare for the next show and instead of just going through the motions of diet and exercise, I have a plan!

It should be the same way with diet and exercise for you. We all need focus, hard work and determination but without a plan how are we making the goal a reality. My main objective is to cut down the size in my legs by an inch and gain more ab definition. There it is, direct and precise. Your goal may be to gain muscles in your arms, loose 50 pounds or run a marathon next year. No matter what the goal, you must devise a detailed plan of the things you need to do to commit to that goal. For me, I know that running trims my legs and lucky enough I love to run. So, each month I’ve signed up for a different road race and have committed to training for a half marathon in November. I also spoke with my trainer and he has come up with a diet that will work with the new training that I’m doing. Thirdly, I got some of my fellow competitor friends involved and they will be joining me on a few races. I’ve committed financially, mentally and physically to my goal. Plus, I have accountability through my friends and now you as I’ve publically state my intentions.

Again, what’s you’re plan? Have you paid for workouts from MyBodyBeats.com but haven’t planned which days you plan to work out? Write down your goal. Research ways of getting to that goal. Then write down your plan. Schedule your workout sessions like you would a hair appointment or business meeting. Add checks and balances such as finding accountability partners, setting phone reminders and putting before pictures on the refrigerator to help you stay on track. Write your plan today! You can do this. WE can do this…. No excuses!!!!

Fit Nicole’s Blog
Train with Nicole here

Drink Green Tea to Trim Your Tummy

Green tea is natures little wonder herb. Numerous studies have indicated that regular green tea drinkers may have lower chances of heart disease and lower chances of developing certain types of cancer . Many people also believe that green tea can help with weight loss. Perhaps this is because the even levels of energy from the natural caffeine found in this drink can give you the extra zip you may need to get through your workout. But now there is new research that green tea actually targets the hard to get rid of belly fat when added as a supplement to an exercise-induced weight loss program.

How does it blast belly fat and help to trim your tummy?
Scientist are not exactly sure, but believe that it increases the rate that fat is broken down in they body and that tummy fat is the first to go.

What’s the skinny?
Researchers at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University as well as research centers in Florida and Japan conducted a study on 132 overweight adults for a period of 12 weeks. All participants consumed a diet consistent in daily calories and performed 180 minutes a week of moderate/intense exercise. Each participant drank a daily beverage containing caffeine, but one group was given 625 mg of catechins. Catechins sounds like something I wouldn’t want to have, but it’s actually an antioxidant found in green tea. The group who drank the green tea lost twice as much weight (4.4 lbs compared to just over 2 lbs) and more loss in abdominal fat.

Brew it to lose it! About 7 cups a day is what you need to consume to get the same benefits as the participants in the study.

Fit Women Less Likely to Die of Breast Cancer

USC researchers have just released a study indicating that physically fit women are less likely to die from breast cancer. The research was conducted on 14,000 women ages 22 to 83 for an average of 16 years and showed that women in the lowest fitness category were 3x more likely to die from breast cancer than women in the most fit category. The good news? It doesn’t take very much to be in the most fit category. The lead researcher, Dr. Steve Blair at USC’s Arnold School of Public Health says, “You can get out of that with simply 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity such as walking over the course of a week and you only have to get it in in 10 minute bouts. So, three ten minute walks a day, five days a week will produce moderate fitness.” So ladies…lower your risk, get in the most fit category and exercise!