Different workout;

I know legs are not a popular bodypart to talk about but they are necessary if you want a balanced physique. Today was my second leg day of this week and being that my first workout was a bit heavier i did today's leg workout a little lighter and a little more intense. I work the whole lower body in one workout twice a week to stay lean for summer so i will just give you my quad workout and maybe you can incorporate some version of it to spice up your workout and maybe even come to like training legs as i do!
I started out on the smith machine with squats but 21 squats in which you do seven reps with your feet close together, touching, then seven reps with feet shoulder width apart then seven reps with feet outside shoulder width. Then with only just enough rest to walk to the leg extension machine i proceeded to do ten reps with a heavy enough weight to get ten burning reps then with only enough rest to move the pin to a lighter weight i then did single leg extensions with each leg for ten reps each. That's one round and i did three altogether.
From there i went to vertical leg presses for reps of fifteen supersetted with reverse hack squats for ten reps then sissy squats for ten reps again with no rest in between rounds and i did three rounds altogether.
Needless to say this was an intense workout and i am still in a little pain from it! Don't be afarid to drop your weights a little and go for the burn, remember change is good for not only the physical muscles but the mental ones as well!

4 Key Risks for Heart Failure;

Avoiding them helps protect your heart New Framingham Heart Study data identify four key risks for heart failure: smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes and being overweight. Fortunately, you can take steps to avoid or minimize these major risks. For example, check out Dr. Michael Peterson's four keys to quitting smoking. Learn how to manage your blood pressure and live well with diabetes. If you're overweight, consider these 10 tips to lose weight. Plus: Should a doctor apologize, and other health coverage in our Health Beat blog. To your health, Marie KarnsNewsletter Editor, YourTotalHealth

Vitamin D deficiency:

Watching the news the other day there was a story about how american children are becoming deficient in vitamin D. I am not one to believe most stories i hear on any news station, i have a tendency to believe this one mainly due to the fact that i see how most people eat now a days and i firmly believe that the parents are passing their bad eating habits on to their kids, most times without even knowing it and in few cases not care.
Vitamin D, a fat soluble vitamin, is required for the absorption and utilization of calcium and phosphorus by the intestinal tract.It is necessary for growth and is espically important for the normal growth and development of bones and teeth in children! It protects against muscle weakness and is involved in regulation of the heartbeat. It is also important in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis and hypocalcemia, enhances immunity, and is necessary for thyroid function and normal blood clotting.
Sources; Fish liver oils, fatty saltwater fish, dairy products, and eggs all contain vitamin D.
Do not take vitamin D without calcium. Whenever you seek to correct a vitamin or mineral deficiency, you must recognize that nutrients work synergistically. This is why taking a single vitamin or mineral may be inneffective and why a balanced vitamin and mineral supplement should always be taken in addition to any single supplement.
Now a days most cereals are fortified with extra calcium and other vitamins and minerals and a bowl of cereal with milk is a good start to any childs day, as long as it is not a cereal loaded with sugar, and there are some very good cereals that taste good with low sugar out on the food store shelves, you just have to read the nutrition facts label.
I like to think if you are working out you already know these things but this is for those of you who are not so well versed with nutrition or may have a friend you want to help but don't know how, just pass this site on to them and tell them to read!

Continuous Tension;

For a muscle to receive full benefit from an exercise,the weight used should continually be felt along the fullest possible range of motion. Unfortunately, many exercises do not allow for stress to be placed on a working muscle at all times. That is where the continuous tension principle comes into play. Moving the weight slowly and in a purposeful manner and not allowing the weight to hang at the bottom, as in the standing barbell curl, for biceps, or not allowing the weight to sit against your chest at the top of the curl, therefore keeping continuous tension on the muscles throughout the whole exercise. Thereby recruiting every muscle fiber possible throughout the set and stimulating more muscle growth in that muscle.
Another mistake i see many inexperienced lifters doing is locking out at the top of barbell bench presses, be it flat, incline or decline. Locking the elbows even for a second at the top of any bench press movement will not only put undue, unneeded stress on the elbow joints, inviting injury on the joints. Not only is it bad for the joints but it negates the purpose of really stressing the pecs and fails to recruit as many fibers as would be fired if the elbows were not locked out at all.
Keep in mind this principle is to be used when getting ready for a show or when you change up your lifting routine from a winter schedule to a summer one, where lighter weights and better form is needed. In other words, it is used for more sculpting the muscles although it is possible to build muscle when used properly and safely with enough stress placed on the muscle. Even though you may not be using maximum poundages, a muscle can still be stimulated by placing continuous tension on it. Those seasoned lifters know what i mean by this and have probably been cycling their workouts for their entire lives, i am just trying to get the grey matter upstairs working and help you remember some principles that you may have forgotten!

Multi Vitamin;

I am sure that i've done an entry on this before, but talking to the younger generation at the gym lately, it seems as though my advice has gone unheard! If you workout and reading this either you do or have an intrest in doing so then listen carefully, rather, read this carefully and slowly and let it sink in! If you do no other supplementation in your regiment, i highly recommend you take a multi vitamin. The vitamin shop has a good well priced multi which i take called three daily. I take it with three meals evenly spaced throughout the day preferrably early morning, one capsule, early afternoon, and then early evening. This gives you a steady supply of the water soluble which come out in your urine or sweat throughout the day and the fat soluble vitamins you need. Without getting too technical and boring you with clinical trial data, let me drive home this point. Most of us that are vigilant with our diets and try to get a so called balanced diet of protein, carbs, fruit, and vegetables are still coming up short in the micronutrient department. Meaning that without a multi vitamin each and everyday you could be sabotaging your muscle building efforts by not giving your body some of the vitamins and minerals it so badly needs to build that muscle. How could something so simple yet so important be soo overlooked by so many, it remains a mystery to me!! If you are serious about your weightlifting goals, why not take an extra few seconds each day to cover all of your bases with a good multivitamin. Even if you are not a serious weightlifter but just want to be healthy, this applies to you as well. EVERYONE SHOULD TAKE A MULTI, regardless of age or fitness level! There, i think i've made my point, now go get a multi vitamin and more importantly, remember to take it consistently on a daily basis. Train hard and smart!