3 Simple Ways On How To Measure Body Fat

There are 3 simple and effective ways to measure body fat: 

Skin-fold caliper test

Underwater weighing

Height and weight cart

How to measure body fat by skin-fold caliper

One of the accurate way to measure body fat is in use at doctors' offices, sports facilities, health clubs, and gyms all over US. The skin-fold caliper test attempts to measure the fat which lies directly beneath the skin. Measurements of this subcutaneous fat are made with a caliper, usually at three sites on the body - the back of the upper arm, between the elbow and shoulder, 1 cm below the shoulder-blade, and 3 cm above the hipbone, on the abdomen.

The measurements are then compared to an established standard for obesity, or used in a formula to yield an obesity index. The major drawback to the skin-fold caliper test is the difficulty in getting reliable measurements. Measurements vary from technician to technician, and often a technician will obtain different readings at different times on the same subject.

Underwater weighing

Of the simplest methods for measuring body fat (potassium 40 whole body counters, specific gravity tests, and body water measurements), the specific gravity method is most familiar to sports enthusiasts and fitness buffs. In this method, the individual is weighed underwater. Because fat tends to float and muscle, which is more dense, tends to sink, we can measure the proportion of fat in the body by comparing your body weight out of water to weight underwater.

Height and body weight charts

Another way to determine if you are obese or overweight is to compare your body weight to established standards for height and weight. The height and weight chart is based on weight in normal clothing, and height in 5 cm heels for women, and 2.5 cm heels for men. Broadly speaking, being 15-20 percent over desirable weight for your height, frame size, and age is classified as obesity.

There are several problems in using the height/weight tables to determine if you are overweight or obese: 

In order to use the tables, we must first decide whether we are small, medium, or large framed. Human nature being what it is, we tend to choose the category which will be the most flattering.

The height and weight tables can be extremely inaccurate if there is a high proportion of either fluid or muscle in the body. In other words, if you are a very muscular athlete, your weight will be higher than the normal range, because muscle weighs more than fat. Similarly, if you are suffering from an abnormal accumulation of water in the body, your weight will be artificially high. (Women who suffer monthly weight gains of 1-2 kilograms are familiar with this syndrome.

When using the tables, it is important to remember that the standards are based on figures made available by insurance companies. These figures represent the weights at which there were the lowest mortality rates, and do not necessarily reflect the weights at which individuals enjoy optimal health.

While these body fat measurements are by no means 100 percent accurate, they can be helpful in giving you an idea of how to determine frame size, percentage of body fat, and proper weight for your height and age. They're also fun to use and fun belongs in any eating management program.

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Common Side Effects Of High Blood Pressure Medication

Some of the drugs listed below can affect certain functions of the body, resulting in bad side effects. However, drugs that lower blood pressure have proven effective over the years. The benefits of using them far outweigh the risk of side effects. Most people who’ve taken these drugs haven’t had any problems.

Diuretics — Some of these drugs may decrease your body's supply of a mineral called potassium. Symptoms such as weakness, leg cramps or being tired may result. Eating foods containing potassium may help prevent significant potassium loss. You can prevent potassium loss by taking a liquid or tablet that has potassium along with the diuretic, if your doctor recommends it. Diuretics such as amiloride (Midamar), spironolactone (Aldactone) or triamterene (Dyrenium) are called "potassium sparing" agents. They don’t cause the body to lose potassium. They might be prescribed alone but are usually used with another diuretic. Some of these combinations are Aldactazide, Dyazide, Maxzide or Moduretic.

Some people suffer from attacks of gout after prolonged treatment with diuretics. This side effect isn't common and can be managed by other treatment. This is because of hyperurecemia caused by diuretics.

In people with diabetes, diuretic drugs may increase the blood sugar level. A change in drug, diet, insulin or oral antidiabetic dosage corrects this in most cases. Your doctor can change your treatment. Most of the time the degree of increase in blood sugar isn't much. Impotence may also occur in a small percentage of people.

Beta-blockers — Acebutolol (Sectral), atenolol (Tenormin), metoprolol (Lopressor, Mepressor, Merol), nadolol (Corgard), pindolol (Visken), propranolol (Inderal) or timolol (Blocadren) may cause insomnia, cold hands and feet, tiredness or depression, a slow heartbeat or symptoms of asthma. Impotence may occur. If you have diabetes and you’re taking insulin, have your responses to therapy monitored closely.

ACE inhibitors — These drugs, such as captopril (Capoten), enalapril (Vasotec), lisinopril (Zestril or Prinivil), may cause a skin rash; loss of taste; a chronic dry, hacking cough most common side effect; and in rare instances, kidney damage.

Angiotensin II receptor blockers — These drugs may cause occasional dizziness.

Calcium channel blockers — Diltiazem (Cardizem), nicardipine (Cardene), Nifedipine (Procardia) and verapamil (Calan or Isoptin) may cause palpitations, swollen ankles edema, constipation, headache or dizziness. Side effects with each of these drugs differ a great deal.

Alpha blockers — These drugs may cause fast heart rate, dizziness or a drop in blood pressure when you stand up i.e postural hypoteson

Combined alpha and beta blockers — People taking these drugs may experience a drop in blood pressure when they stand up.

Central agonists — Alpha methyldopa (Aldomet) may produce a greater drop in blood pressure when you're in an upright position (standing or walking) and may make you feel weak or faint if the pressure has been lowered too far. This drug may also cause drowsiness or sluggishness, dryness of the mouth, fever or anemia. Male patients may experience impotence. If this side effect persists, your doctor may have to change the drug dosage or use another medication.

Clonidine (Catapres), guanabenz (Wytensin) or guanfacine (Tenex) may produce severe dryness of the mouth, constipation or drowsiness. If you're taking any of these drugs, don’t stop suddenly, because your blood pressure may rise quickly to dangerously high levels.

Peripheral adrenergic inhibitors — Reserpine may cause a stuffy nose, diarrhea or heartburn. These effects aren't severe and no treatment is required other than to change the amount of drugs taken. If you have nightmares or insomnia or get depressed, tell your doctor. You should stop using the drugs.

Guanadrel (Hylorel) or guanethidine (Ismelin) may cause some diarrhea, which may persist in some people. This side effect usually becomes less of a problem if you continue treatment.

These drugs reduce blood pressure more when you stand. Consequently, you may get dizzy and lightheaded and feel weak when you get out of bed in the morning or stand up suddenly. If you notice any of these reactions — and if they persist for more than a minute or two —  sit or lie down and either reduce or omit the next dose of the drug. If symptoms continue, contact your doctor.

When you're taking guanethidine, don't keep standing in the hot sun or at a social gathering if you begin to feel faint or weak. These activities cause low blood pressure. Male patients may experience impotence. Contact your doctor if this occurs. These drugs are rarely used unless other medications don’t help.

Blood vessel dilators — Hydralzine (Apresoline) may cause headaches, swelling around the eyes, heart palpitations or aches and pains in the joints. Usually none of these symptoms are severe, and most will go away after a few weeks of treatment. Minoxidil (Loniten) is a potent drug that's usually used only in resistant cases of severe high blood pressure. It may cause fluid retention (marked weight gain) or excessive hair growth.

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Heart attacks can creep up on you when you least expect it. Are you prepared?

Heart disease is one of the nation’s deadliest killers taking the lives of almost one million Americans each year. Each of us has a different susceptibility to cardiovascular disease. Your fitness level and what you eat plays a major role. Approximately 64 million Americans have cardiovascular disease, and here’s the shocker; as many as 40 percent of those who suffer a heart attack have no symptoms. A heart attack may occur due to heart disease but not always and although it is the leading cause of death it can be prevented. Women usually have fewer heart attacks than men but after menopause women catch up to men in the number of heart attacks experienced.

So, what are the factors that lead to heart disease?
The most commonly recognized risk factors are:

1 Stress
2 Smoking
3 High levels of LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol)
4 Low levels of HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol)
5 High Blood-pressure.
6 Obesity
7 Diabetes
8 Destructive form of amino acid called homocysteine
9 Heredity

The heart is the most crucial organ to sustain life and to keep it ticking efficiently, our priority should be to prevent its deterioration. The simplest Mantra for prevention of heart disease is; eat well, exercise and adopt a healthy lifestyle. This has been said countless times before and the simple truth is that those who do follow through with the advice enjoy a much healthier and longer life.

NOTE: Always check with your physician first before changing or implementing any sort of a diet or exercise program especially if you're taking prescription or over the counter medicines.

Some factors to consider when adopting a healthier lifestyle include but not limited to: (also check with your physician)

  1     Cut down on dietary fat and cholesterol

  2     Check your blood pressure regularly

  3     Don’t smoke (fortunately there are a lot of resources available for those wanting to quit).

  4     Learn to meditate, this will lessen stress.

  5    Exercise - Being sedentary is one of the biggest risk factors for heart attacks.

  6   Control your weight - If you're obese

  7   Control your diabetes


Symptoms of a heart attack

NOTE: These symptoms may or may not indicate a heart attack. In any case medical help should be sought immediately because some heart attacks are the ’silent type’.

The American Heart Association lists them as:

-Uncomfortable pressure, fullness or squeezing and excruciating pain in the chest.
-Pain spreading to shoulder, neck, and arms. Specifically left sided neck and arm pain.
-Light headedness, fainting.
-Shortness of breath with little exertion.
-Profuse sweating.

The first hour is very critical. So, don’t waste time thinking its gas or flatulence. Act immediately and call 911 don’t waste time calling your doctor, he’ll most likely ask you to call 911 anyway. Heart disease can be easily prevented it's just a matter of implementing a healthier lifestyle.

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Bicycling Down Memory Lane

Many adults only remember riding a bike. They gave it up as they became older. Adults can and should take advantage of bicycle riding to get some exercise. Older folks may want to ride the large tricycle with a basket on the front.

I remember my first bike. It was blue with a bell attached to the handlebars and when you worked the little tab back and forth with your thumb, you would hear a tinny ring. All the kids in my neighborhood had bikes, of course they were two speed bikes, stop and go, unlike the many different bikes that are available now.

I don't remember any of us being overweight back then. We rode bikes rather than watching some silly or violent program on TV. In fact, there was no TV, no McDonald's, no computers, no Gameboys; the only video games we had were pictures in our heads.

During the daylight hours we didn't have many sedentary games. We ran around in the yards playing imaginary games. It was great fun. At night the whole family would sit around the supper table eating and talking. The meal usually consisted of a meat, two or three vegetables, and dessert with tea or milk to drink. No one opted for bottled water, oh yeah, there was no bottled water.

The only time we had hamburgers was on Saturday nights, no fries. Instead of fries we had goulash. During the summer we cooked outdoors on a homemade barbecue pit made out of stone. There were no charcoal, electric, or gas grills, we used wood in the pit.

Some of the neighborhood kids were always invited to eat supper with us on Saturday night. We would eat on a wooden picnic table in the backyard. After supper we would play basketball or horseshoes, or some other game. We got plenty of exercise.

Maybe if we had kept on doing those type of things, we would not have so many lazy and overweight people now. Get some "kids" of all ages together and go for a bike ride at least once a week. When you are riding, maybe along the way you'll ride upon a backyard barbecue pit where you can fix some burgers the old fashion way and pitch a few horseshoes after supper.

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2 Simple Steps To Ripped Summertime Muscles

Summer is on the horizon, and the time has come to kick back and relax under the sun. It’s time for beach days, barbecues and pool parties, and for any serious weightlifter these activities also mean one thing: it’s time for the shirts to come off and to showcase that rock-solid physique they’ve been working on all year. No one wants to be walking around with a soft, smooth and flabby body, and for the next month or two, all of those serious lifters will be shifting into “get ripped” mode.

How do they usually go about this?

They lighten up the weights and perform higher reps.

This has always been a widely accepted method of “cutting down” and if you ask most trainers in the gym they’ll tell you that “heavy weights bulk up the muscle and lighter weights define the muscle”.

Do you want to know the reality behind the “light weight and high reps” method of obtaining a ripped and defined physique?

It is completely, totally and utterly DEAD WRONG.

It couldn’t be farther from the truth. In fact, there is no logical basis for this way of training whatsoever, and whoever dreamt up this downright ridiculous way of thinking has caused the vast majority of lifters to waste their time and impede their progress in the gym.

Let me clear this up once and for all: you CANNOT spot reduce. In other words, it is physically impossible to target fat loss from a specific area on your body. Performing bench presses with light resistance and high repetitions will not magically burn fat off of your chest or cause it to appear harder and more defined.

Every single time you wrap your hands around a barbell, dumbbell or cable, your goal is to stimulate as much muscle growth as you possibly can. There are no special, secret weightlifting exercises that will “define” your muscles or cause them to become more “ripped”.

Training with weights builds muscle mass, end of story.

So how exactly do you “define” a muscle?

The only way to “define” a muscle is by lowering your body fat level in order to make your muscles more visible. Body fat reduction can be achieved in two ways:

1) Modify your diet.

You should lower your overall caloric intake to around 15x your bodyweight and focus on consuming smaller meals more frequently throughout the day. This will keep your metabolism naturally raised at all times and will keep your body in a constant fat burning state. Limit your intake of saturated fats and simple sugars, and focus instead on consuming lean sources of protein and low glycemic carbohydrates. It is also very important to keep your water intake high at a level of around 0.6 ounces per pound of bodyweight.

2) Perform proper cardio workouts.

Let go of the traditional method of moderate intensity cardio in 30-45 minute durations. If you want to maximize your body’s fat burning capacity and also minimize the muscle loss that inevitably accompanies a fat burning cycle, focus on shorter cardio workouts performed at a high level of intensity. These types of workouts will shoot your resting metabolism through the roof and will allow you to burn maximum amounts of fat even when you are at rest. I recommend 3-5 high intensity cardio sessions per week, spaced at least 8 hours away from your weight workouts.

That’s all there is to it, folks. Take the notion of “light weight and higher reps” and throw it right out the window, down the street and around the corner. Following this misguided method will only cause you to lose muscle mass and strength, and will not assist you in burning fat or defining your physique.

All you need to do to mold those rock-solid muscles for the summer time is this:

1) Train with heavy weights and low repetitions to build maximum muscle mass.

2) Modify your diet and implement cardio workouts to eliminate body fat and create visibly harder and more defined muscles.

End of story.

I’ll see you at the beach!

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48% Of Women Have Thinning Hair!

How your hair grows

Your hair is made of keratin (KER-uh-tin), the same protein that makes up your nails and the outer layer of your skin. The part you see and style is called the hair shaft. It's actually dead tissue made by your hair follicles tiny bulb-like structures beneath your scalp's surface.

We have all heard of someone who has thinning hair problem, but do we really know how extensive this thinning hair problem is? Let us take a look at the figures here..

1. 70 million Americans Have Fine or Thin-looking Hair And it's Growing
2. 4 million more women and 4.7 million more men will have noticeably thin-looking hair by 2005
3. By age 65, 48% of all women report they have thinning hair and 75% of all men report they have noticeably thin-looking hair.
4. Research has shown that the problem of thin-looking hair can begin as early as age 17.
5. The problem will grow more extreme as our population ages.

How does hair loss start?

Hair loss is a normal symptom. 50 to 60 hairs are shed each day from a normal scalp. Losing more than 60 hairs a day is called excessive hair loss and leads to generalized thinning of the hair. Hair becomes fine in texture. Loss of hair in men is often determined by heredity or by the Allopetia Androgenetic hormone. Hair loss in women is often caused by pregnancy, stress, fatigue or medical treatment.

Can Thyroid Disease Cause Hair Loss?

An overactive or underactive thyroid can cause hair loss. One may get her thyroid numbers in order after beginning a regimen of thyroid medication. However, there have been reported cases of women experiencing hair loss FROM the thyroid medication.

Hot Tips!

Coloring: If you inherited a tendency for hair loss, you likely have very healthy hair overall. Therefore, your hair can benefit from permanent or semi-permanent color to give body and volume to hair.

Volumizing Products: Many volume-building hair products contain paraffin, which is beeswax. That's not good for hair, because it builds up and can make hair break.

However, volumizing products sold in salons do help. They won't weigh hair down, and they won't damage it. Mousse, for example, can be applied at the root area for support. Then, begin blow-drying the root area, applying tension with a brush to build volume. Use a light finishing spray to hold it.

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Ab Exercise Equipment - An Honest Review

Are you in perfect shape for summer yet? Those sunny days are just around the corner and everyone is out shopping for their revealing, sexy bathing suits. How will your new swimwear fit on you? Let's run a quick check. Are those legs toned and those arms fit? Have you been keeping up with your daily crunches and sit-ups?

Uh-oh, that one always gets people, I know it . Those darn abs workouts. Let me tell you the truth. Although they can be a little annoying at times, they're necessary to say the least. I can't overemphasize them. Come on, we all want to display a great set of abs and walk around showing them to everyone. Why else do you think we have so much abs exercise equipment reigning the fitness market at all times? Regardless of your gender, the abs are absolutely critical. Are you testing out some of the new-age abs exercise equipment?

When it comes to abs exercise equipment, I don't have any. I prefer to do all my exercises without machine interference. You know, all those traditional exercises like pull-ups, push-ups, leg-raises, dips, etc. Now, this is not the chosen route for every individual who is striving to stay fit. Many people prefer some of the latest benches, treadmills, stairmasters, and abs exercise equipment on the market. This stuff is great if you can afford it. Why not take advantage of any contemporary aids if available? If you have the money and think it fits you, I say go for it.

Let's take my wife as an example. My wife has one of those big rubber balls you see pretty girls swear by on television ads. While I'm pretty certain that they have a more politically correct name, I don't know what it is. She uses this abs exercise equipment for a wide array of stomach and back workouts. I have to admit that I was rather surprised the first time I saw it. I could certainly see how it would provide you with a strenuous workout and build your muscles. She continues to use it daily for a variety of exercises.

What abs exercise equipment do you prefer? Maybe you get your frequent dose of abs exercise equipment at the local gym or fitness club. They typically have a variety of abs exercise equipment ready at your service. Regardless of what regimes you prefer, you know that your daily dose of abs workouts are compulsory for keeping that bare, tight, flat tummy. If you are in need of advice concerning abs exercise equipment or just simple routines, you can hop online and acquire anything your heart desires. From diet plans, to fitness regimes galore, you will find it all on the World-Wide-Web. They are abundant and free! Get started today and get those abs you've always wanted!

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Can Women Get Bulky From Lifting Weights? SLim Chance

Strength training or weight lifting is the lifting of weights and/or resistance in a prescribed manner as an exercise or in athletic competition. Notice I said weights and/or resistance. It doesn't have to necessarily be a weight plate or a dumbbell. There are numerous TV reports, magazine articles, radio shows that explain all of the benefits of lifting weights, yet so many women seem to not be “hitting the weights” for one reason or another. One very good reason is that they don’t know how much lifting weights will actually change their body (more so than even running or any of the other cardiovascular activities). Another reason is that a lot of women are confused about what to do exactly (what exercises, how many repetitions, how many sets, etc.).

This article will help shed some light on why it is so important that every woman be involved and adhering to a strength training program.

You actually might be involved in a strength-training program right now. Even if you are, I want you to really pay attention to what we're going to cover for the rest of the article.  I'm sure it is going to have you thinking differently about why you should be lifting weights from now on.

We're going to talk about why developing a strength training program will ultimately help you lose weight, add some muscle tone, look better and feel better about yourself. We will go over some "myths" about strength training and the real facts behind them. So, whether you're new to strength training or you've been doing it for years, pay close attention.

Let's first clear up some of the misconceptions about strength training and the truth behind these myths. This first myth is the "biggie" and it has prevented many women from strength training. It sounds a little something like this; "I don't want to lift weights because I don't want to get bulky."

 Let's explore that myth a little. When you think of weight lifters, you probably think of body builder's, right? You think of the men and women on ESPN parading around in little swimsuits with big bulky muscles popping out all over the place.

There are three reasons for this:
1.)These people are an extremely minute percentage of the population.
2.)That is their livelihood and they spend 4 to 5 hours a day in the gym.
3.)Most of them are using performance-enhancing drugs (steroids, etc.) to look like that.

So if you can get that image of the "bodybuilder" out of your head and think in terms of the average everyday person, you will see why the myth about getting bulky is just that, a myth!


What we're going to talk about next is simple. When you lift weights your body builds muscle. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn (even at rest).   The more calories you burn the less you weigh. Let me give you an example of this that might make it a little easier to understand.

Let's say two women are sitting on the couch watching some T.V. Woman #1 strength-trains 3 times a week, but woman #2 does not. After an hour of watching T.V goes by, who will have burned more calories? The common answer to that would be that they both burned the same (almost nothing), since they were just sitting and not moving.

But the actual answer would be that woman #1 burned more calories, and I'll tell you why for one simple reason. THE MORE MUSCLE YOU HAVE THE MORE CALORIES YOU BURN!! Now you might say to yourself, "But if I lift weights, my muscles will get bigger, I will appear big and bulky, and wind up weighing more." This is also a myth.

That myth being one of the most popular in the world of exercise, which is, "muscle weighs more than fat."

That's like the old joke, "What weighs more--10 lbs. of steel or 10 lbs. of feathers?" Hopefully by now you know that the answer to that question is that they both really weigh the same.  10 lbs. is 10 lbs. no matter what it is made of. Let's examine this point in a little more detail.

Muscle is much more compact than fat. It actually takes up less space than fat does because of its density. That makes sense, right? Fat, on the other hand, is very soft and jelly-like and occupies more space than muscle does.

Let me give you another example to clarify this a little more.

If you were to take 10 lbs. of fat and 10 lbs. of muscle and roll each of them into a ball, the 10 lbs. of fat might be the size of a bowling ball. In comparison, the 10 lbs. of muscle would be about the size of a baseball. Now let’s use this as a real life example using woman #1 and woman #2 in an example again. Let’s say for arguments sake, both women are 5' 5" tall and both weigh 140 lbs. Woman #2 does not lift weights or do any kind of strength training. Her dress size is a size 12. Woman #1on the other hand, lifts weights and follows a strength-training program each week.  Her dress size is a size 8. If these women were standing side by side people would definitely think that woman #1 weighed less than woman #2. But in reality they both weigh exactly the same.

How can that be?

Think of what I said before, muscle takes up less space than fat. Of those 140 pounds that each woman weighs, what’s the percentage of fat and muscle on each woman? I would venture to guess that woman #1 has a very low body fat percentage and woman #2 has a much higher body fat percentage. How did woman #1 get such a low percentage of body fat?  Two words—STRENGTH TRAINING (in addition to cardio exercise and eating healthy, but this article is just touting the immense benefits of strength training).

That brings up another good point I’d like to make. The weighing scale is the worst indicator of losing FAT. It will tell you that you’ve lost weight, it’s great at that. But what if you lose 10 pounds of fat and replace it with 10 pounds of muscle?  Will you have lost weight? According to the scale, NO! Will you have lost FAT? Absolutely, and I guarantee that your clothes will be a lot looser on you and you will look a lot better. If you can do one thing with your scale I would recommend throwing it in the garbage, or at least getting rid of it.

Well all right, you say, "I'll lift weights, but I'm only lifting light weights and doing lots of repetitions."

This is another mistake a lot of you are making. This is not the ‘wrong’ way to lift, but it is certainly not the only way to go about strength training if your goal is weight loss. There is and should be a place in your fitness program for higher repetitions, but it shouldn’t be the only thing you do with weights.

Women do not have enough of the male hormone, testosterone, to get big muscles. You probably couldn't even get big and bulky if you tried to. So, is it all right for you to lift heavy weights with fewer repetitions? ABSOLUTELY!!

Let's take a moment now to recap some of the main ideas to take away from this article:

•Lifting weights will not make you bulky (it will make you leaner and more toned).
•Muscle is more compact and denser than fat and actually takes up less space than fat.
•The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn (even at rest!).
•Every good strength training program should include light weights with more repetitions and heavier weights with fewer repetitions.

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Arm Exercise For Great Arms!: The aim for beginners to weight training

The aim for beginners to weight training must be to lay the foundations for the intensive workouts that their bodies will eventually be subjected to. Obviously successful bodybuilding involves bringing together disparate elements such as nutrition and rest but choosing the right exercises is crucial. In this article we'll outline the barbell exercises that will enable new bodybuilders to develop the general strength and body conditioning needed.

Initially beginners should aim to complete two sets of ten to twelve reps but after a few weeks, when you have developed sufficient control and basic strength, experiment with one set of six to eight reps to failure. This will maximize your muscle growth and give you the impetus to move on to the next stage of development. Before long you'll find the use of this single piece of equipment restricting, so later in this series of articles we'll pull together a muscle boosting program that utilizes other equipment to take you to the intermediate level. In the meantime, get to work with these exercises in order to get used to working your muscles.

Biceps brachii – The Two muscles at the front upper arm that run from the elbow to the shoulders. The biceps is actually a smaller muscle then the triceps. It is on the front of the upper arms. There are two heads of the biceps muscle (hence the bi in biceps).

Beneath the biceps is the brachialis, a flat muscle group that runs about half way up the upper arm bone from the elbow joint. From the rear you can see the brachialis as a well-defined band of muscle between the triceps and biceps when a muscular bodybuilder flexes his/her arm.

Triceps brachii – The Three muscles at the rear upper arm that run from the elbow to the shoulder. The triceps is a three-headed muscle that is on the back of the upper arm (hence the name tri in triceps).

Forearm – The several smaller muscles that run from the elbow to the wrist. There are three primary muscle groups in the forearms. The forearm flexors lie along the inner sides of the forearms. The forearm extensors run along the outer sides of the forearms. And the supinators that lie on the upper and outer sections of the forearms.

It is essential that when you do any exercise that you perform the movements correctly, if you don’t you will receive less then optimum benefit from the exercise. It is very difficult to unlearn bad exercise habits, so it is best to learn the right exercise technique from the very start.

The key to developing the arms is to avoid overtraining these small muscle groups. The arms are used as secondary muscles in almost all chest, back, and shoulder exercises. For example, the biceps are used when doing any type of rowing movement for the back. The triceps are used when doing any type of pressing movement for the chest and/or shoulders. And the forearms are used whenever you have to grip the weights.

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5 Components of Physical Fitness

Physical fitness is the ability to function effectively throughout your workday, perform your usual other activities and still have enough energy left over to handle any extra stresses or emergencies which may arise.

The components of physical fitness are:

*  Cardiorespiratory (CR) endurance - the efficiency with which the body delivers oxygen and nutrients needed for muscular activity and transports waste products from the cells.

*  Muscular strength - the greatest amount of force a muscle or muscle group can exert in a single effort.

*  Muscular endurance - the ability of a muscle or muscle group to perform repeated movements with a sub-maximal force for extended periods of times.

*  Flexibility - the ability to move the joints or any group of joints through an entire, normal range of motion.

*  Body composition - the percentage of body fat a person has in comparison to his or her total body mass.

Improving the first three components of fitness listed above will have a positive impact on body composition and will result in less fat. Excessive body fat detracts from the other fitness components, reduces performance, detracts from appearance, and negatively affects your health.

Factors such as speed, agility, muscle power, eye-hand coordination, and eye-foot coordination are classified as components of "motor" fitness. These factors most affect your athletic ability. Appropriate training can improve these factors within the limits of your potential. A sensible weight loss and fitness program seeks to improve or maintain all the components of physical and motor fitness through sound, progressive, mission specific physical training.

Principles of Exercise

Adherence to certain basic exercise principles is important for developing an effective program. The same principles of exercise apply to everyone at all levels of physical training, from the Olympic-caliber athlete to the weekend jogger.

These basic principles of exercise must be followed.

Regularity

To achieve a training effect, you must exercise often. You should exercise each of the first four fitness components at least three times a week. Infrequent exercise can do more harm than good. Regularity is also important in resting, sleeping, and following a sensible diet.

Progression

The intensity (how hard) and/or duration (how long) of exercise must gradually increase to improve the level of fitness.

Balance

To be effective, a program should include activities that address all the fitness components, since overemphasizing any one of them may hurt the others.

Variety

Providing a variety of activities reduces boredom and increases motivation and progress.

Specificity

Training must be geared toward specific goals. For example, people become better runners if their training emphasizes running. Although swimming is great exercise, it does not improve a 2-mile-run time as much as a running program does.

Recovery

A hard day of training for a given component of fitness should be followed by an easier training day or rest day for that component and/or muscle group(s) to help permit recovery. Another way to allow recovery is to alternate the muscle groups exercised every other day, especially when training for strength and/or muscle endurance.

Overload

The work load of each exercise session must exceed the normal demands placed on the body in order to bring about a training effect.

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Chinese White Tea And Its Uses And Types

Generally, Chinese white teas are considered to be the rare in China. They are rare in China since most of the white tea is exported. Well, for long years, the Chinese tea drinkers have been hip to white tea’s benefits, until recently it was virtually unknown outside of Asia. But, not anymore because today, everyone from chefs to medical researchers is praising the delicate flavor and purported health benefits of the Chinese white tea.

But what really is Chinese white tea?

Chinese white tea is sometimes considered as a subclass of green tea.  It is slightly fermented with its body covered with fluffy white hair. It is usually harvested in the cold of earliest spring when tea bushes have just shed their protective scales on the tips of their branches to show to the world their fuzzy white down on the leaf buds.

These delicate buds are among the most carefully plucked and processed of all teas.  The buds, as well as the first few unfurling leaves are not allowed to oxidize whatsoever. What happens is that immediately after picking, the buds are naturally dried in sunlight or inside under low heat in a very well-ventilated structure.

Unlike the oolong, black and pu-erh teas which undergo cellular oxidization to develop fragrance, color and flavor, most Chinese white teas are formulated with the absence of such processing step. This then results in a beverage whose taste is closest to fresh leaves from the tea bush.

Classifications of Chinese White Tea

Just like the other varieties of Chinese tea, white tea is divided into different types. To mention, there are the Silver Tip white tea and White peony tea as two of the most commonly well-known varieties. Let’s take a look at each of them:

•Silver Tip White Tea – This variety of Chinese white tea is produced at Fuding and Zhenghe areas in Fujian province. Many tea drinkers consider this as a top grade white tea. In the processing, the single buds are plucked right when they fully develop and are ready to open. The beautifully acerose buds are covered with silvery hairs, hence the tea named “silver tip white tea”.  Also, this Chinese white tea is taken as “the beauty” in teas.

Many tea lovers also describe this tea as “white like cloud, green like dream, pure like snow, aromatic like orchid”.  And, as commonly noted, every bud stands in the cup upright just like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, when infusing.

•White Peony Tea – Also known as “Pai Mu Dan”, this Chinese white tea variety is made from the buds and leaves that remain after the famous silver tip white tea has been harvested. This is sweet and mild, yet very full-bodied. Also, the cup color is darker and the aroma is bolder. Its natural sweetness clearly determines the close relationship to the silver tip white tea.

•Gong Mei – This is the third grade of Chinese white tea. The production of this tea uses leaves from the Xiao Bai or Small White tea trees.

•Shou Mei – This is a fruity furry Chinese white tea that is a chaotic blend of tips and upper leaf. According to some Chinese tea drinkers, Shou Mei has a stronger flavor than other white teas, similar to oolong. Also, it is the fourth grade of white tea and is plucked later than the White Peony, hence the tea may be darker in color.

Today, these varieties have reached America and many market researches predict that consumers will soon share their enthusiasm, turning the Chinese white tea into one of the hottest new food trends.

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