HELLO EVERYONE.. I AM POSTING A SPECIAL ARTICLE FOR MANNY PACQUIAO.. I am doing this not because he is my fellow Filipino rather I am doing this because he is the best ever as far as I can see.. He is truly an inspiration to us, an example of an impossible dream that came true..

Critical Mass: Making the case for Pacquiao as 'the greatest ever'

By Vanni de Sequera, for Yahoo! Southeast Asia Friday November 19, 2010 12:12 pm PHT

A new book about Manny Pacquiao sheds light on how a once one-dimensional slugger has somehow evolved into the Muhammad Ali, Bruce Lee, and Robin Hood of boxing.

Acclaimed sports biographer Gary Andrew Poole traveled the world observing the Pambansang Kamao at the gym, in the ring and behind the scenes of his chaotic personal life. His new book on Pacquiao has been called by critics as an unprecedented "journey to Planet Pacquiao." Vanni de Sequera spoke to the book's author.

"Pacman: Behind the Scenes with Manny Pacquiao-the Greatest Pound-for-Pound Fighter in the World", a 248-page book by Gary Andrew Poole, helps us understand how this complex Filipino has managed to subdue the best boxers of his generation.

Poole details how Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao grew up in Sarangani Province in Mindanao, poorer than even the poorest in this desperate "City of Dust." When Pacquiao was barely a teenager, he formed an alliance with fellow young boxer-dreamers in General Santos City. To the author, it was a show of solidarity that would forever define the 90-lb. man-boy.

Those who obsessively follow the exploits of Pacquiao are troubled by questions that hang in the air like yesterday's cigarette smoke. How does a fighter – who began his professional boxing career at 106 lbs. (by loading his underwear during weigh-ins) when only 15 years old (by lying about his age to the Games and Amusements Board) – conquer the kings of boxing, moving up in weight with chin, punch, and speed intact more successfully than any fighter in history. "Pacman: Behind the Scenes…" offers intriguing glimpses into the possible answers.

Trainer Freddie Roach and conditioning expert Alex Ariza, for one, belatedly came into his life. (Or did Pacquiao, with his ferocious sense of destiny, enter theirs?) Also, maybe poverty never gave Pacquiao's insufficiently nourished frame a chance until science-based nutrition triggered his adult growth spurts.

One way or another, Poole has managed to puncture the bubble of the Pacquiao mystique – quite a feat given the boxer's lunatic-fringe entourage. Poole even gingerly devotes a chapter to Pacquiao's alleged romantic relationships.

CRITICAL MASS: Who initially approached you with the idea to write this book?

GARY ANDREW POOLE: About four or five years ago, I was in the Wild Card Boxing Club with Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach. I was covering a different fight, but he kept going on and on about Pacquiao. Roach told me the PacMan might become one of the greatest fighters ever. My ears pricked up. I was in the midst of writing another book, but I started researching Pacquiao, who was not much of a story yet in the United States. I thought he had a compelling story – one that went beyond his athletic feats. It also interested me on another level, something I came to call the "globalization of celebrity."

Boxing, they say, is the sport of the underclass: there have been many success stories about champion fighters whose fighting qualities were honed by abject poverty. What exactly is it about Manny, do you think, that empowered him to transcend merely being a respected titleholder into becoming included in the Greatest-Ever debate?

I think his boxing accomplishments, not his dramatic personal story, put him into the Greatest-Ever debate. He has fought excellent boxers – some of the best of his era. He has fought brilliantly. I just sat ringside as he pummeled Antoino Margarito. It was another virtuoso performance that earned Pacquiao his eighth belt. At fight time, Margarito was 17 pounds heavier than Pacquiao – that's David-and-Goliath-type stuff, and only adds to the Greatest-Ever talk and the mythology around the PacMan. Of course, a win over Floyd Mayweather would leave little doubt about his supremacy.

A few times, you write that Manny is the greatest boxer since Ali. Why do you believe he is superior to Marvin Hagler, Ray Leonard, Mike Tyson, Julio Cesar Chavez, Pernell Whitaker, and Roy Jones Jr., among others?

Every boxer you named is a legend. Pacquiao? He has the fastest hands ever. He has some of the quickest feet. He has two powerful hands. He has an incredible boxing mind. I think what separates him from those great boxers is his ability to fight and dominate much, much bigger world-class opponents. He is essentially defining this era of boxing. He has become a star of sorts in the United States, but he is a victim of boxing's decline in America. I think that is the reason people are sometimes skeptical of his accomplishments – many Americans, including the US media, haven't followed him as closely as the stars of the past, and so they don't fully appreciate his ring brilliance.

"Pacman: Behind the Scenes with Manny Pacquiao-the Greatest Pound-for-Pound Fighter in the World" is now available at all Fully Booked branches in the Philippines.

Knee and Hip Exercises for Osteoarthritis

WebMD Feature

By Gina Shaw

Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MD

The old slogan, “Move it or lose it,” goes double, or perhaps triple, for people with osteoarthritis.

“Just like for anyone else, physical activity is important for overall health,” says Steffany Haaz, PhD, a health behaviorist at the Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center. “But it’s even more important for people with arthritis because there’s disability associated with the condition, both the disability associated with the disease and the disability that happens when a joint doesn’t get exercised. First, you move less because it’s painful, then you start to lose the ability to move. It can become a vicious cycle.”

Years ago, arthritis was treated with rest and immobilization. Scientists have since learned that locking up the joints actually makes them worse.

“There’s a huge body of literature demonstrating that keeping the hips and knees moving, and the muscles around the joints strong, contributes greatly to protecting the joints and staving off additional damage caused by arthritis,” says Linda Arslanian, DPT, MS, director of rehabilitation services at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

Of course, it’s not as simple as hopping on the treadmill or hitting the weight room. A healthy 30-year-old might be able to exercise however he pleases, but people with knee and hip osteoarthritis have limitations. Which exercises can you do to make the most of your mobility without increasing pain or risking injury?

“That’s the trick,” says Arslanian. “Some exercises actually can make knee and hip arthritis worse. Those are the ones that create a huge amount of impact loading on the joints -- the ones we call ‘high impact’ activities,” she says.

Exercises to Avoid With OA of the Knee or Hip:

• Running and jogging. “The difference between how much force goes through your joints jogging or running, as opposed to with walking, is sometimes more than tenfold your whole body weight,” says Arslanian.
• Jumping rope.
• High-impact aerobics.
• Any activity where, at any time, you have both feet off the ground at once, however briefly.

Fortunately, that leaves a lot of activities that areOK for people with knee and hip osteoarthritis and that can help keep you mobile. There are three key areas you need to focus on: weight-bearing cardiovascular activity, to keep your bones strong and your heart healthy; muscle strengthening activity, to relieve strain on the joints; and flexibility and range of motion, to help prevent falls and keep your joints mobile.

Cardiovascular Exercise

Good cardiovascular exercises for people with knee and hip osteoarthritis include walking, swimming, and cycling. “Really, it’s anything that you can tolerate that gets your heart rate going,” says Haaz.

If you can take a brisk walk, it can keep you mobile and help to reduce pain. If walking for exercise is too painful, try a recumbent bicycle. “These bikes extend the angle of the joint so that the knee and hip aren’t flexing so much with each rotation, so that it might cause less strain and pain,” Haaz says.

If even the recumbent bike is too much, the swimming pool is your friend. “It feels great on the joints!” Haaz says. “You must find a pool that is heated, because cold water is very painful for arthritic joints. The only downside to swimming is that it doesn’t give you the delay of bone loss that is a key benefit of weight-bearing exercise.”

Muscle Strengthening Activity

You might think that lifting weights would be bad for arthritis, but some studies show that the opposite is true. By strengthening the muscles around the joints, strength training helps to take some of the load off the arthritic joints and relieves pain.

“The job of connective tissue is to hold things together, so you’re losing stability in the joint, part of what’s causing the pain. When you strengthen the muscles surrounding and supporting the joint, you can relieve some of the symptoms,” says Haaz.

In a recent study, older men and women with moderate knee osteoarthritis who went through a 16-week program of strength training reported an average of 43% decrease in pain and gained increased muscle strength, decreased disability, and lessened the clinical signs and symptoms of their disease.

Strength training also lessens the risk of falls, which can be a major risk for people with knee and hip osteoarthritis. A study from New Zealand found that women 80 old and older showed a 40% reduction in falls with simple strength and balance training.

You can also help to prevent falls through the gentle, easy motions of exercises like tai chi and easier yoga classes designed for people with arthritis, which will further improve your balance.

Flexibility and Range of Motion

There are a number of specific exercises that you can do, designed to be easy for people with osteoarthritis, to increase your flexibility and range of motion around your knees and hips.

“We want to do activities without force that bring the hips and knees through the full range of motion in a general, unforced manner, allowing the joint to lubricate itself and help to heal the damage,” says Arslanian. You can do these stretching exercises in a pool, or on a mat near a wall for support.

Before starting an exercise or flexibility training program, check with your doctor. Depending on your ability and comfort level, try these exercises 2 to 3 times per week and gradually work up to doing the exercises daily. Aim to do 2 to 3 sets of 8 repetitions per side.

Hip Exercises

• Leg swings. Simply hold onto the edge of the pool, or the wall if you’re on land, and gently swing your leg out to the side, alternating sides. “The pool is particularly good for this, because the buoyancy assists you and you get a better range of motion, and you also have resistance from the water that makes your muscles do more work,” says Arslainian.
• Leg extensions. In the same position, extend your leg gently backward, alternating legs. As with all range-of-motion exercises, Arslainian advises getting an expert consult before starting out. “If your hip is very tight, and you try to bring it behind you and it doesn’t move backward very well, you can end up overarching your back and causing back problems by doing it incorrectly. You need to be shown how to do it right.”
• Knee rocks. Get down on one knee as if you’re proposing marriage (with a soft mat underneath to cushion your knees). Rock gently forward, keeping your shoulders straight. This stretches the front of the knee while protecting the lumbar spine. Make sure your knee does not extend past your toes as this can strain the knee.
• Straight leg raises. Sit in a chair, straighten one leg, and raise it straight out in front of you. Alternate legs.
• Leg curls. If you are nimble enough, lie on the floor on your stomach, and gently bend your heel back toward your buttocks, making sure to keep your hips on the ground.

All of these exercises should be done without weights, Arslanian advises. “In general, it’s not a good idea to put a weight on the ankle and bend and straighten the knee. That puts a lot of torque on the knee that can exacerbate arthritis. Instead, if you want to add weight, it’s better to use something like the full leg press machine, which has you lie down and push a plate up. With those, your full body weight is somewhat unloaded from the joint.”

Bodybuilding Workouts - Buns and Thigh Specialization Workout Routines for Women

Marcy Porter's Buns and Thighs Specialization Workout Routines

By Hugo Rivera, About.com Guide

Buns and Thighs are one of those areas where we women store the most body fat. The key to losing body fat in these spots is to combine a solid weight training workout routine with cardiovascular exercise and a balanced diet plan.

The weight training will nicely shape up the muscles underneath not only giving you a nice sexy contour in those areas but also increasing your metabolism as muscle burns calories. The metabolic increase will help you with the fat burning process.

The cardiovascular exercise will be the way in which extra calories are burned. In order to lose body fat one needs to create a slight caloric deficit where more calories are burned than what you take in on a given day. So, if for instance, you consume 1300 calories but burn 1500, you are creating a caloric deficit of 200 calories which will force your body to burn body fat. Provided that your macronutrient ratios of carbohydrates, proteins and fats are in order you will keep the muscle as body fat is getting burned, which will ultimately give you the fat free toned and firm look that you want.

Note: For more information on diet plans please take a look at Hugo Rivera's article on Sample Bodybuilding Diet Plans.

Buns and Thighs Workouts

Now that we have talked about the strategy we will use to get your buns and thighs in shape, let's take a look at the weight training workout routines that you will be using. I will present four routines based on your level of training experience.

If you have been training for less than 6 months then please start with the beginner's buns and thighs workout. If you have been training for more than 6 months but less than a year then please use the intermediate workout. For those of you with over a year of experience you can try the advanced workout. For those of you who want to really challenge yourselves and have been training for over a year and a half consistently then you can try one of my own personal workouts.

Buns and Thighs Beginner Weight Training Workout Routine for Women

Workout Notes:

• This routine is to be performed on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
  
  
• Rest no more than 60 seconds in between sets.
  
  
• Practice full contraction and full extension on each exercise. Make sure that you perform the exercise through its full range of motion and with a controlled tempo. Take around 2 seconds to move the weight up and 2 seconds to lower it. Concentrate on the muscle being worked.
• Exhale as you bring the weight up and inhale as you bring it down.

Monday Workout
Thighs
Leg Extensions (toes in) 2 sets of 13-15 repetitions
Dumbbell Squats (Use a medium shoulder width stance and hold dumbbells by the side) 2 sets of 13-15 repetitions

Buns
Leg Curls 2 sets of 13-15 repetitions
Butt Blaster Machine 2 sets of 13-15 repetitions


Calves
Standing Calf Raises 2 sets of 13-15 repetitions


Wednesday Workout
Thighs
Leg Extensions (toes straight) 2 sets of 13-15 repetitions
Leg Press (Use a medium shoulder width stance) 2 sets of 13-15 repetitions

Buns
Standing Leg Curls 2 sets of 13-15 repetitions
Lunges (One leg at a time holding on to a sturdy object until you learn how to balance yourself; press with heels) 2 sets of 13-15 repetitions


Calves
Calf Press Machine 2 sets of 13-15 repetitions


Friday Workout
Thighs
Leg Extensions (toes out) 2 sets of 13-15 repetitions
Barbell Squats (Use a medium shoulder width stance) 2 sets of 13-15 repetitions

Buns
Seated Leg Curls 2 sets of 13-15 repetitions
Wide Stance Leg Press (Use a stance wider than your shoulder width, bring all the way down and then press up with heels) 2 sets of 13-15 repetitions


Calves
Seated Calf Raise Machine 2 sets of 13-15 repetitions


Buns and Thighs Intermediate Weight Training Workout Routine for Women

Workout Notes:

• Because this routine has more exercises and sets than the beginner one, it will be performed twice a week as opposed to three in order to provide the muscles with more time for recovery. You can perform this routine on Monday and Thursday.
  
  
• Rest no more than 60 seconds in between sets.
  
  
• Practice full contraction and full extension on each exercise. Make sure that you perform the exercise through its full range of motion and with a controlled tempo. Take around 2 seconds to move the weight up and 2 seconds to lower it. Concentrate on the muscle being worked.
• Exhale as you bring the weight up and inhale as you bring it down.

Monday Workout
Thighs
Leg Extensions (toes in) 3 sets of 13-15 repetitions
Barbell Squats (medium stance) 3 sets of 10-12 repetitions
Leg Press (close stance; feet and knees together in order to emphasize outer quads) 3 sets of 10-12 repetitions

Buns
Lunges (one leg at a time and you may use dumbbells is strong enough) 3 sets of 13-15 repetitions
Lying Leg Curls 3 sets of 10-12 repetitions
Dumbbell Stiff Legged Deadlifts 3 sets of 10-12 repetitions

Calves
Standing Calf Raises 3 sets of 10-12 repetitions
Seated Calf Raises 3 sets of 13-15 repetitions


Thursday Workout
Thighs
Leg Extensions (toes out) 3 sets of 13-15 repetitions
Leg Press (medium stance) 3 sets of 10-12 repetitions
Barbell Squats (wide stance) 3 sets of 10-12 repetitions

Buns
Butt Blaster 3 sets of 13-15 repetitions
Standing Leg Curls 3 sets of 10-12 repetitions
Seated Leg Curls 3 sets of 10-12 repetitions

Calves
Calf Raises on Leg Press Machine 3 sets of 10-12 repetitions
Seated Calf Raises (Toes out) 3 sets of 13-15 repetitions

Buns and Thighs Advanced Weight Training Workout Routine for Women

Workout Notes:

• Because this routine has more exercises and sets than the intermediate one and its purpose is to sculpt the legs to their best shape ever, it will be performed twice a week but splitting the thigh workout from the buns and calves workout. You can perform this routine on Monday and Thursday. If your buns and calves are more of a problem area than the thighs, then perform this routine on Monday with the Thighs routine on Thursday. Otherwise you can switch Thighs to Monday and Buns and Calves to Thursday. On the example below I will assume that Buns and Calves are more of a problem and thus that routine will be performed on Monday.
  
  
• Rest no more than 60 seconds in between sets unless specified otherwise. On trisets, you will perform one exercise, move on to the next one without rest and move on to the last one with no rest. After you are done with the third exercise you will rest for 90 seconds. On supersets the same technique is used but using only two exercises instead.
  
  
• Practice full contraction and full extension on each exercise. Make sure that you perform the exercise through its full range of motion and with a controlled tempo. Take around 2 seconds to move the weight up and 2 seconds to lower it. Concentrate on the muscle being worked.
• Exhale as you bring the weight up and inhale as you bring it down.

Monday Workout
Buns
Walking Lunges 3 sets of as many steps as you can do.
Lying Leg Curls 3 sets of 10-12 repetitions
Dumbbell Stiff Legged Deadlifts 3 sets of 10-12 repetitions
Wide Stance Squats (Pressing with heels) 3 sets of 15-20 reps
Standing Leg Curls 3 sets of 8-12 reps
Butt Blaster 3 sets of 15-20 reps

Calves
Standing Calf Raises 3 sets of 10-12 repetitions
Seated Calf Raises 3 sets of 13-15 repetitions
Calf Press 3 sets of 10-12 repetitions


Thursday Workout
Thighs
Leg Extensions (toes straight) 3 sets of 13-15 repetitions

Leg Press Triset: Close Stance 3 sets of 10-15 repetitions (no rest)
Medium Stance 3 sets of 10-15 repetitions (no rest)
Wide Stance 3 sets of 10-15 repetitions (90 second rest)

Squat Superset: Barbell Squats (Medium stance) 4 sets of 8-12 repetitions (no rest)
Barbell Squats (Wide stance) 4 sets of 8-12 repetitions (90 second rest)

Buns and Thighs Professional Weight Training Workout Routine for Women

Workout Notes:

• Because this routine has more exercises and sets than the intermediate one and its purpose is to sculpt the legs to their best shape ever, it will be performed twice a week but splitting the thigh workout from the buns and calves workout. You can perform this routine on Monday and Thursday. If your buns and calves are more of a problem area than the thighs, then perform this routine on Monday with the Thighs routine on Thursday. Otherwise you can switch Thighs to Monday and Buns and Calves to Thursday. On the example below I will assume that Buns and Calves are more of a problem and thus that routine will be performed on Monday.
  
  
• Rest no more than 60 seconds in between sets unless specified otherwise. On trisets, you will perform one exercise, move on to the next one without rest and move on to the last one with no rest. After you are done with the third exercise you will rest for 90 seconds. On supersets the same technique is used but using only two exercises instead.
  
  
• Practice full contraction and full extension on each exercise. Make sure that you perform the exercise through its full range of motion and with a controlled tempo. Take around 2 seconds to move the weight up and 2 seconds to lower it. Concentrate on the muscle being worked.
• Exhale as you bring the weight up and inhale as you bring it down.

Monday Workout
Buns
Walking Lunges 4 sets of as many steps as you can do.
Lying Leg Curls 4 sets: Hold weight at contracted position for 1 minute and then perform 10-12 repetitions
Dumbbell Stiff Legged Deadlifts 3 sets of 12-15 repetitions
Wide Stance Squats (Pressing with heels) 3 sets of 15-20 reps
Standing Leg Curls 3 triple drop sets of 8-12 reps each
Butt Blaster 3 sets of 15-20 reps
Adductor/Abductor Superset 3 sets of 15 reps each.
Calves
Standing Calf Raises 10 sets of 10-15 repetitions (15 sec rest)
Seated Calf Raises 3 sets of 13-15 repetitions


Thursday Workout
Thighs
Leg Extensions (toes straight) 4 sets: hold 1 minute at the top (contracted position) and then perform 10-12 repetitions with that weight

Leg Extensions (toes out) 3 sets of 12-15 repetitions holding the weight up for as long as you can and lowering slowly on the last repetition. Leg Press Triset: Close Stance 3 sets of 10-15 repetitions (no rest)
Medium Stance 3 sets of 10-15 repetitions (no rest)
Wide Stance 3 sets of 10-15 repetitions (90 second rest)

Squat Superset: Smith Machine Squats (Close stance) 3 sets of 8-12 repetitions (no rest)
Smith Machine Squats (Medium stance) 3 sets of 8-12 repetitions (no rest)
Smith Machine Squats (Wide stance) 3 sets of 8-12 repetitions (1 min rest)

Lunges on Smith Machine (one leg at a time) 3 sets of 15 reps (1 min rest)

Step ups 3 sets of 15-20 reps (1 min rest)

Notes on Cardiovascular Exercise

Like I mentioned at the beginning of the article, cardiovascular exercise is essential to help you achieve your goal of a nice and toned physique. I recommend cardiovascular exercise be performed either first thing in the morning on an empty stomach along with a good abdominal routine or right after the workout (though after leg training the last thing you will want to do is cardio).

Below you will find my recommendations on cardiovascular exercise duration and frequency.

• Beginner Level: 3 sessions of 20 minutes each.
  
  
• Intermediate Level: 4 sessions of 25-30 minutes each.
  
  
• Advanced Level: 5 sessions of 30-35 minutes each.
  
  
• Professional Level: 6-7 sessions of 30-40 minutes each.
  
  

Keep in mind that in order for cardio to be effective it has to be performed at the target heart rate so please make sure that you choose a music you like and put effort into the activity.

Conclusion

If you apply the principles and routines laid out in this article I know for a fact thatyou will get those body parts into the shape that you like. Remember though that only applied knowledge is power so only by applying the information that I just shared with you will you be able to accomplish your goals.

Best of luck!

Marcy Porter
IFBB Figure Pro


Marcy Porter is a fitness expert and IFBB Figure Professional who resides in Orlando Florida. Marcy runs a very successful personal training practice helping women achieve their various fitness goals stemming from just losing weight to figure competition. Marcy also owns her fitness site www.MarcyPorter.com where she can be contacted for personal training or fitness modeling opportunities. Currently Marcy is also working on an e-book called "How To Look Like a Fitness Model" where she shares with women how to apply her knowledge from years of training experience to the purpose of losing fat and toning up. She is also a Team Vyotech athlete and she goes to several nutrition stores educating customers on training, nutrition, supplementation and Vyotech products.

Weight Loss Tips

1. Set a goal. Identify your ideal weight and set up a plan to start reaching your goal.

2. Don't be afraid to ask for and get help. You're not going to lose weight alone. Tell you family. Get support.

3. Vitamins are good for you. Modern diets lacks essential vitamins and minerals. Balance your health with the best supplements.

4. Walk the Walk. You burn calories when you walk, did you know that? Keep active and balance your diet with regular exercise.

5. Sleep it off. To be an efficient fat-burning machine, your body requires at leasteight hours of sleep a night. If you think that you're doing yourself a favor by sleeping less, you'ree mistaken.

Fighting The Female “Stubborn Area”

Tips To Transforming The Female Stubborn Areas In Your Lower Body

By Hugo Rivera, About.com Guide

In women, the stubborn areas tend to be the buns, thighs, and the back of the legs. Typically, one achieves a very lean upper body displaying incredible abdominal definition before all the fat in the lower body is burned. Consider that another unique trait of us women.

However, don't despair! The tips below will arm you with the information necessary to incinerate the stubborn fat on your lower body.

Tips To Transforming The Female Stubborn Areas In Your Lower Body

1. Watch your diet; if you don’t stick to a healthful eating plan, you will never see the results you desire.

Diet is the most important ingredient in changing the appearance of your lower body. You can lift hard and do cardio, but you will never see the bodybuilding results that you desire without cleaning up your eating habits. Eating a healthy diet doesn’t have to be dreadful and boring either; educating yourself on the proper foods to eat leaves a long list of delicious choices. Experimenting and learning the best food choices for your body and activity level will almost always leave you satisfied. Make sure that do not exclude any of the major macronutrients because they all have a benefit to the body.

Carbohydrates, proteins, and fats are essential to any good eating program. Try surviving without one of them and you are guaranteed to be a miserable person. If you are absolutely starving, eat some fibrous vegetables; nobody ever got fat eating their greens. Last, but not least, don’t totally deprive yourself of everything you love; have a treat on occasion, but don’t make it a regular habit.

2.You must lift challenging weights and do essential lower body exercises; cardio alone will not give you a shapely lower half.

Weight training is crucial in transforming your lower body. The biggest misconception that women have is that they will become big and bulky if they do any sort of weighted exercises. Wrong! The complete opposite is true; in order to get rid of bodyfat and attain a sculpted lower half, you need to challenge it through a constantly changing weight routine.

I am here to help you and not to scare you, but if you are carrying a significant amount of bodyfat, you may actually slightly increase in size for a short period of time before becoming smaller. This is a common occurrence that scares many females away from the weight room; knowing ahead of time that this could happen and pushing through this brief period of time will be the best thing that you do. Once the body realizes that you are going to continually challenge your lower half, it will adapt and become leaner and firmer.

The best exercises that any woman can choose to do are:

• Squats: Full squats and parallel squats alone will leave you in awe at how much you can change; your entire lower body will feel the effects of this powerful exercise.
  
  Notes:
  I recommend using the squat rack over the smith machine. The squat rack prevents pattern overload syndrome, which can cause chronic injury due to the body constantly recruiting the same muscles, tendons, and ligaments.
  
  
• Lunges: Walking, stationary, and cross-over lunges are guaranteed to make everything feel firmer.
  
  
• Step-ups: After you master the coordination of this exercise, you will notice a difference in your quads and glutes.
  
  
• Dead lifts: Mixing up the different variations of dead lifts will target your hamstrings, a place where many women are blessed with cellulite.

Obviously there are benefits to doing many other exercises for the female “stubborn area,” but I recommend focusing on these four exercises in order to get the most out of your routine.

A few suggested exercises to incorporate into your routine for occasional isolation are:

Butt blaster, leg press, leg extensions, and hamstring curls

Add the end of this article, I will present my personal leg training routine along with some less advanced ones for those of you who are just beginning.
3. Cardio should be incorporated into your routine, but not in excessive amounts.

Cardiovascular exercise is important to any workout regimen as well. The problem is that women think that doing cardio is the key to becoming looking and feeling leaner. Wrong! I highly recommend cardio, but it should be used for putting the final touches on your physique. After you master the diet and the weight training program then your cardio should be tweaked.

Start off with only about 3-4 days a week worth of cardio. Some of us may need more and some of us less. A good rule of thumb to go by is no longer than 30-45 minutes at the most. Anything longer than that is actually hindering your progress because then you start releasing too much cortisol (an adrenal gland hormone that is released in the precense of too much stress and whose purpose is to store fat and use muscle for fuel!).

Obviously choose the activity that is most enjoyable to you. By picking a cardiovascular activity that you don’t absolutely dread, you will find it easier to stick to your program. Choose some good music too or a good partner.

I have found the most effective butt-blasting cardio activities to be the:

• Stairmill: This machine hits just about every single muscle in your lower body; even after continued use, you will feel the benefit of this equipment. Focus on squeezing your glutes and hamstrings with each step. You can also alter body positions in order to target certain areas. Step facing forward, sideways, and also change stride length and foot positioning.
  
  Notes:
  Not recommended for someone with knee problems.
  
  
• Treadmill set at an incline: Walking alone is a great cardiovascular exercise; however when you set the treadmill at an incline, you are going to get more bang for your buck. By doing this, you are forcing your lower body to work much harder. Set the machine as high as you can tolerate and at a speed that you can maintain without holding on. When first starting out, this might seem awfully difficult, but work towards a goal in small steps. Walk for as long as you can without holding on and then you can grasp the top of the treadmill in order to gain your composure and repeat for as long as necessary. Concentrate on tightening your lower body each time you take a step; by doing this, your glutes will become lifted and your legs will become more lean and defined.
  
  
• Elliptical: This piece of equipment is definitely going to make you work hard. It is much easier on the joints than running and will help you to reach your physique goals by constantly challenging almost every inch of your body. You can use this machine and stay at a steady state pace or even throw some intervals into your routine.

4. Don’t be afraid to move out of your “comfort zone” and try new things.

If you have stopped progressing and stopped seeing bodybuilding results, it is time to take a risk and change things up. How many times have you seen someone consistently go to the gym, yet look the same month after month? A lot! It might even be happening to you, but you can easily change that. I fully understand the mindset of thinking that certain exercises are bad for you or won’t work for your body type, but how do you really know for sure until you give them a fair chance?

I usually suggest changing your routine every 4-6 weeks depending on your progress. The body adapts to its environment very quickly and constantly needs change. Choose some exercises that you have never done and see how your body reacts; if you don’t like how you are looking or feeling, you can always go back to exercises that are more beneficial to you. The beauty of taking that risk is that you might find certain exercises that take your physique to the next level. You might not benefit from some exercises, but you always have the freedom to stop something if you don’t like it.

I recommend not only taking a risk with your weight training routine, but with cardio as well. Far too often gym goers stick to the same machine day after day because of fear that they won’t see results from another piece of equipment. Hop on another machine and it is almost guaranteed that you will see some results. The human body loves a good challenge and usually rewards you with a changing figure.

5. Be patient; the best results never happen overnight

Now that you have some suggestions on how to fight the female “stubborn area,” challenge yourself to try at least one new thing at the gym this week. You might not notice changes right away, but stick with it for a few weeks and then assess your progress. It took time to add the unwanted weight to your figure so it will definitely take time to achieve results. It is better for you both mentally and physically to gradually slim down; if you attain results slowly, you are more likely to keep the weight off over time. If sculpting a sexy lower half were easy for us women, it wouldn’t be called the “stubborn area.”

6. Last, but definitely not least, ditch the scale! Don’t get caught up in trying to lose pounds; focus more on losing body fat and trimming down areas of your body that you aren’t completely happy with. Who really cares how much you weigh; for example, you can weigh 140 pounds yet look like someone else that weighs 120 pounds. Your body composition is far more important than that meaningless number on that piece of metal or plastic sitting in the bathroom. The scale doesn’t know if you have fat or muscle so why bother playing mind games with yourself. If you absolutely must weigh yourself, don’t do it more than once every two weeks. Use your clothing and the mirror to assess your progress.

Remember, it doesn’t always have to be called your “stubborn area!” Work hard and believe; your lower half may eventually end up being your best asset!

Sample Female "Stubborn Area" Workouts

Beginner Buns and Thighs Routine

Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Leg Extensions 2 sets of 15-18 reps (1 minute rest)
Leg Curls 2 sets of 15-18 reps (1 minute rest)
Full Squats 2 sets of 15-18 reps (1 minute rest)
Lunges 2 sets of 15-18 reps (1 minute rest)


Intermediate Buns and Thighs Routine

Monday
Leg Extensions 3 sets of 15-18 reps (1 minute rest)
Leg Curls 3 sets of 15-18 reps (1 minute rest)
Full Squats 4 sets of 15-18 reps (1 minute rest)
Lunges 4 sets of 15-18 reps (1 minute rest)

Friday
Full Squats (Using Wide Stance) 4 sets of 15-18 reps (1 minute rest)
Leg Extensions 3 sets of 15-18 reps (1 minute rest)
Stiff Legged Deadlifts 3 sets of 15-18 reps (1 minute rest)
Step Ups 4 sets of 15-18 reps (1 minute rest)

My Personal Advanced Buns and Thighs Routine

Monday
Leg Extensions 4 sets of 15-18 reps (1 minute rest)
Standing Leg Curls 4 sets of 10-12 reps (1 minute rest)
Full Squats (Using Wide Stance) 5 sets of 10-15 reps (1 minute rest)
Hack Squats 4 sets of 10-12 reps close stance followed by 10-12 more reps using a duck stance (1 minute rest)

Friday
Full Squats 5 sets of 8-12 reps (1 minute rest)
Leg Extensions 4 sets of 15-18 reps (1 minute rest)
Stiff Legged Deadlifts 4 sets of 10-12 reps (1 minute rest)
Walking Lunges 4 sets of 15-18 reps (1 minute rest)
Step Ups 3 sets of 15-18 reps (1 minute rest)

Note:
Keep in mind that I like variety and therefore my advanced routine gets changed on a weekly basis using the exercises recommended in this article.

About The Author

Heather Wojdyla is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer with a Bachelors of Science in Exercise Science/Adult Fitness from the University of Tampa. She has numerous years of training experience and has competed successfully as a natural competitor in various Figure competitions at the State and National level. Heather is currently working on her first women's fitness book.

Start Roughing It

By Matthew Kadey, R.D., Prevention
Tue, Jul 22, 0010

It's no secret that fiber is essential, possibly reducing the risk of heart disease and diabetes, as well as helping us keep our appetites—and waistlines—in check. The mystery seems to be how to get enough of it. Most women consume only half the recommended 21 to 25 g daily. Try these six options for something jazzier than brown rice.

SPIKE SMOOTHIES WITH CHOCOLATE
A tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder has 2 g of fiber, plus it contains less saturated fat than dark chocolate bars and none of the added sugars.

TOSS MUSHROOMS INTO SOUP
Rehydrate dried shiitakes in hot water for 20 to 30 minutes, then chop and add to your favorite soup for 3 g of fiber per ounce, plus lentinan, a compound that may have anticancer properties.

ADD EDAMAME TO STIR-FRIES
Brimming with folate, a B vitamin that may protect women from pancreatic cancer, and 4 g of fiber per ½ cup, boiled soybeans complement any Asian flavor.

MIX OATS INTO MEAT LOAF
Instead of nutritionally inferior bread crumbs, use 2/3 cup rolled oats per pound of meat as a binding agent. In addition to 5.5 g of fiber, they contain magnesium, a mineral that may slash diabetes risk.

MAKE PUMPKIN-PIE OATMEAL
Combine 1/3 cup canned pumpkin, 1 cup oatmeal, 1 to 2 teaspoons brown sugar, and spices of your choice, like cinnamon, nutmeg, or pumpkin pie spice. The pumpkin adds nearly 2.5 g of fiber and loads of immunity-boosting vitamin A.

SPRINKLE WHEAT GERM INTO PANCAKES
Rich in selenium, which could cut skin cancer incidence by about 60%, ½ cup of wheat germ packs 4 g of fiber. Add it to any batter recipe.

40 Foods with Superpowers

By: Adam Baer

Popping a daily multivitamin might be worthwhile as "health insurance," but let's face it: Eating real food is a lot more fun than gobbling supplements. Besides, you can get most, if not all, of the nutrients essential to good health by selecting the right combination of foods. You just have to know where to look.

Start with the 40 body-boosting superfoods listed here. And for even more must-have eating tips for your heart, bones, muscles, brain—even your sex life—pick up a copy of Your Best Body at 40+ today! It's packed with muscle-sculpting workouts and no-nonsense nutrition advice that will help you get in the best shape of your life in just 4 weeks.
Overview

• Alaskan King Crab
• Dried Plums
• Bok Choy
• Oysters
• Bananas
• Kiwis
• Broccoli
• Spinach
• Leeks
• Artichokes
• Tea/Green Tea
• Chili Peppers
• Ginger
• Blueberries
• Cinnamon
• Sweet Potatoes
• Tomatoes
• Figs
• Mushrooms
• Pomegranates
• Quinoa
• Grass-Fed Beef
• Nonfat Ricotta
• Tofu
• Lentils
• Eggs
• Greek-Style Yogurt
• Quorn
• Chocolate Milk
• Wild Salmon
• Pineapples
• Olive Oil
• Bing Cherries
• Dark Chocolate
• Turmeric
• Wild Fatty Fish
• Flaxseed
• Almonds
• Apples
• Whole Grains

• Overview
• Alaskan King Crab
• Dried Plums
• Bok Choy
• Oysters
• Bananas
• Kiwis
• Broccoli
• Spinach
• Leeks
• Artichokes
• Tea/Green Tea
• Chili Peppers
• Ginger
• Blueberries
• Cinnamon
• Sweet Potatoes
• Tomatoes
• Figs
• Mushrooms
• Pomegranates
• Quinoa
• Grass-Fed Beef
• Nonfat Ricotta
• Tofu
• Lentils
• Eggs
• Greek-Style Yogurt
• Quorn
• Chocolate Milk
• Wild Salmon
• Pineapples
• Olive Oil
• Bing Cherries
• Dark Chocolate
• Turmeric
• Wild Fatty Fish
• Flaxseed
• Almonds
• Apples
• Whole Grains

Read more: http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/nutritious_foods_for_a_healthy_body/muscle_enhancer_quinoa.php?page=2#ixzz0wsoNoA4A

Read more: http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/nutritious_foods_for_a_healthy_body/bone_builder_oysters.php?page=1#ixzz0wsndKfC5