There are really several major issues with working out in machines. In this article, I’ll give you two:
One Size Does Not Fit All
We are all different. We have our own height, our own shape and our own weight - and that’s just on the outside!
Machines are all the same.
They are created to fit everyone. But how is that possible? Everyone has a unique composition and no machine is going to be able to accommodate that.
Maybe we can all work out on the same machine, but just because we go through the motions doesn’t mean we are actually accomplishing anything.
Imbalance is Never Good
Imbalance causes injuries. I, myself, have experienced this first-hand. Training on machines causes imbalance. How?
Because machines do most of the work for you, your large muscle groups are getting a workout while all the other muscles (small stabilizing muscles) that you use in your day-to-day activities are doing nothing.
It is when these training methods go on for an extended period of time that imbalance injuries become very likely because some muscles become well-developed and others do not.
Compound exercises are the key here. They target many muscle groups at the same time, not only keeping your body in balance and functional, but giving it that healthy, ripped look as well!
So get away from those machines and aim for bodyweight and free weight exercises!
Jonas Forsberg
Author of Burn Fat at Home & Founder of TheSwedishTrainer.com
Burning Fat Information
Keep Burning Fat
We live in a calorie-crazed society.
You don't have to look very hard to find out how many calories you can burn while doing one hour of running, for example.
A lot of fitness machines will even tell you how many calories you are burning every second that you are on them!
Wow, huh? Not really…
To be honest, choosing an activity because it promises to burn x-amount of calories in an hour is one of the biggest mistakes you can make! It is not only time-consuming, it's ineffective!
Why not save time AND get better results? By doing short, intense workouts, such as High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), you will get greater results in less time. How, you ask?
By doing HIIT, you will continue to burn calories for up to 24 hours after your session! So while you may burn only ½ as many calories during your actual workout, you will keep burning calories all day long - even in your sleep!
On the other hand, after a workout consisting of moderate exercise for one hour, you stop burning calories as soon as the workout ends.
So remember, QUALITY...
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Secrets of Food That Will Increase Your Metabolism
Metabolism can simply be described as the amount of energy the body uses to burn off food you have eaten -in short, it converts food into energy to burn. Your metabolism is constant, it never stops, only slowing down or speeding up according to signals you give through your food intake. While the actual metabolic process consists of thousands of chemical reactions, the process is actually quite simple and can be altered through adjustments in your diet.
If you have struggled through dieting to increase muscle while losing fat, it is highly likely to be a direct result of your metabolic rate actually slowing down and storing fat instead of speeding up. The change is likely attributed to many of the fad diets that are out there today. The fact is your metabolism feeds off of two main sources of energy - protein and carbohydrates.
Through the reduced protein and carbohydrate diet plans, your metabolism does not receive the fuel required to speed up the rate of processing food. Actually, your metabolic rate will decrease, and signals will be sent through your body of possible starvation, and fat storage is intensified. In essence, your body is going into survival mode,...
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