Home Gym Basics

Who says you need to join a gym to reach your fitness goals.

Inexpensive home gyms can be equally effective and are often much more convenient.

But to get an effective workout at home, you need the right equipment. So here's a list of some of the basics that you can use at home to get you buff in no time.

1. free weights or exercise bands. Free weights are great but can be costly if you want a whole range. Scour garage sales and sites like craigslist or kijiji for used weights. Just use a good disinfectant and you're good to go. Equally effective, unless you're into very heavy lifting, are exercise bands. You can get a set of these for under $30. Make sure you pick up a door attachment so that you can attach your bands to a door and do even more exercises. If you can, also splurge for an extra band that includes ankle straps so you can do your leg exercises easier.

2. stability ball or ballast ball. This is great for doing ab exercises. You can also use it as an alternative to sitting on a bench or chair and it will work your core muscles while you are doing your seated exercises.

3. A gym or yoga mat. This is great for doing all your stretches, as well as ab work, and is essential if you're doing any jumping or plyometrics because it will absorb shock and protect your joints.

4. Mirrors. These are great because you can watch yourself performing exercises and it will allow you to keep your form correct, which is essential to getting a good workout and remaining injury-free.

5. Aerobics equipment. Once you've got the above equipment, you are good to go, but if you've got a bit more money, you should also add some aerobics equipment. Although you can use a skipping rope or just jog outside to get your cardio equipment, you might want to add a treadmill, elliptical machine or stair climber to your home gym. These come in handy in colder months and if you put one in front of a TV, you can get your workout while watching your favourite shows.

Believe it or not, that's all you'll really need. Yes, you can continue to add new gadgets and contraptions as you go along, but with the simple equipment mentioned in this post, you can throw away your gym membership for good!

Split It Up!

Not everyone has enough time every day to do a full-body workout. The solution: Split training - working on different muscles on different days.

Pretty obvious, right? Well, it's not as simple as it sounds. Because muscles need at least 48 hours of rest between workouts, you have to plan your split workouts accordingly. Add the fact that certain exercises work more than one muscle, and it becomes even more complicated.

Well, no need to fret, here are two of our favourite split routines that will make your life much easier. To choose exercises for these splits, you can check out one of our favourite websites: exrx.net.

1. Upper Body / Lower Body Split - This is the easiest split. Simply do all your upper body exercises one day and your lower body exercises the next day. You can add a rest day if you want, but it's not needed. The only drawback to this split is that it still requires quite a bit of time, especially on upper body days, when you easily have at least 5 different body parts. If you choose this split, try to find exercises that work more than one muscle - such as the bench press, which works the chest and triceps at the same time.

2. Push / Pull split - This split involves working your pushing muscles one day and your pulling muscles the next. You call also do your legs on the same day as your pull muscles or add a third day for abs and legs, which I prefer.
The split would look like this:
Day 1: Chest, shoulders, triceps
Day 2: Back and biceps
Day 3: Legs and abs - or abs can be added to day 1 and legs can be added to day 2 so that Day 3 becomes a rest day.
Again, be sure that the exercises you choose do not work muscles that you will be working out the following day.

Of course there are other splits as well but the more you isolate the muscles in your workout, the longer it takes for you to work it out again. And what you want is efficient workouts that you can do more often. If you turn to 3, 4 or 5 day splits that require rest days as well, you could end up waiting a week between workouts for each muscle, which will slow your progress.

In any case, as long as your hitting the weights and allowing proper rest between workouts, then any split that works for you is a good one. Don't be afraid to experiment and sooner or later you'll find one that's perfect for your body and your lifestyle!

Demystifying the hunger hormone

A new discovery by an American research firm could help control the hunger hormone.
The hormone, called gherlin, was discovered years ago, and since then, scientists have tried to find ways to manipulate the hormone to help people tame their hunger.

Now, researchers at Eli Lilly and Co., have found an enzyme responsible for putting a fatty acid onto the hunger hormone. Without this fatty acid, the hormone might not have the same effect on appetite. The enzyme is called GOAT (gastric O-acyl transferase).

The next step is to look for molecules that could block the enzyme, but researchers warn that this will be a painstaking process that could take months or even years.

Still, every new discovery is a step in the right direction. In the meantime, we'll have to feed our gherlins sensibly.

Confusing Your Muscles

If you're looking to build muscle, it's not enough to just add resistance training to your workout.

While this is a good start, eventually your muscles will get acclimatized to a specific workout and stop growing.

The body knows how well to adjust to the current activity being performed every day and when it adjusts, it will no longer be challenged and will stop growing. To begin with, you can change the weight, number of reps or rest period for each exercise, but after a few weeks, your muscles will become bored again.

That's where muscle confusion comes in. When you confuse your muscles, they can't adjust to the exercises and are forced to continue growing.

At the very least, you should be changing the exercises you use to train each muscle every 6 weeks. An even better method is to change up your exercises every week. Have a list of numerous exercises for each muscle group and every week choose a new exercise from that list to keep you moving forward.

And while we're on the topic of muscle confusion, the same principle applies for your cardio training. Running on the treadmill is great, but eventually your legs will get used to that challenge. Add stair-climbers, ellipticals and other machines to your workout to reap even more benefits.

Milk Does A Body Good or Does It?

Yes, dairy is good for you. No one is disputing that. The calcium in dairy is essential for good teeth and strong bones and helps in the function of everything from your nerves to your heart.

But does dairy also help you lose weight. That's what we've heard for years, but it turns out that this belief is wrong.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina, in conjunction with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine in Washington, DC, have concluded that not only will dairy not help you lose weight, it may also help you gain weight.

The researchers assessed 49 clinical trials that followed the effects of milk on weight and found 2 of the studies included people who had gained weight and 41 studies where subjects showed no effects by adding dairy to their diets.

Last year, two National dairy organizations in the US pulled their advertisements that stated that dairy products help in weight loss, but the misconception still exists.

As with all foods you eat, be careful of the calories you are consuming. Choose less calorie-dense sources of dairy, such as low-fat milk or yogurt rather than whole milk, fatty cheeses or creams.

Being a Woman is Tough!

New research confirms what many frustrated women have always suspected: women have a harder time losing weight with exercise than their male counterparts.

An American College of Sports Medicine study concludes that men don't have to work out as long or as hard as women to get in shape. Men are also less likely to be injured when they exercise.
According to the study, men's metabolisms speed up as soon as they begin exercising, while women's bodies see exercise in the same way as starvation and so they slow down to preserve weight. This "starvation mode" lasts for two to three weeks so women need to work for at least that long before they start seeing noticeable and lasting results. Those women who work out for a couple of weeks and then stop, only to start again a few weeks later are only sabotaging their goals.

Of course we already know that women tend to have less muscle mass than men, and this also contributes to slower metabolisms, as muscle burns more calories than any other type of tissue. Women should combat this problem by incorporating weight training to their workouts.
Another conclusion from the study is that women burn more fat with longer sessions of less intense exercise. It is advised that women exercise for at least 30 - 45 minutes per session.
Unfortunately, women are also more prone to injury, especially knee problems, during these exercise sessions because of their hormone fluctuations and their anatomy. Being aware of that and using various forms of cardio, as opposed to running everyday, could alleviate some of this stress to the knees.

As disheartening as this new study may be, this is really nothing new. Men have always had an easier time losing weight, but there are plenty of healthy, strong and fit women who have defied the odds. And if they can do it … so can you!

EverythingFit Answers: Swimming Your Way Thin?

Q. I just joined a gym and they have a pool. I was quite a good swimmer when I was younger so I'm wondering if I can use swimming as my cardio workout. I am looking to get fit and lose a few pounds.

from Jane A. Toronto, ON

A. Hey Jane,

Thanks for your question. This is the first one we're answering on the site!

Although swimming is a great cardiovascular exercise that is easy on your joints, you probably won't lose much fat or weight in the water.

Swimming is so taxing on the body that many people actually eat more calories after they finish a swim session than they just used up during that swim.

The exhaustion after swimming also accounts for the fact that most swimmers are often so tired from their swims that they often do no other workout during the day.

More importantly, while you do use a lot of calories swimming, the cooling effect of the water actually stops your body from burning any extra calories once you are out of the pool. Your body is already cool so it doesn't have to work hard to cool you down. With other workouts (running, aerobics, weight training, etc.) this post-workout body cooling continues burning calories for hours.

So, swimming as a form of exercising the heart and lungs = good. Swimming as a way to lose weight = not so good.