Yoga, which means “spiritual discipline,” originated in the east as early as 3000 B.C. Uncontested archaeological evidence depicts men in yoga meditation poses. Today, this ancient practice is more popular and profitable than ever with females dominating the practice at 72.2 percent. Between 1998 and 2008, the number of people practicing yoga increased from 12 million to 15.8 million and Americans spend more than $5.7 billion dollars a year on yoga classes, paraphernalia, videos, guides, and retreats. This figure represents a staggering 87 percent increase in spending over 2004.

With millions of people practicing yoga across the U.S, along with 9.4 million non-practitioners that plan to try yoga, it should come as no surprise that yoga attracts people from all walks of life. People of all ages can practice yoga thanks to varying levels of difficulty to suit specific goals. For example, Yoga is recommended by physicians as a supplement to treat medial conditions from back pain to high blood pressure to respiratory conditions. Yoga is also believed to help treat anxiety, depression, and stress.

For many, however, yoga is not used as a treatment for any given mental or physical condition. Some may use yoga as a tool to lose weight while others may practice in hopes of toning the muscles, stretching the body, and improving cardiovascular health. For these reasons, when choosing a yoga class, the first step is to determine what you would like to accomplish in these 60-90 minute sessions. The following questions will help you focus on exactly what you wish to accomplish. Once you have determined your goals, there many different types of traditional yogas that will help you reach them.

· Are you trying to lose weight?
· Do you have a medical condition?
· Are you pregnant?
· Do you want to feel more centered?
· Are you grieving?
· Do you feel tired and want more energy?
· Are your muscles stiff and you want to improve flexibility?
· Do you want a “yoga body?”
· Are you curious about yoga and you just want to give it a try?
· Are you trying to improve your posture?
· Would you like to boost your confidence?
· Do you have an addiction?

Bhakti, karma, jnana, raja, mantra, laya, tantra, hatha, kundalini, and kriya are among the main traditional yogas practiced around the world. In America, you may have heard of ashtanga and bikram (hot yoga). These popular forms of yoga are not thousands of years old, but they are considered effective.

Ashtanga incorporates power poses, which help to strengthen the muscles, increase the heart rate for a challenging cardiovascular workout, and stretch the muscles. Beginners should always choose a level I ashtanga (beginner). You will know when you’re ready to advance to intermediate level (level II). This typically occurs after mastering the movements and poses, and after you have developed ample coordination and flexibility. Intermediate students usually practice for a year or more before feeling comfortable at level III (advanced).

Bikram is one of the most controversial forms of yoga. Because bikram is one of the most physically demanding forms of yoga (it is practiced in a room heated to 105-degrees or more), most physicians recommend having a physical exam and approval by a doctor before engaging in this activity. Bikram fans claim that the practice tones the arms, legs, buttocks, belly, and thighs. They also believe the practice reduces weight, raises energy levels, alleviates stress, improves circulation, relieves pain, strengthens the spine, and reduces the risk of sports injury.

Traditional Main Yoga Types and Benefits
If ashtanga and bikram sound intriguing, but you still want to explore other options, one of the traditional main yoga types might be worth a try.

Bhatki yoga is suited for individuals seeking well being and emotional fulfillment. Continuous flow of “love and life force” brings about a superconscious state of awareness or mood.

Hatha yoga is practiced for health and vitality. It incorporates aerobic movement, and stretching to strengthen and tone the body. Hatha burns calories, clears the mind, and restores energy to the body.

Tantra yoga — “pure” tantra yoga, is not sexual. The practice encourages renewal by directing the life force to rise up the spine, from the tailbone, and into the forehead. This form of yoga is believed to help control or eliminate negative habits such as overeating, drinking, and smoking.

Jnana yoga incorporates neti-neti meditation to help alleviate worry, fear, and doubt.

Raja yoga is another form of meditation and movement that is believed to free the mind and body of negative thoughts and feelings. The process readies the participant to experience his true nature as pure awareness, pure consciousness, and pure spirit.

Mantra yoga incorporates chanting, music, and meditation.

Kriya yoga is more than 5,000 years old. It combines raja, jnana, and bhatki. This practice is believed to help transform the body and mind by directing the life force up and down the spine through meditation and movement. Millions of people around the world practice this purest form of yoga.

Laya yoga focuses on the “five centers” which correspond to the main areas of the spine including the tailbone, the sacrum, the spinal cord, the heart center, and the spine at the base of the neck.

Karma yoga is suited for individuals interested in yoga that focuses primarily on meditation.

Kundalini yoga combines raja, hatha, tantra, laya, and mantra yogas to stimulate the spiritual life force at the base of the spine.

Tip: When choosing a yoga class, consider practicing at an established yoga center or quality yoga studio. The instructors in these environments typically have an average of 10 years of experience teaching yoga. This is especially important if you are considering a prenatal yoga class.

For more information about yoga study in America, visit the official Yoga Journal website at www.yogajournal.com.

Photo Credit: www.localfitness.com.au

In my recently rewritten article “A no-nonsense guide to design your workouts“, which is a three-part series, I offer no BS ways for beginners and veterans alike to keep their workouts fresh while consistently making gains.

Everywhere you turn these days, weight training seems to be the focus. And why shouldn’t it be? A proper weight training program produces many positive effects, including: increased muscle mass; reduced body fat; increased bone density; improved insulin sensitivity; improved self-esteem; and overall well-being. The list goes on. Yet with all the information available, why is it so hard for people to make progress? Because most of what is out there is BULLSHIT!!

Helping people is what being a trainer and a coach is all about. Most publishers and editors are so hell-bent on selling magazines, they print things like this: “Put 2 inches on your arms in 21 days;” “Have a chest like Arnold’s in just 6 weeks.” People, just like you, purchase this type of trash in the hopes that it might work. These writers and editors rely on your ignorance.

Having the knowledge and ability to help somebody achieve their goals goes far beyond writing an article about workouts. Writing workouts is actually a pretty easy thing to do. Just about anyone with a little bit of knowledge can do it, and many ? unfortunately — do. The barriers to entry to become a personal trainer are so low, most certificates aren’t worth the paper they’re written on. In contrast, look at the barriers to entry to become a nurse. Several years of school filled with prerequisites, in which you need a 78 percent just to pass, coupled with many hours of hands-on clinicals. What education does a trainer need? Send away for some study guides, take a test, and “Bam!” you’re a certified trainer.

We all know that exercise is good for our health. Exercise helps to improve our cardiovascular system, and respiratory system; resistance exercise helps to improve muscle function and will prevent age associated muscle atrophy. But did you know exercise, especially high intensity exercise by flooding it with free radicals. Free radicals are chemical marauders that can affect every cell in your body causing DNA mutations, premature aging, cell death, muscle weakness, fatigue and chronic oxidative stress.

So how can you get the best benefits of regular exercise?without placing your body at risk in the process? Proper antioxidant support is one effective way: Extensive research shows that safe, natural substances including vitamins A, C and E, N-acetyl cysteine, lutein, rosemary leaf extract, turmeric, green tea, bilberry and grape seed extract are all potent free radical quenchers?and you can find all of them in a single daily formula from Vitamin Research Products called Extension Antioxidant.6-15

Supplementing with nutrients that will help your body to replenish its essential ATP levels is another key strategy?one that will improve muscle function plus increase your heart?s stamina and help it to keep up with the demands for more ATP during exercise.16

D-ribose is a pentose sugar that can help to maintain ATP regeneration in your body, especially following exercise. Studies document that D-ribose can supply extra amounts of ATP to your heart muscle in particular.17-18 Meanwhile, the popular antioxidant coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) also plays a vital role in ATP synthesis, and can improve energy production when your body is under physical stress.19 It?s no surprise, then, that research shows that regular CoQ10 supplementation can boost exercise tolerance, lessen fatigue and improve physical performance in active subjects.20-23

Whether you?re a casual exerciser or an amateur athlete, look for the highly bioavailable form of CoQ10, preferably the second generation CoQ10-H2?, to combine with Extension Antioxidant and D-ribose?which are all available from VRP?for a supplement-based strategy that can reduce your recover time plus maximize your strength, energy and endurance throughout each and every workout.

www.vrp.com

XYIENCE, maker of Xenergy, the official energy drink of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), announces that one lucky winner of its new Las Vegas/UFC Weekend Experience Sweepstakes will have a chance to spend the weekend in Las Vegas, attend a UFC fight and to train at XYIENCE team athlete Wanderlei Silva?s state-of-the-art mixed martial arts (MMA) training facility, Wand Fight Team. The sweepstakes, which kicks off on May 1 and runs through August 31, 2010 is being held in conjunction with up to 40,000 of XYIENCE?s independent retailers across the United States (excluding Ark., Fla., Miss, N.C., N.Y., R.I. and S.C.) The grand prize also includes airfare, hotel accommodations and two tickets to a UFC event. Entries can be submitted at www.xyience.com/promo. No purchase necessary to enter, though winners must be legal residents of the United States and at least 18 years old with valid proof of age. Winners will be selected at random and announced in mid September.

XYIENCE will also award 10 second-place prize packages that will include a video game console and a 2010 edition of an MMA video game. Thirty third-place winners receive gift cards redeemable for a future UFC pay-per-view event.

The hardest part to attaining goals is pre-payment. The goal is attained only after you?ve paid the price or done the work. There is no such thing as a free lunch. Attaining a goal requires effort and you get what you put in. The life you lead today is a reflection of the work you put in up to the present. The life you lead in the future is determined by the work you put in between now and then.

Many people bite off more than they can chew. They set lofty goals usually while they?re caught up in emotion, work hard for a while, don?t see big returns, get discouraged and quit. Achieving big goals is a lot of work and fitness is no different than any other aspect of your life. There is an old saying that if you save your pennies, the dollars take care of themselves. We need to set and achieve smaller goals and gradually we?ll realize bigger goals.

To reach a big goal, one must set small goals. Remember, every journey begins with one step. Simply take your big goals and segment them into smaller, more attainable goals. Look at these smaller goals as rungs on a ladder. Not only does each rung get you one more step toward the top, you must hit each one to safely and effectively reach your destination.

When most think of carbohydrate loading, the classic method of low carb consumption coupled with bouts high intensity exercise followed by a high intake of carbs a few days before competition comes to mind. The result, according to the theory, is super-compensation of glycogen storage in the muscle cells and liver. The theory holds that one must deplete their glycogen stores prior to consuming or loading carbs in order to facilitate super-compensation.

The average person’s total amount of muscle glycogen is approximately 300 – 500g depending on their gender, size, and level of training. The liver stores between 60 and 120g. A linear relationship exists between the depletion of muscle glycogen and fatigue during exercise. With less glycogen to produce glucose, hypoglycemia begins to affect the athlete. Typically, a person with a blood glucose level below 70 will start to feel light headed, lethargy, and have cold clammy skin. A highly trained athlete, on the other hand, can train at much lower levels than 70 for long periods of time.

As with all training topics there is conflicting evidence on what is the best method to achieve super-compensation of glycogen stores. studies are reporting similar results to the classic method, which so many athletes swear by, without carb depletion, while tapering their training (1,2,3). One thing is for sure, carbohydrate levels play a key role in training and competition success.

In order to figure out what works best for you, try different methods and keep a detailed journal. We all process carbs the same way, but we metabolize them at different rates. Keep mind, studies on training are by no means the end all be all. There are too many variables in most training studies to be reliable. Athletes, especially endurance athletes are over-trained. It is my opinion that athletes who are achieving super-compensation without depletion coupled with bouts of intense training, are doing so because they are over-trained and under-fed before starting the process.

The body is constantly working to stay in homeostasis. Physiology shows us glycogen storage is finite; the body needs a reason to super-compensate. Achieving a glycogen depleted state over a period of time produces an insulin sensitive environment, which is essential for more than normal levels of glycogen storage.

1. Eur J Appl Physiol 2002;87:290-295
2. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 2003;285:E1304-E1311
3. Int J Sports Med 1981;2:114-118

The question, “What’s best workout for building strength and muscle?” has been the subject of heated debates for years.? My answer is always the same.? There is no one workout that is the best.? There is no one workout that works for all.? However, there are training principles that do apply to everybody.

Anatomically and physiologically we are identical.? A bicep is a bicep and has the exact same function from person to person.? An aorta is an aorta.? Our anatomical structures may have different shapes and sizes, but they all function the same.? This holds true for all tissues in our bodies from blood to hormones.? If this weren’t true medicine could not exist.? How could an anesthesiologist do his job if everybody were different?

Therefore, in order to get bigger, stronger muscles the same stimulus is needed.? That stimulus is short, intense training sessions.? Why short?? Because we have known for centuries the body can either train long or train hard.? A perfect example is to compare distance runners to sprinters.? Because of the types of training, one is emaciated looking and one is muscular.? Remember you can not sprint a mile.? Is it difficult to run a mile, yes?? But it is essentially impossible to run a mile with 100% intensity.

The other factor one needs to take into consideration for building bigger, stronger muscles is recovery.? How much or how often can you train?? Or better yet, how much “should” you train?? Here is where the differences in genetics lie.? Our muscles need the exact same stimulus in order to cause a chain of events that forces them to adapt by making bigger stronger muscles.? However, the rate at which we are able to recover from these intense bouts is as different as the shapes and sizes of our bodies.

So what are you to do?? If you’re training using the typical muscle building routine, which is 3 or more working sets per exercise and 4 or more sessions a week, and not getting anywhere, change it.? First, reduce your sets per exercise by half and only train each body part once a week.? If you still don’t make gains or you plateau after a short while, reduce your sets again.? Remember, if you’re training with 100% intensity and you’re not making gains, you’re not recovering.

More is only better when it comes to sex and money.????????

A highly overlooked, but very useful tool for progressive resistance training is – Tempo. I will even go one step further and call tempo an essential tool for attaining optimum results from weight training. Yes, it’s true one can attain results performing reps just like every other hack in the gym, but I’m talking about optimum results.

If you’re going to spend the time in the gym, why not get the most out of it. The biggest reason most people who weight train don’t use tools like tempo is shear laziness. Performing a set to momentary failure, to the point where you can’t possibly get another rep is grueling. Few people have what it takes to train correctly, achieving 100% intensity. Hence, the legions of frustrated people in gyms across the US. Like any endeavor, doing your best takes hard work, focus and dedication.

So what is tempo? Tempo goes hand in hand with “time under tension” or TUT. TUT is simply the amount of time a muscle in under tension. To develop the optimum amount of muscle in the shortest amount of time, a set should last between 20 and 60 seconds.

Tempo is the speed of your reps. It is expressed and recorded by three or four digit numbers representing the seconds required to complete a rep. Example: 402 (four, zero, two) or 50X0 (five, zero, explosive, zero). Using the bench press, the first digit is the speed in which the weight is lowered (negative). The second digit is the amount of time one pauses once they’ve reached their chest. The third digit is the amount of time one takes to raise the weight (positive). The forth digit, if used, is the amount of time one takes before lowering the weight again. If an “X” is used, it means explosive, or as fast as possible.

Designing Your Workouts

Is it really necessary to count each rep in order to build strength and muscle? No. Is it necessary to lift under control and to vary your speeds to get the best most rapid gains per your genetics? Yes. When you perform an exercise under control, the muscles are truly doing the work. ?Slower?, not ?slow? speeds make the muscles work harder by eliminating momentum and bouncing. There?s nothing impressive about performing a bench press by allowing the weight to drop, bounce off your chest and then barely being able to complete the lift.

If tempo is used properly, the target muscle group is truly performing the exercise. Tempo forces one to lift in a very controlled manner, but like any training tool it should be used as an adjunct to your weight training program.