There are two primary muscle groups on the back of the lower legs - the gastrocnemius and the soleus muscles. The soleus is a wide, flat muscle that lies beneath the heart shaped gastrocnemius.

Both muscles contract to extend the feet and toes, but the soleus can only fully contract when your leg is bent to at least a thirty degree angle. There are several other smaller muscles in your lower legs, all of which will be developed by focusing on working the calves.

The only exception is the tibialis anterior muscle, which runs up the front of your shin and contracts to pull your foot and toes upward. The calf muscle is often neglected at the gym.

Very rarely you’ll see people training their calves. When fully developed, the calves are eye-catching and you can actually see the separation between the outer and inner muscles.

The standing calf raise is a great tool for building quality calves. By using a pair of dumbbells to hold at your sides, you can create beautifully sculpted calves in the privacy of your home.

Of course, you’ll want to get yourself a pair of dumbbells that you can add extra weight to. It is recommended to get a pair of dumbbells which are made to hold heavier weights.

If you are going to use a machine, set the weight to a resistance you can handle while practicing perfect form. Step on the platform and take hold of the grip bars on the slides of the shoulder harness.

With your feet pointing straight ahead, place your toes and the balls of your feet on the platform.
Set the shoulder pads so they will be slightly lower than your shoulders while you are in this position.

Bend at the knees and position your shoulders underneath the shoulder pads comfortably. Stand up straight so that your shoulders lift the shoulder pads, which will lift the weight plates up.

Keep your knees pointing straight ahead and keep bent very slightly during the exercise. The bent-knee position can help stretch the calves in the lower position and will save your lower back in the upper position.

Make sure to keep your body straight during the exercise. Be careful not to bend at the waist during any portion of the movement or hyperextend your back at the top of the movement.

Stick your chest out and keep your shoulders squared at all times during the exercise. Keep your head straight and level and look straight ahead at all times.

If you are going to use dumbbells, first, pick up the dumbbells and stand in front of a platform, which should be about one inch high. Step onto the platform and position your feet a couple of inches apart.

Bring the dumbbells to the sides of your body, with your palms facing each other. Place your toes and the balls of your feet on the platform.

Keep your knees pointing straight ahead and keep them bent very slightly during the exercise as the bent knee position can help stretch the calves in the lower position and will save your lower back in the upper position. You must make sure to keep your body straight during the exercise.

Stick your chest out and keep your shoulders squared at all times during the exercise. Keep your head straight and level and look straight ahead at all times.

The technique and form will be the same for both the standing machine and the standing dumbbell raise. Keeping your body as straight as possible, lower your heels toward the floor and slowly bring the calves to a full stretch.

Hold this position for a count of one second. From this position, without momentum, push off the balls of your feet and come up on to your tiptoes, pushing as high off the toes as possible.

Contract the calves as hard as you possibly can and concentrate all of your efforts on doing so. Hold this position for a one second count.

Slowly begin lowering your body to the stretch position, making sure you make the calf muscles endure the negative portion of the resistance. As you reach the bottom position, with the heels pointing to the floor, make sure you do not allow your heels to drop too fast.

Go slow and focus on the stretching of the calf muscles. As you can see, these exercises before or after your elliptical machine workout will help you to get calf muscles that will turn heads wherever you are.

Tom Selwick has worked as a personal trainer for the last 14 years and written hundreds of articles about personal fitness and how to buy a good elliptical.

Contact Info:
Tom Selwick
TomSelwick09@gmail.com
http://www.weslo.com

Just incase you’re thinking of going for a lipo suction or some surgery of sorts to correct that waist line, you may want to think twice about it. Not only are surgeries damn expensive, there is always that fact in Murphy’s Law that says that anything can go wrong. Just because they give you a statistic that there is a slim chance of the surgery going wrong, who is to say that the odds won’t be against you that day?

You’re weight problems if not dealt with can continue eating you up and spreading like a cancer. Ever considered that most obese people weren’t born obese? This means that if you choose to ignore the fact that you really need to cut down, your increasing waist line will be the least of your concerns. Cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and high blood pressure will be you’re new battle ground. The sooner you start leading a healthy lifestyle the better for you and for your family as well. Did you know that if you are obese, you’re children are more likely to follow suit as compared to a healthy parent? If you’re weight will affect the health of your kids as well, then it is worth the effort to lose it.

The first thing that you should do is to know how exactly you got that flab around you’re waist to begin with. I’m sure you’re thinking eating “duh”! But it’s not so obvious. You see, food is not the enemy, how you use it is what makes things go haywire. For example, potatoes are a very rich starch source, but when you deep fry them they become a bomb waiting to explode! French fries contain saturated fats which lead to cholesterol levels that are off the roof. The same thing applies to you’re chicken drum sticks, simply cut down on the fats you use while cooking. Try baking them and if you asked me, baked potatoes taste way better than French fries.

What I’m trying to say is eat healthy. This applies both to quality and quantity. If you’ve never liked hikes and mountain climbing, you can try starting with getting on a tread mill. Your physique is determined mostly by you’re nutritional intake and then by your physical activities. If you strike the balance between the two, then all you need is simply to give yourself time and watch you’re figure get back in place. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a night, and neither will you’re figure.

Dane Fletcher is the world-wide authority on bodybuilding and steroids. He has coached countless athletes all over the world. To read more of his work, please visit either www.BodybuildingToday.com or www.SteroidsToday.com

The compounds, more significantly, contains a hugely anti-catabolic effect which decreases as the rate of proteins perpetually lessen within the cells of muscles. All in all one can find alternatives to steroids to make sure that he or she does not succumb to addiction. On this, herbal supplements have been recommended to many as the natural formulas to help build the muscles without having to rely on steroids.

In body building people use steroids but have never known of the side effects in the body. For body builders there are developments of what is termed as muscle tears, insomnia, enlarged heart, acne and even enlarged prostate. All these conditions are very intensive and can incapacitate an individual from practicing normal body building. It is clear that men are always using huge weights while women do not in any way use enough weights. Then it leads to the important question to the effect that how much is the weight which someone should be able to lift.

For this, it is recommended that a person starts with a weight which allows them to easily carry out a complete double set of around 15 being a warm-up and then choosing a specific weight which will allow him/her to perform well a repetition of between eight and twelve. If a bodybuilder cannot be able to carry out around 8 reps then the weight is unmistakably too heavy. If on the other hand the same person is able to carry out around 12 reps, then the weight is quite light and they need to at least add a little more weight.

This weight should lie in the line of around 5-pounds. The fact is that the more the users of steroids, the more the facts will be observed. The large number of male users has made it very simple for their behaviors during their usage to be observed, while the reverse in the line of women is true; they are still less and the facts on their usage are very limited.

Steroids availability does include the common black market, more for those within the United States. They are substances that are in constant usage in the medical fraternity and their widespread usage resulting in lesser harmful cases makes them a dear for many. They have never lacked within the bowels of the raucous versatile black market. For those professionals in the game, testosterone compounds should either be used alone or even in a better combination with a number of other oilier compounds.

Dane Fletcher is the world-wide authority on bodybuilding and steroids. He has coached countless athletes all over the world. To read more of his work, please visit either www.BodybuildingToday.com or www.SteroidsToday.com

One such benefit is the improvement of a person’s psychological health. When you lose weight you will be able to improve your self confidence and self esteem. This is because you will be able to feel good about yourself. A lot of overweight people suffer from esteem issues because they are not happy with the way they look. That is the main reason why they lack self confidence. Self confidence comes through appreciating the way you look. It is very important to develop self confidence because it is the key to succeeding in this life. Without self confidence you cannot grab life by its throat and get what you want out of it.

The other reason why you should lose weight is because it helps improve your health especially if you are obese. Obese people usually suffer from conditions such as high blood pressure due to high cholesterol levels and heart conditions. If you lose weight you will be able to control some of these conditions.

When losing weight you should avoid using steroids because they usually lead to the following side effects; in men: low sperm count, decrease in libido or sex drive, the testicles shrink, loss of hair, insomnia, depression, in women: enlargement of the clitoris, growth of facial hair, loss of hair, liver conditions, heart conditions, depression, insomnia, kidney problems and increased levels of aggression.

You should also avoid fad diets when losing weight because they will make you gain weight instead. When you use fad diets your body will go into starvation mode. When the body is in starvation mode it will start burning muscles instead of fat so that it can be able to preserve energy. You will therefore start losing muscles and this will cause your body metabolism to slow down. When your body metabolism slows down you will gain weight because you will not be able to burn more calories as you used to. The increase in weight will also come as a result of the increase in fat which is not being consumed when the body is in starvation mode.

In order to lose weight you need to do aerobic exercises, weight training exercises, and eat a proper healthy diet. Weight training exercises are good because they help rev the metabolic processes which lead to the burning of more calories. Aerobic exercises are also good because they help increase a person’s metabolisms which also lead to the burning of more calories. The reason why you should eat a proper diet is because it will prevent the body from going into starvation mode.

Dane Fletcher is the world-wide authority on bodybuilding and steroids. He has coached countless athletes all over the world. To read more of his work, please visit either www.BodybuildingToday.com or www.SteroidsToday.com

The major benefit to be gained by following a regular exercise routine is loosing weight. You will loose any extra fat that may be stored in your body. Excess weight can increase the risk of getting diabetes 2. Loosing 5 to 10 percent of your weight can help to significantly reduce this risk. Regular exercise, eating more fibre and reducing fat intake will reduce your chances of getting diabetes by more than 50%.

Along with regular exercise you must take the right nutrition. Over eating due to hunger after exercising is going to negate the gains of the exercise. Reducing your body fat will take time. It won’t happen in a couple of weeks. Reducing your body fat will help normalise the conversion of glucose into energy.

Exercise will help to your body to use insulin better. Exercise makes your muscles more sensitive to circulating insulin. This insulin helps the body cells absorb the blood sugar for fuel. Even exercising for a short span will improve your body. You don’t have to over exercise or strain your body.

Exercise helps strengthen your circulation and improves your heart. You will also sleep better and your stress level will be reduced. Better blood circulation means better health.

There are a number of benefits to be gained by joining a gym and exercising regularly. Select the exercise that you find are enjoyable. You will not be forced to do an exercise that you don’t want to do. Nowadays there is a wide variety of exercise equipment that you can use in a gym. Rowing, cycling, jogging, brisk walking to lifting weights; all these can be done in a gym. There are gym machines that measure the calories that you have burnt. The numbers of minutes you have done an exercise for and the number of times you have done it. As all the gyms are indoor gyms there is no reason for missing out on your exercise. TV screens and music help keep the atmosphere informal and friendly. The trainers and other help in gyms keep a watch on the exercisers. Machines are constantly checked and kept in good shape.

Aside from exercising in a gym you must control your diet. By not keeping a check on your diet you are going to loose the benefit of exercising. Gyms also have other fitness areas, for aerobics, yoga and some gyms have swimming pools also.

Find a nice gym that is conveniently located and start putting yourself in shape. Remember it’s never too late to start looking after your health.

For more information about gym accessories, visit the Fitness First, web shop.

Bustling with people from the break of dawn to the early hours of the morning, you’ll be living amongst some of the richest and most popular people on earth, as well has having access to world famous restaurants, theatres, shops and museums.

And if you’re working in London as well as living there, you’ll be part of arguably the world’s top three cities for business, with companies from Bentley to Saatchi and Saatchi all having premises within the London vicinity.

Now whilst you may be able to experience all of this whenever you wish if you’re residing in the city centre (or even near by on a tube or bus route), there’s one thing you might feel you won’t be able to do if your working, which is getting and staying fit.

For example, it might seem obvious to sign up to a gym in London - and for some people it is.

But what about those people who wake at 6.00am, get into work for 7.30am and don’t leave until twelve hours later? Yes, any gym in London is likely to stay open until late evening, but if you’re not leaving the office until 7.30pm, after twelve hours of work, could you really be bothered to go and do an hour in a gym?

In addition, as work takes up such a large amount of people’s lives in the city, their diet tends to suffer as well.

Although it would be ideal to have poached egg and toast for breakfast, a homemade salad for lunch and then fish, boiled potatoes and steamed vegetables for dinner, the reality is often far, far different.

With a breakfast bar that is high in sugars for breakfast, a salty, carbohydrate rich shop-bought sandwich for lunch and then a microwave meal for dinner, you could easily exceed your recommended daily allowances for salts and saturated fats in the last meal alone.

So what’s the option if you live in the city and want to get healthy?

It’s simple - just plan a little.

Whilst joining a gym in London and signing up to group diet plan would be the easiest option - and the first point is actually strongly recommended if you can afford the time - it’s not the only choice.

For example, by getting out of bed fifteen minutes earlier and going to sleep fifteen minutes later, you’re only using thirty minutes extra out of the whole day, but you’ll be able to do so much with that time.

With the fifteen minutes on a morning, you can stretch and do several sets of push ups (or even go for a short jog) and the time spent on an evening could be spent preparing your breakfast and lunch for the following day.

No matter where you live in the country, the one thing you need to do to lose weight is to prepare and although you might not think you have time to devote to preparation, it’s highly likely that you will be able to find fifteen or twenty minutes at least sometime throughout the day- and it will be well worth it if you can.

For more information about gyms in London, visit the Fitness First website.

If you’re someone who attends a gym regularly, however, then getting motivated can be a little more difficult.

Fortunately, there are some cold, hard facts to prove that going to the gym really is beneficial and they should motivate you to get up from the sofa and head down to your local gym straight away.

1. You’ll lose weight - the most obvious reason for going to the gym and the one that everyone already knows, it’s important that you never let this fall from your mind. Write it down and stick it on the fridge. Put it in your calendar on the days you go to the gym. Whatever works best for you, do it - just make sure you constantly remind yourself that attending the gym will mean you will lose weight.

2. You can look forward to a better sex life - for most people who are overweight, their sex life deteriorates. For some, it’s because they don’t like getting naked in front of anyone and have a negative view of their own body, which instantly makes them think everyone else will. For other people who are overweight, their sex drive decreases the more weight they gain (a recent study by Martin Binks from Duke University’s Diet and Fitness Centre in Durham, North Carolina, USA found that around a third of obese people see a distinct lack in their sex drive).

In addition, there have been several studies carried out that show men who put on weight and therefore naturally slowly build up a resistance to insulin and increase their cholesterol levels see the blood cells in their penis fail, leading to erectile dysfunction - a particularly common reason why men don’t want to, or can’t, have sex.

3. You can socialise - when you first go to the gym, it will feel a little like the first day of starting a new school, where there are dozens of people around you and you don’t know anyone. However, just like school, within a matter of days you’ll have struck up a friendship with one or two people and over the coming weeks you’ll get to know the regular people at the gym, meaning if you become friends, you can arrange to attend the gym at the same time, as well as the same classes and even meet up outside of your workout..

4. It’s fun! - the problem that a lot of people have with going to the gym is that they don’t enjoy the activities. They don’t like running or rowing and lifting weights isn’t for them, either. However, what you have to remember is these are only a small selection of the exercises you can carry out - most gyms have classes (ranging from yoga and Pilates to boxercise and karate) and there is more often than not a swimming pool, which in itself is a fantastic way to get fit.

For more information about gym accessories, visit the Fitness First, web shop.

Only recently it was body builders, wrestlers and athletes who used to frequent gyms. But now any and everybody who is an adult have purchased memberships to gyms. Going to the gym has become routine; it’s like taking a trip to the hair dresser. How many people are actually benefiting from these trips to the gym is debatable. What one does see is that obesity has grown, whereas the average life span has not increased.

Imagine getting up in the morning, having breakfast and then rushing off to work and working all day. Stopping in the evening at the gym doing some exercises and then driving back home. Eating dinner and going to sleep. Sounds routine doesn’t it? Well it is and this trip twice, thrice or daily to the gym is not going to work wonders on the body. If you want to get your body in shape and build muscles you have to follow a regime. This means a balanced diet and exercise. This is the point most people are missing. If you think that going to the gym after working and snacking all day can help, you’re wrong.

Any exercise to build body muscles and to tone them must be done at the correct time. Morning hours before breakfast are the best. The fat stored in the body is converted to energy and then to muscle. The body shape gets better and the muscles grow stronger. That’s why jogging, walking, cycling or exercising in the morning helps.

If you hit the gym on a full stomach the body just burns off the fat being produced in the digestive system. It going to take much longer for the body to get in shape, so if you want to seriously put your body in shape, talk to an instructor - and not necessarily one at the gym. They get paid for you to come in and use the equipment, not to get you in shape and then carry on the routine from home.

But, if you are really serious about remaining healthy and fit, then obtain proper advice. Your doctor, colleagues or other family members can help. There are gyms where the instructors do take serious interest in getting people to shape up. So, finding the right gym is also important. If you are serious about your health then take it seriously. Don’t just join a gym because your spouse has cajoled you into it. You need to eat healthily, think healthily and strictly follow a routine - only then will you benefit.

If you are going to a gym because it’s the ‘in’ thing, or ‘the thing to do’, then don’t. It’s not going to help, and you will just be wasting your time and money. If you are in your thirties and expect to suddenly grow beautiful big muscles by joining a gym, you are paddling up the wrong stream.

For more information about gym accessories, visit the Fitness First, web shop.

1. Grab yourself a free gym pass - you may believe that gyms are expensive and depending on where you live in the country and which one you go to, they can be.

However, with a little work and research, such as checking for online promotions and using cash back websites, you can get yourself a completely free gym pass that you can utilize to aid with your weight loss and health regime.

2. Don’t skip breakfast - apart from the fact that the first meal of the day is the one that kick starts your metabolism (and so the sooner you have it after you wake up, the quicker your metabolic rate starts to speed up), if you miss breakfast, you’re more likely to snack during the morning, which means increased calories and a decreased bank balance.

3. Take your own lunch - next time you go to work and grab a sandwich or salad from the shop for your lunch, just have a look at how much of your Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) it contains for both saturated fats and salts.

Both salads and sandwiches might seem healthy options - and they are if you make them yourself - but most shop bought, pre-packed choices will contain around a third of your daily fat and salt allowances.

4. Include carbohydrates in your dinner - a good, well balanced meal should consist of a portion of protein (chicken or fish, for example), a portion of vegetables and a portion of carbohydrates (pasta, rice or potatoes are the most common options).

On a basic level, the protein is the taste part of the meal, the vegetables are the part that’s good for you and the carbs are the part that fill you up and therefore if you’re feeling hungry, add some additional carbohydrates to your plate - just make sure you do something afterwards to burn them off.

Plus, carbs are usually the cheapest part of your meal - a 1kg bag of fusilli pasta, for instance, will only cost you around 1 pound, but it can be used in at least a week’s worth of meals.

5. Drink water with a meal - it’s a simple trick, but if you drink water (tap water is fine) with your meal, you’ll find you feel fuller for longer, reducing the chances of you snacking before your next meal.

6. Grow your own - if you’ve never done it before, when you think of vegetable gardening, it can be easy to believe it requires a lot of hard work, dedication and more importantly, a lot of open land in your garden.

Whilst there is no doubt a need for some regular dedication, unless you want to plant enough vegetables to feed an army, it’s a lot easier than you think.

And it isn’t a problem if you live in a flat with just a balcony, either.

Potatoes, for example, are great in large pots (simply place some potatoes that have sprouted into the compost, with the sprouts facing upwards, water regularly and within 12 weeks you’ll have a pot full of potatoes), as are chilli peppers (place one or two seeds in a tub of compost, water regularly and when they’re a few inches high, support them with a cane), beetroot and carrots (same process as potatoes) and tomatoes are easy to do in a grow bag (just place two seeds in the bag at either end and like chilli peppers, when they’re a few inches high, start to support them with canes).

It’s not as easy as going to a supermarket to buy your vegetables, but it’s a lot more rewarding, a lot healthier and after the initial outlay of the seeds and compost, a better option financially.

For more information about gym accessories, visit the Fitness First, web shop.

There seems to be a new mania that has got these old timers getting a shake up call. The membership at gyms has gone up from the average 35 to 45 years over the last few years.

Gyms have realised that older people are joining gyms and exclusive gyms for the fifty plus have started springing up all over. These gyms are generally referred to as silver gyms. This is understandable; a fifty year does not want to be caught panting on a treadmill while a twenty year old on the next one is running full out with a smile plastered across his or her face. The atmosphere has to be more relaxed for seniors. They may have rocked and twisted in their heydays, but now want to listen to softer music. Low impact cardio equipment and simple-to-use pneumatic machines are more to their liking. They are not interested in hip hopping or leaping movements.

Yoga and other soothing exercises are more their cup of tea. Classes for them are scheduled for late morning or early afternoon. Most prefer to work with personal trainers. A large number of them have physical therapy covered in their insurance. That’s why so many of them are joining up.

Age specific nutritional programs are suggested to them. Joining an old age gym has become a trend as these people have very little to do and want to spend more time with people of their generation. A gym is an excellent place for doing a bit of exercise, having a nice chat and a meal. Going to the gym is not weather dependent, that’s a very big plus point with them.

Cardio equipment includes rowing machines, stationery exercise bikes, and elliptical trainers and treadmills. There are large TV displays for entertainment during exercise. This helps in keeping the older generation occupied as they row, cycle or walk at a leisurely pace. The duration of their exercises is longer and not intense. Some gyms have swimming pools which are a big favourite with older people. The entire philosophy of this generation is to enjoy themselves as they pass the time. If it helps them in improving their physical shape, that is an additional bonus. A number of the old timers are on medications and require a trained professional trainer on hand to keep a watch on them. Others are obese and have a hard time controlling their diet and reducing their food intake. With proper cardio equipment and trained professionals on watch the sessions go pretty well. Some gyms have setup separate exercise area for the older generation.

Spending some hours at the gym has become quite common for people of all ages. People of all ages are more aware of physical health and fitness. It’s good to see the generation that carried out peace marches, stuck flowers in soldiers guns and rolled in the hippie generation are now concerned about their health.

For more information about gym accessories, visit the Fitness First, web shop.