A Man's Fitness

What is the essence of man? In a word? FITNESS.

Is there a fast, easy way to get buff and fit? And what exactly are we talking about when we say a man has fitness? Well he World Health Organization defines a mans fitness as "The ability to perform your normal daily tasks with vigor and alertness and without undue fatigue, with enough energy left in reserve to cope with any emergencies that may arise or to follow the leisure pursuits of your choice". Overall fitness is a goal men must try to attain.

Whether you are young or old, you can improve your fitness through strength training and aerobic exercise. When it comes to a man's fitness, there should be no guesswork! You need to have all three of the main components of fitness in order to be good looking on the inside and out.

Strength training
Cardiovascular work
Healthy diet

Building Your Muscles and staying strong:
I'm often asked if I think that someone is too old to get bigger muscles or if they should just resign themselves into some sort of "maintenance" mode until the grim reaper comes! How depressing is that? The expression," Use It or Lose It", truly applies to muscles. As you age you will lose 5 - 7 lbs (2 - 3.2 kgs) of muscle every 10 years of your adult life if you remain inactive. But that muscular loss can be replaced by strength training.

Cardiovascular work improves a Man's Fitness

While strength training, flexibility and cardiovascular work are all necessary in a man's fitness schedule, cardiovascular work is the most important. Cardio works large muscle groups and conditions your cardiovascular system. Therefore, if you do not have much time, devote whatever time you have to aerobic exercise. You might have to skip out now and then on the Herculean muscles but as long as the cardio is done then your heart, blood pressure and cholesterol levels will keep you healthy and happy.

Some general tips while keeping fit;

1. Drink water regularly during your workout and also during the rest of the day.

2. Whether weight lifting or doing aerobic exercise always use correct techniques. Read and follow the instructions that your calgary personal trainer has outlined for you.

3. Always have a spotter when doing free weight exercises.

4. Make sure to challenge your muscles but keep it safe.

5. Stretch and warm-up before each workout and gradually cool-down after each session. Do about 5 minutes of a general whole body workout, like the bike and then a specific body part warm-up prior to each exercise.

6. Check each piece of equipment for safety before using it.

7. Pay attention when your body; muscle burn is what your after but sharp pains or aches in the joint after you've warmed up mean that something needs attention and you should slow down and find out what's wrong.

8. Too little is always better than too much. Overtraining will stop you in your tracks and kill performance and enthusiasm. Take 48 hours rest or more, if any of these signs appear;

o Listlessness
o Insomnia
o Noticeable drop in performance or enthusiasm
o Irritability
o Dizziness
o Fatigue ? not immediately after the workout but on an ongoing basis.
o Frequent bouts of cold or flu ? this is a sign that your immune system is getting weekend because of all the energy your body is putting into repairing itself from training too much

9. A Man's fitness is meant to improve your life situation, do not let fitness come before family.

10. Train smart. Alot can be done in a short period of time. A Man's fitness does not need to consume his life in order for him to recieve the postive benefits. Dad's, play with your kids, coach a team, go fishing with the family....thats what a man's fitness is all about.

The Importance of Nutrition to a Man's Fitness

Nutrition is a huge topic but it boils down to eating whole natural foods frequently instead of in huge amounts at one or two sittings. If it grows or has walked the earth than it should be on the shopping list. Variety will insure that you're getting a full spectrum of vitamins and minerals to keep you healthy. Favor protein over carbs but never exclude any of the three macronutrients on some new fad diet. Always have some fat, protein and carbohydrates at every meal.

You need nutritious foods in order to repair and build muscles after your hard workouts. Your muscular strength/mass and health will not improve if you fail to eat nutritious foods. Proteins are the building blocks to allow muscle growth. Carbohydrates will refill your energy stores. Fat intake insures that your hormone levels stay on track and all fat-soluble vitamins get processed.

For more info on all these topics and to get your own fitness program started, Fat To Fit is the Exercise and Fitness Program developed by Ray Burton from www.buildingbodies.ca and is very good reading for men involved in a fitness program.



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Ray Burton is a 15 year veteran weight loss coach who specializes in helping busy moms and parents maximize their results.