dnyc99

One Exercise Best Attacks Belly Fat


Women who lift weights just twice a week for an hour can fight middle-age spread, that buildup of tummy fat that seems to take hold--and rarely let go--as we age, reports The Associated Press of new research from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Best of all, they flattened their tummies without dieting.

Here's a great trick to prevent middle-age spread. Women who follow this easy diet are far less likely to gain weight once they hit their 50s.

This is more than an issue of vanity. The kind of fat that weightlifting fights is that deep, intra-abdominal fat that wraps around internal organs and is linked to heart disease. Belly fat is also the No. 1 complaint of women as they go through menopause. "It's the apple-shaped person I'm most worried about," Dr. Tracy Stevens, a cardiologist who directs the women's heart center at St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City and was not involved in this study, told Reuters. "The more central the fat, the more it's laid down in the arteries."

Your waist size is a far better predictor of heart disease than total body fat. Find out the numbers for men and women.

The study: More than 160 overweight and obese women between the ages of 24 and 44 were divided into two groups. One group participated in a two-year weight-training program using both free weights and machines with a focus on the chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps, lower back, buttocks and thighs. The other group was given a brochure that recommended they exercise 30 minutes to 60 minutes a day most days of the week. Neither group was asked to change their diets in a way that would lead to weight loss, reports Reuters.

Tricks so you can find the time each day to exercise--no matter how busy you are.

The results: Those who lifted weights for two years experienced a 7 percent increase in intra-abdominal fat, compared with a 21 percent increase among the group that was given exercise advice. Even more encouraging, the weightlifters decreased their body fat percentage by almost 4 percent, while the other group remained about the same.

HOW many of us will eventually get fat? Find out the eye-popping numbers that predict whether you'll ever be overweight or obese.

The downside? Unlike walking or running on a treadmill, this is not something you can do in your basement unless you can afford to install a full gym. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and is being presented Friday at an American Heart Association conference in Phoenix.



http://channels.netscape.com/whatsne...=20060429-0700

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DarkFalcon

Nice post, guess we're all a step ahead of the herd.

dnyc99

and the herd. :yes:

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JJ_Sungirl

LOL...herd!!!

The statement about not being able to do weight bearing exercise in your basement is not necessarily true....all you need is a set of dumbbells, a ball and an exercise band to have a good workout routine, incorporating all the muscles groups mentioned in the article.

My suggestion, get a personal trainer to show you how to use these implements in a home setting. I have designed several " workout at home" programs for clients. Where there's is a will, there's a way, no gym membership required.

DarkFalcon

:blush: Doh!

dnyc99

LoL :hug5:

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