HIIT Me Baby, One More Time: Use High-Intensity Interval Training for Fast Weight Loss

Extra weight, especially around the waist, is hazardous for your health. Belly fat, also known as visceral fat, elevates risk of heart disease, stroke, and an unsightly muffin top. Fortunately, there's a better way to drop weight than spending hours sweating over a treadmill or exercise bike. Tabata workouts are a type of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) that are quick, effective, and you can perform them in your living room. These four-minute workouts won't target belly fat specifically, but Tabata workouts do provide benefits as much as long exercise sessions in as little as four to eight minutes. Also, you can use pretty much any activity when doing Tabata workouts, so you don't need to stop doing your favorite cardio, only modify it.

Tabata Workouts

A scientist in Japan named Izumi Tabata discovered the Tabata Protocal as a means for athletes to improve sports performance. What he didn't count on is Tabata workouts having a positive impact on both short and long endurance physical activities. Using the Tabata workouts gave athletes an improved ability to do activities ranging from sprinting to endurance running. Perhaps most exciting for you, Tabata workouts were also shown to increase fat burning, even non-athletes see real benefits.


Men in college who did sports were the participants in the initial study led by Tabata. Students were asked to use an exercise bike and follow the four-minute Tabata routine. The routine has since been used with equipment other than exercise bikes, and further adapted for other types of physical activity, such as kettlebell or body weight exercises. You can pick your favorite exercise, from treadmill running to squats, and just follow the Tabata Workout protocal.

Tabata Workout Instructions

Tabata workouts are one of the most challenging types of high-intensity interval training (HIIT). HIIT involves alternating between bursts of high intense exercise with low or moderate exercise. Tabata workouts are unique for their short recovery periods, the time that you spend on the low to moderate intensity periods. During Tabata workouts, you perform high-intensity exercise for 20 seconds, followed with 10 seconds of low to moderate intensity exercise. This could be sprinting for 20 seconds and then walking for 10 seconds. Another possibility is to do squats for 20 seconds and then march in place for 10 seconds. No matter what activity you do, you must make sure that the 20 seconds are very difficult and that during the 10 second interval you go easy but don't stop. One 20-second interval follower by a 10-second interval counts as one round in the Tabata routine. Tabata workouts consist of eight rounds, which equals four minutes.


However, before you do the eight rounds, warm up for five minutes with gentle activity, such as jogging in place or cycling slowly to ease into the workout. You should also do a slow cooldown after the eight rounds to gently bring down your heart rate.

Tabata Workouts and Belly Fat

A dangerous myth floating around the exercise world is that sit-ups and other abdominal exercises affect belly fat. Strength training exercises do nothing for body fat. Your body stores excess fat when you eat more than you burn, and where it stores it, such as the waist or thighs, is mainly genetic. Using the Tabata Protocal to increase fat burning lowers your body fat percentage, which helps to ditch the muffin top, thunder thighs, or beer belly. Adopting a low-calorie, healthier diet is important too. There is no way around eating right.

Tabata workouts and HIIT is not designed for people who are not already exercising. It's a smart idea to start a walking program, and then work up to moderate-intensity cardio and interval training, before trying Tabata.

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Best Allergy Relief Remedies for Avoiding Shellfish Allergies

Best Allergy Relief Remedies for Avoiding Shellfish Allergies

by JB Bardot

Shellfish allergies are the most common types of allergies developed by adults. Symptoms of shellfish allergy are likely to have a sudden onset, without warning or any previous symptoms. Because shellfish and seafood allergies are often dangerous and potentially life-threatening, it's wise to learn what to look for beforehand. Not eating shellfish is not enough to protect a highly sensitive individual against from reacting to a deadly allergy attack.

Shellfish Allergy Symptoms

Ask you doctor to perform allergy tests to confirm a shellfish allergy if symptoms occurred after eating any type of shellfish. People with allergies to dust mites, cockroaches, and bees, have an increased risk of developing a shellfish allergy. The reactive allergenic toxins found in those substances are the same as those found in shellfish.

Shellfish allergy symptoms range from puffiness around eyes and mouth, irritability, hives anywhere on the body, itching, and swelling of the face, mouth and throat. Additionally, anaphylaxis may occur, making it difficult or impossible to breath. If you experience any of these symptoms, see emergency medical treatment immediately.

How to Avoid the Onset of Shellfish Allergy

Becoming knowledgeable about what induces a shellfish allergy is important for people seeking allergy relief and ways to protect their health. Various triggers and conditions can induce an allergic reaction.

1. Eating shellfish is not the only trigger for an allergic reaction. Merely handling it or inhaling cooking vapors can set off a reaction in highly sensitive individuals with shellfish allergies. This is known as oral allergy syndrome.
2. All types of shellfish have the same allergenic proteins and should be avoided for the best allergy relief, even if the person is only allergic to one type. Steer clear of eating shrimp, lobster, clams, mussels, abalone, crayfish, sea urchin, oysters and scallops.
3. People with allergies to shellfish should be careful when eating in restaurants about ordering fried foods. Many restaurants may use the same oil to fry shellfish as they do other foods. And some restaurants use the same oil repeatedly, increasing the chances for contamination.
4. Check labels for foods and food supplements for ingredients that may contain or be made from shellfish. Additionally, shellfish flavoring is used to enhance various foods and should be avoided.
5. When dining in restaurants, ask if pans used for preparing shellfish are also used for preparing other foods. Request that they use a pan that has not been used for shellfish, or a pan that is just out of the dishwasher which has not had other foods in it that day.
6. Individuals taking glucosamine and chondroitin supplements to relieve joint pain should be aware that most glucosamine is sourced from ground shellfish shells. Check the origin of your glucosamine before consuming. There are brands that provide shellfish-free supplements.

Heart Healthy Foods Lower Blood Pressure and Reduce Cholesterol

Heart Healthy Foods Lower Blood Pressure and Reduce Cholesterol 

by JB Bardot

Food pleasures the palette, seducing the body into delivering powerful healing agents where they are needed. Most people probably never consider that their morning grapefruit protects their blood vessels or that eating a handful of raw almonds daily can protect them from cancer. Specific, heart-healthy foods reduce elevated triglyceride levels and high blood pressure. Grocery stores are brimming with delicious foods that promote a healthy circulatory system and protect against high cholesterol and heart disease.

Learn how to naturally lower high blood pressure and high cholesterol by adding some of the recommended foods to a daily diet routine.

Controlling High Cholesterol With Animal Proteins

Animal proteins like fresh fish are high in omega-3 oils, monounsaturated fats and calcium; all helpful in reducing heart attack risk and lowering blood pressure and cholesterol.

Dr. Liz Applegate, nationally renowned expert on nutrition and fitness, has created a list of 22 heart-smart foods including clams and salmon, two proteins low in fat and calories and high in omega-3 oils and sterols. Clams help the body block the absorption of cholesterol and are good for the heart and arteries.

Grains Lower LDL Cholesterol

Vegetarian Power: Singer Christine Bibawi and Chick-Lit Author Sarka-Jonae Join Forces to Create an Awesome Book Trailer

Vegetarian singer/songwriter Christine Bibawi and vegan author Sarka-Jonae pooled their talent to create this fun and catchy book trailer for Between Boyfriends chick-lit novel. Put on your dancing shoes and watch it now.

Valentine's Day Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to Sherri L. for winning the autographed picture of Mark Salling, better known as Puck on Glee. Rafflecopter hosted the contest and Random.org selected the winner. I love Rafflecopter. It makes giveaways really easy and completely fair.

Nude Yoga for Men is More Psychologically Fulfilling

I once saw a flier at a vegan restaurant for a nude yoga for men class. Strangely, there was no nude yoga for women. Seemed a little unfair to me, but I wasn't about to petition to join the men's naked yoga class in the name of fairness :)

 Perhaps men should get their nude yoga classes. According to the Shanti Yoga Studio in Canada, naked yoga is more "psychologically fulfilling" (see video). I always thought of yoga as being able to make you stronger, more flexible, improve your posture, improve your health, promote relaxation, and even help to advance people spiritually. It seems good for the body and the soul. The one area that I did not consider yoga beneficial for was one's psychology.

Emotional health, maybe, but as an activity in lieu of therapy, I'm not so sure. See a nude yoga video here or try it yourself, and you decide. Want to know more about nude yoga for women or men? Check out this article about Sara Underwood and Playboy Yoga, plus see a video of her doing nude yoga. Photo credit: delicategenius

Avoid Back Aches and Pain With Yoga Poses for Posture

Wheel pose may relieve back aches and pain.

Yoga is an excellent form of exercise to improve posture. Every pose in yoga is ideally done with perfect body alignment. Overtime, you learn how to best do each pose and improve your posture during yoga class. However, there are some yoga poses that you can try on your own to help you sit and stand up straighter. These yoga poses for posture may relieve back aches and pains and prevent postural distortions.