Gone are the days of liquid diets. Well, okay, there are still companies out there that promote drastic calorie cuts via meal replacement drinks for the very obese. But, for the most part, people have come to realize that weight loss and fitness goals are best achieved through a balanced diet not a drastic one. Having said this, meal replacement products are still useful and honestly quite helpful for many people looking to achieve fitness goals.

Typically the words “meal replacement” conjure visions of starvation diets and serious self denial. On the contrary, however, meal replacement items can be used successfully as part of a healthy, balanced, and fulfilling diet plan. How you use such products all depends on your goals. Overall, meal replacement items are ideally used as one healthy option in a varied nutritional plan.

Meal replacement shakes and bars act as a convenient meal or snack option when time is of the essence. They don’t have to be used consistently day after day if that idea is unappealing. Simply keeping them as an option on your busiest day is a great way to stay on track with your diet.

Typically the lunch hour is a time of high temptation. If time is limited and you are at the office, a fast food burger or vending machine fix can be quite appealing. By keeping items such as the P90X Protein Bars in your desk drawer, you make it easy to select a healthier meal replacement.

Pair a meal replacement shake with a salad or some fruit for a quick lunch at your desk. If breakfast is a difficult meal for you, take it to go. One good thing about meal replacements is they are far easier to handle on the commute than an egg white omelet.

Don’t view meal replacement products through the lenses of yesterday. They don’t have to be part of a starvation diet but can be included as one potential time saving option in your healthy eating regimen.

We all know that well-intentioned plans don’t always turn out. Things come up, obstacles present themselves, and sometimes we are caught in situations where our plans don’t have a hope for survival. When it comes to healthy eating plans, however,  we can usually make them work. There are very few valid excuses for completely abandoning a healthy eating regimen. However, there are days where we may allow ourselves to stray a little further from the target goal.

The key to making it through the days when your healthy eating plans go out the window is to not let this minor setback be the end-all of your healthy lifestyle. Too many people who are into fitness just to lose weight see a diet setback as a diet disaster and it simply doesn’t have to be that way. When you have a small fries with your salad once a week, it doesn’t have to snowball into a Bic Mac and milkshake on Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays. 

Finding a balance between sticking to your guns and allowing yourself a treat now and then is crucial. When someone asks me for healthy eating advice I always say, “eat right 90% of the time”. I say this because it is totally attainable and doesn’t require perfection. When you set healthy eating plans that require perfection, you will fail. No one is perfect. So, be realistic.

Find healthy eating plans that work for you. The P90X Nutrition Guide is a great example of healthy eating plans to fit a variety of lifestyles. There are several choices in this workout system to ensure you have a plan that is customizable for you. The best fitness systems include healthy eating plans like these.

Once you have your healthy eating plans in place, stick with them. If you eat pie on Thanksgiving or a slice of cake at a birthday party, don’t sweat it! Your diet will not fail because you step outside the rules every once in a while. Just pick back up after that last delicious bite of cake and get back on track.

Learn to see your healthy eating plans as a lifestyle, not a temporary set of rules and you will be in a much better place for success.

Toned shoulders might not get maximum attention in the winter. We’re not walking around in tank tops or spaghetti strap dresses for the ladies but it’s important to keep your shoulders toned and strong no matter the season. Remember those shoulder pads they put in clothes in the 1980s? Well, they were popular because they made people look fit, their bodies more streamlined. Some of them rivaled football shoulder pads while others gave the right amount of bulk, bulk that can be easily achieved with some very simple shoulder exercises.

The best shoulder exercises are often the simplest. You don’t need a lot of equipment for these and can even get by using stuff you have around the house. However, if you have dumbbells or resistance bands, that would work best.

Shoulder Press- The obvious shoulder exercise that must be included in this group is the classic shoulder press. You do this move by standing with feet shoulder width apart and a dumbbell or weight of choice in each hand. Position your arms on either side of your head, with elbows bent. The shoulder press is done by simultaneously raising both hands toward the ceiling, straightening the arms, and then lowering back to starting position.

Lateral Raise- Another move for the shoulders is the lateral raise. Again, start with feel shoulder width apart and grasp a weight in each hand. Starting position is with your arms down at your side. The move involves raising the weights out from the sides of your body until your arms are reaching out straight from your shoulders, as if you are spreading your wings. Slowly lower to starting position.

Front Raise- Another of my favorites is the front raise. Similar to the lateral raise in positioning, you simply raise arms to the front of your body so that they are straight and positioned in front of your chest at the top of the move.

There are many shoulder exercises that can do wonders for this area of the body. If you are looking for a great shoulder workout, check out the P90X Shoulder & Arms DVD for some serious burn. No matter the shoulder exercises you choose, make sure you are including some in your regular strength training routine for maximum results and to ensure you are ready to bare those shoulders when the weather turns warm once again.

Who doesn’t want abs that make jaws drop to the floor. Of course, there aren’t many opportunities to show them off, but knowing what you’ve got under that shirt can send your confidence through the roof! Ab workouts for men are ab workouts that are intense and productive. Most men want to be ripped. They don’t just want to have a flat tummy, they want a six-pack! While a six-pack takes a lot more than a high quality ab workout, it’s a good place to start.

Ab workouts for men come in a variety of workout systems and separate DVDs as well. Because your ab workout needs to be part of a bigger fitness regimen for the best results, consider a system that hits all the muscle groups and has a killer ab workout as well.

One thing that men commonly ignore when trying to get the body of their dreams is their diet. In getting a six pack or even just losing the fat around your middle, your diet can make all the difference. It doesn’t matter how good your ab workout for men is if you are eating burgers, fries, and milkshakes for lunch, and nachos and beer for dinner. You’ve got to feed your muscles and without the proper fuel, your body simply won’t respond the way you want it to.

Ab workouts for men should be intense ab workouts that are part of a bigger intense workout system. Ab Ripper X, from P90X, is one of the best ab workouts for men currently out there. This intense 16 minute workout will work every muscle in the abdominal region, building up those abs so that as you diet and exercise, that much coveted six pack will appear.

Ab Ripper X is part of the P90X system, a system designed to give extreme results to people who have extreme dedication. If you follow the program and fuel your muscles right, you will not only end up with the abs you have always wanted, but the body you have always wanted too.

You’re not the type of person to do anything halfway. Average isn’t a word in your vocabulary. You go hard everyday no matter what it is you are doing. You take your goals seriously and are willing to put in work to have the life of your dreams. My only question is: does this level of enthusiasm carry over into your fitness? If not, it should. And if it does, whether you sweat it out on the gym or running on the trails, consider adding an at home extreme workout to your regimen for extreme but convenient fitness progress.

At home extreme workouts are about getting the body of your dreams by pushing it to the limit. Don’t confuse working hard with not working smart, however. A word of caution: your at home extreme workout should be safe. Progress appropriately and watch for any signs of overexertion. Having said that, get ready to workout at a serious intensity.

There are a few options on the market when it comes to at home extreme workouts. None of them, however, measure up to P90X. The P90X program is the ultimate in serious home workout systems. This system, using the knowledge and expertise of trainer Tony Horton, has the power to radically change your body and the way you look at home fitness. If you’ve ever had any doubt about the potential of a home workout system, P90X is the program that will change your mind.

From intense cardio routines like Plyometrics to the muscle building weight training workouts, the P90X line up was created to deliver maximum results. If you want to feel your workouts working, this program is for you. Because, let’s face it, the day after your first Chest & Back workout, you will feel it!

At home extreme workouts are for people who are serious about creating a high performance body. This isn’t your mama’s home workout system! If you are the type that likes a challenge and seeks to be the best in everything you do, an extreme workout like P90X is for you!

In today’s economy saving money is crucial, being able to support yourself just in case you’re one of the many who lose their jobs this year. It’s a scary and stressful thought that can take a huge toll on your body and mind. But that’s life…. is there any thing we can really do about it?

Of course there is, your life is in your hands. You can control how you feel mentally and physically. Have you ever thought about when you spend the most money? What is your mood like? If you’re anything like me you shop when your down. Coming home with a bunch of bags in your hands some how makes you feel better, at least for the moment. But it’s not good for you in the long run. How much money did you blow on things you don’t really need, just to boost your mood, spending money that you could have put in savings?

Instead of heading to the mall for that sprit uplift, put on some sweat pant and start moving around. Start a new workout routine! Working out will help you in so many ways. It will get you physically fit, boost your energy and of course change your mood! You will feel much better about yourself, eliminating the need to shop for comfort. Putting your hard eared money back in to your savings, instead of in the hands of your favorite department store, allowing yourself to have a more secure future, no matter what the economy is like.

The P90X exercises are extreme and in today’s post I’ll be discussing yet another killer P90X exercise from disc #3 in the series “Shoulders & Arms”. Introducing:

The Crouching Cohen Curl

It may seem like a mouthful but it’s a relatively easy exercise to explain. Actually performing this P90X exercise may however prove to be a heck of a challenge for some!

So here’s how it works. First you want to select the weight or resistance band that works best for you. If you’re going for a slimmer, toned look you’ll want to shoot for lower weight and do more reps (12-15) if you’re going for size, opt for heavier weights and less reps (8-10). From here you can choose to have support or not. This can be done by leaning up against a wall or your couch for that matter. The key to this P90X exercise is to have your elbows just below your knees and be sure to let your arms fall straight down at the bottom of the move. If you’re using a resistance band you’ll want to shorten up your band by looping it and use both feet to hold it in place to perform the same move as with free-weights.

It totally isolates your biceps and makes you work really hard to get those reps (especially if you’re working with heavier weights) It’s just phenomenal! When you’re done with your set there’s no question about it’s effectiveness. For my next post we’ll be taking a look at a very special P90X exercise from the Yoga X workout. Yes…yoga is part of the P90X workout system and there’s good reason for it. Find out more in my next post.

Links to other P90X Exercises Exposed:

1 of 12: Dive Bomber Push-up

2 of 12: Jump Knee Tuck

Folate: is essential in the formation of red blood cells and helps to form the genetic material within every body cell. This is why it is very important for pregnant women to get the proper amount of Folate during their pregnancy.

Folate can be lost from foods during preparation. To combat this serve raw fruits and vegetable instead. If you have to cook them, steam  or boil in minimal amount of water.

Check out the Healthy Food List below:

Cooked lentils (1 cup, 229 calories)
89 percent daily value
Cooked navy beans (1 cup, 258 calories)
63 percent daily value
Cooked beets (1 cup, 74 calories)
34 percent daily value
Cooked split peas (1 cup, 231 calories)
31 percent daily value
Papaya (118 calories)
28 percent daily value
Mustard greens (1 cup, 21 calories)
25 percent daily value
Raw peanuts (1/4 cup, 207 calories)
21 percent daily value
Flaxseeds (2 tbsp., 95 calories)
13 percent daily value
Orange (61 calories)
10 percent daily value
Raspberries (1 cup, 60 calories)
8 percent daily value

Original Source: Men’s Health

Check out tomorrow’s Healthy Food List for Vitamin C

To read part 1 of this series on Vitamin A click here
part 2 of this series on Vitamin B1 click here
part 3 of this series on Vitamin B6 click here
part 4 of this series on Vitamin B12 click here
part 5 of this series on Vitamin D click here

A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that brings oxygen and nutrients to the brain either bursts (hemorrhagic stroke) or is clogged by a blood clot or some other mass (ischemic stroke). - American Heart While hemorrhagic strokes cause more deaths ischemic strokes are far more common. Research studies are finding that lighter exercise (walking) does not greatly reduce the risk of blood clot, however intense exercise does. Men who engaged in intense workouts regularly were nearly 2/3 less likely to have a blood clot stroke compared to sedentary men or those that participated in light exercise. The P90X workout system is one of the most intense workout programs on the market. If you want to get into shape and reduce your chances of stroke.

Holiday time is here and that means lots and lots of food, too much food. Going party to party, eating tons of high calorie,high fat & high carb foods. It’s a tough time for some of us, we want to eat healthy but the mounds of stuffing and mashed potatoes are just so tempting, followed by the endless buffets of desserts.

How do we stay on track without sacrificing some pleasure? And how do we keep our friends and family on track with out depriving them?

Researchers have found some unique little tricks to scale down your food intake during the holidays. Ways to trick yourself into feeling full and satisfied by eating less.

Check out this video for some Unique health tips:

Vitamin D: is essential in the absorption of calcium in to our bodies. It helps our teeth and bones to grow and stay strong. Vitamin D is also known as the “sunshine vitamin.” Some exposure to the sun will trigger the body to process this vitamin. 10 to 15 minutes of sunshine a week is all you need!

Check out our Healthy Food List Below:

Halibut (3 ounces, 160 calories)
130 percent daily value
Mackerel (3.5 ounces, 180 calories)
90 percent daily value
Salmon (3.5 ounces, 185 calories)
90 percent daily value
Canned sardines (1.75 ounces, 100 calories)
70 percent daily value
Oysters (6, 112 calories)
67 percent daily value
Shrimp (4 ounces, 112 calories)
40 percent daily value
Vitamin D-fortified milk, reduced fat (1 cup, 125 calories)
25 percent daily value
Cod (4 ounces, 120 calories)
16 percent daily value
Vitamin D-fortified cereal (1 cup, 105 calories)
10-30 percent daily value
Egg (70 calories) 
6 percent daily value

Original Source: Men’s Health

Check out tomorrow’s Healthy Food List for Folate

To read part 1 of this series on Vitamin A click here
part 2 of this series on Vitamin B1 click here
part 3 of this series on Vitamin B6 click here
part 4 of this series on Vitamin B12 click here

Getting fit at home is not a new phenomenon. One of the most popular areas of the body to train is the abdominal region. Flat, defined abs are a symbol of good health. With all of the literature currently out there blasting the effects of a big tummy, home ab exercises have gained popularity. When combined with a healthy diet and a regular fitness regimen, home ab exercises can assist with core strengthening and overall health.

I don’t know anyone who likes how a big Santa Claus belly looks. Part of the reason a big belly is such an eyesore is because it is well known that a big belly is unhealthy. More and more evidence has been revealed over the past several years linking belly fat to heart disease, diabetes, and overall health risks. This piece from WebMed does a good job of outlining some of the more concrete scientific evidence of the risks associated with belly fat.

While sit ups won’t get you healthy alone, home ab exercises used in conjunction with a fitness plan and healthy eating habits can have lasting effects on your health.

More than home ab exercises, many current fitness programs choose to focus on what is called the “core” muscles. The abdominals are part of the core but not the entire picture. Your core muscles,as described here, include those that mobilize your hips, back, and midsection. Improving the tone and strength of this entire group of muscles can assist with reduction of belly fat, balance, injury prevention, and weight maintenance.

Many home ab exercises, like those contained in the P90X Ab Ripper X, don’t just work the abs, they include the entire core. This has multiple benefits. Training the abs complimentary back muscles can deliver faster results. Core workouts also do more for posture and stability than plain old sit ups.

If you are looking at home ab exercises as a way to improve your overall health and wellness, look into those that contain the standby abdominal routines but also add core components. Be aware that a healthy diet and regular exercise are crucial when working to uncover a svelte physique.

OK it’s post number two of the top 12 P90X exercises! Today we’re going to talk about one of the most intense P90X exercises that just so happens to be featured on the most intense P90X workout DVD that comes with the system. So without further delay I present “Jump Knee Tuck” from P90X’s Plyometrics workout. Plyometrics could be considered a sports cardio focused workout. It’s about 50 mins long and “Jump Knee Tuck” is an exercises that comes up more than once in that routine. 

Jump Knee Tuck

It’s a tough one definitely harder than it looks in this little example

When Jump Knee Tuck shows up in the P90X exercise line up don’t be fooled. It may look like fun but it’s hard work! You  basically have 30 seconds to do as many as you can. You can follow along with Tony Horton and the gang at their pace or you can go for “double time” doing twice as many in this time frame, at what I consider to be a pretty rapid pace. I usually opt for the standard pace but hey, overtime this may change as I work to increase my performance. How it’s done is fairly simple to describe. Basically you want to steady your upper-body. You don’t want to be flailing your arms around. Keeping that in mind you will proceed to jump up and pull your knees into your chest, then land on your feet again. Now repeat! And repeat, and repeat and…you get the point. It’s a P90X exercise you won’t soon forget and one that some people may have to work their way into. Want a small and I mean tiny taste of the P90X exercise routines? Go ahead and do 3-5 right now! That should give you a little bit of an idea of what to expect when you decide to take the plunge with P90X! I’ll see you here tomorrow as we expose yet another P90X exercise, this one from disc #3 Shoulders & Arms…

Links to other P90X Exercises Exposed:

1 of 12: Dive Bomber Push-up

3 of 12: Crouching Cohen Curl

Once you have finally made the tough decision to get in to shape, another one awaits you. How should you do it? What home workout program would be best suited for you? There are so many different programs to choose from these days and a lot of confusing information to sort through.

Below are a few tips to help you pick the right program:

Tip 1: Consult with your doctor. Find out if there are any types of workouts you should avoid based on your physical health. Have your doctor give you a physical to make sure nothing has changed since your last visit.

Tip 2: Take a really good look at your weekly schedule. Figure out a realistic amount of time that could be set aside to dedicate to your workout. Don’t forget to include some relaxing time in the equation, it is just as important to your health to be able to unwind and relax or to do something fun. Can you dedicate 1 hour a day, 3-4 days a week? Be specific and realistic, pick the exact days and times.

Tip 3: Research a bunch of home workout programs that you think you may enjoy doing. You should really know the basic concepts behind them. Are they geared toward muscle building, losing weight fast or toning? Are the programs structured like a traditional workout or is it something else, like a workout based around dancing. Figure out what you would enjoy the most. It makes it much easier to motivate yourself to do the workouts if you can enjoy them!

Tip 4: Set some personal goals. Do you want to lose 5lbs or just tone up your butt. Knowing what you want to get out of it before hand will help in making the right choice.

Here are a few different types of programs you may want to consider:

P90x : 6 Days a Week, 1hr -1 1/2 hrs a Day, Cross Training Program, using Cardio & Strength Training Techniques

10 Minute Trainer : Flexible days, 10 Minutes or More  a Day, Super Stacking Program, using Cardio & Strength Training Techniques

Slim in 6:  6 Days a Week, 30 Minutes to 1 Hour  a Day , Slim Training Program, using Cardio & Light Resistance Training Techniques

Hip Hop Abs: 6 Days a Week, 30 Minutes to 1 Hour a Day, Absolute Engagement  Program, using Cardio & Targeted Ab Sculpting Techniques

There is a population in this world of people who prefer to workout in solitude. We enjoy being able to wear what we want, smell how we want, and make whatever faces necessary while getting fit. We differ from those that go to the gym in that we have found a way to stay fit without a monthly membership and without an outside source. You could call us fitness independents, content to work out alone and in the comfort of our own homes. It’s here where our at home exercises give us bodies of steel, worthy of envy.

At home exercises have come a long way from the calisthenics of our mothers and the Jane Fonda workouts from decades ago. While body maintenance is fine, at home exercises today make a chiseled physique possible. Now, we fitness independents can realize huge fitness potential without a personal trainer and without even leaving the house.

Unlike our gym going, membership fee paying counterparts, we push through workouts even when no one is watching. We are accountable only to ourselves, choosing a tough fitness road of self mastery and personal motivation. Even when we could quit early and no one would be the wiser, we push through because we know the feeling of accomplishment is even greater when we have overcome a little self resistance.

While some people enjoy the singles scene that seems to permeate many gyms or the shared sweat covered machines, we are content to challenge ourselves and take fitness very seriously. I am not saying this to talk poorly of those who go to the gym with serious goals and determination, merely to point out the differences in the gym goers and the at home independent fitness warriors.

So the next time someone asks you how you stay in shape, tell them at home exercises have changed. When you pop in a workout DVD it isn’t playtime. It’s serious fitness time. And serious fitness leads to serious results.