Health and Fitness

Reading Time: 8 minutes

by Alfred

Hey there fitness lover, it is glad that the title caught your attention and you came in to know how 50 sit-ups a day can transform and grow your overall physique plus your mental ability from 7 to 9.5 on a scale of 10.

No kidding here, you can drastically transform your total appearance just by doing sit-ups, all your love handles can run away, tummy can come in flat shape and your concentration can also increase.

If you still have doubts about this fact, then don’t worry by the end of the article you will clear all your doubts from your head. On a very serious note, it is really important for you to perform sit-ups with a perfect posture followed with a healthy diet plan or else just like many other people you could complain that the exercise didn’t work.

Now, if you are wondering what – ‘is my sit-ups proper or not’ you don’t have to worry about it either this article will cover the correct posture to perform sit-ups along with benefits of doing 50 sit-ups a day for a consistent period of time.

Here is a more interesting part of this article, it will also provide you with a couple of suggestions for cheap and easy to use gear that will make doing 50 sit-ups per day both easier and more productive.  So without further ado let us begin by understanding what exactly sit-ups are and how it is different from crunches.

Sit-Ups Verses Crunches

Sit-ups are not too much different from crunches, as sit-ups are an abdominal exercise that targets and hits abdominal muscles along with other muscles like hip flexors, lower back, chest and neck muscles. Crunches exercise is however single muscle targeting exercise i.e. only abdominal muscles, but it is a highly effective exercise of isolating the gut muscles resulting in the formation of those six-packs abs. Both the exercise have their pros and cons, but there is one common disadvantage of both the exercise that is, an improper form of the workout can result in back pain and can result in a back injury.

Note: Sit-ups and crunches alone cannot burn your stomach fat, even if it does scientifically you have to keep maintaining that part by eating a healthy low-fat diet and doing your cardio or aerobic exercise regularly.

Now, after reading and learning how sit-ups differ from crunches and clearing your doubt, let us move on to another topic that will cover how 50 sit-ups a day can help you transform into your desired and visualized body goal.

Benefits of doing 50 sit-ups a day

Sit-ups are a traditional and simple-form of exercise that works your transverse abdominals, obliques, and rectus abdominal. It has a larger range of motion which makes it a definite exercise that should be added to your workout along with 50-push-ups a day and 50-squits a day for a total body workout.

Here below are the benefits that sit-ups will provide you if you add it to your daily workout routine.

• Core strength development
• Provide strength to your diaphragm
• Increase in muscle mass
• Sit-ups prevent many injuries
• Strengthen core muscles groups

Let’s take a closer look at each benefit below… there are others but these are the main benefits you’re most likely to receive by doing 50-sit-ups-a-day…

1: Core strength development

You know how much core strength is necessary right? If not, then imagine you are standing on a line and your back hurts for no reason and you no longer are able to stand in line anymore, or people comment that you have a weak posture. Criticisms are hurting but if you have the cure use it wisely.

Doing sit-ups regularly builds up those muscles that are responsible for activities like bending, standing straight or performing other athletic activities. So sit-ups by targeting that part of the muscles help it by initially breaking and building a stronger back when given proper fuel.

The core muscle provides the following advantage to our body:

Helps to lift weights helps in a general movement like bending and standing straight giving balance to the body strengthen back perform athletic activities with ease

2: Provide strength to your diaphragm

The diaphragm is responsible for performing the respiratory function in the body that means if the diaphragm is strong the respiratory function is also strong, this strength is directly linked to the overall endurance in the body along with stability in breathing pattern and increase in athletic activities.

So yes, performing sit-ups have an indirect or call it a direct impact on your breathing, regulating your blood pressure and lowering stress, etc.

3: Increase in muscle mass

A study and research done on old women in 2016, resulted that women who were able to perform sit-ups have fewer chances of losing muscle mass from their bodies as they age.

This losing muscles with age phenomenon are called Sarcopenia, which can be brought into a level if you are engaged in exercises that hit your abdomen muscles.

4: Sit-ups prevent many injuries

Muscle spasm is considered as one of the most painful injuries, but think if you have control over your muscles, you can prevent such injuries. Sit-ups let you control the core muscles that is responsible for giving balance in the body, providing flexibility, improving posture.

Strengthening your core muscles will allow you to prevent loss of balance and fall when you will grow old. Sit-ups give you flexibility in your hip and spinal region that allows more mobility and less chance of tightness of the muscles.

5: Sit-ups is an exercise with multiple variations

Though the exercise will target the abdominal, chest, hip muscles but after a long period of time will get used to and won’t be as effective as before but variation in your exercise will help you to constantly alter your moves so that the muscles get a fresh breakdown every time. Here is some variation that you can try:

1. Change the position of your hand from behind the head to – the front.

2. Put your legs on a raised platform like a bed for more intensity

3. To increase the effort you can hug a weight and continue with your sit-ups.

4. The farthest you can go is with weighted and inclined sit-ups in a single set.

6: Strengthen core muscles groups

As mentioned earlier about sit-ups as multiple abdominal muscle hitting exercise, here are the exact muscles that sit-ups hits along with the muscles’ functioning.

Hip Flexors – This muscle includes Rectus femoris muscle, Rectineus muscle, Iliacus muscle, Psoas muscle, Sartorius muscle. These muscle groups’ works in such a way that allow you to bend your knee towards your torso. Riding a bicycle, climbing stairs, running and other such movements are impossible without this muscle.

Back muscles – Sit-ups not only target your abdominal muscles but your lower back and upper back too, which is responsible for lifting weights, keeping the spine straight, etc.

Chest Muscles – Movement like adduction, and flexion of arms are controlled by the chest muscles that are directly linked with abdominal muscles. So strengthening your abs will give a direct impact on your chest muscles as well as your diaphragm, even though both muscles are separate.

Neck Muscles – To provide structural support to the head, the neck muscles are engaged, plus a weak neck can result in cervical spine injury. So it is advisable to strengthen your neck muscles to prevent such permanent injuries in your body. One exercise to strengthen the neck is right here- yes right, sit-ups.

Here were the benefits of doing 50 sit-ups a day. Please be advised to perform with the correct form otherwise the benefits mentioned will not be as effective as you plan.

If you are looking for the correct form’ then in the next paragraphs we will discuss and try to cover that part for you in most simple language.

The correct form of doing sit-ups

Here is something to note: If you are a beginner then you must perform the sit-ups and increase the intensity gradually for most effective results, and also the sit-ups have to be done in discipline sets. You can divide the sets according to your capacity but try to do 10 reps or above in one set.

Here are some sit-ups variation and how to perform them:

1: Traditional Sit-ups

Lie down on your back in a mat with your knee bend.In order to lengthen your back a little bit, tuck your chin to the chest now cross your arms with fingers touching the opposite shoulder or interlock your fingers behind your head.Throw out all the air from mouth while bringing your torso towards your thighs.And inhale while bringing your torso back to the floor.

2: Sit-ups on a gym ball

Sit on the gym ball keeping your feet flat on the ground.Keep tension on abs and slowly lean back towards the ball, your tailbone and mid-back should be touching the ball.Make sure while you go back, your feet are making a 90-degree angle on the floor.

While lifting your upper torso from the ball throw out all the air from your diaphragm.Take a second pause and then slowly repeat the process, don’t forget to inhale while you lean back.

3: Elbows to the knee sit-ups

In this form sit-ups, you have to interlock your fingers behind your skull.Lie down on your back.Bend your knees and lift the feet off the floor.Now twist your upper body in such a way that you are able to bring your right elbow and touch the left knee, meanwhile you bring your left knee towards the elbow.

Now perform the same action with alternate elbow and knee.Try to touch only once in one repetition.Don’t forget to exhale while leaning back and inhale while coming up.

4: V-up

While lying down on the floor extend your hand over your shoulder and straighten the legs in this exercise.Now raise your legs without folding too much and hands simultaneously towards the ceiling, making a V shape from a side point of view.Keeping an angle, try to hold the position from 4 to 5 seconds.

Now slowly lower down both hands and legs to the initial position. There you go, the proper form of four main variations of sit-ups. But if you want your form to be more accurate and need good results, you’ll need some awesome gears.

Gears for Sit-ups

1: TKO Sit Up Bar Door Attachment for Ab Toning and Training Universal Adjustable (click here to see it and check the price on Amazon.com).

A portable steel made device called sit up bar can be attached at the bottom of your doors. Perfect equipment to give your legs to stabilization for better focus on the exercise.

Features: Foam pads are installed for comfort. Durable steel construction.

2: BalanceFrom Core Mat Ab Mat Abdominal Mat Sit-Up Pad – Abdominal Trainer Mat. (Click here to see it and check the price on Amazon.com)

This is another equipment for sit-ups, place it under your spine to get full extension of the abdominal muscles.

Features: Lightweight and easy to carry around.Neither too soft nor too hard.

Final Words

Just like crunches but with small variation in the movement of the abdominal muscle sit-ups provide you a total workout of the abs and helps you tone in the desired way and for that, you really need to pay attention to your form or else the exercise session can go all in vain.

However, if you have read the article you might have learned the proper form to hit the exact abdominal muscles. Having said that, the form can be much more enhanced if you have proper gears and accessories with you on your exercise session.

So in an attempt to help you save your precious time browsing on the internet for a dependable gear the article has provided you a direct link to the buying page. Also, there is a review of the gear that you must consider.

There you go, everything you wished to learn about sit-ups is being presented in a very simple language for your convenience, hope you can make good use of this information and complete your fitness goals.

Also, read:

• What are The Benefits of Doing 50 Squats a Day?
• What are The Benefits of Doing 50 Pushups Every Day?

Good Luck!

Reading Time: 8 minutes

It is no more a secret, that to stay healthy and fit there is no better option than exercising well and daily. A fifteen-minute to half an hour session of exercise can do wonders for your health and overall wellness. Well, to begin with, you must know that about 90 percent of health disorders are caused due to our lazy and sedentary lifestyles and as a result of obesity and weight.

And what is more shocking to know that only about 3 percent of the people in the United States live a healthy and active lifestyle while a whopping 97 percent are living dangerously with loads of health conditions arising due to increasingly laidback lifestyle that involves little to almost no exercise.

But the good news is, that no matter how badly you are gripped into the clamps of this unhealthy way of life, it is never too late to embark on a journey of wellness and good health. You can, in fact, do some of the best exercises without even stepping out of the house. Experts from the fitness world have devised many helpful exercises that can be done at home and that can provide you with an all-round body exercise.

One such super exercise that you can include in your daily life is Squats. This is, in fact, a traditional exercise that needs no equipment. In this exercise, your body is, in fact, the equipment that you work with. Though in modern times, fitness regimes and methodologies have evolved and you may also see people in the gym adding weights to the squats. But, the basics of this exercise and how it is done remains the same. Let’s look at how Squats are done and then we will decode the benefits along the way.

Squats – The Origin

Squats are in fact one of the most fundamental positions of our lives. Our bodies are naturally made to squat but as we grow older our squat positions and forms go from bad to worse.  Forget squatting, at times we find it difficult to even bend and pick up something from the ground. We are sitting in unnatural postures and positions throughout the day, that is impacting our spine and overall health bigtime.

The evolution of mankind and the patterns suggest that we as human beings are genetically designed to squat too often and almost all our activities. However, the amenities of the contemporary world has made our lives more seamless and to such an extent that we no longer need to squat for any of our activities. And, the irony is that the same modern world looks at a natural ability of the human body as a very helpful exercise. Though, most of us would know how to squat let us tell you how a basic bodyweight squat is done.

Doing Squats the Right Away

Before we go any forward knowing how to do a squat in the right away is absolutely important to get all the benefits it claims. That’s because often doing an exercise the wrong way can lead to injuries and many other health issues. Let’s have a closer look at the Steps to do this exercise:

Step 1:

Stand Upright and Tall in a proper and firm posture. Put your hands by your sides and your feet at shoulder-width apart. Your toes should be pointing forward for a proper form.

Step 2:

Maintain a straight back and keeping your core tight you can push your hips really back. Bend your knees and lower your body down until your thighs are at a position parallel to the ground. It’s like coming to a position to sit on a bench minus the bench.

While doing this step remember not to bend too far forward from the waist area. If you do that you put too much stress to your spinal area.

Step 3:

Take a short pause at Step 2 and then slowly raise your body up to the original position. This completes you one Squat purely on your Body Weight.

Do 50 reps of this exercise every time you do it and you will be amazed at the way it helps to improve your health and overall well-being. You can also combine weights along with the squats as well for the best results. Now that you know the process of doing your squats the right way, let us look at the glaring benefits of squats.

To begin with, we will start with the Physical Benefits of Squatting every day.

Squats – The Physical Benefits

Doing squats obviously, have far more benefits than just burning some calories. Squats are the main exercise in almost every men’s fitness program of athletes and trainers. These squats help you in achieving and making the most out of your workout routines. Here we have listed the physical benefits as under:

1. Doing squats regularly helps you in developing those rock-solid glutes that you always dreamt of. Since squats focus on almost all muscle groups, glutes are one of the main target areas of squats.

2. With regular and consistent reps of squats, you can enhance your thigh muscles including the area of your front things known as quads. As such squats can help improve your quad strength.

3. With squats focussing on your thigh muscles your hamstrings are also targeted. Which implies stronger hamstrings and better thigh muscles.

4. Along with the thighs doing squats regularly helps you in building your calf muscles as well. So your entire lower body is covered just by doing these 50 reps of squats.

5. Doing squats regularly helps you in increasing your leaps in a jump. That helps you stay prepared and ready for workouts that you need to do for weight loss and workout.

6. With squats, you can enhance and build your core strength as well. When included with all your other workouts it works wonder in establishing your core strength.

7. Squats will obviously be burning some calories with every rep. However, the calories burnt may be few if you rely on squats alone but when coupled with all other workouts it works just fine.

8. Doing squats regularly drastically improves the overall blood circulation of the body. The logic is simple, this exercise conditions the heart and thus pumps more blood thereby improving the overall blood circulation.

9. Doing Squats regularly disposes of the cellulite in our body. Squats target your major muscle groups of your entire body thereby helping in toning and getting rid of the saggy cellulite all over your body.

10. Involving squats in your daily routine improves the overall flexibility. That’s because squats help you get to positions and body postures that you rarely attain in your daily lives.

11. Doing squats regularly helps in improving the overall elasticity of the body and you will see a substantial improvement in your reflexes, thereby preventing some of the injuries that arise when your bodies are stiff due to no workout.

12. With proper squats regime and when done regularly, you can achieve a better posture of the spine. That’s simply because squats improve your spine by stretching it well.

13. Squats as you observed in the process and the way it is done is a low impact exercise, so you get the most out of this exercise without getting too spent and exhausted.

14. With improved blood circulation and a combination of all the effects, squats can act in the overall removal of waste and toxins from the body.

15. Since squats focus on almost all lower body and core muscle groups, the overall strength of your bones and joints improve. The more squats you do the better your bone strength becomes.

16. With improved and stronger lower body your mobility and overall balance increase manifold. A stronger lower body simply means better movements.

17. And if that was not all to expect from one exercise, doing squats regularly also triggers and increases the levels of testosterone in your body which implies increased libido.

18. Squats also help in increasing your resistance and endurance, and hence you will see your speeds are increasing while you are running.

19. Doing regular squats means you are triggering the processes of your body to produce optimum levels of hormones in your body.

20. When you are doing squats regularly, your motor patterns improve while you are exercising implies efficient workouts overall.

21. Squats undoubtedly help you in achieving the best leg shapes. Especially because they target almost all your leg muscles providing perfectly toned legs.

22. The activities involving your legs become seamless and easy because of the fact that your lower body gets wonderfully toned and slim.

23. When you are doing squats regularly your body aches and backaches diminish and are reduces completely in the long run.

24. With all the above benefits you can expect a boost in the overall performance of the body.

25. Last but not the least with improved performance, condition and strength you gradually transform yourself into a beast full of power.

Now that we have covered the physical benefits, let’s look at some of the psychological benefits as well.

Psychological Benefits of doing Squats

Apart from all the benefits that we listed there are some amazing psychological benefits of doing 50 squats a day. Let’s try and list some for you:

1. Conditions your mind for Mental Strength:

Squats are a hard exercise to do and not only do they increase your physical endurance of the body but they also help you in increasing the overall mental endurance. Squats help you push your limits to the highest degree thereby increasing your tolerance limits. That trains your mind to push a little harder every time wither while exercising or in real life.

2. Relieves Stress, Anxiety, and Signs of Depression:

Including squats regularly in your workout regime improves the levels of happy hormones in your body which helps you in getting rid of stress, anxiety or any signs of depression. Apart from that doing Squats regularly helps you to get rid of your sleep issues by helping you to relax better when you sleep and better sleep leads to a better day and elevated moods.

3. Builds Self Confidence, Boosts your Self-esteem:

Doing squats regularly means you are full of confidence due to that fit and fulfilling feeling and that in turn boosts your self-esteem. Not only that it helps you live with that pride of physical accomplishments that is greatly uplifting for your mood.

4. Helps in enhancing the Central Nervous System:

Including squats in your daily regime helps increase the overall capacity of your Central Nervous System. That’s because almost all the muscle groups get activated with this amazing exercise that trains the whole body to control the muscles centrally. Improved CNS means stronger brains and better control of the body.

5. Increase in concentration levels:

With all the benefits that this exercise does to your mind and body, it improves your overall focus and concentration levels as well. That means you can focus well on whatever you do in a better and more effective way.

That covers more or less all the benefits of Squats in a rather comprehensive manner.

Final Takeaway

Now that we have covered almost all the aspects of this wonderful exercise, it is fair to say that this is one of the best exercises that you can opt for. Whether you are a gym rat trying to build your core and lower body strength or a mere mortal trying to embark on a journey of wellness from all the obesity and illness, this exercise is the right one for you.

But, of course, hard work has no replacements but if you can take this little pain of doing this low-intensity exercise, you will reap those sweetest rewards for a lifetime.

So, without wasting any further time, do those 50 reps right away and watch yourself transform into a man of amazing prowess, truly, in mind, body, and spirit.

Reading Time: 8 minutes

Jackie12

At present calisthenics has become extremely popular across the globe. At times, I find it hard to believe what folks can do to their own bodies. In this article, I will share with you my own views regarding calisthenics and why it is considered so important by the fitness buffs out there.

In recent times, calisthenics came into the limelight mainly because of the increasing interest in street exercises. According to some individuals, training outdoors is going to be more interesting as compared to that of a gym.

In fact, one will like to perform workouts in the middle of green natural surroundings instead of inside an enclosed room. The outdoors will provide you with fresh air as well as sunshine to make you feel fresh all the while.

I am of the notion that one reason why calisthenics has become so popular at present is because of the minimalism movement. Many individuals prefer living a simpler life without much possession.

Calisthenics will be the best option to support this objective when it comes to throwing away your gym equipment and working out with your own physical body. I have been performing calisthenics for the last few years and it has given me a toned and slim physique which I have always dreamt of. Below I will mention some essential reasons why calisthenics happens to be my favorite.

Benefits provided by calisthenics:

1. Calisthenics is affordable

I was able to carry on performing calisthenics at times when I was suffering from financial constraints. It is perhaps the greatest advantage offered by calisthenics since there is no need to purchase any expensive equipment. I always have everything I want with me irrespective of where I go. Money is not an obstacle to me anymore!

2. Calisthenics is portable

I have the experience of carrying with me a couple of dumbbells inside my bag on some occasions when I was on the go. I want to admit the fact that it was not a very enjoyable thing for me. The dumbbells proved to be quite heavy for me to carry and I was easily exhausted. The condition became even worse when I had to travel long distances.

However, the best part of this adventure was in store for me once I returned home. I feel extremely elated about that. I wonder whether you also have a similar type of experience with your workout equipment. Sometimes I was delayed to reach my destination because of the heavyweight; but still, I had a smile on my face once I reached there.

However, while practicing calisthenics I always have the fundamental equipment with me all the while. There is no need for me to carry a heavy dumbbell along with me to any destination where I travel.

In case I find myself tempted to perform some chin-ups or pull-ups, there is no need for me to carry any pull-up at all. I am absolutely sure that I will be able to find something useful in virtually any situation.

3. Calisthenics will help to enhance your confidence

Any kind of training will enhance your confidence to a great extent, and I am not an exception to that. However, I believe that the impact will be even more when it comes to calisthenics. But have you ever wondered why?

Sometimes it came to my mind that lifting a heavy barbell might make it bend conspicuously. On the contrary, I like the idea of performing workouts like one-arm chin-up, muscle up or one-arm push-up after entering the fitness center as a part of my regular exercises.

Most of the men who are playing with weights in the gym usually stare at me in disbelief. This very situation makes my confidence very high since people performing strength training are not able to perform these workouts. Frankly speaking, although they might appear to be in great shape, their strength might be even less than that of you.

I believe that lifting weights is not a bad idea. Nevertheless, the game will reach an entirely new level once I am able to control my body with 100% precision. Just look at the Russian guys who are performing street exercises in the park.

The performance of these people will make you simply amazed and mesmerized. Now please come back to real life … will you be able to perform some workouts like chin up, plank, pull-up, squat, and bridge with effortless ease? Unfortunately, most of the guys will answer in the negative. As for me, I’m not able to perform any of these workouts at present.

Nevertheless, I am striving to make my form okay every single day. However, the crux of the problem is that all the movements like these are quite natural for human beings. In case you are skeptical, venture out to the park and find out some kids. Ask them to perform these exercises.

I will challenge you that they will do those within seconds. Of course, let us hope that these children are not the ones who are suffering from weight problems.

On the contrary, request any adult person to perform these workouts. While most of them might need a couple of minutes for warming up, the rest will prove to be a failure. And what is more interesting is that these adult people need not be obese. Although they might appear to be quite fit, they will find it hard to perform these workouts.

Calisthenics will prove to be useful in such cases. There is no need to feel embarrassed and it will be possible for you to use your own body weight and get the job done. Believe me, it happened in my case! I slowly got the desired results and it has enhanced my confidence significantly.

4. Calisthenics will help to fix your muscle imbalances

Muscle imbalance can damage your self-confidence to a great extent. In fact, I’m one of those guys who had to deal with these types of issues on a regular basis. The left side of my body became weaker as compared to my right side since I lost approximately 90 pounds a few years back.

I started bodybuilding by making use of free weights once I was able to lose weight. It helped me considerably, but I still have problems in assessing the proper weights to train with.

In fact, this has resulted in the lowering of my motivation and I still am able to carry on because of my sheer perseverance and willpower. I came across calisthenics a few years back. I read some books on calisthenics which I borrowed from the library and fell in love with it almost instantly.

But why is it so that calisthenics has been able to fix my muscle imbalances? The reason is obvious. While performing some bodyweight exercises, you are actually making use of your whole body instead of only some parts one at a time.

It is for sure that you are using some muscles more as compared to the others according to your movement. Nevertheless, you will still like to use these muscles too. It happened to me and I observed some performers of calisthenics out there. I observed that their muscles are extremely balanced and the reason for this is that they are engaging their muscles on every side equally.

Another reason, according to me, is the fact that all these movements are absolutely natural for your system. As a result, our body is able to adapt to all these movements so easily. Nevertheless, it does not imply that one can just go for calisthenics without giving any thoughts whatsoever.

I always proceeded slowly and put my body under pressure gradually. Otherwise, I might have done more harm to my body than good.

5. Calisthenics will enhance your posture

Calisthenics has helped me in another way; it has improved my posture significantly. I spent a lot of time working at my desk in front of the computer and this made my back become more rounded over time and my stance was also not as straight as before. I also encountered some pain in my neck and back over time.

However, I was so busy at my work that I often neglected my posture and my concentration was absolutely devoted to what is happening around me. Now the question that arises is that how calisthenics has helped me?

I performed bodyweight training on a regular basis and my weak muscles were stressed and also exercised which prevented them from deteriorating. Moreover, once my muscles started getting stronger, it was easier for me to sustain a healthy posture. I comprehended that this training stuff had lots of benefits to offer me. For instance, while my muscles become stronger they began to function better as well.

This implied that these muscles helped to keep my body in proper posture which was possible even without any conscious effort on my part. I think it is the main reason why most of the men begin to perform some sort of men’s workout whether it is bodybuilding, calisthenics, martial arts, or anything similar to that.

My muscles became stronger with training and I was able to maintain a healthy posture automatically.

Next, I will be talking about 3 workouts which I perform during my calisthenics training session. These 3 happen to be squats, dips, and pull-ups. Let us talk about each of them one by one.

Squats:

I prefer performing squats during my calisthenics training session given that it helps to gain muscle mass and also shed pounds at the same time. Squatting is going to engage my calves, quadriceps, the lower back as well as gluteus maximus simultaneously.

Sometimes I hold a barbell with weights on my shoulders and lower myself gradually and rise again. I tend to lower myself slightly parallel with the floor and squat all the way down since it offers me a wide range of motion and lots of benefits at the same time. I think that squatting ought to be included in any type of full body workout, and although one might feel a bit awkward initially, he will soon become familiar with it with practice.

Pull-ups:

It is known to most of us that pull-ups can prove to be extremely effective when it comes to enhancing the strength of the upper body as well as men’s health in general. I never skip this particular exercise during my training routine and I simply need a bar to hang from.

Sometimes I tend to combine other workouts along with a pull-up which might be a push-up as well. I often try performing pyramid sets of these exercises. I begin with one rep and take rest for a short while before performing a couple of reps and taking rest once again. I repeat this process still I become exhausted; however, my target will be to see how many pull-ups I’m able to perform in 5 minutes.

Dips:

Frankly speaking, I love performing dips. I find them very easy to perform, and also make sure that I do them correctly. In fact, dips are almost identical to performing push-ups and the majority of the fitness centers out there will feature dip-bars.

However, sometimes I perform this exercise on just about anything I find provided it is possible to do so. In case I hang from a bar, I make sure that my feet stay off the floor. Before grabbing the bars I usually jump up and ensure that my arms are straight and also carrying all of my weight.

I don’t need to bend my legs; but if it is unavoidable, you can bend your legs a bit as well. I allow myself to go down as far as possible, and then again push myself back up. The process is simple, but I always bear in mind to remain straight as far as possible. I never put too much stress on my shoulders.

That’s pretty much it! It is simple as well as short. Remember to stay motivated and stick to a daily calisthenics routine along with a couple of your buddies. This will help you not to feel monotonous and in case you work hard, you will definitely be able to achieve your objectives. I have done it myself and I can assure you of this.

Reading Time: 8 minutes

Not many of us would like to have love handles on our waist area and most of the folks out there making lots of effort to get rid of them once and for all. However, it becomes quite difficult to achieve this target in case a man reaches the age of 40 years.

While you look at yourself on the mirror, you will start disliking your own appearance and might also become scared at the very thought of looking rather unattractive in front of the others. This will lead to a lowering of self-confidence and you will lose the motivation to perform your daily chores as well.

At the same time, excess fat will also lead to the development of various ailments including diabetes, hypertension, cardiac problems, and so on. In this article, we have mentioned some surefire tips which will help you to shed pounds successfully in spite of reaching the age of 40 years.

We will begin by emphasizing on our diet plans that can help us to lose belly fat fast.

1. Counting the calories

It is possible for many people to shed pounds without any need to break out the calculator at every single meal they consume. Our metabolism is going to become slow with age, and we will be burning fewer calories than we did in our young days.

As a result, always make sure to ingest fewer calories than what you are actually burning during the day. Start counting in case you have any intention of losing weight.

2. Reduce your intake of alcohol

Alcoholic beverages have the ability to strain a lot of organs within the human system particularly the liver. Moreover, men are in the habit of ingesting an increasing number of calories whenever they are drinking in the form of processed food items, saturated fat, carbs, and the wine itself. It will be a sensible idea to avoid drinking alcohol or, if not possible, limit oneself to only a couple of drinks every week.

3. Consume more protein

It is a fact that men tend to lose a significant amount of their muscle mass after reaching 40. It has been revealed by studies that eating lots of protein can prevent this muscle loss which is referred to as sarcopenia. Middle-aged males ought to go for at least 30 grams of protein with every single meal.

4. Curtail the consumption of meat

It is known to all of us the consuming plenty of fresh fruits and veggies will aid in weight reduction. However, your effort will be rewarded even more in case you refrain from eating meat completely. A plant-based diet will help the folks to shed weight much more than those who are in the habit of consuming meat.

5. Concentrate on fish

Fresh fish like salmon will provide you with omega-3 fatty acids which will aid in minimizing inflammation, obesity, type 2 diabetes, dementia, as well as cardiac problems. According to the American Heart Association, consuming a couple of fish-based meals on a weekly basis will work wonders for males above 40 years of age.

One can consume salmon, tuna, mackerel, as well as bluefish to lose a considerable amount of weight very quickly.

6. Stay away from refined carbs

Although we usually have a tough time to resist our temptation when it comes to pastries and bagels, it is essential to avoid them as far as possible. In case we consume them, our system will absorb the excess sugar and increase our blood glucose levels significantly.

Moreover, we might feel interested in consuming those food items at frequent intervals which will prove to be unhealthy in the long run. Instead, it will be advisable to consume carbohydrates from fresh veggies and fruits, as well as whole grains including quinoa and whole-wheat bread that will help to stabilize our blood sugar effectively.

Next, in this article, we will focus on the most effective fat-burning workouts for men more than 40 years of age.

As mentioned earlier, it will be quite tough to get rid of the love handles and enhance metabolism unless you stick to a proper diet plan and also perform workouts on a regular basis. A consistent cardiovascular/strength training program will help you in this respect.

It is imperative to perform physical activities like walking, jogging, swimming and biking for about 20 to 25 minutes on a daily basis or at least 4 to 5 times per week. You might also consider combining several sessions of basic calisthenics such as bench dips, pushups, squats, as well as lunges.

It will not take long before you will observe the beneficial effects of these types of workouts. Try to follow this schedule to lose belly fast:

Mondays and Thursdays – Program for the upper body

• Warmup 5:00 / stretch
• To be repeated 5 to 10 times
• Pushups – 10-20
• Bench dips – 10-20
• Reverse Crunches – 20
• Stretch abs/lower back
• Hanging Knee-up
• Regular Crunches – 20
• Cardio option 25-30:00: Biking, running, swimming, walking, and so on.

Tuesdays and Fridays – Love handles and legs

• To be repeated 4 to 5 times
• Bike, walk or jog 5:00
• Squats – 20
• Stretch legs
• Left crunches – 25
• Stretch abs / lower back
• Lunges 10 / leg
• Hip rollers – 10/side
• Right crunches – 25

Wednesdays – LONG Cardio Day

• Walking, sprinting, or a combo of the two for at least 45 minutes.
• Or swimming, biking, elliptical gliding machines

This above-mentioned guide will assist us in getting started with a resistance or calisthenics training plan and also in adding cardio in our exercises. Below, we have mentioned some abdominal workouts which will help to build our core muscles in the long run. These are as follows:

Hanging knee-ups

In this case, it is important to bring the knees as high as possible.

Advanced crunch

While performing this workout, make it a point to lie on the back with both of your feet up in the air. Your legs must be kept in the upward direction for performing some advanced crunches. You also need to cross both of your hands over the chest while bringing the elbows right to the knees by stretching the stomach.

Reverse crunch

Here, you need to maintain the identical position as that of the regular crunch while raising the knees as well as the butt towards the elbows. It is important to move only the butt and the legs.

Right elbow to left knee

Your left leg has to be crossed over the right leg. You also need to stretch your stomach and twist it so as to bring the right elbow to the left knee.

Left elbow to right knee

This workout is almost identical to the previous one, and here you simply need to switch sides. The right leg has to be crossed over the left leg. You need to stretch the stomach and also twist it so as to bring the left elbow to the right knee.

Hip Rollers

With the help of this workout, it will be possible for you to develop the abs, hips as well as the back in the long run. You need to twist both of your sides while keeping the shoulders on the ground and remaining in the bent knee pose while rotating right and left.

Cardio or Weights: Which is better?

Now, a question which might arise in your mind is that which one is better – cardio or weights. In other words, in case you like to perform both these types of exercises, then this one should you do first?

The experts are of different opinions on this particular issue and most of them will recommend you to perform weight training before cardio since in case you perform the cardio at first, it might consume a significant portion of your vitality which would be required for performing weight training.

According to the same view, weight training will deplete the stored carbohydrates of the muscles, and will thus improve the fat burning ability of the individual while he is performing the cardio workout because of the absence of available sugar for providing fuel.

Nevertheless, there is no concrete research at present which helps to provide evidence to the above-mentioned fact.

In case your fitness objective is to enhance your aerobic endurance or reduce weight, it will be sensible to perform cardio initially. However, in case your primary intention is to enhance the strength of your muscles then go for strength training at first. In case your objectives include overall enhancements, make it a point to conclude your training session with the type of workout you like the most.

There are many individuals who have a target of losing the unwanted fat in and around their stomach area, and for this, then invest their time either performing plenty of curls or on the bench press.

But why? The reason for this is that they are able to get the desired results by doing this. However, the issue here is that when they have finished these workouts they suffer from extreme tiredness or do not have adequate time to go for a cardio workout session.

The same is applicable to those individuals that like to strengthen their arms but do not prefer lifting weights simply because they do not like to “get big”. Strength training does not equal “big” automatically, and you will not be able to strengthen those muscles on your treadmill.

Invest at least 10 minutes while you are starting your workout session by concentrating on the legs, back, chest, shoulders as well as the arms, and following this, you can go for other workouts. You will be surprised to see the results after a while.

In a nutshell, it can be rightly asserted that it is recommended for you to be consistent while performing workouts rather than be concerned about some additional calories that you might burn by performing cardio or weights first.

Make it a point to evaluate your objectives and also work in such a way that you are able to attain these targets. Your belly will start becoming flat even before you are able to realize it and for this, there is no need to sacrifice your bicep or chest size. Moreover, your triceps are going to become toned and this will enhance your confidence to a great extent.

What is the Total Gym?

One of the best machines to help you shed pounds and lose belly fat is the total gym! This thing is totally awesome and gets my highest recommendation! What is the total gym you ask? It is a rather bizarre piece of equipment available on the market intended for performing exercises.

You can also refer to it as a glideboard gym simply because you’ll be perching on a particular board which is going to glide up and down a couple of inclined rails. You can click this link to see the total gym and current price at Amazon.com (the link opens in a new window so you won’t lose this page).

It is possible to rotate the movement of the total gym by either pulling or pushing the handles which are attached to the cables running from the total gym’s top via pulleys at the top of the rails and back down to the hands. Here, the total gyms weight, as well as your own body weight, will be acting as the source of resistance.

It will be possible to alter the amount of weight which can be lifted by you simply by adjusting the inclined rails to a higher incline so as to get more resistance and also to a lower incline for getting less resistance.

This piece of equipment should be adequate to challenge almost anyone out there; however, its main positive aspect is the fact that it will help to force your muscles to stimulate the joints while exerting power and strengthening your core.

In case, one particular arm pulls or pushes more as compared to the other, you will be able to observe it. Yet, there is no need to be concerned about dropping any weight on yourself whatsoever.

Conclusion:

As mentioned earlier, it is a fact that your increasing waistline might result in some specific health conditions including cardiac problems, diabetes, hypertension (click this link to read our article on the best supplements to lower blood pressure), and so on. Make sure to visit your medical practitioner at regular intervals and inquire him or her regarding how your health can be affected by your weight.

Put emphasis on the percentage of your body fat and stay physically active as well. Maintaining a healthy metabolism should also be your prime objective. Developing your muscles will be the most effective way to enhance your body fat percent.

Have adequate sleep and also maintain healthy habits during the day particularly when it comes to choosing your food. Above all, always remain positive and believe in yourself that you will be able to lose belly fat fast.

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The most practical benefit of doing pushups every day is that you will gain functional strength for your body. The muscles that the pushup works – your core, your triceps and biceps along with the deltoids – are often the most used body parts each day.

Functional activities such as lifting boxes, carrying objects or other activities become easier as you learn to activate all of the various muscle parts of your body. These muscles are strengthened because they are activated as a means of support for performing the actual physical act of a pushup. From an aesthetic perspective, someone with a strong upper body and abdomen can appear very fit.

There are very few exercises that activate and strengthen multiple muscle groups, and the pushup is definitely one of the best of them. Compound exercises, performed in ways such as 50 pushups a day, force your heart to work harder.

The heart must not only pump blood to fuel the arm and its movement downward but also pump blood into your abdomen’s muscles. The continuous pumping of the heart improves cardiovascular endurance and can have very tangible effects such as reducing body fat or improving heart health.

There is much discussion as to why the push up is more difficult to execute than a regular bench press motion. After all, one might argue that there is a similar movement going on between both motions.

The stretching of the back muscles and the tricep work together in a functional “stretch” of each muscle. When are you doing 50 pushups a day, you might feel a strange click or movement inside these muscles as you perform the exercise. While alarming at first, this is a beneficial move for your functional strength as it prevents injuries from occurring along with providing an aesthetic of strength.

What is the difference between doing pushups versus free weights?

In order to delineate the difference, one must first establish what a push up is. When you do 50 pushups a day, it is important that you obey proper form techniques in order for the movement to be successful.

Most people, when preparing to do pushups, will get on their knees and put their hands on the floor or some kind of surface to provide stability. The main goal of the pushup exercise is to create a flat, parallel movement to the ground which works each of the aforementioned muscles.

After placing your hands in front of you, ensure they are positioned shoulder-width apart and form a ninety-degree angle to the ground. While it is commonly disputed as to what exact position you must bend your arms, move them downwards while keeping your back in as straight a line as possible without your pelvis touching the ground.

After getting your arms to around 45 degrees, you can begin to withdraw from the position by “pushing yourself back up”. When you perform 50 pushups a day, it is important to check for form on each repetition.

This exercise as described has some very inherent limitations. The muscle groups that are worked are solely within the exercise, such as your arms – the triceps, the biceps, deltoids – and the abdomen. You cannot simultaneously engage lower body muscles such as calves, quadriceps or other groups that need to be worked on.

Free weights are superior to pushups in this sense because there are expansive compound exercises that allow you to work the entire body.

Furthermore, the exercise does not allow for you to carry more than your body weight. As you perform your 50 pushups a day, you are working against gravity in order to strengthen your corresponding muscles. Without free weights, the only resistance you will fight is your body weight.

This can sometimes prevent those with well-built strength from being able to continue to grow.

What should I expect after doing 50 pushups a day for a month?

When you perform 50 pushups a day for a month, you will have worked that muscle group for 30 days. If you have not done 50 pushups for a day in a long time, it is likely that you will see tremendous benefits. Consider the logic of such a statement – if you have not worked a muscle before, it is likely that the strange movement your body perceives will shock it into action.

In the first month, you might see extended weight loss around the deltoid, tricep and bicep region. Many obese and heavily stocked individuals often have fat that is concentrated in these areas, so it will improve your overall aesthetic and image of yourself.

Furthermore, you should be able to see at least some marked improvements in functional strength over this time.

When you do 50 pushups a day for a month, you will also be working a muscle that you have not worked before. The body does not typically respond well to being put into positions where this is the case. One might feel tremendous soreness in the upper body and abdomen area for some time in the first week.

After a few weeks, your body should be able to get used to the resistance or force being put onto these areas and eliminate the overstress that leads to soreness.
It is important to mention that repetitions may often bring about physical or mental fatigue.

At times, despite having run a good set of 50 pushups the day before, you might quickly grow tired of the exercise. In other cases, you might feel that you can run through the 50 pushups without a problem.

Solutions for these problems can include executing the proper form, but at a quicker tempo, or increasing resistance by loading free weights as you perform the exercise. If you are fatigued, consider shorter bursts of 5 sets of 10 pushups in order to meet your goal. The shorter bursts will help you focus on your exercises,

What should I expect after doing 50 pushups a day for a year?

You might encounter many of the same problems for a month when you do 50 pushups a day for a year. More often than not, the body will end up getting used to the repetitions and the corresponding force. One solution for doing 50 pushups a day for a year is to increase the volume that you do each day.

The only time that this should be your solution is if you are performing the exercise with the proper form and you do not feel physically fatigued or at risk of injury. Increasing tempo or resistance in the exercise can also go above and beyond the traditional route of doing 50 pushups a day for a year.

One might be intrigued by this option if they are bored or mentally fatigued, as it requires increased focus in order to prevent back damage. Often, many who perform 50 pushups a day will drop in form so changing up how you train each muscle group can be worthwhile.

The human body is notoriously slow. One can eat a lot of food and eventually gain the same amount of weight in a few days that they lost in a month. By doing 50 pushups a day for a year, you are encouraging your body to produce human growth hormone.

You are working with several muscle groups for the primary exercise as well as stability. When you engage a lot of muscle groups, you will release human growth hormones into the rest of your body. Muscle building can be particularly difficult for older men and women, as HGH production tends to decline as opposed to the high prevalence in young adults.

It is recommended that one continues to add other exercises to their regimen so as to not exclusively limit themselves to one muscle group. As a reminder, the muscle groups worked are mainly upper body and abdomen areas. By utilizing free weights, one might be able to execute other exercises for other muscle groups to promote holistic muscle growth over one year.

What To Do if You Can’t Do It Right Away?

If you cannot do pushups right away, it is okay. Many people are often heavily or morbidly obese, and it would be illogical to expect their arms to be able to hold up or stabilize a large amount of mass. Many experts recommend an abbreviated form of the pushup, where the person executing the exercise is on their hands and knees, rather than stabilizing their lower body with their feet.

Even doing 50 pushups a day with this exercise to begin will build up strength. The feet typically stabilize the abdomen, so there should be a renewed focus on ensuring that as you rock forward from your knees, you are contracting your abdomen or can feel the movement.

By simulating the upper part of the exercise, you are able to perform the exercise at a lower angle for increased ease. Many people, after building up strength by performing the exercise with this form, are able to graduate into regular form pushups as described in earlier sections.

It is important to take caution in how you perform these exercises because if you do not execute them with proper form or neglect to notice when an injury may occur, you can have significant issues with performing everyday activities.

The benefits of using Perfect Fitness Perfect Pushup Elite

Many people often think that performing 50 pushups a day can be boring. This is certainly the case for many avid gym participants, as they have done hundreds of repetitions each day. It is important to remember that as you execute these movements, the back and triceps are stabilizing your body.

Often, you might feel a chaotic movement or loss of balance for just a few seconds. The Perfect Fitness Perfect Pushup Elite (the link goes to Amazon.com where you can see the price – I’m not allowed to post the price here because it’s against Amazon policy) can be a great tool for your pushups because they force you to contract your muscles in order to maintain stability.

The grips allow you to stay steady and work on a better definition for the rest of the muscle groups that are worked in your body.

Much discussion has been given to ensuring that as you perform your 50 pushups a day, that you remember to maintain the proper form. Weight distribution is often a significant issue, as leaning towards one arm or the other can make your upper body appear disproportional.

This can often be spotted on those especially those who use free weights, as one side of the body is doing more of the lifting of the exercise than the other.

When doing 50 pushups a day with the Pushup Elite, the groups distribute the weight evenly to loosen the stress put on elbows and other joints that are often plagued by bad form when executing the pushup.

Beginners, intermediates and experts alike can utilize this product because it allows for different use. Beginners who cannot perform the regular form can maintain a higher angle of movement, better simulating the movement of a pushup.

Intermediates can use the Pushup Elite in order to stabilize their upper body or test their overall strength. Experts often utilize this product by elevating their feet and increasing the weight that is put on the grips.

Check out the Perfect Pushup Elite at Amazon.com

The 50 Pushups a Day Challenge

The pushup challenge is a simple, yet difficult exercise. Many people are often extremely busy and forget to do their pushups. Many blame this on mental fatigue, as they do not see immediate benefits or feel pain. It is important to push through all of these things and report your progress.

Take pictures of your body so that you have progress points and can physically see how your body is changing.

If you see abnormalities or one side of your body growing faster than the other, it might be worthwhile to change your form. By seeing yourself do 50 pushups a day, you can create consistency, better health, and a better life for yourself.