How to Improve Running Speed

Developing the proper arm swing for running is more than just about the manner in which an athlete is trained to run. Sure, different athletes have different arm swing actions but making sure they ‘swing' their arms just right is a whole other ballgame. Coaches and trainers are responsible for teaching the best possible action that is guaranteed to get the best results. For long, it has been an arduous task for most trainers to get this right. But now, with Byrdband's products, they no longer have a problem achieving that. They have several other products on offer that are designed to help athletes better their performance and get the most out of their effort.

Another popular product is the Byrdband stride trainer. This product too, is made from poly-elastic webbing and is used to strengthen the hip flexor by helping an athlete improve stride frequency. It is attached to both legs about 3-4 inches above the knee and is designed to help athletes and runners achieve the optimal leg stride as well as stride frequency. Although stride length is determined by an athlete's height, this product helps increase stride frequency by maximizing leg turnover. No longer do taller athletes have the edge over those of average height. With Byrdband's products, they too, now have the tools at their disposal to compete with those who are naturally better gifted than them. To get the most out of our products, athletes need to ensure they use them in the proper manner as directed.

To know exactly how you need to use these products and to make the most of them, visitthem online at www.byrdband.com. They have several videos that are designed to guide you in the use of these products to help you achieve your maximum potential. At the end of the day, it is more than just running tips. The main aim behind developing products like stride trainer is to help you further enhance your capabilities. Precision and long-term benefits have always been the core foundation of all our products. We believe in helping professional athletes compete at the highest level and at the same time, we also work toward encouraging amateurs to develop the right training techniques. More than just developing the perfect arm swing for running and the best stride technique for training, Byrdband offers you a whole range of products to help you with your overall training.

How To Get Nice Muscle Tone And Build An Attractive Muscular Body

Most people know that they need to lift weight build muscles. However many just want to have nice muscle tone and an attractive but not too muscular body as they do not want big muscles. So they just lift light weights with high repetitions. Well, it is not going to work. To have nice muscle tone, you will have to build some muscles right? So you will have to lift heavy to force your muscles to grow. Once you are satisfied with the size of your muscles, you will then need to cut your body fats for your muscles to show up well and that means nice muscle tone.

You need to have a solid commitment and knowledge to get nice muscle tone and build an attractive muscular body. Here are some muscle building tips. Before you commence weight training, remember to warm up and as well as doing some stretching exercises.

•Train Muscle With Free Weights

Machines will have its uses, but for a start, concentrate on free weights. That means work almost exclusively with barbells and dumb bells. Free weights recruit many stabilizing muscles for balance and control. That means you will work a lot more muscle parts other than the intended ones. That will give rise to little bumps, striations and definitions all over your body instead of one huge lump of muscle on your intended muscle. Because of the extra stimulant created, your muscles grow faster too. Why else do you think all professional body builders almost exclusively use free weights?

•Train With Compound Exercises

Incorporate as many compound exercises as possible to your routines. Compound exercises are exercises that involve 2 or more joint movements. Because they utilize more joints, which means greater muscle mass are involved. Greater muscle mass means heavier weights. Heavier weights mean encouragement of greater muscle growth. More muscle growth means more tone to your muscles.

Some excellent compound exercises are the Squat, Deadlift, Chin ups, Dips, Bench press, Barbell Press, Lunges, Bent-Over Barbell Row...etc.

•Train Intensively But Do Not Over train

You must train intensively for your muscle to grow. Try to do more reps or add more weight than the previous session or else your muscles will think (actually muscles don't think, they adapt), "Ah... we've done that. Nothing new, so no need to grow bigger and stronger." That being the case, you will wreck your chances of attaining an attractive muscular body.

Because of this, it is important that every time you train hard, you give your body time to recover as it has suffered strains and actually sustained many small scarring. Contrary to popular belief, your muscles grow when you rest, especially when you sleep and not in the gym. So sleep at least 8 hours a day. Also, do not train everyday or work the same muscle group more than once or twice a week. If your training was vigorous enough, do no more than an hour per session.

Try not to do cardio work on the same day as your weight lifting work. In fact, during the muscle building phase, you should do less cardio work as aerobic exercises burn muscles. You can increase your cardio work at cutting body fat phase, so as to lose body fat in order for your muscle tone to show up nicely.

•Technique And Form

This is the most neglected fundamental of bodybuilding. Everywhere, everyday, you will see people using wrong forms and techniques. This not only compromises your growth, it will also make you susceptible to injuries... sometimes even permanently putting you out of the gym.

Wrong form occurs usually when people try to lift weights that are too heavy, whether out of vanity or ignorance. As a guide, always lift with strict focus on the muscle you intend to build for that exercise. Feel it contract and extend. Lift the weights deliberately and slowly. Never ever swing your weights up especially when doing bicep curls or the military press.

•To Build Muscles Fast You Must Perform Lower Body Exercises!

This is what most people don't realize. Your lower body makes up 60-70% of your musculature. If you don't train them, not only will you look spider-legged, your entire body will not grow as quickly and as large. Don't think that you can hide those skinny limbs in pants! Most people do not train their legs because squats, dead lifts and lunges can be very grueling exercises. But it is precisely because of such intensity that you will produce more growth hormones when you sleep and overall muscular development is stimulated. Your body shape will also be more balanced and therefore more attractive.

Do read up more to understand how your muscles work and then work on it so that in no time you will be a proud owner of a well tone attractive muscular body.

How to Lose 5 Pounds in 1 Week - Quick and Healthy?

Are you, just like I was, misled by the eye-catching headlines about diets that says – Lose X pounds in little or no time? Of course you are, but why? Does it make any sense to believe that you could lose 10 pounds of fat in a week when you know that it can't be done, at least not in a healthy way?

In this article I will show you that there actually are ways to lose weight fast but that it is not healthy for you. We could make a deal, well, it is you that have to make a deal with yourself. I will show you a method that guarantees a weight loss of at least 5 pounds per week in the healthiest way (not meaning that it is healthy but better than lots of other diets) and you will also learn why a superfast weight loss is dangerous to your health and the do's and don'ts in fast weight loss.

First, as promised, the fast weight loss diet: This diet is composed to speed up your metabolism and it must be followed exactly. You may not use any spices except salt and peppers. It is important to remember to drink a lot of water, preferably water that is isotonic, meaning that it has added minerals that make it chemically look like you body fluids. To give this diet a boost be sure to do some cardio exercising to speed up the fat burning process.

Here is the menu:

Day 1:
Breakfast: ½ grapefruit, 1 toast (no butter), 2 teaspoons of peanut-butter
Lunch: 5 fl oz of tuna-fish, 1 toast.
Dinner: 3 oz beef (lean), 10 fl oz green beans, 10 fl oz beetroot, 1 small apple, 10 fl oz vanilla ice-cream

Day 2:
Breakfast: 1 boiled egg, 1 toast, ½ banana
Lunch: 10 fl oz cottage cheese, 5 salty crackers
Dinner: 2 hot dogs, 10 fl oz broccoli, 5 fl oz carrots, 5 fl oz banana, 5 fl oz vanilla ice-cream

Day 3:
Breakfast: 1 boiled egg, 1 toast
Lunch: 5 slices of cheddar-cheese, 5 salty crackers, 1 small apple
Dinner: 10 fl oz tuna-fish(conserved in water), 10 fl oz beetroot, 10 fl oz cauliflower, 5 fl oz honey melon, 5 fl oz vanilla ice-cream.

Like mentioned before it is very important to follow this diet like it is written above, if it is altered in any way it may not work for you.

Now you will learn why this diet is not healthy. First of all it makes you lose weight faster than the body can burn fat. Even if you drink a lot, the weight loss will consist of 20% fat, 40% water and 40% lean muscle. So let's say that you lost 5 pounds, according to the percentage above you lost 1 pound of fat, 2 pounds of water weight and 2 pounds of lean muscle. Did you want to lose that much muscle? Probably not. All of the diets making you lose more than 1-2 pounds per week will burn your muscle mass for energy.

Now, why is that? The body saves the fat stored in your body for a rainy day (starvation period) and if you are on a diet and don't exercise and use your muscle to the fullest extent your body figures that the muscle is not necessary to save and it will start using it for energy.

The diet above could be executed once a week but it will not give you a long-lasting weight loss. To lose weight for good you have to compose your menu to have the right amount of protein, the right kinds of fat and some great carbs. Those three nutrients cover our total calorie intake. To be a successful dieter(meaning that the fat is burnt and not the muscle) you should reduce your calorie intake by 10-20% and increase your calorie consumption, and how do you do that? Well, you have to start exercising and do some weight-lifting.

Now you know how to lose weight fast (I guarantee that the menu above works) so stop looking for any more fast weight loss diets. You also know why a fast weight loss is only a temporary weight loss and most important, you know that there are no shortcuts to get rid of those extra pounds. It is really a really easy equation: (Calorie intake) – (Calorie burnt) = weight loss/gain. Simple? Yes! But it is not that easy to achieve because it requires some fundamental change of attitude to foods, exercise and body.

If you decides to go on the diet explained, do so as a life-saver for now, but stop procrastinating and start to lose weight the right way after this panic-fast weight loss.

This article is merely an introduction, but if you are still reading you have taken the first steps towards a healthier lifestyle.

Congratulations!