fitness benefits of cycling

High carbs, low carbs, moderate carbs – depending on who you talk to, you will likely hear one of these recommendations being touted as the optimal approach to maximum fat loss. So what's the truth? The truth of the matter is that there is really no one best way. Each of the above methods has been used by countless people – from bodybuilding and fitness competitors all the way to your every day gym rat – and used successfully at that. In actuality, how many carbs you are eating is not the key determinant of your fat loss progress; calories are. More on that later though. The key to successful fat loss is paying attention to your body, following a plan designed for your body and making the necessary adjustments to your program as your body changes. With that said, a nutritional strategy that includes both carbohydrate and calorie cycling in a structured plan built around your training program could be just what you're looking for. Let's take a closer look at this carbohydrate issue first.

Truth be told, there are benefits to having a fair amount of carbs in your diet and there are benefits to keeping them low. So why not use both strategies? Said in a simpler way, why not cycle your carb intake, and subsequently your caloric intake? By cycling your carb intake you get the best of both worlds. Assuming you keep your protein and fat intakes relatively constant, and only manipulate your carb intake, you are automatically cycling calories as well. The first benefit to doing so is that it keeps your body from adapting to what you are doing. Your body will always try to adapt to what you're doing and the further you move away from your natural set point, the harder your body is going to try to pull you right back. This is just in part related to the regulatory hormone, leptin.

Leptin levels are related to things like insulin, your caloric intake and your current level of body fat. Think of it as one of the big "fat-loss decision makers". The leaner you are the lower your circulating levels of leptin are going to be. On the flip side, under normal conditions, leptin is plentiful. However, while on sub-maintenance calories, and particularly on low-carb diets where circulating insulin levels are low, leptin levels drop and they can drop quickly. Decreased leptin levels cause a cascade of other regulatory changes, namely a decrease in thyroid output and metabolic rate, as well as an increase in catabolic hormone activity and appetite. In an attempt to become more efficient, your body will try to adapt to make your newly lowered caloric intake its new maintenance intake; that is, it will make the necessary changes needed to do the same amount of work on less energy. Unfortunately, this usually means having to continuously lower calories to maintain fat-loss progress, which inevitably makes it very hard to hold onto all your hard-earned muscle. None of this sounds too good does it? There has to be a better way, and there is. Planned and structured days of high calories and high carbohydrates may help with this.

As previously mentioned, there are benefits to both low-carb intakes and to high-carb intakes. When carb intake is drastically reduced you create a temporarily greater caloric deficit. In addition, low-carb intakes result in decreased levels of circulating insulin, increased levels of the fat-burning catecholamines and therefore a much heightened rate of fat oxidation. Quite simply, when insulin levels are low, you create an environment in which fat is more likely to be used for energy. Low muscle glycogen, as a result of decreased carbohydrate intake, obviously results in depleted muscles, but there are benefits to this as well. Low muscle glycogen tends to promote a higher rate of free fatty acid burning. Result? More fat loss.

On the flip side however, most people do not enjoy eating few carbs for very long. While there are clearly benefits to doing so, there are other things that need to be considered. Chronic low-carb intake can actually impair insulin sensitivity and promote insulin resistance. As already noted, low-carb intakes result in overly flat, depleted muscles and gym performance typically suffers. Throw in a day of high carbs and your muscles fill out, you find yourself more vascular, your workouts are great, and you look and feel much better. There is also research to support the fact that these higher-carb/calorie days may stimulate leptin production, which as we already noted is an important player in the fat-loss game. Carbohydrates are also very protein sparing – meaning they prevent protein from being oxidized as fuel – which is an important consideration when muscle retention is a primary focus.

There are psychological factors to consider as well. How you feel on a diet is arguably just as important to your progress as any other variable. There are not too many people that enjoy looking flat and depleted all the time. And lets not forget one of the reasons most people can appreciate – carbohydrates simply taste good.

So to summarize, we want some days where carbohydrate intake and calories are higher and some days where carbohydrate intake and calories are lower. The simplest way to set this is to just cycle your carbohydrates and calories according to your weekly training schedule. For example, assuming four workouts per week, you might have your high days on your two big workouts, medium days on your two easier workouts, and low days on your off days.

PRACTICAL STEPS There is no one best way to cycle carbs or calories. In fact, there are many, many different permutations that can be used successfully. Here is just one example that you could use as a template. Feel free to tweak it to suit your needs if necessary.

First off is caloric intake. Determine all the macronutrient totals (protein, carbs, fat, and calories) for the medium day and then just let the carbohydrate intake change the calories for the high and low days. So, assume the medium day is a standard dieting day. As an aside, but a valuable note to keep in mind, there are many different calorie equations you can use – however be aware that they all have the potential to be off by as much as 20%. So for the sake of simplicity you could just assume maintenance to be approximately 15x total bodyweight and subtract 20-25% to create a healthy caloric deficit. Remember, if you are not progressing based on your caloric intake, simply adjust it up or down until progress resumes. Next up is protein. I am sure we are all in agreement that we need to eat sufficient amounts of protein when trying to lose fat and maintain muscle, so set it anywhere from 1.0-1.5g/lb of bodyweight and split it up evenly throughout the day. You are going to have three carbohydrate intakes – one for high days, one for medium days, and one for low days. Carbohydrate intake for the medium days is going to be set at 1.0g/lb of bodyweight. So now we know our calories, our protein and our carbs. All that remains is to figure out how much fat we're to eat. In this case, fat simply serves as a caloric ballast. Simply make up the rest of your calories from fat. Your protein and fat intake from these days will stay constant throughout all three days. Carb intake for your high days should be set at 2.0g/lb of bodyweight and finally for your low days it is going to be minimal as you're only eating fibrous vegetables; no starch type carbs at all.

Remember the truth of the matter is that there is no one best method for fat loss. Carbohydrate and calorie cycling is just one logical and effective way of approaching it. Many who opt for this kind of approach find it very easy to follow as you get a few days a week where you get to eat some fun carbs, and like I said, who doesn't like eating carbs?

Ideas To Improve Your Eyesight Health Naturally

The reason that many people work out and alter their diets is because they feel they can improve their bodies by dropping pounds and building muscle. It is accepted that the health advantages of following a fitness program and changing our lifestyles can help to reverse certain conditions and slow down the signs of aging. However, there are some problems that are not looked at in the same way and one of those areas is our eyesight. If you suffer from bad eyesight and need contacts or glasses, it may be that you feel that there is nothing you can do about this and decide to live with your vision as it is. In this article we'll examine a number of natural ways that may help to improve your vision.
If you want to start to help yourself to better sight, the need to go to an optician is still the place to start since they are trained to spot any underlying eye health problems that may require expert help. Nonetheless, if your condition is only a matter of needing glasses or contact lenses, then you can look at ways to try and boost your sight before your next eye test. The first habit to develop is to identify times when you can give your eyes a rest from your eyeglasses so that you aren't always depending on them. The natural state for your eyes is to be functioning on their own, so if you are at home without needing your eyeglasses or contacts, take the opportunity to take them off for a short time.
The reason we work out our bodies is to grow muscles and make them stronger. In the same way, you can give your eyes exercise by keeping them moving in various ways. If you look at some objects, instead of staring at them you can move your eyes around the different lines and angles and begin to work out your eye muscles. It's something you can do at various times of the day and you can try it with various shapes and forms. There are several activities in the modern world that put a strain on our sight such as computer screens and television and so you have to make up for this by making certain you take care of the fitness of your eyes.
If you find out how to exercise your eyes, you should learn how to keep them relaxed too. There is, for instance, a method known as palming which calls for cupping your hands over your closed eyes to allow them a period of relaxed darkness. If you do this for about fifteen minutes you may well see that objects do appear a little clearer later. An alternative approach to your health with modifications to your diet should aid you in getting the nutrients you need, many of which can be good for your eyes.
If you use certain exercises and relaxation techniques for you eyes as well as improving your overall health, you may find that your sight can improve naturally.
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Kathy Jenkins writes about Eyesight along with <a href="http://bgm.me/r/590948">http://bgm.me/r/590948</a> To know more about <a href="http://estebanperez12.insanejournal.com/710.html">http://estebanperez12.insanejournal.com/710.html</a> click here.

Toning Your Arms the Healthy Way

So you've made the decision to start toning your arms. You're buying exercise DVDs, comparing hand weights and deciding whether or not to splurge on stylish sportswear online, but do you know what it truly means to get in shape? Do you understand the physiology of fitness when it comes to resistance exercises and weight training?
 Don't fret. Whether you're an eager beginner or just a fitness buff looking for new tricks, here are four tips that should be applied to all arm-toning endeavours.
 Start Small
 Many women jump into new exercise regimes with too much enthusiasm and too little planning. It's okay to be excited, but it's equally important to take baby steps, especially if you've been out of shape for awhile. Start with light weights and easy reps. Learn to recognize the difference between a satisfied burn and genuine pain. Make sure to stretch before and after exercise of any kind.
 Get the Right Gear
 Not all fitness equipment is created equal. For one thing, you'll need quality women's sportswear to ensure freedom of movement during exercise. You should also look into comfortable, easy-to-grip weights that are appropriate for both your size and your fitness goals. What are you trying to accomplish with your toning exercises? Are you trying to get stronger for work or more flexible for yoga? Should you buy dumbbells or fitness ropes? Both?
 Add Weight, Not Repetition
 A little-known fitness fact is that exercise loses its effectiveness over time. As your body becomes used to a routine, you expend less energy to reach your goals, burning fewer calories and building less muscle.
 The trick to avoiding this "slump" is to keep challenging yourself and changing your routine, ideally by increasing the poundage on your weights. Repetition itself is only useful for building your strength and gradually increasing your tolerance for heavier burdens. It won't increase your tone, only your endurance. To actually see a difference in your arms, increase the size and heft of your gear, not the number of repetitions you complete with them.
 Increase Overall Fitness
 All the toning in the world isn't going to make a difference if your overall body weight is obscuring the results of your hard work. Muscle lies under fat, so you can actually have the world's strongest arms under a layer of flab!
 A good routine will combine fat-burning cardio with an equal amount of resistance training to build muscle. Work up a sweat, burn some calories, then focus on your arms. The goal should be strength and weight loss in equal measure.
 Follow these tips and you're sure to have sleek, toned arms in no time. Good luck!
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Aubrey Reeves is a freelance blogger who specializes on green and healthy living. Stay tuned for her healthy natural tips and guides about Women's Activewear by visiting <a href="http://www.lornajane.com/">http://www.lornajane.com/</,a> .