As a follow up to my previous post about mistakes people make when trying to lose weight, today’s article will focus a bit more specifically on diet mistakes people make when trying to lose weight. Mistakes are common when it comes to making an attempt to lose weight, so if you’re not seeing the results you’re after, here are just a few possible reasons as to why.
 

Skipping Meals

There’s been enough research done that shows that people who skip meals, especially breakfast skippers, will weight more than their counterparts who don’t skip a meal. It’s a common diet misconception to believe that skipping a meal will help save calories. While in the very short term that might be true, the truth of the matter is that people who skip meals, end up consuming more calories through out the course of the day.

Strive for three main meals a day along with at least two snacks in between meals. This will allow you to consume less calories per meal, but ensure that your body is not in starvation mode, allowing you to avoid indulging in extra calories. Make sure that you start your day with a healthy breakfast, which should contain protein, carbohydrates and healthy fat (something that you should strive for in all your meals). Try making yourself a spinach (or any other vegetable – mushrooms, peppers, etc.) egg white omelet with a sprinkle of low-fat cheese in a whole wheat wrap.

Rethink Your Drink

While calories are not hidden when it comes to drinks, the fact is many people don’t realize just how many calories they are consuming when they have their favorite beverage.  A great example is orange juice which is loaded with vitamin C, however drinking a huge 16-ounce cup a day with your breakfast will cause you to take in an additional 214 calories! Your medium café latte (16 ounces) from your local coffee shop can contribute an additional 270 calories.
It’s not hard to see how a few beverages a day can pack on a lot of calories quick. When trying to lose weight, trying sticking to water and unsweetened tea. When consuming a drink with milk, try switching out whole milk with at least 2% and be mindful of sugary drinks like soda and energy drinks as well as alcohol.

Check out this great article from Men’s Health for a few ideas on Diet Friendly Beverages as part of their segment of Drink This, Not That.

You’re Overeating Healthy Foods

Natural peanut butter, avocados and nuts are healthy to eat and should be a part of your weight loss diet as they are high in healthy fats and can be full of other nutrients and vitamins that our bodies need. However, it’s important to remember that just because these foods are healthy, doesn’t mean that they are devoid of calories. The key with these foods is to exercise moderation, especially with high-calorie healthy foods.

Eating Too Much Of A Good Thing

The holiday season has recently passed and for some it may mean that their clothes are feeling a bit too tight or that nothing seems to fit quite right anymore. I’m sure some of us have made a resolution of getting into shape… of getting lean and ripped. If you feel like it’s time to do something, that’s fantastic, however there’s nothing worse than putting hard work into a goal and not getting the results you’re looking for. It’s depressing and might sink you even further into bad habits that will only make you put on more weight and get you more out of shape.

The 2005 Journal of the American Medical Association reported that only 3% of dieters were successful at losing weight and keeping it off…

In other words 97% of people FAIL on diets!

I’ve decided to compile a list of some mistakes people tend to make when attempting to lose weight. Hopefully, by avoiding some of these mistakes, you’ll be able to achieve your goals of losing weight and getting into shape.

Following the Crowd

Following the herd when it comes to weight loss is probably one of the worst things you can do… Since 97% of diets fail why in the world
would you follow their advice?

Here’s what the standard diet includes:

* Obsessing over food and calorie counting
* Mindlessly pounding away on the treadmill for 45 minutes to an hour a day
* Starving yourself aka “going hungry”
* Working out on your own and depending on “will & discipline”
* Turning your whole life upside down and being completely overwhelming
* Basing the diet on theory and not how real people live

Check out several diet mistakes being made when trying to lose weight.

Focusing on the “Calories Burned” meter on treadmills and cardio machines

I know a bunch of people who like to focus on the amount of calories burned via the meter of their favorite cardio machine. Don’t get me wrong… calories count, it’s just you aren’t getting the entire story from your treadmills counter. When you look at any calorie counter on your cardio machine it’s counting total calories burned which means that it’s including your bodies basic metabolism with it.

For example, let’s say that after a good half hour on the treadmill your total calories burned reads 500 calories.

Pretty good, right?

Well sort of… the thing is, your body burned 250 of those calories just staying alive and would have burned that no matter what you
did…And the work you did on the treadmill accounted for the other 250 calories.

It’s a little depressing when you consider that 1 pound of fat equals 3500 calories, meaning a whole lot of running you need to do in order to burn just 1 pound.

Lucky for us I’m going to show you a much better way of doing aerobic exercise.

When you’re doing long, slow types of cardio, as soon as you stop running your body stops burning any extra calories…That’s why so many people
consistently run, but they’re bodies stay the same year after year. Instead of slaving away for a hour or so, you’ll want to increase your intensity by speeding up your performance and utilizing intervals. There’s a lesson here and it’s that you can go hard or you can go long but it’s nearly impossible to do both. So if you want to change your body in a hurry you’ve got to speed it up. Here’s what happens when you start using HIIT (High Intersity Interval Training). You not only burn more calories in a shorter amount of time, you get a huge added benefit that researchers are just now starting to understand. It’s called EPOC (Excess Post-exercise oxygen consumption), which is our secret to getting lean in a hurry.

You see, interval and weight training work so well because not only do you burn a ton of calories when you’re training, but as soon as you stop and the EPOC kicks in your metabolism will keep running on overdrive for up to 24 hours after you stopped training. According to some studies it’s
been shown to burn fat 900% more than standard long and slow cardio.

Honestly, if your workout isn’t smashing you into the ground and you’re trying to lose weight, then it’s time to start using the HIIT principal (check out the Tabata Protocol – the unbelievable four minute cardio workout).

Working Out Alone

We are social creatures and when we try to make a change completely on our own, we are making it hard for ourselves.

I think we can all agree that working out on your own just sucks. It’s just to easy to quit and cheat when you’re all by yourself. When you surround yourself with others who have already achieved success in creating a ripped lean body or with people who are beginning their journey like you, the effort to lose weight becomes much easier. We want to be like other people, and without trying to, our body makes changes to fit in.

So if you want to make a big change, make sure you surround yourself with the people you want to be like  – motivated people who are all working
towards similar goals. Look to family members, friends or join a fitness group within your community.

You’re goals suck!

Weight loss is about doing something exciting. It’s about changing your body so that you can feel more confident about yourself.  You’re making the most of your life. The biggest mistake smart people make is going for goals that are either too small or too big.

People are so afraid of failure and being let down again that they set their goals so embarrassingly low that it barely registers or otherwise they are so eager to lose weight that they set their goals to the point that accomplishment is out of reach only setting them up for disappointment.

Perhaps, instead of specifically on just weight, you should look at setting goals that revolve around who you are and what excites you. For example, if you enjoy running, look at being able to run a mile faster or to run a longer distance race. If you like playing sports, maybe you can focus on eating healthier foods to give you more energy. Tying these goals to your weight loss will allow you to shed more pounds and become healthier.

Set a cool goal, and work backwards on how you are going to achieve it. Even if you fall short, you’ll have some exciting results to show for it.

Guest post from Tricia McCaullen.

“Insanity” comes from the same team that’s brought you P90X, Turbo Jam, and a bunch of other videos that are designed to help people get fit, healthy and transform your body into a physical specimen so ripped that you may end up being dissected in a government lab.

So, what’s so special about this program? Let me give you a brief Insanity workout review. This workout program takes getting into shape to a whole new level. You’ll be put through 60 days of nightmarish total body conditioning exercises that will give you results! You’ll burn off thousands of calories within just a few workouts. With that type of burn, you better believe that each workout will be intense and difficult, but if you want impressive results, you’ll have to put yourself through the torture.

Here’s the thing – I’m a P90X grad, but honestly after the first day of Insanity you would think that I had just ran for my life so that I could avoid having my brains eaten by a horde of zombies. I was gasping for air, drenched in my own sweat, and about two seconds away from puking. This isn’t kids play.

Insanity calls itself “Max Interval Training” and for good reason. Instead of doing short intervals of HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) combined with moderate intensity exercise, you’ll be aiming to do maximum intensity training with short periods of rest. These videos will have you working at over 85% of your heart rates maximum capacity allowing you to burn more calories and faster increases in fitness level. This is like doing Cardio on crack. On top of getting your heart thumping, you’ll combine pushups, lunges, squats, plyometrics and more to get a nice, full body burn.

Shaun T, the mastermind behind Insanity is one serious dude. This isn’t the same guy from Hip Hop Abs. Insanity is a much more mature, well rounded program. Shaun will offer you some words of motivation and encouragement, enough to keep you pumped but be forewarned: There’s little idle time (better use it to get a nice sip of water) and no playful chatter. Shaun is on a mission – be prepared to drown in your own sweat! Seriously, you’ll even catch a person here or there dropping out in the video (which is somehow comforting when you feel like you’re about to collapse).

Now that I’ve given you a brief overview of the program, my own review of Insanity, I must say that I’ve definitely noticed a difference. My abdominal muscles are really popping out to the point that I could probably grate some cheese on them if you’d like. I’ve also noticed that my endurance and cardiovascular stamina has improved drastically. I now run about 5 miles a day without much trouble which is incredible for me since I was barely doing 2 miles before I started.

Insanity is definitely worth it. The wonderful thing about it is that you don’t need any equipment so if you travel a lot or don’t have any fitness equipment, then it’s not a problem. No need to go out and get equipment! No need to have dumbbells, treadmills or any other fitness equipment. You just need something to play the DVDs and your body! I do recommend that you get yourself a heart rate monitor though as you will exceed the safe zone easily, even if you go at your own pace as opposed to the video’s. This program isn’t intense… it’s insane!

But don’t take my word for it. Check out some of these Insanity Workout Reviews!

The official Insanity workout program comes with the following:     

• Insanity Fitness guide
• Nutrition guide
• Calendar
• Fit Test Tracker allowing you to track your results
• 10 DVDs
  • Dig Deeper & Fit Test
  • Plyometric Cardio Circuit
  • Cardio Power & Resistance
  • Cardio Recovery/Max Recovery
  • Pure Cardio/Cardio Abs
  • Cardio Abs
  • Core Cardio & Balance
  • Max Interval Circuit
  • Max Interval Plyo
  • Max Cardio Conditioning/Cardio Abs

If you want your clothes to feel looser, want to get into better cardiovascular shape, get healthy, or ripped then you just have to give Insanity a shot!

Getting kids to eat healthy, nutritious food can be a real challenge. If you remember back to your youth, your favorite foods were probably chocolate bars and ice cream. That’s because they taste good. Unfortunately, foods that are nutritious and good for you are sometimes considered to be relatively un-tasty, especially when compared to candy and pizza. However, there are ways to convince your kids that there’s nothing wrong with eating healthy foods. Following are a few tips on how to teach your kids about good nutrition.

Don’t’ Force Them

Most experts agree that forcing kids to clean their plate can cause more problems than they solve. That’s because no one really likes to be ordered around, even little kids. Instead of having a power struggle over what they should eat but don’t want to, try a little creative parenting. Don’t serve large portions of any particular thing at mealtime. As an alternative, dole out relatively small portions of everything you’ve cooked. Tell the kids they don’t have to eat everything in front of them, but they won’t be able to have seconds of anything until they eat everything on their plate. Tell them they can have all they want of whatever they want after they finish what was originally served to them. In that way you will get them to eat at least some ‘healthy’ food.

Set a Good Example

Some people say picky eaters are not born that way, but learn from watching the eating habits of others, especially family members. In order to set a good example for your children, you should try to make sure you serve healthy, nutritious food, and eat what you serve. If you don’t eat properly, how can you expect your kids to? Don’t expect this method to yield immediate results, especially if your children have already developed picky eating habits. However, if you continue to serve healthy meals and set a good example in how you eat your children should eventually follow suit.

Take Your Kids Shopping

When you do the weekly marketing, it might help them develop healthy eating habits if you take them with you. Although young children can be distracting, and easily distracted, in a supermarket, having them pick out their own food can be beneficial. When you’re in the fruits and vegetables section involve them in the selection process. Later, when the item is being served you can point out that this is ‘their’ green beans, or ‘their’ broccoli. Of course, this method will work better with younger children, so you should begin this process early in their lives if you hope to reap benefits from it.

Cook With Your Children

Along the same lines as taking your kids shopping to pick out their own food, you can involve them in the preparation process, as well. Cooking with your children will not only provide them with instruction in the proper way to prepare food, and teach them safe kitchen etiquette, but will also serve to create a bond between them and their food. It may sound silly on the surface, but this type of activity can actually improve a child’s confidence by doing it themselves and make them feel like the meal is theirs. In doing so they may more quickly develop a taste for nutritious foods.

Reading Labels

Another way to get children interested in eating nutritious food is to teach them to read food labels. This will not only help develop their reading skills, but will also teach them the importance of finding out what ingredients their food choices contain. You are their primary instructor because you’re with them from the moment they’re born. Your teaching methods, and what you teach them, will stay with your children for the rest of their lives. By teaching them the importance of reading food labels and telling them why certain foods are good for them, they will hopefully develop healthy eating habits that can be passed on to their own children.

Guest post from Bailey Harris. Bailey writes about insurance quotes for InsuranceQuotes.org.

The Tabata protocol is one of the most effective types of high intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts. It is an extremely intense cardio workout program that is quite short in duration, in fact it’s also known as the 4 minute workout. Don’t be fooled by the shortness of the routine – it produces remarkable results and has been used by various professional athletes to help with endurance!

Lose Belly Fat, Get Fit In Four Minutes

The Tabata workout was initially discovered by Dr. Izumi Tabata (hence the name) and a team of researchers from the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo.

Dr. Tabata, during his research, discovered that this short 4 minute workout interval training produced much better results than aerobic training. This included building as much muscular endurance as sixty minutes of cardio training at a moderate pace.

In fact, a study done on fit male P.E. majors from various varsity sports showed that those who made use of the Tabata protocol for five days a week for six weeks had a boost in aerobic fitness by 14% as compared to the another group who only increased their aerobic fitness by 10% from doing an aerobic workout on a bike at a moderate pace for 60 minutes. Additionally, there was a 28% improvement in “anaerobic capacity” which is a measure of how long one can exercise at top effort for the Tabata group as opposed to the other group who saw no improvement to anaerobic capactiy.

Use of this for a cardio workout can make for a very versatile program and assist with weight loss and losing belly fat, which is great for multiple reasons, including how to get abs (as discussed in an earlier article). The high intensity nature of the Tabata protocol allows one to burn more calories even after you have finished with the exercise. Using this type of exercise allows you to keep your metabolism at its peak and studies have also shown that oxygen consumption and fat oxidation increases quite a bit from doing HIIT, so there’s little doubt that you will experience the same benefits from use of the Tabata workout. Studies have also shown that there is a greater decrease in subcutaneous fat, which is also fantastic for getting abs!

The Tabata Workout

The full Tabata program is a four minutes workout, but beware as it will most likely feel like the longest for minutes of your life!

If you are going to try it I would recommend going easy initially. Don’t underestimate this program, otherwise you may be looking for someone to help you off the floor when you fall off the treadmill!

Tabata intervals follow this structure:

• Push hard for 20 seconds
• Rest for 10 seconds.
• Repeat this eight times.

The secret to making this cardio workout so effective is in the sprinting interval. You must go all out in those 20 seconds. There should be absolutely nothing left in the tank when you get to rest. After resting for 10 seconds, you’ll need to go all out yet again for 20 seconds. You’ll want to do this 8 times to get the full four minute workout.

This workout music is built with interval training in mind. It has prompts built in automatically so that you don’t need anything to keep time. It may assist you in your workout structure.  The other thing you could do is get an application for your iPhone or Android device that acts as a timer specifically for this workout routine. I would recommend doing one of these things so that you don’t have to waste any concentration on time intervals and can focus all your energy on the routine.

Choosing Exercises

The great thing about the Tabata protocol is that you don’t have to just use it as a cardio workout. It’s a great routine to use to put a large load on any large muscle group to really help with muscular growth. You can use it for exercises like the squat or deadlift. The reason that these exercises are so great for Tabata is that you will be targeting large muscle groups, including the large ones, which will allow for maximum impact and results.

What is nitric oxide?

Nitric oxide (NO) is a small highly diffusible gas, a radical one at that, that’s naturally found in the body and its function is to convey signal’s between cells to assist in regulating a diverse range of cellular and physiological process. Nitric oxide is responsible for blood flow (hemodilation), glucose uptake, power output, oxygen delivery, and muscle growth among other things.

The supplement that one would take is not actually nitric acid, but instead the leading active ingredient is arginine (or L-arginine), which is an amino acid that serves as a building block for the production of nitric oxide.

Nitric oxide has now been demonstrated to play a role in a variety of biological processes including neurotransmission, immune defense, the regulation of cell death and cell motility. NO was proclaimed the molecule of the year in 1992 by the journal Science. This proclamation is widely recognized as on of the top distinctions for a scientific breakthrough.

What does nitric oxide do?

A lot of bodybuilders tout nitric oxide and it has now become one of the more popular supplements to take due to the fact that increases blood flow to the muscles.  has now become an extremely popular bodybuilding supplement.

Taking nitric oxide supplements has been shown to increase blood flow to the muscles allowing for the maximum amount of nutrients to be delivered to the muscles when they’re under stress. This will allow for your body’s system to cleanse itself of various toxins such as ammonia and other metabolites allowing one to recover quicker between sets. This in turn might allow you to stimulate your muscles better for additional growth.

You may hear of many users of NO reporting an increased “pump” during training  with nitric oxide.

A study lead by Patrick Jacobs along with his colleagues from the National Strength and Condition Association showed that people who took a dosage of 1.5g of nitric oxide over a 28 day period were able to spring two to five percent quicker on a stationary bike. supplements and improved weightlifting.

Nitric oxide dosages and side effects:

As stated above, when taking a nitric oxide supplement, you’re really taking the amino acid arginine. Taking too much of the supplement can cause some of the following symptoms:

• Nausea
• Feelings of fatigue
  
• Diarrhea
• Nausea

To assess your tolerance, you should follow the directions carefully on whatever NO product you use. Typically, you will be recommended to use a small dosage for the first week or two so that you can assess the effects and compare them to the results. After, you can increase your dosage as recommended by the instructions of the specific NO product that you are taking. By following this method,  you’ll be able to find your optimal dosage of nitric oxide that will allow you to work out at peak performance while minimizing side effects.

Nitric oxide supplements:

You’ll want to target each of the three major flexors: the biceps brachii (long head and short head), brachialis and brachioradialis. By using different arm grips and positions as well as by switching up how you do the exercises (dumbbell, ez bar, etc), you’ll be able to maximize your results.

You’ll want to pick weights that allow you to achieve positive failure which basically means that you are unable to perform another rep of the exercise using good form with some assistance. Don’t be one of those people who give up before reaching failure as you’ll be undercutting your ability to make gains.

Remember, there are few things in life that are of value that don’t require effort. You’re going to have to put in the effort. The great thing is if you do put in the work and do the movements correctly, while others are just going through the motions, you’ll actually be making huge gains and will come out on top with massive pythons for arms.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at the exercises you should do for your biceps.

• Incline Dumbbell Curl
  4 sets of 6-8 reps
• Seated E-Z Bar Cable Preacher Curls
  3 sets of 8-12 reps
• Standing Dumbbell Hammer Curls
  4 sets of 6-8 reps
•  E-Z Bar Reverse Curls
  3 sets of 10-12 rep

Now, while well developed biceps look great, if you want to truly have huge arms that will surely impress, you’re going to need to work out your triceps as well. The triceps are what will really make your arms standout and complete that huge look.

As you can see, the triceps are actually comprised of three muscles, the long, medial and lateral heads, which help with straightening the arm, and are therefore used in pressing movements.

Now onto the exercises for your triceps.

• Tricep Pushdowns
  Set 1 – 12 to 15 reps
  Set 2 – 8 to 12 reps
  Set 3 – 5 to 8 reps
  Set 4 – 5 to 8 reps
• Dips
  3 sets until failure
• Skull Crushers
  4 sets of 10-12 rep

Avoid over training your biceps/triceps. These are a fairly small set of muscles, so make sure to give enough rest in between arm workouts. Also, nutrition is key to growth. You can work your muscles out as hard as you’d like with as heavy as weights as you can, but you won’t get any growth if you don’t get enough protein

The push up is a fantastic compound exercise that works out the entire body. Not only does it build your upper body strength, but if done properly it will increase your core strength as well. It utilizes multiple muscles such as your chest, triceps, shoulders, abdominal muscles, back and even your legs.

All too often I see people neglecting to do pushups in favor of the bench press, but I’m here to tell you there aren’t that many upper body exercises that can recruit as many muscle groups the way the push up does which is why it’s so important to incorporate them into your workout program.

Proper Push Up Position

To do a push up properly, you’ll want to get on the floor and position your hands just slightly wider than shoulder width, with your hands at your side and your elbows tucked at a 45 degree angle. Brace your core as if you are preparing to get punched in the abdomen, keeping your back straight, and getting your hips in line. Make sure your back isn’t arching or that your hips aren’t sagging. Your feet can be close together or slightly apart – just don’t allow them to be more than a foot apart. Now that you are in proper position, you’re able to start. As you bend your elbows, you should inhale and allow your chest and hips to touch the floor. As you come up, exhale and make sure that you don’t lock out your elbows; you should maintain a slight bend.

Now that you know how to do a proper push up, we can take a look at how to increase the amount of push ups you’re able to do. To start, we need to take a look at your baseline. Get a timer and see how many perfect form push ups you can do in 2 minutes. Divide your total by 3 and this is how many reps you should be doing per set. You should aim to do your push up routine 3 times a week, giving yourself a 1 day rest in between. Every week you should plan to add another 2 – 3 push ups per set. Every month you should do a new baseline assessment.

Once you’ve gotten to the point where you can do at least 20 proper push ups, you should start to incorporate push up variations to your routine to ensure that you keep stimulating your muscle groups. Below are a few examples of push up variations that are sure to keep you in high gear.

Spiderman Push Up

Start out by assuming the normal pushup position. Now, as you begin to lower your body toward the floor, lift your left foot off the floor, bring that same leg out to the side and try to touch your knees to your elbow. Reverse the movement and then push your body back to the start position. On your next repetition, you’ll want to touch your right knee to your right elbow. Alternate back and forth.

Stability Ball Push Up

This is a great variation of the push up that adds some core stability work due to the balance requirement. You’ll want to put your hands on the ball, directly under your shoulders making sure that your elbows are pointed toward your ankles. To create more stability and strength, try squeezing the ball in between your hands.

If you want to make this movement easier, you can do this in a kneeling position.

If you want to make this more challenging, then bring your feet together and lift one leg up as you do a push up, making sure to switch sides.

Rotational Push Up

Start in the standard push up position and go down as you would in a regular push up. On the way up, rotate your body so that you end up in plank position, with one arm on the ground and the other one pointing toward the ceiling. Rotate your body back toward the standard position. Repeat the movement switching toward the other side.

If you want to make this movement more challenging, try incorporating a dumbbell.

Check out Men’s Health for additional push-up variations.

Tough Mudder races are a type of endurance challenge race. The obstacle course was designed by British Special Forces and are typically 10 – 12 miles. During the course, you will have to go through a variety of obstacles that are meant to test endurance, stamina, mental and physical strength as well as camaraderie. Tough Mudder attracts anywhere from 15,000 – 20,000 participants and is labelled by the company as ‘probably the toughest event one the planet’.

Some of the obstacles that one might have to face when entering a Tough Mudder race include the following:

1. Ball Shrinker – traverse ropes stretched across a pond
2. Berlin Walls – climb over a series of 12 foot walls made of wooden planks
3. Boa Constrictor – crawl through a series of tunnels that may also lead you into frozen water
4. Braveheart Charge – participants run down the mountain… battle cry optional
5. Chain Gang – a hill approximately 30’ tall by which the participants are forced to create a human chain to ascend a steep muddy slope with a low sloped downgrade exit.
6. Chernobyl Jacuzzi – participants climb into and out of one of three lined dumpsters containing icy water and colored dye
7. Cliff Hanger – a rocky climb up the top of the mountain
8. Death March – steep climb up one of the ski slopes
9. Devil’s Beard – crawl through low cargo nets
10. Electroshock Therapy – run through live electric wires
11. Everest – run up a steep, slick ¼ pipe structure covered in oil
12. Fire Walker – Run through flaming bales of hay
13. Funky Monkey – swing across monkey bars over cold water
14. Greased Lightning – slide down a steep hill into the pond and swim back out
15. Hay Bale Pyramid - climb over bales of hay
16. Hold Your Wood – like a lumberjack, you’ll need to pick up some wood and run with the heavy logs
17. Jocks on the Rocks – hop, skip or jump into a pit of ice and mud
18. Killa Gorilla – run up and down a steep hill ten times
19. Kiss o’Mud – participants crawl on their bellies through mud under low wire
20. Log Jammin’ - Make your way over and under a series of logs
21. Monster Chase – participants run after a monster truck for each start wave
22. Mud Mile – Try making your way through a maze of trenches as you go through some thick mud
23. Nature’s Pocket – descend into 25′ of underground tunnels
24. School of Tough Knocks – climb up and over an old school bus with ropes stretched across it
25. Smoke Chute – Climb 15′ to a 5′ free fall into a 1/4 pipe slide.
26. Swamp Stomp – run through deep mud
27. Sweaty Yeti – scramble through snow
28. Texas Smokehouse – run through a wooden structure filled with smoke and mud
29. The Gauntlet – go up a steep ski slope while being sprayed by high-pressure hoses
30. Tired Yet – run through tires some of which may be filled with mud for extra squishiness
31. Twinkle Toes – walk across a narrow board over a river or pond
32. Underwater Tunnels – make your way underneath barrels held on the surface of the freezing cold water
33. Walk the Plank – jump off planks into what will most likely be a very cold pond… oh and hope you’re not afraid of heights as the jump is from 15′

Tough Mudder was the first site to receive an A+ review from Travlete,  whose tagline is  ‘for endurance athletes, by endurance athletes’. You can read their latest Tough Mudder review that occurred in NJ on 2011.

Below are the current dates for 2012 that Tough Mudder will be taking place in the U.S., however you should check out the Tough Mudder events section to get the latest updates as well as to learn of other locations that aren’t listed below.

Check out this video from Tough Mudder in Englishtown, NJ in 2011.

Most men want to increase muscle mass in their arms to make them stronger. On the other hand, women also want to tone their arms to give them more confidence. Flabby arms are after all not that nice to look at, right? Aside from the visual appeal of having sculpted arms, it’s important to have strong arms as you use these muscles for many daily activities such as lifting objects like the groceries out of your car or picking up your child as well as pulling/pushing like when you rake the leaves or shovel the snow.

You should also keep in mind when following this program to focus equally on both the biceps and the triceps. Often, people like to focus on the show muscles, which in this case would be the biceps. The problem with this is that you will create an imbalance; on the lowest level, this will mean less than flattering arms as the triceps help with making the entire arm, including your biceps look bigger. On a more extreme level, an imbalance can lead to physical injury. This is why it’s important that you dedicate yourself equally to both muscle groups.

So if you want to build some lean muscle that will allow you to have sculpted arms, here are some tips for beginners that may help you in toning your biceps/triceps:

1.    Engage in workout program. The first thing you have to do is to decide what workout program will work best for you. Choose a weight program that will enable you to finish between 8-12 repetitions. Remember that you need to perform 2-3 sets of exercise before proceeding to the next level. Make sure that you also take a break to relax your muscles between workouts. You can do this in 24-48 hours.

2.    Work your biceps with standing bicep curls. One exercise to tone the biceps is the standing bicep curls with dumbbells. First, stand with your feet at shoulder’s width apart and knees slightly bent. You can also opt to sit upright. Then grasp the dumbbells with an underhand grip with your palms facing forward and your arms hanging down at your side. Next, flex your elbows and curl the dumbbells upward until it is level with your shoulder. Remember to keep your elbows close to the sides all throughout the movement and make sure that they don’t move forward during the duration of the exercise. You can do this exercise with one arm.

3.    Try some hammer curls. Another good exercise for toning the biceps is hammer curls. First, stand with your feet at shoulder’s width apart in upright position or with knees slightly bent. Next, grasp the dumbbells with your palms facing each other and your arms on your sides. Flex the elbows and then curl the dumbbells at shoulder level. Keep your head and back straight in a neutral position while doing this exercise. Make sure that you tightly squeeze your shoulder blades together and only your elbow joint is allowed to move.

4.    Tone your triceps with lying tricep extensions. You can also tone your triceps with this exercise. First, sit in upright position on a flat stool or bench. Rest the dumbbells on your thighs. Lie on your back and bring the dumbbells close to your chest. Make sure that you press them upwards until they are positioned directly over the shoulders with palms facing inward. Bend elbows up to 90 degrees by lowering the dumbbells to your forehead. Remember not to let your arms move from the shoulder to your elbow.

5.    Do some tricep kickbacks. First, place your right knee and left hand on a flat stool or surface and keep your back flat. Grasp the dumbbell and raise your right arm to make them parallel to the floor (upper arm). Your lower arm should be hanging straight down with palms facing inward. Keep your upper arm parallel to the floor and then raise the dumbbell straight back until your arm is almost straight. Lower the dumbbell to starting position and keep your upper arm parallel to the floor. Make sure that the movement is done with your elbow, not your shoulder.

As you can see, there are some great workouts to consider if you’re looking to tighten your arms!

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