Revitalize Your Body with Lemon Water

One of the latest craze from health buffs nowadays is lemon water. It has become so big that you've probably seen a lot of fitness enthusiasts, even celebrities, go for this one to boost their energy during workouts. It's also said that it can help you lose weight so they've added lemons in their diets.

So what is lemon water? It's basically a mixture of water and juice from lemons. You may also add some ingredients for flavoring. Although there's a minimal research about its impact as a whole, it claims to help your mood and memory and increase immune system. It has the same benefits of regular water but more.

Other benefits include preventing kidney stones, increases potassium levels, helps the liver in filtering toxins, helps in digestion and relieves constipation, improves skin and detoxification, make you look younger, good source of vitamin C, boost metabolism, improves your performance during exercises and helps you get hydrated.

What are the side effects of Lemon Water?

Lemon water is safe to drink however the acid present in lemons can damage your tooth enamel and can make your teeth more prone to cavities according to studies. Use straw whenever possible in drinking it then rinse mouth afterwards to limit the risk. However it is highly recommended that you wait for an hour before brushing your teeth as brushing while your tooth enamel is in the state of acid softening can cause severe damage.

As for people with heartburn, effects may go either way. Some may experience relief while some gets aggravated result as the citric acid stimulates and triggers heartburn. If you're one of those who experience the latter, it's better to avoid drinking lemon water.

How to prepare Lemon Water?

Squeeze fresh lemons and simply mix the juice or slices of lemon (peel included) in cold or hot water. Always use fresh lemons. Do not use artificial ones from bottle that's usually available in supermarkets. For more added flavours, you may add other ingredients if desired.

Getting Back on Track After Long Hiatus

You've set your goals. Trained hard. Achieved some of it. And then you took a rest. Now the rest took longer than expected and suddenly it hit you. You became the old self who once wanted to go fit. Whatever the reason of that extended period of rest, which, may vary from each person - it may be because of injury, getting busy from work, a hectic schedule which squeezing time to work out was hard or giving birth, you just couldn't go back the way you wanted it. Yes, we all experience this at some point and getting back on track is easier said than done. So how can you cope up on this?

Here are some tips to take off that rustiness you've incurred during hiatus.

1. When going back, you need to consult a physician so you will know which one fits your system and not. Safety first before anything else. There might be some exercise programs that should be avoided.
2. Go train as a beginner again! You can't go back to where you left off thinking that, "Hey, I've done this before, I can do it again!" In most cases you won't be able to do it or if ever you did, it may lead to serious injury. Doing too much too soon can harm you than do good.
3. Take it slowly, be patient, it's not a race, you got to think of it as a lifestyle and not just targeting for a specific time only.
4. Don't impose high demand to yourself, it will only frustrate you if things don't go well in your timeframe which will cause loss of desire to workout.
5. Give your body time to re-adapt. Start on lighter weights and cardio training. Build yourself up gradually. Eventually your body will catch up what you've had before.
6. If you've just recovered from injury and wanted to return, choose one exercise that will painlessly affect your rehabilitating muscle.
7. Enjoy the time when you're working out.

Low Impact HIIT Cardio Workout

High intensity interval training (HIIT) is an effective way to bodyfat loss. However not all can do all the provided exercise programs as others may struggle because of nagging injuries or soreness on joints or simply don’t have yet the strength and endurance to withstand this powerful workout.

Circuit training is very challenging but there are lots of ways to modify so if you’re one of those people who are struggling with HIIT, here is an altered program that suits you. The workout program can be done at home also. Take additional time to rest, do fewer sets or reps if having a hard time.

Get Fit with This 18 Minute Medicine Ball Workout

Can't find more time working out because of busy working schedules and other chores? Here's a quick full body workout that you can surely do and definitely squeeze in to include to your tight schedule. No need to run to a gym for equipments, all you need is a medicine ball and you can do it right at your home. Beginners can do this program as well, simply use a lighter ball and taking breaks if needed. And if something bothers or feels like too much, you may set the ball down and just do the movements without the medicine ball. Amy of Bodyfit by Amy demonstrates how to execute the exercises properly and shows you the perfect form.

This medicine ball workout works on your arms, legs, chest, back, shoulders, core and cardio.

Reminder, you must first consult your doctor first before starting this program or any other exercise routine for safety. If you feel dizzy or beginning to feel to faint, stop immediately.

Burpees for Fat Loss

One of the hardest workout exercises out there is burpee or the squat thrust. It is a full body exercise popularized by U.S. Armed Services used for strengthening as well as an aerobic exercise. It’s an effective way if you want to shed off those bodyfats away and at the same time will get you stronger. As this exercise works on your arms, back, chest, core, glutes, legs and cardio, it’s a total body workout you may want to try.  Burpees help you enhance your endurance, strength, agility, balance, coordination…name it.

It’s probably the favorite high-intensity interval training (HIIT) among fitness enthusiasts because you can do it anytime, anywhere, and doesn’t use any equipment.

Here's how you do a burpee (for beginners).

The downside is that there’s really no fun way to do this type of exercise. You may do it slowly or as fast as possible, but nevertheless, it will make your muscles ache and catch your breath as if you sprinted for a mile.

Now as you start to get tired, you may want to skip certain steps for a short cut which could make it easier to do.

Some common mistakes to avoid are as follows:

Skipping steps. Yes you get tired of doing burpees on your nth reps and sets, but by skipping the steps, you’re only cheating yourself and will not give you good results. By doing the correct level of intensity, it ensures you to reap the benefits of this grueling exercise. If you start to struggle, take a rest then go for that rep again.

Doing more reps just for the sake of pulling it off. You may do a lot of reps but if you’re not doing the correct technique then your workout is not fully successful. Focus on doing the correct form and technique, don’t worry if you can only do small reps, as long as you’re able to nail the right way, it will give you great benefit at same time help you in your smooth progress.

Arching the back. The plank phase of this exercise is vital to ensure your abs get the right stimulation so you need to make sure that your shoulders are parallel to your wrists, keeping your core engaged and contracted, back straight and neutrally aligned with your glutes. When you arch your back, there’s a risk of getting injured.