Safety Tips

As ephedra is a stimulant and a thermogenic, it should NOT be used by people / in situations where these properties might be harmful. There are some common sense rules about using ephedra:

Do not use ephedra if you have any medical problems as use of a stimulant might overtax your system. Do not use ephedra if your activity / environment will prevent you from dissipating heat. Your body core temperature might exceed safe levels. And do not take more than manufacturer's recommended amount.

What this means is: If you have a heart condition, do not take ephedra. And if you plan to wear clothes to raise your body temperature, do not take ephedra. And do not think that playing baseball on a hot muggy day will counteract these two common sense conditions and make it okay to take ephedra.

Don't do "traditional" number of sets, or traditional number of exercises. Think outside of box! This will keep your mind and your body from getting bored or over-stressed by any given exercise program.

PROTEIN

Here is a newsflash: You need protein at every meal, regardless of your fitness goals. It doesn't matter if you are a bodybuilder or a glass blower - your body needs protein several times per day, every single day of your life.

Don't think that just because you aren't trying to put on muscle mass that you don't need to consume protein. Your body uses amino acids in protein to repair damage that happens naturally to your body everyday, even if you don't exercise. If you are involved in an intense exercise program, then your need for protein is amplified by a large percentage.

Do you need latest protein supplement? Maybe, maybe not. It depends on your present training program and nutritional intake. Decide if you are getting at least 20% of your calories from protein everyday, and as much as 40% for some competitive athletes. If not, then you may need to take a protein supplement, or at least increase amount of lean protein in your daily diet.

CARDIOVASCULAR TRAINING

Cardiovascular training is just good for burning off calories, right? Wrong! Cardio does burn a lot of calories, but let's break down word "cardiovascular".

Cardio: Having to do with cardiac muscle - your heart. Vascular: Having to do with your circulatory system - your veins and arteries.

When put together into term "cardiovascular", can you determine primary reason for doing cardio? To improve strength and efficiency of your heart and circulatory system!

Yes, improving strength and efficiency of your heart and circulatory system burns a lot of calories. Yes, cardiovascular training is part of any good health and fitness program.

However, if you don't do it right, you won't get much out of it. There are various formulas for determining intensity of your cardiovascular workouts, and they include Target Heart Rate Zone and "Talk Test".

Whichever method you choose, you must always put forth a true moderate to intense effort, and you must also practice different activities, and different amounts of time spent doing cardio. If you always do treadmill at 3.5 mph for exactly 30 minutes, your body will quickly adapt to that, and your progress will cease.

Change activity that you engage in, change intensity, and change amount of time you spend doing it. Keep your body guessing, and it will reward you by literally "throwing your fat into fire" to fuel workout!