Burn Fat With Cardio Kickboxing And Kettlebells

January 30, 2008 | 2 Comments

Photo by Ganessas
kickboxing.jpgCardio Kickboxing is by far the hardest form of exercise I have ever done.

But it is also the most rewarding.  Never have I felt stronger or more fit than I do now since cardio kickboxing has become a regular part of my daily routine.   Cardio kickboxing is non-contact kickboxing which combines boxing, martial arts, and aerobics while giving a total body workout.   It is a high intensity, high impact form of exercise that provides amazing health benefits to the body.

For instance,

  • It will burn anywhere from 350 to 500 calories per hour (or more).
  • It burns lots of fat and creates lots of muscle.
  • It reduces and relieves stress.
  • It will make you feel more empowered and confident.
  • It will teach you simple self-defense moves.
  • And if you keep your heart rate elevated by including a lot of jumping, bobbing, and weaving amongst your punches and kicks, your cardiovascular system will benefit too.

Cardio-kickboxing provides a full-body workout.  If you do the jabs, punches, and kicks with power, you’ll strengthen your upper body and will start to see nice muscle definition.  The kicks will strengthen your hamstrings and give you a nice shape in the legs.  And the knee strikes will help firm your abdominal muscles.

But I have a second addiction, and it’s called Kettlebells.

Kettlebells is another fitness phenomenon that is changing the shape of bodies.  Kettlebells (which look like a tea kettle without the spout) is a low-impact workout that can benefit overall health and wellness in just 20 to 30 minutes a day … and in only two or three days a week.  Made of cast iron, they are available in a variety of weights and you can find them at your local Target or Dick’s, and, of course, you can find them along with training DVDs on eBay! By lifting and extending the weights away from the body in slow movements, they, like cardio-kickboxing, offer a full-body workout.  With regular use, you’ll get improved strength, flexibility, balance, and muscle tone in half the time as other workouts.  And it burns lots of body fat!   Because this is a low-impact workout, even those with back problems can benefit.  Check out this video of a Kettlebell workout.


The best reasons for a good exercise program are that it can slow down or even reverse the aging process while making you healthier.  To really get healthy though, you need both cardio activities and weight training.  Cardio kickboxing and Kettlebells both provide cardio and strength training.  They both will give you a well-toned body and the look and feel of an athlete.

Let me know what exercise program works for you.

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Lybrel: Freedom From The Dreaded Curse?

January 29, 2008 | 2 Comments

Photo by Dusdin
lybrel.jpgSome women feel menstrual suppression liberates women.  Others feel it is a threat to womanhood.

In July 2007, Lybrel entered the market as the first oral contraceptive designed not only to prevent pregnancy, but also to eliminate periods.   And with this new pill, many women yelled, “freedom!”   

The use of oral contraception to prevent menstruation has been around for a long time.  But in the past it was kept quiet and only recommended to women who had unbearable menstrual pain or other health issues.  But according to Natural Resources Magazine, doctors are saying that they are receiving Lybrel inquiries from young women with reasons ranging from camping trips to being sexually active.  So, have we entered the era of no periods?

Some women see menstruation as a sign of good health and an important part of womanhood.  It is natural and it shouldn’t be messed with.  But others see it very differently.   In fact, it is quite the controversy and women seem to be divided on the issue.  We now have TV ads implying that periods are bad, disabling, and most importantly, unnecessary unless you are planning to have a baby.  We are told not to worry though as we can stop them and finally be freed from the dreaded curse, thanks to Lybrel.

Things every woman should know before taking Lybrel.

First, I’ll state the benefits Lybrel provides.  Lybrel prevents unwanted pregnancies and it stops menstruation which can be quite painful for some and simply quite bothersome for others.  Women can take Lybrel for the sake of convenience when vacations and honeymoons are being planned.  And I cannot leave out that taking contraceptive pills, even the conventional kind, decreases the risk of ovarian cancer by 40 percent. 

But it is just as important to know the risks as it is to know the benefits.  The risks which we know about are the ones that come with all birth control pills.  Mainly, estrogen levels in contraceptive pills can be four times higher than the levels during a regular menstrual cycle.  And research shows that as a result of these higher levels, women taking the pill double their risk for strokes and heart attacks.   The pill has also been linked to depression and cervical cancer. 

There could be long-term risks that we do not yet know about.

With continual-use pills, such as Lybrel, being on the rise, there is the possibility that we will start seeing an increase in risks.   Leading concerns include,

  1. Women taking these new pills may have significant bone loss compared to women not taking the pills. 
  2. There may be more estrogen than the breast tissue can handle.
  3. Some doctors feel that bleeding cleanses a woman’s body of harmful elements.  Menstrual suppression may prevent the cleansing of precancerous cells in the uterine lining.

Only time will tell, of course.  And whether research proves that menstrual suppression is safe or dangerous, either way, Lybrel is bound to teach us more about the health benefits of a menstrual cycle.  

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Queen Latifah Speaks Out On Diabetes and Losing Weight

January 22, 2008 | 1 Comment

Photo by Mel B.
diabetes.jpgQueen Latifah, now a diabetes spokesperson, has joined Jenny Craig and hopes to lose 5-10% of her body weight. 

Her reason for doing so:  “I am taking the first step to improving my health by announcing my goal to lose 5-10% of my body weight with Jenny Craig. My hope is to help educate people and motivate others to take their first step to have a positive impact on their health. By losing just 7% of your body weight, and increasing weekly activity, you can lower the risk of developing type II diabetes by 58%.”

The Back In Skinny Jeans blog asks its readers if they find it disappointing that Queen Latifah, who has always spoken about how proud she is of her full figure, is now promoting a weight loss program.   So what do you think, inspiring or disappointing?  Will people see this as a let down or will they be motivated to lose weight?  Here’s how I see it. 

Queen Latifah is a new spokesperson for a Type 2 diabetes campaign.  Her Grandmother had Type 2 diabetes whom Queen Latifah watched become sick and fragile from this disease.  According to Queen Latifah, her Grandmother “lost her leg, part of her sight, and eventually her life.”  Obviously, Latifah’s personal connection is a motivation for becoming a spokesperson.  And as a spokesperson for diabetes, she needs to state the risks of dying from diabetes among the overweight.  Yet, on the flip side, Queen Latifah is a full-sized woman and a gorgeous one at that.  She sets the perfect example that larger women can be beautiful, successful, and accepted.  She has publicly stated she is proud of her body, and she should be.  But being both beautiful and content with our size does not protect us from illnesses which we acquire due to the excess fat we are carrying.  Being content does not make us exempt from bad health and/or an early death.  Queen Latifah is in the spot light.  She is admired by many and looked up to.   She reminds us all that fuller women should be accepted for their size.  Yet, for her to be standing in front of her peers and claiming there is nothing wrong with excess weight can be quite dangerous. 

While I am grateful that Queen Latifah’s image tells young women to be happy no matter what their size, I think it is a good thing that she is now telling them to take control of their health.  She is not claiming that women need to be a size 6.  She has learned from a bad experience, and she wants to pass that knowledge on to others before it is too late for them.  I applaud her for that. 

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Posted by Julie | Filed Under Blog, Health, Weight Loss 

There’s A Health Carnival, And We Are There!

January 21, 2008 | 1 Comment

Photo by Sister72
health-carnival.jpgCarnivals are great, and this one you can attend and never leave home.

Our friends at FitBuff.com hold a weekly “Total Mind And Body Fitness Blog Carnival“ and this week they’ve included my article titled, “The Race To Good Health.”  Thanks, FitBuff!  It would be well worth a person’s time to check out this carnival as it includes health related articles on exercise, nutrition, grooming, money, sex, stress, work, and even brain power.  Looks like they’ve got us covered.

Please send me your e-business card.

I would love to meet the people who are reading my blog.  Over the weekend I’ve joined Entrecard and now you can send me an Internet business card.  Entrecard is a new service … only a couple months old …. but is quickly gaining popularity.  It is a great way to get to know other bloggers and I’ve already met quite a few.  It also provides you an opportunity to advertise on other blogs without spending a dime.  If you would like to send me a card, find the Entrecard in the column on the right and click on “drop yours.”  Or if you want to learn more about Entrecard before joining, Problogger covers it pretty well.

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Posted by Julie | Filed Under Blog, Health 

Topics Other Health Blogs Are Talking About

January 20, 2008 | 1 Comment

Photo by Bru
safe-drinking-water.jpgHere is a list of posts I found interesting over the week and wanted to share.  Hopefully, you’ll find them of interest too. 

Did you know that flouride is slightly more toxic than lead?

So one has to ask then, why is it in our toothpaste and our drinking water?  Dr. Wang over at Green Health Spot discusses how studies are now showing that flouride is more toxic than scientists orginally believed.  Read about her flouride concerns here. 

Do you have an addiction to junk food?

Wellness Junction provides us 5 Ways To Quit Eating Junk Food.  Many of us eat junk food because of “lack of time.”  But it quickly becomes a habit and it leads to obesity.  If it is a habit you need to change, perhaps this article can help.

Are you thinking about buying an abs machine?

Well, don’t!  At least not before reading the Diet Blog’s humerous take on it.  In its article, “Don’t Buy Another Ab Machine:  Read This First,” we find out what an ab machine will and will not do for us.  Don’t be fooled by the gorgeous models demonstrating the machines.

Everyone loves free stuff.

Fat Man Unleashed is providing to its readers a free “Blogger Proof Workout Ebook” … a simple workout for bloggers who don’t normally workout. 

Occasionally, I’ll be linking to great articles that I’ve run across.  If you know of any good health and wellness articles that you want to share with me, please post the links in the comments and I’ll check it out!

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Posted by Julie | Filed Under Blog, Health, Weight Loss 

The Race To Good Health

January 17, 2008 | 2 Comments

Photo by Jef Poskanzer
raceforhealth.jpg“The person who learns the power of sacrifice is the person who will accomplish great things.”

That quote can relate to many things, but for the purposes of this blog, I am using it in reference to good health.  With the new year still just beginning, many of us have just recently reset our health plans for the year.  That usually means … losing weight, eating healthier, exercising, fighting an illness, or all of the above.  But usually by the end of January we have already lost faith in reaching our goals and many of us will, quite honestly, give up.   Good health can add years to your life.  Don’t be one of the many who loses faith.  When you strive for better health, you are in a sense entering a race … not against others, but against life.  In most races, only one person wins the prize.  But in this race, we can all run together and we can all win.   In this post I will share with you some essentials to winning the race for good health. 

Prepare for the most important race.

  1. Discipline yourself.  One of the biggest reasons why we fail in reaching our goals is we lack discipline.  We have good intentions to achieve our goals.  We’ll even spend lots of money on the latest gadgets which we believe to be the answer to our problems.   But even the best equipment is worthless if we don’t have the discipline.   In order to achieve, we have to discipline ourselves to change our habits, change our planning, and change our efforts.  We must discipline ourselves or we will never cross the finish line.  We must get serious!
  2. Set goals.   Goals are a must, but before you set your goals in this race, be confident that you have the passion to finish.  Do not set goals until you have passion. 
  3. Have Aim.  When you run the race, don’t run without a reason.  State your reasons for the goals you set.  Then aim to finish the race.   Run in such a way as to get the prize.  Run to win. 
  4. Go into strict training.  Any athlete who competes in a race goes into strict training, and this race should be no different.  Everyone who pays the price of careful training can win.  Put yourself in training and expect to experience a little agony. 
  5. Hurdle the obstacles.  Obstacles hinder us and most of us are experts at letting excuses stop us in our tracks.  We don’t have enough time in our day or money in our pocket.  Jump over anything that will hinder you and keep going.  And eliminate bad attitudes which can also be an obstacle.  Bad attitudes limit you. 
  6. Maintain self control and sacrifice.  No one will be in control of their health without some sacrifice.   And no one will be successful without some sacrifice.  You have to take control of your health in order to win victory, and sometimes that’s not much fun.  Finish the race, even when you are hurting. 


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