Revitalise Your Health

This article has been contributed by Joanne Butler. Enjoy!

Losing weight or more specifically losing fat is one of the most confusing subjects. We are told everything from it only takes 2 minutes per workout, to you must stay in the fat burning zone for 30 plus minutes before it becomes effective for fat burning. Most of the marketing hype is just that-hype. Designed to get us to buy some product that is supposedly going to make it easy for us to get into shape.

The fact of the matter is that losing weight and staying in great shape actually takes hard work. All lean and fit people put in the time and effort. Ask them. It takes a continual commitment to yourself. It takes time and and it takes a proven method. So what is that method? I’m glad you asked.

I have successfully kept a really fit and healthy body for 6 years now. I train clients every day that have achieved weight loss through these methods and kept it off. Other benefits of this type of training include having heaps more energy and not getting sick as often.

High intensity training is what works. High intensity interval cardio training will get you super fit and in turn get you in the best shape of your life. And high intensity circuit style weight training is a time efficient way to shape and tone up all your muscles and burn heaps of fat at the same time.

Each high intensity workout lasts only 20 minutes. Of course you can go longer as you get fitter if you like. I find 30-40 minutes to be ideal for me and most of my clients. You also need to train often. 5-7 times per week is ideal, but even 4 times per week will get great results if you put in enough effort.

Every training session must begin with a warm up of about 5 minutes of easy activity such as walking, easy jogging or any other movement that gets your heart rate up. You must also end with a few minutes of easy activity to bring your heart rate back down. The main part of your workout should take at least 10 minutes if you are a beginner or haven’t worked out in a while and can take as long as 40 minutes depending on how fit you are and how much time you have. Following is an example of an interval cardio session:

1 minutes hard
30 seconds easy
REPEAT FOR TOTAL WORKOUT TIME

Sound too easy. Try it. The secret is that you must go as hard as you can for each hard minute. Keep moving on the easy 30 seconds also, maybe walking for instance. Do not just stand there!

So what do you actually do for those minutes? Any activity that gets you huffing and puffing. You could do the intervals on an exercise bike and pedal easily in between. You could do sprints outside or on a treadmill. You could use a skipping rope or do step ups on a box. You could run stairs or do an exercise such as burpees or kettlebell swings or snatches. The possibilities are endless.

I recommend doing this type of workout at least 3 times per week and up to 6 if you are fitter. You could also alter the length of each interval and rest period (always make sure that the rest does not go longer than the hard interval) to mix it up. You can even do different activities within the same training session. Keep you body guessing to maximise fat loss and to challenge your body to get fitter.

As you can see, you don’t need any special equipment to do these fat burning cardio sessions. Give it a try and within a few weeks you will be reaping the rewards. A strong and fit body can be yours if you put in the hard work.

My name is Joanne Butler and I operate a personal training business called FitterFaster in Australia. My website http://www.fitterfasteronline.com provides heaps of ideas and different workouts for free. The same types of workouts that I use for myself and my clients. You can also find information on eating a healthy diet and on strength training workouts that need minimal equipment. If you want to get fitter faster and in the process get a great looking body with heaps of energy to spare visit http://www.fitterfasteronline.com or email me at joanne@fitterfasteronline.com

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An age old remedy, herbal teas are used to soothe and relive pain and stress. Many teas are actually a tincture rather than a tea. A tincture is a thicker tea that is herb-dense and is infused instead of steeped.

The following list is a list of conditions and herbal tea remedies:

Anemia.

Drink a tincture made from boiled stinging nettle leaves.

Arthritis.

Drink a tincture of devil’s claw, juniper, birch, or celery seed (not the type on your spice rack).

Chemotherapy side effects.

Drink a tincture of Siberian ginseng root. It soothes the insides and relieves fatigue.

Colic in babies.

Add less than 10 drops of dill and fennel tincture to their bottle.

Constipation.

Drink a liter of rhubarb root per day.

Cough.

Drink a tea made from garlic bulbs and ribwort leaves.

Depression.

Drink a tincture daily made from the ground up oat plant and St. John’s wart flowers.

Fever.

Drink a hot tea made of lemon balm, yarrow, and ginger.

Gas.

Drink a tea made of caraway, fennel, ginger, and peppermint.

Flu symptoms.

Drink a tincture made of Echinacea, yarrow, and catnip.

Nature provides many cures and treatments for ailments of all kinds. Each region has its own native plants that are used in alternative medicine.

When buying herbs for medicinal purposes, it is suggested that you use herbs from an herbal shop. Herb strength varies depending on the way in which they are grown, so until you are familiar with growing techniques for medicinal herbs, purchasing from a professional is recommended.

The following list provides herbal cures to common ailments:

Acne and skin blemishes.
Wash your face and rub a clove of garlic that has been cut in half. Or, mix lavender with witch hazel at a 1:10 ratio. Tea tree oil can be substituted in place of the lavender.

Anxiety and stress.
Lavender pure essential oil soaked onto a cotton cloth, heated, and folded into a compress. Apply to head or neck.

Bruises and contusions.
Boil hyssop flowers and leaves into a tincture. Filter liquid, and soak a cotton compress. Apply to bruised area by applying pressure. The hyssop, heat and pressure combination will reduce the bruise.

Burns.
Minor burns can be treated with comfrey or aloe juice. Simply rub aloe juice into burned area. Comfrey can be crushed into a fine powder, mixed with equal parts of melted beeswax, and added to vegetable oil. Simmer over low heat for 20 minutes, and then strain mixture.

Warts.
Either use a cut piece of garlic, placed directly on the wart or, for a less odorous cure, try dandelion juice applied repeatedly throughout the day.

For herbal remedies for better health, click HERE

Tagged with: Anxiety & Stress • Bruises • Burns & Warts • Herbal Remedies For Acne & Skin Blemishes

Homeopathy is defined as an organic system of medicine that is based on three main ideas:

1.Like cures like

2.Minimal dosing

3.One time remedies

Alternative medicine traditionally has the least amount of “active” ingredient possible, with the concept of using one single remedy irregardless of how many symptoms are presenting. Homeopathy focuses on the least amount of treatments for better health.

There are several reasons why homeopathy is the second most popular form of medicine (after conventional medicine). The most popular reasons are:

It is extremely natural and safe
The results are permanent
It is effective
You can take most homeopathic medicines along with conventional medicine without side effects
It is non-addictive

Homeopathy is a precise science, which is why it sometimes takes longer to find exactly the right medicine for your illness. Alternative medicine spends time asking questions about symptoms and the root cause of the illness in an effort to make a clear diagnosis for the problem, and treat it effectively.

Ayurvedic Medicine is practiced in India, and focuses on natural healing. Practitioners believe that it is important for the body to be balanced, and all medicines are based on vegetables and minerals, with the active ingredients from plant alkaloids.

In Ayurvedic Medicine there is the belief that there are three elements in the body, called Kapha, Pitta, and Vata, that cause disease.

1.Kapha: This energy is caused by the lack of stabilizing the balance in the body. These are commonly called viruses by Westerners.

2.Pitta: This energy supports vision, temperature, hunger, thirst, intelligence, and happiness. When out of alignment, the outcomes include weight fluctuation, dehydration, depression, digestive issues, and apathy.

3.Vata: This energy keeps the overall balance between the earth, sky and world around us in check with ourselves. If it falls out of balance, sickness is invited in.

Disease is called Vyaadhi, and it is treated by focusing on the imbalance of elements.

North American Indian tribes have been practicing medicine for what some claim to be over 40,000 years. The medical information and techniques are handed down from generation to generation; ensure the longevity of the practice.

Some remedies are tribe-specific, although all tribal medicine is called Native American Medicine, collectively. Native Americans believe that man is one with nature and that the elements provide strength and can cure disease.

It is fascinating to note that at the same time that Native American medicine was being practiced in North America, Traditional Chinese Medicine was being practiced a half a world away. Ayurveda (medicine practiced in India), was also practiced at this time, and will be covered in a later blog post.

All of these traditional medical practices are based on the same fundamental belief that a person’s lifestyle and environment should be taken into consideration before choosing a treatment path. There are subtle differences between the practices that are specific to the region.

Native American medicine recognizes a purification procedure involving herbal smoke before and after treatment. Treatments include the use of sage and cedar smoke to repel negative energy. Negative energy is considered the pain released by someone who is ill, or the pain that the healer takes on themselves from their patients. Therapeutic touch is used. Singing, chanting, drums and rattles accompany the healing during the session.