4 Helpful Tips To Get Six Pack Abs

I want to provide you with 4 helpful tips that have helped me from personal experience with my own Six Pack Abs Program. This isn't anything you can research, but this is applicable stuff you can start using right now to start increasing your success.

There's no science behind this stuff or proven facts, but this is just what I've noticed with myself that works really well, and I want to share it with you to help you achieve more success.

Yes, losing fat and getting a toned stomach is mainly scientific facts on how your body works and proper nutrition, but a lot of it has to do with personal experience and making small applicable changes that work wonders.

Don't Skip Workout Days

This is pretty obvious, but you have no idea how many people really do this (including myself).

Yes, I'm even guilty of skipping workout days, and though it's a terrible habit to develop, I want to show you that I'm nowhere near perfect and I struggle with the same kinds of things you do.

Here are a few reasons why I skip workouts:

1. I'm lazy and get sucked into my t.v. or computer screen

2. I don't have the motivation to get off the couch even when I'm doing nothing

3. I psyche myself out to get out of working out and say "It's only one day"

4. I go to sleep early and tell myself I'll workout double harder the next day

5. Other "fun" plans come up and I cancel my workout for that day

Now these are all terrible reasons, but from studying myself I've learned that these really are the main reasons why I skip any workout. Though there are many reasons to skip workouts, you also have to remember that there are many other reasons to not skip workouts.

Here are some reasons not to skip workouts:

1. It's hard to get back into the rotation of working out and you lose incentive to do so

2. Once you skip one day, it leads to many other days of losing results

3. You lose all of the results you gained from your consistent workout days

4. It's harder to catch up on the results you lost and you start over from "Square One"

5. It ruins your flow of working out and temptation to skip becomes much stronger

So, my one tip to you is to not skip workout days no matter what your reason may be. Stay strong and committed to your workouts and I promise you will obtain much better results with six pack abs much faster.

One thing to remember is that your stomach is the hardest thing to develop, but the easiest thing to lose results with.

This is why commitment to your workouts is much more crucial to getting six pack abs.

Study Yourself And Learn What Works Best For You

If there's one thing that many people forget to do, it's to study themselves to see what works best for them.

They follow all of these awesome Fitness Programs and they have all of the "head" knowledge, but no applicable knowledge.

Scientific information and awesome workouts are worthless if you don't know what works best for you.

I know for me personally, my chest is the hardest muscle group to develop and get stronger so I have to double-up my chest workouts to balance it out with my other muscles.

Now my muscle group that's easiest to tone out just happens to be my abdominals, but just because they're easy to develop, doesn't mean I don't have to work super hard to keep the strength up.

Strength and Tone are two completely different things and I recently discovered that when I realized my "six pack abs" were no stronger than the average guy's stomach muscles.

This is why it's crucial to study yourself because you could be missing out on getting awesome results.

When you study what works best for you, you may just find that you don't have to workout a certain muscle group as long as you usually do, or you may realize that some workouts really don't do much for you because you're just too strong for those exercises.

Whatever the case may be, it's vital that you study yourself, learn what works best for you, and start getting the most out of your workouts.

I'm not saying diagram the exact motion that you perform every single exercise with and mark it down to the exact molecule at which your muscle grow.

I'm just saying learn how to increase your workouts for your personal needs because everyone is different and will get different results from different workouts.

No one knows YOU better than YOU so you can follow the best workout program in the world but if you haven't the slightest clue as to how you can optimize that program for your personal needs, then you may as well not even waste your time with that program.

Learn yourself better and get the perfect, toned stomach you deserve.

Be Passionate About Getting Success

Passion is what drives success.

The main equation to success is Passion + Hard Work = Success and it always has been this way.

No one goes through life succeeding with what they love unless they have a true passion for it. This is how you ought to be if you want to get the best results out of your fitness program.

Not only do you need the hard work, but you need to have the passion to succeed and obtain the results you want.

I wish I could say that you don't need to love what you do, but that's not the case.

If you want to get toned six pack abs, then you have to truly love the thought of getting to that point one day.

When I say "Love" I mean you will do anything and everything you can (at a safe amount) to get what it is you want and have fun on your journey towards that targeted goal.

Not only is passion key to that specific goal, but it plays a major role in your journey up to that specific goal. Think about it like this.

If your goal was to climb Mt. Everest in a certain amount of time, you need two things:

1. The passion for when you reach that goal so you sincerely love achieving that goal

2. The passion for the journey up to that goal, meaning you love every minute you spend climbing towards that goal

Now I'm not saying that you'll love your workouts everyday, but I am saying that you have to love the fact that you're actually working towards six pack abs, and then once you get to that goal, you have to have that passion to love achieving that goal.

Having a passionate desire to achieve success and a true passion for what you do to achieve success, is your Ultimate Tool to obtaining Ultimate Results.

Have Fun With Your Workouts

I don't know anyone that starts off as a Beginner To Working Out that absolutely loves their workouts and has the best time doing it.

It's just that no one really does that when they first start out, or even a few months into it.

Some people even despise working out after 5 years, but they do it in order to attain that perfect, strong body. Now there's nothing wrong with these kinds of people, but if you really want to get awesome results in less amount of time, then you need to somehow speed up your workouts and enjoy them.

How can you do this?

By having fun and making each exercise enjoyable. I don't care how you do this, just enjoy your workouts and make them fun so you actually look forward to working out and working toward toned six pack abs.

Yes, working out towards a specific goal can be hard, but no one said it doesn't have to be fun and enjoyable.

Here Are Some Ways I Make My Workouts Fun

1. Listen to music that booms through my garage so I can't even think straight

2. ALWAYS workout with my workout buddy to make it ten times more fun

3. When we take turns finishing sets one of us flies around the garage "break dancing" more or less to try and make the other guy laugh

4. I goof off during workouts but never to the point that it takes away from my results

5. Turn workouts into dance-offs as we're performing exercises

6. We compete to see who is stronger or who can do more reps with each exercise

So these are just some examples of how I personally make my workouts fun, but there are a billion other different ways you can do this.

This is just to give you an idea of how workouts don't have to be boring and lame. They can actually be enjoyable and you can actually take pleasure in getting a stronger, more toned body.

The reason we want to enjoy workouts is because when they're boring and lame, you have less incentive to workout and you want to quit halfway.

Whereas when you have fun with your workouts, it's the complete opposite and the moment you're done working out..it's a sad moment because you want to keep going.

Make use of these 4 tips to increase your ability to obtain six pack abs and decrease the time it takes to really get them permanently.

I Am Woman, Hear Me Set Off The Airport Security Metal Detector

As I write this I'm sitting in Dulles International Airport waiting for a flight that departs so early it should be illegal. At least it's a cheap ticket. And even though I've only had three hours of sleep I was amused when the security guard surprisingly said "No beep?!" after I walked through the metal detector. Kinda sounded like an airport security pick-up line. This time I got off lucky with no additional wand scan or bag check. That's not always the case, and when I'm "wanded" there's always one article of clothing that sets off the monitor and declares "I am woman!" - my underwire bra.

Increased airport security has stirred some of my female friends to take action. One gal pal is purposely buying a bra without underwire. Another is ready to offer her design ideas to Victoria's Secret for another type of Miracle Bra - one without metal hooks. For some women it's a practical matter of getting through security as fast as possible. But, for others it's a matter of not being embarrassed by drawing attention to the fact that they have breasts, breasts that often need help to stay put and to postpone the effects of gravity.

Bras are considered a necessary item for women, at least for the last 100 years or so. And remember, good girls demonstrate modesty; they would never NOT wear a bra!

Actually, I don't think it's really about modesty, particularly since I'm no longer 13. I think it's about being embarrassed that you're a woman, that you've got body parts that are attractive to about 50% of the population, and that it's your fault you can't better manage those parts so you're not setting off metal detectors. Follow that line of thinking and pretty soon you feel bad for taking up space, ta-tas and all.

This is one time I'm glad the term bodacious is sometimes associated with ta-tas. Bodacious Women know they have breasts and aren't ashamed. They may wear form-fitting clothing or they may not. They may feel sexy some days because of their breasts or they may find them inconvenient protrusions. No matter the choice, their attitude is the same: no apologies for being a woman.

Growing up a tomboy, I had an adversarial relationship with my chest. Basically, I didn't want one. Breasts didn't help with sports and they made it all too clear to the world that I would no longer be mistaken as Daddy's "little fella." The last ten years I've grown to like the fact that I'm female and that includes breasts. I also don't take them for granted as I know there's a one in four chance of losing one or both to breast cancer. So, while I have them I'll wear the bra of my choice, or none at all. Hmmm...perhaps that's what was behind the security guard's remarks. Well, for him it will remain a mystery. For me, I'm glad to be a woman knowing I have bra-related and other choices. And, that's bodacious!

Copyright 2006 Mary Foley

Wireless Home Theater - The Best Of The Best

The wireless home theater system is the greatest thing since the development of the home theater system itself. With wires and cables layered in the back of the media center, and running throughout the room while connecting all the speakers - wireless is the only way to go. Some of the new Magnolia lines in Best Buy stores have new speakers that are built directly in the walls or ceilings, which is one way to get rid of the lines and cords all over the floor.

Sony and Panasonic both have two good wireless systems available, but reviewers say that Digital Sound Projector by Yamaha is better. It has an amp and a multiple speaker system with an excellent surround sound, with the ability to add a microphone to set up the room automatically. Another system is the RCA wireless home theater system. The DVD player that hooks into the television is the main control unit. With a normal center and side speakers around the television, the subwoofer duals as a transmitter for the wireless rear speakers. Once the receiver is plugged into the opposite side of the room, the two rear speakers separately plug into the receiver.

Wireless home theater systems are fast becoming a great tool to have to entertain within the home. Having a large home theater option to come to and relax in just makes the hectic life that you live that much easier to deal with, without a ton of wire spread from speaker to speaker. If you are considering the purchase of a home theater system for your home, large, small, full room, or just an area, wireless is the best and only way to go for many reasons. If you are thinking about this option for your home, consider the advantages of wireless.

With all the choices able to be made today with home theaters, it just doesn't make sense to willingly go with all those wires. A wireless theater set up is an ideal choice because it does not make holes in your walls. Of course, this is one of the advantages of the wireless - shear cosmetic reasons! Now, if you think about the advantages of wireless when working with the installation of your home theater, this would be even more advantageous to everyone involved. Consider the fact that we will also not have to drag wires through our home's ceiling or worry about finding long enough cables. It is just much simpler. When it all comes down to it, we can work with AND use, a wireless theater system is that it is just plain cool to use.

As much as the home theater system costs, anything involved with is considered an investment. Installation of the wireless units is fast - much faster than with the wired ones. We could easily do the work our self, without requesting any assistance pf an electrician. A home theater works simply like a remote control would in a wireless situation. Of course, this can work for many options including the speakers and other sound related elements. If you are considering a home theater, now is the time to consider a wireless one - you will not regret it!

Childhood Obesity and Personal Responsibility Taking Behavior

The Robert Woods Johnson Foundation recently announced that it's contributing $500 Million Dollars over the next five years to combat the growing crisis in childhood obesity. The RWJF expects to work with the Feds, state governments, and schools who have already spent billions trying to turn the tide on this problem. Celebrities are speaking up, business leaders getting involved, and I just read where a tri-athlete has dedicated his next event to "raising public awareness of childhood."

But at this point I need to raise my hand and ask, how much more money are we going to throw at this problem without making the slightest dentin it? How much more aware can we get? If it weren't for the war in Iraq, childhood obesity would be the number one issue in the news today.

Personal Responsibility Taking Behavior

Sooner or later someone needs to point out an obvious flaw in the midst of all this mega spending, out speaking, and awareness raising. Someone besides McDonald's needs to recognize that we can spend money until we're blue in the face, we can speak out, and market the bejeebers out of the conventional "eat right and exercise more" anti obesity message. But until we address the lack of personal responsibility taking behavior that lies at the bottom of this problem, we'll continue spinning our wheels, wasting time and money to beat the childhood obesity problem. In order to succeed, something must change.

It's Preventable, But Only If...

We need to recognize that Childhood obesity is a PREVENTABLE PROBLEM, but only if victims learn to take responsibility for what goes in their mouths, and how many calories they burn each day. Kids must learn to avoid junk food, TV, and video games, just like they must learn to avoid tobacco, alcohol, and drugs.

But How Can We Do It?

So how, you may ask, can we systematically teach our kids to eat right, get sufficient rest, plenty of exercise, and to avoid tobacco alcohol and drugs? How do we teach our kids to TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR OWN LIVES when everything around them encourages kids to DEPEND ON governments and business for the goods and services from which THEY (governments and businesses) PROFIT?

There are probably other good answers to this troublesome question, but I'm only familiar with one. It's called Operation Pull Your Own Weight. It's incredibly simple, incredibly inexpensive, and I watched it work with elementary school kids for four consecutive years (1990-1994) at Jefferson Elementary School in Davenport, IA. With that intro, here are the basic principals for Operation Pull Your Own Weight along with the ways in which it specifically addresses childhood obesity.

The Basic Premise

The basic underlying premise of OPYOW is that kids who can do pull ups can't carry much excess body weight, and kids who carry much excess body weight can't do pull ups. So the idea is to develop our kid's ability to do pull ups, and then encourage them to maintain that ability right on through adulthood. To accomplish this simple feat is to naturally immunize kids against obesity for a lifetime.

How Can We Do That?

If you accept this basic premise, the next question becomes, how do you teach kids to do pull ups, when pull ups are the most universally hated exercise on the planet? You have to start by recognizing that it's not really pull ups that kids hate. It's FAILING IN FRONT OF THEIR PEERS that kids hate.

Kids who can do pull ups and who succeed in front of their peers, don't hate pull ups. In fact they enjoy being able to tackle a difficult task like pull ups, and succeed in front of their peers. It becomes a badge of honor, a status symbol. I personally witnessed an entire school full of kids learning to love pull ups back in the early nineties.

Here's the Key

So then, how do you make pull ups accessible to all kids, and transform hated failure into joyful success? You use a simple device called a HEIGHT ADJUSTABLE PULL UP BAR (it raises and lowers in one inch increments) in conjunction with LEG ASSISTED PULL UPS (encouraging kids to jump and pull simultaneously) which allows almost all kids to succeed on the pull up bar immediately in front of their peers, week after week after week. Because of their continual success, participants look forward to the opportunity to tackle a difficult task and to succeed front of their peers. At that point pull ups become valued instead of despised. Let me explain.

The Starting Point

The idea is to allow kids to keep their feet on the ground, lower the bar to a point where they can jump and pull simultaneously, and easily perform eight leg assisted pull ups in workout number one. In workout # 2 the children are allowed to do nine pull ups. In workout # 3 they're allowed to do ten, in # 4 eleven, and finally in workout # 5 they're allowed to do twelve pull ups.

Once they develop the ability to do 12 pull ups at one level, the bar is raised ONE INCH and the whole eight to twelve routine is repeated over and over again until their pull up goal (the ability to do one real pull up) is reached. Sometimes it takes several months for kids to eventually run out of leg assistance and to reach the point where they're finally doing real live pull ups...IN FRONT OF THEIR PEERS and loving every second of it.

In the wake of each and every workout every child is instantly congratulated by their peers and their teacher, thus kids learn to succeed and to feel good about themselves every time their hands hit the pull up bar! Kids automatically develop physical confidence in themselves under these conditions.

An Opportunity Not an Obligation

At Jefferson Elementary School, pull ups were always treated as an opportunity (you got to do pull ups) not an obligation (you had to do pull ups). Kids were "allowed" to work out only twice a week, and to do only one pull up more than they did last time.

Strong VS Weak, Not Good VS Bad

OPYOW also took full advantage of every kid's desire to be strong and to avoid being weak...at anything. Have you ever met a child who wants to be weak at anything? And the ability to do pull ups is universally associated with being strong. In other words we never talked about avoiding obesity. We always talked about getting stronger on the pull up bar. The conversation was always positive, and we avoided negativity.

Lessons Bred Into OPYOW Participants

And how does a kid grow strong on the pull up bar? There are six simple answers to this question and teachers were constantly reinforcing them throughout the PYOW experience. In a very hands-on way kids learned that, in order to gain strength on the pull up bar they had to work regularly, eat right, get sufficient rest at night, and they had to avoid using tobacco, alcohol, and drugs.

On the flip side they learned that if they failed to do the work, if they ate much junk food, if they didn't get enough rest, and if they fooled around with tobacco, alcohol and drugs, they'd be making themselves weak not strong. And as we said before, there's no such thing as a kid who wants to be weak at anything.

This point cannot be overstated so I'll repeat it once more. These kids were exposed week after week after week to the lessons of OPYOW which included...

o Gaining strength (on the bar) is an opportunity not a right - in other words, in this school you could be denied the opportunity to get on pull up bar if you failed to get your work done or you misbehaved in class...a reward for good behavior.

o You gain strength through regular work

o You gain strength by eating right

o You gain strength by getting enough rest

o You become weak by fooling around with tobacco, alcohol, and drugs

o Kids also learned that NOBODY CAN DO IT FOR YOU

o Kids learned to tackle a difficult task and to succeed in public by setting concrete goals, and growing in small, but regular, predictable increments.

o In other words, as the result of learning to perform pull ups, KIDS LEARNED PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY TAKING BEHAVIORS.

Self Respect, Self Confidence, and Dignity

Interestingly enough the same principles that apply to strength gain on the pull up bar also apply to strength gain in reading, writing, arithmetic, and anything else in life. And by participating in OPYOW, kids not only immunize themselves against obesity for a lifetime, but they also develop a tangible sense of self respect, self confidence, and dignity that are cultivated most effectively when the PYOW seed is planted at a young age, and allowed to develop right on into adulthood.

Systematic Repercussions Not Forgotten...

None of the previous commentary is intended to negate the role that the system plays in aggravating problems like childhood obesity. That's blatant, obvious, and it needs to be addressed.

But to the degree that kids learn to take responsibility for their own lives, in as many ways as possible, they'll grow strong, despite the system. To the degree they fail to take responsibility, they'll be victimized by the system. And in the end, only strong people are capable of tackling difficult tasks like improving a problematic system. So hats off to those kids who learn to pull their own weight at a young age, and who master themselves instead of becoming mastered by the system. They're the hope of the world.

Help for the Harried Homeschooler

Are you harried? What is the definition of "harried" anyway? After looking it up in the dictionary, it reads, "troubled persistently especially by petty annoyances." So what can we surmise by this title? Are you a homeschooling parent who is dealing with petty annoyances? Things like, chaos, discipline problems, finding balance in your home school, sane socialization... So what can we do to fix these petty annoyances? Maybe one thing that could be a great benefit to us all is to learn to say one simple word...no.

We, as homeschooling mothers, have an actual ministry. The ministry of motherhood. As Shari, a mother who homeschools in Illinois, agrees. She says, "Once I grasped what God has called me to do, it made saying no a lot easier." Staying focused on her mission, "the ministry of motherhood and teaching," keeps her content with her life as a homeschooling mom.

And as Christine Field, author, shares the wisdom of Dr. Richard Swenson, "We cry out to God, 'Help!' But God replies, 'When you come back to where you belong, then I will help you. Remember: You are the creature. I am God. Use my power, not your own.'" If we could remember this as we walk through our motherhood journey, wouldn't we all be so much better off? Wouldn't we all be less harried? Less annoyed?

These are some pearls that Christine has gained from homeschooling and she'd like to share with you in her book. They are:

P-peace E-endurance A-acceptance R-restoration L-lasting love S-satisfaction with servanthood

"Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." Galatians 6:9, KJV

It's a must read!

Attract And Keep Wealth With An Auspiciously Positioned Water Feature - Find Out How

A water feature can be a wonderful focal point in a stylish, peaceful and inspirational outdoor space. Not only can it look wonderful, contribute a sense of calm and well being, but in fact in Feng Shui it is known to attract abundance.

Although Feng Shui on a practitioner level can be complex, the core principles of creating balance in your environment and between the five elements*, can be achieved by following some practical, easy steps.

Two Practical Steps In Attracting Abundance And Creating Balance With A Water Feature - In the case of choosing and placing a water feature outdoors, two of these practical, important steps are:

(1) Finding the optimal location for the water feature. (2) Having an understanding of the difference between yin and yang water, and applying this.

We'll look firstly at this difference.

The Difference Between Yin And Yang Water Yin water is normally dark and deep, and represents the gentle feminine, and it has no movement. It doesn't have plants or animal life residing in it and in feng shui is considered to be a very effective cure for some types of afflictions. An example of yin water would be an urn that contains water but doesn't contain plant or animal life.

Yin water like this can be used to offset what is known as the unlucky #7 star, which is a nasty star which brings loss and burglary. The reason yin water works to offset this is because the #7 star is of the metal element, and water exhausts metal. The reason not to use yang water is because it is too active and lively, which makes it capable of triggering the negative effects of the unlucky #7 star.

However yang water is much more effective in attracting wealth and abundance. Yang water is active and lively, it represents the male aspect. So in creating or choosing a beautiful water feature, known in Feng Shui as a Water Dragon, in order to be confident that it will attract wealth, the water needs to be yang water.

Examples of yang water are swimming pools and features where the water is bubbling and moving. Also once there are plants in the water it is yang. Fish will also make the water yang and are very much used by Feng Shui practitioners.

Finding The Optimal Position For The Water Feature There are a few different spots where a water feature will bring prosperity and subdue certain types of misfortune. The most beneficial spot however, is called the facing palace which is where the front door is located.

The flow of water needs to be flowing towards the door or nearby window when located outside the house, but not in a direct line as such. Also it is important to be aware that a body of water accumulates wealth, whereas a flow of water enhances wealth.

In general the water element is most beneficial in the north, east and south east. This is because of how the water element interacts with the other elements. The south east is most idyllic for wealth, however the facing palace is the most fortuitous spot, in many Feng Shui practitioners' opinions.

Does this mean that you couldn't put the Water Dragon in the south or the west? It doesn't, but it does mean that you would need to be far more careful in planning the positioning, as well as the other elements, items and shapes in the surrounding area.

A quick note so that you are aware is that in the art of feng shui there are a number of schools of thought, and therefore you will find differences of opinions.

An Important Recommendation However going back to the main principle, water accumulates qi (energy), whereas wind will disperse it. So the water feature in the outdoor area will ideally be located in the facing palace position, it will have elements of a body of water as well as a flow of water, contain life and always be kept very clean.

An important recommendation to strengthen this good fortune is to also have an indoor water feature. The basic concept here is that the outdoor Water Dragon is bringing the wealth energy towards the house, which is being captured via the front door or open windows, but in order to keep it in the house, enhance your wealth luck by having an indoor feature. This should never be dug inside, this would be very, very unlucky.

Remember that you will feel the ongoing benefits of this all year round. However you can strengthen your connection and appreciation of the water feature and the outdoor space by being able to spend more time in it, during the winter months.

*Five elements in Feng Shui and also in traditional Chinese medicine are fire, earth, metal, water and wood.